ࡱ> ceb` K:bjbjss .ZK2****,*L2:L+L+L+L+L+',',',z2|2|2|2|2|2|2$54h62/',',//2L+L+2111/.L+L+z21/z2111L+@+ t*0/61z220217f0N7171',,h1!-Tu-',',',221 ',',',2////    The Heart of Stewardship Matthew 20:28 Stewardship -evokes a certain image, huh? --offering plates and envelopes, budgets, pastors pleading for more money, grim-faced finance committees bearing sobering news, the clacking of adding machines, tithe checks ---nothing packs em in like a good ol stewardship sermon -stewardship sermons are notorious for a couple of things --the hard sell ( God told me to raise eight million dollars or else He is going to call me home. --the soft sell ( You pray about it. Give however you feel led. --the bumper sticker, clich approach ( Give until it helps. God doesnt want your moneyHe wants you. God loves a cheerful giver. Tithe if you love Jesusanyone can honk. God doesnt care how much you giveHe cares how much you keep. ---some preachers are able string together enough clichs to create entire sermon series ----as much as I might like to try that, I dont think I could do that to younot with a straight face, anyway And that leaves me in a predicament of sorts -Im not a hard sell kinda guyif I tried to be, youd laugh at me because youd know Id be pretending --and while the soft sell sure has a certain appeal, it actually sells short the biblical ideal of genuine stewardship -if Ive learned anything, its thiswhen in doubt, turn to Jesus --Jesus has a lot to say about money and stewardship, true, but this morning were going to look at the perfect example He lives of a God-honoring, giving life As fully God, we know it is Jesus heart to give -the best-known verse in all the Bible affirms that: John 3:16 ( For God so love the world that He... what? gave --Scripture gives clear witness to this aspect of Christs character *Galatians 2:20 ( ...I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. -the Son of God did what? loved...and gave *Ephesians 5:1-2 ( Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us... -Christ did what? loved...and gave *1 John 4:9-10 ( This is how God showed His love among us: He sent (or gave) His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent (gave) His as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. -God did what? loved...and gave In these passages, you can grab on to the first thing I want to take with you today: what is the only proper, true motivation for giving? -love!!! --if you are giving out of obligation...if you give grudgingly...if you give to impress God or someone else...youre not giving with the heart of God -that idea isnt new with me, you know...Paul said something along those lines in 1 Corinthians 13, I think ( If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal...If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Listen to the Morgan paraphrase as it might apply in the church ( -If I am in the orchestra, and attend every rehearsal and learn all the music and play beautifully, but do not love the One I sing to and about, then I am only a guitar with no strings. -If I volunteer in the nursery and dutifully fulfill my obligation, but do not love the children and their parents, I can be replaced by a closed circuit TV camera, a DVD player, and Veggie Tales -If I religiously give 10% of my incomedown to the exact penny and believe this satisfies the requirement and therefore don't ever consider giving more, and I neither pray for nor love those who benefit from my giving then I'm just paying premiums on spiritual insurance policy. In other words??? motives matter!!! -we give to others because we love them and because we love God -we give to the ministry of the church because we love people and because we love God -we give ourselves to God because we love Him --there is no other valid motive for giving...not for giving our tithes and offerings...not for giving our abilities in service...not for giving our time to others...not for giving to missions or other special need ---you may have heard coaches tell their teams that its time for a gut check, but when it comes to giving, its always time for a motive check Jesus example makes it clear that the heart of stewardship is a heart motivated by love -Jesus also gives us a model of stewardship that requires sacrifice Sometimes some of us are tempted to give God the leftovers -Im going to use what I have for what I need, then for what I want, and finallyif theres anything leftIll give it to God --some figure their personal budgets that way --many use their time that way --there are those who use their God-given gifts/abilities that way -Jesus shows us another way When we think of the sacrifice Jesus made, we rightly think of the crossas well we should -when we think about Jesus leaving heaven, we typically think of Him leaving paradise to hang out in the slumsas if Jesus were merely inconvenienced by being God with us, Immanuel --but Philippians 2 reminds us that something much more significant was going on Read Philippians 2:5-8 What an amazing description of total and extreme sacrifice -Christ emptied Himself, not of His Godhood, but of His glory, of His privilege...and took on the limitations of not only becoming a man, but of becoming a servant...and not only a servant, but a servant who would become obedient to death...and not only death, but death on a cross We know Jesus sacrificed His glory because of what He prays in the Garden in John 17:5 ( And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began. -when He took on flesh, Christ took on limitations He have never before experienced...He was no longer infinite and was relegated to being in one place at one time...He was no longer all powerfulHe experienced physical exhaustion, the need for sleep, and the need for food...and He gave up His immortalityGod the Son could now die...and, in fact, did Yet in comparison, we often recoil if someone dare suggest that we should sacrifice anything -what we haveso we believeis ours...weve worked hard for it... and theres no onenot even Godwho has a rightful claim on our stuff --its one thing to give a little, or serve on a committee, or pray for world missions...its another thing altogether, however, to give up eating out so you can give more...its another thing altogether to work to establish a new ministry youre certain Gods calling you to...its another thing altogether to fast a meal so you can pray more ---face it, we dont do sacrifice very well...and in light of our perfect Example, our Savior, our Lord...were not even in the same league But Jesus does more than sacrifice...He surrenders Himself everything He is, everything He hasto the purpose He came to earth to begin with -perhaps nowhere is that mission made more clear than in Matthew 20:28, where Jesus says ( ...