FEBRUARY 3RD
THE WRITE-OFF OF THE UNJUST STEWARD (Continued)
Reading: Luke Chapter 16:1-17
16:1 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.
16:2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
16:3 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.
16:4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
16: 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors [unto him], and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
16:6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
16:7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
16:8 And the 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.
16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
16:10 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.
16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true [riches]?
16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
16:13 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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
16:16 The law and the prophets [were] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
Now let us combine the write-off and see the atrocity of it all. Combined, the steward allowed fifty measures of oil or the living Ministry of the Holy Spirit and twenty measures of wheat, or our Expected End in the Lord Jesus Christ, to be completely wasted. The combined loss of both write-offs totals seventy measures. We shall survey that number momentarily. Note well saints, when we clearly ascertain what was written off by the carnal steward, it may be likened to what is happening today with many of God’s people in churches all over the world who are not being led by the Spirit of God. People’s true inheritance in the Lord Jesus is being wasted and the "stewards" are being called to give an account before the Master. He that hath an ear let him hear.
Seventy is the Biblical number for perfect spiritual order. That definition is derived from multiplying ten times seven. The number ten speaks to ordinal perfection. Ten multiplied by seven, or spiritual perfection, equals perfect spiritual order. The one thing the world finds totally impossible to embrace is perfect spiritual order. They are spiritual enemies that can never be allies. Let your heart go back to the times of Jesus’ earthly ministry and see how the world and the religious systems responded when confronted with the Lord. Perfect spiritual order faced off with these systems in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Seventy then gives us a greater glimpse of the Priestly Ministry of Christ as a Priest forever after the Order of Melchizedek. This holy Order represents the fullness of the Godhead and has the purifying Quality of producing a remnant. All that remains when this Order is brought into any fully yielded situation will look just like Christ. Plainly stated, this Order includes both the Spirit without measure and the Expected End, Both of which agree in the risen Christ. The carnal, unjust steward allowed the debtors to write off the power of an endless life!
Continued