Father, sometimes your word is really hard to understand, and sometimes your word, it's just hard to understand, it frightens us, sometimes it delights us, but sometimes it frightens us.
Father, we ask that you grow in us a great trust in you. We confess before you, Father, that your word is always a clear word, that it's our minds and hearts that need to be changed.
So, Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would fall upon our minds and our hearts and our wills and our souls, so that we might hear your word and receive your word and receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and so with him as our Savior, that as your word enters into our life, that our lives, our day-to-day lives, will bear much fruit that brings you great glory.
Father, this is our prayer, and we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
So, one of the things that you can do for me is, in fact, if you start to drift off today because it's dark and you're tired because you're still trying to get over Christmas,
let me turn this, one of the things you could do is pray for me today and also pray for me for next coming Sunday.
Throughout the entire Christmas holidays, I was aware of the fact that I was going to come back in my first Sunday back to teaching on the book of Luke.
I was going to have two very hard texts to deal with.
The first one, which we're going to look at in a moment, Luke 16.
You might want to sort of get that in your Bibles because we're going to read it in a moment.
And if you don't have Bibles, there's always some Bibles up at the front that you can take, and you're welcome to use them.
Keep them as a gift from us or return them afterwards.
This week, we're going to deal with what all commentators agree is the hardest parable of all of Jesus' parables to understand.
And in fact, most commentators will say it's actually the hardest text to understand in all of the Gospel of Luke.
And next week, I get to talk about divorce.
So I have two hard texts.
And so if you could pray for me an extra amount this week, I would really appreciate it.
And so today, we're going to look at, those of you who know your Bibles,
we're going to look at the text of the dishonest steward.
The dishonest manager.
And in some ways, this is a nightmare text for people.
I bet if you were to read this text to the condo dwellers all around us,
or to many of the people in your work, maybe even your own family members,
it would just bring up many of the fears that people have about religion.
Because it seems as if in this parable that Jesus praises a fellow
for, first of all, being a lazy, ineffective worker,
and then ripping off his boss.
And it seems as if, in first reading, it looks as if Jesus is praising this behavior.
And as I said, it touches a nerve, because for many people in our culture,
when they see the Christian faith or any type of religion or spirituality,
they think that it's just a cover for immoral behavior.
I mean, over the past year, we've seen people in ISIS,
in between their five times of daily prayer,
playing soccer with the heads of people they've beheaded.
Popular fiction and movie, and maybe even our own experience,
is familiar with people who are deacons and elders in church on Sunday morning,
and the rest of the week they have their slum landlords,
they oppress their workers.
And this is the deep fear that many in our culture have,
is that religion and spirituality,
and therefore Christianity, the Christian faith,
is just a cover for evil.
And so when they see a text like this,
that appears to have Jesus promoting dishonest business dealings,
it's very difficult.
And for those of us who are followers of Jesus,
not even affected by the world in that particular way,
it's just a very troubling text.
Surely Jesus can't be promoting
what in other places he would say is evil.
So, Luke 16, 1 to 15,
I'm going to read the text.
And you'll see what I'm talking about very, very quickly.
If you're unfamiliar with the text,
some of you will say,
oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember that Bible text.
Others, maybe you're hearing it for the first time.
But here at Church of the Messiah,
we try to preach through books of the Bible,
and we're going through Luke.
So this is the text that we're going to look at today.
And here's how it goes.
Jesus also said to the disciples,
there was a rich man who had a manager,
and charges were brought to the rich man
that the manager was wasting his possessions.
And the rich man called the manager
and said to the manager,
what is this that I hear about you?
Turn in the account of your management,
for you can no longer be manager.
In other words,
the rich man's announced that the guy's being fired,
and he's giving him whatever,
a week, a month, or whatever it is.
He's giving him notice, but he's fired.
Inside, that's what the manager was doing.
He was screaming, as we'll see in a moment.
Verse 3,
And the manager said to himself,
what shall I do?
Since my master has taken the management away from me,
I am not strong enough to dig,
and I am ashamed to beg.
Ah, I have decided what to do,
so that even when I am removed from management,
people may receive me into their houses.
So summoning his master's debtors one by one,
the manager said to the first debtor,
how much do you owe my master?
And the debtor said,
a hundred measures of oil.
And the manager said to him,
take your bill and sit down quickly and write 50.
Now just sort of pause there for a second.
Two things.
In the ancient world,
the way that these types of debts
would have often been recorded
is that the person who was in debt,
they would write out,
if they could write,
they would write out in their own hand
that they owed so much money.
And so what the manager has done
is he's come,
and he's brought the copy
because he would keep the copy of what's owed,
and probably what he's done
is he's ripped it up or burned it,
and he said,
now write 50 instead.
And the fellow goes along with it.
And just to have a bit of a sense
of how much this is,
like a hundred measures of oil,
is it like a hundred bucks?
Is it like a hundred pennies?
Like what is it?
That was approximately the average,
it was approximately four years wages
for an average working guy or gal.
