I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

An Eternal Future of Riches

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Luke 16:1-9 “An Eternal Future of Riches”
July 28, 2024 | Christ Lutheran Church

In Nomine Iesu
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Lord God, heavenly Father, You have bountifully given us Your blessing and our daily bread: We beseech You, preserve us from covetousness, and so enliven our hearts that we willingly share Your blessed gifts with our needy brethren; that we may be found faithful stewards of Your gifts, and abide in Your grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall come before Your judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 160)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)

The sermon text for today is taken from the 16th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:

[Jesus] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
“The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)

In Christ Jesus, who rules over all in Heaven and on earth, giving you possessions to care for and a heavenly future that awaits, dear fellow redeemed:

When people go clothes shopping, if they want the best, they go to the expensive stores. If you can’t afford the expensive clothes, there are plenty of stores that sell smaller brands and lesser name brands. Sometimes my mother bought clothes from there, but there were lots of times my mother and grandmother took us out thrift shopping. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking thrift shopping. When you get older you realize you can find some great stuff at thrift shops. The point of going to the thrift store or thrift shopping is in the definition of the word. You are trying to be thrifty. You want to make the most of the money you have. The manager in the parable is the opposite of thrifty. He has been very wasteful, and his day of reckoning is upon him. There is no going to the expensive stores, or lesser stores, because he is out of the job. Now his shrewdness saves the day, but the earthly pleasures he craves for the future do not equal an eternal future of riches.

Now it would seem one of the toughest parables Jesus taught doesn’t have a word about heaven in it, but you would be surprised with Jesus’ teaching. As He continues teaching parables, He starts this one with, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ He paints the picture of a manager who had a great job. He oversaw all the rich man’s possessions. Yet He betrayed that trust and was wasteful. Some of us I’m sure are thinking how he could squander such an opportunity. The rich man heard the reports and was going to hold the manager to account. Depending on how he wasted the rich man’s possessions, the manager could find himself even with law trouble.

We see in our text; this was not a rush to judgement. The manager knew he was guilty of what the rich man was accusing him of. “And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me?'” His thoughts are racing. As He looks for a plan of escape, it looks like there is nothing. With the manager’s fate at hand, it is a wonder who is the audience for Jesus’ parable? Jesus is telling His disciples this, but there is another group who is listening to His Word. The religious leaders are fascinated with the wealth they have. Is this parable only for them? Jesus has more in mind. He has felt all the temptations of man. He knows the feelings of power as the devil tempted Him with such.

Those temptations fell on deaf ears. The devil is defeated by Scripture as Scripture proclaims all that The Almighty has. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:11-12). We are starting to get an explanation of the parable. As Scripture states and as we forget all the time, everything that is on the earth, in the earth, everything that we have is not ours. God has given us our daily bread. In the last couple of sermon themes this realization is there. Unfortunately, our pride can get the better of us. We have worked hard in life, so the things we have are ours, right?

If we have that mentality, then Jesus calls us to account with how we are using them. The rich man, who owns the possessions, is holding the manager to account. He’s done with managing. Now the manager, or former manager is not sure what will come of his life. “I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.” This is the shrewdness of the world. He is going to stick it to the man one more time. He knows his self preservation is at stake. He has ruled out manual labor and his pride won’t let him be looked down upon. This isn’t new. We are in the era of posting our lives online. Our image and status are important. As we focus on our image and our possessions, we can join the world and forfeit our future riches.

The manager focused on his image and status would not be fired quietly. “So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ With the remaining authority he has and to get into the good graces of the people, he changes their debt. Now this was sneaky, but there was great benefit. Who did the manager make look good? Of course, himself. By taking their bills and changing them, he also made the rich man look good.

Now the rich man doesn’t need to be made to look good because the rich man is already good. As with any parable, this is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. So, the disciples and those around are hearing how the rich man is the one who gives out the possessions. God gives out His possessions for people to manage them wisely with future riches to come. When we as managers fail, we don’t deserve an eternal future of riches. As we fail, God sends the One who is blessed with everything. While the devil tried to convince the Savior that he oversees the world, Jesus reminds him who is the rightful creator, owner and caregiver.

As the Lord Almighty, it is fitting that Jesus is the one who reverses man’s faults. Man fails at management and Jesus is the perfect king. This was His inheritance since the foundation of the world was laid. “Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!” (Psalm 82:8) Through His perfect work, He stands above all. Every knee shall bow, and His kingdom shall have no end. So, is the perfect king telling us to sin? “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” This is a hard one, yet Jesus is not telling people to sin. Unbelievers are shrewd in their dealings with one another. We usually join them in being shrewd for the wrong reasons. Jesus is teaching us about how to be shrewd with our heavenly future.

This is the future that Jesus brings to you. It is an eternal future of riches. This future is so much better than worrying about the expensive stores, the off-brand labels, or having to be thrifty. The one who holds your future of riches set aside those riches to take on your temptations. This world is filled with wanting power, possessions, and money. The more you have and the better you think the future looks. This all stems down from the first sin of pride. And as this manager was selfish, Jesus was selfless. His perfect work saves you. His work points you to what the future holds, and it is not found in the things of this world. Christ’s death and resurrection will make you so rich that you will wear a crown of life. With an eternal future of riches coming your way because of the perfect manager, He teaches you how to use the things of this world for your benefit.

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” The riches of life that the world seeks with their shrewdness, that shrewdness can be used by you. As you manage your possessions that God has blessed you with, you manage them for the work of His church. And as you manage them in your life toward your fellow neighbor, they will see it. When they ask you why you do these things, you point them to your Savior. No matter how much or little you have, you first point them to the fact that it isn’t yours as St. Paul writes, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him” (Romans 10:12). Then you point them to your Savior. Who has watched you fail at times with your management duties, but forgives you and because of the life He lived in your place, you will be rich for eternity.

This is a future you can’t earn with your possessions and don’t deserve. The One who owns it all, knew that He wanted you. He wants you to be rich forever in His kingdom. So, He tells you to be shrewd. Not shrewd to try and have it all. The world tries that and most of the time they fail miserably. The vast amounts that they have, they will not be able to take with them. So, take pride in your management and be thrifty with your possessions. As you gain or lose, God reminds you that He will take care of you because everything you have is His. He is the rich man. He does hold you to account and He will forgive mistakes. As those in the world are shrewd with one another to get ahead, you can be shrewd to point them to Christ. You don’t need to worry about the future like they do, for you have an eternal future of riches. Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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