LUKE 16:1-18 PREPARE TO GIVE ACCOUNT2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 16:1-18 Prepare To Give Account

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2013. This passage is a very interesting passage because of the parable that Jesus tells us here. And as we begin to consider this parable, I would ask you to consider this question. Are you ready for your life to be audited?

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Are you ready for your life to be audited? The title of the message is prepare to give account because that's what we see the master say to the steward here. But that idea of giving accounts, I think in my mind, I think of it like an audit. If you've never been part of an audit, you know, when you're going through an audit, you're going line by line of a record, of an account or whatever, and you're having to explain what it is

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and why it's there what it what it is what it was there for what took place around it so if you're auditing some financial records it's like you know what did you buy there what was spent there why did you purchase that and you go line by line detail by detail to cover the whole story as you consider this idea of an audit think about your own life and are you prepared for that kind of audit for god to put on the screen all right

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7 55 a.m you know richard bueno here you were what were you doing there why were you there what was in your heart what was going on all right eight o'clock richard what happened then you know that there there's line by line detail by detail you spent this money you went to that place you use these words you every detail being examined and explained are you ready for that kind of audit as you stand before god

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You know what I think is amazing about God is that He knows everything about us already, even before we do it. He knows everything about us and He already loves us. That He knows the line by lines and the intents and the thoughts and the wickedness of our hearts. And He knows all of the good and the bad about us. He knows completely every detail about us and He still loves us. That's pretty amazing. However...

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I would want to make sure that we point out this morning that that does not mean that we won't have to give account for all of those things. He loves us in spite of all of those things, but that doesn't mean that we don't have to give account. We read this morning, as you're going through the Bible in three years with us, in Isaiah chapter 5 about the vineyard that God planted. Speaking of the nation of Israel and how he planted this vineyard, he set it up.

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And his expectation was that there would be fruit from the vineyard. That Israel would produce fruit. In the same way, you as a believer, having received Jesus Christ, he's set you up like a vineyard. And there's this expectation that fruit will come forth from your life. That's why Jesus said in John 15, abide in me. The reason why Jesus says abide in me is because he says you're supposed to produce fruit.

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And there's to be much fruit produced in your life. And so as we consider this parable that Jesus gives here, it should cause us to prepare to give account of our lives. To prepare to give account, are we producing the fruit that is expected, that is necessary for what God has called us to?

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Well, we have four points to look at this morning in preparing to give account. But before we get to those points, I want to just spend some time making sure that we understand this parable that Jesus gives. And so let's look again at verse 1. It says, He also said to his disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.

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So in this parable that Jesus is speaking, he talks about a rich man who has a steward. Now if you've been with us for a little bit, you're very familiar with that word steward because back in Luke chapter 12, we spent several weeks in what we called the Faithful and Wise Steward series.

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based on the parable of the different accounts or different amounts of money being given to the different servants or stewards. And we learned at that time what a steward is. A steward is a servant entrusted with resources and instruction to accomplish the master's will. This rich man who had a steward entrusted his resources to the steward, gave instruction to the steward on what

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Now as we consider this parable, remember that you are a steward. I am a steward. That everything that we have...

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All the material goods that we have. All the finances that we have. But then also I would say the energy that we have. The talents and abilities that we have. The breath that we have. The spiritual gifts that we have. The time that we have. Everything that we have is entrusted to us as stewards by God. That He is creator. He is the owner. He is the master of

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And we are stewards. We're entrusted with resources, but then also instruction that we're to follow on how to use those resources. And so here as we begin this parable, the master is investigating an accusation. A charge is brought against the steward. Now the charge that's brought against the steward is interesting. The charge isn't specifically stealing, but wasting.

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And that's something interesting to consider. As you, as a steward, the charge represented here is not thievery or embezzlement. It's wastefulness. In the same way, like we saw the prodigal son last week, right? He wasted away his inheritance. It's that same idea here that, that

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The steward is wasting the master's resources. And it seems as we go on, the accusation is true because of how he responds. And so you as a steward, me as a steward, we need to consider, are we wasting the master's goods? Verse 2, it says, so he called him and said to him, what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship for you can no longer be steward.

