1/18/15 Using What God Has Given Us

    A question that was recently asked all over the place was this: what did you get for Christmas? Some of the answers people gave were filled with excitement!!!  I got a . . . .!  Others were filled with disappointment.  Oh, I got a . . . .
    Let’s take that theme to the thought of the gifts and talents and resources that God has given to each one of us.  What can you do for God?  Is the response excited or disappointed?
Return to Sender
    A woman wrote this:  When my niece turned six, I excitedly gave her some gifts I had spent time shopping for. Two weeks later, when I asked if she was enjoying them, I was disappointed to learn she had decided to return some of them. Even after my careful selection of those gifts--intended especially for her--she hadn’t really appreciated them. As I asked God to help me get over my disappointment, I remembered some of the gifts God had given me--gifts that I hadn’t appreciated either and wished I could have exchanged for others.
Patti Greenman, St. Louis, MO. Today's Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart.”
    As I read this short story, I thought of the gifts that God has given to each of us.  There are things we can do or learn to do to be active in God’s work.  There are abilities we have.    There are material resources.  There is time we can invest in doing what God wants.  Ask yourself:
□    Do I use what God gives?
□    Do I wish that instead, I could do other things?
□    Am I thankful for what God has given me?
    We all have been given gifts by other people.  Some of those gifts are in the form of gift cards.  Here is some interesting information.
    According to estimates reported in the Journal of State Taxation, the typical American home has an average of $300 in unused gift cards. These cards are often misplaced, accidentally thrown out, or only partially redeemed. Between 2005 and 2011, $41 billion in gift cards went unused.
Harvard Business Review, Stats & Curiosities (Harvard Business Review, 2013), page 104
    I hear things like that and think, I’d be happy to help out and use them.  How about all of the gifts that God gives? Is the church across the world filled with countless unused spiritual gift cards?
    Let’s look at this statement:  God has given us great resources.  We must use those resources for His honor.  Use them well.
    As we look at the investments God has made in us, it is all about what we do with them.
    Our resources include the money we have as well as the abilities we have.  It is not just the resources, it is what we do with them.
    A foundational point is that God is our source.  We will develop this truth over the next weeks.
    With this in mind, we want to take some time on the topic of biblical stewardship.  What is it and how do we apply it in daily life?   As we all apply these biblical principles, we will take our church fellowship far down the road God wants to take us.
1 Corinthians 4:1-21 NKJV
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
    Note that is doesn’t say successful according to American thinking.  It says faithful.  We all CAN be faithful to God.
    We are ALL called to be God’s servants, His helpers.  This is a subordinate role, not the big cheese.  We are God’s stewards.  We are responsible to manage the large investment God has in us.
□    The steward is accountable to his/her master and must prove trustworthy and faithful.
□    He/she must be reliable.
□    The steward doesn’t own what is managed, it is managed for another.  Yet, it must be treated well, not wasted or abused.  The steward is entrusted with the owner’s resources.
□    Our Christian stewardship is an acknowledgment that God retains ownership of everything in our lives.
Jesus said:  Luke 12:42-44 NLT
42 And the Lord replied, A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.
    God gives us the responsibility of managing for the Master. The better we do in managing what God gives us, the more He will trust us with.
    This passage helps understand the concept of ownership.  The Master still owns it all, the servant, the steward manages it.  ***Understanding ownership is a key to biblical stewardship.
    We are called to be God’s managers of what He entrusts to us.  We are to manage our resources in a way that pleases God and follows His commands.
    I have a question to ask you, and we may jokingly say I would love to have that problem. The question is this: what would be the response of this fellowship if we discovered we had just been given a very, very large financial gift?
□    Would we all come together and work to see that it was well used?
□    Would we be insistent that we do not allow it to cause problems and that we would only use it in a way that pleases God?
□    Would any of us be tempted to think “Oh good, now I don’t have to tithe”?
    If that were to ever happen, I trust that none of us would ever come to the conclusion that it caused so many problems we wished that the gift had never been given. Having a good understanding of biblical stewardship is an important key to guide us in properly using any and all resources God gives us.  Whether the gift is one dollar or 1 million, it all belongs to God.
    A big help in understanding biblical stewardship:  Think Eternal.  Look far beyond today to see the long term impact.
    The deeper that people get in to learning about biblical stewardship, the more some people say it doesn’t make sense.  Know this:  God’s ways are higher, and they are always better.
Isaiah 55:8-11 NIV  8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”  declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
1.  God’s ways higher, better, more beneficial.  So, do things God’s way.
2.  God’s purpose will be accomplished.  A crop will come, results will come when we obey the Word of God. 
    So, let’s learn and then follow God’s ways.
    One of the great challenges of the Christian life comes when we see something in the Bible that we should do, and yet we wonder if we really can do it.
□    Will we make it in life if we obey?
□    Will we survive doing it God’s way?
□    Is God really going to take care of us if we obey?
    Chew on these thoughts for a bit.  Let’s discuss them.
    Right in the middle of some laws that God gave Israel, right in the middle of a section that we struggle to get through as we read, we find an example of God’s blessing on obedience.
    God told Israel that every seven years they were to give the land a rest.  They were NOT to plant a crop.  Now, the obvious question is: how could they survive?  They didn’t have all the modern sources of supply, long term storage, freezing, etc. that we have today.  Well, the answer is simple.  God said HE would take care of it.
Leviticus 25:18-22 NKJV
18 ‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. 20 ‘And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.
    God said to Israel: if you obey Me I will take care of you.  He says that to us today, as well.
    The miracles:  a bumper crop, no spoilage, they had food when they rested the land.
    Vital principal: when God says to do something, trust HIM to make it work.
    Keep this in mind as we continue to work through this topic of stewardship.  God’s ways are higher and He expects us to obey.
    Stewardship is the Christian way of life and managing resources.  This is not optional for Christians.  It encompasses every aspect of our lives.
    It is common to look at the big mountain before us instead of the powerful vehicle we have to drive over it.  It is common for us to look at the challenges and needs of the world and our fellowship instead of looking to God Who is bigger than anything we face.
    We must keep this focus in mind, not only as we cover this topic, but as we do all the work God has called us to do.  I wish we had more time right now to go deeper, we will continue next week.

DISCUSSION
What is a steward?
How do we define the resources God has invested in us?
What are we to do with these resources?

PRAYER Lord, help us to understand what you mean by stewardship.  Help us to be the faithful steward you want us to be.
    Personalize this: Lord, help Me to be . . .