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Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8; Psalm 90:12

QUESTION: What would you say to a younger version of you?

Some of you might want to travel back a few decades. Some of you may want to travel

back a few weeks. Some of you may want to go back to minutes before that last

conversation that blew up in your face. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could go back and give

yourself some last minute coaching? Who of us wouldn’t take a do over if it were

possible? Who of us couldn’t say, “If I was given that moment, that day, that year over

again—I would use that time better.” Everybody can relate to this. Let me remind you of

something you already know. This is not new information, but it may be a new way to

think about it.

Everybody SPENDS time, but the wise INVEST it.

Are you merely a time spender or are you a time investor? What is your time for?

Do you know? I heard someone say, “Life without purpose is time without meaning.”

The difference between a time spender and a time investor is that this person (WISE)

makes sure that she, makes sure that he connects time to purpose. Time is

simultaneously limited in quantity and limitless in value.

It’s not my intent to be a downer, but it does get worse. There is bad news. There is a

reality check we have to face.

Some people WASTE time, but the wise INVEST it.

This is a reality that few, if any, of us avoid completely. How many of us have to admit to

ourselves, whether we are talking about short periods or long seasons. How many of us

have to admit that we have wasted time? As I was writing this message, I was listening

to Eric Clapton on Spotify. In his beautiful and haunting song, Tears in Heaven, he sang:

Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees. Time can break your heart,

have you begging please. –Eric Clapton

If you’re young and you don’t know who Eric Clapton is—c’mon moms and dads. You

can do better.

ZEALOT EPISODE 4: THE LEGACY OF A MURDERER Sermon preached by Pastor Rick Henderson

Autumn Ridge Church

May 16-17, 2020

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Really, what he is singing about is not that time breaks your heart. What’s really going

on is that time wasted, time running out or time lost is what breaks our hearts. You

know what that means? No one has more potential to break your own heart than you.

No one has more potential to break my heart than me. So, let’s not merely spend time.

And, let’s certainly not waste it. Let’s invest the time we have.

Welcome to church. Aren’t you glad that you tuned in? I want you to be gripped by this

because there is good news. You don’t have to be gripped by regret. Eventually, every

single one of us will run out of time. And yet, we don’t have to look back with regret.

We can look forward to reward.

Today is the final message of Zealot. We’ve taken four weeks to look at the life and

impact of Saul, the murderous zealot who became Paul the Apostle. Regardless of what

you think about Paul, even if you’re skeptical of things that he taught and wrote, an

undisputed fact of his life is that he made costly sacrifices to invest his life for a purpose.

As he approached his death, looking back on how he invested his time, this is what he

had to say.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my

departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have

kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the

Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but

also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

GREEK 101: analusewv

Raise anchor and set sail

Take down a tent

Release a prisoner

That’s not angst. That’s not regret or anxiety. That’s the language of anticipation.

I’m happy about what I’m leaving behind and hope filled about what I’m moving toward.

This is what’s possible when someone doesn’t waste their time but invests their time.

This is what’s possible when you’ve been able to see a return on the investment of your

time and you know that God isn’t done using what you’ve given. This is what it looks like

to finish well.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

(2 Timothy 4:7)

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One day you’re going to run out of time and run out of energy. Hopefully, it’s a long

time before that hits. You’re going to run out of time and I’m going run out of time.

How we approach the finish line and when we approach the finish will look different.

But something that probably unites us is the desire to finish well. What would it look like

if we measured our time the same way Paul measured his time?

FINISHING WELL: Where do you volunteer to struggle?

You’re going to voluntarily make sacrifices for something. You’re going to voluntarily

struggle on behalf of something. What is it that’s worth your sacrifice and struggle?

What’s the story that your life is writing? Do you live for safety and comfort? Do you live

for something that you value more than safety and comfort?

FINISHING WELL: What are you chasing after?

Every single one of us is chasing after something. For some it’s as simple as a paycheck

and the weekend. For others it’s more complicated than that. Our hearts are on a hunt

for something. What are you hoping to catch with your life? What are you hoping to

accomplish?

FINISHING WELL: What gets your ultimate allegiance?

Who do you live for? Whose approval do you live for? Whose approach to life has won

your trust?

As you are thinking about how you want to answer those questions, I get to give you a

glimpse into how some other folks have approached this subject. I’m only 42. On one

level I can talk meaningfully about what the Apostle Paul wrote regarding finishing well.

On another level, I can’t talk about this with the credibility that comes from living it out.

I’m too young.

So, I decided to talk to some people who have earned the credibility to talk about it.

Recently, I interviewed pastors Woody Roland, Karen Foster, Robert Morgan and Jim

Fleming. Combined, they have over 160 years of ministry. I don’t say this as a joke, but

with deep honor. Jim Fleming has been a pastor longer than I’ve been alive. Together,

these four bring wisdom-rich perspective. And what they have to share isn’t just for

pastors; it’s for all followers of Jesus who want to invest their time well. I hope you

enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

[VIDEO INTERVIEW: Woody Roland, Karen Foster, Robert Morgan, Jim Fleming]

I had the unfortunate task of trimming down a 30-minute conversation into just a few

minutes. Those four still have a lot of gas in the tank. And, they have the perspective

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that comes from long obedience in the same direction. There was so much joy and

energy and passion in them—I walked away inspired. I want to finish well. I want to

invest my time well. I bet you do too. Have you clarified yet what it means to finish well?

