You and I, we must learn to live on earth with an eternal perspective in mind. Dr. Tony Evans says there's an everlasting value to long-term thinking. Everything you do, as much as you can, you attach the spiritual to it. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.
Tony Evans. Doing good is Well, good. But doing good merely for the sake of doing good only produces temporary results. Making a lasting impact starts with a different perspective. One that Dr.
Evans tells us about as he begins today's lesson in Luke 16:1. Let's join him. When my son Jonathan was small and we launched our basketball league here. I would take him to the to the basketball games. He was just kind of really learning the The art of playing basketball.
And on one occasion, I went to one of his early games. They were at midcourt, the other team had the ball. And they were passing it and He came between the two men on the other team and the ball. And he stole the ball. He then dribbled and went up for a layup.
to score two points. The only problem was it was in the wrong basket. He scored points that the other team got credit for. Because while he worked hard, He wound up in the wrong place. Many of God's children are on the team, but they're shooting in the wrong basket.
They may even work hard. and be busy as spiritual bumblebees. But when it comes time to scoring, They're winding up scoring for the enemy. And not for the kingdom of God. And that is because far too many Now God's people Do not understand the principle of.
Kingdom stewardship. Let's review. A kingdom steward is a Christian. Who faithfully oversees protecting and expanding. The assets, time, talents, and treasures that God has entrusted to them to manage on his behalf.
A steward is a manager, not an owner. You own nothing. Everything you have If on loan. Everything you have is a loan. Your time is alone, it's going to run out.
Your talents are alone. There will come a time you can't utilize them anymore. Your resources are alone. Everything's alone. But the moment you insist that you own what is alone, You now are in conflict with the true owner.
when he only expects you to manage it On his behalf. Jesus tells a story. A parable is a story. taken from physical human life To teach A spiritual principle. We have An owner who has a manager.
This manager oversees all the affairs of the owner. In fact, he lives on the owner's property. We know that because he needs another house when he loses his job, and the other house would be living with his new employer.
So, this is a major personal manager. He manages all the affairs of the owner, but somebody reports to the owner that the manager has been ripping him off. The owner calls the manager in for a meeting. And he says, I have looked at the books. And you've been cooking the books.
I've been looking at your time. And you've been misusing and wasting your time. I hired you for your talents, and yet your talents have been more beneficial to you than to me.
So you have squandered what I put you here for.
So I can't use you anymore. You're fired.
So let me pause here just so that we can review something. There is coming a time when all of us will stand before God to give a report on our stewardship. Second Corinthians 5, verse 10 says, We're going to all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And be recompensed. For our lives on earth, whether good or bad.
God is going to evaluate Our management of what he loaned us, time, talents, and treasures, and how they were used or not used for the owner's benefit. Hebrews 9, 27 says that There is appointed under man once to die. And after that... The judgment.
So death is a transition, not a conclusion. And we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and He's going to look at the books. to see how we manage what he loaned us.
So this man looked at the books. And this Manager wasted what belonged to the owner.
So he was a bad manager or he was a bad steward. And he comes up with an idea. He goes to the debtors, the people who owe the owner. He says, how much do you owe him? I owe him a hundred of this.
Okay. Cut your bill in half and write fifty. How much you owe? Cut it down to 80.
So he cuts the deal. with folk who owe the owner.
Now wait a minute. The folk he cuts the deal with Need the owner too. 'Cause they older, older. He is the owner. Because he's been fired.
So He doesn't have the owner anymore, but... But he needs some other situation to rectify the mess he made. He evidently has power of attorney. He had the clout to reduce the bill.
So he had enough clout given his management. to affect the bill that other folk owed. No. Yeah. The issue comes down.
To what the owner says to the manager when he finds out what the manager did. And it's told us in verse 8. And his master Praised the unrighteous manager. Say what? Here's the owner praised the unrighteous manager.
Because he acted, Shrewdly. What do they do? For the sons of this age, sinners, Are more shrewd in relationship to their own other sinners. Then The sons of light. Christians.
The sons of this age, sinners, are more shrewd to their own kind of ascendants. Then the sons of light, saints. Sinners No better than saints. How to cut the right deal. Sinners no better than saints.
How to take advantage of opportunity. Sinners no better than saints. How to protect their future. The manager is praised by the owner But he still calls him unrighteous.
So the manager was wrong, that's why I got fired. But he was smart even though he was wrong. Because even though he was wrong. He came up with a plan. to make his future better than his past.
And the thing he did was he acted. Shrewdly. What exactly did he do? Let me give you a word. He transmutated.
Transmutation is a word That means you take something. and turn it into something else. Because you believe the something else you turn it into is going to pay bigger dividends in the long run. That's called transmutation. He says to the manager, stay with me here.
