Stewardship of Our Priorities

- today is a very important Sunday as we launch our annual Stewardship Month together…

- in our preaching schedule that we are assembling for next year, we are actually planning fewer times where I or one of our other pastors will be live-streamed to all three campuses simultaneously…but we will do that occasionally because of the importance of being one church at three campuses…and today is one of those days…

- back when our former senior Pastor Goode and I were in the process of making a leadership transition in the mid 1990’s, he asked me if the church family voted to make that happen, if I planned to continue stewardship month…

- this was actually an emphasis he brought to our church not long after becoming our pastor all the way back in 1975…the way it reads in the official minutes from our Church business meetings is –

- and if memory serves me correctly, in the mid 90’s he was asking me about it before our leadership transition occurred…so we were planning the preaching schedule that fall together like we always did…and he asked me if I thought the value of stewardship month had run its course…because he was offering to discontinue it even while he was still the senior pastor because he was often thinking about to make that transition easier if/when it came…

- and I said what I think many of our church members then and now would have said…that speaking humanly of what we do together each year that really makes a difference in our spiritual lives and effectiveness…stewardship month is one of the highest emphases on the list…and I had no desire or intention to change that…

- again, that conversation would have occurred 25 years ago now – which is amazing when I just stop and contemplate how quickly time passes…but I would answer the same way today as I did back then…and I know many men and women in our church family would say the exact same thing…

- all of this starts by simply defining our terms – Stewardship – God-given responsibility with accountability.

- we have the classic stewardship parable in Matthew 25 where a master calls 3 of his servants together and entrusts them with different amounts of money and then leaves on a trip…so one servant was given 5 talents (a form of money), another 2, and another 1…

- so Scripture tells us that…Matthew 25:16 - Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.

- the person who received 2 talents did the exact same thing….although obviously since he started with less he ended up with 4 compared to the first man’s 10…

- but regrettably the one who received 1 was lazy and afraid…and hid his master’s money in the ground…

- then the day came when the master returned, and the first 2 men received the exact same commendation…Matthew 25:21 - His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

- it’s very important and encouraging to note that while one man ended up with 10 talents and the other one only had 4 – they received the same commendation…and the principle is, you’re not judged compared to what someone else has accomplished – you’re judged on the basis of your level of faithfulness with what God entrusted to you…

- regrettably the one who was lazy and afraid certainly was not commended in this way…and he couldn’t argue that he wasn’t given as much therefore he had no responsibility…

- Matthew 25:26–30 - But his master answered and said to him, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

- and I realize you might say – those are pretty hard words…

- let me just gently remind you – those are not my words…which tells us that God’s children growing in biblical stewardship is a very important and serious issue to our Lord…

- now, part of the beauty of this is – this topic involves a whole lot more than money…over the years we’ve emphasized the stewardship of all areas of life…

- so anything that God has entrusted to us falls under this heading…

- stewardship of our minds, stewardship of the gospel, stewardship of our families, stewardship of time, stewardship of the Bible…

- and as a church family – we love pausing every November and taking stock of how we’re doing in each of these key areas…like an annual audit of sorts…asking, are we like the 2 faithful stewards or the one who was faithless?...

- and where we see good results – we pause and thank the Lord for working in our hearts and lives…

- and when we see areas that need work…we genuinely ask forgiveness and make plans to get to a better place…

- another important aspect of this discussion is memorizing the…

Four Factors 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.

- now, in addition to hearing a series of messages on this topic this year, we’ll also be featuring stewardship testimonies like the one you heard this am…

- you’re a bit more used to this because we’ve been featuring testimonies since we came back to on-site worship because we were being encouraged not to sing as much…

- but part of the joy of being in a church family is seeing and hearing the stories of your brothers and sisters in Christ and how the Lord is helping them take steps in a particular area of stewardship…

- we also have our annual stewardship celebration…which is always the Sunday evening before Thanksgiving…

- this year it’s the evening of November 22^nd…and it will be down at the NCC…

- we attempted to secure an even larger venue but were unable to do so…because of COVID concerns…

- so we’ll have socially distanced seating…we’re not planning any kind of interior food service…(although we are looking at some outside options – stay tuned for that)…

- the reason the celebration is especially important this year is because we will be able to celebrate the Lord allowing us to reach our goal of having the 16.5M NCC entirely paid for at the end of this year, which is also the end of our 3-year SMC 18M capital campaign…

