God's Secret To a Successful Life

Introduction

Good morning and welcome!

This morning, and over the course of the next few weeks, we are going to be going in a little bit different of a direction.

I know normally we will take a passage of Scripture, pull it out, and break it down.

However, for the concepts that we will be covering, it is much more effective to look at the concept and the supporting Scriptures as we go.

And the concept we will be looking at is Stewardship.

Some of you know it as giving money.

Some may call it tithing.

Some may call it donating.

All are true but all of those only cover a small aspect of what Stewardship actually is.

And I believe that a misunderstanding of what Stewardship actually is, has in some ways led our church and many churches down a wrong path when it comes to many of the aspects of stewardship, including things such as paying tithes and giving.

It is no secret that we are not a rich church as far as the bank goes.

However, what I do see are glimpses of vast richness in God and in Stewardship here that flash by from time to time and that is what I want to cultivate and want us to grow.

And it is also no secret that at times finances around here get pretty tight.

I see tremendous stewardship and giving from a few but we need to have this from everyone.

So as we move through this, yes there will be a lot said about giving of tithes and offerings, but hear me when I say this, that is only one part of true stewardship.

And it is also no secret to me—even though some have tried to keep it a secret from me—that there have been grumblings about how we have been spending some money around here.

Particularly grumblings about our garage and about why a church our size has a paid associate.

Actually, when we begin to practice stewardship, the financial part just becomes part of it.

Before I start though, I’ve found that when you have to talk about serious or unpopular things its best to lighten the mood a bit.

And even though this was explained in depth at our last annual meeting, I do want to clear this up before it goes any further and to end the gossip.

So, I want to read you something written by Stan Toler.

Every dollar spent on the garage was money that was donated specifically for a garage.

And Stan Toler by the way was one of our General Superintendents who was an expert in Stewardship and Pastoral Leadership.

Every dollar given to our associate pastor was many that was donated specifically to pay an associate pastor.

In fact as I go through the concepts of Stewardship, I will be using several of the concepts he outlines in his book Give To Live.

In fact, going back to when we purchased our van, every dollar spent on the van was money donated for that purpose.

But, in one of his Pastoral Leadership Seminars, he came up with the Top Ten Signs Your Church Has Stopped Giving.

And they go something like this:

And I need to point that out for two reasons. #1-Federal law says that if money is donated for a specific purpose, it has to be used for that. If it is not, it is considered fraud.

10. Instead of using the baptistry—you use a moist towelette.

And #2-none of the tithes that people pay has been or is being used for any of this.

9. You have to siphon gas for the church van…from the Catholic Church.

In fact, I met with Dennis this past week and had to let him know that as of May 1, we would no longer be able to pay him.

8. From the fellowship hall, you start hearing the phrase “B-13, N-8, O-12..”

And the bad thing is, I have to address this openly in the church because those who are gossiping are doing so in the shadows and I don’t know where it started and who it started with, so I have no way to go to the source.

7. First time visitors are asked to clean the church before they leave.

So, it has to be brought in in front of everyone, which is not ideal.

6. The pastor drives a Yugo.

5. Church dinners are held at Sam’s Club sample days.

4. The phrase, “Flip on the A/C,” has been changed to “crack open a window.”

3. You only need one usher.

2. The church sound system consists of a megaphone and a soundman named “Bubba.”

1

And #1.... “Silent offerings” are REALLY SILENT!”

What’s Mine is Yours: Understanding Stewardship

And even though that is meant to be a joke, all comedy has some roots in truth.

And we have to really begin to think about the health of our Stewardship both as Christians and as a church.

And what we need to do is to start thinking about a new way to live and think about how success is really measured.

John Wesley wrote that we should “earn all we can, save all we can, and give all we can.”

However, our society tells us to “earn all we can, can all that we get, and sit on the lid!”

However, that is not God’s idea of stewardship and is not God’s idea of a successful life.

God’s idea of a successful life is actually rooted in the concepts of stewardship, love, trust, and blessing.

And to be honest, it really doesn’t matter if the world thinks we are successful or not.

The only one that matters is God.

So, the first thing I want to look at is this idea of God trusting us with what is his.

And we are going to start in , where David writes this . ..

Psalm 106:1–2 NIV - Anglicised

1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever. 2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?

So, what in the world does this have to do Stewardship and giving?

In reality, a great deal.

Dr. Toler writes this: “Ingratitude has plagued the human race since the time of Adam and Eve. Ingratitude toward the salvation of a loving God, offered free of charge via painful sacrifice, seems to be of the worst kind. We are prone to make our needs known. We cry out to God for help, for rescue from the miry pit. But how often do we voice our gratitude? How often do we say, ‘Thank you?”

And the point is, when we show gratitude toward God and actually thank God, then we are acknowledging that #1 God does own everything and #2 every blessing we have in life, comes from God.

But we also need to recognize that we are blessed.

Do we realize and understand that we are blessed?

Even though we struggle and go through the things we have to go through in life, the reality is we are blessed.

