Getting Investments Right Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

A wealthy man decided to fire a manager, so the manager cut some deals with the master's creditors to curry favor, to have options once his job ended. Jesus made this story into a parable about investments. Today, why Christ commended a man who acted improperly.

From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Wind with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, in this parable, it seems Jesus is telling us to cut good deals for ourselves. You know, Dave, the older I get, the more I marvel at Jesus, because he oftentimes does the unexpected and says the unexpected. This parable has puzzled many people, but actually what Jesus is doing is he's taking a bad example, someone who obviously had a great deal of self-interest, and as you mentioned, cut deals for himself. He uses him as an example to teach something good and something positive. And what Jesus was talking about in that parable, which is so powerful, is use your money wisely and use it in a way that will benefit you. But the benefit is not in this world.

The benefit is in the world to come. I believe so deeply about this that whenever I speak about giving, if I'm at a place and asked to do that, I use this parable because Jesus said we want to make investments so that there are people who are going to welcome us into everlasting habitations. And by the way, while I'm talking about investments, we here at Running to Wind are coming to the end of our matching gift program. That is to say, if you contribute to this ministry, your gift will be matched up to $90,000. Would you consider helping us so that when you get to heaven there will be those who will say, I'm here partly because of your investment? If you're interested in helping Running to Wind, here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com.

That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. And now let us listen carefully to the parable of Jesus. This morning's sermon is actually about money. I can imagine that you maybe brought a friend here today and you thought, oh no, not money. Because after all, churches are sometimes known for always asking for money. And then TV preachers come along and make it even more difficult for the rest of us because they promise you that if you send money to them, you're going to have all kinds of blessings that come into your life. But I talked to you about money because today is a day in financial uncertainty.

I can't think of any topic more relevant. Because people today in the fluctuating stock market, they are wondering where they should park their cash. And Jesus is very interested in where you park your cash, very interested. And what Jesus teaches us about money is this, that what you want to do is to have a safe investment at a high rate of return.

What could be more relevant, whether we have lots of money or whether we have a little bit of money, than to know that where can we put it in a time of financial turbulence. Jesus, however, tells a story in the 16th chapter of Luke. And Jesus sometimes surprises us, doesn't he? He tells a parable that you and I might not have told because it is very interesting.

He actually uses a bad example to teach a good lesson. So with your Bibles open to Luke chapter 16, page 875 in the Bible that is in the seat in front of you, he said to his disciples, there was a rich man who had a manager and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And so the rich man called him and said to him, what is this that I hear about you? Turn in your account of your management, for you can no longer be manager. And the manager said to himself, what shall I do? Since my master is taking management away from me, I'm being fired. I'm not strong enough to dig. I'm ashamed to beg.

I've decided what I'm going to do so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses. So summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said, first, how much do you owe my master? And he said, 100 measures of oil. He said to him, look, let's not say 100 measures of oil. Take your bill and sit down and write 50. He said to another, how much do you owe? He said, 100 measures of wheat.

He said, look, take your bill, write down 80. Now the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness, for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth so that when it fails, they may receive you into eternal dwellings.

Wow, we wouldn't have expected that from Jesus. You know, the situation is the man gets fired from his management because he's mismanaging, not necessarily feathering his own nest, but he's mismanaging and so he gets fired. But the owner says, OK, at the end of this day, you're done. And so the guy said, hey, I have a couple of hours. And so what he does is he asks people who owed money to the wealthy man how much they owed. And then he wrote down less because he said, you know, when I'm out of here, I'm going to need some friends to do me a good turn.

And so I'm going to use the money to build friendships so that when I'm finished, maybe they'll have me in their home. And Jesus is not commending the dishonesty or the morals of this manager. And we know that because Jesus also goes on to say that he's a son of this world as opposed to the sons of light. But what Jesus is doing is he is taking this bad example and from it drawing a very important lesson, namely that we should be using our money to make friends who are going to welcome us into everlasting habitations or eternal dwellings. So what Jesus is saying is we can't agree with the morals of this manager, but we can agree with the principle of using money well for the purpose of future benefit to others and indirectly to ourselves. So what I'd like to do now is to give you four lessons that we learn about money from this parable. And I might say that these lessons are utterly transforming. If we took them seriously, we would never look at our money the same way again. And we'd always be making better investments.

So join me on this brief journey as we look at this passage. The first lesson, obviously, is this, that money is loaned to us. It is not owned by us. It is loaned and not owned.

