ETERNAL INVESTMENTS Philippians 3:4-14
We don’t have a ton of money in investments, but we do have some. One thing I am sure of, if they would curtail their mailings, I’d have more money to invest!
We are told that, if we want to have our needs met upon retirement, we must invest early on. Words like assets, bonds, brokers, diversification, dividends, IRAs, margin, portfolios, principle, and stocks run rampant through investor’s minds.
Now earthly investments are all well and good for this side of eternity but what about our spiritual investments? If we want to be ready after we retire from this old earth, it is most important we invest there! So, first, we need to know 1) What We Have.
Here is Paul’s list of investments from Philippians 3:4-6. They were substantial!
…I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin – a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. Philippians 3:4-6 NLT
Paul had astounding [investments] – everything that defined success in his community. From birth, he observed the law and grew to be a very prominent Pharisee as a student of the respected Gamaliel [as Acts 5:34 tells us]. He could trace his lineage to the first king of Israel, Saul. Also, because he was born in Tarsus, he enjoyed all of the rights and privileges of being a Roman citizen. (NASB Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible Notes)
My investments are not too shabby either. I was raised in a Christian home, the home of a pastor mind you, and came to know Christ as my Savior at an early age. I proclaimed my faith in Christ by means of baptism as a youngster, as well. I have been active in ministry of some sort from at least my middle school days to the present, from Sunday School teacher to leader of a major student-lead ministry while in college. Since college, I have been in pastoral ministry for 26+ years AND I am a third-generation ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene – not just on one side of but on BOTH sides of my family in that both of my grandfathers, as well as, my father were Nazarene elders. Impressed? Well, you shouldn’t be.
So, all of my investing, 2) What It’s Worth?
God has surely used all of those things to make me who I am today but as Paul said,
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:7-9 NLT
And whether we want to believe it or not we are all in the same boat – that’s what a fellowship is, a bunch of “fellow” believers in the same “ship”! I would dare say that every single one of us has pursued Christ and has a desire to go to heaven to be with Him for eternity. Yes, we are all very different and each of us is (or has been) working on what we, personally, believe will fulfill the requirements needed to hear our Father say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:23 when we stand before Him on Judgment Day.
But all of your efforts have the same result as mine. What Paul wrote applies to you, too.
I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have Christ, and become one with him, no longer counting on being saved by being good enough or by obeying God’s laws, but by trusting Christ to save me; for God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith – counting on Christ alone. v8b-9 TLB
So, does this mean that we just stop? Do we just quit putting hands and feet to our faith because we are to be “counting on Christ alone”? Absolutely not!
James writes in his book,
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well” – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. James 2:14-17 NLT
It sounds confusing but we just have to think it through. What we must understand is that when it comes to our salvation Christ and only Christ can give it to us. We can’t pay for it. We can’t work for it. There’s no list of things to be checked off. It is beyond the realm of possibility for any of us to do so. Christ paid the price. He took it upon Himself to pay the debt that each one of us owes. And we should never cease to be grateful for His sacrifice. Throughout all of our days, that should be the driving force behind everything we do.
But anyone with a passion for what God would have them do in their lives would agree with those who insist that faith and good works belong together. What we believe must be confirmed by what we do. Personal salvation must be expressed in ministry and mission in the world. …Christian doctrine and Christian ethics are inseparable…faith should inspire service. The integration of personal piety and social holiness has been a hallmark of [UM] tradition. We affirm the biblical precept that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” James 2:17 (http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/our-wesleyan-heritage)
A quote that has been unverifiably attributed to John Wesley reads, “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”
But then Paul brings up something else that makes us ask, 3) What, Me Suffer?
Now I have given up everything else – I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him. So whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11 TLB
Paul may have worked very hard at getting where he was spiritually but as we’ve pointed out it will never be enough. Paul needed Jesus. The same applies to us.
Here’s a question: As a whole, what draws us to God? When things go well are we more or less apt to give credit to where it is truly due or are we more likely to leave God out of the picture altogether and take the credit ourselves and just thank our “lucky stars”?
