Being Good Stewards

Introduction

The Bible calls us to have good stewardship.

Everything that we have comes from God and we are to manage what He has given us. This includes more than just our money. God has given us a wonderful church with untold opportunities. He also gives us dedicated people of God to work alongside for the advancement of His Kingdom.

I. Financial Stewardship

Paul makes an interesting switch here in conversation. In chapter 15, he talked about the second coming of Christ and our future hope. Now, he jumps straight to money.

This might seem odd, but our reality is that money is a tool for us to use for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. But, if we’re not careful, what will happen to a church and what can happen to people is that we will be steered by money and economic circumstance and not steered by the great commission.

When it comes to financial stewardship, there are some things that the Bible instructs us on:

A. The Requirement of Financial Stewardship

1 Corinthians 16:1 NKJV

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:

The Bible really doesn’t leave room on financial generosity. Right here Paul says that he has given orders. This doesn’t mean that Paul is forcing them to give, but Paul is saying, “since you have committed to giving, this is how you should do it.” Either way, the Bible makes it clear that we are required to give in the same way that we are required to share our faith.

So, when it comes to giving, what exactly is required of us?

God requires that we give willingly, generously, and to give in proportion.

I. What does it mean to give willingly?

I read about a man that said, “My pastor tells us that we should give until it hurts, but it hurts me just to think about giving. I think that’s good enough then.”

Now, whether you want to believe that 10% is the standard or that we can give whatever we want, the main focus is that whatever is given should be given willingly.

This is what stewardship means: It means to exercise responsible care over what belongs to someone else.

Now, everything good that we have belongs to God and that includes our money.

James 1:17 NKJV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights

And if your heart is right, you will see your money as a gift from God and something that He has given us to manage for His purposes. To begrudgingly give what God has given you defeats the purpose of stewardship.

Many people work and save their whole lives for retirement. Now, let’s say after 40 years of hard labor, you go into your financial advisors office and you say, “I’ve finally retired! I want to pay off my home and I need to make a big withdraw.”

Then he says, “Well, hold on now….um, you see, you’re account has grown over these forty years and I kind of need the commission to keep eating, and if you withdraw the amount your asking for I won’t have enough to live.”

You know what you’d say to that advisor? “You’re fired.”

Now, let me ask you this, if God placed you in charge of handling His money, would He fire you? When God tells you to give, do you hold back? Or do you give willingly?

To give willingly means to give without hesitation.

If giving willingly means to give without hesitation….

II. What does it mean to give generously?

To give generously includes giving willingly. If you’re never willing, then you’ll never be generous.

To settle the debate on if someone should give 10% or not, what I would say is that 10% is a good starting place. My biblical reasoning is this, that if under the law we were required to give 10%, how much more should we give under grace?

Typically, if we were going to think about this aspect of generosity, most would label it as “sacrificial giving.” But I don’t like to think of my giving as sacrificial, I like to think of it as a blessing.

Why?

Well, because I am blessed by the generosity of others, and I am certainly blessed by the generosity of God’s grace. So, when I give willingly and generously, I know that someone else is being blessed by it.

And, most importantly, I know that God is blessed by it.

While it may be a sacrifice, the blessing is greater than the sacrifice.

Therefore, to give generously means to sacrifice in order to bless someone else.

If giving willingly means to give without hesitation, and giving generously means to sacrifice in order to bless someone else…

III. What does it mean to give in proportion?

Look there in v. 2

1 Corinthians 16:2 NKJV

storing up as he may prosper

Now, Paul is telling them to put aside some money, and he is telling them to do it as they prosper.

In the King James, it says, “as God hath prospered him.” meaning, to give in proportion to what God has blessed you with.

And while I don’t typically read in the message translation, I did like the wording used here in v. 2…the message version says, “Be as generous as you can.”

Here’s where the legitimacy of our stewardship is challenged.

Let’s say that you got a raise at the beginning of the year. When you recieved that extra money, if the only thing on your mind is “what can I buy?” instead of “what can I give?” then you’re stewardship is not good.

The reason that it’s not good is because you aren’t willing to give in proportion to what God has given you, you are only willing to consume in proportion to what God has given you.

What’s even worse is when we disproportionately consume what God has given us, and we go into debt so far that we feel trapped.

