Stewardship

i want to start our time off with a verse this morning And in a way it's not directly related to what we talk about but it is because it's foundational And it was a verse that Renee was sharing with me this morning It's out of Psalm 75 And u I'm going to actually back up to verse one there It says "We praise you God We praise you for your name is near People tell of your wonderful deeds You say I ch uh you say I choose the appointed time It is I who judge with equity When the earth and all its people quake it is I who hold its pillars firm And I just uh that last verse that we live in a time the world is always in a state of of quaking in some way If you haven't realized that yet just walk back through history We're in our time now when the world and the earth is quaking There's wars that are taking place There's economic uncertainty There's all kinds of things and we we quake and we feel like the found the things we stand on quake The good news is what says right there You say that you hold the found the pillars that hold things You hold them firm God set the pillars in place He holds them firm And so I just offer that to you this morning as we're going to go through and continue our study here Um this idea of life unlocked and learning how to live out our our faith Um I want you to just be reminded that God holds the pillars no matter what goes on in life That God is in control Nothing's taking him by surprise And though the world the earth may shake nothing shakes God And just remember that God is good The series we are in as I said is life unlocked And this is a we're taking 33 weeks I think it's coming out to to walk through 10 foundational beliefs Then we're going to look at 10 uh resulting actions in our lives and then we're going to look at 10 characteristics that should be developing in our lives as we live out those uh beliefs Okay So that's where we are We are in the ninth week uh of our belief the foundational beliefs and I want to just if you're a guest with us I'm not going to go through all the previous eight but I will go through the last couple of three here um last few would be accurate way to put that the last few that we've gone through that are directly connected to what we're talking about today So that is that when we excuse me of course my throat's going to bug me when I start talking Um first one is we talk about the church and to the ultimate thing that it is our belief that the church is God's primary means of activity in the world today Now it doesn't mean God has he's at work all the time but the church is God's primary focus and means of bringing about his will and accomplishing his will in the world today That means that you and I as followers of Jesus if we've made that commitment of faith then we are brought into as part of the church and as part of the church that we are responsible for continuing God's mission in the world That's was a few weeks ago we talked about that So that's kind of our foundation there Then we talked about uh the love of God We had talked about it earlier in the connection to salvation But now I want to talk about it in connection to the church living out our salvation Uh God we spent time in John 3:16 Very familiar verse For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life That verse makes clear that people are separated from God that without uh Jesus we remain in separation but God's love or is is the driving force of drawing people back to himself that requires those of us who have discovered through faith a relationship with God to live that faith out within the context of the church first and foremost we talked about that the one anothers of the New Testament we are to love Jesus by loving one another by praying for one another forgiving one another admonishing one another uh giving to to to supporting each other And so in the process of living out our faith why do we do that so that we can become the expression of the love of God to a humanity Other people just like us that are still separated from God You might hear me say it this way God still loves his lost sheep And he has given the church the responsibility of finding those lost sheep and introducing them to their shepherd And so that is the responsibility within the context of the church I put it within the walls of the church We are building up one another so that we can go outside the walls and bring the truth of the gospel to a world in needing of knowing their creator and their savior And then we talked about specifically as it goes outside the walls we talked about compassion last week that we are to be those who have been uh shown great compassion in the love of God to become those who live a life of compassion We talked about seeing it feeling it and responding to it We used the example of the good Samaritan and we broke down what was taking place within that context that within just the confines of his daily life he loved God and he expressed that love of God by the way that he treated someone in need He saw the need responded to the need he felt the need It says there in that passage he felt for that man And so as followers of Jesus we are being strengthened within the church and then we go out as the church and we are those who live with compassion allowing it to determine seeing those in need as God sees us And so we're living out our faith And so today I'm going to take us to a another one that builds off of that another foundational truth that builds off of that And it's the concept of stewardship Now in a way that's kind of a churchy sounding word And so uh maybe I would uh best define it this way It stewardship is the act of directing and managing something to produce the best with what is available You and I as followers of Jesus as part of his body we make up the church He has given us the responsibility of bringing out the best with what we have been given for his glory and for his purpose We are functioning as the purposeful arm of God in the world today We manage what he's given us to create the greatest impact So let's let's start with this I want to take you a couple verses in Psalms Psalm 24:1 it says "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it All its people belong to him Okay pretty simple and straightforward I'll ask it the other other direction here How much do you own

