FinTalk that works!

GME 325.00 USD +131.40 (67.87%)

The world is all talking about what is happening with the Gamestop stock

IN November, trading at $5

People thought the company was devalued

Then it became a way to battle big Hedge Fund companies

Now it is a get rich or a fear that everyone is going to lose it all

Some people put all there money, all their $600 check would give them in it

Eventually it is going away, the company is way overvalued. It is cheaper by almost $70 to buy a share of Facebook than gamestop. It is almost $200 cheaper to buy a share of Walmart

This money is going to disappear. It is a matter of when.

Many will be realizing that they lost everything, if they don’t get out before the other person does.

Honestly though everything breaks down. Everything disappears.

Many wrote at the beginning about how hard they worked to stay fit be healthy only to realize that touching there nose, eyes or mouth could cause them to catch this virus and kill them.

What if we could invest in something that won’t fail, collapse, break or de-value?

Investing in things that are eternal.

Some say invest in your family.

- But family can turn your back on you.

- And this tragic year reminds us that family can die and not be able to be there for us. The LORD never said, the Bible nevers says, nothing about our Christian faith says that our ancestors, are family, has any impact into our daily life other than what they taught us.

I want us to take financial advice from a homeless, near penniless with no insurance, and actually death row killed man, Jesus of Nazareth, God himself, the one who created it all.

Jesus said about himself,

Matthew 8:19–20 CSB

19 A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

A scribe was a person who copied the texts of the Bible. There were no copiers, this guy was it. He was important religiously. He had made it in this society. He had a good job but wanted to follow Jesus. Yet to follow Jesus he would have to realize that all the stuff that is breaking down does not matter to God. It would have to be left behind.

God is not against home ownership, money but here is a guy that gets to spend every minute with God in the flesh, who really has to wonder if it is worth it because he would lose a home that most of you would refuse to live in. Four mud walls, some wood, no electricity, perhaps a tile for stone floor. Jesus went where God directed him to go and stayed at the places of people generous enough to host him or he stayed in a boat or in a field.

I bring this up because many of us are focused on how independent we are or not as a sign of God’s blessing in our lives yet Jesus himself never desired any of this. We cry out to God because we worry about being dependent on others but God always positioned himself in a place of dependence on God. In fact every person in the world is dependent on all others, powerful men lost lots of money because of others this week. A man who was president lost the election because of others.

Is it possible that instead of responsibility, something Jesus certainly was, we have replaced with a goal of independence so that we might possibly be responsible to no one?

His main possession was his robe which was gambled over at his crucifixion. He did not give directions of who to give his wealth to, He only asked for one of His disciples to care for his mother.

Yet, in the end, this is the God/Man who saved you from your sins. He is the one who is preparing a place for you for eternity.

John 14:2–3 CSB

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.

This is the end that we all look forward to you when Christ returns and we can enter into a new heaven and a new earth.

Real Estate people talk about a forever home. But no home they could sell you is a forever home. Jesus himself was investing and is now creating our actual forever homes.

Why do I bring this up in the way that I am?

Too many men and women who follow Jesus are beating themselves up over things God doesn’t value: independence, property, marketability or amount of leisure time.

You are calling yourself less than and God says, I don’t care!

Jesus said,

Matthew 16:24–27 CSB

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done.

Have you ever worked really hard for someone or something and at the end it didn’t matter? They went a different way, you bought it and it broke or didn’t do what it was supposed to do, whatever it failed and was all a waste. You look back at what you gave up and wonder was it worth it?

When Jesus comes with His angels in glory, I want, and I want you to look back and say yes what I was doing with my time, my money, my talent, my skills, my abilities, who I am, I was giving it all to Jesus and I just couldn’t out give God.

That’s right you have a lot. Maybe its in your bank account. Your home. your car, your yu-gi-oh cards. Maybe its in your education, your connections, your friends and family relationships, your ability to understand, speak, think. Maybe its in the amount of time you have on your hands or your ability to pay those who do have time. You have a lot that God has given you. The great news is God gave you this to invest in eternal treasure.

Jesus gave us a description of judgement day. And on that day one of the ways we will know who the real follower of Jesus are is not by what they know or how much scripture they have memorized but on what they did

Matthew 25:31–36 CSB

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 “ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’

God is coming back.

I want to point out that wealth is not a problem because in order to give something you have to have something to give. Give food, you have to have food. to take a stranger in you have to have a home to take the stranger into, etc.

Some of you have this money and some of you do not. Yet if you do not have money you do have something else. it is wrong for a person who will have to beg at the end of the month to give away what they have now so they can feel good about themselves. Instead lets think about what we do have to give, perhaps it is time. perhaps it is the ability to earnestly pray for someone, to enter to relationship with them, to be willing to go alongside them to the 1400 government appointments they need to go to change their life situation.

Think about the time it takes to visit someone in prison. I can tell you it is a hassle. What kind of titme does it take to deal with people who have no clothes. Would you give what you have to Jesus?

Remember this is an illustration, it isn’t the whole list. There are many ways we can be there but in all of these Jesus said they were helping him. Will you give what you have to Jesus? will you invest in eternity?

Matthew 25:37–40 CSB

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

I ask you, if the measure of your manhood, your femininity, your wisdom, your value, your intelligence, your net-worth were based in what is eternal, wouldn’t that mean?

What you do with Your love for God and Others = Your Eternal Value

Jesus said it as much

Matthew 6:21 CSB

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What is your treasure:

your family

your stuff

your time

your health

your intelligence

your relationships

your money

your talent

your sobriety. That is right those of you in recovery have an amazing gift. A gift that can be shared with others. Will you invest in eternity and share your sobriety with those who don’t have as many days as you.

Your history. It isn’t just those in addiction recovery, it might be those recovering from grief, from the efffects of their own sin, from the effects of being sinned against. Each of you has a story which God can use to his glory through you. Will you give it to Jesus to use?

your abilities

All of these are assests. All of these are treasurers.

That is where your heart is, so use that treasure to build eternal treasure

Use what you treasure to show Love for God and Love for Others

I was about to give you a list of how you can give these things to God but I don’t want to do that, I think I would be short changing God. Yes I would start by saying are you giving 10% of your monies to the Lord. If you give nothing and can figure out how you would give ten percent, start with 5% or even 1%. What do I mean. If you make $200 a week, drop the last number and that gives you 10%.

10% of $200 is $20

1% of $200 is $2

So the person who makes $2 million give $200,000 and the person who makes 0 gives 0. But money is only one treasure we have to give God. I listed many treasures

What about 10% of your time? If in a week you are up and not working about 48 hours a week. Then 10% of that time is 5 hours.

You have many treasurers. You can give 10% or you can do like the man who put his entire life savings into GME stop. He got back $3 million. What will God give you back if you invest your intelligence, sobriety, abilities, relationships, home, and money into eternal rewards?

Lord give everyone out there the ideas of what treasures they have and what they can do with them

I met with some men this week and we challenged each other in the Lord and I wrote those challenges down in my phone so I would not forget them and more importantly I could follow through with them. If your not a person who follows through with things repent because that is lying, that is not letting me people trust what comes out of your mouth. Do what you can to fix it. So as the Lord is laying on you some ideas of how you could use your treasure to love God and others, write down what God is saying to you right now

Then do it.

Seriously. Your eternal worth will sky rocket!

Jesus said,

Matthew 6:19–21 CSB

19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Let’s put our net worth, our heart, our value in eternity.