Let’s look again at how the Apostle Paul thought about it.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the

righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to

all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

You and I get to decide what we’re going to do with the time we have. You and I get to

make real and meaningful evaluations of the time that we have. And yet, we aren’t the

ultimate evaluator. Now, this is the point that some of you decided to walk away from

Christianity. There’s a lot you like about Jesus. There’s even a lot you respect about

Christians you know. But, someone else being the one who evaluates you and what you

did with your time—that just feels like too much to stomach. It feels like a violation of

your dignity if you’re not the ultimate authority, the ultimate evaluator.

I get it. Can I tell you a secret? That resonates with me. I want to be the ultimate

authority of my own life. I want to be the ultimate decider and evaluator. But, if I walk

that road, if I truly embrace that approach to life, I have to embrace all that comes with

it. If you embrace that approach to life, you have to embrace all that comes with it.

Here it is. This is what comes with that approach. You and I can make up our own

purpose and our meaning for our lives.

QUESTION: What do we call things we make up?

QUESTION: What do we call things we make up? Pretend

You don’t follow Zeus because that’s pretend. You don’t walk the way of the Jedi

because that’s pretend. You’re allowed to talk about Fight Club because that’s pretend!

If you’re going to embrace the approach to life that makes you the maker of your own

meaning—you have to embrace everything that comes with it. You have to embrace

that it’s pretend too. B. Tyler Ellis is an author, artist and speaker. I love how he captures

the essence of this.

With God, we matter. Without God, we’re just matter. –B. Tyler Ellis

You matter. You do. Your life has more value than you can comprehend. It’s not just

your time that’s a gift and a valuable resource. You. Are. A. Gift. You are valuable.

A biblical worldview is the worldview that can make sense of that. You are made in the

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image of God who loves you. You’re not Monopoly money. You’re the real deal. The

value you have is not pretend. The purpose and meaning for your life is not pretend.

I’ve got two more pieces of good news. You can’t earn your value. It was fixed and

secure before you ever did anything. The second piece of good news is that your reward

isn’t based on your performance. It’s not based on you living a life that’s good enough.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the

righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to

all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

The difference between reward and regret is who you trust. “But also to all who have

longed for his appearing.” Paul is saying that there is a reward for all who transition

their allegiance and affection to Jesus. In an irreligious approach to life, your reward is

whatever you can achieve and enjoy before you die. In a religious approach to life, your

reward is whatever you can earn by your performance for God. The gospel is completely

different. Your reward is what Jesus earned for you. You might be asking, “Why work?

Why sacrifice? Why invest if it’s all a gift?”

Do you know why a guy like the Apostle Paul invested his life in what he did? It’s the

same reason that Woody, Karen, Robert and Jim have invested their lives. It’s the same

reason why many of you have invested your life. It’s not an attempt to earn anything of

value. It’s a love-saturated motivation to share value. When you invest money, it’s

about getting as much as you can. And I hope you do. When a follower of Jesus invests

her life, invests his life, it’s about giving as much as you can.

Making a sacrifice, making an investment is saying no to something you want now so

that you can say yes to something you value most later. The reward that Paul looked

forward to is the same reward that many of you look forward to, to what I look forward

to.

The reward of being with Jesus for eternity.

The reward of being marked righteous, because of what he did, not what we do.

The reward of pleasing him with how we lived.

The reward of knowing that Jesus used our influence to inspire other people to

follow him too.

Did you know that Moses wrote a Psalm? Most people probably don’t think of him as a

song writer. He wrote a Psalm that could be the theme song for what we are talking

about.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

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The only way to be wise, the only way to set ourselves up to finish well, is to embrace

the tension that time is both finite in quantity and infinite in value. About nine or ten

years ago, I realized that I’m not smart enough or wise enough to live this out without

some help. I learned about this from someone else and decided to start doing it myself.

I started with the assumption that I would live until I’m 75. Next, I counted out how

many weekends do I have left if I live to 75. I counted out that exact number of beads

and put them in this jar. For the past decade or so, every Saturday I take out a bead and

throw it in the trash. I’ve thrown away over 500 beads. There used to be more in here!

Every time I take one out and throw it away, I can’t help but evaluate how I’m spending

that Saturday. What am I doing with my time? You don’t have to do it the way I do it.

But can I ask, how do you measure and evaluate what you do with your time? Do you

measure and evaluate your time? Let’s end where we began.

BOTTOM LINE: Everybody SPENDS time, but the wise INVEST it.

I have no idea how much time you have or that I have. I do know it’s running out.

What do you want to do with it?

THE LEGACY OF A MURDERER

Zealot Part 4

Rick Henderson May 16-17, 2020

QUESTION: What would you say to a younger version of you?

Everybody SPENDS time, but the wise INVEST it.

Some people WASTE time, but the wise INVEST it.

Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees. Time can break your heart, have you begging

please. –Eric Clapton

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have

fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the

crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only

to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

GREEK 101: analusewv

Raise anchor and set sail

Take down a tent

Release a prisoner

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

FINISHING WELL: Where do you volunteer to struggle?

FINISHING WELL: What are you chasing after?

FINISHING WELL: What gets your ultimate allegiance?

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award

to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

(2 Timothy 4:8)

QUESTION: What do we call things we make up?

QUESTION: What do we call things we make up? Pretend

With God, we matter. Without God, we’re just matter. –B. Tyler Ellis

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award

to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

(2 Timothy 4:8)

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

BOTTOM LINE: Everybody SPENDS time, but the wise INVEST it.