Embracing God-Given Stewardship with Faithfulness and Purpose

When I went through 2 Corinthians, there was an issue in our church, and it became very difficult to even preach the passage without... certain people thinking that I was preaching at them. And it wasn't an issue between me and them per se. It was just an issue. And so, these can be very intense passages, but I think we can look a little bit more deeply than what the apostle Paul was going through, and actually look at what Paul was saying about his stewardship and apply the timeless truths of what he's saying to our lives. And so, stewardship. What is a stewardship? A stewardship is... is an obligation, an area of responsibility given to a person that they are to take care of. [00:46:11] (45 seconds)


Your time, your talents, your skills, your resources, your opportunities, and your money all came from God and belong to Him. Now, they've been placed in your care. That doesn't mean you take it and give it all away. Well, I'm a steward. I better give it all away. If you gave it all away, then who is there that has those resources when the real time of need... arises? [00:48:25] (24 seconds)


But don't ever for a second think that you can absolve yourself from stewardship. I believe that you have a stewardship in every aspect of your life. Even your salvation, you know, you could say, well, salvation comes from God. And, you know, I was one of the elect and God predetermined that I would be saved. But weren't you called upon? Weren't you commanded to repent? [00:49:02] (30 seconds)


And we need to be faithful in all those areas of responsibility that God has given to us. Do we move on it? Do we not move on it? How do we spend it? Do we buy it? Do we sell it? Do we exert effort? Do we fix somebody's, you know, porch or house up for them? What do we do? Do we do with what God has given us? [00:50:01] (20 seconds)


Luke 12 and verse 48 says this, everyone to whom much was given of him much will be required. And for those of you who think that that's a quote from Spider-Man, it's not. That's actually the verse. I know Spider-Man has a similar quote, but this isn't that one. Colossians 3 verse 23 says this, whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Paul took stewardship very seriously. I mean, he was intense about it. In fact, that's why he's defending his role as an apostle. [00:50:41] (45 seconds)


So the context is the ungodly debates. And then my first point is found in verses 1 and 2. And the first point under 1 or A is this, that you need to regard yourself as a steward from God. And so you are a steward. Regard your stewardship as one from God. [00:53:52] (20 seconds)


Now, even if you're laid up and you're not able to get out, if you can't work, you have a stewardship to endure, to trust God, and maybe take that time to pray. If you're looking for something to do, there always is a responsibility. We always have opportunities to serve God or to make decisions. So our life is made up of a series of decisions. [00:55:02] (26 seconds)


And I believe those decision-making opportunities, listen to me on this, are all opportunities to worship God. Now, it's not so much that God was saying, I want Scott to wear the green shirt today, you know, and I made it. I think some things, God's indifferent about. He wants us to choose those things. But He did give us the personality. He gave us the resources. And He does want me to wear a shirt. I'm pretty well convinced of that. [00:55:54] (33 seconds)


You don't get to make the call. Paul, God is the one who knows those things. So it says this in the verse, but with me, it's a very small thing that I should be judged by you or any human court. In fact, I don't even judge myself. You see, you can't discern the motives of others. You just can't. You don't know. Well, you could kind of know, or if they tell you, you can know, but it's not our job to go around discerning, well, Dan Forey should have given a million more dollars. That's not my call. I don't want to be judged by you. I don't want to be judged by you. I don't want to be judged by Paul. Your call. I don't even know if Dan's a millionaire, multi-millionaire, independently wealthy, because it's none of our business. [01:02:37] (42 seconds)


By the way, we have someone that holds us accountable, and that is God. Now, that doesn't mean we're never accountable to anybody. Now, as a pastor, I'm primarily accountable to God. I don't have an elder that follows me around all day. You know, what time did you get out of bed, and when did you go to the office, and how many hours did you study, and what passage did you choose? Now, I do report that to the elders, but I'm primarily accountable to God throughout the week. But that doesn't mean I'm not accountable. I still am. [01:03:28] (32 seconds)


And I know, listen, there's, no condemnation for the believer. There's now, therefore, no condemnation. You're going to be judged, but not for condemnation, but for a reward or a lack of reward. And we will give an account of ourselves before God. And when we do that, know that God knows how we used our resources, how we lived out our stewardship, what we did with our stuff, our time, our talents, how we interacted. with our family, what we did in our church, how we acted in our community, what our stewardship was. [01:13:38] (39 seconds)


But thirdly, that God knows what he's placed in your care, and he expects you to use it. For his purposes, you are a steward of what God has placed in your care. It might be time. It might be resources. It might be opportunities. It might be brains. It might be money. It might be family. It might be church. There's a lot of different things and a lot of realms of responsibilities that God has for us. We will give an account before God for how we live it out. And so, don't spend your time judging everybody else before the time, because the Lord's coming back. [01:14:35] (42 seconds)