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but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent and he said unto them unto him if they hear not moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead it's all bow your heads have a word of prayer thank you lord for bringing us here together to hear your word be preached and sing praises to you but we ask you please feel pastor jones with your holy spirit as it comes forward to preach the message that you laid on his heart and lord we ask you please give us all ears to hear and hearts to receive the message the lord we love you and in jesus name we pray amen all right luke chapter number 16 so what we're going to do this morning is we're going to take an extensive look at the first 13 verses the parable that's found within these uh first uh few verses of the chapter i know some of you are probably like yes the rich man and the you know the guy that's in hell the rich guy in hell but we're not talking about him this morning but you know looking at these first 13 verses one thing you're going to find out this morning is that this parable it reveals a lot of great biblical truths that most people don't want to hear okay and i'll show you that here in a second look down at verse number 10 luke 16 verse 10 it says this he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much now the title of the sermon this morning is all in or all out there's a proverb proverbs uh 20 verse 6 it's our memory verse for the week which i forgot to read during the announcements it says most men will proclaim every man his own goodness but a faithful man who can find and you know most people today probably view themselves as being somewhat committed and that's really what this sermon is about commitment how committed are you how good are you at managing or stewarding your responsibilities you know a lot of people you know would definitely proclaim well i'm pretty good you know i don't know why bad stuff always seems to happen to me i don't i don't get it i think somebody's after me i think the world's after me you know it's never your fault right it's never our fault it's always somebody else's fault but the truth that we're going to learn about in this parable is it is our fault by and large most of the time okay so in luke 16 10 he says he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also and much and so pretty much all the points that i have for you this morning are basically going to center around that verse now we're just going to start this thing off here look down at verse number one it says and he said also unto his disciples there was a certain rich man which had a steward and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods verse two and he called unto him and said unto him how is it that i hear this of thee give an account to thy stewardship for thou mayest be no longer steward what i want you to do is i want you to look there at verse two verse number two where it says how is it that i hear this of thee right so this rich man the steward's boss he doesn't necessarily catch the steward this unjust steward in the act he hears this of him so word has gotten back to him that this steward is not doing his job and here's point number one everyone else can see your level of commitment but you everyone else can see your level of commitment but you right most men will proclaim their own goodness right most people are going to think they're doing a pretty good job they've got their ducks in a row and everything that's bad the promotion you don't get the recognition you don't get is always somebody else's fault but what we're going to learn is that's not true you know you see this steward the steward's boss he hears that this guy's not being faithful he's not being committed he has neglected that which is least and it's just it just causes him issues it causes him so much trials and trouble and tribulation turn keep your place there we're going to come back but go to first corinthians chapter number four so everybody else can see your level of commitment but you anytime you're around other people on a regular basis whether it be church some kind of organization whether you're at work your family everybody around you is going to know what kind of person you are let's just let's just be honest let's just face the facts right people know when they're dealing with somebody who's committed i mean is that not true the other day uh it was friday i was working at a dental office over meridian right and they've got this law now right you got to wear a mask everybody in there's got to wear a mask i don't know if the patients do now i like you know when i go to the dentist i don't mind if they wear a mask i don't want to be smelling them and stuff and i think they always have but now the the dental techs or whatever they have to wear a mask plus like this face shield right and they've got full scrubs and they probably always had stuff like that but i'm in the break room i'm fixing their uh refrigerator or something like that and you know i'm just watching these guys come in right they're working on patients and they're coming in there they're drinking water you know taking a mask off and i watched about five different people go into the bathroom with the face shields on with the masks on for several minutes at a time i was at this place for like two hours and i was just thinking about this sermon i'm like man i'll bet if you were to talk to each one of those people they'd probably proclaim their own goodness they would probably proclaim their own faithfulness but how faithful is that going to the bathroom with your ppe on you know aren't we you know because they got signs out oh we're sanitary right we're sanitary we're we we got our stuff together it's clean you can trust us in all this stuff but what i notice is they're not even faithful in that which is least they're not even faithful with taking off their ppe when no one's looking to go to the bathroom they just go in there do their business and come out and go work on your mouth so do you really think that they're going to be faithful in that which is much probably not you know it's kind of like the old saying when you walk into a restaurant and it's dirty on the outside you know the tables haven't been cleaned off what do