Ship Shape: Stewardship
Ship Shape: Stewardship
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sermon series: Ship Shape. What are the necessary elements for a God-honoring, orderly and effective ministry. What “ships” must be in order for us to truly be the Church?
Worship
We worship for who he is and for what he does
We should never come to worship empty-handed: we bring sacrifices
Sacrifice of praise
Sacrifice of good works
Sacrifice of our resources
Sacrifice of ourselves – living sacrifices!
Fellowship
The essence of fellowship is love
The extent of fellowship is with believers (do not be yoked together with unbelievers)
The elements of fellowship
We’re yoked together
We have things in common
We live in harmony
We stand in agreement
God is the one who established fellowship with his creation through his Son, Jesus Christ
Discipleship
We are commanded to make disciples (as we go, baptizing, teaching them to obey)
God’s word is used in the process: teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness
Today: Stewardship
A steward is someone who manages someone else’s property, finances or household
Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
First thing I must understand is: God owns everything…even me!
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
Psalm 50:10 “…for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”
Haggai 2:8 “’The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord God Almighty.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 [Flee sexual immorality, honor God with your body] “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”
Romans 14:8 “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
Since God is the owner, that makes me a steward, a manager of the things he entrusts to me.
What are those things with which we’ve been entrusted?
1. Time
2. Truth
3. Talents
Ship Shape: Stewardship – page 2
What are those things with which we’ve been entrusted?
1. Time
2. Truth
3. Talents
Pray
Let us be faithful stewards of the TIME God has entrusted to us
Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
We don’t know the number of years God ordains for us, but we do know we have 24 hours in each day. It would wise for us to examine how we use the time God gives us each day? Are we involved in the eternal – God, God’s Word, the souls of men and women – or are we busy with things that won’t last?
Ephesians 5:15-16 “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
[Only One Life]
With a shining quarter, a tiny little boy went into a candy store. With the utmost seriousness, studying each assortment with deep thoughtfulness, he wandered from case to case. Tired of waiting, his mother called, "Hurry, son, spend your quarter. We must be going." The child replied, "But Mama, I have got to spend it carefully; I only have one."
You, too, have only one life. How are you spending it?
Let us be faithful stewards of the TRUTH God has entrusted to us
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 “So then, men ought to regard us (the apostles) as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
1 Thessalonians 2:4 “We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.”
1 Timothy 6:20-21 “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, to which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.”
Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.”
We’ve been entrusted with the very truth of God, the gospel that rescues people from sin, despair, hopelessness. What are we doing with this truth? Are we growing in the knowledge of the Lord? Are we keeping it to ourselves?
Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”
Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Colossians 4:5-6 “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
(next page) Let us be faithful stewards of the TALENTS God has entrusted to us
Ship Shape: Stewardship – page 3
Let us be faithful stewards of the TALENTS God has entrusted to us
Talents – we think of the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30)
Talent = a unit of weight; it became a monetary term referring to the weight of gold, silver or copper
It’s believed a talent of silver represented some 20 years wages for a day laborer
One servant was given 5 talents; one servant was given two talents; another servant one talent
The first two put their talents to work and doubled their investments
The third hid the talent for fear of losing it
We also must put our talents to work to benefit the Master and his kingdom
We’ve all been given talents - money, possessions, abilities, spiritual gifts – are we being good stewards?
1. Money
Remember, God owns everything; our job is to manage it according to his word
How are we to handle God’s money?
We give the firstfruits back to the Lord in tithes (10%) and offerings.
Malachi 3 makes it clear that some managers are robbing from the Lord by not giving tithes and offerings.
Malachi 3:10-11 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.”
NT doesn’t mention a tithe – you’re right, but it does mention several times to give everything!
Deuteronomy 8:18 “But remember the Lord your God, for it he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
My experience with tithing
Tithing is a matter of trust – none of this moving from 1% to 2%; that doesn’t take any faith!
Can’t afford to tithe? Waiting to strike it rich?
John Rockefeller, Sr: “I had to begin work as a small boy to help support my mother. My first wages amounted to $1.50 per week. The first week after I went to work, I took the $1.50 home to my mother and she held the money in her lap and explained to me that she would be happy if I would give a tenth of it to the Lord. I did, and from that week until this day I have tithed every dollar God has entrusted to me. And I want to say, if I had not tithed the first dollar I made I would not have tithed the first million dollars I made.
The amount doesn’t matter
Richard Wurmbrand of Tortured for Christ said that when in prison they tithed! “When we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soup every day, we decided we would faithfully “tithe” even that. Every tenth week we took the slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our “tithe” to the Master.”
Grab a copy of the Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.
John Wesley: “When I have any money, I get rid of it as quickly as possible, lest it find a way into my heart.”
(next page) 2. Gifts and abilities
Ship Shape: Stewardship – page 4
2. Gifts and abilities
1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
Galatians 6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Time and Talent form in your bulletin – please fill it out!
Purpose of Stewardship
Would you call the farmer faithful who didn't care enough to cultivate, weed, and spray his fields after the seed was planted? He should change his methods if he's not getting an adequate yield of produce. The purpose of farming is to raise a good crop, and the purpose of stewardship is to multiply the investment entrusted to a manager by his employer. Christian stewardship entails the responsibility of investing whatever time, talents, and possessions God has given us to yield the best returns to Him.
Here in America, there are too many Christians investing in junk, storing up treasures on earth where they are destroyed or stolen; let’s store up treasures in heaven. For where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. (Mt. 6)
You see, there will come a day when we will give an account of those things entrusted to us:
Once commentator pointed out we’re living between Matthew 25:18 and Matthew 25:19
In Mt. 25:18, the talents are distributed
Mt 25:19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”
Romans 14:12 “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
May he find us faithful in those things he has entrusted to us: time, truth, talents. May he find us doing the very things he has called us to do.
Then we will hear those words from our beloved Master, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
