Wealth and Estate Planning that Lasts

Much to their delight. Some respects going on just today. We’re going to talk about that under the banner of housekeeping. But first of all, do I see Steve back? I do.

Brother Steve, make your way up here, my friend. Why do you always say, oh, like I’m going to scalp him or something? I guess it’s Steve that said, oh. One of ours hit triple digits recently and turned for home. And I want Steve to tell you about his last meeting with Alberta.

I went to see Alberta and she I found her in the they have rooms in her memory care unit at her place. And then there’s a I call it the bullpen. And I’m sure they don’t. But anyway, it’s where all the guests, all the residents actually live in found her about a foot from the Christmas tree in that space. And she was leaning forward in her chair.

And, you know, not not no one with her. So I knelt down next to her and I, I could see that she was leaning so far forward. I had to get sort of like this and looking up at her. And it was a wonderful moment. Where she sort of held a surge of energy.

She sat up a little bit and we started talking. I said, Hey, you want to go down the hall to your room? And so we did and went into her room and sat next to her and the conversation we had in probably 45 minutes of time involved. Speaking to Alberta, if you know Alberta, you know that she’s profoundly deaf and and it requires, to be heard something approaching a, a screaming, between people in her room. So I knew that and I began to talk.

I would do it now, but you would all just go stop. But it was an inch from her ear and I was Alberta. It’s Pastor Steve. And, you know, and she’s kind of like, like, it’s and we started talking a little bit and we ended up, singing. I have decided to follow Jesus.

We’re going to sing that at her memorial. I’m almost sure we were planning that tomorrow, but and then, prayed with her and the wonderful thing. And I have to tell you this, if you’ll promise to enjoy it again at her celebration of life service, but the whole time she was slumped over a little bit, my hand was holding on both of her hands. And the entire time I was there, she was kissing my hands, which somewhat makes me, a pope today. But that’s the story.

And Alberta is gloriously home to, I think, two or three days later, the, the, others were with her and, that day, as well. And so it was just a really bread and Amy, got a chance, a few hours earlier, earlier with her. And then, I came that night, but she’s turned for home and I made her promise at the end. Please, please reach out to my mom, reach out to my dad, to my brother and, and others. I mentioned Debbie’s family and a few others, tell them that I’m not incarcerated yet.

That kind of stuff. So anyway, it was good. For Alberta, I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back. No turning back. She’s with the Lord. Wonderful. As is our custom with the times that I have with you, inevitably the three messages that I have in the series we’re calling face to face leaves dangling participles, what we call housekeeping.

And a number of you have picked up that more than one occasion. I’ve said we need to pray for Israel. And the answer is because God chose to reveal himself and to move and make his name great through Israel. And because of that in 1948, when they came back as a nation, it was a time of celebration because Israel must exist. Jesus to come back.

Read the book of Revelation. So as you pray for that nation, which has its mix of unbelievers and believers like every nation, pray that God will sustain that nation for his namesake. I, I love that passage in Isaiah chapter nine and verse six where Isaiah says, for us to us is born. A child is born to us. The sun is given.

Boom. And that happened in the first century. And that’s the visitation that prophecy goes on to say, and the government will be on his shoulders and he’ll be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace of the increase of his government and peace. There will be no end and he will reign on David’s throne. That’s coming.

And for it to come, Israel has to exist. So pray for Israel, pray not only for the redemption of the individuals as in any country around, but also pray for their sustaining existence as well. The second housekeeping thing has to do with questions I got after the book of Job and after teaching on Peter in John 21 with basically John, how does God reprimand us? It is a dramatic scene in Job 38 and Job 40. I’m getting more excited about spending a few weeks actually teaching through Job after we get through these parables which we’re on right now.

How does God, you know, to, to Job God said, where will you want to lay the foundation of the earth? Brace yourself like a man. And then chapter 40, after Job squeaks out, I’m listening. He says, brace yourself like a man. And even to Peter as Peter was being addressed with the challenge to feed the flock.

And as he turned away and came back with an issue of really irritation with how he stacked up in relation to the disciples, Jesus reprimanded Peter. And so you asked the question, how does God reprimand us? And the answer is really easy as long as you’re not listening for an audible voice. God’s never audibly spoken to me. And in this day and age with the setting of the church and the foundation of the church in the first century and the signs and miracles and wonders and the apostles that that established.

