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Jan 28

What Will Be Remembered?

Posted on January 28, 2014 by admin

Welcome to Super Bowl week!  For football fans this is a fun week, the best part about it is at the end of the week, all the analysis, breakdown, and talk about the game will be over.  For the next three and one half hours, the two best teams will play against each other to see who is the best.  The majority of America will tune in this Sunday, albeit many just for the commercials.  As I was listening to the radio this morning for a little while, an interesting conversation broke out between the hosts, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic (ESPN radio’s Mike&Mike).  The conversation centered around the legacy of Peyton Manning, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos.  This will be the third Super Bowl that he has played in.  He has won one and lost one.  By many account Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of all time.  However, he only has one Super Bowl win whereas many other great quarterbacks have led their teams to multiple Super Bowl wins.  Would Manning be considered the best quarterback ever if his team wins this year was the question that Mike Greenberg asked.  Or does Peyton face a problem like another Hall of Fame quarterback, Dan Marino?  Marino has or had many of the all-time passing records for the NFL, but there is a “but” after that statement.  The rest of the statement is, but he never won a Super Bowl.  Greenberg then makes an interesting argument when he says “Dan Marino will be largely forgotten years down the road, because all of his accomplishments won’t last.  Records are meant to be broken, and many of Marino’s have been broken or will be broken.  Only Super Bowls last.”  That is an interesting notion, only Super Bowls last.  You may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with faith and my relationship with Christ?  In short, everything!

Jesus said in Matthew 6 to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”  The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians about the fact that every Christian will stand before God and be judged based on their faithfulness and service to Christ.  Specifically in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 Paul writes, “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”  There are six “things” Christians can build on their foundation.  Before we get too far, I want to talk about this passage for just a moment.  First, there is only one foundation, that is Jesus Christ.  We are saved by God’s grace based on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (John 3:3, 16; 14:6; Acts 4:12).  The “wood, hay, stubble, gold, silver, and precious stones” here refer to our faithfulness and service to Christ.  It is important to realize that we are not saved by our works, but our works prove that Christ has saved us.  We know this passage is speaking of saved people because of verse 15 where it says “he shall be saved.”  It is important to see the difference here between these verses and references to hell.  In hell passages, the Bible speaks of the person being judged.  In this passage, the works of the person are what is being judged.  So what does this passage in 1 Corinthians 3 teach us?

First, it shows that although some people are saved, they are not investing in things that matter.  Paul talked about if he was the smartest, the best preacher, and did many wonderful things, if they weren’t motivated by love, it doesn’t really matter (see 1 Cor. 13:1-3).  The two greatest commands of Scripture deal with love, love for God, and love for others.  So it’s not just what I do, it is my motivation behind it.  Secondly, this passage shows that our works do not save us.  Again, three out of six of these works will get consumed by fire, but the person is saved.  We must always remember that salvation is through grace (Eph. 2:8-9).  Finally, this passage shows that we will be judged.  We are going to give an account for our life, as believers specifically for our faithfulness and service to Christ.  We need to make sure that what we are doing in life is going to last, not just for a lifetime, but for all of eternity.  So in a sense, it is only the Super Bowls that will count.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 27

Growing Up

Posted on January 27, 2014 by admin

This morning the Likens family had another milestone.  Our middle son, Noah, lost his first tooth.  Noah was so proud that he pulled it himself, albeit an accident I do believe.  He came in to show his mommy and then he wanted her to show me.  He came into the room eager to show off his wonderful, toothless smile.  There are so many milestones that come and go in our lifetime, and each deserve to be celebrated.  After all, it is a sign that you are growing up.  But what about Christians, do we celebrate milestones in our spiritual life?

In the Old Testament it was setting up memorials to remind the people and future generations of what God had done.  I often encourage people to have a notebook to write in about their spiritual life.  Write down the things that you are struggling with, the victories God has given you, and various other things in your life.  Why do I do that?  I really do it for two reasons.  First, we forget things.  We always say “I don’t need to write it down, I’ll remember it,” but we seldom remember all of the details, and they become lost forever.  Secondly, it is a way to track your spiritual growth.  I wonder how many of you remember your parents charting your height on a wall or a door post growing up?  In 2 Peter 3:18 we read, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”  Peter is telling us we need to grow in grace and knowledge of Christ.  If we don’t chart it somehow, how will we know if we are doing it or not?  Of course the simple answer is, we won’t.

