Sermon-7/25/04-Investing Your Life
Open your Bibles to Mt. 28
Hook: What will My Reward be?
One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.
About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family. “You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman. “You should be working rather than lying on the beach!”
The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And what will my reward be?”
“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer.
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling.
The businessman replied, “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!”
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again.
The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions. “You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said.
“And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.
The businessman was getting angry. “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”
Once again the fisherman asked, “And then what will my reward be?”
The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “And what do you think I’m doing right now?”
(Source Hot Illustrations Published by Youth Specialties)
A lot of us are probably looking for a way we can reach that goal. An investment strategy that will help us reach the point where we can be like that fisherman, with out a care in the world. Well this morning we’re going to look at an investment strategy that isn’t just for today, it is an investment strategy for eternity.
Pray.
We all want to make good investments w/ our $. Want the money we have to grow & earn more $. I know some of you put a lot of thought into that. This morning we’re going to talk about how we can invest the most valuable asset that we have been given, our lives.
Chuck S. “Your life is like a coin, you can spend it anyway you want, but you can only spend it once, How are you spending this coin called life?”
We all have that choice, how to spend our lives.
-wisely or foolishly
-invest in things that will last
-waste on things that are temporary
What are you living for–living for the moment or eternity?
When X left the earth He left the disc. With the challenge to invest their lives wisely, invest them in things that would last, invest them in something that would live on long after they were gone. Other people.
Read Matt. 28:19-20
When X left His disc. They didn’t have to say, “wait Jesus, before you go, what does that mean, how do we make disciples?” They knew. He’d spent the last 3.5 years making disciples, pouring His life into them, investing His life in them.
One verb 3 parts to fulfilling it.
The Verb-Make Disciples
How do we do that 3 ways
1. Go-could be translated “as you are going”, the first step in the disciplemaking process is to be reaching out to those who are around us as we go through life.
2. Baptizing-To be baptized was to identify w/ the cause of X His person and work. This shows us the next step in disciplemaking process is the priority of building believers as they establish deep roots of understanding, resulting in an identity with the person and work of Christ in every area of life.
3. Teaching-Here, the emphasis is on obedience to all that Christ commanded. Equipping others to live for & serve X
Their mission now was to go and do the same pour themselves into others, teach those around them what X had taught them.
Doesn’t stop at salvation, making disciples is teaching others to be disciplemakers.
Paul put it this way when he wrote to Timothy-II tim. 2:2
“teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others.”
Don’t just teach so others know the truth, don’t just be effective at communicating the truth, but find trustworthy people and teach them so they can pass the truth onto others. We’re not supposed to be about making converts we should be about making disciplemakers. Because that’s what a real disciple will be, a disciplemaker.
NIV-And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses ENTRUST to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
Entrust, making disciples we are entrusting others with the truth, giving it to them with the idea that they will pass it on to others.
How? It all starts at home, if you have children then your primary responsibility as a disciplemaker is discipling your children. Teach them what you have learned about being a follower of X. The church is here to help you in that process, but the primary responsibility for the spiritual growth of your child lies with you the parent.
Discipleship=spiritual mentoring
Gordon McDonald in his book the Art of Mentoring writes:
In the past mentoring happened everywhere, on the farm a boy or a girl was mentored alongside mothers, fathers and extended family members. From the earliest years these mentors taught them what work was all about and how it was done, what character meant, and what were the duties & obligations of each member of the community….A similar pattern was pursed in the old university where a student learned in the home of a scholar;….In the world of spiritual development, the mentoring pattern was universal. Eighteenth century New England pastor and wife Jonathan and Sally Edwards, usually had one or more disciples living in their home where there was ample time to observe the quality of marriage, personal spiritual dynamics, and the vigorous pursuit of pastoral activity.”
Those are the kind of relationships we all need. I firmly believe that for each of us to grow and be healthy spiritually they way that God intended we need 3 types of relationships that are along these lines, in our lives.
we all need a Timothy-someone in our lives that we are in the process of discipling.
We all need a Barnabas-a peer someone to keep us accountable and encourage us
We all need a Paul-an older more mature believer that can be in the process of discipling us, helping us to continue to grow.
The one I always have a hard time finding, someone to disciple me.
What does this disciplemaking relationship look like? Mark Edwards model, this is how I do it.
1- 20-40 min.-Romans 12:15-Rejoice w/ those who rejoice, weep w/ those who weep.
-talk about the heart. What are you excited about/ What are you crying about.
2-20-40-II Tim. 2:2-Teach to faithful men.
-We study something together. No prep, study the Word together.
-man of God, discipleship principles, life of X, etc.
3-20-40-Life mission-teach in an area that relates to what God is calling them to do in their life. I prep and teach a study in an area.
Bible Study, finances, etc.
There is no one right way, the main thing is finding a way to spend time with them.
I know what some of you are thinking– I can’t do this. No way.
-No time -Don’t know where to start
-Don’t know who to disc. -I’ve never been discipled.
No time-make time, this need to be a priority in your life, because it is your mission, comission, from X He commanded it. It’s not an option.
Don’t know who-Pray, ask God to show you, He will.
I’ve never been-Get into a disc. Relationship where you are being disc. You may have to take the intiative, but it is well worth the effort.
Don’t know how-It’s not as complicated as we make it. All we are talking about is intentionally pouring your life, what you have learned in your walk w/ X, into another believer.
Look again at how Paul described it to another young man he had discipled
Titus 2:4-8
Close w/ 2 lives, 2 examples of people who invested their lives in others: man/woman, heard of/haven’t, God/ human, the man is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the example of a disciplemaker, He invested His life in 12 men who went on to change the world, You are here today because of His investment in them.
The second is a teacher around whom this story revolves:
Your life is like a coin you can spend it anyway you want, but you can only spend it once. On what are you spending your life.
Pray
