Invest For the Long Term
There was a man living in the city of Jericho by the name of Zaccheus. Zaccheus
was a man who was not well liked or accepted in Jericho. You see he was a tax
collector. But Zaccheus was no ordinary tax collector, He was the Head tax
collector for that area.
When Zaccheus heard that Jesus was coming to Jericho he had to see Him. There
was a crowd of people and Zaccheus, well, I wouldn’t say Zaccheus was short, but
on his driver’s license you can see his feet. But he was a little man and the people
were blocking his view. So Zaccheus runs ahead, climbs up into a sycamore tree
and that is where Jesus called him down from when He was passing by. But why
was Zacchaeus, as our scripture tells us, “trying to see who Jesus was....”? Let’s go
back a couple of months.
Imagine Zacchaeus is out collecting the taxes:
He comes to a blind man’s house, his roster says the man’s name is Bartimaeus.
Zach says, “I’m here for the taxes!” Bartimaeus pleads with him, “I am just a poor
old blind man. I have to beg just to survive. I don’t have money for taxes.” Zach
doesn’t care and gives him 30 days to come up with the money for taxes!
At the next house, a lady comes to the door. Zach demands the taxes they owe. The
lady pleads to Zach, "Sir, my husband is a demon possessed man! He lives in the
tombs - He runs around all crazy, screaming and hollering! Please give me more
time to get the money!” Not really knowing why, he gives her 30 days to come up
with the tax money.
At the third house, Zach demands the taxes from another lady. She explains to him
that her son has died, and the burial expense has wiped her out! She begs him to
give her more time & again, not really knowing why, Zach says, "I’ll be back in 30
days!"
Well, those thirty days pass and Zacchaeus is out knocking on doors again. He goes
back to that first house where blind Bartimaeus lived and a bright-eyed man answers
the door. Ol’ Zach can’t believe it! This guy looked a whole lot different than
before! Zach says, "I don’t understand, I thought you were blind!" Bartimaeus tells
our buddy Zach about how he met Jesus and how Jesus healed him! Bartimaeus
says, "I sold my seeing eye dog, all my books on tape, my Braille pads, and here’s
the money I owe you for taxes!" Zach walks away scratching his head wondering
who this Jesus guy is!
Thinking about this turn of events, he heads to the second house. At his knock a big,
well dressed man answers the door! Zach says, "I’m the tax collector, who are
you?" He said, "I’m the man who was demon-possessed, my wife told me you
came by. I met Jesus a few weeks ago and He saved me and cleaned me up! Now I
have a job with the city making good money, so here’s what we owe you for taxes!"
Old Zach can’t believe what he’s hearing! "Who is this Jesus?" he asked himself!
Zacchaeus sits on a rock and ponders this awhile, then heads over to the third house
where a young man answers the door! Zach tells him he’s here to collect the taxes
owed. The young man says, “Oh, that’s right, my mom said you’d be back.” He
calls his mom who tells Zach, "You’re not gonna believe it! They were carrying my
son in a casket to the graveyard. They were almost to the grave when Jesus showed
up. He touched the casket and said, Young man, Arise! My son sat straight up in the
casket and started talking. It scared the undertaker so bad, He gave me all my
money back for the funeral, and here is the money I owe you for taxes!"
So now Zacchaeus has collected all of the tax money. But he is amazed at these turn
of events. He wonders: How does a blind man see? And that man freed from the
demons. A boy raised from the dead. That’s unbelievable! Then Zacchaeus hears
that Jesus is coming through Jericho and he decides, “I’ve got to see this guy who
did all these amazing things.” So he climbs a tree. And that’s where Jesus called
him down from when He was passing by.
Zacchaeus stands up and makes the bold announcement that he is going to give half
of his possessions to the poor, and for all those he cheated, he is going to pay them
back - not just the full amount, but four times the amount. I’ll tell you what,
Zacchaeus was not only out on a limb, but he took a saw.
Knowing what we know of how tax collectors operated in that day, it’s hard to
imagine that Zacchaeus had not cheated a lot of people on a lot of occasions out of a
lot of money. He promises to pay that back, and then some. And to give half to the
poor, one can only wonder what if anything will be left. It is a bold thing that he
does.
It is not something that is equivalent to giving to the heart fund by throwing your
loose change in a jar on the counter at McDonalds. It is not even like digging deep
into your wallet to help with a favorite charity. This is getting in the wallet, the
checking account, the retirement fund and even the money stashed away under the
mattress for a rainy day.
What is your attitude toward giving? Who owns your money? If you think you own
your money you’re wrong - the Bible teaches us that everything we own belongs to
God: 1 Cor. 4:7 - ". . . what do you have that you did not receive?"
- Everything that we have we have received from God.
- When we understand that, suddenly the focus isn’t on our generosity ("I’m giving
God 10% of my money") but on God’s generosity ("God is graciously letting me use
90%").
