Kingdom of God - Stewarding resources
Intro
The Bible reveals some things I find extraordinarily hard to understand — inscrutable things that perplex, confound, and even disturb me.
Parables - Kingdom of God
Police officer highway
Today you’re going to discover more about the kingdom of God from Luke 16, as we unpack one of those riddles, one scholars say is one of the most difficult to understand.
Luke 16:1-15
8a: why? doesnt make sense now & 2000 years ago. Shocking twist
Matthew and Simon talking
4-7: Cooks the books, makes debtors indebted to him
8b-9:Not actions, but wisdom. Setting himself up for uncertain future. Comment for: Not falsely to his master, wisely to himself.
3-4: window into his psyche
This praises dishonesty. One of hardest parable to understand. Main point. Not to get lost. Don't steal money to bless others. Judith- told me to change the invoices. No.
1-2: less wealth have to fire
Jesus uses evil things that are familiar to illustrate a point without praising the thing itself.
Loaded symbolism: People who are for the kingdom of God and people who are not for the kingdom of God. Here is how people not of the Kingdom of God behave, and yet there is something to be learned here.
Kingdom Culture
Clarke (British Theologian) said: It is to the shame of the Church that Coca-Cola is more widely distributed than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1. Build God’s kingdom culture into your life
If we pursued the Kingdom of God with the same vigour and zeal that the people of this world pursue profits and pleasure, we would live in an entirely different world.
Moving from PNG to NL(peanut butter AH)
Moving from australia to NL (driving on the wrong side of the road, shopping - coin & bags)
Took advantage of his present position to arrange a comfortable future
Moving cultures - flexibility, embracing change, relearn.
Moving kingdoms - radical and complete new mindset.
Kingdom. Territory King. King last 300yrs faded. Terms kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven loses meaning. Not about fortresses, armies, wealth and power. Instead, God’s kingdom values things we might not consider.
Modern headline strories
whole new upside down kingdom - unlearn and relearn
moment of reckoning
Account for his life and he took that seriously.
discharged from our stewardship, deprive us of the abilities and opportunities we now have of doing good, we must give an account of it to God
Substance
Time/Talents/Influence
Pharisees / our response
Jesus, my King, to say: Judith, you got it. So thankful for the way that you lived in obedience and discipleship to me, thank you for your devotion.
that idea can be a joy if we are properly about our Master’s business
Paul says, I look forward to the day where I'm told a well done good and faithful servant.
trust (aman) wordplays vs 10-12
A. Substance. vs 13 - Mammon-aman-trustworthy. The trusted thing. wealth personified as a spiritual power. Money is a god.
One can have both money and God; but one cannot serve both money and God.
what am I going to trust? The manager secures his future by downgrading money to an instrument. Sons of this age understand that money is an instrument and not a god, how much more should the sons of light understand that money is an instrument and not treat it as a god?
Culture only 1 master: not like working two jobs. Simple impossibility. if you think you are, then you're deceived.
Money shouldn't prevent you from making God's reign and rule the thing you really trust in.
John Piper (American Theologian)says,”The possession of money in this world is a test run for eternity. Can you pass the test of faithfulness with your money? Do you use it as a means of proving the worth of God and the joy you have in supporting his cause? Or does the way you use it prove that what you really enjoy is things, not God?”
C. Talents - Serve team, marketplace
D. Influence - Fear Raphaël’s birth
B. Time. - current struggle
: "Listen, I'm building wealth. I'm building status. I'm trying to get up the pyramid here in my culture, and there's no way I'm going to give up everything that I've built that is trustworthy to go follow Jesus and do that."
Wealth and status kept them from accepting the upside- down surprising offer of the kingdom.
vs 14 derided - turned up their noses. self-interest. lovers of money. hit too close to home
So where are you at? How do you spend your time, talents, substance, influence? Are you building Gods kingdom or your own? What change can you make to build God’s kingdom here on earth?
idolized nor despised
We all will die and pass from this life to the next.
Why are we here? Are we making an impact? What are we focused on in life? We have to be shrewd here.
Altar call
2. Steward your resources well
Spurgeon(highly influential preacher)“each of us will have to give account of our stewardship regarding our time, our talents, our substance, and our influence.”
Ps Monique - coin/sheep/son
Are we secure? Are my friends, family, coworkers secure? Eternally? Invest in the Kingdom of heaven. You’re here in church so you have already begun investing. You could have also been at a soccer match. How much sense of urgency do you feel? About the Kingdom of God? About eternity?
Every parable starts with a prompt. Something that instigates the parable. This one is in Luke 15:2
faced with the same choice. I'm going to trust that Jesus is more right than all of the economic, political, social structures around me and that all of this is transient and is headed for some moment of reckoning. Window of time. What do we do? God is issuing notice on all of the things that we trust in.
This world teaches me to get ahead. Rely on myself. Use my money shrewdly. This world teaches us to build kingdoms of our own.
His Kingdom means we transfer authority of our lives from ourselves to God.