- now I don’t know if you’ve ever seen any of those highlights from the NFL where a player catches a great pass or makes a phenomenal run but then starts celebrating before he crosses into the end zone…

- and then he fumbles the ball or gets tackled on the 1-yard line…

- we’re operating on the assumption that everyone will finalize their giving by the end of this and it certainly appears that will happen…

- the challenge is that it’s so difficult to get us all together right now – so we’re planning a great time on November 27^th even though we know we’ll not be quite to the finish line yet, and if you would prefer not to participate in person – of course it will be live-streamed as well…

- now, for our purposes this morning – we’d like to start this year by discussing the matter of The Stewardship of Our Priorities…you and I can’t be good stewards in any area of life unless we’ve considered and made wise choices regarding our priorities…

- and although we’re going to be looking at many passages of Scripture….let me ask you to open your Bible to Philippians chapter 3…we’re going to start there this am…

- and we’re going to organize our study around finding 3 principles to help you make the most of all that God has entrusted to you.

I. Embrace Your Overarching Priority

- there are some principles in the Word of God that tie this entire topic together…which is why we find…

A. Scripture’s emphasis on “one thing”

- Philippians 3:8-14 is one of those places - Read

- it’s amazing when you think about all the “different things” that the apostle Paul had to do…but he had an overarching priority, or an organizing priority that tied everything else together…we could say the same thing about a passage like…

- 1 Corinthians 10:31 - Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

- Romans 8:28–29 - And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

- Matthew 6:33 - But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

- 2 Corinthians 5:9 - Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

- if those are verses with which you’re not familiar, I would encourage you to write them out on index cards and begin memorizing them…

- so there are different ways to describe this overarching priority, but we’re talking about concepts like seeking to glorify God with all we think, say, and do…

- to become more like Jesus Christ….more pleasing to Him…

- pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus…

- wise stewards use this as a means of evaluating their use of all that God has entrusted to them on any given day or period of time…

- in part because we consider it to be such an incredible privilege that in the power of the gospel…people like you and me could ever achieve such a result…

- if this is possible, we don’t want to miss out on making it happen as faithfully and consistently as we can in the help and power of the Holy Spirit of God…

- you can probably think of many examples in Scripture when a person was busy doing all sorts of things…but not in a way that helped them accomplish the greatest priorities…

- for example – do you remember the haunting story of Martha and Mary?...we read it in Luke 10 where we learn…Luke 10:38–39 - Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.

- so far, so good, right?...not for long, because then we read…

- Luke 10:40 - But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

- note to self – if you ever have the opportunity to listen to Christ’s teaching or make an elaborate meal…choose the teaching…

- if Jesus gets really hungry – he’ll just make some fish sandwiches…

- or if you’re not going to do that – don’t get frustrated and accuse Jesus of being the One who doesn’t understand the situation…because what did He gently say to her?...

- Luke 10:41-42 - But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

- I wonder if the Lord would look at the way we spend our time…or what upsets us…and have to draw a similar conclusion?...

- this is why it’s so important to embrace your overarching priority…and then to evaluate and channel all of your choices in every other area through that all-important lens…

- now, here’s a tool that many of us have found helpful to direct our thinking on all of this…it’s called the…

B. Benefitting from the Fishbone Chart

- this chart is helpful for all sorts of reasons…but one way is that like any good fish, it only has one head…and its channeling everything we’re doing in the right direction in a very focused fashion…

- so we’re constantly asking – how would thinking that help me glorify God?...

- how would watching that help me become more like Christ?...how would doing that or going there help me pleasing to the Lord…

- and if that choice would make the fish go the wrong direction…we’re choosing not to do it…

- wish stewardship is as much about what you don’t do as is it what you’d choose to do…

- now, you might say – OK -- that’s well and good – but I have so many areas of life in which I have responsibilities…how do I fit that in?...

- that is a great question…which leads us to the importance of learning to…

II. Organize Your Key Effectiveness Areas

- the mistake that some people make when discussing their priorities is listing them out and then drawing a line between number 3 and number 4, or number 6 and number 7, and saying – sorry, I don’t have any more time or energy left for that…

- you can’t say – we’re going to work on our marriage and family right now, so I’m going to stop going to work…

- that’s probably going to be a problem come pay-day…which subsequently will become a problem when you go try to buy groceries…

- so at some point this becomes like juggling….you know what the key to juggling is, don’t you?....you can’t hold any one ball too long…

- so you have to determine what the key areas of your life are right now…and what priority-oriented stewardship would look like in each one of them…

- this is where the phrase big rocks comes from….

