1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 January is Stewardship Month. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:11,080 In part, it's going to bring to us, let's call that rather, because it's going to bring 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:19,100 to us the first church-wide phase of our Stewardship Enrichment Campaign. 4 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:22,500 That will be the prayer visitation, which will take place later in the month. 5 00:00:22,500 --> 00:00:27,480 All of us are going to be asked to pray in our homes regarding the stewardship of our 6 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,580 lives. 7 00:00:29,580 --> 00:00:35,960 I'm going to be preaching on stewardship for the five Sunday mornings of January as well. 8 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:43,560 I'm doing this not just that it might be a part of the stewardship campaign, but because 9 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:51,280 I believe that nothing is any more important to Christian growth than a proper understanding 10 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:58,640 of and a faithful practice of Christian stewardship. 11 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:06,000 And it's so because stewardship involves the very principles by which we conduct our 12 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,000 lives. 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:16,520 Now often when you say stewardship, the thing that comes to mind immediately is dollars. 14 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:22,440 But actually the thing that should come to mind is sense, that is with an S. Because 15 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:29,000 you see, to be a wise steward is to be filled with biblical common sense. 16 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,760 It is to conduct one's life well. 17 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:40,440 Therefore we're going to begin today by talking about four principles of biblical stewardship. 18 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:48,000 I'd like for us first to turn to the New Testament, to 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 through 19 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,480 5. 20 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:56,360 And here we see illustrated the fact that stewardship is a far broader concept than 21 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,200 dollars. 22 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:10,200 The Apostle Paul and some of the other early leaders were being unduly exalted by the carnal 23 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,920 Corinthian Christians. 24 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:18,200 They were dividing themselves around personalities. 25 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:24,280 Thinking of these Christian leaders more highly than they ought to think. 26 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:30,320 And so the Apostle writes to them, and in verse 1 he says, let a man regard us in this 27 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:38,520 manner as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 28 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:45,220 So you see in verse 1 he talks about stewardship, but it's stewards of the mysteries of God. 29 00:02:45,220 --> 00:02:53,760 He says, in this case moreover it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 30 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:58,440 But to me it's a very small thing that I should be examined by you or by any human 31 00:02:58,440 --> 00:02:59,440 court. 32 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,200 In fact, I do not even examine myself. 33 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:08,040 I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted. 34 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,320 But the one who examines me is the Lord. 35 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:18,040 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who 36 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:24,080 will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of 37 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,000 men's hearts. 38 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:33,440 And then each man's praise will come to him from God. 39 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:41,260 Stewardship is one of the most important truths for you and me to grasp in our Christian life. 40 00:03:41,260 --> 00:03:47,440 The four principles we are going to talk about this morning begin with this one, that God 41 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,680 is the divine owner of all things. 42 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:58,520 That you say that seems to be obvious, but it is not so obvious after all. 43 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:06,960 You see the natural man has the concept that he is the owner of all things. 44 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:12,040 What is among the first words that a baby learns to speak? 45 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:13,040 Mine. 46 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,720 Is that right? 47 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:20,640 Now where did that child learn that word, mom and dad? 48 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:26,920 Well it could be from our homes, but even if not from there it seems that almost instinctively 49 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:33,320 that word mine comes to the lips very easily, even of an infant. 50 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:39,840 Because as we grow older we only learn how to pronounce it more clearly and more certainly. 51 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:51,640 We talk in terms of my life, my home, my car, my salary, my bank account, my children, my 52 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:57,200 wife, my husband, my, my, my, my, my. 53 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,320 We are my centered aren't we? 54 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:06,560 The natural man is by nature possessive and selfish. 55 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:13,600 Therefore it is a very different concept to introduce the idea that God is the owner of 56 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:15,860 all things. 57 00:05:15,860 --> 00:05:19,160 To what does God lay claim? 58 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,720 Well in Psalm 89 and 11 we learn that the heavens are his. 59 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:30,680 It says the heavens are thine, that is the stars and the universe up there, they belong 60 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,560 to God. 61 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,380 Furthermore, the earth with its resources are his. 62 00:05:36,380 --> 00:05:42,840 The last part of that same verse goes on to say the earth also is thine, the world and 63 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:47,440 all it contains, thou has founded them. 64 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:55,280 And David says in Psalm 24 verse 1, the earth is the Lord and all it contains. 65 00:05:55,280 --> 00:06:06,480 And so the earth with all of its natural resources belongs to God, our ecologist not withstanding. 66 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:11,940 In ecology we try to conserve the earth and its resources and we are concerned about the 67 00:06:11,940 --> 00:06:17,840 relationship of environment and living things. 