A Mighty Lesson from an Unjust Steward

Series Review

1-2: Series Introduction

3-7: Christ Before Bethlehem - pt.1-6 (The Pre-Incarnate Christ)

9-10: The Incarnate Christ - pt.1-2 (The Birth of Christ)

11. Learning from a 12 Year Old

12. The Jesus We Know Not (Years of Silence)

13. The Baptism of Christ

14. Having Victory Over Temptation (The Temptation of Christ)

15. The Call to Follow (Calling the First Apostles)

The TEACHINGS OF CHRIST - The Sermon on the Mount

16. A Disciples Progression (The Beatitudes)

I. Their Inward Conflict (v3-6); II. Their Outward Charity (v7-9): III. The Inevitable Cost (v10-12)

17. The Salt of the Earth (Mat. 5:13)

I. The Preamble (Mat. 5:1-12); II. Purposes for Salt; III. Pictures of Salt: IV. The Production of Salt; V. A Precaution Given

18. The Light of the World (Mat. 5:14-16):

I. The Facts of Light; II. The Function of Light; III. The Focus of the Light (v15-16)

19. The Correct View of the Law by Christ (Mat. 5:17-48)

I. The Satisfaction of the Law: II. The Strengthening of the Law: III. A Summary of Christ’s Teachings on the Law: Christ Has Satisfied the Law for Us; We are Subject to a Higher Standard; We should Live More Righteous, not Less

20. Standards to Pursue - pt.1 (Mat. 6:1-18)

I. Secretive Philanthropy (v1-4); II. A Sincere and Submissive Prayer Life (v5-15) III. Subdue the Flesh (v16-18)

21. Standards to Pursue - pt.2 (Mat. 6:19-34)

I. Seek Heavenly Treasures (v19-24); II. Submit Yourselves to God (v25-34)

22. Kingdom Mindedness - (Mat. 7:1-12)

I. Sound Judgments; II. Seeking God’s Guidance; III. A “Self” Centered Attitude

23. The Conclusion - (Mat. 7:13-29)

I. Behold the Choice (v13-14); II. Beware of False Guides (v15-20); III. Beware of False Assurance (v21-23); IV. Be Mindful of your Foundation (v24-27)

The PARABLES of Christ

24: The Sower, the Seed and the Soil

I. The Sower: Casts Faithfully; Casts Indiscriminately; Casts Expectantly; Casts Because Duty Demands It

II. The Seed: It is Good Seed; It is the Same Seed; It is Plentiful Seed; It Holds Limitless Possibilities

III. The Soil: It Varied Greatly; It Determined the Production

25: Recovering the Lost

The Meaning of Being Lost: Lost Defined; Lost Described

I. The Manner of Becoming Lost: Through Wandering; Through Wanton Neglect; Through Willful Disobedience

II. The Method of Recovery: The Shepherd Seeks; The Owner Sweeps; The Father Waits, the Son Repents

III. Morals to Remember: There was Joy in the Recovery of All; The Prompt of the Parables; A Point to Consider

26. What the Samaritan Teaches Us

I. The Preamble: Right Question, Wrong Reason (v25); Interpretation Matters (v26); How Are You Justified? (v29)

II. The Parable: A Principled Application; There’s a Cost Associated with Our Decisions; A Personal Application; Religious ≠

Our Actions Reveal Our Nature; A Pictured Application; The Victim = Me; The Priest & Levite = The Law & Sacrifice; They Identify the Problem, but Cannot Help; The Samaritan = Jesus; He was a Hated Outsider; His Compassion Causes Action; He Sacrifices to Heal the Hurting; He’s Gone Away, but is Coming Back

27. One Wedding to Attend

I. The Point for the Pharisees: Their Recruitment(v3-4); Their Response (v5-6); Their Requite (v7)

II. The Portrayal of the Servants: They were Obedient; They were Persistent; They were Persecuted (v6); They were Avenged (v7)

III. The Problem of One: He Didn’t Have the Proper Attire (v11); His Protest was Paralyzed (v12); He was Bound and Punished (v13)

28. A Radical Contrast

I. The Regard of One (v11-12): An Appearance of Righteousness; An Actual Right Lifestyle; An Arrogant Demeanor

II. The Remorse of Another (v13): An Appearance of Wickedness; An Admitted Sin Problem; An Abased Attitude

III. Righteousness Revealed by Christ (v14): A Radical View; A Revealing View

IV. Righteousness Revealed Through Christ: We Acknowledge Our Sin Problem; We Admit we Can’t be Righteous Ourselves; We Seek God’s Mercy; We Find All in Jesus

Introduction

He's not commending his actions. He's commending his foresight.

