Keeping the Beat: Heart Healthy Giving for Heart Healthy Living…Part 2:
Re-Deeding Your Heart: Steward Vs. Owner
Luke 6:27-38, I Corinthians 6:19-20, Deuteronomy 8:18
Before going to Europe on business, a certain man drove his Rolls-Royce to a downtown New York City bank and went in to ask for an immediate loan of $5,000. The loan officer, taken back, requested collateral. The man replied, "Would my Rolls-Royce work?"
The loan officer promptly had the car driven into the bank’s underground parking for safekeeping and gave him the $5,000.
Two weeks later, the man walked through the bank’s doors and asked to settle up his loan and get his car back. "That will be $5,000 in principal, and $15.40 in interest," the loan officer said. The man wrote out a check, got up, and started to walk away.
"Wait sir," the loan officer said. "While you were gone, I found out you’re a millionaire. Why in the world would you need to borrow $5,000?"
The man smiled. "Where else could I safely park my Rolls-Royce in Manhattan for two weeks and only $15.40?"
Last week we began a series entitled “Keeping the Beat: Heart Healthy Giving for Heart Healthy Living.” We discovered some very important principles and truths from the scripture which I want to quickly review with you as we begin today. If you’re following along in your outline the first thing you’ll see is that healthy living requires healthy giving. That’s the premise of this entire series. We can’t live healthy spiritual lives unless we establish healthy giving patterns. That’s why we’re spending time dealing with this topic.
We also discovered that faith and finances are inseparable. We looked at several scripture passages where a person’s view of their finances was indicative of their spiritual condition. We found out that one out of every six verses in Matthew, Mark, and Luke deals with money. And we discovered that if we are to have the kind of healthy spiritual lives that we desire to have then we must examine this area of our lives.
And finally, the focus of my sermon last week was that the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. We discovered that the Bible tells us that our hearts are evil and that we are in need of a transplant, which occurs when we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. But we also discovered that while we become new people when we become Christians, we are subject to the same spiritual heart diseases as anyone else, including the leading heart disease: the love of money. If we weren’t, then the church wouldn’t be in the condition it’s in today. If our hearts were in the condition they should be in then every church would have more than enough money to accomplish the work it’s been called to do. But that simply isn’t reality.
Today I want to ask you to consider adopting a new paradigm of thinking. I want to challenge you to look at yourselves and your possessions in a new light and ultimately I’m going to ask you to re-deed your heart and your possessions into some else’s name. Let us pray…
One of the leading obstacles to the church accomplishing the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ is a mindset that is typical to most Americans: The more I HAVE the more I AM. Isn’t that the message that’s portrayed to us throughout our entire lives? We’re made to believe that the nicer we dress, the better car we drive, the bigger home we live in, and the more money we make - the more we are; that our worth is dependent upon our wealth.
We are taught this mindset at a very young age. I was shocked last year when my 4 year old daughter came home from school concerned about her clothing, that it wasn’t “cool” enough and appalled when I heard her making remarks about the clothing of other children.
Even at a young age we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that our self-worth is determined by our possessions and appearance.
And this line of thinking only gets worse as we grow older. While as children we want to have the newest toys or video games, as adults we want to have the greatest car or home. We do everything we can to keep up with those around us. Why? Because somehow we think that those “things” will make us feel more important.
Over 2,000 years ago the author of the book of Ecclesiastes realized the futility of such thinking. I want you to open up your Bibles with me and turn to this little book that we looked at a few weeks ago when we were talking about relationships. If you were to open your Bibles to the center you’ll find the books of Psalms and then Proverbs. Ecclesiastes follows Proverbs. Turn to Ecclesiastes 5 and let’s look at verses 10-15 and see what the Bible has to say about this kind of thinking. Let’s look at this passage:
“The Lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of laborers whether they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let them sleep. There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owners to their hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture; though they are parents of children, they have nothing in their hands. As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands.”