68 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:23,080 But you know even in that field of science, which is a very important one these days, 69 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:30,920 the basic motivation is so that man's existence can be prolonged. 70 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,000 It is not for the glory of God and to be a steward of what belongs to God, but it is 71 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,640 man centered, you see. 72 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:42,360 And yet the Bible says that the earth and its resources are his. 73 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:48,240 God says in Haggai, the gold and silver are mine. 74 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,400 And then every animal is God's. 75 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:56,640 In Psalm 50 verses 10 through 12, for every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on 76 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:58,440 a thousand hills. 77 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:05,060 I know every bird of the mountains and everything that moves in the field is mine. 78 00:07:05,060 --> 00:07:09,360 For the world is mine and all it contains. 79 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:15,800 Furthermore, God lays claim to all of mankind. 80 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:21,480 In the last part of the verse that we read earlier, Psalm 24, 1, after stating that the 81 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:28,520 earth is the Lord's, it goes on to say, and they who dwell on it. 82 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:35,000 So all earth dwellers belong to God, whether they acknowledge that ownership or not, it 83 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,480 makes no difference. 84 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:45,780 God is the creator and by virtue of that creator ship, he is the owner of all men. 85 00:07:45,780 --> 00:07:52,920 But he is in a special sense the owner of Christians because we have acknowledged Jesus 86 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,860 Christ as our Savior and our Lord. 87 00:07:56,860 --> 00:08:03,280 And therefore, as Paul says in Romans 14, 8, whether we live or we die therefore, we 88 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,640 are the Lord's. 89 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,800 But even the intangibles of the world are God's as well. 90 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,160 Think with me about some of them. 91 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:17,880 Consider authority, power. 92 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:24,520 Psalm 62, 11 says, power belongs to God. 93 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:31,320 If man has been able to technologically discover how to unleash some of that power, it is only 94 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,440 because it was there to begin with. 95 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,200 Man has only learned how to tap it. 96 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:41,660 God has even put that kind of power in the universe that belongs to him. 97 00:08:41,660 --> 00:08:45,720 But then power in the sense of authority belongs to him as well. 98 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:53,520 Jesus said, all authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. 99 00:08:53,520 --> 00:09:00,120 This is perhaps no more clearly illustrated anywhere in the Bible than in Daniel, that 100 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:10,740 Old Testament man of God ministered the word of the Lord in a heathen empire. 101 00:09:10,740 --> 00:09:16,800 And as empires came and went in that day, he remained firm for God. 102 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:21,480 Do you realize that nothing evil is ever spoken of about Daniel? 103 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:23,840 What a man he was. 104 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:29,240 In the second chapter of the book that bears his name, comes right after the book of Ezekiel 105 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:36,720 if you're wondering where it is, we have a vision recorded which Nebuchadnezzar, the 106 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:40,720 king of Babylon, had. 107 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:45,960 None of his advisors were able to interpret the vision. 108 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,920 But Daniel was brought in and he had that capacity because the vision was given to Nebuchadnezzar 109 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:52,000 from God. 110 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,360 It was the vision of the image, the head of which was gold and there were other metals 111 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,600 and ores involved in it. 112 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:03,840 But the head of that image was Nebuchadnezzar himself as Daniel says in Daniel chapter 113 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:10,320 2 and verse 37, you, O king, are the king of kings. 114 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:16,880 Then notice what he says, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, 115 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:21,120 the strength and the glory. 116 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:26,520 And so Daniel declares to Nebuchadnezzar that the very kingdom over which he reigns was 117 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,560 given to him by God. 118 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:34,320 Nebuchadnezzar had a hard time learning that. 119 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:41,600 Chapter 3 constructs an image and commands that all men bow down to the image and worship. 120 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:48,320 In chapter 4 we see him bragging about this great Babylon that he has constructed. 121 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:56,040 And in chapter 4 we see a word from God to this king. 122 00:10:56,040 --> 00:11:01,640 We're going to start at verse 25, back up just a little bit as Daniel interprets the 123 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:07,480 vision and catch the last part of verse 25 where again Daniel reminds him, seven periods 124 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:13,920 of time will pass over you until you recognize that the most high is ruler over the realm 125 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:20,240 of mankind and bestows it, that is the rule, on whomever he wishes. 126 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:26,000 Nebuchadnezzar still refused to see that and so God sent him through a little experience 127 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,480 in which he lost the rule for a period of time. 128 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:35,740 In verse 31, while the word was in the king's mouth, that is this word of boasting found 129 00:11:35,740 --> 00:11:40,640 in the previous verses, the boasting of his power, his glory, the great Babylon he had 130 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:49,080 built, a voice came from heaven saying, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared, sovereignty 131 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:55,120 has been removed from you and you will be driven away from mankind and your dwelling 132 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,840 place will be the beasts of the field. 