GRG 1
(2) What Is God Calling You To Do With Your…
Physical and Spiritual Resources?
(slide) Last Sunday we began a spiritual and educational journey together as we
asked the question – “What is God calling you to do with your time and relationships?”
And as the manager of your own personal time and the impact you can have upon
others as Christ’s representative, each of us needs to reflectively ask - what is God
calling me to do?
Vince and Ruth Archer, who are missionaries in Argentina, have discovered the
close, consistent friendship their two sons (Joel & Isaac) have made with another young
man, has transformed him from an atheist to a defender of the Gospel. That’s powerful
when that happens. And it demonstrates that relationships count. We can influence
people for Jesus Christ by our presence. Each of us as a disciple, a follower of Christ,
is blessed with the opportunity to touch the lives of those in our immediate circles, our
families, our spouse, a close friendship, a fellow work person and more.
Well following the pattern of last Sunday, this morning I want to look at a similar
question for all of us to consider (slide) – “What is God calling you to do with your
physical and spiritual resources?” And as we explore the calling God places upon
each of us, I want to look at five ideas with you, five areas where God places you in
charge as a manager of your life and health, your talents, skills & abilities, your
property, the natural resources all about you and the gospel.
(slide) I don’t you if you have noticed, but I have used the term manager two
times now to replace a Biblical term we don’t use very much today - the word steward. I
did that for a reason. Number one, the word steward is not a commonly used word for
us in the 21st Century, and number two, we often identify the word steward with
stewardship and money. And I want you to understand that your stewardship, or your
management is so much more than money. Actually, it encompasses your entire life.
In a Biblical sense, the word steward or manager embraced the concept of trust,
responsibility and faithfulness. A steward in the Bible was a person who managed the
affairs of another’s household or estate. The steward did not own anything he
managed, but he was trusted with all. (slide) In the 1959 movie Ben Hur, Charlton
Heston has a faithful steward (played by Sam Jaffe), who will not reveal the sacred trust
of Judah’s wealth to the Romans, even under torture, costing Simonides the use of his
legs. In the moving scene where Judah Ben Hur returns and finds his friend Simonides,
his faithful steward lets him know with tears he has remained true and has not failed to
honor Judah’s trust. (blank)
And what I want to get across to all of us this morning is that we as Christian
managers, have been entrusted with the resources of God. We are to serve as good
managers of what God has placed into our trust. So it’s not how much we have, but
what we do with what we have - that’s important. Follow along with me from your
bulletin or on the screen, as we read the four verses of Scripture that contain the words
steward or stewardship: (2 slides)
1 Corinthians 4:1
Let a person regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards (or
managers) of the mysteries of God….
Ephesians 3:2
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if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for
you;
Colossians 1:25
Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed
on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,….
1 Peter 4:10
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good
stewards (managers) of the manifold grace of God. (blank)
So as a good manager, God is entrusting me and asking me to use the gifts I
have right now. Not what I don’t have, or what I wish I had, or what I might get in the
future, but rather, to use what I do have within my sphere of control today. I am to be a
good manager of those gifts. And to me, one of exciting things that happens as a
manager for Christ, is the spiritual understanding we gain. God teaches us that all the
resources we possess and all the resources that pass through our fingers can be used
for the glory of God, and should never be wasted, but used wisely. Let me illustrate.
(slide)
If I were in the timber business and I owned a lumber mill along with thousands
of acres of wooded forest, and my goal was to make a profitable living for myself and
those who worked for me, I would essentially have two options. Number 1, I could
make a tremendous profit in one year and strip the entire forest of every tree I owned
along with driving out all of the natural wildlife, offer short term employment followed by
laying off all of my employees. Or, number 2, I could use methods of conservation,
plant seedlings for every tree cut down, and spread things out for a lifetime,
guaranteeing a forest for future generations, as well as a habitat for wildlife and a
steady annual income for my employees and their families.
How we manage the resources of God makes a difference. So with that
background, I want to briefly touch upon five ideas that I believe God entrusts to our
management.
1. (slide) (vitamins) Our lives and personal health. Have you ever noticed
when it comes to our earthly existence, we have been given only one life to live? That’s
all we get. We can use that life for the good of others, squander it, even bring harm; but
from God’s perspective, we as followers of Jesus Christ, are often the only feet and
hands the Lord can use. So my single life is important as God chooses to use it to
make an impact upon others to accomplish His purposes.
I would also say life is a sacred trust, therefore, we should respect life and take
care of ourselves. The Scripture says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and
we have to decide - what do we want to ingest in this temple. What things shall we
have fill our minds and our hearts? How shall we take care of ourselves and how shall
we use our lives to benefit God’s kingdom work on earth? As human beings, we have
been created in the image of God with the ability to reason between right and wrong.
We have been given good minds to bring benefit, to create, to invent, learn, discover,
and to hopefully add more than we take away.
In 1933, author Denis Waitley made this statement: “Time and health are taken
for granted until they are depleted.” Well, if you agree with Denis Waitley, then I would
like to state - before our earthly lives are depleted and while we have our health, let us
offer ourselves in service for the greatest good to all we meet for the glory of God.
