Well, dear church family, our concentration this Lord's Day will be upon the Lord's parable of the unjust steward spoken of in Luke chapter 16. As really with all the Lord's parables, simple everyday scenarios are given here which are timeless, aren't they? In which everyone who has ever lived in all ages can relate to. We're not given complex scenarios, are we, which are hard to be understood, but they're very simple, timeless illustrations and scenarios which everyone can relate to. They teach us really much, do they not, of God's kingdom, of who God is, and of course of our accountability towards our maker. We are the pinnacle of God's creation and teaches us much of our accountability to the Lord. In today's parable we see the unjust steward who wasted the goods of his rich owner. He didn't use, he didn't improve upon what the Lord had given him. Have a look at verse 1, there was a certain rich man which had a steward and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. Of course a steward is by his very definition is one who is entrusted with goods, isn't it? By which he must take care of and use and improve upon them for his owner and for his owner's use and for his master's use. That's the least that any steward can do. In today's account, the steward called into action and did the exact opposite, didn't he? He wasted what was entrusted unto him. The generous goods that were given to him, that were entrusted to him, he wasted, he wasted them. And verse two says in this regard, and he called him and said unto him, how is it that I hear this of thee? Give account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward." We see here the disappointment, don't we, of the owner that he expresses to the steward. It's very telling, isn't it? He hears of perhaps the ingratitude and the carelessness that this steward is having on the good things that he has entrusted with him. He's been very careless, he has been very unfaithful in what he has been entrusted with. And he calls this steward to account and he discharges. the steward of his stewardship. And upon such news we're told, aren't we, that the steward panics. And he says within himself, look at verse three and four, what shall I do? For my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship. I cannot dig, to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, that they may receive me into their houses. So this steward knows that his days are numbered now. His days are up. His sin found him out in the end. His days are numbered as the rich man's steward, or the owner's steward. He does not want to labour anymore. It says, I cannot dig. It's not that he's able, he's perfectly able to labour, isn't he? He flat-out refuses here. This is a moral issue. He flat-out refuses to labour to find grace in the rich man's sight. He flat-out refuses. I cannot dig, he says. He's perfectly able to dig. And he says neither is he prepared to beg, is he? He's too proud, as it were, to beg. He's too proud to admit his faults and his failures and his unfaithfulness. To beg, he's too ashamed to admit how unjust he has treated his owner. And instead, we're told, aren't we, in verses 4 through 7, that he goes and resolves to find more of his owner's tenants. more of his owner's tenants, the same rich man, who are also debtors here. They too have also been, they're not creditors, they're debtors. They too have also been unjust and unfaithful in all the good things that they've been given. And it would seem that they have been careless. And they too have wasted their goods that were entrusted to them as well. And so he goes to these, he befriends, as it were, more so, these debtors here. Well, rather craftily, we're told that he manages to convince his newly found friends that much of their debt to the owner will be struck off. If they would but pay him a percentage of what they owe to the owner, 50% says the first one, and so on. And of course it reminds us of the prosperity gospel, doesn't it? promising that if we give so much of our money or if we do certain things that we will be blessed with wealth and health and all these other things. And so this particular steward to secure himself in this world. He goes through much effort, doesn't he, to these other debtors, to strike off their debt. He says to them, your debt that you owe to the owner as well, he's been brought to account, and these other debtors are yet to be cast out of their stewardship. And he says, well listen, If you pay me so much it will strike out all of your debt as it were and therefore he secures himself with great ingenuity and with great effort he does this. Now we're told in verse 8 aren't we that the Lord commended the unjust steward here And it would seem a strange thing, wouldn't it, for the Lord to commend him. He's not commending him, of course, for his trickery, or for his deceit, or for his craftiness, as we shall see a bit later, but for something else. And we'll come to that a bit later. Now this parable of the unjust steward is packed really full of spiritual instruction for us, if we would but take heed here to the word of the living God. The Lord's chief design, I believe, in this simple parable, firstly, is to show by way of example, and that of course of a bad one, of the unjust steward, the great care The great care that men ought to take, really, for that of the future to come in eternity. That really is the overwhelming deep theme here. Men ought to take great care for the eternity to come. And it's overwhelmingly we see that theme here. And this parable also, I believe secondly, serves as a reminder here to Christ's disciples to be found faithful. and diligent in their stewardship in all that the Lord has given. As faithful as the worldling is in the pursuit of his interests and in the interests of the things