Investing In God's Kingdom

Welcome

Good Morning! I’d like to welcome you all to the gathering of Ephesus Baptist Church!

Are you happy to be here this morning? Look at your neighbor and tell them you are happy to be hear and eager to worship the Lord!

Why have we gathered here this Sunday morning (Pause)....That’s right! The same reason we have gathered on Sunday’s since 1880!

We gather to worship and exalt the name of Jesus Christ, our risen King. Today, provides us another opportunity to fall more in love with Jesus Christ as we seek to follow Him as His disciples.

If you are visiting with us this morning, we want you to who we are here at Ephesus...

We are all one family of faith: “giving our all to love God, love people, proclaim Jesus, and make disciples in our generation.”

That is our mission, our purpose, why we exist as a church.

We have a connect card in the pew in front of you. I invite you to take one and fill it out! If you have prayer needs, you can let us know about those as well.

I promise, our prayer team will lift you up your request confidentially. You can place those cards in the offering plate when it comes around.

Scripture Memory

Colossians 1:17–18 ESV

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Opening Scripture Reading

Psalm 34:1–8 ESV

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Prayer of Invocation and Confession

Introduction

Today, we are picking up on our next letter in the Acronym THRIVE, which we are using to guide us through principles that will help you learn to thrive in your house and in God’s house!

T - Trusting God in All Things!

H - Heighten the Habits of Holiness in Our Lives!

R - Relationships Matter!

Today, we are discussing the I which stands for

I - Investing In God’s Kingdom!

Benjamin Franklin had a famous saying that is quoted very often today. It was originally written in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, in 1789. The quote states.

“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Jamie Dunlop in his book, “Budgeting for a Healthy Church,” rightly commented on this quote by saying,

“Had Franklin been a Christian, he might have added a third: the local church. After all, no other institution on earth has Jesus’ promise of permanence: ‘I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matt 16:18).” ~ Jamie Dunlop (p. 107)

Jesus obviously didn’t say that any particular church is invincible. But the local church as an institution will prevail, until time comes to an end.

Dunlop continues by saying,

“It’s like God whispering in your ear in 1890, “invest in the automobile” or in 1990, “Invest in the internet,” “of all the trends out there this one will last!” If you want to invest in what will last, invest in the local church.” ~ Jamie Dunlop (p. 107)

God’s plan is for the bride of Christ, the Church, to support the advancement of the Gospel and the expansion of God’s Kingdom.

God’s Kingdom is the only thing that truly matters. What represents God’s Kingdom in the world today? The Local Church!

Ephesus, WE REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO EVERYONE WE PASS EACH DAY!

How are we representing God’s Kingdom? How are local churches in America representing God’s Kingdom today? Are we investing in the one thing that truly matters and does the world notice our investment?

Today, I want to begin sharing with you the first of three ways that we can invest in God’s Kingdom.

Before we look at those three ways, we need to understand one important Biblical Principle!

Everything on Earth Belongs to God!

Every moment that we exist belongs to God! Everything that we know how to do came from God! And, everything that we own belongs to God!

Psalm 24:1 ESV

1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

Psalm 47:7 ESV

7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!

Everything belongs to the King of all the earth! God owns creation, man does not!

In His wisdom, God has called us to serve alongside him as His Vice-regents, created in His image, to exercise a dominion of stewardship over all of His creation.

Stewardship is an old word! It comes from the Greek word oikonomia, which is made up of two parts:

oikos, the word for “house” or “household,” and nomos, the word for “law.” So, oikos and nomos together literally mean “house law.”

Oikonomia is transliterated into English as “economy.” The English word that translates—rather than transliterates—the word oikonomia is the English word stewardship.

A steward in the ancient world was a person who was given the responsibility and authority to rule over the affairs of the household. Doesn’t that sound like a manager today?

Fundamentally, stewardship is about exercising our God-given dominion over His creation, reflecting the image of our creator God in His care, responsibility, maintenance, protection, and beautification of His creation.

Stewardship in the New Testament describes and defines what it means to be a servant of Jesus Christ as we seek to invest in God’s Kingdom out of the overflow of His Grace.

The way we practice stewardship today is seen in how we seek to make regular, methodical, and proportionate investments in God’s Kingdom!

Henry Blackaby has said,

The onus is on us to invest our resources in what matters to the Master. ~ Henry Blackaby

What matters to the Master is His Kingdom’s welfare!

So, how do we invest in God’s Kingdom? There are three primary ways…

First.....

1. We Invest in God’s Kingdom by Investing Our Time!

Our time is one of our most valuable possessions. We all have 24 hours a day. We can’t create more time in a day, but we can decide how we’re going to spend our alloted 24 hours each day.

We can spend it on frivolous things that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. We can spend it on doing good things. Or we can spend it doing what honors God the most!

