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Luke 16 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:00Lukeapter 16 verse 1.
0:04Now he was also saying to the disciples,
0:05[music]
0:07there was a rich man who had a manager,
0:10and this manager was reported to him
0:13[music] as squandering his possessions.
0:17And he called him and said to him, "What
0:19is this I hear about you? Give an
0:22accounting of your [music] management,
0:24for you can no longer be manager."
0:28The manager said to himself, "What shall
0:31I do since [music] my master is taking
0:33the management away from me,"
0:36I am not strong enough [music] to dig? I
0:38am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall
0:42do so that when I am [music] removed
0:44from the management, people will welcome
0:46me into their homes."
0:50And he summoned [music] each one of his
0:52master's debtors.
0:54And he began saying to the first, "How
0:56much do you owe my master?" And he said,
0:59"100 measures of oil." And he said to
1:02him, "Take your bill and sit down
1:04quickly and write 50."
1:07Then he said to another, "And how much
1:10do you owe?" And he said, "100 measures
1:13of wheat." He said to him, "Take your
1:15bill and write 80."
1:18And his master praised the unrighteous
1:21manager because he had acted shrewdly.
1:25For the sons of this age are more shrewd
1:28in relation to their own [music] kind
1:31than the sons of light.
1:35Jesus is not praising the deception of
1:40the steward.
1:42The steward is the master of servants.
1:47in a large household. So, he's the guy
1:49who manages the affairs, the business of
1:53his [music] master's household and farm
1:56and whatever and and also the other
1:58servants. And the guy was about to get
2:00fired.
2:02And so
2:04before he gets fired,
2:06he says to himself, "I'm not going to be
2:09able to dig ditches. I can't do manual
2:12labor. I'm he's probably not a young man
2:14anymore and I don't want to beg. So, how
2:18can I be received into other homes, into
2:20other households as a [music] steward
2:22one day?
2:24He's clever. And the way he's going to
2:26do this is he's going to give people a
2:28monetary discount [music]
2:30knowing that that will ingratiate them
2:32to him. In other words, he's going to
2:35make a friend by losing some money.
2:40He's going to suffer a financial loss
2:43but have a friend. So he says to the
2:46guy, "How much do you owe us? 100
2:49measures." Okay, let's settle that for
2:51for 50. So the guy walks away from that
2:55transaction feeling more friendly to the
2:59steward even though the steward got less
3:01from him.
3:03And what Jesus is going to show us is
3:06that this is the purpose of wealth and
3:09money that it is not an end of itself
3:13and it should not be protected and
3:16hoarded as an end of itself. Instead, it
3:20is a means to an end. It is a tool by
3:25which you can build friendships, help
3:27people. But if you can't translate your
3:31money into relationships,
3:34it's lost all its purpose in God.
3:37So he says, "His master praised the
3:40unrighteous manager because he had acted
3:43shrewdly. For the sons of this age are
3:47more shrewd in relation to their own
3:49kind than the sons of light." So Jesus
3:53is saying the sons of this age, he's
3:56saying this guy is not a Christian. This
3:58guy is not a a believer. He's working
4:01with his own kind. And he's being
4:03shrewd, but he's smarter at how he
4:06handles money than some of the people in
4:08the kingdom, the sons of light. They are
4:11hoarding. They're demanding, "Give me
4:14all 100 measures." When they should say,
4:16"Wait a minute. The friendship is far
4:19more important than the amount.
4:22Settle it down and build up the
4:25relationship."
4:27And I say to you,
4:29so he he immediately says, "And I say to
4:32you, make friends for yourselves
4:36by means of the wealth of
4:38unrighteousness,
4:40so that when it fails, the wealth, they,
4:45your friends, will receive you into the
4:49eternal dwellings.
4:51He who is faithful in a very little
4:53thing is faithful in much. And he who is
4:57unrighteous in a very little thing is
5:00also unrighteous in much. Therefore, if
5:03you have not been faithful in the use of
5:06unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the
5:08true riches to you? And if you have not
5:11been faithful in the use of that which
5:13is anothers, who will give you that
5:15which is your own? No servant can serve
5:18two masters, for either he will hate the
5:20one and love the other, or else he will
5:22be devoted to the one and despise the
5:24other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
5:27You're either going to use wealth to
5:29serve God or you're going to use God to
5:33serve wealth. But you can't serve both.
