1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,660 It may be that life has sort of changed keys for you in the middle of the verse and you're 2 00:00:07,660 --> 00:00:12,240 off step and you'd like to have someone pray with you. 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:17,080 Maybe you see sharp or you might be flat. 4 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:23,000 But if you're in need tonight of some people to pray with you, I just want to invite you 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:29,160 to come and let's form a circle of prayer. 6 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:34,760 You may be coming for yourself or someone else that you would like to represent that 7 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:42,880 you're burdened for. 8 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:48,560 We're going to join hands here and form a circle of intercession. 9 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,480 God knows the needs that are represented. 10 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,160 As you sit there you can pray for these who are here. 11 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:57,500 God knows. 12 00:00:57,500 --> 00:00:58,860 God understands. 13 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:01,240 No one cares like Jesus. 14 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:02,680 No one loves like Jesus. 15 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:09,720 As we sang in that hymn a few minutes ago, there's not a friend like the lowly Jesus, 16 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:10,720 not one. 17 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:12,960 Make room for one more here right in the center. 18 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:13,960 Thank you. 19 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:19,320 All right, let's pray together. 20 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:28,680 Father God, we join our hands and our hearts in this circle tonight with thankfulness that 21 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:36,800 there is one who understands, that there is a mediator, a great high priest who knows 22 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:46,840 exactly what we are burdened with as we stand here, knows fully how we feel, knows the concern 23 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,280 that we have for someone else. 24 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:56,320 Lord, we give thanks that you know and that because you know you're able to intercede 25 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:03,000 before the Father perfectly regarding our requests, we lift our petitions to you silently 26 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,400 from our hearts and yet you hear them. 27 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:12,640 And even words that we cannot say, you are able to express on our behalf. 28 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:16,360 Thank you so much. 29 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:24,720 We acknowledge that there are times when the answer seems to be so delayed. 30 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:30,880 There are times when we long to hear an answer from Heaven and it doesn't seem to come, at 31 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,080 least when we want it to or think it ought to. 32 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,840 But your timing is not always ours. 33 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,840 Your ways are not our ways. 34 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:44,520 They're higher, they're better. 35 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,680 We know that by faith. 36 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:53,880 And I pray that as we know that by faith, it will bring to our troubled hearts a sense 37 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:59,760 of peace and release. 38 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:06,880 Father bless these who have come tonight with that sense that you have heard, that you are 39 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:15,080 acting on their behalf, that you love them very much. 40 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:25,520 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 41 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:26,520 Thank you. 42 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:32,040 I wonder if we could just stand for a moment. 43 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,140 Would you do that and reach around, shake hands with people near you? 44 00:03:36,140 --> 00:03:41,360 We have some who may be new in our service tonight and we want to express a welcome to 45 00:03:41,360 --> 00:04:01,480 everyone. 46 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:08,800 Thank you. 47 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:13,720 I had a note in the Bolton a couple of weeks ago for folks who were willing to share a 48 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,040 testimony about stewardship to drop me a note. 49 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:25,680 I received one from someone and I always try to preserve confidentiality in these for obvious 50 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:26,800 reasons. 51 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:33,440 These are not the kinds of testimonies that people often feel free to share. 52 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:39,000 This individual shares in the letter, I am going to condense it and I hope in doing that 53 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,120 will not leave out any important details or get him messed up. 54 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:53,160 Shared that early in his life, he was a believer, but money became his God. 55 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,280 And as a result of that, got into two different businesses in which he lost everything that 56 00:04:57,280 --> 00:04:59,440 he had plus more. 57 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:09,680 Eventually got into a profession that he was in for a number of years, 30 some years. 58 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:16,640 And early on in that period of time, he writes about being in an evangelistic meeting in 59 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:24,560 which one of the subjects for one of the nights was tithing. 60 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,480 Apparently that was sort of the way they did it back in those days. 61 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,160 And one night was given to tithing. 62 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:38,280 And on that night, this person shares that he made a commitment that he would do that. 63 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:41,580 Went home, he and his wife prayed about it and talked about it. 64 00:05:41,580 --> 00:05:42,580 They didn't have the money. 65 00:05:42,580 --> 00:05:48,080 I mean the money wasn't there to give 10% to anything. 66 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:53,160 And as they prayed about it, God laid it on their hearts that he should get a part time 67 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:58,760 job to earn enough more money to make up the tithe. 68 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,880 That's how they decided to do it. 69 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,480 And for a number of months that went on. 70 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:13,040 And it wasn't I think a year until the person who was in charge of him as place of work 71 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,520 came and said, we have something else for you to do. 72 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:23,560 It involved a promotion and he was able to, by God's goodness, stop the part time job 73 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:31,560 and had enough money then because of the extra income to make up for that tithe. 74 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,200 So they were able to keep tithing. 