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Date: 21 January, 2019
Text: Luke 16:1-14
Title: Making Money Count for Eternity.
A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus told many parables.
The parable of the sower - heavenly meaning - sowing Gospel seed
The parable of the lost coin - heavenly meaning - God is seeking to find lost men.
Sometimes a parable will have an ungodly person in it who illustrates a positive point.
ill. Like the parable of the unjust judge - the judge was corrupt. But, even he responded to a persistent petitioner.
note - Jesus was not teaching that in any way God is like the unjust judge.
exp. Jesus was teaching that if EVEN the unjust judge would respond then will not our righteous God also respond to a persistent petitioner and do so even more quickly?
exp. Our passage this morning is a parable. It contains an ungodly man that is deceitful. But he is also shrewd in his use of his master's money.
JESUS IS NOT PROMOTING DECEIT - BUT IS CHALLENGING US TO BE SHREWD WITH THE MONEY THAT HE HAS GIVEN TO US.
1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
We need to be shrewd in our use of the master's money. We are children of light.
exp. The world is doing better in their "street smarts" with the devil's money than we are doing in our eternal smarts with the Father's money.
God would have us to be shrewd in our investment of His money (our stewardship.)
note: It will be clear in this passage that Jesus is speaking about earthly money. In our case our money is Great British Pounds. (GBP.) (But it relates to US Dollars and European Euro's)
We need to make money count for eternity. (It is not only possible - it is commanded and instructed in this passage.) Is your money counting for eternity? Are you a good eternal investor?
Make money count for eternity! (Luke 16:1-14)
I. Make money count for eternity! Use money purposefully.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
exp. There are ways in which we are like this wordly steward.
Our stewardship to our master will end when we are called to give a final account. (death) Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
our friends are people who owed our master a great debt.
note: sin is a debt - Sermon on the Mount - model prayer - "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
we help these friends find the master's forgiveness and they will welcome us into Heaven. Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (No longer in debt!)
We help these friends find forgiveness through REAL FINANCIAL MEANS. "The mammon of unrighteousness" in Jesus explanation is definitely speaking about real money as was Jesus parable.
question: How do I use money to help reach friends with the Gospel LIGHT. We are children of LIGHT.
- Support my local lighthouse. (In our case - Free Baptist Church.)
1.) Paying for facility where light is shined.
2.) Buying literature to shine the light.
3.) Paying the salary of the Lighthouse keeper.
4.) Seeking to put out other Lights.
- Support foreign lighthouses. (Missions giving)
ill. Praise God - if you are investing in this ministry - every soul that we see saved by means of your giving (hall rentals, food, speaker stipends....etc) will thank you for investing SO THAT THEY COULD FIND JESUS!
Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
App. Do you love using what God has given you for the Lord's work? Or are you wasting your resources on trinkets of life? I'm not preaching on tithes and offerings this morning - I'm preaching on reaching people for Jesus by means of our giving. But, in case you don't think you can afford to give - you can't afford not to give.
Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
II. Make money count for eternity! Use money faithfully.
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much:
exp. We tend to think of money as our only stewardship but it is not.
exp. Other stewardships - health, life, time, family, position, education, knowledge, righteousness, grace, Jesus, Holy Ghost, Gospel,....
note: Stewards are to be faithful to the trust which they have been given.
1Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
def. Faithful - trustworthy
note: If you are worthy of trust - you take it and do with it as your master intended.
ill. In a democracy the people are the master. Through the process of a referendum the government has been handed the trust of Brexit.
exp. Even though many in parliament did not vote to leave Europe - they voted on a leaving date (Article 50, departing on 31 March) as they strove to meet the mandate (stewardship) given by the British public.
exp. It has been said over and over again by many, "To fail to deliver on Brexit is to fail to deliver on the mandate that has been given." It would be a failed stewardship and cause doubt in the very fabric of democracy.
app. God has given you a mandate to live for eternity. If you are faithful to this mandate, you will doubtless be investing money in eternity.
note: Here is the strength of Jesus argument - someone who is faithful with money will be a faithful steward of health, life, time, family, position, education, knowledge, righteousness, Jesus Holy Ghost, Gospel.....
