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  THE UNJUST STEWARD
  by Duane Troyer
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Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of being faithful to
God's promises, reflecting on the changing seasons as a reminder of
God's faithfulness. It delves into the parable of the unrighteous
steward, highlighting the need to be wise and shrewd in our stewardship.
The sermon challenges listeners to consider their investments, urging
them to store up treasures in heaven through giving to the poor with a
heart of love and selflessness.

Topics: "Faithfulness to God's Promises", "Wise Stewardship"
Scripture References: Luke 16:1, Matthew 6:19, Ecclesiastes 5:13, Isaiah 3:14, 1 Timothy 6:6, James 5:1

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon emphasizes the importance of being faithful to God's
promises, reflecting on the changing seasons as a reminder of God's
faithfulness. It delves into the parable of the unrighteous steward,
highlighting the need to be wise and shrewd in our stewardship. The
sermon challenges listeners to consider their investments, urging them
to store up treasures in heaven through giving to the poor with a heart
of love and selflessness.

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CONTENT
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Greetings in Jesus name. It's good to be here. Good to be here with you
all for the beauty of God, for the beauty of the church, like we sang,
for the beauty of the earth.

There's something, something about the weather conditions the last
couple days that really make it feel like winter might just be over.
Makes me think of what, what Solomon wrote in the Song of Solomon. For
lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flower appears on
the earth, the time of singing of birds has come, and the voice of the
turtledove is heard in the land.

The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vine with tender grapes
gives a good smell. A lovely time of the year and I just think how, how
faithful God is to his promises. It was thousands of years ago when God
said that as long as the year stands, there will be no end to summer,
winter, frost, heat, day, and night.

And somebody could maybe do a rough calculation how many days that's
been, but think about how he's, how he hasn't forgotten that promise. He
hasn't, he hasn't, he hasn't changed on it. He hasn't gone back on it.

He hasn't decided it's too, too dry, too boring, too worthless. And
though he, as Walter and I were talking about yesterday, he, he put a
lot of diversity in his creation, but it's also with a great deal of
order. And though sometimes, or not sometimes, but we never maybe know
how the weather's gonna be, we always know that spring will come after
winter, and summer will come after spring, and fall will come after
summer, and night will follow day, and day will follow night.

God is faithful. Let's pray. Oh God in heaven, we thank you for your
great faithfulness and your love to us.

And may we just learn from you to, to be faithful to our, to our
commitment to to follow you, and as you've been to the promises you've
made in, in seasons, and days, and nights. And help us, Lord, to learn
from you. And we thank you for this pleasant weather.

We thank you for the, the goodness of your love, and salvation, and
mercies. And we pray that you would help us now, as we look into your
word, and that you would teach us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

I'm gonna read first out of Luke chapter 16. I'd just like to share some
things today that I don't, I don't think are new to any of us. But if,
unless you're, unless you're really unlike me, you need to be reminded
of these things like I do.

It's one of those subjects where it's, it's pricking. It's, if we just,
if we just let the Bible speak for itself, it's, it's pricking to our
hearts. Chapter 16 in Luke, this is, this is this parable.

It often is titled the unrighteous steward, or the unjust steward. And,
and there are a few parables that leave people scratching their heads as
much as this one. And just thinking like, what, what is this thing? It,
it seems like God is commending or complimenting something that we would
all think is wrong.

But let's go ahead and read it. I just, in the not so, or in the fairly
recent future, I, a brother requested that he would sometime like to
hear a message on this parable. And, and about the same time, somebody
else, another brother, not from here, asked a lot of questions about, or
asked some questions about this parable.

And we're going to use this one to start off. Now, he was also saying to
the disciples, there was a rich man who had a manager and the manager
was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him
and said to him, what is this? I hear about you.

Give an account of your management for you can no longer be manager. The
manager said to himself, what shall I do? Since my master is taking the
management away from me, I'm not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to
beg.

I know what I shall do. So that when I am removed from the management,
people will welcome me into their homes. And he summoned each one of his
master's debtors.

