Luke Week 15 • Luke 16

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Well, good morning.

Glad that you guys are here with us.

If you've got your Bible, go ahead and open them up to Luke chapter 16.

Luke 16 · chapter mention

As you turn there, I know typically how we, and a lot of churches really do things, is

you kind of give the previous week's message, and then you move to the next message, and

you move to the next message.

Well, I want to bring back real quick an application from last week's message that isn't going to

just be for last week, but I want us to continually have this conversation and set it on our minds

and create a vocabulary that we are accustomed to here at Willow Ridge Church and ask you

the question, who is your one?

Who is your one?

Now, if you weren't here last week, I want to encourage you to go back and listen to last

week's message because there's a lot that builds up to this, but what we're looking at, what I'm

talking about is the reality, and you all know this, this world is filled with lost people that

don't know Jesus, and you and I, we know them.

We work with them.

They live near us.

Some of you, depending on the dynamic of your family, maybe even live in your house.

They share a baseball team with you that your kids compete on, or some life God has brought

you and positioned you with lost people.

And what we talked about last week is it can be overwhelming to look back and see the vast

amount of lostness in the world, but what would it look like if every believer of God said,

you know what, I'm going to commit to this one individual that God's laid on my heart to

interact with them and to lead them in such a way that they could come and know Jesus Christ

as their Lord and Savior.

And who God lays on your heart is who I want you to run with.

And we talked at the end of the message last week, so I'll kind of preview it, but again,

please go back and listen for things that we're going to do to engage this one with the gospel.

Number one, we're going to pray for them.

We're going to pray for them.

Now, I've got a list of prayer requests that I pray for continually of people with surgeries

and loss and decisions that have to be made and rebellious children that they're battling

with, right?

And we want to continue to pray for those people in those manners, but that's not what

I'm talking about with this.

What I'm talking about with these individuals is praying for them that they may come to know

Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

There's an intentional prayer that you're offering for them.

And that's what the whole pursuit is about.

So number one, we'll pray that they'll come to know Christ.

Number two, we're going to serve them in a way that is sacrificial.

And here's what I mean, like sometimes we do things for one another and the expectation

is that the person will return the favor.

Like I've got, I got a good friend of mine and him and I are continually living in that

world, right?

Like we don't, we don't set out to do that, but I do something for him.

He does something for me.

Sometimes he doubles down on me and it takes me a while to catch back up with him, but we

live in that, right?

And what we're doing is we're interacting with each other in a way that we know and that

speaks a love language back and forth, but that's not what I'm talking about either.

I'm talking about serving individuals that you are seeking nothing in return back for

yourself.

You're just seeking to serve them in a way that displays and shows the gospel.

So it has to be sacrificial.

The third thing I want to encourage you to do is to invite them, to invite them to experience

the fellowship of the body of Christ.

Now, I'm not just necessarily talking about, hey, come to a worship service with me.

What I'm talking about and what we looked at last week is, is bringing them into your home,

right?

I think how many people, you know, that could never get to your home.

They've never been in your house.

And what I want to encourage you to do is, is, is invite them into your home, bring them

into a meal, let them see what the body of Christ looks like in tangible, real ways that

open homes, open lives.

And then the last thing, and this is going to be the huge stretch for so many of us, is

seek for an opportunity to share the gospel.

So share, share the gospel.

All right, now, it's great to pray, we need to do it.

It's great to serve, we need to do it.

It's great to invite, we need to do it.

But there has to become some point in time where you lay out the gospel.

Now, a couple different ways.

For you, this could be your journey.

What the Lord's leading you to do is to sit down with scripture and walk through verse by

verse and explain.

And if you want some help with that, sign us up.

We'd love to sit down and help walk you through that.

But here's a way that I think is real and is tangible, especially for a lost world and

for everyone in here.

If you are saved, okay, there's been a point in time where Christ has saved you and you have

a relationship with him and you are the expert in that.

You are the expert in your walk with Christ of what it looked like for him to save you and

to bring you life and hope.

Lost people don't want to sit down and debate all the parts of Isaiah, all right?