now many of us would look at and say "Well I I own as much as is in my bank account and what I've you know what I've been able to collect for myself I own it." No The reality is God says there is nothing that you and I own And that's kind of a hard thing to to take because we live in a world that is ranks people by what they own Jeff Bezos got married this weekend And pretty exciting stuff or sometime here recently I don't know when it was Um now we would say he owns a whole lot more than I own Barely a little bit more but he owns a little more than I do You see we look at the world through a lens that says "What do you own?" And then we associate value with what somebody owns But as followers of Jesus we have a whole different foundation a whole different economy because God says he owns everything So if God owns everything what is it that I have i have been given that which I have to manage to bring about the very best So in you see how in God's economy it's not there's not value based on how much you have but what you do with what you have That's a whole different way of approaching things So I want to read another Psalm 50 verse starting with verse 9 It says I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens He was talking to the Watsons on this one For all the animals of the forest are mine and I own the cattle on a thousand hills I know every bird on the mountains and all the animals in the fields are mine If I were hungry I wouldn't tell you For all the world is mine and everything in it Do I eat the meat of bulls do I drink the blood of goats make thankfulness your sacrifice to God and keep the vows you made to the most high We could spend a fair amount of time on what the psalmist is saying there Here's what I want you to get God doesn't need what you have either You understand that now sometimes there's this perspective within the church that I you know I have to uh give to the church and I and I uh you know there the word tithe comes up and we think "Oh I'm I'm committed to I've got to give this." It's almost more an obligation and pretty soon we start to to resent it at some point because God's trying to take too much of of my stuff What God wants you and I to understand is that it's all his We are given it as a privilege to manage it And I'm going to give it to you here in another perspective here in just a second We're given it to manage it and to produce the best with it And as as the uh Most High says there make thankfulness your sacrifice to God and keep the vows you made to the most high What is he talking about the vows you made to the most high Well within that culture at that time it was constantly talked and referred to that God owns it I give back enough to make sure that I recognize he owns it And then I do the best with what he's given me what remains Okay So why does God give us and I think this is a fair question why does God give us anything because if he owns everything then the question should be why does he give us anything because you deserve it Because you're such a good person You're so attractive God can't help himself Why do you have what you have i'm going to look at this this morning Here's the biblical principle of the stuff that you have Once you figure this one out I can tell you this with great great honesty It will determine everything about how you live your life It will change who you are So here's what it is The things that you have are given to you by God for the purpose of allowing you to know him better

So that means the car that you drive you bought it because you liked it you thought the color was pretty and you like the way it drives and handles and whatever it is that you have So maybe it's not a car maybe it's a motorcycle maybe it's it's the house that you live in I want to tell you something that what you have been given the size of your bank account the job that you have all of it is intended In fact God says all of life everything in it that he has given you is intended for one purpose for you to be able to understand and know him better

