Investing In the Future

Kingston Church of the Nazarene Sermon Series: Planning for the Future – Week Two May 5, 2019 Sermon Title: Investing in Your Future Sermon Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30, Various [slide] INTRODUCTION – Investing in Your Future The United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located adjacent to the United States Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky. The vault is used to store a large portion of United States official gold reserves and occasionally other precious items belonging or entrusted to the federal government. It is estimated to hold roughly 2.3% of all the gold ever refined throughout human history. As of September 2018, U.S. holdings are 8,965 metric tons (261.5 million oz. troy), with a market value of over $310.5 billion. In 1974, a Washington attorney named Peter David Beter circulated a theory that the gold in the Depository had been secretly removed by elites, and that the vaults were empty. A group of reporters was allowed inside in order to refute the theory, which had gained traction thanks to coverage in tabloid newspapers and on the radio. Other than this 1974 event, no member of the public has been allowed inside until 2017. The story of Fort Knox secure vaults demonstrates the point in our story today that I want all of us to hear: Hiding your most precious possessions out of fear is a failure to plan for the future. Living with a scarcity mindset debilitates our ability to invest and manage our money and assets wisely. Cautious living isn’t rewarded. As we look at the Parable of the Talents, ask yourself which one of the three servants am I and why? [slides] Our story found in Matthew 25:14-30. The passage is on the screens. READ We all have a master. We all are accountable to our master. We are to do our best work for our master. We are to use our abilities (gifts/talents) to do our best work to increase his investment and receive our reward. ABILITIES: We are all called and equipped by God. If you were here last week, you heard me say that God has planned us for his purpose to do good works and serve God’s Kingdom. Ephesians 2:10 says, “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” STORY: BRENDEN AND KAYLIE: As each of my kids were growing up, I would remind them often to do their best, and they didn’t have to be perfect. Perfection is debilitating; doing your best means you use all of your gifts, talents and abilities to accomplish the task before you. Perfection mean no one can do it like you can do it or you want to appear superior to those around you – and it’s all due to a fear of failure. When we live in fear of failure, nothing we do is ever good enough or brings us satisfactory results; human perfection simply doesn’t exist. Why? Because we only see things from our perspective, from our vantage point. We cannot see things from different heights or angles, or from another person’s understanding. We are limited by our perspective not matter how we try and put on paper all of the ways something can be accomplished. What has the master called you to do? If you’ve been called, you’ve been equipped. If you’ve been equipped, you’ll be held accountable for the outcome. DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 1. Accountable to use your gifts as enabled. 2. Accountable for the outcomes of the gifts you use or don’t use. If we know our gifts and choose not to use them, our punishment will be great. Or, if we have gifts and use them for selfish gain, then the reward we will receive on this earth will not as great as we will receive in heaven. [slide] The late John Wooden, a committed Christian who became the most successful college basketball coach in history, was once asked how he would define success. He replied: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” ENTRUSTED: GIVE, GRANT The master took a risk on each of his servants by entrusting them with part of his wealth. He gave each servant money to invest according to their ability. That means each one had some ability to not only manage the master’s money but do make something with it. • The master knew his servants ◦ The master invested in his servants training each one to develop their abilities. • The master knew their abilities ◦ Through a working relationship with his employees, he was able to see their success and failure while using their abilities. He had faith in each one of them to accomplish something great – according to their abilities. • The master gave them each an opportunity to be a business partner ◦ Because he trusted his employees implicitly, he gave them each an opportunity to use the company’s resources to grow the company brand through investments. • The master trusted each of them with his personal possessions at a great risk of theft or loss. ◦ The master gave each of them something valuable. He didn’t micro-manage their work; He trained them and released them to succeed or fail at helping the company grow. What has God entrusted you with? Are you using your gifts and abilities to do your best? If you’ve been entrusted by God with his resources to invest using your gifts and abilities, are you doing something with it? If so, great! If not, why not? TRANSITION: MOVE SWIFTLY The servants moved swiftly to do something with his money. I didn’t say they moved carelessly. When the master entrusted his servant with his money, he expected them to get to work right away and do something with his resources. EMPLOYERS: Move Swiftly When you work for a company, they expect you to do your job today. We all have to do lists that comes with expectations to accomplish them to the best of our abilities. How do you decide what and when to do your work? 1. Training 2. Abilities 3. Seek counsel of wise advisors (Proverbs 15:22) 4. ACT (LAND THE PLANE) What stops of from succeeding? 1. Paralysis by analysis 2. Fear of failure 3. Not putting in sufficient effort 4. Giving up When you have all of the training, education, and understand your abilities, then it’s time to act swiftly. It’s better has a tried and failed then not to have tried at all. Failure is in the lack of trying, not in the doing. TRANSITION: EVALUATION Every job I’ve had I had some kind of evaluation to review my work. • Church: two-year review • JESUS Film: yearly written evaluation • Classroom teacher: VPAA sits in to evaluate my teaching and instruction • GAP INC.: yearly merit raise evaluation Every person should have to undergo some kind of evaluative process. It’s a humbling experience. When you’re told you hadn’t achieved your goals or fulfilled your to do list, or haven’t raised enough money, or failed at your investments, it reminds us that even though we work towards perfection, none of us are perfect. It can also help us to be better at our jobs. Even if you don’t like being evaluated on this planet, God promised each of us we will be evaluated when we leave this life. 1. Hebrews 9:27 “Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences.” 