How do I know if I’m growing in Christ?  One of the ways is that through the power of the Spirit working inside of you, things that you use to struggle with will no longer be as much of a struggle. Let’s say you have an anger problem.  As you pray, study on anger, and how to deal with it, the Spirit begins to help you not blow up as often.  That is a sign of spiritual growth.  Another sign is a hunger to spend time with God.  Unlike physical growth, spiritual growth doesn’t come natural.  There must be a level of intentionality to it if it is going to happen.  Another sign of spiritual growth is a forgiving attitude.  The bottom line is, people are going to hurt you whether it be intentional or not, it is going to happen.  You can’t control that, however you can control how you react to it. In short we can see our spiritual growth as we become more like Christ.  Study the life of Christ, learn from Him, that is what He told us to do in Matthew 11, and then seek to imitate Him.  Celebrate spiritual victories that Christ gives you, write them down, so the next time you are going through a difficult time, you can look back and see the faithfulness of God to get you through the last difficult time.  That will give you a stronger faith that He again will get you through a difficult time.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 24

What If I’m Wrong?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by admin

Have you ever held a belief so sincerely that you never questioned it?  Or have you ever been so convinced that you are right about something the thought that you might be wrong never entered your mind?  This is a dangerous place to be.  The Bible would call this an unteachable person, and the Bible doesn’t speak highly of unteachable people.  The truth of the matter is this, truth will stand up to scrutiny, trial, and examination.  Of course the first place we must start is this, there are absolute truths.  It appears the world has a problem with this, but that doesn’t change the fact that they do exist.  We have to be willing to examine our beliefs.  One thing I speak on frequently at WBC is, why do you believe what you believe, and where in Scripture can you defend your belief.  Now fast forward this to being a teacher.  Inevitably it is always going to happen, someone is going to challenge you or a belief you hold.  In a moment of confession I must say this use to terrify me.  The thought of “what if I can’t defend my belief” or the dreaded question, “what if I’m wrong” would creep in.  But I want to suggest that rather than this being a bad thing, it is actually a good thing albeit still frightening from time to time.  It is only when we search for the truth that we can uncover it.  I had a professor who said many times, “what someone gives you another can take away, but what you find yourself is yours.”  What he meant was if I developed my beliefs and convictions based on what others taught me, someone could come along, spin it a different way, and I could change my opinion.  However, as I study and seek the truth humbly, God will reveal it in His Word and then I will have a belief that I can justify based on God’s Word.  So how can I come to firm convictions based on truth?

First, we must begin with a humble spirit.  The Bible says that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  We need to approach Bible study with this opinion, I don’t know it all.  You can study the Bible every day of your life and I am convinced that if you lived to be 100, you still would not know all of the wonderful truths contained in the Word of God.  The Bible says that there are mysteries.  Now don’t misunderstand that. A mystery is something that is unknown to us.  But just because we don’t know it, doesn’t mean that it is unknown, because God knows it.  Secondly, if we are going to come to true convictions we need to be prayerful.  The Bible teaches in the book of Romans that without the Holy Spirit guiding us, we could not understand the Bible.  If you want to know what something means, go to the author, for He can tell you exactly what He means.  I suggest you pray before opening your Bible and pray after you have read the passage, asking for wisdom, and then pray at the end of your study time thanking God for teaching you His Word.  Finally, I would say dig into the word of God.  Begin reading it for yourself.  Pastors are wonderful people who desire to help their people learn the truths of the Word of God.  Pastors are God-given, but they are not to be a substitute for your own personal reading time.  Grab a notebook, a pen, your Bible, get to a quiet place and enjoy learning about an awesome God.  Certainly if you are stuck and need help, your pastor is there for you.  A word of caution for all pastors and teachers (yes myself included), if you don’t know simply say “I don’t know, but I will look into it.”  I know we like to get on an ego trip of “I’m a pastor, I know the Bible better than anyone else”, but the truth of the matter is this, we don’t know it all either.  If I could offer one more suggestion, get into a Bible study.  I love Wednesday nights at WBC.  On Wednesday nights here we go verse by verse through a book, I throw out questions to those there and they throw questions back.  Sometimes we run around in circles and may not find our answer, but many times God lays it on our hearts and we learn together.  I’m grateful for a church that desires to learn the truth of God’s Word, and grateful that they will let me learn along with them.  (Shamless plug alert) If you are in the SML area, I want to invite you to join us on Wednesdays (Sundays to) starting at 6:00 for a meal and then service starts at 6:45.  Contact the church for directions at 540-721-8784 or go to our website which is www.westlakebaptist.com.  Happy studying and learning, and remember it’s ok to not know it all, gives you something to study tomorrow!

