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Text: Luke 16:1-14
Theme: Christians are to be good stewards of the Lord’s possessions.
A middle-aged man is in big trouble with his boss.
He has helped himself to his employer’s funds one too many times.
He has been caught, and now he is facing the music.
In fact, he has been told to clean out his desk.
He has been given a few days to clear up his accounts, but he knows that after that he is finished.
The man is humiliated.
He knows that at his age it will not be easy to find another job—particularly at the pay scale of his old job.
He has some savings built up, but what does he do when those run out?
He is facing financial disaster.
Then he hits upon an ingenious plan.
His job entailed collecting debts owed to his employer.
He decides that he will call each vendor in and offer them a deal.
He tells them that he will be leaving his present position soon in order to search out new opportunities.
And in order to keep their good will he is offering them a deal that they just can not refuse.
If they will pay their bills immediately, they can settle for 60 cents on the dollar.
Of course he assures them—with his fingers crossed behind his back—that he has full authorization from his employer to make them this offer.
He hopes they will remember this act of good will when he comes calling on them to submit his resume.
He uses his bosses’ money to buy the good will of any possible future employer.
This the parable of the shrewd steward in a modern setting.
Now, did this man do wrong?
This question brings us to the problem of this morning's text.
Why did Jesus pick this guy to be an example?
The most common feature of our Lord's parables is their shock value.
They surprise and startle.
They do not end as we assume they should, and this parable certainly does that.
In this parable, Jesus teaches us that we are to be good stewards of all God has blessed us with.
I. THE PARABLE OF THE SHREWD STEWARD
1. the main character in this story was a "steward" or “manager”
a. the NIV calls this man a manager ... it’s literally house-distributor, or ruler of the house, and is often translated as overseer
1) it’s one of the words the Apostle Paul will use to describe the work of a pastor—he is an overseer of the work of a local congregation
b. a manager is of course, to use that which has been entrusted to him to further his employer’s interest and not his own
c. a house-distributor in that day would have been a combination Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
1) he would have been a highly trusted individual, and probably well compensated
2. he is responsible for using, distributing and investing his employer’s money and assets and overseeing the business
3. in this parable we see five parts: the accusation, the accounting, the action, the approval and the application
a. let me very quickly walk you through the parable and then move on to the most important part: the application
A. THE ACCUSATION
v. 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.”
1. it would seem that the temptation of the rich man’s wealth was too great for him and this steward begins to divert funds to his own purposes and pleasures
a. the phrase he had wasted is the root word for winnowing—the process of tossing wheat into the air to separate the grain from the chaff
1) it’s as though this guy is throwing his master’s money into the air in a spending free-for-all
2) a modern idiom might be, He was spending money hand over fist
2. not surprisingly it is not too long until his employer finds out about what he is doing
a. perhaps it’s a co-worker who squeals, perhaps it’s a business partner who discovers the mismanagement
b. the accusation is made: “Your steward is squandering your wealth.”
3. his rich man summons him and asks for an inventory of his goods and an audit of his books
a. in modern terms he was told, "Give me all your records and clean out your desk.
Your fired!"
4. it come as a shock to many Christians that they are a steward of all that they possess and as a steward they don't own anything
a. we may possess many things but you do not own them
1) God does!!
b. the early Christians freely gave up their belongings because they realized that they did not own them in the first place
5. in what respects are Christian's "stewards"?
a. obviously as suggested by today's text we are stewards of our material possessions
b. we are stewards of our time.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
(Ephesians 5:15–16, NIV84)
c. we are stewards of our spiritual gifts and abilities
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
(1 Peter 4:10, NIV84)
d. we are stewards of the Gospel
“On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.
We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.”
(1 Thessalonians 2:4, NIV84)
6. as Christians we have an enormous responsibility of managing our Lord’s wealth well
B. THE ACCOUNTING
v. 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.”
1. the man in the parable was in trouble because he had forgotten that stewardship involves not only responsibility and privilege but it also involves accountability
ILLUS.
Warren Wiersbe writes: “Christians have a tendency to forget that one day an account of our lives must be given to the Lord.”
a. the Apostle Paul warns us that all believers must stand before the Lord Jesus and give an account of our stewardship of the Christian life
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV84)
C. THE ACTION
1. facing a future without his position, the soon to be ex-manager contemplates his options
a. he hatches a brilliant scheme
vv.
3-4 "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."
2. what is an out of work manager to do?
a. as he contemplates his options, he comes to the conclusion, that He is not physically able to do manual labor, and that he was to proud to beg
b. so he develops a plan to put himself on good terms with those who owe money to his employer; and to provide himself with friends who can help him out when he is unemployed
c. he resolves to make his masters debtors indebted to him
vv.
5-6 "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.'
3. what the steward is most probably doing is discounting the face value of notes by suspending the interest charges
a. since these charges are not legal within Jewish law—but commonly imposed anyway—his master has no grounds of action against him
b. the debtors would accept the offer gladly
c. he has effectively tied his master's hands while staying within the bounds of legality, and ingratiated himself with people he wants to remember him kindly
1) this guy is good!
D. THE APPROVAL
vv.
8-9 “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.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.”
1. in the first part of verse 8 Jesus gives the conclusion of the parable
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