75 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:42,960 He goes on to express how God had blessed in the decades that he was in that profession 76 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:52,480 and says, I don't want you or anyone else to think of me as being rich or wealthy. 77 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,240 I'm not. 78 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,240 But money is the least of my concerns. 79 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:01,560 I'm well provided for. 80 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:09,360 And he says it all goes back to that evening when we made the commitment to tithe, which 81 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:10,760 I thought was a great testimony. 82 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:17,720 This person is now retired and has seen God bless that decision to be a faithful steward 83 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,920 through almost 40 years in a profession. 84 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:27,480 And God has prepared and provided for him and for his wife in this time of their life 85 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,480 as well that they've been faithful to him. 86 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:34,400 That was an encouraging testimony and I wanted to share that with you tonight because we're 87 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,960 going to talk about stewardship once more. 88 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:43,160 And I invite you to open your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 where I'm going to read the first 89 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:44,160 five verses. 90 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:54,960 It says, Let a man regard us in this manner as servants of Christ and stewards of the 91 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,640 mysteries of God. 92 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:02,200 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 93 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:08,240 To me it's a very small thing that I should be examined by you or by any human court. 94 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,200 In fact, I do not even examine myself. 95 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:16,040 I'm conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted. 96 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,840 But the one who examines me is the Lord. 97 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:25,400 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who 98 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:30,640 will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of 99 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,360 men's hearts. 100 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,520 Then each man's praise will come to him from God. 101 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,640 And so the apostle reminds us here that we are stewards. 102 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:45,360 And in the context here he's talking especially about his stewardship of the gospel, preaching 103 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:46,360 the word of God. 104 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,480 But he lays before us the concept of stewardship. 105 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:56,680 And he says that we not only are needing to be found trustworthy, our motives need to 106 00:08:56,680 --> 00:09:02,120 be right, and God knows our hearts, and someday we're going to be examined for our stewardship. 107 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:07,200 But at that time he says each man's praise will come to him from God. 108 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:12,480 The implication being that God is going to find at that judgment seat something there 109 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:20,080 to be commendable for each one of us, which is something that ought to encourage our hearts. 110 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,800 There are four principles of Christian stewardship. 111 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:27,640 Some of them arising here from this text, others from other places we're going to look. 112 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:33,080 That will help us to grasp the broader implications of what it means to be a steward. 113 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:34,440 I need your help in doing this. 114 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,120 I'm going to ask someone to look up Psalm 89, 11. 115 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:43,080 Do we have a volunteer for Psalm 89, 11? 116 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:44,080 Thank you. 117 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:49,680 And, uh, Lil, did you lift your hand on that one? 118 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:50,680 Was, okay. 119 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:51,680 All right. 120 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:52,680 Dawn. 121 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:53,680 Thank you. 122 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:55,400 Lill, that's okay. 123 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:56,400 Calm her down. 124 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:01,400 It's okay. 125 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:07,400 Psalm 50, verses 10 through 12. 126 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,120 Three verses. 127 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,120 Thank you. 128 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:18,760 Psalm 24, verse 1. 129 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:20,800 Thank you. 130 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,600 1 Corinthians 14, 8. 131 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:25,600 Thank you. 132 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,440 Psalm 62, 11. 133 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,440 Careful scratching your cheek. 134 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:32,440 Okay. 135 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:33,440 Thanks. 136 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:41,040 Psalm 104, verses 29 and 30. 137 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,400 And 1 Corinthians 4, 7. 138 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,080 That shouldn't be too hard to find. 139 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:47,080 1 Corinthians 4, 7. 140 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:48,880 Who would do that one? 141 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:49,880 Lil. 142 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:50,880 Good. 143 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:51,880 Thank you. 144 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:52,960 Thank you. 145 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:59,520 The first principle of Christian stewardship that underlies everything else is the one 146 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,800 that says God is the divine owner of everything. 147 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:05,960 That God owns it all. 148 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:07,900 We like to think otherwise, don't we? 149 00:11:07,900 --> 00:11:09,480 That is our natural tendency. 150 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:14,080 One of the first words that Lil Child says is what? 151 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:15,080 Mine. 152 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:16,080 Mine. 153 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,680 And we're all like that, and we tend to go through life. 154 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:20,680 Mine. 155 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:21,680 Mine. 156 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:27,760 It's hard to learn to open our hands and to let someone else have from what we consider 157 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:28,760 to be ours. 158 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:35,080 But God is the Creator, and because of the right of Creatorship, He owns all things. 