When the issue of giving comes up, we say, “I don’t have 10% to give, I have too many bills.”

But the truth is that the issue in your life isn’t the 10%, but it’s found in what you’re doing with the other 90%.

On the other side of this, God doesn’t desire that we go into poverty to make others rich.

2 Corinthians 8:12 NKJV

For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

It’s the principle of the woman and the two mites. The rich people were putting in tons of money, but it didn’t mean anything because they weren’t really being generous in proportion to what they had.

In the same way, the poor widow who put in the two mites gave more than all those other men combined because she gave sacrificially in proportion to what she had.

If you take home $3,000 a month and you give $300/mo, you’ve given more than someone who takes home $10,000/mo and gives $1,000/mo. Because in proportion to what you have, you have given more. Both may have given 10%, but it’s a lot harder to live on $2,700/mo than it is $9,000/mo.

To give in proportion means to give according to how God has blessed you.

However you want to cut it, we are required to give. To give willingly means to give without hesitation…to give generously means to sacrifice to bless someone else, to give in proportion means to give according to how God has blessed us.

So, not only are there the requirements of financial stewardship, there are the people of financial stewardship.

B. The People of Financial Stewardship

Sometimes these high minded people think that money just falls from heaven. Well, that’s not true. The money of the church is collected from the people. And, in the context of a church, there are two parties responsible for the stewardship of God’s money.

That is both the individual and the collective.

I. What is the individual responsible for?

Look there again in v. 2

1 Corinthians 16:2 NKJV

On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

That is, every week the people of God that are seeking to give ought to be giving.

One thing I know about life is that no matter how much you make, you can always spend it.

I was watching a panel interview that included the agent of NBA Star LeBron James. Here is what his agent said,

“I’ve got guys that are 22 making $200 million over the next four years…but the reality is…that’s not a lot of money. They’ll stop playing when they’re 33 and they’re paying 50% taxes. I see so many athletes on Instagram flying private, and no athlete can afford to fly private all the time.”

What’s his point? Not that $200 million isn’t a lot, his point is that $200 million is easy to spend. What he knows is the data.

About 60% of former NBA players are broke.

About 78% of NFL players are.

People think that the lottery is the salvation of man…but 70% of lottery winners run out of money in the fist five years.

How is that possible?

It’s possible because of bad financial stewardship by the individual.

A good steward of their money takes time to invest and to plan for the future. But in order to invest, it’s better to put it somewhere you can’t take it back out of. If we have it, we’re good at spending it.

Paul tells each one of them to lay it aside on the first day. That is, be diligent in your giving, making it a priority on the first day of the week. That way, people aren’t scrambling when Paul comes to collect the funds they promised.

Therefore, the individual is responsible for being intentional in how they give.

If the individual is responsible for being intentional in how they give…

II. What is the Collective Responsible for?

Look there in v. 3

1 Corinthians 16:3 NKJV

And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.

Paul indicates that there will be a gift ready for him in Corinth. And, because of the wealth and the size of the church there at Corinth, I expect that Paul was looking to receive a nice gift. However, in the book of 2 Corinthians, Paul also has his doubts. It seems like the Corinthian church was boasting about their spirituality and their giving, but couldn’t deliver on either one.

2 Corinthians 9:4 NKJV

lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting.

Paul also had a mind that they would be unprepared so he sends people before him to make sure they’re doing it right.

Now, the church is a body made up of many members. Each member has their responsibility, but the overseers of the church also have a responsibility to steward the resources given by the people.

To claim to have sensibility in stewardship and not deliver is shameful.

To drive this point further…

To claim that the individual can outdo the giving of the collective is prideful. You can’t.

The people of God can always accomplish more when they give through the Church.

This is something crucial for us to understand. Some get the impression that they can spend money on things for the church, then just deduct that from their tithe. Well, that’s not how it works. If there is a need or if there is a ministry that we support, it should be the collective effort of the body, not the rogue practice of an individual.

Now, Elizabeth and I give personally to missions organizations, but we give after we’ve already given our tithe to the church. The truth is that the collective takes precedent over the individual.

Therefore, the individual is responsible for being intentional in how they give, and the collective is responsible for stewarding the generosity of the individual.

Stay with me…when it comes to financial stewardship, there are the requirements, the people, and there is the accountability.

