Learning to be Faithful to the Trust

I want to thank you for joining us as we continue in our Stewardship month…we will be continuing with principle #2 today.

• How many of you were blessed by the devotional this week? I amthankful for the reminders to bring us back to Sunday’s teaching throughout the week so that I can continue to work on not just knowing the truths we receive in His word, but by applying them in our lives.

• We started this week with a memory verse – I asked last week if you would be ready to quote this verse this week…

Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much

(With verse on screen behind me) Who can I call on to show that they did their HW?

This week we will be moving to principle #2 where we will be talking about trust

We often ask ourselves when we are in the midst of trials, can I trust God? Today we are going to look at the reverse – whether in trials or in good times, can God trust you in your stewardship of all that He owns?

[Kari – please delete all pictures of the Hines family]…

So let’s talk about trust – who do you trust?

Each year the Gallup takes a poll to look at what professions are most trusted…

This picture doesn’t look real good for me. As a former Naval Officer, a 20-year low, but even worse – what is happening to cause the loss of trust for clergy…

I would argue that it has everything to do with how we are stewarding the trust of all that God owns.

Let me give you an example of a time in my heart where I lost trust in one of my fellow officers in the Navy.

In 2001, I was stationed with a Submarine Squadron in Pearl Harbor. On the afternoon of February 9^th, we heard the tragic news that the submarine USS Greenville has collided with a Japanese fishing vessel just south of the island of Oahu. It happened while the submarine was demonstrating what would be called an Emergency Blow causing the sub to shoot to the surface in the way a balloon would rise if you tried to hold it underwater. The sub was performing this maneuver because they had VIP guests onboard and this was one of the most dramatic events that we could demonstrate.

Due to a series of errors and misjudgments by the crew and the most importantly the Commanding Officer, the man entrusted with the safety of the submarine and everyone on onboard, the CO ordered the Emergency Blow to surface the ship causing the collision and sinking of the Ehime Maru resulting in the death of 9 people onboard the fishing vessel.

That day was a tragic loss of life which I believe was avoidable, but it was not the actual mistakes made that impacted my trust in the CO – it was the response afterward.

When the ship returned to port, the investigation began that would comb over every piece of data and every decision made that led to the tragedy, but ultimately, my trust in the CO was impacted most by his response when asked about what happened. I am confident that he received advice from others, including lawyers, that would caution him to say nothing so that it could not be used against him later…

But here is what I saw…The Navy owns the submarine, actually the people of the United States own the submarine and a Commanding Officer is entrusted with every aspect of the boat, every action of his crew from the moment he says “I relieve you” until such time as he is relieved by another CO. The Greeneville CO was entrusted with his ship…by saying nothing – the message heard was that I am not willing to take responsibility, I am not willing to risk my name, my career by taking responsibility for what I was entrusted with…

I am not saying that I could have done better – I am just as capable of making the same mistakes as were made that day, for it was pride and a desire to seek the approval of man that impacted the decisions that day.

The most important lesson that I learned that day was not about how to drive a submarine better, though I learned that too…the lesson was about how we respond when we are entrusted with what other’s own

In 2001, I would have never thought of that day in terms of Stewardship, but as God has grown me since then, he has helped me to see the impact of these principles, both then and now

With that in mind, I’d like to invite you to open your Bible this morning to 1 Corinthians 4:2…page 131 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…

-We’re in our second week of Stewardship Month…and Pastor Viars explained last Sunday that this year, we’ve decided to go back to the basics…to focus each week on the primary point behind each of the…

Four Principles of Stewardship

1. God owns everything, you own nothing.

2. God entrusts you with everything you have.

3. You can either increase or diminish what God has given; He wants you to increase it.

4. God can call you into account at any time, and it may be today.

So we started by talking about Our God Who Owns Everything

- Whether you are new to Stewardship month, or have been involved at Faith for many years, I hope that you would join me in awe of seeing this theme flow throughout god’s Word in verses like

• · Psalm 24:1 - The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.

• · Ephesians 4:6 - one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

• · Leviticus 25:23 - ‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.

