Luke 16:9

If you have a Bible before you then please turn to Luke chapter 16.

Luke 16 · chapter mention

As you do so let me say for a moment what a delight it's been for me to be with you this weekend.

Paul and Claire have welcomed me so warmly and open heartedly into their home and that's been a delight.

And it's been a joy for me to be here and to be part of a congregation that is God focused, Christ honoring and seeking in all that it does to live its life out of the word of God.

And I do trust that the Lord will continue to prosper your life, keep you united in heart, in mind, in soul and spirit and make you beyond all your asking a beacon of hope and light not only in healing but far beyond.

This is one of the most striking of Jesus' parables.

He says,

The sons of this world or this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon,

so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon.

It's a remarkable fact and probably I think to most people a surprising fact to notice that Luke devotes so much space

in his gospel account of the Lord Jesus Christ to the subject of money and possessions.

You hardly need to read far into the gospel of Luke to find yourself confronted by repeated teaching from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ

concerning money and wealth.

It's as if the Lord is saying to those who are beginning to follow him,

how you use the resources God has given you in this life is a test run for eternity.

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The Lord Jesus speaks very practically about the nature of the Christian life.

The Christian life, the life that is lived in union with him,

the life that is lived out of union with Jesus Christ,

is a life, said Jesus, that will use the resources given to it by God wisely and well.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It's a very striking parable.

The ESV begins there,

Jesus said to his disciples there was a rich man who had a manager.

And that's a very prosaic translation.

Really it's the word steward.

Not someone who simply managed the property of his master,

but someone who had oversight over his house.

He had tremendous responsibilities.

He was someone who had been entrusted with great responsibilities.

And Jesus speaks about this man who is unmasked.

We are not told how he is unmasked, but he was unmasked.

And his master said to him,

You have been wasting my possessions.

And it's interesting that Jesus tells this parable immediately after

the parable, the very well-known parable of the prodigal son.

Or of the prodigal son and the elder brother.

If you look down to chapter 15 verse 13,

you will see the Lord saying that this younger son had gathered all he had,

took it on a journey into a far country,

and there he squandered his property.

The property given to him by his father.

He squandered it, he wasted it.

Now the same verb is used.

The prodigal son squanders and wastes the resources given to him by his father publicly and flagrantly.

But here is someone else who has squandered, wasted the possessions of his master.

But he has not done it publicly, flagrantly.

He's done it quietly, or so he thought.

He did it surreptitiously.

And I've little doubt that Jesus is expecting, or I should say Luke is expecting us as he juxtaposes

these two units of teaching to be confronted by this,

that we can be people who squander the privileges given to us by God publicly, openly, flagrantly,

or we can be people who squander what God has given to us in a hidden way, less obvious.

Maybe no one knows that we are misusing, ill-treating, wasting, squandering

the good things that God has given to us.

And Jesus is expecting us, I'm in no doubt, to grasp this, that God sees and God knows.

If we are someone squandering, wasting, abusing the privileges and the resources that he has entrusted to us.

And this man is exposed, and his master says to him,

you need to give an account, your time is up.

I'm going to dismiss you.

And this steward is deeply and profoundly upset.

What shall I do, he says, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me?

I'm not strong enough to dig, I'm ashamed to beg.

What am I going to do?

And the Greek text almost has it like a light bulb moment.

Ah, ah, I know what I'll do.

I've got it, he says, I've got it.

When I'm removed from my stewardship,

so that people will receive me into their houses.

Notice that phrase, who will receive me into their houses.

Because later on in verse 9, Jesus will speak about being received into the eternal dwellings.

I know what I'll do, so that I won't be a pariah.

I'll be received into their houses.

And so he calls his master's debtors.

What do you owe my master?

Oh, a hundred measures of oil.

Quickly, write fifty.

Oh, fine, yes.

To someone else, what do you owe?

I owe eighteen.

Cut it down.

Remove it.

Cut it by a quarter.

Great.

He's continuing to defraud his master.

He is a dishonest steward.

He is squandering,

continuing to squander

the resources of his master.

But what does the master do

when he hears about this?

Verse 6

The master commended

the dishonest steward.