This manager was a steward. He was given responsibility to manage the money, but he didn't own the money. You know, on Friday, I actually went to the bank. I'm still the kind of guy, I had a small transaction to make, and then I took some money out of the bank. I know all of you used ATMs and all those things, put me in a museum somewhere, but I like to go to a bank.

The thing that I'm noticing is when I go, nobody else is there because everybody else is using modern technology. But I saw the teller go into the till, and she pulled out a bundle of cash and rolled off a few bills for me. How much of that did she own?

None. She's a manager. And if she were a dishonest manager, she wouldn't be there very long, but she doesn't own any of the money there. Jesus is saying, this man didn't own any. In fact, later on, you'll notice what Jesus says in verse 9. I tell you, make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they may receive you into eternal dwellings. And he goes on to say, verse 12, if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, how are you going to get the true riches?

Our wealth is God's, and we are managers. Now we're reminded of that every two weeks when we get paid, because we get this pay stub and, of course, money is put into our account electronically. It's put in electronically.

In my case, it isn't necessarily withdrawn electronically, but it's there. But already we're reminded that it isn't ours, because on the pay stub, it says state tax, federal tax. I know we used to pay money to FICA. It used to say on the thing FICA.

I heard somebody say, I don't know. I'm paying money to FICA, and I've never even met her. But there's FICA. There is the state tax. There is the income tax. I'm sure there is also the thumb tax. And if you're a teacher, I'm sure there will be sin tax. And you have all of these different taxes that we pay to the IRS. All of us have felt like writing to the IRS and saying, you know, I can't afford your services anymore. Don't you want to write that to the IRS? So there is already built into it our money isn't there.

It's another's. But the money that we do take home, all of it belongs to God. And if it is not taken away from us, we will be taken away from it, because the day is going to come when we will die and we take nothing with us to the grave that is useful to us in that form.

And so the whole point of the parable, one of the points is this, that the money is given to you. It is loaned. It is not owned. And no matter how stingy you are, it is not yours to keep.

It will be taken away from you. I'm going to ask you to pray a prayer, not right now, but I dare you to pray this prayer. I dare you to acknowledge the fact that everything that you have is not yours and it is God's. Now it's easy to say that.

You can say that verbally. But every once in a while I give the money to God. Well, I know that it's his, but my heart wants to take ownership of it. I want to say this is mine and to keep myself from saying that every so often I need to pray and say, God, it is yours. It isn't mine. It's loaned.

It's not owned by me. Help me to manage it well. What a transformation that would make in your heart if you sincerely prayed it. Talk is cheap. But to make that transfer in our hearts and to understand that it is God's, whether we have much or little, will also free you of a lot of worry and a lot of concern because you're not going to worry about that which belongs to God.

We worry primarily about that which belongs to us. So make the transfer. Lesson number one. Lesson number two is that it should be transmuted, money should be transmuted into better, profitable, safe investments. Now notice how Jesus explains all that. You'll notice he says, verse 9, I tell you make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

I'll read the rest also. One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much. One who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much. If you then have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, there's the statement, it doesn't belong to us, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Wow. So what Jesus is saying is what we should do is to transfer our money to a safe, eternal investment. Now you know during a time of financial upheaval, everybody is buying gold. That's why the price of gold is increasing. I have a friend who gives advice to people and he said, you know, don't get gold because it can't be used for anything. Silver can be.

It can be used industrially. I said to him, you know, you're a wise man, but I think you've just said something very foolish. I don't care whether or not gold can be used for anything. All that I know is that from the earliest time, gold has been precious and everybody has agreed that it is precious. And all of us wish, do we not, that we had bought it when it was a lot cheaper.

That's all that I can say. So gold is a good investment, but it is not the best investment. And the reason is because it is not eternal. It rusts, figuratively speaking. James said in chapter five, he says, you rich men, he said, your gold and your silver is becoming corroded.

And the reason is because you gained your riches by exploiting the poor. And he says, God was listening and watching and your gold, he says, is rusting and your silver is corroding. And even if it is of benefit in this life, and I'm sure you agree it would be, the fact is that in the life to come, you can't take it with you. Oh, you can be buried with some jewelry, I'm sure, and some gold put into the coffin, but of what value, I mean, what use is it?

It will be taken away from you. So Jesus said, if you are interested in safety, if you are interested in a high rate of return, if you really are serious about that, he said, use your wealth to make friends who will welcome you into everlasting dwelling places. What he is saying is use your wealth to spread the gospel so that when you get to heaven, there will be people there who will be ready to welcome you because you had a part in their salvation, because you made friends with your money and you used it to the glory and the honor of God.