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So the master calls up the steward. He didn't have the phone, but I make the phone symbol anyways. He calls him up and he says, hey dude, I hear that you're wasting my goods. We need to have a meeting. We're going to do an audit. And we're going to sit down and we're going to look line by line at the register and see the transactions and see how are you spending the money that I've entrusted to you? And what are you doing with all the grain that was harvested? And what are you doing with all of these resources that I've given to you?

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I like the way the New Living Translation puts it. It says, so the employer called him in and said, what is this I hear about you? Get your report in order because you are going to be fired. So it's like, you know, picture your boss. Most of you probably have a boss or you've had a boss at one time and your boss calls you up and says, hey, I need to meet with you first thing Monday morning because there's some things that are not right with you.

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Well, what you're responsible for. There's things that are not lining up. They're not adding up. And we need to sit down on Monday and go through and figure out what's really happening with all of your responsibilities. And that's kind of the picture here. He says, all right, get your stuff in order. We're going to audit this and we're going to find out exactly. You need to tell me exactly where I stand and what's been happening with all of my resources. Verse 3. Then the steward said within himself,

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So now he knows he has an appointment with his boss on Monday. He realizes, yeah, I haven't been a good steward. I've been wasting my master's goods. So I'm not going to have a good explanation for the questions that he has during this audit. What am I going to do?

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I don't want to beg. I'm too ashamed to beg. I can't imagine being in that position. That's too difficult. He's weighing his options and he doesn't like his choices. Digging ditches? I mean, I've got soft hands and, you know, it'll mess up my manicure if I start to have to dig ditches and I don't like to get dirt under my fingernails, you know. So I can't do that. I'm not going to beg. So what am I going to do? Then in verse 4, he figures it out. He says, I've resolved what to do.

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that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. He says, okay, I get it. I got an idea. I know what I need to do. And what he's doing in his mind is he's arranging for himself somewhere to stay in his time of need. He's not trying to figure out a way to explain, you know, some kind of excuse or get away with what he's been doing to his boss. He's thinking about, I'm definitely out of a job.

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I'm going to need a place to stay. So let me arrange places to stay right now while I can. Verse 5. So he called every one of his master's debtors to him and said to the first, how much do you owe my master? So here's his plan.

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We see two examples here of people that he calls in, but it says he calls every one of his master's debtors. So everyone who owed money or some type of good to his master, he says, come on in, let's meet. So, you know, picture the boss says, come in Monday, we're going to go through this. So on Friday, he's like, hey guys, come in really quick. You know, I need to meet with you before I meet with my master on Monday. I'm using it, you know, for today's practices as an example. But

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So he calls all of them in and he begins to ask them, how much do you owe? Verse 6. So one of them said, a hundred measures of oil. So he said to him, take your bill and sit down quickly and write 50. So this guy comes forward, one of the many that owe the master, says, how much do you owe? A hundred measures of oil. All right, I'm going to cut you a deal today. Let's knock 50% off of your debt. Now, could you imagine, you know, someone knocks on your door and

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Hey, how much do you owe on your house? Or how much do you owe on that car? How much do you owe in credit cards? Oh, a hundred measures of oil. All right, let's cut that in half. I mean, that would be pretty exciting, right? To just, boom, cut in half the debt that I owe. That's a great blessing. And so the steward here, using the authority and the position that he has, says, all right, I'm cutting half off your bill. You don't owe that amount. You owe now 50% less. And then verse 7 says,

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Then he said to another, how much do you owe? So he said, a hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him, take your bill and write 80. So one guy, he gives 50% off. The other guy, he gives 20% off. And these guys are just happy that their debt was reduced, even though they didn't have to do anything to earn it or deserve it. And so this is the parable that Jesus is speaking.

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And so again, you know, picture, put yourself in this spot. You're the employee. Your boss says, hey, you have to give a count. And you're like, oh man, I'm going to get fired. So let me start talking to my contacts. Let me start talking to my clients and see, you know, hey, would you give me a job? Would you give me a job? You know, is there somewhere? And so he's trying to make those kinds of arrangements for somewhere to stay, somewhere to work, somewhere to make ends meet after he's fired because he knows that that is coming.

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And so kind of the summary of this whole parable is this guy is using his present position and authority to prepare for the future. And that's what Jesus is going to be. That's the basis of which he's about to teach the following things. And so now we get into the four points for this morning. The first point found in verses 8 and 9 is be shrewd about eternity.