Think about it—As Christians we have been saved by grace through faith and have been rescued from eternal death an hell.

For that alone, we are blessed!

Even in our darkest hour, the fact that God is still with us—We are blessed!

Take it a step further, in our nation we have been materially blessed.

Did you know that someone who makes $8000 a year, not a-lot by our standards, is richer than 70% of our world.

However, our attitude in this country is a lot like the Jews of Jesus’ day who equated the more money and wealth they had with the more God loves them and the better standing they had with God.

They didn’t recognize that the simple fact that as long as they had what they needed, which is vastly different from everything they wanted, they were blessed by God.

And if we are going to be completely honest with ourselves, sometimes when God blesses us above what we need—which He often does—instead of being thankful for it, ti becomes a distraction that pulls us away from God.

There is nothing wrong with material things at all. I like my computers and gadgets as much as everyone else, but at what lengths are we willing to go to get that stuff and what impact is it having on our relationship with God?

But back to the point of praising God.

We praise God because contrary to the popular notion that our material blessings come from our hard work and determination (the American dream), they actually come from God who own them to begin with.

So, we should be praising Him for them and thanking Him for them.

And when we can put that in perspective we can also begin to put the true value and use of material blessings into perspective as well.

Count on Me! Learning to Trust

However, even when we recognize and understand that what we have comes from God.

Even when we reach a point where we are praising God for it, there is still a problem that plagues us

There is still a nagging issue that holds us back.

And that issue is trust.

Do we really trust God to provide for us?

We are good at saying “yes, I trust God,” but do we really?

Do our actions back up our words?

How many times has God asked you to be involved in the ministry of the church but you have an excuse as to why you cannot?

How many times has the offering plate passed by and God told you to put something in it and you refused?

How does that show you trust God?

Think about it though, how many times has God already blessed you?

Why do you think He would fail you now?

It actually has nothing to do with money—but everything to do with your trust in God.

Last week we looked at God’s promises to Abraham in and 15 and we are not going to rehash all of that.

But the short version is that God asked Abraham to trust Him and follow Him.

To give up his life and everything he has ever known and follow this God he had had just met.

And, Abraham did it.

However, Abraham was not perfect in it.

Abraham had some trust issues as well.

First, when he and Sarah left they ended up in Egypt and instead of trusting God to provide, they lied and said that Sarah was Abraham’s sister, which created a mess.

Then when Abraham wasn’t having kids, he came up with a plan to leave everything to a servant—making his own way instead of trusting God. That didn’t work.

Then when Sarah still wasn’t having children, Abraham had a son by a servant, which created another mess.

All of this because Abraham had doubts and a lack of trust for God?

Why though?

Because Abraham was like us.

We live in a world that is constantly letting us down and violating our trust.

Our trust is violated on a daily basis.

And the problem is, we think about God in the same terms as we do other human beings.

However, God is not a human being.

God created Human beings.

God is perfect.

says . . .

Psalm 145:13 NIV - Anglicised

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made.

Listen to that last part again, “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.”

Do you believe that this morning?

Not just saying it, but in your heart, do you really believe that?

Abraham did . . .

Hebrews 11:8–10 NIV - Anglicised

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

And because Abraham trusted God....

Romans 4:3 NIV - Anglicised

3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

And God credited it to Abraham as righteousness, because Abraham didn’t just say he trusted God, Abraham put it into practice.

Abraham put some action behind his words.

So, we have to decide whether or not in this church if we are really going to trust God or if we are just going to say we do.

And sometimes that means, “putting your money where your mouth is”

Or even putting “yourself, where your mouth is.”

Because again, Stewardship is much, much more than just giving some money.

Stewardship encompasses every single aspect of everything we do.

And I know that these are much easier things to say than do, because, well frankly, the world weighs us down with a lot of stuff.

However, part of actually trusting God is putting the weight onto God.

Unless you don’t trust Him to take care of it.

Jesus tells us to . . .

Matthew 11:28–30 NIV - Anglicised

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Altar Call

But again, we have to trust Him in order to do this.

And it is not something that is just an automatic thing.

We have to make a choice to trust Him.

And we have to make a choice to trust Him every single day.

Which is where we will end today.

The Blessing Principle: Learning to Give as Well as Receive

The Generosity Factor: Motivated By Love

Have we made a choice to trust God?

Have we demonstrated that trust by putting our faith in Jesus Christ?

Are we following Him?

If no, then why don’t we do that today?

Altar Call

What is keeping us from that?

If yes, then do we completely trust Him, or are there things we are holding back?

Are there excuses we are making that keeps us from being good Stewards?

With our time, our talents, and our treasures?

Do we have trust issues?

Do we have issues recognizing where all blessings come from from?

Do we acknowledge God for blessing us?

All of these questions we need to ask ourselves.

Not only ask, but honestly evaluate and answer.

Listening to what the Holy Spirit tells us.

God is speaking, what is it going to take for us to listen?

For us to respond?

Our altar is open and I would invite you to come and pray.

Can you trust Him enough to do that today?