Blessed for the Kingdom
Scripture Reading: Luke 16:1-15
1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a
steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting
his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about
you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be
steward.’
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is
taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I
have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they
may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the
first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred
measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and
write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he
said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and
write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he
had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their
generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon,
that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He
who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust
in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true
riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who
will give you what is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.”
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these
things, and they derided Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who
justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is
highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
The sermon this morning is about money but not in the way it's usually spoken about
in church. This will be all about our finances and nothing about tithing. This first
parable I've heard preached many different ways but it's always been kind of a
difficult one to understand, on the surface. It seems like He was commending this
unrighteous steward for being unrighteous but that's not it at all. Basically, it begins
with the steward being found out. He's been unfaithful to his master, wasting that
which is his master's but there's a lot more to this story than what's on the surface.
One thing that may get lost in the shuffle is his reaction. He's like, what am I going to
do, He can't dig and he's ashamed to beg. Why would he have had to beg? He
mentions that he can't dig so he's probably got some age on him. He has a good
job, at least he did, he's evidently older because he says he can't dig. A young or
middle-aged man should be able to do that. Shouldn't he have had some money
saved? However, it's obvious that he must be broke in the way he reacts. Jesus
spoke so much about money that I think it's high time the church started paying
attention, but we'll get back to that point.
So, the steward comes up with a great idea. He's going to call his masters debtors
and bless them so when he's out of a job, they'll let him come to their house. He's
going to bless them so they'll feel obligated to him. Then Jesus says something that
I think is so important for us to hear. He said that the master commended him for
being shrewd because the sons of this world are more shrewd than the sons of
light. This is so important for us to hear and understand. He's telling us that we
should be shrewd with our finances. If the wicked are able to use their money to
gain influence, so should we. Now don't get me wrong, we would not use the same
devious and deceitful methods to gain that influence, but it seems evident by the
Savior's words here that we are supposed use our blessing to bless others for the
sake of the kingdom. We learning a lot about being kingdom minded in all things.
Today we will learn about being kingdom minded with our finances. In Genesis 12
the LORD YHWH told Abram that not only would He bless him but also that he would
be a blessing to all nations.
Many Christians, including myself, have been looking for their blessings. We've
read about the blessings. We've been believing for the blessings, but we can't miss
the reason for the blessing which is so we can be a blessing. Jesus says that if
we're faithful in little we will be faithful in much. Well, in the kingdom being faithful is
to bless others with what you have, even if it's just a little. We know that man was
made in the image and likeness of God. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells his
disciples that whatever we do to the least, we do to Him. How can we, in good
conscience say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." and not bless those he puts in front of
us who are in need? They are made in the image of God, right?
On the surface this parable does seem like an odd teaching. Just looking at it
without discernment you might think He’s saying that we should use our money and
resources for our own benefit, but that’s not it at all. The Pharisees derided Him for
this teaching but then He tells them who the parable is about and I think most people
miss this. The unrighteous servant is them. They are the ones that are using what
God (the Master) has given them stewardship over for their own benefit. But here’s
the thing, He commends the unrighteous steward for at least being more shrewd
than the children of light. I have learned just how much I didn’t know about finances
since I started going to this website called creditboards.com. Anyone that knows me
knows that I like to read the directions; to know the rules. If I get some new piece of
electronics or a new games or something, the first thing I do is sit down with the user’
s manual. How are you going to know how to use it properly if you don’t first learn
how to operate it correctly? Stupid rules too like if you’ve had a particular credit
card for 5 years but haven’t used it for 3 years, hurts your credit score, even if you
made all your payments on time and have a zero balance. Yet if you close your old
accounts because you’re not using them, that hurts you too. They tell you to use
your cards at least once a quarter. Once every three months just put a tank of gas
or something on each one and pay it off at the end of the month. We had about six
cards with zero balances we thought were helping our credit but it wasn’t. Three of
those cards closed our accounts this year due to inactivity and that hurt our scores
a lot! If we had been doing the quarterly thing with all our inactive cards, our score
would likely be about 75-100 points higher. Now that I’m learning the rules of the
game, I want to shrewdly use them to further the kingdom. Just like the children of
darkness use them to benefit themselves and the kingdom of darkness. Yeshua
says that the sons of this world are more shrewd than the sons of light, and that
should not be.
He also says that we cannot serve two masters; God and mammon (money). Dr.
James Dobson from 'Focus on the Family' tells a story of playing the game Monopoly
when he was a child and being very cut throat. Buying property, putting house on
them, then hotels and basically taking everyone else's money until they were all
broke. He was very happy that he had won and he was feeling very good about
himself. Then his mother folds up the game board and starts to put away all the
money back into the box when a thought hit him. When we're all done with this game
we call life, everything we've acquired is going to be gathered together by someone
else and put back into the box. He says that he never looked at money the same
after that day. We cannot be lovers of money but we do need to be users of
money. We have to learn to be shrewd with it.