you think the kitchen's looking like it's probably looking like garbage and you know when a person comes into church oftentimes and they're just like you know my life's messed up everything's against me my life sucks blah blah blah you try to give them some advice you try to help them out and they don't take it it's just you know well i tried that and it didn't work it didn't work it's their fault no you're not faithful in that which is least is the problem you're not faithful with just some basic biblical advice to get your life back on track why do you think god is gonna gonna resurrect you out of your troubles it's not gonna happen that's not how life works and this is what people don't get today this is what people don't want to understand today look i get it everyone likes coming to church and they like to hear us rip on the sodomites and stuff and i love doing that but you know what we need this stuff today because the world is lacking committed people the world is lacking faithful people it's true employers right now are sucking finding hardcore workers they're not able to find them because people just want the easy road that's what they want right i was talking to a guy yesterday i was getting my hair cut you know it was kind of nice getting a haircut with you know it seemed perfectly normal in there and the guys from bulgaria and he was telling me he's like you know when i first moved to this country i was going to join the military and i was like oh okay you know he's like were you ever in the military i was like yeah and we were talking back and forth and he's like you know it's like i realized something i was just doing it for the college money and it brought back so many memories because when i was in the military the guys who would struggle the most were the guys who signed the contract just to get the money you know and that's a lack of commitment if you're going to join that organization if you want to join babylon you need to make sure that you're all in for babylon right because if not you're gonna have a rough time you've committed your life to these people okay and i don't recommend that you serve babylon but that's a sermon for another day okay so point number one is everyone else can see your level of commitment but you the people around you know see i was in that break room and i was looking at these people i knew okay do you think when they drop a dental pick on the ground that they're really cleaning it up if they're not faithful enough just to take the face shield off before they go to the bathroom the mask probably not first corinthians chapter four look at verse number two it says moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful you know what it's a requirement that god's people have a faithful committed attitude in everything that they do why because we're ambassadors for christ this world is not our home and we need to learn how to properly function in this world that's why look you know what's sad is that dogs are often more faithful and committed to their cause than we are you know i was talking to that same guy yesterday he's talking to me about how he trains hunting dogs he was talking about this dog that he had his german shepherd that would you know you take out hunting in the winter time and the thing would be freezing and just just just obviously in pain but anytime you would see a bird or he would just he would just dive right into the water every single time you know even though he's got big clumps of icicles hanging off i'm just shivering you know just about to keel over and die and as i was just thinking you know that what that's that's a commitment right there that's a person who's committed that i mean a dog that's committed you know but not a person right that we're not liberals here but i was just thinking about that like we could all learn something from that you know that dog was definitely more faithful than a lot of workers i've worked with yeah i know people are like well i don't even want to get out of my truck if it's that cold i'm gonna wait till it warms up you're going into a house to work on an appliance that uh that 30-second walk from the van to the door is really hurting you that bad you know this world's in trouble okay and the bible says here moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful if not what's the result going to be loss of income anxiety regret all the stuff that we typically top talk about now turn to uh first timothy chapter three and while you're turning them read for you psalms 10 verse 7 which says the memory of the just is blessed but the name of the wicked shall rot and knowing that and understanding that you know we look at these people and we say like wow you know this uh elon musk or bill gates or you know the ceo of these fortune 500 companies man they've really got it made man they really got life down pat no someday their names are gonna rot you know what a lot of those people it's sad to say but they really are faithful now which is least they're the ones that will get up in the morning and make their bed and do things diligently and that's sad that when we look around and we see god's people not even doing that yep see i'm not preaching this so that you can get rich i'm preaching this so you can have a blessed christian life so you can be a good ambassador and be a good steward like god has called us to be it's a requirement it's a commandment obviously not to be saved we're not talking about salvation this morning talking about being a committed steward about being a reliable person that has a good reputation which does precede you and look by now look you guys know you guys have a high level of discernment you know when somebody comes in here and they're just like talking about all their problems and you helping them out and they're just like ignoring what you're saying you know and you can just see the things that they're neglecting are you reading your bible no are you praying no why are you asking me for help then if you're not gonna be faithful in that which is least if you're gonna if you're not even gonna do what's required of you when no one else is looking why would god rescue you why why would your boss promote you if you're not doing the right thing when no one's looking it's not gonna happen it's not gonna