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FALL 2007 STEWARDSHIP EMPHASIS
"STEWARDSHIP IS LORDSHIP"
MESSAGE #1 OF 4
"WHAT IS LORDSHIP?"

GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT: Matthew 25:14-30
DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 23, 2007

SCRIPTURE TEXT: 14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' 21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' 23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' 24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' 26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

MESSAGE: Lordship "Law" #1 - "Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all." Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all.

I'm gravely concerned for a particular young man, a young man who is very dear to my heart. He's a professed believer in Jesus Christ and a faithful church attendee. He carries a large leather Bible with him to services each Sunday - he even takes notes on the sermon messages he hears. But when he goes home from church on Sunday, he puts his Bible away and disappears indistinguishably into the world -- until the next Sunday.

This young man's name could easily be "legion." He represents a multitude of what I call "Christian chameleons" in our society today. He can turn it on, and he can turn if off - just as easily as flipping a switch. And there are literally millions like him. He's a devoted follower of Jesus - one day a week. And the rest of the time he's "Joe Ordinary," just another man of the world. He's not "salt" on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; he's not "light" on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Jesus is his Lord - but only 1/7th of the time.

Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. Let me present to you something that I took from "Capital Voice," a publication of Dr. James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" ministry. It's entitled, "A Religious Enigma:" "Of all the church members in America today, 15% cannot be found. 25% never attend church. 35% never pray. 45% never read the Bible. 55% never give to the church. 65% never go near the church except on Sunday mornings. 75% never assume a ministry responsibility in the church. 85% never attend a midweek worship service. 95% never have won even one other person to Jesus Christ. Yet 100% expect to go to Heaven."

The issue is Lordship. Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. Please listen very carefully to what I'm about to say for the next two minutes: Tens of millions of persons in our society have made a one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Thereby, they think that Jesus has become their "personal Savior." But now I'm going to unhinge a whole lot of your personal belief systems. Hear this: Nowhere in the Bible is Jesus referred to as the individual, personal Savior of anyone. Only twice in the Gospels - once in Luke and once in John, is the title "Savior" accorded to Jesus at all. Both of those times he's the collective "Savior" of the entire world. Jesus never sought to be anyone's private, personal "Savior." His role, a task assigned to Him by the Father, is to save the world.

On the other hand, when I opened up my "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance" of the Bible and turned to the title, "Lord," I found that there were so many references to Jesus I soon gave up trying to count the literal hundreds of entries on page after page. The first recorded "confession of faith" of the earliest believers in Christ was this: "Jesus is Lord." Jesus is Lord.

This isn't a matter of language or semantics - it's a real, life-altering issue. For if Jesus is only your Savior, you can append Him to the end of your life and blithely say, "OK, I'm glad that's taken care of. When I die - that's when Jesus will make a difference for me. I'll call on Him to take me to Heaven then - when I need Him. Until that time comes, He can sit on the sidelines." But if Jesus is genuinely your Lord, then He must make a difference in your life here, now, today - and every day.
Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. Charles Colson, one of the strongest voices for Christ in our world today, says this: "The greatest challenge facing the Church today is to reassert the Lordship of Jesus Christ."

This is the first message of four that I'm planning to preach, over the next three months, as our fall 2007 stewardship emphasis. I've chosen the theme, "Stewardship Is Lordship." What is Lordship? For that matter, what is stewardship? And how can the two be two equated?

For an initial answer to all those questions, God led me to Jesus' parable of the talents. Talents, in Jesus' day, referred to money - considerable sums of money. When I was in Odessa, Texas, I heard a speaker at the Rotary Club talk on the subject of "community development." In response to a question that I raised with him about the involvement of ethnic groups in community development, he said, "This isn't a black issue, a brown issue, or a white issue. It's a green issue. It involves money - and money commands everyone's attention."

When Jesus told the parable of the talents, he was talking about money - so everybody paid attention. The basic story is simple, well-understood. A rich man decides to head out on a long trip, but, before leaving, assigns three of his servants to manage various amounts of money for him. One is given a whale of a lot, one gets a very considerable sum, and one is entrusted with a smaller but still significant amount. When he gets back, it's time to settle accounts. Two of the three have managed the money they were given well, and are rewarded. The third has done nothing at all, so he's thrown out by the man in charge.

Lordship. The rich guy, the "master" in the parable, is God. Or, since we know that God and Jesus are one, it's Jesus Himself. Jesus is the master, the one in charge. That's Lordship - and Jesus is the Lord. The servants: They're us - we who claim to be part of His Kingdom. He loves us, He trusts us - with His possessions. It's all His - but He allows us to manage it for Him for a time. And then, eventually, it's time to settle accounts. What did we do with the Lord's talents, His gifts, His money?
Two of the servants in this parable looked at the Master's expectations as blessings. They were excited to be entrusted with His property - and gladly invested it for Him. When it came time to settle up, they were pleased to return to Him far more than he had given. And He, in turn, was also pleased. Good stewardship, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, is a win-win situation. Everyone is pleased.

One of the servants in this parable looked upon the Master's expectations as a burden. "Master, I knew you were a hard man….I was afraid; I went out and hid your talent in the ground…." He wasn't happy, and neither was the Master. But the Master is nonetheless the Lord. And so this worthless servant was thrown out. Bad stewardship is a lose-lose proposition. Even God is displeased.

Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. There are two lessons to learn from today's message: First, as Christians our stewardship responsibility is clear. We are to develop the gifts God has placed in our care. Second, our accountability is certain. Someday we'll each give an account to Jesus for what we've done with what He gave us. For those who've truly made Him Lord of their lives, that will be a time of celebration. But for those who haven't….well, I simply hope none of you is in that category.

Truly, Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. Praise the Lord. Amen.

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