Well, good morning. It's lovely to see you all. I just want to clarify that the choice of that parable has nothing to do with the fact that Archie is leaving today.
Somebody being told they can't do their job anymore is completely unrelated to the event.
Please keep your Bibles open. That would be tremendously helpful. And it is a real honour to be here on such a momentous day as Katie and Archie set sail down to Peoples.
And what an exciting partnership that has been forged over the last number of years.
And to now come to the point where Archie and Katie can go full time down in Peoples.
What a great thing the Lord is accomplishing amongst you here at Brunsfield.
Let me pray and then we'll get going with Luke chapter 16.
Gracious God, we understand the absolute vanity of studying your word independent of your spirit.
So please shine the light of your word into us.
That it may be alive.
That we might see, understand and be changed by your truth.
In Jesus name. Amen.
Charles Blondin was a world famous French tightrope walker in the middle of the 19th century.
He shot to global fame in 1859 as the first person to traverse the Niagara Gorge.
In subsequent years, because he became so famous, he repeated the feat.
Elevating the danger each time.
He did it blindfolded.
He did it in a sack.
He paused halfway across to cook an omelette.
His final crossing involved him crossing the gorge, pushing a wheelbarrow.
He went the 17 minute journey to the other side.
And then he turned around and went the 17 minutes back again.
And to the crowd that were gathered on the clifftop, he said,
Do you think I could do it with somebody in the wheelbarrow?
And they all went, of course you can.
Of course you can.
You are the great Blondin.
At which point he looked at them and he said, who's coming?
And nobody moved.
Everyone was silent.
There was a great difference between knowing something about Blondin and trusting something about Blondin.
A great difference between thinking he could and staking your whole life on the fact that he could.
Let me tell you that Luke chapter 16 verses 1 to 13, this enigmatic parable about the dishonest manager,
from the lips of Jesus is the who is coming moment.
Who's coming?
Who's going to be all in on the mission that I am accomplishing?
Who is going to stake all of their life and come with me and be part of what I am doing?
For my eternal kingdom and for my glory.
Who's coming?
Ask Jesus in Luke chapter 16.
It is a parable that speaks to us and says our decisive use of resources reveals whether our hearts align with Jesus' hearts.
We're parachuting into the second half of Luke's gospel.
A second half that began in chapter 9 verse 51 when Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.
When the time drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Jesus is on his way back to glory.
When the time came for him to be taken up, back to where he came from, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
The journeying with Jesus shape of the root is following Jesus to glory via suffering.
That's what the whole second half of Luke's gospel is about.
What does it mean?
What does it take?
What will it cost to follow Jesus to glory?
And that road to glory necessarily involves the suffering of Jerusalem.
And let's be clear on this Palm Sunday.
That was a memo that none of the disciples and none of Jesus' followers got.
What?
Because when he rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, everyone shouted, God save us, God save us, God save us.
But towards the end of the week, when it was clear that it was not going to be glory, but suffering,
they all joined in the crowd and said, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.
And our current section on this journey began in Luke 13 verse 22.
This long journey from 951 to 1945 is split up into different bits.
And the way Luke does that is by saying the way.
And every time he says the way, he's talking about something new.
And the thrust of this section is when Jesus says, make every effort to enter through the narrow door.
And everything that follows is about what it takes, the effort that it needs, the cost it requires to enter through that narrow door,
to follow Jesus to glory via the suffering of Jerusalem.
He demonstrates that to enter through the narrow door, you need to realize your absolute need of a dead and risen Messiah.
As he looks over Jerusalem and says, long I wanted to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not come.
It's effort that's going to require great humility.
That as he has dinner with the chief Pharisee, it becomes clear that they're so puffed up with pride.
It's going to be impossible for them to enter through the narrow gate, the narrow door.
It is something that will require everything that you've got to give.
It will require loving Jesus so much that all of your earthly relationships will look like hate in comparison.
And in Luke 15, it is effort that will require an all-out search.
No holes barred scouring of absolutely everything in order that they might be rejoicing when lost, repentant people are found and brought home.
And in Luke 16, it is effort that will require shrewd investment of your time and your treasure and your talents.
It will require decisive use of your resources.
And by your resources, I mean your time, your treasure and your talents.
Chapter 15 is probably the most famous chapter in the Bible.
The triptych of parables about the lost sheep and the lost coin and the lost son.
And the problem is because those are so famous and so obviously go together.
