How Not to Waste Your Life
In 1944 during World War II, Lt. Hiroo Onoda was sent by the Japanese army to the remote Philippine island of Lubang to conduct guerrilla warfare against the U.S. and her allies. After a failed attempt to blow up a pier, and with only four members of his unit left, they receded into the jungle to await rescue or reinforcements. Living in the jungle they pulled guard duty, went on patrols, lived in foxholes… they did everything one does while surviving in a combat environment and they managed to stay alive and avoid capture.
Almost a year later, the war between Japan and the allies came to an end; both sides put down their weapons and went home to the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, Onoda and his unit were thought dead and were never officially told that the war was over. They continued to live in the jungle, subsist on bananas and coconuts, huddle together in the rain, and managed to evade search parties whom they believed to be enemy scouts.
Years ticked by and eventually the men died off one by one until only Onoda was left. Finally, on March 19, 1972, after almost thirty years, Onoda was found and told that the war was over. Needless to say, he was devastated. Can you imagine living day in and day out that long for a cause or purpose only in the end to discover that it was a lie? That it meant nothing? What a waste!
NEED:
Think about it. How would you feel if you lived 60, 70 or even 80 years here in this life, even as a believer, only to discover in eternity that much of your activity and effort had little eternal value? Did you know that was even possible? Jesus says it is. How? Because of the way we use His money and resources. Indeed, it is very possible that even someone here this morning may look back on life and say “What a waste! You mean I could have had this blessing in my life and that opportunity and I could have participated with God in what he was doing over there and, and…”, but of course by then it will be too late. It does not have to be that way beloved. He has given us today and He has given instructions from His Word on:
SUBJECT:
SLIDE 1 (7 seconds)
“HOW NOT TO WASTE YOUR LIFE”.
Those of you who are new or just visiting our congregation may not realize it but, we here at Clear Lake Bible Church do not preach on money very often. Yet, like any other difficult subject we come to in God’s Word, we strive to lovingly, yet faithfully declare what God says about the matter and then… let the chips fall where they may. Jesus talked a lot about money In fact, Jesus talked about the subject of money more than he did about adultery, lying, murder, or drunkenness combined! So we address this subject this morning because we are convinced that:
SLIDE 2 (8 seconds)
“Whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.”
Charles Spurgeon
TEXT:
Therefore, turn with me if you would to the book of Luke. Luke chapter sixteen… we will be studying verses one through thirteen.
PREVIEW:
In Luke sixteen verses one through thirteen, Jesus told a parable to His disciples about the way a shrewd manager used his master’s money- in order to illustrate how the use of God’s money affects our future, tests’ our character, determines our reward, and identifies our master.
BACKGROUND:
In fact, this section of Luke is demonstrative of how often the Lord dealt with the issue of money. Prior to chapter sixteen, every single chapter in the Gospel of Luke contains at least one reference or teaching on the subject of money or possessions. The reason? Because the people of His day was very much like the people today and money and passions were an issue in people’s lives.
The crowds that Jesus is so famous for attracting were made up of people from several different levels of society. First there were those who the bible calls disciples. Disciples are simply “learners” and the term does not always refer necessarily to the 12 disciples. These were people at various stages of commitment and understanding about who Jesus was and exactly what kind of life He was calling them to emulate.
Secondly, there were those who were simply curious about the popular miracle worker. These were observers, people who either lived nearby or those who happened to be traveling along the highways and byways of Judea and Galilee where Jesus spent much of His ministry.
Thirdly, the crowds consisted of religious leaders like the Pharisees and scribes or, other influential people. People of means and power like tax collectors, rulers, and business men.
Consequently, when Jesus directed His teaching about himself and the Kingdom of God to His disciples there were others in the audience who were indirectly exposed to Truth.
I compare it to the situation in our own day where we have an apologists and an atheist debate in a public forum. The real benefit with this arrangement lies in the reality that it is the person in the audience that is receptive to truth who is the benefactor of conversion and not the atheist. The apologists and atheist are simply agents.
So it is to this type of crowd that Jesus directs this parable about the shrewd manager and explains how:
SLIDE 3 (7 seconds)
The use of God’s money affects our future.
(Vv.1-9).
Read luke 16:1-9-
I. The use of God’s money affects our future (vv. 1-9):
The rich man in the parable refers to an owner of an estate. Similar to today’s business world, the responsibility of managing the day to day affairs was delegated to capable people. These were usually slaves that lived in the household and managed all of the duties for the master. These stewards or, managers were often paid a separate wage on top of room and board or, collected a fee from each transaction he made on behalf of his master’s goods.