• · 1 Chronicles 29:11b - …indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

With that foundation from last week, this morning we’re moving to the second principle, focusing on…Learning to the be Faithful to the Trust

I asked you to open your Bible to the book of 1 Corinthians which is a fascinating book of the Bible in part because this was by far the most immature church that received one of Paul’s letters, or epistles…you could have renamed them Hot-Mess Baptist and not been far off…

a number of years ago the church did a verse-by-verse exposition of the entire book and it took the better part of a year…It may be that I am alone in my thinking this morning, but I would love to do that again because what makes this book so helpful today is that a wide scope of problems are addressed…and isn’t that what we could use here at Faith North too.

But in the midst of calling out the church, Paul provides us with a surprising turn a hope filled passage embedded within the letter, that can be seen as one of the principle passages in God’s Word about stewardship…

Remember, the Corinthians were a young church, a church with their own problems just like us – if the Corinthians could handle this message, and this challenge…well, then I am confident that we can too…

please follow along as I read…

- read 1 Corinthians 4:1-7

- so we’re talking about Learning to be Faithful to the Trust…and with the time we have remaining, let’s think about – 3 perspectives to help us be reliable servants of God

I. Embrace Your Position as Steward

If you feel like you’ve been dropping right into the middle of a problem or an argument, that’s probably not too far from being the case…we are already in chapter 4, though Paul did not label it that way, Paul is identifying himself as a Steward of the mysteries of God – whys did they need to know this?

One of the problems in the Corinthian church was their lack of unity…now, that should grab our attention because it’s amazing how easy it is for people to divide up and start fighting/arguing about something…whether we’re talking about the family, the workplace, the neighborhood, or even the church…

Paul wrote this passage to be an example that would bring unity, not as a plea for the people to follow him. We can know this because of what he said earlier…

Paul began to address this back in…

- 1 Corinthians 1:10–13 - Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

So you could imagine what that might look like in our church – I’m of Viars, I’m of Mora, I’m of Gomez…and others, I’m of Jesus…

it’s amazing what people can divide up and fight about…

and that could also become very tempting for the leaders…for Apollos, or Cephas, or Paul…to want to be the most popular teacher in the church…

and that’s why Paul begins by saying -- 1 Corinthians 4:1 - Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

- in other words, we don’t want to be known as hot-shots…or people who are jockeying for position or applause…we’re simply servants…and stewards…

- that introduced a very important concept to the early church…

A. The meaning of the word

- the word steward is – oikonomenos

- oikos is the original word for house…the form in which it’s often used in the Bible could literally be translated as “housing one”…overseer

- this is a person who was entrusted with a portion of the household while the master was away…or given an important task to accomplish on behalf of His master…

- let me ask you to put a marker at 1 Corinthians – we’ll be back here in a couple of minutes…and look at an OT example of a steward that very well could have been familiar to any of the Corinthians who had any kind of biblical background…I’m thinking about a named Eleazar in Genesis 24…page 16 of the front section of the Bible…

- Being a steward was not intended to be a new concept, but to point them to faithful men recorded in God’s word. Think about this from the idea of what a Christian in the first century, who only had the Old testament would have been familiar with…to them, being a steward would be

B. A well-known concept to students in Scripture – cf. Eleazar in Genesis 24

- Earlier, in Genesis 15:2, the KJV refers to Eleazar as Abraham’s steward. Before Abraham had a son, it was Eleazar who would have received possession of the family wealth because He was the servant trust with it while Abraham lived…In fact Abraham trusted Eleazar with more than just his wealth…

- Genesis 24 tells about when Abraham sent Eleazar his steward to get a wife for his son Isaac. Let’s look at this passage to see the ways stewards operated.

Let me point out five important characteristics of this man’s job.

Look at Genesis 24:2 – “One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.”

- What does that verse tell us about this steward?

1) He was charged/entrusted with his master’s goods.

Let’s keep reading.... verses 3-4. “Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. ⁴ Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”

- What does that verse tell us about this steward?

2) He was given significant responsibility.

This matter of finding a wife for Isaac was one of the most important issues there was to Abraham…With a mission that important, he trusted his steward.

Look what happens next: --- verse 5. “The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”

What does that tell us about the steward?

3) He wanted to know his master’s will.

He took this responsibility very seriously and he wanted to act in a way that was in concert with what the master would do if he were the one making the trip.

Then look what happened in verse 12 --- “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.”

4) He was counting on and asking for divine enablement to help him do his job well.

