Stewardship: The Missing Piece of Successful Living (3 of 4)
"If God Owns It All, What Am I Doing With It?"
January 19, 2003 FBC, Chester, Illinois Mike Fogerson, Speaker
(Originally preached by Dr. John C. Maxwell)
Introduction:
A We continue our theme of Stewardship we’ve been looking at this month.
a Two weeks ago we looked at the benefits of stewardship.
(Went through the entire bible and discovered that God wants us to be rivers, not reservoirs.)
b Last week we looked at Poverty vs. Prosperity theology and discovered that Stewardship is right in the middle. Takes the promises of the both views where we become MANAGERS of what God has given us. (Never owners!) With the job of manager comes great responsibility.
B Responsibility on crossword puzzle.
a Daniel Webster quote, "The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God."
*When Webster said this he was the Top statesman in America. At a banquet in his honor, attended by foreign heads of state, the top people in our government and he was asked what was his greatest responsibility. After he said it was his responsibility to God, he was so emotional he had to leave the room. When we returned he spoke for 30 minutes on his responsibility to God.
b This morning we are looking at RESPONSIBILITY, "If God Owns It All, What Am I Doing With It?"
*Many of us have never gotten to the point of know that God owns it all. We may know it, but we never embrace it.
*Palm Springs not long ago, a t.v. crew went up to a house and knocked on the door and asked the people if they could film a scene of a television show in their front yard. Agreed. The only problem was, the occupants of the house were renters...when the owner of the house saw the tire truck marks in the yard, trash..he was furious. How dare his renters assume the rights of the owner. We many of us do that with God. We are managers of what God owns and God owns all of it.
c If you made $400 last week, how much does of that is God’s? ($400)
*Some of you are doing the math and said "40." I haven’t done my job as pastor in teaching the principles of stewardship. You see, it all belongs to God.
C Today we’ll be looking at a text that I’ve preached from dozens of times in my ministry. (Master/Steward/talents..Biblical Principles of Money Management)
Let’s look at these principles....
1 God owns it all. (Everything is His, he has asked me to manage it. RESPONSIBLE)
Text: READ MATTHEW 25:14-19
There are two implications in this text:
(1) God has a right to do whatever He wants with the possessions He has given me.
(Job said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Lord.")
a Everything in my life is God’s and he can do what ever He wants with.
b The owner has the right, the "Steward" has all the responsibility.
c We read the Master gave one steward 5, another 2 and another 1 and think, that’s not fair. The talents belonged to the Master and he had every right to do with the talents what he wanted!
*The master had the rights, the stewards were responsible for handling the talents faithfully.
d In vv:19 we see the Master coming back and wants to know what the servants did with His talents. (God’s right is to know what were doing with what he’s given us.)
*IL. Some of us are like Dennis The Menace. He’s leaving church with his parents, shakes hands with the preacher and asks "Preacher, what are you going to do with that dollar my dad gave you?"
e Stewardship is the use of God given resources for the accomplishment of God given goals.
f When we make this leap (seeing God as owner of everything) we will see financial woes/difficulties differently. (Lose job, setback...God you’ve got a problem.)
*If we think we own the possessions God has given us, we don’t have it!
*My name is on the title of my Jeep as OWNER. But I don’t really own that Jeep. *My family, checking account,...all his.
(2) Every spending decision is a spiritual decision.
a Not only what we give to the Lord, but what we do with the rest of our money.
Ron Blue says: "You can’t fake stewardship. Your checkbook reveals all that you really believe about stewardship. A life story could be written from a checkbook. It reflects your goals, priorities, convictions, relationship, and even the use of your time. A person who has been a Christian for even a short while can fake prayer, Bible study, evangelism, going to church and so on, but he can’t fake what his checkbook reveals." *THAT’S WHY SO MANY OF US ARE SECRETIVE ABOUT OUR PERSONAL FINANCES.
*(IL.) Last year Enron/World Com were reporting huge profits, but they really weren’t. When the government prosecutors began investigating these companies, did they investigate the claims that the CEO’s made? No. They followed the "Money Trail." The "Money Trail" told about their intent, motive, deception, improprieties.
*Easy for us to sing "I Surrender All" and "Surrender very little"
*Jesus follows the "Money Trail". Rich Young Ruler. Said all the right things, Jesus said give all your possessions away. (MONEY TRAIL)
*Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." He’s still following the money trail.
Principle #2: God uses money and possessions to prepare us for His coming kingdom.
(How well we manage/view the possessions/money God has given us here determines what we’ll receive in heaven. If we hoard/fence in/grip/stingy/reservoir with stuff here, don’t expect a lot of things in heaven.)
a Read Matt. 25:20-21
*5 talents= You’ve been faithful/trustworthy/responsible with what I gave you there...as you enter my presence I’ll give you more than you had there...steward!
*2 talents= You’ve been faithful/trustworthy/responsible with what I gave you there...as you enter my presence I’ll give you more than you had there...steward!
b Money and possessions are a very effective TOOL that God uses in our lives.