There are several truths that are suggested in this passage. We don’t have time to elaborate on them so I’m going to quickly run through them, ask that you fill in the blanks and then think about these later.
1. The more you have the more you want.
2. The more you have the less you’re satisfied.
3. The more you have the more people will come after it.
4. The more you have the more you realize it does no good.
5. The more you have the more you have to worry about.
6. The more you have the more you can hurt yourself by hanging on to it.
7. The more you have the more you have to lose.
8. The more you have the more you’ll leave behind.
The author of Ecclesiastes realized something we need to realize – you never have enough and it’s never what you thought it would be. The notion that possessions and wealth will complete us is a lie that we’ve been fed.
Listen what some of the wealthiest people of their day had to say about wealth:
W.H. Vanderbilt, a railroad tycoon who lived in the 19th century said this, “The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone.”
John Jacob Astor, another millionaire from the 18th & 19th century said, “I am the most miserable man on earth.
John D. Rockefeller said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.”
Andrew Carnegie said, “Millionaires seldom smile.”
Henry Ford said, “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.”
It’s ironic that the very thing that we think will make us more content – more money, or nicer things, never does the job.
Brothers and sisters, if we are to be the church of Jesus Christ, if we’re to live the kind of lives that are going to influence others to meet Christ then we’ve got to adopt a new paradigm of thinking. We’ve got to break free from the trap of materialistic thinking and living, the trap that is such a part of the culture in which we live.
If you’re following along in your outline you’ll see that the solution to the dilemma that we’ve been talking about is Counter Cultural Thinking. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:1-2: “I appeal to you by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship.” Did you catch that? Worship is more than just your presence here. It’s more than just your song or the gift that you drop in the offering plate. It’s about presenting your entire being to God as a gift. Paul goes on to say, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
As Christians we’re to think differently. We’re not supposed to be living by the same set of rules or standards. We’ve got to adopt a new way of thinking. It’s a way that’s foreign to the world and unnatural for us. You heard it read a few minutes ago from the book of Luke chapter 6. Jesus challenges us to do the opposite of what would come naturally to us. He says love your enemies, if any one takes your coat give him your shirt, give to everyone who begs from you, lend to those from whom you do not expect repayment.
Think about these things – they’re just down right strange. When we behave in this manner it shocks people. This isn’t the way you expect people to behave. If I wrong you I expect you to retaliate. But Jesus says, you’re supposed to be different. And why?
Martin Luther King Jr. preached a sermon in November of 1957 where he said this: (it’s at the bottom of the first page of your outline) It’s not about what we own, but what we owe. That’s completely opposite of what we’ve been told. We’re told that we have our rights. And that when someone infringes upon those rights that we have the right to justice. We’re told to look out for ourselves and our personal property. And we’ve already discovered that our culture puts a great deal of emphasis on what we own.
But if you read this passage in Luke 6 you see that Jesus challenges us to think differently. Jesus admonishes us to surrender our rights and our personal property. And here’s why: verses 37-38 say, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
In other words, the way in which you treat others will be the way in which you are treated. If we don’t forgive, we won’t be forgiven. If we judge, we’ll be judge. If we hoard our possessions and wealth to ourselves we will not receive the blessings that God wants to give us.
It’s awful easy for us to forget about passages like this, isn’t it? We remember passages like “God so loved the world…” and emphasize the forgiveness and love of God but we forget to remember that along with that forgiveness and love come responsibility to live the lives he’s called us to live. Christ gave us his all, and he’s asking for nothing less than your all in return.
If you’re serious about your Christian walk then I want you to realize three things. Understanding and acting on these three truths will be the first step in making you an authentic, spirit-filled Christian.
Flip over your outlines. The three truths are simplistic but crucial to understand.
First of all, YOU DON’T BELONG TO YOU. Listen to the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 6:19-20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price…” As a Christian you are not your own! That should make us sit up and take note about the way we care for ourselves, about the things we put into our bodies and about the things that come out of our mouths. We don’t belong to ourselves.
