 And tonight I want you to open your Bibles to Luke 16 and we've been preaching through the parables of Christ And so tonight we're going to look at the parable the unjust servant from Luke 16 Give you a moment to get there parable of the unjust do it in Luke 16 Verses 1 through 13 We'll read this together and then we'll pray Luke 16 versus 1 through 13 He also said to his disciples There was a certain rich man who had a steward and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods And so he called him and said to him what is this? I hear about you given account of your stewardship for you can no longer be steward Then the steward said within himself. What shall I do for my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I cannot dig and I'm ashamed to beg I've resolved what to do that when I am put out of the stewardship They may receive me into their houses So he called every one of his master's debtors to him and said to the first how much do you owe my master and he said a hundred measures Of oil so he said to him take your bill and sit down quickly and write 50 Then he said to another and how much do you owe so he said a hundred measures of wheat And he said to him take your bill and write 80 And so the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light And I say to you make friends of yourselves by unrighteous mammon that when you fail They may receive you into an everlasting home He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much and he who is unjust in what is least is Unjust also in much Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches And if you've not been faithful in what is another man's who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other Or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and mammon. Let's pray together The father in heaven Lord, thank you for the teaching of your word We're so grateful God that you've not left us without a revelation of yourself Without a sure and perfect guide and your scripture is just that we praise you and thank you for your truth And thank you Lord for this practical teaching on wealth money possessions We need it Lord and often this is a real test for even the genuine believer When it comes to how to be faithful to you and our stewardship of the finances that you've given us So Lord help us to be faithful in this by your spirit God apply these truths to our heart help us to repent where we are weak God repent where we are faithless and to follow you wholeheartedly What help us to be faithful in these things and give us Lord again by your spirit of a Heavenly focus a heavenly mindset Help us or to keep our minds focused on true riches in Christ on our heavenly inheritance To lay up treasure for ourselves God in heaven and that our heart would be there also that we might focus on you Lord and not be caught away or wrapped up with the Meaningless trinkets of this world and Lord help us to be faithful to you in all this as children of light That's where to be we love you Lord. We thank you for this day Thank you for a day and set aside to worship you and thank you for our brothers and sisters and What a joy it is to serve you and to worship you with them and Lord I pray that you'd be pleased with our worship of you tonight in Jesus name. Amen So we're in Luke chapter 16 and again, we're going through the parables of Christ and so tonight we come to this parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16 verses 1 through 13 and Another parable here dealing with finances. We heard from our brother Jimmy last week. Is it an awesome job? preaching about Finances and money and possessions with Lazarus and the rich man and so today again in Luke 16 We have a parable here about Finances you may have heard it said in the past that Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven And that's true in scripture But did you know that Jesus talked about money more than he talked about heaven and hell combined Money is a serious issue finances are a serious issue in scripture and one out of the three parable one out of three parables that Christ taught Deal with money dealt with deal with finances. How are to manage our finances? How are to deal with money? virtually one in seven verses Throughout this gospel of Luke deal specifically with money or related to money related to finances and that's true in part because finances money wealth possessions are such a Large part of our lives. It has such a prevalent influence on us the way that we think the way that we act What our motivations are how we work how we conduct ourselves? money wealth possessions Occupy by default an inordinate amount of time an inordinate part of our lives many are Completely consumed by it completely consumed by making enough of it Completely consumed by getting more of it Consumed with having it with saving it with flaunting it with accumulating it with making enough of it with getting more of it Consumed with not losing it or consumed by possessions consumed by wealth They're consumed with worrying over it. They're consumed with anxiety About it or anxiety related to it. They will go out and spend a big chunk of it For a one in 50 million chance to get more of it, right? They will gamble it away putting their faith in chance rather than in the providence of God. Whatever is not done in faith is sin What is responsible for more fights in marriages than anything else? Mother-in-law and then comes money. No, it's money Money is responsible for most fights in marriages The average person spends a vast amount of their time concerned with money Concerned with wealth concerned with possessions. I have a wonderful mother-in-law Concerning this then concerning how important this is she