Sermon: Stewardship in tough times

“STEWARDSHIP IN TOUGH TIMES”

Delivered on 12/14/08 by

Rev. Dr. Larry D. Coleman

New Bethel A.M.E. Church

Kansas City, Kansas

Rev. Edward Walzer, Pastor

This is December 14, 2008. And, these are tough times.

This is December 14, 2008. And, these are also redemptive times.

This is December 14, 2008. And these are turbulent economic times.

This is December 14, 2008. And these are transformative spiritual times.

Isn’t that incredible? How something tough can also be redemptive?

How something turbulent can also be transformative?

Isn’t it amazing? How that which is economic can also affect the spirit? And vice versa. How that which is spiritual can affect one’s economy.

The British novelist, Charles Dickens, began his book, “A Tale of Two Cities,” with these words:

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief. It was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of hope. It was the season of despair.”In today’s message we examine the subject “STEWARDSHIP IN TOUGH TIMES”

“STEWARDSHIP IN TOUGH TIMES”

Stewardship is the conducting, supervising, or managing of something, especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. But, what is a “steward?”

A steward is someone who takes care of something, or somebody, entrusted to him or her.

So, for example, the Pastor is the Chief Steward of this church. The President is the Chief Steward of the Nation—Obama! Obama! Obama! Parents are the Chief Stewards of their Households.

Each of you is a steward. Each of us is a steward. We’ve all been entrusted with something from God.

We are in charge of that with which God has blessed you. Be it great or be it small, we all have a charge to keep, and God to glorify.

Let us pray.

This is the season of Stewardship. When the times are plentiful, saving is easy. Stewardship is easy. Living is easy:

“Summertime and the living is easy. Fish are jumping and cotton is high. Your daddy’s rich and your momma’s good looking. So hush, little baby, don’t you cry.”

But, when the times are tough, Stewardship is also tough. Folks become fearful and frugal to a fault.

But, brothers and sisters, it is in the tough times, when the true stewards of God distinguish themselves.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24. God is a spirit. And he would have us to worship him in spirit and in truth.

Stewardship is a form of worship. Yeah, Good stewardship is the epitome and consummation of worship.

Show me thy worship without stewardship, and I will show thee my worship by stewardship. Of course, I’ve just paraphrased James who states, “Show me thy faith without that works, and I show thee my faith by my works. James 2:18. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:17.

Faith without works is dead.” Similarly, worship without stewardship is dead. You observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. James 2:24. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without actions is also dead. James 2:26.

The good steward is someone who is doing the best he can with the things that God has given him. This shows up in how a person reacts in tough situations and how they redeem their God-given duty. You don’t necessarily need a lot. Sometimes, all you need is a handful of meal and a cruse of oil.

(Turn with me, if you will, to 1 Kings 17:9-16: Tell the Story; declaim and proclaim the word)

And, if you liked that go with me to 2 Kings 4:1-9)

Jesus Christ was a good steward.

Jesus was born into tough times. King Herod sought to kill him, as soon as he was born. That’s why the family fled to Egypt, as soon as Joseph was warned to do so in a dream. And because Jesus Christ was the anointed of God, his was a tough and fearless itinerant ministry. He was constantly at war with his own people, the Jews, many of whom rejected him: Pharisees, Sadducees, the scribes, the Levites, and the High Priest. In the end, he knocked over the money-changers in the temple, and scourged them with a whip. He messed with their money. So, they plotted to kill him. Eventually, they convinced the Romans to crucify this only begotten son of God. The human side of him, naturally, wanted to live.

He did not want to drink from the bitter cup. Although, he pleaded with his Father and “Our Father which art in Heaven” to take this cup away from him, in the end he surrendered to the duty of stewardship, placed upon him by the Father, when he said, “Not my will but Thy will be done.”

Jesus Christ died for us. He thereby redeemed us, all of us, from our sins, which go all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, long before we were born.

Jesus is the principal example of stewardship:

From His prophetic prediction in the Scriptures; His Annunciation by the angel; His birth in Bethlehem; His life in Egypt, Israel, Canaan and Judah; His death on Calvary, also called Golgotha, to His stunning Resurrection and walk among us. All of these were done for us, to redeem us, and to assure salvation for us, in the life that now is, and in that which is to come. All of these deeds comprised faithful stewardship.

Stewardship and Redemption are closely aligned. Redemption is---

1. The act of redeeming or the condition of having been redeemed.

2. Recovery of something pawned or mortgaged.

3. The payment of an obligation, as a government's payment of the value of its bonds.

4. Deliverance upon payment of ransom; rescue.

5. Christianity Salvation from sin through Jesus's sacrifice.

Examples:

When you get your clothes from the cleaners, you are redeeming them.

When you get back something from the pawnshop, it is redeemed. Or when you pay off your mortgage, your house is redeemed! Praise the Lord!

When you pay your obligation to this church’s building fund, you are redeeming your promise to God and man.

Redemption is payment of something promised for something promised.

So, if you want to be redeemed, my brothers and sister, be faithful stewards. Be true to your stewardship. Let faith and works get together, like stewardship and worship. Like peanut butter and jelly, like sardines and cracks, like collard greens and cornbread. As the song says, “Let the works I’ve done speak for me.”

May The Works I've Done (Speak For Me)
(arranged by Keith Johnson)
(recorded by Keith 'Wonderboy' Johnson & The Spiritual Voices)


Verse 1
May the works I've done speak for me.
May the works (I've done) speak for me.
When I'm resting in my grave,
there's nothing more to be said;
may the works (the works I've done)
let it speak for me, (for me).

Verse 2
May the life I live speak for me.
May the life (I live) speak for me.
When I'm resting in my grave,
there's nothing more to be said;
may the life (the life I live)
let it speak for me, (for me).

Bridge
The works I've done,
sometimes it seems so small,
it seems like I've done nothing at all.
Lord I'm (leaning) and depending on You,
if I do right You're gonna see me through;
may the works (the works I've done),
let it speak for me (for me).

Vamp
Speak for me,
speak for me.