The Illustration

His Role (Steward)

His Recklessness (wasted)

His Reality (Time is limited)

His Resolve (v4)

The Lesson

A Commendation (v8a)

A Comparison (v8b)

A Command (v9)

A Correlation (v10-13)

I. The Illustration

The Roles (v1a)

There are two distinct roles that we are told about in verse number one. There was a certain rich man and a steward.

Later in the chapter we are introduced to another certain rich man in a different story but these two are different one from the other.

This certain rich man is simply the master, the ruler. He is the one that the steward answers to and he, in turn, answers to no one but God.

The steward is the one who works for and answers to a certain rich man.

Steward (def) house-distributor; manager; overseer; treasurer.

Steward (1828-def) A man employed in great families to manage the domestic concerns, superintend the other servants, collect the rents or income, keep the accounts

The important thing to note about the steward is that he is managing another's property. This is key.

You have a ruler and a master who owns everything and then you have the steward who is managing the property of the master.

For our illustrative purposes it's easy to see who these two represent.

The rich man that owns it all is representative of God. God is the one who owns it all, the cattle upon a thousand hills. (Ill.) As I was down in Virginia last week, I thought of that verse a lot as we would pass by a hill and there'd be cattle upon it. I would think, "My God owns a thousand of those."

The steward would be you and I. Those who truly own nothing but are simply stewards of the gifts and mercies of God.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

You and I like to boast of what we have but, church, we have nothing. God owns it all and He has entrusted us to utilize and to care for the things that we have, not for our own benefit but for that of the Master.

We see the roles.

His Recklessness (v1b)

This steward then was accused of wasting his goods. Whose goods? The rich man's. He was wasting what his master had entrusted unto him.

I would call this reckless behavior, wouldn't you?

(Ill.) In any job one works, they are entrusted to do something: from the cashier to the pizza delivery driver to the stockbroker to the machinist to the preacher. Just put yourself and your job in this place. I consider you go to work and you clock in but you don't do your job. Whether you're wasting time, whether you're wasting opportunity, whether you're wasting money, it matters not. If your employer entrusted you to do a thing and you do it not, that's reckless.

I think from a business standpoint this is obvious but somehow we as Christians can't understand it from the spiritual standpoint.

How many of you are living your Spiritual life in reckless fashion?

How many of you are wasting the time, talents, treasures, and testimony that God has given you?

(Ill.) If you were an employee of God, and you had your annual review today, would you be up for ‘employee of the year’ or worried about your job?

This steward was reckless because he was wasting his master's goods.

His Reality (v2-3)

There is essentially three different realities for this steward that come into focus in these two verses

The Master wasn’t Fooled

While this steward was living recklessly and he was making his own choices and doing whatever it is he wanted to do, his master was not fooled.

I asked a moment ago how your evaluation would be as a steward of God and you can surely fool me and you can fool yourself but you'll never fool God.

The Master wasn't fooled.

There was a Reckoning Coming

The days of his stewardship were coming to a close. The master told him to get his stuff in order. His days serving as his steward were about over.

There was a reckoning coming.

Church, I want you to know that no matter who you are, what your name is, whether old or young, there's coming a day when your stewardship will be over.

There was a reckoning coming.

He Realized his Position was Temporary

And then it hits him. He comes to the realization that this position he held was temporary. The life in which he was living was coming to an end.

He was living at his leisure, for all intents and purposes, acting as though he had all the time in the world but it finally hit him that his position was temporary.

(Ill.) I have now been in ministry for several years. Between this church and the other church I pastored, I have pastored for over 15 years and I have ministered to many people at all stages of life. One thing is common amongst the majority: the majority of stewards squander their master's goods and don't come to the realization that the life they have so heavily invested in is temporary until it's about over.

