INTRODUCTION: This morning, we are beginning a new Sermon Series for March titled: STEWARDSHIP: Maximizing God’s Blessings for His Glory. This morning, we are going to begin with Message #1 on PRIORITIZING STEWARDSHIP IN OUR LIVES
Our keynote scripture for this series in found in 1 Corinthians 4:12 which says, Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Webster’s dictionary defines Stewardship as “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.”
Stewardship really touches all the things that God has given to us and how we use these resources. When you look at stewardship, really in the purest sense, it is dealing with trust. God entrust us with many blessings, and it is His desire that we value the things that He trust us with and that we use them in a way that we honor Him with!
Andrew Murray once said, The world asks, "What does a man own?" Christ asks, "How does he use it?"
Oswald Chambers once said, “Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself; it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others.”
I. Principles of stewardship
1 Corinthians 4:12 -Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
A. Formula
a. There are many key principles that we are going to discuss here this morning pertaining to stewardship.
b. First, we must understand the principle between ownership and steward ship.
c. This escapes many people. They feel like they own everything that their name is on.
d. The owner of everything on the earth is not Bill Gates, Elon Musk, George Soros, the Koch brothers, Jeff Bezos.
e. No, the real owner is God.
Haggai 2:8-The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.
Psalm 50:10-For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Psalm 24:1-The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof: the world, and they that dwell therein.
B. Definition of stewardship
a. In looking at the biblical definition of stewardship, Charles Bugg defines stewardship in the Holman Bible dictionary as such: Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.
b. When we look at the principle of stewardship, there are two main facets that standout.
i. Authority- This is delegated authority. In other words, it is where authority is passed from one person to another for a specific purpose.
ii. Secondly, Responsibility which really deals with having a duty to deal with something or having control over someone else. Because of this responsibility we are accountable for what we do.
C. Character
What drives us to want to be a good steward will be the character that we have within us.
b. Character speaks to the level or our personal integrity.
c. With great abilities also comes a tremendous amount of temptation and accountability.
d. In fact, the bible says in Luke 12:4-…For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
e. When God gives you a lot, He also expects a lot.
f. For some they have been given little, yet they are faithful in the little. While others may have been given a lot and are not faithful with the lot that they have been given.
g. This is an important principle to understand because we are not to compare ourselves to others.
II. STEWARDSHIP OF OUR TALENTS
A. Talents
a. So often people fall into the trap of thinking that they have nothing to offer God. Yet, God has given each and every one of us talents and abilities.
b. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:11(NKJV) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
c. The talents that we have been given, we are called to use for the glory of God. We are called to use these talents to bless others. 1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
B. Spiritual abilities
a. The bible says in Romans 12:6-8 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
b. When our talents are anointed by God, they become supernatural. God uses these gifts and talents to bless the church and to win the lost.
c. Some of these supernatural talents included in Romans are:
i. Prophecy- This is when God speaks through people to the church body.
ii. Teachers – teaches others about loving and knowing God
iii. Giver- this supernatural gift is when one desires to give money, time or self to God so that the church will proper.
C. Blessing others
a. When you and I use the talents that we have been given to bless and help others, God will in turn pour out a blessing on our lives.
b. There is a caution here and that caution is that if we withhold our talents from the Lord, we will miss out on all that God has for us!
c. Therefore use your talents for God by blessing others!
III. STEWARDSHIP OF OUR TIME
A. Our Time
a. The second element of stewardship we are looking at here this morning is time.
b. The bible says in Ephesians 5:15-17-See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
c. We are called to make wise use of our time. We are to spend our time on building the kingdom of God.
d. Your typical day may look like this: 8 hours of sleeping, 8-10 hours of work, that leaves us 6-8 hours for other activities. Some of this time will be used for eating, recreation, etc.
e. We need to make sure that we are taking some of this time for God. Even if you can take 15 minutes a day for prayer and devotions to the Lord.
B. No promises for tomorrow
a. There are no promises for tomorrow. Sometimes people act like they are going to live forever.
b. The bible says James 4:13-17-Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
c. Only God knows what will happen in the future. Therefore, we need to look to Him and include Him in our plans. It would be foolish to not consult God about His direction.
C. Make the best of it
a. In order to make the best use of our time there are several things we can do.
b. First and foremost, we need to pray and seek God’s direction.
c. Secondly, we need to align our priorities to match what God is calling us to do.
i. Whatever our priority, God should be at the top of all our lists.
ii. Spending time with God by doing a devotional, praying, and time in worship.
iii. These are all things that every born again believer should be doing every single day.
iv. Other ways we are called to spend time is with our church family, serving the Lord, with neighbors and friends, along with taking time for yourself.
d. As we close talking about time, one practical word of advice is to have a balanced in your life. When our priorities are right , when our lives are balanced, we will be a growing and thriving believer.
c. God will pour back into our lives the same measure that we give to Him. We do not give grudgingly or of necessity for God loves a cheerful give.
CONCLUSION:
As we wrap up here this morning, always remember that stewardship is such a key part of our faith. God is calling us to be good stewards of what He has given to us. We are called to use our talents, time and treasure for Him. For there will be a day that every single one of us will have to give an account.
In fact, the bible says in Revelation 20:11-14(NKJV) 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
As believers, we will not be judged because of our sin because the blood of Jesus took care of that! We will be judged for our works. Whether these works were done with the right heart! Therefore, be mindful that there will be a great reward for those that give generously while there will be a tremendous disappointment for those that give sparingly.
