Steward Of Whom?

INTRODUCTION

A. What is a steward?

1. Literally, it means a keeper of a hall.

a. in Medieval times a shop steward was the one who stayed at the hall and prepared the meals for the other craftsmen.

b. since he was there cleaning the place, prospective employers left

messages with him about work needed.

c. the steward would then ask who would be available to do the work.

d. a good steward made sure that all the men of the guild had an equal

amount of work to do.

2. Basically, he is someone who looks after the affairs of another person.

3. A stewardess is one who looks after the comfort and safety of the

passengers entrusted to her.

4. The Bible tells us that we are all given stewardship roles.

B. What you are is God’s gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift to God (Ephesians 5:15-16) See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, {16} redeeming the time, because the days are evil..

1. If God has given us work to do we must be up to the task or else be

subject to His wrath & judgment.

2. (1 Timothy 4:14-15) Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you.{15} Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

C. Your stewardship is evident in everything you do.

a. (Proverbs 3:9) Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the

firstfruits of all your increase;

b. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11) Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, {11} while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

D. Money in itself is neither good nor bad; it is simply dangerous in that the love of it may become bad.

1. With money a man can do much good; and with money he can do much evil.

2. With money a man can selfishly serve his own desires; and with money he can generously answer to the cry of his neighbor’s need.

3. With money a man can buy his way to the forbidden things and facilitate the path of wrongdoing; and with money he can make it easier for someone else to live as God meant him to live.

4. Money brings power, and power is always a double-edged thing, for it is powerful to good and powerful to evil.

a. (1 Timothy 6:10) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

b. (Hebrews 13:5) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I. CONDUCT WITHOUT COVETOUSNESS

A. Sometimes it is difficult to work for someone without seeing what he has as yours.

1. There are a lot of workers who truly feel that it isn’t stealing when they take home different tools that the company provided.

2. What do you call it when you take something that you didn’t buy or didn’t have permission to take?

3. I have heard men jokingly say that the tools they are using are on a permanent loan.

a. Oh, I’m not stealing anything, I’m just not giving it back”

B. Such is the case with the steward in this parable.

1. It’s easy to be generous with someone else’s goods.

2. That may be the reason why he was losing his job in the first place.

C. Whose benefit was this parable?

1. One may think that it was meant to teach the disciples about good working habits, but if we examine the text especially vs.14, I think you can see a little more clearly the meaning of this parable.

2. (Luke 16:14) Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.

D. The Pharisees were the unjust stewards who was taking God’s word and demanding less righteous living in order to make friends.

1. The case in point was on the issue of divorce.

2. The Jewish society was no different than the society of Henry VIII, or our present society when it comes to the matters of divorce and remarriage.

3. When someone says our society is based on monogamy that is a misconception.

a. In practice we have a polygamous society.

b. We just happen to practice it one spouse at a time.

II. JESUS LET’S THEM HAVE IT

A. Look at vs. 15 (Luke 16:15) And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.