We read them and then we stop reading.
And I want to tell you that Luke chapter 16 verses 1 to 13 is directly related to these parables.
This is, if you like, the sting in the tail.
This is, if you like, we've loved chapter 15.
We've loved Jesus, the great one who seeks and saves what's lost.
We love Jesus who launches a no-holds-barred surge until everything that is lost is brought home.
And Jesus in chapter 16 says, who's coming?
He even starts the parable.
Jesus also told his disciples this parable.
It's absolutely connected.
Jesus says, you've seen my heart, which is about finding lost people.
You've seen the depth of my forgiveness, the inexhaustible nature of my grace.
Jesus says, you've seen what makes me tick, the reason that I came.
And then he also tells his disciples this parable and says, who's coming?
Who's coming?
And at first reading, it is an unnerving parable, isn't it?
I mean, this manager seems to be a bit scrupulous.
And yet Jesus commends him.
We're supposed to be encouraging utilitarian shortcuts.
We're supposed to be encouraging selfishness, where people who know that they've done wrong cut corners and cook the books and do things in order that they might have a happy and healthy retirement.
Well, I don't think so.
Because Jesus says what the master commended, verse 8.
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.
He commends him for his shrewdness.
Now, Jesus commending his shrewdness is not commending his dishonesty.
That's why verse 8 is so helpful.
It's like the end of a big bank heist.
Where you look back and you see how everything has been done.
And the leader of the investigation just applauds.
He's not commending the stealing of the money.
He's not commending the cracking of the safe.
But he stands back and says, that's a great plan.
That's a great scheme that you've enacted.
The master commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.
For his shrewdness, not his dishonesty.
He applauds his shrewdness.
His quick thinking, decisive action in the moment, knowing what the future would hold.
So let's get into it.
It is a parable about shrewdness, verses 1 to 7.
What is pictured here is a very, very rich man.
And because he is very rich and has business enterprises and a huge property portfolio,
he hires a wealth manager to look after his affairs.
He's hired a middleman.
He's employed a wealth manager.
Why?
So he can enjoy his wealth where someone else looks after the business.
The wealth manager is entrusted with the family business.
All the affairs of the rich man.
The property portfolio.
The craft brewing industry.
The stocks and shares investments.
The ongoing trading relationships.
The global corporate deals.
A steward to manage the business empire.
However, the manager is accused of wasting the master's possessions.
That word wasting is exactly the same word used of the prodigal son.
Who wastes his inheritance in the foreign land.
Away from his father's house.
It seems this manager is squandering the rich man's treasure.
And finally, verse 2, the report gets back to the rich man.
And they send an email to the rich man with the subject line.
Do you know what your wealth manager is doing?
And the rich man sends an urgent email to his wealth manager.
Subject line.
What is this I hear about you?
Let's get an appointment in the calendar for Monday morning.
Because you cannot be manager any longer.
And it seems from the wealth manager's actions
that he's not been doing a good job.
He knows he's banged to rights.
He knows that he really has been wasting the rich man's possessions.
He doesn't craft a defence.
He doesn't phone his union.
He makes his exit strategy.
He is guilty and therefore he knows
there is nothing that he can do to continue in his current job.
And his exit strategy is fuelled by shrewdness.
And we read his internal monologue.
What shall I do?
My master is taking away my job.
On Monday, I will get a P-45, be disgraced.
Have all of my possessions from my office put in a box
and I'll be marched out by security.
What am I going to do?
I'm not strong enough to dig.
And I'm too ashamed to beg.
And then he hits upon it.
Bingo.
I know what I'll do.
So when I lose my job here,
people will welcome me into their houses.
I've got no future here,
but can I use my last remaining hours
while I've got security clearance
to mean that when I leave employment here,
it will go very, very well for me.
I know what I'll do.
I'll take decisive action
with the little time that I have
in order that when I leave,
people will welcome me into their houses.
Knowing the future,
thrust him towards decisive and drastic action
in the present.
He knows he's going to get the chop.
His reputation will be tarnished.
No one will employ him as a wealth manager.
Therefore, in a desperate attempt
to make friends and influence people,
he calls in the rich man's debtors
and he slashes their outstanding balance.
He calls in all his master's debtors
and we're given a case study
of two examples of what he did.
The first debtor owes 3,000 liters of olive oil.
Now, the cheapest oil I could find this week
on Amazon.com was 5 liters for 50 pounds.
This man owes roughly 32 grand to the rich man.