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Be shrewd. Now shrewd is not typically a word that you would associate with good Christianity, right? That's not something you'd probably normally fit in. But that's what we see being encouraged here. Look at verse 8. It says, Verse 9.

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And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. So to finish up the parable here in verse 8, Jesus says, the master of that steward commended the unjust steward. That word commended, it means to approve or to praise him. Now the idea is not that he approved of, you know, God.

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ripped off or you know he didn't approve of the dishonest practices but he approved of the strategy that was involved and you can appreciate the strategy even if the actions are wrong again the new living translation has a good way to put this it says the rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for his shrewdness so it didn't change the fact he was a dishonest rascal but

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But he recognized there was some shrewdness there. There was some wisdom there. God does not approve of the dishonesty or thievery. That's not what is being said here. But he does appreciate good strategy. The word shrewd, it means to be prudent or wise. It's the idea of being sensible or practical in your wisdom and relationships with others.

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I like the word strategy. I think that conveys this idea of shrewdness a lot. There was some strategy involved. He was thinking ahead. He was planning ahead. He was strategizing and figuring out, what can I do with what I have now to prepare for what is to come? And so Jesus says, the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. Then it goes on in verse 8.

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Now Jesus is dealing with us. He says, for the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. So Jesus goes on now to say, okay, that's the parable. The master commended him. Now here, listen up. People who are worldly, who are ungodly, are better at strategizing and planning ahead for the future than the sons of light, than the children of God.

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He's saying the world is more strategic than the godly and making the point that that's a shame. That it's not a good thing that believers are not as shrewd or they're not strategizing. They're not thinking ahead and preparing for the future as well as unbelievers are. It's something interesting to consider. It's something that I think should really kind of challenge our hearts.

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How shrewd are you? What kind of strategy are you employing? Listen to what David Guzik says. He says, Jesus's assessment is still true. The sons of this world are more shrewd than the sons of light. He says, if we pursued the kingdom of God with the same vigor and zeal that the children of this world pursued profits and pleasure, we would live in an entirely different world.

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He goes on to say, it is to the shame of the church that Coca-Cola is more widely distributed than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Simply, it is because the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. I think that's an interesting thought to consider. There's brands that are known worldwide because, well, the businessmen are shrewd. And they strategize and they spend a lot of time figuring out and thinking about how can we get this name known.

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But how many believers employ that same strategy regarding the name of Jesus? Do you strategize to make his name known in your life or in your world? It's something that, well, Jesus says, hey, people are more shrewd than believers many times in the strategy that they use. And

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Well, preparing for the future. He goes on in verse 9 to kind of give an example of what he's talking about. He says, hey, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon. Let me give you an example, Jesus says. Make friends with the money that you have. Now this is, again, this is not what we would normally expect Jesus to say. This is a little bit different than we might be used to. As he talks about mammon, mammon is just a way to talk about all kinds of possessions.

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earnings, gains, you know, any kind of valuable good. It's all kind of caught up in this word mammon. And he calls it unrighteous mammon, not because money is evil, but the love of money is evil. And he says, look, you have resources and you should be using those resources, those material goods, those things of value that you have, you should be using those to make friends. It's like, what?

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we're not supposed to buy people, right? Or like, you know, buy them off. Like, that's not a valuable quality. We don't see that as valuable. But then look what Jesus says in verse 9. That when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. So here's the context of what Jesus is saying. He's looking at the big picture. He's saying, when you fail, that is, for sure, you're going to happen. It's going to happen. For sure, you're going to fail.

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You will fail. Jesus is not talking about you're going to make a mistake at work or something. He's saying you are mortal but also you are eternal. You are mortal but also you are eternal. And when you fail, when you die, you're going to go into eternity. And if you make friends now with your resources...

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you use your resources to accomplish something of value right now, then when you die and enter into eternity, then, well, those that were affected by your investment of your resources, they will receive you into eternity, into your everlasting home. Here's the way Wiersbe puts it. He says, we do not buy friends, but we can make friends for the Lord by the wise use of money.

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People will welcome you into heaven because your stewardship made it possible for them to hear the gospel and be saved. And so what Jesus is talking about is think about eternity. You're a steward. You've been given resources from God. Everything that you have, it's resources from God. Everything that you are is resources from God. And what God expects of you is for you to be shrewd.