is right honey. Yes Concerning how important this is Then this becomes very fertile ground and doesn't it for idolatry becomes fertile ground for idolatry Used to be that idols were carved carved out of a piece of wood carved out a piece of metal and then shrines were built Now people carry around their idol in their wallet They've got their idol tucked away in the shrine of their bank, right? This will be money will often be Leading cause of temptation to sin Temptation to weakness a temptation of failure a temptation to poor stewardship And often money becomes then a tool Of our sanctification if you will Um oftentimes sanctification will come difficulty will come at the other end of a problem related to money related to finances Ultimately the question is are you going to trust the lord or are you going to trust your wallet? Are you going to trust the lord? Are you going to trust your ability to make more money? Are you going to focus yourself on the more on the lord focus yourself on your heavenly possession your heavenly inheritance? Or are you going to focus on storing up treasures for yourself here on earth? um Through difficulty with money. We often get some of our most powerful Tests don't we as a christian some of our most powerful trials come through difficulty with finances We remember from this morning and our call to worship. We read revelation chapter three with respect to the laodiceans They thought that they were rich wealthy and have need of nothing right They didn't realize that they were poor blind miserable naked And often it's this sense of comfort sometimes that finances brings that money can offer That becomes a serious test that can contribute to spiritual blindness. You've heard it said before that america Even the homeless in america are rich when compared to the rest of the world That we hear lack for nothing. We need for nothing And we have all that we need And that sometimes that spiritual or excuse me sometimes that comfort can lead to a spiritual blindness We can be so Preoccupied with our comfort and we don't come to understand our true spiritual need for christ our true spiritual need for his righteousness and we become disillusioned or swayed away or preoccupied or Indulged in the riches of this world and we forget christ often when you came to christ many of you Will remember that you came to the end of your rope amen You came to the end of your rope you realize that In this world you didn't have any hope apart from christ You came to the end of your rope with respect to sin Many of you some of you may have come to the end of your rope as a result of financial difficulty And that was one of the means that the lord used to save you You come to the end of your rope and you realize the wickedness of your depraved heart and you need Christ One of the things that money wealth possessions in this world can do Is to keep you from the end of your rope Can lull you into a sense of comfort lull you into a sense that you don't need anything That's what it talked about in revelation chapter three And that that feeling of comfort can lead to spiritual blindness think about the parable of the sower in matthew chapter 13 He who received the seed among the thorns It was that one who the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of what? Riches the deceitfulness of riches Choked out the word and he became unfruitful. He remained lost And it was the cares of the world and possibly the cares of the world with respect to The money that he had I need to make money. I need to make money to take care of myself It's the cares of the world the deceitfulness of riches that choked out the word Think about examples that we have in scripture of those that were Preoccupied with the cares of this world preoccupied with the deceitfulness of riches. What about aching remember aching Preoccupied with riches and he hid the wedge of gold the wedge of silver under his tent What about ananias and sapphira? So important to them that they lied to the holy spirit and what did god do god judged them for their lying Occupied with something that was already theirs But just the power the prestige the pride involved in flaunting their possessions Provoked them to lie to the holy spirit. What about judas? judas who sold Out christ for 30 pieces of silver In first Timothy chapter 6 verse 10 the bible says for money is the root of all kinds of evil Is that what it says? No says for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil For which a love of money Some have strayed from the faith in their greediness And pierced themselves through with many sorrows It is clearly said in scripture We're going to see in this passage. You cannot serve god both god and Mammon And here it is this the chasing of wind Associated with the chasing of money that causes the problem here chasing after the wind now that being said It's not wrong to have it. It's not wrong to try and earn it You've got to provide first timothy chapter 5 verse 8 says but if anyone does not provide for his own And especially for those of his own household. He has denied the faith in his worst and an unbeliever You must provide for your household. It's important to have it. It's important to provide in proverbs chapter 27 often This is interpreted for a pastoral role, but here it's related to finances related to possession In proverbs chapter 27 verses 23 and 24 the bible says be diligent to know the state of your flocks and attend to your herds Why? It says for riches are not Forever Nor does a crown endure to all generations. You're to know the state of your flocks and attend to your herds when you become Genuinely saved when the lord changes your heart He gives you a heavenly priority amen