To me, Luke chapter 16 is one
of the more difficult chapters to preach from. This parable
of the unjust steward, and then there's the statement the Lord
makes about that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination
to God. and then the story of the rich
man and Lazarus, and so much about hell in that. And there
isn't anything that I find more difficult to talk about or even
think about than hell. I trust the Lord, though, will
give us a word from him as we consider this chapter. We're
just going to consider the parable of the unjust steward tonight. And I've entitled this message,
Money. Money. This is the parable about
the mismanagement of money. The steward mismanaging his master's
goods. And the issue spoken of here
is faithfulness in material things. Now, would to God that we would
all listen very carefully. This is very, very important. Faithfulness and how we use our
money Faithfulness and how we give is such an important issue. I think it's interesting. Who
was it that squawked at this? The Pharisees who were covetous.
And that's literally lovers of money. The Pharisees who were
covetous derided him. Now, there is nothing wrong with
money. You know, we can't live without
money here on earth, can we? And there's nothing wrong with
money. And there's not a thing wrong with being wealthy. Many
of the men in the scripture were wealthy. Many of them were. David, Abraham, Job. There were many men in the scriptures
who were wealthy. But there's nothing
wrong with money. We're thankful for any money
the Lord gives us. We want to be faithful stewards
of it. But there's something wrong with the love of money. Big difference. Turn with me
to 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6. Beginning in verse six, but godliness
with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this
world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out, and having
food and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will
be rich, that's their desire, they that will be rich, fall
into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful
lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of
money, What a statement. For the love of money is the
root of all evil. That's the words of our Lord.
The love of money is the root of all evil, which while some
coveted after, they've erred from the faith, and they've pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. You see, men love money
because of what they think money can buy. It can buy them the
lust of the flesh, pleasure. It can buy them the lust of the
eyes, popularity. It can buy them the pride of
life, power. How many people think if I got
so much money in the bank, I've got power, I've got influence.
It's the love of money that's the root of all evil. But you
know our attitude about money and giving says so much about
us. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 8 for a moment. Verse 7, Therefore, as you abound
in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and
in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that you abound
in this grace also. And he's speaking of the grace
of giving. I speak not by commandment, but
by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity
of your love. In this grace of giving, we learn
something about the sincerity, the reality of our love. Now, some folks, if you listen
to what they say, they love a whole lot. And if you look at what
they give, they love very little. Now, which one is the more accurate
barometer? You know which one is the more
accurate barometer. Paul says that our giving actually
proves the sincerity of our love. Now, I'm sure of this. I'm sure of this. The biggest
priority of my money is to be first what I give. That's taught
in the Old Testament in the sense of the first fruits. You gave
the first fruits of the harvest to the Lord and you proved by
that you were trusting him to take care of the rest. I don't
wait till I have all my bills paid and all my recreation taken
care of and all my whatever and then I want to give out of what's
left. No, what I give comes first. And that ought to be our priority
every time. What I give comes first. To give after the bills are paid
and after our recreation is taken care of is wrong. It's actually
called in the scriptures robbing God. Turn with me to Malachi
chapter three for a moment. Verse eight. Will a man rob God Malachi, last
book in the Old Testament, chapter 3, verse 8. You're cursed with a curse, for
you've robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes
into the storehouse, and there may be meat in my house. And
prove me now therewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will
not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, that
there shall not be room enough to receive it." Now, he says,
prove me. Prove me. Now, somebody says,
does the New Testament teach tithing? No. No. Is the New Testament against
tithing? No. No. As a matter of fact, Abraham
paid tithes to Melchizedek, didn't he? And that's the gospel. That's
a gospel dispensation. Melchizedek was the Lord Jesus
Christ. Jacob paid tithes before the giving of the law. Now does
that mean someone should pay tithes? Maybe we ought to be
giving more than a tithe. I want to give more than the
law says. And it's different. I mean, somebody
makes $100,000 a year. It'd be easy. They could give
more than a tithe. Somebody makes $30,000 a year. It would be very
difficult for them to come even close to giving a tithe. I realize
that. There's different situations. But we give as unto the Lord. We give as the Lord has prospered
us. That's what he said. Give as the Lord has prospered
us. As every man purposes in his
heart, so let him give. How much should you give? However
much you purpose in your heart to give. However much you feel
like to give. That is the amount to give. There are always needs here and
other places, but I don't give to a need. I give as unto the
Lord. And like I said, there are always
needs. Needs here, needs other places where we can help out,
but we don't give to a need, we give to the Lord, giving back
a portion of that which he has given us. Now, you remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it's more blessed to
give than to receive. And it is. It's more blessed.