And the manager says,
quickly, get your eraser, rub it out.
Right, 16,000.
I mean, you'd be delighted to be that debtor.
32,000, you're thinking about some sort of repayment plan
over the next 10 years.
And suddenly you think,
I could just swap a few credit notes around
and I could maybe pay it off in a one-er.
The second owes 30 tons of wheat.
Today, wheat is cheaper given industrial farming,
but even today,
one tonne of bake-ready wheat
is worth 649 pounds per tonne.
It's still quite a lot.
And the manager says,
quickly, make it 24 tons.
Reduce the bill by a fifth.
Now, the parable is written in such a way
that this rich man has been so far away
from the business
that he has no idea
what's in the orders book.
So whatever the wealth manager leaves
is the state of the business
when he hands it back.
And so there's no way
that the rich man can work out
who owes what to whom.
He just has to go on
the dishonest manager's words.
And so the manager,
knowing that the writing was on the wall,
he knew that his future was bleak.
He knew what would happen on Monday.
And he took decisive action
in order that when he left the employment,
he'd be welcomed into people's houses.
He could, if you like,
become a professional sofa surfer.
That all these debtors
now owed him a favor.
There wouldn't be one family dinner
he couldn't arrive at uninvited.
Because he saved these people
literally thousands of pounds
they owe him.
And so whilst he cannot continue
to be employed
for the remainder of his earthly life,
it is going to go very well for him.
Because he's made friends
and influenced just the right people.
He would be looked after
by all the traders
for whom he has done a solid
in reducing their debts.
Now quite apart from taking the eraser
to the debt sheet,
cooking the books,
cancelling debts
that weren't owed to you
but to the rich man,
unscrupulous,
but very shrewd.
Knowing the future,
he took decisive action
in the present.
And this is what Jesus picks up
in verse 8.
The master commended
the dishonest manager
because he had acted
shrewdly.
For his shrewdness,
for his shrewdness,
not his dishonesty,
the manager holds his hands up
and says,
well played.
Well played to his former
wealth manager.
Looking at the ledger,
he can see that it's been doctored
but he has no idea
what was there originally.
Therefore,
he has no way of collecting
all the debt
that was outstanding.
Knowing the day of reckoning
from the master was coming,
the wealth manager acted shrewdly.
He invested the little time
that he had left
to carve out a future
for himself.
Then Jesus says,
middle of verse 8,
the people of this world
are more shrewd
dealing with their own kind
than the people of light.
Jesus looks at this man
and saw how he acted
so decisively
and so drastically
knowing what the future
looked like.
looked at his disciples
in front of him
and said,
how much more
should it be with you?
You now know
what the future holds.
I've been telling you
all the way
as we've been on this journey
to Jerusalem,
the Son of Man
will be betrayed,
disowned,
killed,
raised,
ascended,
building,
building an eternal kingdom
that cannot be shaken.
You know what the future holds.
If the dishonest manager
did it for the remaining years
of his three score years
and ten,
how much more should you
in the time that you have
and the talents that you have
and the treasure that you have
be investing in that future
that has been secured
so decisively
by the Lord Jesus?
Just in case we didn't get it,
verse 9,
I tell you,
use worldly wealth
to gain friends
for yourselves
so that when it is gone
you will be welcomed
into eternal dwellings.
It's hidden in the English,
but the first you
of verse 9
is singular
and the second you
of verse 9
is plural.
I tell you,
individual Christian,
individual member
of the family
of Jesus Christ,
individual citizen
of Jesus'
eternal kingdom,
I tell you,
singular,
use your singular wealth
to gain friends
for yourselves
so that when it is gone
you,
plural,
you and all
of your friends,
you and all
of the people
that you've influenced
for the gospel,
you,
all the people
that you've used
your investment of time
and treasure
and talents
to come to saving faith
in the Lord Jesus
that you all
will be welcomed
into eternal dwellings.
The wealth manager
took decisive action
to be welcomed
into temporal dwellings
and acted so shrewdly.
You
use your earthly time,
treasure and talents
deploying it strategically
and sacrificially
in order that you,
you and all
of your friends
that you've gained
through your deployment
of worldly wealth
will be welcomed
into eternal dwellings.
I tell you,
use worldly wealth
to gain friends
for yourselves
so that when it is gone
and gone it will be,
if there's one thing
we're learning
from the Trump presidency
is that worldly wealth
is not secure.
