February 24, 2025 • 31 mins
Prepare to embark on a transformative journey in our latest episode, where we unravel the profound teachings found in Luke 16. Starting with a pressing question—what would you do if you had only 24 hours left to live?—the discussion leads us to a greater understanding of how time constraints can reveal our true priorities. This episode offers rich insights into the relationship between wealth and stewardship, urging us to consider how we manage the resources we've been blessed with.
Listen as we dissect the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, a tale that’s not about dishonesty, but rather astute decision-making in urgent times. We explore the notion that the world often serves wealth more wisely than believers, encouraging each of us to be shrewd in utilizing our funds for eternal impacts. Contrast this with the harrowing story of Lazarus and the rich man, which serves as both a warning and a call to action about our responsibility to respond to the needs around us.
Join the conversation about the value of developing a generous heart that prioritizes others over personal gain. Are you budgeting for justice? Are you living with eternity in mind? This episode will challenge you in a meaningful way, prompting a re-evaluation of what it truly means to be a steward of the things we have in life. Don’t miss the chance to rethink your financial decisions and take steps toward embodying generosity. Tune in now, and help us build a community that reflects the heart of God through responsible stewardship. Share your thoughts, engage with us, and let’s explore how we can collectively make a lasting difference.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
With all that said, welcome to our online audience.
My name is Stephen Pieth, leadpastor here at Madison Church.
I want to ask you somethingkind of heavy this morning.
I know it's early still, butwe're going to start right off
the blocks here going deep.
If you knew your time wasrunning out, you knew you only
had 24 hours left to live, oryou had until the end of the day
how would you handle what's inyour hands?
(00:22):
How would you handle what's inyour hands?
How would you handle what'sunder your responsibility, your
career, your finances, yourrelationships?
Would you do anythingdifferently if the expiration
(00:44):
date was sooner rather thanlater?
Would you invest more wisely orstart to invest, I guess, last
minute?
Would you give more generouslyor start to give?
Would you prioritize the peoplein your life over the
possessions in your life, orstart to?
And, like I said, I know that'sa deep question for a Sunday
(01:05):
morning, but we're diving intoLuke 16, and we're going to see
that that's exactly where Jesusis taking us.
He challenges us to think about, or challenges how we think
about, wealth and faithfulnessand eternity.
And so if you have a Bible andyou want to follow along with me
, you can go to Luke, chapter 16.
And today we are talking aboutwhat Jesus has to say about
(01:26):
money and why it matters, notjust for today but for eternity.
We're in the middle of a seriescalled Life that Matters, and
this is the 12-week kind of partof this series through Luke, on
the latter part of Luke'sgospel I mentioned last week.
I think we're up to some 30parts going through Luke, and so
this is just where we are attoday and throughout this series
(01:50):
.
What we've been really lookingat with Luke is trying to show
us is that true significance inour lives, where we find meaning
and where we find purpose,isn't in accumulating more stuff
, more of whatever the worldvalues, but in following Jesus
more deeply.
We find a life that mattersthrough discipleship, through
(02:12):
loving one another, being onmission, and if you've been with
us throughout this gospel ofLuke, you know that Luke brings
up money a lot.
I swear I'm not doing this.
This isn't me, I didn't writethis gospel, I can't be
responsible for this but aswe're going through Luke, he
brings it up a lot and if youcaught onto that, good for you.
(02:32):
You caught something thatscholars note.
One third of Luke's gospeleither directly or indirectly
deals with wealth andpossessions.
That's more than any othergospel writer.
Luke is highlighting this.
Luke highlights Jesus's radicalteachings on generosity, wealth
and social justice, not just aseconomic principles.
(02:54):
You know Luke's not coming outhere and he's not trying to be
an ancient Dave Ramsey orfinancial advisor or anything
like that.
Luke is recording what Jesussaid because these things are
spiritually important, becausehow we deal with money has an
impact on our souls.
Our approach to wealthmanagement is an invitation to
(03:16):
deeper discipleship, and so, aswe step into today's passage,
let's wrestle with this together.
And if Jesus is right aboutmoney and I'm inclined to
usually believe what Jesus sayswhat does it mean for us to live
today?
Well, we begin again in Luke 16, where Jesus tells a parable
(03:38):
about a manager who has beencareless.
He's not really good at his joband this is actually affecting
more than just him.
It affects his master and hismaster's resources.
Word gets back to the masterthat his steward has been
wasting his money, and now themaster does what any of us would
decide to do If we weretrusting someone with our wealth
(03:58):
and money and they were doingtheir job very poorly they're
going to fire him.
We're going to find someoneelse to do this.
And so, beginning in verse 1,jesus tells his disciples this
story.
There was a certain rich man whohad a manager handling his
affairs.
One day a report came that thatmanager was wasting his
employer's money.
So the employer called him andsaid what's this?
(04:18):
I hear about you.
Get your report in orderbecause you're going to be fired
.
You know, essentially, he's yougot till the end of the day.
I need to know what I have.
Where are my assets?
What do I own?
What do I still have?
Who are my contracts out with?
I need to know where all mymoney is.
And if you've ever been firedand I have you know that this
puts you in a crisis.
(04:40):
Right when you hear those words, you're done.
You pack your bags, get thestuff turned in.
In this society, he wouldn'thave really had a safety net.
He didn't have a whole lot ofskills to fall back on.
The one thing he was supposedto be good at was managing
someone else's money, andapparently he's really not good
at that.
If you read in verse 3, in hisown words, he says I'm too weak
(05:06):
to dig ditches and I'm too proudto beg.
Those were almost the exactwords I used when I was about to
get fired, you know.
But instead of panicking, hecomes up with a plan.
He says, okay, like I haveuntil the end of this day or
this week or whatever, I'm goingto get fired.
And before anyone finds outthat he's going to be fired, he
goes around to all of the peoplewho owe his master money.
(05:27):
He calls them all up and hereduces what they owe.
Hey, I know you owe 10,000, butwhat if we made it eight grand
and just called it good?
You know what I'm saying.
Hey, I know you owe him 500,ones of these, but what if we
called it like 400?
And if you could get that in bythe end of the day, we'll just
call it good once again.
Now that makes them super happy, because I mean, if your bank
(05:49):
called you and said, hey, we'reactually going to knock off a
whole bunch on your loan if youcan just get the money wrangled
up in a certain period of time,you'd be like, yeah, what a deal
.
I love that.
You'd probably recommend thatbank to everyone.
You wouldn't believe what mybank did.
So now he has a whole bunch offavor.
He has a whole bunch of favorwith all of these people and so,
as a result, when he'sunemployed, these people will
(06:11):
feel maybe obligated, but returnthe favor, they'll see him in a
different light.
And now here comes the shockingtwist of Jesus's parable.
They usually end in a shockingtwist.
It says the rich man had toadmire the dishonest rascal for
being so shrewd.
I love those words.
Luke is like, he can be veryarticulate and then sometimes
(06:31):
he's like this dishonest rascal.
And it's true that the childrenof this world are more shrewd
in dealing with the world aroundthem than are the children of
the light.
