WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.080 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:46.980 --> 00:00:48.000 Well, good morning. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:50.600 Glad that you guys are here with us. 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:54.700 If you've got your Bible, go ahead and open them up to Luke chapter 16. 00:00:56.080 --> 00:01:02.060 As you turn there, I know typically how we, and a lot of churches really do things, is 00:01:02.060 --> 00:01:07.560 you kind of give the previous week's message, and then you move to the next message, and 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:08.560 you move to the next message. 00:01:08.660 --> 00:01:14.440 Well, I want to bring back real quick an application from last week's message that isn't going to 00:01:14.440 --> 00:01:20.000 just be for last week, but I want us to continually have this conversation and set it on our minds 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:25.980 and create a vocabulary that we are accustomed to here at Willow Ridge Church and ask you 00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:27.800 the question, who is your one? 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:29.620 Who is your one? 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:34.060 Now, if you weren't here last week, I want to encourage you to go back and listen to last 00:01:34.060 --> 00:01:40.200 week's message because there's a lot that builds up to this, but what we're looking at, what I'm 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:45.660 talking about is the reality, and you all know this, this world is filled with lost people that 00:01:45.660 --> 00:01:48.060 don't know Jesus, and you and I, we know them. 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:50.640 We work with them. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:52.280 They live near us. 00:01:52.380 --> 00:01:56.980 Some of you, depending on the dynamic of your family, maybe even live in your house. 00:01:57.620 --> 00:02:04.560 They share a baseball team with you that your kids compete on, or some life God has brought 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:07.200 you and positioned you with lost people. 00:02:07.600 --> 00:02:12.680 And what we talked about last week is it can be overwhelming to look back and see the vast 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:17.640 amount of lostness in the world, but what would it look like if every believer of God said, 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:22.580 you know what, I'm going to commit to this one individual that God's laid on my heart to 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:27.680 interact with them and to lead them in such a way that they could come and know Jesus Christ 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:28.640 as their Lord and Savior. 00:02:29.420 --> 00:02:33.100 And who God lays on your heart is who I want you to run with. 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:37.600 And we talked at the end of the message last week, so I'll kind of preview it, but again, 00:02:37.700 --> 00:02:42.780 please go back and listen for things that we're going to do to engage this one with the gospel. 00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:44.620 Number one, we're going to pray for them. 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:46.080 We're going to pray for them. 00:02:46.140 --> 00:02:52.020 Now, I've got a list of prayer requests that I pray for continually of people with surgeries 00:02:52.020 --> 00:02:57.660 and loss and decisions that have to be made and rebellious children that they're battling 00:02:57.660 --> 00:02:58.380 with, right? 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:02.960 And we want to continue to pray for those people in those manners, but that's not what 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:04.000 I'm talking about with this. 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:09.520 What I'm talking about with these individuals is praying for them that they may come to know 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:11.620 Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 00:03:11.940 --> 00:03:14.320 There's an intentional prayer that you're offering for them. 00:03:14.980 --> 00:03:17.700 And that's what the whole pursuit is about. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.220 So number one, we'll pray that they'll come to know Christ. 00:03:20.320 --> 00:03:24.540 Number two, we're going to serve them in a way that is sacrificial. 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:29.760 And here's what I mean, like sometimes we do things for one another and the expectation 00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:32.320 is that the person will return the favor. 00:03:33.020 --> 00:03:37.260 Like I've got, I got a good friend of mine and him and I are continually living in that 00:03:37.260 --> 00:03:37.940 world, right? 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:41.200 Like we don't, we don't set out to do that, but I do something for him. 00:03:41.420 --> 00:03:42.400 He does something for me. 00:03:42.640 --> 00:03:46.720 Sometimes he doubles down on me and it takes me a while to catch back up with him, but we 00:03:46.720 --> 00:03:47.920 live in that, right? 00:03:47.920 --> 00:03:52.840 And what we're doing is we're interacting with each other in a way that we know and that 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:56.340 speaks a love language back and forth, but that's not what I'm talking about either. 00:03:56.920 --> 00:04:02.060 I'm talking about serving individuals that you are seeking nothing in return back for 00:04:02.060 --> 00:04:02.500 yourself. 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:08.680 You're just seeking to serve them in a way that displays and shows the gospel. 00:04:08.920 --> 00:04:10.700 So it has to be sacrificial. 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:18.040 The third thing I want to encourage you to do is to invite them, to invite them to experience 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:21.620 the fellowship of the body of Christ. 00:04:21.780 --> 00:04:26.380 Now, I'm not just necessarily talking about, hey, come to a worship service with me. 00:04:26.380 --> 00:04:31.720 What I'm talking about and what we looked at last week is, is bringing them into your home, 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:32.880 right? 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:36.400 I think how many people, you know, that could never get to your home. 00:04:37.260 --> 00:04:38.680 They've never been in your house. 00:04:39.400 --> 00:04:44.560 And what I want to encourage you to do is, is, is invite them into your home, bring them 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:51.540 into a meal, let them see what the body of Christ looks like in tangible, real ways that 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:53.580 open homes, open lives. 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:58.400 And then the last thing, and this is going to be the huge stretch for so many of us, is 00:04:58.400 --> 00:05:01.420 seek for an opportunity to share the gospel. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:04.060 So share, share the gospel. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.420 All right, now, it's great to pray, we need to do it. 00:05:07.760 --> 00:05:09.560 It's great to serve, we need to do it. 00:05:09.900 --> 00:05:11.800 It's great to invite, we need to do it. 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:16.540 But there has to become some point in time where you lay out the gospel. 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:17.720 Now, a couple different ways. 00:05:17.960 --> 00:05:19.960 For you, this could be your journey. 00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:23.820 What the Lord's leading you to do is to sit down with scripture and walk through verse by 00:05:23.820 --> 00:05:24.740 verse and explain. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:26.920 And if you want some help with that, sign us up. 00:05:26.960 --> 00:05:29.280 We'd love to sit down and help walk you through that. 00:05:29.520 --> 00:05:34.940 But here's a way that I think is real and is tangible, especially for a lost world and 00:05:34.940 --> 00:05:36.080 for everyone in here. 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:43.800 If you are saved, okay, there's been a point in time where Christ has saved you and you have 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:48.800 a relationship with him and you are the expert in that. 00:05:49.760 --> 00:05:55.100 You are the expert in your walk with Christ of what it looked like for him to save you and 00:05:55.100 --> 00:05:56.700 to bring you life and hope. 00:05:56.700 --> 00:06:01.960 Lost people don't want to sit down and debate all the parts of Isaiah, all right? 