Sunday January 3, 2016 Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas e-mail
Message: New Year Message Text: Luke 16:2; Romans 14:10-12
Give an Account of Thy Stewardship
By the time you receive this Weekly SERMON Christmas day 2015 will have passed and New Year’s day of 2016 will have just past. It’s hard to believe 2015 is over. We have welcomed the year of our Lord 2016, with all the eventualities, possibilities, opportunities and even uncertainties. But through it all I trust you will find God in His rich mercy and goodness is good all the time. Amen!!
As you prepare for the year ahead, allow me to share what I believe to be soul-searching thoughts to “Give an Account of Thy Stewardship.”.
In the parable of the unjust steward who had wasted his master’s goods, Jesus said unto him in Luke 16:2 "Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou may no longer be steward."
In Romans 14:10b-12 we read, “…for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
These are certainly sobering words. Here you are - day after day - moving through life and then all of a sudden without warning God says to you, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING, TIME IS UP. It's now TIME to REPORT, “Give an account of thy stewardship..."
"Give an account of thy stewardship" is a command that may be addressed to the unsaved. In Hebrews 9:27 we read, "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" The law of God is not relaxed because they have sinned. The unsaved still remain responsible to God, even though they attempt to cast off the yoke of the almighty. They will one day stand at the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT of the unsaved found in Revelation 20:11-15. Here God will say "Give an account of thy stewardship." Then God will say to them "depart from me you worker of iniquity," and cast them into the lake of fire that burns forever and forever.
"Give an account of thy stewardship," is a command that will be applied to the child of God in a different sense. One day at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST we will give to Him an account of our stewardship. For in II Corinthians 5:10 we read, "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done..."
You may ask, “On what is God’s judgment based?” I believe the key word is FAITHFULNESS. In I Corinthians 4:2 we read, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” When God judges our stewardship, He is looking for FAITHFULNESS. How can we ensure that God will find us faithful during the year 2016?
First: God calls us to GIVE an account of our TIME. God is going to hold us accountable as to how we have used our time. Someone said, "There is a gift which comes to us from royal source each day of our lives, BRIGHT and SPARKLING, absolutely untouched and unspoiled. What is that gift, you ask, the priceless gift of time. Each day we receive a fresh new supply, 24 hours, 1440 minutes and 86,400 seconds. This is 24 hours we have never lived before and 24 hours we shall never live again."
Psalm 90:12, "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom..."
Psalm 39:4, "Lord made me to know mine end, and the measure of my days what it is..."
Psalm 89:47, "Remember how short my time is..."
Ephesians 5:16, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
It has been said, "Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is uncertain, therefore, it behooves us to spend every moment of our life we have in the right place doing the right thing for JESUS.”
Second: God calls us to GIVE an account of our TALENTS. According to Matthew 25:14-19, God has given each of us gifts, abilities, and talents which are deeply embedded in our lives. In this parable we find God is looking for ACTION not EXCUSES. One day God will say, "Give an account of your stewardship concerning your talents, gifts and abilities."
Third: God calls us to GIVE an account of our TREASURE. The Word of God teaches us in Leviticus 27:30, "…the Tithe is holy unto the Lord." We also read in I Corinthians 16:1-2 "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him, in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” In the day of accounting, will God find you FAITHFUL in giving your Tithe?
Fourth: God calls us to GIVE an account of our WORDS. In Matthew 12:36-37 we read, "But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, he shall give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Oh, be careful what you say. How would you muster at the judgment seat TODAY if you were called to account for your words this past year?
Fifth: God calls us to GIVE an account of our THOUGHTS. God is the great MIND READER. In Proverbs 23:7 we read, "…as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Ecclesiastes 12:14 said to us, "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." When God calls you to account for your thoughts, what will be revealed?
Sixth: God calls us to GIVE an account of our GODLY KNOWLEDGE. In II Timothy 2:2 we read, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” Here we are told what we learn about God is then to be passed on to others. We are the stewards of important information, including every TRUTH anybody has ever taught us. You owe it to God to pass that godly knowledge on to others.
Seventh: God calls us to GIVE an account of our FAMILY. Those of us who live within a family setting as a husband, wife or child have the responsibility of stewardship. In the book of Ephesians chapter 5 and 6, Paul gives us instructions:
To the wife we read in 5:22-24, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (23) For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (24) Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”
To the husband we read in 5:25-28, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (28) So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”
To the child we read in 6:1-3, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. (2) Honour thy father and mother… (3) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
To the father we read in 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
As we begin 2016, it seems most suitable to PAUSE and take stock of our STEWARDSHIP both in our hearts and consciousness.
As we begin this year, it might be well to take to heart David's words in Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me O God, and know MY heart; Try ME and know MY thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in ME, and lead ME in the way everlasting."
As we begin this year, it might be well to take to heart what the Apostle Paul said as he examined his past in Philippians 3:13-14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I PRESS toward the MARK for the PRIZE of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Live for Jesus TODAY! Serve Jesus TODAY! Use your TIME, TALENTS TREASURE, THOUGHTS, WORDS, and GODLY KNOWLEDGE for Jesus TODAY! The hour may come before this year is finished that you will pass on to glory. It may happen even in the full strength of life that you will be called upon to give an account of your stewardship.
Can you say at this very moment, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day?”
Can you say today, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith?”
Can you say, "As a steward I have been faithful?" Will you one day at the judgment seat of Christ hear the Lord say, "Well done, thou good and FAITHFUL servant, enter into the JOY of the Lord?"
During 2016, may you ever be reminded:
The brevity of life should cause us to REFORM our PERSPECTIVES.
The brevity of life should cause us to REORDER our PRIORITIES.
The brevity of life should cause us to RE-EVALUATE our LIVES.
As we welcome the new year, I leave you with a challenge that throughout 2016 you will:
REST in God more CONFIDENTLY.
LOVE the Lord more EARNESTLY.
SERVE our generation more INTENSELY.
LIVE by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.
FULFILL our appointed place as God shall helps us.
Be more CONCERNED for SINNERS’ eternity.
Be more LOVING toward Christian SAINTS.
Next week we will resume our studies on “The Names of God.” But in the mean-time have a blessed week and a Happy New Year in the Lord.
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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon "Give an Account of Thy Stewardship" right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.
Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in
Acts 16:31, “...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...”
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”
If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, please let me know. Please send an e-mail to and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.
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