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http://www.ls-coc.org/sermonsSunday Morning Sermon
Preached by John Gaines at Leonard Street Church of Christ
December 7, 2003
Life is a Trust
1. We continue this three-part series on God's View of Life. Last week, we talked about how God looks at our lives as a series of tests.
2. One of those tests is how well we manage the resources and opportunities God gives to us. Faithfulness is a necessary requirement for stewards [1 Corinthians 4:2 (NKJV) Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.] How well do we use what God has trusted to us?
I. THE REALITY OF GOD'S TRUST
A. Prosperous people usually take a self-sufficient attitude. In spite of recent economic slowdown, we are very prosperous by historical standards.
1. Prosperous people are ready to take credit for everything they have. "I worked and earned the money to pay for that. It's mine!" is their attitude. Story of unbelieving husband and father who objected to his son saying a prayer before eating where he thanked God for the food which God had provided.
2. However, the Bible teaches that God is the giver of every gift [James 1:17 (NKJV) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.] Everything we have is a gift from God!
B. God is the Ultimate Owner of everything that exists [Psalms 24:1 (NKJV) The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.] Cf. Psalms 50:10-12 (NKJV) For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. 12 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Whatever we have in life belongs to God. He is merely letting us use His "stuff" while we're living on earth. The unbeliever might have worked and earned a paycheck which he used to purchase food. But God blessed him with the health to be able to work. God blessed him with the opportunity to have a job so he could earn money. God blessed him with the breath of life itself. God is responsible for the sunshine and the rain [Matthew 5:45].
C. The reality is that God has put us here and left His things in our care. We have no choice about whether or not we will be stewards. The only question is how faithful will we be in our stewardship.
1. The parable of the talents offers a parallel to us [Matthew 25:14-30]. The story is familiar. A master prepares to go on a long journey. He calls three of his servants and entrusts each of them with a sum of money (five talents, two talents, and one talent). The money is left in their care for them to use in the way they think best. When the master returns, he calls each of the servants to account for their stewardship. How well have they used what was left in their care?
2. We face the same sort of situation. The "talents" given to us by God may be in the form of money. But God's gifts take many other forms.
II. THE RANGE OF GOD'S TRUST
A. God has given us the gift of time.
1. Some have been blessed far more abundantly than others with money or other talents, but everyone has the same blessing of time. Everyone's week has seven days. Everyone's day has the same 24 hours.
2. We are obligated to redeem the time [Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5]. Surely that carries the idea of using time well. Don't waste it. Don't procrastinate.
B. God has given us the gift of energy.
1. Those who have the most energy have the least appreciation for the blessing. Children are exuberant in the use of their abundance of energy.
2. As we get older, we find ourselves getting TIRED easier and more often. We have to reckon with the reality that we just can't get everything done. So we have to learn to prioritize. While we don't want to leave anything undone on our TO DO lists, we want to make sure the "weightier matters" get first attention because energy levels may run dry before all the tasks are accomplished. Look at Matthew 23:23 (NKJV) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. I know this verse does not suggest that the Pharisees neglected the weightier matters because they were tired. They had a different problem. But Jesus does teach the value of having priorities. Justice, mercy, and faith are more important than mint, anise, and cummin. Likewise, we need to prioritize. One of the gifts God gives us for our use is energy. Energy, for most of us, is an exhaustible resource so we need to prioritize to make sure we use our energy to do the things that really need doing.
C. God has given us the gift of intelligence.
1. We have the wonderful ability to reason and to understand. Everyone is not blessed with the same degree of intelligence. Some are Einsteins while others struggle to keep their IQ numbers ahead of their age. Yet most humans are able to hear the gospel of Christ and understand what it means for their lives. Oh, we might not all make A's in calculus or quantum physics. Some of the book of Revelation might remain a mystery to us. Some of the profound thoughts in Romans and Ephesians might whiz right by us. . . . But thanks be to God, we are able to understand the simple truths of salvation that are revealed in the New Testament.