133 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,880 You read about it in the following verses. 134 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,640 That happened. 135 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:09,480 Nebuchadnezzar went crazy for a period of seven years and lived like an animal and then 136 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,440 his sanity was restored to him. 137 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:18,600 And notice his response in verse 34, my reason returned to me and I blessed the most high 138 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:25,080 and praised and honored him who lives forever for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 139 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:31,020 says Nebuchadnezzar, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation and all the 140 00:12:31,020 --> 00:12:36,320 inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing but he does according to his will 141 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:42,840 in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth and no one can ward off his hand 142 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:45,120 or say to him, what has thou done? 143 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:52,040 In other words, nobody can call God into accountability because he is God. 144 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:54,860 All authority is God's. 145 00:12:54,860 --> 00:12:59,240 He raises up governments and when they have accomplished their purpose, he causes them 146 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:01,080 to pass away. 147 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:05,900 I believe that he brought about the United States of America, that we like every other 148 00:13:05,900 --> 00:13:10,680 world power today exist because he has brought us into existence and we will be finished 149 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:14,100 when he's done with us. 150 00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:17,600 Someone has interestingly pointed out that the United States began its decline as soon 151 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:22,120 as it recognized Israel as a nation. 152 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:27,500 You mark it from the later 40s and early 50s, the United States has been on direct skid 153 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:29,700 to judgment. 154 00:13:29,700 --> 00:13:31,760 I wonder how long we'll be here. 155 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:38,560 I tell you this, when God is done with us, we will be out of the picture because all 156 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:45,080 authority is God's, all power is God's and Washington, D.C. has power today for one reason, 157 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,760 God has given Washington power. 158 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:54,760 He's also given Moscow power and he can even use ungodly nations that he puts into power 159 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,720 to accomplish his purposes. 160 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,040 One of the minor prophets had a little problem with that and God explained it to him. 161 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:05,680 Hey, we'll talk about that someday. 162 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:11,680 Not only is authority in power God's, but the intangible of life itself is God's. 163 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:18,320 At Psalm 104 verses 29 and 30, thou dost hide thy face, they are dismayed. 164 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:25,440 Thou dost take away their spirit, they expire, and return to their dust. 165 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,680 Thou dost send forth thy spirit, they are created. 166 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:34,800 Ecclesiastes 12-7, Solomon correctly says, the dust will return to the earth as it was 167 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,600 and the spirit will return to God who gave it. 168 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:44,300 In other words, the spirit of a man returns to God for judgment after his lifetime. 169 00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:51,080 You see, the very essence of our life is given to us by God. 170 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:55,800 We are not reincarnated from something in the past that is a lot of garbage that's 171 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,320 being sold to the world today that's very gullible for it. 172 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:05,440 You are in your only lifetime right now and when you are finished living this life and 173 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,600 taken out of this body, your body will go back to the dust and your spirit will go to 174 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,240 God for judgment. 175 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,080 Your very life essence is from God. 176 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,840 The very breath in your lungs at this moment is borrowed from His atmosphere. 177 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,400 Don't ever forget that. 178 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:30,640 Furthermore, the capacities or the abilities that we have come to us from God. 179 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:34,080 As Paul observed, what have you that you did not receive? 180 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:38,700 Did you ever think about that? 181 00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:41,700 What do you have that you did not receive from somebody? 182 00:15:41,700 --> 00:15:45,600 What inherently is yours? 183 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:52,600 Even the body in which you live, you receive from your parents. 184 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,040 There is nothing that you have that you have not received. 185 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:03,100 So why do you boast, says Paul, as though you did not receive it but had it inherently? 186 00:16:03,100 --> 00:16:08,100 God said to Moses, who has made man's mouth? 187 00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:12,320 Or who makes him dumb or deaf or seeing or blind? 188 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,860 Is it not I, the Lord? 189 00:16:15,860 --> 00:16:20,160 You see the very capacities that you have were given to you by God and if God withheld 190 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:27,440 some of them, it was because that was His sovereign purpose to do so. 191 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:34,520 Everything you have, everything you can do, everything you are is God's ultimately. 192 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:40,200 Your physical body, your spiritual being, your ability to earn, to learn, to help, to 193 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:45,640 know, to communicate, your possessions, your salary, your spiritual gifts. 194 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:52,400 Ultimately, all of it belongs to God because you are His creation. 195 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:58,520 And that, my friend, is the reason that the world so detests the idea of creation. 