Shrewd Manager
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Luke 16:1-13
Luke 16:1-13
Good morning, church!
Turn to somebody next to you and say, “You’ve got something to work with!”
Because listen—you may not feel like it.
You may think, “I don’t have enough.”
But the truth is: God has already placed everything you need for your purpose inside your hands.
Today we’re going to talk about how we handle what God has given us.
And warning—this message might step on your toes a little bit…
But that’s okay—God can heal your toes if He’s aiming to change your heart!
tell story of playing dice and selling candy bars at school to make money
listen Sometimes worldly people hustle harder for things that don’t last than Christians hustle for things that do!
recap luke a little = Parable of Prodigal son
read passage for today
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 am not strong enough to dig, and I am 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?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. 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 yourselves 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. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to 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 either 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.”
talk about Parables real quick = about 40 of them
As we know, they were designed to hide the truth from unbelievers, but to reveal it to believers, those who have ears to hear.
It is a parable that has to do with money, and that’s not odd because about one out of three parables will have something to do with money. That’s just the way life is.
Our Lord gets it. He understands that life in the world is dependent upon a form of exchange, and we live and breathe and move with those exchanges. So here is a story about money.
It’s a really shocking story because the characters in this story are to one degree or another relatively bad. One of them is very bad.
The rest are complicit with his evil. Even the guy who is supposed to be the hero in this story is really flawed because he commends this bad man and the people who were complicit in the badness.
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.
so those who do not have ears to hear sit back and look puzzled because to them it looks as though Jesus is commending dishonesty right
of course he is not and thus we will unpack this today!
so once again verse 1 and 2
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.’
This man had control over the master’s wealth, but he mismanaged it.
He was careless.
He was wasteful.
And finally—the master says, “Turn in the books. You’re done.”
Here’s the truth:
One day you and I are going to have to turn in the books.
God has entrusted you with time. With resources. With opportunities.
And He’s going to ask, “What did you do with what I gave you?”
first off imagine you are brought in and told by the owner of the company, your fired, you got canned
Keep in mind there’s nothing in this parable that’s secret or hidden or allegorical or mystical.
The term “manager” oikonomos from the Greek, which means law and house. He had the law of the house. He was the one delegated the authority to act for the owner. He managed the land. He managed the crops. He managed the assets. He managed the debts. He managed internally the disbursing of the resources and the food and whatever was necessary for the servants and all the people who made up the core, who operated this particular enterprise.
got a bad report greek word for report it Diaballo from which we get the word “diabolical.”
the report was pretty bad
he is Squandering, This is just an irresponsible, incompetent person at this point in the story.
so in a donald trump like voice he simply said, your fired!
so now the manager is left wondering what to do about his future…
And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
Faced with unemployment, the manager devises a plan. He reduces the debts of his master’s debtors, hoping they’ll welcome him into their homes later.
preach about him unlike the prodigal is thinking about his future and what to do…
So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
preach and speak on this passage
this is where those who do not have ears to hear start to get hung up and think that jesus is commending dishonesty
This dishonest manager gets creative!
He calls the people who owe the master money and reduces their debt. Why? Because he knows he’s about to lose his job—and he’s setting up his future.
He uses his current position to secure future relationships.
Here’s the crazy part:
Jesus isn’t telling us to be shady—He’s telling us to be shrewd.
Sometimes worldly people hustle harder for things that don’t last than Christians hustle for things that do!
The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
Jesus is not praising the dishonesty—He’s praising the urgency, the strategy, the intentionality.
When was the last time you thought about your life strategically?
Some of us have a strategic plan for our finances,
a strategic plan for our career,
a strategic plan for our fitness goals…
but no strategic plan for our soul.
Come on, somebody!
If you know your life is short,
why are you living like you have forever?
here is a good scripture that many of us have heard before
“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.
Faithfulness doesn’t start with a big platform. Faithfulness starts with one small, ordinary opportunity handled God’s way.
How you treat the money you have right now.
How you show up for the people already in your life.
How you serve when no one notices.
If you won’t be faithful in private,
you won’t be trusted in public.
im going to conclude here this morning
No servant can serve two masters, for either 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.”
preach on being strategic with what God has given us
be shrewd
what you have now is perfect for what God wants you to do today!
live in your purpose = no greater feeling of success
be Faithful, Focused, and Free
Faithful - Steward what you have right now.
Focused - Set your aim on eternal things.
Free - Refuse to be ruled by money, stuff, or status.
Here’s the question:
Are you building a kingdom that will fall apart… or a kingdom that will never end?
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“Invest Your Life in What Will Outlive It.”
Church, today, make a decision:
Use what God has given you—not just to build a life—but to build His Kingdom.
When you’re faithful with little,
God will trust you with much.
When you handle money God’s way,
you’ll experience freedom, not slavery.
When you live with eternity in mind,
your life will outlast you.
Give him a praise offering this morning
pray
HOLY SPIRIT TAKE OVER PLEASE LORD!!!!