So, it says this rich man.
He's like hey, I mean first off, jesus is not like commending
fraud.
Okay, so let's just get thatout of the way right now.
(06:52):
That's a very surface levelreading.
You're like oh so if I'mdishonest and I make a lot of
money, like that's what Jesus issaying is okay, right, and
that's not what he's saying.
Okay, you're missing the point.
The master doesn't praise thedishonesty, but his shrewdness.
He respects the wisdom andputting together a plan at the
last minute to take care of hislife after he is fired.
(07:15):
He has this urgent reality andhe responds wisely.
Now, many listening to Jesus,these disciples who are hearing
this parable.
They would have understood theworld of wealthy landowners and
their financial stewards.
A steward wasn't just anemployee, but he really acted on
behalf of the master.
He was an extension of themaster.
(07:37):
When the steward spoke, it wasunder the authority and the
responsibility of the manager.
What the steward said was justas important as the master.
And when he failed at thatresponsibility, what did he do?
He didn't feel sorry forhimself and he didn't throw his
hands up and quit.
He went around and made somequick deals.
(07:57):
He's like I got to take care ofmyself.
And again, this isn't abouthighlighting fraudulent behavior
, okay, it's about highlightingwisdom.
Jesus says here's the lesson Useyour worldly resources to
benefit others and to makefriends.
Then, when your possessions aregone, they will welcome you to
(08:19):
an eternal home.
If you are faithful in littlethings, you will be faithful in
large ones.
But if you are dishonest inlittle things, you will be
faithful in large ones.
But if you are dishonest inlittle things, you won't be
honest in greaterresponsibilities.
The heart of Jesus' teachinghere isn't just about wisdom,
but it's about preparation.
And just as the shrewd managerused resources to secure his
future, disciples should use ourresources in a way that secures
(08:43):
eternity.
Now, I'm not saying you can buyyour way into this.
That's not what I'm saying.
That's not what Jesus is sayingeither.
You don't buy your way intosalvation, but notice what Jesus
does say.
I don't know if you picked thisup as I was reading it and
reflecting it.
Jesus throws a little shade atyou and me.
If you're a follower of Jesusin here, he throws a little
(09:05):
shade at us.
If you're not a follower ofJesus in here, you get a little
bit of a pat on the back.
He says you know the people whoaren't followers of Jesus.
You know they're better atmoney than us Jesus' words.
He says it right in here.
He says those who live apartfrom God are often more
strategic with temporary wealththan believers are with an
(09:25):
eternal vision.
It says non-believers they haveno vision necessarily for the
life after this one.
It's just when you die, it'sover.
And look how smart they arewith their money.
You, on the other hand, youknow that this life isn't the
only one, and look how foolishyou are.
And what Jesus is saying is thisshould not be.
What he's pointing out is.
(09:47):
This should not be.
He's saying this is the way itis.
And that might make usuncomfortable I get that, so
it's not always easy looking inthe mirror at ourselves.
But Jesus says this is it, thereality is.
And he drives home the point hewants his followers to get it.
He says no one can serve twomasters for.
And he drives home the point hewants his followers to get it.
He says no one can serve twomasters for.
You will hate one and love theother.
(10:08):
You'll be devoted to one anddespise the other.
And then he says, for example,you cannot serve God and be
enslaved to money.
And it's an interesting point tomake, because in Jewish thought
, wealth was never an end toitself.
It wasn't about hoarding it,generational wealth or anything
(10:28):
like that.
They always saw wealth assomething that God gave them and
they were supposed to steward.
How one managed their moneyreflected their character and
their priorities.
Jesus makes it clear Wealth andpossessions aren't bad, but
they're meant for kingdompurposes, not personal
(10:50):
indulgences.
Faithfulness in the small thingsleads to greater responsibility
.
If we cannot be trusted withtemporary wealth, how could we
be trusted with eternal riches?
Well, let's be clear.
Money is not evil.
Okay, money's not evil, butit's never neutral.
Money always pulls at ourallegiance.
(11:12):
Where we direct our resources,where we point our money, what
we invest in reveals where ourhearts truly lie.
Jesus's challenge is clear Do I, do you, do we in Madison,
around the world, those of uswho claim to follow Jesus?
(11:32):
Are we stewarding what God hasgiven us with eternity in mind?
I know that when I approach mybudget, I think about how much
money I'm going to make, I thinkabout all the bills I have to
pay and as I reflect on thispassage, I think at the top of
my budget, before I write howmuch money I should make, I
should write the question am Ibudgeting with eternity in mind?
(11:55):
And if I began and end withthat thought, how might my
budget look differently than itdoes right now?
Because, in the end, ourfaithfulness in handling earthly
resources reveals where ourtrust truly is.
I can remember when Megan and Imoved to Madison and we really
wanted to buy a house I mean wewant Madison to be our forever
(12:16):
home we felt like God wascalling us not to start a church
.
And then, you know, take apromotion elsewhere or move on
elsewhere.
I mean we really felt Godcalled us to start this church
and that we would be here untilI died and you know, given that
I'd never go to the gym and Ilike bourbon, we'll probably be
soon.
But we wanted to buy a house,we wanted to live in Madison,
(12:36):
this was our home, we wanted toinvest in this place.
Now, how many of you have movedhere recently and you know that
the housing market's just alittle expensive, right?
Yeah, like everybody, right,and as you can imagine, being
the pastor of a church that wasjust getting started and my wife
, who's a teacher, we were notvery competitive in our market
in terms of purchasing anything.
(12:59):
I don't even think we couldhave got a tiny home in
someone's backyard.
You know we couldn't do it, andso we prayed and we asked our
small group to pray, and forthose of you who have been at
Madison Church for seven, eightyears, you know that You've
probably been a part of a smallgroup in which you prayed that
we would be able to buy a house.
Now I reflect on this and Iremember what we were giving to
(13:19):
Madison Church and I rememberwhat we needed for a down
payment for roughly what wecould afford as a monthly.
All we would have to do, meganand I was stop giving to Madison
Church for one year, 12 months,just pause, just temporary the
conviction that we had and in 12months you don't need to pray
(13:41):
about this, you can just buy thehouse.
But we had already gone throughsomething similar to this.
We had already come to thepoint where it's like for Megan
and I, we knew that actuallywasn't a compromise we were
willing to make.
We weren't willing tocompromise faithfulness,
obedience, our walk with God fora house, even though we felt
(14:03):
like God called us here.
We felt like God wanted us tohave a house.
But we were not going tosacrifice what we had already
agreed our conviction to give tothis community, to get a house
sooner.
It took like seven years, guys.
It took forever for us to get ahouse.
It took a pandemic and it tooksome stimulus checks, but we
(14:24):
finally got it at some point andwe're pumped about it.
But we never stopped giving tothis community and that's what I
think.
I use that as an example, not topat myself on the back, not for
you to think, wow, he's awesome, not at all but as a relatable
story that, like I know the painthat comes with waiting.
I know the reasoning in yourmind where you're like I'm not
(14:46):
going to stop giving forever,just for the next year.