159 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:47,400 For example, Psalm 89, 11 says, 160 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:53,920 So we learn first of all that the heavens belong to God. 161 00:11:53,920 --> 00:12:00,280 The heavens belong to God along with the world and everything that is in it. 162 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,720 Now you think about that. 163 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,880 You think about everything that you see around you. 164 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:08,320 It belongs to God. 165 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,240 It's amazing, isn't it? 166 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,640 God is the divine owner of it because He created it. 167 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:15,720 It belongs to Him. 168 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:38,040 Psalm 50, verses 10, 11, and 12. 169 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,320 So not only the inanimate creation in the heavens and the earth, but also all of the 170 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:43,880 animals belong to the Lord. 171 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:48,840 The cattle, it says, on a thousand hills, the bird of the mountains. 172 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,200 Everything that moves in the field belongs to God. 173 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:53,800 Every animal is His. 174 00:12:53,800 --> 00:13:01,480 Psalm 24, 1. 175 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:06,700 And so we see here that the earth is the Lord's, but also all they who dwell in it. 176 00:13:06,700 --> 00:13:11,760 And so all of mankind, all of humanity, belongs to Him. 177 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:16,360 We don't belong to ourselves because He is our Creator. 178 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:17,920 All mankind is God's. 179 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:28,000 Romans 14, 8. 180 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,360 We are the Lord's. 181 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,400 In Romans 14, He's talking about believers. 182 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:39,000 In what sense are we the Lord's? 183 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,360 Because He's our Creator? 184 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,040 We've already seen that. 185 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:49,080 But is there another reason that believers belong to the Lord? 186 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:50,080 He purchased us. 187 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:51,080 That's right. 188 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:52,080 He has redeemed us. 189 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:54,280 He has purchased us with His blood. 190 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:59,520 And so we are His because of redemption. 191 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:01,360 Now we've talked about material things. 192 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:03,080 Let's talk about intangible things. 193 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:04,080 Psalm 62, 11. 194 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:14,920 What does that say? 195 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:15,920 All right. 196 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:19,720 I must have copied down the wrong verse. 197 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:24,280 Unless it is the difference of translations. 198 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:25,280 What's that? 199 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:26,640 Buy that one? 200 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,520 Apply that one. 201 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,640 What it's really saying. 202 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:39,520 Psalm 62, 11, according to the translation that I used in preparation for this, and I 203 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:45,960 may have copied down the wrong verse, probably the computer program messed this up, says 204 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,280 power belongs to the Lord. 205 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:50,680 It says that? 206 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:51,680 Okay. 207 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,240 Power belongs to the Lord. 208 00:14:54,240 --> 00:15:00,320 In Matthew 28, 18, Jesus said all power is what? 209 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:01,320 Given to me. 210 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:02,320 All power. 211 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:03,320 All authority is the idea. 212 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:07,680 And so here we see that all power and all authority belongs to God. 213 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:15,360 Not just the inanimate world and the animate world and human beings and Christians, but 214 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:16,880 also authority. 215 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:17,880 All belongs to Him. 216 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,200 It resides in Him. 217 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:27,920 In Daniel it says the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever 218 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:29,920 He wishes. 219 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:34,920 Think we can believe that Wednesday morning? 220 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:36,420 This week? 221 00:15:36,420 --> 00:15:38,680 After election? 222 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:39,680 We have to. 223 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:40,680 We have to. 224 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:41,680 We pray. 225 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:42,680 We vote. 226 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,520 We do our part. 227 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:50,920 And the result of it, we leave with God because God gives power to whomever He wishes. 228 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:55,640 And as we have said recently, not always for blessing, is it? 229 00:15:55,640 --> 00:16:04,600 Sometimes He allows rulers to come into power in order to discipline nations. 230 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:09,120 And so we know that power belongs to God and He gives it to whomever He will, including 231 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:16,000 someone as despotic as Nebuchadnezzar was in Daniel's day. 232 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:22,840 And we don't have a ruler today in the world that even compares with Nebuchadnezzar in despotism. 233 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:42,400 All right, Psalm 104 verses 29 and 30. 234 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:43,400 All right. 235 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:44,400 Thank you. 236 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:52,560 And what we see here is that the breath or the life of each individual, each animal comes 237 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,440 from God. 238 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:56,240 It all belongs to Him. 239 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:00,300 The essence of life, existence itself, is rooted in God. 240 00:17:00,300 --> 00:17:03,920 Everything has life and breath because of Him. 241 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:09,280 In Him we move and live and have our being. 242 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:24,680 And finally, 1 Corinthians 4.7. 243 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:29,960 And so all of our abilities and our capacities that we have come to us as a gift from God, 244 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:33,120 they belong to Him, these gifts. 245 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:41,000 As God said to Moses in Exodus 4, who has made man's mouth, or who makes him dumb, 246 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,400 or deaf, or seeing, or blind? 