Faming of the Shrewd

Well, good morning. It's lovely to see you all. I just want to clarify that the choice of that parable has nothing to do with the fact that Archie is leaving today.

Somebody being told they can't do their job anymore is completely unrelated to the event.

Please keep your Bibles open. That would be tremendously helpful. And it is a real honour to be here on such a momentous day as Katie and Archie set sail down to Peoples.

And what an exciting partnership that has been forged over the last number of years.

And to now come to the point where Archie and Katie can go full time down in Peoples.

What a great thing the Lord is accomplishing amongst you here at Brunsfield.

Let me pray and then we'll get going with Luke chapter 16.

Luke 16 · chapter mention

Gracious God, we understand the absolute vanity of studying your word independent of your spirit.

So please shine the light of your word into us.

That it may be alive.

That we might see, understand and be changed by your truth.

In Jesus name. Amen.

Charles Blondin was a world famous French tightrope walker in the middle of the 19th century.

He shot to global fame in 1859 as the first person to traverse the Niagara Gorge.

In subsequent years, because he became so famous, he repeated the feat.

Elevating the danger each time.

He did it blindfolded.

He did it in a sack.

He paused halfway across to cook an omelette.

His final crossing involved him crossing the gorge, pushing a wheelbarrow.

He went the 17 minute journey to the other side.

And then he turned around and went the 17 minutes back again.

And to the crowd that were gathered on the clifftop, he said,

Do you think I could do it with somebody in the wheelbarrow?

And they all went, of course you can.

Of course you can.

You are the great Blondin.

At which point he looked at them and he said, who's coming?

And nobody moved.

Everyone was silent.

There was a great difference between knowing something about Blondin and trusting something about Blondin.

A great difference between thinking he could and staking your whole life on the fact that he could.

Let me tell you that Luke chapter 16 verses 1 to 13, this enigmatic parable about the dishonest manager,

Luke 16:1–13

from the lips of Jesus is the who is coming moment.

Who's coming?

Who's going to be all in on the mission that I am accomplishing?

Who is going to stake all of their life and come with me and be part of what I am doing?

For my eternal kingdom and for my glory.

Who's coming?

Ask Jesus in Luke chapter 16.

Luke 16 · chapter mention

It is a parable that speaks to us and says our decisive use of resources reveals whether our hearts align with Jesus' hearts.

We're parachuting into the second half of Luke's gospel.

A second half that began in chapter 9 verse 51 when Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.

When the time drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Jesus is on his way back to glory.

When the time came for him to be taken up, back to where he came from, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

The journeying with Jesus shape of the root is following Jesus to glory via suffering.

That's what the whole second half of Luke's gospel is about.

What does it mean?

What does it take?

What will it cost to follow Jesus to glory?

And that road to glory necessarily involves the suffering of Jerusalem.

And let's be clear on this Palm Sunday.

That was a memo that none of the disciples and none of Jesus' followers got.

What?

Because when he rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, everyone shouted, God save us, God save us, God save us.

But towards the end of the week, when it was clear that it was not going to be glory, but suffering,

they all joined in the crowd and said, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.

And our current section on this journey began in Luke 13 verse 22.

Luke 13:22

This long journey from 951 to 1945 is split up into different bits.

And the way Luke does that is by saying the way.

And every time he says the way, he's talking about something new.

And the thrust of this section is when Jesus says, make every effort to enter through the narrow door.

And everything that follows is about what it takes, the effort that it needs, the cost it requires to enter through that narrow door,

to follow Jesus to glory via the suffering of Jerusalem.

He demonstrates that to enter through the narrow door, you need to realize your absolute need of a dead and risen Messiah.

As he looks over Jerusalem and says, long I wanted to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not come.

It's effort that's going to require great humility.

That as he has dinner with the chief Pharisee, it becomes clear that they're so puffed up with pride.

It's going to be impossible for them to enter through the narrow gate, the narrow door.

It is something that will require everything that you've got to give.

It will require loving Jesus so much that all of your earthly relationships will look like hate in comparison.

And in Luke 15, it is effort that will require an all-out search.

No holes barred scouring of absolutely everything in order that they might be rejoicing when lost, repentant people are found and brought home.

And in Luke 16, it is effort that will require shrewd investment of your time and your treasure and your talents.

It will require decisive use of your resources.

And by your resources, I mean your time, your treasure and your talents.

Chapter 15 is probably the most famous chapter in the Bible.

