1 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:04,880 Did you, did you actually hold it? 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,800 Was it sort of your qualified allowance? 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:09,080 You know, you weren't given your money. 4 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,640 You had household chores and so you earn some money. 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,200 How old were you when you first owned money? 6 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,600 Did were you anyone under 8 years old? 7 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:24,160 First time you earned money? OK. 8 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:34,240 First time you earned money, was it when you were 10, 10/11/12? 9 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:40,800 How many of you've never earned money, do you know? 10 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:45,280 There is a bit of a rush that comes and I remember taking that 11 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:50,680 money, those quarters and going to school and knowing I'm going 12 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:55,320 to go to the cafeteria today and I'm going to buy an Ice Cream 13 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,480 Sandwich. Wow. 14 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:02,920 It felt so empowering, you know, in that moment and to slide 15 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,440 those quarters across and be like, I have that one. 16 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,520 You know, it was a really cool moment. 17 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,640 But the really cool moments in our lives change in regard to 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:21,760 money, not just by what we earn, but how we spend it, how we save 19 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:28,560 it, how we give it. Those aspects also can be really 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:33,600 cool and empowering moments because you're not just starting 21 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:38,840 this journey with money in order to worry about it, which we 22 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:43,640 noted last week is sort of what happens is that our relationship 23 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:48,320 to it changes as a kid as we begin to accept more 24 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,920 responsibilities. Adulting, I think it's called, 25 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,360 and as we get into adulting, then our relationship is 26 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,080 changing. And so we, we need the Lord's 27 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,800 perspective on that, that it's not just about worry, but it's 28 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:14,520 also about stewardship, being a steward, and to have that sense 29 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:19,920 of identity that I am a manager of something that's not actually 30 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:23,840 mine. I am a manager of something that 31 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:28,480 has been entrusted to me. And so I am a steward of what 32 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,240 God is giving. Peter put it this way, and he 33 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,480 heard Jesus teach a lot about stewardship. 34 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,760 We're going to look at one of the parables that Peter would 35 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:44,640 have heard Jesus teach. But Peter summarizes it this 36 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:48,040 way. Each of you should use whatever 37 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:55,320 gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of 38 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,200 God's grace in its various forms. 39 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:03,040 So he's encouraging the churches that he's writing to have this 40 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:07,840 sense about the stuff, the gifts, the great wealth, the 41 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,200 spiritual wealth, the physical wealth that God gives you that 42 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:16,680 you say I am a steward, I am a manager of it. 43 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:23,160 I'm not an owner, it has been entrusted to me. 44 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:28,800 And this simple shift is not so simple to get sometimes. 45 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:35,280 And Jesus told a parable that really we struggle with because 46 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,600 it seems like Jesus is making the hero of the story, someone 47 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,880 who was doing something wrong in their stewardship. 48 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:48,360 So let's try to unpack it. How did Jesus teach Peter and 49 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:53,760 the disciples to gain this identity of I am a steward? 50 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:55,200 Let's just go ahead and practice it. 51 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:01,320 Say I am a steward, I am a manager. 52 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,320 Now what kind of manager are you? 53 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,880 Let's find out. Jesus told the story this way. 54 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:15,760 What verse is this? Where am I? 55 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,240 Let's just read it off here. Luke 16 Jesus told his disciples 56 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,280 there was a rich man. In fact, it it's almost more 57 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:30,480 literal to say there was a certain rich man whose manager 58 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,520 was accused of wasting his possessions. 59 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,840 So he called him. He called him in and asked him, 60 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:47,160 what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your 61 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:52,240 management because you cannot be manager any longer. 62 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:57,760 Now let's back up just a little bit. 63 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:02,160 You have, you have to realize that in, in the households of 64 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:09,680 the rich, the managers, the people who are serving in the 65 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:13,200 house also lived with the family. 66 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,960 So the, the little Greek word for this is the oikos. 67 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,600 So the oikos was this circle of relationships. 68 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,240 And so in an oikos circle, the household would include, you 69 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,200 know, my, my parents, maybe my wife's parents, the 70 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:38,440 grandparents, my children, maybe their children, the people who 71 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,800 served in our house, you know, notice how I positioned myself 72 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:46,000 sort of as the, the rich man. And then there might be those 73 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,040 who are working the lands and they also live there. 