Now in this church age, he speaks to us through the vehicle of the scriptures. Remember the story I told you of the history professor I sat under who said, I’m going to give you a summary of the Bible. And in 20 minutes from Genesis to Revelation, he talked about the impact of God’s sending not only creating the heavens and the earth, but creating the progeny of Adam and Eve and of Israel and of the connection with David and Jesus in the New Testament and his death and burial in the church. And then Jesus promised to come back. And during all that 20 minutes, I’m a young collegiate sitting in that audience rejoicing.

My heart is saying, Abba Father, that’s wonderful. He got to the end of that and he said, doesn’t mean a thing to me. That’s the difference. You as Christians have the seal of the spirit, the pledge of the spirit, the indwelling of the spirit in your life. And when you go into this scriptures, that’s God working in your life.

Second Timothy three says, all scripture is God breathe and is useful for teaching, rebuking. Correcting, training and righteousness of the man of God, the woman of God, maybe thoroughly equipped for every good work. That’s how God confronts us. When you’re in the Word and the spirit is engaged in your heart, it’s not just an academic exercise. It’s a life exercise that says, God, what do you have for me today?

And I’m hoping that in the material we go through this morning that that will happen. Okay, so much for housekeeping issues. Today, we’re talking about wealth building and estate planning. It’s true for all of us. If we’re at the beginning of our adult life and we’re beginning to accrue things, it’s true for us in the middle and ended of our years as well.

I have to think back of the fact that I was staring with Hayden and Clara that my first couch that we had when I was in seminary was one that Goodwill wouldn’t even take. It was really sad. And I have to smile because if you came to my house today, you’d see a couch set that I don’t think Goodwill would take today either. And that’s just because it’s just Cooper and me. We’re fine, but we don’t have to be fancy in terms of furniture.

But you get all kinds of accumulations in life and you have to ask yourself, what’s the good and the bad of it? Lee Child, who wrote all those novels about the Reacher, Jack Reacher, wrote a book running blind and he said, what would happen if you knew, if you knew, the lottery numbers for the next drawing? He said, when? Yeah. Child’s point was knowledge is power.

And if you know those lottery numbers, if you know who’s going to win that sporting event, if you know who’s going to ultimately make it in the stock market, knowledge is power parenthetically. And we’re going to end today. We’re really going to end today talking about probate, which I’m really excited about. But I really am with one of my favorite people who’s now in heaven, named Morris Anderson. But before we get there, if I knew those numbers, the next lottery numbers, I just stay with me for a minute.

Let’s hypothetically say, we use that in court all the time and the judges let us say it because it’s hypothetical. Hypothetically, let’s say, I knew the numbers. You don’t have to worry about how I knew the numbers. I know the numbers. And I come to you and say, guaranteed, I know the numbers.

Do you want them? What would you say? A yes, B no, C none of the above. Most of you’d say yes. And I’d suggest to you carefully because that’s also my heart also.

That’s a dangerous response because of what we’re going to see today. Because what we find is that whether it’s in small things or big things, everything we accumulate becomes like barnacles on our heart. I lay me down to sleep. I pray my coos and art to keep. I pray my stocks are on the rise.

And that my analyst is wise. That all the wine I sip is white. I don’t know about that, Kelly. And that my hot tubs watertight, that racquetball won’t get too tough. That all my sushi’s fresh enough.

I pray my cordless phone still works. You got that kit. She’s got a new phone and she hates it. And that my career won’t lose its perks. My microwave won’t radiate.

My condo won’t depreciate. I pray my health club doesn’t close and that my money market grows. And if I go broke before I wake, I pray my Volvo they won’t take. But that’s the accumulation. Whether you’re at Hayden and Clara’s first few weeks in their married life and they necessarily accumulate or whether you’re at my place in life and through, I don’t know whether I’m keeping my own counsel or not, but I own a house and I own a farm and I own a commercial building and I own a law firm and I own a management company and it’s barnacles on the heart.

So when we get to Luke and we’re now going to Luke chapter 12, let’s see your Bibles. It’s important that you have those, not only because I’m going to harass you about it on a regular basis, but also because I’m going to talk about references which may trigger in your mind something other than what we’re going to have on the screen and you’ll be able to turn to them. Three weeks ago when we were last in Luke 12, we talked about the rich fool. And you remember this individual did what comes naturally. Said someone in the crowd said, teacher, tell my brother to divide inheritance with me.