The triptych of parables about the lost sheep and the lost coin and the lost son.

And the problem is because those are so famous and so obviously go together.

We read them and then we stop reading.

And I want to tell you that Luke chapter 16 verses 1 to 13 is directly related to these parables.

Luke 16:1–13

This is, if you like, the sting in the tail.

This is, if you like, we've loved chapter 15.

We've loved Jesus, the great one who seeks and saves what's lost.

We love Jesus who launches a no-holds-barred surge until everything that is lost is brought home.

And Jesus in chapter 16 says, who's coming?

He even starts the parable.

Jesus also told his disciples this parable.

It's absolutely connected.

Jesus says, you've seen my heart, which is about finding lost people.

You've seen the depth of my forgiveness, the inexhaustible nature of my grace.

Jesus says, you've seen what makes me tick, the reason that I came.

And then he also tells his disciples this parable and says, who's coming?

Who's coming?

And at first reading, it is an unnerving parable, isn't it?

I mean, this manager seems to be a bit scrupulous.

And yet Jesus commends him.

We're supposed to be encouraging utilitarian shortcuts.

We're supposed to be encouraging selfishness, where people who know that they've done wrong cut corners and cook the books and do things in order that they might have a happy and healthy retirement.

Well, I don't think so.

Because Jesus says what the master commended, verse 8.

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.

He commends him for his shrewdness.

Now, Jesus commending his shrewdness is not commending his dishonesty.

That's why verse 8 is so helpful.

It's like the end of a big bank heist.

Where you look back and you see how everything has been done.

And the leader of the investigation just applauds.

He's not commending the stealing of the money.

He's not commending the cracking of the safe.

But he stands back and says, that's a great plan.

That's a great scheme that you've enacted.

The master commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.

For his shrewdness, not his dishonesty.

He applauds his shrewdness.

His quick thinking, decisive action in the moment, knowing what the future would hold.

So let's get into it.

It is a parable about shrewdness, verses 1 to 7.

What is pictured here is a very, very rich man.

And because he is very rich and has business enterprises and a huge property portfolio,

he hires a wealth manager to look after his affairs.

He's hired a middleman.

He's employed a wealth manager.

Why?

So he can enjoy his wealth where someone else looks after the business.

The wealth manager is entrusted with the family business.

All the affairs of the rich man.

The property portfolio.

The craft brewing industry.

The stocks and shares investments.

The ongoing trading relationships.

The global corporate deals.

A steward to manage the business empire.

However, the manager is accused of wasting the master's possessions.

That word wasting is exactly the same word used of the prodigal son.

Who wastes his inheritance in the foreign land.

Away from his father's house.

It seems this manager is squandering the rich man's treasure.

And finally, verse 2, the report gets back to the rich man.

And they send an email to the rich man with the subject line.

Do you know what your wealth manager is doing?

And the rich man sends an urgent email to his wealth manager.

Subject line.

What is this I hear about you?

Let's get an appointment in the calendar for Monday morning.

Because you cannot be manager any longer.

And it seems from the wealth manager's actions

that he's not been doing a good job.

He knows he's banged to rights.

He knows that he really has been wasting the rich man's possessions.

He doesn't craft a defence.

He doesn't phone his union.

He makes his exit strategy.

He is guilty and therefore he knows

there is nothing that he can do to continue in his current job.

And his exit strategy is fuelled by shrewdness.

And we read his internal monologue.

What shall I do?

My master is taking away my job.

On Monday, I will get a P-45, be disgraced.

Have all of my possessions from my office put in a box

and I'll be marched out by security.

What am I going to do?

I'm not strong enough to dig.

And I'm too ashamed to beg.

And then he hits upon it.

Bingo.

I know what I'll do.

So when I lose my job here,

people will welcome me into their houses.

I've got no future here,

but can I use my last remaining hours

while I've got security clearance

to mean that when I leave employment here,

it will go very, very well for me.

I know what I'll do.

I'll take decisive action

with the little time that I have

in order that when I leave,

people will welcome me into their houses.

Knowing the future,

thrust him towards decisive and drastic action

in the present.

He knows he's going to get the chop.

His reputation will be tarnished.

No one will employ him as a wealth manager.

Therefore, in a desperate attempt

to make friends and influence people,

he calls in the rich man's debtors

and he slashes their outstanding balance.

He calls in all his master's debtors

and we're given a case study

of two examples of what he did.

The first debtor owes 3,000 liters of olive oil.