happen tight uh what i say timothy timothy chapter three so in titus chapter one verse seven you guys are familiar with this it says a bishop is required to be a good steward he says he must be blameless right and a lot of people will think well it's just the pastor it's just the leadership that's supposed to be faithful that's supposed to be committed but that's not true and real quickly look at verse number seven first timothy chapter three look at verse seven it says moreover he must have a good report it's talking about a bishop an overseer or pastor he says moreover he must have a good report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil right so what is that talking about it's talking about ambassadorship somebody who wants to be a pastor or a leader is supposed to have a good rapport with them that are without people that aren't saved right how else are we going to get people saved if we're out of control with our behavior and our attitude go one chapter over to first timothy chapter number four and look at verse number 12 because a lot of people again they'll say well you know as a pastor well you have to be committed you have to be faithful you have to be all these things but no this is required of all of us every single one of us whether you desire the office of leadership or not this is your requirement and i'll prove it to you look at verse 12 it says let no man despise thy youth but be thou an example of the believers in word in conversation in charity and spirit in faith in purity so you are required as a believer to meet the qualifications of a bishop not to be saved not to stay saved but to be a good faithful steward he says look at look at the verse there what does paul tell timothy let no man despise thy youth but be thou an example of the believers so you're supposed to be all of these things as a believer and then if you have the desire obviously you you can choose to to have the office of a bishop but he says that we're supposed to be an example of the believers in word in biblical knowledge in conversation having the bulk of your conversation obviously with the new man versus the old man in charity so in love in spirit in faith in purity go to hebrews chapter 11 here's the application so i said everyone can see your level of commitment but you oftentimes it takes other people to tell us that we're ate up or it takes us basically getting into the frying pan before we realize uh-oh i'm in trouble i've messed up somewhere i need to get out of this and so like like paul told timothy you know be an example of the believers in faith right in faith look at hebrews chapter 11 look at verse 1 now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen look at verse 2 for by it the elders obtained a good report so you say how can i have that good reputation that committed that faithful that all-in reputation it's by faith in everything that you do it's by being faithful obviously you are all faithful with the word of god when you heard it you got saved but what about now what is your reputation now what is the steward what is the lord looking down and saying about you right now is he saying hey you're an unjust steward or is he saying hey you know there's somebody who's faithful in that which is least there's somebody who's getting it done when no one's looking there's somebody who's praying for other people that they don't even know because they heard about a problem there's somebody that's reading there's somebody that's studying there's somebody who cares is that you i mean think about it it says for it by the elders obtained a good report you as a bible believing christian will not be a committed faithful person until you understand this concept you have got to live by faith you've got to be faithful in all things right and you say well i want more responsibility i want to get more people saved i want to have more we want more people to come church we want more of this well are you doing that which is least when nobody else is looking right because think about it the steward here in luke chapter 16 he obviously wasn't doing that he was obviously neglecting his duties in what was the result chaos anxiety go back to luke chapter 16 and look at verse number three so kind of like the steward's boss he said how is it that i hear this of thee so you need to ask yourself this question what is your boss what is your husband what is your wife what are the people in your family what is the lord hearing about you look at verse three then the steward said within himself 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 they may receive me into their houses do you notice the self-talk here now it's too late hindsight's always 2020 right now the reality has hit the steward that uh-oh i've just lost my job i'm going to lose my place lift i've lost everything here so here's point number two a habit of neglecting commitments causes many negative consequences people that have a habit of neglecting that which is least will often progress to neglect that which is much in their life most of the responsibilities and the result is what you see right here in these two verses uh-oh i'm in trouble you're going to be saying within yourself what shall i do i can't dig right he's been an office worker his whole life you can't go out and do manual labor now and he's like and i'm ashamed to beg now i'm in trouble now i've got to think now now i got to try to make up for all that lost time all that you know time that i was not faithful so i said point number two is a habit of neglecting commitments causes many negative consequences go to proverbs chapter number 22 a habit of neglecting commitments causes regret instantly it causes shame it causes sorrow anxiety doubt and fear think about it all these emotions this steward is going through right now he's wondering where's my next meal going to come from where's my next paycheck where am i going to sleep what am i going to do how are people going to view me and that's how god's people need to think before you decide well do i really need to get up and go to work today do i really need to keep going to church do i really need to keep reading my bible do i really need to keep praying for people think of this guy and what he's going through do you want to have this conversation with