Well evidently the steward in this parable was accused of squandering, (the word means literally to “scatter”), the master’s resources and so the master told him to turn in all his records because he was being fired.
The steward knew that that the jig was up and that the easy life was over. No more sleeping in late and getting to work whenever he wanted to. No more charging so called –business trips down to Lake Galilee or extravagant feasts for his buddies in Jerusalem on festival days. It was over.
Additionally, verses 3 and 4 tell us that the steward was at least honest enough to admit that begging for a living or getting a real job was out of the question so, he all of a sudden gets ambitious and comes up with a plan to secure for himself a comfortable future. Notice how all of the ability and skill for which his master had probably originally hired him was now coming to the surface to save his own skin!
The evidence of just how negligent he was is seen in verse 5 when he asked one of his boss’s debtors “How much do you owe my master?” I mean how often does your banker call you and want to know how much is left on your mortgage? I do not know about you but my lender tends to know exactly how much I owe!
He then has the debtor reduce the original amount- one by fifty percent and another by twenty percent. Scholars are unclear whether the manager forgave these amounts that were due is master- thereby ripping him off or if the steward just removed his own commission that he was to collect for the transaction. Personally, I think it was the latter but, either way the point was that the manager knew how to use his master’s resources to benefit other people and thereby secure his own future. Verse 8 tells us that even though he was ripped off –
the master could not help but admire the dishonest manager’s clever way of handling his circumstances.
In verse 8 we notice that the Lord finished the parable with this observation:
SLIDE 4 (7 Seconds)
“For the sons of this age are more astute than the
sons of light in dealing with their own people.”
(v.8b)
The “sons of this age” that Jesus referred to were the people who were focused and concerned only with the here and now. They were those who Paul later described in Ephesians 2:2 as those who “walked according to this worldly age, according to the ruler of the atmospheric domain, the spirit who is now working in the disobedient”. They were people who were unbelievers in the God of Israel.
The “sons of light” were of course believers in the crowd who anticipated God’s kingdom and should have been actively engaged in the missional purpose of God. This purpose was for the nation of Israel, which Pastor Jim has been covering in our current study of Romans, was to be His representative on earth by what Isaiah described as being “a light to the Gentiles”. Incidentally, instead of Jesus coming to a nation that was faithfully pursuing God’s purpose in the world, he encountered a nation that was largely self-indulgent, exclusive and nearly impotent in their ability to represent Him.
He makes this contrast to remind those hearing the parable that in God’s economy there are only two kingdoms and everyone is in one or the other. Moreover, people’s lives are lived in such a way, whether they realize it or not, that contributes to one kingdom or the other.
So He tells them in verse 9- “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous money, so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings’.
What has troubled so many is the notion that Jesus would commend criminal behavior. But this misses the point which Jesus went on to make. Christ’s point was simply that the worldly understand how to use money to prepare for their future here and now. In contrast, God’s people seem unaware that the use of money has an impact on eternity!
Well after the Lord taught His disciples that the use of money affects our future, He went on to explain further that:
SLIDE 5 (7 Seconds)
The use of God’s money tests’ our character
(v. 10)
II. The use of God’s money tests’our character (v. 10).
Look in verse 10- (READ VERSE 10)
He bases His teaching on the fact that all we possess ultimately belongs to God. What we have has been loaned to us to use on God’s behalf and for His glory. Oswald Sanders observed:
SLIDE 6 (7 seconds)
The basic question is not how much of our money we should give to God, but how much of God’s money we should keep for ourselves.—J. Oswald Sanders*[1]
The Lord had modeled earlier when teaching His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom- what? come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ The prayer clarifies for us what we are here for. Have we forgotten? It is His kingdom. We are bought and paid for and have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and our efforts ought to be directed to the kingdom to which we belong!
John Wesley was one of the greatest preachers Europe produced. Not only did he have a wonderful relationship with the Lord but, he had a keen intellect is well and gave the church writings about scripture and the Christian life that are invaluable to this day. His prolific writing took him from poverty to immense wealth in no time... But, Wesley, living within the spirit of this teaching by our Lord decided early on to live on a very modest income and never increased his standard of living. Instead he invested the money in God’s kingdom by building seminaries, schools, and helping missionaries and the homeless. His character was evident in that he lived with the kingdom in mind.