GRG 3
2. (slide) (tools hammer) A second area of management I mention involves our
talents, our skills and abilities. Some of you have wonderful abilities. You are skilled
with woodworking and fixing things and doing odd jobs and gardening and patiently
teaching children. A few more of you can sew and cook, making and repairing banners
for the sanctuary and dresses for little girls in Africa and preparing meals for missions.
Others of you are mechanical, or have electrical skills, or have knowledge to pass on, or
you have a musical talent that you bless us with on Sunday mornings or on a special
occasion. And I say thank you for the many ways all of you express your talents.
What I find interesting is that all of us have certain talents and skills and abilities,
but if we don’t use them, we see our level of competence diminish don’t we? It’s similar
to exercising and maintaining some level of muscle mass and strength. Have you
noticed as we age, some of our muscles get smaller while our mid-sections get bigger?
Can anyone relate to that? Or how many people do you know who took piano lessons
as a child and as an adult hardly remember how to play? Whatever your talent and
skill, use it in such a way others will glorify the Lord because of it.
3. (slide) (waterfall bottle) A third area of management we could look at are the
natural resources around us, the environment, the world where we live. An article on
the Internet that caught my attention a few years back, was about the town of Orme
(orm), Tennessee, population 145, who had run out of water. Everyday, the volunteer
fire chief drove to Alabama in a 1961 fire truck and filled it up with water from a fire
hydrant to haul it back to the town’s water tank that was turned on each evening for 3
hours, from 6-9pm. As a manager of a natural resource like water, what does it mean
for the residents of Orme, Tennessee to conserve water and for a town in Alabama to
share? Q: Are there things we can be doing locally and within our households that
reflect a concerned management of our natural resources?
4. (slide) (Bible, Gospel tract) Number four is management of the gospel, the
good news of Jesus Christ. The Scripture says in 1 Peter 3:15, that we as followers
of Christ are to be ready to give an account of the hope that is within us. In other words,
we are to be ready to share a witness of what Christ has done for us when the
opportunity presents itself. We are managers of God’s word who have been entrusted
to share the gospel with others through our words and deeds. We reflect the gospel
through a lifestyle that is becoming of one who knows Christ as their Savior. As good
managers, we are to present the good news of our Lord in such a way that others will
be drawn to Jesus Christ because of who we are and because of Whose we are.
(slide) We need to keep in mind as Pastor Henry Blackaby wrote – “Christianity is
not a set of teachings to understand. It is a Person to follow.” And that person is the
Lord Jesus Christ who gave His life so you and I could receive abundant life now and in
God’s kingdom to come – life everlasting. But before anyone can respond to the good
news they must be told. Where would you be today if someone had not shared Christ
with you?
For all of you college football fans, I don’t know if you were aware a few years
ago that (slide) the starting quarterback for Michigan State’s football team from 2009 –
2011, was a Christian young man by the name of Kirk Cousins. During his senior year,
on November 3rd, 2011, Kirk Cousins spoke to thousands of fellow students at a packed
MSU Auditorium. Kirk shared about his commitment to Christ, how a person could
receive Christ as their Savior, and why Christ is more important to him than playing
football. Do you think that got people’s attention back in 2011 that football was not
GRG 4
Kirk’s number one priority? After graduation, Cousins was drafted into the NFL in 2012
and now plays quarterback for the Washington Redskins.
5. (slide) (car/keys) The last area I mention is the management of our property
– our stuff; the things that we own, that hopefully don’t own us. As a follower of Jesus
we acknowledge that everything we have comes as a gift from God. We bring nothing
into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. So the only level of control we have to
some degree, is what we choose to use in the present.
For example. Have you ever given anyone a ride in your automobile to church or
to an appointment or used your vehicle for a group outing? Have you ever had
someone sleep over in your home, or offered to share a meal, or lent out some tools
and equipment? Have you ever passed along any clothes that are just sitting in your
closet? Those are tangible things we can do with our stuff, our property and
possessions. We have been blessed with much and we in turn can be used as a
blessing to others.
One of the things I love about church rummage sales is the opportunity to clear
out things I don’t use any more but are still useable to someone else. And what’s
exciting is that these quality products get a second chance to be used all over again.
That to me is good management of our stuff instead of throwing everything away.
Well, let’s bring this message to a close. I believe the management of our
resources is a lifelong commitment to God. (slide) It’s like mowing the grass. You
don’t just do it once and then skip it the rest of your life (unless of course you live in a
condo or hire it out). Maybe you would like one of these people on the screen to help
you. The point is - our consistent and faithful management gives us an opportunity to
give back to God Who first gave to us. It allows us the chance to say thank You to the
Lord for giving His all, His life for us. It marks us as true disciples who want to honor
God, who understand not only a future day of greater rewards, but that God can use us
in the present moment to impact lives for the kingdom of heaven.
(blank) What we do counts. Therefore, I say – let us be counted. Let us
manage, in these few years we are granted, what God has entrusted into our hands to
advance the work God has called us to do. (slide) And so I ask again – “What is God
calling your to do with your physical and spiritual resources?”