yourself over and over and over and over again nope you definitely don't and look we've had people come in here that are like this but instead of being like this steward and getting his act together later on they just keep neglecting the things that they need to do they keep neglecting just the most basic responsibilities like paying their bills when they have the money fulfilling just a simple commitment that they made proverbs 22 look at verse 29 see is thou a man diligent in his business he shall stand before kings he shall not stand before mean men go to second chronicles 29 and here's what it boils down to diligence if you are a diligent person you know what you're not going to spend most of your time in front of your boss's desk explaining away why you didn't do this or why this is going wrong or why that's happening and it's the same thing in church you know the good steward of god the good faithful committed bible believing christian that says you know what i'm gonna do that which is least when nobody's looking you know i'm gonna commit myself to go to church i'm gonna commit myself to read the bible i'm gonna commit myself to be a disciple like the words that came out of my mouth when everybody else was listening to me you know what that's the person that's gonna get it done that's the person that's not gonna stand before mean men because looks a lot of people come in here and be like oh you know this is the problem my boss is after me man this person's after me well my wife or whatever she is after me you know you know what i'm talking about i don't try to hide too much here you know i'm talking about you there's a reason why people are like that there's a reason why they're always standing tall before the man it's because they're not diligent that's why you want to be a good worker you want to get that promotion guy guess what you need to take a hardcore look at your responsibilities every single day at your job and make sure you do them to a team you need to learn your processes and you need to execute them when nobody's looking when no one's telling you you need to be the kind of person that says hey what are we doing what's the end goal today and then have that mind frame and get that stuff done you know what that that same thing applies to a dad the same thing applies to a wife and the same thing applies to a child teenager you teens you kids that have chores you need to make sure you're diligent in those that way you're not always in front of mom and dad trying to explain why you didn't do your chores get to work time is running out because they oh i've got plenty of time i'll do this tomorrow i'll do it next week i'll do it later no you won't right you need to do it now while you're thinking about it and you need to develop this diligent habit for everything because when listen teens listen little kids when you learn to just do your chores because you know that's what needs to be done you know what that's going to carry you through life so much better than trying to straighten it out later on when you grow up you say well i'm going to get this big old job and have all this great responsibility i'm going to be a manager i'm going to be a leader but you can't even make your bed in the morning you can't even do the laundry you can't even put the dishes away you can't even do that which is least but you think you're going to be some high speed big shot hero guess what that's not going to happen right see us thou a man diligent in his business he shall stand before kings he shall not stand before mean men and look i get it some of us have bosses that are just super weak and retarded and you're going to stand before them anyways right that's just a fact of life right but when you're diligent you've always got a way out you've always got your tracks covered you've always got an alibi and you will always get pulled through those situations so i said turn to second chronicles 29 i'm going to read you a couple more verses here proverbs 19 15 says slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger that's obviously why you see a lot of homeless people because they got used to being slothful they got used to being idle and the result is now i need something to eat but the same thing goes for the christian right who develops a habit who neglects his responsibilities or his commitments they neglect those things and then all of a sudden they develop a hunger for the word of god but they're too slothful to go read the bible and get the answers for themselves so then they turn to youtube and then when youtube sermons get old then they turn to other people who they don't know who they haven't seen before who are just entertaining who speak well who have whatever doctrine and then the next thing that you know they're carried off into never neverland and then they dip out of church with the weirdest doctrines you've ever heard of in your life and you're sitting here wondering what in the world happened to that person well i can tell you what happened they were not faithful in that which is least a habit of neglecting commitments causes many negative consequences the bible also says in proverbs 19 verse 16 he that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul but he that despiseth his way shall die think about that so second chronicles chapter 29 this is talking about king hezekiah here obviously hezekiah i like him good guy you know what it says in the verse number three says in the first year of his reign in the first month opened the doors of the house of the lord and repair him so here we see uh in this past we're gonna read some of these verses here but hezekiah you guys know the story judas in ruins juda is messed up and and you want to know why it's because they neglected all sorts of things they neglected the priest they neglected the temple they neglected the word of god they neglected all of these different things i mean look at this look at verse four it says and he brought in the priests and the levites and gathered them together into the east uh street verse five and said unto them hear me you levites sanctify now yourselves and sanctify the house of the lord god of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness of the or out of the holy place so you see all the stuff that they neglected so