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:07.260 They want to know what your story is and what Jesus did and how Jesus saved you. 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:09.900 And so I want to encourage you to do that. 00:06:10.020 --> 00:06:11.240 So who is your one? 00:06:11.320 --> 00:06:12.480 Let's be praying about that. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:16.760 Let's be thinking about that and seeking the face of God on that as well. 00:06:17.200 --> 00:06:22.320 So this morning, what we're going to do is we're going to look in Luke 16 at a parable 00:06:22.320 --> 00:06:28.200 that Jesus shared, and I want to share with you kind of the theme, and then we're going 00:06:28.200 --> 00:06:30.980 to have four application points of this parable. 00:06:31.180 --> 00:06:32.160 And here's the theme. 00:06:32.580 --> 00:06:39.820 How you live today shows your value or your belief in what tomorrow holds. 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:49.020 How you live today, what you do today, what we speak about today shows our value or your 00:06:49.020 --> 00:06:51.160 belief in what tomorrow holds. 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:56.160 Now, this week was a great object lesson in that, all right? 00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:02.540 So Monday, Aaron had been searching online or on Facebook Marketplace for a long time for 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:05.860 us to get a new old refrigerator, right? 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.720 So we're those people, we got a refrigerator in the garage, right? 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:14.440 It's where you put the leftovers, it's where we can load it up with Gatorades and waters when 00:07:14.440 --> 00:07:16.740 you're out there working in the yard, and it's what we've got. 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:21.840 We will maximize the freezer, and we've got one right now, and it's starting to not act 00:07:21.840 --> 00:07:22.120 right. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:28.200 And so my wife, she's been looking for months, all through COVID, of trying to find us a new 00:07:28.200 --> 00:07:32.900 refrigerator for the garage, and she found one on the other side of Aiken. 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:40.960 And so on Monday, me, my neighbor, and Moses, we load up in my truck, and we begin to head 00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:44.960 to the other side of Aiken to pick up this refrigerator. 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:49.700 And on our way there, my neighbor, he's sitting in the backseat of my truck, he says something 00:07:49.700 --> 00:07:56.440 like, hey, did y'all know the Russians just bombed our gas line? 00:07:56.520 --> 00:07:58.140 And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what, what? 00:07:58.340 --> 00:08:03.020 If you know me, news doesn't bring out the best of me, but I knew that didn't quite sound 00:08:03.020 --> 00:08:06.340 right, and so I was like, let's flesh this out a little bit and figure out what's going 00:08:06.340 --> 00:08:06.600 on. 00:08:06.820 --> 00:08:13.920 So in the very early moments of this on Monday, he begins to share what is going on, and what 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:17.880 is happening, what he can get off of his phone. 00:08:17.880 --> 00:08:24.000 And it said in there, right, there's going to be a gas shortage, we're going to do it 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.540 out, and so I looked down, and I was like, oh, I got, I'm right out of full tank, so I'm 00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:28.840 good. 00:08:29.380 --> 00:08:33.040 So we go, and we pick up the refrigerator, and we drive all the way back, and we get to 00:08:33.040 --> 00:08:36.760 the house, and Moses is like, man, I ain't got no gas. 00:08:37.880 --> 00:08:43.600 So on the way from my house to Gilbert, which is like a 12-minute ride, Moses is like, I'm 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:44.660 going to hit up some gas stations. 00:08:45.460 --> 00:08:51.020 Well, on the way, while Moses was there, Erin pointed out that she didn't have any gas because 00:08:51.020 --> 00:08:54.320 she'd planned to get something in the morning, and she didn't know all of this. 00:08:54.940 --> 00:08:56.120 And I'm like, you'll be fine, babe. 00:08:56.180 --> 00:08:57.220 Like, this won't be a big deal. 00:08:57.420 --> 00:09:00.120 Like, it's the media, right, you know, whatever, right? 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:03.700 And so Moses sends me a text message. 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:06.800 Hey, man, like, this is for real. 00:09:07.380 --> 00:09:11.980 Like, I just bought premium, you know, like, this is what's going on. 00:09:12.780 --> 00:09:15.000 And so still, I'm like, okay, okay, okay. 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:20.100 Well, so Erin and I are already in bed, about 10.30, way past our bedtime. 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:23.260 So I get up, and I'm like, hey, I'm going to go put some gas in your car. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:26.140 So I rode up and put premium in the car. 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:31.200 And then the next morning, now I'm at about a half a tank for my trip back and forth. 00:09:31.760 --> 00:09:34.660 And I realized, no, this is a thing. 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:36.180 This is a thing. 00:09:37.300 --> 00:09:40.460 So I need to think ahead for what tomorrow could hold. 00:09:40.560 --> 00:09:46.700 So I had a 55-gallon drum in my yard, and I went and put it in the back of my truck. 00:09:46.780 --> 00:09:47.140 I'm just kidding. 00:09:47.160 --> 00:09:47.740 I didn't do that. 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:53.080 Like, some of y'all are looking at me like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, we're leaving. 00:09:54.540 --> 00:09:56.960 No, no, but I was like, I'm not at half of tanks. 00:09:57.020 --> 00:09:57.820 I want to be smart. 00:09:58.360 --> 00:09:59.640 I don't know what tomorrow holds. 00:09:59.680 --> 00:10:00.480 I want to be smart. 00:10:01.020 --> 00:10:04.980 And so on my way of taking the kids to school, I went ahead and said, let's top off. 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:07.120 Let's go ahead and get to a full tank. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:14.400 And I told Erin, because I knew we were taking her car to Atlanta on Friday, and we've got to go to Atlanta. 00:10:14.400 --> 00:10:22.360 And I said, hey, like, when you start to get around half a tank, like, go ahead and fill up and go ahead and take care of that. 00:10:22.400 --> 00:10:27.000 Because, like, I'm not at the point to where we need to all dig bunkers and hide, right? 00:10:27.380 --> 00:10:30.860 But this could be a thing of what they're saying for, like, four or five days. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:35.320 And it kind of became an inconvenience for a lot of people within there, right? 00:10:35.680 --> 00:10:36.500 Here's my point. 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:44.260 What we did, what I did that day, was determined by what I believed tomorrow would hold. 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:48.880 And what we're going to look at in this parable is this. 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:53.460 Jesus says the world gets that concept. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:55.620 I wish my people would. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:07.220 The world gets that what they do today says what they believe or value about tomorrow, and I wish my people would get that. 00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:10.040 And so we'll start reading in verse one. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:15.700 It says he also said to the disciples, there was a rich man who had a manager. 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:20.440 And charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 00:11:21.400 --> 00:11:25.080 And he called him and said to him, what is this that I hear about you? 00:11:25.760 --> 00:11:30.180 Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager. 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:37.360 And the manager said to himself, what shall I do since my master is taking the management away from me? 00:11:37.640 --> 00:11:41.460 I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg. 00:11:41.920 --> 00:11:49.300 I have decided what to do so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses. 00:11:49.780 --> 00:11:56.480 So summoning his master's debtors, one by one, he said to the first, how much do you owe my master? 00:11:56.760 --> 00:11:58.840 And he said, a hundred measures of oil. 