Entrusted And Faithful

Entrusted and Faithful

1st Corinthians 4:2

Five things a man must learn to do, if he would make his record true:

To think without confusion clearly

To love his fellowmen sincerely

To act from honest motives purely

To trust in God and heaven securely.

To proclaim our release & freedom boldly.

1. We all realize that as Christians, each of us has been given responsibilities in God’s Church.

2. We all know our responsibility is more than just warm the pew, visit, or say an occasional “Amen”.

3. Jesus explained how we would be judged, (Sheep or Goats).

4. It is up to us how effective our ministry is.

1 Corinthians 4:2 “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. “

What we have been trusted to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.

God entrusted his reputation to ordinary people, people filled with God’s Spirit.

God entrusted His most priceless gift to a very human, very young, earthly mother. Why? Because God so loved--that He gave. He relinquished His hold on His Son and placed Him in fragile human arms.

1. God holds us responsible, not for what we have, but for what we could have; not for what we are, but for what we might be.

2. God’s gifts have been entrusted to us for a purpose. If that purpose isn’t fulfilled, His gifts are wasted. What’s the use of having an eye or a hand that doesn’t serve the entire body?

We have been entrusted to have a positive influence, for today, for tomorrow, and for the future.

God will hold us responsible as to how well we fulfill our responsibilities to this age and take advantage of our opportunities.

There are several reasons why his people have failed. Our sorrows are usually the result of letting our wishes replace our duty.

1. Like many Christians today, some of the early church had a faulty view of the future.

They looked with anticipation on what would happen, instead of understanding what was happening.

2. They focused on Christ’s return rather than their responsibility to occupy enemy territory, proclaim freedom, and demonstrate their authority

The church’s responsibility to occupy the world can be compared to what happened in 1983 on the island of Grenada.

Due to the rise of Communist insurgency, the U.S. President ordered troops into Grenada. In just eight hours, the battle was over.

However, many of the Communists would not accept defeat. Rather than surrender, they sniped at our troops from behind cars, buildings, and trees.

So our troops remained there until the victory was secured and a new government was installed.

A. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He was victorious over all God’s enemies.

He clearly won the victory. However, Satan and his followers have not accepted defeat and still try to claim victory.

Christ is victorious He has established His troops--the church--to live victorious until He returns to take us away.

B. The church is God’s occupational force until He comes again. Rather than focusing on their future rule with Him, therefore, Jesus wanted the disciples to focus on their impact in the world and be ready to receive and proclaim God’s power.

2. Its Normal to seek to escape from responsibility

The Bible, touches frequently on this subject. In its pages we encounter men with a burning desire to escape

What one notices in the case of the Bible, is that people want to get away from responsibilitys.

The Psalmist wishing that he had wings like a dove, for then he would fly away and be at rest;

A prophet, Jeremiah, standing up for God in the capital of his nation, Jerusalem’s most unpopular citizen, telling himself that it would be wonderful to betake himself to a hideaway in the desert.

Elijah in full flight from the problem posed for him by Ahab and Jezebel;

Jonah booking a passage, not for Nineveh where his duty lay, but for Tarshish;

John Mark deserting Paul and Barnabas in the dangerous hinterland of Asia and making by the swiftest, safest route for the security of Jerusalem and the comforts of home

Religion down the centuries has repeatedly been escapist in this sense.

The rise of the monastic movement in the early church is a case in point.

Christians withdrew in great numbers from cities and towns and deliberately elected to reside in solitude in the most inaccessible parts of the earth they could discover.

Why? They were impatient with it and its evil ways. They were afraid of being defiled by it.

They longed to escape from it, and they supposed mistakenly as it afterwards proved, that if only it were out of sight its temptations would be out of mind.