If we learn how to make the best use of our time, we will be one step closer to experiencing the joy and contentment of the abundant life Christ offers us in John 10:10.

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he instructed the church of Colossae concerning how to make the best use of the time that God had given them. As Christ-followers, we can make the best use of the time that God had given us.

Turn to Colossians 4:2-6! Here we are going to see....

Three Ways We Can Learn to Make a Better Investment Of The Time God Has Granted Us!

a. We Can Invest Our Time By Praying For Gospel Opportunities. (Col. 4:2-4)

Colossians 4:2–4 ESV

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

John Piper describes prayer like this!

“Prayer is not designed as an intercom between us and God to serve the domestic comforts of the saints. It’s designed as a walkie-talkie for spiritual battlefields. It’s the link between active soldiers and their command headquarters, with its unlimited firepower and air cover and strategic wisdom.”1 ~ John Piper,

Here is what is going on in this passage: Paul and Timothy (Col. 1:1) and Aristarchus (Col. 4:10) and Epaphras (Col. 4:12) are a unique team of front-line soldiers in the spiritual battle to recapture the hearts of men for God.

They have made a push forward at the enemy lines and were met with tremendous resistance. Paul and Aristarchus are prisoners of war. And it looks as though the enemy has achieved a strategic victory.

But somehow Paul manages to get a letter out of the prison to some fellow soldiers stationed away from the front-line, the church at Colossae.

He requests them to get on their spiritual walkie-talkie and radio headquarters to fire a Tomahawk Missile into the enemies front-line that will blast open a door in the prison wall so that Paul and his troops can continue to fight the good fight of freeing people from the power of Sin and Satan as they carry the Gospel of Christ with them.

So you see, the soldiers to the rear, the Church of Colossae, with the walkie-talkie of prayer are crucial in the front-line successes of evangelism and discipleship.

Paul tells the church of Colossae specific ways to invest their time in prayer.

Invest time in prayer tirelessly!

“Continue steadfastly in prayer,”

Don’t stop praying. Pray with a steadfast persistence! Pray until you get an answer. Regularly, Methodically, Persistently!

If you want to be able to be a good soldier in these days, keep your communication to God open all day long. Ask Him, again and again to accomplish great things for you and your church as He guides you through the mine fields of life. Ask Him to make you alert to every opportunity to witness of His gracious Gospel victory!

Invest time in prayer watchfully!

“being watchful in it”

Be on guard. The enemy is a roaring lion, seeking those he may devour. Satan wants to prevent you from transmitting and receiving communication with God. He is going to try to jam your life with nonessential things as he seeks to destroy your transmitter altogether.

Vigilance must mark our spiritual lives every single day! We are in a war for the souls of our family and friends, as well as those whom we have never met before!

Invest time in prayer thankfully.

“with thanksgiving.”

When Paul says that our praying is to be done with thanksgiving, he means that we should keep our eyes on the victory of God. God’s command headquarters in heaven is in control, progress is being made on all the strategic fronts, the battle is the Lord’s. He has already won the victory. He is leading His church in triumph as we listen to His commands and respond with obedience.

Paul now gives us three things to pray for specifically concerning Gospel Opportunities in verses 3-4.

Colossians 4:3–4 ESV

3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Invest time praying for the troops on the front-line.

Ephesians 4:11 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

Pray for those who are daily engaging in the battle for the souls of men and women. Pray for those who are leading the battle march, obediently following the commands of Heaven’s King!

Invest time praying for an open door for Gospel opportunities.

Pray for wide open doors for effective proclamation of the Gospel. We should constantly, persistently, be lifting up requests for our fellow soldiers around Spring Hope, but also for those among the unreached peoples of the world.

Why aren’t we praying for God to blow the door off the hinges in Spring Hope and around the world so that the Gospel may enter freely and be recieved by many!

Invest time praying for the Mystery of Christ to be proclaimed clearly!

Put together the two words, “clear” and “mystery.”

The goal of our evangelism should be to make the mystery clear.

The gospel is not a mystery because it is confusing. It’s a mystery because no one would ever know it or think of it unless God had made it clear, easy enough for a child to understand.

That the Son of God should be born a man through a virgin.

That He would live a life of love, poverty, and ultimate righteousness.

That He would be willing to leave His throne at the Right Hand of God to die in the place of sinners, bearing the curse of the law and the wrath of God even though He Himself was sinless.

That He would rise from the dead and return to His throne and reign this morning.

That ungodly sinners could be justified by faith.

That Gentile and Jew, black and white, red and yellow should be reconciled into one body, with one Head, becoming the bride of the King of kings.

That we would be sealed by the Holy Spirit as Christ dwells in our hearts for His glory!

These are the things that are the mystery hidden from the ages in God, but now are revealed and made clear to the world.