So let me ask you a question How has your money this week helped you know God better you see what we have is is not just God says he you know he I mentioned it there in Psalms I could take you to Matthew where he talks about the fact that he knows when a bird falls He knows what the fl when the flowers bloom He knows everything and he cares for them He's well aware of the details of life itself Then he applies it into our lives and says,"I know all of that Won't I take care of you?" So if you know then he says you know seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and then everything else is going to be given to you Jesus said when you pray he was talking to his disciples When you pray pray what get down in there Give us our daily bread You see the reason is we've got to realize God's the one that will sustain us But most of us don't live by a deep enough faith to allow God to sustain us And when it gets down that things are hard we think what we have is going to determine how well we're going to be able to exist God says a whole he takes a whole different perspective He says I'm going to sustain you And everything I'm going to give you I'm going to give it for the purpose of you to have the opportunity to know me better to glorify me in the process of the way that you live So let's say you have $10 in your bank account today because we're at the end of the month How does that $10 help you know God better you see that's the mindset that I have to have This drive uh connects into the idea of living and being people of compassion You see if I own things it gets a lot harder to be compassionate If I'm determined valuewise by what I have I don't see people for their need and their value I see them for what return they'll give me And God says "You don't own it What are you looking at people that way for?" What are you thinking when you think that way it has nothing to do with me absolutely nothing We need to become those who are seeking first the kingdom of God with everything that we have because we see what we have as the opportunity to know God So with that now I have eyes that do see and a and a soul that does feel the need of others and who is able to respond to a condition not based out of what I have and out of fear but out of full relationship with God Let's see what you're going to do today God What are you going to do with this how will I understand your mercy more clearly how will I understand your overflowing faithfulness how will I understand all of your character God will I allow what I have to stand in the way it creates a shadow and I can't quite see you clearly Or is it that which magnifies the character of God because I can let it go I can use it I can manage it I can be a steward of it I'll be the manager that sees God both in the beginning and the end and all the way through I get to walk with God You see how cool God's economy is he set it up for your benefit He set it up to bless you in this life I want to take you into Matthew chapter 25 We're going to look at this a little more uh directly here and see the reality of a God who gives so that we can know So let's this I'm I'm sure you're probably familiar with this passage but Matthew chapter 25 I'm going to start with verse 16 And this is a parable that Jesus told And I will tell you this in Matthew 25 go and go and read it Remind yourself of this Uh when we went through the book of Matthew when we got here um if you remember when we went through the book of Matthew I told you that Matthews chapter 5 6 and 7 set the whole outline for the rest of the book So when we get to Matthew 25 it's a continuation of the thought of what is taught in chapter 5 What is five that I have to recognize my condition of being separated from God The utter chaos of my life and that God is offering peace and stability He's offering me life I come into him And what is it that Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God That is the central theme And then Jesus goes on to talk about that if we recognize our need to come into a relationship with God We come into the kingdom where the king reigns and everything belongs to him How do I live with that kind of mindset and that's why we unfolded through the rest of Matthew So we come to Matthew 25 and Jesus is still teaching this And in the middle of this he's giving the parable of three servants but this is a middle parable There's one on either side of it So when when something in the Bible and specifically when Jesus is talking and he repeats something three times do you think he might want the listener to figure it out the answer is yes And so right in the middle of this he gives us a parable that we're probably fairly familiar with but all three of them are centered on this How do you live in the kingdom of God how do you live where the king is the one in control the king owns everything The king is the one who gives How do you steward what he gives so Jesus tells the story now of three servants And uh he begins with this again The kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip He called together his servants and he entrusted his money to them while he was gone He gave five bags of silver to one two bags of silver to another and one bag of silver to the last Dividing it in proportion to their abilities he left on his trip Okay I want you if you have a pen you can mark your Bible a note of this What did it say he said in proportion to their abilities God gives God knows That's probably the first key theme that we need to understand is God knows you well enough to know what will draw you closer to him by what he gives you There was not We sometimes read this and we read it with our mentality We think "Boy the guy who got five bags that's a ripoff for the guy that got one." Is it not according to the master The master said he gave exactly what was was uh good for each of them gave according to their abilities And it doesn't put a value statement on how much is given Nor does it give a value that because one got one bag and one got five the guy who got five is a better person than the guy that got one Because the whole thing is starts out in the beginning He entrusted them with his money So there was as much trust given to the one as there was to the five But according to ability he knew this guy has the ability to use it in a way that will even more uh will magnify for him and draw him closer if he has five And this one if he uses the one that I give him will draw him close to me on the same level They're going to come to know me In fact I want you to understand this parable that's that Jesus is telling right here is about the knowledge of the servants of the master It's about knowing the master It's already stated in this very first part The master knows the servants Now we're he as he walks us through with these uh each of these servants he's showing how well they know the master And their knowledge of the master is demonstrated by what they do with what they've been given Let's read a little bit further The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more The servant with two bags of silver went uh to work and earned two more But the servant who received the one bag of silver and dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money The servant uh to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said "Master you gave me five bags of silver to invest and I've earned five more." The master was full of praise Well done good and faithful servant You have been faithful in handling the small amount So now I will give you more responsibility Let's celebrate together

