[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 23rd of June, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church. Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
We often affirm that God gives us everything we have, that without Him, we would have nothing. He asks that we give a portion back to Him, as a sign of our faith and our love, as one way to worship Him. At a minimum, we are to tithe, give ten percent of our “first fruits”. But He would like to see us give more, to be cheerful and generous in our giving. Because it all boils down to Him entrusting us with His resources, and how we manage those resources.
There are a couple of places in our Bible that discuss managing God’s resources, but I was led to one that speaks to preparing for the future, both near and far. Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Luke recorded in his Gospel account, chapter 16, verses 1 through 13, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…
There are a couple of places in our Bible that discuss managing God’s resources, but I was led to one that speaks to preparing for the future, both near and far. Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Luke recorded in his Gospel account, chapter 16, verses 1 through 13, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…
1 Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2 So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’--Luke 16:1-13 (NLT)
3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’
5 “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ 6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’
7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’
8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest steward for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
Let us pray… Father God, from Your great abundance, You provide for all our needs and then give even more, so that we might be a blessing to others. Thank You, Lord, for entrusting us with so much. Please help us to always remain faithful to You and to Your Son Jesus, to be good stewards of the resources You place in our care. Help us to manage them wisely and faithfully. Now speak to us this morning, Father, that we may hear and heed Your message this day. This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son Jesus. Amen.
Lloyd C. Douglas, in the book The Living Faith, tells the story of Thomas Hearne, who, "in his journey to the mouth of the Coppermine River, wrote that a few days after they had started on their expedition, a party of Indians stole most of their supplies. Hearne's comment on the apparent misfortune was this: 'The weight of our baggage being so much lightened, our next day's journey was more swift and pleasant.'
Hearne was in route to something very interesting and important; and the loss of a few sides of bacon and a couple of bags of flour meant nothing more than an easing of the load. Had Hearne been holed up somewhere in a cabin, resolved to spend his last days eking out an existence and living on capital previously collected, the loss of some of his stores by plunder would probably have worried him almost to death."
How we respond to "losing" some of our resources for God's work depends upon whether we are on the move or waiting for our last stand.
Church, are we on the move? Or have we backed up against the wall and ready to make our last stand?
Hot air balloons are often forced to drop ballast and even other items to remain aloft. Luke also wrote about the Apostle Paul being aboard a ship in a great storm when they tossed almost everything overboard in their desperate attempt to stay afloat. Sometimes we have to be willing to lose in order to gain, in order to keep moving.
In our scripture reading, what the rich man commends is the ingenuity of the steward, not his dishonesty. He actually cheated his master, but in doing so, he used his present opportunities to prepare for his future. In like manner, the believer should use what they have in this life in the service of God in order to prepare for the next life and to assure rewards in heaven. Our "worldly resources" include not only our money and other material possessions, but also our time. We should use these resources wisely, not dishonestly - to help win people over to Jesus so that they will welcome us in heaven.
Unfaithfulness in managing another's goods proves one unworthy to be given much for themselves. If we are unfaithful with what God gives us, He will see us as being unworthy, and untrustworthy. So why should He give us more?
There’s a story I’m sure you’re familiar with. In Matthew 25, verses 14 through 30, Jesus tells of three servants whose master goes away for a time. One servant is entrusted with five talents; he invested them and made 5 more. A second is entrusted with two talents; he invested them and made two more. The third is entrusted with one talent; he hid it so it would not be lost, so he would not incur the wrath of his master, and earned nothing on it at all.
When the master returned, he praised the two who made a profit with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." But the servant who could only return the one talent he had been entrusted with, the master scolded him, calling him wicked and lazy, taking the one talent from him and giving it to the first servant. Jesus sums it up by saying, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away."
The dictionary defines "stewardship" as: 1) the position and duties of a steward, a person who acts as the surrogate of another, especially by managing property, financial affairs, etc. 2) the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.
The first part of that is clearly about managing physical resources. But the second part can be about anything, physical or otherwise, anything considered worth caring for or preserving. A church definitely fits into both of those parts. In his letter to the Colossians, chapter 1 verses 24 through 26, the Apostle Paul speaks of sacrificial service for Christ…
We - all of us, not just me – we have all received a stewardship from God to care for and fulfill His word. We are all charged with ministering His word and all the resources He has given us.
Paul carries this concept of being stewards in our service to Jesus a little further in his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3 verse 18 through chapter 4 verse 2, when he writes…
As servants of Christ Jesus and stewards of the infinite mysteries of God, we must be faithful. We must act on our faith, on our belief in God’s Son Jesus. We must do what Jesus would have us do.
So do we stand firm, with our backs to a wall perhaps, or do we move forward? Sometimes we have to make tough decisions. These decisions must be made only after much prayer. That’s the part about being faithful, seeking God’s will, doing what He will see as right and righteous.