Good for you.

Good for you.

You think,

Lord,

are you commending his dishonesty?

Don't be stupid.

Jesus would have said,

commending his dishonesty?

I'm the one who is the truth.

Well,

what are you saying?

The master doesn't commend

the man's dishonesty,

but he commends him

for his shrewdness,

his sagacity,

his farsightedness.

He's speaking after the manner of men.

And here is the point

Jesus is making

and building up to.

For,

for,

the sons of this age,

the unbelievers

of this passing world,

are more shrewd,

more farsighted,

more sagacious

in dealing with

their own generation

than the sons of light.

He is,

in a sense,

rebuking his own disciples.

He's using this

dishonest steward

as an illustration,

not of the

wisdom of dishonesty,

but of saying to his disciples,

even in his

unrighteousness

and wickedness,

this man

looked ahead.

That's the thing.

He looked ahead.

He made preparations

for the future.

He was wicked.

He was unrighteous.

He was a defrauder.

He was a thief.

He was a deceiver.

But in all of that,

there was a shrewdness,

an ungodly shrewdness,

but a shrewdness.

He looked ahead

and he prepared

for the future.

And so Jesus says

to his disciples,

I tell you,

and that's always

a note

for us to sit up

and take something

very significant

to heart.

I tell you,

make friends

for yourselves

by means

of unrighteous

wealth.

Now the word wealth,

again,

mammon is

an Aramaic word.

It's broader than wealth.

Your possessions,

your resources.

Make friends

for yourself

by means of

unrighteous

money and resources

so that when

it fails,

when it runs out,

they,

we'll come to the day

in a moment,

they may receive you

into the eternal dwellings.

first of all,

what does Jesus mean

by make friends

of unrighteous wealth?

Well,

I think the Lord

is not saying

that possessions

in and of themselves

are unrighteous.

Nowhere in the Bible

do you find that.

It's not money

that is the root

of all evil,

1 Timothy 6.

It is the love

of money.

And Jesus

is highlighting,

I think,

here the propensity

of wealth

in whatever form

we possess it

and possessions

in whatever form

we have them,

the propensity

for it to be used

in an unrighteous way

and to come to us

from unrighteous sources.

There's nothing

untainted

in a fallen world.

And it's our calling

to use the taintedness

of a fallen world

to the praise

and glory of God

as God enables us

by his grace.

And so Jesus

is saying,

make use,

make friends,

use this unrighteous

wealth,

possessions,

use it wisely

and well.

Use it not

for your own

indulgence,

but use it

to spread

the kingdom

of God.

And that's why

he says,

so that when it

fails,

they,

they,

may receive you

into the eternal

dwellings.

who are the they?

Well,

there are some

fine commentators

who say,

well,

it's really a

circumlocution

for God.

Those disciples

who use it

to use the

resources that

God has given

to them wisely

and well,

not first for

their own

pleasure and

indulgence,

not that we

are to be

monastic in the

way we live,

God has given

us all good

things richly

to enjoy,

but for those

who use the

resources God

has given them

wisely and well

for the extension

of his kingdom,

that good use,

that wise use

of money and

resources,

will be the

means God

will use of

bringing others

into his

kingdom,

of gathering

others out

of the dominion

of darkness

and bringing

them into the

kingdom of

light,

unbeknown to

you perhaps,

as you give

your offerings

here morning

and evening,

as you give

generously,

I would hope,

and sacrificially,

you just don't

know what God

might do,

you just don't

know what God

might do,

and I've little

doubt that it's

not so much God

as a circumlocution

that the Lord

is highlighting

by the word

they,

he is saying

there will be

people in the

glory waiting

to welcome you,

waiting to

welcome you,

because your

self-sacrificial

giving of the

resources God

has entrusted

to you as a

steward,

God used that

to bring them

into contact

with the word

of God,

with a gospel

tract,

with a book,

with an

individual,

with someone

who was sent

partly through

your givings

to the ends

of the earth,

to Kazakhstan,

Uzbekistan,

or dark as

Glasgow,

and you

will not know

until you go

to the glory

and someone

will say,

I'm here,

brother,

sister,

because you

selflessly

denied yourself

and shared

your resources

so generously

and God

used that

in his

mercy

to bring me

to himself.