2. Matthew 12:36 “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” Accountability is supposed to be an opportunity to grow our abilities to better do as we work to complete the next assignment or task. Sometimes it may mean a raise in pay or position, but often times being held accountable helps the company be more profitable or a church to grow. TRANSITION: JUDGEMENT DAY Let’s look at each servant in the story. Here’s what we know about each of them 1. Each servant had the gift of working with money 2. Each servant was trusted by the master 3. Each servant was given a task to invest the master’s money 4. Each servant was held accountable for his work 5. Each servant received their “reward” or compensation for the work he accomplished. a. The first two men – made business partners b. The third man was fired for not doing his job When you stand before God and give and account for your life, what will you present to God? Two of the servants presented to their master – 1. The trust ($5000 and $2000) 2. Their return on investment (ROI) - $10,000 and $4,000 They let their return on investment (ROI) speak for their actions as stewards and managers of the money they were entrusted with. They didn’t try and explain their actions, their actions proved their efforts. The third servant presented to his master – 1. The trust ($1000) 2. The excuse - a. He took no accountability for himself but blamed his master. b. Although he had been trained and entrusted by the same master, who in turn trusted him according to his abilities, the man lived in fear and cautiously that he did nothing to grow the master’s wealth. The third servant presented his master with his money and with an excuse for his failure. Instead of trusting in his training and in himself, he lived in fear. CHURCH: TWO THINGS 1. If God has called, gifted (trained), entrusted you do to do something, and He expects a return on His investment. 2. If we (as a church people) live cautiously or in fear and hide our trust (whether it be time, talents, treasures), we have robbed God of his reward and our blessing. a. Ex. If you have the gift to work with teens or children but aren’t, you are robbing God and the church of training and evangelizing this group. b. Ex. If you have an income but tithe less than 10% you are robbing God and the church of the ability to do ministry to both our members and our community. Too often too many of us live as if God’s an absent master whom we will not be held accountable to at the end of our lives. Because we can neither see God nor know God physically, we move about our lives as if nothing we do really matters to God. But it does matter to God. God expects the same from us as he did Jesus. [slide] TRANSITION: INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE The title of this series is Planning for the Future, and today’s message is Investing in Your Future. These two titles are synonyms of each other. To plan for the future means there will also be an investment in the future of something. It can be our time, talents, treasures, or all three, which it usually is. When we talk about investing, it means you have something of value to invest with. Take money for instance. Money is a valuable commodity that grows and shrinks with the market. So, depending on how you invest or hide your money will mean you will gain, lose or stay the same. STORY: HIDING MONEY. My father didn’t believe in banks very much so he would hide large sums of money in his house. He would hide in in the air vents or jars in closets, any place he considered to be safer than and more accessible than a bank. The problem with this type of hoarding of money is it never grew any interest allowing his wealth to grow. STORY: WARREN BUFFETT. Warren Buffett is a billionaire investor. He owns multiple companies such as Nebraska Furniture Mart, Loves Gas stations, and many other investment firms – most notably, Berkshire Hathaway. He has invested money in to funds and business to the point that he is considered the 36th richest person in the world. He lives in the same house he bought in 1958, and lives frugally despite his enormous wealth. The greatest difference between these two men is one hid his wealth while to other invested swiftly. What has God given you to invest? In the case of the servants, it was money (talents). In your case, what is it and how should you invest whatever it is? TRANSITION: STEWARDSHIP Because God has enabled and equipped every person with gifts and talents and skills, He expects us to be wise stewards and build God’s Kingdom. What is a steward? ‘A steward is one who owns nothing but is responsible for everything.’ We are responsible to take care of this tiny planet God gave us. The responsibility did not end with the death of Adam and Eve; the responsibility has been passed on to every person on earth to care for and manage life, the earth, money, time, et al. We all must do our part to invest in the future so that our children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren will have a better place to live than we did. When we selfishly hide our resources out of fear of failure, we are robbing the next generation of valuable resources to live and to thrive. We clip their wings and demonize their future. TRANSITION: INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE What are some ways to Invest in Your Future? 1. Acknowledge you have a future (Jer. 29:11) 2. Choose to use your gifts and talents to beautify the future (Eph. 4:11-16) 3. Act swiftly, don’t delay. Delaying restricts your blessing and the blessing of others (Eph. 2:20). 4. Be willing to be held accountable. 5. Present your investments to God. He wants to see how well you’ve done. 6. Don’t make excuses; makes plans to succeed. 7. Give thanks to God when you fail or succeed. CONCLUSION Fort Knox is known as the impenetrable fortress. It is. But the issue the US Government is hoarding so much gold – it’s hidden and isn’t being invested to increase value. The national debt is over 22 Trillion dollars. The vaults at Fort Knox is only valued at $310.5 billion. The discrepancy between the two is vastly different with the numbers going in the wrong direction. We all have a master. We all are accountable to our master. We are to do our best work for our master. We are to use our abilities (gifts/talents) to do our best work to increase his investment and receive our reward. [slide] There are many ways to Invest in the Future. Next Week we will talk about the Stewardship Principle of time, talent, and treasure. Pray Benediction