Lathem Postell: So getting back into it, as you hopefully know by now, this month, October, is the time in our church that we spend a little time talking about stewardship. We we took a detour last week to talk a little bit about my experience at the Convening General Conference in Costa Rica, and so I appreciate y'all letting us take that detour. A small detour, and then we're getting into it. You heard Pastor Jacob. It's in your bulletin.
I hope you'll join us November 3rd. We're gonna have a night of worship. Our annual conference is gonna do that in 4 different locations. We're one of those. So we'll be here in this room at 5 o'clock.
You're gonna get to worship with our worship team, which is incredible. You're gonna hear some from some folks. Tina Kirkland, who is one of our delegates, who's over at Hillside Methodist in Canton. I'm gonna share some of my experience as well. We're gonna have a simulcast with our conference superintendent.
And so it's gonna be a great evening of worship to, one, just worship God and to get fired up about what God's doing in our church. So hope that you'll, join us for that. But but today is stewardship, and and and so we're gonna come back to this. And stewardship extends to a lot of things. I love that video we found to use as our bumper video.
I think it gives us a good a good view of of stewardship. Right? Stewardship is about how we manage our resources, about the things we've been blessed with. It's it's about our time and our talents. How do we use those things we have.
Right? When was the last time you evaluated your goals and priorities in life to see what mattered? I'm a big believer that the places you spend the most time will tell you a lot about the things that you care about. So when was the last time you did that? Stewardship extends beyond that too.
Right? It also extends to the things of our mind. What are those things that you spend the most time thinking about? What what do you dwell upon? Are you thinking about things of God or are you thinking about things of the world?
That's a part of our conversation with stewardship. And while it's not always easy, I I know this, stewardship also extends to our finances. I know that everybody gets a little squeamish when we begin to talk about money in the church. I I know that it can be an uncomfortable conversation. But I also recognize that there is a reason Jesus talks about money almost more than anything else in scripture.
It's important to talk about money. My thoughts on that have changed over time. The more I've preached stewardship sermons, the more I've thought about this is is how do we do this well as a church. What I've come to realize and it's why we do it every year. What I've come to realize is that if the church doesn't talk about it, it doesn't mean everybody else stops talking about it.
The the world is gonna tell us how we should spend our money. The world's gonna tell us what we should do with money. The world's gonna tell us how we should view money. Right? You you turn on the TV, you look at your phone, you're gonna be inundated with with advertisements, or you're gonna be inundated with with people who are trying to tell you how you should view money.
I think then, if if we want to understand how as followers of Jesus we are to interact with money, well, then the church has to talk about it even when it's difficult to do so. Because it's difficult, I wanna use a guide. I always try to have a theme that we can use. And so to talk about money today, we're gonna be looking at using this week and next week, a sermon that's actually 100 of years old. We're gonna use a resource from our own theological tradition.
John Wesley, who you know was the founder of the Methodist Movement, wrote a sermon many years ago called, The Use of Money. It's the title of our sermon series, The The Use of Money. And in it, he gave us 3 guiding principles that I think are are biblical. Three guiding principles of how we should use money. They're simple.
You can remember them. I hope you will as we go through this series. It's gain all that you can, save all that you can, and give all that you can. These help us move from seeing money as something that rules our lives, to something that we can use to benefit God's kingdom. And since we took a detour last week, we're gonna talk this morning about 2 of those.
Those first two, gain all you can and and save all you can. And then, next week, we'll get to that last one, give all that you can. But for this morning, I want us to to turn to our scriptures. We've got a couple that I want us to read, but we're gonna start with a passage from the gospel of Luke. So if you have your bibles with you this morning, turn to Luke chapter 16.
That's where we're starting. It's the parable of the shrewd manager verses 1 through 9. I think it'll be on the screen behind me as well. But let us listen here to the words of Jesus. Jesus told His disciples, there was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
So He called him in and asked him, what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.' The manager said to himself, what shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig and I'm ashamed to beg. I know what I'll do, so that when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.
