Monday, October 17, 2011

What Jesus Said about Your Money, Part 22 of 31

TEXT: "I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?" (Luke 16:9-12).

IDEA: Jesus talked about money matters because money matters.

PURPOSE: To help listeners think carefully about their money and how it relates to their commitment to Jesus.

Have you ever known anyone who seemed to be obsessed with a single subject? At least they talked about it whenever they got a chance.

Why do you think some people seem obsessed with a particular subject?

Do you feel that it is an “obsession” if it happens to be your favorite subject as well?

I. Jesus seems to be taken up with the subject of money.

George White talked about a young preacher he knew:

“The preacher never stopped talking about money.
The congregation clutched their billfolds and squirmed.
He told them not to worry so much about stuff that will rot and rust.
He told them that the folding stuff was not the currency to buy meaning and happiness.
He singled out one man and told him to sell everything and then give the proceeds to the poor.
He had them shaking their heads when he said, “Happy are the poor.” Some of the best-dressed stomped out, their noses in the air.
A few of the wealthy and powerful slipped quietly into a back room and had a contract put out on the young preacher’s life.
And it cost them only thirty pieces of silver.”
(from “Money Talk,” Alive Now, May/June 1988)

At least 16 of Jesus’ 38 parables deal with how we handle money and possessions.

In the Gospels, about one out of every 10 verses (288 in all) deals directly with the subject of money.

We hear Jesus teach about money again in Luke 16:9-12:

"I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?"

II. Why do you think that Jesus kept bringing up the subject of money when He taught?

Was Jesus a “fund-raiser”? Was that why He talked so much about money? Why is money so important?

It can take the place of God in our lives. How?

It is the measure of our commitment to Christ.

The love of money is a root of all evil. Money can also be a root of much good.