A few weeks ago we looked at a word that was not very reflective of American culture. Anyone remember the word? Content. Content. We talked about how there are many words to describe us as Americans, but content is probably not one of them. Today I want to look at another word that is probably a bit of a stretch for us to utilize as a description. . .reality.
We are not people who tend to live in the realm of reality. For instance, many of the top television shows today are what we label as reality TV. But they could probably not be given a more inaccurate label. Let’s just look at some of them.
Survivor. Two dozen people, dropped on a deserted island, to roam around for 30 days in their underwear, building alliances, competing in challenges, with an end reward of one million dollars. Whose reality is that? The closest I have ever come to that is bath time at the Monck home with two children running around in their underwear, forming an alliance against the parents, with a possible end reward of 30 minutes of peace prior to crashing for the day.
Or how about Fear Factor. A handful of people, sitting down at a buffet table of raw animal innards, with bugs and maggots crawling all over them, and then drinking down a refreshing blender mix of the most awful liquid, with fiber filled chunks, that you can imagine. Even on my mother-in-laws worst day, that is nothing close to the reality of what I have to eat.
One more. I’m sure after our 40 Days of Prayer, and focusing in on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit there is no one in our congregation that would watch this one. . .but how about the Bachelor or the Bachelorette for reality. A guy or girl, with 20 members of the opposite sex fawning over you for weeks on end, living in a mansion, going on exotic dates, one minute making out with this person and telling them how much you love them and are making a connection with them, only to hop in a limo and head out with another person to make out with and tell how much you love them and are making a connection with them.
Again, whose reality is that? Believe it or not, I once had two 5th grade girls fight over me on the playground, but I still haven’t figured out whether they were fighting for who would get to be my girlfriend, or who would have to be my girlfriend. This is the kind of stuff that we Americans define as reality TV.
You see, we really have very little concept anymore of reality. Reality is some dream, some vision, some utopian society that doesn’t exist, we will never reach, and that even if we ever found it, it would probably make us sick within hours and we would wish we never would have landed there.
Well, today I want to help us recognize reality. Real reality. You can see on the front of your worship folder that we are launching a series today, “Giving Back. . .to the One Who Gave His All.” It is a look at a topic that makes most people shudder. In fact, I found this cartoon related to this topic in one my illustration folders (show cartoon).
Stewardship. We are going to look at three very common areas: Talent, Time and Treasure. Nothing overly unique or creative from a topic stand point. But it comes at a vital time for us here at SWC. We are at a juncture in our history, and our growth together where we need to reflect on how we are utilizing our talents, what kind of time are we giving back to God’s kingdom, how do we manage our treasure?
You see, these are areas that impact our ability to minister in our community in a huge way. So unlike the people in the cartoon, I hope you will plan to be a part of this series, and participate in some good reflection on what God would want you to hear during our time together.
But I want to begin with a reality check. Because I think at the heart of stewardship are some fundamental realities. And if they go unrecognized, it would almost make logical sense for a person not to be a good steward. Without these reality recognitions, stewardship would almost seem like a strange if not ridiculous concept. So let’s look at them together.
First, at the very foundation of stewardship, whether we are talking about talent, time or treasure, at the very beginning level of understanding stewardship is a. . .
RECOGNITION OF OWNERSHIP
We have to recognize the reality of ownership. Grab a Bible, and let’s look at some Scriptures together. By the way, we put the Scriptures on the screen, and make them available for you to see during the message if you need them up there, but please do not let this take the place of brining your Bible to church and learning how to use the Word of God that is made available to you.
So grab your Bible, or a pew Bible, and let’s look at some verses. Beginning in I Chronicles 29:11 (read through verse 12). This is the first verse they have you memorize as a part of the Crown Financial study. Because right from the start of any type of study on possessions, finances, or stewardship, we need to acknowledge the Lord as the owner, ruler, maker, and controller of everything.
Turn back to Deuteronomy 10:14. If you have a New King James Version, read along, or you can follow on the screen, but let’s read this one together (read). So the earth belongs to the Lord God, and what stuff that is in the earth? All of it.
Psalm 24:1. Let’s read that one out loud together (read). Another specific is added for us in this verse. Not only the earth and all its fullness, but notice what else it says. “The world and those who dwell therein.” People. People belong to God. He is the owner of us. And that is important to recognize, because this is where stewardship moves beyond money.
That time of yours. . .that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. . .that free time that we sometimes refer to as “my time”. It’s not yours. God owns you, and so He owns it. Sometimes I think we ask the wrong questions. When we sit down to watch a TV show, the question is not always, “God, would you allow me to watch this show?” Sometimes the question should be, “God, is this how you desire I use your time?”
