Mills Memorial Baptist Church
Sunday Evening Worship - 4/26
  • The God of the Impossible
  • I Love to Tell the Story
  • Luke 16:1-13
    Luke 15 began with the Pharisees and scribes murmuring because Jesus received sinners and ate with them.
    Jesus answered them with three parables.
    A shepherd sought a lost sheep.
    A woman searched for a lost silver.
    A father received a lost son.
    Luke 15 shows us the heart of God toward lost sinners.
    God seeks.
    God receives.
    God restores.
    God rejoices.
    But Luke 15 also ends with an elder brother who was close to the father’s house but far from the father’s heart.
    He had privilege, but he did not share the father’s joy.
    Then Luke 16 begins, “And he said also unto his disciples.”
    That little word “also” shows us that Jesus is not starting a completely disconnected subject.
    The Pharisees are still nearby, because Luke 16:14 says, “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.”
    So Jesus turns His direct instruction to the disciples, but the Pharisees are still listening.
    Luke 15 exposes the Pharisees’ loveless religion.
    Luke 16 exposes their covetous religion.
    Luke 15 says, “You do not love lost sinners the way God does.”
    Luke 16 says, “You do not use earthly resources the way God commands.”
    That gives us the connection between the chapters.
    Luke 15 shows us the heart of God toward the lost.
    Luke 16 shows us the responsibility of God’s servants with what He has placed in their hands.
    If heaven rejoices when sinners are found, then God’s people should use everything entrusted to them to help point sinners home.
    This is a difficult parable because it almost sounds like Jesus is praising dishonesty.
    But Jesus is not praising dishonesty.
    He calls this man an “unjust steward.”
    Jesus is not saying, “Be corrupt like this man.”
    He is saying, “Notice that even this corrupt man understood urgency, opportunity, and preparation.”
    The steward was dishonest, but he knew his time was short.
    The steward was unjust, but he acted before his opportunity was gone.
    The steward was worldly, but he used temporary resources with the future in mind.
    If we were to sum up this passage in one sentence it would be:
    Because our stewardship is temporary, we must use earthly resources for eternal purposes.

    I. Recognize Your Accountability

    1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
    The first thing Jesus places before us is accountability.
    This steward was a manager.
    He was not the owner.
    He had authority, but it was delegated authority.
    He had access, but it was borrowed access.
    He had control, but it was temporary control.
    The goods belonged to another man.
    The word “wasted” means he had squandered, scattered, or mismanaged what belonged to his master.
    It is the same basic idea used in Luke 15:13 when the prodigal son “wasted his substance with riotous living.”
    In Luke 15, the younger son wasted what had been given to him.
    In Luke 16, the steward wasted what belonged to someone else.
    That is where the passage begins to press on us.

    A. Remember The Owner

    Psalm 24:1 KJV
    1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.
    That verse does not leave much outside God’s ownership.
    Our money is not really ours.
    Our time is not really ours.
    Our homes are not really ours.
    Our abilities are not really ours.
    Our influence is not really ours.
    They have been entrusted to us by God.
    1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV
    2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
    God does not require a steward to be famous.
    God does not require a steward to be wealthy.
    God does not require a steward to have the most impressive gifts.
    God requires faithfulness.
    That changes how we look at everything.
    The question is not merely, “What do I have?”
    The question is, “How am I using what belongs to God?”

    B. Review The Waste

    The steward was accused of wasting his master’s goods.
    The text does not tell us exactly how he wasted them.
    Maybe he was lazy.
    Maybe he was careless.
    Maybe he was extravagant.
    Maybe he was already dishonest.
    Whatever the details were, the master had heard enough to call him to account.
    There is a sober warning here.
    Waste is not always loud.
    Waste can look like drift.
    Waste can look like neglect.
    Waste can look like unused opportunity.
    Waste can look like money spent only on self.
    Waste can look like influence that never points anyone toward Christ.
    A wasted life is not always a life of open rebellion.
    Sometimes it is simply a life spent on things that will not matter when the account is called.

    C. Realize The Reckoning

    The master said, “Give an account of thy stewardship.”
    That sentence is the shadow that lies across the whole parable.
    Romans 14:12 KJV
    12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
    2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV
    10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad
    Those verses are not meant to make believers doubt their salvation.
    Romans 8:1 KJV
    1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
    But saved people are still accountable people.
    We will not answer as condemned criminals.
    Christ bore our condemnation.
    But we will answer as stewards.
    We will answer for faithfulness.
    We will answer for opportunity.
    We will answer for what we did with what God placed in our hands.
    So Jesus begins with accountability.
    Then He moves to urgency.
    If the stewardship is temporary, the opportunity must not be delayed.

    II. Realize Your Opportunity

    Luke 16:3-7 tells us what the steward did when he realized his position was ending.
    He said, “What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”
    This man is not repentant.
    He does not say, “I have sinned.”
    He says, “What shall I do?”
    He is not thinking morally.
    He is thinking strategically.
    Jesus is not approving his dishonesty.
    He is showing us that this man understood something many believers forget.
    He understood that a closing opportunity must be used before it is gone.