74 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,240 And there might also be some people living on the land who 75 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:56,160 are sort of shareholders who might be working the land and 76 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:01,080 sort of sharecropping there. I might even have a teacher, a 77 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,640 tutor for the children who lives in the household. 78 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,280 And so this was called an oikamina, which is the Greek 79 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:12,640 word for economy. And so if you were in an in an 80 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,520 economy, you were part of a, a household. 81 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,360 And so in their mind, little bells would be going off like, 82 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:26,480 OK, so the rich man is dealing with his manager who lives in 83 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:31,080 the house and lives in the property and is part of the 84 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,880 family, part of the whole system. 85 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,440 You cannot be my manager any longer. 86 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,800 This is when your pulse picks up. 87 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,280 You're like, I'm not going to lose just my job. 88 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:50,200 I'm going to lose my household. I'm going to lose my family 89 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:54,200 here. What am I going to do next? 90 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,800 Slide. So the manager said to himself, 91 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:02,920 What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. 92 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:09,360 I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg. 93 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:16,000 I know what I'll do so that when I lose my job here, people will 94 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:23,280 welcome me into their houses, into their economy, into their 95 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:31,720 orcas, into their orcamina. So he called in each one of the 96 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:37,000 master's debtors, and he asked the first, how much do you owe 97 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:42,640 my master? 900 gallons of olive oil, he 98 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,800 replied. The manager told him, take your 99 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,240 bill, sit down quickly and make it 450. 100 00:07:53,240 --> 00:08:00,600 Then he asked the second, how much do you owe 1000 bushels of 101 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:01,760 wheat? He replied. 102 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,640 He told him, take your bill and make it 800. 103 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:14,600 The master commended the dishonest manager because he 104 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,360 acted shrewdly. Yo, this is Jesus talking. 105 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:24,040 This is Jesus's parable. This is Jesus's story. 106 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:31,120 The Lord commended the dishonest manager because he acted 107 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,360 shrewdly. Tell your neighbor he acted 108 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,520 shrewdly. Shrewdly. 109 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:42,400 And here's how Jesus explains it. 110 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,640 For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with 111 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:51,320 their own kind than are the people of the light. 112 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:58,320 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, 113 00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:04,360 so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal 114 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:10,680 dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very 115 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:16,680 little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest 116 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:21,800 with very little will also be dishonest with much. 117 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:27,280 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly 118 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,960 wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 119 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,720 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's 120 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:41,480 property, who will give you property of your own? 121 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:49,200 No one can serve 2 masters. Either you will hate the one and 122 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:54,520 love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise 123 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,640 the other. You cannot serve both God and 124 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,240 money. The Pharisees who loved money 125 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:07,280 heard all of this and were sneering at Jesus. 126 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:14,120 He said to them, You are the ones who justify yourselves in 127 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:20,000 the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. 128 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:28,680 What people value is highly is detestable in God's sight. 129 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:35,920 Wow, what a parable, right? What a story. 130 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:42,720 How are we to unpack this and see that the Lord commended the 131 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:50,160 dishonest manager for his shrewdness? 132 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:56,480 You might remember that our first sermon in this series. 133 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:02,880 Go ahead, Pop, for it tried to get us to recognize that there 134 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,440 are two systems operating in the world. 135 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,960 There's the system of Babylon, and then there's the system of 136 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:16,720 the Kingdom of God in Babylon, which was identified with Rome. 137 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:22,200 God identifies a power system that's always looking to 138 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:28,520 dominate people. So Jesus is just finding another 139 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:34,200 way to identify the two systems at work in the world as he sees 140 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:39,600 it, that there's the system of the people of this world and 141 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,800 there's the system of the people of the light. 