hezekiah is having to come in and he's having to reopen shop he's having to reinstate he's like having to tell them the basics hey stop being stupid right look we need the priests we need people to teach and discern the law we need to open the house of god we need to get people to sanctify themselves like the lord told us to many many many many years ago and he's trying to get the people to wake up and realize look the whole reason we're in this mess is because we neglected our responsibilities we made a habit of doing that look at verse six he says for our fathers have trespassed and done that which is evil in the eyes of the lord our god and have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the lord and turned their backs verse seven it talks about how they neglected uh the offerings verse eight it says wherefore the wrath of the lord was upon judah and jerusalem and he hath delivered them to trouble to astonishment to hissing and you see with your eyes you know what these things were written for our admonition right the unjust steward guess what he's kind of in this similar situation here he's astonished he's in trouble why because he neglected his basic duties he neglected that and he was probably wondering man what am i going to get my raise man what am i getting my promotion this is weak next thing you know he's out of a job and he's kind of one oh what did i do you see at that moment when that happens there's two types of people there's a person that will blame everybody else for the troubles and then there's a person that says you know what yeah you got me i'm jacked up i'm messed up it's my fault and i'm gonna fix it look at verse number nine for lower fathers have fallen by the sword and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this look a habit of neglecting commitments will lead you into captivity every single time because it's not just going to stop with the small things it's going to progress into larger things every single time every time look at verse 10 now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the lord god of israel that his fierce wrath may turn away from us so you need to understand this there is always a way out you think oh it's over i got my back against the wall there's no hope for me look you're never going to get anywhere with that mindset you will never get anywhere with that mindset look at verse 11 my sons don't miss this be not now negligent for the lord hath chosen you to stand before him to serve him and now you should minister unto him and burn and send incense so look you want to get your life back on track you want to get revival in your life then you know what you need to learn how to not neglect your responsibilities that's what hezekiah understood and that's why he emphasizes this here in verse 11 hey don't neglect these things that i'm talking about right here we're opening up church we're opening up shop here we're bringing the priests we're going to get the preaching back on we're going to get everything restored and don't neglect any of it including sanctification go back to luke chapter 16 luke chapter 16 so i said point number one is everyone else can see your level of commitment but you you know we we have the hardest time self-auditing don't we because it's easy for us to just build this view of ourselves that is comfortable with us makes us feel good when we go to sleep at night but you know what everyone else around you that you hang out with that you work with they know whether or not they can depend on you and that's something that we need to realize here and point number two the habit of neglecting commitments causes many negative consequences luke 16 look at verse 10 again he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much so the idea here is you want to be entrusted with discipling more people do you want to win more souls do you want to get that promotion do you want to have a better marriage you need to be faithful in that which is least kids you want more responsibility from your parents learn to do your chores become trustworthy that's what's going to get more liberty for you and he that is unjust in lease is unjust also much and i mean that look that's that's a boatload of wisdom right there you're looking to figure out whether or not you can trust somebody ask yourself are they faithful in that which is least no if they're unjust with the small stuff guess what they're going to be unjust in that which is much as well it's just like that story that i told you about the the dental office over meridian i don't believe if they were to drop some dental pick that's going to go in your mouth i don't think they're going to wash it if they don't have the energy if they don't have the motivation to keep themselves clean when no one's looking why would they do it back in the other room when no one's looking it's not going to happen so the key to becoming a committed person is by conquering the small things first right we need to make sure that we're not neglecting the little responsibilities that we have now some of you have seen my work van i neglect that during the week you know i i look when i was writing a sermon i was like man i don't even want to preach this because i'm preaching myself man i'm thinking about all the stuff that i'm neglecting i'm like oh i need this i need this bad if there was nobody that showed up to church this morning i would preach this and sit down in that chair right there and watch it okay i need this as just as much as anybody i probably need it more than all of you okay turn to matthew chapter 24 matthew chapter number 24 look at verse 43 matthew chapter 24 look at verse 43 says but know this matthew 24 verse 43 but know this that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up verse 44 therefore be also ready for in such an hour as you think not the son of man cometh and this is what we see as believers in the world right you know we go knock on people's doors and they're like you know they kind of show a little interest sometimes and then they're like man but i really don't have time you know i'm playing call of duty right now i've only got a certain amount of lives left you know i got my buddies waiting for me whatever the case is and you're like man you could drop dead tonight right i mean let's think