That's why in salvation, he's the one who does all the giving,
and we do all the receiving. He's the more blessed one, isn't
he? And we do all the receiving. But it's more blessed to give
than to receive. Paul's words, God loveth a cheerful
giver. You've heard that phrase, well,
they're generous to a fault. There's no such thing. There's
no such thing. This I know, we can't out give
God. Now, you and I are stewards.
That's what this passage of scripture I just read about is about. You
and I are stewards And all we have belongs to God. What we
have belongs to another man, doesn't it? Everything we have
belongs to the Lord. Isn't that glorious to think
of that? I don't have anything. It's all His. I'm just a steward. And we're called upon to be faithful
in our stewardship. And I think it's very interesting
that almost half of the Lord's parables deal with money. It's
interesting, isn't it? What is my attitude about the
stuff the Lord gives me. What is my attitude about my
material things? What is my attitude about money? Now understand this, God does
not need my money. You know anytime I hear a preacher
asking, begging people to give, I think that guy doesn't even
know who God is. God doesn't need my money. And I'm not gonna
be begging, asking people for money. Oh, I can't stand it when
preachers do that. God doesn't need my money. God
doesn't need your money. He's got a lot of money. You
know, God's real rich. He's real rich. He's got an infinite amount
of wealth. But what a blessing it is. We
read in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 16, but to do good and to communicate,
to give, forget not. For with such sacrifices, God
is well pleased. When I give as unto the Lord
through Christ, God is well pleased. Do believers need to be taught
to give or does it come naturally? The answer to both of those questions
is yes. Yes, they need to be taught to give. And yes, it comes
naturally. You want to give to somebody
you love. That's what love does. Love gives. Now this parable
was spoken to the disciples But the Pharisees heard, I think
it is interesting, when the Pharisees heard these things that were
covetous, they derided him. When you throw a rock into a
pack of dogs, which dog yelps? The one that got hit. And the
Pharisees did not like this. They derided our Lord for what
he said. Now let's look at this parable
together, beginning in verse one. Luke chapter 16. 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. This man had mismanaged and wasted
the goods which he was given stewardship over. Look in Luke
chapter 19, beginning in verse 12. This is
another parable. He said, therefore, a certain
nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom
and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered
them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and
sent a message after him, saying, We'll not have this man to reign
over us. And it came to pass that when he was returned, having
received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be
called unto him, to whom he'd given the money, that he might
know how much every man had gained by trading. They had a stewardship.
Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten
pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant, because
thou hast been faithful in very little, have thou authority over
ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath
gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also
over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord,
behold, here's thy pound. which I have kept laid up in
a napkin, for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man."
You remember, though, this morning when we talked about those people
who said, these are hard sayings, same word, same word. I knew
you, that you're an austere, harsh man. Look how he viewed
his master, and his master's gonna deal with him accordingly.
The Lord's not austere, but that's the way he looked at him. He
said, I feared thee, because thou art an austere man. Thou
takest up where thou layest not down, and reapest that thou didst
not sow. And he said unto him, out of
thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou
knewest that I was an austere man, taking up where I laid not
down, and reaping where I didn't sow. Wherefore then gavest not
thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have
required it my own with usury. And he said unto them that stood
by, take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath
ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.
For I say unto you that every one which hath shall be given,
and from him that hath not, even that which he hath be taken away.
But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign
over them, bring them hither and slay them before me. So there
we see a parable of stewardship, don't we? Now let's go back to
Luke chapter 16, verse two. And he called him, now remember
he's speaking to his disciples. He's speaking to his disciples,
verse one, and he said also to his disciples, verse two, 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
no longer be steward. What he's saying, you're gonna
be fired over this. We have a stewardship. It all
belongs to the Lord. Everything we have belongs to
the Lord. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. And
you know, we have a lot of examples in the scriptures of good stewards,
and we have examples in the scripture of bad stewards. Paul was a good
steward, wasn't he? He could look at death and say,
Finished my course. I've fought a good fight. I've
kept the faith. He was a good steward. That woman
with the alabaster box of women was a good steward, wasn't she?
When she took that costly, precious perfume and broke it and poured
it upon the Lord's feet. Now, the disciples thought it
was a waste of money. Look at why she's doing this.
She's wasting money. This could have been given to
the poor. But the Lord knows good work. And this is the only
work He ever calls a good work. He said, why trouble ye her?
She hath wrought a good work upon me. She was a good steward. And then we have a lot of examples
of bad stewards. Even there were believers. Lot
was a bad steward. You know that. David, when he
was with Bathsheba, was a bad steward. Solomon, I think it's
interesting. The Lord points out that he spent
seven years building the temple of the Lord and 13 years on his
own home. And look how things ended up
with him. You can't help but think of those
people who were saved so as by fire. They were saved, but all
their wood, hay, and stubble was burned up there at the end.