142 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:49,120 He says, look, the people of this world are more shrewd in 143 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,600 dealing with their own kind than the people of the light. 144 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,000 There's Jesus throwing some shade on the people of the 145 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:01,240 light. You've got a problem. 146 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,480 You're not shrewd enough, you're not thoughtful enough, you're 147 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,800 not calculating enough in regard to the riches that I've 148 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,480 entrusted to you. There's two kinds of people in 149 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:16,840 the world. There's two systems in the 150 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,360 world. He goes on to talk about the 151 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,240 people of this world, and he says in the story that there's a 152 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:28,240 rich man who's a master. There's the manager who's 153 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:34,160 managing the rich man's wealth, and then there are debtors. 154 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,280 The debtors have a relationship with the master, but it's sort 155 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,240 of mitigated by their relationship with the manager. 156 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:50,680 Notice how the manager drew them in to the ways of that Kingdom, 157 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,280 the transactional ways of that Kingdom. 158 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,680 When he presents them with the issue of their debt to the 159 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:10,540 master, what did he do? What did he do in the story? 160 00:13:12,220 --> 00:13:14,220 The lawyers here know what they did. 161 00:13:14,380 --> 00:13:19,880 Where's there's one, you know, the, the, the, the manager 162 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:24,080 didn't act alone. The manager said here's the 163 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,560 record of your bill, of your debt. 164 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:37,320 You take it, you cross out what you owed, you write down the new 165 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:42,240 figure. Wow. 166 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:50,720 He compromised them right away. He made them participants in the 167 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:55,920 ruse. Now the whole audience who heard 168 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,240 that? The rich man, a certain rich 169 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,440 man. You know, we desperately want 170 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:06,440 rich people to be good people because most of us here want to 171 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,640 be rich. Anybody want to be rich? 172 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:15,440 Do you also want to be good? You're like, can the 2GO 173 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,840 together? And you're like, I hope so, I 174 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:20,760 hope so. I hope so, I hope so. 175 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:27,280 But in their eyes, this little phrase that Jesus used in this 176 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:32,120 story, a certain rich man, automatically they're like, Oh 177 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:36,200 yeah, we know that kind. We know their kind. 178 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,800 You know, Jesus had told another story of a rich man who walked 179 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:44,600 past a beggar named Lazarus. And he walked past him every 180 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,800 day, and he ignored the needs of the beggar Lazarus and the 181 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:54,440 beggar died and went to be in the bosom of Abraham. 182 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,560 He went to be in the the good place of the dead. 183 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,080 No torment, just a resting place. 184 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:08,160 But then the rich man died and he went into torment in the 185 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:15,280 place of the dead, getting what they deserved, so to speak. 186 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:28,960 So they had it in mind that that the rich generally got there by 187 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:36,000 creating immense debt in the lives of others, really riding 188 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,320 them for everything they could squeeze out of them. 189 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:51,200 To squeeze 900 barrels of olive oil, that's a lot. 190 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:57,040 Do you know how many olives it takes to squeeze out olive oil 191 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,600 in just a little bottle? It's a lot. 192 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:05,800 It's a lot of work. And so this rich man was putting 193 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:11,840 the squeeze on the debtors. But the manager was shrewd. 194 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:15,520 He invited them in. He knew he was about to get the 195 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,520 boot and kicked out of the rich man's house. 196 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:28,400 So what was his plan? I'll in debt myself with some 197 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:34,440 others and maybe they'll welcome me into their homes. 198 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:40,600 This is the game that's being played by the people of this 199 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:46,120 world, and Jesus didn't judge that. 200 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,000 Right here in this moment, he's actually highlighting this 201 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:56,320 unlikely character, the manager, and said he's being shrewd. 202 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:01,880 He wanted to make sure he still had a place in this world to 203 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,359 call home. Jesus doesn't seem to be judging 204 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:11,000 him for that, but he is judging the people of the light because 205 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:16,119 they're not shrewd enough. This is how we make sense of 206 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:22,200 this parable, is that God is the master of all things. 207 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,920 We've been singing about it in our worship that God is above 208 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:31,120 all, Jesus is above all, that Jesus reigns above all, that he 209 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:36,520 owns it all, and that our relationship to Jesus now is to 210 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:41,280 be a steward, a manager of all that God gives to us because 211 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:43,560 we've been brought into the Kingdom of light. 