about it right almost every time we go out so many like like like this bothers me like i see people that are interested but they just make the decision ah i can't and it's like i could just sense that you would get saved if you would just listen to us you know what i mean and it's like that's what this is talking about but there's another principle here we're going to learn look at verse 45 it says who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his lord hath made ruler over his household to give them meat in due season look at verse 46 blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing now let me read that verse again look at this blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing now obviously the the initial application here is obviously regarding salvation uh and all that but what is jesus saying here hey the person who's doing his responsibilities when nobody else is looking has a blessing so point number three is a committed person does the right thing when no one else is looking when i was in the military there's this guy we used to call him humpty dumpty behind his back because he kind of looked like that but he would uh he would always be writing on the chalkboard you know out in our big bay area do the right thing because it's the right thing to do and that always kind of burned me right here in my stomach because i know that goes against the bible just do the right thing because it's the right thing to do that sounds like something that richard dockins would say or one of these idiot atheists would say you know we need to do the right thing because we understand that we're stewards of god you know and the time's running out and i'd rather spend eternity in heaven with eternal rewards than you know have a big bonfire of wood hay and stubble that you know sorry that i'm so harsh about that all the time but i'm you know what that's just reality right so point number three is a committed person does the right thing when no one else is looking and that's what jesus uh is teaching us here in verse 46 blessed is that servant whom is lord when he cometh shall find so doing you know what you may think that nobody's watching you may think that nobody cares but when you're faithful in that which is least which you consider least guess what it doesn't go unnoticed somebody notices that at least god notices it and at the right time you will get that promotion you will get that increase in your marriage you will get more responsibility you will get what you need that's what we need to understand understand look at verse 47 he says verily i say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods and that's the story here that's the idea you want to be ruler show me another church in the valley that's going to have that said to them it's probably it's probably not going to happen you have the opportunity right here to go soul winning several times a week to preach the hardcore truths of the bible we've got men's preaching nights we've got all this different stuff that you can partake in and grow and learn and preach and teach that my friend is a tremendous responsibility but the question is what are you doing about it look at verse 48 but and if that evil servant shall see in his heart my lord delayeth his coming and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of and shall cut him asunder and point him his portion with the hypocrites and should be weeping and gnashing of teeth obviously again the first application of that is salvation but isn't it so true just like the steward here he got called out when he least expected it right his boss is like how is it that i hear this of thee how is it that i hear this of thee and that is what your co-workers are asking that's what your boss is asking that's what your wife's asking that's what the people that are around you are asking you because they know your level of commitment go back to luke chapter number 16 and while you're turning them ready for your luke 1917 which says this and he said unto them well thou good servant because thou hast been faithful in a very little have thou authority over 10 cities and look again that is the bottom line when you learn to be faithful and that which god has given you that which your boss has given you your circle your area of responsibility you will get more do you really think that god's going to trust you to run a church or trust you with you know having a large following of disciples you know being in that kind of a role if you can't even read your bible if you can't even preach the gospel to somebody you're out of your mind if that's your mindset it's not going to happen you see everybody that i always work with like the majority of them right again they'll proclaim their own goodness all day long i deserve that promotion man it should be me up there why did he get it you know i remember when i got my big promotion when i was working for the federal government i mean there was fight after fight after fight there were meetings about it i mean it was we don't have time for the full story but it would make your ears tingle it was bad you know i remember this guy came up to me and he's like man he's like you were the last person that i ever would have thought he's like i know you're a hard worker he's like but you don't play softball you don't go to the bars you don't you you just it seems like you don't like anybody around here and he's like how did this happen and i'm like man i might be able to get this guy saved so i try to share him some bible it didn't go anywhere you know he's just like i can't be god i can't of course not it's not him it's not the guy upstairs oh no something else you selling coke no god is the author of promotion you know promotion doesn't come from the east it doesn't come from the west doesn't come from the south it comes from the lord god but it starts with you and your level and your level of commitment to the responsibilities that god has given you so what are we going to do about all this look at luke 16 back up to verse number five so the stewart's in trouble he realizes that you see the anxiety you see the doubt you see the fear you see the questions look at verse five so he called every one of his lords debtors unto him and said unto the first how much oh is thou unto my lord