One more point from this text --- look down at verse 34. This is where Eleazar is meeting with Rebekkah and her parents....it’s interesting the way Eleazar describes himself, and the way he describes his master.

- Verses 34-35 - I am Abraham’s servant,” he explained. ³⁵ “And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys.”

5) He attributed praise to his master’s name.

He didn’t say -- I’m Eleazar, and I’m really a big shot because I’m the master’s right hand man.....and I’m worthy to be trusted for this important mission.....

No, this was not about the steward, it was about the master.

Just like John the Baptist would later say -- “he must increase, and I must decrease.”

- So what have we learned from this OT example of stewardship?

1) He was entrusted with his master’s goods.

2) He was given significant responsibility.

3) He wanted to know His master’s will.

4) He asked for divine help to get the job done.

5) He attributed praise to his master, not himself.

Now it’s important for us to plug that information back into our text in 1 Corinthians.

When Paul told the Corinthians that he was a steward, he was giving an example they could understand regarding the responsibility that came with being entrusted

…they wouldn’t have thought about the guy who cleaned the animal stalls or washed the dishes, they would have, or should have thought about a man like Eleazar ---- the steward ---- the one who had been given an important trust from his master

So why was this so important in this letter?

C. The significance of it being used with the Corinthians

Remember Paul is addressing the unity of the church and thus he was addressing

1. For those aligning themselves with various leaders

Unity is found when everyone is focused on the Lord Jesus Christ…and we just consider ourselves and one-another as simply servants and stewards…

So there’s no reason to want to be elevated, or to elevate someone else…We’re just common, redeemed people who have been given an important trust…

There’s also help here…

2. For those struggling with pride

Paul helps us as he bring the thought together saying

1 Corinthians 4:7 - For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

So if God owns everything, we own nothing and God has entrusted us with everything that we have - then you could make the argument that stewardship month is an opportunity for us, annually, to humble ourselves…

And that is…

D. A challenge for each of us

I want to encourage everyone to pause this week and make a list of what God has entrusted to us as individuals and as a church…Write it down, there is value in the act of writing…

If you just do this in your mind – you will think of a few things and call it good…Use your Stewardship Devotional as a place to do this on the Notes and takeaways page. Because when you see the list, you will either recognize you are not seeing it all or you give Praise when you find you run out of room on the page and you will find that what this second principle of stewardship affirms is true – God entrusts us with everything we have…

Now, what else do we see in this text?...

My next point really hits on the 4^th principle which we will detail in a couple of weeks, but there’s no doubt that it’s right here in this passage as well…

II. Anticipate Your Judgement as a Steward

Stewardship month only works well if we’re using the right “measuring stick” as we make our evaluations…and there are actually a couple of landmines identified here…

Beware of potentially inaccurate judgments

They can come from many places – but let’s focus on what it says here…inaccurate judgments come

1. From other people

1 Corinthians 4:3 - But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court…

That is an amazing statement…but remember, it would appear that there are some people in the church that want to put Paul on a pedestal…and Paul’s going to have nothing to do with that…

We also know, especially from what we read in the book of 2 Corinthians, which is by far Paul’s most personal epistle, where he “opens his heart wide” (he says) to the Corinthians…that there were plenty of people trying to tear him down unfairly and discredit his apostleship…

…That he wasn’t going to allow flawed human judgment to have too significant an impact on how he evaluated his faithfulness to the trust he has received from the Lord…

Now we have to be very careful there – because we want to be open to confrontation…and to encouragement for that matter…

but there is a difference between seeking the approval of man and humbly receiving criticism…, particularly in the sense of not allowing any human evaluation to mean more than what the Lord might say according to His Word…

and then Paul even says…beware of potentially inaccurate judgments…

2. Even from yourself

1 Corinthians 4:3 - But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.

Now why would Paul say that?...maybe because of the self-awareness that we may not even judge ourselves properly…and that could be on either extreme, couldn’t it?...

Some are way too hard on themselves…others way too easy…which is why even says…

1 Corinthians 4:4 - For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.

which is why we need massive doses of the Word of God…so we have greater insight into the way sees us and the way he evaluates our faithfulness to the trust…

If you ask – why is this so challenging – can’t we just measure all our good works with a scale or a tape measure?...

B. The core issue is, and will be, our motivation

Paul points us here in the next verse…

1 Corinthians 4:5 - Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

That’s both a comfort, and a challenge, all rolled into one, isn’t it?...

