THE OWNER OF IT ALL
BIBLE READING : MATTHEW 25:14-30
I. INTRODUCTION
This is the third lesson in our four-part stewardship series: Lifestyle Stewardship.
- In the first lesson we looked at the benefits of lifestyle stewardship and went through the Bible to see how God blesses us when we are obedient to Him.
· We learned that we are to be rivers of those blessings and let them flow through us, not reservoirs to horde them up.
In our last lesson, we looked at the balance of stewardship.
- We looked at the extremes of Poverty Theology and Prosperity Theology, and then saw how Stewardship Theology fits in the middle of the spectrum.
· It is not what we have or what we want to have, but what we are doing with what we have right now.
This evening, we want to look at our responsibility as stewards of what God has given to us to manage.
Daniel Webster said, “The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God.”
- He made that statement in response to a question at a banquet in his honor when he was asked, “What is the most profound thought you’ve ever had?”
- He gave the answer and became so emotional that he had to excuse himself and then came back and talked for thirty minutes about our responsibility concerning our time, talents and resources.
Tonight, we will address the problems associated with those who do not recognize God as the Absolute Owner of everything in our lives.
- As you know, we have to settle the issue of ownership before we are able to accomplish much for Christ.
It is paramount that we come to the understanding that we are not owners of anything; we are only the managers.
- Once we grasp this thought, we can then be the type of stewards that God wants.
Let me ask you this question: “If you earned $400.00 last week, how much of it belongs to God?”
- If you said, “$40.00,” you don’t understand this principle yet.
- It all belongs to God!
· The steward understands that God owns it all, and we manage it.
II. BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES OF MONEY MANAGEMENT
A. Principle 1: God Owns It All ( Matt . 24:14-19)
Matthew 25:14-19
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
IMPORTANT: God gives me things to manage, but they belong to Him. My responsibility as a good steward is to do the best I can with what He has given me.
There are two implications that arise out of this story:
1. God has the right to do whatever He wants with the possessions He has given to me (see Job 1:21).
Job 1:21 – And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Job 1:21 (Amplified) – And said, Naked (without possessions) came I [into this world] from my mother's womb, and naked (without possessions) shall I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed (praised and magnified in worship) be the name of the Lord!
Job 1:21 (TEV) – He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The LORD gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!”
The Lord has a right at any time to enter into my life and take away anything I have, because the possession are not mine; they belong to Him.
The Owner has the rights; the steward has the responsibilities.
The word Steward means “caretaker, manager, overseer.”
- Too many people understand it like Dennis the Menace in a cartoon who walked out of the church, shook the Pastor’s hand and asked, “Well, what are you going to do with that dollar my Dad put in the collection plate?”
Stewardship is the use of God-given resources for the accomplishments of God-given goals.
- When we understand God as the Owner of everything, then, when we lose material possessions and finances, the anxiety is less, because we realize God owns it, not us.
- If I think I own everything, when I get more, I run the risk of getting proud and thinking that I did it all – that I have those possessions as a result of my efforts and not God’s blessings.
- If I lose everything, I become depressed, because I feel that I have lost “my” possessions.
When we understand God as Absolute Owner, we have balance emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually to handle the blessings and the setbacks of material possessions.
Note also that in the passage, the Master did not give each the same amount.
- He gave one 5 talents, one 2 talents, and the last guy received only 1 talent.
- Verse 15 tells us why…
· “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.”
He gave them what they had the ability to handle.
- If you aren’t doing such a swift job of handling $400.00 a week, why would God give you $10,000.00 a week?
PASTORAL NOTE: We are accountable for what God has given us; and He gives us more as we can handle more. In other words, as we prove ourselves to be good stewards, God gives us more to be stewards over.
2. Every spending decision is a spiritual decision.
Ron Blue said, “You can’t fake stewardship. Your checkbook reveals all that you really believe about stewardship. A life story could be written from a checkbook. It reflects your goals, priorities, convictions, relationships, and even the use of your time. A person who has been a Christian for even a short while can fake prayer, Bible study, evangelism, going to church, and so on, but he can’t fake what his checkbooks reveals.”