And he began to say to the first, how much do you owe my master? And he
said, a hundred measures of oil. And he said to him, take your bill and
sit down quickly and write 50. Then he said to another, and how much do
you owe? And he said, a hundred measures of wheat.

And he said to him, take your bill and write 80. And his master praised
the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly for the sons of
this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of
light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the
wealth of unrighteousness so that when it fails, they will receive you
into eternal dwellings.

Okay. So, uh, it appears like this man, uh, stole from his master's
possessions in a sense like he, he, uh, it appears that way, but, but,
but I'd like to give you some things to think about. First of all, he
was found as an unrighteous steward before he ever did this thing.

So, so whatever it was that he was doing before, uh, is, is what he was
counted unrighteous on. Um, he was squandering his master's goods.
Secondly, I believe that this, this, this, uh, manager or steward, he
had been given authority over these possessions.

He really had the right to do with them what he wanted. It's, uh, I
believe it's something like a master who has a great estate and he's
probably has a whole bunch of servants and, and one of his servants has
been given the authority and responsibility to manage the, the, uh, the,
uh, accounts receivable and, and payable and, and just manage the
financial accounts and also been given the authority to probably make
some of these decisions. And, uh, and now he gets the word, he gets the
notice that he's about to lose his job.

I, I, uh, he, and, and, and he also realized that I'm going to lose my
job. He was either unable or unwilling to dig, which was probably a job
anybody could get if they were physically able to do it. Maybe he had a
handicap.

Maybe he was, maybe he was old, maybe he was feeble, maybe, but maybe he
was just weak from not working hard physically. Um, and he was also
ashamed to beg. Uh, he probably didn't have any friends because seems
like he had been living selfishly.

Seems like he had been, whatever means he was squandering his master's
goods. He was, he was probably using them for himself and that usually
doesn't make very good friends. Um, and so, uh, and so, so he would lose
his job with having the reputation of being an unfaithful and unjust
steward and it would be real hard for him to get another good job.

And so he, he came up with a clever idea. He, uh, he, as we'd read, he,
he, he, he got some of the people that owed his master, uh, was it, uh,
a hundred measures of wheat and he said, just, just take your bill that
says you owe a hundred measures of wheat and write down that you just
owe 80. So this man walks away with less debt than he had just, just,
just because this man gave it to him.

Um, the other one, a hundred measures of oil he owed. And, and this,
this steward says, just, just write 50. You only owe 50 anymore.

These guys were relieved of a, of a, of a debt, of a burden. And of
course they love this man who, who relieved them of some of this debt.
Um, and, and, and it would not be, uh, too likely that if, if this, if
this same man that had relieved this debt came about looking for a job,
uh, that these men wouldn't think well of him and think, well, this,
this guy's been a friend to me.

I'll, I'll take him in. If I can give him work, I'll give him work. Uh,
and, and he could have himself another job or another position or
another habitation at least.

It says that the master praised this steward for what he had done. Now,
whether, whether the master was pleased at, at the loss of his accounts
receivable, uh, or not, at least we know that he praised him in that he
was shrewd. He praised him for his brainy idea.

I would never advise a Christian or anybody for that matter to do this.
Like if, if one of you were, were the steward for somebody taking,
taking care of the accounts and, and, and you'd be in this situation
and, and you came to me and said, can you give me some advice? Uh, I'm
losing my job because I've, I've squandered my master's goods, but I
would never give you this advice. I would, I would advise you, look, it
was wrong for you to do that.

You need to, you need to apologize if you can keep your position and,
and, and build up whatever trust back up good. But if not, you reap the
consequences. And I would recommend if you're at all able, just go dig.

And, uh, and, and if you actually are handicapped and needy and are a
brother, we'll, we'll take you in. We'll, uh, we'll make sure you don't
go hungry or homeless or naked. Uh, that would be my advice.

But remember what, what it says here, these were the children of
darkness. These were the children of this world. Jesus is simply using
this illustration is like, look, these people who are of the world can,
can think this through and come to this conclusion that, that I can do
this.