People having hundreds
of thousands of pounds
knocked off their savings
through one press conference.
Gone it will be.
And the question is,
how will you invest it now
for eternal dwellings then?
Use worldly wealth.
Use your bank account
gifts and your diary
and the gifts
that God has given you
to gain friends
for yourselves
so that when it's all gone
and you're looking
at the ground
from the brown side,
you will be welcomed
into eternal dwellings.
In other words,
use your treasure
to show that your treasure
isn't your treasure
but Jesus is your treasure.
Use your treasure
to show that your treasure
isn't your treasure
but Jesus is your treasure.
And investing what you have
and who you are
and the time that you have
in what he's doing
is by far the best investment
you can ever make.
Jesus says,
my mission is
seeking and saving
lost people
and bringing them home
to be with me,
to rejoice with me forever.
and he says
to all of his disciples
who's coming?
Who's in?
Who's going to stake it all?
Who's going to invest in me
and what I'm doing
which is the surest investment
you could ever make?
Jesus then finishes
by offering four principles
to help us be shrewd.
The first one is this,
verse 10.
Are you faithful
in the little bit
you have now?
Look at what it says.
Whoever can be trusted
with very little
can also be trusted
with much
and whoever is dishonest
with very little
will also be dishonest
with much.
We're all at that stage,
aren't we?
We don't quite have enough
and we tell ourselves
the lie,
when I have a little bit more
then I'll be more invested
in what Jesus is doing.
And it's a total lie
because habits
are easily grooved.
And therefore,
if we're not sacrificially
investing in Jesus
with the little bit
we have now,
then even when we have a lot
we won't be investing.
If you're dishonest
in the little bit
you have now,
you'll still be dishonest
even if the windfall comes.
And so are you faithful
in the little bit
you have now?
There might be a lot,
not a lot of fat
on the bone.
But if you sacrificially
invest in that,
that will be the best investment
that you ever make.
And who knows
if you're faithful
in the very little bit
you have now.
When you get more
you'll still be being faithful
in what the Lord
has trusted you with.
This is so shocking,
verse 11.
So if you have not been
trustworthy
in handling worldly wealth,
who will trust you
with true riches?
Do you see,
Jesus is making
a massive distinction there
between worldly wealth,
between stuff,
between bank balances
and gold ingots
and yachts
and cigars
and vintage wine collections.
And he just calls
that worldly wealth
just stuff.
And he says
if you haven't been faithful
in the stuff,
who will trust you
with true riches,
eternal riches,
heavenly treasure,
treasure that will yield
a dividend every year
for all of eternity,
which is a very,
very long time.
that's a very,
very long time.
Are you trustworthy
with worthless wealth?
Worldly wealth?
Wealth that in the light
of eternity
will be like monopoly money?
Because if you're trustworthy
in worthless wealth,
then the promise is here
that God will trust you
with true riches
that will last forever.
number three,
verse 12.
And if you have not
been trustworthy
with someone else's property,
who will give you
property of your own?
Do you realize
that your stuff
isn't actually your stuff?
Do you know that
constant refrain
in the Psalms,
the earth is the Lord's
and everything in it?
He's just given it
to you to borrow.
In a sense,
he's employed you
as a wealth manager
to take what he's given you
to invest in his kingdom
in order that it might
yield more
in order that you
might have more
to invest in
what King Jesus is doing.
And the minute we realize
that our stuff
isn't our stuff,
but we're borrowing it
to invest in,
to invest
for a very rich God
who owns everything,
suddenly we won't
hold it so tight.
We won't cleave to it
and cling to it.
suddenly because we know
it's not ours
but it's been gifted to us
by our Heavenly Father,
suddenly we'll be
really ready
to really invest
in what Jesus is doing.
It's much easier,
isn't it,
taking risks
with other people's money?
And that's true
of all of your money.
It's not yours.
It belongs to God.
If you've not been
trustworthy
with someone else's property,
God's property,
what he's given you,
he will trust you
with stuff
of your own
in
eternity.
And fourthly,
which master
are you really
serving?
Because Jesus
says it's binary,
no one can serve
two masters.
we all think
that we're the exception
to the rule,
that we can be
all in for Jesus
and yet also
have a slice
of the world
for ourselves.
We do not need
to forfeit
our souls
when we gain
the world.
We all think
that we're the exception
to that rule
and Jesus says
you absolutely can't.