Your calendar can be considered in the same way.
- As you are probably aware, it is easy to sing, “I Surrender All,” and in reality not surrender much at all.
· God looks at what you are really doing; and you know that you can never fool Him.
READ: Matthew 6:21
Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
- Matthew 6:21 (TEV) – For your heart will always be where your riches are.
- From The Message – It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
· Jesus sees your heart, your checkbook and your calendar.
· Your priorities, your loves and your desires are found there!
B. Principle 2: God Uses Money and Possessions to Prepare Us for His Coming Kingdom
READ: Matthew 24:20-23
Matthew 25:20-23
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
PASTORAL NOTE: God uses the possessions we now have in order to prepare us for a larger eternal kingdom. How we handle what we have now will determine what we receive in the eternal kingdom.
This is powerful stuff!
Note that Jesus was teaching on the coming kingdom here.
- He used this parable and He is saying you did well with the things on the temporal earth – with what he gave you – and because of this, when we get to the eternal realm, He will give us more, because we were good stewards and can be trusted.
Look at verses 22 and 23 – He said the same thing to the steward who had two talents.
- You see, it wasn’t how much they had; it was what they did with what they had.
That’s what Jesus was saying in Luke 16:11-12…
READ: Luke 16:11-12
Luke 16:11-12
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
Luke 16:11-12 (TEV)
11 If, then, you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, how can you be trusted with true wealth?
12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?
Luke 16:11-12 (MSG)
11 If you’re a crook in small things, you’ll be a crook in big things.
12 If you’re not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store?
Three Quick Points About Money and Possessions:
1. Money and possessions are a very effective tool that God uses in our lives.
In other words, these things get our attention.
- When we have times of financial change, there are two responses.
· When we lose money or possessions, the mature Christian asks, “God, what do you want me to learn?”
· The immature Christians asks, “God, why are you doing this to me?”
These tools (money and possessions) shape us in life.
2. Money and possessions are a very effective test that God uses in our lives.
In the parable, the two who were good stewards were given more, but the one who wasn’t had to give up what he had.
- Listen again to Luke 16:11-12…
· If, then, you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, how can you be trusted with true wealth? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?
It’s like the story of the wealthy man who died and went to heaven…
- Saint Peter was showing him around and they came to this enormous mansion, and the rich man asked, “Is this my house?”
- Saint Peter said, “No; this belongs to your butler.”
- The rich man thought to himself: “If my butler gets a house this huge, mine must be enormous!”
- They came to another large house, larger than the first, and the rich man asked, “Is this mine?”
- Saint Peter said, “No; this belongs to your maid.”
- “Wow!” the rich man thought, “If this belongs to my maid, mine must be phenomenal!”
- About that time, they turned the corner and there was a little old shack, it was really just a few boards nailed together over a little crate.
- The rich man asked, “Whose is that?”
- Saint Peter said, “It’s yours!”
- The rich man said, “Mine? But my butler had a mansion and my maid had an even bigger mansion, how can this be mine?”
- Saint Peter said, “We did the best we could with what you sent us!”
3. Money and possessions are a very effective testimony that God uses in our lives.
We are to be a light in the darkness of this world.
- What distinguishes us as Christians in this world concerning possessions is not whether we have a little or a lot, but our attitude toward what we have.
· That is our testimony!
C. Principle 3: The Amount is not Important
READ: Matthew 25:21-23
Matthew 25:21-23
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
In God’s sight, the amount is not important.
- What is important is how I handle those possession I have.
- As we settled earlier, the one with five talents and the one with two talents were equal in the Master’s sight – not because of the amount they had, but because of what they did with it.
REMEMBER – God doesn’t care if we have too much or too little; He’s only concerned with what we are doing with what we have right now!
If you are faithful with the little you have, it’s just as important to God as the billionaire who tithes from what he has.