They want to know what your story is and what Jesus did and how Jesus saved you.

And so I want to encourage you to do that.

So who is your one?

Let's be praying about that.

Let's be thinking about that and seeking the face of God on that as well.

So this morning, what we're going to do is we're going to look in Luke 16 at a parable

that Jesus shared, and I want to share with you kind of the theme, and then we're going

to have four application points of this parable.

And here's the theme.

How you live today shows your value or your belief in what tomorrow holds.

How you live today, what you do today, what we speak about today shows our value or your

belief in what tomorrow holds.

Now, this week was a great object lesson in that, all right?

So Monday, Aaron had been searching online or on Facebook Marketplace for a long time for

us to get a new old refrigerator, right?

So we're those people, we got a refrigerator in the garage, right?

It's where you put the leftovers, it's where we can load it up with Gatorades and waters when

you're out there working in the yard, and it's what we've got.

We will maximize the freezer, and we've got one right now, and it's starting to not act

right.

And so my wife, she's been looking for months, all through COVID, of trying to find us a new

refrigerator for the garage, and she found one on the other side of Aiken.

And so on Monday, me, my neighbor, and Moses, we load up in my truck, and we begin to head

to the other side of Aiken to pick up this refrigerator.

And on our way there, my neighbor, he's sitting in the backseat of my truck, he says something

like, hey, did y'all know the Russians just bombed our gas line?

And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what, what?

If you know me, news doesn't bring out the best of me, but I knew that didn't quite sound

right, and so I was like, let's flesh this out a little bit and figure out what's going

on.

So in the very early moments of this on Monday, he begins to share what is going on, and what

is happening, what he can get off of his phone.

And it said in there, right, there's going to be a gas shortage, we're going to do it

out, and so I looked down, and I was like, oh, I got, I'm right out of full tank, so I'm

good.

So we go, and we pick up the refrigerator, and we drive all the way back, and we get to

the house, and Moses is like, man, I ain't got no gas.

So on the way from my house to Gilbert, which is like a 12-minute ride, Moses is like, I'm

going to hit up some gas stations.

Well, on the way, while Moses was there, Erin pointed out that she didn't have any gas because

she'd planned to get something in the morning, and she didn't know all of this.

And I'm like, you'll be fine, babe.

Like, this won't be a big deal.

Like, it's the media, right, you know, whatever, right?

And so Moses sends me a text message.

Hey, man, like, this is for real.

Like, I just bought premium, you know, like, this is what's going on.

And so still, I'm like, okay, okay, okay.

Well, so Erin and I are already in bed, about 10.30, way past our bedtime.

So I get up, and I'm like, hey, I'm going to go put some gas in your car.

So I rode up and put premium in the car.

And then the next morning, now I'm at about a half a tank for my trip back and forth.

And I realized, no, this is a thing.

This is a thing.

So I need to think ahead for what tomorrow could hold.

So I had a 55-gallon drum in my yard, and I went and put it in the back of my truck.

I'm just kidding.

I didn't do that.

Like, some of y'all are looking at me like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, we're leaving.

No, no, but I was like, I'm not at half of tanks.

I want to be smart.

I don't know what tomorrow holds.

I want to be smart.

And so on my way of taking the kids to school, I went ahead and said, let's top off.

Let's go ahead and get to a full tank.

And I told Erin, because I knew we were taking her car to Atlanta on Friday, and we've got to go to Atlanta.

And I said, hey, like, when you start to get around half a tank, like, go ahead and fill up and go ahead and take care of that.

Because, like, I'm not at the point to where we need to all dig bunkers and hide, right?

But this could be a thing of what they're saying for, like, four or five days.

And it kind of became an inconvenience for a lot of people within there, right?

Here's my point.

What we did, what I did that day, was determined by what I believed tomorrow would hold.

And what we're going to look at in this parable is this.

Jesus says the world gets that concept.

I wish my people would.

The world gets that what they do today says what they believe or value about tomorrow, and I wish my people would get that.

And so we'll start reading in verse one.

It says he also said to the disciples, there was a rich man who had a manager.

And charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.