Circle that again I'm going to take a pause here for just a second That phrase let's celebrate together you can see it's repeated He celebrates with the first two The last time not so much Why does he celebrate with them because they took what they were given to honor the master by the return They they used it as a means of expressing and growing in their knowledge of the master And so they gathered to party Who do you party with those who know you or those who don't in this the master parties with those who know him let's continue The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said "Master you gave me two bags of silver to invest and I have earned two more." The master said "Well done my good and faithful servant You've been faithful in handling the handling the small amount So I now now give you many more responsibilities Let's celebrate together I want you also to notice that with both of those servants h what does the master how does the master refer to the amount of money that he gave them small amount Our first thinking is he gave a small amount to the last guy No you see to the master he knows everything and he knows the abilities of each of his servants and he gives to them the opportunity to know him through the things that he has given them So he's not worried about the amount nor is he worried that that it has to be 100% return He wants to see how the servant recognizes the master and he celebrates with them I want you to notice also that it's not a comparison between those first two servants nor is it with the last servant There's no comparison God's not going "Well my my favorite servant he he came back with five You okay you came back with four or came back with 10 you came back with four Man couldn't you have done a little better?" Look at the gap between the two of you He doesn't compare to what we already I already said God isn't concerned about the amount It's how you use what you've been given And God isn't saying you're if I only gave you two well you're not quite as good as the one I gave five No we all have different abilities and opportunities And God knows that And he's put us where he desires for us to live out who he's created us to be And he gives us what's necessary for us to fully express who he is by living fully with what he's given us managing it well and it becomes a reflection to the glory of God The master is pleased

I think there's a principle here And I think that principle is that God may not be giving you more I want to I'm going to be careful on how I say this but I'm going to say this I'll say it this way We may not have the more that we think we deserve because we have wasted what we've already been given We don't know God in the amount that we have How will we know God god at that point is able to see if I give you more it will push you further away from me You become so wrapped up in what I've given you that you'll forget I gave it to you It's mine and you won't grow as a result of what I give you There's a there's a deep principle there Our what we have is a reflection of our knowledge of God It is a reflection of how we want to please and know him And if I am not living aware of that maybe I'm just kind of mindlessly going through life and enjoying what I have Then you're wasting what you've been given You're like the last servant we're going to get to You're burying it It doesn't matter if you got five bags or one bag If you're burying it you don't know the master And he wants you to know him And he wants you to reflect him And he wants you to live your life in a full recognition of him so that you have the freedom to be who you want to be And we're created to be Let me put it that way Not who you want to be who he wants you to be Got to be clear on that God is always at work with the desire of creating us more and more into the image of Jesus We've been talking about that And if we're becoming more like Jesus I got to know the one I'm becoming like And one of the best ways I can know Jesus is by taking what I have and using it to reflect my relationship with him to deepen my relationship with him to grow my relationship with him to expand my relationship with him You see it's not something I attain to and now I've got it and I can go off and sit uh on the side with all the things that I've got and God's just so happy with me He wants you to know him more and more every day as it says in Romans to become more and more like Christ And he gives you the things that you have so you can reflect him And if you are feeling like you don't have I would tell you to go back and talk to the master and say "Where am I not pleasing you with what you've given me where am I not seeking you through what you have given me where am I hoarding and holding on to what you've given me?" So much so that it's re it's it's constricting my relationship with you because a heart that surrenders is a heart that flourishes in the kingdom of God

