Sermon 1: "The Heart of Stewardship"

Good morning everyone…It is so good to see you all this morning. It is gonna be a great day today! Hey, right now I wanna ask all the kids to hop up out of your chair and skip on back to your teachers in the back to take you to your class. Be sure to count how many people you high-fived today and then come tell me after church ok…Welcome online viewers as well.

So we just came off a pretty, or at times, pretty intense series where we were really looking into false teachers all around us. We looked at false teachers online, as well as those with physical ministries. Well that was great, and if you missed any of those, please go back and listen to them via the various podcast options that are available. Today, we prepare for our Thanksgiving meal, and move into a season of Thanksgiving, we are going to start a brand new series called Abundant Life. In this series we are going to be looking at the art of stewardship and the promises that come from managing God's resources with a faithful heart. The heart, or your heart really is going to be the big key over the next few weeks…So, go ahead and grab your Bibles. You’re gonna need those, if you don’t have yours then there are some in the back of the room you can keep, or in the chairs right in front of you for you to borrow this morning. We are going to be looking at the Old Testament today as we begin this series. Go ahead and turn over to 1 Chronicles chapter 29. Now, while you are turning there, I would like to tell you a little context around what we are going to read today.

We are in Chronicles, and this is a book that was written by a person, or persons simply called, the chronicler, which basically means a person who writes down important or historical data…Kind of like a history book, but a little more than that because these books are written with much more detail than a normal history book might be. The two books of the Chronicles are a great way to get to know the history of Israel if you would like to read something specifically to help you grasp what was going on in the Ancient Near East, this is the time period of the early civilizations in the modern day Middle East.

So, the particular area that we are going to look at today is a part of King David’s prayer. This is a prayer that King David prayed after a collection was brought in from Israel’s leaders to build the first temple for God. David was doing the hard work of gathering the supplies that would be needed of Solomon, his son, to build the most spectacular temple that man had ever seen. They had a desire to have the best be for God, not because God needed it....but because it is God, why would’t we want the best for the house of the Lord. That should still go today...Between David and all of the various leaders of houses, of tribes, of military groups, and various other leaders, they gathered more than 5,600 tons of silver, gold, bronze, and iron, as well as other precious stones. That took some doing, and so David reflects on that to the Lord as he prays a blessing to the Lord. Today, we are going to read a portion of that prayer and we are going to be reminded what it looks like to have

A Heart of Stewardship

So what is a heart of stewardship…lets take a look this morning. The first thing I want to do is give a definition of stewardship so that awe are all speaking the same language this morning. So, the definition of stewardship is, the job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization or property. However, while we are thinking about things in a Biblical sense, let me give you another definition. Stewardship is Understanding our role as caretakers of God's blessings. We have a role of taking care of what God has blessed us with here in this life. However, we need to understand how to care for those things, and that is a part of what we are looking at this morning.

So, we are focusing in on one verse, but let’s read the whole section here together,

1 Chronicles 29:14–19 (ESV)

“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.”

What do we see in this section here? Well, I think the first thing that really comes to my mind is that David really knew

The Source of all Blessing

We read just now how David pointed out that , all things come from God. That is a profound realization that many of us in this room and online would do well to remember. See, I read before about how

Genesis 1:1 (ESV)

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Listen, if God created it…God already owns it. We read over and over how everything already belongs to God. IN

Psalm 50:12 (ESV)

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.

Everything is already the Lords. That is a pretty big deal there I think. That means that if everything belongs to the Lord, then that would include the things that I have in my possession also huh. I mean, if God owns everything, then the things I have are simply a gift that he is allowing me to use at the moment, right. Think of it like this…Parents, did you give the deed for the bedroom you allow your kids to sleep in? No…it is your house, but you graciously allow them to sleep and eat there. Then you typically say, the room is their room. You see, your kids bedroom is actually a part of your house, in the same way that what I have in my bank account is still a part of the fullness of the Earth that belongs to God. In other words, all things come from God…and all thing belong to God.

That is so important for us to know and remember. It’s important because it means that everything we have, is actually a gift from the creator of the world. When I begin to realize that everything I have is actually a gift from God, then I will reflect on God’s goodness…I don’t have to have what I have, Im not entitled to it…Actually what I am entitled to is far far worse than what God has given me. OF course…when I realize that, then I am on the path of developing a heart of thanksgiving, and not a heart of demanding. Now, when i develop a heart of thanksgiving, acknowledging all that God has given to me, then I should also be ready to accept the...