So that's how much it was.
Four years wages.
A lot of money.
Especially in a culture like that
where there was, in a sense,
virtually no middle class.
Basically, you had fairly well-off people.
A very, very tiny sort of middle class.
And then the rest of the people
were basically lucky
lucky if they could live paycheck to paycheck.
Just basically getting by.
And so four years wages,
that's a lot of money.
Okay, so back to verse 7.
Then the manager said to another debtor,
and how much do you owe?
And the man said,
I owe a hundred measures of wheat.
And the manager said to him,
take your bill and write 80.
And just sort of pause here for a second.
How much money is this worth?
It's worth somewhere between
10 to 12 years wages
for an average working guy or gal.
10 to 12 years wages
of an average guy or gal.
Almost enough for an average working person
to retire for the rest of their life.
Maybe it is enough.
Those of you who know about money
might say,
George, actually, if you have 10 times,
that's enough.
I don't know.
But it's close, right?
It's a lot of money.
A lot of money.
10 to 12 years wages
for an average working person.
So verse 8,
the first half of verse 8
is going to be the end of the parable.
And then after this,
Jesus is going to comment on the parable.
And so what happens next?
Well, we find in verse 8,
the master finding out
what the manager,
his manager has done.
Verse 8,
End of parable.
Wow.
What a parable.
And then,
because the verses were written,
added like a thousand years
or something like that,
more after the writing of the New Testament,
some monks added it.
Most scholars would say
that the parable ends with
the master commended
the dishonest manager
for his shrewdness.
And now we start to have
Jesus' comments on it.
For the sons of this world
are more shrewd
in dealing with their own generation
than the sons of light.
And I tell you,
make friends for yourselves
by means of unrighteous wealth
so that when it fails,
they may receive you
into the eternal dwellings.
One who is faithful in a very little
is also faithful in much,
and one who is dishonest in a very little
is also dishonest in much.
If then you have not been faithful
in the unrighteous wealth,
who will entrust to you
the true riches?
And if you have not been faithful
in that which is in others,
who will give you
that which is your own?
No servant can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one
and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one
and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and money.
The Pharisees,
who were lovers of money,
heard all these things,
and they ridiculed Jesus.
In fact,
ridicule is a good word,
but it's just,
they sneered at him,
they despised him,
they had contempt for him,
and their contempt for Jesus
comes out in a contemptuous,
deriding,
sneering,
abusive language.
And Jesus said to them,
you are those
who justify yourselves
before men,
but God knows your hearts,
for what is exalted among men
is an abomination
in the sight of God.
So,
what's going on in this text?
You know,
some of the lessons
that Jesus says
all sound pretty good.
I mean,
some of us will have
real concerns about this.
I've become very conscious
over the last year or two
that whenever we talk about money,
that for Quebecois,
I hope I'm pointing
in the right direction,
for our Quebecois friends,
there's this long memory
of how the church
kept,
used Christian teaching
to keep them poor.
And so,
there's hackles raised
about any time money
is raised.
And there's some complexities
there to Jesus' teaching,
but is Jesus
contradicting himself?
Like,
at the end,
he seems to say
that dishonesty isn't good,
but in the early part,
he seems to be
commending the guy
for,
not,
he seems to be
commending the guy
for being lazy
and ineffective,
dealing with his laziness
and ineffective
by ripping off his boss
and actually conspiring
with other people
to rip off the boss
so that when he's fired,
he'll be able to live
with the guys
who have conspired
to rip off the owner.
And that's a very odd parable.
So,
what's going on?
Is this justifying?
Is this,
is the Bible,
in a sense,
saying,
go thou
and do likewise?
Well,
here's the first thing
I'm going to say,
and it's going to be
a little bit of a surprising direction
to maybe talk about,
but it's actually
a very good point
to mention here,
and it's a good point
to remember
all of the time
that we read the Bible.
And here's the first point.
Unlike you and me,
the living God
is not insecure.
Unlike you and me,
the living God
is not insecure.
Now,
why do I say this?
You know,
there's a figure
by the name of
Feuerbach,
whose name I probably
haven't pronounced correctly,
and he influenced
a guy by the name of Marx,
and they all
influenced people
like Freud.
And they sort of
are just capturing
some things
that some early Greeks
said,
because,
you know,
everything's sort of
just footnotes
to Aristotle.
And one of the things
that they developed
was this idea
that human beings,
like Marx and Feuerbach
said,
and Freud said
that God doesn't exist,
that what happens
is that we project
desires that we want
or that our tribe wants,
and we project this
to create
some imaginary being
called God.
And,
now,
Christians should accept
that this is true,
by the way.
Christians should accept
that this is true,
that Feuerbach
and Marx
and Freud
and early ancient Greeks
and modern people
who say that,
that they're actually
saying something
which is true
about human nature.
We do project
onto God
and create a God
in our own image
and likeness
that reflects
our insecurities,
our fears,
our longings,
our yearnings,
and stuff like that.
