Christian Stewardship Part 2
Mark 12:41-44 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-- all she had to live on."
Deuteronomy 14:22-29 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own. At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
- Let’s recap before we jump into this week’s thoughts.
- We’re talking about stewardship.
- We’re basing our discussion on the covenant pladge that we use to welcome new members and newly baptized persons.
- And on the attributes of a Christian steward from the United Methodist Guidelines.
- Last week we talked about a Christian Steward being prayerful, content, and trustworthy.
- Now, it’s my intention that these messages are a dialogue.
- Therefore, I’d like to hear how you thought about last week’s message.
- Tell me what it means for you to be prayerful and content and trustworthy.
- Did you look up the other Scriptures?
- What did they say to you?
- Am I off my nut?
- What did you think?
- (Allow for some interaction time)
- Well, this week we’re going to look at the next one of those assets that we pledge to the church, our presence.
- Now I’m not talking about presents, like the stuff you get on your birthday and Christmas.
- I’m talking about presence, being here.
- We pledge to uphold this church with our presence, our being here.
- Thesaurus.com gives the following words equal definition with presence:
- attendance, being, companionship, company, dormancy, existence, habitation, inhabitance, latency, occupation, omnipresence, potentiality, residence, subsistence, ubiquity, whereabouts
- The word that most often comes to mind for me is community.
- We are a community.
- When one member of the community suffers, we all suffer.
- When one rejoices, we’re all elated.
- And probably most importantly, when one member of the community is absent, the witness and the presence of the entire community is diminished.
There’s a very powerful illustration of community in the film “We Were Soldiers” with Mel Gibson.
- You can only find this on the DVD because it’s one of the deleted scenes.
- This deleted scene takes place back in the states at the protestant chapel on the base from which the 7th Infantry, First Division had been deployed to Vietnam.
- The scene depicts the families of the soldiers, who are in church days after their husbands have gone off to war.
- One of the young wives is introduced by the pastor, and is to sing the Offertory Hymn.
- She begins, tentatively, singing the opening words from "My Hope is Built."
- She soon falters, apologizes and begins again, but again falters and cannot continue.
- After a couple of seconds, you hear the sound of another woman singing, "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."
- It is the wife of the commander of the division, and soon the other wives, and then the entire congregation are singing.
- This is an incredibly powerful demonstration of the meaning and the strength of community.
- One woman struggles with her responsibility in the face of her husband’s peril.
- The community around her supports and uplifts her in her time of need.
- Yet, they’re all feeling the same hurt.
- That’s genuine community.
- That’s what the church should be about.
- By not being here, you diminish that.
- If you’re not a dependable part of the community then the community is less effective.
- So let’s get to those worksheet in your bulletins.
- Everybody got them out?
- Got a pencil?
- Good, let’s roll.
LOYAL
The first one is A Christian Steward is Loyal.
- One of the all-time greats in baseball was Babe Ruth.
- His bat had the power of a cannon, and his record of 714 home runs remained unbroken until Hank Aaron came along.
- The Babe was the idol of sports fans, but in time age took its toll, and his popularity began to wane.
- Finally the Yankees traded him to the Braves.
- In one of his last games, in Cincinnati, Babe Ruth began to falter.
- He struck out and made several misplays that allowed the Reds to score five runs in one inning.
- As the Babe walked toward the dugout, chin down and dejected, there rose from the stands an enormous storm of boos and catcalls.
- Some fans actually shook their fists.
- Then a wonderful thing happened.
- A little boy jumped over the railing, and with tears streaming down his cheeks he ran out to the great athlete.
- Unashamedly, he flung his arms around the Babe’s legs and held on tightly.
- Babe Ruth scooped him up, hugged him, and set him down again.
- Patting him gently on the head, he took his hand and the two of them walked off the field together.
- That’s what loyalty is.
- Loyalty sticks with someone or something no matter what the downside.
- A loyal Christian Steward supports his or her church and pastor, no matter what.
- I think I’m going to leave that idea for you to interpret for yourselves.
- Have you been loyal to your church and your pastor?
OBEDIENT
Second point: A Christian Steward is obedient.
- I’ve read that when Edward VI, the king of England in the 16th century, attended a worship service, he stood while the Word of God was read.
- He took notes during this time and later studied them with great care.
- Through the week he earnestly tried to apply them to his life.
- That’s the kind of serious-minded response to truth that reflects our loyalty to God.
- A single revealed fact cherished in the heart and acted upon is more vital to our growth than a head filled with lofty ideas about God.
- One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it.
- One of the Scriptures that you’ll find under the heading of obedience this morning is the Deuteronomy text that I read.
- The first line of that text talks to us about setting aside one tenth of our income.
- That is a Biblical tithe.
- But notice that the tenth that is set aside doesn’t go to the church or the temple.
- It is to be consumed in a joyful celebration of God’s goodness.
- Once every three years it is to be given to the Levites, the temple priests so that they will be provided for and they can provide for the needy.