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:04.360 And he said to him, take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty. 00:12:04.800 --> 00:12:07.340 Then he said to another, how much do you owe? 00:12:07.560 --> 00:12:09.580 And he said, a hundred measures of wheat. 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:13.000 And he said to him, take your bill and write eighty. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:19.160 And the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. 00:12:19.160 --> 00:12:22.760 And now Jesus transitions out of the parable. 00:12:23.640 --> 00:12:30.740 For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:37.100 And I tell you, make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth, 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:42.980 so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 00:12:43.560 --> 00:12:49.240 One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much. 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:55.000 And one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 00:12:55.240 --> 00:13:02.040 Then if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust you the true riches? 00:13:02.660 --> 00:13:09.320 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:16.340 No servant can serve two masters, for he will hate the one and love the other, 00:13:16.460 --> 00:13:20.320 or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:22.680 You cannot serve God and money. 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:29.700 Verse 14, the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and they ridiculed him. 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:33.080 So here's what I want us to first, like, go ahead and address. 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:37.520 This is a very, very difficult parable. 00:13:38.520 --> 00:13:41.040 Sometimes Jesus lays some things out in parable. 00:13:41.300 --> 00:13:45.840 We looked at these like the lost coin, like, there's some things we can draw out from that, 00:13:45.920 --> 00:13:46.760 but, like, we get it. 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:48.620 When lost is found, we celebrate. 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:50.420 This, we read it like, what? 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:57.800 Jesus is not, if we're careful, it can be that Jesus is giving us sinful advice. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:13:59.560 Rip people off. 00:14:00.180 --> 00:14:03.820 This is what you're to do, and that's not what he is saying. 00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:10.640 So let me explain what is going on in this parable that'll help us understand our application points for this. 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:16.040 So there's this rich man who finds out that his manager is wasting his possessions, 00:14:16.040 --> 00:14:19.480 so he decides he's going to fire him, right? 00:14:19.560 --> 00:14:20.820 You're not a good manager. 00:14:21.140 --> 00:14:26.400 You're not doing what I expect from you to do with what I've entrusted you with. 00:14:26.400 --> 00:14:30.680 So he summons him and says, go get all your files. 00:14:31.420 --> 00:14:32.640 Go get the accounts. 00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:37.740 Go get the paperwork, because you're going to be terminated. 00:14:37.900 --> 00:14:45.860 Now, this guy, he's real sharp, and he's smart, and he evaluates himself, 00:14:46.300 --> 00:14:48.740 and here is the conclusion that he comes to. 00:14:49.660 --> 00:14:50.820 Jesus' own words. 00:14:51.280 --> 00:14:59.060 He says, I'm not real strong, and I'm not built for manual labor, so that's out. 00:14:59.880 --> 00:15:01.840 He's about to lose his management job. 00:15:02.400 --> 00:15:03.660 No one's going to hire him. 00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:05.320 He's not getting good references. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:08.680 And he goes, man, I've been living in this blue-collar world, 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:13.980 white-collar world, to jump into blue-collar and have to work and use my strength. 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:15.200 Like, that's not me. 00:15:15.380 --> 00:15:16.020 I'm out. 00:15:16.780 --> 00:15:20.360 Then he says, and, like, let's just be honest. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:22.040 I'm not going to beg. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:24.740 That's beneath me. 00:15:25.380 --> 00:15:27.460 I'm not going to do that. 00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:29.540 So that's out. 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:32.380 So what do I do? 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:35.000 And he says, well, I'm going to dig into what I know 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.740 and how I know I can manipulate things and move things around and bend the rules 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:42.360 because I'm not fired yet, and I have the accounts. 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:47.880 So he grabs these accounts, and he goes to two debts that are owed. 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:53.280 The first guy owes 100 measures of oil is what Scripture tells us, 00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:58.800 and so that's the amount of oil that you could get from 150 filled olive trees. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:01.400 This would be the amount of oil that would come from them. 00:16:01.540 --> 00:16:02.700 So this is what he's owed. 00:16:02.900 --> 00:16:04.620 I don't know if you've bought olive oil. 00:16:04.760 --> 00:16:05.740 It ain't cheap, right? 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:07.800 This is about two to three years' salary. 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:12.200 And he goes to this guy and says, this is what you owe my master. 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:13.600 Here's what I'm going to do. 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:14.720 You pay it right now. 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:15.960 I'm going to cut it in half. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:17.980 Take it and pay it. 00:16:18.380 --> 00:16:19.080 And so he does. 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:23.000 To another guy, he owes 100 measures of wheat. 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:28.100 That's roughly 100 acres of wheat, which would be 10 years' salary. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:32.340 And I don't know the difference in the numbers or if that's important, but he cuts that one 00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:38.080 by 20%, and he says, you pay that, and we'll take care of this, because I still got the books. 00:16:39.300 --> 00:16:40.860 And the guy's like, all right, and he pays it. 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:43.520 And so why would he do this? 00:16:44.800 --> 00:16:47.060 He's not keeping the money back for himself. 00:16:48.140 --> 00:16:55.900 He's not saying, like, look, I'm going to cut it to 80, so go ahead and pay that now and keep 10 for me, and then I'll be set. 00:16:56.660 --> 00:16:58.820 He doesn't steal because that's against the law. 00:17:00.060 --> 00:17:01.960 But he's been entrusted with the books. 00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:04.480 And so he bends what's there. 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:06.460 He thinks about what's going on. 00:17:06.620 --> 00:17:08.000 And here's his heart. 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:09.720 Here's what he's doing in this moment. 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:18.120 He said, look, there's going to become a point in time where my money runs out, and I don't have a place to live, and here's what I'm going to do. 00:17:18.260 --> 00:17:20.580 I'm going to cash that in then. 00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:35.960 So I'm going to think a year from now, when there's no food on my table, when there's no roof over my head, I'm going to go to that guy and say, hey, remember when you owed 10 years' wages, and I cut two of that off from you? 00:17:36.600 --> 00:17:39.960 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sleeping in your bed tonight, right? 00:17:40.040 --> 00:17:42.800 Like, you're moving, you're on the couch, buddy, I claim it. 00:17:43.520 --> 00:17:47.100 Let's go to the other guy, remember when I cut that debt in half? 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:50.740 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're feeding me for a while, right? 00:17:51.120 --> 00:17:52.980 This is what I'm doing. 00:17:53.260 --> 00:18:03.060 Now, the master, when he gets the records, he goes and he looks, and he's like, I see what you did. 