Stewardship
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Introduction
Introduction
Well, good morning!
If you have a Bible and I hope that you do, I want you to turn with me to two different places…Psalm 89…and then Luke chapter 16…Psalm 89, Luke 16.
And listen, as you do that…I wanna share a story with you that I heard from Pastor Greg Laurie.
It’s a story of a woman, she had just finished shopping and she was heading to her car where she found 4 men inside it. And so, she dropped her bags, she drew a handgun from her purse, and with a very forceful voice, she said, “I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!”
Well, doing what any sane person would do, the four men, they didn’t wait for a second invitation. They got out…and they ran away.
The woman, being shaken, she quickly loaded her shopping bags into the car, and as she went to start it up, she found that her key, it didn’t fit into the ignition.
And listen, in that moment, it finally hit here…, “This isn’t my car!” And so, she looked around…of course, her car, it was parked like 4 or 5 spaces down. She made sure the guys weren’t nearby and she got out as quickly as she could, she loaded the bags into her own car, and she drove to the nearest police station to turn herself in. She felt awful.
When she got there, the desk sergeant, after hearing her story, he almost fell out of his chair laughing. He pointed to the other side of the counter, where four men were reporting a carjacking by a woman with glasses and curly white hair, less than five feet tall, and carrying a large handgun…No charges were filed.
Listen, here’s the point of the story…the woman, she thought the car she was getting into was hers, but in reality, it belonged to someone else.
This is our seventh week in our sermon series, “Devoted.” We’ve been looking at spiritual disciplines…things we should devote ourselves too as followers of Christ. Things that the Bibles lays out for us that are good for us. And again, this is our seventh one…which is stewardship.
Like the story I just told…the truth about everything in our life…it’s God’s! God owns everything. We’re like the woman getting into a car that she doesn’t own. And listen, that truth, it concerns everything in our lives. A lot of times, when we talk about things like stewardship, we just think about money and the idea of giving…which we will talk about this morning…But stewardship, it goes far beyond just giving money…it involves our time, our giftings, all of our resources…it even involves ourselves.
Stewardship, it starts with an understanding that everything in this life, it’s not yours. None of it belongs to you. It’s having a reality check, like the woman in the story, and realizing you’re sitting in a car that isn’t yours. You’ll never steward the things you have well, until you realize none of it’s yours. When you get to that place…you start to realize what it is we’ve been called to.
God has entrusted us, as His children, resources and time and abilities…He’s entrusted us these things to steward wisely and faithfully, all for the advancement of His kingdom; for His glory. God owns everything, and we’re simply His stewards…His managers.
Psalm 89, verse 11 and 12 says:
The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
The north and the south, you have created them;
Keep your place there, we’re gonna keep coming back to that. But that’s our foundation this morning. We have to realize, humbly…who we are…Which is the same in our salvation, right? We can’t come to God without realizing who we are and who He is. Part of our growth…our growth in faithfulness…our growth in righteousness…it’s becoming good stewards of the things God’s entrusted to us.
Think about it like this…if you’ve ever been to a hotel with a steward…someone that takes your bags to your room. You might give your bags to this bag boy…but they’re not his bags, right? You’ve entrusted to him your bags…for safekeeping, for a short period of time.
The fundamental principle of stewardship, its that God is the owner of all.
And so, if you’re there with me this morning, in the Gospel of Luke…would you stand as we read our passage together? It says this, starting in verse 1:
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness (shroodness). For the sons of this world are more shrewd (shrood) in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Thank you, you can be seated.
[Prayer]
If you’re taking notes this morning, I have three points for us as we discuss the discipline of stewardship…number 1, He is the Owner, I am the Manager…number 2, As managers, we must give a record…and then finally number 3, As managers, we have a divine responsibility.
And so, if you’d keep your place there in Luke and Psalm 89…let’s dig into this first point together.
I. He is the Owner, I am the Manager (v. 1)
I. He is the Owner, I am the Manager (v. 1)
Again, point number 1…He is the owner, I am the manager…I want you to say that to yourself. “He is the owner, I am the manager.”
Look at Luke 16 with me again. Verse 1:
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager…
Listen, we’ve talked about this already…but when we read our Bibles…its not just about gaining a bunch of biblical facts. The main aim of Bible intake, its to get to know the Lord in a greater way, right?
And listen, because the Lord’s wise beyond measure, He speaks to us in various ways to teach us about His character and His actions in the world. And sometimes He states things about Himself or about the world in simple facts or in subtle ways. But a lot of times, God uses His Word to speak about Himself by using pictures or symbols…maybe He uses images or stories…John 10 is a great example of that, where Jesus says “I am the good shepherd.” In John 6, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” John 15, “I am the vine.”