How about when things don’t go well? When adversity strikes, some may blame God, but many turn to Him for comfort and we do find comfort there.
So back to our question, what draws us to God? Is it prosperity…or is it adversity? We surely don’t enjoy adversity but during those times, the Lord touched [Paul] so profoundly and intimately that [he] realized how priceless it was to experience adversity. For truly adversity is a bridge to a deeper relationship with God.
Paul in his letter to the Romans writes,
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5 NLT
We shy away from adversity but know this, God does not glory in [our] pain or sorrow, but He uses these things to teach us about His love and faithfulness. When God allows us to face pain, disappointment, and trial…we are struck with a defining thought: I need God. We need His strength, wisdom, and forgiveness.
Romans 5:5 states that we know how dearly God loves us and we must remember in the midst of adversity God has not left us, there is a benefit to what He brings us to and that he will bring us through it, as well – God is never out of control.
Never forget…God knows the future! He understands the advantage of adversity and how it can be used to strengthen our faith, refine our hope, and settle our heart into a place of contentment and trust. Without times of adversity, we would miss the powerful experience of God walking with us through the valley times of life. (NASB Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible Notes)
So, 4) What Now? Paul tells us in verses 12-14,
I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be.
No, dear brothers [and sisters], I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. TLB
Here we have the greatest missionary ever known to the Church and with all he did, with all he experienced, will the many souls he has brought to the Lord, he assures us that he is by no means perfect. One would think, too, that with all that he accomplished that he would be able to sit back and rest on his laurels. But no…he is determined to “keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be.”
[Carl] didn’t talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in World War II. Watching him, we worried that although he had survived the war, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.
When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister’s residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare…he just signed up.
He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened. He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, “Would you like a drink from the hose?” The tallest and toughest looking of the three said, “Yeah, sure,” with a malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl’s arm, throwing him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl’s assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet and then fled.
Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him. Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn’t get there fast enough to stop it. “Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?” the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head.
“Just some punk kids. I hope they’ll wise up someday.” His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water. Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, “Carl, what are you doing?”
“I’ve got to finish my watering. It’s been very dry lately,” came the calm reply.
Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.
A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn’t rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water. When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.
Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering. The summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him.
He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches. As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack.
“Don’t worry old man, I’m not gonna hurt you this time.” The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.
“What’s this?” Carl asked. “It’s your stuff,” the man explained. “It’s your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet.” “I don’t understand,” Carl said. “Why would you help me now?”
The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed, and ill at ease. “I learned something from you,” he said. “I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. We picked you because you were old, and we knew we could do it. But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn’t hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate.” He stopped for a moment “I couldn’t sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back.” He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. “That bag’s my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess.” And with that, he walked off down the street.
Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.
He died one cold day after Christmas. Many people attended his funeral despite the weather. In particular, the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn’t know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.
The minister spoke of Carl’s garden as a lesson in life. In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, “Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden.”
The following spring another flyer went up. It read: “Person needed to care for Carl’s garden.” The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister’s office door. Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flier. “I believe this is my job, if you’ll have me,” the young man said.
The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl. He knew that Carl’s kindness had turned this man’s life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, “Yes, go take care of Carl’s garden and honor him.”
He went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done. In that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl’s memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.
One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn’t care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, “My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she’s bringing him home on Saturday.”
“Well, congratulations!” said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. “That’s wonderful! What’s the baby’s name?” “Carl,” he replied. (From a sermon by Jimmy Haile, Great Gift, 8/14/2011)
The question to ask yourself this morning is, “How is my investment going? In what am I investing? Is it only for the here and now…or am I investing for eternity?”
Let me remind you, Jesus took it upon Himself to pay the debt that each one of us owes. And we should never cease to be grateful for that sacrifice. Throughout all of our days, that should be the driving force behind everything we do.
Sept 27th, 2020, Sun, 9:00 am