    A. See The Limitation

    The steward says, “I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”
    Digging was hard manual labor.
    It was the work of fields, trenches, vineyards, and common day labor.
    This steward was used to administration, accounts, and management.
    He knew he was not prepared for the hard life of a laborer.
    He also said he was ashamed to beg.
    There is almost a little humor in the line.
    He is too weak to dig and too proud to beg.
    But he does understand one thing.
    His options are limited.
    He does not have endless time.
    He does not have endless strength.
    He does not have endless opportunity.
    That is true for us as well.
    We cannot do everything.
    We cannot serve forever in this present life.
    We cannot go back and relive yesterday.
    John 9:4 KJV
    4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
    We don’t need panic.
    We need purpose.
    We need to…

    B. Seize The Moment

    The steward still had a small window of opportunity.
    He had been told he was losing the stewardship, but he had not yet fully handed over the books.
    He still had access.
    He still had opportunity.
    So he acted quickly.
    Verse 6 says, “Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.”
    Again, Jesus is not praising fraud.
    He is highlighting foresight.
    The man acted in light of what was coming.
    That is the lesson.
    If a worldly man can act with urgency for a temporary future, surely God’s people should act with urgency for an eternal future.
    Galatians 6:10 KJV
    10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
    Opportunity is a stewardship.
    A chance to encourage someone is a stewardship.
    A chance to give is a stewardship.
    A chance to witness is a stewardship.
    A chance to disciple a child is a stewardship.
    A chance to strengthen a church is a stewardship.
    A chance to forgive is a stewardship.
    We should use what is in our hands while it is still in our hands.

    C. Secure The Future

    The steward says in verse 4, “I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.”
    I don’t think he is trying to get his old job back.
    I think he is trying to secure a future after his position ends.
    In that culture, hospitality and patronage mattered deeply.
    If he reduced the debts of these men, they might feel obligated to help him later.
    They might receive him into their homes.
    They might employ him or support him.
    He used temporary resources to prepare for an earthly future.
    Jesus will turn that into a spiritual lesson.
    The unjust steward used temporary opportunity for temporary security.
    The disciple should use temporary opportunity for eternal fruit.
    That is where Luke 15 still echoes in the background.
    If heaven rejoices over one sinner that repenteth, then our earthly resources should be used in ways that help sinners come home.
    We have seen accountability and opportunity.
    Now Jesus explains the heart of the lesson.

    III. Redirect Your Priority

    Luke 16:8 says, “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”
    The master did not commend the steward because he was righteous.
    Jesus still calls him unjust.
    He commended him because he had acted wisely, shrewdly, and with foresight.
    Then Jesus makes the comparison.
    Worldly people often show more planning, urgency, and intentionality for temporary things than God’s people show for eternal things.

    A. Learn From The Contrast

    “The children of this world” are people who live for this present age.
    They plan for earthly advantage.
    They labor for earthly gain.
    They sacrifice for earthly comfort.
    They maneuver for earthly security.
    “The children of light” are God’s people.
    We know more than the world knows.
    We know God created us.
    We know Christ died for sinners.
    We know eternity is real.
    We know heaven is real.
    We know hell is real.
    We know this world is passing away.
    Yet sometimes the world acts with more purpose for a passing future than Christians act for an eternal future.
    That is the sting of the verse.
    A man may plan carefully for retirement but give little thought to laying up treasure in heaven.
    A student may train for years for a trophy but spend little time training his heart in Scripture.
    A family may plan vacations carefully but drift spiritually without a plan for worship, prayer, service, and discipleship.
    Jesus is not telling us to become worldly.
    He is telling us not to let the world out-think, out-plan, and out-sacrifice us for things that will not last.
    Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
    That sentence fits wonderfully the heart of this passage.

    B. Labor For The Eternal

    Verse 9 says, “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.”
    This does not mean Jesus is telling believers to compromise with the world.
    James 4:4 says that friendship with the world is enmity with God.
    James 4:4 KJV
    4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
    So Jesus is not telling His disciples to become friends with the world system.
    He is telling them to use earthly wealth in a way that produces eternal fruit.
    “Mammon of unrighteousness” refers to earthly wealth, money, and material possessions.
    Money is not evil in itself.
    1 Timothy 6:10 KJV
    10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
    Money can feed a family.
    Money can help the poor.
    Money can support missionaries.
    Money can print gospel literature.
    Money can keep the lights on in a church building.
    But money is dangerous when it becomes master.
    Jesus is teaching us to make money a servant, not a master.
    Use temporary wealth in a way that will still matter when wealth is gone.