196 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:06,120 That's why science finds evolution so appealing because it leaves man without any responsibility 197 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:07,280 to God. 198 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:14,840 But you see, creation is true and therefore man is ultimately responsible only to God 199 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:19,240 and completely to God. 200 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:24,920 And if we are saved today, of course, we belong to God because of our redemption as well. 201 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:26,880 We have been purchased. 202 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:33,640 And so all things, all that we are or have or can do belongs to the Lord. 203 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:39,680 That leads us to principle number two, that stewardship is a sacred trust committed to 204 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:41,120 you. 205 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:44,000 That is a definition of stewardship. 206 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:49,240 It is a sacred trust committed to you for your care. 207 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:55,400 This is seen in several dimensions in 2 Timothy chapter 1. 208 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,080 I invite you to turn there with me. 209 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,240 I want you to see this. 210 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:03,520 We have here illustrated what stewardship really is. 211 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:09,800 In 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 12, Paul says, for this reason I also suffer these things, 212 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:16,060 but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able 213 00:18:16,060 --> 00:18:22,280 to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 214 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:24,640 What is he talking about? 215 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:29,280 Paul is talking about his soul, his eternal well-being. 216 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,840 He says, I have entrusted that to God. 217 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:41,680 And so in essence, Paul says here that God is the steward of his soul. 218 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:49,360 He has committed it to the care of the Lord, and he finds security and joy and peace in 219 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:53,000 that. 220 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,960 In verse 14, it is used a different way. 221 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:01,840 He says, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted 222 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:03,840 to you, Timothy. 223 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:09,880 Now here he is talking about the gospel, the pure message of the gospel. 224 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:16,000 He says to Timothy that he is to guard this message of faith and grace, to preserve it 225 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,360 from error. 226 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:22,700 He says to Timothy, it has been entrusted to you. 227 00:19:22,700 --> 00:19:26,920 It is a deposit, a good deposit that I have given to you. 228 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:27,920 Now guard it. 229 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:30,000 Don't let error enter into it. 230 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,040 You see, the gospel was in Timothy's care. 231 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,280 It's in your care today too, my friend. 232 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:41,960 It is entrusted to you to protect and to share. 233 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:47,840 And then we find this same emphasis in chapter 2 verse 2 when he says, the things which you 234 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:54,960 have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who 235 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:57,640 will be able to teach others also. 236 00:19:57,640 --> 00:19:59,920 That's a good verse for discipleship. 237 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:06,980 And what he is saying is, Timothy, I have built into your life spiritual principles. 238 00:20:06,980 --> 00:20:09,220 I have entrusted those to you. 239 00:20:09,220 --> 00:20:12,280 You are now the steward of them. 240 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,920 Take care of them and pass them along to others who will take care of them and pass them along 241 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,640 to still others. 242 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:24,720 So you see there is stewardship here in the sense of the soul's salvation, stewardship 243 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:32,300 in the sense of the gospel itself, stewardship in the sense of discipling people. 244 00:20:32,300 --> 00:20:36,320 Stewardship is a sacred trust that is committed to you. 245 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,440 Your children, for example, are a stewardship. 246 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:43,400 They are committed to you for your care. 247 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,760 We see an illustration of this in the Old Testament. 248 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:52,760 Turn back there with me to Genesis chapter 24 for a moment. 249 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,400 Abraham has grown old as we come to our text. 250 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,000 And it says the Lord had blessed him in every way. 251 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,680 But there was one thing that he had to do yet. 252 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:10,080 As a good oriental father, he had to arrange for the wife of his son Isaac. 253 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,440 He hadn't done that. 254 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:19,920 And so it says in Genesis 24, 2, Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, 255 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,400 who had charge of all that he owned. 256 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,960 Now what is that? 257 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:26,960 That's a steward. 258 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,440 It's a very good definition of a steward. 259 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:35,280 It may be that this was Eliezer, his trusted steward mentioned elsewhere. 260 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:40,920 But Abraham calls in this man who had charge of all that Abraham owned. 261 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:46,920 And he says to him, please place your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by 262 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,760 the Lord the God of heaven and the God of earth that you shall not take a wife for my 263 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,960 son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live. 264 00:21:54,960 --> 00:22:00,520 But you shall go to my country and to my relatives and take a wife for my son Isaac. 265 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:01,520 Verse 9. 