2. John 8:31-32 (KJV) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
3. It's a shame that some people do not use the intelligence God has given them to understand the truth. They will be accountable for their failure to learn the truth.
D. God has given us the gift of opportunities.
1. Paul came to Troas to preach the gospel and, he says, a door was opened to him by the Lord [Colossians 2:12]. He means the Lord blessed him with opportunities.
2. We don't understand everything about how God providentially provides opportunities. We do know that doors open . . . and sometimes doors close. We have to be good stewards of those open-door opportunities to accomplish God's will in the world around us.
E. God has given us the gift of relationships.
1. God created Adam and discovered that it was not good for man to be alone [Genesis 2:18]. He needed a relationship with another human being. God caused Adam to sleep, took a rib from his side, and created Eve as a companion for Adam. A wife is a wonderful gift from God [Proverbs 18:22 (NKJV) He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.] The same applies for husbands! Amen? Marriage is a meant to be a wonderful relationship ordained from heaven. We've been trusted with the responsibility of taking good care of our marriages.
2. Children are a blessing from the Lord [Psalms 127:4-5 (NKJV) Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. 5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.]
3. Friendships are another precious gift from God [Proverbs 17:17 (NKJV) A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.]
F. God has given us the gift of resources. No job can be accomplished without certain necessary tools. Like a farmer without a plow or a carpenter without a hammer, a Christian would be unable to get his job done without the necessary resources. God uses the commitment of faithful Christians to provide the financial resources to pay the bills. God uses the dedication of true disciples to provide the effort and energy to do the work. Whatever we need, God will provide. We don't have everything we want, but we do have everything we need!
III. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF GOD'S TRUST
A. We will have to "give an answer" for the way we have used the gifts God has left in our care. The master in the parable of the talents eventually came home. Matthew 25:19 says he "reckoneth" or "settled accounts" with them. There is always responsibility associated with being a steward!
B. Two of the servants pleased the master by the way they had used their talents. The five-talent man had doubled his money so that he now had ten talents. The two-talent man had also doubled his so that he had four. The one talent man offered neutral results. He had neither gained nor lost anything. While we might think this is "not too bad" since nothing was lost, the master was not pleased. His master called him a "wicked and lazy servant" and ordered him cast into outer darkness [Matthew 25:26, 30].
C. We live in a time when people often think "if it's not mine, I don't have to take care of it." That philosophy is shown when people abuse rental cars or trash hotel rooms. Christians don't think that way, however. EVERYTHING belongs to God. Our responsibility is to take the best care we can of everything He puts into our care. 1 Corinthians 4:2 in the New Century Version says, "Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust." Stewardship is one of our tests, and it is very important that we pass the test.
IV. THE REWARDS OF GOD'S TRUST.
A. The servants who were good stewards of the talents left in their care were rewarded by their master [Matthew 25:21 (NKJV) "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.']
1. They were commended by their master -- Well done, good and faithful servant!
2. They were given greater responsibility -- You were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.
3. They were welcomed -- Enter into the joy of your lord.
B. Our rewards are even greater. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The parable of the talents isn't simply a story about a man leaving money in the care of three servants and taking a trip. It's an analogy about Christ and His dealings with His people.
1. We're trusted with great gifts.
2. We're accountable for the way we use those gifts.
3. We'll be rewarded eternally for faithful stewardship. "Enter into the joy of your lord" is the welcome escorted us into heaven.
CONCLUSION
1. Let us finish this study by asking what you have to do to hear the Lord speak those words of welcome to you on the Judgment Day.
2. You must become a Christian. As long as you are outside of Christ, you are in a state of hopeless condemnation. You have some blessings. The Lord causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. You may have money. You may have pleasure. You may have status and power. But you don't have hope. You're lost in sin. In eternity, you must leave whatever good things you've had in this life behind. If you're in that condition, you're without Christ, without God, and without hope [Ephesians 2:12].
3. You must be a faithful steward of both the spiritual and material blessings God trusts to your care. When that is true in your life, you can say with Paul, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" [Philippians 1:21 (NKJV)].
4. Invitation/plan of salvation