247 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:49,380 Is it not I, the Lord? 248 00:17:49,380 --> 00:17:55,620 And so it is God who gives us the various capacities that we have, or if we lack capacities, 249 00:17:55,620 --> 00:17:57,640 that comes from God. 250 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:02,560 A person's abilities and capacities all come from Him. 251 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:07,720 And so we conclude by saying everything that we have is God's. 252 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:15,320 Our physical being, our spiritual being, our ability to earn, to help, to know, to communicate, 253 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:20,480 our possessions, our salary, our spiritual gifts, ultimately all of it belongs to God 254 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:25,560 because we are His by creation, and if we're saved, we're His by redemption. 255 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:35,280 I don't know, does that make you feel strict? 256 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:40,800 In a sense, that's not a bad feeling because one of the encumbrances of life is that we 257 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:45,280 feel like we are responsible for so much. 258 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,800 We're almost like these people I used to see on the Ed Sullivan show. 259 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:55,880 Some of you don't remember Ed Sullivan, right? 260 00:18:55,880 --> 00:19:04,160 Was Ed Sullivan on Sunday night? 261 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,440 I can't believe it. 262 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,800 Oh, thank you. 263 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:13,840 I appreciate that. 264 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,560 If you don't know who Ed Sullivan was, he's the guy that was in a theater that David Letterman 265 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:18,560 is in now. 266 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:20,880 I mean, more to some of you. 267 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:25,160 You remember these people who had plates on poles? 268 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:28,080 They'd put a plate up there and they'd start spinning, and then they'd get another plate 269 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:34,000 and start spinning, and they'd have this whole line of plates on poles spinning? 270 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,000 Sort of a juggling. 271 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,000 Mark, can you do that sort of thing? 272 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,720 Why not? 273 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,920 Well, we won't ask you to do it tonight. 274 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:46,480 Doesn't life sometimes seem that way? 275 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:52,040 We feel so responsible and we have so much stuff that we have to keep going. 276 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:57,720 So it's not entirely bad for us to step back and say, wait a minute. 277 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:05,360 This is all God's, and I'm responsible to do my part, but I don't have to feel like 278 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:07,920 that I have to keep all these plates going. 279 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:09,400 This is God's life. 280 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,960 This is God's doing. 281 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:15,080 And learn to relax a little more in Him. 282 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:20,920 Well, that brings me to the second principle of stewardship, and that is that stewardship 283 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:26,560 is a sacred trust that's committed to us. 284 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:31,920 As we defined it last week, stewardship is something that is committed to our care, something 285 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,360 that we're responsible for. 286 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:39,040 We have some condensed verses that deal with this in 2 Timothy, if you want to open your 287 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:44,200 Bible to that text. 288 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:51,960 In 2 Timothy 1, here we have this idea of a sacred trust that is committed. 289 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:59,880 It's used first of all in chapter 1, 2 Timothy, verse 12, where he says, For this reason I 290 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:05,560 also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am 291 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:19,440 convinced that He is able to guard, means to watch over, to protect what I have entrusted 292 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:20,440 to Him. 293 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:26,960 Now, those words, that phrase, as it is in the New American Standard, how does the NIV 294 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:28,320 put it? 295 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:29,800 Somebody have it? 296 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:30,800 Same thing? 297 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:31,800 Okay. 298 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:37,160 Guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 299 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:44,520 What I have entrusted is really one word in the original language, and it means what is 300 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,760 deposited. 301 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:51,800 It means what is put in trust with someone else. 302 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:59,280 It comes from a verb that means to place or to put along with. 303 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,040 So it's the idea of you're going to the bank and you put money in the bank, and what you're 304 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:09,080 doing is putting that along with everybody else's money for safekeeping there. 305 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:14,560 So as we think about a sacred deposit that is committed, the first way that that is used 306 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:21,920 by Paul in writing to Timothy is that we have made a sacred deposit with God in that our 307 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,600 souls are committed to Him. 308 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:30,240 Our eternal well-being is committed to Him. 309 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,560 It is a sacred trust, and God will take care of that. 310 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,920 He will. 311 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:44,680 But now look in verse 14 where the apostle says to Timothy, guard, same word is back 312 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:51,000 there in verse 12, but here he's writing to Timothy and saying, you Timothy, guard, 313 00:22:51,000 --> 00:23:00,320 protect, watch over, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been 314 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:04,360 entrusted to you. 315 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:08,340 And you see that same phrase? 316 00:23:08,340 --> 00:23:12,880 Here he uses an adjective, the good deposit. 317 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:18,920 It's translated here in this version, a treasure which has been entrusted to you. 318 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:27,000 And so something has been entrusted to Timothy, and what that something is, is the gospel. 