Sermon Brief
Date Written: June 1, 2013
Date Preached: June 2, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Series on Stewardship
Sermon Title: Just what IS True Biblical Stewardship?
Sermon Text: Colossians 1:9-14 [HCSB]
Introduction:
What is true biblical stewardship? When you hear the word ‘stewardship’ what thought jumps into your mind? What do you THINK about when you hear it?
We can see some views of this word in the world around us… when it comes to Biblical Stewardship!
World’s View: Stewardship is the church trying to butt into MY business and MY life!
Cynical View: Stewardship is just a ‘code word’ the preacher uses to try to get more of MY money!
Typical Church Mbr View: Stewardship!? Oh, brother, here we go again, the preacher is going to try to make me feel guilty about MY money!
What is the Biblical view of stewardship? Well, in a general sense, Stewardship from the perspective of the Bible is: mnging resources God gives for His kingdom!
Resources is an important term in this broad definition of true biblical stewardship! But pastor, when you say ‘resources’ what you REALLY mean is money, right?
Well the fact of the matter is that while the term ‘resources’ does INCLUDE money, it is only a fraction of the meaning of true stewardship!
When I talk about the resources God gives us and how we should use them for HIS Kingdom… it means for us to take our Time, Talent and Treasure and glorify God by spreading His word and glorifying His name!
Stewardship is NOT just about money, but true biblical stewardship encompasses the ENTIRE life of the believer… there is NOT one part of a believer’s life that is NOT a resource that God has provided…
For us to believe that biblical stewardship is only about money is a severely limited vision of God and what our focus must be in God’s Kingdom!
You see true biblical stewardship has a foundation that UNLESS your life is built on this foundation, you will NEVER be able to become the true steward you are called to become in Christ!
However, before we explore the foundation of biblical stewardship, let’s look at the foundation of a TRUE believer. That foundation is FIRST and foremost Jesus Christ! ALL believers begin with Jesus!
You simply cannot become a ‘godly’ steward unless you have a foundation in Christ Jesus – You MUST know Christ as Lord and Savior before you can be a true biblical steward of His resources!
Now the foundation for True Biblical Stewardship is very simple, yet very profound! It actually goes counter to what humans believe AND it is counter to what our society believes and teaches in America!
In America…we want to believe that we EARN and OWN what we work for! That is the American way…work hard and you can have a piece of the American dream!
But the foundation for True Biblical Stewardship is found in this simple phrase: “God owns it all!”
But preacher, God doesn’t work at my job and do what I do… God does not get up and go to work and work hard like I do… God has nothing to do with my dedication and hard work for my family!
Well let’s look at that statement and evaluate it at its most basic level… Let’s look at it from God’s perspective!
First of all God is the Creator of the universe! There is NOTHING that exists in this universe that God has NOT created! The creator OWNS what He creates!
Second, God is the Caretaker of this universe! He is provider of all that is needed for the universe to function and for life to exist!
He provides a viable, life sustaining planet, air that is breathable and self sustaining within His creation! God actually breathes LIFE into all things he has created, plants, animals and humans!
Third, God is CONSISTENT in His provision of life and life giving resources. God created this universe, this world and all that is in it, and His design for creation still holds to this day!
Our sun provides the light we need…
Our planet is placed exactly where it needs to be in our solar system…
Our planet has an atmosphere the produces breathable oxygen…
The light of the sun and the oxygen of our atmosphere are the basic building blocks for life on our planet…
God is the provider of ALL this… He provides what is needed for life and the sustaining of that life! Without God there is NO life!
And my point here is that God consistently provides what is needed for life to exist… every second of every day! The apostle Paul expressed this very clearly in his letter to the church in Colossae when he was describing Jesus!
In Col 1:15-17 tells us:
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Paul tells us here that in Him (Christ) all things were created by Him and For Him and that Christ HOLDS all things together – in other words, Jesus consistently provides the elements of life that are needed, day in and day out… these things don’t JUST HAPPEN but God is our provider for ALL things! Without God… Without Jesus… all of this falls apart!
Let me tell you this… the word MOCKS Christians for their belief in Creation by God! They mock and ridicule Scripture because they say they have science on their side! They want us to believe that ALL of creation simply ‘happened’ and that ALL of creation simply continues to ‘happen’ on its own!
There are many within the church, sitting in the pews, claiming Jesus as their Savior who actually believe in what the world says about how the world began… they do NOT believe in the biblical account of Creation!
Now this is NOT a sermon on creationism and the creation story BUT let us suffice it to say that as a believer I see FAR too many things that science cannot answer or simply ignores in order to validate their position on how this universe came into existence.
But let me ask you this today…
If you profess Jesus as your SAVIOR…
If you believe He can forgive sin and give salvation…
If you believe God is Sovereign and Supreme over all things…
If you believe God can do all things… and that there is NOTHING out of His ability…
THEN HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT THE WORLD SAYS? How can you doubt His creative power?
As a believer, we MUST confess and believe that God created this universe and all things in this universe!
As a believer, we MUST confess and believe that God is the provider of ALL that is needed for life within this universe!
As a believer, we MUST confess and believe that God consistently holds all things together to support and continue life within this universe!