5:36And being faithful with wealth does not
5:39amount to being rich. It amounts to
5:42using it wisely. And how do you use it
5:45wisely?
5:47Therefore, I say to you,
5:51make friends for yourselves
5:56by means of the wealth of
5:58unrighteousness,
6:00so that when it fails, they will receive
6:04you into the eternal dwellings. Jesus is
6:07saying,
6:09"Money is unrighteous, wealth is
6:11unrighteous, but I have an eternal
6:14purpose for it." What is that eternal
6:17purpose? To use it to help people
6:21and thereby to build relationships. And
6:24those relationships can one day help you
6:27make it to heaven.
6:30So use your money to build relationships
6:35so that when the money fails, and it
6:38will fail you, the friendships won't
6:41fail. They'll help you into eternal
6:44dwellings.
6:46That's heaven. Now, that's quite an
6:48eternal exchange to give up the things
6:51we cannot keep, to gain what we cannot
6:53lose. That's the way to find the joy God
6:56has for you. Then he says, "He who is
6:58faithful in a very little thing." But
7:01how are we faithful? Not by hoarding.
7:05We need to be good stewards of our
7:06money. We need to increase our money.
7:10But we need to understand that the
7:12purpose was never to accumulate money.
7:16The purpose was to convert that money
7:18into friendships.
7:20So if that money falls in the hands of
7:22generous hearts, if that money is used
7:25to help others, if that money helps you
7:28build friendships,
7:30well then you were faithful with it. But
7:33if you just got money to get more money,
7:35then you were not faithful.
7:38And no servant can serve two masters. So
7:42Jesus finishes this teaching about being
7:44faithful with money by saying you can't
7:46serve God in wealth. So the whole point
7:48is faithfulness with money is not
7:50building more and more and more and more
7:52money. Faithfulness with money is using
7:56your money to build the kingdom. The
7:58apostle Paul tells Christians in his day
8:01that they can become partners with him
8:04in spreading the gospel. Now that is a
8:07redemptive purpose for your money. The
8:10Apostle Paul says that children do not
8:12store up for their parents but their
8:14parents store up for their children. So
8:17generational wealth helping families
8:21hold continuity
8:24by passing on land and helping children
8:27in this way. That's a redemptive
8:29purpose. Giving generously to the poor,
8:33that's a redemptive purpose. Providing
8:36for one's own household is an expression
8:38of faith. Paul says, "If you don't do
8:40this, you've denied the faith."
8:43So all of these things, these are four
8:44things that are redemptive purposes for
8:47our wealth. But wealth is not the goal.
8:50You you're either going to
8:54use wealth to serve God or you're going
8:57to end up using God because you're
8:59serving wealth. Now the Pharisees who
9:02were lovers of money were listening to
9:05all these things and were scoffing at
9:08him. So what we know from that is that
9:11anybody who loves money doesn't like
9:13this teaching. And if you come away
9:15thinking Jesus is encouraging your love
9:17of money, you've missed the point. And
9:20he said to them,
9:23"You
9:25are those who justify yourselves in the
9:29sight of men,
9:31but God knows your hearts.
9:35For that which is highly esteemed among
9:38men is detestable in the sight of God."
9:44The law and the prophets were proclaimed
9:47until John.
9:49Since that time, the gospel of the
9:53kingdom of God has been preached and
9:56everyone is forcing his way into it.
10:01But it is easier for heaven and earth to
10:05pass away than for one stroke of a
10:09letter of the law to fail.
10:12Everyone who divorces his wife and
10:14marries another commits adultery. And he
10:18who marries one who is divorced from a
10:21husband commits adultery. So Jesus
10:25basically is telling the Pharisees,
10:28you justify yourselves in the sight of
10:31God, but you're not even living faithful
10:34to the commandments of the law.
10:37And he's saying, God knows your heart.
