Investing in God’s Mutual Fund

Introduction (5m)

God wants us to be generous disciples by using our money to fulfil the purposes he has for us

1 Timothy 6:18–19 LBP

Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven—it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well.

Last week, we were encouraged to invest in God’s treasury fund

Jesus says we should use our money to store up real treasure for ourselves in heaven.

And so, last week we discovered that we should invest in God's Treasury Fund because it makes him happy, because we are using our money to tell him that we love him and place him first in our lives.

It also proves to us where our heart is.

What you spend your time and your money on proves where your heart really is.

If we want our heart to be with God then we need to put our treasure with him too.

We were also reminded it is important to give to this Corps, because it is our spiritual family.

The Bible encourages us to give the first part of our money to God and to our spiritual family in a planned and proportionate way.

Investing in God’s Mutual Fund

God also wants us to learn to love other people in God’s family.

And to this end, our Bible passage this morning encourages us to invest in God’s mutual fund:

Bible Reading

MESSAGE NOTES

Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9–21 NLT

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Explanation (5m)

The context: the impact of salvation on how we live life

In the first eleven chapters of his letter to the Romans, Paul has explained in marvellous detail what it means to be saved and how people become saved – by being justified by God's grace working through faith.

His argument is that this monumental miracle of salvation impacts every relationship the believer has.

And from chapter 12 onwards, Paul’s letter pivots from explaining what salvation is, to how it should impact our lives as believers.

He unveils these implications of salvation and how they impact on our relationships.

In the verses we read this morning, Paul's concern is for having right relationships in the church.

Using our money to encourage fellowship

Romans 12:13 NLT

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

God wants us to use some of our money to encourage fellowship.

We should use our money to show love to other believers.

We should use some of our money to build relationships and to demonstrate love.

Application (5m)

So how can we use our money and possessions to help those in need and practice hospitality?

Be practical

We can deepen the relationships we have with each other by sharing.

The word Paul uses for help in verse 13 is a word we use frequently: koinōnia.

This literally means to have fellowship by sharing.

And in many passages in the New Testament, it refers to sharing financially in the needs of others.

The early church was marked out as being one in heart and mind and sharing everything they had.

The early church simply considered this a natural outgrowth of true community.

When Paul was writing his letter to the Romans, he possibly had in mind the collection for the poor he was soon to take to Jerusalem, but it is also clear that his command goes beyond that to become a general attitude all believers should have towards one another.

How this fellowship of sharing is sorely needed today.

There are many people who are lonely and simply need someone who cares.

In our individualistic society, we appear to be unwilling to share financially in the needs of others and still less to share our homes.

But last week, we discovered that giving our money to God in worship draws us closer to God.

The same is true in human terms.

Any time I give my money to you or share my possessions with you, it draws me closer to you.

When you give your money to this Corps, you help and invest in the Corps and we grow closer to each other.

For example, if you go out and buy or make a nice card and write a note of encouragement in it and you give it to somebody, you invest in God's Mutual Fund.

You invest in that Mutual Fund any time you prepare a meal or buy a meal and take it over to someone who is sick.

Any time you open up your home to one or more of us and you provide some refreshments that cost you, then you invest in the Mutual Fund.

Any time you sit with someone, so that someone else can come to church or go to a conference or a retreat or something like that, you are investing in the Mutual Fund.

When you take someone here out to lunch to talk to them and to encourage them when they are discouraged, and you pay for that lunch, you've invested in the Mutual Fund.

Friends, do not ever underestimate the benefits of koinōnia, of sharing in fellowship with one another.

Our relationships are enhanced.

Love is spread between us.

Souls are encouraged.

Bank your money in Heaven

You can give to God and God says that storing up treasure in heaven.

But you can also give to other people.

God says that an act of love and it's like banking it in heaven.

God says that counts too.

In our verses this morning, Paul begins with an all-important statement about the quality of the love that should be expected in the Church:

Romans 12:9 NLT

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

The word Paul users here for "love" is agape.

So far in his letter to the Romans, Paul has only used this word for divine love, except in one place where it is used for man's love for God.

But here, Paul expands the definition of agape to indicate the kind of love Christians are to show to each other.

We are to show each other a Godlike love that loves regardless of the circumstances.

A love that chooses to continue to love even when we have been hurt or rebuffed.