So as a fighting probate court. Now in the first century probate court was this. Basically it was the elders of the community or it was the patriarch and the family that made the distributions and it was done informally and yet emphatically and that there were formalities to it. There’s something in the Old Testament called leverate marriage. Kind of weird in our Western culture whereby if a woman’s husband died and she had no progeny, she went to live with the brother and became part of the family of the brother.

So there were formal and informal kinds of things that happened within the first century, but the common ground that the Bible recognizes for getting wealthy is three things. One, working hard. And there’s all kinds of verses on that in Proverbs. I’ve taken you through them. Two, investment strategies.

And we’ll talk a little bit about that today, but we’re going to be in a parable of the talents in a couple weeks. By the way, next week I’m so excited about next week. We’re going to do the prodigal son next week. And it’s one of my favorites. I just touches my heart.

So get yourself ready for a week from now. We’re going to be in the prodigal. You know, I do that. I get on rabbit trails and my students, like on this housekeeping thing, my students would come to me and say, you know, Dr. Moore, I like your rabbit trails better than your lecture.

So I don’t know what that means. But the three ways you get wealthy are work hard. You invest wisely. Are you inherit? And in this world, and I’m telling you that what we’re talking about today is hard because we live in a wealthy country.

We don’t want for much of anything as a rule. And the likelihood is by the time you get at the end of your life, your net worth is going to be such that the state of Oregon is going to go grab you pause. And you know when they do that? When your net worth is a million dollars or more. That’s when Oregon says, I’ll take some of that.

So those are numbers that boggle the mind from a few years ago. But if you have invested in a home in a 401k and a couple of, you know, the number is better than I do. So wealth is readily available to us. And the question is, how do we deal with it? This rich fool said, you know what?

I am answering the question Jesus said as to dividing the inheritance. He said, first of all, watch out and be on care for all kinds of greed. Jesus said, basically, it’s a mixed bag to be wealthy. Flat out, it is. So if I said, do you guarantee that I’ve got the lottery numbers and you said, no, you might be smart to do that as terms of not feeding your greed.

He said, watch out for all kinds of greed. Man’s life does not exist in the abundance of his possessions. And he said to them, a parable. The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, what shall I do?

I have no place to store the crop. This is what I’ll do. I’ll tell you down my barns, build bigger ones, and I’ll store my grain there. And I’ll say to myself, self, you have plenty of good things laid up for yourself. Take, eat, drink, and be merry.

And by the way, that phrase out of Ecclesiastes in and of itself is not wrong. But it’s part of the benefits and joy of life that has a broader scope and ecclesiastes to things that count for eternity. But God said to him, you fool this very night, your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you prepared for yourself? This is how it will be for anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich toward God.

So on the question of inheritance, Jesus gives a parable and says, I’ve got bad news and good news. What do you want first? His life is, whoa, whoa. All right, so I’m gonna give you the bad news first. You’re heading into dangerous ground when you talk about wealth.

Because wealth will do three things in your heart and mind. It’ll mistake time for eternity. I think Alberta gives a riff about what she died was net worth was when she died. You fool yourself into thinking that what you see now is what is life. And it is only in part.

The second thing that wealth does, it mistakes your body for your soul. It says, all that there is to life is right now. And boy, is that not true? And we’re gonna see that before we finish today. And the third is one that really pierces me.

It mistakes what is ours, what really belongs to God. You know, that 51 acres in Marion County that office building in Clackamas County may have my name on it for a while, but it’ll be gone. Every time when it’s not owned by me, it’s owned by somebody else. And the goal is to take and leverage what we have now and make it count for eternity. And that’s why I’m so excited to be at Grace Point because in our prep time today and our prime time in two weeks, you’re gonna see out of our small body a breadth of ministry and a group of men and women who are committed to being ministers for God in a way that counts for eternity.

What a joy to be part of this church family. And so Jesus said, watch out for all kinds of greed. So today, then Jesus said, verse 22, said to his disciples, which of you is worrying can add a single hour to life. You know what Corey Tenboom said about that? He said, worry will not take away any of your problems of the future.

It’ll take away your energy for eternity. She’s right, moving on. Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They don’t labor or spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.

That’s how God closed the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire. How much more will he clothe you or without you of little faith? And do not set your heart on what you want. So eat or drink. Do not worry about it for the pagans run after that and your father knows that you need them.

But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your father has been pleased, give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. We’ll talk about that. Provide purses for those that will last, not wear out, but a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted.