We are servants of Jesus, and stewards of all God has entrusted into our care. Let us be good and faithful servants, so that some sweet day we can enter into the joy of our Lord. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You created all that is, so therefore all of creation is Yours. You give to us portions of Your creation to use and watch over, You entrust them into our care. Thank You, Father, for being so generous in what You give. Thank you for trusting us with what You have. Please forgive us when we fail to act righteously and wisely. Forgive us when we our management is more self-centered that intended to help others. Please help us to do with those resources as You would have us do. And help us to do Your will in serving You.
Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our sin, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…
Lord Jesus, we so long to enter into Your joy, to hear You welcome us home with those beautiful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Thank You for showing us how we should act on and manage the resources God has trusted into our care. Please help us to always be faithful in our stewardship, not only over the physical resources God has given us, but also over His word and Your church.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior. Amen.
Lloyd C. Douglas, in the book The Living Faith, tells the story of Thomas Hearne, who, "in his journey to the mouth of the Coppermine River, wrote that a few days after they had started on their expedition, a party of Indians stole most of their supplies. Hearne's comment on the apparent misfortune was this: 'The weight of our baggage being so much lightened, our next day's journey was more swift and pleasant.'
Hearne was in route to something very interesting and important; and the loss of a few sides of bacon and a couple of bags of flour meant nothing more than an easing of the load. Had Hearne been holed up somewhere in a cabin, resolved to spend his last days eking out an existence and living on capital previously collected, the loss of some of his stores by plunder would probably have worried him almost to death."
How we respond to "losing" some of our resources for God's work depends upon whether we are on the move or waiting for our last stand.
Church, are we on the move? Or have we backed up against the wall and ready to make our last stand?
Hot air balloons are often forced to drop ballast and even other items to remain aloft. Luke also wrote about the Apostle Paul being aboard a ship in a great storm when they tossed almost everything overboard in their desperate attempt to stay afloat. Sometimes we have to be willing to lose in order to gain, in order to keep moving.
In our scripture reading, what the rich man commends is the ingenuity of the steward, not his dishonesty. He actually cheated his master, but in doing so, he used his present opportunities to prepare for his future. In like manner, the believer should use what they have in this life in the service of God in order to prepare for the next life and to assure rewards in heaven. Our "worldly resources" include not only our money and other material possessions, but also our time. We should use these resources wisely, not dishonestly - to help win people over to Jesus so that they will welcome us in heaven.
Unfaithfulness in managing another's goods proves one unworthy to be given much for themselves. If we are unfaithful with what God gives us, He will see us as being unworthy, and untrustworthy. So why should He give us more?
There’s a story I’m sure you’re familiar with. In Matthew 25, verses 14 through 30, Jesus tells of three servants whose master goes away for a time. One servant is entrusted with five talents; he invested them and made 5 more. A second is entrusted with two talents; he invested them and made two more. The third is entrusted with one talent; he hid it so it would not be lost, so he would not incur the wrath of his master, and earned nothing on it at all.
When the master returned, he praised the two who made a profit with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." But the servant who could only return the one talent he had been entrusted with, the master scolded him, calling him wicked and lazy, taking the one talent from him and giving it to the first servant. Jesus sums it up by saying, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away."
The dictionary defines "stewardship" as: 1) the position and duties of a steward, a person who acts as the surrogate of another, especially by managing property, financial affairs, etc. 2) the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.
The first part of that is clearly about managing physical resources. But the second part can be about anything, physical or otherwise, anything considered worth caring for or preserving. A church definitely fits into both of those parts. In his letter to the Colossians, chapter 1 verses 24 through 26, the Apostle Paul speaks of sacrificial service for Christ…
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
--Colossians 1:24-26 (NKJV)
Paul carries this concept of being stewards in our service to Jesus a little further in his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3 verse 18 through chapter 4 verse 2, when he writes…
3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come — all are yours. 23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
--1 Corinthians 3:18-4:2 (NKJV)
So do we stand firm, with our backs to a wall perhaps, or do we move forward? Sometimes we have to make tough decisions. These decisions must be made only after much prayer. That’s the part about being faithful, seeking God’s will, doing what He will see as right and righteous.
We are servants of Jesus, and stewards of all God has entrusted into our care. Let us be good and faithful servants, so that some sweet day we can enter into the joy of our Lord. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You created all that is, so therefore all of creation is Yours. You give to us portions of Your creation to use and watch over, You entrust them into our care. Thank You, Father, for being so generous in what You give. Thank you for trusting us with what You have. Please forgive us when we fail to act righteously and wisely. Forgive us when we our management is more self-centered that intended to help others. Please help us to do with those resources as You would have us do. And help us to do Your will in serving You.
Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our sin, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…
Lord Jesus, we so long to enter into Your joy, to hear You welcome us home with those beautiful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Thank You for showing us how we should act on and manage the resources God has trusted into our care. Please help us to always be faithful in our stewardship, not only over the physical resources God has given us, but also over His word and Your church.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior. Amen.
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