What a

remarkable

thing that

would be,

would it not,

if you breathe

your last

breath in

this life

and the

Lord brings

you how

it will

please him

to bring

you into

his nearer

presence

and you

find there

people you've

never met

before,

you've never

heard their

name,

you just

have no idea

who they are

and they're

there as it

were to

welcome you

and you

say,

Lord,

who are

these people?

Oh,

they are the

people that

I brought

to myself

through you.

Lord,

I didn't

know that.

I didn't

know that.

That doesn't

matter.

You see,

Jesus'

parable here

is sandwiched

between the

parable of

the prodigal

son who

squanders

his resources

flagrantly,

publicly,

openly.

and the

chapter

concludes

with Jesus

speaking about

the parable

of the rich

man and

Lazarus.

And you

know the

story well.

Lazarus is

the poor

beggar who

sits at

the rich

man's

gate.

He's so

poor and

so benight

that even

the dogs

lick his

sores.

And they

both die.

Lazarus

goes to

heaven,

goes to

Abram's

bosom,

a picturesque

Hebraic way

of speaking

of the

nearer

presence of

God.

And the

rich man

goes to

hell.

And a

little doubt

as you

stand far

enough back

in Luke's

gospel,

the Lord

is saying

what an

opportunity

this rich

man had

to use

his resources

to minister

to this

poor,

benighted

beggar at

his gate.

It doesn't

need to be

as dramatic

as that.

But I

think the

Lord is

saying as

we read

through the

sweep of

Luke's

gospel and

as Luke

juxtaposes

under the

inspiration of

the Holy

Spirit these

various

encounters.

He was a

man who

had the

opportunity

to be

welcomed by

Lazarus.

I've been

waiting to

welcome you.

How kindly

you dealt

with me.

How generously

you cared

for me.

With what

godly concern

you lavished

upon me.

You opened

wide not only

your arms but

your heart to

me and

god brought

me into

his kingdom

through you

and I'm

here to

welcome you.

But the

rich man with

all the

privileges given

to him

hoarded

them.

I've little

doubt that

the Lord

Jesus is

highlighting a

very significant

thing about

authentic

Christian

discipleship.

Authentic

Christian

discipleship

is marked

significantly

by

self-sacrificial

giving.

Think of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Though he

was rich yet

for our

sakes he

became poor

so that by

his poverty

we may

become rich.

And so

the Lord

goes on

in verses

10 following

to say

one who

is faithful

in a very

little is

also faithful

in much

and one

who is

dishonest in a

very little is

dishonest in

much.

If then you

have not been

faithful in the

unrighteous

wealth, if you

have not dealt

wisely and well

and generously

and selflessly

with the

resources God

has given

you, who

will entrust

to you

true riches?

Now it's

not I think

easy precisely

to know what

our Lord means

here but most

likely he's

saying do you

think the true

riches of God

and of glory

will ever be

yours if you

have not used

wisely and

well to his

glory while in

this life the

little thing he

has given you?

Money and

possessions are

little things.

They are little

things.

The moment you

have them, the

moment they

began they were

subject to the

law of entropy,

the second law

of thermodynamics,

they were on

the road to

destruction.

You can't take

anything with

you.

If you have

not been faithful

in that which

is another's,

who will give

you that which

is your own?

No servant

can serve two

masters.

Do you see the

point Jesus was

making?

Who is the

master of your

life?

Who do you

live to please?

Is it yourself?

Or is it the

God who has

redeemed you and

made you his

own?

You cannot

serve two

masters.

You will either

hate the one and

love the other

or be devoted to

the one and

despise the other.

You cannot

serve God and

money.

do you

love the other

things?

What does all

that mean for

us?

That's brief

exposition.

What does that

mean for us?

Three things I

want to say this

evening.

Number one,

very obviously,

Jesus is

counselling,

encouraging and

pressing on his

disciples to live

their lives in the

light of

eternity.

You see,

this unrighteous

steward had the

news, the

foresight to

look ahead, to

prepare for what

was coming.