He gives you a heavenly focus you now have treasure in heaven You're now an alien a sojourner a pilgrim on this earth and your citizenship is in a heavenly country Which is as he said a better country and so you're you're to become heavenly minded So when you become genuinely saved our thinking about money about wealth about possessions on this earth is the shift There's to be a refocus Your priorities are to be redirected when you are made A child of the kingdom a son of the kingdom then your wealth your possessions become a kingdom asset The difficulty is is that In our sinful flesh in a lack of faith or a lack of trusting in the lord often that kingdom asset We want to retain as an earthly asset for ourselves And we don't view it as a kingdom asset And so we don't use it like a kingdom asset. We don't invest it like a kingdom asset We continue to invest it like a worldly asset and they are kingdom assets So our relationship to money In many ways then when you're genuinely saved becomes a reflection of who you are and what you value You have a kingdom mindset a heavenly mindset then your attitudes About money the way that you use your money the way that you invest your money The way that you save your money the way that you think about money all relates to the kingdom Um Matthew 6 verse 21 says this for where your treasure is There your heart will be also your treasure is in heaven your finances your wealth your possessions here Just a means for kingdom work while you're here it is if you will a Per diem while you're in the embassy this outpost of heaven on earth to be used for Heavenly good until you get to where your real treasure is where your real inheritance is right? So we with our money as in everything when you come to christ are to reflect christ Our attitudes about money are to reflect christ or reflect a heavenly mindset So now this passage like the one last week deals with the use of our possessions and how we relate to money if you look at luke 16 Let me read the story There was a certain rich man who had a steward and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods And so he called him and said to him what is this? I hear about you given account of your stewardship for you can no longer be a steward now many of the parables of christ have A shocking ending they got an unexpected twist right you hear the story and the parable as it is intended to do Sort of arrests your natural response to it You realize in the parable something that you didn't quite understand when the story began and it that's that shock value That often helps us learn a valuable lesson helps us learn a an important lesson a lesson Maybe we wouldn't have seen any other way it arrests us in our thinking has a tendency to change our thinking this parable is no different There's a twist if you will to the point of this parable and we'll see that as we go forward The master here if you notice praises The unjust steward for acting shrewdly He praises the unjust steward now from these first few verses You can't get around the fact that he is an unjust steward the parable calls him an unjust steward This guy has acted unjustly. Okay. You can't get away from the fact. This is not a good guy And with his possessions here with the master's possessions. He's not done a good thing He was basically in this parable a money launderer. It says in the beginning that he was wasteful. He squandered His goods No, he squandered what wasn't even his own. He squandered his master's good that word for squandered there It's the same word used of the lost younger son in the parable of the two sons when that prodigal son went out and squandered his inheritance Now at least in that story, he squandered what He took as his own Took it early and took it at great disrespect to the father, but it was given to him So he went out and squandered that which was his own here This unjust steward squandered not his own goods, but he squandered the master's goods He said to his disciples There was a certain rich man who had a steward and an accusation was brought in that this man was wasting He was squandering his goods now Many will look at this story and in some Really failed attempt to try to Maybe defend christ in this that he wouldn't use An unjust or a wicked man to make a point about how christians are to behave How christians are to handle their finances They try to find some way to make this guy out to be a good guy. Just can't do it. There's just no way around the fact They'll try to read a back story into it They'll try to read between the lines try to put things in about this guy that make him appear to be in the end A righteous man, but listen, this was a made up story by christ So you can't put any back story in all we have is what christ said and christ made the story up for the Purpose of teaching a point. So there is no back story here. This guy was wicked Okay, and it's going to be important to the point of the story that he was wicked This is something we need to take heed of when we get to the main point. This guy is not a good guy He's not doing righteous Righteously here He's doing something that is evil that is wicked. He is Stealing he's extorting. He's money laundering. He's being unjust with the funds of his master Okay, but unlike many of the parables that tight that christ taught The audience here wasn't the Pharisees. The audience here was the disciples So in this particular parable, he's not If you will teaching the Pharisees a lesson. It's not really the the point of what he's doing here He's teaching his disciples a lesson So in this when it concerns you and I is a parable for christians It's a parable. It's a point is going to be made for how we as christians are