212 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:48,840 His light has shown in our hearts and we've been changed. 213 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,000 We've been transformed. We've been moved from the 214 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,600 Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light. 215 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:01,400 So we're now people of light, not just people of this world, 216 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:08,160 we're people of light. And so then our relationship to 217 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:13,960 others isn't to make them debtors, but it's to turn them 218 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:21,280 into friends. This is the new relationship of 219 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:26,080 people of light in the Kingdom of Jesus in regard to others. 220 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:33,360 It's to treat them as friends. And what would you do with a 221 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:37,240 friend? Would you try to squeeze them 222 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,600 for everything you could get out of them? 223 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:46,720 Is it just transactional or is it transformational? 224 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:52,480 This is a transformational relationship, and the people of 225 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,680 light are to be the kind of people who transform 226 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:04,840 relationships everywhere so that they can become part of our 227 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:11,320 Oykas, part of Jesus Oykamina, so that they could become part 228 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:16,960 of a new economy. And when we die and we are 229 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:22,920 welcomed into an eternal home, there's friends to greet us. 230 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:28,640 They're like, hey, look, there's a quo. 231 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:36,960 Wow, it's so good to see her. And they welcome you into an 232 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,000 eternal party. It's so different. 233 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:44,600 Like, look, look at this. I mean, does this get you 234 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:46,920 excited? It gets me really excited that 235 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,840 this, this parable that seems so strange is something you can 236 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:57,040 move forward, something that Jesus is using to transform our 237 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:01,240 relationship with the stuff of earth, to transform our 238 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:05,240 relationship with money. Look, let's read it together. 239 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:10,520 What does he say? I tell you, use worldly wealth 240 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:16,640 to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it's gone you will 241 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,440 be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 242 00:20:26,210 --> 00:20:30,450 Years ago there was a little line about people of the light, 243 00:20:30,490 --> 00:20:35,880 Christians preparing for retirement and beyond 244 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,920 retirement. And the idea is that on the day 245 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,000 you die, you bounce your last check. 246 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:46,920 Now, some of you don't even know what a writing a check is, so it 247 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:52,120 doesn't mean anything. But on the day you die that you 248 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:57,960 draw your account down to 0 because you've expended it, 249 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:01,560 you've used it in the life and work of the Kingdom of God. 250 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,480 And Jesus says, look, when it's gone, when all the money's gone, 251 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:11,600 he's actually, when does Jesus know that that that this little 252 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,840 trade tool called money is going to be gone? 253 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,520 It's when the Kingdom of God is fully realized. 254 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,920 It's like there's going to be a day when the Kingdom of God for 255 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:27,520 you is fully realized and money is not going to matter. 256 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:33,800 Money will not matter in the new creation than Q Kingdom and 257 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:37,160 frankly, some of us are going to enter into that sooner than 258 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:43,440 others when we die because I don't care that if when I die 259 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:49,880 somebody throws in a lot of cash, it's not very helpful to 260 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,400 me. My debt in life has been settled 261 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,560 with Jesus, and Jesus has always got me. 262 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:04,080 And so I don't need anyone to burn money for me for life in 263 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:07,120 the next Kingdom because Jesus has got me covered. 264 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:14,560 Jesus is enough. But in the meantime, Jesus is 265 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:20,760 commending the dishonest manager because of his shrewdness, and 266 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:24,600 he's commending it to us in such a way that if we say I've got 267 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:29,200 wealth, I want to manage my wealth, steward the wealth that 268 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,880 Jesus has entrusted me so that I win friends for the Kingdom of 269 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,680 heaven. I want to help people get to 270 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,320 know Jesus. I want to help people have the 271 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:46,480 quality of life and situation of life that they can open their 272 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:54,320 hearts and meet God. I want to be the kind of manager 273 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:58,680 who leverages wealth so that other people get to meet Jesus. 274 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:05,440 I want to make sure that there are people who receive the word 275 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,760 of God. And so there are all kinds of 276 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,680 Christians with immense wealth who are actually leveraging 277 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,520 their wealth these days to see that the last 3000 languages 278 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:24,280 that don't have the Bible in their language, they get it in 279 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:29,960 the next 5 years. AI is speeding the translation 280 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:37,560 process and there's people dedicating themselves to that so 281 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:42,440 that the word of God is there and that there can be new 282 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:49,680 friends in the Kingdom of God. So are you that kind of manager? 