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.840 Yep, yep, yep, mm, you got me there. 00:18:07.320 --> 00:18:10.200 Good one, good one, right? 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:21.280 But when the master looks at what's done, and he notices that he bent what was there in order to benefit him, 00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:25.420 because he knows what his tomorrow holds. 00:18:26.040 --> 00:18:30.920 It says the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. 00:18:31.840 --> 00:18:38.840 And then Jesus says, for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 00:18:38.840 --> 00:18:46.060 So Jesus is not telling you, if you find out, you're going to be laid off to go and bend the rules. 00:18:46.620 --> 00:18:53.120 But here's what Jesus is saying about the sons of light, you and I, that we should live today, 00:18:53.960 --> 00:19:00.560 make our decisions today based off of the value of what we know tomorrow, 00:19:00.560 --> 00:19:05.800 or even more important, what we're going to press into, eternity will hold. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:09.680 That that should affect our right now. 00:19:10.560 --> 00:19:12.040 You see, this isn't about gas. 00:19:12.860 --> 00:19:14.220 This isn't about food. 00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:21.440 This is about eternity and giving an account to God of what you and I have been given. 00:19:21.560 --> 00:19:27.760 And so the first thing, the first application that I want us to have is this, is live knowing. 00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:29.500 Live knowing. 00:19:30.360 --> 00:19:36.700 Live every day knowing that you and I will give an account. 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:38.160 All right? 00:19:38.540 --> 00:19:43.800 Now, it is saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:47.220 That's the means of salvation. 00:19:48.220 --> 00:19:54.800 We're going to sing a song at the end of the service that just lays that out for us 00:19:54.800 --> 00:20:05.020 about what God does because of who God is and how you and I, we live in the beauty of the benefit of that. 00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:05.840 All right? 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:17.740 So know this, but Scripture is also very clear that all of us, all of the world is going to give an account. 00:20:18.760 --> 00:20:21.060 Paul writes in Romans 14, 12, 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:25.680 so then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 00:20:26.840 --> 00:20:26.940 Right? 00:20:28.380 --> 00:20:29.560 Each of us. 00:20:30.120 --> 00:20:33.860 Paul's talking to the church, including himself into that. 00:20:34.300 --> 00:20:38.360 Each of us will give an account of himself to God. 00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:40.220 Ecclesiastes 12, 14, 00:20:40.580 --> 00:20:46.900 For God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil. 00:20:47.100 --> 00:20:49.580 Paul writes again, 2 Corinthians 5, 10, 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:54.000 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 00:20:54.140 --> 00:21:01.560 so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:12.840 And so what Jesus is driving home at in this parable is that the world lives their life in preparation for what the future will hold. 00:21:13.300 --> 00:21:14.900 Why won't my people get this? 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.860 And here's the weird part for you and I. 00:21:18.340 --> 00:21:23.980 We understand this, and we apply this in earthly measures all the time. 00:21:24.540 --> 00:21:25.420 Retirement account. 00:21:26.060 --> 00:21:27.220 That's not bad. 00:21:27.540 --> 00:21:28.500 That's good. 00:21:28.900 --> 00:21:36.620 Set things up because there's going to become a point in time where your body and your mind can't do what it's doing right now. 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:42.940 And you need to make sure that you set things ahead because of what tomorrow will hold. 00:21:43.100 --> 00:21:50.180 A bus could hit me today and wipe me out, and that retirement account isn't going to change anything for me. 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:56.340 But at that point when my mind's not as sharp as it used to, and I can't stand here as long as I used to, 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:58.740 which some of you will be like, well, that's kind of a good thing, right? 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:04.020 But we can't do these things, and your back can't take what you've been doing. 00:22:05.800 --> 00:22:06.940 You know what's going to happen? 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:12.620 You're going to have prepared for the future of the investment of what's there. 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:17.860 And Jesus says, I wish the children of the world, they get that. 00:22:18.020 --> 00:22:20.240 Our church has embraced that. 00:22:20.420 --> 00:22:25.080 But when it comes to light and matters of the light, we don't always get that. 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:27.860 But God's word's really clear. 00:22:30.120 --> 00:22:37.880 Everything, yep, everything you and I got to give an account for, for all of it. 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:42.900 So what does that mean for us within the dynamic of this parable? 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:47.780 I don't think this is an all-encompassing, but Jesus gives us some different things for us to look at 00:22:47.780 --> 00:22:50.320 if we're going to live in a future mindset. 00:22:50.520 --> 00:22:53.480 Number one is live generously, right? 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:55.900 Live knowing, but also live generously. 00:22:56.820 --> 00:22:59.860 Luke 16, 9, at the end of this, Jesus says, 00:23:00.120 --> 00:23:05.000 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, 00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:11.220 so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwelling. 00:23:11.340 --> 00:23:13.680 So what in the world is Jesus talking about here, all right? 00:23:13.980 --> 00:23:19.060 He says, make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth. 00:23:19.060 --> 00:23:23.320 Okay, Jesus is not talking about, like, shady living and money. 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:29.200 Jesus isn't saying, like, well, go make friends from the money that you've ripped off from people. 00:23:29.360 --> 00:23:31.520 That's not unrighteous wealth. 00:23:31.620 --> 00:23:33.320 Here's what unrighteous wealth is. 00:23:33.580 --> 00:23:35.000 Anything that burns up. 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:36.020 Anything. 00:23:37.300 --> 00:23:40.980 Anything of this world, it's material. 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:43.240 It's going to burn up. 00:23:43.380 --> 00:23:44.840 It's not God. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:46.420 It's not eternal. 00:23:46.420 --> 00:23:53.160 And so what Jesus says is, all this is going to burn up anyways, so take what you have, 00:23:53.400 --> 00:24:00.880 take what you've been entrusted with, and use it in such a way that it draws people to you, 00:24:01.580 --> 00:24:06.960 that it draws people into who you are and into what you know. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:16.700 Make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, when it's gone, when it burns up, when you're in a box, right? 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:23.160 That the fruit of your life, of what you invested in, will become manifest through your eternal dwellings. 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:24.700 That's what he says. 00:24:26.360 --> 00:24:27.480 Righteous wealth. 00:24:27.860 --> 00:24:29.120 Be generous. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:32.420 Be generous with this. 00:24:33.320 --> 00:24:38.700 Begin to think of things differently, our house, our car, our money, all of these things. 00:24:39.860 --> 00:24:46.300 So Jesus says, look, you can't take it with you, and so live in a manner that's generous to those around you, right? 00:24:46.780 --> 00:24:54.940 In Leviticus 25, 35, it says, if your brother, by the way, that's not biological brother, that's brother in the family here, right? 00:24:55.120 --> 00:25:02.320 Becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner. 00:25:02.320 --> 00:25:12.140 So look at what Jesus says, like, if your brother becomes without, treat him as a stranger sojourner, let's define it, and he shall live with you. 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:20.740 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God that your brother may live beside you. 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:27.300 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him food for profit. 