No thief can come and no moth can destroy. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So from the parable of the rich fool, Jesus immediately directs his disciples’ attention into two warnings, fear and worry. What’s the connection? Well, I think if you were watching Los Angeles in the last two weeks, you might have seen something of the connection.

Because in a different book, Matthew, Jesus says, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, excuse me, for where your treasure is, where your heart will be also. Do you see the connection? Jesus is saying, life is challenging.

In fact, if I were to read another four or five verses there, you know what Jesus says? Don’t worry about tomorrow. Today has enough trouble of its own. I love the reality of the scriptures, the honesty of saying, we don’t have it all together. We have challenges to live in a way that has eternity in mind, that has a commitment to living by faith and not by sight.

So the connection is, and here it is, in those dear souls that lost all that in Los Angeles, I’m not pretending, as a guy, I don’t really care about that stuff the way a woman would, I don’t think, carefully. I just think that I think that the sentiment flows more with the woman than the man, although I’ve got one Lincoln rocker that’s kind of cool. But apart from that, bless their hearts, and you saw people that had a lifetime of accumulation wiped out in a matter

of hours. I’m struck by the interview of one man who said, well, I had 10 Olympic gold medals, I had 10 Olympic gold medals, I guess I can live without them. But that’s the whole siphoning, the whole screening, the whole pruning and refining that comes in measuring our life, not by what we have, but what we are doing and how it counts for eternity, and watching out for the way in which wealth accumulates itself with all kinds of greed and causes us to forget that where

your treasure is, your heart will be also.

You know Proverbs 4, 23 says, above all else guard your heart, for it’s the wellspring of life. So what we’re really talking about is not your net worth in physical terms. We’re talking about something much more valuable, your heart, and your soul, and your mind, and your focus on loving God with all your heart and soul and mind, and then as Rob directed last week, loving your neighbors yourself. And when you get into Luke chapter 10, you find out that not to the priest, not to the Levite, the religious hoy poi, but to the Samaritan, the half-breed. He saw the man in the ditch and he said, I can do something about that.

And he did, he took him up, bound up, took him to the innkeeper, the next day he came back and paid for additional care. You know what that means? It means this. God has given us four, four opportunities to be stewards of life. And all four are in the peril of the rich fool.

Time is certainly there. He’s saying, take my ease, I’ve got it made now. Possessions, I’m gonna build bigger barns. Relationships, the question in the background question was, tell ’em to divide their inheritance with me and money. And those four things that we have, we have the opportunity to use in a way and leverage in a way to count for eternity.

So when Jesus teaches about fear and he teaches about worry, he’s saying, be careful because the accumulations of this life will distract you from the things that are more important, from the things that count for eternity. So the bad news, if it is, that wealth is dangerous, this has with it a sequel, which is the good news, you can do things in your life that you’re building your portfolio in heaven. And we’ll talk about how that comes out in just a minute. So fear and worry are natural bed partners to wealth and to possessions. Secondly, wealth and estate building has a follow-up discussion in the gospels.

We’ve been there before and we’re gonna touch on it briefly. It’s in 1 Timothy. And it speaks to us in a way that really kind of surprises us because in 1 Timothy chapter six and verse six, it says, if we have that on the screen, before I hand to see whether those were made, there it is, thank you. But godliness with contentment is great gain. We brought nothing in the world and we can take nothing out of it.

But if we have food and clothing, we’ll be content with that. You know, Timothy, Paul had earlier written to Timothy in chapter four and verse seven, he says, bodily discipline profits a little bit. But train yourself. For godliness, which counts for eternity. I think of that as often as I go to the club thinking, okay, there’s a little benefit in this.

But the greater benefit is what you’re looking at right there. Godliness with contentment is wealth. You brought nothing into the world, you’ll take nothing out of it. That’s what Job concluded at the end of chapter one. Bless it is the name of the Lord.

If we have food and clothing, we’ll be content with that. Here’s the test. Here’s the quiz. How many of you this morning are rich? See your hands.

Got about a fourth of you. Okay. Put that passage back up on the screen if you would. In the first century, where 70% of the church were slaves, if they had food and clothing, they’d be delighted. If they had housing for themselves and something to cover their bodies and if they had food to feed themselves, Timothy said, that’s contentment.

That’s great gain. And in fact, that is wealth. Because Timothy goes on to write, for we brought nothing into the world, we can take nothing out of it. So if in fact, your circumstance is such that your bases are covered, food, housing and clothing, you’re at the launch point to use the resources you have to count for eternity. That doesn’t mean you don’t buy a Kuzen art, whatever, who cares.