Now, the cheapest oil I could find this week

on Amazon.com was 5 liters for 50 pounds.

This man owes roughly 32 grand to the rich man.

And the manager says,

quickly, get your eraser, rub it out.

Right, 16,000.

I mean, you'd be delighted to be that debtor.

32,000, you're thinking about some sort of repayment plan

over the next 10 years.

And suddenly you think,

I could just swap a few credit notes around

and I could maybe pay it off in a one-er.

The second owes 30 tons of wheat.

Today, wheat is cheaper given industrial farming,

but even today,

one tonne of bake-ready wheat

is worth 649 pounds per tonne.

It's still quite a lot.

And the manager says,

quickly, make it 24 tons.

Reduce the bill by a fifth.

Now, the parable is written in such a way

that this rich man has been so far away

from the business

that he has no idea

what's in the orders book.

So whatever the wealth manager leaves

is the state of the business

when he hands it back.

And so there's no way

that the rich man can work out

who owes what to whom.

He just has to go on

the dishonest manager's words.

And so the manager,

knowing that the writing was on the wall,

he knew that his future was bleak.

He knew what would happen on Monday.

And he took decisive action

in order that when he left the employment,

he'd be welcomed into people's houses.

He could, if you like,

become a professional sofa surfer.

That all these debtors

now owed him a favor.

There wouldn't be one family dinner

he couldn't arrive at uninvited.

Because he saved these people

literally thousands of pounds

they owe him.

And so whilst he cannot continue

to be employed

for the remainder of his earthly life,

it is going to go very well for him.

Because he's made friends

and influenced just the right people.

He would be looked after

by all the traders

for whom he has done a solid

in reducing their debts.

Now quite apart from taking the eraser

to the debt sheet,

cooking the books,

cancelling debts

that weren't owed to you

but to the rich man,

unscrupulous,

but very shrewd.

Knowing the future,

he took decisive action

in the present.

And this is what Jesus picks up

in verse 8.

The master commended

the dishonest manager

because he had acted

shrewdly.

For his shrewdness,

for his shrewdness,

not his dishonesty,

the manager holds his hands up

and says,

well played.

Well played to his former

wealth manager.

Looking at the ledger,

he can see that it's been doctored

but he has no idea

what was there originally.

Therefore,

he has no way of collecting

all the debt

that was outstanding.

Knowing the day of reckoning

from the master was coming,

the wealth manager acted shrewdly.

He invested the little time

that he had left

to carve out a future

for himself.

Then Jesus says,

middle of verse 8,

the people of this world

are more shrewd

dealing with their own kind

than the people of light.

Jesus looks at this man

and saw how he acted

so decisively

and so drastically

knowing what the future

looked like.

looked at his disciples

in front of him

and said,

how much more

should it be with you?

You now know

what the future holds.

I've been telling you

all the way

as we've been on this journey

to Jerusalem,

the Son of Man

will be betrayed,

disowned,

killed,

raised,

ascended,

building,

building an eternal kingdom

that cannot be shaken.

You know what the future holds.

If the dishonest manager

did it for the remaining years

of his three score years

and ten,

how much more should you

in the time that you have

and the talents that you have

and the treasure that you have

be investing in that future

that has been secured

so decisively

by the Lord Jesus?

Just in case we didn't get it,

verse 9,

I tell you,

use worldly wealth

to gain friends

for yourselves

so that when it is gone

you will be welcomed

into eternal dwellings.

It's hidden in the English,

but the first you

of verse 9

is singular

and the second you

of verse 9

is plural.

I tell you,

individual Christian,

individual member

of the family

of Jesus Christ,

individual citizen

of Jesus'

eternal kingdom,

I tell you,

singular,

use your singular wealth

to gain friends

for yourselves

so that when it is gone

you,

plural,

you and all

of your friends,

you and all

of the people

that you've influenced

for the gospel,

you,

all the people

that you've used

your investment of time

and treasure

and talents

to come to saving faith

in the Lord Jesus

that you all

will be welcomed

into eternal dwellings.

The wealth manager

took decisive action

to be welcomed

into temporal dwellings

and acted so shrewdly.

You

use your earthly time,

treasure and talents

deploying it strategically

and sacrificially

in order that you,

you and all

of your friends

that you've gained

through your deployment

of worldly wealth

will be welcomed

into eternal dwellings.

I tell you,

use worldly wealth

to gain friends

for yourselves

so that when it is gone

and gone it will be,

if there's one thing

we're learning

from the Trump presidency

is that worldly wealth

is not secure.

