CMLC 2025-09-21 Sermon

Howdy Imagine starting a restaurant chain in

America and making one radical decision We're

going to stay closed on Sundays. I know Weird,

right? No football crowd. No after -church rush.

You only get half the weekend sales And people

I'm sure laughed at the idea. They said, I'm

sure it would never work, but Chick -fil -A has

been doing it since 1946. And today, it's one

of the most successful fast food chains in the

country. How often is it that you're driving

past Chick -fil -A on a Sunday and you're like,

oh, I'd love to get some nuggets. Oh, it's Sunday.

Still there's occasionally there's that one car

that's in the drive -thru and there is like did

you not get the memo? It's it's literally on

the sign right there closed Sundays You know

we're over there This this oftentimes makes us

smile even though we wish we could get some waffle

fries Because that closed drive -thru it preaches

a sermon making money is not meant to be the

driving factor in our lives. Our lives determine

how we utilize the money that we have. See, that's

really the question in our readings today. Amos

shows us people who could not wait for the Sabbath

to be over so they could get back to the money

-making ways that they had. And Jesus shows us

a story about money that asks What are you really

doing with what you have? Whom are you really

serving with it? And here's the big idea for

us. Wealth and possessions that are not always

evil, but what you do with them shows where your

heart is. And God calls us to use what we have

for eternity. Let's start for a moment with Amos.

He describes people who sit and worship, but

they're restless. They're tapping their feet.

They're checking the time. When will this be

over so we can get back to business? Let's get

back to life. When will the Sabbath end so we

can sell more grain and we can make more money?

Does that sound familiar? Probably not the part

about grain. I have no idea how to sell grain

myself, but we know the feeling. Have you ever

caught yourself in church thinking about the

work deadlines, the bills, the lunch plans, maybe

even some money that's riding on the game a little

bit later? How many people have their fantasy

leagues? Money and worry, they creep into our

minds like a strange little virus, even when

we're supposed to be focused on God. And see,

that's the reality check though. Wealth and possessions,

they're not neutral. They don't just sit there

doing nothing. They pull at our hearts. They

compete for our loyalty. They determine what

we believe to be important. And this is something

where Chick -fil -A offers a living parable,

asking themselves, what do we really serve? Do

we serve profit or do we serve purpose? Many

of you, I'm sure, have been at a Chick -fil -A

on a Friday afternoon, where the line is lined

up all the way twice around the building, and

it still somehow takes less than 10 minutes to

get through. Just saying. God has completely

taken care of them without needing to panic about

their one day off. If they can afford to turn

down Sunday sales and still be packed every other

day of the week, it tells you something. Being

driven by purpose instead of just the profits

in the short term does not need to destroy us.

Jesus says you cannot serve both God and money.

But if God is happy to care for us without worrying

about how we're doing it ourselves, then why

do we still make poor decisions that destroy

us from the inside out? If wealth reveals our

heart, then the way that we use it matters. And

here's where scripture gives us a powerful contrast.

Notice the contrast between Amos and Jesus' parable.

In Amos, the wealthy used their power to crush

the poor and gain what they could at their expense,

caring nothing for what God would desire of his

people and how they treat one another. They rigged

scales. They would have them that ended up being

lighter so that they could end up giving less

to them in exchange for the money they received.

They would sell leftovers, acting as if it is

the best, the premium of the grain, instead of

realizing it was whatever was left over. And

they squeezed every penny they could out of other

people. God says, I will not forget their deeds.

Judgment was coming. See, that's one way that

people may use wealth. Selfishly, unjustly, short

-sightedly, not even worrying that they're doing

it to those who have very little already. But

in Luke, Jesus tells a strange story. Isn't it

strange to hear Jesus seemingly glorify the bad

guy? It's strange because it treats the manager

who's inept at his job and wasteful with what

he has and treats him as a model to follow. But

let's be clear. Jesus was never afraid to take

someone who was seen as unclean or unworthy and

use them to try to make a point about how terrible

the good guys, the leaders, were in his day.