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And wise and strategize and say, how can I use all that God has given to me to reach people with the gospel so that when I go into eternity, there will be many who are there who will be able to receive me into eternity because, well, they were impacted by my effective use of the resources that God gave to me. This is what God desires of us as stewards.

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That we would strategize. That we would figure out. Be clever. Be cunning. How can you use what God has given to you to make a difference in the kingdom of God? Again, the idea of the parable is using your present situation, your present authority, your present power or resources to prepare for the future. And Jesus says, be creative. Be cunning. Be clever. Figure out ways.

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To make friends. To connect with people. Figure out ways to make a difference. With the gospel. For the kingdom of God. And prepare for that future. That when you enter into eternity. There will be a grand reception for you. Well there's lots of ways.

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That you can be shrewd and use the resources that God has given to you. There's a few examples that I'm just going to highlight pretty quickly here from the scriptures for you. So one example, if you want to prepare for your future, you can give to the poor. Remember in Luke chapter 18 verse 22 says,

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There's the rich man who comes to Jesus and says, hey, I want to go to heaven. What do I need to do? Jesus says, hey, you're a pretty good person. You're almost there, but here's the one thing that you lack. Sell everything that you have and distribute it to the poor. And he says, you will have treasure in heaven and then come and follow me. He says, if you want to invest in eternity, here's what you need to do. Give to the poor. Bless them. Minister to them. And there will be treasure in heaven for you. And so if you want to prepare for the future, give to the poor.

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If you want to strategize and figure out, well, help the poor. That's one way to prepare for the future with the resources that God has given to you. Another way is you can give to ministry.

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Now, this isn't, you know, a ploy for you. You know, we're not going to take another offering right now or anything like that. This is, I'm just speaking generally. Give to ministry, missionaries, churches, people sharing the gospel, whatever it might be. And consider with that what Paul says in Philippians chapter 4, verse 16 and 17. He tells the Philippians, he says, Hey, when I was there in Thessalonica, you sent aid several times for my needs and

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And he says, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Paul is telling the Philippians, hey, as you give to help me do the work of ministry that God has called me to do, there's fruit that abounds to your account as a result of that. And so it's not so much that I have the need, Paul says, but I want you to be fruitful that you would have, well, an abundant entrance into the kingdom of God because you invested your resources in the work of God.

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And so as Paul is out there doing the work and people are getting saved and people are growing and there's a work of God that's happening, the fruit of that not only is blessing,

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you know, stored up in heaven for Paul, but it's also stored up in heaven for those who supported Paul and blessed Paul with those needs that he had. So we can give to the poor, we can give to ministry, we can pray for ministers. Paul told the Romans in Romans 15 30, he says, I beg you through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me. Paul says, look, you can join the work of ministry and

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Even if you don't come here to where I'm at and serve alongside of me, you can join with me. You can strive together with me by praying for me. And so not everything is about a financial resource. Sometimes it's about investing your time and investing your heart in those who are doing the work of ministry and interceding on their behalf and praying for them. You get to join them in the work that God is doing through them.

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Another way to prepare for the future is to turn many to righteousness. Daniel chapter 12 verse 3. Daniel says, You want to have something of lasting value? Then be involved in the ministry of reconciliation. Bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

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Help them be reconciled and brought into right relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ. And there is great lasting value and reward for those who turn many to righteousness. So be bold and share the gospel as God gives you opportunity. Another example, the last one I'll give. There's many more. But you can also go yourself.

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Go on the mission field. Go do something for God. In Mark chapter 10, Jesus says, Assuredly, I say to you,

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Not hopefully, not, you know, I'm kind of speculating here. No, assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospels who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life.

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Jesus says, look, when you go out on my behalf and you make some sacrifices in order to go to South Korea, you have to sever some, you know, close relationships, not to cut them off completely. But, you know, now there's distance. There's space between you. You have to separate yourself and go. And maybe God's calling you to separate yourself and go. And maybe it's a far country. Maybe it's a different county. Maybe it's a different country.