And he called him and said to him, what is this that I hear about you?

Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.

And the manager said to himself, what shall I do since my master is taking the management away from me?

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

I have decided what to do so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.

So summoning his master's debtors, one by one, he said to the first, how much do you owe my master?

And he said, a hundred measures of oil.

And he said to him, take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.

Then he said to another, how much do you owe?

And he said, a hundred measures of wheat.

And he said to him, take your bill and write eighty.

And the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.

And now Jesus transitions out of the parable.

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

And I tell you, make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth,

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

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.

And one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Then if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust you the true riches?

And 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, for he will hate the one and love the other,

or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and money.

Verse 14, the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and they ridiculed him.

So here's what I want us to first, like, go ahead and address.

This is a very, very difficult parable.

Sometimes Jesus lays some things out in parable.

We looked at these like the lost coin, like, there's some things we can draw out from that,

but, like, we get it.

When lost is found, we celebrate.

This, we read it like, what?

Jesus is not, if we're careful, it can be that Jesus is giving us sinful advice.

Rip people off.

This is what you're to do, and that's not what he is saying.

So let me explain what is going on in this parable that'll help us understand our application points for this.

So there's this rich man who finds out that his manager is wasting his possessions,

so he decides he's going to fire him, right?

You're not a good manager.

You're not doing what I expect from you to do with what I've entrusted you with.

So he summons him and says, go get all your files.

Go get the accounts.

Go get the paperwork, because you're going to be terminated.

Now, this guy, he's real sharp, and he's smart, and he evaluates himself,

and here is the conclusion that he comes to.

Jesus' own words.

He says, I'm not real strong, and I'm not built for manual labor, so that's out.

He's about to lose his management job.

No one's going to hire him.

He's not getting good references.

And he goes, man, I've been living in this blue-collar world,

white-collar world, to jump into blue-collar and have to work and use my strength.

Like, that's not me.

I'm out.

Then he says, and, like, let's just be honest.

I'm not going to beg.

That's beneath me.

I'm not going to do that.

So that's out.

So what do I do?

And he says, well, I'm going to dig into what I know

and how I know I can manipulate things and move things around and bend the rules

because I'm not fired yet, and I have the accounts.

So he grabs these accounts, and he goes to two debts that are owed.

The first guy owes 100 measures of oil is what Scripture tells us,

and so that's the amount of oil that you could get from 150 filled olive trees.

This would be the amount of oil that would come from them.

So this is what he's owed.

I don't know if you've bought olive oil.

It ain't cheap, right?

This is about two to three years' salary.

And he goes to this guy and says, this is what you owe my master.

Here's what I'm going to do.

You pay it right now.

I'm going to cut it in half.

Take it and pay it.

And so he does.

To another guy, he owes 100 measures of wheat.

That's roughly 100 acres of wheat, which would be 10 years' salary.

And I don't know the difference in the numbers or if that's important, but he cuts that one

by 20%, and he says, you pay that, and we'll take care of this, because I still got the books.

And the guy's like, all right, and he pays it.

And so why would he do this?

He's not keeping the money back for himself.

He's not saying, like, look, I'm going to cut it to 80, so go ahead and pay that now and keep 10 for me, and then I'll be set.

He doesn't steal because that's against the law.

But he's been entrusted with the books.

And so he bends what's there.

He thinks about what's going on.

And here's his heart.

Here's what he's doing in this moment.

He said, look, there's going to become a point in time where my money runs out, and I don't have a place to live, and here's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to cash that in then.

So I'm going to think a year from now, when there's no food on my table, when there's no roof over my head, I'm going to go to that guy and say, hey, remember when you owed 10 years' wages, and I cut two of that off from you?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sleeping in your bed tonight, right?

Like, you're moving, you're on the couch, buddy, I claim it.

Let's go to the other guy, remember when I cut that debt in half?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're feeding me for a while, right?

This is what I'm doing.

Now, the master, when he gets the records, he goes and he looks, and he's like, I see what you did.

Yep, yep, yep, mm, you got me there.

Good one, good one, right?