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 23

What I Meant To Say

Posted on January 23, 2014 by admin

Have you ever said something and right away knew it was the wrong thing to say?  Or what about you said something, but the person who heard it took it the opposite way of what you meant for them to?  I think we have all had that happen from time to time. I like the quote, “a closed mouth gathers no foot.”  Or another favorite of mine is, “it is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”  The book of James talks about our words a decent amount in five chapters.  In chapter three, James compares our tongues (which represent our words) to fire.  This is an interesting analogy, especially for me because I have seen first hand the destructiveness of fire.  Growing up our house caught fire one night.  It amazed me at how much damage was done to our house.  The damage wasn’t limited to the downstairs where the fire started, it burned the upstairs as well.  James says in 3:5, “Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth.”  It just takes a spark and a raging wildfire can begin.  And so it is with our words.  Sometimes we react in the heat of the moment, or in a moment of anger and say something that normally we wouldn’t say.  That leads to hurting someone or even damaging a relationship beyond repair.  We can quote the old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  However, we know that isn’t true.  What is true is this, you can’t unring a bell.”  Once your words are out, there is no taking them back.  Maybe that is why in James we are told to be “swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19).  We need to think before we speak.  Remember God gave us two ears and one mouth, which tells me that we should do twice as much listening as we do talking.  A great way that I can make sure I won’t have to apologize nearly as much for what I say is applying the wisdom of Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”  I need to build up others by what I say and I need to be graceful to them when they hurt me.  Just like is carpentry, measure twice, cut once.  Think before you speak, and make sure you have something useful to say.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 22

What Do You Really Want?

Posted on January 22, 2014 by admin

I was driving yesterday, listening to the radio for a little while and the host made a great point.  He said, “We say that we want realness and authenticity, but when we get it, we don’t really like it because it isn’t as refined and dignified as we want it to be.”  The host was talking about football players.  There was an instance this past Sunday in which a member of the Seattle Seahawks football team talked trash about a member of the opposing team.  People were very upset at what Richard Sherman said and they proceeded to call him many things (none of them nice by the way).  However, the truth is Richard Sherman is a very intelligent, articulate young man. He actually stayed in school an extra year so he could finish his Master’s degree from Standford University. At the end of the game he called another player “mediocre and said he wasn’t going to let a mediocre player beat him, because he (Sherman) was the best in the game.”  I’m not even going to deal with what he said in this post.  The point is, people always say they want the real thing, but then they don’t like it when they get it.  Or people many times say, “we need a good leader” yet when a real leader shows up, people generally are not happy they are there.

But let’s take this to another place, your walk with God.  Almost every Christian I know says something along the lines of “I want to grow in my faith or grow closer to God.”  That is a very noble goal and I believe we should all pursue it.  However, are we really willing to pay the price that is going to be necessary to grow in our faith?  On Wednesday nights here at WBC we are studying the book of James.  I love that book for many reasons.  In it James says “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).  What does he mean a “double-minded” man?  He means a person who says one thing, but means or does the opposite.  Many people say “I want to see this church grow.”  Again, a great thing but how many people are you inviting?  I’m not trying to be negative or attack anyone or any church. I simply want us all to see that we are falling in love with an idea or a concept of what church should be, but we aren’t doing anything about it.  I read an article this morning that made an interesting observation.  The author said that we are falling in love with saying the right thing so people will think of us in some way, when in reality we are not that way at all.  The author is basically saying “we are prideful people who want the praise of men rather than the glory of God to be seen.”  That’s a tough pill to swallow isn’t it?  Here is a good verse for us all to memorize, “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6).  We need to ask God to examine our hearts and show us why we are doing what we are doing.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 20