00:25:27.300 --> 00:25:34.080 Now, then there's going to be a pause here for just a second, because if I'm hearing that, I'm like, well, what do I get out of this? 00:25:34.340 --> 00:25:35.480 I've worked hard. 00:25:35.620 --> 00:25:36.860 I've built these things. 00:25:37.120 --> 00:25:38.200 This is what I've done. 00:25:38.320 --> 00:25:43.040 And then God, in his grace and love, comes and hits us upside the face with verse 38. 00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:50.120 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:52.440 Oh, you don't think he deserves it? 00:25:52.560 --> 00:25:53.180 Guess what, buddy? 00:25:53.620 --> 00:25:54.420 Neither did you. 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:56.720 And what did I bring you out of? 00:25:57.300 --> 00:25:58.980 And what did I give you? 00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:01.940 And who am I? 00:26:02.320 --> 00:26:02.500 Right? 00:26:03.120 --> 00:26:09.860 And so in this, we see the picture of what Scripture calls us to, to live in generosity. 00:26:10.300 --> 00:26:15.120 Jesus says, like, take your unrighteous wealth that's going to burn up and just use it. 00:26:15.280 --> 00:26:21.620 And let me just tell you, when you're generous to people, in the small things and in the big, it impacts in so many different ways. 00:26:21.620 --> 00:26:21.840 All right? 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:25.900 So a few weeks ago, normally, I'm not a big breakfast guy. 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:27.580 Very rarely do I eat breakfast. 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:33.960 And so I was riding up here on a Sunday morning, and I was running a little early, and I could feel the little grumble, right? 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.360 Like, I was getting a little bit hungry. 00:26:35.560 --> 00:26:36.480 And I thought, you know what I need? 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:37.800 I need a Bojangles biscuit. 00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:39.580 I hadn't had one of those in a long time. 00:26:39.820 --> 00:26:41.020 And so I'd go through the line. 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:42.500 I had my coffee with me. 00:26:42.700 --> 00:26:43.520 Didn't need the combo. 00:26:43.780 --> 00:26:44.800 Just needed the biscuit. 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:45.680 Ordered it. 00:26:45.780 --> 00:26:47.840 Came up to, like, $3 and some change. 00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:48.800 Right? 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:51.160 Now, this isn't bragging. 00:26:51.320 --> 00:26:54.140 This is just blessing, like, $3 and change. 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:55.160 I didn't think twice about it. 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.240 I'm not going to miss my mortgage because of this biscuit. 00:27:00.060 --> 00:27:00.300 Right? 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:01.760 So I pull up. 00:27:01.780 --> 00:27:02.540 I pull up to the window. 00:27:03.620 --> 00:27:07.040 And the lady hands me the bag before I can hand her my debit card. 00:27:08.100 --> 00:27:08.780 And so I got to pay. 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:09.720 And she said, well, no. 00:27:10.040 --> 00:27:13.360 The car in front of you just paid for your food. 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:17.840 That didn't change my retirement account. 00:27:19.620 --> 00:27:22.740 I didn't call the kids and say, hey, somebody just bought my biscuit. 00:27:22.820 --> 00:27:23.720 We can go to Disney now. 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:24.160 Right? 00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:26.500 That didn't happen. 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:34.340 But from that moment weeks ago until now, what it has sparked within my heart of God drawing 00:27:34.340 --> 00:27:40.060 me closer is revealing the sin of where I'm stingy and walking me down a path of generosity 00:27:40.060 --> 00:27:41.120 because of a biscuit. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:43.820 Because of a biscuit. 00:27:45.740 --> 00:27:54.200 You know, what would it look like if the people of God stopped displaying ourselves as the 00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:58.100 misers and started living in the generosity? 00:27:59.320 --> 00:28:00.440 In the generosity. 00:28:01.760 --> 00:28:03.240 I want to challenge you with something this week. 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:08.300 You've all, we've all got our, like, routines of life, right? 00:28:09.040 --> 00:28:10.100 We've got our things that we do. 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:12.120 Our rewards that we give ourselves. 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:18.780 So on Friday, you swing by a Starbucks and you get the really expensive extra large drink 00:28:18.780 --> 00:28:19.580 right on your way home. 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:20.040 Right? 00:28:21.060 --> 00:28:27.440 On Tuesdays, you always go out for dinner together so that you don't have to worry about a meal 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:30.320 that day and you can just go and just go out to dinner. 00:28:31.620 --> 00:28:33.180 What would it look like this week? 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:34.820 Just this week. 00:28:35.860 --> 00:28:42.640 If you took that encounter of what you would do and used it as an opportunity to bless someone 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:43.600 and be generous instead. 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:46.260 Here's what I thought about. 00:28:47.800 --> 00:28:52.960 Those people in that car, they had no clue who I was. 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.620 It's early in the morning. 00:28:58.020 --> 00:29:02.760 They didn't know where I was coming from or where I was headed to. 00:29:04.260 --> 00:29:06.340 They didn't know the motive of my heart. 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:08.940 They didn't know my sin. 00:29:09.980 --> 00:29:10.880 They didn't know anything. 00:29:12.300 --> 00:29:16.240 And they decided in their generosity to love me. 00:29:17.300 --> 00:29:20.120 And it impacted me and changed me. 00:29:21.340 --> 00:29:25.140 What would it look like if God's people did the same thing? 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:29.080 Live in generosity. 00:29:30.140 --> 00:29:31.760 Next thing I want us to look at. 00:29:32.860 --> 00:29:33.840 Live as a steward. 00:29:35.240 --> 00:29:36.240 Live as a steward. 00:29:36.320 --> 00:29:39.540 Which, by the way, stewardship and generosity are partners. 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:42.860 They don't work against each other. 00:29:44.460 --> 00:29:45.340 Jesus says, 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:51.000 One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much. 00:29:51.340 --> 00:29:55.940 And one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 00:29:56.280 --> 00:29:59.580 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous, 00:30:00.020 --> 00:30:02.700 well, the things of this world, 00:30:02.700 --> 00:30:05.060 who will entrust you with the true riches? 00:30:05.260 --> 00:30:06.240 The things of God. 00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:08.060 The things of eternity. 00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:13.660 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, 00:30:13.760 --> 00:30:17.280 who will give you that which is your own? 00:30:18.660 --> 00:30:19.760 So Jesus is like, 00:30:19.840 --> 00:30:23.760 Hey, disciples, Pharisees are e-drapping into this. 00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:24.760 Let's listen. 00:30:25.760 --> 00:30:26.620 Be stewards. 00:30:27.380 --> 00:30:29.340 Here's what stewardship means. 00:30:30.580 --> 00:30:32.380 You and I, 00:30:33.080 --> 00:30:36.500 can we agree as believers of Christ that we have nothing? 00:30:37.340 --> 00:30:38.500 We own nothing. 00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:40.860 None of this. 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:43.360 The clothes you are wearing right now aren't yours. 00:30:44.360 --> 00:30:46.940 The money in your account is not yours. 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:50.460 The car in the parking lot is not yours. 00:30:51.040 --> 00:30:52.620 The home that awaits you, 00:30:52.840 --> 00:30:53.940 it is not yours. 00:30:54.180 --> 00:30:58.620 The body that you have in here with you right now, 00:30:58.860 --> 00:31:00.420 it is not yours. 00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:02.260 None of it. 00:31:03.060 --> 00:31:04.400 It's all God's. 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:05.120 It's all God's. 