Stewardship:
“Honoring God with What We Have”
Various Texts
Introduction”” “Stewardship”””kind of a scary word, isn”™t it? (See PowerPoint #1)
Edwin Markham, The Parable of the Builders, tells of a rich man who wanted to help other. He came to a poor peasant living with his family in a tiny hut. The rich man employed the peasant to build for him a beautiful house. To save money so his profit could be more, the peasant used the cheapest materials he could find, secretly enjoying outwitting the rich man. He also gave his slackest effort to the project. When the house was finally completed, the rich man returned to inspect it. Then he shocked the builder, “This is your house,” he said, “it”™s my gift to you and your family!”
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matt. 25:23).
Don”™t you want to hear those words from your Lord, one day?
John Wesley said, “When the possessor of heaven and earth brought you into being and placed you in this world, He placed you here not as an owner but as a steward” (Swindoll, 534).
Ron Blue: “Stewardship is the use of God-given resources for the accomplishment of God-given goals” (Swindoll, 534).
*Every believer must understand that we are called to honor God through faithful stewardship of all that we have.
HOW does Scripture show us this?
Notice the following 3 areas of stewardship that Scripture deals with:
We must . . .
1. Honor God with Our TIME
Lloyd Cory: “Time is significant because it is so rare. It is completely irretrievable. You can never repeat it or relive it” (Swindoll, 571).
Ecclesiastes 3:1””“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
Ephesians 2:10 ”“ “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
1 Corinthians 6:20””“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God”™s.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-15””“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
Our lives are not ours””we are Jesus”™ servants!
Colossians 4:5-6””“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
It”™s always time to witness for Christ””in word and in deed, no matter what the circumstances! How we use our time is a KEY part of our faithfulness to God and being good stewards for Him.
2. Honor God with Our POSSESSIONS
1 Timothy 6:17-19 [READ]
Now, some of you may object and say, “Well, this isn”™t for me, cause I”™m not rich.” Oh yes, you are! According to a Stanford University study of the world”™s population, over 95% of Americans are among the world”™s most wealthy people””in the top 8%!
4 Principles:
a) Enjoy What You Have (17c)
b) Don”™t Be Proud of What You Have (17a)
Luke 6:24”” “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”
c) Don”™t Trust In What You Have (17b)
Proverbs 23:5””“Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”
d) Share What You Have (18-19)
[2 Funny PowerPoint Slides about Giving]
3. Honor God in Our GIVING
George W. Truett, the pastor of First Baptist Dallas, TX for 47 years, once said, “A man right about this question . . . is likely to be right, or easily led to be right, on every other question of religion. A Christian man wrong on this question . . . is likely to be seriously wrong on every other question of religion!”
Jesus said it best:
Matthew 6:21””“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus told 19 parables, 12 of which were about money or giving.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 [READ]
a) The Reality about Your Giving (6)
The Law of the Harvest
Do you want God”™s bountiful reward in heaven? Then give liberally, generously!
Don”™t ask, “What can I spare?”, but “What can I share?”
According to the IRS, people earning less ($10-15K) are 10 times more likely to make charitable contributions than people making more ($50-100K). “The higher the taxpayer”™s income, the less likely he or she is to give”.
W. S Tulner: “He who is not liberal with what he has, does but deceive himself when he thinks he would be liberal if he had more.”
Matthew 19:26-29 [READ]
If God were to give back to you 10X what you gave last Sunday, would you be able to live on it this week?
b) The Requirement concerning Your Giving (7)
God”™s requirement is intentional, hilarious giving!
Exodus 36:2-7 [See Later]
Look at 2 Corinthians 8:1-5
4 Principles:
Our giving should be . . .
1) Steady (2a)
2) Sacrificial (2b-3)””NT Giving =Tithe + Grace
“To give less under grace than we give under law is a disgrace” (R.G. Lee). The tithe is the floor not the ceiling on NT giving!
A pastor once told his fashionable congregation: “Many of you came to church this morning riding in stolen cars, wearing stolen clothes, and adorned in stolen jewelry, because you paid for those things with money which you withheld from God.”
3) Sincere (4)
4) Surrendered (5)
THIS is the key!
2 Corinthians 8:9””“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”
c) The Reassurance concerning Your Giving (8-11)
You can”™t outgive God! You don”™t have to worry about not having enough after you give. You don”™t have to wonder whether that 90% or less will be enough.
Malachi 3:10””“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”
Luke 6:38””“Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom (lap). For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
It is God who enables our giving!
d) The Results of Your Giving (12-14)
3 Results:
1) Meet the Needs
Hudson Taylor: “When God”™s work is done God”™s way it will not lack for God”™s supply.”
2) Glorifies God
3) Is Evidence of Obedience to Our Confession!
e) The Reason for Your Giving (14c-15)
Christian giving comes from the grace of God in Christ Jesus given to, and working in, us!
“Stewardship is NOT the church”™s plan for raising money! It is God”™s plan for developing Christ-like character . . . The standard for grace-giving is the Cross where Jesus personally demonstrated how we are to give!” (MVK, II).
Conclusion””Sam Houston was an authentic America hero! He was born in Virginia, was a Congressman, and later, the Governor of Tennessee. As commander of the Texas army in the fight for independence from Mexico, he led the defeat of Gen. Santa Anna and the Mexican forces at the battle of San Jacinto. When Texas became a republic in 1836, he was elected as its first president. Men molded by the frontier knew how to fight, gamble, drink, cuss and kill. So did Sam. But later on, he married a devout Baptist wife who prayed for years that he would be saved. Late in life, Sam Houston surrendered his life to Christ under the preaching of Dr. Rufus Burleson, then president of Baylor University. Upon bringing him up out of the baptismal waters, Dr. Burleson said, “Now, Sam, your sins are all washed away!” Houston replied, “God help all the fishes!” Just before he was baptized, Dr. Burleson suggested that he give his wallet to a friend so it wouldn”™t get wet. “No, I believe not, Pastor””I”™m afraid it needs baptizing, too!” And indeed, after his baptism, Houston began paying half of his pastor”™s salary and faithfully gave financial assistance to ministerial students at Baylor University until his death! Sam”™s baptized billfold was proof that God had changed his heart by grace! And if you”™ve gotten a real dose of God”™s grace in Jesus Christ, you”™ll be a giver that honors God with your money, your possessions and your time!