266 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:07,540 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning 267 00:22:07,540 --> 00:22:09,960 this matter. 268 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:16,440 You see this steward recognized he was given a sacred trust. 269 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:21,720 Abraham committed to him one of the most important duties it was possible for him to have. 270 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:26,040 He was to go and find a wife for the son of his master. 271 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:31,280 And in the oriental fashion he placed his hand upon his thigh and swore by the God of 272 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:37,960 heaven and earth that he would fulfill that sacred trust committed to him. 273 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,160 Now that's what stewardship is my friend. 274 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:46,680 It is a sacred trust committed to you. 275 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:51,040 That brings us to principle number three. 276 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:59,880 Because that is so, it is your personal responsibility then to manage your trust. 277 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:07,800 You see stewardship involves my making the most of what has been put in my charge. 278 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,400 As I heard often as I grew up, use it or lose it. 279 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:14,040 You ever heard that? 280 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:15,600 And it's true. 281 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:20,680 My friend we either use what has been committed to us or we lose its effectiveness in our 282 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:22,360 lives. 283 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:24,800 Use it or lose it. 284 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:33,080 The stewardship that you have been given is a personal responsibility for you to manage. 285 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:38,720 We see this illustrated in a parable that Jesus told found in Luke chapter 19. 286 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,960 There are several parables that Jesus told that are similar. 287 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,920 We are going to be looking at some of those in the Sundays ahead. 288 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:54,360 But in Luke 19 we have these words beginning in verse 12. 289 00:23:54,360 --> 00:24:01,720 A certain noble man went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself and then 290 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:03,720 returned. 291 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:10,520 And he called ten of his slaves and gave them ten minas and said to them, do business with 292 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:14,680 this until I come back. 293 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:20,600 He selected ten slaves, he brought them before him, he gave them the money and he said to 294 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:28,240 them personally, you are to do business with this until I get back. 295 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:31,200 Use it. 296 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,920 It was their personal responsibility. 297 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:38,240 And my friend our Lord has gone away to heaven. 298 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,600 He's there today. 299 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:46,920 We are here in this world and he has given to you and to me a stewardship. 300 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:51,680 And he says to us, do business until I get back. 301 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:57,560 It's a personal thing and I believe that's why the apostle emphasizes it by saying in 302 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:04,920 Galatians 6.5, every man will bear his own burden. 303 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,640 That seems to contradict something he said a couple of verses earlier when he said bear 304 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,920 one another's burdens. 305 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:15,240 But the context changes between the two verses. 306 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:22,080 In the last part of the verse what he is saying is this, you have a personal obligation to 307 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,760 serve God. 308 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:26,400 Now do it. 309 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,560 Every man will bear his own burden. 310 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,280 You're not going to have to give answer for somebody else nor is somebody else going to 311 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:34,680 give answer for you. 312 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,300 It's your responsibility. 313 00:25:37,300 --> 00:25:40,800 We can't stand before God and say, but God, you know, I belong to a great church. 314 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:41,800 It was doing good things. 315 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:47,280 God's going to say, but what did you do with what I gave you? 316 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:52,680 It's a personal thing. 317 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:58,400 The same thing is emphasized in Romans 14.12 where the apostle says, so then every one 318 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,920 of us shall give account of what? 319 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,400 Do you know the next word? 320 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,000 I heard somebody say it. 321 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,800 Shall give account of himself to God. 322 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:19,360 Not the other guy, not the proverbial hypocrite, but himself. 323 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,080 That's important for us to remember folks. 324 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:30,480 Occasionally I hear people rail against certain Christian leaders or servants to attack them 325 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,680 and accuse them of things. 326 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:38,580 We need to be careful in judging the Lord's servants. 327 00:26:38,580 --> 00:26:45,840 They may do things differently than we would, but if they do not contradict Scripture, and 328 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:53,920 that of course is a key, but if they do not contradict Scripture in their methods, then 329 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:58,000 we should not judge them but recognize that they will give account for what they do to 330 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,600 the Lord. 331 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,760 Perhaps He's leading them to do what they're doing. 332 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:08,200 But as we remember that, let us remember that we ourselves will give account to God for 333 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:14,560 ourselves, just as that servant will give account for himself. 334 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:21,240 That brings us then to the fourth principle, and it is this, that you must give account 335 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:24,680 for your stewardship. 