Whole Life Stewardship
2/12/17
Colossians 3:17
INTRODUCTION
Many of us, when we hear the word stewardship, instantly become uncomfortable. We hide that discomfort behind joke and cartoons. Here are couple.
Our discomfort and our assumption that a sermon on stewardship is sermon on tithing could prevent us from talking about another value the we truly hope becomes a part of your life at the cmaChurch --whole life stewardship--a wrestling with what it means that Jesus is lord of all.
In June, of 2012 U2 frontman Bono made ripples across evangelical America with an interview with Focus on the Family's Jim Daly. In the interview Bono affirmed his Christian faith, reciting a stream of biblical quotes along with his own commentary and applications to daily life. At one point he clearly stated, "I believe that Jesus was the Son of God."
In the midst of his this interview he also championed a few global causes, including the idea that world hunger could be eliminated now, Aids could be stopped in Africa and that the tide could be turned on poverty.
Bono affirmed this God Scale of the vision and stated: You're absolutely right; it's a much grander vision. ... We have a pastor who said to us, "Stop asking God to bless what you're doing, Bono." ... He said, "Find out what God is doing, 'cause it's already blessed." ... When you align yourself with God's purpose as described in the Scriptures, something special happens to your life.
I submit that Bono's journey with Jesus has opened the door to his embracing whole life stewardship.
Anne Rathbone Bradley, PhD is Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, refers to this as "our call to greatness."
T.S. In on one of his practical exhortations to the Churches in Colossae, a city in Asia Minor, Paul concludes his charge with summary charge.
Listen to the entire exhortation.
Col 3:12-17
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
ESV
Jesus had done a similar thing for his disciples. At the end of a lengthy exhortation, he summed everything up in a simple summary charge.
Matt 6:25-33
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
ESV
IN A WORLD OF SELF-INDULGENCE, SELF-GRATIFICATION, SELF-ACTUALIZATION, WE VALUE LIFE STYLES REFLECTING WHOLE LIFE STEWARDSHIP ACTIVELY ADVANCING THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
I. Whole Life Stewardship is both a mandate and a privilege.
give (someone) authority to act in a certain way.
A. It was born in the garden, before the fall of man.
Gen 1:28-31
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
ESV
We can get this wrong, it is not a statement about birth control, procreation and family sizes but childbearing is a part of the blessing of God.
This is not a command about safe guarding the earth, hugging trees and recycling, but a part of the mandate caretaking.
B. There is a cultural mandate to live as a blessing, to live as stewards over all.
II. Understanding Work and Purpose
A. We live out a cultural mandate through our work.
Because of the garden and the fall there exists a cultural mandate about work.
Ephesians 4:28 (ESV)
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Which includes for-profit work, nonprofit work, and work inside the home. Work is a pre-fall ordinance, and as such is not a curse but rather a gift. Work is not to be viewed with dread but with joy. Each person has a unique opportunity to contribute to the cultural mandate that no one else has ever had because every single individual has something unique to offer that only he or she can give. It is because we are created in the image of God that we are distinct and unique.
We are created to use our God-given creativity to leave more than what we were born into. We do this by recognizing our unique gifts, skills, and talents. We fulfill His purpose through Whole life stewardship.
B. Work is what we do and stewardship is how we do it in fulfilling His purpose.
Through our talents and gifts, we come into role in His purpose.
Our lives have a role in kingdom-building work that does not just occur in the halls of the church on Sunday morning, but rather in all aspects of our lives and our work.
We are a Christ Centered Acts 1:8 family, filled with the spirit to be his witnesses in our city, region, and around the world. Every adherent actively advancing the Kingdom.
III. The paradigm shift to whole Life Stewardship
A. Whole life Stewardship refers to all of our decision-making.
How we choose to use our time, our talents, and our energies. It's where we draw the boundaries on our commitments. It is reflected in all of our choices, from the mundane to the monumental.
Stewardship is not just about whether we tithe, or how we manage our personal finances or how we preserve fossil fuels. These are important aspects of stewardship, but whole-life stewardship is so much more. It concerns every decision that a person makes, and it requires intentionality and effectiveness.
Time is the most precious of our scarce resources. No matter how much material wealth one has, he or she only has twenty-four hours per day, and no one knows how many days he or she has on this earth.
Stewardship includes decisions over:
o How we distribute our wealth.
o What college to choose.
o What job to take.
o What activities to volunteer for.
o What to purchase on Amazon.com.
o How to spend our free time.
B. Whole Life Stewardship was tainted by the fall.
So stewardship must be learned as a discipline.
Gen 3:16-19
16 To the woman he said,
"I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you."
17 And to Adam he said,
"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,
'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return."
ESV
The fall of man introduced scarcity into the world, and as a result, people are confronted with constant trade-offs. Scarcity implies that every choice we make involves a cost. Nothing is free.
We must be intentional, prudent, and urgent. We have the pure pleasure of using our uniqueness to advance His kingdom. It is a blessing and privilege.
IV. Your Stewardship Impacts the World
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
When we seek first his Kingdom, doing whatever we do as if we were doing directly for the Lord. WE SHOULD IMPACT THE WORLD.
When we embrace the notion of whole-life stewardship, we are freed from merely surviving. Instead, we can thrive, we bring our gifts, talents wealth to bear bringing glimpses of hope to a dark world.
Here is a small example of how different life is in the developing world versus in the developed world. In any number of developing countries, women wake in the morning with children in tow. They gather baskets and walk to the nearest stream or river which is often far away. They fill their baskets with dirty water, wash their clothes in the river, and bathe themselves and their children before they walk back to their village. One leg of this trip is often several miles in back-breaking heat. This is a daily routine. They will get up again to do it all over tomorrow.
These women, just like you and I, were created in the image of God, and just like you and I, they have inherent dignity. We have such abundance compared to the women in this situation. Most people reading this probably do not even have to think about where and how to collect and purify water. They can just purchase it from people who specialize in doing that.
You live in this world. What does stewardship require?
We believe that god so loved the world, not North America, that he sent his son to close the gap to pay the debt that separated humanity from God, a free gift of grace that restores us to a right relationship. Today Muslim men and women will try harder to yearn their way to heaven. In parts of Asia, ancestors who died in darkness will worshiped. Internal peace will be sought without the hope of eternal life, on the sub-continent of India children will stave while cattle are revered and worshiped.
You live in this world. What does Stewardship require?
Whole Life Stewardship advances the redemptive restorative work of God.
Whether you are a plumber or a professor, a programmer or a pastor, you work for the King.
By definition, your work has intrinsic value because only you can do it. It has eternal significance in that you are contributing toward the advancing of his kingdom.
IN A WORLD OF SELF-INDULGENCE, SELF-GRATIFICATION, SELF-ACTUALIZATION, WE VALUE LIFE STYLES REFLECTING WHOLE LIFE STEWARDSHIP ACTIVELY ADVANCING THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
CHALLENGE
Wealth -- Is your wealth, great or small regularly being invested in advancing his kingdom, here, in our region around the world. What is the holy spirit saying about that. How is he calling you to respond?
Talents -- are your gifts at work in the world and in advancing his kingdom. How will you use your degree, your talents, your knowledge, your experience? How are you choosing to advance his kingdom?
Time -- Is this great resource surrendered to him. Or have you adopted the idea that It's not my time, I'm in school, it's not my time I've got a young family? It's not my time, I'm retiring?
We are the cmaChurch and we understand, our time talents and wealth are his, so we embrace whole life stewardship.