The place we disagree
with Freud and all
is that
well,
that's actually
sort of begging
the question
as to whether or not
there actually
is such a being
called God
who does exist.
And what if there
is a God
that does exist
and we Christians
aren't saying anything
other than the fact
that we're beggars
telling one other beggar
where to find bread
and we believe
not that our philosophy
is wiser,
not that,
because we have,
we're not saying
that we have smarter philosophers,
smarter mystics,
smarter poets,
smarter thinkers
than anybody else,
we're not claiming
anything special,
all we're saying
is that God
has spoken
and revealed himself
and we've received it.
But the fundamental insight
that we project
ourselves
is very true.
And so you see,
the fact of the matter
is that every human being
is insecure.
Some of us
are massively,
unbelievably,
wildly,
you know,
bridezilla type
of insecure.
And others,
it's maybe deeply buried,
but all of us
have divided hearts.
All of us,
in fact,
have very,
very different
types of desires.
Like,
it's not unusual,
if you're honest
with yourself,
it's not unusual
that over the course
of the day,
that part of the day
you might sort of wish
that you were as gentle
and wise
as St. Francis of Assisi
and other times
you might wish
that you were like
Hugh Heffler,
at the Playboy Mansion.
In other points in time
you might believe
that you might sort of
have as a virtue
that you're just
caring for other people
the way Mother Teresa
cared for people.
And then another point
in time in the day
you wish that you were
like Arnold Schwarzenegger
or Bruce Willis,
I'm talking like as a guy,
okay?
And that you could
sort of blast people
and on.
And other times
you sort of wish
that you were
as evangelistic
as Billy Graham
and the other day,
parts of the time
you wish that you were
maybe just able
to talk and curse
and do all sorts of things
and this can all happen
in the course of a day,
it can happen
in the course of an hour,
but it can definitely
happen in the course
of a week.
that we have all these
different personas
and desires
all going on within us
and we're unstable
because we're multiple selves
and that always creates
within us
a fundamental insecurity.
And because we're insecure
it means that we have
great problems
with doctrines
like God's grace,
doctrines like
of judgment,
of hell,
of human freedom,
of providence,
all of these things
we have problems
not just when we come
to this parable
which I'm still going
to get to in a moment,
I haven't forgotten it,
but we have problems
with it all the time
because as part of our
insecurity
and our multiple selves
we're very aware
of the fact that
whether it's ourselves
or somebody else
or maybe we grew up
in a family
where the dad
wasn't able to express
being unhappy
with his wife
so he took it out
on the kids
or the dad
wasn't able to deal
with the fact
that he couldn't get
along with his boss
and so he takes it
out on the wife
or maybe we had a boss
and we can see
that she wasn't able
to deal with her anger
or discipline
and her employees
so she took it out
maybe on waiters
or waitresses
or on her own family
and we're just used
to people
and we can see
it in our own selves
we're inconsistent
and sometimes
we're too aggressive
and sometimes
we're too weak
and passive
and so when we see
doctrines in the Bible
of God's grace
and of judgment
and of hell
and of God speaking
without realizing it
we project
our insecurities
and our multiple selves
onto the text
and we worry
that that's what God's like
but the Bible wants us
to know
that God
is never
ever
and never has been
insecure
and he's never had
multiple selves
or multiple desires
God is always
unchangeably
himself
and that the
whole doctrine
of God's
unchangeableness
is designed
to protect
this idea
that we don't have
to wake up tomorrow
to discover
that God now says
that murder is good
we don't have to worry
that tomorrow
we will wake up
and God has changed
his mind
on anything
nothing can change
God's mind
nothing can stop
God from being God
God is always
himself
he's always good
he's always true
he's always wise
he's always strong
he's always present
he's always active
he always knows
all things
he is unchangeably
himself
and because
he's so secure
he and his word
allows images
to be used
of the Christian
life and of himself
which are shocking
to us
you see
we don't want to use
we don't want to refer
to ourselves
in ways
I mean we might
sort of play around
and refer to ourselves
in shocking types
of ways
in areas where
we're secure
but in an area
where we're not
secure about
ourselves
and somebody
uses an analogy
about us
that touches on us
we get very
very uncomfortable
with it
but God
is always secure
and that's why
in the Bible
like you know
if we went to the
condos
or the University
of Ottawa
and we were to say
that one of the
main images
that God uses
of himself
is the Lord of hosts
which means
that he's the
commander in chief
of angel armies
that would make
people very
uncomfortable
that might not
make us uncomfortable
some of us
it might
but others
it would make
them very uncomfortable
but God
compares himself
in the Bible
sometimes to a
drunken soldier
to an unjust
uncaring judge
the whole means
by which Jesus
died for us
has become
just a common
place
and people
wear it as
jewelry
but it was
unbelievably
shocking
and offensive
to the first
generations
of people
who knew
crucifixion
as something
that they would
if not witness
in their lifetime
at least have
heard about
or know
that it happens
in parts of the
empire
and many of them
it would have
been a living
experience
for them
that they
would have
witnessed
and so
the first
thing is
okay
we're shocked
here
Jesus is
using an
analogy
of a whole
pile
of corrupt
people
well we
probably
wouldn't do
that
but God's
not insecure
Jesus isn't
insecure
he knows
who he is
and because
he knows
who he is
he's able
to use
things which
are shocking
shocking
to good
people like
you and me
who
even if we
cheat on
our taxes
even if
sometimes
the person
at the
cash
gives us
too much
change
and we
don't
return
the
