Go! And Be Faithful with Eternal Treasure Luke 16:1–13
“The Steward of a Fortune”
Imagine you were suddenly handed the keys to manage a billionaire’s fortune—not your money, but theirs. You could use it, invest it, distribute it—but one day, you would have to give an account. How would you handle that responsibility?
Jesus once told a story just like that—not about finances alone, but about faithfulness, eternity, and the condition of our hearts before God.
Today’s message is titled: “Go! And Be Faithful with Eternal Treasure”
Let’s turn together to Luke 16:1–13 (NLT).
Luke 16:1–13 (NLT): Jesus told this story to his disciples:
“There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.
So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg.
Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I’m fired.’
“So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’
The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’
So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’
“‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man.
‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply.
‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’
“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.
Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
I. Recognise You Are a Steward, Not an Owner
The parable begins with a man who manages someone else's wealth. In Greek, the word for manager here is “oikonomos”—a steward, someone entrusted to oversee resources that do not belong to them.
We are not the owners of our time, talents, or treasure—God is. Psalm 24:1 reminds us:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”
Our responsibility is to faithfully manage what God has placed into our hands. This includes our finances, our gifts, and our influence.
Charles Stanley once said: “We are stewards of everything God has given us, and one day we will give an account.”
This parable shows a man caught mismanaging what was not his—and Jesus is teaching us that a day of reckoning is coming for all of us.
II. The Urgency of Eternity
When the manager is confronted, he immediately makes a plan. He starts preparing for life after his current role ends.
Luke 16:4 – “Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I’m fired.”
He knew his time was short. So is ours.
Hebrews 9:27 says: “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.”
Friends, our lives on earth are short. We are like the manager—facing the end, and we must prepare for eternity.
Tim Keller put it this way: “You don’t really understand Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”
When the temporal ends, only the eternal matters.
III. Use What You Have to Impact Eternity
Jesus says something surprising:
“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” (v.9)
This doesn’t mean we buy salvation. It means we use earthly resources to advance God’s Kingdom—to bless others, fund mission, share the Gospel, and care for the poor.
Matthew 6:20: “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”
Every penny you give to Gospel work, every moment you invest in someone else’s salvation—it echoes into eternity.
R.T. Kendall said: “The greatest use of your life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
Jesus calls us to live not for what fades, but for what lasts.
IV. Faithfulness is Proven in the Small Things
Luke 16:10 – “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.”
The Greek word for faithful is “pistos”—dependable, trustworthy. God doesn’t look for the flashy; He looks for the faithful.
Think of David, a shepherd boy before he was a king. God promoted him because he was faithful in obscurity.
Zechariah 4:10: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”
John Piper challenges us: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
When we are faithful with what God entrusts us—be it small or large—we show our hearts are set on Him, not on the stuff.
V. You Cannot Serve God and Money
Luke 16:13 – “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
The Aramaic word Jesus used for money here is “mammon”, which represented more than coins—it was wealth as a false god.
Jesus is not against money—He’s against money becoming our master.
1 Timothy 6:10 says: “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”
The issue is not the money—but what your heart loves most.
Max Lucado wrote: “God has given us everything we need, but we’ll never know it until we give everything to Him.”
You can’t walk fully with Jesus and still cling to the world’s values. Choose your master.
VI. Gospel Invitation: The Riches of Christ
This parable leads us to a deeper truth: we all fall short. We have mismanaged God’s gifts. We’ve loved money. We’ve been unfaithful.
But here is the good news: Jesus is the ultimate faithful steward. He came, lived a perfect life, managed the Father’s mission flawlessly, and gave His life as the ultimate investment into eternity—for you and me.
2 Corinthians 8:9: “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.”
Jesus went to the cross for your sin and mine. He died, was buried, and rose again, conquering sin and death. He is the Saviour who offers eternal treasure—Himself.
The Widow’s Investment
I once heard the story of a poor widow in India who gave a handful of rice to the missionary every week, saying, “I want others to know Jesus, like I do.” Her neighbours thought she was foolish—until they saw an entire village transformed through the Gospel she helped fund. That widow invested in eternity.
Call to Action: Go! And Be Faithful
Brothers and sisters, today Jesus is calling us:
To see our lives as stewardship—not ownership.
To live for eternity, not for the moment.
To choose Him over every false master.
Whether you have much or little, time or money, education or influence—faithfulness is what God desires.
Salvation Appeal:
If today, you realise you’ve lived for yourself and not for God, there is grace for you. Jesus died for you. He rose for you. He offers forgiveness, freedom, and life eternal.
Repent. Turn from sin. Place your trust in Jesus Christ—your Saviour and Lord.
Romans 10:9: “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Closing Encouragement and Benediction
So, dear friends, Go! And Be Faithful with Eternal Treasure.
Live with heaven in view. Be generous. Be trustworthy. Serve Christ above all else.
As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:2: “Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.”
Let us be faithful stewards—of grace, of truth, of love, of the Gospel.
May the Lord bless you and keep you faithful until the day He returns.