One More Time

Posted on January 20, 2014 by admin

On Sunday afternoon, there was a great battle.  It was the Denver Broncos playing the New England Patriots for the right to go to the Super Bowl in two weeks.  But what made the game even better were two very special players playing against each other.  Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have played some of the best football games over their storied careers.  But this one might be the most special.  Why this one over the other epic games they have played against each other?  Because this very well might be the last time they play against each other.  Life is about beginnings and endings.  Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3, “there is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up.”  My question to all of us is this, are we living and preparing for this to be our last day?  Nothing lasts forever including us.  In the sermon on Sunday I used this phrase multiple times, “we need to be wise with our time, because we never have as much as we think we do.”  I can remember when Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were rookies.  Peyton has always been thought of as a great quarterback, but Tom Brady didn’t even start when he got into the league.  The only reason we know who Tom Brady is, is because a man named Drew Bledsoe got hurt and Brady had to come in and take his place.  It could have easily been a rivalry that never happened.  The point is that life takes many interesting and unexpected turns.  When you are born everyone talks about how much time you have in front of you, until one day you wake up and realize how much time is behind you, and you struggle to realize how you got where you are.  Then in the blink of an eye it is over.  Have you prepared for what is next?  The Bible teaches that we will all stand before God and give an account for our life.  Have we thought about what we are going to say when we stand before Him?  Life is too precious to wish it away (an 8 yr old wanting to grow up and be able to drive is an example of wishing your life away) and it goes by entirely too fast.  But even worse that wasting or wishing your life away, is not being prepared for your eternity.  The only way we can be prepared is to trust Jesus as our Savior, and then live our life for Him.  When you have made that decision, then death is no longer something to be feared.  It is not the end of you, in fact is will be the beginning of something far greater than we can ever imagine.  One more quote from this Sunday’s sermon.  “Live today as thought it was your last, because one day you will be right” (I can’t remember who originally said it, but it is a great quote).  Are you prepared for eternity?

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 17

One of “Those” Days

Posted on January 17, 2014 by admin

Have you ever had one of “those” days?  You know what “those” days are right?  The days when everything goes wrong.  I feel pretty confident in saying that we have all had those days.  We forget to set our alarm clock or hit the snooze button and wake up late for school or work.  We have a new shirt or pair of pants on and we spill something on it.  We are helping plan a surprise birthday party for someone and we accidentally send a message to the person being surprised instead of the person helping plan the surprise (I said it was a bad day didn’t I?).  Maybe our spouse said something that hurt our feelings, our children said something that hurt us, we had a rough day at work, or something else.  The possibilities of what makes us a bad day are literally endless.  They are not fun to go through, but they are nevertheless a part of life.  Therefore, we better learn how to deal with them or we are going to continuously be in a bad mood.

The apostle Paul battled something in his life.  What it exactly was we don’t know, but Paul called it a “thorn in the flesh” a “messenger from satan” in 2 Corinthians 12.  Paul says that he prayed three times for God to remove it.  Have you ever prayed that your day would get better?  God gave Paul an answer.  That answer however was a “no, I won’t remove it.”  Now it should be noted that we don’t see where God said “no” but we can certainly understand that was God’s answer by what He did say to Paul.  It is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Does that seem harsh to you?  Here is Paul, a man who loved God and was doing his work, and when he asked God for help, God said no.  It’s not harsh.  I think many times we confused God giving us what we want with His love for us.  In our minds, if God answers our prayers the way we want, He loves us, but if we don’t get the answer we want, He must not love us or care about me.  We need to understand that God is not a genie that we can rub a bottle, Him pop out, and give us whatever we want.  God may not have answered Paul’s request the way Paul would have liked, but God did give him something that would help him deal with his “thorn in the flesh.”  God gave Paul enough grace to deal with what he was going through.  God said His grace is sufficient.  In other words, ______ (insert your name) all you need to deal with what you are going through is My grace.  Before we discount God’s grace like “wow I needed this, but God gave me His grace.”  I want us to understand how powerful that grace truly is.  Grace is powerful enough to meet our deepest need as humans and save us (see Eph. 2:8).  God’s grace is powerful enough to help meet whatever we need we may have, that is what it means to be sufficient.  God’s grace is everything we don’t have, but what we really need.  You are having a bad day, God’s grace can give you the strength to get through it.  You are going through a rough time in life, maybe you lost a loved one, you are having marital or family problems, work problems, health problems.  Literally whatever your problem is God says, “My grace is sufficient.”  I don’t know what you are going to, but I encourage you to surrender yourself to God and His grace, it is all you need.  From the smallest problems in life to the biggest need for all humans (the need for forgiveness and a Savior), and every problem in between, God’s grace is sufficient.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 16

I Can’t Do This Alone

Posted on January 16, 2014 by admin

Scripture: “Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Eph. 6:13).

