Friday, September 30, 2011

What Jesus Said about Your Money, Part 11 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: Christians are to be “shrewd” in the way they conduct the business of their Master.

PURPOSE: To get listeners to understand that to be a disciple of Jesus means that we must be shrewd in the way we use our position and our possessions.

How do you feel when I say that Jesus was a very shrewd person?

How do you feel if I say that you cannot be a dedicated follower of Jesus unless you are shrewd?

I. “Shrewd” often has a negative connotation:

What comes to your mind when you think of a shrewd lawyer?

What kind of person do you picture when you think of a shrewd businesswoman?

Usually we imagine someone as shrewd who is cunning and wily.

Yet Jesus calls His disciples to be “shrewd.” Listen to Luke 16:1-8-- “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.”

II. Jesus draws this principle that we must be shrewd from a story about a branch manager who made the best of a bad situation:

What did this steward do that his master commended?

What is not being praised?

The owner does not say that he is pleased with the steward’s actions, but he is impressed by what he has done.

If you commend a member of the Mafia for providing for his family, do you necessarily commend him for the way he provides for them?

If the manager had stolen the money, the owner could have had him arrested and thrown into prison. He didn’t steal the money. Instead, he used his position and the possession entrusted to his care to make a few good friendships. Those friends would help him in the future.

That is a quality that disciples of Jesus must have. They prepare for the future with what they have now.