Paul challenges us again this morning to live out the highest love and do it with the highest in sincerity. Our love must be genuine.

The Greek word for "really love them” is anypokritos, literally “not hypocritical”.

The underlying word was often used to describe an actor who "played a part" on the stage.

Paul commands us to avoid playacting and put into practice the commands that follow in the passage we read.

His command to love sincerely is simple, but it is not easy to put into practice.

Our culture encourages to live an image.

We are tempted to take up masks.

We are tempted to pretend to have a love we do not possess.

I wonder do you pretend to be civil to someone in this Corps, appearing to be utterly sincere but actually covering over hostility?

Does your smiling face as you speak with them match what you are thinking about them inside?

Each of us must examine our own hearts this morning and ask the question, "Do I love others, especially those here, without hypocrisy"?

If you are uncertain, then you must go to God in prayer.

The Holy Spirit is the only one who can pour love into and through your heart.

And once the Holy Spirit’s love is poured into our hearts once again, we must cooperate with him in developing a consistent mindset of love towards others and to work actively at putting love into effect in the various relationships we find ourselves involved in.

One of the most important ways we can do that is by investing part of our money in those relationships, investing in God’s Mutual Fund.

Prove your faith.

John 13:35 NLT

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Paul expands upon this:

2 Corinthians 9:12–13 NLT

So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.

You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. (Rick Warren)

If you love God and you love your fellow believers, then you will give.

That giving then becomes a witness to other people outside of the Corps:

3 John 5 MSG

Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible.

That should be what we want our community to know us for.

We want people to say The Salvation Army in Maidenhead is the place where they love each other, where they are generous with each other and where they take care of each other.

Why is that so important?

Because that's what God is like.

It shows what God is like to other people.

It's a witness to them.

Being a Christian isn't about coming here on Sunday, going to Growth Group, singing or playing an instrument, wearing a uniform, or even praying and reading your Bible at home.

What marks you out as Christian is to be patient, joyful, faithful, not proud, peaceful, prayerful, living in harmony with one another and sharing with one another.

Investing in God’s mutual fund helps to build unity

There is something powerful when we are united.

You may not be able to win the world for Jesus by yourself.

I may not be able to affect the global expansion of God's kingdom on my own.

But together we can do something serious.

If you want to build this unity, then you need to be generous to each other on a weekly basis.

That's what builds unity.

Investing in God’s Mutual Fund.

Now, of course you can do this in a number of ways.

You can share meals.

You can engage in prayer.

But the early church’s emphasis still holds true today.

They especially emphasised the sharing of one's material goods with others:

Acts 2:44–45 NLT

And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

Love is an action.

It is not an emotion.

It is an attitude.

It is a mindset.

We are commanded to love.

Therefore it is a choice we make, a matter of the will.

If you practice biblical love with those around you, then one of the ways you will act is to invest in God's Mutual Fund.

So my prayer for each one of us in the coming days, is that we will use some of our money to show love to the people around us:

Romans 12:9–13 GW

Love sincerely. Hate evil. Hold on to what is good. Be devoted to each other like a loving family. Excel in showing respect for each other. Don’t be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. Share what you have with God’s people who are in need. Be hospitable. 

Next Steps

SB 610 (and additional verses) - My life must be Christ’s broken bread

1.

My life must be Christ’s broken bread,

My love his outpoured wine,

A cup o’erfilled, a table spread

Beneath his name and sign.

That other souls, refreshed and fed,

May share his life through mine.

2.

My all is in the Master’s hands

For him to bless and break;

Beyond the brook his winepress stands

And thence my way I take,

Resolved the whole of love’s demands

To give, for his dear sake.

3.

Lord, let me share that grace of thine

Wherewith thou didst sustain

The burden of the fruitful vine,

The gift of buried grain.

Who dies with thee, O Word divine,

Shall rise and live again.

4.

Lord, I would wash my brother’s feet,

And meet my sister’s need.

Obedient to your command

To share your love in deed.

My life abandoned to your will;

A living, breathing creed.

5.

O, let me be a sacrament,

From self and sin set free,

A holy mystery of grace,

The life of Christ in me!

Complete surrender! I am yours!

Lord, I would faithful be.

Albert Orsborn (1886-1967) (vv.1-3) & Matt Spencer (vv.4-5)