It's one
or the other.
is it
Jesus
all for Jesus,
all I am
and have
and ever hope
to be?
Or is it
worldliness,
rainy day funds,
gaining a slice
of the world,
trying to have
our cake
and eat it?
Jesus says
you aren't
the exception.
You can serve
one or the other.
Jesus
or money,
investing in
an eternal
kingdom
that cannot
be shaken
or putting
a few shekels
in a way
in a bank
that will
ultimately
fail you
and be
proven
worthless.
Therefore,
be shrewdly
investing
your earthly
life
to gain
an eternal
dividend
surrounded
by all
the friends
you've gained
through your
shrewd
investment
in this
life.
It's a
pertinent
message for
today,
I think,
because one
of my
lasting
memories
of Brunsfield
is that it
is full
of very
committed
unsacrificial
people.
And I guess
today is
testimony to
that fact.
All your
investment in
Archie
and Katie
over the
last number
of years
and now
sending them
out to
Peebles,
taking your
investment
and deploying
it strategically
in Peebles
that you
might have a
share in
all that the
Lord accomplishes
down there
in the
borders.
But let me
tell you,
it would be
a real shame
if this was
the high point
of your
shrewd
investing.
If it was
this and
then paring
back.
If it was
this and
then coasting.
If it was
this and
just making
pews more
comfortable for
you to sit
in.
That's not
the worst
idea.
Sending
them out
to Peebles
should be
really
encourage
you to
redouble
your
efforts
to
double
down
on
your
investment
in
all
that
Jesus
is
doing.
It'd be a shame
having lived so
much by faith
you resorted to
starting to live
by sight.
And having
invested so
much in
people for
the glory of
the Lord
Jesus you
now started
investing in
stuff for
your own
comfort.
Friends,
it is us.
It is
now.
And it is
going to
require
sacrificial
shrewdness
from all
of Jesus'
people in
order that we
might gain
friends,
in order that
more of
Scotland might
be welcomed
into eternal
dwellings.
Our
decisive use
of resources
reveals whether
our hearts
are aligned
with Jesus'
heart.
So in
closing,
as we
respond,
could I
invite you
to take
your
mobile
phone
out?
Just
log into
your
banking
app and
pass it to
the person
next to
you for a
bit of
accountability
in how
you're
investing
your
money?
Well,
of course
we're not
going to
do that.
But it
would be
quite
revealing,
wouldn't
it?
As to
where we're
spending our
time and
our treasure
and our
talents.
Once we'd
finished
analysing the
banking app,
if we got to
people's calendars
and diary,
see where their
investments were
really being
made.
Because I
guess at the
end of the
day,
according to
Luke 16,
where we're
investing is
the barometer
that reveals
whether our
desires are
actually aligned
to Jesus,
or this is
just a
veneer that
we're putting
out to
save face.
Jesus is
the ultimate
one who
acted so
shrewdly in
order that we
might have
eternal life.
Who literally
invested
everything for
you and for
me.
And therefore
it would be so
foolish and so
ungrateful if we
started to hold
back some of the
things that he's
given to us to
invest in what
he's doing.
Let's pray
together.
Father God,
we come before
you in awe of
who you are.
The one who
is holy and
sovereign and
full of
steadfast love.
You are
worthy of all
of our praise.
The one who
draws near to
us in mercy
through Jesus.
He gave
everything for
each of us.
us.
Thank you for
the cross.
Thank you for
his precious
blood poured
out.
For his
eternal victory.
Thank you so
much for Jesus,
the one who
held nothing
back but
invested his
all.
And invested
his all so
that we could
gain everything
in him.
Forgive us,
Lord, for the
ways that we
hold back,
our time,
we pursue
our comforts,
we selfishly
deploy our
resources,
we become
self-sufficient
and selfish
in our hearts.
Too often we
invest in what
fades rather
than what
lasts.
Change us,
God, we
ask.
Shape us into
bold, sacrificial
and shreed
investors.
Invest us in
your eternal
kingdom.
Help us live
with eternity
in mind,
fully surrendered,
joyfully obedient,
and all in
your glory.
glory.
And we're
here this
morning pleading
that you would
have mercy in
Scotland so
that on the
day that we
see Jesus,
we, surrounded
by many
friends,
would be
welcomed into
eternal
dwellings.
We're so
thankful that
Jesus came to
seek and to
save that
which was
lost,
and we pray
that we would
be fully on
board with
him.
And it's in
his name we
pray.
Amen.