and he said in hundred measures of oil and he said unto him take thy bill and sit down quickly and write 50 verse seven then said he to another and how much oh is thou and he said in hundred measures of wheat and he said unto him take thy bill and write four score verse eight lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light we're talking about this the other day with i was talking about this the other day with brother jeff you know and it seems like oftentimes what i've noticed around here i go into a lot of homes that obviously the people are very wealthy and almost every time they're mormons you know it seems like they've just kind of got the ways of the world figured out as far as unrighteous mammon goes and they can keep it you can keep that all day long i'd rather sleep in a tent than be a mormon i'd rather go sleep in a gutter man than be a mormon any day but notice what this guy does he takes action he says i can't make up completely maybe for the past right now but i can least get the ball rolling forward i realize what i've done i realize that i messed up and i need to move forward and that's every person in this room right now i don't care how good you are i don't care how long you've been saved we all have room for improvement and so that's why i'm going to say this recognize that you have a problem and immediately start fixing it that's exactly what the steward here does look at verse 9 and i say it to you make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that when you fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations and look he's not saying go out and be friends with hollywood and start rapping and talking about catching fades and you know putting up a set and all this garbage right and that's not what he's talking about he's talking look we all have our conversation in unrighteous mammon we all have jobs or most of us guys have jobs here you know you have to be in the world somewhat but the the issue is do you realize that you're an ambassador with responsibilities to the kingdom in which you were sent from when you can realize that and you can understand that and you put those duties and those commitments first then guess what you're gonna have a better life you're gonna have a better understanding you're not gonna go through this self-talk over and over again you're not gonna be a walking jerry springer show okay that's what i'm trying to teach you here recognize that you have a problem and immediately start fixing it just like when i was going through this all these things start coming to my mind you're not doing this you're not doing that you're not you know it's like man i need to get the ball rolling and you know what if we pursued the kingdom of god with the same vigor and zeal that the children of the world do i mean we would really turn this place upside down that's right it's true you know a lot of people uh have told me out here so many oh you got a little church i like big churches i want more people you don't have a very big following online i don't want to come there the hell out of here then we don't need you we don't need people like that here this church right here has made a bigger impact in this community than any of the other ones have i don't care how many followers they have right that's a fact because this group right here is committed right we got rid of all the bozos we kicked them out we ran them out of here and what's left is a powerhouse and so the physical numbers don't matter it's what's in your heart how committed are you how committed are you in that which is least you need to ask yourself that look at verse 10 one more time he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also a much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also much verse 11 if therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches so you know what you do as believers as ambassadors we need to learn how to manage and be good stewards with that unrighteous mammon are you gonna let that stuff go to your head is that your focus because you're a failure as an ambassador if that's it you are i just look i'll just come out and say if that's you you're failing right now in the christian life you are failing you might say oh that's harsh i'm not coming back oh blah blah blah hey ring the bell and get the hell out of here because that's reality you need to make sure you've got your priorities straight because your duty and your calling is to that ambassadorship look at verse number 12 and if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's who shall give you that which is your own verse 13 no servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other you cannot serve god and mammon and so there you have it when you find yourself in the position of the unjust steward you know what you're either going to spring into action and try to fix it and do what's right or you're just going to blame the world and be like well i just need to keep chasing that bottom dollar man i just need to keep chasing that image that i built into my own mind and if that's you you're going to find your unit you're going to kick yourself out of church you're going to kick yourself out of your job you're going to kick yourself out of your family you're going to kick yourself out of your responsibilities and any trust that anybody was going to give you but one last verse proverbs 16 3 you don't have to turn there it says commit thy works unto the lord and thy thoughts shall be established you just need to settle it in your heart you just need to decide right now i'm going to commit myself to the things of god and when you do that you know he's going to take care of those thoughts you see i'm struggling with these things here you know i i have these desires to do this in the world right now you decide in your heart to commit your works unto god and he's going to change your thought pattern look it's a guarantee it's a promise it will happen you're either all in or you're all out let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer thank you so much lord for this church and the truths that you reveal to us week after week i just pray that you'd help us to apply these things in our lives lord please bless the fellowship and the soul winning after the service lord in jesus name i pray amen