God Owns Everything
For the past thirty years, give or take, I have been an
itinerant troubadour, worshiping and singing in church choirs, of different
denominations, following my wife Maryann in her music ministry. And in each new church
I would say that I could feel God’s Love. But God’s love is a difficult thing
to comprehend, I think. It is sometimes hard to recognize.
The thing that I have learned and observed over these years
is … if you want to know God’s love? It’s sitting in the pew next to you. It’s
the people all around you. As the body of Christ, we are called to be more
Christ-like; kind, compassionate, generous, and forgiving. We care for each other; we pray for each other; we forgive each other; we through our actions, not our feelings, reveal God's Love!
Personally, I feel especially blessed to be allowed to serve at
the alter bringing the Cup of Salvation to the communion rail. And as I do so,
I can’t help but to look into the faces and I see the love for God and for
Jesus. It fills my heart and is one of many reasons why I serve. It’s my
privilege to give back some of what I have been given of God’s because
everything I have has come from Him.
GOD OWNS
EVERTHING
At Morning Prayer our offering is presented with the words
from
1 Chronicles 29:14, “For all things come from thee, and from Thine own we give Thee.” And, if all things come from God then it stands to reason that God owns it all! So for example, the danger is we tend to think that 10% is God’s and 90% is ours.
1 Chronicles 29:14, “For all things come from thee, and from Thine own we give Thee.” And, if all things come from God then it stands to reason that God owns it all! So for example, the danger is we tend to think that 10% is God’s and 90% is ours.
But that would be dead wrong - 100% is His.
The Psalmist begins the 24th psalm with, “The earth is the LORD’s
and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
This is the fundamental principle of biblical stewardship.
God owns everything; we are simply managers or administrators acting on his
behalf.
And, if you think that you have worked hard and therefor deserve
what you have and own it all, you are missing the point. It’s because we are
convinced that our increase is due to our own hard work. So, when we earn
something, our instinct is to protect it, to hoard it. Even when we work hard
(which we should!), it’s God who blesses us with increase.
This is the basic principle of blessing that brings us into a
place where we discover that IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OUT GIVE GOD!
And there is an upside to giving … Proverbs 3:9-10 tell us;
“Honor the LORD with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your
increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow
with new wine.” Put simply, give and you will receive God’s blessing. But did
you catch the critical point there? “The first fruits of all your increase...”
I hate talking about money, it’s uncomfortable, but ever hear
someone say, “I can’t afford to give”? God
knows that there are some of us, seniors perhaps, single parents, those living
on their own, and the sick or out of work … where there really isn’t anything
financial left to give. And not truly being able to give does not mean that God
loves you any less.
That said, for the rest us, don’t ever be caught saying you can’t
afford to give, for it reveals that you’re giving last, instead of first. That
kind of person looks at their budget and says I’m going to deal with all these
obligations, and then, if I can afford it, I’m going to give! In most cases,
after allowing for real or imagined contingencies, there is rarely anything
left to give.
But not to give the first fruit of your increase speaks directly
to your relationship with God and how strongly you believe in God’s promise to
generously repay OUR GIVING WHAT IS ALREADY HIS. We’re so afraid we will be left
short that we short change God, keeping to ourselves that which is rightfully
his.
Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will
return to you in full … The amount you give will determine the amount you get
back.” If you’re unsure whether God is first or somewhere further down the
list, you can look where you spend your money.
Matthew (6:21) tells us that “where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.” So I urge you to give God what is right, not what is
left over.
WE ARE
ONLY STEWARDS AND ACCOUNTABLE
As I said a moment ago, we are only stewards of God’s
resources and are accountable to God for our stewardship. Like the servants in
the Parable of the Talents, we will be called to give an account of how we have
administered everything we have been given. According to Matthew, “After a long
time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.” So we too
must be prepared. We do not know when Jesus will return and settle our
accounts.
To another point, does anyone Remember Ann Landers? Once she
had an interesting letter in her column. It was from a girl who was writing
about her uncle & aunt. She said, "My uncle was the tightest man I’ve
ever known. All his life, every time he got paid he took $20 out of his
paycheck and put it under his mattress. Then he got sick and was about to die.
As he was dying, he said to his wife, "I want you to promise me one
thing." "I want you to promise me that when I’m dead you’ll take my
money from under the mattress and put it in my casket so that I can take it all
with me." He died, and his wife kept her promise. She went in and got all
that money the day he died and went to the bank and deposited it, and wrote out
a check and put it in his casket.
The moral of the story, you can hoard your blessings but you
can’t take them with you.
Ah, but you can send it ahead. Martin Luther said, “I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”
Ah, but you can send it ahead. Martin Luther said, “I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”
The matter of your service is between you and God, and as I
said before He always takes into account our circumstances. He knows when they
are beyond our power to control and direct. The important thing is that we see service
as a privilege and not a burden. It should not be out of a sense of duty, but
rather out of love for the Lord. If you want to feel rich and know what is
really valuable in your life, count all the things you have that money cannot
buy.
As Christians in the 21st century, we need to embrace this
larger biblical view of stewardship. It connects everything we do with what God
is doing in the world. Therefore your service is not only to your parish but to
God who works through us to further his kingdom.
We are commanded to be faithful stewards of all that God has
given us. I want you to contemplate these four things;
·
Everything
belongs to God. We belong to God.
·
We
have a responsibility to manage God’s resources wisely. You have many God given
talents to offer.
·
We
will be held accountable.
·
And,
if we remember and live the first three things we will be rewarded.
Ann Frank reminded us that “No one has ever become poor by
giving.”
So I say to each of you give back to God in proportion to
that which he has given you … then go and claim the blessing God has promised.