Nuts Stewardship "Whose Fries Are These" Series

NUTS Stewardship “Whose Fries Are These”?

GNLCC 10/26/2002 Malachi 3:1-12 Matthew 19:17-21 Text 1 Chronicles 29:10-16

We are continuing our theme of becoming a NUTS church. What is a NUTS Church? A Church that never underestimates the Spirit. The Theme comes from our adaptation of Leonard’s Sweets message. Today I am going to enlist the help of these French Fries to help us become NUTS for Christ in our giving. Each time you eat a French Fry, I want you to remember this message.

One day James wanted to do something special with his five year old son Jimmy. He asked “son, is there anything you’d like to do right now?” Jimmy said, “I want some McDonald French Fries.” His father said, “if that’s what my boy wants, then that’s what my boy gets.”

They got into the blue and white chevy truck and headed toward McDonald’s. Jimmy’s lips and tongue were silently moving as he could taste the fries before they even reached the store.

His Dad made the order, and Jimmy’s heart pounded when his Dad said make it a super size fry. James took the money out of his wallet to pay for the fries and a drink. Jimmy’s little teeth were ready to sink into those hot golden fries, before they made it to the table.

When they sat down, grace consisted of “God bless this food amen”, but it seemed like way too many words to Jimmy who was eager to delight himself with this huge blessing of French fries.

James was happy to see his little boy so happy over something so simple. He decided to join in the fun. He reached over to get a couple of Jimmy’s fries for himself.

To his surprise, his son quickly put his arms around his fries as though building a fort and pulled them toward himself and said, “No, these are mine.” His dad was in a state of shock for a moment. He could not believe what had happened.

James pulled back his hand and began to reflect about his son’s attitude toward the fries. Let’s walk together through the things that went through his mind. He was thinking, my son failed to realize that I am the source of those French fries.

At the counter, I was the one who gave the cashier the money from my wallet. I did not give him the size fry he was expecting, but something twice as big. Yet here he is talking about his French fries.

Not only was I the source of the French fries, he has forgotten that I at 6ft 1 and 195 lbs, have the power to take all the fries despite his little arms surrounding them as a fort. Or that if I wanted to, I could go back to the counter and bring him so many fries that he could never eat them all.

He also does not understand, “that I don’t need his French fries. I could go back to the counter and get as many fries as I wanted.”

As the Dad thought about it, one or two fries really would not have made much of a difference for him that day. What he wanted was for his son Jimmy, to invite him into the wonderful little world he had made possible for his son. He wanted his son to be willing to share the very blessing that he had provided.

When we talk about being NUTS for Christ, we have to realize that everyday God gives us the choice to live out the chance to Never underestimate the Spirit. God takes us to McDonald’s on a regular basis in our lives.

God blesses us. He blesses you and God blesses me. He’s given us all some French fries. Some have small bags, others medium, others large and some super size. Some are narrow and light in color like McDonald’s others are thick and dark like Rally’s. Some are straight and some Wendy’s are curly. But God has given us all some fries.

Like that Dad James, God desires to sit down at the table with us for some fellowship. When God reaches over to use some of the blessings he has given to us, far too often we say “No God, these are mine. No, No, No. Go and get your own.” We try building our own little forts around our blessings.

Is there anybody here this morning that understands that God is the source of all that we receive? Sure we may have went to work, but how many know you’ve got to have something within you that you didn’t put in you to have the ability to get up and go to work.

Is there anybody here today that understands, God has the ability to take away everything we think is ours and God has the ability to give us far more than what we have. There’s not a single person here today who knows how many times God has already spared their lives when death came knocking. We should never underestimate the Spirit’s power to protect us from things we did not even know about.