(Teaches us, process us, grows us.) When we loss a job, financial set back, God uses.
A mature Christian-"God what do you want me to learn?"
A immature Christian-"God, what are you doing to me?"
c He uses money and possessions as a very effective TEST that God uses in our lives.
Test? Yes, a test. To see if He can trust with more.
*In the passage, the two stewards who were responsible got more than the one steward who hoarded got less
*How we handle our blessings HERE determines our rewards THERE.
*A rich man goes to heaven, St. Peter walks him to his heavenly house. Passes a huge mansion (his gardeners), walk on a little a farther to another huge mansion (missionary he grew up with), walk around a corner saw a little 6x8 shack, a few boards stacked up against each other. Why? Did my gardener/missionary get mansions and got this shack? St. Peter replied, "We did the best we could with what you sent us."
d Money and possessions are a very effective TESTIMONY that God uses in our lives.
*The testimony/distinction of a Christian ISN’T if they are the riches/poorest person on their block. (Maybe the richest/poorest) Not about poverty or prosperity, but how they view their possessions.)
*Too many people live for the world that is passing instead of the world that is permanent.
Principle #3: The Amount Is Not Important.
*God is just as concerned about the attitude of the believer making $12,000 a year as he is the attitude of the believer making $120,000 a year.
a (vv:21) 5 talents (vv:23) 2 talents =Well done, good and faithful servant.
*God didn’t care about the amount. He did care about the attitude.
b I run into people all the time who say "I can’t tithe. I don’t have enough. God doesn’t expect me to tithe." They don’t get it. Amount they have isn’t important. It’s the faithfulness with the amount they have.
c If your faithful with what you have (may be little), God will reward you on how you managed what it. $12 a week or $12,000 a week.
d Of the 3 stewards only one wasn’t told "good job." The one who took what he had and kept it, held it, didn’t pass it on. (It was the servant who wasn’t faithful with the small amount that God had given him.)
*Some of us believe because we don’t have much that God doesn’t expect us to tithe and put Him first in various areas. You can’t leave here with that thought! The servant that got banished ONLY had one talent. If you make $200 a week or $20,000 a week, God wants you to be responsible for it.
T.S.: These aren’t comforting words. No warm and fuzzes. (Convicting) Were not going to leave here singing "This Is The Day The Lord Has Made." Crawl out of here beat up, hurt, exhausted. (I’m sharing with you God’s word on possessions. Something his Word speaks about 3x’s more than prayer.
Principle #4: Stewardship requires action. (vv: 24 & 26)
a This last steward knew what he was supposed to and he chose to do nothing!
b "The wicked slave knew what to do, but he did nothing. Many of us know what to do but we disobey or delay. Today we have a chance to change this."
Conclusion:
Read Ben Haden "Changed Lives"
A For the last 3 years I’ve taken the month of January to emphasis stewardship.
a I’ve given you a chance each year to become a faithful steward. Today is that day.
b Take out this sheet, I want to come down here and go through this with you.
*Go over sheet.
Lord Jesus I thank you this morning. For the tremendous truths of your Word. You’ve taught us God that where our treasure is, that’s where our heart is. We can fool you with the songs we sing, we can fool you with the testimonies we give. But we can’t fool you when you follow the money trail. You know our hearts. I pray especially for those who have never tithed. This is an incredible step of faith in their lives. No doubt their looking at their budget and wondering how in the world they can ever put you first and give you that 10% and still have enough. But God teach this morning that you’ve promised to take care of them. Teach them that you can do more with that 90% than what they can do with 100. Oh, God..help us to understand. The pressure we feel right inside us now is a battle. And the issue is obedience, trust. Can I trust you today if I put you first in this area to take care of my other needs. I pray Holy Spirit, comforter of mankind, that you would encourage them to act this day on what they’ve already known and that is to put you first in every area....in Jesus name.
(Start playing music)
*With heads still bowed, but now our eyes open....I want you to get a pen/pencil out.
*Many of you have been tithing for years, months, weeks........if you are already tithing, check that box
*If you’ll begin tithing, if you’ll begin by putting God first in your life in the area of possessions, acting upon what you know is already right.
*Print your name.
*When your done....look up at me.
*Tear it out together.....turn it over......send them to the nearest aisle where my ushers will be picking them up.
***Notice: I have used Sermon Central Sermon for a very long time. If this or any of my sermons are similar to a sermon that is currently already on Sermon Central by another pastor or teacher....chances are I have used it. Actually, there is probably absolutely nothing in this sermon that hasn’t been preached before! If I used your sermon and haven’t given you credit, please write me and I’ll give you credit by name. I have in no way intentionally withheld credit to any work I’ve used/borrowed from. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF I HAVE "USED" YOUR WORK IT WAS BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU HAD A SUPER SERMON! I prefer to preach with an outline and just rearranged your sermon. My intent is to make sermons relevant and easy for outline guys to use. If you use MY work, feel free to claim it. I do not care!!! Simply realize that I have borrowed from other preachers, too.
Mike Fogerson, Pastor, Chester’s First Baptist Church