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But he wants you to go not just to, you know, have a different kind of environment, but to go with the gospel. He says, for my name's sake and the gospels. There are those that are called to go, to move. And you're like, but my family's here. Yeah, but God says, I want you to go. And so you need to go. And God's promise is you leave behind your family and your land and all those things that you have and the life that you love there and all your friends at church. And you leave that behind, but I'll make it up to you.

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in this life and in the life to come. I'm going to make it up to you. It's going to have great reward as you're obedient to me. So we need to be shrewd about eternity. And these are some examples. Now, these are just some examples and some specific examples from the word, but there's lots of ways and you need to really think and be creative and strategize about how God wants you to do this in your life.

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that you would be shrewd about eternity. Let me give you a silly example. I went to the movies. I saw Superman. I liked it. It was pretty good. Some things I kind of wasn't so sure about, right? But when I was going, I had movie tickets that had been given to me. And so I only needed one, but I took two because I thought, you know, maybe I'll have an opportunity and I could bribe somebody to sit down and talk with me with a movie ticket.

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And so I went, and then it turned out there was nobody there. I mean, it was like, seriously, there was nobody there. When does that happen? So I still have it in my wallet, and every day, as I see it in my wallet, I think, okay, Lord, maybe today. Maybe I could bribe somebody today, and hey, you know, would you mind sitting down and talk with me? I'll give you a movie ticket, and I'll, you know, what can I pray for you about? What do you believe about God? And begin, and using, you know, a resource that was given to me to try to reach out, to do something for the Lord. I remember being with Pastor Sisko yesterday,

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over at the Norco house one time and we were outside working in the backyard and all of a sudden we heard the neighbor was working in the backyard next to us like right over the fence. And so I started asking Cisco, hey Cisco, what do you believe about the gospel?

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And just kind of like, and he was looking at me like, what in the world are you doing? You know, like, like he didn't get it. But I was just trying to get us to talk about the things of the Lord while the guy's right there over the fence. And, you know, I mean, these are just a couple examples. There's, what can you do? What do you have? What gifts do you have? What abilities do you have? What resources do you have that you could use strategically to have an opportunity to prepare for eternity?

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to invest in the kingdom of God, to share the good news, to pray for somebody, to be part of a work that God is doing. Jesus says the world is more shrewd than believers. There's a show I like to watch on TV. It's called Shark Tank. I don't know if you guys have ever seen that. But it's these investors who are sitting there and then entrepreneurs come in and try to sell them their idea and get them to invest in their company.

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And these sharks, you know, are shrewd. That is for sure. They're shrewd investors. Not that they're a good example of how we are to be as believers in regards to money, but they are a good example of how we are to be as believers in regards to eternity. It's not all about the money. It's all about eternity.

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And we need to start having some strategy in how we invest our time and our resources and our energy and our strength and our attention that we would be focused on eternity. If only we had that same drive towards eternity as what Jesus is saying. And so this morning, I want to encourage you to be shrewd and to really think about that. Think about that this week. How can I be shrewd? How can I be cunning or clever or strategic with all that God has given to me

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To make a difference for the kingdom of God. Using your present position, your present authority, your present resources in order to prepare for the future. Charles Ryrie says the believer should use what he has in this life in the service of God in order to assure rewards in heaven. That's what we need to be doing. Being shrewd with what we have to have rewards in heaven.

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To be at the work, about the work of the kingdom of God. But shrewdness is not the only quality we need. What else do we need? Well, we also need faithfulness. Now we move on to verses 10 through 12. Point number two is be faithful in little things. Be faithful in little things. Verse 10, Jesus says, "...he who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much. And he who is unjust in what is least is also unjust in much."

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Now Jesus, as he goes on talking about this steward, talking about how the worldly people are more shrewd than the godly people, he also now goes on to say, if you're faithful in what is least, then you're faithful also in what is much. As he's talking about being faithful in the least, he's making reference to money. Money.

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He says, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon. Then in verse 10, as he goes on to talk about being faithful in what is least, he's referring to money as the least. He's referring to money as the lesser things of life. You can also see it in verse 11. He says, therefore, if you've not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon,

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The resources, the finances, the valuables that we have in this life, Jesus is referring to those as the least. Now that should be a little bit of a challenge for us. Because how big of a deal is money to you? And how big of a deal is your possessions to you? Sometimes those things take up a big position in our hearts. And they're very important to us, but Jesus says...