336 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,280 Here in Luke chapter 19 we see this true. 337 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:32,960 In verse 15 it says, it came about that when he returned after receiving the kingdom, he 338 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:38,980 ordered that these slaves to whom he had given the money be called to him in order that he 339 00:27:38,980 --> 00:27:44,080 might know what business they had done. 340 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:52,280 You see, the noble man gave them responsibility, and with that responsibility came accountability. 341 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,280 We don't like accountability. 342 00:27:55,280 --> 00:28:03,680 And very frankly, most of us build into our lives certain protections so that we don't 343 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,400 have to be accountable to other people. 344 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:13,480 Now we may have to be accountable if we punch a time clock. 345 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,920 We may have to be accountable if we write a check for which there aren't sufficient 346 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,600 funds in the bank. 347 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:24,160 You see, certain accountability is built into life, but in every way possible it is the 348 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:30,960 natural human thing to try to escape accountability. 349 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:35,520 I believe that it's a mark of development and growth in a person's life when he is 350 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:43,160 able to find a friend to whom he makes himself accountable. 351 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:50,200 Do you have anybody like that in your life who is holding you accountable for anything? 352 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:56,800 You know, it would be a good thing for you this year to establish a few precise spiritual 353 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:04,480 goals, and then to share those goals with somebody else, not your wife or your husband, 354 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:11,680 maybe with them too, but with somebody else so that other person can come back to you 355 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:16,200 next month and say, hey, how are you doing in this area? 356 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,360 Were you able to accomplish this or that? 357 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:28,600 You see, there is something about accountability that spurs us to faithfulness, to accomplish 358 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:30,200 our goals. 359 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:37,360 Now listen, God has made you accountable for your life. 360 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,240 You have no choice about it. 361 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:44,640 You must give account for your stewardship. 362 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,600 You may try to escape that now. 363 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,040 You may think up all kinds of excuses to why you're not doing this or not involved in that 364 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,760 or why you haven't made this commitment or that decision, but my friend, someday you're 365 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:04,180 going to stand before God and those excuses won't mean a hill of beans. 366 00:30:04,180 --> 00:30:11,160 Those will be non-existent at the judgment seat of Christ, Romans 14-12. 367 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,440 So then every one of us must give account of himself to God. 368 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:17,800 We shall do it. 369 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,200 And that is a frightening thing. 370 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,160 It is, if you stop to think about it. 371 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:27,280 I mean, it's joyful to look forward to the Lord's coming, but there's another side to 372 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,560 that coin, and that is that when he comes, we're going to be called to account for our 373 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,080 stewardship in this world. 374 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:41,760 Everything that you've been given, whether in terms of money or abilities, physical prowess, 375 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:47,800 whatever, you're going to account for that before God. 376 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:56,580 The Apostle Paul said, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone 377 00:30:56,580 --> 00:31:04,640 may receive according to the things done in his body, whether it be good or worthless. 378 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:10,960 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, he says, we persuade men. 379 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,280 Paul let us see a little of his heart there. 380 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:19,900 One of the incentives that kept Paul faithful was the fact that he knew someday he was going 381 00:31:19,900 --> 00:31:24,760 to see Jesus Christ face to face. 382 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:30,640 And when he looked into the eyes of Jesus Christ, he didn't want to have to be ashamed. 383 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,360 You're going to do the same thing. 384 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:38,800 Now, there's a sense we're all going to appear, but it goes on to say that every one of us 385 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:39,800 may receive. 386 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:47,880 You know, it's a personal judgment that's coming, a personal accounting. 387 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,600 Are you ready for it? 388 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:54,680 If the Lord should say to you today, now it's time to come home, my child, and to give a 389 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,560 count of your stewardship. 390 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:04,960 Are you ready to do that? 391 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:12,120 Let me make some specific applications I'd like for you to follow through on. 392 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:16,480 I'd like for you this week to think about God's ownership in your life. 393 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:23,080 And to help you do that, I want you to memorize two verses, and I'm going to hold you accountable 394 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:25,880 for it. 395 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:33,520 First Corinthians chapter 6, verses 19 and 20. 396 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:41,600 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you 397 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:48,200 have of God and ye are not your own? 398 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:54,920 For you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. 