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Luke 19:11-27
We invite you to worship with us each Sunday morning at 9:30. You may also download our service on I-tunes by clicking on Baptist-Christian. As we conclude our series on giving we turn to Luke’s gospel. Jesus is teaching about us how to use the gifts He gives us. The U.S. Army’s slogan is “be all you can be.” Although Christians really aren’t in God’s army, our challenge is “be all God means for you to be!” If we were to do that we would certainly be a force to be reckoned with! The responsibility and accountability of being God’s ambassadors is awesome. Any power and authority we derive from such a position is never to be used for our own personal gain or benefit. God wants us to use all He gives us as He directs us! In our study let’s consider first
- STEWARDSHIP PRINCIPLES. When we think of stewardship we must get far beyond our wallets (although they are included). We are to be stewards, caretakers, and wise administrators of all that God has given to us as His redeemed. Stewardship extends to every part of our Christian lives, both public and private. The first principle that should drive your stewardship attitude is everyone is responsible and accountable to God no matter how much or how little you are given. The mina used in this lesson would be worth about $5-$10 in our economy today. It’s not all that much in the big picture. The point is not the worth or value of the coin, but what each steward did with it! The second principle is the King expected each servant to do something with what they had been given. God is not concerned with how much we have, just how much we do. The third principle of stewardship is that God is concerned with how faithful we are. The King wasn’t concerned with different results; He was concerned and pleased with the success of each servant who acted. The fourth principle is use it or lose it. The Kings disappointment wasn’t how little was produced, but by the fact the one servant did nothing at all. The King expected the steward to use what he had to produce the best results he could in the time give. God expects us to do exactly that same thing. Let’s consider these principles as
- STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES! At our salvation, every Christian is given exactly the same benefit package. We are all fully forgiven, fully gifted, and fully vested in all those spiritual blessings. No one is given more than another. We are expected to use all those spiritual blessings in our salvation package as God tells us, not how we think it ought to be used. How do we know what God wants us to do with our “mina?” Read Jer. 29:11-13. In short all we have to do is allow God the freedom He wants to direct our lives and He will make His plan for us crystal clear. The reason some Christians seem to prosper more is because they actually do something with what God gives them – without making excuses. We must exercise our faith (again no matter how small or large) to let God work through us. One person said faith means even if I fail the first time, I’ll not give up thinking God is against me. It is ironic that the man who hid his mina so he wouldn’t lose it, lost it in the end. Could we translate that to not using the salvation benefits God gives us in our own life, let alone sharing them with someone else’s? So does God really take away our salvation benefits? NO! Unless we are willing to be responsible stewards all those blessings remain dormant and un-experienced in our lives. Being responsible to God opens the door to be rewarded by God.
If we can help you with your spiritual questions call us at (574) 643-9419.