Call to Faithful Stewardship

But what is faithful stewardship? Well, if we go off of the definition I gave to us earlier, then we will see that faithful stewardship begins with my understanding that I am simply a caretaker of what God has blessed me with. I am not an owner…I am the trustee of God’s estate here on Earth. Or at least part of his estate, right. That means that I am responsible for managing God’s resources that he has entrusted to me.

Now let me be clear for a moment here. When I talk about being a faithful steward, or manager of God’s resources that he has blessed me with…that does not include only what is in my bank account does it? NO…This includes all that God has blessed me with, including time, talents, and relationships that he has put in my care. Some of you think you’re doing pretty good if you’re honest, right…I mean, you would say, yeah…I write that 10% check every week, or month or however often it is. However, God has not just blessed you with finances has he? No…he blessed you with abilities, with relationships, with time…All of which you are entrusted as his faithful steward, so…are you being a faithful steward with your relationships? What about that person that God brought into your life that has no idea who Jesus is? Are you being a faithful steward of that resource? What about with your ability in project management…are you using that for the Lord, or simply for yourself? You see, when I say everything that you have is from God…I mean everything that you have. That means that you are going to have to give an account one day to the Lord that you have a desire to please. If you had to give an account today…what would the ledger say on it? When God welcome and say you have been faithful or would God admonish you calling you wicked for burying the resources that he entrusted to you.

Listen, Im not talking just about money here folks, although that is a resource…No, Im talking about your ability to teach kids about Christ, your ability to manage outreach events, your friend who is hurting and in need of a saviour…Are you managing the resources God has entrusted to you like a good caretaker…or are you to nervous about that so you just write a check and convince yourself that it is enough? What about his kids, his home, or his car that he has entrusted into your care? Are you caring for them, are you stewarding them the way that God would, or are you burying them in the dirt?

Here’s the deal…Im not tryin gto beat you up this morning, but I truly want you to come to an understanding of how important this act is. You see, this is not simply a physical act, this is....

An Act of Worship

What an amazing opportunity that we have to worship the Lord with the stuff he already gave to us…So cool! The thing is…you really need to realize that when we give on Sunday mornings, that is simply another act of worship. When we have a painter that donates his time to come up and paint the bathrooms, that is an act of worship. When you have a group of men and women who come up and mange various facility projects, that is an act of worship. When you tell your friend or coworker about the upcoming Farmer Appreciation party…that is an act of worship. It’s an act of worship because that is you, managing the resources that God has entrusted to you, and you are managing that resource with a heart of thankfulness. You are thankful because you know that God has owns everything and he has entrusted various things to you. Therefore…you are thankful…or you should be if you are not.

This is when you get to offer the resources God has entrusted to you, back to God. By doing this, you are demonstrating to yourself, and everyone else, your love and devotion to God the provider. What most people think about when they think of stewardship is finances. We think that we want to give and use our finances properly and be good stewards, good managers, of those finances. That is the heart, or at least should be the heart behind your giving. Listen, Ive said it before, I don’t ever want you to give because you feel guilty or feel like you’re “supposed to”. No, I want you to give because you are worshiping and you are thankful to the Lord.

SO, really I guess the question is, what is your heart? Or better yet…What is your heart behind giving? You see, how you give back to God is directly influenced by your heart of giving. Let me explain....If you have a heart of gratitude towards God for giving you so much…then you will literally give God everything because it’s his anyway. However, if you have a heart that asks, “What do I have to give?”, then you might as well give nothing because you have a heart of selfishness…or pride. So…what is your heart behind giving? Are you giving with joy and generosity, or are you giving with anger and greed. In other words, are you asking, “What do I get to give to the Lord today?” or, “What do I have to give to the Lord today?”.

The thing is though, if we are honest, we all have times of both of these mindsets, don’t we? I mean, maybe you are generous financially, but when it comes to your time…that’s yours not the Lords. Maybe you are generous with your talent, but God better not touch your checkbook…What is it today that you are hanging onto a little tighter than you know you should be. What is it today that you need to Surrender your selfish desires and motives. I don’t know what that is, but I suspect you do. You know what God has been working on in your life, and you know what God is capable of doing if only you allowed him to work in your heart…of course thats scary isn’t it? I mean, it really is scary to think about what God might do in your heart…Is God going to mess something up? I know you wouldn’t say that…but some of you are thinking it. It’s gonna be hard to imagine actually surrendering your desires to the Lord…Maybe what you desire isn’t what is good for you, and so the Lord was never going to give that to you anyway…But of course…you already know that, don’t you? Listen…I don’t have all the answers to all the questions that are swirling your head right now…but I know the one who holds the answer in his hand…are you ready to worship him this morning? I don’t know how you are going to do everything you need to do, but I know the creator of time and space who can answer that question…so…are you ready to worship him this morning?