But when the master looks at what's done, and he notices that he bent what was there in order to benefit him,

because he knows what his tomorrow holds.

It says the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.

And then Jesus says, for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

So Jesus is not telling you, if you find out, you're going to be laid off to go and bend the rules.

But here's what Jesus is saying about the sons of light, you and I, that we should live today,

make our decisions today based off of the value of what we know tomorrow,

or even more important, what we're going to press into, eternity will hold.

That that should affect our right now.

You see, this isn't about gas.

This isn't about food.

This is about eternity and giving an account to God of what you and I have been given.

And so the first thing, the first application that I want us to have is this, is live knowing.

Live knowing.

Live every day knowing that you and I will give an account.

All right?

Now, it is saved by grace through faith in Christ alone.

That's the means of salvation.

We're going to sing a song at the end of the service that just lays that out for us

about what God does because of who God is and how you and I, we live in the beauty of the benefit of that.

All right?

So know this, but Scripture is also very clear that all of us, all of the world is going to give an account.

Paul writes in Romans 14, 12,

so then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Right?

Each of us.

Paul's talking to the church, including himself into that.

Each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Ecclesiastes 12, 14,

For God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Paul writes again, 2 Corinthians 5, 10,

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,

so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

And so what Jesus is driving home at in this parable is that the world lives their life in preparation for what the future will hold.

Why won't my people get this?

And here's the weird part for you and I.

We understand this, and we apply this in earthly measures all the time.

Retirement account.

That's not bad.

That's good.

Set things up because there's going to become a point in time where your body and your mind can't do what it's doing right now.

And you need to make sure that you set things ahead because of what tomorrow will hold.

A bus could hit me today and wipe me out, and that retirement account isn't going to change anything for me.

But at that point when my mind's not as sharp as it used to, and I can't stand here as long as I used to,

which some of you will be like, well, that's kind of a good thing, right?

But we can't do these things, and your back can't take what you've been doing.

You know what's going to happen?

You're going to have prepared for the future of the investment of what's there.

And Jesus says, I wish the children of the world, they get that.

Our church has embraced that.

But when it comes to light and matters of the light, we don't always get that.

But God's word's really clear.

Everything, yep, everything you and I got to give an account for, for all of it.

So what does that mean for us within the dynamic of this parable?

I don't think this is an all-encompassing, but Jesus gives us some different things for us to look at

if we're going to live in a future mindset.

Number one is live generously, right?

Live knowing, but also live generously.

Luke 16, 9, at the end of this, Jesus says,

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

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

So what in the world is Jesus talking about here, all right?

He says, make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth.

Okay, Jesus is not talking about, like, shady living and money.

Jesus isn't saying, like, well, go make friends from the money that you've ripped off from people.

That's not unrighteous wealth.

Here's what unrighteous wealth is.

Anything that burns up.

Anything.

Anything of this world, it's material.

It's going to burn up.

It's not God.

It's not eternal.

And so what Jesus says is, all this is going to burn up anyways, so take what you have,

take what you've been entrusted with, and use it in such a way that it draws people to you,

that it draws people into who you are and into what you know.

Make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, when it's gone, when it burns up, when you're in a box, right?

That the fruit of your life, of what you invested in, will become manifest through your eternal dwellings.

That's what he says.

Righteous wealth.

Be generous.

Be generous with this.

Begin to think of things differently, our house, our car, our money, all of these things.

So Jesus says, look, you can't take it with you, and so live in a manner that's generous to those around you, right?

In Leviticus 25, 35, it says, if your brother, by the way, that's not biological brother, that's brother in the family here, right?

Becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner.

So look at what Jesus says, like, if your brother becomes without, treat him as a stranger sojourner, let's define it, and he shall live with you.

Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God that your brother may live beside you.

You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him food for profit.

Now, then there's going to be a pause here for just a second, because if I'm hearing that, I'm like, well, what do I get out of this?

I've worked hard.

I've built these things.

This is what I've done.

And then God, in his grace and love, comes and hits us upside the face with verse 38.

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Oh, you don't think he deserves it?

Guess what, buddy?

Neither did you.

