Don't Waste Your...

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Everything is God's and we mustn't squander it.

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Deuteronomy 10:12–17 ESV
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
Deut. 10:
Deuteronomy 10:12–17 ESV
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
Deut
Prayer
Prayer
Luke 19:11–27 ESV
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’ ”
Introduction
Sometimes, you read a book or you hear a sermon that changes your entire outlook. It shifts the way you think about things. One of those books for me when I was just starting out in ministry was a small book by John Piper called Don’t Waste Your Life. The book is not super deep or especially well written, to be honest, but it helped to shape the way I think about certain things. This sermon is not a wholesale rip off of the book, but I am heavily indebted to it. If you’ve never read it, let me encourage you to do so. You can download the book for free on the internet if you are so inclined. We will circle back later to a couple points from Piper’s book, but for now let’s start with our Scripture passage.
Psalm 24:1–2 ESV
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
Scripture
1 Cor.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Our passage this morning is . If you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s Word. We do this to show appreciation to God for His Word and in recognition that these Words are among the most important we can possibly hear today. says,
1 Corinthians 10:31–33 ESV
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
Luke 19:11–27 ESV
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’ ”
“As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
Thank you, you may be seated.
Sermon
Since we are all geared up for VBS, I thought it might be helpful to think about why we do things like VBS and our Fall Festival and other outreach activities. I mean, VBS and Fall Festival and other outreach type of initiatives are lots of work. They cost a decent amount of money. And from a financial perspective, we will never get a good return on that investment. They cause wear and tear on our facilities. They interrupt the normal flow of our church life. Do you ever think that it might all just be a waste? I don’t. Let’s unpack our passage and maybe it will help us to see why.
In the parable, the master goes away to receive his kingdom. The master is going to be gone a while. The servants do not know how long. On top of that, the servants are serving - operating in a place where there are at least some citizens who are rebelling from the yoke of the nobleman. They don’t want to be ruled by him. This is not an easy time for the servants. They have no clue how long until their master returns and they are not entirely embraced by the country where they serve.
So to make this clear, who is who in this story? Jesus is the nobleman who has gone away to receive His kingdom. We, Christians, are the servants. We don’t know when Christ will return in His Kingly Glory, but we do know He will, and when he does, He will tread His enemies – those who rejected His rule – underfoot. So here we sit. Called to be faithful. Given minas and told to do business with it. Waiting. Longing. Hoping. In a place where our master is not entirely beloved.
In this parable, the master gives his servants money to “engage in business with.” Although there were 10 servants, we are told of how 3 of them did. Those three are representative of the 10. We don’t need to see what all 10 did to get the gist of the story. The first two servants did what was commanded of them. They engaged in business and actually made money for their master. They were faithful and obedient. But the third servant, the wicked servant was not. The wicked servant had a false view of his master. Nowhere in the parable are we led to believe that the master is actually a severe, unjust man who swindles people out of their land and money – that’s basically what the servant accuses the master of.
The master uses the wicked servant’s own logic against him. If I’m so severe, then why didn’t you at minimum put the money in the bank and let it accrue interest. Notice what the servant is condemned for. It is not actually for failing to make money. He is condemned for not doing what he was commanded to do. He was commanded to engage in business, and he failed to do that. The servant was not faithful with what had been given to him. He tried to protect his gift instead of utilizing it in kingdom work.
Good stewardship, then is not protecting what God has given us. It isn’t actually even in good returns on our investments or positive outcomes. Most English translations of this passage tend to make it sound like the nobleman was interested in gain of the money, but that really isn’t the emphasis. The emphasis is faithfulness to the task given – to engaging in business. Good stewardship is not protecting, or even necessarily gaining. Good stewardship is faithfully engaging in kingdom business.
During the introduction, I mentioned the book, “Don’t Waste Your Life”. I didn’t do that just to tell you about a great resource. I did it because one of the major themes of the book applies, I think, to stewardship. In the book, Piper tells two stories to illustrate his point on what is and what is not a wasted life. I’m going to quote a large section here because these two stories are so helpful. Piper writes,
In April 2000, Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon, West Africa. Ruby was over eighty. Single all her life, she poured it out for one great thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the unreached, the poor, and the sick. Laura was a widow, a medical doctor, pushing eighty years old, and serving at Ruby’s side in Cameroon. The brakes failed, the car went over a cliff, and they were both killed instantly. Piper asks: Was that a tragedy? Two lives, driven by one great passion, namely, to be spent in unheralded service to the perishing poor for the glory of Jesus Christ—even two decades after most of their American counterparts had retired to throw away their lives on trifles. No, that is not a tragedy. That is a glory. These lives were not wasted. And these lives were not lost. “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” ().
He goes on to tell a second story. He says:
I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider a story from the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.” At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: “Look, Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life.
Who were the good stewards, the missionaries or the retirees? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? The missionaries were about the business of the kingdom. I’m not suggesting that you have to sell all your possessions and become a missionary in the third world. What I am saying is that to be a faithful servant, you must be engaged in kingdom business. Continually, intentionally, and actively.