Let's continue here in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 There is a Paul makes a statement and it relates to what we're talking about here And I want to just read this briefly to you because I think it helps bring in a little broader perspective to this whole idea And it and he says this anyone who builds on that foundation what's the foundation he's talking about got to give some context here The foundation of faith in Jesus foundation of a relationship with God And he uses the metaphor here He's talking about that we have the opportunity You have a faith You can come to a point of faith in Jesus I need Jesus I recognize my condition But it is intended that we continue to live and grow in that relationship And so Paul's building using the building metaphor in the process of this You God's laid the foundation and given it to you in Christ Now build upon it And the great thing is that God gives us the resources to build But what resources are you going to use and how are you going to use them let's see what he says here Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials So in other words you've got a lot of materials that are going to be you can use in your life that can be reflected in what you're building that recognizes the one who's given it It recognizes the master So what you're building becomes a reflection of your relationship with God You can use gold silver jewels wood hay or straw Do you kind of see a descending order there you have a choice How you use what's available to you is going to determine the value that's being invested But on judgment day fire will reveal what kind of uh work each builder has done Oh wow Kind of a harsh sound isn't it see the reality Paul talks to and we see this in multiple places in the New Testament We'll stand before Jesus even if we have a relationship with with him We are saved through faith in Jesus but we'll still give an account for what we did with what we have as a reflection of our relationship with him And so he says on that day we'll stand in judgment before Jesus Not a judgment on your sin Um you know depart from me I never knew you It's not that judgment It is show me how you knew me Show me the reflection in what you have been given what you did with what I gave you And he says it's going to be a fire that will test it Well what's going to stand up to fire there more likely in this process paul's talking about that It's going to be the things It's not going to be the wood hay and straw Let's put it that way It's going to go So the he has given us this image to understand you have things You have a relationship with God There's your foundation And you have this you have a life that is all kinds of things that in reality God's given you What are you going to choose to how well are you going to invest in building upon what you've been given if you're choosing the cheap material then you aren't building to please the master you're building just for ease or for your uh you know the lazy approach to however you want to live your life but you'll give an account If the work survives that builder will receive a reward but if the work is burned up the builder will suffer great loss The builder will be saved but like someone barely escaping a wall of flames That bring a little clarity what Jesus is talking about in this parable He's not saying you're going to lose your salvation but the reality is it's going to show that the whole life that you had from the point of your faith till the day you stand before Jesus you wasted it You didn't know the master Live in a way that says these $10 that I have in my bank account at the end of the month God where do you use them as I said with the $1 at the beginning and the every dollar in between God what do you want to do how do I know you better what will we what will you do with me today funny thing I got a um went and picked up the mail the other day out in front of our house pulled out the mailbox and I um there was a check in there from our mortgage company I could tell that by looking at the envelope and I just say this as a sense of praise to God This last month Renee and I paid off our house And so yeah we are thrilled about that God is good And it's really is a testimony to God's faithfulness to us Well now I see this check in there uh from the mortgage company I'm going "Oh great They they felt guilty for all that money They want to give me something back." And and I'm thinking "Okay this this will be good." And I go in and I open it up pull out the check It was a check for a whopping 10 cents And then I looked at the stamp It cost them 56 cents to mail it And they were paying somebody hourly to process it That was the most expensive check 10- cent check that's ever re been received I think So I I I laughed I told Renee and we were laughing about that But here was the thought that came into my mind That 10 cents represents the continued blessing of God He has been so good to us So good So I asked what are we going to do with the 10 cents well for now it still is for its value hanging on our bulletin board It may stay there as a good reminder of what God has done That even in the midst of all that he has given he still gives a little bit more God is good He's really good But he wants what we have to be a constant opportunity to know him better and be able to praise him be able to thank him to be able to live a life of joy not under the weight of what I own but under the freedom of what I've been given and learn to express fully express my knowledge of God So the two servants came in and both of them had done quite well because they knew the master But I want you to catch what happens with the third servant And it's I'm going to say right here it's very sad Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said "Master I knew you were a harsh man Harvesting crops you didn't plant Gathering crops you didn't cultivate I was afraid I would lose your money so I hid it in the earth Look here's your money back Okay those those verses right there just jump off here for a second expressing the servants's knowledge of the master That's exactly what Jesus is saying The first two knew the master well They were not afraid of the master They saw the opportunity to please him and to live in with that that they've been given in such a way that it would bring joy to the master upon his return They wanted to give to the master more than what they had received This guy let me ask you this question And it's supposed to be this way When Jesus told the story does his view of the master match up the view of the first two