God wants me to take care ofmyself.
Remember?
I remember reasoning that I'mlike God's like, bro, you don't
have to pray about it, just saveyour money.
So I was like, ah, I don't knowif that's God or if that's me,
and if that's me as God like,just save your money.
That's the first parable thatJesus tells in this, and then
(15:07):
he's going to tell another oneand it kind of comes.
It's the same coin, but he'scoming from the other side.
Now, if this first parable wasabout faithful stewardship and
using wealth wisely in light ofeternity, this one is about
being a bad steward.
This one's about neglectingstewardship.
Jesus begins by telling usthere's a rich man who had every
opportunity to do good.
(15:28):
He had every opportunity to dogood, but he ignored the
suffering that was right infront of him, outside of his
gated home you know, he lived ina gated community right there
was a poor, sick man namedLazarus laying in misery.
He longed for even a scrap fromthe rich man's table.
He was hungry.
He wasn't feeling good.
The rich man feasted daily,wrapped in luxury.
(15:49):
Lazarus starved, covered insores, unnoticed and unhelped.
This is the story Jesus issetting up.
And yet, let's note, the richman is not condemned for being
wealthy, he's condemned for hisfailure to see the needs around
him and to respond to thesuffering appropriately.
(16:11):
And then Jesus' story turns.
It says the poor man died andwas carried by the angels to sit
beside Abraham at the heavenlybanquet.
The rich man also died and hewas buried and he went to the
place of the dead.
Okay, contrast two differentplaces One's with Abraham,
heavenly banquet, one's with thedead.
Contrast two different placesones with Abraham, heavenly
banquet, ones with the dead.
And there, in torment, the richman saw Abraham in the far
(16:33):
distance, with Lazarus at hisside.
And the rich man shouted FatherAbraham, have some pity, send
Lazarus over here to dip the tipof his finger in water and to
cool my tongue.
I am in anguish in these flames.
But Abraham said son, rememberthat during your lifetime you
(16:53):
had everything you wanted andLazarus had nothing.
So now, here he is beingcomforted and you are in anguish
.
It's after death that the rolesof the rich man and Lazarus are
reversed.
It's Lazarus who is comfortedand the rich man who is in
torment, and this echoes, ofcourse, jewish wisdom literature
(17:14):
, where God humbles the proudand he lifts up the lowly.
But Jesus isn't saying okay,don't mishear me please.
Jesus is not saying thatpoverty guarantees salvation or
that having wealth is sinful.
That's not what Jesus is saying.
He's not saying that havingwealth is sinful and that being
poor is somehow better.
The issue in the story, itisn't money, it's what they did
(17:37):
with it.
The issue in your and my life,it's not money, but it's what we
do with it.
Earthly wealth means nothing ifwe don't use it for justice and
compassion.
Nothing if we don't use it forjustice and compassion.
The parable took a dark turn.
The rich man now in agony isbegging Lazarus to warn his
brothers so they don't end up inthe same fate.
(17:57):
He says please let Lazarus goback.
Tell my brothers we screwed up,we messed up.
Just have them go back andthey'll change things.
And Abraham's response ischilling.
He says if they won't listen toMoses and the prophets, they
won't be persuaded.
Even if someone rises from thedead A little foretaste into
(18:18):
what is to come in Jesus' ownlife, right, he's going to die
on a cross.
He'll be resurrected.
People still won't believe it.
He says just send someone back.
I think we say that in 2025.
Don't we know?
People are like why doesn't Godjust say it?
Abraham answers it.
He says you know what?
It's already happened, we'vealready talked about it.
If they don't believe it now,they're not going to believe it
then Now.
(18:38):
This parable shattered theassumptions of Jesus's audience,
especially the Pharisees,because they they equated wealth
with divine favor.
If you were wealthy, it'sbecause God loved you.
God was showing that like, hey,this is a good person, this is
a great investment.
If you were poor, if you weredisabled, well, god must have
(19:00):
cursed you.
Your family must have donesomething wrong.
But Jesus makes it clear thatwhat you do with whatever wealth
is in your possession mattersmore than how much of it you
simply possess.
Wealth can blind us to theneeds of others and deafen us to
the voice of God.
It's a warning, and if weignore God's word, no sign, no
(19:23):
miracle is going to change ourhearts.
We have what we need alreadyright in front of us or at our
fingertips.
Let's make it clear that thisparable isn't just about money.
It's about awareness,responsibility, it's about
eternal consequences.
Are we seeing the needs aroundus or are we too comfortable to
(19:44):
notice?
I think at times the reason wedidn't really give a whole lot
of thought to pausing or givingto buy a house comes from a
story like 20 years ago whenMegan and I first got married
and we were super, super, notdoing great financially.
Our monthly income was about$1,500, $1,000, $1,500.
I was working as much as Icould work, megan was full-time
(20:07):
at school.
She has a work study whichlimited her to like six hours a
week or whatever, and we werebringing in a ton of money.
And so, for those of you whoare in a similar position now,
you know what I'm about to say.
We paid bills based on who hadthe bigger late fee.
We didn't have enough money topay all the bills every month.
(20:29):
So we would sit down and wewould say, well, this one's 35
bucks, this one's 20 bucks,let's pay the one that has the
$35 fee, not the $20 fee,because we'll have to pay for
that later.
A hot date for Megan and I Iwrite about this in a book I
wrote but a hot date for Meganand I was when our father-in-law
, ray.
He would send us some money andand it was like 20 bucks and we
would go to the Little Caesarsand they had the $5 hot and
(20:53):
ready.
Right, not good and delicious,hot and ready.
Those were the two promisesthey made.
It was going to be there whenyou walked in and it would still
be warm, and then we'd go rightnext door in the same building.
For some of you remember this,it was a family video, our
little romance alive and I don'tknow how much romance is alive
(21:13):
after a Little Caesars pizza andwatching some Nicholas Sparks
movie.
But that's where we were at,that's what we were doing, and I
remember thinking, I rememberfeeling very deeply convicted,
going over a passage like thisand being like God, how can I
give?
We can't even pay the people weowe money to.
And I remember just had thisdeep conviction which was like
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God's like, do you trust me ornot?
Do you think I can do somethingwith this if you would just
trust me?
And I'm like no, I mean likehonestly, that was it.
No, I don't trust that.
I'm a reasonable person, I'm alogical person.
It makes no sense that if Ialready don't have enough money
to give more away, god, don'tyou want me to be responsible?
(21:55):
I reason Again.
This is me reasoning.
But it got to the point whereMegan and I were just so
depressed and unhappy with ourfinancial situation so, like,
just tired of everyone.
Like all those late bills youever get yeah, for some of you,
you know what it's like You'regetting that.
You see that email pop up fromCapital One.
Or you get that letter fromChase and you get the anxiety
attack.
You don't even know what theywant, but you know it's not good
(22:16):
.
They're not telling you theyincreased your limit, okay, like
they're not sending you moneyback.
Hey, guess what?
You overpaid?
No, not that.