And it's an eternal investment. You say, well, how do we do that? The Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 4 said something very interesting. People were sending him some money in prison. And he said, you know, I'm not asking for any money, but he said, I do know this. My desire for you is that fruit may accrue to your account.

Let me read it directly. He says that fruit increases to your credit. Paul says it is as if when you give, you are actually receiving dividends.

We mean this sincerely. Giving is not just to fund ministries, however important that will be. Giving is, as Jesus said, laying up treasures, not on earth where moth and rust corrupts and where thieves break through and steal, but rather it is putting treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust corrupts and thieves cannot break through and steal. It is a secure investment. It is an investment for all of eternity. And you are receiving dividends through your generosity, Paul says. Dividends that will be given to you by God. You say, am I preaching prosperity gospel?

Absolutely not. I am not telling you that if you are generous in this life and if you give money to one cause or another, God is going to bless you and multiply you and heal you. I am saying that God in all of eternity will reward you and people will be there to welcome you because you used your money to get the gospel to them so that they could be saved and God will take note of that in eternal, everlasting dwellings.

Now think about this for a moment. Who funded William Carey? He's known as the father of modern missions, went to India, wasn't that successful necessarily, but was a plotter, had all kinds of problems. But he opened India for the gospel. Who funded him?

I have no idea. I've read a biography of William Carey, but I don't know who in the world supported him. But I do know this, God knows. And when William Carey who is already in heaven and all of his supporters are there and they'll be welcomed by people from India who said, you had a part in my salvation because of your faithfulness and I welcome you into an everlasting habitation. Who is it that funded our vacation Bible school so that 445 children could hear the gospel?

Well, I don't think that there was one individual. It spread among us. I like to think of giving to Moody Church as sort of a mutual fund and that fund has various funds within it. You give to the mutual fund and there's a music fund and there's a children's fund and there's a family fund and there's our various other ministries, men's ministries, women's ministries. We have equipping ministries, evangelism ministries, and what we're doing actually is funding together in this mutual fund. And then we have the worldwide missionary task that we are involved in. All of our missionaries who are leading people to saving faith in Christ in countries that we will never visit. But someday those people in other countries arriving in heaven will also welcome us into everlasting dwelling places because they'll say, you used your money to promote the gospel. Well, my friend, this is Pastor Lutheran. Of course, as I was listing the various ministries of Moody Church, I did not emphasize the media ministry running to win. This is one of the last days when your investment in this ministry will be doubled.

Would you consider helping us so again, you can make an investment in the lives of people who will eventually be in heaven? Here is what you do. You can go to rtwoffer.com.

That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Take advantage of this. It's one of the last days when your gift will be matched. It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Bitterness, it's like a weed.

Once it begins growing, it can be hard to get rid of. Hope is a faithful running to win listener and shares this burden with us. I have bitterness toward my mother. She did not raise me with love.

She was effectively absent. My husband was unfaithful during the early years of our marriage. How do I rid myself of bitterness and show Christ's love toward my family?

Hope, I need to begin by sharing my heart with you as a pastor. I'm sorry for what has happened in your life, and I can only imagine the pain that you have endured, not only from your mother, but from your husband, and now you're living with it. But thank God you want to be rid of it. As people frequently hear me say that whatever we don't forgive, we pass on. We think to ourselves that we are able to hide it, to cover it, but at the end of the day, bitterness corrodes the soul. And so what I'd like to suggest is this, you have to let go of that bitterness. And you have to recognize that when you let go of it, first of all, you are not minimizing the hurt that was done against you. Secondly, what you're really doing is you are trusting God to bring justice to this situation, because our desire for justice is there. We want to have vengeance, but the Bible says, vengeance is mine, God says.

I am the Lord. You don't have to bring vengeance against those who hurt you, so you have to let go. I suggest you get alone somewhere, spend as much time as you need to with God, spill out your soul like one might pour out a glass of water, and spill out your soul at the foot of the cross. Now that doesn't mean that the bitterness might not come back, but it will eventually lose its power. Forgiveness is both an act and a process. But I hope, hope, that you begin that process very soon.

And what you'll discover is that God even enables you to show love to your family despite the past. I'm praying in my heart, even as I speak to you, that God will bring that about. Some wise counsel for hope and for all of us from Dr. Erwin Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. In a shaky market, people wonder where to place money. Jesus taught a lesson on ultimate investments in the parable we heard about today. Next time on Running to Win, how Jesus wants us as believers to invest in God's kingdom, because only in eternity will the true interest rate be on display. Thanks for listening. This is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.