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STEWARDSHIP IS A MATTER OF TRUST"
MESSAGE # 4 OF 4: "THE TRUST TEST - PART 2"
OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE TEXT: PSALM 139

DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 8, 2009

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Psalm 139 (King James Version)
1O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

MESSAGE: For the past three weeks we've been examining what I consider to be the core issue regarding Christian stewardship: Trust. Stewardship, for the believer in Christ is, at its heart, simply a matter of trust. In the first message of the series, I explored with you the first and foremost trust question: "Can I trust God?" I shared with you my personal background, and why I find it hard to extend my trust to anyone. Notwithstanding, I can and do trust God completely. And you can, too.
Two weeks ago we dealt with the obvious second "stewardship trust" question, "Can God trust me?" Can God trust you? Can God trust us? That's a question which has as many unique answers as there are individual Christians, but the answer each and every one of us ought to be able to give is "yes." It really should "yes" because God has entrusted a great deal of His property to us, starting with our very lives.

Last week we began, as "Methodists" do, methodically moving the "trust issue" from something "out there" to concrete, personal, individual commitment. If we say we trust God, and that we want God to trust us, then we obviously need to put our trust to the test. Remember the story about the high wire walker who invited someone to ride in a wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls with him? That was an "in your face" example of what I mean by a "trust test."

Also last week I started walking you through a useful memory device regarding trust, i. e., stewardship trust. It's a "Trust Acrostic," and it outlines as follows:

"T", the first letter, stands for: "Take an inventory." Using Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24 as text, it tells you to look deep into your heart, root out irrational fears which prevent your trusting God with your time, talent, and treasure, then resolve to regularly and unwaveringly set aside10% or more for God's work through the Church of Jesus Christ.

"R", the second letter, reminds us to: "Recognize God as our source." Psalm 139, verses 13 and 14, tell us that our very lives are His first offering to us. And everything else that we "think" we "have" is really His, too. He's the owner, we're temporary managers - stewards, to use a churchly word. In return for the blessing of all His resources, God asks us for 10% back - reasonable rent for being allowed to use the remaining 90% in whatever ways we choose.

"U", the third letter: "Understand God's stewardship principles." Although, as verse 6 of Psalm 139 reminds us, we can't totally know the mind of God -- because we're finite and He's limitless - we can know, from His Holy Word, many of His stewardship principles. I told you last week that I was going to share 10 such principles with you, and we ran out of time after the first five.
I'll first review those five briefly, then get us moving into new territory:

The "Who's in Charge" principle, from Psalm 24, verse 1, is basic: "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." Nothing is really mine, it's all His. But I'm responsible to Him to take care of it. He holds me accountable. That's what it means to be a steward.

The second stewardship principle from scripture, found in several different places - including Jesus' parable of the talents, is the "Give and Grow" principle. It says this: Practicing stewardship produces Christian growth. Or, to put it bluntly: Givers are growing Christians. Non-givers aren't; they're perennially "babes in Christ."

The third Biblical stewardship principle is the "Do It Now" principle. Christian stewardship deals with present resources, not future promises. When Jesus called disciples in the Gospels, He always expected immediate response. The "Do It Now" principle says that we give from what we have today, not what we fantasize about having tomorrow.

The "I'm in Debt" principle is fourth, based upon Romans 1:14 and 15. From the moment we're born, we're "under obligation" -- both to God and to all other believers who've come before us. A concrete example of this is the sanctuary in which we're worshipping God today. This was graciously provided to us by the Holy Spirit through the generosity of past believers in Christ. Our responsibility is to maintain it, enhance it, and pass it on, to the next generation of believers.
The "Fountain of Youth" principle, the fifth and last we were able to examine last week, is this: We live forever through our giving. Both on earth and in heaven our gifts make a difference - see I Corinthians 3, starting in verse 12, if you need a proof text. There are some folks here in this church who have been blessing God's people in Los Alamos for many years - and who will undoubtedly leave a legacy of blessing for generations to come. I highlighted a handful of such names last week - there are many others.

I love the story about the miserly old rich man who died and, because He was a believer in Christ, went to Heaven. There, Saint Peter met him and began to lead him down the golden street to His eternal dwelling. As they moved along, they passed a beautiful mansion. "Is that mine?" asked the miser. "No, that's for your gardener - the man who used to take care of your lawn and bushes on earth," was the response. Later, they passed a magnificent castle. "Is that where I'll live?" was the question. "No," said Peter, "that's your cook's place." Finally, they came to an 8-foot by 8-foot shack in the middle of an otherwise vacant lot. "This is yours," said St. Peter. "What?" questioned the miser. "My gardener gets a mansion, my cook a castle, and all I get is a shack?" To which Peter responded, "We did the best we could with what you sent us." The "fountain of youth" stewardship principle: We live forever through our giving.

Now we're finally in new territory, and we've got to move fast. The sixth Biblical stewardship principle is the "Who's number one?" principle. In Matthew 22:36, Jesus says that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Does God receive the first - and the best - of your giving? Our giving proves who's really "number one" in our lives.

The sixth Biblical stewardship principle is the "Cheerful Attitude" principle. Christian stewardship starts with loving, not with giving. When you love God, you'll give to God - willingly, joyfully. If you find it a burden, a problem, a hassle to give to God - don't. Don't give. First fall in love with God - then you'll want to give.

The eighth Biblical stewardship principle is based on Luke 6:38. It's the "Bigger Shovel" principle. You can't "outgive" God. The more you give to God, the more He'll give back to you. And you'll always come out ahead, because God's got a bigger shovel.

The ninth stewardship principle that matters is the "Pass It On" principle. Our lives are to be rivers, not reservoirs. You've all, I suspect, heard the story about the two 'seas" in the Holy Land. The Sea of Galilee is a live lake full of fish and other wildlife. The Dead Sea is just that: It's dead, devoid of all life. Both receive their water from the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee lets the Jordan flow in at one end and out the other. But the Dead Sea keeps every drop it receives. The "Pass It On" principle holds true - in nature, and in Christian discipleship.

The tenth and final Bible-based stewardship principle that I'll highlight with you is the "Who has who?" principle. It says this: Until God is in control of my life, I'm out of control. When God is in control of all that we have and all that we are - specifically including our money, a series of Biblical promises and blessings can begin to take effect. When God's not in control, chaos reigns.
Now - at last -- we can move on to the "S" of the "trust acrostic," and it's this: Surrender Everything to God. To amplify this, I would turn directly to God's Word, from the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 17, verses 5 through 8: "This is what the LORD says: 'Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.'" That says it as well as any words can. Surrender everything to God!

Finally, the second "T" of our "stewardship trust acrostic," which reminds us to Test God's Promises. In this specific area and only in this specific area - stewardship - God readily invites us to test Him. Malachi 3:10: "Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Any words I might try to add couldn't possibly top this Scripture. Test God's promises!
Mother Teresa, one of the true saints of the recently-completed 20th century, is quoted on the subject of trusting God thus: "I know that God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much." Mother Teresa obviously was trustworthy in God's sight. She passed - no, she aced the trust test.

Now it's almost our turn. Next week will be Consecration Sunday in morning worship. Next week you'll be invited to test your trust in God for 2010 through five key stewardship commitments: your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness. Most of you have already received printed commitment cards in the mail. Don't turn them in yet, please. We're deliberately providing you plenty of time this fall to really seek God's will in setting your level of trust in Him for the upcoming year. Next week will be your opportunity to really test your trust in God. I trust you'll be ready to let Him take control of your 2010 stewardship. Amen.

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