I have ministered to many on their deathbeds that have had the attitude of "shoulda, coulda, woulda" and very few have I been with that said, as Paul did, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have kept the faith."

Church, it is my utmost prayer that you come to the realization today that this life is temporary. Your opportunities are temporary. And it's so much shorter than we realize. James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

This steward realized his position was temporary

His Resolve (v4-7)

Resolved (def) to settle in an opinion; to make certain

The steward settled something in his mind. He made certain of something. He came to a conclusion and a decision.

What he concluded was that since his current position was only temporary he was going to then prepare for his future.

(v4)

The LORD is showing how this man has said in his mind that he was, "To stop living for the present and start investing in the future."

That's what we need to understand. We need to stop living for the present and start investing in the future!

Matthew 6:19–21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The more we invest in this world, the more our heart longs for it. The more we invest in Heaven, the more our heart longs for it.

The question is, what will we resolve to do? Will we set our hearts & minds on the eternal future, or the temporary world? James 1:8 “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

This man resolved to live for the eternal, realizing that his current position was temporary.

II. The Implication

What is the lesson that we are learning here? Jesus begins to explain it.

A Commendation (v8a)

Commend (def) laude, praise

Notice that the Lord commended him here. He wasn't so much commending his dealings, for he called him unjust, but rather his perspective and his change of view. He said he acted wisely.

Church, when we leave this world and we stand before God, have you put much thought into what His reaction is going to be when you stand before Him?

I think many Christians are under the delusion that the Lord will be pleased with them just because they're saved. (Ill.) Church, let me ask you this. For the parents that are out here, I'm assuming you unconditionally love your children, as do I, but I ask you this: Are you unconditionally pleased with your children, regardless of their actions or behavior? If you are not, why would you think that the Lord is?

2 Corinthians 5:10 “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.”

1 Corinthians 3:12–15 “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Not everyone will hear “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” - in order to hear that, you must be good and faithful! And the only way to be that is to stop wasting our efforts on the temporal, and invest in the eternal!

We see a Commendation

A Comparison (v8b)

Here we see the Lord comparing God's people to lost people and by comparison He's saying lost people are wiser overall.

The reason is, many lost people will live not necessarily in the present but they'll plan for the future. It's just the future of this life, as opposed to the future beyond this life.

Many of them are wise enough to invest in the future. They just have a shallow view of what the future really is.

Church is a shame that people who know not God and have not the Spirit of God can act in wiser fashion than those who do.

We see a comparison.

A Command (v9)

This verse can be a little confusing but there is one thing that we need to remember: the Lord is speaking specifically about money. When he was talking about investing in the future as opposed to the present, he is speaking about money. I am expanding it to all aspects of life: our time and talents, but the subject is money.

“mammon of unrighteousness” = temporary wealth

“friends” = friendly to others

“ye fail” = when you die

“everlasting habitations” = benefits the eternal

So it can be read like this: “Use your temporary wealth to invest in others that when you die, you’ll have eternal treasures”.

Jesus said “And I say unto you…” - Jesus is hammering this point home. Why? Because it’s important!

Church, we need to invest in the future… Our time, our talents - and yes, our treasures - our money!

Now understand, Jesus is NOT saying you can buy your way into heaven, but rather: “Since you're going to heaven, handle your money now like someone who understands that this world isn't your home.”

And you’ll see why that’s important lastly here in a Correlation

A Correlation (v10-13)

Now, that we’ve established that Jesus is speaking specifically about money, what does He call it here? “That which is least”.

We tend to think that money is everything, but according to Jesus it’s what’s next to nothing! It’s the least. - AND NOTICE WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT IT:

(Read v10-11)

If you’re faithful / unjust with your money, you’ll be faithful with other things

If you’re not faithful / unjust with your money, you won’t be faithful in other things.

You say, “What other things?” - Things like: time, abilities, opportunities, influence, possessions, ministry, family responsibilities

You see, we’re really seeing in these verses is tests:

Tests of character - your justice, faithfulness, priorities & perspective

Test of who your master is: God or money.

You can serve only one… which one is it for you?

Conclusion