the answer is no He didn't know the master He'd probably spent a lot of time previous to this grumbling about how the work he had to do and the master expected too much of him and and he never felt appreciated and and he just was constantly in a state of complain seeing life as a victim We don't have that in our culture anymore today but that's a joke by the way Um it's that mentality that where I think I'm being wrong blinds me to what I actually have That's one of the things that makes me sad about our culture today So many of the things that are happening is because people are blinded by what they have and what they think they deserve rather than seeing the the great opportunity and the blessing of what they already have and using it to not only grow themselves but grow to know the one who gave it to them We can easily get blinded Jesus talks about this in other places that money can blind us Things blind us Possessions separate us from God But God gives and gives the opportunity through those things to know him better This servant did not know the master He had thoughts about the master but he didn't know the master So the master replies "You wicked and lazy servant," "If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate why didn't you deposit my money in the bank?" Because he's saying "If you knew this about me if this was your perspective of me then that didn't even drive what you did." Do you get what he's saying to him he's saying "You're lying to me You're lying to yourself." If you actually thought that's who I am okay that's your view of me If that's what you thought then that should have changed how you used what you were given So you say it was these things but you didn't even respond to what you said you knew You could have gone and just deposited and I would have made you know a buck 50 in interest But you didn't because you didn't know me You didn't care about knowing me You didn't even have a thought about me You just were complaining about how bad you got things and that I'm this evil master but you didn't even let that shape how you lived

At least I could have gotten some interest on it He said "Then he ordered take the money from the servant and give it to the one with the 10 bags of silver To those who use it well what they are given even more will be given and they will have an abundance." Huh goes back to what I said a bit ago about that principle If we're not using what we've been given as an opportunity to grow and know God more clearly and more deeply and to walk with him and to express my faith in him and to to be able to express my love for him I'm not going to have And so what happens to this guy they take take his money from him uh as it says to those who uh use well what they are given even more will be given and they will have an abundance but from those who do nothing even what little they have will be taken away That statement nothing and part of where we read this those who do nothing it is a statement there in that verse that is expressing there is no connection between what they have and what how it affects their life They there was no effect in their life Go back to this for the very beginning What was it that the master did even though it was one bag we'd go "Oh he didn't get much of an opportunity." Really would the master say that he said "I knew this servant and I knew what he could do And so I gave him one bag And so in that what was the master doing?" He even said it in the verse He was entrusting him with his wealth what you have in life is entrusted God So that means if you're a mother of a single mom of kids and you're struggling and life is hard I want you to stop for a minute before you complain and I want you to learn to say "Thank you God You have given me much With much I will honor you." Maybe you run a corporation and you have a lot of people that answer to you and your bank account looks great and the car you drive is beautiful and the house that you live in is big Don't be blinded by what you have

Be able to turn to your master and say "You gave it to me I want to multiply it over because I know how gracious you are how merciful you are how loving you are how compassionate you are I want that to be how I live So I will take what you have invested with me and I will invest it So you are seen You are known I grow as a result The world knows you better because I live as one who manages what you've given me You see there's no comparison There's no one is better than the other It all comes down to the person What did you what have you done what are you doing with what God has given you you notice that it this seems pretty harsh Um he says it'll be taken away It's um verse 30 says "Now throw this useless servant into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and nashing of teeth." Woo jesus ended that one pretty harsh didn't he let me ask you another way on this Do you think Jesus takes seriously what you have it's his isn't it he has a purpose behind it We don't in fact we might want to just scratch that verse out But then again we're deceiving ourselves

And I want you to notice something else in this parable The servant got exactly what he thought the master was like Did you catch that the servant got exactly the master he thought he served

So I'm going to change it around What master are you receiving because the master who has given to you loves you has a purpose for your life has given it to you because he knows you and he knows the return that you can give Not because he needs it doesn't need anything We already saw that in Psalms He doesn't need a thing from us He's giving it to us for the purpose of recognizing him What master do you serve if you think God is a harsh master reaping from where he doesn't plant and he's one that's always demanding I want to encourage you to do something Put everything else aside Go home today and do one thing God show me who you are Show me who you are Because I can tell you this right now You have no understanding of who it is you serve If you've put your faith in Jesus and you think that's who he is the God who loved you so much that he sent his son the very son of God dying on the cross for you Is that a harsh master as Jesus talked about it's a good father who gives good gifts to his children You see all the way through the New Testament the perspective of how good God is is there But Jesus reminds us that oftentimes we think of God for who he isn't rather than who he is And if we're seeking a God that is outside of the character of who he is and we use that as a justification for living a way that draws us further from God we're going to get what we live for

