The Shrewd Manager
Teaching Notes
Kingdom Stories
Luke 15 and 16 Jesus gives us several parables. He tells these little stories that describe a system of values in his kingdom. Every kingdom has its treasure. And it’s the king who determines what is done with that treasure.
The character of the kingdom reflects the character of the king.
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Luke 16:1-8
There are three unhappy groups of people here:
We have the owner.
We have the manager.
We have debtors.
After the manager utilizes his financial resources to benefit the debtors there is a transformation in these three groups of people.
We now have a happy owner, a happy manager, and happy debtors.
Everyone is happy because the manager served the owner and debtors over himself.
A Shift in Metaphor
This parable tells us something about the dynamic in the Kingdom of God.
As Kingdom managers, we have been given responsibilities, resources and opportunities. We will look at these things as possessions and perspective.
Possessions and Perspective:
You possess a heart. Love is the heart of the Kingdom.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8
You possess responsibility. The resources are not yours.
You possess temporary treasure. We exchange temporary treasure for kingdom treasure.
People are the treasure of King Jesus.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Why do we do this? We do it out of love for the king who gave everything for us
“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
There’s a lot of freedom when you realize you aren’t the king.
Freedom from the fear of failure.
Freedom from slavery to the stuff of life.
Freedom to live abundantly in the God’s kingdom.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:17
To do something “in the name of the Lord Jesus” means we do things in submission to and in alignment with his priorities and character.
In other words, We do it the way he would do it were he in our place
You have a choice to make today. Are you going to run the business your way or His way?
Setlist
WFC Lenexa + WFC Anywhere
The Lion and The Lamb-Leeland
The Cross of Christ- The Collective KC
He's Able- Deitrick Haddon
I Surrender All- Phil Wickham
WFC Speedway
Graves Into Gardens- Elevation Worship
Goodness Of God- Bethel Music
Gratitude- Brandon Lake
No Longer Slaves- Bethel Music
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