It is a whole added sermon to unpack what Paul had said in Chapter 3…but verses 10-15 are all about the judgment seat of Christ…and how as believers, we will someday give an account – not for our salvation (that’s secure because of the finished work of Jesus), but for our stewardship…

and the trial is by fire…as verse 13 affirms…

1 Corinthians 3:13 - each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe used to like to say – as a Christian, I don’t fear the fire of hell, but I certainly fear the fire of heaven…the pending Judgment Seat of Christ can and should cause us to evaluate our faithfulness to what has been entrusted to us.

- so, where does this leave us?...We are called to…

III. Accept Your Responsibility as Steward

A. Because it is one of our core requirements

- v. 2 – “that one be found trustworthy”

So the key question to ask behind this second key principle…if God entrusts you with everything you have, are you growing in your faithfulness to the trust?

Being a Christian and a follower of Christ is not the end, but a beginning…are you growing in your faithfulness to the trust?

You know, there were a number of people in Paul’s life who weren’t…and sometimes he names them by name…

2 Timothy 4:9–10 - Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

2 Timothy 4:14 - Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

And some who were growing in faithfulness

1 Corinthians 4:17 - For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

You could draw a straight line between 1 Cor. 4:2 and 1 Cor. 4:17 – It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful, and by God’s grace, Timothy was that kind of steward…

Can I ask you to evaluate how you’re doing in this area?...

- On a scale of 1-10, how do you think you’re doing at the matter of being faithful to what God has entrusted?...

- How would those who know you best answer that?

- How would your Savior answer that?...

B. Because in so doing, we mirror an essential aspect of the character of our God

Every step we take to becoming more faithful, is a step we take to glorifying our God…and that’s especially true when we’re faithful to forgive…

Lamentations 3:22–23 - The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

You might be pushing back in your mind right now thinking we were talking about stewardship and you just jumped to forgiveness…

But we need to see that God’s faithfulness extends to every part of our lives, especially our need for forgiveness. If we are going to reflect God’s faithfulness in other areas, we need to reflect it here as well

Now you may be here thinking – I’m a long way from faithfulness to God in many areas of life…that could reveal that you don’t yet know the Lord…

But here’s the good news…

C. Because our Savior stands ready to help us be like Him in this all-important way

The book of Revelation contains many pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ…and one of theme is:

Revelation 19:11 - And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

That’s the same Savior who said…

Revelation 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

If you’ve never trusted Christ as savior and Lord before…you could do that today…and begin a journey of growing faithfulness…

Faith North Family – if God’s Word has revealed one or more ways where you need to grow in faithfulness, don’t be discouraged by that – God’s mercies are new…every morning…great is His faithfulness…

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had more than my share of times where I wasn’t faithful to what had been entrusted to me…

As a husband and father, I know that I have been entrusted with the faithful stewardship of the finances for our family and I can think of the decisions I have made that have been less than faithful…

After moving to West Lafayette, we needed to replace one vehicle with two…one was the faithful choice…the second a decision based on what I thought would be cool, a kind of car that I wanted to drive…I was not faithful to making wise decisions for our family and it was only a matter of months before I was back trading that car in at a significant loss…my foolish desires resulted in unfaithful stewardship that impacted all of our family…there are plenty more examples that could have come out very differently had I considered that I have a God- given responsibility with accountability.

My prayer is that as we leave and step into a new morning, a new week that we would benefit from these first 2 principles of stewardship…

1. God owns everything, you own nothing.

2. God entrusts you with everything you have.

I can even see today, what I did not know then, how these Stewardship principles, particularly today’s focus could have changed the fate of many on the day the Ehime Maru sank…

I do not want to leave you seeing the Captain of the Greeneville as a lost example…for his actions in the years that followed showed that He would choose to do the right thing and steward the aftermath of a tragedy in a God honoring fashion. Scott Waddle is a follower of Jesus Christ and in the security He holds knowing that he is forgiven, he took that same heart to travel to Japan and meet and ask the forgiveness of the families who died on that day.

Whether the Captain of a submarine, a Pastor, a nurse, a teacher or a home-maker

I know that there is a lesson in there somewhere for us all…

A lesson best remember in Paul’s words…

1 Corinthians 4:2 - In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.