399 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:57,640 You memorize that before next week, will you? 400 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,760 I challenge you to do it. 401 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:08,480 And as you memorize, think about that center part of the verse that says, you are not your 402 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:12,600 own, you are bought with a price. 403 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:17,520 You think about what that means and how that needs to apply to your life. 404 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:22,800 Memorize this week a fresh and a new, God's ownership in your life. 405 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:28,520 And then I want to ask you to do an inventory this week. 406 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:36,880 A personal inventory of three areas of your life, your abilities, your money, and your 407 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:38,680 time. 408 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,200 I want you to make a piece of paper, this is one way to do it at least, with three lines 409 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:45,200 down it and you have three columns. 410 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:48,480 Take three lines across so you actually have three boxes. 411 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:56,160 In the first box simply write the words, my abilities, and list them. 412 00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:01,580 You may not need a very big box you think, you may be surprised. 413 00:34:01,580 --> 00:34:10,880 Write your abilities, second box down, my money, and write how much your income is. 414 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:17,920 In box number three, my time, figure out how much time you have in a week when you're awake. 415 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:22,680 That's only a very few hours for some people though they walk around. 416 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:27,880 You figure out how much time you are awake during the week, how many hours you have. 417 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:33,280 Then in the second column, start at the top and write down how you are now using your 418 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:40,620 abilities for the glory of God. 419 00:34:40,620 --> 00:34:46,120 Not how you would like to use them, how you plan to use them proverbial someday, how you 420 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,680 are using your abilities right now. 421 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:56,440 Secondly, as you drop down, how are you using your money? 422 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:00,120 What I'd like for you to write down is not how much you give to the Lord, I want you 423 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:07,640 to write down how much you keep because I think that's the essence of stewardship. 424 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:14,520 The more important question is how much I keep out of my salary. 425 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,000 Deal with the financial issue. 426 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:22,000 And then drop down to the third box and write down those things that are priorities in your 427 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,000 life. 428 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,640 Again, not the things you would like to be priorities, the things that ought to be, but 429 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,200 the things that are by the way you use your time. 430 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:36,200 Some of us are so busy doing the urgent that we've forgotten the important. 431 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:42,040 And then go back to that third column in your inventory and write down how you want to begin 432 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:47,920 using your abilities in 1983 for the glory of God, the changes you want to make. 433 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:53,320 How you want to reinvest your money differently for the glory of God, how much you're going 434 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,560 to keep, how much you're going to give. 435 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:58,600 Then your time. 436 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,560 What priorities do you need to change in 1983? 437 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,600 You say, why are we going through this exercise? 438 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:08,960 And by the way, write it down, don't just think through it. 439 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:11,960 It's when we write it down that it really becomes a part of us. 440 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:15,240 Thinking through it is too easy, too superficial. 441 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,320 Write it down, please. 442 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,760 Why are we going through this exercise? 443 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:23,740 Because dear people, someday you're going to stand before Jesus Christ and do something 444 00:36:23,740 --> 00:36:28,960 very similar to this. 445 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:34,400 Because He's going to be interested in how you used your money. 446 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:39,200 He wants to know how you spent your time. 447 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,520 He wants to know how you invested your abilities for His glory. 448 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:47,560 You see, this is not an empty exercise. 449 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:58,280 It is a preparation for that day when we will give an accounting to Him. 450 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:04,680 Two and a half years ago, we got a letter from the Internal Revenue Service and they 451 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:10,080 said, congratulations, you have been selected at random for an audit. 452 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:13,280 And we would like to meet you on such and such a day and such and such a place and go 453 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,800 over some things. 454 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:16,800 Well what happened? 455 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:26,780 Well, after I got up off the floor and pulled myself together, we moved actually and delayed 456 00:37:26,780 --> 00:37:29,560 the audit for a couple of months. 457 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:34,760 But the time came still when we had the appointment in a different city with a different person. 458 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:37,960 They kept up with us, believe me. 459 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:41,360 And finally the day for the audit came and I did the manly thing. 460 00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:44,400 I sent my wife. 461 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:45,400 I did. 462 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:47,840 I stayed home and babysat and she went to the audit. 463 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:49,640 That was the reason for that. 464 00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:52,040 She writes the checks in our family. 