2015 Parables of Jesus. The Austere Manager Luke 16:1-8

Transcription

1 2015 Parables of Jesus The Austere Manager Luke 16:1-8

2 The Text Luke 16:1 8 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. 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. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? For my lord taketh away from me the stewardshp: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called everyone of his lord s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, how much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fiuy. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generawon wiser than the children of light.

3 New Living TranslaWon Luke 16:1 8 Jesus told this story to his disciples: There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was waswng his employer s money. So the employer called him in and said, What s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired. The manager thought to himself, Now what? My boss has fired me. I don t have the strength to dig ditches, and I m too proud to beg. Ah, I know how to ensure that I ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired. So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situawon. He asked the first one, How much do you owe him? The man replied, I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil. So the manager told him, Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons. And how much do you owe my employer? he asked the next man. I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat, was the reply. Here, the manager said, take the bill and change it to 800 bushels. The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.

4 The Steward s Responsibility Luke 16:1 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. Steward = oikonomos one to whom the head of the house or proprietor has entrusted the management of his affairs, the care of receipts and expenditures Wasted = Diascorpidso causing to spread out or sca5er He wasn t spending it or throwing it away He wasn t using it as his master had intended He was possibly spreading it out to investors or individuals that he is now friends with

5 The Owner Audits The Steward Luke 16:2-4 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. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? For my lord taketh away from me the stewardshp: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

6 The Wisdom Of The World Isn t Always Wise 1 Corinthians 1:17-22 For Christ sent me not to bapwze, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is wricen, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For a,er that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek auer wisdom:

7 Start Building Street Credits Luke 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generawon wiser than the children of light. 1 Corinthians 1:23 25 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

8 1. The Wisdom Of The World Isn t Always Wise 1 Corinthians 1:17-22 For Christ sent me not to bapwze, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is wricen, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For a,er that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek auer wisdom:

9 2. Do You Have Street Credit Only? 1 Corinthians 1:26 29 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men auer the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.

10 3. We All Will Cash Out One Day A. Hebrews 9:27 - It s Appointed B. Romans 14:10 We Shall All Stand Before The Judge C. 2 Corinthians 4:3 /MaShew 25:24 Your Return Must Exceed Your Deposit

11 Midweek Assignment Read Luke 16:1 15 How does one "make friends" with riches of another man? What does verses 11 and 12 mean to you? Psalms 24:1 Everything in the earth is God s Psalms 50:12 God would not ask us to prepare him a meal Psalms 89:11 The heavens and earth are Gods because he founded them.

12 How Children Of The World Are Wiser They are fools for their world, more than we are fools for Christ. They are more consistent with themselves They are ouenwmes more consistent in their pursuit of their queswonable principles. They may Wre, falter, fail in their quest for worldly fame and fortune, but they rarely throw in the towel or abandon their goal.

13 Reciprocity utang na loob literally translated means an inner debt or a debt of inner grawtude a debt rooted in the shared reciprocity of friends.

14 The Stewards OpWons Too Proud For Labor and Begging.But Not Too Proud To Cheat A. To do manual labor dig 1. he made a mental decision about what either he had no skill to do, or what type work he refused to do. 2. he made a mental decision about never becoming a day laborer who rose up early and waited to be called early, midday or late evening. B. To beg ask alms from others 1. he knew people would remember him as the steward but would call him a beggar 2. he knew the humiliawon this would bring upon he and his family C. Make Friends With Riches - that were on loan to him 1. He knew his Wme to access this power was short 2. He knew he had not been a responsible steward to his lord 3. He recognized it was over unwl the final meewng 4. He got busy not out of love for his fellowman or lord but for self 5. He banked upon those he abundantly blessed to abundantly bless him

15 Like the steward We Are Stewards 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generawon, a royal priesthood, an holy nawon, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

16 The Children Of Darkness Are Passionate About The World 2 Timothy 4:10 Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Machew 13:22 He that receives seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceimulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruimul.

17 Mammon Luke 16:9 Make friends with mammon = make friends with riches and wealth but do not fall madly in love with one over the other 1. What are your talents? 2. What is your least talent? 3. How responsible are you with it? 4. Where did you get the least or the greatest talent(s)?

18 Every GiU Is A GiU From The Lord Luke 16:10 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. Do you cherish your lesser strengths? Only then will you cherish your greater strengths. Do you have shame or ignore your lesser strengths? If lesser strengths as devalued, true self worth will always be under valued.

19 Suppose Just For A Moment The Following What Would You Do? Luke 16:11-12 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man s who shall give you that which is your own? 1. If a steward has ignored, not uwlized, not appreciated the (allegorical unrighteous mammon), and that which belongs to someone else, God certainly will not entrust true riches to that steward.

20 Stewards Can t Live In The Middle Ground Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 1. Will hate one 2. will hold to one 3. will despise one 4. will serve either God wholeheartedly

21 The Steward s Downfall Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Stewardß à His Lord Steward ß à His Friends

22 The Pharisees Understood The Parable Very Well. Luke 16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. Covetous = friend (Philo) + silver (arguros) Derided = wickedly ridiculed him 1. Denied what he said 2. Turned up their noses