difference
because
they gave
us
ten dollars
or twenty
dollars
too much
we know
that we
shouldn't
do it
and we'd
like to
think
that we
would be
the type
of people
who wouldn't
do those
things
but this
parable might
speak very
powerfully to
other people
and God is
not insecure
so he uses
sometimes shocking
things to catch
our attention
and throughout
these last two
weeks over
Christmas when I
would mention to
different people I
was going to
preach on this
they say Luke
16 what the
answer the story
about the
dishonest manager
they go whoa
that parable
like people who
read through the
gospels that's one
of the parables that
sticks in their
mind because it
sticks in their
craw it sticks in
our craw
so that's the
first it's just a
general thing about
it all the time is
that we realize that
we're reading the
text it's not that
the Bible is ever
unbalanced it's we're
unbalanced and we
fear that our
unbalancedness and
insecurity and
multiple selves that
that's somehow an
evidence in the text
and God is never
insecure he's always
himself he's always
God praise be to
God we never have
to worry that God
will stop being
loving never
nothing can stop him
being loving
nothing can stop him
being love itself
so somebody said okay
George well that's
okay okay well
okay so God uses
shocking images
but George George
George George
this is a this is a
parable about
conspiracy successful
apparently successful
conspiracy to
defraud and
Jesus does seem to
commend the person
for it and so
what on earth is
going on okay
well here's I'm
going to put up the
point and I'm
going to try to
explain the point
and if you could
put up the second
point here's what I
think is going on in
the text the Bible
presents only two
ways two ways for
human beings to
follow or to live
one way is to
strive for self
justification the
other way is by
humble faith in
Jesus receive God's
free gift of
justification I'll
say the game I
think the Bible has
lots of different
ways that it
phrases this but the
Bible is constantly
trying to get us to
see that there's two
ways to live and in
this particular case and
it's going to sort of
have a sort of an echo
in the text one way to
live is to strive for
self justification to
justify ourselves and
justify ourselves before
ourselves and before
other people the other
way to live is to live
by humble faith in
Jesus and receive in
receiving and receive
God's free gift of
just of justification in
other words that through
Jesus God justifies us
God completely and
utterly justifies us he
does it by grace as a
gift through Jesus and
we can add nothing to
that justification it's
all comes from God so
some of you might say
well George I like that
message but I sure
don't see it here in
the text well here's
where just sort of
bear with me we have to
do a little tiny bit of
sort of inquiry to see
why I say this so
remember how the
parable goes right and
we all remember how it
goes and we remember
about the master
commending the fellow
excuse me the first
thing is that the
commending actually sort of
funny type of thing now
you all know that I I
like if you come here to
the church at all you
know that I like movies
that have like murders in
them I like books that
have murders or bank
robberies and and all of
that type like really bad
people and all of that
in fact the book that I
just finished reading one
of the things in the book
was that there's a guy who
sort of had his finger in
all of the criminal
activities that were going
on in this large area and
of course in that case
there's lots of other
criminals who sometimes
try to encroach and take
over part of the business
and there's several times
in the book where the guy
says he's a criminal by
the way he's also a deacon
in the local church but
that's a separate matter he
gets himself elected the
deacon on the deacon's
board of his of his
Baptist church first
Baptist of the of the area
but he's he's running
he's running prostitutes
he has a strip club he's
running drugs he's running
illegal weapons and does
money laundering and he you
know you get the idea this
is a really really bad guy
and but several times when
people try to muscle in or
do something else he says to
himself something like these
words he says my aren't you
an industrious and clever
fellow that's what he says
my aren't you a clever and
industrious fellow and then
of course he goes and has the
guy killed okay but but that's
what he says he sort of
admires the fact that the
person who's trying to rip
him off is trying to be as
good a criminal as he is and
so you know I would say that
this commending of the of the
guy at the end by the rich guy
isn't necessarily something if
you sort of look at it from
that point of view it's not
necessarily something
especially when you then see
what Jesus says but here's
why it's all about self
justification the first thing
is if you go back and look at
verse 15 and you have
actually yeah verse 15
actually we're going to go back
to a context thing we'll start
at verse 1 look what it says
here he also said to the
disciples also said in other
words this parable is linked to
the parable before it in fact what
you can imagine doing is that the
first parable if you go back and
look at chapter 15 there's three
parables and the one immediately
before this is the parable of the
prodigal son and so what you can
imagine is that there's this
conflict and there's all these
Pharisees over here sorry I'm not
picking on this side of the
congregation okay the Pharisees are
over here and and Jesus has his
disciples behind him okay and in
chapter 15 it's as if Jesus says
these three parables his
disciples can hear him says these
three parables concluding with the
parable of the prodigal son and he
says it to the Pharisees the
religious people the spiritual people
the elite people of the culture and
then after he said these three
parables he turns to the disciples
the Pharisees are all still now behind
Jesus they can hear what Jesus says to
the disciples and Jesus tells them this
disciple of the dishonest manager and
then after he tells them the parable