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those things are the least. Those are not the really important things. And the way that we handle those little things, well, that's a really important thing to take note of because it reveals how faithful we are and if we can be trusted with bigger things. So again, verse 11, he says, if you've not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust true riches? What's Jesus saying?

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The money that we have, the goods that we have, the valuables that we have, those are not true riches. You might have lots of money and die and think to yourself on your deathbed, I got true riches. But Jesus is saying, no, that's not true riches. What's true riches? True riches are those things which are eternal and lasting. Something that has eternal value is something that is true riches.

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And so Jesus is saying, look, if you're not faithful with your worldly resources, if you're not faithful with the things that you own, why would you think that you would be trusted with something more valuable, something that has eternal value? No, faithfulness in the little things is required. Faithfulness in your finances is required. Faithfulness is a necessity for you. And if you're not faithful in the little things, you won't be faithful in the big things. I know we think

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Otherwise, we think, well, you know, I could be sloppy and slack in the little things. Those aren't that important. But when it comes to big things, you know, I'm really diligent. But Jesus says, no, you need to be faithful in the little things. Otherwise, well, you won't be entrusted with the more valuable, the bigger things. Verse 12. And if you have not been faithful with what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? So remember this idea of stewards is that everything that we have is from God. Right?

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It belongs to him. Everything that we have is another man's. It's God's. It's not ours. And so if you've not been faithful with what God has given to you, why are you expecting to have, well, your own stuff, your rewards in eternity? A good steward is one who takes good care of someone else's stuff. You know, think about that. How do you treat other people's property versus, you know, your own property?

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Your own bedroom, you know, it might be quite a disaster. But when you're staying the night at somebody else's house, you hopefully don't treat it the same way, right? They don't come in the next day and go like, how did the tornado get in here? You know, what happened? My dad always taught me, you know, you borrow someone's car, you bring it back in better condition with more gas in the tank than when you got it. Like that's just the rule. That's how it's supposed to be.

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If you borrow someone's car and you bring it back and there's candy wrappers all over and jack-in-the-box packages and it's on empty, you know, that's not how you're supposed to, that's not a good thing. You're supposed to treat other people's property better than you treat your own. But if you don't treat other people's property, so I loan you my car and you thrash it and then I have the opportunity to give you a car, I'm like, no way. Uh-uh, that's, uh, no way.

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I love it when Pastor Tom's here because lately he's been able to borrow my, our red car, our old car. And when I get it back after he's used it for, you know, the several weeks that he's here, you know, something else is fixed, something new is installed, you know, it's like he cleans it up, he fixes it up. It's like, man, I'm almost out of gas. Who can I lend my car to, you know, kind of fill my tank and wash my car and,

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It's like that's how it's supposed to be. But if you're not faithful with somebody else's stuff, Jesus is saying you're not going to be faithful and you're not going to be entrusted with stuff of your own. Now he's talking about not so much this life, but how we deal with the things of this life relates to eternity. And if we're not faithful with the resources God has given to us, then he's not going to give us resources in eternity. We're not going to have much rewards.

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We're not going to have much to call our own. And so we need to be faithful in the little things. Prepare to give account. Prepare for that life audit because he's going to go line by line and say, have you been faithful in those little things? Have you been faithful with what I gave to you? Shrewdness is a quality we need. Faithfulness is a quality we need. Now thirdly, we see loyalty as well. We need to be loyal to God in verse 13 and 14.

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Verse 13 says, Jesus says here, you have to make a choice. A servant or a slave cannot have two masters. He's going to have to choose one or the other. Which one are you going to obey? Which one are you going to choose to follow? Maybe you've had that experience. But you have to make a choice.

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Someone over you in the workplace tells you to do something. Someone else over you in the workplace tells you to do something else. And then you have to choose. And you're kind of wishing, well, wouldn't you guys just talk and then tell me which of the ones I'm supposed to do? I'm going to get in trouble with somebody though. So I got to choose. Which one am I going to do? Am I going to do what this one said or what this one said? You have to choose. That's what Jesus is saying. You can't serve two masters. Either you're going to be loyal to one.

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Or you're going to despise that one. Either you're going to love that one or you're going to hate that one. You can't serve God and mammon is what Jesus says. Who are you loyal to? What's most important to you? Who's your master? God or this life? What makes your decisions? The word loyal means to hold firmly or to cleave to. What are you cleaving to? What are you holding on to? This life, your resources, everything.