People having hundreds

of thousands of pounds

knocked off their savings

through one press conference.

Gone it will be.

And the question is,

how will you invest it now

for eternal dwellings then?

Use worldly wealth.

Use your bank account

gifts and your diary

and the gifts

that God has given you

to gain friends

for yourselves

so that when it's all gone

and you're looking

at the ground

from the brown side,

you will be welcomed

into eternal dwellings.

In other words,

use your treasure

to show that your treasure

isn't your treasure

but Jesus is your treasure.

Use your treasure

to show that your treasure

isn't your treasure

but Jesus is your treasure.

And investing what you have

and who you are

and the time that you have

in what he's doing

is by far the best investment

you can ever make.

Jesus says,

my mission is

seeking and saving

lost people

and bringing them home

to be with me,

to rejoice with me forever.

and he says

to all of his disciples

who's coming?

Who's in?

Who's going to stake it all?

Who's going to invest in me

and what I'm doing

which is the surest investment

you could ever make?

Jesus then finishes

by offering four principles

to help us be shrewd.

The first one is this,

verse 10.

Are you faithful

in the little bit

you have now?

Look at what it says.

Whoever can be trusted

with very little

can also be trusted

with much

and whoever is dishonest

with very little

will also be dishonest

with much.

We're all at that stage,

aren't we?

We don't quite have enough

and we tell ourselves

the lie,

when I have a little bit more

then I'll be more invested

in what Jesus is doing.

And it's a total lie

because habits

are easily grooved.

And therefore,

if we're not sacrificially

investing in Jesus

with the little bit

we have now,

then even when we have a lot

we won't be investing.

If you're dishonest

in the little bit

you have now,

you'll still be dishonest

even if the windfall comes.

And so are you faithful

in the little bit

you have now?

There might be a lot,

not a lot of fat

on the bone.

But if you sacrificially

invest in that,

that will be the best investment

that you ever make.

And who knows

if you're faithful

in the very little bit

you have now.

When you get more

you'll still be being faithful

in what the Lord

has trusted you with.

This is so shocking,

verse 11.

So if you have not been

trustworthy

in handling worldly wealth,

who will trust you

with true riches?

Do you see,

Jesus is making

a massive distinction there

between worldly wealth,

between stuff,

between bank balances

and gold ingots

and yachts

and cigars

and vintage wine collections.

And he just calls

that worldly wealth

just stuff.

And he says

if you haven't been faithful

in the stuff,

who will trust you

with true riches,

eternal riches,

heavenly treasure,

treasure that will yield

a dividend every year

for all of eternity,

which is a very,

very long time.

that's a very,

very long time.

Are you trustworthy

with worthless wealth?

Worldly wealth?

Wealth that in the light

of eternity

will be like monopoly money?

Because if you're trustworthy

in worthless wealth,

then the promise is here

that God will trust you

with true riches

that will last forever.

number three,

verse 12.

And if you have not

been trustworthy

with someone else's property,

who will give you

property of your own?

Do you realize

that your stuff

isn't actually your stuff?

Do you know that

constant refrain

in the Psalms,

the earth is the Lord's

and everything in it?

He's just given it

to you to borrow.

In a sense,

he's employed you

as a wealth manager

to take what he's given you

to invest in his kingdom

in order that it might

yield more

in order that you

might have more

to invest in

what King Jesus is doing.

And the minute we realize

that our stuff

isn't our stuff,

but we're borrowing it

to invest in,

to invest

for a very rich God

who owns everything,

suddenly we won't

hold it so tight.

We won't cleave to it

and cling to it.

suddenly because we know

it's not ours

but it's been gifted to us

by our Heavenly Father,

suddenly we'll be

really ready

to really invest

in what Jesus is doing.

It's much easier,

isn't it,

taking risks

with other people's money?

And that's true

of all of your money.

It's not yours.

It belongs to God.

If you've not been

trustworthy

with someone else's property,

God's property,

what he's given you,

he will trust you

with stuff

of your own

in

eternity.

And fourthly,

which master

are you really

serving?

Because Jesus

says it's binary,

no one can serve

two masters.

we all think

that we're the exception

to the rule,

that we can be

all in for Jesus

and yet also

have a slice

of the world

for ourselves.

We do not need

to forfeit

our souls

when we gain

the world.

We all think

that we're the exception

to that rule

and Jesus says

you absolutely can't.