So we would have those panicattacks and I just remember
being like I hate the way welive right now.
Something's got to change.
So we're going to put our trustin God.
And it was through there.
We started giving and weirdstuff happened.
(22:37):
God did provide for us.
I don't want to overspiritualize it, but I can just
tell you from my experience whenwe got faithful to giving to
our local church community,which wasn't a lot, but when we
got faithful, things started tochange for us.
Even if it started with anxietyand we get those bills in the
mail, there'd be a little lessof a panic attack.
We just kind of were hey, we'retrusting God, we're investing
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in things that matter.
If we couldn't do that then wewouldn't have said no to a house
later on when it was right infront of us.
Megan and I had to be faithfulin the little stuff first before
we could be faithful in thebigger stuff.
Jesus will absolutely.
Especially, you're an American.
Most of you are, if not all ofyou watching or listening
Americans.
We have a ton of wealth,especially compared to the
(23:22):
world's standards.
We have a ton of wealth here.
Even the poorest one in here.
You're doing pretty good byglobal standards and if we talk
about the history of the world,you are the 1% of the history of
the world.
You're 1% of the current world.
That's us.
So I know when you look aroundin Madison and housing's
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expensive and you have a ton ofstudent loans and you're barely
getting by and making thoseminimum credit card payments, it
definitely can feel like weread ourselves in the story as
Lazarus and in our culturethat's appropriate to do.
You can absolutely resonatewith Lazarus, but let's also be
humble enough to recognize thatglobally, in the grand scheme of
things, globally, in the grandscheme of things, we're the rich
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man.
All of us are the rich man.
Let's take Jesus' warnings, histeachings, seriously about
wealth, about stewardship, abouteternal priorities.
Let's learn from him.
Let's ask ourselves thismorning who do we really serve?
Do I serve God or do I servemoney?
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What do I spend more timethinking about, worrying about?
Am I living for eternity, orjust this week, or just this
year?
These aren't theoretical topicsthat really do shape how we
live, how we spend, and if wegive, money does reveal what we
truly value, and so are we usingwhat God has entrusted to us
(24:54):
for his kingdom, or are weletting money control us?
Let's talk about somediscipleship challenges to help
us cultivate a life that matters.
In Jesus's time, wealth waslargely inherited and economic
mobility was rare.
You didn't get to just changeyour job, your career, mid-life.
You didn't get to do that.
Whatever your dad did good orbad news you're going to do it
(25:18):
too.
He's already paved the way, andso we're just going to continue
to do that.
But today, the financialsystems have largely changed,
but the principle still remainsEverything we have belongs to
God.
100% of what you have belongsto God.
100% of what you have belongsto God.
100% of the paycheck, of thecar, of the house, of the
PlayStation 5, whatever it isthat you own 100% to God.
(25:39):
So first discipleship challengeis can we just acknowledge that?
Can we just start there?
Can we just acknowledge thateverything I have belongs to God
?
Yes, you worked hard.
Yes, you went to school.
Yes, you were wise, but at theend of the day, it's God's.
Let's let go of the illusionthat wealth is mind control and
(26:00):
instead of viewing wealth aspersonal security, god calls us
to manage resources with hiskingdom in mind.
True disciples, true followersof Jesus, see money as a tool
for eternal impact, not justpersonal gain.
Now, the next thing is that manyin Jesus' time equated wealth
with divine favor, whereaspoverty was seen as a curse.
(26:24):
And Jesus flips that teachingupside down, teaching that
faithfulness is measured not byaccumulation, but faithfulness
is measured by generosity andjustice.
So when we look at our budgets,do we budget for generosity?
Do we budget more for justaccumulation?
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But is there something in yourbudget that's about justice?
We just post about justice, wejust wish our government did
more for justice.
Or do we individually say, hey,either they do or they don't.
But I am Either they do or theydon't, but I am Budget for
generosity.
Invest in people overpossessions.
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This will require that you livea more simple life, but the way
of Jesus is often simple Makefinancial decisions through the
lens of eternal impact.
Faithfulness isn't about howmuch you have, whether you're a
millionaire in here or your networth is minus $300,000.
Wherever you're at,faithfulness isn't about what
(27:25):
you possess, but it's about whatyou do with what you have.
And finally, in biblical times,caring for the poor was a
societal expectation.
Today, poverty is more hiddenand responsibility is easily
shifted to someone else Againthe government or the non-profit
organizations.
It's someone else.
But Jesus doesn't just condemngreed, he condemns indifference
(27:51):
else.
But Jesus doesn't just condemngreed, he condemns indifference.
Jesus does not want you to becomplicit.
The rich man wasn't cruel.
Did he do anything bad toLazarus?
He didn't help Lazarus, he wasneutral.
His failure wasn't malicious,it was just neglectful.
So we are called to not justgive from a distance, but to
(28:12):
personally engage with those inneed.
Who is in your life that thiscommunity cannot reach?
Who is in your life that thegovernment will not reach?
Who is in your life that thenonprofits are unable to help?
But you are in a uniqueposition to do something to help
(28:33):
.
But you are in a uniqueposition to do something.
So will you look around and seethe needs around you and will
you respond and can you actpersonally, build relationships.
Don't just donate from adistance.
Generosity isn't just financial, it's relational.
Jesus' teachings in Luke 16 isnot just about money.
Jesus says who do you reallyserve?
(28:55):
Is it me or is it the cash?
Oftentimes, in my experienceanyway, money wasn't the problem
, it was my heart.
It was the way I thought aboutthings.
My own insecurities, my ownanxieties.
These were questions aboutStephen.
Who do you trust?
Will we let God use what he'sgiven us for his kingdom or will
(29:18):
we block him from using it forhis kingdom?
Randy Alcorn puts it this wayGod prospers me not to raise my
standard of living, but to raisemy standard of generosity.
I like that, not so I can havea newer, nicer car, a bigger,
better house, but so I can makea bigger positive difference for
(29:40):
Christ and his kingdom.
Can you imagine what wouldhappen if watching, listening
online, this faith community,not all represented here we
mentioned people not being here,not being sick, whatever If
every single one of us took thetalk from today and we took it
seriously, like we took it toheart.
We put our hand to the plow inbiblical speak.
Imagine being a part of achurch that was so generous that
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people don't just hear aboutGod's love but they experience
God's love.
A church that doesn't just talkabout generosity, but a church
that helps people experiencegenerosity.
Imagine having a churchcommunity in which the people
sitting around us isn't carrying, or are not carrying, their
financial burdens alone.
That'll take all of us.
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It's not the responsibility ofsomeone in here who's super
wealthy.
It's the responsibility of allof us.
Imagine with me theresponsibility of someone in
here who's super wealthy.
It's the responsibility of allof us.
Imagine with me, if you will.
Madison Church had a fund thatcould help families put a down
payment on their first home.
Hey, I moved to Madison.
I feel like God called me.
Here I'm teaching, I'm doingthis, I'm doing that.
I don't make a ton of money.
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I really want to buy a house.
I can't afford it.
Madison Church has a budget forthat, because when we come
together, we help.