So he called in each of his master's debtors. He asked the first, how much do you owe my master? 900 gallons of olive oil, he replied. The manager told him, take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it 450. Then he asked the second, and how much do you owe?
A 1,000 bushels of wheat, he replied. He told him, take your bill and make it 800. The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Will you pray with me? Loving and risen savior, we're so thankful for this day and this time of worship, that your presence dwells inside of us and with us in this room. Well, we just ask that you speak to us this day, your story of life and of grace. Use your scriptures to form us into your image, that we might go forth as your image bearers in the world. For it's in Christ's name that we pray.
Amen. We know what the scripture says. We sometimes forget it. Right? But we know what the scripture says.
It says, the love of money is the root of all evil. We mix that up sometimes. So scripture doesn't say, is money is the root of all evil. Money in and of itself is not good or bad. And so surprisingly, John Wesley's first rule for us about how we are to use money is gain all we can.
Now, I know many of us, if I just stop preaching there, it'd be a good sermon. Right? We're we're we're okay with that first rule. It's usually everyone's favorite. We like having that posture with money.
But but I think it's important and it makes logical sense. Right? If we're gonna start as followers of Jesus, figuring out how we can use money as a resource or as a tool for God's kingdom, well then it makes sense for us to have more of that tool. We are called to gain all that we can. Now like any good rule, there's gotta be some caveats to that.
There are good ways to gain money, and there are bad ways to gain money. And as followers of Jesus Christ, we we can only do so within reason, within our values. We should not pursue the gain of financial resources to the neglect of our own health. So easy for us in our world today to do that, to put the pursuit of money above everything. Where we begin to neglect our own needs, where we begin to neglect our need for food, or sleep, or other things that we just have to have as humans.
That's not a good way to approach money. We also shouldn't gain all we can at the expense of our mind and spirit. What we mean by that is there is no amount of money that is worth compromising who we are as Christians. We shouldn't gain money through deceitful methods. We shouldn't gain money through sinful methods, any of those things.
And we could come up with a laundry list of those. We don't have to do that here. You know what I'm talking about. No. We we should not gain all that we can.
We should not pursue money at the expense of ourselves, both physically and spiritually. The other side of that is we shouldn't do those things at the expense of anyone else's physical or spiritual health. Our pursuit of money, our living into this calling to gain all that we can should not harm others. If what we're doing is harming others, then it's just simply not worth it. Our calling to be good stewards should never override our command to love God and to love our neighbors.
So we're called to gain all that we can even within these caveats. Strange rule. The first time I heard it, right, of course, it sounds great. But then you think this doesn't quite sound biblical. Is this really what Jesus would want for me?
This sounds more like something the world would tell me to do, not something that that Jesus would tell me to do. Right? This doesn't feel like something of the kingdom. It feels like something of the world. Parable that there are some things that the people of light could learn from people of the world.
There's some things that his followers could learn. The world is very aware that money is a limited resource. I would call it a zero sum game. What I mean by zero sum game is, if I have a dollar, well then you can't have that same dollar. And if you have a dollar, well then I can't have that same dollar.
The world understands this much better than Christians do and so they act shrewdly. Jesus, pay attention. It's nuance, but it's there. Jesus isn't commending to us the dishonesty of the steward. But he is commending to us the shrewdness.
We too are called to use the resources we have at our disposal. Making money is not sinful. Right? As long as we're within those caveats that we talked about, as long as we're not doing it in sinful means, or or being deceitful, hurting ourselves, or hurting others. It's not making money that is sinful.
It's what we do with it that can be. We're called to gain all that we can. It means we're supposed to, as followers of Jesus, seize the day and work hard. I would tell you not to waste time on things that don't matter. Think things that are frivolous.
Right? And instead, dedicate yourself to the work God has called you to. Never leave anything till tomorrow that you could have done today. We're supposed to be people of excellence. Do whatever it is you're doing well and always get better.
What is it that you can get 1% better at today? What is that thing that you could learn that will help you improve your position? How can you be a better person for your family, for your work, for whomever it is that depends on you? Gain all that you can. Because as we said, what distinguishes us as followers of Jesus isn't the acquisition of money.