C. The Accountability of Financial Stewardship

Do you know why I don’t look at giving, cannot sign checks, and have no access to the money? 1. To keep me free and clear of any attacks of stealing money.

2. To keep me honest. Not that I’m dishonest, but there are some important guardrails when it comes to being good financial stewards in the church.

1 Corinthians 16:3–4 NKJV

And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

The first century church was different than ours. It’s likely that these collections were taken up in house churches, and then combined when Paul got there to give as a gift. Basically, a coalition of smaller church referred to as the church at Corinth.

What these churches were tasked with doing was selecting a delegation to bring the gift from Corinth to the church at Jerusalem. And Paul says, “if I go, they’re going with me because no one is going to accuse me of stealing funds.”

When it comes to the stewardship of the church, accountability and wisdom are vitally important.

This is in part why we offer a financial report during business meeting, have two tellers that count the money, and have a finance committee. That’s to make sure that we are doing everything by the book.

It is a very unwise thing to handle the money of the church without multiple people in attendance.

In the opening verses, Paul addresses financial stewardship. He addresses the requirement that giving should be willing, generous, and proportional. He also addresses the people of stewardship. The individual and the collective. Then he shows us wisdom in practice, not to be caught alone with the church’s money.

II. Ministerial Stewardship

When I say ministerial stewardship, I mean to say making the most of our opportunities to do the work of the ministry.

What is ministry?

Ministry is the act of serving God and others with the express intent to advance God’s purposes.

Now, God’s purposes are summed up in that word redemption. If there is something that we call a ministry but it does not work to see lost souls saved then it is not a ministry.

In the same way, if we have a gathering that does not have the express intent of making the people of God more like Jesus Christ, it is not a ministry.

This is because ministry is more than just humanitarian or social, it is spiritual. If there is not a spiritual emphasis, call it whatever you want, just don’t call it ministry.

Therefore, ministerial stewardship means managing our time so that ministry can be done effectively, on-time, and produce something meaningful.

In v. 5-9, we see Paul making some ministry plans.

And by all accounts, these ministry plans are intentional, obtainable, and focused on winning lost souls.

A. Intentional Ministry Plans

1 Corinthians 16:5–7 NKJV

Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia). And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.

What makes these goals more intentional than anything is that Paul leaves room for the Holy Spirit to push him off course. Look at his language here.

“it may be that I will remain” and “I hope to stay if the Lord permits.”

James summarizes this perfectly.

James 4:13–15 NKJV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

We don’t know what every new day brings, so we have to leave ourselves open to the possibility that we have made the wrong plans and God is going to redirect us.

And what we’ll find is that Paul didn’t get to Corinth from Macedonia, and he didn’t get to stay a long time in Corinth, but that he went for a short visit that wasn’t pleasant.

2 Corinthians 1:23 NKJV

Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth.

2 Corinthians 2:1 NKJV

But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow.

However, just because Paul’s plans didn’t shake out like he thought, that didn’t prevent him from making them.

Seldom does anything happen without good planning.

Proverbs 10:4 NKJV

He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Now, the point is financial, but the principle applies to every area. If we want to have a functioning church and if you want to have a functioning faith, diligently making plans and following through are necessary.

Just make sure you leave room for the Lord.

Proverbs 19:21 NKJV

There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

Also, the diligent person can be sure that the plans they are making will actually work. Our plans for ministry cannot be based on idealism, but they must come from the Lord.

We cannot make the mistake of thinking that just because we want something that God is automatically going to give it to us.

Paul knows that well, because he wanted to go to Rome, and God prevented him. He wanted to go to Corinth after Macedonia, and that didn’t happen either.

Still, Paul made those plans. That doesn’t make him a liar or a bad planner, it makes him diligent but also obedient to the Lord.

The biggest takeaway that you should get from these verses is that people of God ought to be good stewards of their time. They shouldn’t be idle and they should be able to prioritize their days in a way that is intentional and obtainable.

Not only should we steward our time intentionally, it should be focused on winning lost souls.

B. Focused on Winning the Lost

Now, look. Ministry is nothing if it’s not leading people to the cross. and I want you to notice Paul’s intensity when it comes to lost people.

1 Corinthians 16:8–9 NKJV

But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

Why is Paul staying in Ephesus? because there are many enemies of the cross. He wants to go and win them to Jesus.