- a number of years ago the late Stephen Covey wrote a book entitled First Things First, told this story about an instructor giving a lecture on priorities to his class…

- As the class took their seats the instructor said, “Okay, it’s time for a quiz.” He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouth gallon glass jar. He set it on the table next to a tray of fist-sized rocks. “How many of these rocks do you think we can get the jar?” he asked.

- After the class made their guesses, the instructor said, “Okay, let’s find out.” He placed rock by rock into the jar until it was full. The he asked, “Is the jar full?” Everybody in the class looked at the rocks and nodded yes.

- Then he said, “Ahhh,” and reached under the table and pulled out a jar of gravel. Then he dumped some of the gravel in the jar of big rocks and shook the jar, and the gravel went in all the little spaces between the big rocks. The instructor grinned and said once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him and replied, “Probably not.”

- “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a jar of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks and gravel. Once more he looked at the class and asked, “Is the jar full?” “No” the class roared.

- The instructor said, “Good!” and grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. Almost a quart of water fit into the jar. Then he said, “Well, what’s the point?”

- One student replied, “Well, there are gaps in your day and if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your day.” “No,” the instructor said, “that’s not the point. The point is this: if I hadn’t put the big rocks in first, I would have never gotten any of them in.”

- then Covey went on to explain…In today’s “more is better” world view, we’re always trying to cram more activities into our day and the big rocks “less is more” paradigm sounds counterintuitive. But what does accomplishing more tasks matter if what we are doing isn’t accomplishing our personal mission or the mission of our organization? Yet, if we put our big rocks into our day first, it’s amazing how many gravel, sand and water activities will also fit in.

- let’s just pause right there before we think about our key effectiveness areas and ask some evaluative questions…how do you think you’re doing at the matter of living in a priority-oriented fashion?...have you studied and thought through your biblical priorities?...

- are there all sorts of things you do passionately because they fit with what God says is most important…and all sorts of other things you avoid because it would just take the fish the other direction?...

- when you look back over a period of weeks or months…can you say that a lot of rocks found their way in the jar before being crowded out by things that were less important?

- now, what are some of our key effectiveness areas…what are the primary bones on the fish?...perhaps the very first is…

A. Your daily personal walk with God

- Psalm 1:2 - But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

- Psalm 5:3 - In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

- let me ask you to isolate your attention to this particular key effectiveness area – if we evaluated your schedule on a daily or weekly basis – and asked – how much of a priority is cultivating a daily, personal walk with the Lord to you – what kind of conclusion would we draw?...

- and is your focus in that area helping the head of the fish move forward more rapidly?...

- the relationship between these first two concepts should be obvious…the more focus you’re placing on cultivating a personal walk with God, the more likely you are to be making choices that are glorifying Him, that are pleasing to Him, that are molding you more and more into the image of Hid Son…

- in the old days we used to have a saying – no Bible, no breakfast…

- maybe now we need to have a saying…no Bible, no social media…

- no Bible, no text messaging…

- please also think about the relationship between this area and stewardship…can a person be a good steward and not emphasize the cultivation of their personal walk with the Lord?...certainly not…

- and from a positive perspective – if the Lord has entrusted us with the possibility of cultivating such a relationship with Him through the shed blood of Jesus Christ…wouldn’t it be a terrible thing not to take full advantage of that possibility?...

- 2 questions at this point

1. Have you established a personal relation with Christ by admitting your sin and placing your faith and trust in Him as Lord and Savior?....

2. Would it be helpful for you to ask a friend or parent or teacher or deacon or pastor to hold you accountable in this area?...

- now, what’s the next major bone in the fish?...in the priority structure?...