Now, our happiness, our contentment in this life, if we're seeking to be happy,
we're going to be miserable. You young people listen to this
particularly. If what your goal is is to be
happy, you're going to be a very unhappy person. But if you seek
to be a faithful steward, you're gonna find some contentment and
happiness. It's more blessed to give than
it is to receive. Now, let's go on reading, verse
three. Then that steward, he knew he
was going to be fired. Then the steward said within
himself, what shall I do? For my Lord taketh away from
me the stewardship. I can't dig, to beg I'm ashamed.
Now how am I gonna take care of myself? I'm resolved what
to do that when I'm put out of the stewardship, when I get fired,
they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one
of his Lord's debtors unto him, and he said unto the first, how
much owest thou my Lord? And he said, a hundred measures
of oil. Now that's 700 gallons. And this was a very costly amount.
And he said, well, Now, he didn't have the right to do that, did
he? But he was getting a favor from somebody. If I cut his bill
like this, he's going to owe me a favor when I'm put out.
And he said to him, take thy bill and sit down quickly and
write 50. And he said to another, how much owest thou? And he said,
a hundred measures of wheat. That's a whole lot. And he said
to him, take thy bill and write four score. He did this with
many of his Lord's debtors, not just these two. I mean, he went
to all of his Lord's debtors and he worked this out so all
these people would owe him something. And when he got fired, he'd have
someone to take care of him. Hey, remember what I did for
you? What are you gonna do for me now? Now, what this man did
was unjust. It was corrupt. It was dishonest. There wasn't anything good about
it. Verse 8. And here's where people
get stuck. And the Lord commended the unjust
steward. Now what he did was dishonest.
What he did was wrong. And the Lord commended the unjust
steward, because he had done wisely. He'd acted shrewdly,
is what that is a reference to. It's not the wisdom that's from
above that he's speaking of, but he acted shrewdly. This was
shrewdness on his part. He was taking care of the future,
wasn't he? And that's what he was commending him for. He wasn't
commending him for acting dishonestly. He was commending him for acting
shrewdly and taking care of the future. Verse 8, And the Lord
commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely. For
listen, look, for the children of this world are in their generation
wiser than the children of light. You know, it's probably a very
accurate statement to say that, generally speaking, unbelievers
are better at making money and taking care of the future than
believers are. Isn't that true? They're wiser than the children
of light in this generation. They know how to take care of
themselves, and they go to great lengths to do so. Worldly people
are wiser than believers about taking care of their future,
the children of light. And I think of how there are
certain people who give more attention and care, and this
is something that I think will condemn us all. How many people
have you seen give more effort and care in the things of this
world than you do in the things of Christ? When we see that, we think, man,
that's not right. And that's what the Lord is talking
about here. Putting more effort, seeing a worldly man put more
effort in taking care of his future than a believer does in
the things of Christ. But let me say this also. Aren't
you thankful that your eternal interests aren't dependent upon
your shrewdness? Aren't you thankful that your
future in heaven isn't dependent upon anything in you? I want
to remind you that. I don't want you to think for
a second that your place in glory is dependent upon your works.
It's not. Not in any way. And I sure am
glad. Verse 9. Now here the Lord says
this, and this is what people, this is another one of the statements
that are hard to understand. And He said unto you, and I say
unto you, make to yourselves friends. of the mammon of unrighteousness,
that when you fail, that means when you die, they may receive
you into everlasting habitations. Use your stewardship in a way
that it won't be used against you, is what he's saying. That's
all he's saying. Here's what he's saying. Turn
to James chapter 5. Verse one, go to now you rich
men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your
riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten, your
gold and silvers cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness
against you, and shall eat your flesh, as it were, by fire. You
have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the
horror of the labors who have reaped down your fields, which
is of you kept back by fraud, crieth. And the cries of them
which have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of
Sabbath. You've lived in pleasure on the earth and have been wanton.
You've nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You've
condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you. Now,
there's an example of some men whose their stewardship testified
against them, didn't it? Look in 1 Timothy chapter 6.
1 Timothy chapter 6. Verse 17, charge them that are
rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust
in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly
all things to enjoy, that they do good, that they be rich in
good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying
up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to
come, that they may lay hold upon eternal life. Make your
stewardship the way you use your mammon and wealth, something
that will testify of the reality of what's in your heart, that
you love Christ. And that's all he means by that.
You take the unrighteous mammon, you make friends of it, and you
make sure that your use of this unrighteous mammon testifies
of the reality of the grace that's in your heart. Verse 10, he that's
faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which
is much. And he that's unjust in least
is unjust also in that which is much. If you steal a dime,
you'll steal $10,000. And if you're faithful in the
little things, you'll be faithful in the big things. That's such
an important principle. Verse 11, if therefore you've
not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, Who will commit to your
trust the true riches? Spiritual blessings. That's the
true riches. What we have in Christ Jesus.