And what did I bring you out of?

And what did I give you?

And who am I?

Right?

And so in this, we see the picture of what Scripture calls us to, to live in generosity.

Jesus says, like, take your unrighteous wealth that's going to burn up and just use it.

And let me just tell you, when you're generous to people, in the small things and in the big, it impacts in so many different ways.

All right?

So a few weeks ago, normally, I'm not a big breakfast guy.

Very rarely do I eat breakfast.

And so I was riding up here on a Sunday morning, and I was running a little early, and I could feel the little grumble, right?

Like, I was getting a little bit hungry.

And I thought, you know what I need?

I need a Bojangles biscuit.

I hadn't had one of those in a long time.

And so I'd go through the line.

I had my coffee with me.

Didn't need the combo.

Just needed the biscuit.

Ordered it.

Came up to, like, $3 and some change.

Right?

Now, this isn't bragging.

This is just blessing, like, $3 and change.

I didn't think twice about it.

I'm not going to miss my mortgage because of this biscuit.

Right?

So I pull up.

I pull up to the window.

And the lady hands me the bag before I can hand her my debit card.

And so I got to pay.

And she said, well, no.

The car in front of you just paid for your food.

That didn't change my retirement account.

I didn't call the kids and say, hey, somebody just bought my biscuit.

We can go to Disney now.

Right?

That didn't happen.

But from that moment weeks ago until now, what it has sparked within my heart of God drawing

me closer is revealing the sin of where I'm stingy and walking me down a path of generosity

because of a biscuit.

Because of a biscuit.

You know, what would it look like if the people of God stopped displaying ourselves as the

misers and started living in the generosity?

In the generosity.

I want to challenge you with something this week.

You've all, we've all got our, like, routines of life, right?

We've got our things that we do.

Our rewards that we give ourselves.

So on Friday, you swing by a Starbucks and you get the really expensive extra large drink

right on your way home.

Right?

On Tuesdays, you always go out for dinner together so that you don't have to worry about a meal

that day and you can just go and just go out to dinner.

What would it look like this week?

Just this week.

If you took that encounter of what you would do and used it as an opportunity to bless someone

and be generous instead.

Here's what I thought about.

Those people in that car, they had no clue who I was.

It's early in the morning.

They didn't know where I was coming from or where I was headed to.

They didn't know the motive of my heart.

They didn't know my sin.

They didn't know anything.

And they decided in their generosity to love me.

And it impacted me and changed me.

What would it look like if God's people did the same thing?

Live in generosity.

Next thing I want us to look at.

Live as a steward.

Live as a steward.

Which, by the way, stewardship and generosity are partners.

They don't work against each other.

Jesus says,

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.

And one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous,

well, the things of this world,

who will entrust you with the true riches?

The things of God.

The things of eternity.

And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's,

who will give you that which is your own?

So Jesus is like,

Hey, disciples, Pharisees are e-drapping into this.

Let's listen.

Be stewards.

Here's what stewardship means.

You and I,

can we agree as believers of Christ that we have nothing?

We own nothing.

None of this.

The clothes you are wearing right now aren't yours.

The money in your account is not yours.

The car in the parking lot is not yours.

The home that awaits you,

it is not yours.

The body that you have in here with you right now,

it is not yours.

None of it.

It's all God's.

It's all God's.

And what God did is he entrusted you with it

for a purpose and for a reason.

Because the things,

I just listed all sorts of things that are going to burn up

and be destroyed.

And he entrusted us with those things

and how we steward them,

how we're faithful with them

will help us see if we can be entrusted

with the true riches,

with the things that don't burn up.

So here's the bow, God, woodshed,

I'm limping this weak moment for me

continually over and over and over again.

How am I doing with what I've been entrusted with?

So here's my personal journey

into my brain this week.

My body.

How am I doing caring for it?

If you know me,

you know that manna from heaven

looks like a cheeseburger from McDonald's, right?

Am I taking care of it?

A few years ago.

Do you have those people in your life

who you know they love you

but it feels like they say mean things to you all the time?

I have some of those people.

