Scripture
Today I am beginning a new series of messages titled, “Taking the ‘Stew’ Out of Stewardship.” Much of the material for this message comes from a book by Rod Rogers titled, Pastor Driven Stewardship: 10 Steps to Lead Your Church to Biblical Giving (Dallas, TX: Brown Books Publishing Group, 2006).
As I talk to you this morning about giving, you may be getting a little nervous. You may be thinking that I am going to ask you to give some of your money to the church. Well, I want you to know that you can relax! I am not going to ask you to give any of your money to the church—because you don’t have any money! I will be talking to you about giving God’s money to the church, because all your money really belongs to God. Now don’t you feel better already?
You see, the Bible teaches us that we are not owners, but rather stewards, of God-given resources. Therefore, for the Christian, proper management of money and possessions grows out of an understanding of the biblical principles of financial stewardship.
But, what is a “steward”? We can define a “steward” as follows: A steward is someone who manages the resources of another to accomplish the goals of the owner.
In the ancient world, a rich man would buy a slave and make him his steward. The steward’s responsibility was to manage all the possessions and business affairs of the owner in his master’s best interests.
The best biblical illustration of this is Joseph’s stewardship over the house of Potiphar as described in Genesis 39:1-6. Let us read Genesis 39:1-6:
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. (Genesis 39:1-6a)
Introduction
For the next five weeks the Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church family will be focusing on financial stewardship. There are two major aspects to this emphasis on financial stewardship.
The first major aspect is a Capital Stewardship Campaign, which we are calling Forward by Faith. I am very excited about what the Lord is doing at the Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church and how he is going to change lives as a direct result of people getting involved in Forward by Faith!
The desire of our church’s leadership is to accomplish the mission and vision we believe that God has given to our church. About two years ago we completed a mission and vision document, which we called our 2020 Vision. You can read about our mission and vision in the 2020 Vision statement on our website (at www.tampabaypresbyterian.org).
Our mission is summarized in the following Mission Statement:
The mission of the Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church is to bring people to Jesus Christ and membership in his church family, develop them to Christlike maturity, equip them for their ministry in the church and life mission in the world, in order to magnify God’s name.
Our vision is summarized in the following Vision Statements:
We envision a church where God is glorified in every area of our church. TBPC will strive to do everything with excellence in order to bring glory to God.
We envision a church that has a “God-sized” vision that will take God-glorifying faith and God-glorifying obedience to accomplish that vision. We want to attempt something so great for God that it is doomed to failure—unless God be in it.
We envision a church that is true to the Scriptures, faithful to the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.
We envision a church that has a great commitment to both the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
We envision a church that is healthy, and that is committed to developing healthy relationships with God and with one another. Our church will be a place where the hurting, the depressed, the disappointed, the lonely, the confused, the guilty, and the sinful find forgiveness, love, acceptance, help, hope, guidance, encouragement, support, and salvation only in Christ.
We envision a church where every person in our New Tampa community has an opportunity to hear the good news of the gospel.
We envision a church where hundreds of people gather each week to worship the triune God in a manner that is biblical, historical and contemporary, where the Word of God is preached each week systematically and expositionally.
We envision a church that welcomes hundreds of members into the fellowship of our church family, where we are loving, learning, laughing, and living in harmony with each other.
We envision a church that develops believers to spiritual maturity through preaching, Bible studies, seminars, conferences, retreats, and a planned, discipleship development process.
We envision a church that equips every believer for ministry by helping them find a place of significant service in God’s kingdom.
We envision a church that empowers every believer to know his or her life mission in God’s kingdom.
We envision a church that trains scores of believers for leadership in God’s kingdom.
We envision a church that sends out scores of believers on short-term and career missions projects and ministry.
We envision a church that will plant 5 daughter churches by 2020, and then after that to plant at least 1 daughter church every other year.
We envision a church that has a pre-kindergarten through middle school that is classical and covenantal.
