Stewards Of God's House Series

LESSON 3 - STEWARDS OF GOD’S HOUSE

TEXT: Luke 12:42-48; 1Co 4:1-2

Introduction:

So far in our series of Stewardship, we have learned that the measure of a life is not in things

gained, but in character produced. We learned how to make the choices that are so important to Godly

living. We have learned that we are stewards in God’s kingdom, and as such we must be faithful to

discharge our stewardship faithfully. We are stewards of God’s precious truth - a task that is not for the

wimp. The world seeks to destroy the truth in man’s hearts, but we must preserve it, we must guard it.

We must pass it to the next generation.

Today, we will see from the Word of God that our stewardship also extends into some personal

things which apply to each of us - we are stewards of God’s House. When you think of God’s House,

what do you think of? Now to many of you, that may bring the idea of this building to mind. For the more

astute scholar of God’s Word, you might think of God’s House as being God’s people. And for the

symbolically minded, you might have thought of your bodies as temples of the Lord. Each of you has

begun to think on the right track for today’s sermon. However, as stewards, we must remember that we

are caring for the property of another. It is not our own.

****Read text (Luke 12:42-48)****

In this passage, we read that the steward is responsible for the household. This parable is a

direct story of the Christian. As stewards, we are servants. As servants, we serve a Master. We are

accountable for our behavior. We are accountable for how we serve. We are accountable for the things

entrusted to our care. So what of the Lord’s House is in our care?

His people - one another. We ARE our brother’s keepers. We are responsible for watching

out for one another.

His temple - our bodies. We must realize that we are responsible not only to care for our

physical bodies, but we are to be sure it is used in a way that honors the Master.

I. OUR BODIES - 1Co 6:19.

Bodies were given us for a purpose. We must take care of that purpose. No athelete trains for a

sport he/she will not compete in. They train themselves for the purpose to which they have devoted

themselves. As Christians, we must realize that we are not our own. God establishes our purpose.

Ancient slaves were given specific tasks related to the purpose for which they served. These tasks were

their “skill” or trade. They became very good at these tasks. The messengers had great legs for

running. The smith, on the other hand had great grip and strong arms. The banker was excellent in

math, and so on. We must realize that God has called each one of us to a purpose. We must care for

ourselves in order to fulfill this purpose. Our bodies should reflect that purpose by our care for it.

We must care for our bodies...

A. Physically. We must care for our bodies. We in America are suited to our gluttony - of food,

comfort, entertainment, and the like. But our bodies are paying a high toll. We are not able to do the

work for which God has called us because of the laziness that has entered our bodies through the

materialistic lifestyle we in which we are immersed.

On the other hand, enter an ache or pain, and we’ll fix that one quickly. A young child came to

her mom complaining that her stomach hurt. “Oh, honey, your stomach is empty,” the Mom responded.

“You just need to get something in it and you’ll be fine.”

About a week later, the pastor was speaking to her Mom and he happened to mention he had a

headache. “Oh, pastor, my mommy says that your head is empty,” the girl responded. “You just need to

get something in it and you’ll be fine!”

We laugh, but we should also realize that this care for our luxury is often taking more of our

concern than our care for the Bible.

How we feed our bodies should be determined by how we love our Lord.

What we do with our bodies should be determined by the reality of His return.

B. Spiritually We also must care for our bodies spiritually. We must care for what defiles, and

be sure it is not brought into our lives. We must guard our hearts and minds. We must beware attitudes

that destroy relationships -- attitudes like pride, envy, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, and mindless

quarrels. We must be sure not to be divisive, seeking the argument at all costs. We must not expect to