What if we could help peoplepay down student loans instead
of them just drowning in debt?
What if we could help them doit?
What if generosity wasn't justsomething that we talked about,
but it was literally somethingthat transformed lives, people,
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families in this space.
I mean, that gets me excited, Iget pumped about that.
What an awesome thing that wecould do together.
And that's the invitation Notjust to believe in generosity,
not even just to practicegenerosity, but to embody it,
(31:30):
because in the end, when we allhave an expiration date, I pray
for you.
It's not the next 24 hours, butour faithfulness with earthly
wealth reveals where our trustultimately lies.
With all that said, welcome to our online audience.
My name is Stephen Pieth, leadpastor here at Madison Church.
I want to ask you somethingkind of heavy this morning.
I know it's early still, butwe're going to start right off
the blocks here going deep.
If you knew your time wasrunning out, you knew you only
had 24 hours left to live, oryou had until the end of the day
how would you handle what's inyour hands?
(00:22):
How would you handle what's inyour hands?
How would you handle what'sunder your responsibility, your
career, your finances, yourrelationships?
Would you do anythingdifferently if the expiration
(00:44):
date was sooner rather thanlater?
Would you invest more wisely orstart to invest, I guess, last
minute?
Would you give more generouslyor start to give?
Would you prioritize the peoplein your life over the
possessions in your life, orstart to?
And, like I said, I know that'sa deep question for a Sunday
(01:05):
morning, but we're diving intoLuke 16, and we're going to see
that that's exactly where Jesusis taking us.
He challenges us to think about, or challenges how we think
about, wealth and faithfulnessand eternity.
And so if you have a Bible andyou want to follow along with me
, you can go to Luke, chapter 16.
And today we are talking aboutwhat Jesus has to say about
(01:26):
money and why it matters, notjust for today but for eternity.
We're in the middle of a seriescalled Life that Matters, and
this is the 12-week kind of partof this series through Luke, on
the latter part of Luke'sgospel I mentioned last week.
I think we're up to some 30parts going through Luke, and so
this is just where we are attoday and throughout this series
(01:50):
.
What we've been really lookingat with Luke is trying to show
us is that true significance inour lives, where we find meaning
and where we find purpose,isn't in accumulating more stuff
, more of whatever the worldvalues, but in following Jesus
more deeply.
We find a life that mattersthrough discipleship, through
(02:12):
loving one another, being onmission, and if you've been with
us throughout this gospel ofLuke, you know that Luke brings
up money a lot.
I swear I'm not doing this.
This isn't me, I didn't writethis gospel, I can't be
responsible for this but aswe're going through Luke, he
brings it up a lot and if youcaught onto that, good for you.
(02:32):
You caught something thatscholars note.
One third of Luke's gospeleither directly or indirectly
deals with wealth andpossessions.
That's more than any othergospel writer.
Luke is highlighting this.
Luke highlights Jesus's radicalteachings on generosity, wealth
and social justice, not just aseconomic principles.
(02:54):
You know Luke's not coming outhere and he's not trying to be
an ancient Dave Ramsey orfinancial advisor or anything
like that.
Luke is recording what Jesussaid because these things are
spiritually important, becausehow we deal with money has an
impact on our souls.
Our approach to wealthmanagement is an invitation to
(03:16):
deeper discipleship, and so, aswe step into today's passage,
let's wrestle with this together.
And if Jesus is right aboutmoney and I'm inclined to
usually believe what Jesus sayswhat does it mean for us to live
today?
Well, we begin again in Luke 16, where Jesus tells a parable
(03:38):
about a manager who has beencareless.
He's not really good at his joband this is actually affecting
more than just him.
It affects his master and hismaster's resources.
Word gets back to the masterthat his steward has been
wasting his money, and now themaster does what any of us would
decide to do If we weretrusting someone with our wealth
(03:58):
and money and they were doingtheir job very poorly they're
going to fire him.
We're going to find someoneelse to do this.
And so, beginning in verse 1,jesus tells his disciples this
story.
There was a certain rich man whohad a manager handling his
affairs.
One day a report came that thatmanager was wasting his
employer's money.
So the employer called him andsaid what's this?
(04:18):
I hear about you.
Get your report in orderbecause you're going to be fired
.
You know, essentially, he's yougot till the end of the day.
I need to know what I have.
Where are my assets?
What do I own?
What do I still have?
Who are my contracts out with?
I need to know where all mymoney is.
And if you've ever been firedand I have you know that this
puts you in a crisis.
(04:40):
Right when you hear those words, you're done.
You pack your bags, get thestuff turned in.
In this society, he wouldn'thave really had a safety net.
He didn't have a whole lot ofskills to fall back on.
The one thing he was supposedto be good at was managing
someone else's money, andapparently he's really not good
at that.
If you read in verse 3, in hisown words, he says I'm too weak
(05:06):
to dig ditches and I'm too proudto beg.
Those were almost the exactwords I used when I was about to
get fired, you know.
But instead of panicking, hecomes up with a plan.
He says, okay, like I haveuntil the end of this day or
this week or whatever, I'm goingto get fired.
And before anyone finds outthat he's going to be fired, he
goes around to all of the peoplewho owe his master money.
(05:27):
He calls them all up and hereduces what they owe.
Hey, I know you owe 10,000, butwhat if we made it eight grand
and just called it good?
You know what I'm saying.
Hey, I know you owe him 500,ones of these, but what if we
called it like 400?
And if you could get that in bythe end of the day, we'll just
call it good once again.
Now that makes them super happy, because I mean, if your bank
(05:49):
called you and said, hey, we'reactually going to knock off a
whole bunch on your loan if youcan just get the money wrangled
up in a certain period of time,you'd be like, yeah, what a deal
.
I love that.
You'd probably recommend thatbank to everyone.
You wouldn't believe what mybank did.
So now he has a whole bunch offavor.
He has a whole bunch of favorwith all of these people and so,
as a result, when he'sunemployed, these people will
(06:11):
feel maybe obligated, but returnthe favor, they'll see him in a
different light.
And now here comes the shockingtwist of Jesus's parable.
They usually end in a shockingtwist.
It says the rich man had toadmire the dishonest rascal for
being so shrewd.
I love those words.
Luke is like, he can be veryarticulate and then sometimes
(06:31):
he's like this dishonest rascal.
And it's true that the childrenof this world are more shrewd
in dealing with the world aroundthem than are the children of
the light.
So, it says this rich man.
He's like hey, I mean first off, jesus is not like commending
fraud.
Okay, so let's just get thatout of the way right now.
(06:52):
That's a very surface levelreading.
You're like oh so if I'mdishonest and I make a lot of
money, like that's what Jesus issaying is okay, right, and
that's not what he's saying.
Okay, you're missing the point.
The master doesn't praise thedishonesty, but his shrewdness.
He respects the wisdom andputting together a plan at the
last minute to take care of hislife after he is fired.
(07:15):
He has this urgent reality andhe responds wisely.
Now, many listening to Jesus,these disciples who are hearing
this parable.