319 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:32,120 It is the truth about Jesus Christ, and not only to Timothy but to all of us. 320 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:38,280 And he says here that we are now to guard this deposit that God has made with us. 321 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,400 We have deposited, as it were, our eternal well-being in God's bank. 322 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,240 He's going to care for it. 323 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,000 He'll protect our souls. 324 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,760 God has made a deposit with us. 325 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:55,760 He has committed to us the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and here Timothy is told to 326 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:00,840 guard it, to keep it safe, to protect it. 327 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,880 Does that need to happen still today? 328 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:10,640 We think more in terms of giving it away, of sharing it, of proclaiming this deposit, 329 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:12,440 telling others about Jesus. 330 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:17,080 But there is also an aspect in which we are to guard it, because there are enemies of 331 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:18,600 the gospel. 332 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:26,680 There are those who would like to, in some way, water it down, to mix it up with falsehood, 333 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,400 so that it's no longer truly the gospel. 334 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:35,000 So we're to guard the gospel that God has committed to us as part of our responsibility 335 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,400 as a church, as well as as individuals. 336 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:49,440 We guard the gospel message, we keep it in its essence, in its purity, and in its power. 337 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:55,640 Once more we see the same concept used in chapter 2, verse 2. 338 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:56,800 Paul says in verse 1, 339 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,600 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things which 340 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:09,560 you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful 341 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,880 men who will also be able to teach others. 342 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:19,000 Here we have the verb form of the noun we've seen twice before in this text. 343 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,640 Here Paul says to Timothy, 344 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:33,360 I have given you some things that I want you now to entrust to others, to make a deposit 345 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:35,520 in the lives of others. 346 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:42,440 So here's the idea of sharing it, that we are to deposit with others, to commit to others 347 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:48,440 for their use and their safekeeping the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 348 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:55,600 There are examples of stewards in the Bible, but probably the best known example is Abraham's 349 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:56,600 steward. 350 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:01,040 Does anybody remember his name? 351 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:03,040 This is Bible trivia time. 352 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:10,360 You can advance to the front row if you know the answer, but I should take care of it. 353 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:14,200 Who was his steward? 354 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:23,800 There was a steward that he sent out to find a bride for his son. 355 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,320 I think somebody said it. 356 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:31,280 Eliezer, that's right, Eliezer. 357 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:36,880 Come to the front, yes, you can bring your husband with you. 358 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,000 Eliezer was a steward. 359 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,160 To him was given a sacred trust. 360 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:49,360 He was to go into the land of Abraham's relatives and to find there a bride for Isaac. 361 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:50,960 He did, didn't he? 362 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:57,080 He traveled those hundreds and hundreds of miles and there he found that special one. 363 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:58,760 What was her name again? 364 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,520 Oh yes, Rebecca. 365 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,320 She was brought back and became the wife of Isaac. 366 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:10,020 A stewardship is a sacred trust. 367 00:27:10,020 --> 00:27:18,720 It was so important to Abraham that he had Eliezer swear an oath with him in the customary 368 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,160 way of that day. 369 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:27,960 It became a sacred duty on the part of Eliezer to fulfill his responsibility. 370 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:33,480 My point is this, that you and I have been given a stewardship by God. 371 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:35,520 It is sacred. 372 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:42,520 We are God's stewards, and as it says in 1 Corinthians 4, God wants us to be faithful. 373 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:47,720 That brings me to the third principle, and it is this, that it is our personal responsibility 374 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:52,000 to manage our trust. 375 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:58,320 Stewardship involves making the most of what has been put into our charge. 376 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:18,680 Come back to the Gospel of Luke for a moment and go to chapter 19. 377 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:24,760 Verse 11, And while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable 378 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,960 because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear 379 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:30,840 immediately. 380 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:35,000 He said, Therefore a certain noble man went to a distant country to receive a kingdom 381 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,760 for himself, and then returned. 382 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:43,160 And he called ten of his slaves and gave them ten minas, and said to them, Do business with 383 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,280 this until I come back. 384 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:50,520 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him saying, We do not want this man 385 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:51,520 to reign over us. 386 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,920 And it came about that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered these slaves 387 00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:01,400 to whom he had given the money, be called to him in order that he might know a business 388 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,840 they had done for him. 389 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,760 And the first appeared saying, Master, your mina has made ten minas more. 390 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:12,880 He said, Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing. 391 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,640 Be an authority over ten cities. 392 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:20,040 And the second came saying, Your mina, Master, has made five minas. 393 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:24,160 And he said to him also, And you are to be over five cities. 