We envision a church that has outstanding facilities that meet our entire ministry needs. The facilities will include a sanctuary seating at least 600 persons, numbers of various-sized classrooms, a multipurpose fellowship hall/gymnasium, playground, and adequate parking.
Although much has already been done in order to accomplish the mission and vision that God has given to us, much more still needs to be done, which is going to require additional financial resources. The Session has approved a campaign target of $575,000 to be given over a period of 3 years (which is 156 weeks). This $575,000 is in addition to our regular Operation Fund.
We have three specific goals for Forward by Faith in order to bring our mission and vision to reality.
First, we want to retire our current mortgage early. We owe approximately $360,000 on the mortgage. We would like to add additional facilities to enhance our ministry to the community, but we don’t want to do so until we retire our current mortgage.
Second, we want to refurbish our grounds and facility. While we are not in a position to add new facilities at the present time, we can give our current property a new and fresh look that will be appealing to visitors and also enhance our current ministry.
And third, we want to add pastoral staff. We are currently staffed for maintenance, and we need to add pastoral staff in order to equip our church family for more effective ministry and growth.
The second major aspect to our emphasis on financial stewardship is that we will focus on personal financial stewardship.
According to Howard Dayton, the CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, “the savings rate in America is at the lowest level in 60 years, and personal consumer debt continues to rise dramatically—far exceeding increases in income.” Furthermore, Dayton adds that one million households declare bankruptcy each year. More people now go bankrupt each year in America than graduate from colleges and universities. Fifteen years ago one out of every 300 households declared bankruptcy annually. In 2001 one out of every 69 households declared bankruptcy. At this rate, one out of every 7 households will declare bankruptcy in the year 2010.
Due to the fact that a growing number of people are struggling financially, the result is that more churches are struggling financially too. Dayton notes that “tithing has decreased almost every year for the past three decades” so that today the average Christian household gives 2.5 percent of their income to the work of the Lord (and 1.7 percent to other charitable organizations). The Capital Stewardship Consultants with whom our Church Officers met this summer noted that if Christians simply gave 10% of their income to their local churches, there would be no need for Capital Stewardship Consultants.
Presently we have approximately 85 active, resident family units in our church family. The median annual household income in our community for 2006 is about $75,793. (The average annual household income for our community for 2006 was even higher—$92,125.) Ten percent of the median household income is $7,579. Multiply $7,579 by 85 family units, and our church’s annual income should be $644,215. That is more than enough to finance the mission of the Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church.
My goal during these next few weeks is to help our church family grow in the area of financial stewardship. To those who might object that we ought not to speak so much about money, let me note that God has given approximately 2,350 verses in the Bible to instruct us how to manage our money, assets, and resources. In fact, the topic of money is second only to the topic of love in the number of times the Bible addresses a topic.
So, our focus for the next five weeks is going to be on financial stewardship. My prayer is that we will all learn how to manage God’s financial resources in a way that honors him and advances his kingdom.
Lesson
As we consider the guiding principles of a good steward, I want you to notice three financial stewardship realities:
1. God owns all your money,
2. God enables you to earn all your money, and
3. You have a responsibility to manage God’s money to accomplish his purposes.
I. God Owns All Your Money (39:4b)
First, God owns all your money.
Joseph had been taken down to Egypt as a result of his jealous brothers who sold him to some traveling Ishmaelites. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and Genesis 39:4b says that Potiphar entrusted to Joseph’s care “everything he owned.”
In the same way that Potiphar owned everything that he entrusted to Joseph’s care, so God owns everything that he entrusts to your care.
King David wrote in Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
God owns the world and everything in it. That means that the checks in your checkbook may have your name on them, but your checkbook belongs to God. Your car title may have your name on it, but your car belongs to God. Your house title may have your name on it, but your house belongs to God. Your bank account may have your name on it, but your bank account belongs to God. Your Visa and Sears credit cards have your name on them, but they really belong to God.