So God's honest enough to say that to us Do you know the master and what he's given you do you use it as an opportunity to glorify him to know him better and to reflect him makes sense to me I hope it makes sense to you That's what it is to live in the kingdom of God You know here as a church I just want to I want to draw just a final thought here And as a church at West Valley I have been so impressed We're going to talk later on in the series about generosity Generosity and stewardship go together because out of a desire to manage things to produce the best It's got to be connected to generosity or we have a real hard time uh being those who are compassionate They all interweave You see they they're connected And it all comes back to how well do we know our savior the one who gave himself for us And um we as a church this is one of the things that's been so exciting Renee would tell you the same thing We and I we talk about this often that as a church we've been ex in existence now for 34 years During those 34 years we have been blessed to see how God continually gives And it's our responsibility as a church to manage things well to reflect God And so we have seen awesome things like the starting of of um saving grace or the uh starting of resolution kindness and the impacts that had in community We have painted people's houses We have uh we have paid for wells to be dug We have we I mean I could give you a list after list after list as a church where we have expressed the presence of God and used what he has had to express who he clearly is He has given We have invested God has done great things Every once in a while we'll hit a spot where things will get financially a little bit tight What does that mean i want you to think about this with me I believe it's an opportunity to do self-evaluation because the church is made up of many It's not just one entity in doing it We are the church And if things are tight financially then we need to go back and just ask ourselves God are we seeing what you've given as a blessing and are we multiplying it through the church the church is God's main instrument of change in the world today So we start with the church with what we have and we make sure the church is effective in changing lives

oftentimes you don't get to see this but I've seen in in many different occasions where God will give me opportunities to take investment that you guys have given and be able to uh invest that to pay somebody's rent or to help somebody's bills be paid or to buy somebody a car or to get cars repaired or be able to do different things It's not that we're just flowing with money and we're just giving it out but where God allows as you your church to invest into people's lives to express that God needs to be seen by how we use what we've been given That's what I love about this church I believe Jesus is known here and seen here and that we are growing as a result of that Growing personally spiritually We have people now all over the world who have come to Christ in this church who are involved in churches leading churches leading people to Christ So we may sit here and go "Well we're a small group." I don't care God maybe gave us one bag of silver We're going to multiply that bag of silver and we've seen it multiplied and I am thankful for that So when these times come where things are a little bit tighter does it mean we panic no As a pastor it sometimes raises my concern not for what we don't have But are we encouraging a life of dependency on God i want to see that If you have been here long at all you will know we don't pass an offering plate You know we don't talk about finances and say "Hey you know did you give this week?" Or take a time where we'll pray and give you the opportunity to dig into your wallet There's one offering basket at the back We have a giving means on online with our app but it's we believe it to be a secondary focus because it needs to be a primary result of my relationship with God I will talk to you about your relationship with God that I know that if you are walking with God you will manage and and steward well what you've been given and this church will always flourish I don't have to come and remind you So that's why I am thankful to be part of this church because for 34 years you have shown a growing faith in God and his face and his presence has been known throughout this community and around the world So my encouragement to you is this Let's keep it up Seek God fully Surrender to him wholly Use what you've been given as an opportunity to express him I'll put it this way Your bank account is a reflection How you use what you have That's why I'm using the word bank account there Maybe you're going I don't even have one of those How you use what you have directly reflects your knowledge of God and is an expression of your faith 100% So let's let God shine bright through our community be those who live with a joy of stewardship The first two do you notice they're partying with God they're happy and excited The last guy he's thrown out I want us to be a church that parties I really do Parties in the presence of God Let's pray God you are so good to us And I want to thank you just right up front the way you have continually blessed each person in this room We don't compare what we have to each other We compare what we have to our knowledge of you and we give you thanks May we become those like those first two servants who move on the knowledge of a relationship with you want to reflect you want to to love you more deeply And so we take what we have as a instrument a gift from you to know you more clearly In your wisdom you said what I give them will produce in them the opportunity to walk with me May we walk so closely that it is very evident to anyone around us that what we have belongs to you Use us to be a people that continues to change the world because we want to take what you've given us and use it to produce the best And pray this in Jesus name Amen