10:40And then he's speaking to them about how
10:43they're divorcing and remarrying. And
10:45he's basically telling them, you don't
10:47fool God. You think you've crossed under
10:50the line, but you're committing adultery
10:52and God knows it because you've married
10:54someone who is divorced or you've
10:56divorced someone for the for that
10:58purpose. It's pretty heavy, isn't it?
11:01Okay. Now, Jesus is going to begin to
11:03tell a story that relates more broadly
11:06to the money issue.
11:10Now there was a rich man,
11:13and he habitually dressed in purple and
11:16fine linen, joyously living in splendor
11:20every day.
11:23And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at
11:27his gate, covered with soores,
11:31and longing to be fed with the crumbs
11:34which were falling from the rich man's
11:36table.
11:37Besides, even the dogs were coming and
11:40licking his source.
11:42Now the poor man died and was carried
11:45away by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
11:48And the rich man also died and was
11:51buried.
11:52In Hades, he lifted up his eyes being in
11:56torment. And he saw Abraham far away and
12:00Lazarus in his bosom.
12:02And he cried out and said, "Father
12:04Abraham,
12:06have mercy on me and send Lazarus so
12:10that he may dip the tip of his finger in
12:13water and cool off my tongue, for I am
12:16in agony in this flame."
12:19But Abraham said, "Child, remember that
12:23during your life you received your good
12:26things and likewise Lazarus bad things,
12:29but now he is being comforted here, and
12:32you are in agony."
12:35And besides all this, between us and
12:38you, there is a great chasm fixed
12:42so that those who wish to come over from
12:45here to you will not be able and that
12:48none may cross over from there to us.
12:51And he said, "Then I beg you, Father,
12:54that you send him to my father's house,
12:58for I have five brothers in order that
13:01he may warn them, so that they will not
13:04also come to this place of torment."
13:07But Abraham said, "They have Moses and
13:10the prophets.
13:12Let them hear them." But he said, "No,
13:15Father Abraham, but if someone goes to
13:18them from the dead, they will repent."
13:21But he said to them, "If they do not
13:24listen to Moses and the prophets, they
13:26will not be persuaded even if someone
13:30rises from the dead."
13:33Now, there are layers of meaning in
13:35this, but Jesus has just spoken against
13:38their love of money. And then he speaks
13:41that they are not abiding by the law.
13:45And now he tells them that they're not
13:47listening to Moses and the prophets. But
13:50let's consider this a little more
13:52closely.
13:54This is the only parable that I can
13:57think of in the entire New Testament
14:00where Jesus names
14:04some of the people in the parable.
14:08Lazarus is given a name. The rich man is
14:12not, but Lazarus is.
14:16Now, that's interesting because the
14:19story about Lazarus is about someone
14:22possibly rising from the dead to warn
14:26rich and stubborn people. And there's
14:29only one in the New Testament who rose
14:32from the dead whose name was Lazarus.
14:35So it seems more than coincidental
14:39that Jesus has named this guy Lazarus
14:44and he's being discussed as rising from
14:47the dead. So I think Jesus is telling a
14:50parable and relating it to an actual
14:53miracle that occurred and that is the
14:56resurrection of Lazarus.
14:59Who is he talking about? Well, we know
15:02that in the time of Jesus,
15:04the Romans
15:06sold the office of high priest to the
15:10highest bidder.
15:12Now, that's pretty wicked because the
15:15high priestly office was supposed to be
15:18designated by God through very specific
15:20processes and it was supposed to be the
15:23service of the priests in the house of
15:25of God, the temple, right? But the
15:28Romans who had conquered the Jews sold
15:31it to the highest bidder.
15:33And if I have my details right,
15:38the family that purchased the high
15:41priestly office, the only family that
15:43had enough money to pay the bid was a
15:47family of Sadducees of the household of
15:50Caiaphas. And the individual who was put
15:55in the position of high priest happened
15:57to have five brothers.
16:00And he happened to die suddenly.