Those talents, gifts, abilities. . .you use them to make money, or gain popularity, or display your talents for others. But those gifts and abilities aren’t yours. God owns you, and so He owns them. So we often ask, “God where would you have me to work?” But maybe the question should be, “God, what work skills that you have given me should I be utilizing for ministry?” Because it is all His.
If God has given you a talent, or ability. . .which reason do you think He gave it to you for: to make money, or to win people to His kingdom for eternity? Just think about it. Your time, your talent, your treasure. . .even referring to it is as “yours” is only accurate in the sense that God is allowing you to utilize what is His.
One of my least favorite people on the face of the planet. . .is that too strong a way to phrase it. . .anyway, it is Rush Limbaugh. Derive from that what you will, but about the only thing I have ever heard him say that was accurate was when he refers to his abilities as “talent on loan from God.” That’s true. His ability to do what he does successfully, comes from God. How he is utilizing that talent is very open for debate.
This truth is so critical, so vital, and so imperative to your understanding of everything that exists in your life. God is the owner of everything. That is reality. Donald Trump’s empire is not reality. If you think it is, check on it in 100 years and see what the state of his reality is.
Saying, “It’s my time, and I’ll spend it how I want to” is not reality. If you think it is, talk to someone who no longer has a say in whether they run, jump, or walk. Talk to someone who has lost the life of an infant, or a grandparent. Talk to someone in prison that thought they got to choose how to use their time. We don’t own and control time. . .God does.
Give yourself a really good reality check this week. . .the reality check of ownership. Recognize that when it comes to our talents, time, treasure, and anything else you can come up with, we don’t own them, God does. All of it is His.
Let’s keep moving. A second important reality check is the. . .
RECOGNITION OF BLESSING
We need a reality check which helps us to recognize the blessings God has bestowed on us. Take a look at I Timothy 6:6 (read through verse 8). There is that word again. That non-description of us as Americans. “having food and clothing, with these we shall be. . .” What? Content. We are to be content with food and clothing. . .but look how much more we have. How can we not recognize the blessings in our lives?
Did you notice some of the numbers that have been shared on the back of your worship folder over the past two weeks? North American Evangelicals make more than a combined 2.66 trillion dollars in income. They, which are actually we, compose 80% of the world’s evangelical wealth.
Think about how we define poverty in this country. One way would be through the national poverty level. A financial dollar amount. You know that the national amount for the poverty level in America would be considered the upper percentage of the upper class in the majority of other countries around our globe?
In sub-Saharan Africa, twenty nations remain below their per capita incomes of two decades ago while among Latin American and Caribbean countries, eighteen are below their per capita incomes of ten years ago. They have less money than 10 to 20 years ago.
Listen to this, three decades ago, the people in well-to-do countries were 30 times better off than those in countries where the poorest 20 percent of the world’s people live. By 1998, this gap had widened to 82 times. 82 times better off than 20 percent of the world’s poorest people. 3 billion people live on less than $2 per day while 1.3 billion get by on less than $1 per day. We are so blessed.
But lets get aside of money for a moment. What about time? Aren’t we blessed time wise? Think about it. How many people around the world walk miles to church? It is a big deal for them. A major time investment. Maybe that is why they don’t worry about getting out by noon and beating the Baptist to the buffet.
Do you realize that a single male in America can wake up, get ready for church, drive to church, sit through church, and be home from church in 90 minutes. . .total. Not much of a time sacrifice. Add a female to the picture, and the number goes up to about 2 ½ hours, but still. Technologies bless us with more and more time that ought to be available to us.
You don’t have to stamp a letter, walk to the post office, and drop it in a box. You just hit, “Send” on your computer. You don’t have to harvest vegetables, slaughter animals, and prepare the dinner. Now you just hit a few numbers on a microwave. You don’t have to retrieve a newspaper and watch a newsreel to find out what is going on overseas. Now you just turn on your cable and see instant reports of all the activity around the world.
However, with all this blessing that should be freeing up more and more time for serving others, for sharing the gospel, for proclaiming the Kingdom of God. . .it is happening less and less. Instead we just complain about dial-up verses DSL, and fast food lines that take more than 3 minutes to get through. We want everything faster, but not for any good reason. Not so we can use God’s time for God’s work.
We are so blessed. We have more ability to manage our time, to refine our talents, to maximize our treasure than ever before in history. We need to recognize the reality of our blessing, and quit bemoaning the lack of fulfillment of our wants.
