THE STEWARDSHIP OF GIFTS AND ABILITIES

THE STEWARDSHIP OF GIFTS AND ABILITIES 1 Peter 4:9-11 October 22,  2000 Given by: Billy Mathews [Index of Past Messages] This morning begins a series of lessons on stewardship - I will be speaking on the stewardship of gifts and abilities. What we do best for God will rise out of the core being he has created within us. Do you remember our Lord's parable of the talents? I would like to share that parable from Matthew 25:14-28 (NIV): "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' The wonderful message from this story is that you and I will only be held accountable for what we were given - for what we have, not for what others might have or what others might expect from us. The guy who was given only two talents and doubled them was esteemed as highly as the guy who started out with five. We are not all given the same gifts, but we are expected to know what we were given and find ways to invest ourselves wisely. The text for my lesson comes from 1 Peter 4:9-11 (NIV) - take out your bible and read along with me: Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. .If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. Peter is providing some practical guidance and exhortation for Christians in these verses, exhortation that is fitting for us. First, he exhorts us toward hospitality. Hospitality was essential for the survival of the early church - they did not have a Motel 6 in every town - accommodations were often scarce and/or expensive. But traveling evangelist stayed with Christians in the communities they visited - and Peter exhorts the Christians to be hospitable without grumbling, or depending on the text you use, without complaining or grudging. The Christians of the first Century were seldom wealthy, they rarely had much to share. The Jewish Christian came from a strong family culture where strangers were not brought into the home. Yet, Peter exhorts them to not only share, but to be 'hospitable'-taken from the Greek word philoxenos (fil-ox-en-os) meaning fond of guest. Peter was telling the early Christians to put one another up as the need existed. I remind you, Peter is telling us to be hospitable, not just telling us to 'put up with' one another! One of my favorite times is the 'hospitality' time at Cell - time to visit and catch up with other Cell members and have a brownie or two. But I must tell you, hospitality is much more than small talk and cookies. If the only time I am interacting with other members of my Christian family is during cell night, I am not being hospitable. Let me ask you, how is your hospitality. Are you fond of guest? Do you have them often enough, or do you have them too often? Second, we find Peter exhorts us to use our spiritual gift. In verse 10, Peter is telling us to use our gift to serve others. Please note, he does not say 'those with gifts', but to use the Gift you HAVE received. The KJV reads "As every man hath received the gift, even so …" The Greek word translated gift is charisma (khar-is-mah) which has been defined as a special or spiritual endowment, a religious qualification, or miraculous faculty - a free gift. We have all received a spiritual gift - it was given to us when we accepted Christ and it was given to use. We are to use our gifts as good stewards, or managers. The word steward has a wide range of meanings with a central focus - a steward can be a house-distributor, a manager or overseer, a treasurer, even a governor. The central focus is one who is in charge. We are told to use our spiritual gift to faithfully administer God's grace to one another. In 1 Cor 12:16-27 we are reminded that we all have a part, an important part to play in the body. We do not all have the same natural abilities nor do we all have the same spiritual gifts, but when we use our gifts together, God is served and glorified. Helen Keller once said, "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." It is easy to lose sight of the important duties in life when we are pursuing things that we think will make us important. Our important duties are to faithfully administer God's grace in its many forms, which is really doing the small things God sends our way, using the Gift he has given us to minister to others. Let me remind us, we are all ministers - too often we get the idea that the pastor is to minister to the congregation, that he is here to minister to me -- that is FAR FAR FAR from the truth. We are all to minister to one another, seek out opportunity to minister to one another daily. Finally we are exhorted in verse 11 in our speaking - this verse does not refer only to those speaking from a pulpit - it should be applied to all who preach, speak, talk, tell or utter words. When we speak, we should speak the words of God. We have his Word - we know his will for our lives, yet how often do we soil our lips with the words we choose to use. When we speak, we should speak in a way that will minister, or serve others AND glorify Jesus Christ. We are to glorify Jesus Christ daily and for eternity, forever and ever, not just on Sunday mornings while we are together as a body. We are especially to glorify Jesus at all other times, when we are showing those about us that we are a part of His Body. We must live our lives, giving to those around us, ever conscious that what we give does not come from us, but that everything we give we give because God first gave it to us. When we can remember that all the time, we can live our lives to Glorify Him. Robert Morrison's wrote 'The great fault, I think, in our mission is that no one likes to be second.' In reference to this quote, Oswald Sander said "The world has yet to see what could happen if everyone lost the desire to get the glory. Wouldn't it be a marvelous place if nobody cared who got the credit?" I think we need to care who gets the credit - we need to care that God gets the glory! I want to encourage you to use the spiritual gift God has given you - and do all you do so that God will be glorified in everything you do this week.       [Back to Top]