Let’s take a quick minute and look at one last thing together. Let’s look at

How to be a good steward

We have already looked at what it means to be a good steward. We have talked about how being a good steward Biblically is all about caring for the resources God has entrusted to you. However, how do we do that practically....this is where the list comes in, where we can simply follow some steps in order to realize how to steward God’s resources well.

First of all…

1. Develop a Stewardship Mindset.

How do you do that? Well you need to do something that we havre been talking about pretty heavily this year…Actually open God’s letter to you. Read God’s word, not just occasionally, but every single day. Listen, when you are filling yourself up with God’s word, I promise your mindset will change from a temporal mindset to an eternal mindset. The other thing you need to do daily though is pray. Listen, prayer is a conversation with God. Prayer is your opportunity to talk to God, and better yet, your opportunity to listen to God. Pray as you read, pray before you read, pray after you read…but pray and read! Another thing you can do to develop a stewardship mindset is to make intentional choices on what you are going to do to manage God’s resources. Make conscience decisions and realizations that everything you have is in fact, God’s, and then make decisions based on that reality.

2. Apply Stewardship Principles in Different Areas.

So think about your day right now. Think about the limited amount of time that you have today. Now, think about what decisions you can make right now, to make yourself a good steward of God’s time today. You will need to prioritize your activities to see what you can and should do in order to use your time in a meaningful way to the Lord this afternoon. Next, think about your finances. Think about how much you make and what your bills are. Think about what you are, or are not, tithing to the Lord. Are you giving the Lord his 10%, or if this is a new concept for you, are you giving the Lord some percentage of your finances? Are you making wise financial decisions? I know I don’t always make wise decisions with money, no one does, but are you striving to be honorable with the finances God has entrusted to you? What about your talents? Think about your skills and abilities. Are you using those for the Lord, or are you keeping that part of your life separate from the Lord.

I’m gonna say something here, and I don’t think anyone here fits this specific example, but this is something I have heard so many times and it breaks my heart. I can remember a few people telling me this when we were in Lafayette. We needed people who were passionate about kids and teens to help with those ministries. Well, I would ask someone (and it happen with both kids and teens), but I would ask someone to help serve in that ministry and do you know what I was told? Well, Pastor Billy…Im a school teacher and so I teach kids all week long, I’d really prefer not to have anything to do with kids at church. Do you know how sad that is…Here is what was said. Well, Pastor Billy…God has gifted me to be able to teach kids or teens in a way that makes sense to them, but I would rather keep my talents and my church life separate. Don’t let that be you…Listen, whatever God has gifted you in, don’t be ashamed or unwilling to use that gift to glorify God…

Listen, this morning we are going to close and go to Sunday School and then during lunch we are going to have communion at your table. When you do this, I am going to ask you to think about the act of worship that it takes to use God’s resources for his glory. Then I want to you reflect on whether you are using God’s resources for his glory…or if you are holding onto them just in case you need them later. Finally, I want to ask you to reflect on what your heart is worshiping this morning? Is your heart worshiping the Lord through sacrifice, or is your heart worshiping yourself through selfishness…If you are worshiping yourself, take a moment and offer your selfishness to the Lord as an offering and then make a commitment to a heart of stewardship.

Let’s pray…(pray that God opens the hearts of each and every person here this morning and that if there is something that we are holding back, that God would reveal that to us this morning)

However, i do want to show you an example of what it looks like to have God give to us, and then us give back to God. You see, God does require that we steward his resources well, and he does require that we give an offering to him as well. But what is amazing is that he tells us to give him an offering, but then gives us the resources to give that offering. So right now Im going to ask someone to come up and join me (choose someone) Now, I have $10 for this individual. I am going to give this person the $10 to hang on to for me. Now…here’s the deal, I’m gonna ask you to hold onto that money and use it for good things, ok…Whatever you want to use it for, I just ask you don’t do anything immoral with it. Although it is in your hands right now. Oh, but before you leave…can I have back just $1? Think of it as a thank you note from you to me. Now the rest go do whatever you want to with that…You see…that is what it looks like practically when God blesses us, but then asks us to give back to him. Now that is your finances, but what about your relationships, your time, your abilities…how do you give those back to God in an act of worship?