Building the Good Life

Jab 1

Design

The problem with convertibles. Changing a coupe or sedan seems simple? Have to add strength in other places or the car becomes horrible to drive…not fun. The best convertibles are cars designed to be convertibles from the beginning.

Jab 2

The Top Gear Guys

Some memorable conversions

Convertible Mini-van

Stretch limos from small hatchbacks

RV (Caravan) from ordinary cars

Boats from cars

Space Shuttle from a Reliant Robin (biggest non-commercial rocket in Europe)

Jab 2

our new chairs

Jab 3

Something most of us are guilty of at some point or another is using the wrong tool.

“I start every project with the tools I have at home already…I’ll save money or time by not going to get the store and buying the right thing…Eventually the same phrase comes out: “Wow (because (I’m surprised), the right tool makes all the difference!”

Transition

Whether it comes to cars or tools, the design is the difference. When used as intended, they last and accomplish the tasks they are intended to accomplish. Our lives also have a schematic or a blueprint if you will which reflects the will of the creator and the task which He intended us to accomplish.

In this series we will examine the blue print for building the good life, meaning the life in which we operate with the greatest joy, satisfaction, and peace because we are operating “as intended”.

The theological word for this kind of life is stewardship. Today I hope to persuade you that the best life is a life lived this way. The rest of the series will put the focus on how we build that kind of life in specific arenas of life.

Prayer

Design

What is the Biblical and practical evidence we have a designer who has a purpose?

Genesis 1:26–28 ESV

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

genesis 1:26-

Stewards: God’s partners in cultivating more good into this world and one another.

Definition: Stewardship is knowledge put into action, that every good thing is a gift from God which is to be ultimately used for our good and his glory. Or, all things pass through open hands.

We rebelled and invented idolatry

Genesis 3:4–5 ESV

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:4

We rejected the design of steward in order to attempt to take a design of “owner”. Here’s the problem. You weren’t wired that way. When we are stewards, all good things can come into our hands as blessings which we pass along with joy.

In our attempts to own, we grasp at something to fulfill us, only to find that those things become the masters.

At heart we are worshippers...

If stewardship recognizes God as the source and purpose of all our time, talents, treasure, and testimony, then idolatry attempts to make something else or ourselves be the source and purpose.

It is to take a good thing and make it into an ultimate thing, or a “god” thing.

Comparison to ancient idolatry

The problem with owning is that we end up owned.

What does it require of us to accept the intended design?

Reversing the rebellion and embracing the call at the cross. Invited back to the calling. Invited back to design.

in other words Humility

Jesus offers a powerful parable to this point:

Matthew 25:14–15 ESV

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

Matthew 25:14–30 ESV

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:14-

Matthew 25:14-

When we understand accept our Design, it leads us to an understanding of our Purpose, Clarity, and our greatest effectiveness, satisfaction and joy in our life in Christ.

discarded

Matthew 25:16–17 ESV

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.

Matthew 25:16-17

The first two men represent those who understand their design, and s

discarded

Purpose

So how does our design give us purpose?

I love nature documentaries…as much as they try, they can’t escape the word “design”. When looking at evidence of an extinct species they try to figure out how the animal lived and will look at the design, to understand the purpose.

Teeth, beak, wings, skin, foot. The design is all about the purpose.

What does our design show us about our purpose?

Stewardship purpose

Jesus offers a parable to his disciples which make this point.

Matthew 25:14–18 ESV

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.

Matthew 25:14-

Two of these men understood their purpose. The third not so much...

What to

A life without purpose is a horrible thing. When we feel purposeless, we either despair or become desperate to find something of meaning to occupy our time that will matter.

“He who had received the five talents went AT ONCE”

One of my great mistakes was during my time out of ministry…I didn’t realize my purpose still held true...

Urgency

As a steward, your purpose is to use the gifts God has given for his glory (as already stated).

The money wasn’t his, but had been entrusted to his care. So he got to it.

Paul can tell us where this fits in every day life:

Intentionality

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

That sums it up nicely

When our purpose does not come out of our design, we end up in all kinds of trouble.

If money has become the ultimate thing...

If your children have become the ultimate thing...

If security, pleasure, sex, food...

The problem is none of those purposes will fulfil their promises.

Desperate you will pretend, or you will move on to the next idol.

The life built around our design as stewards will then pursue God’s purposes as the highest call and those things will never disappoint. It is for those purposes that men and women faced persecution, hardship, and death.

When we embrace that we were designed for stewardship, and set our eyes on His purposes, we also gain clarity.

Stewardship purpose

He

Clarity

How does purpose give us clarity in our lives?