of the dishonest manager he goes on and
tells them about which we'll look at in
a moment about you know people you know
if you're if you're dishonest and little
you'll be dishonest and much if you're
faithful and little you'll be faithful
and much you can't serve God and mammon
and as he finishes that what he hears
behind him is the Pharisees the
religious and the spiritual the elite
the cultural elite the well-educated the
powerful they sneer at Jesus they
ridicule him they deride him for
everything he said and Jesus turns now
with his back to his disciples and looks
at the Pharisees and says in verse 15
you are those who justify yourselves
before men but God knows your hearts for
what is exalted among men is an
abomination in the sight of God
why were these people ridiculing Jesus
for the prodigal son and the dishonest
manager Jesus says that what led them to
ridicule was because they believed in
self-justification and the worship of
money and he said anything all self
justification is an attempt to exalt
yourself and God finds it an abomination
so the two parables are linked and
actually if you think about it I don't
know how well you know you folks know
the parable of the prodigal son when you
go home today maybe you can read it again
and if you read the prodigal son and you
read the story of the dishonest manager
and you go from one parable to another
you'll be surprised at the number of
similarities in both cases there's a man
who's using somebody else's wealth and
desires somebody else's wealth in both
cases there's waste of the wealth in both
cases there's sort of not only the desire
for the wealth but the wasting of the
wealth and in both cases after the wealth
has been wasted there is either the threat
or the reality of being reduced to a
lower working class status and in both
cases there is the worry that once the
wealth is gone you're going to be
friendless in both cases in both stories
that's the same thing and in both stories
the characters have a brain wave they go
oh I got it oh I got it in both stories
the prodigal son when he's feeding the
the corn husks to the the not the corn husks
he's just feeding the pods to the pigs and
he says oh I got it the dishonest manager
when he knows he's about to be fired going
to be reduced to even lower than dicking
ditches and begging he goes oh I got it and
in both cases there I got it they have a
strategy to move forward in both stories
both stories very similar structure and
but you see in the first story those of
you if you go back and listen to my
sermon on I think was the second Sunday
in December you'll see that in the first
story the prodigal God it's really a
prodigal son it's really a story about God
and and it's a story that God sees the
son long before the son sees so this the
son in humility decides his exit strategy
is you know what I'm never gonna have any
money anymore but what I really need is
to be with my father I'd rather be home
with my father and poor than anything else
and so remember he prepares a speech he
says you know I've been very bad I've
wasted your money I'm no longer worthy
to be called your son would you at least
let me live at your house and work as a
servant and that's his strategy and the
story is that as he goes that the story
is not fundamentally about his strategy
although the strategy is fun very very
important but the father who sees the
son long before the son sees the father
that the father crosses the distance
between himself and the son and goes
and embraces the son and welcomes the son
and the son only says part of his little
prepared speech before the father saying
bring my bring the best robe which is his
own robe and cover this guy and let's have
a party because my son who is dead is alive
again
and in the second story of the dishonest
manager he says you know what how can
there be an existence apart from money and how
can I possibly have an existence apart from
being seen as really being important how can
there be any life worth living if I don't have
money and I'm not important so I'm going to find some
criminals and I'm going to hope that the
parable by the way is incomplete the parable
doesn't say whether at the end of this in the
next step that the rich man says hmm aren't you a
clever fellow okay kill him
okay my servants go out whack him you know kneecap
him you have no idea whether the the criminals are going to
actually accept the guy that the parable is incomplete
because it's not a moralistic thing it's not about
moralism and principles it's about the fact that God looks at our
heart and these two parables reveal radically different
understandings of the human heart in the context of the living God
in the prodigal son he humbly sets aside any type of self-justification
and to his huge surprise and to our surprise we discover that God
justifies and accepts the son in the last story the manager only desires
desires to continue to have money be the center of his life and seek his own
self-justification two radically different approaches and stories to life
in the first story part of what is going on is all we see is that the father
justifies the son and we don't realize that the parable is preparedness
remember those of you who've been here other weeks
that from chapter 9 on every single thing that happens in the gospel of Luke is
Jesus regularly every chapter and a half or two chapters says to his disciples
we're going to Jerusalem I'm going to Jerusalem to die
I'm going to Jerusalem to die I'm going to Jerusalem to die keeps reminding people
and when we read the gospel we have to remember that everything that's said is all in the context
of Jesus going to Jerusalem to die and so at the time of the prodigal son we don't understand
that how the son will be justified is is not merely by some degree of declaration by the father but that the
that the this that ultimately my justification in yours comes by Jesus's finished work upon the cross
that it will be the death of Jesus upon the cross that ultimately justifies you and me
me accepting his finished work is what justifies me