What distinguishes us as followers of Jesus is what we do with it once we have it. It's okay to gain all that you can. It's okay because of what comes next. The second rule of Wesley's use of money is that we are called not just to gain all that we can, but to save all that we can. It gets a little less fun as we go along.
But remember, this is is a tool. If we want to see money as a tool for a kingdom, this is what begins to distinguish us as people of light, rather than people of the world. There's another scripture I want you to read. I don't know if it's gonna be on the screen or not. It's short.
It's listed there in our bulletin. It comes to us from Proverbs chapter chapter 6, as we're thinking about what it means for us to save all that we can. Here these words. It is up there. Follow along with me.
Go to the ant, you slugger. Consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer, or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Save all that you can. We should not be so dim though, to not believe that once we've gained all we can, that that money can become a very seductive tool.
It becomes dangerous when we have it. There's a reason we use the phrase that money is burning a hole in our pockets. Right? There's just something about money that when we have it, we want to spend it. And I think the the reason for that is because money can quickly become a gateway to the desires of our flesh.
Right? We get money and we realize, oh, well, with this, I can get this thing that I've always wanted. The tool can be seductive once we've had it. So I would encourage you, as John Wesley does, to save all that you can. Gain all you can, sure.
But save all that you can. Because part of the life of the believer is foregoing that that we want for the sake of that which others need. Think about what Jesus says earlier in Luke chapter 9. We read from chapter 16, but he says this earlier in that book. Words you're familiar with.
He says, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Save all that you can. I look out and what I can see is that God has blessed you. I know many of your stories. You've been blessed.
I I look out and I can see you. And I know every single one of you have been blessed because you're alive today. God has given you the blessing of existence. If you're here, you're blessed. But God has given you more than that.
Right? Again, I know many of you and and you're talented people. God has given you a calling and you're living into it. He's given you skills that you can use. You have been blessed.
You you you've been given the blessing of so much, of of energy and effort, the blessing of family and friends. God has given you everything that you have. Who are we to squander it? What Jesus is talking about there in Luke chapter 9, it extends even to our wallet. We should save all that we can.
Ask yourself as you think about that, where are those places in your life that you're allowing money to rule you instead of using money to serve God. I think most often there's probably lots of places. Most often, we'll find that in those frivolous edges of life. We waste a lot individually and collectively. We we waste a lot.
Having a posture that says, I'm called to save all that I can, leads us to reconsidering the definition of what we need. Did I really need that new article of clothing that I bought last week? Maybe. But but but did I really need it? Did did I really need that new car?
The one I was driving was was fine, but did did I really need that new one? Did I really need that new gadget? Yeah. It was on sale. Amazon Prime Day.
Right? But did I really need it? If we want to be good stewards, if we want to use the tool of money that God has blessed us with for the benefit of God's kingdom, we have to live into this second rule. We must save all that we can. Notice what he doesn't say.
Notice what I'm not telling you to do. I'm not telling you to save all that you want. Right? This isn't a way to say, you should save just enough so that you can retire comfortably. This isn't saying, you know, save enough so that if something goes wrong, you have a rainy day fund set aside that you can pay for things.
No. The rule is, save all you can. It's about living in a posture of sacrifice, so that money becomes less about meeting my desires and more about meeting the the needs of others. Scripture, it tells us Even creation gets it. Right?
Even the ants know the value of saving. They know the value of creating a storehouse. They don't need somebody to remind them. Aren't we supposed to be smarter than the ants? What's our excuse?
Gain all that you can. Save all that you can. But the kicker in all of this is that we do both of those things so that If you stop at those 2, you're missing the point. We gain all that we can, we save all that we can, so that we can give all that we can. Now, we're not going to go down that rabbit hole this week.
That's that's what we're coming to next week. I want us to focus on on that, at a later time. We're we're called to gain all that we can, save all that we can, so that we can give all that we can. But as we finish this morning, I wanna leave you with with one last thought, as we kind of stay on those first two. Ask yourself this morning, reflect just a little bit.