Uh, and, and, and, uh, um, this man, um, he, this, this Stewart, he did
it to be saved. In other words, he did it to be saved from the, the
physical burden of digging the mental shame of begging. He did it to
save himself, right? It was a, it was somewhat of a selfish motive that
he did this for.

And yet he accomplished, I believe he ended up accomplishing what he,
what he wanted to. He did it to his own preservation. He did it without
his master's instruction and he did it at his master's expense.

But how, what are the, let's look at some similarities to, to how we are
like this Stewart. We've been entrusted with property that belongs to
someone else. We will give an account for our stewardship, just like he,
we have been a given a notice that our position is coming to an end,
just like he, our decisions will impact the life after we lose this
position, just like his.

And it is in giving away that we secure a habitation, not in keeping it
for ourselves. Unlike the story, our master has instructed us to do
this. This servant came up with the idea on his own.

We have a master that has even instructed us to do this thing. The very
thing that the worldly man who Jesus says he's wiser in his generation,
because he shrewdly figured this out, a lot of us have been instructed
to do it and we still can't find it within us to, to pour our hearts
into that. It's not hard to see throughout the Bible that God has pity
on the poor.

We see this through the Old and the New Testament. Now, every seventh
year, the land was to be unplowed so that the poor men could go and get
some food out of it unharvested. I mean, if it's supposed to be
unharvested, so the poor could do something with it.

When they reaped, they were not supposed to reap all the way to the
edges so that the poor can go out and get some of that food. If they
were, if they were bringing in sheaves and they overlooked some sheaves,
they were not supposed to turn around to go get them. They were supposed
to leave them there for the poor and the fatherless to go, to go have
some of that.

It says the poor will never cease out of the land. So open, open your
hand wide to help them. This is, this is old, Old Testament stuff.

In Psalms, it says the poor man cries and the Lord hears him. In
Proverbs, it says, he that opposes the poor reproaches his maker. It
says, whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry
himself, but shall not be heard.

We see those kinds of thoughts scattered all through the Bible, but
there's another thought that we see here and there. And it's, it's not a
very popular kind of thinking, but that, but that God will actually,
like you might say, appeal to the poor in order to judge the rich. Like
he will, there's no doubt in my mind that judgment will be done by
Christ, by what all he knows.

And that I don't think the poor are going to be the ones making the
judgment. And yet, and yet you get this picture, you get this picture,
even in this account that we read, where he says in verse nine, and I
say to you, make friends for yourself by means of the wealth of
unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into
eternal habitations. Into the eternal dwellings.

In Isaiah, it says, the Lord stands up to plead and stand up to judge
the people. The Lord will enter the judgment with the elders of his
people and his princes, for you set fire to the vineyards and the
plunder of the poor is in your house. We see this idea presented in the
Matthew 25 account where all the people are gathered before God on
judgment day and he says to some, I was hungry and you fed me not.

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was naked and you did not
clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.

Um, maybe a few others there, but, but, but then he says, in as much as
you have not done it to the least of these, my brethren, you have not
done it to me. It, it seems like based on that is what, what, what
Christ is, is, is dividing these sheep from, uh, and putting, putting
some on the right and some on the left. This, this thought also comes
through in James chapter five, maybe, maybe more than any of these
others.

I think it's a powerful passage. It says, come now, you rich weep and
howl for your miseries, which are coming upon you. Your riches have
rotted and your garments have become moth eaten.

Your gold and your silver has rusted and the rust will be a witness
against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last
days that you have stored up your treasure. Behold, the pay of the
laborers who mowed your fields and which have been withheld, which has
been withheld by you, cries out against you.

And the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of
the Lord of Sabbath. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a
life of wanton pleasure. You have fattened your hearts in the day of
slaughter as in a day of slaughter.

Here we, here, here he gives this idea of like, a rich man with, with a
great estate, living sumptuously and, and the servants who plowed his
fields and brought in his harvest so that he could live this way are,
are walking away without pay. Like that's kind of the picture you get
here. And and he's, he's condemning this.