    C. Live For The Welcome

    9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
    “When ye fail” likely points to the failure of earthly life and earthly wealth.
    Money eventually fails every person.
    It fails at death.
    It cannot go with us.
    It cannot purchase forgiveness.
    It cannot buy entrance into heaven.
    But it can be used now in ways that matter forever.
    “Everlasting habitations” points us beyond temporary houses to eternal dwellings.
    The unjust steward wanted people to receive him into earthly houses.
    Jesus calls His disciples to use earthly resources in view of everlasting habitations.
    This does not mean people can open heaven for us.
    Only God saves.
    This does not mean generosity purchases salvation.
    Only the blood of Christ redeems.
    It means the eternal results of faithful stewardship will outlast the money itself.
    A dollar given to missions can help send the gospel.
    A home opened in hospitality can strengthen a believer.
    A meal given in love can open a gospel conversation.
    A Bible lesson taught to a child can plant truth that lasts for years.
    A quiet act of generosity can become a visible picture of the kindness of God.
    The question is not whether every act feels dramatic.
    The question is whether we are using earthly opportunity with eternity in view.
    Jesus now presses the matter even deeper.
    The way we handle money reveals the direction of our loyalty.

    IV. Reveal Your Loyalty

    Luke 16:10-13 says, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
    Then in verse 13 Jesus says, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
    Money is not merely financial.
    Money is spiritual.
    The way we handle temporary things reveals how we value eternal things.

    A. Faithfulness Is Proven In Little Things

    Jesus says, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.”
    We often think we would be faithful if God gave us something bigger.
    “If I had more money, I would give more.”
    “If I had more time, I would serve more.”
    “If I had a bigger opportunity, I would be more committed.”
    But Jesus says faithfulness is revealed in what is already in our hands.
    If I am not faithful with a small income, a larger income will not automatically make me faithful.
    If I do not serve in a small opportunity, a larger platform will not automatically make me spiritual.
    If I do not honor God in private, public recognition will not make me faithful.
    The little things are not little to God.
    A cup of cold water given in Jesus’ name matters.
    A widow’s mite matters.
    A child taught truth matters.
    A hidden act of service matters.
    Faithfulness is not waiting for something impressive.
    Faithfulness is honoring God with what He has already entrusted.

    B. Faithfulness Is Preparation For True Riches

    Jesus asks in verse 11, “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
    Earthly wealth is not the true riches.
    Money feels powerful, but Jesus calls it little.
    Money feels permanent, but Jesus says it will fail.
    Money feels valuable, but Jesus points us to true riches.
    The true riches are the spiritual and eternal blessings of God.
    They include truth, grace, souls, ministry, heavenly reward, and deeper usefulness in the hands of God.
    God uses ordinary stewardship to train us for greater usefulness.
    David was faithful with sheep before he was entrusted with a kingdom.
    Joseph was faithful in Potiphar’s house and in prison before he governed Egypt.
    The little place was not wasted.
    It was preparation.
    Faithfulness where we are is often God’s preparation for what He knows is ahead.

    C. Faithfulness Reveals The Master

    Jesus ends with one of the clearest statements in Scripture.
    “No servant can serve two masters.”
    He does not say it is difficult.
    He says it is impossible.
    A man may have money and serve God.
    But a man cannot serve money and serve God.
    The issue is mastery.
    Who rules the heart?
    Who gives the orders?
    Who has the final say?
    Who determines our priorities?
    Jesus says, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
    Mammon does not mind being second in our statement of faith as long as it is first in our daily decisions.
    Mammon does not mind us singing hymns as long as we obey greed.
    Mammon does not mind us saying God owns everything as long as we live like we own everything.
    That is why Jesus forces the choice.
    God and mammon cannot both be master.
    The Pharisees heard this and mocked Him because they were covetous.
    They had religion, but they loved money.
    Jesus turns to His disciples so they will not make the same mistake.
    The disciple must follow Christ not only in doctrine, but also in desire.
    The disciple must follow Christ not only with words, but also with his wallet.
    The disciple must follow Christ not only in worship, but also in stewardship.

    Conclusion

    This passage began with a steward who had wasted his master’s goods.
    He was called to give an account.
    He realized his opportunity was closing.
    He acted quickly in light of what was coming.
    He used temporary resources to prepare for his earthly future.
    Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said, in effect, “Should not the children of light live with even greater wisdom for eternity?”
    That is the searching question for us tonight.
    Are we wasting the Master’s goods?
    Are we living as owners or stewards?
    Are we using earthly resources for eternal purposes?
    Are we treating time, money, influence, home, ability, and opportunity as things that belong to God?
    Luke 15 showed us the joy of heaven when sinners come home.
    Luke 16 now asks whether we are using what God has entrusted to us to help point sinners home.
    The shepherd searched.
    The woman swept.
    The father received.
    Now the steward must be faithful.
    One day money will fail.
    One day opportunity will close.
    One day the account will be called.
    One day the stewardship will end.
    But what was done for Christ will remain.
    So while we still have breath, let us be faithful.
    While we still have opportunity, let us be wise.
    While we still have resources, let us use them for eternity.
    While we still have influence, let’s point people to Christ.
    Let’s follow His steps by living not as owners, but as stewards.
    Let’s use what will not last for what will never pass away.
    Let’s serve God, not mammon.

      • Psalm 24:1KJV1900

      • 1 Corinthians 4:2KJV1900

      • Romans 14:12KJV1900

      • 2 Corinthians 5:10KJV1900

      • Romans 8:1KJV1900

      • John 9:4KJV1900

      • Galatians 6:10KJV1900

      • James 4:4KJV1900

      • 1 Timothy 6:10KJV1900

Mills Memorial Baptist Church
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