of this world, so too is a child of God in the world to come. The scriptures are emphatic really about this. And so firstly then, consider that the great care that men, all men, ought to take really for the future and eternity to come. The certain rich man at the start of this parable is, of course, the Lord, isn't he? The Lord is the owner of the universe. He is the owner of all things. We read in Psalm 24 earlier, everything belongs to him. If he were hungry, a sheep on a thousand hilltops belongs to him. He is our maker. It is He that has made us and not we ourselves. All belongs to Him. He is the landlord of the universe. And, dear friends, there is a sense, isn't there? There is a sense, really, that we are all stewards, really, of what God has given us. Nothing really belongs to us, really, which does not first belong to God. He is rich beyond all splendor. All that belongs to Him. He lends us our breath as we've sung. We are just tenants. Everything is unleased to us here. And so, dear friends, We are entrusted, are we not, by God with these noble bodies that he has fashioned and an eternal soul that he has given us and a conscience that he's given every one of us which of course is the alarm bell of the soul. And he has given this to every single person who is made in the image of God. Every man who is made in the image of God is given a conscience. Our consciences bear witness to the justice of God. Do they not? The law of God is written upon the table of each and every one of our hearts. We can either listen to that conscience that God, our conscience that God has given, or we can excuse and ignore the voice of conscience that God has put there. We can gag it and say, I'm not going to listen. to God's word. I'm not going to listen to the word of God. We can literally stop it. Stop it. Our consciences bear witness to the fact that God is just. God is a God of justice and justice will prevail in the end whether we like it or not. And hence we're told of the steward being called to account here in verse two. You see in the courts of heaven, And with the Lord, it is a great treason, is it not, to use what God has given us just for ourselves, just for yourself, for myself. It is a great treason in heaven and with the Lord to use what God has bestowed upon us, both temporary and eternally. It is a great treason to use what he has given us for ourselves, for our own self-interest, and purely for the things of this life mostly. That is a great treason in the sight of God. That is a great injustice in God's sight. And no wonder why Christ said to the Pharisees later on in Luke, later on in this chapter in Luke 16 verse 15, ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. It's not going to matter, is it? What other people, even what other Christians think of you in the end. All that's going to matter is whether you are right with God from your heart and whether you truly have close with him and you truly are living for him and for the matters of eternity. That's really what's going to matter in the end. It's who you are in private really, not who you are on the Lord's day or any other day. That's really what's going to matter in the end, isn't it? If God has given you a measure of the things of this life, he has given you a measure of good health, And you use that health purely upon your own interests and upon the things of this world primarily, dear friends, and the energies thereof. Friends, that is a great treason. That is a great injustice in the sight of God. The purpose to which we are made is not just for the things of this life, for ourselves and for our own purposes. That's treason. And that is to deny, like I said, the great higher purpose to which God has made each and every one of us. We are the pinnacle of God's creation, made for God, made to give glory to God and enjoy him forever. We are made primarily, are we not, for eternity, aren't we? This flesh, as it were, must be put off one day. The flesh really is protecting the greater part of who we are, spirit and soul. We are made primarily for God for eternity, aren't we? And our consciences and God's creation bear witness to this very fact. And so God has given us everything. He is the first cause behind all good in the universe. He is the great benefactor, is he not? Behind every good thing that we enjoy here below. He is the fount of every blessing. He is the great giver and provider of all that we have. The great sustainer and upholder of all life. Every good thing that you enjoy, every day of your life, it is only because God has ordained that from high. And to use it, and to use it primarily for yourself and your own interests is treason. It is a great heavenly injustice in the sight of God. You see the unjust Stuart here, friends, in today's parable, we're told in verse one, his goods that were generously given to him, that were generously entrusted unto him. And so the question arises, what about you and I? What have we done with the goods, the good things, both temporary, spiritually, and eternally that God has given us? The means, the privileges, what have we done? with what God has entrusted us with. How have we used them? Have we used them primarily for ourselves, for our own interests? Or have we improved upon them primarily for his kingdom, for his eternal purposes? It's a challenge, isn't it, from God's word here. If God has given you and I food and drink, which he does every day, he shines upon the just and the unjust, doesn't he? He gives us food and drink to nourish our bodies, to give us energy. Do we acknowledge God? for that every day? Do we thank the Lord for this our daily bread? And do we use, the reason why he gives us that, the reason why he gives us our health and our energy is to use for his kingdom and for his glory. You see, but the unjust