to view our finances How we are to handle our wealth in our possessions and we Through the words of christ here in this parable. I'm gonna learn a lesson from a wicked unjust steward. Are you prepared for that? We're gonna learn a lesson from an unjust guy here. Okay. It's a parable to the disciples now This rich man beginning in verse one here had a steward or a manager. It was someone who Took care of his business and particularly took care of his money Now he was wealthy enough to have a steward wealthy enough to pay for one And he had debtors that owed him large sums It's obviously this is a very wealthy very wealthy man a very wealthy owner He was likely this was a landowner and he likely owned this land Managed it from a distance while others farmed on the land to provide him income. Okay, so in his absence Needed a steward to take care of his property and so he got this guy this unjust steward to take care of it for him. Okay He was so uninvolved That it took a report For him to be able to come to the conclusion or to come to the understanding that this unjust steward was cheating him Okay, it may have been even The rich man that had some indication of this beforehand because it was almost immediately that he was going to fire him Look at verse two. He called him said to him. What is this? I hear about you Given account of your stewardship for you can no longer be steward. It was I heard the report I called him to me and on the spot. You're fired and now give me an account of your stewardship However He asks for the unjust steward to give him an accounting So if you're a business owner If you have funds yourself or possessions yourself that you're managing and you hire someone to take care of those make a note to self Don't give the guy any more time to do any more damage Right then you take his keys You ask him to clean out his desk and you politely escort him to the door This unjust steward here had plenty of time now to Do further damage to the landowner it further time now to think about it And ponder it how he was going to cheat his master cheat the landowner out of more money and then eventually Save his skin in this okay this delay this delay allowed this steward to do some serious damage He looking out for himself and all of that. Look what it says then in verse three Then the steward said within himself. What shall I do? My master is taking the stewardship away from me I cannot dig and I'm ashamed to beg I resolve what to do when I am put out of the stewardship. They may receive me into their houses Now this guy was more of an indoor guy Not as much of an outdoor guy This was a white collar guy as opposed to a blue collar dot guy To dig he may not have been able to he may have messed up his manicure But digging was probably beneath him, you know, what's the old song ain't too proud to dig No, it's ain't too proud to beg and he was ashamed to beg too. He was too proud to beg too He couldn't dig and he wouldn't beg this he viewed manual labor as being beneath him In other words, he was the guy who was the CPA and now in his pride And in his arrogance wouldn't take the digging job. He was going to look for another CPA job Was beneath him to dig and a point from this to think about is that when you need a job any job is a good job Again, it's not that we're to be private. Here's a lesson In the negative for the christian Be faithful in the work that the lord blesses you with When the opportunity comes it's a blessing from the lord see it as a blessing from the lord and then be faithful in that work He was faithful a little That's right faithful and much. Thank you brother It's the lord blesses in that so be faithful with the blessings that the lord gives you Uh, don't be too proud To take that job when you need a job You've got to provide and the lord blesses by and it may be even to you as a christian a test It's a it's a test of your trust in the lord a test of your Humility maybe sometimes maybe the lord is going to use that particular situation to teach you humility Which we all need to learn Here he's can't dig it's beneath him to dig. He's ashamed to beg Certainly too proud to beg beg and so the situation to him was Dire he viewed his situation Is him having no other alternative here had no other alternatives. Uh, he Resorted as was his nature to do here eventually to again lie to cheat To steal to rob from his master basically laundering money extorting money here He was just his nature was that of a liar a cheater a thief And so he resorted to that our responsibility christians Is to be faithful to the lord and there is no situation That would condone or warrant a christian even a dire situation over finances to be disobedient lord that will not Lead to sin it won't trust in the lord one of the reasons that We don't see the righteous begging bread as it says in scripture It's because the righteous have other righteous around them Brothers and sisters that will take care of you But you have the lord that will take care of you the lord uses means to do that We're to trust the lord we're to be faithful to the lord and never resort to deceit to lying to stealing We're to be faithful to the lord now No doubt here no question about it He's viewed his situation as dire He saw no other alternative and so he set to thinking about it now This was the guy who squandered his master's resources in other words He wasted all of that which that was entrusted to his care as a steward He wasted his time He wasted opportunity to think about that wasted opportunity to invest that wasted opportunity to do good With that for his master and then to be commended rightly from his master He had wasted all that opportunity and now he's in a situation where