we don't know that I mean we know it because we know the story but when you're reading the story it's just preparing you for this
so the Bible is setting before us two different ways
the one way is to strive for self-justification
or by humble faith in Jesus receive God's free gift of justification
well some of you are saying well what about the money aspect
and what about how does it all end with verse 9 and all of that other stuff
and and is is the Bible now is Jesus saying that money is like dirty
like George isn't that sort of what those priests said to the Quebecois
for many many generations or at least I mean whether it's true or not I don't know
just in in in for many people when they think about it that's what they believe happened
I'm not saying it did I just it's what they believe happened
that um I'm not saying that they're wrong either
I I don't know enough about Quebecois history to know whether it's a fair depiction
but are is this just is this why that the the priests in the in the church
in Quebec they would tell people that money is dirty
and so they shouldn't seek to make money and they shouldn't seek promotions and ambitions
and that allowed all these Anglican and Baptist and United Church Anglophones
to get all the rich positions
is that I George is still a bit confused
well we're going to look at it but the first thing we have to understand is
is something about what it means to be justified by Jesus
when we put our when in repentance we turn to Jesus
and we say father I'm I'm no longer worthy to be called your son or your daughter
I cannot justify myself
I I cannot exalt myself
that whole project comes to an end
all I can do is just hope and trust that what your son has done for us on the cross
that you will justify me in him
that you will do this by grace
out of love and mercy for me
you know father how divided my heart is
you know that one moment I think I want to be like Billy Graham
the next minute I want to be like Bruce Willis
you know that on one on one moment I want to be faithful
the next moment I want to be like Hugh Hefner
you know that you know all those you know these terrible
you know how father you know everything going on inside of me
I cannot justify myself
I all I can do is come to you for mercy
and trust that you will justify me
and have justified me
through what Jesus has done for me on the cross
that you will not weigh my merits
you will only pardon my offenses
and I come to you
I come to you
and what happens after we're justified
well that's what we have to understand
that's what Jesus is talking about in the text
it's what happens in verses 9 and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13
it's I put it this way
when I am justified by God
my life begins to bear fruit for his glory
when we really have been justified by God
our lives start to bear fruit for his glory
let's look at the text
and see how it how it works itself out a little bit
and then we'll talk just in closing a little bit
how's my time
we'll talk in closing just a tiny little bit about money
I've gone on a long time
hopefully I haven't lost you
look at verse
so verse 8
the master commended the dishonest manager
for his shrewdness
it's the end of the parable
now Jesus begins to comment
for the sons of this world
are more shrewd
in dealing with their own generation
than the sons of light
and the word shrewd there
in the Old Testament
the Hebrew Old Testament
was early on
before Jesus' time
translated into Greek
and so often in fact
many people believe
that most of the time
when the apostles were reading the Bible
they were reading the Greek version of the Bible
most of the time
and the word in Genesis chapter 3
if you know that story about the serpent
and the word in Greek
that they use to translate how the serpent is
is the same word that's used here
in other words
remember when it says about the serpent
that the serpent was more subtle
than other creatures
more shrewd than other creatures
that's the word that's used here
it's not a compliment
to be said that you're like
the serpent in the Garden of Eden
that's not something
that you should say
whoa
boy that's off my bucket list
I've always desired to be compared
to the serpent in the Garden of Eden
who leads all of mankind astray
Jesus is commenting upon the fact
that you're dealing with a story here
that's all about people
who are all consumed with money
the rich man and the manager
and the creditors
they're all consumed with money
money is their God
but he's going to make a shocking thing
he's going to say the fact
that the fact of the matter is
is that even though these people
are all consumed with money
that's all that consumes them
yet you know what
at least they pursue this
with diligence
so how should we then live
if even thieves and criminals
pursue their end
with diligence
does it mean
that when you have received
the justification
that comes from me
that you don't have to pursue anything
if thieves understand
that they should pursue money
now that I have justified you
shouldn't you pursue something
what should you pursue
verse 9
he begins to talk about it
and I tell you
make friends for yourselves
by means of unrighteous wealth
I'll talk about that in a moment
so that when it fails
they may receive you
into the eternal dwellings
and the word fails
there is actually
it's an interesting word
it's a good word
but the original word
in the original language
is the word that we get
the word eclipse from
in other words
when money is eclipsed
for you
remember he's talking
to the disciples
money
you live in a world
where money exists
but you know what
one day
money
will be eclipsed
for you
so he said
you know
using the thing
as the guy
in the parable
was hoping
that by his criminal activity
he would make friends
and so what Jesus
is saying
is eternal dwellings
the word for dwelling
there
which is a good word
it's the same word
used for tabernacle
and it's a place
where God meets with you
and he said
you know
when you're justified
by what I've done
for you on the cross
where's your destination
now?