And to be clear, this is not just a money thing. That is certainly an application of this parable, but if that is all we see here, we miss the bigger picture. This applies to every aspect of our lives. How we utilize our finances. How we spend our time. says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” It applies to what we watch and read and listen to and think about. That’s what teaches when it says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
The faithful servant’s life is not wasted because they are continually engaged in kingdom business. Don’t waste your life.
Since we have established that good stewardship is faithfully engaging in kingdom business, that should affect the way we think about church and outreach and setting our budgets and using our facilities.
Let me paint a quick picture for you. Imagine Christ has returned. Death and sin are no more. All of Christ’s enemies are under His feet. People from every tongue and tribe and nation are worshipping Him. Are you with me? Does that scene fill you with joy? I hope it does. It should. Let me ask you this, where is this occurring? Face to face. In the presence of Christ. The glorious truth is that one day, this building will not matter one bit. That is a good thing. We should be excited about that because it shows us where the value of this building is.
Our church building only has value insofar as it is continually, intentionally, and actively engaged in kingdom business. The pulpit is only valuable if the Gospel is being proclaimed from it - otherwise it is just a pile of well-constructed wood. The pews are only valuable if the people of God who fill them are being equipped for the mission of God – to go out and be disciples and disciple makers in their communities. Our gym, Sunday school rooms, fellowship hall? They have no value outside of being utilized for the sake of the kingdom of God.
I know and am encouraged by the fact that you as a church body want to reach your community with the Gospel, so don’t hear what I’m saying as a rebuke in any way – unless you needed that rebuke… hear it as an encouragement and hearty reminder of where ultimate value lies.
I know churches who have huge sums of money sitting in savings accounts not being used in the name of being good stewards. They have beautiful facilities, you had better not dare to bring a drink in their sanctuary. Outsiders do not feel welcomed in those churches.
You see, sometimes in our desire to be good stewards we can accidentally start thinking like the wicked servant. We start thinking that we have to protect the king’s money and put it in a handkerchief. Protect the carpet. Protect the walls. That’s not how kingships work. Christ, our king can protect His interests just fine on His own. We are to be faithful in the work of the kingdom. This is why we do VBS and Fall Festivals and other outreach. That’s why our doors are opened to our community. High utility bills, stained carpet, pin holes in walls, those aren’t the signs of a wasted church. Those aren’t the signs of poor stewardship. A wasted church is a church with pristine facilities that are underused and unutilized.
Don’t mishear me. I’m not saying we shouldn’t take good care of our facilities. What I’m saying is that the reason we take good care of our facilities is so that we can continue to be faithful in utilizing them for the kingdom. Faithfulness is what we will be judged by. When we give an account of how we handled these facilities, will we offer up to Christ a pristine but underused building? Will we offer His seashells, or will we offer Him a community shaped by the Gospel? Don’t waste your church.
My final point, the point that undergirds this whole thing is this. It isn’t yours anyway. It all belongs to Christ. I’m afraid I don’t have as much time to dive into all this like I would like, but let’s look at a few verses quickly and see how they apply. says,
Psalm 24:1–2 ESV
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
This building, this whole world. Everything in it belongs to Christ. We are merely stewards. We see that in the parable “your mina made 10 more, your mina made 5 more.” We do not own it, therefore, only Christ has a say in how we utilize it. And by it, I mean everything. Our natural resources, our lives, our church building.
says,
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Christians are doubly owned by God. We are His by creation – He owns us for that reason, and we are His by redemption. Because Christ has purchased us with His blood. This is the foundation to the Christian ethic. We aren’t ours! This is why we believe what we do about sexual immorality – It is not our bodies to do with what we want. This is why gluttony is sin – not our bodies to do with what we want. We are not supposed to be a people who seeks personal pleasure over against the God’s commands. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We are supposed to find our joy and our fulfillment and our pleasure in glorifying God. Anything else is sin. Anything else is a waste. Wasted time. Wasted life. Wasted church.
Conclusion
Let’s be honest, every believer here has wasted some aspect of their lives. We have all been gluttonous, sexually immoral, poor stewards of our time and energies. We have all at some point lived for our own glory instead of the glory of God. Here is the beauty. If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation. In Christ, there is forgiveness and restoration. If we will confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I’m talking to Christians – to believers. We fail. We fail a lot, but in Christ there is forgiveness. And if we truly realize at what great cost we have been purchased, If we really understand what forgiveness costs in the death of Christ, that will spur us towards holiness. Towards being faithful servants. Towards living a life that is not wasted. Let us repent where we fail as individuals and as a church, and let us press on towards holiness. Let us not waste a single thing.
If you are not a believer, God still owns you. You are still accountable to the King’s commands. You stand as one of those in the parable who rejected the King’s claim. That did not work out well for them. Treason is a serious crime. Every single sin you or I commit is cosmic treason against the Most High and must be punished. Turn from your treason and throw yourself at the mercy of Christ who bore the punishment for His people. If you do not, you will be brought before the king and slaughtered. The punishment for your treason is laid on your back or on Christ’s. Repent and believe.
We are about to transition into a time of worship through response. We believe that any time we hear the Word of God, we respond in one of two ways – worship or rebellion. Worship may include public repentance or quite reflection or joyous praise or all three or something else. But I hope you will not respond with a hard heart – that’s rebellion. Respond to Christ in worship, because you have been bought with a price – a great price.
Let’s pray.
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