steward was doing the exact opposite. His primary interest and administration was for the things of this life. for the promotion of this life, you see, and it's a great injustice in the sight of God. Using what God has given you, your energy, your life, your money, your time, primarily for yourself, is a great injustice in the sight of God. It's to deny the very higher purpose to which we have all been created. If God has given you and I a home, and clothes, and riches, and possessions, and children, and so on. The list goes on and on and on. How is your stewardship of such things, dear friends? Of such things that have been graciously entrusted to you from a generous, rich maker and creator? Have you sought to improve upon those things for the furtherance of the gospel, for the furtherance of Christ's kingdom, for the pity of other poor needy souls? Can you honestly say that you are wholeheartedly serving the Lord with all your heart? Or is your primary focus and all that you've been given for yourself? For me and my lot, as it were, we have to be honest, don't we, friends, with the Lord God? The Word of God confronts us here today. And how sad it is, really, when you meet, when you come across, and when you hear of professors whose sustenance is really all bound up in themselves and in their own interests really. They have no time to commit to serving the Lord wholeheartedly in their home and in the local church. There's this kind of cherry-picking approach and it's so sad isn't it when you see that really all bound up Really? Well I have to prioritize a bit like the other parable. I cannot come today because I've got to go to my land, or I'm married. There's always an excuse isn't there? Not to serve, not to commit as it were. There's always some excuse as it were. And I wonder why the parable of the rich man and the beggar directly precedes this passage in Luke 16. Are we a beggar at the means of grace, as it were? Or are we like a rich lion, not willing to be ashamed and confess our sin and need of the Lord? Better to be a living dog than a proud lion. There is an end, is there not, to the indulgences and luxuries and riches of this life. There's an end to those things. They'll be taken away like they were with this unjust steward. All of them. And I'm not saying that we cannot have nice things in this life. Of course we can. But if that's all, if it's done at the neglect of the Lord and his service, friends, we are exactly the same as this unjust steward here today. There is an end, is there not? To the indulgences, to the riches, to the luxuries of this life, they'll all be taken away. We came into this world with nothing. Naked and we're going to leave with absolutely nothing what people think of you your position the money you have They're not going to be remembered at all. It's not going to matter. In the end, you really, you're a fool if you give your heart and your time and your sustenance to such things and strive not to enter in to the straight gate as it were that leads to everlasting life. You're a fool. And that's not me saying that. That's the scriptures that says that. And moreover God has endowed us Has he not with hearts that have affections and hearts that have desires? What are they fixed upon? Friends, what are your affections and your desires fixed upon? Are they fixed upon primarily the creature or the creator? The gifts or the giver? What are your affections? What do you get excited about? What moves you every day? Just the things of this world? Or the things of the next world, as it were? We're given minds, are we not? That have understanding, to understand God, to seek after God. We're given ears to hear God's word and obey his word and believe his word. We're given eyes to behold his great creation that testify to who he is, the eternal God of love and justice. The unjust steward see wasted, wasted, wasted his goods, dear friends, that were entrusted to him, that were generously bestowed upon him. He was brought to account, wasn't he? He was brought to give an account for his unjust stewardship of all that the Lord God had given him. And is this not, dear friends, a reminder that we will all one day have to give an account to what we've done with the good things that God has given us? Every one of us here, it doesn't matter what other people think of you, everyone himself will have to stand before God and have to give an account of what he's done in the body, whether good or evil. When the unjust steward was called to give an account of his stewardship in verse two, and consequently told that he will soon no longer be a steward, no doubt the Lord had in mind, of course, the Pharisees here, and who used and abused all the privileges that they were given, the means that they were given, the means of grace that they were given, they were given the priesthood, they were given the oracles of God, and they wasted them, didn't they? They wasted them. There was no change of life or heart. They were covetous men. They wasted what God had given them. And friends, this is true of all that neglect the means of grace, or remain unchanged, really, at the proclamation of the gospel. Unchanged in heart. I'm not talking outwardly, I'm talking about their heart. The heart of the matter, the affection, the desires, who remain unchanged in heart and unchanged in spirit. You see, for the unjust steward there was still a chance. for him to get right with God. There was an opportunity here, wasn't there? To get right. But what did he do? He went straight back into the world again, didn't he? Straight back and looking for the securities of this life to secure him. There was an opportunity to him to humble himself under the mighty hand of God, that he may be lifted up. There was an opportunity for him to cry out for mercy to the Lord. He had