He's saying, you go weep and howl for your miseries. And I have often
thought about this, this passage in, in light of the fact that God looks
over the whole earth and he sees the rich and the poor and he hears the
cries of the poor and he sees the life of the rich. And I, I know like
in our day and age things have gotten global.

Like we, we probably every day we, we deal with either goods or food or
something that comes from some other country across, way across the
nation. Like people that we can't really connect with, right? Like we
can't, we can't touch them. We can't, we can't thank them.

We can't, it's, it's kind of weird. And I, I don't, I don't think, I
don't think there's really anything we can do about that. I mean, it's,
it's the way the world operates.

It's the way it's, it's somewhat what technology has, has done. Like
it's just made this, it's shrank the globe, if you might say, to where
we can, we can send a message across the world in no time. We can, we
can get information from across the world in no time.

And, and, and, and material goods get transported all over the world. It
is what it is, but here's what I have as of late thought about more. We
cannot, we cannot really do anything about that.

I don't know that that is necessarily good. I kind of think it's
probably not, but we can't really do anything about the fact that it is
that way, but maybe it should make me stop and reconsider who's my
neighbor. If, if, if it is so that we can receive goods from anywhere
very conveniently, and we could also send things everywhere very
conveniently, why is it that those poor people who are, are, are like,
it's very accessible for us to help them, at least through funds, like
how are they not the poor people who God hears their cry and, and their,
their, the cry of their labor goes up and he hears it and he also
beholds the, the, I guess ease or, or, or let's say, let's say it this
way.

He also sees the rich man's goods rusting to the ground, his gold being
moth eaten and mold covered, and how is that not a witness against us,
if, if, if that's who we are. I understand the complications of figuring
out how and where and who to give. I understand, I understand how, how
there's checks in our heart about certain programs or, or certain
institutions questionable to give to, but, but, but let's just ask
ourselves this question, on which side do we want to err? Okay, like,
would I, would I rather err on the side of having, of having given alms
to causes that we, we weren't a hundred percent in agreement with or we
just didn't know maybe, or because of unwilling to do that, uh, the moth
and the rust and the mold and the thieves eat, eat up what, what we've
gathered on, on which side do we want to err? I know which side I want
to err on and I don't want to end up weeping and howling for my miseries
and God is not here.

Let's go to Matthew chapter six, verses 19 to 21. Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves
break in and steal, but store up for yourself treasures in heaven where
neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or
steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We
could try, we could try if we wanted to, to try to figure out fanciful
ways to what's treasure, what's, how do we lay up treasures on earth,
but you know, I think a simple little word search figures out that the
word treasure here just simply means wealth.

Laying up just simply means storing it. And so he's, he's, uh, I mean a
simple illustration, a simple interpretation would just be don't store
up wealth on earth, but store it up in heaven, store up wealth in
heaven. I think that's a fair and simple interpretation.

And then it would be fair to say, because where your wealth is, there's
your heart going to be. So not only are we commanded to not lay up
treasures or wealth here on earth, we are commanded to lay them up in
heaven. So if, if there's any question like still in your minds about
treasures, could it mean something else other than wealth? Uh, and if
so, how would we store it up in heaven? Look at what Jesus said in Luke
chapter 12, especially when he said in verse 33, but I'm going to start
in 31.

Just get a little context here. But he says, but seek his kingdom and
those things that seek his, but seek his kingdom. And those things will
be added to you.

Do not be afraid little flock for your father has chosen gladly to give
you the kingdom, sell your possessions and give to charity, give alms.
It says in, in, in King James, make yourselves money belts, which do not
wear out and unfailing treasure in heaven where no thief comes nor
neither where no thief comes near nor moth destroys for where your
treasure is there, your heart will be also. So he makes it pretty clear
that like, here's this, here's this very term treasures in heaven.

And then he says like, sell what you have and give alms. And that by, by
doing that, you're, you're providing a money bag that does not wear out
and, and storing up or laying up or, or investing treasures in heaven.
In short, it is, it is reading ourselves of what we don't need and
giving alms that we are storing or investing real wealth into a real
place called heaven.