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:11.680 And what God did is he entrusted you with it 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:14.660 for a purpose and for a reason. 00:31:15.220 --> 00:31:16.160 Because the things, 00:31:16.340 --> 00:31:20.360 I just listed all sorts of things that are going to burn up 00:31:20.360 --> 00:31:22.720 and be destroyed. 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:27.980 And he entrusted us with those things 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:30.040 and how we steward them, 00:31:30.320 --> 00:31:32.460 how we're faithful with them 00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:35.760 will help us see if we can be entrusted 00:31:35.760 --> 00:31:37.140 with the true riches, 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:39.040 with the things that don't burn up. 00:31:39.260 --> 00:31:42.160 So here's the bow, God, woodshed, 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:44.680 I'm limping this weak moment for me 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:48.100 continually over and over and over again. 00:31:48.100 --> 00:31:51.880 How am I doing with what I've been entrusted with? 00:31:53.580 --> 00:31:55.700 So here's my personal journey 00:31:55.700 --> 00:31:57.320 into my brain this week. 00:31:58.400 --> 00:31:59.380 My body. 00:32:01.320 --> 00:32:02.980 How am I doing caring for it? 00:32:04.560 --> 00:32:05.800 If you know me, 00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:07.300 you know that manna from heaven 00:32:07.300 --> 00:32:09.740 looks like a cheeseburger from McDonald's, right? 00:32:11.840 --> 00:32:14.840 Am I taking care of it? 00:32:16.340 --> 00:32:17.700 A few years ago. 00:32:19.460 --> 00:32:20.780 Do you have those people in your life 00:32:20.780 --> 00:32:21.780 who you know they love you 00:32:21.780 --> 00:32:23.840 but it feels like they say mean things to you all the time? 00:32:24.660 --> 00:32:25.840 I have some of those people. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:27.140 If you don't find some of those, 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.860 they're good for you. 00:32:29.860 --> 00:32:31.060 And he said to me 00:32:31.060 --> 00:32:34.000 a few years ago, 00:32:35.140 --> 00:32:35.540 hey man, 00:32:37.140 --> 00:32:38.200 kind of looking fat and lazy. 00:32:42.540 --> 00:32:44.220 Well, good to see you too. 00:32:44.220 --> 00:32:44.740 You know? 00:32:46.340 --> 00:32:47.400 And he said, 00:32:47.940 --> 00:32:50.300 have you ever said no to God 00:32:50.300 --> 00:32:51.800 because you physically can't do something? 00:32:53.260 --> 00:32:53.760 And he said, 00:32:53.840 --> 00:32:54.440 I'm not talking about 00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:55.540 you physically can't do something. 00:32:55.620 --> 00:32:56.720 Like if I take off my glasses, 00:32:56.840 --> 00:32:57.820 I can't read right now. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:32:58.780 I'm not talking about that. 00:33:00.100 --> 00:33:00.620 I'm talking about 00:33:00.620 --> 00:33:01.520 you ever said no to God 00:33:01.520 --> 00:33:02.880 because you physically can't do something 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:04.360 because you've been a poor steward of your body. 00:33:06.100 --> 00:33:06.420 Yep. 00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:09.420 Care for it. 00:33:10.540 --> 00:33:12.020 God gave it to us for a reason 00:33:12.020 --> 00:33:13.140 that we could then go 00:33:13.140 --> 00:33:14.040 and carry the gospel. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:15.100 Right? 00:33:17.100 --> 00:33:17.460 Spouse. 00:33:18.600 --> 00:33:19.320 My wife. 00:33:24.320 --> 00:33:25.400 It sounds weird 00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:27.040 and maybe sexist 00:33:27.040 --> 00:33:30.000 to say that I need to steward my wife. 00:33:30.100 --> 00:33:31.180 But if you're married in here, 00:33:31.260 --> 00:33:32.640 you need to be stewarding your spouse. 00:33:34.100 --> 00:33:34.860 And men, 00:33:34.980 --> 00:33:36.880 I won't kind of pick on you 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:38.440 because I understand us, right? 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:42.380 I'm going to stand before the Lord one day 00:33:42.380 --> 00:33:43.320 and give an account 00:33:43.320 --> 00:33:46.280 for how I lead and love her. 00:33:48.180 --> 00:33:49.600 That's what it means to steward. 00:33:50.600 --> 00:33:52.380 I don't control her. 00:33:54.680 --> 00:33:56.160 She's not mine. 00:33:57.280 --> 00:33:58.440 She's God's. 00:33:59.700 --> 00:34:00.960 But I've been trusted 00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:03.060 with her heart. 00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:05.780 I've been entrusted with her mind. 00:34:06.340 --> 00:34:08.820 I've been entrusted with her spirit 00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:10.780 to lead it 00:34:10.780 --> 00:34:12.360 and to love it well. 00:34:14.040 --> 00:34:15.600 And I'll have to give an account 00:34:15.600 --> 00:34:17.420 for how I've done that. 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:20.900 For my kids, 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:26.780 they're getting older. 00:34:27.920 --> 00:34:29.480 Y'all remind us of that all the time 00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:31.120 when you tell us how big they're getting. 00:34:31.640 --> 00:34:32.520 All I hear is 00:34:32.520 --> 00:34:34.040 moving to college soon, right? 00:34:35.600 --> 00:34:36.880 But they're God's. 00:34:36.940 --> 00:34:37.640 They're not mine. 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:40.260 But he's entrusted them to me 00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:41.220 to raise them 00:34:41.220 --> 00:34:42.480 in the ways of the Lord, 00:34:43.120 --> 00:34:44.180 to lead them 00:34:44.180 --> 00:34:45.420 on the path of the gospel, 00:34:46.080 --> 00:34:48.060 to impart God's truth 00:34:48.060 --> 00:34:49.120 into who they are. 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:51.460 And then here's the hard thing 00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:53.560 to release them to go do it. 00:34:55.660 --> 00:34:56.820 And I'm going to have to stand 00:34:56.820 --> 00:34:57.460 before the Lord 00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:59.200 and give an account. 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:01.840 We can keep going. 00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:02.800 The house, 00:35:03.060 --> 00:35:03.620 the cars, 00:35:04.060 --> 00:35:04.760 the cash, 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:05.900 the food. 00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:09.840 How are we using them 00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:12.640 for the glory of God? 00:35:13.860 --> 00:35:15.420 I want to give you this illustration. 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:17.480 I'm not a car guy. 00:35:17.580 --> 00:35:18.560 I've never been a car guy. 00:35:19.200 --> 00:35:20.520 Like all of my cars, 00:35:20.660 --> 00:35:21.620 trucks that I've ever had, 00:35:21.680 --> 00:35:22.760 I just kind of use them 00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:23.720 to serve a purpose. 00:35:24.700 --> 00:35:26.920 And if you get in my car, 00:35:27.060 --> 00:35:27.940 it's not necessarily 00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:28.860 always the cleanest. 00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:29.900 There's probably dog hair 00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:30.660 in the back seat. 00:35:31.020 --> 00:35:32.340 There's definitely going to be 00:35:32.340 --> 00:35:33.640 some McDonald's french fries 00:35:33.640 --> 00:35:34.760 that you find kind of hidden. 00:35:35.020 --> 00:35:36.000 There's going to be stains 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:37.200 where things were spilled. 00:35:37.600 --> 00:35:38.580 That's just me. 00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:39.480 And some of you 00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:40.800 are cringing at that, right? 00:35:40.920 --> 00:35:41.980 Because you're car people. 00:35:42.620 --> 00:35:43.960 I know a guy one time, 00:35:44.120 --> 00:35:45.840 a good friend of mine, 00:35:45.960 --> 00:35:47.620 and he's a car guy. 00:35:48.380 --> 00:35:49.480 And he worked hard 00:35:49.480 --> 00:35:51.460 and finally saved up enough money 00:35:51.460 --> 00:35:52.500 and he bought himself 00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:53.580 a sports car. 00:35:54.080 --> 00:35:55.000 And every Friday, 00:35:55.080 --> 00:35:56.520 he had every Friday off from work 00:35:56.520 --> 00:35:57.540 and he would go out 00:35:57.540 --> 00:35:58.300 into his yard 00:35:58.300 --> 00:36:00.500 and he would wash that car. 