B. Your family and key relationships

- your age and whether or not you’re married will adjust exactly who it is that fits under this heading…

- but the family is the first human institution created by our God….which is why our adversary places so much energy and focus on tearing down the family…

- that’s why some people are setting their hair on fire right now over what is occurring in our supreme court…

- we also know this to be such a high priority because of the way the Lord highlights this as a qualification for leadership in a church…

- we’re coming up on a very important election as you know…and of course I’m talking about our annual deacon election here at church…and I am so thankful for our current deacons and those the church family has recommended to serve in the upcoming year…

- and none of us are perfect – but there’s no question that this group of leaders you’ve recommended are trying to make their marriages and families an important priority…

- if time allowed, we could even talk about levels of priority within the family…so spouses have to place a higher priority on their marriage than emphasis on the children, or on extended family members…

- but the same principles we mentioned in the first key effectiveness area play themselves out here as well…if your priorities are right here – it will propel the fish further ahead in the water…

- and when you have an entire family of people making this their biblical priority…it’s amazing how much can be accomplished to glorify the Lord…

- so as we move into stewardship month, do adjustments need to be made in this key effectiveness area?...then there’s…

C. Your service in Christ’s Church

- Matthew 16:17–18 - And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

- we believe theologically that God is mediating his plan and program in and through the establishment of the local church…

- that’s why the NT is all about the church…

- that’s why the writer of the book of Hebrews said -- Hebrews 10:24–25 - and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

- this is one of the reasons that our church family has been sacrificing so significantly on the SMC capital campaign…

- we’ll say much more about this at the Celebration in a few weeks – but we decided all of this together as a church family as part of our last 5-year strategic ministry plan…

- and part of that was the goal of launching a brand-new church in the northend…and by God’s grace, that’s happened…

- because of hundreds and hundreds of people who have made that an important priority and weren’t going to let a little thing like a world-wide pandemic get in the way of accomplishing that goal together…

D. Your Work

- Colossians 3:22–23 - Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,

- part of my personal Bible reading this week has been in 1-2 Thessalonians where Paul spends an extended period of time dealing with the issue of idleness among the people of God…

- and sure this priority can get out of balance on either side – this is why the “life is like juggling a whole series of balls” analogy is so important…

- but thank the Lord that is possible to work in a way that propels the fish forward too…

E. Your service in our community

- Matthew 5:16 - Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

F. Your rest, recreation, and leisure

- Mark 6:31 - And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

- once you have that structure in place, you can start layering in your actual specific tasks or activities…

- some families meet together each week and plan their schedule so they’re sure they don’t have any unsolved problems going into the next week…

- and to be sure they’ve communicated about each other’s schedules, etc.…

- if this kind of thinking is new to you…or if you need a tune-up…

- you could actually bring the fish to the meeting…

- and what I mean by that is – you consider each possible activity in light of where it fits into your biblical priorities…

- and there might be some activities you’d say – you know, that really doesn’t fit into our priorities…let’s not do that this week…

- whereas you might look at another area and say – you know, we need to beef up that area to keep things in better balance…

- now, I realize that you may look at all of this and say – wow, I’m not sure I have the wisdom and power to advance in this area like I know I should…please take heart in this…we can…

III. Prayerfully Allow the Holy Spirit to Empower You to Live Wisely and Effectively

- Paul told the Ephesians - Ephesians 5:15–18 - Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

A. Be careful about how you order your priorities, seeking to make the most of your time because these are challenging days.

- Ephesians 5:15-16 - Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days area evil.

- when I mentioned those dates at the beginning of the message…there will be people here today who can remember when Pastor and Mrs. Goode came to Lafayette…and would say, that seems like yesterday in some ways…

- it’s amazing how quickly time goes…

- and there’s no question that the days are evil…and in many ways getting worse just like Scripture predicted…

- but where sin abounds…grace does much more abound…which means that the opportunities for ministry are available in great quantity as well…

B. God stands ready to help you understand His will in these matters.

- Ephesians 5:17 – So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

- that’s why the strategic planning process is so important to us…

- because we are prayerfully asking as a church family…what is God’s will for our ministries over this next period of time…

- and if we seek to live priority-oriented lives…how much of that will can we accomplish together…which is why we try to…

C. Let the Holy Spirit control you as you seek to be a good steward of your priorities.

- Ephesians 5:18 – And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

- when the Holy Spirit is controlling you, guiding you, filling you – it’s incredible what can be accomplished…

- [develop how some of the testimonies last Sunday evening were from graduates of Vision of Hope and Restoration…humanly speaking, those ministries came about because of priority oriented planning, and priority-oriented living]

- what about the future? – no one knows, but 2021 could very well be like the end of WW II – develop the potential ministry opportunities – which is why it’s so important to carefully consider our priorities now