When Lauren and Jon were about 6 years old they started receiving a weekly allowance of $1. When I gave them the money I wanted to teach them some basic financial principles. The first foundational principle I wanted Lauren and Jon to learn was that God owns all things. So, I would give each of them ten dimes and ask, “How many of these dimes belong to God?”
At first they would say, “One dime belongs to God.”
I would say, “No. All ten dimes belong to God. God owns all your money. However, you give one dime to God’s church.”
At that very early age I wanted Lauren and Jon to learn that God owns all things, including their money.
Whether you are 6 or 96 years old, you need to understand that God owns all your money.
II. God Enables You to Earn All Your Money
Second, God enables you to earn all your money.
In the story of Joseph we read that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did (39:3). Any success that Joseph enjoyed, and any success that we might enjoy, is because God enables that.
When some Christians hear the biblical teaching on giving, they sit back, fold their arms and say, “I work hard for my money. I have earned it and I’m going to spend it as I please.” But the Scriptures teach otherwise.
For example, in Deuteronomy 8:17-18a Moses warned God’s people: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
Many years later, after king David and the people had given generously toward the building of the temple (an Old Testament Capital Stewardship Campaign), David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all” (1 Chronicles 29:12).
The Scriptures teach that there is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. Your ability to make a living is a direct gift from God. Everything you own—house, cars, jewelry, computers, DVD players, iPods, whatever—comes from God. He is the source of all your possessions. You would not have anything if God had not enabled you to acquire it.
III. You Have a Responsibility to Manage God’s Money to Accomplish His Purposes
And third, you have a responsibility to manage God’s money to accomplish his purposes.
Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his household to accomplish his purposes. The text says in Genesis 39:4b: “Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.”
There are three important points related to this stewardship reality.
First, owners have rights; stewards have responsibilities. If I borrow your car, I don’t have the right to take it four-wheeling on the beach. Why not? Because I’m a steward, not the owner of your car. I have a responsibility to take care of your car in the way that you, the owner, wish.
When I was a student at the University of Cape Town a colleague traveled overseas for about 6 weeks. He asked me to house sit his home, which I did. As a house sitter, I was a steward of someone else’s property.
I did not have the right to change the paint colors in the bedrooms, tear out a wall to enlarge the living room, or sink a hot tub in the floor of the deck. Why not? Because I did not own the house. I was simply a steward of someone else’s home.
Similarly, you and I are not owners, but are merely stewards of God’s money and possessions. We don’t have the right to spend money as we want to; rather, we have a responsibility to spend it in the way God wants us to.
Second, every spending decision is a spiritual decision. When you are considering buying a new couch, you are involved in a spiritual decision because you are deciding how to spend God’s money. Deciding how to spend God’s money on a car or a book or a stick of gum is as spiritual a decision as deciding how long to pray, how to keep the Sabbath day holy, or when to witness to your neighbor.
And third, the primary requirement for a steward is faithfulness. I know that the Bible teaches that God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4), but suppose for a moment for the purpose of my question that if God did sleep, could he sleep soundly knowing that you are in charge of his money?
In 1 Corinthians 4:2 Paul says: “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2, NKJV).
As stewards of God’s money and possessions, our primary requirement is to manage them faithfully. Joseph was such a faithful steward of his master’s possessions that with Joseph in charge, Potiphar slept soundly at night. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. (Genesis 39:6).
If God slept, could he sleep soundly knowing that you are in charge of his money?
As the true owner, God will hold you accountable for the way you have managed his money. When you really accept the truth that you are merely stewards of the possessions of a loving and generous God, you will want to manage those resources faithfully.
Conclusion
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 certain members cry out in discomfort, criticizing the message and the messenger. Either the pastor has pushed too hard, without the right sensitivity. Or perhaps there’s 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 prayer for you is that you will understand and commit to the truth that God owns all your money, God enables you to earn all your money, and you have a responsibility to manage God’s money to accomplish his purposes. Amen.