But it does mean that you watch out with what you accumulate because everything you have is gonna barnacle up on your heart and it’s gonna own you as much as you own them. It’s gonna take time and require. I have, I remember how many employees I have, but I always have employee questions that come up. I could have done it the more simple way, just been a sole proprietor and nothing else. But I chose, wise or not wise, to accumulate businesses and now I live with the results of the challenges that come in a way to say, what can I do that counts for eternity in terms of the questions that I have?

So Paul goes on to write in first Timothy, six, the next passage, nine and 10. For those who want to get rich, fall into temptation and a trap under many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. You sure you want those lottery numbers? Kind of dangerous.

I’ll give them to you. Maybe. But it could hurt you more than can help you in your life. And this text says, like the all kind of greed that Jesus talked about in Luke 12, some who eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Interestingly enough, it’s often in probate where I see that, where recipients, benefactors, ones who receive boluses of money and probate at times go crazy with that.

We call it new money, but it’s the whole point is it is a time at times for fiscal insanity. So I’d recommend to you, and I’ve been very candid and honest with you, that in my estate, the first percentage, and it’s a substantial percentage, is going not to my kids. It’s going to a number of charities. And other service enterprises that don’t claim to be Christian. And after that all gets cleaned up, there’ll be plenty left for the kids.

But the whole point is, the point is this. What are you going to do with what you have in a way that counts for eternity? And in fact, with the warning that you can pierce yourself with many griefs, because as you can see in that passage, those who want to get rich fall into or temptation, we barnacle up in terms of the distractions of life. But Timothy isn’t through because this passage, it’s a wonderful passage, has at verse 17. Command those who are rich in this present world, and that’s why I asked you for a raise of hands.

Because if you have food, and you have covering, you are according to this passage, content and rich, and you have the opportunity to do with the resources that you have, command those who are rich in this present world, not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds. It’s interesting to me, and I did some word research on this this last week, twice this text says command. It doesn’t say suggest, it doesn’t say throw it out there for discussion, it says command. And so Paul told Timothy, be directive with your people in terms of instructing them, commanding them, based on these principles to be rich in good works.

I don’t give investment advice as an attorney, it’s a narrow and kind of select kind of thing that involves qualifications that I choose not to be part of. But as a pastor, I flat out do give investment advice, and it’s right here. Command those who are rich, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous, and willing to share in this way, they lay up for themselves treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so they may take hold of that, which is life indeed. That’s the exciting good news that comes about the subject of wealth and estate planning in our lives. It gives us the opportunity to walk out of this door, it doesn’t matter what kind of house you go to, what kind of couch you have, what kind of car you get into, what kind of location you’re part of.

Way to use time, money, possessions, and relationships, and say, I want that to be something that counts for eternity, can’t be better than that. Stage three of wealth building and estate planning, we go to second Corinthians chapter five. Second Corinthians five is a text, I don’t remember that we have taught before in this assembly, at least I haven’t heard it, but it has to do with the judgment seat of Christ. If you believe in Christ, you’ve been sealed by the Spirit, you redeemed eternity, and like with Albert, you’re gonna turn for home when you die. And in heaven, there’s gonna be things that happen to you, and to me, that give an accounting as a Christian for the life that we live.

To second Corinthians five, I’ll read it to you, is first Corinthians three and verse 10, where it says, “For by grace given me I laid a foundation as an expert builder.” Someone else is building in it, but each should be careful how he builds. “For no one can lay a foundation other than one already laid,” which is Jesus. “If any man builds on the foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hair, straw, his work will be shown for what it is.” Because the day will bring it to light.

That’s this day we’re gonna talk about right now. It’ll be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he receives his reward. If it’s burned up, he’ll suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one who escapes through the fire.

This is called the judgment seat of Christ. There are actually a number of judgments in the future that are coming between revelation and Revelation 16, there are seven seals. Hold on to your hats, ’cause that’s gonna be God’s judgment on the good and the bad, the goats and the, what’s the opposite of the goats? Brain and cramp. Yeah, sheep and the goats.

The believers and the unbelievers in the revelation. But here, this is a judgment for you and for me. We’re gonna stand there. And the text says, “Therefore, we are always confident in no, that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body.”

