Stewardship is Lordship
Proverbs 3:5-10 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones. Honor the LORD with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase: So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses shall burst out with new wine.
INTRODUCTION: Normally when we think of stewardship, we consider it merely as a matter of our giving of money to God through the church. While the giving of tithes and offerings is an important aspect of stewardship, it is secondary. Pastor Bob Groves says, “Stewardship is the way I handle those things in my life that God has given me…The Management of my God-given resources for His glory & for the good of others…” Stewardship is a reflection of my relationship to my God and my Savior. As I observe the truths contained in Proverbs 3, I see a pattern for stewardship that asserts loudly and clearly “Stewardship is Lordship!”
I. MY HEART – HIS HEART (Trust in the LORD with all your heart)
A. At the heart of every true act of stewardship, every work of ministry, every acceptable act of worship is the heart, a heart close to God.
B. John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him’."
C. A French soldier who had served ably in Napoleon’s army lay dying of a wound received in battle. As they probed his shattered ribs to find the fatal bullet he said, "Dig a little deeper and you will find the emperor." If we dug deeply enough, would we find Christ in our hearts? That’s a question we all must ask ourselves. - Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
D. As Sir Walter Raleigh was about to be executed, he was asked which way he preferred to lay his head on the block. He replied, "So the heart be right, it is no matter which way the head lies." [Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).]
E. Proverbs 23:26 "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways."
F. In the musical Les Miserables the song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” there is a stanza that says, “When the beating of your heart, Echoes the beating of the drums – There is a life about to start”. May I say that when the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of Christ’s heart – There is a life of credible stewardship about to start.”
II. MY MIND – HIS MIND (lean not unto your own understanding)
A. Oswald Chambers (1874-19170, “Christian thinking is a rare and difficult thing; so many seem unaware that the first great commandment according to our Lord is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God . . . with all thy mind."
B. Proverbs 23:7 "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."
C. 2 Corinthians 10:5 "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
D. Stewardship involves allowing God to work in us. Tozer said, “To do his gracious work God must have the intelligent cooperation of his people. If we would think God’s thoughts, we must learn to think continually of God.”
E. I Corinthians 2:16 "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
F. Philippians 2:5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"
G. Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
III. MY WAYS – HIS WAYS (In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.)
A. Way – path or direction. Is the direction of your life consistent with the direction that God wants for your life?
B. Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."
C. God instructed King David as recorded in 1 Kings 2:4 "That …if David’s children would take heed to their way; to walk before God in truth with all their heart and with all their soul; he not fail have one of his descendants perpetually on the throne of Israel." (Paraphrased)
D. Psalms 128:1 "A Song of degrees. Blessed is every one that fears the LORD; that walks in his ways.”
E. There is peace, prosperity, and safety in being in the center of God’s will and walking in His ways.
F. David Livingstone told how he was chased up a small tree and besieged by lions. He said the tree was so small that he was barely out of reach of the lions. He said they would stand on their back feet and roar and shake the little tree, and that he could feel the hot breath of the lions as they sought him. "But," he stated, "I had a good night and felt happier and safer in that little tree besieged by lions, in the jungles of Africa, in the will of God, than I would have been out of the will of God in England." There is one safe and happy place, and that is in the will of God. [William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."]
G. Haggai 1:5-7 "Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink. Ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes.’ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways.’"
H. Proverbs 16:7 "When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
IV. MY CLEANLINESS – HIS CLEANLINESS (Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.)
A. Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
B. Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
C. Purity in the heart produces power in the life – power to properly live for and serve God.
D. 2 Timothy 2:19-21 "Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his. And, Let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. [20] But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. [21] If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work."
E. God uses clean vessels.
F. The essence of true holiness is conformity to the nature and will of God. – Samuel Lucas (1818-1868)
V. MY POSSESSIONS – HIS POSSESSIONS (Honor the LORD with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase)
A. Adolphe Monod (1800-1856) “There is no portion of our time that is our time, and the rest God’s; there is no portion of money that is our money, and the rest God’s money. It is all his; he made it all, gives it all, and he has simply trusted it to us for his service. A servant has two purses, the master’s and his own, but we have only one.”
B. We are to use everything as if it belongs to God. The truth is it does! You and I are merely his stewards.
C. As John Wesley said, “When the Possessor of heaven and earth brought you into being and placed you in this world, He placed you here not as an owner but as a steward. As such He entrusted you for a season with goods of various kinds--but the sole property of these still rests in Him, nor can ever be alienated from Him. As you are not your own but His, such is likewise all you enjoy.”
D. Malachi 3:7-10 "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? [8] Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. [9] Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. [10] Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
E. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."
F. “A handful of people went on a mission trip to Eastern Europe. Upon returning, they said that they were really impressed with the dedication of the Christians in Eastern Europe. Christians there don’t have very much, but they believe they should tithe. They think that’s God’s standard. But the government of the country they were in is repressive, and they are allowed to give only 2.5 percent of their income to charitable organizations. They’re trying to minimize the opportunity for any anti-government organization. So the Christians in that country are searching for loopholes in the law, so that they’ll be able to give 10 percent. These believers have less, and they’re looking for a way to give 10 percent. We have more, and we’re free to give as we please. In fact, we get a tax break by doing so, and we’re looking for loopholes in the Scripture to avoid doing it. What an indictment.” – adapted from Bob Russell, "Take the Risk,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 143.
G. Some get upset when pastors talk about money. Jesus talked much about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, an amazing one out of ten verses (288 in all) deals directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.
H. Luke 12:34 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
I. Some say, dedicate the heart and the money will follow; but our Lord put it the other way around. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." If your treasure is dedicated, your heart will be dedicated. If your treasure is not, your heart simply is not. It is as plain as that.
CONCLUSION: 1 Corinthians 4:2 declares, "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." Every one of us will give an accounting to Christ for our stewardship of those things, which He has entrusted to us. If your heart his heart? Is your mind His mind? Are your ways His way? Is your cleanliness His cleanliness? Are your possessions His possessions? On that accounting day will Christ say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:23)