It's one

or the other.

is it

Jesus

all for Jesus,

all I am

and have

and ever hope

to be?

Or is it

worldliness,

rainy day funds,

gaining a slice

of the world,

trying to have

our cake

and eat it?

Jesus says

you aren't

the exception.

You can serve

one or the other.

Jesus

or money,

investing in

an eternal

kingdom

that cannot

be shaken

or putting

a few shekels

in a way

in a bank

that will

ultimately

fail you

and be

proven

worthless.

Therefore,

be shrewdly

investing

your earthly

life

to gain

an eternal

dividend

surrounded

by all

the friends

you've gained

through your

shrewd

investment

in this

life.

It's a

pertinent

message for

today,

I think,

because one

of my

lasting

memories

of Brunsfield

is that it

is full

of very

committed

unsacrificial

people.

And I guess

today is

testimony to

that fact.

All your

investment in

Archie

and Katie

over the

last number

of years

and now

sending them

out to

Peebles,

taking your

investment

and deploying

it strategically

in Peebles

that you

might have a

share in

all that the

Lord accomplishes

down there

in the

borders.

But let me

tell you,

it would be

a real shame

if this was

the high point

of your

shrewd

investing.

If it was

this and

then paring

back.

If it was

this and

then coasting.

If it was

this and

just making

pews more

comfortable for

you to sit

in.

That's not

the worst

idea.

Sending

them out

to Peebles

should be

really

encourage

you to

redouble

your

efforts

to

double

down

on

your

investment

in

all

that

Jesus

is

doing.

It'd be a shame

having lived so

much by faith

you resorted to

starting to live

by sight.

And having

invested so

much in

people for

the glory of

the Lord

Jesus you

now started

investing in

stuff for

your own

comfort.

Friends,

it is us.

It is

now.

And it is

going to

require

sacrificial

shrewdness

from all

of Jesus'

people in

order that we

might gain

friends,

in order that

more of

Scotland might

be welcomed

into eternal

dwellings.

Our

decisive use

of resources

reveals whether

our hearts

are aligned

with Jesus'

heart.

So in

closing,

as we

respond,

could I

invite you

to take

your

mobile

phone

out?

Just

log into

your

banking

app and

pass it to

the person

next to

you for a

bit of

accountability

in how

you're

investing

your

money?

Well,

of course

we're not

going to

do that.

But it

would be

quite

revealing,

wouldn't

it?

As to

where we're

spending our

time and

our treasure

and our

talents.

Once we'd

finished

analysing the

banking app,

if we got to

people's calendars

and diary,

see where their

investments were

really being

made.

Because I

guess at the

end of the

day,

according to

Luke 16,

where we're

investing is

the barometer

that reveals

whether our

desires are

actually aligned

to Jesus,

or this is

just a

veneer that

we're putting

out to

save face.

Jesus is

the ultimate

one who

acted so

shrewdly in

order that we

might have

eternal life.

Who literally

invested

everything for

you and for

me.

And therefore

it would be so

foolish and so

ungrateful if we

started to hold

back some of the

things that he's

given to us to

invest in what

he's doing.

Let's pray

together.

Father God,

we come before

you in awe of

who you are.

The one who

is holy and

sovereign and

full of

steadfast love.

You are

worthy of all

of our praise.

The one who

draws near to

us in mercy

through Jesus.

He gave

everything for

each of us.

us.

Thank you for

the cross.

Thank you for

his precious

blood poured

out.

For his

eternal victory.

Thank you so

much for Jesus,

the one who

held nothing

back but

invested his

all.

And invested

his all so

that we could

gain everything

in him.

Forgive us,

Lord, for the

ways that we

hold back,

our time,

we pursue

our comforts,

we selfishly

deploy our

resources,

we become

self-sufficient

and selfish

in our hearts.

Too often we

invest in what

fades rather

than what

lasts.

Change us,

God, we

ask.

Shape us into

bold, sacrificial

and shreed

investors.

Invest us in

your eternal

kingdom.

Help us live

with eternity

in mind,

fully surrendered,

joyfully obedient,

and all in

your glory.

glory.

And we're

here this

morning pleading

that you would

have mercy in

Scotland so

that on the

day that we

see Jesus,

we, surrounded

by many

friends,

would be

welcomed into

eternal

dwellings.

We're so

thankful that

Jesus came to

seek and to

save that

which was

lost,

and we pray

that we would

be fully on

board with

him.

And it's in

his name we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.