How many here when they get a book to read, read the back first?  How many of you would like to know how a movie ends before deciding to go see it or not?  There are pros and cons to knowing how something ends before it even begins.  Personally, I would rather learn the entire story before deciding whether or not to read the book or watch the movie.  I do not like surprises.  Why do you think we are so obsessed with knowing how something ends?

Regardless of whether you like surprises or not, I think we can all agree that we find comfort and encouragement from knowing that God has promised to always be with us.  Sometimes life can be difficult and at times we feel all alone, but if we are a Christian then we are never alone, because God is always with us.  Another source of encouragement for me is knowing that God already knew what was going to happen and He has already worked it out.  That’s what we learn in Romans 8:28.  I may not know how it is going to work out, but God does and so I just need to have faith that God is going to work it.  There are going to be times in our life when we are going to have to take a stand for our faith.  And sometimes that can feel pretty lonely.  But knowing that God loves us, is with us, and is working everything out should give us the comfort and the courage to stand firm in our faith.  Not only has God promised to be with us, but we also have other Christians who can help us.  There is a story in the Old Testament about the Israelites fighting another nation, that Amalekites.  It’s found in Exodus 17.  There were four men involved in this fight for Israel.  There was Joshua, Moses, Aaron, and Hur.  In Exodus 17:10-11 it tells us, “So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”  Can you imagine this, it seemed like everything was riding on Moses’ arms being able to be held up.  Have you ever held up your arms for a long time?  Let’s pick it up in verse 12, “But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side.” It is clear from the rest of the story that God was with Israel because the Israelites defeated the Amalekites.  Also evident here is that Moses couldn’t have done it by himself.  We need each other if we are going to stand strong in our faith and be who God desires us to be.

How to Apply This:

1.  Remember God’s promises.  It’s really easy to get discouraged in life, spending time in God’s Word and reading His promises can give us strength to get through the difficult days in life.

2. Have a good Christian friend. Never try to live the Christian life alone, you won’t win.  Have someone you can call and talk with, someone that you can be open and honest with who will hold you accountable when you are not doing right, but will also encourage you in the difficult times.

 

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 15

Sticks and Stones

Posted on January 15, 2014 by admin

I really enjoy football!  I know that is not a new revelation to those of you who attend Westlake or even those who read the blog regularly.  However, I must admit I was turned off by a game this past Sunday so much that I couldn’t watch the whole thing.  It was the game between the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers.  By all accounts this was going to be a great game between two exceptional teams.  And for the parts I could stand to watch it was a great game.  What was so frustrating and made the game almost unbearable to watch for me was the trash talking and the show-boating that was taking place from both teams.  Now I do not want to come off as a self-righteous, arrogant person.  I fully recognize that there is a certain degree of this that goes on in all games across all sports.  I must even admit to doing a little trash talking during my baseball playing days and even occasionally when playing a video game against my wife or kids (wow I feel humiliated admitting that I trash talk my wife and kids at times).  Sunday’s game was just over the top for me, it seemed like after every play someone was getting up, pushing, shoving, and talking.  I follow on Twitter a famous former football coach and he gave me the obligatory follow (those on Twitter know it is polite that if someone follows you, you should follow them).  And so during the game I sent a tweet to this coach, because he is a classy guy, who by all accounts coached the right way and lives the right way.  I thought his response to my tweet was excellent.  He said “you can play with passion and poise.”  One thing became clear in what I watched of the game, the Panthers did not play their best football, because it appeared the 49ers had gotten into their heads.  Carolina’s coach even admitted after the game that his team didn’t focus the way they should during the game and as a result didn’t execute their game plan as well as they are capable of.  But before anyone jumps on the bandwagon of bashing all athletes and talking about how disrespectful they are, I want to tell you about a basketball coach that is just the opposite.  His name is Fred Hoiberg and he coaches at Iowa State University.  This is a guy who his players readily admit seldom raises his voice in practice or in a game, and he is the same guy coaching as he is away from the game.  He is a father figure to many of his players and he talks to them about more things than just basketball.  His players say he is a man who genuinely cares about them not as athletes, but as people.  My question is why don’t we celebrate people like Fred Hoiberg more than we do the boisterous players that frankly are obnoxious at times?  The Bible tells us in Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”  As Christians we are told to let no corrupt communication come out of our mouth but only speak those words that will build up and show grace to our hearers in Ephesians 4:32.  The book of James talks about controlling our tongues.