When you look at money, what do you see? I'll ask it another way. When you look at money, who do you see? I think for many of us, when we look at a dollar bill, we see ourselves. Money can quickly become a mirror.
We get it, and we and we see it. Right? And we think, how can this help me? How can this satisfy my wants and my desires? I've got it.
Right? How will this money give me freedom? If we're honest it's not easy to do. If we're honest, what we're really asking in all those times is, how can this save me? How can it save me from the things I don't wanna do?
How can it save me for the things that that I want? How can this save me? Friends, if that's how we look at money, I think we've missed the point of what God would want for us. I think, instead, as we think about being good stewards of what God has given us, perhaps we need to not see ourselves when we look at money. Instead, we need to see Jesus.
And if we do, once we get it, right, once we have that money in our bank account, or in our wallet, or wherever it is, our questions begin to change. When when we don't see ourselves, we no longer ask, how can this dollar help me? Instead, we ask, how can this dollar be used to help others? Because Jesus is the one that helps me. We no longer ask, how can this dollar be used to satisfy my desires?
We ask, how can it satisfy the needs of others? Because I look at it and I see Jesus and I realize, well, he satisfies my needs. We no longer ask, how can this dollar save me? We ask, how can I use this to impact others? How can I use this to grow the kingdom?
How can I use this to point others to the one who truly saves them? Because when I look at all that I see is is Jesus, And he's the one that saved me. Money has a lot of uses. Some good, some bad, if we're honest. Right?
It's the basis of every transaction that happens in our country and around the world. In the hands of a business, money can become a product. In the hands of a good investor, money can become more money. In the hands of a builder, it can become a home. But consider this.
When we become good stewards, when we look at Jesus, when we see the money, in the hands of God's people, money can become food for the hungry. It be it can become drink for the thirsty. It can become clothes for the naked. It can become shelter for those who have nowhere to lay their head at night. And it becomes healing for the sick.
That's our so that. That that's why we've been blessed. So go forth. If you haven't before, choosing today to be a good steward of what God has blessed you with. Yes.
Gain all that you can. Save all that you can so that you can give all you can. And we'll talk about that next week. Let's pray. Loving and gracious God, we come first today with hearts that are humble and giving thanks for who you are.
If we really stop and think about it, it's not hard to see how blessed we are. First, Lord, you've given us life. The very beginning, you breathed into us your spirit. All that we have, all that we are is because of you, and we thank you, Lord. And then Lord, we look around and we see the things that you've given us.
We may not have as much as some, but we have more than we need. We have family. We have friends. We have somewhere to lay our heads at night. We have food in our bellies, and Lord, we are thankful for that.
And so God, we ask now for forgiveness, because as we remember that, we remember too that, Lord, we often forget it. That for most of our life, we don't live in a posture of thanksgiving. We live in a posture of of pride and selfishness, wondering why we don't have more or how we can get it. Lord, we, we become prideful thinking about all the ways that, that we've done things, all the things that we've done well to accumulate that which you've given us. Remind us Lord that we are nothing more than stewards.
Here today, gone tomorrow, we've been blessed with your creation. It's yours. Help us to use it well. Change in us today, or at least begin that change Lord, because this takes time. Begin the change for us to see money in a new way.
When we look at it, Lord, help us to stop seeing ourselves, but help us to see you. Help us to see your people that are hurting. Help help us to see that this is a tool that we can change people forever. Money might get somebody food for tomorrow, but you're the bread of life. Help us, Lord, do things that impact people for an eternity, not for a day.
Lord, help us to satisfy needs. We know that's a part of this, Lord, but always help us to be looking. How can we satisfy what they really need, which is you? Make us now begin to be a stewarding church, a stewarding people, giving thanks to you always for the blessings that You have given us. Empower us, Lord, to gain all that we can, save all that we can, so that we can begin to do the work of giving all that we can.
For it's in the name of Your son, Jesus, that we offer this prayer. Amen.