If you don't find some of those,

they're good for you.

And he said to me

a few years ago,

hey man,

kind of looking fat and lazy.

Well, good to see you too.

You know?

And he said,

have you ever said no to God

because you physically can't do something?

And he said,

I'm not talking about

you physically can't do something.

Like if I take off my glasses,

I can't read right now.

I'm not talking about that.

I'm talking about

you ever said no to God

because you physically can't do something

because you've been a poor steward of your body.

Yep.

Care for it.

God gave it to us for a reason

that we could then go

and carry the gospel.

Right?

Spouse.

My wife.

It sounds weird

and maybe sexist

to say that I need to steward my wife.

But if you're married in here,

you need to be stewarding your spouse.

And men,

I won't kind of pick on you

because I understand us, right?

I'm going to stand before the Lord one day

and give an account

for how I lead and love her.

That's what it means to steward.

I don't control her.

She's not mine.

She's God's.

But I've been trusted

with her heart.

I've been entrusted with her mind.

I've been entrusted with her spirit

to lead it

and to love it well.

And I'll have to give an account

for how I've done that.

For my kids,

they're getting older.

Y'all remind us of that all the time

when you tell us how big they're getting.

All I hear is

moving to college soon, right?

But they're God's.

They're not mine.

But he's entrusted them to me

to raise them

in the ways of the Lord,

to lead them

on the path of the gospel,

to impart God's truth

into who they are.

And then here's the hard thing

to release them to go do it.

And I'm going to have to stand

before the Lord

and give an account.

We can keep going.

The house,

the cars,

the cash,

the food.

How are we using them

for the glory of God?

I want to give you this illustration.

I'm not a car guy.

I've never been a car guy.

Like all of my cars,

trucks that I've ever had,

I just kind of use them

to serve a purpose.

And if you get in my car,

it's not necessarily

always the cleanest.

There's probably dog hair

in the back seat.

There's definitely going to be

some McDonald's french fries

that you find kind of hidden.

There's going to be stains

where things were spilled.

That's just me.

And some of you

are cringing at that, right?

Because you're car people.

I know a guy one time,

a good friend of mine,

and he's a car guy.

And he worked hard

and finally saved up enough money

and he bought himself

a sports car.

And every Friday,

he had every Friday off from work

and he would go out

into his yard

and he would wash that car.

And when the car was washed

and dried,

he would go inside

and get Q-tips

and would go through

the inside

and the outside

of that sports car

detailing it.

And if you got in his car,

your shoes better be cleaned

and if you want to be

drop kicked out of it,

like bring food

or drinks into there, right?

Like this is how serious

this guy would be.

So just imagine

you've got him,

you've got me.

Hey, JJ,

can I borrow your Mustang?

Yeah, sure, Bo.

And then I get it.

And I take it down dirt roads

because that's what I like to do.

And I go by McDonald's

because I'm having a weak moment.

And I leave the wetness

from the cup, right?

Y'all know what I'm talking about, right?

In the cup holder

and there's crumbs

all over the place

and there's dirt off my shoes

and all of those things are there.

And I bring it back to his house

and I toss him the keys

and it's covered with insects

all over it.

And said,

hey, I appreciate it, man.

Can I borrow it again

on next Friday?

What do you think he's going to say?

No.

Why?

Because I knew his standard.

He had entrusted me with it

and I chose to ignore it

and rebel from it.

And for us,

that's what we do.

When the standard

of what God has given us,

we violate and walk away from

with what he's called us to steward.

So live as a steward.

And then lastly,

live in pursuit.

Live in pursuit.

Jesus' own words.

No one can serve two masters

for either he will hate the one

and love the other

or he'll be devoted to the one

and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and money.

And then because Jesus is just awesome

and he sees this

in verse 14,

he speaks to the Pharisees

who were lovers of money

heard all of these things

and they ridiculed him.

Jesus knew that, right?

Saying it loud enough

so that they can hear him.

Because he knows

that their heart,

they're chasing two things.

And Jesus looks at all of them

and says,

you can't serve two masters.

No one can serve God

and anything else

that's just going to burn up.