And Jesus said,

you know, the

sons of this age

are wise or

more shrewd than

the sons of

life.

And I find

that a huge

challenge.

How honestly,

how realistically

do I live my

life in the

light of

eternity?

It's so easy

to live as if

this life would

simply go on and

on and on.

Yesterday,

yesterday, it

seems to me,

yesterday I was

37.

I know I was

67.

I look in the

mirror and I

think, who are

you?

Do I know you?

Are you my

dad?

What's happened

to you?

Why do you look

like that?

I don't feel as

though I should

look like that.

But I do.

Life is

swifter than a

weaver's shuttle.

And soon

and very

soon, we

will meet

the Lord.

About 30

years ago, in

New Mills, I was

a parish minister

in Ayrshire for

20 years.

The lovely

couple we

supported and

still support in

different ways,

church planting in

France.

They've been

church planting

for over 50

years with

WEC.

and they

have no

great education.

They're two

of the godliest

people I've

ever met.

And they

came and

spoke at our

prayer meeting.

And I'll

never forget

something he

said.

He quoted

two lines of

a little poem.

It's almost

doggerel.

The poetry's

not very good,

but the

theology's

wonderful.

Only one

life, soon

it must

pass.

last.

I've

never

forgotten

that.

It

pricks my

conscience

then.

It

pricks my

conscience

tonight.

Only one

life, soon

it must

last.

Only what's

done for

Jesus will

last.

Now, Jesus

isn't encouraging

us to opt

out of life.

Far from it.

We have to

live in the

midst of this

world, the

salt and

light.

But at the

same time, we

have to live

pilgrim lives.

This world

is not our

home.

And one

day we

shall stand

before the

Lord and

give an

account of

our lives.

We must

all appear

before the

judgment seat

of Christ,

2 Corinthians

5.10, and

give an

account of

the deeds

done in

the body.

And Jesus

is saying,

look ahead.

Look

ahead.

who's

well done

are you

aiming for

in life?

Are you

living in

the light

of eternity?

Because life

is very

swift.

You're in the

fullness of

it, and

before you

know it, in

the blink of

an eye, it's

just disappearing

through your

fingers.

Live in the

light of

eternity, Jesus

is saying, be

shrewd like

this dishonest

steward.

Have

foresight.

But then

secondly, remember

that we are

all stewards

of everything

we possess.

You do not

possess one

iota.

Hands up if

you own a

house.

I do.

Hands up.

No, you

don't.

It's God's.

You say, well,

I pay the

mortgage.

You may pay

the mortgage.

Every penny

you pay is

given to you

by the

sovereign Lord

in his good

pleasure and

kindness.

You say, I've

got no mortgage.

That's because

of the good

pleasure of

God.

The clothes

you wear, the

food you eat,

the children

you have, they

are all the

lords.

But you have

them as

stewards.

He has

given them to

you as a

trust.

They are

entrusted to

you.

And one day

the Lord is

going to say,

what did you

do with

those precious

little lies

that I gave

to you?

What did

you do with

that home

that I

entrusted to

you in my

bounty?

What did

you do with

this, that

or the

other?

Whether we

have little

or much

is of little

consequence,

but what did

you do?

Because nothing

we have is

our own.

What do we

have that we

did not first

receive?

we would be

penniless beggars

with nothing,

not an

iota,

not an

iota of

clothing,

if it were

not for the

good pleasure,

kindness and

goodness of

God.

We are

stewards and

we have an

account to

give.

I don't

think that

means that

we are

to say,

oh well,

I shouldn't

go holidays,

I shouldn't

do this,

I shouldn't

do that.

We each

live before

God,

we are to

live

before the

face of

God.

We are

not to

judge other

people,

not to

stand in

judgment

saying,

ah,

you are

not using

the

resources

God

has

given

you.

It's

enough for

us to

be asking

ourselves

every day,

am I

using the

resources

well and

wisely that

God has

given to

me?

I'm a

steward.

Are you

being a

wise,

godly

steward?

And then

thirdly,

I think we

need to

understand that

Christian giving

and Christian

serving in

the new

covenant is

sacrificial and

not proportional.

You may not

agree with me,

and that's

fine, I

don't get

everything

right.