So when we make earthly investments, we exchange either currency or
goods for something that, that to us is of more value. Uh, if, if it's
just, it's just how we would make a wise investment. We would take, we
would take a thousand dollars and exchange it for something that is
worth more to us than those thousand dollars.

Or if it's a barter, we would take, um, 10 chickens and, and, and trade
them on a goat because the goat is more value to us than the chickens or
now it's a little hard for us people to see that, that, uh, that when we
give alms, when we give, when we give to the poor, something that we'll
never see again here on earth, that, that we're exchanging for something
of more value. The only reason it's hard for us to see that is because
we're just not very heavenly minded. If we were, if we were minded of
heaven, if we had this, if, if, if we understood this concept, it would
make sense to us that, uh, that we're, we're like, like really making,
uh, uh, a valuable exchange here.

This is, this is a wise investment. Um, and, and it's secure, no
thieves, no rust, no rot, no moth. But if we do this without love,
without the right heart, as it says in first Corinthians 13, it's empty.

It's, it's just like a clinging symbol. If we give our poor, if we sell
all that we have and give to the poor and have not love, it's nothing.
But if we have love, there's a great return on the investment.

But here's, here's the catch. I think if we are doing it, God knows the
hearts, God, God sees all things. But, but it would be my perception
that if we are doing it in order to, to invest in eternals, in a, in a
secure eternal future, it's questionable whether we really love, whether
we're really rid of self and we love.

Like if that's the motive, if, if, if my motive is okay, so, so I, I
want to be received into eternal habitations. Uh, I, I want to figure
out how much I can invest in the, into that. How much can I give into
the poor that would secure me a habitation in heaven? I just don't know.

Like that, that seems pretty self self-centered, um, motivated by
selfish desires. But if, if we give expecting nothing in return, simply
because out of our heart flows a sympathy for those poor people, there's
probably more chances that, that we actually have a heart that is right
the way God wants it to be. Remember in Matthew 25, those, those people
that, that he said, um, I was hungry and you fed me.

I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was naked and you clothed me.
They said, when, when did we see you like this? Obviously they were not
focused in on, on, on calculating this thing.

They just had a heart and from their heart flowed this love and this
sympathy and this alms and this, this, this goodness to their fellow
man. God knows all things. I don't intend to, to judge a person's hearts
and motives for those kinds of things, but I want to check myself.

I think it's a good, good thing that we, we all ask ourselves those
questions. He says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also. This verse is not saying that make sure your heart is not set upon
your treasures or your wealth here on earth.

No, he's just simply saying, it doesn't say where your heart is, there
will be your wealth or anything else. Like it just simply says where
your wealth is, there your heart will be also. Of course, it is very
important that we consider where, where is our wealth? Where's our
investment? Um, not for selfish motives, but just, just consider like if
it's here on earth, that's where our heart is.

Cyprian said, how can they follow Christ who are held back by the chains
of wealth? They think they possess, but they are possessed instead. What
comes to your mind when you think about Sodom and the sin of Sodom? You
probably think, we probably think of homosexuality, all kinds of sexual
pervertedness. Ezekiel, in Ezekiel, God said this, he was talking to
Judah or Israel.

He said, behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,
fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters. Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Doesn't mention any of that other stuff we think is so gross.

Usually long before those kinds of sins come, long before a church is
trying to figure out what kind of stand they should take on
homosexuality or abortion. God has found great fault with them long,
long before that, long before that. In Ecclesiastes five, he says, there
is a, there is a soul or evil, which I have seen under the sun, namely
riches kept for the owner thereof to their hurt.

But those riches perished by evil travail. He begitteth a son and there
is nothing in his hand as he cometh forth of his mother's womb. Naked
shall he return to go to, to go as he came and shall take nothing of his
labor, which he may carry away in his hand.