Back to the parable:

Matthew 25:18 ESV

But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.

Matt 25:

You can almost hear the gears working in his mind…What do I do?

Something I noticed a little earlier in the parable:

Matthew 25:16 ESV

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.

Matthew 25:16

Two words stood out to me: AT ONCE

Indecision is a ruthless task master. It leaves us in worry, aimlessness, and frustration.

Anyone ever have a job where the goal wasn’t clear? Fun right?

I have worked for four banks in my life at various points. Only one gave me a purpose I can still remember this far later. “World’s greatest bank”. That was the purpose for every customer, in every interaction, every day.

What do I do in this situation? I know one thing for sure, the goal.

Once you have clear purpose, your decisions become much easier. Doesn’t mean they are easy things to do, but the decisions become clear.

Our purpose in Genesis is to partner with God in bringing good into this world. As outlined in our mission statement, Jesus has taken that to an eternal space and called us to Make Disciples, be fishers of men.

Now all my decisions, and all of your decisions have a filter to run through.

Jobs, finances, family, (all things we will talk about in the coming weeks)

That doesn’t mean every decision will have a clear good/bad. But, when we run our decisions through God’s purpose with an understanding of our design, I have seen God work through and honor that stewardship in a life.

Stewardship purpose clear direction (not always far, but clear)

Effectiveness

Light is a powerful thing.

I noticed something else in our parable:

Matthew 25:16–18 ESV

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.

matt 25:

The ones who understood, were effective. Their purpose and clarity brought about results.

A favorite passage of mine I’ve used before makes the point well

2 Peter 1:3–8 ESV

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3

There’s more, but let’s stop here for this message and look at a few key points

He has given us all things

He called us to his glory

We are to develop particular qualities in keeping with his purposes and glory

When we do, we will be effective.

What does it mean to be effective?

Effectiveness is seeing results for our efforts. More importantly, it is seeing the results which actually matter.

If you have built your life around acquiring things, you will likely gain things. The problem? You weren’t made for things, things were made to be stewarded by you. The ownership of things will not accomplish what you think they will. So you have to get another thing… And oh the number of lives wasted in the hopes that one more thing, one more relationship, one more achievement by their child will satisfy...

When our efforts line up with a purpose, based on our design as stewards, something better happens. Look at how Peter ends that thought: in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I can tell you after over twenty years of doing ministry as a significant portion of my life…I don’t get the easy satisfaction of a new toy. Work with people isn’t as easy to measure. It’s why pastors have hobbies.

But the more I know Jesus, the more I lean into those traits, the more clarity I have in his direction, the more I can know I am being effective, even when the evidence isn’t as simple as dollars in the bank. Of course every pastor prays for the measurable results. But woe to the one who depends on them.

A great example called me last night. Dennis called to chat. As we discussed ways we could be praying for him, he said this: “I have done a lot of prayer summits. I know what works and how to do them well. The temptation is strong to believe I can do these without the Lord.”

The same thing applies to the preacher, the lawyer, the mother, the father, the artist, the athlete, or any other job. If you make widgets, in that widget making, you can be effective for God in that place when your heart is tuned to your design. When you see that role as something you have been given to steward on His behalf, for his purposes, and God will do things in that space to make you effective in his kingdom.

Satisfaction, Joy, Peace

What are the life changing impacts of a life of stewardship?

Back to our parable one more time:

Matthew 25:20–23 ESV

And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Matt 25:20-

A picture on wood.

Satisfaction, Joy, Peace

What I feel for this little piece of wood is a sample of the satisfaction that comes from living as a steward. It’s not as quick, simple, or immediate in it’s gratification, but it is enduring, meaningful and satisfying.

God designed the human race to find its deepest joy in partnership with him.

Romans 1:

Conclusion

We know we ought to live according to God’s blueprint for us, a blueprint of stewardship rather than ownership...

Over the next __ weeks, we will examine HOW we Can build this stewardship life.

If the idea scares you, then you’re in good company. Letting go is never easy. Control is so much more user friendly at first glance. Our desires and those things which we hold on to so tightly do not want to be let go…rather they don’t want to let go of you. C.S. Lewis grants us a better perspective:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

I would like you to do something with me. Hold up your hands in front of you like this.

One hand clenched. This is the posture which shows all the things which in seeking to own, have taken ownership of us. Things, positions, relationships, reputations, bank accounts, plans.

The other hand open. This is the posture which allows God to place positions, things, resources, relationships, plans into that open hand, use them for his purposes, and then move them to another hand or back to his when it’s time to be replaced with something else.

Hold them there as we pray...

Lord we are far too easily pleased...