They would have understood theworld of wealthy landowners and
their financial stewards.
A steward wasn't just anemployee, but he really acted on
behalf of the master.
He was an extension of themaster.
(07:37):
When the steward spoke, it wasunder the authority and the
responsibility of the manager.
What the steward said was justas important as the master.
And when he failed at thatresponsibility, what did he do?
He didn't feel sorry forhimself and he didn't throw his
hands up and quit.
He went around and made somequick deals.
(07:57):
He's like I got to take care ofmyself.
And again, this isn't abouthighlighting fraudulent behavior
, okay, it's about highlightingwisdom.
Jesus says here's the lesson Useyour worldly resources to
benefit others and to makefriends.
Then, when your possessions aregone, they will welcome you to
(08:19):
an eternal home.
If you are faithful in littlethings, you will be faithful in
large ones.
But if you are dishonest inlittle things, you will be
faithful in large ones.
But if you are dishonest inlittle things, you won't be
honest in greaterresponsibilities.
The heart of Jesus' teachinghere isn't just about wisdom,
but it's about preparation.
And just as the shrewd managerused resources to secure his
future, disciples should use ourresources in a way that secures
(08:43):
eternity.
Now, I'm not saying you can buyyour way into this.
That's not what I'm saying.
That's not what Jesus is sayingeither.
You don't buy your way intosalvation, but notice what Jesus
does say.
I don't know if you picked thisup as I was reading it and
reflecting it.
Jesus throws a little shade atyou and me.
If you're a follower of Jesusin here, he throws a little
(09:05):
shade at us.
If you're not a follower ofJesus in here, you get a little
bit of a pat on the back.
He says you know the people whoaren't followers of Jesus.
You know they're better atmoney than us Jesus' words.
He says it right in here.
He says those who live apartfrom God are often more
strategic with temporary wealththan believers are with an
(09:25):
eternal vision.
It says non-believers they haveno vision necessarily for the
life after this one.
It's just when you die, it'sover.
And look how smart they arewith their money.
You, on the other hand, youknow that this life isn't the
only one, and look how foolishyou are.
And what Jesus is saying is thisshould not be.
What he's pointing out is.
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This should not be.
He's saying this is the way itis.
And that might make usuncomfortable I get that, so
it's not always easy looking inthe mirror at ourselves.
But Jesus says this is it, thereality is.
And he drives home the point hewants his followers to get it.
He says no one can serve twomasters for.
And he drives home the point hewants his followers to get it.
He says no one can serve twomasters for.
You will hate one and love theother.
(10:08):
You'll be devoted to one anddespise the other.
And then he says, for example,you cannot serve God and be
enslaved to money.
And it's an interesting point tomake, because in Jewish thought
, wealth was never an end toitself.
It wasn't about hoarding it,generational wealth or anything
(10:28):
like that.
They always saw wealth assomething that God gave them and
they were supposed to steward.
How one managed their moneyreflected their character and
their priorities.
Jesus makes it clear Wealth andpossessions aren't bad, but
they're meant for kingdompurposes, not personal
(10:50):
indulgences.
Faithfulness in the small thingsleads to greater responsibility
.
If we cannot be trusted withtemporary wealth, how could we
be trusted with eternal riches?
Well, let's be clear.
Money is not evil.
Okay, money's not evil, butit's never neutral.
Money always pulls at ourallegiance.
(11:12):
Where we direct our resources,where we point our money, what
we invest in reveals where ourhearts truly lie.
Jesus's challenge is clear Do I, do you, do we in Madison,
around the world, those of uswho claim to follow Jesus?
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Are we stewarding what God hasgiven us with eternity in mind?
I know that when I approach mybudget, I think about how much
money I'm going to make, I thinkabout all the bills I have to
pay and as I reflect on thispassage, I think at the top of
my budget, before I write howmuch money I should make, I
should write the question am Ibudgeting with eternity in mind?
(11:55):
And if I began and end withthat thought, how might my
budget look differently than itdoes right now?
Because, in the end, ourfaithfulness in handling earthly
resources reveals where ourtrust truly is.
I can remember when Megan and Imoved to Madison and we really
wanted to buy a house I mean wewant Madison to be our forever
(12:16):
home we felt like God wascalling us not to start a church
.
And then, you know, take apromotion elsewhere or move on
elsewhere.
I mean we really felt Godcalled us to start this church
and that we would be here untilI died and you know, given that
I'd never go to the gym and Ilike bourbon, we'll probably be
soon.
But we wanted to buy a house,we wanted to live in Madison,
(12:36):
this was our home, we wanted toinvest in this place.
Now, how many of you have movedhere recently and you know that
the housing market's just alittle expensive, right?
Yeah, like everybody, right,and as you can imagine, being
the pastor of a church that wasjust getting started and my wife
, who's a teacher, we were notvery competitive in our market
in terms of purchasing anything.
(12:59):
I don't even think we couldhave got a tiny home in
someone's backyard.
You know we couldn't do it, andso we prayed and we asked our
small group to pray, and forthose of you who have been at
Madison Church for seven, eightyears, you know that You've
probably been a part of a smallgroup in which you prayed that
we would be able to buy a house.
Now I reflect on this and Iremember what we were giving to
(13:19):
Madison Church and I rememberwhat we needed for a down
payment for roughly what wecould afford as a monthly.
All we would have to do, meganand I was stop giving to Madison
Church for one year, 12 months,just pause, just temporary the
conviction that we had and in 12months you don't need to pray
(13:41):
about this, you can just buy thehouse.
But we had already gone throughsomething similar to this.
We had already come to thepoint where it's like for Megan
and I, we knew that actuallywasn't a compromise we were
willing to make.
We weren't willing tocompromise faithfulness,
obedience, our walk with God fora house, even though we felt
(14:03):
like God called us here.
We felt like God wanted us tohave a house.
But we were not going tosacrifice what we had already
agreed our conviction to give tothis community, to get a house
sooner.
It took like seven years, guys.
It took forever for us to get ahouse.
It took a pandemic and it tooksome stimulus checks, but we
(14:24):
finally got it at some point andwe're pumped about it.
But we never stopped giving tothis community and that's what I
think.
I use that as an example, not topat myself on the back, not for
you to think, wow, he's awesome, not at all but as a relatable
story that, like I know the painthat comes with waiting.
I know the reasoning in yourmind where you're like I'm not
(14:46):
going to stop giving forever,just for the next year.
God wants me to take care ofmyself.
Remember?
I remember reasoning that I'mlike God's like, bro, you don't
have to pray about it, just saveyour money.
So I was like, ah, I don't knowif that's God or if that's me,
and if that's me as God like,just save your money.
That's the first parable thatJesus tells in this, and then
(15:07):
he's going to tell another oneand it kind of comes.
It's the same coin, but he'scoming from the other side.
Now, if this first parable wasabout faithful stewardship and
using wealth wisely in light ofeternity, this one is about
being a bad steward.
This one's about neglectingstewardship.
Jesus begins by telling usthere's a rich man who had every
opportunity to do good.
