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Stewardship

Bruce Avants

This series has been a well for me. It is providing the water that will help me grow and carry on.

Four Signs of a Sensible Steward

  1. Responsible
  2. Relaxed
  3. Ready
  4. Rewarded

Jesus gave us two commandments that the whole rest of the Bible is built on. Those were to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourself. Stewardship is the application of those two commandments.

There are two books in heaven, the book of life and the book of works. The book of works might as well be named the book of stewardship.

How do you treat yourself?

How responsible are you? Are you responsible for yourself? You should be; yet you shouldn't be overly critical of yourself. Jesus will judge you; you won't judge yourself.

Good judgment comes from experience, which usually comes from bad judgment.

Will Rogers

You're not going to make it through life without making mistakes, without needing to repent.

1 Corinthians 4:1-4
  1. Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
  2. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
  3. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
  4. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

So we have to be found faithful, not judging ourselves, but overcoming our mistakes and continuing to be faithful. Finding fault is Satan's job.

How are you treating others?

History is full of examples of people mistreating each other. But if we were living by the first two commandments, these things wouldn't be happen.

One of the things that hit me in Sunday's service is that we should be a river, not a reservoir.

We have to be reponsible to God. He has trusted us with his most precious items. He doesn't care for precious gold, or jewels, or cattle. But he cares about his word, and he trusts us to get that word out.

Psalms 24:1
  1. The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

It all belongs to God. And we are the stewards of all God's possessions, including the most important ones.

Luke 12:42
  1. And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Is that you? Only you can answer. God says that the greatest among you will be servant of all. If I take the glory myself, I'm not giving glory to God.

Being Relaxed

Being relaxed in your stewardship is all about having a made-up mind. A good steward can only relax when he's done his job well.

Isaiah 26:3
  1. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

If you've got a made-up mind, you're going to have perfect peace.

James 1:5-8
  1. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
  2. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
  3. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
  4. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

If you lack wisdom, ask of God. He's not going to refuse and call you stupid. But you've got ask in faith. And you've got to be willing to believe and act on the answer that God gives you.

Romans 8:38-39
  1. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
  2. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Some of the stuff that Paul is talking about, there's no way we could overcome them on our own. But Paul had made this determination in his mind, and acted on it.

Why do we have our talents?

Gifts were given to every man to profit thereby. If I can fix a car, and somebody's car is broke down, then God has given me the ability to help that person.

1 Corinthians 12:7
  1. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

God gave the positions of the church for the same thing: for the edification of the church, not for their own glory.

Ephesians 4:11-15
  1. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
  2. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
  3. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
  4. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
  5. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Luke 12:15
  1. And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Not even Rockefeller or Howard Hughes were rich enough to extend their own lives. Sure, we need money to live, but we should never lose focus of what is most important.

Ecclesiastes 10:19
  1. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
1 Timothy 6:10
  1. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Worry is destructive; it takes your focus away from the solution and places it on the problem. But if you pray for help, count the cost before opening your mouth. If there is a problem in your life, you've got to be willing to accept the solution that God gives you.

Ananias and Sapphira were an example of what happens when you open your mouth and then fail to do what was promised.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-7
  1. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
  2. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
  3. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
  4. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

We've got to make sure we pay our vows to God. If you say, "I'm doing this in God's name," and then back out of it, what kind of God will people think you serve?

Psalms 15:4
  1. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

When you make a vow, even if it's painful, it's better to keep it.

Focusing on the eternal

Jeremiah 1:6-9
  1. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
  2. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
  3. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
  4. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jeremiah 1:17
  1. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

Just like God told Jeremiah, you can't say "I'm a brand-new Christian; I can't share with these guys!" If you do, God will make you ashamed before them.

Luke 19:20-23
  1. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
  2. For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
  3. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
  4. Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

This man was afraid to do anything, because God would hold him accountable. It's like showing up in heaven and saying, "Here I am!" Then the angel asks, "Who did you bring with you?" And you say again, "Here I am!"

Being Rewarded

First of all, you've got to know what your reward is. God already told you, so if you study his word, it's like playing "Deal or No Deal" when you already know that the money is in suitcase number seven.

Luke 12:36-37
  1. And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
  2. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

God says, "In the end, I'm going to serve you. But for now, you've got to serve me." How many other gods or men can make the same promise? We know that we have a short time, so let's serve him.