He says, even though you're unrighteous, you stole from me, you wasted my good, I got to give you credit. That you are shrewd. Because what you did was You went out and you covered your back. For the future, In light of the mess you made in the past.
So let me pause right here because I know there are some folks under the sound of my voice who need a transmutation. You got to come up with a plan that's going to take you from where you are, in light of where you used to be and the mess you made back there, and turn it into something else that's going to pay dividends in the future. Because this manager said. If I act shrewdly, then the folks that I relate to in the future, even though I didn't mess up in the past, are going to welcome me into their home because of the good deal I cut with them. And I'm still going to have a home to stay in because I will have covered my failure in the past by my shrewdness in the present, which is going to give me a new future opportunity.
In tomorrow. It's called being shrewd. Guess what? Jesus wants you to be Shrewd. He wants you to be church.
He says the sinners know how to cut a better deal. Then the saints. He's talking about a manager. He's talking about stewardship. And he says His principle.
Where you going with this, Jesus? Verse 9. And I say to you, he's talking to his Christian disciples, not talking to non-Christians, he's talking to disciples. I say to you, Make friends for yourselves. By means Of the wealth of unrighteous.
Miss So that when it fails They your friend Will receive you into eternal dwellings. Remember this guy is worried about where he's gonna live. 'Cause he's getting ready to get fired. He says, Disciples, here's what you need to do now if you want to cover your future. You make friends for yourself through the use of unrighteous mammon or the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when money fails.
You need to know something. One day money is going to fail. When they say you're terminally ill. And there's nothing more than do it it won't matter how much money you have. Because money will have failed.
It it can't bail you out.
Some of us, even apart from death, have situations in our lives that money can't buy us out of. Because money has failed. In other words, it's lost its potency, it's lost its influence, it's lost its ability to resolve the problem. It's not if money fails, it's when money fails.
So, if you put all of your eggs in the money basket. And that's all you got going for you when money fails. You up a creek without a paddle. doctor Evans will return with more of our message in just a moment. First though, I want to tell you about his book that builds on what we've been learning in our current series.
It's called kingdom stewardship. An exploration of the burdens we'll drop and the blessings we'll receive once we realize that God owns everything, not just our money. You can get this life-changing book today as our gift when you come alongside the alternative and make a contribution toward Tony's ministry. In fact, if we hear from you right away, we'll send the book to you along with all 12 full-length messages in the Kingdom Stewardship Audio Series, the Companion Study Guide, and access to custom Bible study video sessions taught by Tony. This is a limited time offer, so be sure to visit us at tonyevans.org right away and make the arrangements.
or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat our contact information after part two of today's lesson. Let's get back to doctor Evans now. You need to make some friends. You need to have some buddies.
Who will welcome you into your eternal dwelling? When you leave this life and go into eternity, there will be an opportunity for a welcoming committee. The question is: how many people are going to be at the pearly gate? To welcome you because of the impact spiritually you have had on their lives. The sons of this age make friends.
to cut business deals for this life. He says you need to make friends You cut spiritual deals for the life that is to come. What he is calling you to is prioritizing the spiritual over the material. He uses the material to teach a point about the spiritual. Because many people who have money here are going to be broke up there because there will be nobody to welcome them because they had no spiritual impact in this life.
They were bad stewards with their time, their talents, and their treasures. It was all for this life, which makes you no better than a non-believer. He's telling his disciples, Don't you live like that? Don't you let the sinners be smarter than the saints? Don't you let the ungodly be smarter than the godly?
He says, no, what is he saying? He is saying, you and I, we must learn to live on earth with an eternal perspective in mind.
So let me tell you about being really rich. If you want to be rich, anybody really want to be real rich? With something That brings no sorrow with it. He calls it. True riches.
True riches. Is when God Invade your circumstances. And become so real to you, you can reach out and touch him. True riches is when heaven shows you how much it's gotten its bank account, when Earth's bank account is run dry. I was with my doctor, and he's a very committed Christian man.
His whole medical profession is to heal bodies and Every time he's healing a body, he is searching for an opportunity to discuss their souls.
So he got medical. He's helping people like any good doctor will do. But because he's a kingdom steward and because the eternal is critical to him, he is seeking opportunities to talk to them about their eternal destiny.
So I'm talking to him, and he says, Did I ever tell you my story about my encounter with an angel? I said, encounter with an angel? Oh, he says, yes, it's quite a story. I said, no, tell me this story about your encounter with an angel, because the Bible says many of us have entertained angels unaware. The key word there is unaware, they were there and you didn't know it.
But the problem is, if you're not in touch, you won't see it.
Okay. So he says, I was in a communist country doing medical work, but there was a problem with my passport. He says, I was scared to death. because of what could happen. And I was panicking on the inside.
I told the Lord, Lord, you got to intervene now because I can't fix this. I don't know how to fix this, and I was unaware of it, but still, it could get me locked up. You've got to do something. He was standing in line to be checked by the security, and they were going to have to make a decision about his passport. There was one couple in front of him.