A wise and faithful use of money is an accurate measure of our faithfulness in the greater matters of the Christian life and in the life to come![2]
Not only does the use of God’s money test’s our character:
SLIDE 7 (7 Seconds)
The use of God’s money determines our reward (vv. 11, 12).
III.The use of God’s money determines our reward (vv. 11, 12).
Look with me in verses 11 and 12.
(READ VV.11-12)
Here Jesus points out that our use of money is an indicator of our readiness for greater things.[3] So what does that mean? Well that means that our life now is a test for the true life that is to come. Let me demonstrate what I mean.
Everybody hold the place in your bible and reach underneath your chair. What did you find? Not everyone will have something only a few of you will. Hold up what you found. What is that? That is money I robbed from Trey’s Monopoly game. Listen too me- if this life is simply a test for the next than that means that this money is only play money. This is what we manage faithfully now to God’s glory because when we get home we are going to get the real thing!
Well not only does Jesus teach that the use of God’s money affects our future, tests’ our character, determines our reward, He also says that:
SLIDE 8 (7Seconds)
The use of God’s money identifies our master (v. 13).
IV.The use of God’s money identifies our master (v. 13).
(READ V.13)
This does not mean a man cannot be wealthy and still serve God. Turn in your bibles to 1 Timothy 6. 1 timothy chapter 6, verse 6.
READ (1 TIM 6:6-10)
If a person desires wealth, then he ceases to please God. A man’s loyalties cannot be divided, and God demands that everything be subservient to Him.[4]
American Tourist
An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village with a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The tourist complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."
The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The man said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."
The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."
The American scoffed, "I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise.’
The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years.""But what then?" asked the fisherman. The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Then what?" asked the fisherman.
The American said, "Then you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
Isn’t that how it is? Money can be a terrible master because it demands all of your effort, thoughts and energy. When that is not enough it demands nights, weekends, anniversaries and eventually your health.
You cannot serve both God and money.
The application of what we have heard this morning is really by way of implication. You will notice that the Lord does not prescribe exactly what we have to spend His money on...He does not make some legalistic demand. He simply teaches reminds us that we belong to a kingdom that is not of this world and that we are His stewards. In this final pronouncement Jesus called each of Hid disciples to serious self-examination. How about you and me? Do we serve Jesus and use our material possessions to His glory? How would you know?
Look at your checkbook and see where your money is going. Jesus also said “where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” We spend money on those things that are the most important to us. Some may say, “I want to be more faithful with my money but, I have a hard time with credit cards and just can’t get my spending under control- what should I do?” Well, Jesus does not say exactly but based on what we have learned this morning about eternity- cut them up and throw them away! I even heard of some people dropping them into a big jar full of water and throwing it in the freezer! They say by the time they chipped through the ice, the urge to use them subsided.
“Well, I want to start giving more to the kingdom but all of my money goes to my house note and new cars- what should I do?” I don’t know, he does not address that directly but, based on what we have learned here this morning- sell it get a smaller one or an older one- I do not know that is between you and Him.
“I want to give more to the kingdom but, I keep having more month left at the end of the check- what should I do?” I do not know but, I do know that my family has learned that once we determined to give regularly and in proportion to our income, God makes it work! Somehow when you have that amount set aside to give to God it requires that you work from some form of budget to make sure it is there every week- and all your other spending falls in line with that priority!
The Lord does not addresses a lot of these things directly and I think it is because He wants it to come from thankful hearts that serve His purposes out of love and from being fired up about His kingdom!
In conclusion we have learned what Jesus said about money and possessions: That the use of God’s money affects our future, tests our character, determines our reward, and identifies our master.
Lt. Onodo was rescued after nearly thirty years. He took advantage of the years that he had left. He helped build schools, wrote a book, and spent the remaining years of his life helping the less fortunate. His life was not a waste.
Do you want to know how to not waste your life? We are to believe what the Lord says about eternity and realize that:
LAST SLIDE (5 seconds)
“This life is ONLY preparation for the next”
----
* J. Oswald Sanders, A Spiritual Clinic (Chicago: Moody Press, 1958), 85.
[1]Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), 339.
[2]Larry Richards, Dan Pegoda and Paul Gross, Every Teaching of Jesus in the Bible, Includes Index. (Nashville: T. Nelson, 2001), 112.
[3]Ibid.
[4]KJV Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994), 2051.