(15:28):
He had every opportunity to dogood, but he ignored the
suffering that was right infront of him, outside of his
gated home you know, he lived ina gated community right there
was a poor, sick man namedLazarus laying in misery.
He longed for even a scrap fromthe rich man's table.
He was hungry.
He wasn't feeling good.
The rich man feasted daily,wrapped in luxury.
(15:49):
Lazarus starved, covered insores, unnoticed and unhelped.
This is the story Jesus issetting up.
And yet, let's note, the richman is not condemned for being
wealthy, he's condemned for hisfailure to see the needs around
him and to respond to thesuffering appropriately.
(16:11):
And then Jesus' story turns.
It says the poor man died andwas carried by the angels to sit
beside Abraham at the heavenlybanquet.
The rich man also died and hewas buried and he went to the
place of the dead.
Okay, contrast two differentplaces One's with Abraham,
heavenly banquet, one's with thedead.
Contrast two different placesones with Abraham, heavenly
banquet, ones with the dead.
And there, in torment, the richman saw Abraham in the far
(16:33):
distance, with Lazarus at hisside.
And the rich man shouted FatherAbraham, have some pity, send
Lazarus over here to dip the tipof his finger in water and to
cool my tongue.
I am in anguish in these flames.
But Abraham said son, rememberthat during your lifetime you
(16:53):
had everything you wanted andLazarus had nothing.
So now, here he is beingcomforted and you are in anguish
.
It's after death that the rolesof the rich man and Lazarus are
reversed.
It's Lazarus who is comfortedand the rich man who is in
torment, and this echoes, ofcourse, jewish wisdom literature
(17:14):
, where God humbles the proudand he lifts up the lowly.
But Jesus isn't saying okay,don't mishear me please.
Jesus is not saying thatpoverty guarantees salvation or
that having wealth is sinful.
That's not what Jesus is saying.
He's not saying that havingwealth is sinful and that being
poor is somehow better.
The issue in the story, itisn't money, it's what they did
(17:37):
with it.
The issue in your and my life,it's not money, but it's what we
do with it.
Earthly wealth means nothing ifwe don't use it for justice and
compassion.
Nothing if we don't use it forjustice and compassion.
The parable took a dark turn.
The rich man now in agony isbegging Lazarus to warn his
brothers so they don't end up inthe same fate.
(17:57):
He says please let Lazarus goback.
Tell my brothers we screwed up,we messed up.
Just have them go back andthey'll change things.
And Abraham's response ischilling.
He says if they won't listen toMoses and the prophets, they
won't be persuaded.
Even if someone rises from thedead A little foretaste into
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what is to come in Jesus' ownlife, right, he's going to die
on a cross.
He'll be resurrected.
People still won't believe it.
He says just send someone back.
I think we say that in 2025.
Don't we know?
People are like why doesn't Godjust say it?
Abraham answers it.
He says you know what?
It's already happened, we'vealready talked about it.
If they don't believe it now,they're not going to believe it
then Now.
(18:38):
This parable shattered theassumptions of Jesus's audience,
especially the Pharisees,because they they equated wealth
with divine favor.
If you were wealthy, it'sbecause God loved you.
God was showing that like, hey,this is a good person, this is
a great investment.
If you were poor, if you weredisabled, well, god must have
(19:00):
cursed you.
Your family must have donesomething wrong.
But Jesus makes it clear thatwhat you do with whatever wealth
is in your possession mattersmore than how much of it you
simply possess.
Wealth can blind us to theneeds of others and deafen us to
the voice of God.
It's a warning, and if weignore God's word, no sign, no
(19:23):
miracle is going to change ourhearts.
We have what we need alreadyright in front of us or at our
fingertips.
Let's make it clear that thisparable isn't just about money.
It's about awareness,responsibility, it's about
eternal consequences.
Are we seeing the needs aroundus or are we too comfortable to
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notice?
I think at times the reason wedidn't really give a whole lot
of thought to pausing or givingto buy a house comes from a
story like 20 years ago whenMegan and I first got married
and we were super, super, notdoing great financially.
Our monthly income was about$1,500, $1,000, $1,500.
I was working as much as Icould work, megan was full-time
(20:07):
at school.
She has a work study whichlimited her to like six hours a
week or whatever, and we werebringing in a ton of money.
And so, for those of you whoare in a similar position now,
you know what I'm about to say.
We paid bills based on who hadthe bigger late fee.
We didn't have enough money topay all the bills every month.
(20:29):
So we would sit down and wewould say, well, this one's 35
bucks, this one's 20 bucks,let's pay the one that has the
$35 fee, not the $20 fee,because we'll have to pay for
that later.
A hot date for Megan and I Iwrite about this in a book I
wrote but a hot date for Meganand I was when our father-in-law
, ray.
He would send us some money andand it was like 20 bucks and we
would go to the Little Caesarsand they had the $5 hot and
(20:53):
ready.
Right, not good and delicious,hot and ready.
Those were the two promisesthey made.
It was going to be there whenyou walked in and it would still
be warm, and then we'd go rightnext door in the same building.
For some of you remember this,it was a family video, our
little romance alive and I don'tknow how much romance is alive
(21:13):
after a Little Caesars pizza andwatching some Nicholas Sparks
movie.
But that's where we were at,that's what we were doing, and I
remember thinking, I rememberfeeling very deeply convicted,
going over a passage like thisand being like God, how can I
give?
We can't even pay the people weowe money to.
And I remember just had thisdeep conviction which was like
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God's like, do you trust me ornot?
Do you think I can do somethingwith this if you would just
trust me?
And I'm like no, I mean likehonestly, that was it.
No, I don't trust that.
I'm a reasonable person, I'm alogical person.
It makes no sense that if Ialready don't have enough money
to give more away, god, don'tyou want me to be responsible?
(21:55):
I reason Again.
This is me reasoning.
But it got to the point whereMegan and I were just so
depressed and unhappy with ourfinancial situation so, like,
just tired of everyone.
Like all those late bills youever get yeah, for some of you,
you know what it's like You'regetting that.
You see that email pop up fromCapital One.
Or you get that letter fromChase and you get the anxiety
attack.
You don't even know what theywant, but you know it's not good
(22:16):
.
They're not telling you theyincreased your limit, okay, like
they're not sending you moneyback.
Hey, guess what?
You overpaid?
No, not that.
So we would have those panicattacks and I just remember
being like I hate the way welive right now.
Something's got to change.
So we're going to put our trustin God.
And it was through there.
We started giving and weirdstuff happened.
(22:37):
God did provide for us.
I don't want to overspiritualize it, but I can just
tell you from my experience whenwe got faithful to giving to
our local church community,which wasn't a lot, but when we
got faithful, things started tochange for us.
Even if it started with anxietyand we get those bills in the
mail, there'd be a little lessof a panic attack.
We just kind of were hey, we'retrusting God, we're investing
(22:58):
in things that matter.
If we couldn't do that then wewouldn't have said no to a house
later on when it was right infront of us.
Megan and I had to be faithfulin the little stuff first before
we could be faithful in thebigger stuff.