Paul calls this an opportunity for real and fruitful ministry. He writes, “a great and effective door has opened to me, there are many enemies of the cross there in Ephesus.”

What a statement.

And here we think that we can get together around a campfire, cry about our lives, and call that ministry. That’s not ministry. Ministry is focused on Jesus Christ and focused on winning the lost souls that are out there.

Inward Focused Churches

We have other opportunities that we miss though. Far too often in churches all we can see are the challenges and obstacles that come with institutional change, but we can’t look beyond that to see the fruit that it can bear.

These types of churches are called inward focused churches. They turn inward and everything becomes about protecting the budget, the process, and catering to the needs of the members that already exist. This is usually done out of fear or misunderstanding, neither of which foster a good church environment.

The day that a church ceases to place all their efforts on winning the lost and then teaching them to win the lost, is the day that it is no longer a ministry.

We have a responsibility to be faithful stewards of the ministry that God has entrusted us.

So far we have financial stewardship and we have ministerial stewardship…

III. Relational Stewardship

In the leadership books, they’ll tell you that organizations rise and fall on leadership.

Well, I have an even more important principle. Organizations rise and fall on relationships.

An organization with weak relationships is a weak organization. A leader with weak relationships is a weak leader. A marriage with a weak relationship is a marriage that is in trouble.

Here in v. 10-23, we see the wonderful impact that relationships make in the life of the church. We see that we should invest, respect, encourage, and be generous to those who work along side us in the ministry.

To be a good steward of our relationships, we should

A. Invest in Others

1 Corinthians 16:10–11 NKJV

And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace, that he may come to me; for I am waiting for him with the brethren.

Paul’s biggest investment was Timothy.

When Paul was converted on the Road to Damascus, the Bible teaches that he didn’t go straight to Jerusalem to be with the other apostles. Instead it says that he went to Arabia and sat with Jesus to be personally discipled by Him.

Now, put it together here, when we get saved, we typically say something like, “I have a personal relationship with Jesus.” Isn’t that right?

Well, that’s our model. We are, above everything else, a relational people.

And, to be a good steward of those relationships means to invest in people, just as Jesus has done in us and just as Paul did to Timothy.

Not only should we invest in others, we should respect others

B. Respect Others

1 Corinthians 16:12 NKJV

Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.

The book of Acts says that Apollos had a burning hot spirit about him. He was fierce and he was headstrong, he was a lot like the Apostle Paul it seems.

And, while sometimes people who are headstrong tend to butt heads, Paul and Apollos learned to be companions in the ministry.

In other words, they had a mutual respect and they relied on one another.

There is investing, respecting, and now there is encouraging.

C. Encouraging in Relationships

1 Corinthians 16:15–18 NKJV

I urge you, brethren—you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints— that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us. I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied. For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.

These mentioned here are those that came from the church at Corinth to visit Paul in Ephesus. They are the council that told Paul about all of the problems that the church was having.

But, I want you to look again at what was notable about thier visit.

Paul wrote in v. 18, “they refreshed my spirit”

This means that they didn’t just come with the bad news from the Corinthian church, but that they came with the intent to encourage Paul.

One area where we lack in our Christian fellowship is that we always bring our problems instead of bringing the blessings that God is putting into our life.

Typically, in class and anywhere else, we don’t talk about something God did in our life that week or how a gospel conversation went, mostly because we aren’t recognizing those things when God does them…but also because our focus is always on us and what we’re going through.

Instead of coming to church to get fed, we need men and women of God that are coming to encourage and to share all that God is doing in the life of our church.

Finally, we should be…

D. Generous in our Relationships

1 Corinthians 16:19–20 NKJV

The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

These two are Paul’s go to in ministry.

They are a power-house couple, they are the ones who taught Apollos the gospel, and they are the faithful beyond measure.

They are not self-seeking, they are not after positions or titles, they are just there to humbly serve the Lord.

In other words, Aquila and Priscilla are generous people.

Don’t you like to be around people who are generous? Not only are they always giving, but they are very helpful. They don’t even have to think about being helpful because it is in their nature.

They are servants that are always working but never receiving any recognition.

Everyone should strive to be an Aquila and Priscilla.

Conclusion