And if you've not been faithful in that which is another man's,
who shall give you that which is your own? Verse 12. No man can serve two masters. It's impossible. A lot of people
try it, but it can't be done. No man can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he'll
hold to the one and serve the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon. Now, what is mammon? Mammon is
riches. It's money. It's that which we
trust. That's actually what the word
means, that which is trusted. You know, a lot of folks, if
they have a lot of money in the bank, they have a lot more confidence,
don't they? My soul, eat, drink, and be merry. Thou hast much
goods laid up for many years. You're in good shape. You've
got all kinds of money. Confident, confident. Mammon is that which
you trust. Now, the Lord said you can't
serve God and mammon. Is my money all his? You know, this thing of giving
and generosity, actually, it's a love issue and it's a trust
issue. If you love somebody, you want
to give. And it's a trust issue. I'm not
saying, well, what if I need this money to pay the bills?
No, you give first. That's what Giving is. It's giving. It's a love issue
and it's a trust issue. Now do I trust the Lord to take
care of me spiritually? Do I trust the Lord to take care
of me materially? Yes to both. The Lord's going
to take care of me spiritually. He's going to give me all I need.
and he's going to take care of me materially, everything I need.
What I don't have is his will for me. If I have health, that's
his will. If I have sickness, that's his
will. If I have a lot, that's his will. If I have very little,
that's his will. But whatever his will is, we're
happy with, aren't we? This thing of you can't serve
God and mammon, though. For instance, You can't believe both law and
grace, can you? That's trying to serve two masters.
You can't believe law and grace. It's impossible. You'll hate
the one and you'll love the other. You can't have confidence in
the law and confidence in grace. The one negates the other. Do
you have confidence that all you need is grace to make you
perfectly accepted before God? Are you really relying upon his
grace only? Or do you have to have something
else along with it? You can't have two objects of
faith. You can't look to Christ and your experience, Christ and
your works, Christ and your giving, Christ and your generosity. You
can't look to Christ and anything. No, it's Christ only. No man
can serve two masters. You can't serve God and man. And you can't believe in two
covenants. You know, Christ is either all or He's nothing to
me. Is that so? Christ is either all or he is
nothing. You can't serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees, verse 14,
also, who were covetous, heard all these things and they derided
him. Now, these Pharisees were covetous.
Covetous. Lovers of money. And when they
heard this kind of teaching, they derided him. They were disgusted. They said, this is not right.
We don't like what's being said. They derided him. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
13. Covetousness, the love of money,
is the root of all evil. Verse five, Hebrews chapter 13. Let your conversation be without
covetousness. How do you go about that? My,
all you got to do is tell me not to covet something, I'll
start coveting it. I know myself. Don't covet! There it comes. How in the world can someone
let their conversation be without covetousness? And that's not
just talking about coveting money, it's coveting anything, coveting
human praise, coveting whatever, covetousness. It's the pulse
of covetousness is idolatry, isn't it? He said, let your conversation
be without covetousness and be content, be satisfied with such
things as you have. What do you have? I have Christ. I have the forgiveness of sins.
I have the very righteousness of Christ as my personal righteousness
before God. I have the grace of God. I have
the mercy of God. God loves me. Christ died for
me. I've got the promise of His providence
that everything is working together for my good and His glory. Such
things as you have, what do you have? You have everything to
the point that there's nothing for you to covet. That's the only way you won't
covet is if there's nothing to covet. In Christ I have all. Be content with such things as
you have. For he has said, I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee. And in the original, that word
never is in there five times. Five the number of grace. I will
never, never, no, never, never, never leave thee, nor forsake
thee. That's the promise of grace. So that we may boldly say, the
Lord's my helper. I will not fear what man can
do unto me. You know the reason the Pharisees
were covetous? They had no idea about what it is to rest in Christ,
to be content with Christ. This was just a foreign subject
to them. They had no understanding of the glory of Christ. But believer,
may God give me and you the grace to let our conversation be without
covetousness, remembering what we have in Christ Jesus. Wealth, riches, glory, blessing
that can't even be described. May the Lord enable us to be
faithful stewards of what he has entrusted us with. Let's
pray. Lord, we're so grateful that salvation is all together
by your grace. We're so thankful that our forgiveness
doesn't depend upon us doing anything, but what your son has
done for us. We're so thankful for the freeness
and the greatness of your love. And Lord, we're overwhelmed with
what poor stewards we are. in so many different ways. You give us time, you give us
substance, you give us influence and opportunity. And Lord, how
none of us feel good about our stewardship. And Lord, we ask
that you would forgive us and give us the grace to be faithful
stewards, to be faithful in that which is least, to be faithful
in the unrighteous mammon. And Lord, bless this message
for your glory and for our good. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.