Kingdom Stewardship

Have you ever found yourself sitting in class and thinking to yourself, “I could be doing something so much better with my time than this?” I’m sure we all have found ourselves thinking that at one point or another. But for most of us, what we think of when we think of doing something better, are things like going home and playing fortnite for a few hours.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with playing fortnite. As a matter of fact, I am tempted to have a game night here just so I can beat you guys. But the issue is when we forget to use the opportunities we’ve been given for the glory of God and that’s what I want to talk about today.

Last week we began our series called, “Kingdom Students” and we explored what the kingdom of God is and how we know that we belong in it. This week, we are going to ask ourselves what it means to live life as a kingdom citizen and one of the ways we are going to do that is by understanding what stewardship is.

Now back then, a steward was a household servant who managed the household affairs for the head of the family and they were responsible to their masters for how they handled it.

Now, what we learned last week was that God is king of all and that we are His kingdom citizens. So what does that mean for us and why should we care about kingdom stewardship. Well, as we look at Matthew 25:14-30 we will learn that we should view our whole lives as gifts to steward for the glory of God for three reasons. But first, let’s read Matt 25:14-30

Matthew 25:14–30 NKJV

14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Today, we will find that we should view our whole lives as gifts to steward for the glory of God. First, because:

I have been entrusted by God.

In verses 14-15 we find that this master is going to be going on a long journey and that he chose a few servants to give responsibilities based on how capable they were. So, it seems there was one servant who was extremely impressive because he was given 5 talents. Now talents aren’t what we call a talent today. Back then a talent was a form of money and five talents was enough money to employ about 100 men for a whole year. So this isn’t just pocket change that we are talking about here. Anyway, he gives 5 talents to one guy, 2 talents to another and 1 to the last guy and he leaves.

Now, what we find in verse 16-17 is that the first two guys understand their job and get straight to work, but the last guy, verse 18 says, went a dug a hole and hid the money in the ground. Later on in verse 24-25 this servant tells his master that he did this because he thought the master was a hard man who was committed to making a profit at any cost so he was so scared he didn’t do anything with it.

What we find as we look at this passage is the fact that we have all been entrusted with responsibilities by God and that we shouldn’t be lazy when it comes to being committed to using them for His glory. But let’s say that you are wondering where to motivation is, well that leads us to point two. We should view our lives as gifts to steward for God’s glory because:

I have known the goodness of God.

What I find interesting is that the bad servant says that the master is a hard man. However, in verse 21 and 23 we find something almost unthinkable. You see, back then servants didn’t get thank yous. Maybe their masters would notice how good they worked and would give them more responsibility, but they didn’t get praise. However, the reaction of the master from these first two servants is incredible because he not only praises the slave, but invites him into the joy of the master. One writer said that the emotion here is like the emotion of the father welcoming the prodigal son in.

Another interesting thing is that the language of the first two servants when they bring their earnings denote excitement over showing their master what they earned for him. If he was a horribly ruthless man, they wouldn’t be so excited surely.

So what do we learn here? I believe that this parable teaches us that those who know God as giver of all, live for His glory because they have experienced just how worthy He is.

Have you experienced the goodness of God? Has He saved you? Given you innumerable blessings? Hasn’t He given you this beautiful world to enjoy, friends, family, and more? If that’s the case, isn’t He worthy of you taking your education seriously for Him? You might wonder why I singled out education and the reason is that God has given you this responsibility for this season of your life to sharpen yourself for His Kingdom.

But not only does His goodness encourage us, but His holiness should sober us because:

I will give an account to God.

In verse 19, we read that the master came back after being gone a long time. Now Jesus is trying to teach us something here because the stories surrounding this one are all about the Lord returning and so, this story is being used to communicate the future day where Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead.

What does He do to those who know Him, love Him, and serve Him? Or to put it simply, what does He do to those who He saved and called for His service? He blessed them. What does He do to those who don’t know Him and aren’t interested in serving Him? Well, verse in verse 26-29 we find that if the servant really believed that the master was concerned with making money at all cost, he would have at least taken it to the bank. But the reality is that this servant wasn’t afraid, but lazy and hated the master. So the master takes his talent and gives it to the first servant and casts this unfaithful man into outer darkness.

What I believe we learn from this is the effect of the glory of God and the return of Jesus on the lives of those who really know and love Him. Do you really believe that He is coming again and that we will have to answer for what we do here in this life?

Now, let me be clear. If you fail you will not be cast into Hell. However, Jesus will reward His faithful servants.

So, as you wake up tomorrow to head to school, remember that God has called you to this responsibility for this season of your life and use it for His glory. Be a Christian witness in how hard you study and how you treat your teachers and friends.

If you’re going to work tomorrow, know that God has called you to do that for His glory. If you have your health, use that for the glory of God. And, most of all, if you believe the gospel, steward that by giving it to those you meet this week since you are a kingdom citizen.