394 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:29,720 And another came saying, Master, behold your mina, which I put away in a handkerchief, 395 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,720 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man. 396 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,960 You take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow. 397 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:42,160 And he said to him, By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. 398 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:47,000 Did you not know that I am exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what 399 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:48,720 I did not sow? 400 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:52,440 And why did you not put the money into the bank? 401 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,920 And having come, I would have collected it with interest. 402 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:59,560 And he said to the bystanders, Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who 403 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:01,320 has ten minas. 404 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,720 And they said to him, Master, he has ten minas already. 405 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:07,960 I tell you that to every one who has shall more be given. 406 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:13,340 But from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 407 00:30:13,340 --> 00:30:17,440 And these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and 408 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:19,920 enslave them in my presence. 409 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:23,880 A story that Jesus told, isn't that an interesting story? 410 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:27,600 Who do you think the noble man is? 411 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:32,200 That went away into a far country to receive a kingdom and then came back. 412 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,240 Who is that? 413 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:35,240 Is Christ Jesus. 414 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,320 He is talking about himself. 415 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,320 He is going to go away. 416 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,000 He is going to receive a kingdom and come back. 417 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:46,880 Who are the slaves who received the minas? 418 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,080 We are, believers are, his servants. 419 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,680 We have received from him opportunities to serve him. 420 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:59,940 Who are the people who rebelled? 421 00:30:59,940 --> 00:31:00,940 His enemies he says. 422 00:31:00,940 --> 00:31:01,940 Who are they? 423 00:31:01,940 --> 00:31:08,160 All right, people in the world who reject him, who will not have this mandarin over 424 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,960 us as he says here. 425 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:11,960 What happens to them? 426 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:13,560 Well they are judged. 427 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:15,680 They are judged. 428 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:21,760 You notice also that his slaves are examined and it says that those who make use of their 429 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:26,480 opportunities are what? 430 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:27,480 Are rewarded. 431 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:28,480 That's right. 432 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:34,240 They are rewarded for what they have done and they are rewarded according to their opportunities. 433 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,560 To one he gave ten, to one he gave five. 434 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,080 That is his sovereign choice. 435 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:45,200 But because he made use of what he was given, he was rewarded appropriately. 436 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:54,760 And then there was one who had but one mina and what happened to him? 437 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,800 Well he blew it, didn't he? 438 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:05,280 He only had one mina to watch out for in the first place but he did not use that opportunity 439 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:13,160 to make more for his master and so his master took it away from him. 440 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:16,080 What is the kingdom Jesus is talking about? 441 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:20,280 What do you think he means? 442 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:28,480 He's coming back, a kingdom, rain over cities. 443 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,920 Certainly there is a principle here but there is I think more than that, what is that? 444 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:33,920 The kingdom of God. 445 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,020 When he comes back to reign upon the earth. 446 00:32:36,020 --> 00:32:42,560 I believe that is the application here that Jesus is saying that if we are faithful in 447 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:47,840 our stewardship of things now that when he comes back he is going to allow us to reign 448 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,440 with him in his kingdom. 449 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:55,920 And we will be given responsibilities and opportunities then to serve him based upon 450 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,040 our faithfulness of stewardship now. 451 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:05,520 And so the point is that it is our personal responsibility to manage our trust, our stewardship 452 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:07,680 from God. 453 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:14,040 We can compare this with Romans chapter 14 from where we read earlier but we will turn 454 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:20,420 back to look at verse 12. 455 00:33:20,420 --> 00:33:27,320 It says in Romans 14, 12, so then each of us, each one of us shall give account of himself 456 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:28,320 to God. 457 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:34,040 We are not going to have to answer for somebody else. 458 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:40,280 We probably are better at judging other servants of the Lord than we are judging our own responsibilities, 459 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:42,840 aren't we? 460 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:47,280 But when Jesus comes it is not going to be a matter of our telling him what somebody 461 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:48,280 else did. 462 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:55,200 We are going to stand before him to give account of our own responsibilities, our own stewardship. 463 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,000 And we will not share in another's reward. 464 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,280 We will have our own reward that we will receive from the Lord. 465 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:06,360 And so that brings me to the final principle of stewardship and that is that we must give 466 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:09,680 account of our stewardship. 467 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:15,180 Someday we will stand before him and as we said at the end of the service this morning, 468 00:34:15,180 --> 00:34:20,600 that day has its joyful aspect and it really does. 469 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:26,560 Tonight I was driving down to the office and I heard on KTIS an arrangement of, oh that 470 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:28,080 will be glory for me. 471 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,460 Did any of you hear it by any chance? 