I think we

can take

comfort in

saying,

well I

tithe.

But if

the Lord

Jesus

Christ is

our

exemplar in

everything,

he gave

everything for

us.

He didn't

tithe himself,

for you

know the

grace of

our Lord

Jesus

Christ,

and this

theology

comes in

the midst

of this

lengthy

exposition

on Christian

giving in

2 Corinthians

8 and

9.

You know

the grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ,

that though

he was

rich,

yet for

your sakes

he became

poor,

so that

you by

his

poverty

might

become

rich.

Christian

giving and

Christian

serving is

not

proportional,

it's

sacrificial.

It should

cost us

not

not

but

that can

be taken

wrongly,

I know,

but I don't

want to

qualify,

I could

qualify it,

hopefully

helpfully,

but I'm

not going

to.

Christian

giving and

Christian

serving should

cost us,

not

9 to 5,

not saying,

given my

tithe,

maybe 1%

is sacrificial

for some

people,

I absolutely

mean that,

I believe

that,

maybe 99%

for other

people who

live before

God,

that's why

read 2

Corinthians 8

and 9,

Christian

giving and

Christian

serving is

to be

sacrificial,

the church

of Jesus

Christ is

worthy of

our highest

and our

best,

to use

the well

worn

old

phrase,

we're to

lay all

on the

altar

for the

Saviour,

we're to

be living

sacrifices,

we're to

be daily

oblations,

giving all

that we

are to

him who

gave

everything

and beyond

for us.

I remember

some years

ago reading

the biography

of William

Borden,

it's called

William Borden

of Yale,

he was a

young man,

a very

wealthy

young man

who was

at the

University

of Yale,

the third

best

university

in the

world,

two ahead

of Oxford

and two

behind

Cambridge,

you can

work that

out,

and he

was converted,

he came to

faith in

Jesus Christ

and for

some reason

he set

his heart

on going

to the

land of

Burma,

Myanmar,

and he

prepared to

go to

Burma,

he graduated

but he

was persuaded

to spend

some time

travelling

throughout

America

encouraging

young men

in particular

to give

up their

small

ambitions

and to

go out

east and

preach the

gospel

and he

did that

for some

two years

or three

years,

I can't

remember

and then

the day

came

when

William

Borden

set sail

from

New

York

heading

for

the

land

of

Burma

and in

those

days

the

first

great

port

of

call

was

Alexandria

in

Egypt

and when

he got

to

Alexandria

William

Borden

was struck

down

with

cerebral

encephalitis

he was

going to

die in

Alexandria

he would

never see

Burma

he had

lived to

go to

Burma

since he

was

converted

but he

would

never see

Burma

he would

die

and be

buried

in

Alexandria

as he

lay

dying

three

medical

men

gathered

round the

bottom

of his

bed

and one

of them

said

what a

waste

they knew

about his

life and

his promise

wealthy young

man

what a waste

and you

understand that

humanly speaking

what a waste

and with the

little strength

he had left

William

Borden

raised

himself

and simply

said

no retreat

no reserve

no regrets

no retreat

no reserve

no regrets

that's a life

that understood

that he had to

give everything

and even

though the

Lord would

take him

to glory

before he

ever saw

Burma

that was

for the

Lord

that's what

Jesus I think

is teaching

his disciples

be sons of

light who live

in the light

of eternity

recognize

you are stewards

with an

account

one day

to give

and understand

that belonging

to me is

not proportional

but sacrificial

you see in the

light of the

Lord's

giving of

himself for

us

how can we

dare not

give everything

we are to

him

I did

this

for you

and eternity

will be an

exploration

of what that

meant

in 10,000

times 10,000

years

we will be

no nearer

plumbing

the immensities

and the

infinities

of what it

meant for

the Son

of God

to become

flesh

and become

a curse

on Calvary's

cross

I did all

that for

you

what did

you do

for me

wouldn't

you want

to be able

to say

Lord

I didn't

do much

but by

your grace

and by

the enabling

of your

spirit

I sought

to give

my own

tis the

least

I could

do

as we

come to

the Lord's

table

we're going

to sing

!