there's no other alternative He's not going to waste this it's his own hide that is in trouble here Okay, so he gets an idea And no doubt no doubt this unjust steward. It was very shrewd Undoubtedly he was proud of this idea that popped into his head. It was a light bulb aha moment for him He got this great idea Figured out how to make it all work out and not only all work out all work out for his benefit in the end This was a real winner this idea It was going to jab His current master gig his current master for firing him At the same time that it was going to save his financial future At the same time it was going to alienate debtors from the master and indent those debtors to himself Obligate them to himself This was a pretty smart A pretty wise if you will idea that he had it's amazing That here this considering his gross management of the master's funds at this point that this it took a Personal crisis in his life to really get him thinking and it prompted him in this to be really industrious Does it take that for you? Does it take a crisis to get you to be industrious with your finances? Does it take a crisis To get you industrious about saving your marriage Saving your job Saving a child from Horrible consequences of sin Does it take crisis for you to get industrious one lesson to be learned from this is don't wait For the personal crisis to be industrious in your life for the lord If this man from the beginning Had been industrious and wise with a stewardship that was given to him He would have reaped benefit from the lord in that and he would have been commended as a just steward And not an unjust one We've all been given a stewardship. You've been given a stewardship over your home Man, you've been given a stewardship over your wives over your kids ladies You've been given a stewardship of submitting to your husband. We've all been given a stewardship of serving the lord We've all been given a stewardship of the gospel the ministry of reconciliation We've all been given a stewardship And so are we going to be industrious With the stewardship that the lord has given us or will it take some consequence of sin, consequence of neglect, consequence of apathy, consequence of indifference before we'll turn around and be industrious for the Lord? It shouldn't. It's identify those stewardship where the Lord has given you rule over them and serve the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. In that the Lord blesses. Here it took a personal crisis for him to get to this point where he's actually going to think about it. He's actually going to work at this and try to make the most out of it. This is pretty clever management here on the part of this unjust steward. This is shrewd and cunning thinking as shrewd as a serpent. Where to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, right? This man was as shrewd as a serpent, as wise as a serpent. Not only did the owner here also not escort him to the door, but he failed to take away the guy's contact list. Failed to take away the guy's access to these contracts. Failed to get a non-disclosure agreement signed or a no-compete clause signed. Got to take away the guy's phone. Word had not gotten to the debtors yet. He hadn't told any of them yet. In here, there is again a huge risk and a huge cost, if you will, to the master. He let this guy sort of loose with his contact list and there's damage done here. This would have been like purchasing a commodity. He has land that he owns and on the land he's growing a crop. Others come in to grow a crop. From that crop, they owe the landowner the proceeds from that which they grow. They take that which is above and beyond, that which they own, they owe to the master. That's how they earn their living. At harvest, they would have owed for the crop that they were growing. So, comes in and he's going to make a deal with these debtors. Look at verse 5. So he called every one of his master's debtors to him. He said to the first, how much do you owe my master? He said a hundred measures of oil. So he said to him, take your bill, sit down quickly and write 50. He cut it in half. Verse 7, he said to the other, how much do you owe? So he said a hundred measures of wheat. He said to him, take your bill now and write 80. So he's cutting a deal with his master's debtors. In reducing the debt that they owed the landowner for the crop they would grow on his land, the unjust steward put them in obligation to him. It was after that time when you did someone a favor, very common, that they owed you a favor in return. That was common practice. So this unjust steward is granting them a huge favor. He goes and says, you owe how much? A hundred measures of oil. A hundred measures of oil was 875 gallons of olive oil, approximately, give or take. It would have taken the full production of 150 olive trees to produce that much oil. And the cost of that would have been a thousand denarii or about three years of wages for a common laborer at that time. So for him to cut it in half, not a small deal, right? That was a huge loss to the landowner, a huge loss. To have a hundred measures of wheat, a hundred measures of wheat would have cost approximately eight years' wages. So to take 20% off the top of that was again, was a huge loss to the landowner. This guy has gotten smart, right? He's gotten very shrewd. They were expected to repay his favor. He cuts their deal in half for one by 20% for the other to the landowner. And in doing that, he obligates these wealthy men themselves to him. They were farming on a large portion of the landowner's land in order to make that kind of produce. And on that kind of production, their profit would have been great. So he does, he takes the