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or to the Lord. There's really two kind of money problems that we have to consider for our hearts. There's the problem of being consumed with getting more. And I think a lot of times, especially, you know, for us here at Living Water, you know, we're not, you know, rolling around in our beds of money every night, right? I mean, we don't have a

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And so a lot of times when the scripture talks about money, it's like, well, I don't got money, so that's not a problem for me. But again, there's two kinds. So the idea of being consumed with getting more, that's the rich person's problem, right? But then being consumed with not having enough. And when your life is all focused on not having enough and you're worried and you're, you know, laying up, staying up late at night trying to figure out what am I going to do? How am I going to pay the bills? And there's, you're consumed with, and that's the priority. Well, no, I can't,

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do those things that God's putting on my heart because what if I don't have enough is also a money problem it's a money problem to say no I can't do those things that God has put on my heart because I want to get more money it's also a problem to say I can't do those things that God's putting on my heart because well I'm afraid I'm not going to have enough both of them are problems both of them are issues and you got to choose which is going to be your master

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the goods, the valuables, the resources of this life, whether it be pursuit of more or just terror of not having enough, or are you going to put God first and say, God, I'm going to obey you as you speak to my heart. I'm going to obey you, whether it means I don't go and get as much as I want to get or whether it means I have to trust you to provide because I don't think I have enough. I'm going to put you first and I'm going to obey you because you are my master. So how can you tell?

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David Guzik says, here's how we can tell which one we're serving. He says, remember this principle. You will sacrifice for your God. If you will sacrifice for the sake of money, but you will not sacrifice for the sake of Jesus, don't deceive yourself. Money is your God. So what sacrifices are you making in life? What sacrifices are you making? Is it for the Lord or are you sacrificing things of God for other things? Verse 14 says,

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Now the Pharisees who were lovers of money also heard all these things and they derided him. They began to sneer at him. They are not responding well to what Jesus is saying because they are lovers of money. It's this idea of this greed for wealth or material gain. And if you're a lover of money, you don't like these things that Jesus is saying.

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But if you're a lover of God, you have no problem with what Jesus is saying. Now as we prepare to give account, the point is we must be loyal to God. We got to choose who's our master going to be and we got to cling to the Lord as our master and put him first.

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Before everything else. Even as Jesus said, we saw a couple weeks ago. Hey, if you want to be a disciple, you have to put him before your family. You have to put him before yourself. You have to put him before all your stuff. You have to put him first. Be loyal to God. Well, finally, point number four, we find in the concluding verses, verses 15 through 18. And the point is, be obedient wholeheartedly. Verse 15. And he said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.

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For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. So the Pharisees are responding. They don't like what Jesus is talking about. And Jesus says, look, you can make yourself look good in front of people and convince them that you're righteous and holy. But God sees your heart. He sees right through all of that front that you're putting up. He sees right through all that. And he says, what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

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You've got men to highly esteem you. You've convinced them. You're holy. You're righteous. That you are to be looked up to. You've convinced them. And they highly esteem you. But Jesus says, but what men highly esteem is an abomination in the sight of God. This is an important principle to remember. Just in general, spiritually. You need to understand what the world highly esteems is an abomination to God. What the world celebrates is

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Is an abomination to God. Don't slip into the celebration of the world. Or the esteem of the world. Because those are the things that God hates. Verse 16. The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached. And everyone is pressing into it. Now remember the context here. It really begins back in chapter 15. Remember is. Jesus is there.

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The sinners and tax collectors gather around him. And the Pharisees get upset and they say, this guy deals with sinners. And we spent last week talking about the lost and how God cares for the lost. And that's why Jesus was dealing with the sinners, to reach the lost. And so what Jesus is saying here is, hey, there was the law and the prophets until John. Now the kingdom of God is being preached. The Son of Man is here. You know, the Messiah is here. The kingdom of God is being preached. Everyone...

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I believe Jesus is talking about the Pharisees and tax collectors here. They're pressing into it. They're gathering around. And you're offended by that. But they're gathering around to hear about the kingdom of God. They're pressing in to hear Jesus. That's what was described back in the beginning of chapter 15. You guys hold great value in the word of God. The Pharisees, the scribes, they held up the word of God. But they rejected it.

