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This is the audio from the November 5, 2023 sermon, “Good News: A Time To ACT”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 16

Today I continued a series from the gospel of Luke as we gaze deeply into God’s Word to find the good news of Jesus shared with us by Luke the physician.  As Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of God, we find Him telling some stories that may appear to be random.  Stories of a shrewd or unjust manager, of choosing a master, of God’s kingdom, of adultery, and of a beggar and rich man.  I believe a closer look at this chapter reveals a common thread of being ready for when this life ends.  Because we don’t know when our time on earth will be over, now is a time to . . .

• Accumulate: — (Luke 16:9-12, Matthew 6:19-21)

  • I suspect some people find it a bit strange for me to start a message stating that a time to act is a time to accumulate.  I think it sounds strange because our first thoughts often go to money and stuff when we think about accumulating.  Luke 16 opens with Jesus telling a story that can seem very confusing because it sounds like He is condoning dishonesty when He is actually trying to teach us that we ought to use our Master’s resources to accumulate people who will spend eternity with us in heaven.  Worldly wisdom says to use whatever we can to gain an advantage here on earth but godly wisdom says to use all our resources to accumulate a family of believers.  When we realize that now is the time to act, we begin to understand that now is the time to accumulate treasure in heaven . . . the only treasure we can take with us — people.

• Change: — (Luke 16:14-17, Matthew 18:3-4)

  • As the religious leaders began to sneer at Jesus because of His teachings regarding money and worldly possessions, He confronts them about the condition of their hearts.  He talks about the work of John in calling people to repentance and then His work in proclaiming the kingdom of God.  Rather than respond to the call to change, the religious leaders became the barrier that many were pushing through in order to enter God’s kingdom.  This change Jesus calls us to is a change of heart, mind, and action such that we become as little children in our in how we live out our trust and faith in Him.  When we realize that now is the time to act, we begin to accept that now is the time to change to become the child of God He calls us to be.

• Teach: — (Luke 16:27-31, Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Corinthians 6:1-2)

  • In the final illustration of this continuing story being told by Jesus, we find a beggar dying and finding himself carried to the presence of Abraham while a rich man died and was taken to a place of torment.  When it became clear that nothing could be done for the rich man after he had died, he had one request that someone would go back and warn his brothers.  The rich man is told clearly that God’s Word is all that would be given and that it was enough.  Our responsibility today is to teach God’s Word as the message of salvation to all people.  This moment in time is what we have with no guarantee of the next.  When we realize that now is the time to act, we must understand the urgency of today being the day of salvation as we teach the good news of Jesus everywhere we go.

Today, how will you ACT?