UNUSUAL LESSONS

10-20-24

Unusual Lessons

Luke 16:1–13 (ESV)

¹He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ²And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. ⁹And 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. ¹⁰“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. ¹¹If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹²And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ¹³No 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.”

Taking time to ponder the parable…

• The parable itself
  • A call to
    • what you have been given charge over

Matthew 25:26–30 (ESV)
²⁶But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 16:24–27 (ESV)
²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

• • An understanding of what lies ahead
    • Your situation

Ecclesiastes 9:2 (ESV)
²It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.

• • • The ultimate result of that change will depend on before the judgement

Revelation 20:12 (ESV)
¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

• • A shrewd ‘wise’ response
    • Use what you have to secure your future

Matthew 6:19–21 (ESV)
¹⁹“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (ESV)
⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. ¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! ¹¹Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? ¹²And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

• • Diligently pursuing values
    • Begin
    • Be
    • Be

Proverbs 10:1–5 (ESV)
¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. ²Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. ³The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. ⁴A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. ⁵He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

• • There is wisdom to be learned from the sons of this world
    • Not in their morality but in their zealousness

Proverbs 8:17–21 (ESV)
¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. ¹⁸Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. ¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. ²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, ²¹granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

• Jesus’ commentary
  • Unrighteous wealth – The of this world
  • True riches – treasures in
    What use did you make of the fading things of this world?
    • Like the manager you won’t have these things forever…

Luke 12:48 (ESV)
⁴⁸But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

• • • The manager is not being praised for wasting possessions, or for being dishonest. The manager is praised for being

Proverbs 3:13–18 (ESV)
¹³Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, ¹⁴for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. ¹⁵She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. ¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. ¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

• • • The manager cared for things that were not his, just like the things of this earth . You won’t be taking them with you.
    • Does our management point towards a value for eternity or a value for ?
    • Do we value true riches or unrighteous wealth.

1 Timothy 6:17–19 (ESV)
¹⁷As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

• • You cannot serve two masters
• A reflection
  • If someone were to be able to observe you for a week…
    • See all of your actions
    • Hear all of your conversations
    • Hear all the inner monologue of your mind
  • Would their conclusion be that you are someone who is diligently seeking eternal things or earthly things?