You can't.

I can't serve God and me.

I can't serve God and Aaron.

I can't serve God and my kids.

I can't serve God and you.

I've got to serve God.

And I can't chase after these things.

I just have to chase after him.

But you and I,

we want to chase.

We want to chase.

Close with this illustration.

A few years ago,

not a few years ago,

our kids were actually,

they just hit the really mobile,

and dangerous stage, right?

They had been walking for a while,

but they were hit the point

where they could run,

but not run well

so they could get away from us

and then fall, right?

And fall hard.

Like, not even,

it's like the kids,

they don't even try

to catch themselves.

It's like,

I'm going to fall,

throw my hands back, right?

Face slap, right?

And so Aaron and I decided

at that stage in our kids' life

to let's go to the beach,

just the four of us.

And so we went to the beach.

And so Aaron and I had this plan

of this is what we're going to do.

We're going to get out to the beach

and we're going to get everything set up

and we're going to have our chairs

and we're going to have the umbrella

and we're going to have the cooler

and we're going to have the games

and all the stuff

that we're going to do.

But because going to the beach

is relaxing,

like we want part of that, right?

We're a team

and we get that

and we know that

and so we're going to be a team

on the beach.

And what we're going to do

so that we can relax as well

is we're going to take turns.

And for the first 30 minutes,

I'm going to go

and I'm going to watch the kids

and I'm going to play with the kids

and then Aaron can kick back

in her chair

and read her book

and just have a great time

for 30 minutes

and then I'm going to come over there

and we're going to high five

and I'm going to sit down in my chair

and I'm going to kick back

and put on my sunglasses

and close my eyes

and take a nap.

And we're going to keep going

over the course of the day

back and forth,

back and forth,

back and forth.

And so we get there

and we get everything set up

and Aaron goes

and sits down

and I got the kids by the hands

and I bring them

to their sand castles

that we're going to work on

and that we're going to build

with all those kind of things

and I sit them there

and we're like,

all right,

and ready,

one, two, three, go.

And I let go of their hands

and I'm down there on the sand

and in unison,

Grayson,

this way,

Emma,

this way.

And so you run after one

and the other one falls

and then that one cries

and then that one cries

and then all of a sudden

we're,

I don't know,

it seemed like an eternity

but we're 30 seconds

into this day.

We're wondering,

why don't we take grandparents,

right?

And Aaron comes out

of her chair

and she says,

well,

this is going to be

a relaxing week,

isn't it?

And I said,

yep.

And she says,

I got Grayson,

you got Emma.

And then we did the dance

of kids

for a week at the beach.

She chased

and I chased.

Why?

Because we knew,

we knew

that one person

couldn't chase two things.

But we don't get that.

We don't get that.

I don't know

what you're chasing.

I know what I chase.

We got to stop.

Because one day

we'll give an account

for all that we've said,

for all that we've done,

both righteous

and unrighteous.

And Jesus says,

you can only

serve

one.

He says it

where the disciples

can hear

and where the Pharisees

can hear.

Who's it going

to be?

Let's pray.

Lord,

I thank you so much

for this time

and this opportunity

that we have

where we can be here.

Lord,

I pray that as we

reveal,

as you reveal

who we are,

Lord,

I pray that our hearts

will be drawn to you.

Lord,

show us

the areas

in our life,

Lord,

where we're stingy

and need to be generous.

Show us the areas

of our life

where we're foolish

and need to be stewards.

And remind us

to live

every day

today

and tomorrow

like eternity

matters

because it does.

And Lord,

have us

chase

who

you

are

with all

we have

and all

we are.

And Jesus

will praise you

for it.

And it's in your name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Here's the challenge.

You got the

who's your one.

It's just a biscuit

for me.

It's just a biscuit.

But someone's

generosity

sparked

in my heart

a deeper

conviction

of who Jesus

is

and his desire

for my life.

small

but it was

kind

and it was

loving

and it was

reflective

of the gospel.

All right?

Live

today

knowing

that eternity

is coming.

Let's stand

and worship together.

thanks again for listening

to the Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed

listening to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more

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