465 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:54,960 Boy, does she write them. 466 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:57,880 And writes them well. 467 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:03,480 And she also has a better memory than I do, except when we disagree that mine is right. 468 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,880 But she has a better memory than I do about things. 469 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:09,440 So we felt that was kind of important. 470 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:10,440 I stayed with the kids. 471 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,240 She went to meet with the guy. 472 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:15,720 She came back at lunch. 473 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:18,120 Knuckles still a little white, but doing pretty well. 474 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:20,440 She had to bring back some more information. 475 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,760 She was there from about, what was it, nine o'clock in the morning or eight thirty in 476 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:26,800 the morning until about three or three thirty in the afternoon. 477 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:33,040 I want to tell you that was an exhausting experience, especially for her. 478 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:34,040 For me, I was watching the kids. 479 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,280 It was exhausting too. 480 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:39,840 But for her it was a frightening experience in a very personal sense. 481 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:41,700 You know why? 482 00:38:41,700 --> 00:38:47,000 Because that auditor went through every check that we wrote for a whole year. 483 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,780 Now this was in December. 484 00:38:49,780 --> 00:38:52,320 And he was doing the whole year before. 485 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:56,400 1979, this was December of 1980. 486 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,120 He was doing the whole year before. 487 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:06,080 He went through every check to make sure that what we had reported on the form was correct. 488 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:10,040 He went through every deposit slip to our banks. 489 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:15,540 And by that time there were a couple of them involved because of our move. 490 00:39:15,540 --> 00:39:19,520 He wanted to know what every single deposit was for. 491 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:22,880 My wife had to remember every one of them. 492 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:29,960 He went through our itemized deductions and wanted proof of every single item that we 493 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,180 claimed. 494 00:39:32,180 --> 00:39:37,480 The outcome of the day was, to the credit of my wife, we got money back from the IRS, 495 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:41,600 which is the way it ought to go, right? 496 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:42,760 But I'll tell you something. 497 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:50,320 That was a terrifying experience because of the authority that the IRS claims to have 498 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:54,440 and does have by law. 499 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,440 We felt naked before the IRS for that whole year. 500 00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:00,820 I mean, they knew everything about us. 501 00:40:00,820 --> 00:40:03,680 We were exposed. 502 00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:08,660 It was frightening to consider the precision of information that they required, the exactness 503 00:40:08,660 --> 00:40:12,720 of the details that they wanted. 504 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:20,640 But that experience was small compared to the audit that you and I have coming at the 505 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:26,780 end of this life. 506 00:40:26,780 --> 00:40:30,520 Because we're going to stand before one who's not going to have to ask, well, what about 507 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:37,160 this or what about that, because he already knows it. 508 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:41,480 And we're going to have to give answer for the deeds done in our body, whether good or 509 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:43,720 worthless. 510 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:47,440 Now, you realize that. 511 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:52,320 You remember it as you live this week. 512 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:57,320 It may be that there are some decisions you need to make today or some command you need 513 00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:58,720 to obey today. 514 00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:02,960 You say, but pastor, I've already blown it. 515 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,480 I'm even old now and I haven't done very well. 516 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:13,000 My friend, if you still have breath in your body, there is still time for you to obey 517 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:14,120 God. 518 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:18,120 If you still have one day in your life, it's better to stand before Jesus Christ being 519 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:24,080 a good steward for that one day than for no days. 520 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:34,480 I call upon you today to give answer to your stewardship, not to me, but to yourself, because 521 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,600 someday you're going to stand before Christ and give answer for it. 522 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:41,000 How are you doing? 523 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:46,960 Father, these are difficult words and they are frightening to us. 524 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:49,000 We don't like to think about accountability. 525 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:50,480 We shun it. 526 00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:56,160 We run from it, but we know we cannot run from you. 527 00:41:56,160 --> 00:42:01,200 We cannot shun the judgment seat of Christ. 528 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:04,640 I know that in many ways all of us have stumbled. 529 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:08,960 There are ways in which all of us confess before you with sorrow and shame that we have 530 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:12,680 not been very good stewards. 531 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:16,440 I know there are many of us today who commit ourselves on this first Sunday of the New 532 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:18,480 Year to a faithful stewardship. 533 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:23,000 Lord, we want to remember these principles and to see them applied faithfully to our 534 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,000 lives. 535 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:30,000 Father, if there are some people here today who need to make particular decisions, help 536 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:35,920 them to do that, I pray, that their stewardship may get back on track. 537 00:42:35,920 --> 00:43:04,920 In Jesus' name, amen.