Listen, in all these things, we learn not only what Jesus is like…but we also learn what a relationship with God is like. As a shepherd, He cares for us. As the bread of life, He feeds and nourishes us. As the vine, He supports our branches and gives us sap for life.
But listen, one image that’s not as popular as the good shepherd…or the bread of life…the vine…it’s the master of the house. Luke uses an image here…he actually uses it multiple times throughout his gospel…to teach us that Jesus owns a house and He owns everything in it.
He uses this first in Luke 12…where He’s actually talking about the master of the house. The master goes away for a while and He’ll return one day, on a day no one knows. And then Luke 14…he tells the story of an owner of a house who throws this great banquet but no one comes.
And in each of these stories or these parables…Jesus is the owner of the house and everything in the house.
The writer of Hebrews compares Jesus to Moses and this whole idea that Luke’s presenting throughout His gospel.
It says in Hebrews chapter 3:
Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
And so not only does this parable of a master of the house teach us about God’s ownership of all things…but it’s also teaching us about our stewardship. People who follow Jesus, they’re stewards in the house; they’re not owners.
And listen, we’re gonna spend most our time this morning talking about our responsibility in stewardship because that’s mostly what Luke 16’s about…but we can’t get there until we place God and ourselves in the right places.
“The rich man,” that’s us…as believers, we’ve been made rich because of the person and work of Jesus. We’ve been given everything…including the very Spirit of God…But notice who the rich man is in this story, he’s a steward. Nothing he has is his.
And then we see “the manager.” The manager in this case…it’s God.
We have to realize, again…who we are and who God is. Everything I have today, it comes from God. It’s all His. I own nothing.
Again Psalm 89, verses 11 and 12…this is David here…He says, “the world and everything in it” belongs to God…I’m not the owner of any of things in my life…I’m a steward…I’ve been made rich.
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
Guys, if you believe, for just a second…that you’re the owner of the things in your life (which I read Scripture…I’m talking about your money…I’m talking about your possessions…I’m talking about your life), if you believe you’re the owner of those things, then you’re gonna constantly face conflict with God…you’re gonna face conflict over what you should do with the things you have.
But listen, when you put yourself and God in the right place…when you understand that God’s the owner and you’re simply the steward or the manager of His things…that conflict it begins to disappear, you’ll start to experience freedom.
Listen, maybe you’re sitting there and you’re thinking, “I don’t struggle with this at all…I know who I am, I know who God is…I know none of this is mine.”…Let’s take a test, just to make sure we’re still on the same page.
If you made 400 dollars last week…and you come to church on Sunday…how much of that $400 do you think actually belongs to God?…Some of us, we might say, “Well, 10% percent! That’s what belongs to God…that’s what’s His…$40 of that $400 belongs to God?”
I want you to understand, all of it, all of that $400, it belongs to God. That 10%, that principle’s about tithing, its not about what actually belongs to God.
Which for the record…a lot of us, we struggle to give because we’ve set up lives where it’s all about our luxuries…its about what we want. Instead of giving to God first (off the top), because He’s given it all to us to begin with (again us recognizing He’s the owner and we’re the managers)…instead of giving to God first, we put Him last…and we give Him what’s left over.
Listen, I’ve talked to a lot of people when it comes this…and I’ve struggled with this as well. But we make comments like, “Once I pay off this bill or once I make more money…once I have this different job or this different situation…then I’ll give more.” And listen, this isn’t just about money…I’m talking about money because I think money gets more to the heart issue, because we can be lovers of money…but guys this applies to time…and gifts…ourselves.
People say, “If I just had more, I’d give more.” Let me just give you some statistics…You know I love statistics. A Gallup Poll showed that the more money a person made, the less sacrificial their giving actually became. Those making less than $10,000 a year, those people give an average of 2.8 percent of their income each year…People making between $10,000 and $30,000, those people give an average of 2.5 percent each year…Those making $30,000 to $50,000, they give an average of 2 percent…$50,000 to $70,000, those people give about 1.5 percent each year. I think you guys can see where the statistics are going.
Wouldn’t you agree that if we’re making more money than we’ve ever made before but we’re giving a smaller amount or even the same percentage than we were giving before…wouldn’t you agree that’s not sacrificial giving? That’s not what Jesus commands us to do?
And so, do you think…in our own lives…do you think we fail to give money, or resources, or time, or gifts, or ourselves MORE because we don’t have it?…OR listen, is it because we’re failing to put those things in the proper place?…Under the right owner?
