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Introduction:
We recently learned how we will live when we trust God.
However, we recognize that in good relationships, trust goes both
ways. Therefore, knowing that we can trust God, we need to ask it
God can trust us. Can God trust you? When Paul explained to
Timothy why God chose him, Paul, to be an apostle, the first
reason he mentioned was “because He considered me faithful” (I
Timothy 1:12). Paul is not referring to being a “faithful
Christian” as we most often use the term. Rather, God recognized
that Paul, though misguided at the time, was trustworthy. Because
Paul was trustworthy he said Jesus “strengthened me…putting me
into service.” As Paul was trustworthy, we also need to be
trustworthy. God has chosen us as the stewards of His good
blessings and He needs to be able to trust us with these
stewardships. Examine six stewardships with which God entrusts and
ask, “Can God trust me?” Discussion: I.
Can God trust you with the Stewardship of Resources? A.
Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights
(James 1:17). Every resource, every financial blessing, every
material blessing is a gift from God. We do not deserve any of it.
Yet, God has entrusted us with jobs that make money, with homes,
cars, clothes and other material and financial goods. B.
Luke
16:10-13 explains our
eternity is wrapped up in the way we handle this stewardship. God
will not entrust us with any true riches and resources if we do
not handle our material blessings properly. The overarching
principle Jesus teaches is that we must always remember that
material resources are to be our tools not our master. C.
Being good stewards of our finances means managing your
resources well to take care of your family and others who might be
in need (I
Timothy 5:8; Ephesians 4:28).
Additionally, it means demonstrating our thanksgiving to God by
giving to accomplish His work (II
Corinthians 9:6-8). Further, it also includes being generous
and sharing God’s blessings with others (II
Timothy 2:17-19;
Hebrews
13:16). One thing being a good steward never means is hoarding
our financial blessings to ourselves. God has blessed us so we can
bless others. Can God trust you with this stewardship? II.
Can God trust you with the Stewardship of Abilities? A.
Romans
12:6-8 demonstrates
this stewardship. Do not view this passage as an exhaustive list
of abilities. It is not exhaustive, it is representative.
Nevertheless the message of stewardship is conveyed. God has put
abilities and talents in our trust. Some of us may work well as
teachers, some as leaders, some as servants, some in giving, some
in exhortation, some in mercy. While we all have responsibilities
in all of these areas, we recognize that we have greater
giftedness in some areas than others. Remember, to whom much has
been given, much will be expected in return (Luke
12:48). B.
Why has God given us our abilities? I
Peter 4:10-11 explains God did not give us our abilities to
grant us success in the business world. He did not give us our
abilities to give us fame and fortune. He did not give us our
abilities to make us political leaders. He gave us our abilities
to serve others in order to glorify Him. Certainly if God grants
us any of those other things because we have used His gifts
wisely, that is God’s business. But again, we must keep
everything in perspective. God has given us our abilities to
glorify Him by serving others. Can God trust you with this
stewardship? III.
Can God trust you with the Stewardship of Opportunities? A.
In I Corinthians 3:5,
Paul, addressing issues of personal evangelism, said, “What then
is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed,
even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one” (NASB). The
opportunities that come our way are gifts from God and He expects
us to use them to His glory. B.
According to Galatians
6:10, God grants us opportunities to do good to others. Are we
using those opportunities? God grants us opportunities to
exemplify His gospel for others. Are we? God gives us
opportunities to teach His gospel to others. Are we teaching? C.
Every contact we have is an opportunity, if nothing else,
to speak words that lift up and encourage others (Ephesians
4:29). Every day is filled with opportunities to serve God by
the way we behave and speak to others. Can God trust you with this
stewardship? IV.
Can God trust you with the Stewardship of Relationships? A.
This may sound odd. However, our relationships are also
gifts from God. Going back to I
Corinthians 3:5, Paul understood that the relationships that
gave him opportunities to teach were given from God. In fact, all
our relationships are, whether family, friend, work or church
related. Our contact with others is a gift from God and He expects
us to be good stewards of those relationships. B.
How do we properly steward our relationships? We follow the
teaching of Philippians
2:3-4. Being a good steward of our relationships means being
the servants. It means viewing the others as more important. It
means seeking the wants and desires of others. Being a good
steward of our relationships means never viewing our relationships
as tools for our own personal advantage. Rather, we are in the
relationship to help the other person. When we work from this
perspective, then we are stewarding our relationships well. Can
God trust you with this stewardship? V.
Can God trust you with the Stewardship of Time? A.
Have you ever heard anyone say, “Oh, I’m just killing
time.”? We might as well be killing ourselves. As Benjamin
Franklin said, time is the stuff life is made of. Ephesians
5:15-17 explains that we must make the most of our time. We
are to value time and view it as precious. We must not let it slip
through our fingers. Every second that ticks by is lost forever.
We cannot redeem the time that has already past. We can only make
the most of the time that is right now. B.
Each and every moment should be spent seeking God’s
kingdom and righteousness (Matthew
6:33). That is, seeking God’s rule in our lives. That means
everything we do, at every minute of every day is motivated and
governed by God’s word and will. That does not mean that we will
spend 24 hours a day reading our Bibles or in prayer. But it does
mean that we will take habitual time to study and pray. Sometimes,
redeeming the time is going to mean working as though for the Lord
to provide for yourself, your family and the work of the Lord.
Sometimes it will mean spending family time with your spouse,
parents or children. Sometimes it will mean relaxing, allowing the
Good Shepherd to replenish your strength. But we must never waste
time. C.
Here is the amazing thing. How much of our time is wasted
providing excuses for all that we are not accomplishing because we
do not have time. We must remember that every single one of us
have exactly the same amount of time. We each have 60 minutes per
hour, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 52 weeks per year. The
question is not what do I have time to do? The question is what
will I do with the time I have? That is where stewardship comes
in. We have to choose how we will invest our time. Can God trust
you with this stewardship? VI.
Can God trust you with the Stewardship of the Gospel? A.
In I Corinthians
4:1-2, Paul viewed himself as a steward of God’s gospel. His
duty was to faithfully teach it. I know that we are not apostles.
However, we are the tools God uses to pass along His word. B.
As the song we sing says, “Into our hands the gospel is
given.” What are we going to do with it? We are to be faithful
stewards of this gospel. That means first of all that we must
diligently teach it. As Paul explained in Romans 10:13-15, if we do not teach it, no one will be saved. C.
Not only must we teach it diligently, we must teach it
faithfully. That is, we must teach what God wants to be taught. We
are not allowed to twist the gospel message trying to provide good
news through some plan other than God’s (Galatians
1:6-9). “Into our hands the gospel is given.” Can God
trust you with this stewardship? Conclusion: We know we can trust God. He never lies and always keeps His promises. The more important question for us is can God trust us? Can God trust you? We are stewards and it is important that we be found trustworthy (I Corinthians 4:2). Remember the contrast in Luke 12:42-48. We want to be the faithful slave whom the Lord finds watching when He returns. Can God trust you as His steward?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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