Managers in Training

Introductory thoughts:

Introductory thoughts:

* The suffering of Christ enables us to live according to God's will (v. 1 - 2)

* There is an ultimate accountability that all men have before God (v. 3 - 6)

* There is a way to live according to God's will (v. 7 - 11)

* Because God's calling into account is near:

(1) Be sensible, self-controlled and pray (v. 7)

(2) Be earnestly loving each other (v. 8)

(3) Be hospitable (loving strangers) without complaining (v. 9) Since he says one another, this stands as further evidence that if we are to offer hospitality to strangers, how much more to those of the household of faith. See

(4) Be stewarding (leading, managing, administrating) well (v. 10 - 11)

Quote:

“one who rules a house” (oikos, “a house,” nomos, “a law”), - Vine, W. E

Vine, W. E

Proposition:

All believers are to serve as good stewards (managers).

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching At What Age Does Stewardship Start?

At What Age Does Stewardship Start?

As the offering plates were being passed during worship, a little boy seated with his father whispered loudly: “Don’t pay for me, daddy. I’m under five.”

1. Every one (believer) has received something (v. 10)

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All believers have received the precious gift of the Holy Spirit.

As recipients of this precious gift you have been endowed by the Lord in a particular way to steward this gift.

A spiritual gift (charisma, the same word used in for ‘spiritual gifts’) is any talent or ability which is empowered by the Holy Spirit and able to be used in the ministry of the church.

Application:

Because all believers have this, it should serve as a warning to unbelievers.

Because all believers have this, you should not believe that lie that the grace of God is only for specific people.

Don’t get caught in the trap of comparing.

Look at existing opportunities that you have right now.

Quote:

Quote:

The believer is not only to view himself as gifted but also as a steward (oikonomos, “a responsible slave”; cf. TDNT, 5:149–51) and a minister (diakonountes).... - Blum

2. You are responsible in two particular ways for what you have received (v. 10)

(i) The suffering believers were responsible to the God of the grace (v. 10)

(ii) The suffering believers were responsible to each other (v. 10) - minister

Quote:

The purpose of mutual Christian service is that through Jesus Christ God will be glorified. Serving fellow Christians does glorify God because people will praise him for his grace that comes to them through Jesus and through his followers. - Blum, E. A. (1981).

Application:

Because you have received, you are responsible to the One who has given the gift to you.

New Testament believers should be clearly connected and committed to an assembly a believers where they can live responsibly.

When you don’t understand grace, you won’t live graciously.

People who do not live responsible to other believers are poor managers of God’s grace, if they are truly managers at all.

Don’t wait for someone to earn your investment! Graciously steward as God, in Christ, has worked towards you.

Quote:

Good stewards of God’s gift will not hide it, but employ it for the benefit of others. - Grudem, W.A.

You are good stewards as you are faithful to the assembly where you can manifest God’s grace to other believers.

You are good stewards as you say “NO!” to selfish, individual pursuits (i.e. like other commitments such as jobs, sports, education…etc) so that you can manifest God’s grace to other believers.

1001 Illustrations that Connect Illustration 56: Radical Individualism

RADICAL INDIVIDUALISM

Topics: Body of Christ; Church; Community; Culture; Individualism; Revival

References: Romans 12:1–8; 1 Corinthians 12:12–31; Ephesians 1:22–23; 3:21

Many Christians have been infected with the most virulent virus of modern American life: radical individualism. They concentrate on personal obedience to Christ as if all that matters is “Jesus and me,” but in doing so miss the point. For Christianity is not a solitary belief system. Any genuine resurgence of Christianity, as history demonstrates, depends on a reawakening and renewal of that which is the essence of the faith—the people of God, the new society, the body of Christ, which is made manifest in the world—the church.

—Chuck Colson, The Body (Word, 1992)

3. What you have received is multi-faceted (v. 10-11)

(i) Manage the gift that is manifold

Quote:

The grace of God is “variegated” (poikilēs), or “manifests itself in various ways” (BAG, p. 690).

(ii) Manage the gift according to this sobering standard (v. 11)

The word of God is to be ministered but it is also the standard by which we minister.

(iii) Manage the gift by God's ability (v. 11) - ,

The grace of God is “variegated” (poikilēs), or “manifests itself in various ways” (BAG, p. 690).

Quote

(i) Manage the gift according to this sobering standard (v. 11)

(ii) Manage the gift by God's ability (v. 11)

Application:

Superficial, external relationships are not the same as accountable, responsible relationships.

Good stewards give reasons to test God’s ability (in them) rather than make excuses that question God’s ability.

Quote:

God’s rule for our gifts is that we use them, with the confidence that resources expended in faithful stewardship will be replenished by a faithful Master. - Grudem, W. A. (1988).

Grudem, W. A. (1988).

Good stewards are willing to say “No!” to personal success when it means that God would be glorified.

Concluding thoughts:

(1) Have you received the grace of God?

(2) Having received, how are you doing at managing what you have received?

(3) Are you managing what has been entrusted to you, as if the end is truly near?

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching The Best I Have

The Best I Have

Some of us remember the bitter conflict between Russia and Finland in 1939. At last, Finnish officials ordered evacuation of their beloved homeland, including that of an old lady living alone. She had only a few hours to gather together her belongings. She was also told that to prevent the house from falling into Russian hands, it would be burned when she left. When the soldiers returned to pick up the dear soul, she was on her knees scrubbing the floor. Being astonished, they asked: “Mother, did you not understand we must burn your home?”

“Yes,” she said, “but if I must give it to my country, I want it to be the best I have to give.”