III. Make money count for eternity! Use money honestly.
and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
ill. Abraham Lincoln is on the back of the penny. Nicknamed, "Honest Abe"
- Overcharged a woman by 6 pennies - walked 3 miles after work to return her money.
- another time he accidentally had the shop scales set incorrectly and measured out the wrong amount of tea - he realized what he had done and carried the rest of the tea to his customer.
- Indebted Owner of the store died - 2 men who should have paid debt ran away - Abe worked extra jobs and paid off the debt - took 17 years.
exp. Abraham Lincoln had the character necessary to be President of the United States back in a day when character mattered. He was honest with the least - money. He would be honest with much - President of the United States.
app. That is the strength of Jesus argument - if you are unjust in the use of finances you will be unjust in the greater stewardships - health, life, time, family, position, education, knowledge, righteousness, Jesus, Holy Ghost, Gospel.....
IV. Make money count for eternity! Use money wisely.
exp. Jesus is seeking to deal with a heart issue which is keeping many from obtaining real treasure.
ill. Luke 12:33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
app. There are things of immense value obtainable from right investment of earthly riches in eternity.
A. ( Use money wisely) Or you lose true riches.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
exp. Money is nothing in God's kingdom. Arguably money came into use as part of the fall of mankind into sin. Why would you need to pay someone when God provided an abundance of everything and everyone is helping everyone else for free?
app. God has true riches which you can obtain in eternity from right use of finances here.
Luke 12:33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
app. Did Jesus teach it was important to give to God's work. He commanded it even at great sacrifice because it was a heart issue. (If you are wise and desire TRUE RICHES you will obey the Lord.)
B. (Use money wisely) Or you never graduate from stewardship to ownership.
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
question: Do you doubt that God really has a reward for you in eternity?
Luk 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
app. Everything that I have in life is a stewardship to God. However, in eternity the Bible speaks about ownership.
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
ill. Studying Esau's disappointment in losing the blessing, "Is there not a blessing for me?"
app. How many believers are going to cry out for blessing which they will never receive because they wasted the time of investment in life? Be wise with your stewardship and reap ownership.
V. Make money count for eternity! Use money devotedly.
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
exp. This fact is conclusive. If your life is devoted to money it is not devoted to God.
ill. God's requirements for Bishops and Deacons.
1 Tim. 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;
8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
app. If you aren't devoted to God with His hand guiding your finances, you are not devoted to God. Why? Because you are devoted to money and YOU CAN' SERVE TWO MASTERS.
VI. Make money count for eternity! Use money loosely.
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
exp. The Pharisees were grudging givers! (Holding onto the things of God.)
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
exp. They had too tight a grip on their purse strings to benefit from God's investment advice. They also had not the heart of God because THEY WERE NOT A CHILD OF GOD.
hymn: John Peterson had the right idea when he wrote the hymn,
Oh, It is Wonderful to be a Christian
"And the hope of heaven's glories thrills me so
Where I'll live with Christ forevermore I know
That is why the things of earth I loosely hold
I've eternal riches better far than gold."
exp. Your heart towards money may reveal the fact that you've never taken Jesus as your Saviour.
ill. Rich Young Ruler - Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
exp. We who live in Scotland are rich in this world's goods. How many people in our day are not coming to God because money has deceived them into thinking that they do not need God.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Luk 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
ill. Another parable in Luk 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
app. How is it with your heart today? Does this preaching on money upset you? Are you deriding Jesus because of the covetousness of your heart? Have you got too strong a grip on money?
That unjust steward was pretty clever. He was going to make some friends with his master's money. Are you as wise with the money which God has given to you? Are you using money.....
Purposefully - investing in the Lord's Work?
Faithfullly - proving you are faithful in much?
Honestly - lest in dishonesty you reveal the lack of integrity in your greater stewardships?
Wisely - true riches and ownership await those who are faithful.
Devotedly - God controling your purse strings or do you have another master?
Loosely - giving to God without grudging (holding back.)