That is the heart of evangelism.

That is why we should be a people who invest our time wisely in prayer, praying that this would mystery of Christ would be made clear over and over again beginning in Spring Hope and spreading all over the world! Our time is short, Invest wisely!

b. We Can Invest Our Time By Walking In Wisdom Before Unbelievers. (Col. 4:5)

Colossians 4:5 ESV

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

So far we have been dealing with mainly an indirect use of our time in prayer. Now we turn in verses 5 and 6 to a more hands on, direct use of our time.

God calls us to walk in wisdom or to conduct ourselves wisely toward outsiders.

Paul has in view accomplishing as much spiritual good as we can in these relationships. That’s what he means in verse 5 when he says to “making the best use of the time.” Literally it translates, “Buy up the opportunity.”

In other words life is a series of never to be repeated opportunities for buying up spiritual opportunities. This is an amazing way to approach life!

Whether we are on course or taking a detour, every hour of your life brings a situation that can be bought up for eternity or missed for eternity.

Jesus said, in Matt. 6:20

Matthew 6:20 ESV

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Are we laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven? The Christian Life is like a big spiritual mutual fund. When we invest our time from a heart of wise gratitude, we will hear the words enter into the joy of your master in heaven.

In Matthew 25, we see Jesus compare the Kingdom of God to a man going on a long journey who called his servants and entrusted them with money to buy up opportunities for eternity. Two did, one did not!

Faithfulness was what God was looking for in this example of the Kingdom of God. Are we going to be faithful in investing our time to buy up opportunities to make an eternal impact in someone’s life.

We have a ton of opportunity here at Ephesus, but do we realize all the opportunity we have? Are we wise at making the best use of our time towards unbelievers?

Wisdom is knowing what to do to bring God glory when the opportunities present themselves. It’s knowing how to become all things to all men without compromising holiness and truth. It is creativity and tact and thoughtfulness.

It’s having a feel for the moment, and having an eye for what people need and want. In order to buy up opportunities for God, we have to be wise in our behavior.

There are four sources of wisdom.

1. Study and Meditation on the Scriptures:

Psalm 19:7 ESV

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

2. We can Pray for Wisdom:

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

3. Surrounding ourselves with strong counselors (the book of Proverbs!).

4. Gaining real life experience as we practice the principles of God in our daily lives.

Hebrews 5:14 ESV

14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

So we can invest our time praying for Gospel Opportunities and by walking in wisdom before unbelievers.

Third...

c. We Can Invest Our Time By Speaking Graciously To Everyone. (Col. 4:6)

Colossians 4:6 ESV

6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

I may make some of you mad with this, but my least favorite place to eat out is the K & W. Every time I eat there, the food is so generic, so bland, very little, if any salt and pepper. It is just bland! They do so on purpose, but I just don’t like it! That is my opinion.

Food is meant to be appetizing, and for me the food at the K & W holds no power over my taste receptors.

I think that is what Paul is saying about personal evangelism here. I take this to mean that what we say about Christ and about the Christian life should be made as appetizing as possible.

When food is not salted, its taste is bland. People don’t want to eat it. It’s unappetizing. Our speech is not supposed to be like that.

How can you develop the ability to speak about Christ so that there is an appetizing flavor to it? How do you learn to talk about Christ in a way that makes people’s mouth water?

The answer is actually really simple. We simply need to spend time every day reminding ourselves from Scripture why the gospel tastes good to us.

Some of us who have been Christians for a long time begin to neglect the crucial business of enjoying Christ. Then an opportunity comes along to commend Him to someone and we realize that all the reasons He is wonderful have been neglected and the keenness of our own taste buds has grown very dull.

It’s hard to salt your speech with the deliciousness of Jesus when you haven’t been enjoying the taste yourself.

Psalm 34:8 ESV

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

The point is simple: each person is different and each situation is different. The gospel is the same, and Christ is the same, but there are countless ways to serve the meal. We need wisdom to know how to serve the meal and wisdom to know how to season it.

CONCLUSION

We need to invest our time by praying for Gospel opportunities as we seek to support the front line soldiers with a tireless and watchful attitude backed up by a confident gratitude.

We need to invest our time by walking wisely before unbelievers as we seek to buy up every opportunity for eternity with wise conduct and graciously seasoned speech directed at individual people that we see the door opened toward.

And beneath it all let’s set our eyes on Christ and His Word, until we taste how appetizing and satisfying He is for our own souls.

John 6:35 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

How are you investing the time God has graciously given to you?

Are you investing it in God’s Kingdom?

If not, make that right with Him today!

Invitation:

Bibliography:

1. Sermon: Walk in Wisdom Toward Those Outside delivered on May 29, 1988, John Piper, Sermons from John Piper (1980–1989) (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2007).