used and abused what God had given him. Instead of humbling himself, dear friends, and repenting of his unfaithfulness, of how he had treated God, his attitude, of the waste. The waste. We're told in verses 4 through 7, are we not, that he more so befriends the false securities of this world to secure his future. That's what we're told. He goes to the people and the things of this world for security. And how foolish, friends, going to fellow debtors, as it were, for security, who are in the same situation, who will also shortly be brought to account. Perhaps they're not where he is, but they are too in the exact same position, they too. It's foolish, isn't it? It's like jumping, someone jumps in the fires, jumping in with them. And so he goes to the same people, the same debtors, the same unjust stewards, really for security, knowing that they too will shortly be dismissed of their stewardship. And the Lord really puts it perfectly when he says in verse nine, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations. That's what this unjust steward did. He made friends of the things of this world, as it were. The false securities of this world. He prioritised those things, didn't he? Friends, if all that God has given you, both temporary, spiritual, eternally, is used more so for yourself and for your own promotion and for your own self-interests, friends, than the Lord's, You're in big trouble. You are in big trouble with the Lord, friends. And I'm not saying that, I'm not trying to be mean here, but I'm saying, if your life is more about your own interests, about your own promotion, about what you can get out of life, you're in big trouble with the Lord. Big trouble with the Lord. And this is a warning to all of us, that if you're more interested in the people and things of this world than the word of the living God and being conformed to God's word and true belief, you are in big trouble with the Lord. Big trouble. If you're more so concerned with attending upon the flesh than your never-dying soul and your spirit, you are in big trouble with God, friends. And please don't think I'm pointing the finger at anyone here today because this was me for more than 20 years, dear friends. And I profess to know the Lord. This was me for over 20, 20 years. I truly wasted everything that I was given. I wasted my senses, I wasted my heart. I wasted it just on the things of this world and vanity and pride. I went after those things. I even wasted much of the means of grace afforded to me. My mum took me to church faithfully. I must have heard the gospel countless times and yet I wasted it. I said I was a Christian, but my heart was still very much in the world. It was just all about me, with a sprinkle of Christianity, friends. You see, you've got to be very careful that this is not you. It is possible to be almost a Christian, right at the gates, as it were, and on that day be found out that really it was just more about yourself than it was about the Lord and His glory and living for Him. These are real things, friends. Are they not? But you see, friends, I squandered. For over 20 years, I squandered all these means that were afforded to me to get right with God. But in the end, my sin found me out. when I was challenged by an Irishman. I'm sorry to bear this up, but I was challenged. There was no more running from God. There was no more hiding from God. I was literally at my wits end. I was brought low. And this poor man cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. He heard me, and he saved me out of all my troubles, dear friends. I cried, I pleaded with the Lord to have mercy, I begged with him, save me! I was on the bathroom toilet of a dirty toilet and I pleaded with him, save me, save me Lord! And I'm not saying this was me, I found grace and mercy in the sight of God. I pleaded with him, save me! And I knew that very day that I entered into his kingdom, I knew that I was a changed man. I opened that door on that dirty toilet floor and I got up and I looked in the mirror and I saw a changed man. Not so shaken physically, but I knew I had come from death to life. I knew. That day that the Lord Jesus had forgiven me all my sin, that he had paid the debt, the complete debt of my sin, that I was no longer a debtor anymore. He had paid it upon the cross. Every sin upon the cross. He took the penalty, the just for the unjust to bring this rebel sinner back to God. He did that. And now I'm a creditor because I have his precious blood. that cleanses me from all my sin, and I have his righteousness credited to my account, and I have the spirit of the living God dwelling in me, not because of anything that I had done, but because of his mercy and because of his grace. And though at times I pour contempt upon my pride, and worldliness at times, but it must be said that since I have been converted, my true heart's desire is to live for him and for his glory, to serve him wholeheartedly. That is my chief love and desire. Can you say that? Can you say that your chief desire is to live for his kingdom? To serve him? To serve his causes? Or is it primarily bound up in this life still? You've got to be honest, dear friends, with the Lord, because that's what's going to matter in the end. If you're not serving the Lord wholeheartedly, why not? Why aren't you committed to Christ's kingdom? Why aren't you promoting Christ's kingdom? Why aren't you all in? Ask yourself that question, have I truly been born again? Do I truly have new desires and affections to live wholeheartedly for the Lord? It's not saying that you do not have sin in you, of course we still have besetting sins, but is my chief desire primarily for his kingdom? Is my true desire to live for the matters of Christ, for eternity, for the soul? and for other poor needy sinners that still need