283 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:55,040 Are you the kind of manager who says I want to manage, steward 284 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:59,560 this wealth that God has given to me so that others meet Jesus? 285 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:04,520 Some of you live in $1,000,000 homes and they're not yours. 286 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:10,760 You're a renter, but you are so blessed to have a great space. 287 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:16,960 Do you manage your space so that people can become friends and 288 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:24,240 meet Jesus? Leverage worldly wealth for an 289 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:29,000 eternal welcome party? That sounds great. 290 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,320 Second thing that Jesus presses into us is that trust and 291 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:39,280 faithfulness are meant to shine in the character of Jesus, 292 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:43,120 people of light. He talks a lot here about 293 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:49,440 faithfulness and entrusting as a being trustworthy as part of the 294 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:54,520 character of a person. So let's read what he says. 295 00:24:54,920 --> 00:25:01,560 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with 296 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,640 much. How many of you feel like all 297 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:11,680 you have today is just a little? Some of you must be really 298 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,000 wealthy. You have a little bit of money. 299 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:21,640 You have a little bit of wealth. You're in a great spot because 300 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:29,000 the one who shows herself to be trustworthy with a little will 301 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:36,680 be given more. The trustworthy steward will be 302 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:41,640 given more, not just more earthly treasures, but also 303 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,400 heavenly treasures. Notice what Jesus says. 304 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:52,800 He identifies here that there are three aspects of character 305 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,240 development. There's the small things, 306 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,200 there's the true riches and there are the tests. 307 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:02,960 We don't like tests. Do you like tests? 308 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,040 Some of you love to have a test 'cause you're like, I'm going to 309 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:11,040 show how faithful I have been with all the small details in my 310 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:17,640 economy class or my anatomy class or my chemistry class and 311 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,000 you're like, or your coding class, You're so excited. 312 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,400 I'm some of us dread those things. 313 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,600 We dread the test because we haven't been faithful with all 314 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:32,200 the small details. But Jesus says character 315 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:36,160 development comes by being trustworthy in the small things. 316 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:45,000 Mother Teresa said it this way. She said do small acts that 317 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:52,760 become great acts of love, love in the smallest way. 318 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:59,000 And it's a great thing. Jesus says whoever can be 319 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,520 trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. 320 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,520 And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be 321 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:13,320 dishonest with much. Ask your neighbor, can I trust 322 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:20,000 you with a little? What kind of steward are you? 323 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:25,520 What kind of manager are you? Can you be trusted with small 324 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,280 things? Do you despise these days of 325 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,880 small things? Or do you say this is the ground 326 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:37,760 from which I grow? I grow by being entrusted with a 327 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,800 small thing. It's the truth. 328 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,200 This is the way of Jesus. It's the way of great parenting. 329 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,080 It's the Gray of way of great managing. 330 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:52,320 Even if you're running a company you entrust with small things, 331 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:57,760 you entrust more to those who have proven themselves Jesus put 332 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,440 it this way. If you've not been trustworthy 333 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,280 and handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 334 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,400 And here's the overlap in the Venn diagram Gram between the 335 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:15,720 the Kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of light is that we're 336 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,800 all operating with the stuff of earth. 337 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,480 But Jesus wants to entrust true riches to you. 338 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:27,120 So how are you doing with not just the true riches that God 339 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,080 has given you, but also the small stuff? 340 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:36,040 The small things, It's building the character from which God 341 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:41,800 will shine as if you can be trusted with small things. 342 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,920 He's like, I'll see that. I see that small act that no one 343 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,480 else sees. Jesus saw the widow who went 344 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:55,720 into the temple and gave 2 pennies and he says, I tell you 345 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,280 she has given more than everybody else. 346 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:03,280 And the disciples were like, wow, Jesus's economy is a messed 347 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,360 up place. What? 348 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,640 How can that be? He said she has given 349 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:13,880 everything. She's given it all, She's laid 350 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:17,120 it all out here. She's trusting God with 351 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,240 everything. And so that's the the reverse 352 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,760 engineering of when God entrusts stuff to us, we give it back to 353 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,400 it. I'm trusting all of this to you, 354 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,160 Lord. It's yours. 