That’s Paul’s struggle where he said, “I’m really not at home when I’m here on the earth.” And at home with the Lord, so we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that’s this, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things we have done, whether good or bad. If the efforts that you and I have made to live in

a way that honors Christ and with good motives and with the kind of affirmation that says, I’m believing by faith that God is gonna be pleased with my work on his behalf, that’s the gold, silver, and precious stones that’ll be recognized to you at the judgment seat of Christ. But if your efforts were self-serving, were less commendable in terms of the kind of things which we say we were done in the name of Christ, that could come out as wood, hay, and stubble and will just

be burned up.

And we’ll be there, we’ll be saved, we are saved. But we have an accounting, you see that last phrase in that passage? We are counting for the things we will done, whether good or bad. Our works will be reviewed as Christians. You might say yourself, well, I really thought once I believed in Christ, that’s the end, I didn’t have to do anything else.

No, that’s just the beginning. And as a disciple, and as you live in a way by faith, not by sight, God is pleased to offer you that commendation at this venue called, well done, good and faithful servant. So that’s what we’re working toward. That’s what the resources God has given us. And the author Hebrews kind of picked it up in a way that I think really is.

Well, he said, therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not having again the foundation of repentance from Acts that lead to death. For it’s impossible for those who have been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who’ve shared in the Holy Spirit, who’ve tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age. If they fall away, even those we speak like this, because dear friends, we are confident or better things in your case, things that accompany salvation, that God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown him. You’ve helped his people and continue to help them.

We want each of you to show the same diligence in the very end in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. You and I have that going forward. Two women met at a cocktail party and they hadn’t seen each other for quite a while. And so there was a favorable and pleasant exchange as they got reacquainted.

One of them looked at the other and said, ring on your finger. And she said, yeah, it’s the Callahan diamond. I kind of like this because I had lunch on Friday with a friend of mine who’s a jeweler who’s a Christian. And I love the fact that his values are in eternity rather than here. She said, it’s the Callahan diamond, but it comes with the Callahan curse.

And the woman said, what’s the Callahan curse? And she said, Mr. Callahan. Be careful what you sell your soul out for and in closing. I met a wonderful man at 20 years old named Morris Anderson and Morris owned property out in Clackamas County, some of her distory.

And I decided as a young upstart that I wanted some bare land just because that seemed to be the way to go. And so I’m getting to know Morris who was not a believer at the time. I said, Morris, I want that 20 acres at $750 an acre. And he said, fine, I’ll sell it to you for that. And we shook hands on it.

And a pastor came to him two days, two weeks later, one of the big churches here in town said, Morris, you got four acres here. He said, well, I’ve actually got 25. So we got 45. And Morris said, no, I’ve already agreed to sell John 20 acres. And the pastor said, well, has he put any money down?

And Morris said, no. He said, well, you can sell us all 45. And Morris squinted and looked at that pastor and said, Mr. My handshake is my bond. It is my word.

But beyond that and the sequence of me getting that property, Morris had a bigger issue, which was, and I can’t go into it. He believed that the rocks and relics on all the property that he owned and that I owned all around there were the oldest relics in North America. He was wrong, but he imagined things as an old man. And so he built this museum next to his cabin. And he put all those rocks in there.

And he said, if anybody can prove that these relics are not genuine, I’ll give you land. And he had lots of people stop and the trick was you can never prove it to Morris because Morris didn’t believe it. But here’s the best news about that, about the silliness of the rocks and even the land. Somebody came to Morris and gave him the gospel. And Morris, before he died, after the death of his wife Florence, he believed in Jesus.

He committed his life in his 70s to Jesus. And really, that’s the greatest measure of faith and of wealth, that regardless of what your portfolio says here, the challenge is, watch those barnacles accumulate on your heart and your soul and your mind. Don’t get distracted by that. But keep pressing forward in a way that says, what can I do that counts for eternity? Because of my love for Jesus, because one day I’ll give an account and want that adelage, something of a variation that says, well done.

Let’s pray. Father, it’s with grateful hearts that we we know that there’s meaning in life because of your word and because of the work of Jesus in our life. We’re so excited about that because we come as common people, as people who don’t have it all together, who aren’t perfect, who stumble in many ways, but you’re grace is sufficient to pick us up, to meet us as Jesus met his disciples with all the fears and doubts and confusion even before he was sent into heaven and to answer the questions of our heart in a way that says, you’re my child. I love you and I want for you things that count for eternity. Jesus name him.

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 6,731 words.