Look back at a verse from our Philippians study. Philippians 4:19. Let’s read this one together (read). Do you see reality? Do you see the reality that you are blessed?
We have to recognize the reality of ownership, and the reality of our blessings. Two more. Foundational to stewardship is a reality check, and a. . .
RECOGNITION OF OPPORTUNITY
Now, for these last two, we are going to look at a single passage, but I really want to look at them in this order. Turn over to the book of Matthew. Matthew 25. The parable of the talents. Absolutely no originality or creativity in utilizing this Scripture to speak on stewardship. But we always seem to talk about it in such an oppressive manner.
You know how it goes. This man hands out these talents to the servants. Even that language can be overbearing, legalistic: master and servants. There is this sense of fearful trepidation. Have to do something good with this. Can’t mess this up. Hope that master is satisfied with how I handle these. And there is a degree of obligation attached to all of this. . .but before we even go there, recognize the opportunity.
Look at verse 21. The master has come back, the one servant has done a great job of doubling up the five talents, and look at what he hears (read).
Look at these opportunities. There are two rewards for the action of the servant. The first reward is increased responsibility. What an opportunity.
Let me ask you this, how come in our secular jobs so many people want the opportunity for increased responsibility? People want to move up. They don’t like being micro-managed, and they want more control. The guy that is working sales wants to become a district sales manager, then a regional sales manager, than a VP. The carpenter wants to become a foreman, then a sub-contractor, then a general contractor. The assistant coach wants to become a head coach, then a pro-coach, then a coach and a general manager.
Out there, in the secular world, people seem to want more and more opportunity and responsibility. But how about when it comes to Godly stewardship of God’s resources? What opportunities do you want? Do you want more non-Christian relationships so that you can share Christ? Do you want that opportunity? Do you want more finances so that you can give more to the church? Do you want that opportunity?
How many of us, when we think of an increased income, the very first thing we think of is being able to give more to the kingdom of God? Not a nicer car, bigger house, better clothes. . .but seeing the increased responsibility of increased resources as an opportunity.
We will talk more about responsibility in a moment. What was the second reward he received? “The joy of your Lord.” Did you see that (re-read verse). What an opportunity. Recognizing that if I am a good steward with all that God owns, talents, time, and treasure, that I will have the opportunity to enter into the joy of the Lord.
Increased responsibility, and the joy of the Lord. That is a reality check. That is the truth about what awaits us if we recognize the opportunity to be good stewards. So we are setting up a pattern here whereby we recognize God’s ownership of everything. We recognize that He has blessed us with so much. We recognize the opportunity that exists for us if we will be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us. And then we take one last reality check. We need. . .
RECOGNITION OF RESPONSIBILITY
Now, let me differentiate between what I just said about responsibility, and what I am talking about here. We just looked at the opportunity for increased responsibility. That is something that we can be rewarded with if we are faithful stewards. That is an opportunity to make greater, and greater impact on the kingdom of God based on how we handle what we have been entrusted with. Greater faithfulness equals greater opportunity in the form of greater responsibility.
However, even if you aren’t looking for more responsibility. Even if you say, “I don’t care about what opportunities there are out there for me if I am a good steward.” That does not change the need to recognize that you are still responsible for what has been placed in your hands. You don’t get to choose to not be responsible. You can choose to be irresponsible. But the choice about whether or not you will be held responsible for what you have been given, is not your choice to make. It is a reality that we are responsible.
Let’s look quickly at this entire parable. Matthew 25, beginning back in verse 14 (read through 30).
Okay, now this is not easy stuff here. Are you ready for this? Take a look at some of the references to this third servant. Remember, this servant was afraid. He didn’t want to squander the master’s money. He didn’t want to make a mistake in how he handled it. So he did the safest thing he could come up with. Doesn’t sound like such a bad thing, does it? He buried it. Kept it safe. No harm, no foul. Could sound like this. . .
“God, I know You have given me a gift, a talent. But I know that You are awesome, and mighty and perfect, and if I mess up using this talent, it could make You look bad. . .and I don’t want that to happen, so I’m just going to hide it.”
Or, “God, I know You have blessed me financially. But I know that You are awesome, and powerful, and if I squander this money in a manner that doesn’t turn out the way I hoped. . .I don’t want that to happen, so I’m just going to sit on it.”
Or maybe “God, I know You have blessed me with all this time. But if I give it to this ministry, and the ministry doesn’t take off, or the people don’t respond, or the world does not stop and call me blessed. . .well, You are awesome and powerful and I don’t want that to happen, so I’m just going to pass this time.”