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. --everything Jesus did (and didnt) do was accomplished with this focus in mind Jesus chose to refrain from using His power for His own comfort -during His arrest Jesus said ( Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way? --if God has given you anything (and Hes given you everything you have, by the way) then He intends for you to use it for His purposes ---His purposes includejust so you knowproviding food, clothing, and shelter for your family...and for providing rest for yourself ---but His purposes also include providing for the needs of others...working for justice for the oppressed...seeking Gods Kingdom before everything else --T.A. Kantonen asks: if God has given you resources to do the work of the Kingdom and you use them for your own selfish pleasure...do you know what you call that? embezzlement ---Jesus surrendered His resources for Gods Kingdom Jesus lives fully aware that His time is not His own -I can get frustrated by a ringing telephone...by a salesperson stopping by unannounced...by inconveniences caused by the laziness or the ineptitude of others --Jesus never was...whether its a woman with a blood disease detaining Him from performing a much higher profile miracle... ...or a Pharisee asking Him questions at night...or getting up early, while it was still dark, to go off by Himself to pray...or giving special attention to children ---in fact, Jesus only gets frustrated with those people who think they know what is more important for Him to do -Jesus knows His time is not His own --that He had surrendered to the Father the moment He agreed to be on mission for Him ---what about us? ----can that be said about us? how we manage, use, and protect our time? is our time ours...or Gods? ----Im not saying that you should ignore your neighbors, family, and the lost so you can be at the church building 6 nights a week...Im asking you to ask God if you are being a faithful steward of the precious resource of time Finally, Jesus is a steward of His God-given opportunities -in John 4, we learn how Jesus took the highly unusual route of going through Samaria rather than around it --when He gets tired, He sits by the well of the village of Sychar ---there, He meets a woman...a rather sinful woman...but instead of being repulsed by her immorality, instead of being put off by being interrupted, instead of pronouncing judgment on her...Jesus engages her in conversation, He pays attention to her, and He explains how she can have eternal life through faith in Him -in Mark 4-5, Jesus goes through a furious storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee and when He arrives on the other side, He encounters a wild, demon-possessed man --instead of avoiding him, instead of using him as an example of what can happen to you if you dont tithe, instead of ridiculing him...Jesus heals him, gives him another chance at living -in Luke 19, Jesus causes quite a stir when He essentially invites Himself into the home of a tax collectora man considered one of the most vile, thieving, hated traitors in all of Israel --v. 7 ( All the people saw this and began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. ---instead of condemning him for sleeping in the same bed as Rome, instead of taking this opportunity to score big points with the crowd, instead of doing the more logical thing...Jesus goes to Zacchaeus house, shows him love, changes his heart and then explains it quite simply in v. 10 ( The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Jesus was so sold out on His purpose...He would love, sacrifice, and surrender everything just to please the Father -and all our best excuses cant begin to justify you and me doing anything less --we typically restrict Christ-like stewardship to how much we put in the offering plate...yeah, rightif only it were that simple (34OQ   & ' ~ j u v { ty!BMQ"2ѿѸ h$6h$hJ5hJ56>* hJ56 jhJ5 hJ55hJ5 h:h: h:6h:h:6 hy'6h:hy' h?R26 jh?R2h?R2 jh h2h h36h lJ6'(4T a  Z 2 o 5 ~   k gd lJ$a$gd lJK: /{R3x?56|!jgd lJ23CDEG  FP$45DEFH^`ȼȼȼȼȸȸhlhl6PJ hl6PJ hlPJ h2PJ jhlhl he]6 hl6 jhe]he] h+J6 jh+Jh+J h+J5h$h$6 h$6h$ hJ56 jhJ5hJ5 hJ55h$hJ562YF\#l9x]gdlgd lJ%'(+oq-.9!4? &'eh ߿ۿh8h8h6 h6h hl56hl h2w6h2wh*3lhShlh$>*hlh$6h$h=he]hl hl6 he]6 hlhl h2PJ hlPJ8 S'op1f9S^$a$gdlgd lJ!k Q !U!!!"]"^"""#H#Y###@$$$$gdl ] f g h j \"]"###,#G#O##$?$M${$$$$$%%%&&&&&8'9'''''(((((+%++++1,2,3,>,M,N,,,--$-d.ѼѼѷhoSh hRhR hR>*hRhR5 hR6hR h:6 jh: h:5h: hr6hrh2h> h86 h6 jh h5h=$S%%%%&F&\&&&('9'''''&(l(((&)r)))*@***+W+gdlW+++&,',\,,, -N---4.e... /f////40001e1111 2gdld.e..'/+/1112 222555666667{888888>9C9X9Y99999:#:2:J:K:ʿʿʿʸ hq /hhhc7 hq /hq /hh hq /6 jhq / hq /5hq / h: 6h: h2h 6h hoShR' 2>2223k334844443555 6R6667R777288888(9gdq /gdl(9Y9999K:gdq /,1h/ =!"#$% H@H  Normal CJOJQJ_HaJmH sH tH DAD Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No ListK2Z'(4TaZ2o5~k/{R3x?  5 6 | ! j  Y   F \#l9x] S'op1f9S^!k  QU]^HY@SF\(9& l &!r!!!"@"""#W###&$'$\$$$ %N%%%4&e&&& 'f''''4((()e)))) *>***+k++,8,,,,3--- .R.../R///200000(1Y1111M20000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'(4TaZ2o5~k/{R3x?  5 6 | ! j  Y   F \9xM20000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000@00000000002 d.K:"$'* $W+ 2(9K:!#%&()+,K: 8@0(  B S  ? 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