wealthy rich man landowner and he jabs him. And then he makes a deal with these somewhat less wealthy, but still wealthy in their own right, farmers who are farming on his land and obligates them now to himself. All of this was done by fraud. It makes them an unjust steward. You can't get around the fact this is not a good guy. He's robbing from the owner. He's stealing from the owner for his own benefit. And now these debtors are to be obligated to him. This is really smart, right? Sometimes you look at someone who makes this deal or creates this scheme. You think to yourself, that is wicked and smart at the same time. How long did Bernie Madoff get away with his scheme defrauding people that earned him billions? I think it was at the end. It's like this idea got him caught in the end. He paid the consequences of that, but that scheme was shrewd in the sense that it took a lot of thought. It took a lot of cunning, a lot of deceit in his unjust stewardship of all those funds Bernie Madoff protected himself for a really long time and became really, really wealthy. But it was unjust. So look what happens next. The shocking twist. The unexpected end of the story, so to speak, in verse 8. So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly for the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. What? What just happened here? The owner praises him. This is unexpected. The owner's listing would have thought the landowner had lost his mind. He had stepped away from reason for a moment. This man they would have seen as worthy only to be taken out and beaten. He was worthy to be punished. He should have been arrested for his fraud. But instead he was commended. He wasn't praised for, obviously, for being wasteful. He wasn't praised for being negligent. He wasn't praised for stealing, wasn't praised for deceiving or for lying. He was praised for being shrewd. What does that word shrewd mean? It means to act with wisdom and insight. To show real thoughtfulness. To act with wisdom and insight. Often we're not used to using words or descriptions like that to explain an unjust or wicked act. That's exactly how the Lord uses this here. This unjust man acted shrewdly. He acted with wisdom and acted with insight. Now he did it for the purpose of a sinful purpose, a sinful intention, a sinful result. But it was wisdom and insight nonetheless that he acted with. This is, we're going to see, an argument from the lesser to the greater. When we say from the lesser to the greater, we mean from the gutter most to the utter most. We mean from filth and scum to that which is righteous and good and holy and just and good. This is an argument again from the lesser to the greater, shrewd. Here this unjust steward thought through his circumstance. And he had to think about it, you'd think, for a while. He had to really ponder his circumstances, really ponder his context here. He worked out all the details. It took masterful working out of the details in order for this thing to work out the way it did. For all of this to fall into place according to his master wicked plan. It took a lot of thought. He considered all his options. Certainly he weighed every potential outcome. If I do this, then this will be the outcome. I don't want to do that. What if I do this? How can I get this to work out in my favor? He had to think through it. He weighed potential outcomes. He looked at the future and he looked at his current situation. He wanted to protect his future. He wanted to meet his temporal needs. How can I set myself up so that this ends up in my favor? And he came up with a really shrewd way out thinking with wisdom and with insight. He looked at his circumstances, looked at how he could act, looked at the future eventualities of those decisions and found a solution that fit the bill for him. So when everything was against him, he worked this situation to his own advantage so that at the end everything was going for him. He actually turned it so that all this was to his advantage and the debtors actually owed him now. His future was secure. The point here, this took serious thought, serious insight, serious wisdom. In this case, street smarts in a sense, right? Wisdom. It took shrewdness. It took real thoughtfulness. The point to this is very straightforward. In this unexpected twist to the plot, in the argument from the lesser to the greater, thinking of this unjust steward and now thinking of the sons of light, the sons of the kingdom, the point is very straightforward. Sons of this age, the Bible says, those that are outside the kingdom, those that are lost, those that are of their father the devil, those that are not Christians. How many ways can we say it? Those outside the kingdom, those sinners are often more skilled and more able to secure their own safety and their own future with respect to temporal needs than sons of light, believers. Because often in securing their future, often in their management of finances, or often in their desire to look out for their own hide, they are more shrewd than sons of light, than our believers. The point here is how much more than, think about it, is shrewd as he was, as wise, if you will, as he was, as industrious as he was, as well thought out as he was, as careful as he was, as considerate of all the circumstances and all the options as he was, as desirous as he was to make this work out in the end for his own good, as shrewd as he was, how much more should believers be? Christians, sons of light, sons of the kingdom, given heavenly riches, stewards of God's provision, how much more shrewd with those resources should believers be then in securing their own eternal reward? When your soul is at stake, when your eternal destiny