Listen to Paul’s question to the church of Corinth…1 Cor 4:7:
For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
The implied answer here to these questions…first, its nothing…and the second, its, “I shouldn’t.”
Deuteronomy 8, it warns us.
Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Guys, in order to discipline ourselves in the practice of stewardship…we have to understand that God is the owner…and we are merely the managers.
That’s the first point.
II. As Managers, We Must Give a Record (vv. 1-9)
II. As Managers, We Must Give a Record (vv. 1-9)
Point number 2…as managers, we must give a record…or an account.
Look at the first 9 verses with me again, there in Luke chapter 16:
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
Basically this rich man, he had squandered all the owners riches…And so, he went to the owners debtors and he made ‘em offers to reduce their debts so that he’d have some money and also so that he’d find some favor with them when the owner fired him. That’s why Jesus says, “Make friends by unrighteous ways so that when that way fails, those people will receive you.” Basically, because the owner won’t! Instead of the owner’s pleasure…the rich man cared about everyone’s pleasure.
Listen, there’s two things here I really want you pay attention to. The first one, its in that second verse, “Turn in the account of your management.”
Guys, here’s what you have to know…as managers…or as stewards of the things God owns…we will give an account to God for those things. God, as Owner of all…He has expectations of the stewards. And as Owner, he has the complete right to a full disclosure of our records…He has the right of full disclosure of what’s been done with His property. Our management, of His things…there’s gonna be a job performance eval when it’s all said and done.
I want you to hear what Paul says in Romans 14:
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Each one of us, we will give a personal account to the God of the universe. And listen, in that account, God’s gonna ask…He’s gonna wanna know what you’ve done with the possessions He’s entrusted into your care.
And listen, here’s some of things you’re gonna have to account for.
First, its your life…The Owner, He’s gonna wanna know how devoted you’ve been to Him. That’s why Paul says in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship” (That’s the CSB translation) We’ve talked about this…but Paul says here that a proper and spiritual act of worship, its to give yourself…your body…your life…fully to your Owner. It’s to give your life to be used as His servant.
I won’t dwell on this…but have you forsaken yourself and given your life over to Him?…Is your life a sacrifice to Him? Would that define the way you live today? Is your life, is it more about you…or is it more about the mission and will of God?…We’ll talk more about this in just a moment.
The second thing we’ll give an account for…it’s our possessions…which certainly includes our money, our materialistic things, anything physical. He’s gonna hold us accountable for that stuff.
What have you done with those things?
In Matthew 25, it’s one of Jesus’s last parables…He tells a story of a master who entrusted his possessions to three servants while he was away. The master, when he returned, he held each servant responsible for how they used or how they invested what had been entrusted to them, right?
We won’t go deep into this because there’s gonna be some application in the next point…but do the possessions He’s entrusted to you, do they mostly go to the kingdom of God? Do they support and do they promote the things He’s called you to? Does it go beyond your obligation to just give 10%?…What about the things nobody knows about?…What about the times when no one’s watching? How do you manage your possessions?
A lot of us, we’re in financial trouble because we’re struggling with the last two points I’ve mentioned…We’re failing to realize its not ours to begin with…and we’re failing to understand that we’re gonna give an account for how we’ve managed God’s possessions. And listen, I’m talking to myself too…I’ve been there…and I’m working my way to become a better steward…Some of us, we’re struggling with addiction to materialistic things…or impulsive buys because again, we’re failing to see its not ours and we’re failing to understand the account we will give. That’s what this parable’s about.
And let me just be real for a moment…the church, its surviving today because this idea, it was instilled in our older generation of believers. Our younger generation, again I’m talking to myself too…we are selfish, selfish people…We’ve got to start seeing the things God’s put in our life as His…and we’ve got to get serious about how we handle those things…especially money. Young people, we’ve gotta start giving…and its not about works or what you have to do…its about your heart. When you fail to give…when you fail to steward…you’re failing to acknowledge the God of the universe and you’re failing in the testimony He’s called you to model. God’s given you everything…how dare us withhold anything.
The next thing’s our time. God’s given us a set amount of time. He’s given us 7 days a week, 24 hours a day…and how we manage that…we’re gonna give an account.
Look at what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5:
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
Do you believe those things?…Then why do we struggle so much with wasting the time He’s given us away? Time, it’s to be stewarded well…we’re to give our time to Him in a way that honors Him…which we know, it’s to our brothers and sisters…its to things like discipleship, and serving, and evangelism…things we’ve already talked about.
