Stewardship
John: "Mary, there is something have been wanting to talk to you about for some time. During the last several months, we have learned to know each other very well. And the more I know you, the more I like you. Whenever I am with you I feel great. When we are apart I am very lonely. I now realize that I love you, and my question is, ‘Will you marry me?’"
Mary: "John, you are a handsome man, and I am proud to be seen with you. You have given me flowers and candy, and I like that. I understand that if I marry you, I will have more money to spend. And God said that it is not good for man to live alone, so I know that marriage is God’s will. Besides, the fifth commandment says to honor fathers and mothers, and I guess there wouldn’t be fathers and mothers except for marriage. So John, I feel it is my duty. Yes, I feel obligated to marry you."
That marriage is already doomed. Mary is willing to establish a covenant with John, not to joyfully share something wonderful, but because she feels it is her duty. And that is not enough!
Many people read Malachi 3:8-12. And they don't want to feel guilty of robbing God. And they would like to have their crops protected from grasshoppers. It seems clear that it is their duty to return to God the tithe, and to give offerings. But the covenant they make with God is not one of joyful sharing. They do it out of a sense of obligation. It is not fun. And it doesn't last.
When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, he didn't tell them a word about tithes or offerings. He just gave them everything He had made, and asked them to take care of it. And that is what stewardship means.
David understood this. He, with the people of Israel, joyfully gave the materials for the building of God's temple. Then he said:
1 Chronicles 29:14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."
God does not really need our offerings.
Psalm 50:10 "For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."
Psalm 50:12 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it."
God owns all things, but he freely chooses to entrust to us, the management of His gifts. And his gifts include far more than material possessions.
I Corinthians 4:1 "So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God."
Our most precious trust is not any material possession, but the knowledge we possess about God.
Jeremiah 9:23,24 "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches. But let him who boasts, boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight."
We have been entrusted with good news about God. And to share good news is not only a privilege, but a joy.
Why does God give?
John 3:16 "God so loved that he gave."
Why does God wish us to give?
Because he knows that the only way we can be saved, is to have a saving relationship with Him. And one of the best ways to build that relationship, is to joyfully and thankfully return gifts to Him.
This is why the motive for giving makes all the difference.
2 Corinthians 8:12 "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have."
God never asks us to give what we do not have. So does it make no difference how much we give?
If we are able to give more, but instead choose to give less, what is our motive? Are we helping to build a relationship?
Likewise, if the relationship is right, no one will have to beg us or coerce us to share.
Matthew 10:8 (With respect to healing) "Freely you have received, freely give."
If we will agree to joyfully enter into a covenant with God, many good things can happen. Paul describes some of the terms of God's covenant of stewardship:
II Corinthians 9:6,7: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
A cheerless, reluctant giving, feeling under compulsion, is not giving, at all. It accomplishes no good, for it is not useful in building the saving relationship with God.
II Corinthians 9:11: "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion."
Does God give riches? Yes He does. Why does He give riches? So that we can be generous. In what way would God makes us rich? He would make us rich in every way. Maybe God could bless us more in every way, if we weren’t so preoccupied with riches of just one kind– money.
God would like to make us rich in so many ways– in the knowledge of Him, that can bring us peace and hope. He would like to give us warm Christian friendships. He would like to give us loving families. He would like to give us challenging and enjoyable work to do. He would like to give us Jesus Christ, to live out His life within us. And he would like to give us the gift of eternal life, to live with Him, forever.
II Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
Would you like to accept God’s offer– to become His servant, His steward, His business manager, His messenger?
Would you like to make a covenant with God, to set up the saving relationship which will lead to eternal life?
What are the terms of such a covenant?
A Covenant with God
1. God Will: Forgive my rebellion.
I Will: Cease my rebellion.
2. God Will: Handle any legal problems for me.
I Will: Gratefully accept God’s provision.
3. God Will: Give me the free gift of eternal life.
I Will: Happily accept God’s gift.
4. God Will: Take a personal interest in me.
I Will: Seek to know God better.
5. God Will: Demonstrate that He is worthy of my trust.
I Will: Trust God as He shows Himself trustworthy.
6. God Will: Provide evidence that appeals to my reason.
I Will: Follow the weight of evidence.
7. God Will: Teach me how to be obedient.
I Will: Choose to be obedient.
8. God Will: Heal my spiritual illness.
I Will: Remain under God’s treatment.
9. God Will: Grant me a peaceful optimistic mind.
I Will: Contemplate God and His care for me.
10. God Will: Give counsel for happy healthy living.
I Will: Accept God’s counsel and act upon it.
11. God Will: Provide power for me to behave more like Jesus.
I Will: Let Jesus live His life in me.
12. God Will: Make me prosper mentally, physically, and spiritually.
I Will: Love God with all my heart and strength and mind.
13. God Will: Provide everything I need.
I Will: Return God's tithe, to remind me that all I have is His.
14. God Will: Give me more than I need.
I Will: Give joyful offerings, to share God’s gifts with others.
[Read suggested covenant responsively.]
Closing Hymn: Great is Thy Faithfulness, AH # 100
Benediction: Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."