And this also is a sore evil that in all points as he came, so shall he
go. And what profit has he that has labored for the wind, labored for
the wind? How would you like to labor day after day? And at the end of
each day, your, whoever you worked for gave you your handful of cash and
you took it home and you threw it in the wind and the wind carried it
away. And yet if we're going to labor for what is not either our needs
or to give alms, we're laboring for the wind.

Eventually every earthly investment we make will be reduced to a small
pile of ashes. Once the whole earth goes up in smoke, what's left? When
God gave manna to the children of Israel, they were supposed to gather
what was needed, one omer per person per day, because that's what was
needed. But there were greedy people there, people who had the physical
strength and the greed to go out and get more.

And guess what happened? They didn't have more. Because whatever went,
whatever they gathered beyond that omer got wormy and bitter. And they
still had one omer to eat, just like everybody else.

We need to work. And by the sweat of our brow, we need to provide. But
think about it.

Can we really eat more than three meals a day? I mean, we can eat more
than what's good for us, but it's to our own hurt. Can we really eat, I
mean, even just now in this present time, it's to our own hurt. But like
really, can we eat more than what's needful and it be of any good? Can
we get more than one good night's sleep in a night? Can we wear more
than one set of clothes at a time? Can we live in more than one house at
a time? These people who gathered more manna, all they did was work
harder.

And yet they didn't eat more bread. If we gather more than what we need
for ourselves, all we do is labor harder and gather for the wind. But if
we labor beyond what is for our need to give alms, it's not for the
wind.

It's for treasures in heaven. There is another evil. In Ecclesiastes
there, he talks about this evil that he's seen under the sun.

But there's another evil that I've seen. I'm not reading this out of the
scripture, but it's an evil that I've seen. And that is, someone gets
something of this concept about not laying up treasures on earth.

And whereas he was rising up early and working with earnest and working
efficiently, now he's become lazy. And he gets up late and he's lax. I
think that's a sore evil.

Is it not because we're selfish? Why is it that we can go about, and we
can go about with earnest and zeal and wisely, and if we get a lunch
break, fine. If not, fine. We keep pressing through.

Why can we do that when we're working for ourselves? When we're making
money for ourselves. But once we're making it for someone else, we're
unmotivated. Is it not because we're selfish? Remember what one of the
sins was of Sodom? An abundance of idleness.

How is it that when we invest here on earth, if it's going to affect our
income, we make wise investments. We are careful and we make sure that
we're not just squandering. But when it's not for ourselves and it's for
someone else, we're careless, unmotivated.

Is it not because we're selfish? I'm not talking about taking great
care. We need to take great care and try to be real wise so that we can
invest our business. And instead of making 50,000 in a few years, we'll
be making a hundred or a couple hundred thousand.

Or instead of making 20,000, we'll for sure be making 50. That's a
slippery slope. It's a slippery slope in which many persons have fell
into temptations and snares and many foolish and hurtful lusts.

But I'm just talking about being diligent. Being willing to get up early
and to invest our time wisely. And I'm also not talking about like
sometimes when a person gets a concept of the kingdom, like he'll work
less physical labor or less work that would generate income in order to
invest more time in working for the kingdom.

That's good. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm simply talking about
when we have, if we had been a motivated, hard-working, diligent, wise
individual, and then we get this concept and we just turn into a lazy
person, something is really, really wrong.

I just want you to know that I'm not, I'm talking to myself more than
anybody else. Once again, I know all the questions and the things we got
to work through on how, who, where, when, but which side are we going to
want to err on. Godliness with contentment is great gain.

And if God hears the poor in our day, and if he appeals to them on
judgment day, will we receive an eternal habitation? Let's close in
prayer. Help us, Lord. Give us understanding.

We pray, Lord, that you would give us a heart that is right toward you
in these matters. A hand that is stretched out and open wide to give.
Help us to be that hand.

Be diligent. And we pray that you would help us to remember that you
hear the poor and you're the maker of us all. In Jesus' name.

Amen.

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/jdTFaHoy19Y.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/duane-troyer/the-unjust-steward/
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