to be brought in. Can I say that? If you can't say that, you're not ready. You really aren't. And I'm sorry to be frank, friends, but the Word of God is straight up about this. There's no running from this. How is it with your soul, friends? I'm not saying, how are you? How is it with your soul? Are you living for the Lord every day, serving Him wholeheartedly? Are you all in? Or is your interest mostly with the things of this life? Promoting yourself, promoting and sprinkling a dash of Christianity. The hour of death is hastening on where we will all have to give an account before the living God. The day of judgment, dear friends, is upon us. and we will all have to give an account of our stewardship and what God has entrusted us with. 2 Corinthians 5.10 says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according that he had done, whether it be good or bad. It's a hard text that, but it's true, isn't it? Have you security for eternity? Scripture says now is the day of salvation. There is still time to be saved. There is still time to enter in. When you are called home, like the steward was, he's going to be soon cast out of his stewardship. There's no time then, when you hit the grave, when death comes, there's no time then, friends, to get right with God. There's no purgatory, as it were. Now is the day to get right with the Lord. You see, friends, God is rich, isn't he? He is very rich in mercy. And in grace, isn't he? There's still a chance to get saved if you're not converted. If you haven't yet cried out of the depths of your very soul. I'm not talking about an intellectual Christianity. I'm talking about a heart Christianity. If you have not cried out from the depths of your very soul and pleaded until you know assuredly that you're his and you belong to him. then you must do so today, urgently, with all your heart and all your soul, and seek Him as the pearl of great price, not the vanities of this world. You must do so before it's too late, before that day of death comes. And then there's no turning back, dear friends. There's no turning back then. God is rich. He's a generous God, not willing that any should suffer, but all should come to the knowledge of Him. All should be saved. Come to Him. He is rich. He will forgive you all of your sins. He will put His Spirit within you. He'll wash you clean through His precious blood. Your sins will be remembered no more. You'll have peace with God. Peace throughout eternity. You'll know of the love of Christ and the peace of God that passes understanding. He is rich, dear friends, and he can enrich you for eternity. Why will we die and not turn to the Lord who is willing to richly bestow upon us all things which he has done upon the cross for such sinners, such us? Dear friends, don't seek the riches of this world, the promotions of this world. Seek the Lord. Seek the pearl of great price. Turn from your sin. Turn and repent on how you've treated the Lord God, your Maker, the Saviour. Don't be like the unjust steward, dear friends, in unbelief. Plead for mercy on the basis of what He's done upon the cross. His merits, His blood, His righteousness, plead with Him. before it's too late. And you will be credited with the righteousness and obedience of the Savior, credited to your account. So when God looks upon you and I, sinners, He doesn't see your failures. He doesn't see your injustice. He sees the righteousness of His own Son, credited to your account. What a wonder! that God should so love us and bestow such a great salvation upon us. Well in closing let me also just say a few words of exhortation which I believe the Lord is teaching his disciples here in this parable. So just a few words in exhortation. Like I said earlier, the Lord commends the unjust steward here not for his deceit or for his trickery or craftiness, in verse 8, but rather for his wisdom and ingenuity in providing for worldly interests. And he does so, though ever so unjustly, though the unjust steward does so ever so unjustly, he does so zealously, doesn't he? With great effort, and with great ingenuity. God's children, the children of light here, are told to do likewise, but for that which pertains to Christ's kingdom, and for that of eternity, and for the souls of men. It's an exhortation here. The way in which worldly men give their hearts, like I used to before I was converted, to the things of this world, to the self-promotion, to the interests of their flesh, and their house, and all these things. That is the same way we Christians and disciples ought to serve the Lord. And more so, with all of our hearts here. That's what the Lord is teaching us. We are to serve the kingdom, Christ's kingdom, the eternal kingdom. We know we can so easily be deflected, can't we? We so easily can be distracted by the things of the here and now. We must serve the Lord wholeheartedly. Are we doing that? Are you committed to Christ's kingdom? to the local church, to serving the Lord wholeheartedly? Are you committed to the means of grace every day in your households, in prayer, in family worship, in private devotion, in the Lord's service, in how that outpours to society? Can you honestly say that? That's what he's teaching. The same, we see this world is busy trying to promote itself, trying to get the things of this world. Are we doing likewise for Christ's kingdom? We must pray so. We must acknowledge to the Lord our shortcomings and pray that we may be all in wholeheartedly for the Lord, you see. You see, the worldly makes great effort for his own worldly interest. Do we for Christ? Disciples, do likewise for Christ's kingdom, dear friends. And I just want to encourage us really to do likewise. to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, all in, as it were. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk.