I Will Be A Good Steward
Introduction:
Apart from our Lord, it is hard to think of historical figures whose dying words were, "It is accomplished!" Alexander the Great conquered Persia, but broke down and wept because his troops were too exhausted to push on to India. Hugo Grotius, the father of modern international law, said at the last, "I have accomplished nothing worthwhile in my life." John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States-not a Lincoln, perhaps, but a decent leader-wrote in his diary: "My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations, and in ceaseless rejected prayers that something would be the result of my existence beneficial to my species." Robert Louis Stevenson wrote words that continue to delight and enrich our lives, and yet what did he pen for his epitaph? "Here lies one who meant well, who tried a little, and failed much." Cecil Rhodes opened up Africa and established an empire, but what were his dying words? "So little done, so much to do."
It is important for us to be good stewards of things. A steward can be defined simply as someone who manages something. In our society a steward may be someone you find on an airplane, but in the Bible it is so much more. We as God’s creation have been entrusted with the things of God. Every Christian is a steward. This is difficult for us to at times accept, but understanding it makes us realize some important things. We do not like to see ourselves as the stewards of things, but rather as the owner of things. If we are stewards than it is not ours, but we are simply managing it for someone else, namely for God. This certainly may change the way we spend our time and money, and it certainly should change the way we treat His Church and our bodies of which we are also stewards. Stewardship is a matter not just of giving, but rather is a matter of Christian living.
One reason why people today are not the best stewards of things that they could be is because of selfishness and greed. We live in a society consumed with the worship of self. People love the idea of getting more for them. It is important for us to note that everything belongs to God, not just ten percent. Therefore if everything belongs to God, and we understand that, it becomes less difficult to be better stewards of things and to be wiser with the things entrusted to us. I want to ask you this morning, what are you doing with God’s resources? Are you using them to advance the kingdom or are you squandering them? What areas in your life can you improve in being a better steward? Perhaps in the way you handle money, or the way you utilize your time, perhaps in your using of your talents and abilities or the way you treat your own body. In all these things we are stewards and we need to do the best we can.
Text: I Peter 4:7-11
I. The Position of A Steward
Perhaps people today have such a hard time with good stewardship because of the fact that we often fail to accept or maybe realize what our position is as stewards and what all that implies.
A. As Stewards We Are Slaves
The most important truth that we can learn when we discuss stewardship is that we certainly are not our own. It is not very fashionable for us to think of ourselves as slaves, we prefer the term servant. It sounds much softer and nicer to us. In our language servants can earn money and are able to negotiate their working conditions, but a slave could not. Perhaps the problem is that many of us are unwilling to relinquish total control to Jesus in everything.
I Corinthians 6:19-20
On several occasions Paul spoke about the willing slavery in which we enter into as Christians. He spoke of being freed from sin and enslaved to God. He referred to himself and others as bondservants. We have not been made slaves in order to be demeaned or belittled, but rather because he has entrusted us with some amazing responsibilities. However, if we are slaves that means in regards to some things we do not have a choice, a say, or a right to an opinion. For example, we do not have a right to determine what is right and wrong and how we will live our lives, but rather we must conform to what God has said.
There is one thing unique about our slavery to God and that is we willing submit ourselves to become slaves of God.
Exodus 21:1-6
Many people look at things as though they have the right and freedom to do whatever they want, but that simply shows a person who is not submissive to Christ. We as Christians must understand that we are not our own, that we are slaves to Christ and that means that as we live as stewards of the things he has entrusted to us we remember that truth. You see, many stewardship problems are actually priority or spiritual problems. We must learn to see the Lord and His work as a priority, and if we see it as a priority and if we see ourselves as not our own, then using God’s things for His purposes does not mean we are loosing time, energy, money, or resources, we are just using God’s resources where he wants them used. If you see it all as “mine, mine, mine” then it may be hard to let go of that which is not yours in the first place. Perhaps many people’s problems is that they have failed to submit to Christ.
B. As Stewards We Are Managers
The second most important thing we can learn this morning about stewardship is that nothing we have belongs to us, but it all belongs to the Lord. A steward in Bible times did not own anything, and what they managed belong totally to someone else.
Psalm 24:1
That fact explains why Job could say, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away” after loosing all his possessions. The reason he could say that is because he understood that none of it was his in the first place so he didn’t have the right to complain when he lost it. He understood that as a steward his identity and self-worth were not in his possessions. He understood that everything was the Lord’s to start with and that he was just a steward of them. He took the best care of that which he had when he had it, but he knew he did not have the right to complain when God wanted it back because it was God’s to start with.