hangs in the balances, when your sanctification is in mind, when your conformity to the image of Christ is considered, when your stewardship of your family, stewardship of your wife, stewardship of your husband, ladies, stewardship of the kids, stewardship of heavenly resources, your finances, stewardship of the job that God has blessed you with, stewardship of the gospel to share the gospel with the lost, stewardship of your own soul, your own sanctification, how much more shrewd considering that that is such great riches in heaven, such great treasure in Christ, how much more shrewd, more wise, more insightful, more industrious should a Christian be considering that that is what we're managing? Do you get the point? Yes, we have something of tremendous, tremendous value. Tremendous value. And it's not just our temporal future that is in mind here. It's our eternal destiny, our eternal future, our eternal heavenly riches that are in mind here. It's not just a wealthy landowner that we're serving. It's our Creator. But God of the universe, God Almighty, the eternal, unchangeable, invisible God, how much more than, well that is a tremendous argument from the lesser to the greater, amen? How much more shrewd, how much more wise should believers be considering what we've been given to manage? That's the point here of the parable. He goes on to say in verse 9, and I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore have you not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches. And if you've not been faithful in what is another man's who will give you what is your own. Difficult at first glance, right? Think about verse 9. I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon. What exactly does that mean? You, Christian, are given stewardship of your finances, right? No one can serve God and mammon. What is mammon? Mammon is your wealth. It's your possessions. It's that which you own. It's your money. It's your bank account. That's mammon. So it says here, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon. What does that mean? It means using the resources, the finances, the wealth, the possessions, the provisions that God gives you for making friends. How do you make friends when you're a Christian? You make friends by sharing the gospel with them, seeing them saved. They become a brother. They become a sister. They become true friends in Christ. You make friends by witnessing. Where are your true friends if you're a Christian? Your true friends are other Christians. They're your brothers and sisters. So the lesson here from verse 9, use those resources. Use your wealth. Use your money. Use your possessions for kingdom purposes. Use those possessions to see the gospel pressed forward so that you make friends of those that you will forever be friends with in heaven. Forever. Those are true friends. They're truly your friends when you're in heaven and you see them walking through the gate and they're there because you shared the gospel with them. Amen? That's a true friend. Use the possessions that you have. Use your wealth for spreading the gospel. And spreading the gospel, you make friends for yourselves. Use that filthy looker if you will. Use that unrighteous mammon for the purpose of doing that. Use that mammon and invest it in kingdom work, in gospel work. And in that gospel work, you make eternal friends for yourselves through the gospel that when you fail, it says there in verse 9, when you fail in what? When you fail with those finances. Those finances are going to burn. All your possessions, all your wealth, you can't take any of it with you. It is all going to fail at some point. It's all going to be burnt up. That money doesn't go with you into heaven. Your possessions don't go with you into heaven. You go through that turnstile alone with nothing. You can't take anything with you. So that money all fails. That when you fail with all those, the investment of that unrighteous mammon, when that money fails, they, those friends of yours, those eternal friends, those friends in the gospel, the Christ may receive you into an everlasting home. They'll receive you into heaven as true friends, as beneficiaries of the gospel that you shared. That's the point here from this, that we are to make eternal friends. Look at Matthew 6, just very quickly, Matthew chapter 6. And look at verse 19. Matthew chapter 6, verse 19. This is part and parcel with this. And I think we need to see it in this context. Verse 19, the Bible says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is there your heart will be also. I think one application of that is laying up treasure for yourself in heaven, is laying up for yourself friends, people that, through the gospel, that you'll, it'll be there, as the Lord's blessing and grace to you, and using you as a means to see them saved, a means to spread the gospel. Lay up treasure in heaven. But secondly here, character determines faithfulness. It's not how much you have, it's how little that you have that determines faithfulness or what happens or results. It's character. Look at verse 10. