Sermon Central
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Taking Care Of Business Series
Contributed by Shawn Drake on Jan 3, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: This is the 1st sermon in the "Kingdom Business" series. This sermon is about the stewardship of life and the most important decision one can make.
Sunday Morning January 6, 2002 Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: Kingdom Business [#1]
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Introduction:
1. When I say the word stewardship what is the first thing that comes to mind? Now you can be honest. I’m sure your first thought is money, but money is only a very small component of stewardship.
2. The word for “steward” in the Greek means “to manage” or “to administrate”.
3. God is the giver of all things and He has made us stewards over all that he has given us. That means everything we have is actually on loan from God. It is not ours. We are supposed to manage it.
4. Our very existence is from God. God has given us a lifetime to manage. We can manage this lifetime however we choose. Notice I said this lifetime. Once you die your time of choosing is over. Your destination at that point has already been decided.
5. Turn with me to Matthew 19:16-26.
The Dialogue
The Young Man
Let’s notice several characteristics about this man.
1. He was young.
2. He was rich.
3. He had position in society.
Obviously this was not enough. He wanted more. He wanted to obtain eternal life and he believed that Jesus was the man that could give it to him.
Notice the young man’s question: “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
See he had money, position, influence, good health and many years of life to look forward to, or did he?
This is still a common misconception 2000 years later. “I am going to make it to Heaven because I have been good. I have not killed anyone, I have not committed adultery, I have not stolen anything, I am not a liar, I treat my parents well, and I treat the people around me well.”
The young man thought that surely he would make it because he was a good person. But, just to be sure he asked Jesus, “What else do I need to do?”
Jesus
Jesus simply tells the young man that if he wants to spend eternity in Heaven he must surrender everything to God. Even his money. Understand that Jesus is not telling us that we must be poor to be saved. He is saying that we must surrender our entire life over to Him. Even those things that we hold close to our hearts.
The Decision
Matthew 19:22 is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. The young man walked away saddened. See he was willing to do most things for eternal life, but give up all of his money? That was asking too much.
For the young man, the problem was money. If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus and you have walked away, what is keeping you from saying yes?
In verse 25 the disciples ask an extremely important question. “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus answered this question in John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
So who can be saved? Everyone!
So you must believe in Jesus Christ and surrender your life to Him to be saved. Is that right?
Listen! I am going to share with you how you can be saved.
1. Realize that you are a sinner. The young man in this story never figured that out. I don’t care how nice you are. How benevolent you are. How intelligent you are. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”(Romans 3:23). You have to realize that you are a sinner.
2. Next, understand that the penalty for being a sinner is death. Again, I don’t care how good you have been. Even if you have only sinned one time in your whole life, that makes you a sinner and the penalty for a sinner is death. “For the wages of sin is death:”(Romans 6:23).
3. You must also understand that Jesus is the only way to salvation. Not Allah, not Mohammad, not Baal, not good works, not giving lots of money, etc… JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY! “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”(John 14:6). Jesus is the One that paid the price for us no one else did that!
4. To this point, I have given you the information that you need to be saved, but if you walk off at this point, you will walk off saddened just as that young man did. You must respond in faith to Jesus. It is not enough just to know the facts about Jesus. You must turn from your old ways and turn to Jesus Christ. You must receive Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Here is how: “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10).