As we gather here on Stewardship Sunday, I’m going to share what I think are
Three reasons you should want to give:
1. What you keep, you lose - what you give, you keep!
- Most of us think, "The things that I have bought, at least I got something for my
money. But the money I gave to the church, it’s just gone." That’s wrong. In fact,
it’s the exact opposite.
- All the stuff we bought, we’ll leave behind when we leave this world; but the
money we gave in the name of God will increase, and we’ll see those dividends on
the other side.
- Investment firms say, "Invest for the long term." I couldn’t agree more: invest for
eternity.
2. Giving will bring you more joy than hoarding!
- If you want more bang for your buck, try spending it on someone else. Their joy
will bring you lasting joy.
3. You can’t outgive God!
- Luke 6:38 - "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together and running over. . .."
- 2 Cor. 9:6 - "He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but he who sows
bountifully will reap bountifully."
- Let’s not get confused here. This isn’t about a shallow health-and-wealth, God’s
gonna make you rich gospel, because God’s greatest blessings rarely come in the
form of money. I simply mean God desires to bless you in so many ways. I’m
talking about things like the beautiful fall colors we had, a brilliant sunset, a child’s
laughter, a hug from a good friend, a thank you card for a kind deed that meant the
world to the person you did it for, just to name a few.
You know, it’s amazing to realize just how much our lives are impacted by the
amount of money we have or think we have. It influences our self-esteem, the kind
of job we pursue, and how we view ourselves in relation to others.
For example, three boys in the school yard were bragging about who had the better
father. You know how boys are, the “my dad can beat your dad” mentality. The first
boy says, "My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a poem, and
they give him $100." The second boy says, "That’s nothing. My Dad scribbles a few
words on a piece of paper, calls it a song, and they give him $1000." The third boy
says, "My Dad is even better than that. He scribbles a few words on a piece of
paper, calls it a sermon, and it takes four people just to collect all the money!"
The weekly message on our sign in front of the church reads, “Is what you live for
worth dying for?” What is really important? Money or our relationships? If you are
a husband or wife who feels like you no longer love your spouse, it’s not time to
seal off your heart and live as strangers under the same roof; it’s not time to pursue
an affair that makes you feel young again; it’s not time to call a lawyer. Instead, it is
time to start investing your most valuable treasure into your spouse. It is time to
sacrificially show love to your spouse even when you get nothing back, to invest
lots of time into dating your spouse and wooing your spouse. Why? Because where
you invest your treasure, there your heart will be, and you’ll fall in love all over
again.
Do you understand how this works? Whatever you invest your time and money in
will become very important to you. If you invest money into a sports car, you’ll
keep it clean and polished. If you buy stock, you’ll start watching how the company
is doing. If you invest time and money in some rental property, you’ll make sure it’s
well maintained. If you sacrificially invest time and money in your marriage, you’ll
be motivated to keep working on it to make it succeed.
If your giving is not where it needs to be and you’ve decided this morning you want
to do better, where do you start? I’ll tell you one thing, this is not about you and the
church budget; this is about you and your relationship with God.
When you choose to invest in God’s purposes, you’ll find that your spiritual life is
elevated to a higher level. When you give to support a missionary, you’ll more likely
pray for that person every day. When you give money to build a gym, you’ll be
excited when you hear reports of the people who met Christ there. Wherever you
put your treasure, that is what you will be most interested in, for that is where your
heart will be.
How much eternal treasure have you accumulated in heaven? How much stock have
you bought in the eternal Dow Jones? If you feel it’s wise to pay into a retirement
program or pension plan that will help take care of you 20 or 30 years from now,
isn’t it also wise to plan ahead for the next hundred billion years from now? Eternity
is a very long time, and a wise Christian will store up treasure for himself in heaven
while he still has the chance.
This fact is beautifully illustrated in the story of a sailor who was shipwrecked on a
South Sea island. He was seized by the natives, carried shoulder-high to a crude
throne, and proclaimed king. He learned that according to their custom the king
ruled for a year. The idea appealed to the sailor until he wondered what had
happened to all the previous kings. Then he learned that when a king’s reign ended,
he was banished to a lonely island to starve to death. So, knowing he was king for
the year, this sailor began issuing orders. Carpenters were to make boats. Farmers
were to go ahead on these boats to this island and plant crops. Builders were to
erect a home. So when his reign finished, he was exiled, not to a barren isle, but to a
paradise of plenty.
Each one of us is like that sailor king. Our time on earth is short, but we do have
opportunity to prepare ahead of time by sending some wealth on ahead. One thing is
for sure: we certainly can’t take anything with us when we die. The following was
inscribed on a tombstone: "What I spent, I lost; What I saved, I left; What I gave, I
have." That’s the secret to eternal wealth. By investing heavily in heavenly
investments, we can assure for ourselves a wealthy eternal reward. Take a tip from
our buddy Zach: Invest for the long term. Invest for eternity