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:02.900 And when the car was washed 00:36:02.900 --> 00:36:03.940 and dried, 00:36:04.200 --> 00:36:05.580 he would go inside 00:36:05.580 --> 00:36:07.740 and get Q-tips 00:36:07.740 --> 00:36:10.100 and would go through 00:36:10.100 --> 00:36:11.000 the inside 00:36:11.000 --> 00:36:12.300 and the outside 00:36:12.300 --> 00:36:14.140 of that sports car 00:36:14.140 --> 00:36:15.620 detailing it. 00:36:16.620 --> 00:36:18.760 And if you got in his car, 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:20.820 your shoes better be cleaned 00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:22.040 and if you want to be 00:36:22.040 --> 00:36:23.380 drop kicked out of it, 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:24.620 like bring food 00:36:24.620 --> 00:36:26.300 or drinks into there, right? 00:36:26.420 --> 00:36:27.820 Like this is how serious 00:36:27.820 --> 00:36:28.920 this guy would be. 00:36:29.080 --> 00:36:29.980 So just imagine 00:36:29.980 --> 00:36:30.960 you've got him, 00:36:31.180 --> 00:36:31.940 you've got me. 00:36:31.940 --> 00:36:32.960 Hey, JJ, 00:36:33.200 --> 00:36:34.620 can I borrow your Mustang? 00:36:34.920 --> 00:36:35.660 Yeah, sure, Bo. 00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:36.780 And then I get it. 00:36:37.860 --> 00:36:39.200 And I take it down dirt roads 00:36:39.200 --> 00:36:40.240 because that's what I like to do. 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:42.360 And I go by McDonald's 00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:43.480 because I'm having a weak moment. 00:36:44.240 --> 00:36:46.200 And I leave the wetness 00:36:46.200 --> 00:36:47.280 from the cup, right? 00:36:47.320 --> 00:36:48.420 Y'all know what I'm talking about, right? 00:36:48.560 --> 00:36:49.600 In the cup holder 00:36:49.600 --> 00:36:50.580 and there's crumbs 00:36:50.580 --> 00:36:51.600 all over the place 00:36:51.600 --> 00:36:53.940 and there's dirt off my shoes 00:36:53.940 --> 00:36:55.900 and all of those things are there. 00:36:56.020 --> 00:36:57.940 And I bring it back to his house 00:36:57.940 --> 00:36:59.500 and I toss him the keys 00:36:59.500 --> 00:37:01.140 and it's covered with insects 00:37:01.140 --> 00:37:01.880 all over it. 00:37:01.940 --> 00:37:02.300 And said, 00:37:02.460 --> 00:37:03.320 hey, I appreciate it, man. 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:04.620 Can I borrow it again 00:37:04.620 --> 00:37:05.560 on next Friday? 00:37:07.320 --> 00:37:08.320 What do you think he's going to say? 00:37:09.240 --> 00:37:09.640 No. 00:37:10.160 --> 00:37:10.520 Why? 00:37:11.400 --> 00:37:12.780 Because I knew his standard. 00:37:12.920 --> 00:37:14.060 He had entrusted me with it 00:37:14.060 --> 00:37:15.180 and I chose to ignore it 00:37:15.180 --> 00:37:15.920 and rebel from it. 00:37:17.520 --> 00:37:18.660 And for us, 00:37:18.860 --> 00:37:21.500 that's what we do. 00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:23.900 When the standard 00:37:23.900 --> 00:37:25.160 of what God has given us, 00:37:25.240 --> 00:37:26.720 we violate and walk away from 00:37:26.720 --> 00:37:29.160 with what he's called us to steward. 00:37:30.100 --> 00:37:31.200 So live as a steward. 00:37:31.420 --> 00:37:32.560 And then lastly, 00:37:33.780 --> 00:37:34.620 live in pursuit. 00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:36.320 Live in pursuit. 00:37:36.480 --> 00:37:37.460 Jesus' own words. 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:39.460 No one can serve two masters 00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:42.120 for either he will hate the one 00:37:42.120 --> 00:37:43.340 and love the other 00:37:43.340 --> 00:37:44.940 or he'll be devoted to the one 00:37:44.940 --> 00:37:46.060 and despise the other. 00:37:46.220 --> 00:37:47.880 You cannot serve God and money. 00:37:48.280 --> 00:37:50.180 And then because Jesus is just awesome 00:37:50.180 --> 00:37:50.960 and he sees this 00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:52.000 in verse 14, 00:37:52.120 --> 00:37:53.580 he speaks to the Pharisees 00:37:53.580 --> 00:37:54.600 who were lovers of money 00:37:54.600 --> 00:37:55.680 heard all of these things 00:37:55.680 --> 00:37:56.460 and they ridiculed him. 00:37:56.700 --> 00:37:58.300 Jesus knew that, right? 00:37:58.820 --> 00:37:59.780 Saying it loud enough 00:37:59.780 --> 00:38:01.080 so that they can hear him. 00:38:01.940 --> 00:38:02.920 Because he knows 00:38:02.920 --> 00:38:03.620 that their heart, 00:38:04.160 --> 00:38:05.180 they're chasing two things. 00:38:06.420 --> 00:38:07.760 And Jesus looks at all of them 00:38:07.760 --> 00:38:09.380 and says, 00:38:09.520 --> 00:38:12.120 you can't serve two masters. 00:38:12.780 --> 00:38:14.480 No one can serve God 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:17.520 and anything else 00:38:17.520 --> 00:38:19.140 that's just going to burn up. 00:38:20.340 --> 00:38:20.860 You can't. 00:38:22.620 --> 00:38:26.080 I can't serve God and me. 00:38:27.520 --> 00:38:29.980 I can't serve God and Aaron. 00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:32.240 I can't serve God and my kids. 00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:33.100 I can't serve God and you. 00:38:33.160 --> 00:38:33.780 I've got to serve God. 00:38:35.140 --> 00:38:37.360 And I can't chase after these things. 00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:40.780 I just have to chase after him. 00:38:42.180 --> 00:38:43.340 But you and I, 00:38:43.460 --> 00:38:44.940 we want to chase. 00:38:45.780 --> 00:38:46.580 We want to chase. 00:38:48.200 --> 00:38:49.540 Close with this illustration. 00:38:51.820 --> 00:38:52.880 A few years ago, 00:38:52.940 --> 00:38:53.780 not a few years ago, 00:38:53.840 --> 00:38:54.740 our kids were actually, 00:38:54.740 --> 00:38:56.580 they just hit the really mobile, 00:38:56.700 --> 00:38:58.320 and dangerous stage, right? 00:38:58.620 --> 00:39:00.300 They had been walking for a while, 00:39:00.680 --> 00:39:02.220 but they were hit the point 00:39:02.220 --> 00:39:03.500 where they could run, 00:39:03.780 --> 00:39:05.140 but not run well 00:39:05.140 --> 00:39:06.800 so they could get away from us 00:39:06.800 --> 00:39:07.920 and then fall, right? 00:39:08.540 --> 00:39:09.620 And fall hard. 00:39:09.860 --> 00:39:10.340 Like, not even, 00:39:10.700 --> 00:39:11.620 it's like the kids, 00:39:11.720 --> 00:39:12.280 they don't even try 00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:13.080 to catch themselves. 00:39:13.220 --> 00:39:13.460 It's like, 00:39:13.520 --> 00:39:14.080 I'm going to fall, 00:39:14.180 --> 00:39:15.180 throw my hands back, right? 00:39:15.400 --> 00:39:16.280 Face slap, right? 00:39:16.540 --> 00:39:18.560 And so Aaron and I decided 00:39:18.560 --> 00:39:20.220 at that stage in our kids' life 00:39:20.220 --> 00:39:21.240 to let's go to the beach, 00:39:21.300 --> 00:39:22.200 just the four of us. 00:39:22.840 --> 00:39:23.900 And so we went to the beach. 00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:27.080 And so Aaron and I had this plan 00:39:27.080 --> 00:39:28.280 of this is what we're going to do. 00:39:29.060 --> 00:39:30.400 We're going to get out to the beach 00:39:30.400 --> 00:39:31.960 and we're going to get everything set up 00:39:31.960 --> 00:39:33.200 and we're going to have our chairs 00:39:33.200 --> 00:39:34.780 and we're going to have the umbrella 00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:35.760 and we're going to have the cooler 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:37.460 and we're going to have the games 00:39:37.460 --> 00:39:38.220 and all the stuff 00:39:38.220 --> 00:39:39.060 that we're going to do. 00:39:39.240 --> 00:39:41.360 But because going to the beach 00:39:41.360 --> 00:39:42.460 is relaxing, 00:39:42.620 --> 00:39:44.720 like we want part of that, right? 00:39:45.160 --> 00:39:46.040 We're a team 00:39:46.040 --> 00:39:47.220 and we get that 00:39:47.220 --> 00:39:48.080 and we know that 00:39:48.080 --> 00:39:49.120 and so we're going to be a team 00:39:49.120 --> 00:39:49.800 on the beach. 00:39:49.800 --> 00:39:50.880 And what we're going to do 00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:53.540 so that we can relax as well 00:39:53.540 --> 00:39:54.960 is we're going to take turns. 00:39:55.980 --> 00:39:57.360 And for the first 30 minutes, 00:39:57.460 --> 00:39:58.480 I'm going to go 00:39:58.480 --> 00:39:59.580 and I'm going to watch the kids 00:39:59.580 --> 00:40:00.840 and I'm going to play with the kids 00:40:00.840 --> 00:40:02.840 and then Aaron can kick back 00:40:02.840 --> 00:40:03.420 in her chair 00:40:03.420 --> 00:40:04.740 and read her book 00:40:04.740 --> 00:40:06.680 and just have a great time 00:40:06.680 --> 00:40:07.420 for 30 minutes 00:40:07.420 --> 00:40:08.980 and then I'm going to come over there 00:40:08.980 --> 00:40:09.980 and we're going to high five 00:40:09.980 --> 00:40:11.700 and I'm going to sit down in my chair 00:40:11.700 --> 00:40:12.940 and I'm going to kick back 00:40:12.940 --> 00:40:14.160 and put on my sunglasses 00:40:14.160 --> 00:40:15.120 and close my eyes 00:40:15.120 --> 00:40:16.080 and take a nap. 00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:17.840 And we're going to keep going 00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:18.760 over the course of the day 00:40:18.760 --> 00:40:19.440 back and forth, 00:40:19.720 --> 00:40:20.300 back and forth, 00:40:20.540 --> 00:40:21.180 back and forth. 