Luke 16:1-13

Wise For Eternity

Introduction

1. Why does the cause of Christ lag behind? How can we be wise for eternity?

2. Luke 16:1-13 v. 8 because he had done wisely…applauded for his shrewdness…for the

sons of this age are in their generation wiser than the children of light. God wants His

disciples to be wise for eternity.

Why does the cause of Christ lag behind? How can we be wise for eternity?

I. WE MUST BE WISE TO PROSPECT 16:1-8

Jesus relates a parable of a manager who was a rascal. He is not encouraging dishonesty and

deceit. To act with foresight…he acts decisively in the present to position himself for the

future. He recognizes his crisis and seizes his opportunity because he has his eye on the

future, not just the present. Gary Inrig - We see in this unlikely hero a quality which the

followers of Jesus require if they are to be effective:

  1. His Problem 1-3
  1. He Is Dishonest 1 He had wasted his goods…this steward was reported to him as squandering his possessions.
  2. He Is Discovered 2a Give account
  3. He Is Dismissed 2b You can no longer be steward…by such and such a date you will have to clean out your drawer. You’re gone!
  4. He Is Dismayed 3 What shall I do. My master is taking away my stewardship. I can’t dig. I won’t dig! I’m too proud to beg!
  1. His Purpose 4 Those indebted to his master: they may receive me into their house.
  2. His Plan 5 He called everyone of his lord’s debtors.
  3. His Procedure 6, 7 In order to get a sense of just how clever he was we must understand what takes place. In Jewish culture it was illegal to charge interest to fellow Jews. There was no such thing as principal and interest. So they would hide the interest in the loan (manager’s fee). It was not uncommon to charge as much as 100% in (manager’s fees).

Manager: How much do you owe? 100 measures of oil…that was 800 gallons (the yield of 146 oil trees). Take the bill and make it 400 gallons. Truth: the debtor actually owed 400 gallon, and the other 400 was the manager’s commission. v. 7 100 measures of wheat…1000 bushels…make it 80. Here he wrote off 20% commission on a less inflationary commission. The manager did so to everyone of his master’s debtors (v. 5).

  1. His Praise 8 For their own generation…they are more astute in carrying out their enterprise. McDonald, Coke, Pepsi are shrewd in their dealing with their product, much more so than His followers. They see the possibilities and seize the opportunities. Unbelievers outpace believers in their foresight, ingenuity, vision and zeal for their product. They study their world, seize opportunities knowing that opportunities missed are opportunities lost.

Strategy:

*Problem…state it (lost people, hurt people, building up believers, building relationships)

*Purpose...What is our purpose? Why are we here? What do we want to accomplish?

*Plan…How are we going to do it? Get a plan?

*Procedure...How are we going to carry out the plan? What’s it going to take?

*Progress...THEN DO IT! Carry out the plan. Do what we’ve never done in a way we’ve never done it! Desperate time takes desperate measures. If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. What about this community?

Why does the cause of Christ lag behind? How can we be wise for eternity?

II. WE MUST BE WISE TO PERSPECTIVE 16:9

  1. See Beyond…Patch Adams…Meindelson was a genius in a mental ward. How many fingers? 4 Look beyond the fingers. 8 Look beyond the mammon and all material possessions. The Pharisees and many of us can see no further. Make friends by means of money…mammon. The mammon of unrighteous is to be used. There is no evil in money. Money that can achieve eternal goals when placed under Christ’s authority. Wise…how can we use what we have to accomplish eternal purposes. Know what you are going to do with your money before you make it. Otherwise you will hoard it!
  2. See Above…that when it fails (and it will)…one day we will die! They may receive you…those who have been influenced for Christ by means of mammon, things. Every believer will be welcomed into heaven. Not all will have the same number of friends to welcome them. How can I maximize what I have for eternity? How many investments are you making for eternity? The sons of this age are focused on their generation. They live for the here and now. Do we???

Why does the cause of Christ lag behind? How can we be wise for eternity?

III. WE MUST BE WISE TO PRIORITIES 16:10-12

We are stewards, not owners! What we possess is to be used to further the Master’s purposes

and goals, not ours!

  1. Faithfulness…He that is faithful in very little is faithful also in much…We usually mean if we will be faithful in little…I will be trusted with much. That is not what he says!

He does not say, He will but He is. Who is the man faithful in little? The man who is faithful in much. If a man is faithful in much, he will be faithful in little! What is little?

The mammon of unrighteousness What is much? True riches…our relationship with God…our spiritual life. Seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. (Mt 6:33) The man who is right with God will be right with his money and possessions. God wants us. When He has us, he has everything we own. If we are right with the BIG we will be right with the Little.

  1. Fruitfulness…a man who is of singleness of purpose, the one pointed toward God, everything he has will be pointed in the right direction. If the little things are wrong, it’s an indication of a bigger problem. Take care of the BIG, and God will take care of everything else!!

Why does the cause of Christ lag behind? How can we be wise for eternity?

IV. WE MUST BE WISE TO PROHIBITIONS 16:13

  1. The Restriction…you cannot…two times Jesus says, you cannot. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon (possessions). It is impossible! We can serve God with money. We can only have one Master. Who is you master? We can be stewards of it or slave to it. There is no part time discipleship to Jesus Christ and there is no part time in mammon. He does not remove money, but the same money that buys heroin, places bets and buys prostitutes can buy a Bible, feed orphans, and support God’s work.
  2. The Reason…you either he will hate the one and love the other or hold to the one and despise the other. Are you hating god and loving possessions? Are you holding to God and despising (loving money less than) money? When God masters a man, He masters his money.

Fools serve money and leave it all behind.

Wise believers serve God and invest in eternity.

Are you living for time or do you live with eternity in view?

God doesn’t want your money, He wants you. If He has you, He has your money.