Good stewards.

 BY Argie Simonis 

We have already explained that God blesses us when we give with the right motives. In the same way that the Lord blesses us when we give cheerfully and generously, in the same way He blesses us when we manage our finances according to His instructions.

And this has nothing to do with numbers and budgets. The Lord's mathematics does not follow human logic.

We also have personal testimonies, but also many testimonies from people who, as soon as they put their finances in order, received supernatural blessings from God.

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-- OWNERSHIP AND STEWARDSHIP

A great revelation that will change your life, is to understand the Biblical concept of ownership and stewardship. Understanding that you are not the owner, but a steward, will remove the financial stress from your heart. 

A simple example:

When you rent a house and something breaks, then you call the landlord to fix it. So God, as the owner that He is, will fix what belongs to Him. But if you think it belongs to you, it will BOTH add weight AND cause you stress.

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-- THE PARABLE OF TALENTS

In this parable we see the Lord giving 5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent respectively to three of His servants. In the previous message I emphasized that the subject that Jesus taught the most was neither Heaven nor Hell, but money. In this parable I will show you that Jesus is talking about money and not gifts or abilities.

What Jesus is showing us here is that the Lord gave an amount of money to His servants according to their abilities, and from this amount He expected them to return it to Him with some profit. In other words, Jesus shows us how to manage our finances.

"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods." (Matt. 25:14)

"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey." (Matt. 25:15)

"Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents." (Matt. 25:16)

"And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two." (Matt. 25:17)

"But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money." (Matt. 25:18)

"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them." (Matt. 25:19)

You know, one day Christ will come back and one of the things He will check is how you managed His money.

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matt. 25:21)

~~ This is something I'm sure we would ALL like to hear from the Lord Himself! Notice that this is the only time in the Scriptures that he talks about money and those words will be heard by those who were good stewards! ~~

"He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them." (Matt. 25:22)

"His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matt. 25:23)

~~ Note that the Lord does not look at the amount you earn, but how much you earn according to your ability. ~~

The same "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" will be heard by BOTH the one who won the little AND the one who won the most.

"Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:" (Matt. 25:24)

"And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine." (Matt. 25:25)

"His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:" (Matt. 25:26)

"Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury." (Matt. 25:27)

Do not think it is strange that Jesus is talking about money, and even His own money.

"Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents." (Matt. 25:28)

"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." (Matt. 25:29)

~~ Definition of ownership:

It is the management of someone else's property.~~

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BASIC PRINCIPLES THAT THIS PARABLE TEACHES US:

1. I AM NOT THE OWNER

In the previous message I referred to the words of David:

"The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1)

and in Psalm 50:

"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." (Ps. 50:10)

"If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." (Ps. 50:12)

"For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." (1Cor. 10:26)

In other words, it tells us here that:

~~ The diamond you have in your ring came from God's coal. The metal in your car that you drive to work came from God's minerals. The clothes you wear came from God's plants and animals. The house you live in, the bricks, wood and stones, came from the earth that belongs to God. Even the paper that the money in your pocket is printed on came from God's trees. ~~

Do you know how I can tell someone's spiritual maturity? From the way he prays and from the way he stewards what he has.

The way we mature into the Kingdom of God and transition

-from infants to children,

- then to teenagers and

- ending in adults,

it is when we learn to be good stewards and that what we have is not ours, but His.

~~ If you think that what you have is yours, you are still like the teenager who lives in his parents' house and thinks that it is his house ~~

In the parable we read that after some time the Lord returned to settle the account with his servants. So never forget that the owner is coming back soon to settle His accounts!

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2. I AM A STEWARD

God started mankind on the foundation of stewardship:

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." (Gen. 2:15)

When God told them not to eat from the tree of Knowledge, do you really know what He was telling them?

"Every time you pass this tree remember who owns it."

When satan seduced them by telling them that if they ate of that fruit they would become like God, do you know what he actually told them? That they will become owners. That they will no longer be stewards, but owners.