00:40:21.300 --> 00:40:22.440 And so we get there 00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:23.860 and we get everything set up 00:40:23.860 --> 00:40:25.180 and Aaron goes 00:40:25.180 --> 00:40:26.040 and sits down 00:40:26.040 --> 00:40:27.920 and I got the kids by the hands 00:40:27.920 --> 00:40:28.640 and I bring them 00:40:28.640 --> 00:40:30.460 to their sand castles 00:40:30.460 --> 00:40:32.100 that we're going to work on 00:40:32.100 --> 00:40:32.880 and that we're going to build 00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:33.760 with all those kind of things 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:34.880 and I sit them there 00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:35.800 and we're like, 00:40:35.880 --> 00:40:36.100 all right, 00:40:36.300 --> 00:40:36.680 and ready, 00:40:36.840 --> 00:40:38.000 one, two, three, go. 00:40:38.220 --> 00:40:39.620 And I let go of their hands 00:40:39.620 --> 00:40:41.200 and I'm down there on the sand 00:40:41.200 --> 00:40:43.160 and in unison, 00:40:43.560 --> 00:40:44.020 Grayson, 00:40:44.300 --> 00:40:44.820 this way, 00:40:45.040 --> 00:40:45.260 Emma, 00:40:45.460 --> 00:40:46.140 this way. 00:40:48.640 --> 00:40:52.060 And so you run after one 00:40:52.060 --> 00:40:53.140 and the other one falls 00:40:53.140 --> 00:40:54.260 and then that one cries 00:40:54.260 --> 00:40:55.400 and then that one cries 00:40:55.400 --> 00:40:57.640 and then all of a sudden 00:40:57.640 --> 00:40:58.020 we're, 00:40:58.540 --> 00:40:58.980 I don't know, 00:40:59.300 --> 00:41:00.260 it seemed like an eternity 00:41:00.260 --> 00:41:01.140 but we're 30 seconds 00:41:01.140 --> 00:41:01.780 into this day. 00:41:03.820 --> 00:41:04.460 We're wondering, 00:41:04.580 --> 00:41:05.500 why don't we take grandparents, 00:41:06.020 --> 00:41:06.320 right? 00:41:07.660 --> 00:41:08.600 And Aaron comes out 00:41:08.600 --> 00:41:09.160 of her chair 00:41:09.160 --> 00:41:10.540 and she says, 00:41:10.620 --> 00:41:10.800 well, 00:41:11.440 --> 00:41:12.020 this is going to be 00:41:12.020 --> 00:41:12.760 a relaxing week, 00:41:12.820 --> 00:41:13.200 isn't it? 00:41:14.560 --> 00:41:14.920 And I said, 00:41:14.960 --> 00:41:15.180 yep. 00:41:16.180 --> 00:41:16.640 And she says, 00:41:16.680 --> 00:41:17.760 I got Grayson, 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:19.300 you got Emma. 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:21.840 And then we did the dance 00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:23.180 of kids 00:41:23.180 --> 00:41:24.580 for a week at the beach. 00:41:25.400 --> 00:41:26.260 She chased 00:41:26.260 --> 00:41:27.600 and I chased. 00:41:28.060 --> 00:41:28.360 Why? 00:41:29.560 --> 00:41:30.460 Because we knew, 00:41:30.820 --> 00:41:32.100 we knew 00:41:32.100 --> 00:41:32.740 that one person 00:41:32.740 --> 00:41:33.680 couldn't chase two things. 00:41:37.880 --> 00:41:39.220 But we don't get that. 00:41:40.760 --> 00:41:41.800 We don't get that. 00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:43.640 I don't know 00:41:43.640 --> 00:41:44.220 what you're chasing. 00:41:46.260 --> 00:41:47.600 I know what I chase. 00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:50.320 We got to stop. 00:41:51.820 --> 00:41:52.660 Because one day 00:41:52.660 --> 00:41:53.360 we'll give an account 00:41:53.360 --> 00:41:56.280 for all that we've said, 00:41:56.920 --> 00:41:58.100 for all that we've done, 00:41:58.680 --> 00:41:59.660 both righteous 00:41:59.660 --> 00:42:01.080 and unrighteous. 00:42:01.680 --> 00:42:02.560 And Jesus says, 00:42:03.220 --> 00:42:04.540 you can only 00:42:04.540 --> 00:42:05.980 serve 00:42:05.980 --> 00:42:06.920 one. 00:42:08.380 --> 00:42:09.080 He says it 00:42:09.080 --> 00:42:09.680 where the disciples 00:42:09.680 --> 00:42:10.220 can hear 00:42:10.220 --> 00:42:11.920 and where the Pharisees 00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:12.360 can hear. 00:42:12.820 --> 00:42:13.960 Who's it going 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:14.580 to be? 00:42:15.060 --> 00:42:15.540 Let's pray. 00:42:21.340 --> 00:42:21.780 Lord, 00:42:21.820 --> 00:42:22.840 I thank you so much 00:42:22.840 --> 00:42:24.840 for this time 00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:25.760 and this opportunity 00:42:25.760 --> 00:42:26.660 that we have 00:42:26.660 --> 00:42:27.580 where we can be here. 00:42:29.180 --> 00:42:29.620 Lord, 00:42:29.660 --> 00:42:30.620 I pray that as we 00:42:30.620 --> 00:42:31.700 reveal, 00:42:33.700 --> 00:42:34.720 as you reveal 00:42:34.720 --> 00:42:35.620 who we are, 00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:38.640 Lord, 00:42:38.680 --> 00:42:40.000 I pray that our hearts 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:42.640 will be drawn to you. 00:42:43.740 --> 00:42:43.980 Lord, 00:42:44.060 --> 00:42:44.800 show us 00:42:44.800 --> 00:42:45.800 the areas 00:42:45.800 --> 00:42:47.060 in our life, 00:42:47.260 --> 00:42:47.500 Lord, 00:42:48.780 --> 00:42:51.000 where we're stingy 00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:51.780 and need to be generous. 00:42:53.240 --> 00:42:54.100 Show us the areas 00:42:54.100 --> 00:42:54.620 of our life 00:42:54.620 --> 00:42:56.020 where we're foolish 00:42:56.020 --> 00:42:57.440 and need to be stewards. 00:42:59.020 --> 00:43:00.240 And remind us 00:43:00.240 --> 00:43:00.800 to live 00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:02.060 every day 00:43:02.060 --> 00:43:03.480 today 00:43:03.480 --> 00:43:05.780 and tomorrow 00:43:05.780 --> 00:43:07.560 like eternity 00:43:07.560 --> 00:43:08.260 matters 00:43:08.260 --> 00:43:10.120 because it does. 00:43:12.060 --> 00:43:12.740 And Lord, 00:43:12.840 --> 00:43:13.340 have us 00:43:13.340 --> 00:43:14.060 chase 00:43:14.060 --> 00:43:15.820 who 00:43:15.820 --> 00:43:16.980 you 00:43:16.980 --> 00:43:18.160 are 00:43:18.160 --> 00:43:19.860 with all 00:43:19.860 --> 00:43:20.520 we have 00:43:20.520 --> 00:43:22.480 and all 00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:22.880 we are. 00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:25.740 And Jesus 00:43:25.740 --> 00:43:26.640 will praise you 00:43:26.640 --> 00:43:27.760 for it. 00:43:28.980 --> 00:43:29.880 And it's in your name 00:43:29.880 --> 00:43:30.240 we pray. 00:43:31.240 --> 00:43:31.840 Amen. 00:43:32.980 --> 00:43:33.540 Amen. 00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:36.020 Here's the challenge. 00:43:36.160 --> 00:43:36.660 You got the 00:43:36.660 --> 00:43:37.580 who's your one. 00:43:39.660 --> 00:43:40.860 It's just a biscuit 00:43:40.860 --> 00:43:41.320 for me. 00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:43.960 It's just a biscuit. 00:43:45.180 --> 00:43:46.300 But someone's 00:43:46.300 --> 00:43:47.060 generosity 00:43:47.060 --> 00:43:49.080 sparked 00:43:49.080 --> 00:43:50.000 in my heart 00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:51.620 a deeper 00:43:51.620 --> 00:43:52.260 conviction 00:43:52.260 --> 00:43:53.920 of who Jesus 00:43:53.920 --> 00:43:54.480 is 00:43:54.480 --> 00:43:55.860 and his desire 00:43:55.860 --> 00:43:56.600 for my life. 00:43:59.200 --> 00:43:59.820 small 00:43:59.820 --> 00:44:01.820 but it was 00:44:01.820 --> 00:44:02.480 kind 00:44:02.480 --> 00:44:03.480 and it was 00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:03.980 loving 00:44:03.980 --> 00:44:05.040 and it was 00:44:05.040 --> 00:44:05.500 reflective 00:44:05.500 --> 00:44:06.080 of the gospel. 00:44:07.300 --> 00:44:07.540 All right? 00:44:09.420 --> 00:44:10.020 Live 00:44:10.020 --> 00:44:11.460 today 00:44:11.460 --> 00:44:13.640 knowing 00:44:13.640 --> 00:44:14.540 that eternity 00:44:14.540 --> 00:44:15.880 is coming. 00:44:16.880 --> 00:44:17.460 Let's stand 00:44:17.460 --> 00:44:18.360 and worship together. 00:44:18.360 --> 00:44:36.720 thanks again for listening 00:44:36.720 --> 00:44:37.860 to the Willow Ridge Church 00:44:37.860 --> 00:44:38.640 weekly podcast. 00:44:39.140 --> 00:44:40.180 We hope that you enjoyed 00:44:40.180 --> 00:44:41.460 listening to this week's message. 00:44:41.780 --> 00:44:43.020 If you'd like to learn more 00:44:43.020 --> 00:44:43.860 about who we are 00:44:43.860 --> 00:44:45.480 or explore additional resources, 00:44:46.080 --> 00:44:46.960 visit us online 00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:50.520 at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:44:50.520 --> 00:44:51.740 or by searching 00:44:51.740 --> 00:44:52.740 for Willow Ridge Church 00:44:52.740 --> 00:44:53.360 on Facebook 00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:54.100 and Instagram.