Friday, October 14, 2011

What Jesus Said about Your Money, Part 21 of 31

Text: "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. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting name" (Luke 16:8-9).

IDEA: “Sons of the light” are men and women who see things as they really are.

PURPOSE: To aid listeners in looking at life from a new perspective.

Sometimes you come across a rather ordinary phrase in Scripture and you stop to wonder what it really means or why it is there. In a way, you have to guess. In Luke 16:8b we read, “For the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than are the sons of light.”

I. Why do you think Jesus referred to his disciples as “sons of light”?

The contrast is with “sons of this age.” You might have expected “sons of darkness.” That’s not the contrast He made.

When you say that someone is a “son of a gun,” are you really talking about his parents?

When Jesus called James and John “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17), what do you think He meant?

What do you think Jesus means when He calls US “sons of light”?

II. Light exposes things for what they really are.

What should “people of light” know clearly from this passage?

They will understand what is involved in being a disciple of Jesus (Luke 14). They will see people as God sees them (Luke 15).

They will see life as fleeting and time as running out, and the need to make the most of their situation while they can.

They will see the need to make eternal friendships.

They will have a proper appreciation for money.