Tuesday, September 27, 2011
What Jesus Said about Your Money, Part 8 of 31
GUEST: Jeff Manion
TEXT: "He also said to His disciples: 'There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward." 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. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses." So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, "How much do you owe my master?" And he said, "A hundred measures of oil." So 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?" So he said, "A hundred measures of wheat." And he said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty." So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light'” (Luke 16:1-8).
IDEA: When we say, “This is mine,” that changes our relationship to possession, to others, and to God.
PURPOSE: To have listeners think differently about what they possess.
In Luke 16:1-8, Jesus tells a story about a “steward.”
What is a steward?
What is the basic principle on which a good steward operates?
I. What occurs that might make a steward forget that basic principle?
“I made it. If it weren’t for me, the owner wouldn’t have it. I can do what I please with it.”
People constantly talk with the steward as though he were the owner. Before long, he comes to believe that he is, indeed, the owner.
The steward begins to act as though all that he controls is his own.
II. What happens if the steward thinks, “this is mine!”?
How does that change his relation to the assets he controls?
How does that affect the way he deals with others?
How does that affect the way he thinks about the owner of the business?
III. What happens when I fail to realize that I am a “steward”?
How does that happen in my life?
How does believing “This is mine!” affect my relation to:
The things I possess?
The people I know?
The God who gave them to me to use?