You’re gonna give an account for how you’ve managed your time and your family’s time. And listen, I’d hate to be there on that day when God asks, “Why didn’t you have enough time to come to church and worship? Why didn’t you serve? Why weren’t you involved in things that furthered My kingdom?” I’d hate to be there when you have to tell of all the worldly things that took president over the things God cares most about.
Your time, its been given to you…and how you manage it…it matters…and you will answer for that. And listen, I get it…it’s hard. We’ll all busy…it’s why I keep a calendar…its why I budget not just my finances but also my time. I literally counsel people on how to budget their time well.
How do you manage your time?
And then listen, last week…we talked about serving…God’s given us each gifts. The Owner, He’s gonna examine what we’ve done with those gifts.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
God, my Owner, He expects me to take the spiritual gifts and the abilities He entrusted to me…He expects me to use those things in the context of the church, all for His glory. Are you using your gifts in this church?
God’s entrusted to you, time and possessions, abilities…even yourself…He’s entrusted you all these things for His honor…and you will be held accountable for how you stewarded those things or how you squandered those things.
God has high expectations that I will serve Him and that I will grow to think and care and love like He does.
And pay attention to this parable…not only is their an account that has to be given…but there’s consequences for how we handle those accounts.
Look at verse 8 again.
The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
How we handle God’s things, it has eternal consequences. And listen, I’m not speaking about works…how you steward, again determines the heart that’s beating in your chest. As a child of God…as a person that’s been given God’s heart, you’ll care about the things of God…and you’ll take serious the account you’ll give.
But as someone who maybe affirms all the right things but doesn’t act out the things of the Bible…their heart, its gonna be more inclined to the things of the world. And how they steward God’s things, it’s gonna be to elevate themselves over the desires of God.
I wanna remind you, 1 John 2:15:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
I think that applies to stewardship as well…if you’re hearing what I’m saying and there’s no conviction in you…if you have no desire to steward God’s things in a way that’s contrary to the world…the love of the Father is not in you.
James says, “Faith without works, its dead” (James 2:26).
Part of the transformation in you, when you turned to Jesus…you begin to care about how you manage God’s things…because you care about Him and you take serious the fact that you’ll give an account…which moves us into our last point.
III. As Managers, We Have a Divine Responsibility (vv. 10-13)
III. As Managers, We Have a Divine Responsibility (vv. 10-13)
As managers, we have a divine responsibility.
Look at the last four verses with me again:
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
If God’s the owner, and if God expects an account to be given, then again…that means we’re simply managers whom the Owner’s trusted with His stuff. And so, if that’s the case…then we have to start thinking like managers.
A manager, they oversee the owner’s assets solely for the owner’s benefit. For those of you that are or have been managers for different organizations, that’s what you do, right? I was a Regional Manager for a large company in the southeast and my job, it was to manage and protect the organization’s assets in a way that benefited the Beall’s family who owned the company that I worked for. Sometimes I disagreed with their focus or maybe their strategies…or what was most important to them. But at the end of the day, that family paid me to do that job…to manage and protect their assets.
Listen, I want you to think about this…we don’t struggle in our jobs to do what we’re told to do…at least, if the things they’re asking of us aren’t unbiblical, right?
We serve a good and righteous God…who owns everything…why do we struggle to manage the things He’s entrusted to us in a way that benefits Him? Why do we struggle when He’s paid the price for our eternity…and when He’s promised to give us things that will one day be our own? I mean isn’t that what it says here?
And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
Guys, as managers, our job its to find out what the Owner wants done with His assets…and its to carry out His will. We have a divine a responsibility because He’s entrusted everything to us!
And listen, I want you to understand this…having that view…it affects how we give anything in our life…money, possessions, time, abilities, ourselves.
There’s three things we see in Scripture when it comes to stewardship and how we should give.
The first one, we’re to give abundantly…King David, the most powerful man on earth, during his reign…he understood this owner-manager relationship. And listen, after receiving a tremendous offering, David responded to God:
“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.
David, he had the mind of a steward…a manager…not an owner.
We’re to give our things as if it’s not our own…for the benefit of others…ultimately, because that’s what Jesus did for us, right? We give abundantly…we give over the top.
Guys, there’s nothing more opposed to the gospel and His love than to turn and take what He’s given and obsess over what we can get. And whatever that is for you, your little kingdom, if you’re a believer, that stuff, it’s called to be turned over to God. To purge yourself of idolatry and to incline your heart to the Lord. And its to give and to serve in a way that honors Him…this is what the response of God’s people ought to be to His grace and generosity and His favor and His blessing and His provision and His direction.