Therefore, there is nothing, which really belongs to me. I know we speak often times of having possessions, having our talents and time, etc, they really though are not ours, God has placed them in our care though.
Since we are slaves to Christ and stewards of the things of God, we are also managers of the things that he has entrusted to us. We are called to manage those things, which God has entrusted into our care. You may remember the parable that Jesus told of the talents in Matthew 25. The story was of a landowner who went away for a certain time and entrusted three different servants with three different amounts of money. The first two were good stewards of their master’s money, they made a profit. The third, however, was not a good steward of the money that was entrusted to him. We cannot buy or earn our way into Heaven, but it is true that we can gauge our stewardship and that will tell us something about where our heart is.
Matthew 6:21
II. The Traits of A Steward
A steward must display certain character traits in order to be a good steward of the things of God. How good of a steward are you? Could a person looking at you from the outside be able to tell that you put spiritual matters first in your life? How does the time you spend in Bible study and prayer contrast to your time watching T.V.? Perhaps you are not being the best steward of your time and of your spiritual self. Are you as diligent and dependable in your work in the church as you may be to work and other organizations? Perhaps you are not being the best steward of your talents and abilities? How does your giving to the Lord’s work compare with the amount you spend on leisurely activities for yourself and other wants you may have? Perhaps you are not being the best steward of the Lord’s money. If you were to be put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? If someone looked at your schedule would they know that God and His Church were an important part of your life? What traits are you showing to identify that you are a good steward? In the Roman world in which the Apostles lived slaved were valuable, but even more valuable if they had stewardship skills, if they had the traits to be a good steward.
A. A Steward Must Be Responsible
I Corinthians 4:1-2
Perhaps one of the problems that we see in the world in which we live in is first of all is people see themselves as owners and not stewards. Second of all many Christians do not take seriously the responsibility they have been entrusted with as stewards. Whenever a person realizes their responsibility in something usually they will do better with it. We have a great responsibility to rightly and wisely handle certain things, and many times it is a matter of eternity. Are you showing a sense of responsibility in using the things of God?
B. A Steward Must Be Accountable
Many people in this world do the things they do because they are accountable to no one. Kids will act the way they do often times because they do not have parents they are accountable to. However, when people are held accountable for their actions it makes a difference in the way people act. Stewards of things during Bible times were always accountable to their masters. They were given a lot of freedom, responsibility and trust, but ultimately they had to give an account of their stewardship to the master who owned that which they were entrusted with.
Matthew 25:19-27
Ultimately this parable teaches that those who have been entrusted with something are accountable to someone. That someone is the Lord. I get the picture in this parable that the third servant who was a bad steward of his master’s money saw the master’s return and the time of his giving an account as such a distant thing that he did not worry too much about it. I sense he was a procrastinator who always thought that someday he would get around to being a better steward. That time never came. The master returned and settled accounts with the three servants. The first two did not mind giving an account because they did a good job, but the third had to dread that time of accountability. We must give an account for things entrusted to our care; for example, look what Hebrews say regarding those entrusted with the responsibilities of a leader.
Hebrews 13:17
Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but one day we will all stand before the master and he will settle accounts with us. We will be accountable to him for what we have done with His money, His church, the talents and abilities he has given us, the time he has allotted us, the bodies he has granted us, and the responsibilities He has entrusted to our care. I hope that today you realize that you are accountable for those things to someone. Knowing that fact motivates me to want to do the best I can to please my master. It motivates me to want to work hard and be wise in my use of God’s things for I know I must give an account.
C. A Steward Must Display Wisdom and Discretion
I believe it is clear that a person choose, as a steward of something must show wisdom and discretion in their use of what was entrusted to their care. So many times people are flippant with God’s resources. This is especially thought of with people’s use of money. We live in a nation of people who fail to use wisdom and discretion with their financial resources and therefore are bad stewards of God’s resources. With whatever it is we must be wise to be the best stewards we can be and use those things in our care to strengthen and up build the Kingdom.
D. A Steward Must Display Generosity
The Bible as a whole teaches us to be focused not upon ourselves, but outwardly upon others. In stewardship of God’s resources it is important for us to remember that we must display generosity.
III. The Rewards of A Steward
A. Greater Responsibility
The Bible teaches that in order for more responsibility in the kingdom to be entrusted to us we first must prove faithful with what we have been given. Now, this should not be our soul motivation in being good stewards, but the reality is if you for example prove to be a good steward of your one ability and talent God has given you he will likely help you to develop more.
Matthew 25:28-30
B. Heavenly Rewards
Ephesians 3:2