472 00:34:30,460 --> 00:34:31,920 It was absolutely beautiful. 473 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:35,920 It is one of the old hymns Charles Gabriel wrote. 474 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:42,840 Oh that will be glory for me, glory for me, when by his grace I look on his face. 475 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,240 That will be glory for me. 476 00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:49,240 And we anticipate that day that we are going to be with the Lord and see him. 477 00:34:49,240 --> 00:34:54,320 But there is another side to that and that is that on that day we will be examined. 478 00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:59,520 And surely all of us on that day want to be able to stand before him and give a good account. 479 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:00,520 I know you do. 480 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:01,920 I know I do. 481 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:03,840 And we can. 482 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,560 And the Lord is going to be gracious on that day. 483 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:09,480 But he is going to examine. 484 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:14,040 And we are not going to be examined for our sins. 485 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:17,360 Pastor Sulak is teaching in some setting here. 486 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:22,800 He just told me this morning that he was making that statement to a group of people a couple 487 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:27,640 of weeks ago, some of whom were kind of shocked because they always thought that when they 488 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:33,360 got to heaven they were going to give an answer for their sins. 489 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,280 That is not true. 490 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:40,840 Thank God our sins have already been dealt with at the cross. 491 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:42,960 Our sins are dealt with at the cross. 492 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:48,200 They will never be brought up at the judgment seat of Christ. 493 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:53,960 But we will be examined there for the way that we have served the Lord. 494 00:35:53,960 --> 00:36:00,640 And when we have done well in serving him, he will commend us. 495 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:05,720 Where we have not served well, then there will be some tears at the judgment seat of 496 00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:06,720 Christ. 497 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:12,360 But we get beyond that point and we are able to give him the glory and honor and lay our 498 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:14,400 rewards at his feet. 499 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:16,240 But we will give account of our stewardship. 500 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:17,240 And that is sobering. 501 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:20,680 It is sobering to me, believe me. 502 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:24,840 So as we close tonight, I guess just two or three points of application. 503 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,040 First of all, to realize God's ownership in our lives. 504 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:34,400 Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, says Paul, who is in you, 505 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:38,200 whom you have of God and you are not your own? 506 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:42,000 You are bought with a price. 507 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,400 We are not our own. 508 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,160 God owns everything. 509 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:50,360 God owns your body. 510 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,840 God owns your abilities. 511 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:57,280 God owns your children. 512 00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:59,440 It is all his. 513 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:01,280 To realize that on a daily basis. 514 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:07,600 Secondly, then, to do an inventory of our lives, of our abilities, our money, our time, 515 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:14,880 our influence, our citizenship, and to say, Lord, how am I doing in this area of my stewardship? 516 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,600 How am I doing with my time, Lord? 517 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:22,800 I didn't get into that in this letter that was written earlier, but the person said, 518 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:26,000 I've learned that not only is it important to tithe my money, but it's important to 519 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:27,000 tithe my time. 520 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,320 That was a concept that God laid upon his heart. 521 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:33,640 How are you doing in your time? 522 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:37,320 In using some of that for the Lord and serving him. 523 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:42,320 In your money, how much do you keep? 524 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:45,680 How much do you give away? 525 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:52,280 In your abilities, are you using some of your abilities for the Lord? 526 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:59,440 In your citizenship, Tuesday is a wonderful opportunity to be a good steward of citizenship 527 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,920 in the influence God has given you. 528 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:06,080 Then finally, what decisions do you need to make? 529 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:11,240 What commands do you need to keep in order to be ready for your accounting? 530 00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:18,000 Because we really don't know when the end is that we talked about this morning. 531 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,520 I don't suppose I would want to know. 532 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:24,640 Would you like to know when the end would be? 533 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:32,920 If you could ask God to tell you when you're going to die, would you want to know? 534 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:33,920 Some of you, I think, are already dead. 535 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:34,920 You're sitting there. 536 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:42,200 There will be a funeral tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock for all the people who are dead 537 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:43,200 here. 538 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:44,880 We'll do a mass funeral. 539 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:50,960 Would you like to know when you're going to die? 540 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:52,760 I don't think I would. 541 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:55,120 I don't think I would. 542 00:38:55,120 --> 00:39:02,400 But the uncertainty of when I'm going to die then causes me to need to examine every day. 543 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:09,160 One thing we can say is that we ought to live every day as if it were our last, so that 544 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:14,320 if that should be the day that we're called to be with the Lord, we would be ready to 545 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:17,920 go. 546 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:23,520 It was during a very difficult year in Dallas, Texas, before we came to Minnesota, that we 547 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:28,880 got a letter from Uncle Sam from the uncle's IRS department. 