I think we as people, especially those who claim to be Christians, must be careful with the words we choose to use.  We have all heard the phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  I don’t know who came up with that, but that is one of the biggest lies I have ever heard.  The truth of the matter is, words carry a lot of impact and they can either build someone up or they can tear them down.  You’re not a leader because you have a title or you get to tell people what to do.  You are a leader because you lead by example.  The difference between a good leader and a bad leader is not the success he or she has in life.  The difference is, do they make those who serve under them better because of how they lead?  You don’t have to be loud, obnoxious, or in someone’s face to be a leader.  You simply must set the right example by how you live.  I am a big believer that to some degree everyone is a leader.  The question is, are you a leader worth following?

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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Jan 14

Practical Stewardship

Posted on January 14, 2014 by admin

For those who have been attending Westlake on Sundays or those who are watching them via the website once the sermon is posted, you know we have been looking at stewardship.  We will look at it one more week (this coming Sunday), but I wanted to send out a practical help during this series.  First, we will look at the definition of a steward.  The Greek word is “oikonomos” which means ruler or manager of a house.  A great definition as given by Chuck Swindoll is, “using God-given resources to accomplish God-given goals.”  We also stated in the series that stewardship while it does refer to money, doesn’t only refer to money.  It refers to managing our money, our time, and our talents in a way that honors God.  This Sunday, Lord willing, we will look at how to be a good steward of our time.  However, in this post we will examine what the New Testament teaches with regards to our money.  For that we will examine 1 Corinthians 16:2 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.

The first principle we see in 1 Corinthians 16:2 is that we are to give systematically.  1 Corinthians 16:2 says, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”  Notice they gave on the first day of the week.  Does that mean you must give every Sunday?  That’s not what we get from the verse.  What we get is that we must have a plan to give.  Most people in today’s time get paid every two weeks, some get paid every week, and others get paid once a month.  Whatever your situation is, plan to give accordingly.

The second principle we get in 1 Corinthians 16:2 is that we are to give bountifully or you could say sacrificially.  Notice it says “as God hath prospered him.”  We may not be rich by the world’s standards, but we cannot argue that God has not blessed us.  The tithe is 10 percent.  That is our minimum that should be offered to God.  The Old Testament as well as Jesus taught that that ten percent should be the first ten percent we receive.  One of the biggest objections many people have to tithing is they say that they don’t have enough money to live on. I do acknowledge that times are certainly tough in this country for many people.  However, I also know that God owns it all and He can supply our every need (see Phil. 4:19).  Two thoughts come into my mind dealing with this.  First we are told to seek the kingdom of God first (Mt. 6:33).  Secondly, this is where our faith comes in.  By giving to God first, we are saying “God I trust you to honor Your word to provide for my family as I honor You.”  You can never out give God, and God has never come up short.  A warning however, we should not use God as our ATM.  We should not think that if we put money in, that He has to give money back.  Another caution, by giving to God as we should, it might mean that we have to make some changes to our lifestyle.  We will have to distinguish between our needs and our wants, which inherently means we might have to give some things up.  But if we are honest, those are things that we can live with out, even if we don’t really think we can or we don’t want to.

The final principle we see is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”  We see our first two points here in these verses, but that last part of the verse gives us the third principle.  The third principle in practical stewardship is we are to give cheerfully.  Our giving is not out of necessity, because God doesn’t need our money.  Our giving should be out of our gratitude for what God has done for us.  God sent His Son to die in our place that we might be forgiven and have salvation.  He continues to provide for us, love us, protect us, and bless us in other ways.  We are to give from a grateful heart.  It is our way of saying “Lord I know you don’t need this, I know I can’t out give You, but I just want to give You back something to show how much I appreciate what You have done for me.”  One final note, I saw this in a book I was reading and church’s have even used it on their signs before, “God loves a cheerful giver, but he will accept it from a grouch as well.”  May we all be good stewards of what God has blessed us with to demonstrate our love for Him.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

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