you're going home
and home
is to be with God
to live in the new heaven
and the new earth
that's what my justification
does for you
that's your new destination
you know
you sojourn in Canada
but your true home
is heaven
and that's where you're going
and if that's where you're going
use
and here Jesus takes
the argument
from other people
you know
like a lot of times
religious and spiritual people
will say
we don't want to talk about money
money is unclean
it's dirty
you know
it's worldly
it's carnal
it's unimportant
you can't take it with you
and there's all this talk
of sort of despising money
but inwardly
we still like it
and we like to have more of it
and we get upset
and we go back to the cashier
if she didn't give us enough change
or he didn't give us enough change
because you know
we can talk about money
being unclean
and carnal
and unspiritual
and unworthy
and non-eternal
and all that
but we live in a world with money
still has a hold on us
and Jesus is saying
okay folks
you're going to be justified
by what I've done for you
on the cross
you're going to receive that
but once you're justified by me
you're going to bear fruit
and part of how you're going to bear fruit
is you're now going to start to understand
that you're going
to this future
and this future is guaranteed
so use your worldly resources
in such a way
that fits
with your destination
the dishonest manager
he had no destination
other than money
he had no destination
other than being important
he didn't really care ultimately
about any particular person
he didn't care
which one of these creditors
took him in
because he ultimately
didn't care about people
all he cared about
was himself
and he cared about money
that's what he cared about
and that was his destination
and he pursued that diligently
and Jesus said
if these guys
can pursue these things diligently
you're going to be justified
by me
when you put your faith
and trust in me
now
you're going
to live with God
and if that's your destination
use the resources
that you have
in such a way
that fits
with where you're going
and then he goes on
and he talks about it
one who is faithful
you know
now that
okay
well
okay Jesus
how do I do that
like what do I do
if that's my destination
like what do I have to understand
you know
and Jesus says
well one who is faithful
verse 10
in a very little
is also faithful in much
you know
money is in a sense
a very little thing
it's going to be eclipsed
but you know
if you're not faithful
in these little
tiny little things
how are you going to be faithful
in big things
like who's going to believe you
like part of the fruit
that's going to come
from justification
is you're going to have
a desire built up within you
that you need to develop
habits around
to desire to be faithful
even in little things
why
because
one
and one who is dishonest
and very little
is also dishonest
and much
and what else
does Jesus say
if then you have not
been faithful
in the unrighteous wealth
he's taking their language
from them
who will entrust you
to the true riches
the riches
that eclipse
money
and if you have not
been faithful
in that which is another's
because
you know
at the end of the day
the Bible is going to teach
that we're all just
managers of resources
we don't really own anything
God puts things
under our care
but you know
when we die
it all goes back
in the box
goes to somebody else
and ultimately
it's God's
and you have to understand
I have to understand
that the money's ultimately
not my money
it's God's money
it's not my resources
it's God's resources
I didn't do anything
to create my DNA
and if my DNA
means I have a certain
type of IQ
and a certain type of health
and God has blessed me
with you know
a wife and kids
and living in Ottawa
and he's given me
these resources
gosh
I was born in this country
I don't know why
God had me born here
rather than in
you know
Sri Lanka
or in this
you know
in slums of Shanghai
I didn't do anything
to accomplish that
and God has given me
some resources
he's given you
maybe lesser resources
some of you
is giving more resources
but whatever resources
that God has put
put in your control
he's given them to you
to manage them
for him
he's given you
to them
to manage
for him
and if you have not
been faithful
in that which is in others
who will give you
that which is your own
no servant can serve
two masters
for either he will
hate the one
and love the other
or he will be devoted
to the one
and despise the other
you cannot serve
God and money
the Pharisees
who are lovers of money
heard all these things
and they ridiculed Jesus
they sneered at him
they despised him
why?
you are those
who justify yourselves
before men
but God knows your hearts
for what is exalted
among men
is an abomination
in the sight of God
two final points
just to try to bring it home
the first one is this
verse 4
Jesus asks me
will I manage money
in service of money
or will I manage money
in service of the living God?
will I manage money
in service of money
or will I manage money
in service of the living God?
see the issue is
we all live in a world
where money exists
right?