Jesus will absolutely.
Especially, you're an American.
Most of you are, if not all ofyou watching or listening
Americans.
We have a ton of wealth,especially compared to the
(23:22):
world's standards.
We have a ton of wealth here.
Even the poorest one in here.
You're doing pretty good byglobal standards and if we talk
about the history of the world,you are the 1% of the history of
the world.
You're 1% of the current world.
That's us.
So I know when you look aroundin Madison and housing's
(23:46):
expensive and you have a ton ofstudent loans and you're barely
getting by and making thoseminimum credit card payments, it
definitely can feel like weread ourselves in the story as
Lazarus and in our culturethat's appropriate to do.
You can absolutely resonatewith Lazarus, but let's also be
humble enough to recognize thatglobally, in the grand scheme of
things, globally, in the grandscheme of things, we're the rich
(24:09):
man.
All of us are the rich man.
Let's take Jesus' warnings, histeachings, seriously about
wealth, about stewardship, abouteternal priorities.
Let's learn from him.
Let's ask ourselves thismorning who do we really serve?
Do I serve God or do I servemoney?
(24:30):
What do I spend more timethinking about, worrying about?
Am I living for eternity, orjust this week, or just this
year?
These aren't theoretical topicsthat really do shape how we
live, how we spend, and if wegive, money does reveal what we
truly value, and so are we usingwhat God has entrusted to us
(24:54):
for his kingdom, or are weletting money control us?
Let's talk about somediscipleship challenges to help
us cultivate a life that matters.
In Jesus's time, wealth waslargely inherited and economic
mobility was rare.
You didn't get to just changeyour job, your career, mid-life.
You didn't get to do that.
Whatever your dad did good orbad news you're going to do it
(25:18):
too.
He's already paved the way, andso we're just going to continue
to do that.
But today, the financialsystems have largely changed,
but the principle still remainsEverything we have belongs to
God.
100% of what you have belongsto God.
100% of what you have belongsto God.
100% of the paycheck, of thecar, of the house, of the
PlayStation 5, whatever it isthat you own 100% to God.
(25:39):
So first discipleship challengeis can we just acknowledge that?
Can we just start there?
Can we just acknowledge thateverything I have belongs to God
?
Yes, you worked hard.
Yes, you went to school.
Yes, you were wise, but at theend of the day, it's God's.
Let's let go of the illusionthat wealth is mind control and
(26:00):
instead of viewing wealth aspersonal security, god calls us
to manage resources with hiskingdom in mind.
True disciples, true followersof Jesus, see money as a tool
for eternal impact, not justpersonal gain.
Now, the next thing is that manyin Jesus' time equated wealth
with divine favor, whereaspoverty was seen as a curse.
(26:24):
And Jesus flips that teachingupside down, teaching that
faithfulness is measured not byaccumulation, but faithfulness
is measured by generosity andjustice.
So when we look at our budgets,do we budget for generosity?
Do we budget more for justaccumulation?
(26:44):
But is there something in yourbudget that's about justice?
We just post about justice, wejust wish our government did
more for justice.
Or do we individually say, hey,either they do or they don't.
But I am Either they do or theydon't, but I am Budget for
generosity.
Invest in people overpossessions.
(27:05):
This will require that you livea more simple life, but the way
of Jesus is often simple Makefinancial decisions through the
lens of eternal impact.
Faithfulness isn't about howmuch you have, whether you're a
millionaire in here or your networth is minus $300,000.
Wherever you're at,faithfulness isn't about what
(27:25):
you possess, but it's about whatyou do with what you have.
And finally, in biblical times,caring for the poor was a
societal expectation.
Today, poverty is more hiddenand responsibility is easily
shifted to someone else Againthe government or the non-profit
organizations.
It's someone else.
But Jesus doesn't just condemngreed, he condemns indifference
(27:51):
else.
But Jesus doesn't just condemngreed, he condemns indifference.
Jesus does not want you to becomplicit.
The rich man wasn't cruel.
Did he do anything bad toLazarus?
He didn't help Lazarus, he wasneutral.
His failure wasn't malicious,it was just neglectful.
So we are called to not justgive from a distance, but to
(28:12):
personally engage with those inneed.
Who is in your life that thiscommunity cannot reach?
Who is in your life that thegovernment will not reach?
Who is in your life that thenonprofits are unable to help?
But you are in a uniqueposition to do something to help
(28:33):
.
But you are in a uniqueposition to do something.
So will you look around and seethe needs around you and will
you respond and can you actpersonally, build relationships.
Don't just donate from adistance.
Generosity isn't just financial, it's relational.
Jesus' teachings in Luke 16 isnot just about money.
Jesus says who do you reallyserve?
(28:55):
Is it me or is it the cash?
Oftentimes, in my experienceanyway, money wasn't the problem
, it was my heart.
It was the way I thought aboutthings.
My own insecurities, my ownanxieties.
These were questions aboutStephen.
Who do you trust?
Will we let God use what he'sgiven us for his kingdom or will
(29:18):
we block him from using it forhis kingdom?
Randy Alcorn puts it this wayGod prospers me not to raise my
standard of living, but to raisemy standard of generosity.
I like that, not so I can havea newer, nicer car, a bigger,
better house, but so I can makea bigger positive difference for
(29:40):
Christ and his kingdom.
Can you imagine what wouldhappen if watching, listening
online, this faith community,not all represented here we
mentioned people not being here,not being sick, whatever If
every single one of us took thetalk from today and we took it
seriously, like we took it toheart.
We put our hand to the plow inbiblical speak.
Imagine being a part of achurch that was so generous that
(30:04):
people don't just hear aboutGod's love but they experience
God's love.
A church that doesn't just talkabout generosity, but a church
that helps people experiencegenerosity.
Imagine having a churchcommunity in which the people
sitting around us isn't carrying, or are not carrying, their
financial burdens alone.
That'll take all of us.
(30:25):
It's not the responsibility ofsomeone in here who's super
wealthy.
It's the responsibility of allof us.
Imagine with me theresponsibility of someone in
here who's super wealthy.
It's the responsibility of allof us.
Imagine with me, if you will.
Madison Church had a fund thatcould help families put a down
payment on their first home.
Hey, I moved to Madison.
I feel like God called me.
Here I'm teaching, I'm doingthis, I'm doing that.
I don't make a ton of money.
(30:46):
I really want to buy a house.
I can't afford it.
Madison Church has a budget forthat, because when we come
together, we help.
What if we could help peoplepay down student loans instead
of them just drowning in debt?
What if we could help them doit?
What if generosity wasn't justsomething that we talked about,
but it was literally somethingthat transformed lives, people,
(31:08):
families in this space.
I mean, that gets me excited, Iget pumped about that.
What an awesome thing that wecould do together.
And that's the invitation Notjust to believe in generosity,
not even just to practicegenerosity, but to embody it,
(31:30):
because in the end, when we allhave an expiration date, I pray
for you.
It's not the next 24 hours, butour faithfulness with earthly
wealth reveals where our trustultimately lies.
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