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The announcement of the kingdom of God. It was the unlikely people, the sinners who pressed in to hear about the kingdom of God. Verse 17. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one little or one tittle of the law to fail. So Jesus is saying, I'm not abolishing the law. I'm not getting rid of the law. The law stands. The word of God stands. It has not changed. But you're valuing the word of God and rejecting what it promised.

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in the Messiah. You're rejecting the kingdom of God. Verse 18. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. And whoever marries her who divorced from her husband commits adultery. So here Jesus says, look, I'm not abolishing the law. Here's an example. When God talks about divorce, well, that still stands. That God hates divorce. Now this isn't the only, you know, verse that instructs us about what God...

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says about divorce if you want to look at matthew chapter 19 you can get a a little bit fuller idea and understanding as jesus spends some more time talking about it but the idea here is not to say everything that needs to be said about divorce but to use this as an example and say the word of god is still the word of god it's still the standard even in the kingdom of god even in the era of grace it's still the standard and divorce is still divorce

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The word of God has not changed. It has not failed. And so as we prepare to give account, the lesson here for us is to be obedient wholeheartedly. Not to be obedient in front of people, to convince people so that if I ask, you know, you like, well, hey, what do you think about Robert? You know, is he a pretty good Christian? Oh yeah, he's a real good Christian, you know. It's interesting, you know, how we can convince people but be something else entirely.

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We need to be obedient wholeheartedly. That as God audits our life and he goes line by line, he shows this is the motive of your heart. This is the thoughts that you were thinking. That there's sincerity there. That I'm not doing this. I'm not serving in this way. I'm not giving of this thing. I'm not doing it so that people think good of me. But I'm doing this to please God because I want to be obedient to him. Are you ready for your life audit?

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To stand before God and give account. Again, in Isaiah chapter 5, God planted the vineyard with the expectation that there would be fruit. And God works in us by his grace and mercy. I mean, we don't earn it. We don't deserve it. He works in us and he gives it freely to us. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't expect fruit. He doesn't give freely to us salvation, forgiveness, grace, mercy. He doesn't give that to us

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expecting us to just waste it and live in sin and despise his grace and do whatever we want to do. No, his expectation, his command is that you would bear fruit, that you would bear much fruit and that your fruit would remain. Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 4.13, there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

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This morning I want to challenge you to prepare yourself to give account. Everything is naked and open before the one that you're going to have to give account. He sees everything. He knows everything. You can't fool him. You can't trick him. He knows exactly what he's given you. He knows exactly what he's spoken to you. He knows exactly what he's put upon your heart. Everything is naked and open before him and you're going to stand before him to give account so you better prepare yourself.

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Be shrewd about eternity. Be strategizing. Be thinking. Be clever. Be creative. Figure out, how can I use what I have, whether it be financially or material goods or my time or my prayers or my energy or whatever it might be. How can I take advantage of opportunities to affect the kingdom of God, to make the name of Christ known and be faithful in the little things?

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Be faithful in your time with the Lord. Be faithful in your service to the Lord. Be faithful with what God has entrusted to you and be faithful to do with those resources that he's given to you what he has commanded you to do with them because it's the evidence of what you're capable of that he would entrust you with more in eternity. Be loyal to God. Be sincere in

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and committed in your relationship to the Lord. Make sure that he's first. And then finally, be obedient wholeheartedly. Don't put on a show. Don't just fool us. And don't just deceive yourself by hearing the word and then just doing whatever you want. No, be a doer of the word. Take these things and live them out and really give your life to follow Jesus Christ and to make him known. Let's pray.

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Lord, these words are sobering as we consider that you see everything and we will stand before you to give account. I pray, Lord, that you would help us. Give us clarity, Lord, in our lives. Lord, that we would be able to see what you desire with the resources that you've entrusted to us. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to prepare ourselves. Lord, give us great ideas.

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On how we can spread the gospel. Give us great ideas on how we can open the door. That others might come to know you. That they Lord that they might be able to receive us. As we enter into eternity. Help us Lord to be faithful. And loyal. And obedient. As we put you first. And strive with all that we have. And all that we are. To be pleasing to you. Help us to make it our aim.

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Lord, that you would be glorified in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.