God IS creator of ALL things – of LIFE itself and because God is Creator – I want to go back to my basic premise and foundational belief for True Biblical Stewardship and that is – God OWNS IT ALL!
SO, believer, when you hear the word Stewardship, please don’t cheapen and denigrate it by saying that it is only about the money! Because True Biblical Stewardship is about GOD and what He has done and what He wants done! True Biblical stewardship is about using His resources for His glory!
Again, what are God’s resources? They are EVERYTHING because God created it all and God owns it all!
Now when we look at what Paul tells us in Colossians 1 we can see a real picture of True biblical stewardship! Turn with me to Col 1:9-14 and lets look at what Paul is saying…
9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
…10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
True biblical stewardship IS living out our lives by this verse! It is walking in a manner worthy of the Lord!
Stewardship is NOT just about managing resources, but stewardship is its broadest sense is a reflection of how we live our lives FOR Christ!
A life of TRUE Stewardship is going to be a life that reflects glory upon Christ and honors Christ in that life! In other words… a life that is worthy of Him!
In and of ourselves, we cannot live a life that is worthy of our Lord, but if we submit to Him and seek His plan and purpose, and are obedient to His calling… we WILL be living out our lives in proper stewardship of the resources He provides!
Here Paul is sharing his desire for the Colossian church that their lives would reflect glory upon Christ… they their life would HONOR Christ in all they do… AND that is EXACTLY what a life of True Biblical Stewardship will look like… a life honoring God!
But we can also see that true biblical stewardship IS living a life that is pleasing to Christ! If we are living a life seeking and pursuing the plan and purpose of God, we will be pleasing to God in our life!
A life seeking His will is a life that glorifies God and lifts Him up to the world around us… and that is a life that pleases Him!
When we seek to live a life that honors God and seeks to please Him in all we do… it is going to be a life that will also produce and bears fruit for the Kingdom…
A life of True Biblical stewardship is going to be a life that produces for the kingdom… it will NOT be a life spent wasted sitting in a pew or watching from the sidelines, but a life seeking to BE what God wants you to be…
When we submit to the plan and purpose of God and we devote ourselves to living a life of true biblical stewardship are going to be living a life that WILL produce good works reflecting our service to God…
A good steward uses the resources of his or her master to get the job done… Our job is to glorify God and make disciples of all nations!
When we step out of our selfish desires and submit to a life of TRUE BIBLICAL STEWARDSHIP, we will produce works that are pleasing to God and beneficial to His kingdom!
Finally in this verse we can see that seeking to live a life of true biblical stewardship means that we are actively and intentionally seeking to grow and mature in our walk with Christ…
The more intimate we are in Christ, the better steward we will become! The better steward we become, the more we can do for the kingdom… the more God can use us for His glory and for the growth of His kingdom!
But preacher all of this sounds great… how can we do this? How can we commit ourselves to be the true biblical steward we are called to be?
1st I can tell you that you cannot do it on your own, but Paul tells us in v11 that we must rely on God to empower us in our mission for Him!
11May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Our journey toward effective and true stewardship in the eyes of God is a journey that cannot be made under our own strength.
We cannot WILL ourselves to BE the stewards God desires for us… in other words being a godly steward is much MORE than simply wanting to obey God! Being a true biblical steward is all about relying on God to empower us to be what he desires us to be…
We rely on God to open the doors of opportunity and to help us with intentional focus on Him so that we can use the TIME we have in this world to glorify Him and minister to a world that needs a Savior! We rely upon Gods power and strength to guide us and empower us in our journey of faith.
We cannot do it on our own, but according to Paul we CAN do it through the power of God… we can do it with great thanksgiving for God’s provision of patience and joy in serving Him!
We need patience because there are so many times when we RUN ahead of God and miss out on God’s timing…
We need endurance because there are many times when we feel the hours are TOO long, the work is TOO hard and the reward is TOO small!
We need to be thankful because there are so many things to thank God about… I have mentioned but a few here this morning! Our very existence is because of God!
We also must be thankful because God has opened the doors of heaven for us to step through and become part of His kingdom… AND part of His family!
We cannot DO this on our own but MUST rely on His strength to empower our hearts and focus our Spirit!
But we can also see that in this passage Paul gives us God’s credentials to be followed… to be obeyed! He tells us that…
13He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Because of Christ, we are called into the Kingdom so that we can be stewards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that as stewards of that Gospel, we can seek to be like Him because He has delivered us from the darkness of this world and sin… God has freed us from its bondage and we are redeemed in Him!
So as we begin our journey into True Biblical Stewardship I want us ALL to lay aside that belief that Stewardship is simply about what many consider to be THEIR money!
Lay aside the belief that you own ANYTHING, it all belongs to God… and is at your disposal to use for His kingdom and His glory!
How can you BECOME the steward you are called to be? First you can become more sensitive to God’s holy spirit in your life! But to do that you must surrender your own life to Him!
This morning if you are here and do NOT know Jesus as your Savior, I call on you to step out and come down and confess your sin to Jesus… He is gracious and loving to forgive you of your sin and cleanse you of any unrighteous behavior or thoughts!
No matter what you have done… No matter what you have said… No matter where your life is NOW… God can and will work in your life and save you! Do you want Him to save you this morning? I call on you to step out…and come to this altar this morning!