- Now I can certainly ask whether you are faithfully tithing to your church.
- I won’t.
- I could absolutely ask if you’re supporting needy causes thought your church.
- I’m not gonna.
- What I want you to recognize in this passage is the consistency.
- God commands that this be done faithfully, obediently, every year, without question.
- Are you consistently obedient?
- Can you say that your obedience to your sovereign Lord is without question?
- Or have you slipped up?
- Let’s face it folks, I’m talking about money right at this point but I’m not talking about money overall.
- Our obedience is about our money but it’s about so much more that money is almost insignificant.
- It’s also about our time, our prayers, our worship, our talents, our business, and on and on and on!
- A Christian Steward is obedient to whatever god asks of him or her.
- Without question, immediately.
- Thomas a Kampis said, “Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is;
- delayed obedience is disobedience.
- Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace.”
SACRIFICES
- Finally, A Christian Steward sacrifices.
- Courtland Milloy wrote the following story quoted in Reader’s Digest.
- Jermaine Washington did something that amazes many people.
- He became a kidney donor, giving a vital organ to a woman he describes as "just a friend."
- Washington met Michelle Stevens when they began working together at the Department of Employment Services.
- They used to have lunch with one another and chitchat during breaks.
- "He was somebody I could talk to," says Stevens.
- "One day, I cried on his shoulder. I had been on the kidney donor waiting list for 11 months, and I had lost all hope."
- She told Washington how depressing it was to spend three days a week, three hours a day, on a kidney dialysis machine.
- She suffered chronic fatigue and blackouts and was plagued by joint pain.
- He could already see that she had lost her smile.
- "I saw my friend dying before my eyes," Washington recalls.
- "What was I supposed to do? Sit back and watch her die?"
- Michelle’s mother, suffering from hypertension, was ineligible to donate a kidney.
- Her two brothers were reluctant.
- "I understood," says Michelle.
- "They said they loved me very much, but they were just too afraid."
- The operation at Washington Hospital Center in April 1991 began with a painful procedure in which doctors inserted a catheter into an artery in Washington’s groin.
- They then injected dye through the catheter into his kidney before taking X rays to determine if it was fit for transplant.
- A week later, an incision nearly 15 inches long was made from his navel to the middle of his back.
- After surgery he remained hospitalized for five days.
- Today, both Stevens and Washington are fully recovered.
- "I jog at least twice a week," Washington says.
- Three times a month, they get together for what they call a "gratitude lunch."
- Despite occasional pressure by friends, a romantic relationship is not what they want.
- "We are thankful for the beautiful friendship that we have," Stevens says.
- "We don’t want to mess up a good thing."
- To this day, people wonder why Washington did it -- and even question his sanity.
- But when one admirer asked him where he had found the courage to give away a kidney, his answer quelled the skeptics.
- "I prayed for it," Washington replied.
- "I asked God for guidance and that’s what I got."
- How sacrificial are you?
- Would you give a kidney to save a friend?
- Do you give of yourself enough that it hurts?
- Ministry, something that we’re all called to as Christians is costly.
- In fact, I’ve heard it said that Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.
- Consider the widow that Jesus used as an example in our passage from Mark this morning.
- She didn’t give much at all compared to those around her.
- But she gave all that she had.
- Her giving was sacrificial.
- Is your giving of your time and your talents and your assets sacrificial?
- If we’re giving out of our wealth, then we’re not really sacrificing much are we?
- If we long to be good Christian Stewards then we need to learn to sacrifice.
CONCLUSION
- I think that we need to think of this stewardship series like this.
- When you go to a doctor for your annual check-up, he or she will often begin to poke, prod, and press various places,
- all the while asking, "Does this hurt? How about this?"
- If you cry out in pain, one of two things has happened.
- Either the doctor has pushed too hard, without the right sensitivity.
- Or, more likely, there’s something wrong,
- and the doctor will say, "We’d better do some more tests. It’s not supposed to hurt there!"
- So it is when pastors preach on financial responsibility and stewardship,
- and certain members cry out in discomfort, criticizing the message and the messenger.
- Either the pastor has pushed too hard.
- Or perhaps there’s something wrong.
- Now I know that I’ve been a bit harsh.
- I know that there’s the possibility that I’m pushing too hard.
- But I don’t think that’s the case.
- If folks are feeling uncomfortable with all of this then maybe there is something wrong.
- In that case, I say, "My friend, we’re in need of the Great Physician because it’s not supposed to hurt there."
- My challenge for you this week is to consider the stewardship of your own assets.
- Think specifically about your presence.
- When you consider your presence for the Lord,
- are you loyal to God and God alone?
- Are you obedient to His commands and expectations?
- Are you living sacrificially that you may be a sound witness?
- Take home these worksheets this morning.
- Look up those passages and tell me what you think.
- We’re looking for direction here and everyone’s input is important.
- Let’s pray.