See, we may be okay with Samaritans and tax collectors,

well... at least one of them. But they were just

as terrible in his day as the manager. Talking

about the unworthy manager is a way of showing

that if he can even do things with what is unworthy

wealth, if he can still do good things with that,

how much more should you be able to do when you

are someone following after God? See, this manager,

he's about to be fired. So he shrewdly calls

in his master's clients and he reduces their

debts. Hey, don't worry. I got your back. I'll

help you out now if you'll help me out later

down the line. He's dishonest. Yes, that's the

point. He's still thinking ahead. He uses what

little he has left. to secure relationships for

the future and to make sure he even has a future

at all. And that's the point is to show if a

corrupt manager can use corrupt money to care

for other people and then provide for his own

future, how much more? Why weren't the people

in Jesus' day who were saying that they followed

after God and that he was the one leading them?

Why weren't they able to do the same thing in

regard to the people and their own future with

what they were claiming to be good and right?

They were not caring about the future kingdom

of God, and they couldn't seem to care about

the people who were all around them. Jesus presents,

if even worldly people know how to prepare for

the future with how they spend money, shouldn't

God's people be even wiser? in spending money

for the future. We must use money now in ways

that echo into eternity, both for people and

for God's kingdom. See, here's the contrast.

Amos' people of Israel chased after the short

-term gains and they were bringing God's judgment.

The manager in Luke, the dishonest one, for all

of his faults, at least he looked ahead and was

praiseworthy for it. But the challenge then comes

to us. Will we spend money as if this life is

all there is? Or are we using what we have in

ways that last forever? Think about Chick -fil

-A. You know that running joke about how every

worker smiling has to say, my pleasure. Oh, no,

I forgot my straw. My pleasure. Oh, I needed

some Chick -fil -A sauce. My pleasure. And then

they even have the music videos where they joke

about it. Oh, no, my tire went flat. My pleasure.

There we go. Oh, no, my lawn meets boat. Oh,

my pleasure. And then the one person doesn't

say my pleasure. And it's like, oh, they got

disappeared real quick. The thing is, is that

that doesn't happen by accident. It's training.

It's culture. It's a long term investment in

people, not just food. Compare that to the crowd

for Amos. cutting corners and cheating customers.

One is about trust and service, the other one

is about exploitation, and it reveals who the

people are through how they behave. And that's

the invitation. Don't waste your wealth on what

fades. Use it for what lasts. But the question

for us, how do we live this way? Where do we

find the strength to use wealth? for eternal

purposes instead of temporary gains. But see,

the good news is that even when God was speaking

through Amos to people who were clearly doing

the wrong thing, He isn't only pointing out failure,

hey, you really messed up there. He saw the greed,

the impatience, the exploitation in Israel's

hearts. And yet He spoke because He wanted them

to turn back to Him. Even when they had to learn

things the hard way, God's desire was still that

his people would know him even during the exile,

even after the exile. The same is true with Jesus.

He tells a parable about a manager who wasn't

being wise, but notice he's not closing the door.

He's opening it because he wants the listeners

who are ready to hear to take the opportunity

to change. That's the grace of God for us today

too. He speaks to us not to condemn us and to

leave us there, but to give us the choice, the

chance to turn, to change, to redirect our lives

and our resources toward the things that really

last. But how do we actually do that? I mean,

let's be honest, money's powerful. Resources,

they grip us tight. What is it that frees us?

from its hold. And yes, I know the obvious Sunday

school answer is supposed to be Jesus. I get

it. But how is the answer Jesus? How do we become

something different because of Jesus, and who

He is and what He's done? See, Paul says that

though He was rich, yet for your sake He became

poor, so that you through poverty, His poverty

might become rich. Jesus gave up the wealth of

heaven, to walk among us in poverty. Not poverty

being a carpenter's son per se, but the poverty

of being a mortal human being. Instead of the

immortal that he was in heaven, he laid down

his life to give us eternal riches. Forgiveness,

grace, eternal life. That's the treasure no moth

or rust can destroy. But it's more than just

looking to Jesus as an example because honestly

yeah, he is the perfect example to follow But

if all we're doing is trying harder We're gonna

fail See when we know that our future is secure

in Christ We know that God has cared for us.