When Jesus told His disciple the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, it was the two
servants who invested the master’s money that were told 'well done'. The one who
dug a hole and buried it because he was afraid of losing it was himself cast out. It
seems clear to me that He expects us to gain some sort of return on the things He's
blessed us with. When Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, He's not telling us
not to plan.
Luke 14:28-30
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and
count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has
laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock
him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?
Sure, on the surface this scripture is referring to the cost of our salvation, however, I
believe the Bible is multi-dimensional. In the example He uses, the one who does
not count the financial cost is mocked; considered foolish. How many foolish
Christians are there who are not counting their cost, financially? How many, like me,
did not even know the rules of the game? How can we be effective financially if we
do not even know the rules of the game?
Before we end today, I’d like to read a little bit of the very next parable that is
documented here in Luke.
Luke 16:19-20
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen
and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with
the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores.
It mentions that a certain beggar, covered with sores that the dogs would come and
lick (not very appealing) was laid at his gate just hoping for the crumbs from his
table. This beggar was laid at his gate. Any time he went out or came in he would
have seen this pathetic sight. People are going to be laid at our gate, as well. Just
hoping to be blessed with our leftovers. How will we receive them? If we are not
blessed, how will we be able to be a blessing? Our motivation for the blessings we
receive has to be for what we can do to bless others. Proverbs 27:23 tells us to 'Be
diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds' Now, we might
not have flocks and herds nowadays but we do have a net worth and a checkbook
or even just what’s in our hand right now.
Exodus 4:1-5
1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or
listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it
became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand
and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that
the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
God can use whatever we have in our hand right now, even if it’s just a stick. God
was able to use that stick over and over for His glory. It's important that we know
what we have and what we're doing with it for the sake of the kingdom. We must
learn to use our blessings for the kingdom, and the more we do that, the more He
will continue to bless us financially.
Luke 16:10-11
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is
unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not
been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the
true riches?
God has given us the opportunity to be faithful to the kingdom in that which is little
(what we have in our hand) and if we are faithful with that He will commit to our trust
so much more.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: August 31, 2008
Scripture Reading: Luke 16:1-15
1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a
steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting
his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about
you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be
steward.’
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is
taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I
have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they
may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the
first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred
measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and
write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he
said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and
write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he
had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their
generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon,
that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He
who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust
in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true
riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who
will give you what is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.”
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these
things, and they derided Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who
justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is
highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
The sermon this morning is about money but not in the way it's usually spoken about
in church. This will be all about our finances and nothing about tithing. This first
parable I've heard preached many different ways but it's always been kind of a
difficult one to understand, on the surface. It seems like He was commending this
unrighteous steward for being unrighteous but that's not it at all. Basically, it begins
with the steward being found out. He's been unfaithful to his master, wasting that
which is his master's but there's a lot more to this story than what's on the surface.
One thing that may get lost in the shuffle is his reaction. He's like, what am I going to
do, He can't dig and he's ashamed to beg. Why would he have had to beg? He
mentions that he can't dig so he's probably got some age on him. He has a good
job, at least he did, he's evidently older because he says he can't dig. A young or
middle-aged man should be able to do that. Shouldn't he have had some money
saved? However, it's obvious that he must be broke in the way he reacts. Jesus
spoke so much about money that I think it's high time the church started paying
attention, but we'll get back to that point.
So, the steward comes up with a great idea. He's going to call his masters debtors
and bless them so when he's out of a job, they'll let him come to their house. He's
going to bless them so they'll feel obligated to him. Then Jesus says something that
I think is so important for us to hear. He said that the master commended him for
being shrewd because the sons of this world are more shrewd than the sons of
light. This is so important for us to hear and understand. He's telling us that we
should be shrewd with our finances. If the wicked are able to use their money to
gain influence, so should we. Now don't get me wrong, we would not use the same
devious and deceitful methods to gain that influence, but it seems evident by the
Savior's words here that we are supposed use our blessing to bless others for the
sake of the kingdom. We learning a lot about being kingdom minded in all things.
Today we will learn about being kingdom minded with our finances. In Genesis 12
the LORD YHWH told Abram that not only would He bless him but also that he would
be a blessing to all nations.
