Possessions

Living the Parables
-Part VII-

#14 The Rich Fool
Luke 12:13-21

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself
but is not rich toward God.

Obsessions with Possessions
How you deal with possessions is serious business
Worldly wealth is very deceptive
There are many kinds of greed

Patterns to Avoid
Don’t focus solely on self
Don’t store up treasures on earth
Don’t assume that you have plenty of time

Principles to Remember
Set limits on luxuries
Store up treasures in heaven
Trust God for your basic needs


#15 The Shrewd Manager
Luke 16:1-8

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?' 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.' 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.

Facing up to Reality
The manager knew he was guilty
The manager knew he was facing ruin
The manager knew relationships last longer

From Selfishness to Stewardship
The church needs to improve its shrewdness
Use possessions to acquire things of lasting value
Putting paper money to work produce pure gold
How we spend shows who we serve