He's saving us from death, from sin, from hell,

from everything. We don't have to be asking the

future all the time. Then we don't have to cling

to money as if it's the only place of security

anymore. We can be open to what God is providing.

But how do we use what we have for eternity?

Well, there are three things to bring up. One...

Give generously. Uh -oh, this must be the stewardship

sermon. We really don't do a lot of them because

this isn't the point. See, the manager, he used

his resources to secure a future. The thing is,

is that, yes, we would like it if you would help

contribute to what we're doing here at the church.

We're going to tell you a little bit more in

a second about what we're preparing for next

year. But it's not just about that. It's about

asking how what we have can bless others in our

everyday life. Think about it beyond these church

walls. How is it that we bless others with what

we have, with what we can give? How do we relieve

the needs of the people who are around us? How

do we advance what is good? Because every act

of generosity is a seed that's planted for eternity.

Because the more gracious we are, the more others

can see Christ being in us. But more than that,

it's about investing in people. Money can buy

things, stuff, but only love can change lives.

People are the eternal, not the things, not the

stuff, the humans. Because that's where God has

given His grace. Investing in people, it might

be mentoring a student, it might be helping a

neighbor, it might be encouraging someone. during

a hard time, but the more that we're investing

in people with the grace of God, that's where

the return can be eternal. But also be faithful

in the little things. Stewardship, it's not always

these dramatic things. You know, every once in

a while somebody's able to give something really

big and that's great and that's awesome, but

most of the time that's not what it is. It's

about honesty in our business. When we know we

could, get the upper hand when someone we have

an advantage over. It's when we're careful with

budgeting, knowing that we need to prepare for

things for our family and for our future. It's

keeping promises to people where we know we could

drop the ball, but they needed us. It's showing

kindness when we know people just need someone

to just show them something kind. Tiny actions

echo forever. That's where Chick -fil -A comes

back in. You know, how many times we know where

somebody sat down and they finished up and the

worker, they brought their food to the table.

They offered to refill the drink and you're sitting

there like, am I supposed to tip you? No, you

don't tip at Chick -fil -A. Why'd they do it?

Because they could. Tiny? Yeah. Memorable? Absolutely.

That's what Jesus means when He calls us to be

faithful in the little things. It's not always

the grand gestures. It's about the daily ways

that we use what we have to bless others. In

Amos, the people couldn't wait for the Sabbath

to be over so they could chase more money. And

in our world, the temptation isn't all that much

different. Not just money. The things that we

desire. But then we see Chick -fil -A saying,

we'll stay closed on Sundays. because purpose

matters more than profit. And we hear Jesus saying,

where your treasure is, there your heart will

be also. So the question is simple. Where's your

treasure? Because one day you'll look back from

eternity and realize that every act of generosity,

everything you gave, every sacrifice you made

in faith, none of it was wasted. It all became

part of somebody's eternal story. So we don't

just use wealth for today. We use what we have

for eternity. Kingdom stewardship is not always

flashy. It's not measured by all the things that

we've accumulated. It's not measured by any of

the possessions we have, but what we've entrusted

to God. When we do, our heart shifts. Our treasure

shifts. You know, in closing, it's funny. People

don't really rave about chick -fil -a because

the chicken is life -changing. It's good. Don't

don't don't tell them I said otherwise. It's

good. It's good All right, it's not I want to

say it's life -changing Lee good. Maybe the chick

-fil -a sauce. That's fair But what people remember

is how they were treated The kindness the faithfulness

and the little things and that's the point money

fades products fade but love lasts In Christ,

love lasts forever. So where's your treasure?

Where's your heart? In Christ, you have the chance

to turn, to change, and to live differently.

And when you use what you have for eternity,

God multiplies it into a return that never fades.

So may we use our wealth, not just for today,

but for people and for eternal purposes. Thanks

be to God.