~~ One of the reasons evolutionists hate Biblical Creation is that they don't want to be accountable to anyone, because if there is an owner in all of Creation, then they too belong to Him and there will come a day when they will give Him an account for their lives. ~~

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A talent was a unit of weight, about 36 kilograms, and when used as a unit of money, a talent equaled 6,000 denarii and a denari was a day's wages.

300 dinarii was the annual salary (the working days per year excluding holidays were 300).

Do you remember when Mary anointed Jesus' feet with that expensive nard myrrh, Judas said "why not sell this myrrh for 300 denarii, that is, a year's wages).

So 6,000 dinars, because that's how much a silver talent is worth, is equivalent to 20 years' wages. People in Jesus' day were considered what we call retirees at the age of 50, because the average age then was 55-65 years.

Now consider this:

Methuselah lived 969 years,

"and all the days of Methuselah were 969 years; and he died." (Gen. 5:27)

and since then man's life span began to decrease because of sin. But when Jesus came, the average life expectancy began to rise again.

So do not feel sorry for the servant who only received one talent. With this talent he probably wouldn't have to work for the rest of his life. (If this talent were gold, it would be worth 10 times more!)

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Another important thing is that he gave them the talents

"to each according to HIS ABILITY". (Matt. 25:15)

One comment I want to make here is that if you consider yourself capable of managing a talent, it does not mean that you will stay there forever. Our skills can be improved. But when you are a person with the ability to manage five talents, you need to know that God expects from you a RETURN of five talents in addition to what He gave you.

Let me tell you with another example:

If one has the ability to give 10,000 but gives 5,000 and another has the ability to give 50 but gives 200, which of the two will hear "well done, good servant"?

~~ God always judges us by what we have done with what He has given us. ~~

Because there is ignorance on this subject, there are many believers of the five talents who give only one. But don't forget that at some point the Lord will come and settle all His accounts.

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See another meaning of the word steward:

A steward is one who protects AND expands one's possessions. The master told the slave who hid the talent that the least he could do was deposit it in a bank, because there it would be both protected and would also earn him interest.

He expects the same from us. The Lord has entrusted us with His money and expects us as good stewards to protect and increase it.

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3. AM I A GOOD STEWARD?

"And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:" (Luke 12:16)

"And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?" (Luke 12:17)

"And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods." (Luke 12:18)

"And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." (Luke 12:19)

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Luke 12:20)

"So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:21)

The Lord did not rebuke this rich man because he made a lot of money, nor because he built bigger storehouses. He rebuked him for living only for himself. Neither in the kingdom of God did he think of giving, nor of helping other people.

Don't forget that God always blesses good stewards, those who follow God's principles. See what Paul says:

"Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)" (2Cor. 9:10)

God gives seed to the sowers, that is, to those who give. If someone lacks seed (no money to give), it is obvious that God does not see him as a sower.

There are two types of people: Sowers and eaters. Sowers give and eaters take. Those who live to give are sowers and will always have plenty to give to every good work:

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" (2Cor. 9:8)

Note also that the Lord will not only give the sowers seed to sow but will also supply their needs for food, because they too must eat. 

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---- THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD ----

"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." (Luke 16:8)

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." (Luke 16:9)

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10)

"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (Luke 16:11)

"And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" (Luke 16:12)

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:13)

Who among you could commend a thief? This tells us a lot about the character of the rich lord. He had learned that money is not true wealth.

See something else. God's grace is what really brings riches, and in fact these riches are not rained down by the Lord from heaven:

"But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." (Deut. 8:18)

So this rich Lord knew very well the power that money has to influence people, that is exactly why he praised the unjust steward who stole money from him and had wasted it all. But for the first time he was using the influence of this money to secure his future. With this in mind Jesus said that:

"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." (Luke 16:8)

~~ This is the heart of the message of this parable: We can literally take money, something that is temporary, and turn it into something eternal by sowing it into the kingdom of God, thereby bringing lives to Christ. ~~

And we achieve this by using our money to touch people's lives with the Gospel, so that when we die, everyone who will be in Heaven because of us will be waiting and lining up to welcome us there and thank us for the good we did.

Amen!