16:05And it looks to me like Jesus is telling
16:10us that first of all, this man wore
16:14purple. That was a royal color. You were
16:17not allowed to wear it. You could you
16:19could be you could be put to death for
16:21wearing it if you were not permitted to
16:24wear it by the state. So to wear purple
16:28was a very significant sign. But this
16:31shows that he's connected to the Romans
16:34because the Romans were the ones who
16:36gave you the right to wear purple. The
16:38Romans were the ones for whom purple was
16:40significant. So it seems to me that
16:43Jesus is describing
16:46the high priest who dies suddenly
16:49and he's basically saying this man died
16:53and he went to hell
16:56and he's saying this man is complaining
16:59that his brothers are also going to go
17:01to hell because they are deceived and
17:04Jesus is suggesting that Lazarus is
17:08rising from the dead as a sign to the
17:11brothers, but it's not going to work.
17:15This is the most vivid depiction of hell
17:18that we have.
17:21Okay, there's several things that are
17:23very important about this.
17:25It says that the rich man in life had
17:30good things. Lazarus had bad things.
17:33Maybe Lazarus died of a disease that
17:36involved sores.
17:38Okay, maybe he was malnourished. Maybe
17:42he didn't have enough food. But one of
17:44the things that we see here is that when
17:46Lazarus dies, he is immediately carried
17:50to Abraham's bosom. There isn't this
17:53lag. He's not in purgatory. He's not in
17:56some strange hybrid place called
18:00paradise. And then he is immediately in
18:03Abraham's bosom.
18:06And the other man is immediately in
18:08hell. And hell is not a metaphorical
18:11place. He says, "I am in torment in this
18:15flame." So hell is a place of heat and
18:19torment. But it's also a place of
18:22consciousness.
18:25And hell is permanent. There is a chasm
18:28fixed. I cannot get out. Abraham cannot
18:33pass from heaven. And the rich man
18:35cannot pass from hell. It is fixed. It
18:38is settled.
18:40Abraham says to him, "Child,"
18:43he calls him his son. "Child,
18:47remember that during your life you
18:49received your good things and likewise
18:51Lazarus bad things. Now he is being
18:54comforted and you are in agony."
18:59And besides, there is a chasm fixed. And
19:02so the rich man says, "Then I beg you,
19:06father, that you send to my father's
19:08house, for I have five brothers." That's
19:11a very specific number.
19:13And I think Jesus is saying that Lazarus
19:16rose from the dead because after God
19:20judged the high priest, they were still
19:23all in stubborn sin. So he used Lazarus
19:25[music]
19:26as a warning. He says, "I have five
19:29brothers. warn them so that they will
19:32not also come to this place of torment.
19:36But Abraham said they have Moses and the
19:39prophets. And what Jesus is telling them
19:42is that you think your unrepentance is
19:46because God hasn't shown himself
19:48powerful enough. But the truth is that's
19:51just another excuse.
19:54You are unrepented because you haven't
19:56walked in the light God has already
19:59given you. If you were walking faithful
20:02to Moses and the prophets, then you
20:05would be ready to receive it when one
20:07rises from the dead. Of course, the one
20:09that's going to rise from the dead that
20:11they ultimately reject is Jesus.
20:14But he says, "No, Father Abraham, but if
20:17someone goes to them from the dead, they
20:19will repent."
20:21Now, this shows why the rich man never
20:24found repentance [music] himself and why
20:26his his kind of thinking when it gets in
20:29our hearts prevents us from repentance
20:32because it blames God. It says [music]
20:35God hasn't shown sufficient fireworks to
20:38arrest me and my attention [music] and
20:40get me to believe. Isn't that a blaming
20:43still on God's part?
20:46But Abraham says, "If they do not listen
20:50to Moses and the prophets, they will not
20:53be persuaded [music] even if someone
20:55rises from the dead." And one
20:57translation says, "Even [music] though
20:59someone rise from the dead." So
21:03persuasion
21:05is not the problem here.
21:08They are not receiving the light that
21:10God's already given them. But he said to
21:13[music] them, if they do not listen to
21:14Moses and the prophets, they will not be
21:16persuaded even if someone rises from the
21:19dead. They don't need more [music]
21:20miracles. They don't need more signs.
21:22They need more obedience to what God has
21:24already given. And then the miracle and
21:27the sign will mean something.
21:30[music]
21:41[music]

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