548 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:33,720 Have you ever had one of those? 549 00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:35,440 And it said, you have been chosen. 550 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,120 Isn't that a wonderful statement? 551 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,680 A chosen person. 552 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:49,680 You have been chosen to come in for a complete audit of last year's taxes. 553 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:57,000 And so my wife, being the one who at that time was writing most of our checks and who 554 00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:01,960 was keeping our records, began to prepare for that day. 555 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:03,960 I stayed home and was with the kids. 556 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:07,960 I did my part. 557 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:11,280 We have one of those marriages where we share responsibilities. 558 00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:15,680 And in this particular case, somebody had to watch the kids and somebody had to go to 559 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:16,680 the IRS. 560 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:22,720 And since she has memory that is far better than mine and had kept the records, she's 561 00:40:22,720 --> 00:40:25,580 the one who went to meet with the agent. 562 00:40:25,580 --> 00:40:29,720 We started off about 930 in the morning, as I recall. 563 00:40:29,720 --> 00:40:32,000 Went all day long. 564 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:37,080 She came home for lunch to get a couple of pieces of information. 565 00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:38,080 Went back. 566 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:39,760 Came home that night. 567 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:41,680 I met her at the door. 568 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:46,000 I have to go back in the morning, she said. 569 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:49,120 And so she pulled some more stuff together and went back in the morning. 570 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:52,440 And you know what the bottom line was? 571 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:53,920 They owed us money. 572 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:55,680 Oh, praise God. 573 00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:57,960 I mean, they owed us money. 574 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:03,400 It wasn't much, but that's a whole lot better than the other way, I'll tell you that. 575 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,960 And she had done such a good job, and I say this to her credit and none to mine. 576 00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:12,000 She had done such a good job with the records keeping that the guy said, if ever you're 577 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:17,000 called in for an audit again, you just tell them you went through this time and they'll 578 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,120 not ask you to come in again. 579 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:23,840 And I hope that that will always be the case. 580 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:25,680 I hope that's always the case. 581 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:29,560 But you feel so good after the audit, you know? 582 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,720 Whew, man, got through that one. 583 00:41:31,720 --> 00:41:35,200 It's just great to be examined, to be found, you did it right. 584 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:39,600 Well, I think that's the way that we're going to feel when the judgment seat of Christ is 585 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:40,600 finished. 586 00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:46,560 There will be things that will weep about undoubtedly all of us, because none of us 587 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:47,560 serve perfectly. 588 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:55,160 We all have areas where we have not used opportunities that God would have us to use. 589 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:59,600 But the fact is that when it's done, we will say, God, thank you. 590 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,800 Thank you for the opportunities that you gave me. 591 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:03,080 Thank you for what you did in my life. 592 00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:07,120 And there we'll see it all, be laid out, and we'll just be able to look at the Lord and 593 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:11,280 say, Jesus Christ, I thank you for saving me and for what you were able to do in my 594 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:12,280 life. 595 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:17,400 And Lord, yes, there are these areas, and I'm sorry about those, but thank you and thank 596 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:22,680 you, Lord, for this sense of accomplishment and for this reward. 597 00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:25,840 And Jesus, I give this back to you. 598 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:31,840 Jesus, I want you to have this, because all that I am and all that I have and all that 599 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:36,440 I've done comes from you. 600 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:40,760 Let's pray. 601 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:49,720 Lord, help us to live with that end in mind and to live wisely as good stewards, recognizing 602 00:42:49,720 --> 00:42:55,160 your ownership that we have a sacred trust that we're responsible for and that someday 603 00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:58,760 we'll be examined for. 604 00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:01,520 And help us to understand the opportunity. 605 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:07,120 Sometimes, Lord, it's difficult to know and to discern. 606 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:12,040 Thank you for your grace in our lives, for your patience with us. 607 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:19,240 Thank you for the new beginnings that all of us have taken advantage of many, many times. 608 00:43:19,240 --> 00:43:24,800 And right now, there may be some of us who want a new beginning, a new start. 609 00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:33,160 We want to begin this week afresh and be responsible as a steward. 610 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:35,920 So bless that new beginning, I pray. 611 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:42,720 And may we walk this week in the joy of knowing that we're doing what you want us to do. 612 00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:45,360 In Jesus' name, amen. 613 00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:46,360 Well thanks for coming tonight. 614 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,480 May the Lord bless you. 615 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,800 Is that Bill back there? 616 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:51,800 I keep trying. 617 00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:52,800 Is that Bill? 618 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:53,800 I keep trying. 619 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:57,200 I look back there and I thought, no, he looks too young for Bill. 620 00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:00,480 No, it's good to see you, Bill. 621 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:03,120 Still living in Houston? 622 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:04,120 In Austin, rather. 623 00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:05,120 Excuse me. 624 00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:06,120 In Texas. 625 00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:07,120 Good to have you back. 626 00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:35,120 May the Lord bless all of you, and good night.