How to Plan for the Future

Announcements:

• Harbor House Fellowship is helping the people of Japan through the Samaritan's Purse organization. Please give checks to David and Shirley.
• We are collecting cell phones (don't have to work) to help children with kidney problems, specifically a boy named
   Colby whom Tammy knows. We need 25 lbs. of cell phones to get free shipping. See David and Shirley.
• If you're interested in the inter-denominational Christian movement in Sulphur Springs, please talk to Vernon or David. They need volunteers to knock on doors, as well as prayer warriors. There will most likely be a meeting for the volunteers in May. We can have a great revival in our town! Why not? God is the same today as He was during the Great Awakening. We have an opportunity here to claim Sulphur Springs for Jesus Christ, not "religiously" but in love.

Praise Reports:

• The Augustin's goat, Lilly, delivered two bucks last week and they're already sold!
• Julie had a fun week with her grandkids and a good conversation with her sister-in-law. Vivian also had a great time in Texas with her.
• Alex Hopp was not in Japan when the tsunami hit, thank the Lord!
• Rebecca is at the Highland Shelter, please pray that God will work great things in her life there.
• Roy is taking a part time job at the Post Office and it thrilled to be passed all of the tests!

Prayer Requests:

• Vanessa took her mother, Ruby, to hospital on Sunday. Dixie is back in the hospital, her kidneys are shutting down. Please pray for Vanessa and that whole family, that God's will be done and everyone will be drawn closer to Him as a result of all this.
• Kim was in severe pain from a migraine last weekend, but is getting better. Please pray for her continued recovery.
• Kathleen's friend, a woman in her 80s, seems to have lost her hope. Pray for Kathleen's ministry to her, that God will shine in her friend's life.
• Keep Brenna in your prayers.
• Pray that doctor's will discover the reason behind Richard's patient's high blood pressure.
• Mary: body and spirit.
• Pam
• Byron
• The Christians of Sulphur: May they be equipped with love and power.
• Lydia
• The young people of the fellowship: that they would have wisdom and vision and that God would be glorified in their lives. 

YIP Day 305 - Dale Carnegie, originally uploaded by Auntie P.

Luke 16:1-12 

1. Situation: 

Joe the steward is going to lose his job. He's been a bit too wasteful (or at least his master thinks so) and it's time for Ol' Joe to give an account because his days are numbered. He needs a Plan B, and he needs it fast. 

What does Joe do first? He rules out what he can't do (not strong enough to dig, ashamed to beg) to make room for creativity. Personal Application: When faced with a crisis, don't just keep saying, "I wish it wasn't like this." Be honest with yourself and rule out what you aren't going to do, then go ahead. 

Before moving on, we need to study the cultural context of this parable. In Exodus 22:25 God told the Israelites not to charge interest to the poor. Being shrewd businessmen, they manipulated their practices to outwardly conform with this ruling. They decided that if a man had oil or grain then he couldn't really be called poor, so it was standard business practice to write up a loan of four hundred gallons of oil as eight hundred, so that the loan would appear to be interest-free. 

Another relevant practice: the editors of the New Jerusalem Bible state, "It was the custom for a steward, or responsible servant, to take commission on all sales of his master's goods. This was his only means of making a salary."

So what does Joe do? He calls in his master's debtors and strikes a large amount of their debts from the record. Perhaps he was taking off the dishonest interest, or perhaps he was sacrificing his own profits by forgoing his rightful commission. Whatever he did, Jesus calls him "shrewd" (a word which actually should be translated "wise", as it is elsewhere in Scripture). But Jesus isn't telling us to cheat our employers! 

 Let's dissect Joe's actions.

2. Solution: 

He uses what is available to him (hint) to devise a plan. He was working within a corrupt system, and decided to utilize his power and influence to help others and gain friends for himself to support him once his master kicked him out. He was wise in a way that many Christians aren't. 

1. He used his resources to win appreciation and praise. Don't you think that Joe's reputation would spread after something like this? Everyone at the city gates would hear of his generosity!
2. Winning friends would secure his future needs. 

Personal Application: You need friends to get you through. Use what you have to win friends. There will be hard times ahead, and we should be prepared for them. If worldly wealth can gain us the gratitude and faithfulness of others, by all means, let's use it!

Even his master commended Joe for his wisdom! After all, what options has the wise servant given his master? He really has him between a rock and a hard place: if the master calls Joe out on his 'cooking the books' and tells the debtors to pay more, he's cast a very bad light on himself. In a sense, then, the master is saying, "You got me Joe! You're still very fired, but you're good. You're good."

In vs. 10 Jesus says, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." What is this "little" that we are now entrusted with? Worldly wealth. And how can we be faithful with it? We can use it to help others and gain friends. 

Do you realize how many parables involve money? It seems to be a litmus test for "Kingdom Living". 

One last thing: Jesus says that if we use worldly wealth to gain friends, we will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. This could mean that whatever we give to win friends may not get returned to us until eternity. But imagine walking into the gates of Heaven and seeing a crowd of people before you, welcoming you in! When we don't feel welcomed, our relationships (at work, with our families, friends, etc.) quickly fall apart. The need to feel welcomed could very well be our greatest need as humans.

If you appreciate a warm welcome, take a cue from Joe. 

P.S. Another insight: the world sees us as representatives for a Master to whom everyone owes an enormous debt. Are we going to rub it in their faces and demand full payment? Or are we going to show them God's grace and mercy?

P.P.S. A word from Asterius of Amasea:

When, therefore, any one anticipating his end and his removal to the next world, lightens the burden of his sins by good deeds, either by canceling the obligations of debtors, or by supplying the poor with abundance, by giving what belongs to the Lord, he gains many friends, who will attest his goodness before the Judge, and secure him by their testimony a place of happiness.