Sunday, October 7, 2018

Consumer to Steward

The scripture lesson is Mark 10:17-25 in which the rich man encountering Jesus tells the master how good he is then asks, "What more must I do?"  Jesus looks on him with love and compassion and tells him he must turn loose of everything and "follow me."  The man went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.  The saddest story in scriptue.

What kind of disciple are you?  Look at the way you handle your possessions.
What do you value most?  What if God asked you to surrender it?

No matter how many times we fail Jesus looks on us with love and compassion.  As with the rich man, Jesus goes to the heart of the matter, "Sell all, take up the cross, and follow me."  This is a Divine invitation to be a disciple:  "Walk this road with me!"  The man in the story went away sad because he had great wealth. 

"I wonder about us."
Jesus, do you really require that much?  "We have forgotten how radical is the call to follow Jesus."
Wealth can blind our moral sight and lead to spiritual bankruptcy.  If you are comfortable with the call to discipleship, you are not there.  The call will make you very uncomfortable.

God is demanding something incredible of you.

To be a steward is to manage someone else's property.  What we are given belongs to God.  We must handle them appropriately.
     1.  We are to steward our time.  We may be so concerned with "me time" that we miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
    2.  We are to steward our abilities.  Whatsoever talents we possess, spiritual or physical, we give to God.
    3.  We are to steward our physical and tangible resource.   Eternity will be empty and void if all you do is accumulate things.  You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer
    4.  We are to steward our Salvation. Must feed ourselves, get into the Word, read the Word in prayer.  Take responsibility for your spiritual health.

How do I develop a spirit of stewardship?
     1.  Develop a spirit of gratitude.  
     2.  Develop a spirit of generosity.  Shift from being a consumer to being a steward!

 


Pastor Johnnie Blair
Sunday mornnig

2 comments:

Vee said...

When it's over stuff does stay behind. I'm not sad about that but do hope I've been a good steward in God's sight. How others judge matters not.

vanilla said...

Vee, right: one Judge and one Judge only.