we all live in a world
like that
and we can't just pretend
that it's unspiritual
so we don't have to bother
with it
because all that does
is it just allows greed
and envy
and to fester within us
and it allows us
to be ungenerous
and hoarding types of spirits
just to grow within us
to start to think
when we think of it
it's just underneath us
and beneath us
it just allows us
to exalt ourselves
and Jesus says
listen the issue is
in the throne of your heart
who's on the throne
of your heart
and on the throne
of your heart
the center of who you are
for many of us
it's myself
and money
and other idols as well
it might be the idols
of tribe
or of nation
or of job
or career
or whatever it is
but there's a host
of idols
sitting on the throne
of our heart
and the throne
of our heart
should only have
one person
sitting on it
and that should be
the living God
it should be Jesus
who's died to redeem us
and to restore us
to that which we were
created for
because we were created
to have God
at the throne of our hearts
our hearts are restless
till they rest in him
and Jesus says
you can end up
serving money
managing money
but really what you're doing
you're managing money
because you worship money
which means that
money manages you
and money will fail
one second after death
Bill Gates
and the poorest person
in Ottawa
one second after
they both die
if they die at the same time
one second after death
they have the same
financial resources
so the issue isn't
do you manage money
the issue is
who are you managing
money for
money
himself
or the living God
one final thing
Jesus calls me
to manage the resources
under my care
for the glory
of the living God
Jesus calls me
to manage the resources
under my care
for the glory
of the living God
you see that's why
there's nothing wrong
if God has granted you
the ability to start a business
start a business
bless the city
you know one of the ways
that we bless the city
that we help the poor
is by starting businesses
that create employment
for people
and you know
if he's giving you
some type of a vision
to start a dance troupe
or something like that
those are some you know
resources that you have
or to paint beautiful pictures
or to make films
or just you know
God calls you into marriage
and maybe you end up
deciding that you're going
to have a little bit
less money
so one of you
can stay home
to care for the kids
that hopefully God
will bless you with
and you know
the thing is
is that these are all
resources that God
has put under your care
and you're to manage them
not thinking about
how can I maximize money
in service of money
but you be wise
and work hard
and seek promotions
if God has granted you
that ability
to seek promotions
and manage those resources
but you manage them
not to enthrone yourself
and not to enthrone money
but you manage them
for the glory of God
and that's why
you see
that it's part of that
that just as well
as you manage
the resources
and maybe cause
the resources
to thrive
and grow
but at the same time
because
you're not worshipping money
that's why you give money
to the poor
and why you give money
to the church
it's why
the spiritual discipline
of tithing
is so important
for a Christian
that there's at least
a bit of a benchmark
in the Bible
put about
okay well
how is it
that I show
that I'm going to
dethrone money
as the thing
which drives
my managing of money
well one of the ways
you do it
is you give money away
oh no
I'd rather have
a spiritual thing
like I'd rather have
a spiritual experience
in church
and God says
no no no
you can't dethrone money
in your life
unless you give money away
and you know
you can trust me
I'm going to provide for you
but you've got to
give money away
and we're suggesting
some people
like Mother Teresa
she had to give away
everything
some of us
maybe God's going to
call us that
that we have to
give away everything
maybe it's more than
10%
but that's how we
dethrone money
in our lives
that's how we
manage money
in such a way
that we show
that we're living
to the glory of God
tithing is such
an important
spiritual discipline
connected to this text
to help us
to understand
how to live
but build your business
get the promotions
look out for interest rates
you know
if you have
credit card debt
you know
talk to somebody
who can help you
put all that
under a line of credit
with a lower interest
you know
because
it's not a particular sign
of being very spiritual
to give lots of money
to credit card companies
when you can
you know
that money can be kept
for yourself
you can give it to the poor
you can give it to the church
like there's lots of better uses
for that money
but manage your money
manage your resources
use your energy
use your mind
get the degrees
get the promotion
manage your resources
but don't do it
for the exaltation of yourself
don't do it
to justify yourself
in the eyes of men
don't do it
to prove
to your parents
or your teacher
or your coach
that they were wrong for you
you have the opportunity
I have the opportunity
to be justified
by the finished work
of Jesus upon the cross
so that at the end
of our life
when we die
that which we can
begin to know now
we will hear
at the end
where God
the creator
the living God
says to me
George
fill in your own name
I am so glad
you've come to see me
and be with me
face to face
I've been looking
forward to this
come
I welcome you
into my kingdom
there's no greater
justification
than that which
comes from God
so live for his glory
receive that
which he gives
he'll give you
it in such a way
that you start to bear fruit
live for his glory
please stand
bow our heads
in prayer
dear God
please deliver me
from self-justification
please deliver our church
from self-justification
please deliver every person
who is here
from striving
for self-justification
deliver us
father
from all of our
striving
to exalt ourselves
father
thank you for Jesus
thank you for what he did
for us on the cross
thank you that
you know
that he knew
how imperfect
and how fickle
and insecure
we are
and still you loved us
still you love us
still Jesus died
on the cross for us
thank you father
that he knows us
so perfectly
and yet he died
for us
thank you father
that in him
when we receive him
that we are justified
in him
that he justifies us
that you justifies us
father
help us to be gripped
with this message
of the gospel
and what Jesus does
for us on the cross
help us father
to be gripped
by the justification
that comes from you
and help us father
to so live
with our home in heaven
bearing fruit
for your glory
help us to manage
our resources well
in a way
that we can contribute
to the furtherance
of your kingdom
and bring you glory
it's your resources
it's your money
I surrender all
in Jesus' name we pray
Amen