If He’s been good to you through the gospel, He gets everything! And that’s the picture of the gospel. We see all throughout the New Testament…we especially see through the life and death of Jesus, God’s generosity to us. We’re sinners…we didn’t save ourselves…we didn’t atone for our own sin. We didn’t redeem ourselves. We didn’t go to the cross, for ourselves. Its the fount of His blessings that’s provided all we need. And as His people…people transformed by the message of the gospel and by the power of His Spirit…we give everything He’s given us, to model the gospel to others…even to a point to where it hurts us…which is the next thing.
We give abundantly…the second thing, we give sacrificially.
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul writes about the Macedonian Christians and their sacrificial giving, right? He says:
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
Listen to Paul’s words…how could these people give so generously while they were extremely poor?
Guys, they didn’t see poverty as an exemption from giving. They simply refused to miss out on the satisfaction of giving sacrificially.
And again, Jesus…what did He hold back when it came to His giving toward us?…Nothing! He stepped off His throne…He took on flesh, which came with all the things you and I deal with…He lived a similar life. He had to work, He had to earn money…He had to care for His loved ones. He gave us His life. And it even says in the end…we get to share in His glory and in His possessions when He sets the new heavens and the new earth, right? He held back nothing…And guys, He suffered, at first, for that.
We’re to model that same attitude…That’s what Paul says in Philippians 2:5:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
And listen, we do those things…cheerfully…joyfully…which is the third thing here…we give joyfully.
You ever wonder why the Bible says, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). Joyful giving, its a sign that the givers understand the owner-manager relationship. Cheerful giving, it only comes from a heart that’s set on things above…one that’s not set on earthly things.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
God loves a cheerful giver because those givers, they’re people investing in the kingdom of God, which reaps eternal dividends.
Listen, in the Old Testament, when the tabernacle was being built, people got so caught up in the joy of their heavenly investments that they had to be restrained, the text says, from giving more. That’s Exodus 36…which you might’ve read recently if you’re following along with us in our church reading plan.
We give because everything is God’s to begin with. And listen, the Scriptures, they teach us, it’s both a mandate…and its a model…We give abundantly because Jesus gave us everything…we give sacrificially, because Jesus held nothing back…and we give joyfully because we, as God’s people, we understand the impacts our giving has on the kingdom of God! Amen?
Closing
Closing
And so listen, in closing, if we were to give an account tonight…if the Owner called you in and called you to give an accounting, what would the record say about your giving? About your stewardship?
Would it reflect a humble belief that you’re simply the one managing what He owns? Would abundance or sacrifice or joy be the words used to define the way you choose to give?
Or listen, does the way you give, does it look more worldly than it does eternal?
Guys, that’s what I want us to reflect on this morning. To grow in our walk with Christ, we have to discipline ourselves in becoming good stewards of His things.
Would you bow your head and close your eyes with me?
Guys, some of us, including me…we have to rethink how we’re spending our resources for Jesus and His kingdom. Part of following Him, its acting out the same hearts He’s shown us.
And so what do you need to do this morning to become a more gospel oriented manager of things God’s entrusted to you?
But listen, I don’t wanna close this morning without first sharing the free gift God offers those that haven’t turned to Him. There’s people here this morning, whose lives haven’t been transformed by the message of the gospel. And here’s what God wants you to understand.
In the beginning He created you to be good and perfect…there’s wasn’t disease, there wasn’t hurt or pain…there wasn’t death…it was all good. But the bad news of the gospel, its that we took what God made good and we rebelled against that. We choose evil…we choose the desires of our own hearts. And that sin, according to the Bible, it separated us from a good and holy God and it brought on death. Paul says, the wages of sin, its death. And the worst news of the gospel…there’s nothing you or I can do about that problem. We’ll never be good enough…we’ll never perform in a way that justifies the sin we’ve committed. We’re all sinners and we all deserve the wages of sin.
But the good news of the gospel…is that God, being merciful and gracious…He sent His Son, Jesus...who being equal to God, took on flesh. He lived a perfect life…He went to the cross, where He wore the weight on our sin. He justified us by His life and His death. He took on the punishment we deserve so that we could experience reconciliation. And the best news of the gospel…its that its all a free gift. If you simply confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead…it says, you will be saved.
And so, if that’s you this morning…turn from the world…place your trust and faith in Jesus. And listen, as you follow Him…He’ll give you a new life and new heart. He’ll transform everything about you, by His own power. He’ll take what’s broken in your life, and He’ll use it all for His glory.
And so listen, the praise team’s gonna play…I’m gonna be down front. Whoever you are, whatever’s on your heart, you to take this time…and I’ll close us in just a moment!
[Prayer]