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much. And he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Some people falsely think to themselves, you know, if I just had a better job, if I can make more money, if I could just, you know, get that promotion, boy, if I could just strike it rich. You know, if I had a rich relative that would die off and leave me in inheritance, you know, they think to themselves, you know, if I had these opportunities, these resources, think of all that I could do with that for the kingdom. What are you doing with what the Lord has already given you? What are you doing with what you possess now? What did the widow do with her might? Faithfulness is determined by character, not determined by how much or how little you have. If you think yourself poor, are you being faithful what the Lord has given you? If you think yourself rich, are you being faithful with the riches that the Lord has given you? Faithfulness is the factor there that to be concerned about. Are you being faithful? And here, to take the point of the parable, are you being shrewd? Are you being wise? Are you being industrious? Are you laying that up for the sake of the gospel to see the kingdom spread? We are to be good stewards with all that God gives us, and it's not the amount that God gives us that will determine our faithfulness. Anything with a parable of the talents? Well, if I just had those 10, I could really make a go of it. If I had five, I could really, because I've only got this one, just better bury it in the ground. We're not to think that way. The Lord can make more out of that one with a faithful steward than he can with 10 and an unfaithful steward. Be faithful with what the Lord has given you. It's not how much you have or don't have. Just because you have more does not mean that you'll accomplish more. The Lord is concerned with a heart. He will be a faithful steward. There's another point here. He goes on to say verse 12, and if you've not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own, we're to be faithful again. That's the point. Look at verse 13. No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. This word serve is the verb form of the word for slave. It refers to serving as a slave. You cannot render service as a slave to two masters at one time. Your service as a slave is to one master or another because it's slave service that is rendered here. There cannot be, there cannot be co-rulers of your heart, co-rulers of your mind, co-rulers of your gifts and talents, co-rulers of your thoughts. If you have two that are trying to rule, or as you're trying to subject yourself to, there will be conflicting demands. If you try to serve God and Mammon, those demands from each will come into conflict in short order, and that's a guarantee. There will be conflicting authority. Whose authority will you obey? You cannot serve God and Mammon. There will be conflicting emotions. You're going to trust your wealth, trust your possessions, trust your money to get you out of that issue, that circumstance, that problem, or you're going to trust the Lord to do that. There will be conflicting emotions. There's going to be conflicting actions. As a result of all that, you will serve the one or serve the other. But in serving the one, you don't serve the other. In serving Mammon, you cannot serve God. You cannot. They're mutually exclusive. In serving God, you cannot be a slave to Mammon. You've got a forfeit, that ungodly grip on this world. You've got to let it go. There'll be conflicting attitudes. There'll be conflicting wills. Ultimately to you, there will be conflicting gods. You're either serving the idol of Mammon or you're serving the one true and living God and you're going to trust him. It's often that when you're genuinely saved, the Lord, in His grace and in His mercy, through some financial difficulty, separates you from the love of money. And all God's people say, Lord, thank you, amen. Amen. I had to go through that. It was really tough. But praise you, God. Thank you. You taught me. You taught me to trust in you. You taught me to... I can't trust in that. You've taught me that that's empty and that's shallow and that's hollow and it's not going anywhere. I can't trust it, Lord, but I trust you. That's the point. That's the point. This unjust steward could act shrewdly but certainly, considering the Lord that we serve and considering all that he has blessed us with, we should that much more be shrewd in our service to him. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Father in Heaven, Lord, thank you for this story. It is such an interesting story. It's such a beautiful story. God, it's such an informative story and teaches such a valuable lesson. Lord, help us to be faithful to you, trusting you wholeheartedly. It's just often that in our flesh it is so easy in the flesh to drift back to where we're trusting in our own flesh, trusting in our own abilities, trusting in our own provision, trusting in our own wealth, our own possessions, our own money. Lord, but there's no hope in that and we acknowledge that before you now. We acknowledge that you are our hope, you are our trust and you are all that we need and you've been so gracious to us in providing all our need. Certainly, Lord, the greatest of which is salvation but considering that great salvation in Christ, how much more will you also freely give us all things? So we thank you for that, Lord. We love you, we're grateful to you and Lord, out of a loving, grateful heart we want to in the handling of our finances and in the handling of those things that you've given us stewardship over want to, Lord, for your glory, because we love you, because we're so grateful, we want to demonstrate our trust in you by being good stewards of all that you've provided. Strengthen us by your your spirit to do that or help us to serve you to trust in you, to be anxious for nothing despite any circumstance that comes along. And as Paul said we would by your spirit, God, want to say also learn to be content in everything. Lord, thank you that this is such a glorious blessing and we, Lord, desire your honor in this desire for Christ to be exalted and for you to be glorified. Pray all these things in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, our great provider, Jesus Christ, amen.