That was the mindset of this servant. He was controlled by fear, didn’t recognize the reality of the opportunity. And notice the response of the master. “You wicked and lazy servant.” Wow! Those are harsh words. He didn’t lose any of the master’s money. He gave him back everything he had been entrusted with. It wasn’t like the master had given them detailed instructions and clear direction on how to use their talents, or what to do with them. What is the deal? “You wicked and lazy servant.”
Then notice a key word down in verse 30, “And cast the unprofitable servant.” Unprofitable. The Greek word there very literally means, “Useless. Good for nothing.” “Cast the useless servant. The one who took what I gave him, and did nothing with it. The one who was too afraid to act. That good for nothing servant. Cast him out.”
The more I study God’s Word, the more familiar I get with this book, the more I take the position and hold to the belief that Christians, by definition of the word, Christ followers do not have at their disposal the option of not being profitable. For the Christian, there is no option of not bearing fruit. Of not seeing what they have been given multiplied.
There is a reality that has to be faced. A recognition that has to take place. We are responsible for our use of what God has entrusted to us.
So ask yourself. How much time has God given to me? In some sense, it is the same for all of us. . .60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. But in another sense, it is different for all of us. How many years?
10 years? Have you been a good steward of God’s time? 25 years? What fruit do you have to show for your utilization of God’s time? 50 years? In what ways have you been profitable in your use of God’s time?
We have to ask that as a church. We have been given 40+ years as a congregation. How have we used it? Have we been good stewards? Have we been fruitful in our ministry? If the master returned to us today, and said, “SWC. I left you with some talents back in the early 60s. You have had 4 decades to take those talents and steward over them. Show me your return.” Which steward response would we receive?
How about talents? Gifts? Take a moment and somewhere in the margin of your message outline, list out your top two or three spiritual gifts. Those gifts that you were blessed with the day you were saved, and God’s Holy Spirit began to work in your life. What are your top two or three spiritual gifts? Go ahead, write them down (pause).
Now, I have a couple questions for you. First, were you able to list them? If not, why wouldn’t you want to find out what they are, and how you can use them? (Promote “Network Discovery”).
But maybe you were able to list a few. If so, how have you done with them? Have you been bearing fruit? Have you been profitable? When the master returns and says, “I left you with two awesome gifts – hospitality and mercy. Show me what fruit you have bore with them? Taking those spiritual blessings that I poured into your life. . .show me who the people are that are fruit of your utilization of those gifts. Show me how my kingdom has profited from you having those talents.”
And of course, treasure. What fruit, what profit from all that financial blessing? Cars. Homes. Clothes. 124 TV stations and the latest greatest technology. What kind of steward will the master find you to have been when he returns?
This is often when super humility kicks in for all believers. “You know, I’ve never been very talented at much. I really don’t have any spiritual gifts that can really impact and change lives. And I’ve never really made that much money. Plus, between work, and raising the kids, and caring for my spouse, there just hasn’t been that much extra time.” We all get pretty humble when it comes to the accountability of our profitability.
But look at one more passage with me. Luke 16:10 (read through verse 11).
This is why I think it is important to spend some time together on this topic of stewardship. Because of that verse. Forget all the individual implications for a second, and let’s look at this corporately. “If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon.” That is the stuff that really doesn’t matter all that much. But if you have not been faithful in the use of that, “who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
Let me ask you this. If you were God. And you were looking down on the city of Lexington. And down in that city you saw more than 150,000 of your children lost, and out of communion with you. And if you were God, and there was nothing pulling at your heart more than to see those lost children come home. To see those individuals squandering away their life on a path to eternal damnation come into a loving relationship with you. Where are you going to send them?
Are you going to send them to a body that fights amongst themselves? A body that doesn’t really have any concern for lost souls. A body that is more concerned with their history than those non-Christian’s future. A body that can quote bylaws better than Scripture. A body that buries things they have been entrusted with in fear rather than investing them in faith. Where are you going to send your lost children?
This Scripture tells us. “Who will commit to your trust the true riches?” God’s lost creation, lost people, individuals that don’t know Him and are doomed to be eternally separated from Him. . .I think those are part of His true riches. . .and I think He desires to entrust them to those who have been faithful with the least. I believe churches grow because God sees His good stewards, and entrusts them with more of His greatest possessions. . .people.
I hope we can wrestle with our being, and face the reality of our stewardship and accountability in use of God’s time, talents, and treasure. The reality of ownership. . .it’s all God’s. The reality of blessing. . .He has shared a great deal of it with us. The reality of opportunity. Just imagine what we can do. And the reality of our responsibility.
Let’s pray together.