The couple in front of them were taking care of their passport business. As he waited for them to leave, so that he would be the next one up. A lady dressed in white, he says, all white from head to foot, came alongside of him. When she came alongside of him, she said to him, Excuse me. Doctor, I've been looking for you.
I'm glad to have found you. Give me your passport. He said he hadn't seen this woman before. He never mentioned anything about a passport to this woman before. But this woman says, Doc, Give me your passport.
He gave her his passport. She said, Come with me. She went up to the line, the other couple in front had gone, and she went up to the man and simply said, stamp this passport. He stamped the passport with no discussion. Because the lady said stamp the passport.
The man said to the doctor, Sir, here's your passport. When he gave him the passport, he turned around. It was only a couple of seconds to thank the lady, and the lady had disappeared. She was nowhere to be found. He says, I know without a shadow of a doubt, God sent an angel to meet me who disappeared.
But if you are not spiritually in tune, you won't see a lady with a white dress. You will not see it even though the angel may be there.
So that's true riches. And there's nothing you can tell this doctor about God not being real. There's nothing you can tell this doctor about maybe this is a figment of your imagination, because he's gonna tell you, I was there. And I saw it with my own eyes. Like Elijah and Elijah, when Elijah said, God, open up his eyes, because he doesn't see what I see.
See, that's true, Richards. Her name was Rosie. Rosie is a member of our church. She was dying of cancer. The night before of her death, She was laying in bed and fell asleep.
She got up the next day and called her children. She said, last night I had a dream. In the dream, God came and told me to gather y'all because this would be my last day on earth. And he wanted to let me know in time so that I could say goodbye to you until we meet again on the other side. And so that afternoon she passed after a dream that night that told her to call her kids.
But unless you're in touch with the spiritual, you don't get that dream. You don't get to see that specific instruction by God in his illuminating word. See, I'm telling you. No. Money can't give you that.
People can't give you that. Power can't give you that. CDs can't give you that. 401s can't give you that. No, that comes because you've received true riches, because you've made the eternal a priority.
And see, all you got to do is experience one time. See, because once you experience one time, see, once you've been to the rits. Motel Six won't do. He said, well, why don't you conceive it one time?
So, you get to see the supernatural in the natural. God is asking you in mind to be get shrewd. To use every opportunity we have to do good for eternal impact.
So that there's a crowd up there. Welcoming you in.
So that even though you may have messed up this far in your life, You've given God little of your time, a little of your talents, and you've robbed him of his treasure. But now, but now you see that there's something bigger going on. And I want to not only when I die, when the money fails, I want it when I'm living, I want some true riches. I want to see heaven just jumping all over me so that I can now say that I've heard about him with the hearing of the ear. I've been there and heard Pastor Evans preach.
I didn't heard Bible studies. But now I've seen him, Job says, with my own eyes. And I can testify that this thing is real because I've got true riches. If you've never had a genuine personal encounter with God, that can happen for you today. And doctor Evans will return in a moment to tell you how.
Stay with us for that. You know, stewardship begins when we loosen our grip on the things we declare as ours. and instead open up and invite God to lead us. That's the heart of Dr. Evans' teaching on kingdom stewardship, and it's a perspective that will free you to become the person God meant for you to be.
For a limited time, we are offering the Kingdom Stewardship Package. A large collection of resources that will help teach you these powerful life-changing principles. When you make a contribution to help support the Alternative Broadcast Ministry, We'll send you all 12 full-length audio messages from the series, The Powerful Kingdom Stewardship Book, As well as an in-depth study guide and leaders kit with access to downloadable video teaching sessions from Dr. Evans. Visit us today at tonyevans.org or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night.
That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two. or online at tonyevans.org. And while you're on our website, be sure to request your interest in A Journey Through Israel with Tony Evans this October. From Jerusalem to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, you'll explore Scripture in its original setting, with teaching from Dr. Evans along the way.
Visit Tony Evans.org to find out more.
Well, on Monday, Dr. Evans addresses the pervasive problem of overextending our resources and explains how God can help us steer clear of the stormy sea of debt. Right now, though, he's back with this important invitation for you. If you're not absolutely sure that you have. receive salvation, that you're on your way to heaven.
Then let's get that straight right now. God offers you salvation as a free gift because of the sacrifice of His Son. And if you will come to Jesus Christ, acknowledging your need for a Savior because you recognize you're a sinner, Recognizing you can't save yourself. and appealing to Jesus to apply his death into your life. He will come in, forgive your sins, and give you eternal life right now.
Simply say to the Lord, I know I'm a sinner. I know I need a Savior. I'm believing in you alone to be my Savior.
So I now accept your offer to give me eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. and then thank him for the free salvation. He just gave. Yeah.