355 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,680 I know it. I'm just a manager. 356 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,600 And that's the test. If you've not been trustworthy 357 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:38,680 with someone else's property, who will give you property of 358 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:45,680 your own, God wants to entrust you. 359 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:49,240 Jesus wants to entrust his disciples with more. 360 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,200 Remember we talked about that last week More. 361 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:57,560 He wants to. This is a really challenging 362 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,440 process for us because we get drawn into a different kind of 363 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,520 game. We get drawn into the Game of 364 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:12,200 Thrones, and Jesus knows it. In the Game of Thrones, we seek 365 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:16,200 to justify ourselves in the eyes of people instead of living the 366 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:21,640 justified life in front of God. There's immense competition in 367 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:26,040 the Game of Thrones of who's going to be the boss, who's 368 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,960 going to have more, who's going to dominate others, who's going 369 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,400 to rule this segment of the economy. 370 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:36,200 And that game is actually a game for losers. 371 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,960 Jesus paints it so differently, but he's confronted here with 372 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:45,360 the Pharisees, who everyone knew. 373 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,960 They also loved money. They were hoping desperately 374 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:54,040 that being rich and being godly had to go together. 375 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,760 They wanted it. And so they sneered at Jesus. 376 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,080 And he said to them, you are the ones who justify yourselves in 377 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,520 the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. 378 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:13,000 What people value highly is detestable in God's sight. 379 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:17,240 He's like, what you're valuing highly in front of the eyes of 380 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:19,320 people isn't going to survive the test. 381 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:24,160 It's not going to survive the fire of judgement. 382 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:29,560 It's just going to become dust. It's just going to become vapor. 383 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:33,120 And so the question is, are you committing your life to just 384 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,840 things that are vapor or to that which will last for eternity? 385 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:49,880 Be a steward of God's grace in your lives in all its various 386 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:54,680 forms. When I'm a steward of Jesus, 387 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,600 this is what Jesus knows to be true in our lives. 388 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:03,720 We know an God knows that he's the owner. 389 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:09,800 Psalm 24 says the earth is the Lord and everything in it and 390 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:14,640 all who live in it. So God is the owner. 391 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,360 I am the steward. Paul expressed this in 392 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,120 Colossians. He says whatever you do, work at 393 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,160 it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for 394 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:28,040 human masters, since you know that you will receive an 395 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,120 inheritance from the Lord as a reward. 396 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:33,800 It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 397 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,520 So I am a steward. I know this. 398 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:43,240 It's my identity. I am a steward. 399 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:52,440 And then finally, faithfulness always matters, faithfulness to 400 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,280 Jesus. This is where we feel the 401 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:59,240 conflict of values at times and we feel like we we've not been 402 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,280 rescued from having to make a decision. 403 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:03,800 We have to make decisions. And there feels like there's 404 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,000 trade-offs in it. But I'm always seeking to be 405 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:11,680 faithful to Jesus in whatever He has entrusted to me. 406 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:17,920 Now it is required of those who have been given a trust, they 407 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:22,360 must prove faithful. I care very little if I'm judged 408 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,160 by you or judged by any human court. 409 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,920 Indeed, I do not even judge myself. 410 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,880 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. 411 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:39,400 It is the Lord who judges me. I think a lot of us have a fear 412 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,000 of being judged on the front end of saying something. 413 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,040 We might say, I'm going to tell you something, but don't judge 414 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,080 me. Don't judge me. 415 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:50,120 And we're like, oh, I've said something. 416 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:53,520 I see those judgy eyes, that side eye, you know, going. 417 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:59,200 We have a fear of being judged. But the steward who's operating 418 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:03,840 for Jesus knows that the world system is going to judge them, 419 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:07,600 but they have to settle in their hearts. 