Many Christians, including myself, have been looking for their blessings. We've
read about the blessings. We've been believing for the blessings, but we can't miss
the reason for the blessing which is so we can be a blessing. Jesus says that if
we're faithful in little we will be faithful in much. Well, in the kingdom being faithful is
to bless others with what you have, even if it's just a little. We know that man was
made in the image and likeness of God. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells his
disciples that whatever we do to the least, we do to Him. How can we, in good
conscience say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." and not bless those he puts in front of
us who are in need? They are made in the image of God, right?
On the surface this parable does seem like an odd teaching. Just looking at it
without discernment you might think He’s saying that we should use our money and
resources for our own benefit, but that’s not it at all. The Pharisees derided Him for
this teaching but then He tells them who the parable is about and I think most people
miss this. The unrighteous servant is them. They are the ones that are using what
God (the Master) has given them stewardship over for their own benefit. But here’s
the thing, He commends the unrighteous steward for at least being more shrewd
than the children of light. I have learned just how much I didn’t know about finances
since I started going to this website called creditboards.com. Anyone that knows me
knows that I like to read the directions; to know the rules. If I get some new piece of
electronics or a new games or something, the first thing I do is sit down with the user’
s manual. How are you going to know how to use it properly if you don’t first learn
how to operate it correctly? Stupid rules too like if you’ve had a particular credit
card for 5 years but haven’t used it for 3 years, hurts your credit score, even if you
made all your payments on time and have a zero balance. Yet if you close your old
accounts because you’re not using them, that hurts you too. They tell you to use
your cards at least once a quarter. Once every three months just put a tank of gas
or something on each one and pay it off at the end of the month. We had about six
cards with zero balances we thought were helping our credit but it wasn’t. Three of
those cards closed our accounts this year due to inactivity and that hurt our scores
a lot! If we had been doing the quarterly thing with all our inactive cards, our score
would likely be about 75-100 points higher. Now that I’m learning the rules of the
game, I want to shrewdly use them to further the kingdom. Just like the children of
darkness use them to benefit themselves and the kingdom of darkness. Yeshua
says that the sons of this world are more shrewd than the sons of light, and that
should not be.
He also says that we cannot serve two masters; God and mammon (money). Dr.
James Dobson from 'Focus on the Family' tells a story of playing the game Monopoly
when he was a child and being very cut throat. Buying property, putting house on
them, then hotels and basically taking everyone else's money until they were all
broke. He was very happy that he had won and he was feeling very good about
himself. Then his mother folds up the game board and starts to put away all the
money back into the box when a thought hit him. When we're all done with this game
we call life, everything we've acquired is going to be gathered together by someone
else and put back into the box. He says that he never looked at money the same
after that day. We cannot be lovers of money but we do need to be users of
money. We have to learn to be shrewd with it.
When Jesus told His disciple the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, it was the two
servants who invested the master’s money that were told 'well done'. The one who
dug a hole and buried it because he was afraid of losing it was himself cast out. It
seems clear to me that He expects us to gain some sort of return on the things He's
blessed us with. When Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, He's not telling us
not to plan.
Luke 14:28-30
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and
count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has
laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock
him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?
Sure, on the surface this scripture is referring to the cost of our salvation, however, I
believe the Bible is multi-dimensional. In the example He uses, the one who does
not count the financial cost is mocked; considered foolish. How many foolish
Christians are there who are not counting their cost, financially? How many, like me,
did not even know the rules of the game? How can we be effective financially if we
do not even know the rules of the game?
Before we end today, I’d like to read a little bit of the very next parable that is
documented here in Luke.
Luke 16:19-20
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen
and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with
the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores.
It mentions that a certain beggar, covered with sores that the dogs would come and
lick (not very appealing) was laid at his gate just hoping for the crumbs from his
table. This beggar was laid at his gate. Any time he went out or came in he would
have seen this pathetic sight. People are going to be laid at our gate, as well. Just
hoping to be blessed with our leftovers. How will we receive them? If we are not
blessed, how will we be able to be a blessing? Our motivation for the blessings we
receive has to be for what we can do to bless others. Proverbs 27:23 tells us to 'Be
diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds' Now, we might
not have flocks and herds nowadays but we do have a net worth and a checkbook
or even just what’s in our hand right now.
Exodus 4:1-5
1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or
listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it
became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand
and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that
the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
God can use whatever we have in our hand right now, even if it’s just a stick. God
was able to use that stick over and over for His glory. It's important that we know
what we have and what we're doing with it for the sake of the kingdom. We must
learn to use our blessings for the kingdom, and the more we do that, the more He
will continue to bless us financially.
Luke 16:10-11
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is
unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not
been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the
true riches?
God has given us the opportunity to be faithful to the kingdom in that which is little
(what we have in our hand) and if we are faithful with that He will commit to our trust
so much more.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: August 31, 2008