The second truth is this: YOUR THINGS AREN’T YOURS’. If you don’t belong to you then it’s a logical conclusion to say that your things aren’t yours. This is a tough one to swallow. Let me quickly point you to three different verses which illustrate this truth. The first is in Haggai 2:8 where the author says, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts.” God didn’t abandon this earth. God still owns it and we’re simply using God’s property. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” And in I Chronicles 29:14 King David remarks, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” In other words, everything belongs to God already.
If you understand that then here’s the next step: GOD ENTRUSTS, GOD DOESN’T GIVE. If we begin living our lives and handling our possessions and financial resources understanding that they actually belong to God and have been entrusted to us we’ll deal with them in a completely different manner.
There’s a word that the church quite frequently throws around which isn’t used in our culture much any more. It’s the word “steward”. A steward is a manger of another person’s assets. If you follow along in your outline you’ll learn several things about stewards.
First of all a steward carries no sense of entitlement to the assets he manages.
I want you to imagine the Fedex man for a minute as a steward. He’s given a package with the purpose of delivering it. His sole job is to make sure that that package arrives safely at its destination. Imagine that you have a very important crystal vase to ship to a friend across the country. You’ve chosen to ship with Fedex because of their reputation. They’re a company you can trust. You spend a great deal of time packaging this vase because it is extremely valuable and you arrange for a pick up. The fedex man arrives at your home; you sign the paper-work, he takes the package and rips it open, and says thanks for the vase, my wife will love it!
Sounds a bit ridiculous doesn’t it? He’d get fired for doing something that stupid. But that’s exactly what we do as Christians when we live as if our possessions and our financial resources are our own.
We don’t own our things. We don’t own ourselves. And we have no entitlement to the assets we manage. It’s our job to find out what the owner wants done and carry out his will. That’s what stewardship is all about.
While it sounds ridiculous, before you dismiss this kind of living I want you to consider that perhaps living your life in such a manner could be an incredibly freeing experience.
John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist Movement. One day a man rode up to him shouting, “Mr. Wesley, something terrible happened! Your house burned to the ground!” Wesley thought for a moment and then replied, “No. The Lord’s house burned down. That means one less responsibility for me.” You see when we live this kind of life there’s freedom from the stress and pressures of our culture.
Stewardship isn’t just about money, it’s about our entire beings. But while stewardship involves every facet of our lives, the most telltale indicator of our spiritual condition is our finances, as we discovered last week.
This week as you go home I want you to think about a couple of things. First of all understand this: stewardship is not about our relationship with the local church, it’s about our relationship with God.
In Numbers 18:24 God says, “I have given to the Levites (the priests) their portion of the tithe of the Israelites, which they set apart as an offering to the Lord.” When you give your offering to the church, it’s crucial that you understand that you’re not giving to the church. You’re giving to God. My goal in this series is not to get you to give more to the church but to help you get your relationship with God right, because when we’re faithful stewards our relationship with God improves.
Ask yourself these two questions as you go home today:
First, do my finances reflect my love for Jesus? You can claim to be a Christian, but if your finances don’t reflect that love then you’ve only given Christ part of your life. Remember your faith and finances are inseparable.
Second, do you want to take your faith to the next level? I believe one of the leading roadblocks to spiritual maturity, is our unwillingness to give our entire lives to God. If you want to take your faith to the next level and experience transformation then I want to challenge you to see yourself not as an owner but as a steward of God’s resources.
I’ve been challenged this week to re-deed my heart and my possessions to God. And I want to ask you to do the same thing. There are stickers which were handed out to you today that say “Property of Jesus Christ.” I want to ask you to take those stickers and put one on your wallet or your purse and one on your car or your house or whatever thing you need to remember is not your own but Gods. Let those stickers serve as a reminder of the fact that God wants you to use the resources he’s entrusted to you build his Kingdom.
Join me next week as we perform spiritual angioplasty and together remove obstacles to giving.
Let us pray…