420 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:09,320 And you have to settle in your heart. 421 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:12,480 Who are you living for? God is the owner. 422 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:15,360 I am the steward, and my faithfulness to Him matters 423 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,440 more. It matters more. 424 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:24,320 This is where the peace and purpose of Jesus is really 425 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:27,679 found. Because Jesus is the justifier. 426 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:33,199 Not the crowd of people, not the clients that you might serve, 427 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:38,320 not the owners that you might have to relate to in your work. 428 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:46,280 Jesus is the justifier through and through, Paul says. 429 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:51,639 Look, I know I'm not innocent. I know I've got mixed motives, 430 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:59,400 but I'm really seeking to be faithful to Jesus in my work and 431 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:05,880 in my life and in ministry. And so if you will be faithful 432 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:12,280 these days in establishing this identity in your life, God is 433 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:18,360 going to elevate you. Sometimes it may feel like I'm, 434 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:24,120 I'm really taking something low for myself in serving others, in 435 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:27,760 being their servant. But God sees you and he's 436 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:31,640 elevating you. I listened to an interview of 437 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:36,320 someone who's managing a company that now has made billions. 438 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:40,400 And he was asked, how did you become so great and the CEO of 439 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:44,200 this company you've worked there for all of your working life now 440 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:48,480 for 40 years. And he said every day I would go 441 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:50,760 to the boss at the end of the day and say, I've done all my 442 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:52,160 work. Is there anything else you'd 443 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,880 like done today? And he said he started to think 444 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:57,920 I was actually essential to the place. 445 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:02,840 He says, I, I don't know how it happened except that I was just 446 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:08,200 serving and just doing whatever God gave me to put my hands to. 447 00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:16,960 David Greene owns a company that now makes $8 billion a year. 448 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:24,160 I can't wrap my mind around it. It's so much money. 449 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,120 He's 84 years old. He helped found the company. 450 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,840 He says I don't need a paycheck anymore so I don't take one. 451 00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:39,760 They have 42,000 employees and he's still going to work and 452 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:45,560 he's not getting paid. It's called Hobby Lobby, it has 453 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:50,280 over 1000 sites in the United States. 454 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:56,520 And all along the way it's been their intention and journey to 455 00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:04,200 actually give themselves to Jesus and to be faithful. 456 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,280 And early in the life of their company, they established they 457 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:11,760 would give half of their profits to the Lord's work. 458 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:16,800 And for whatever reason, God has continued to bless them. 459 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,240 And he says, look, we're not building a life for vapor, we're 460 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:28,040 building a life for eternity. What kind of steward are you 461 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:31,880 going to be? What kind of steward are you 462 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:35,160 today? These are the days in which God 463 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:42,080 will form your character for a lifetime of service to him, a 464 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,960 lifetime of building new friends. 465 00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:49,960 And if it wasn't for the justification with Jesus, 466 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:54,080 there'd be no peace in this. It would just be an activist 467 00:37:54,080 --> 00:38:02,480 kind of purpose, but with Jesus, this becomes the kind of purpose 468 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:07,800 that can reshape your whole life and transform relationships 469 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:12,720 everywhere. But you have to give yourself to 470 00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:15,120 him. You have to surrender yourself 471 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:18,160 to him and say I'll be your steward. 472 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,280 You are the master, I am a steward. 473 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:24,920 Let's stand together. I'm going to invite our worship 474 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:28,120 team to come on up and we're going to celebrate our Lord's 475 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:33,400 Supper because Jesus gave himself fully to make a welcome 476 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:37,200 party in heaven to create friends. 477 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:42,320 Jesus gave himself to create friends in heaven. 478 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:46,800 Are you a heavenly friend? Raise your hand, heavenly 479 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,720 friends. Jesus gave himself. 480 00:38:49,720 --> 00:38:55,320 It says he became poor that you might become rich, that you 481 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:59,720 might enjoy all the riches of relationship, peace and purpose 482 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,080 with Him. He gave his body, which we 483 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:07,440 remember with the bread He poured out his life, His blood, 484 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,640 which we remember with the juice and the cup. 485 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:17,520 Until as we serve one another in this moment, let's recall that 486 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:23,080 Jesus gave himself to make us friends and stewards. 487 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:30,920 It becomes a dual role that we are friends and we are stewards 488 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,640 to each other and his Kingdom of light.