2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:

Last week we saw that each of us has a kingdom, and that we were created to rule over it in partnership with God. We talked briefly about the fact that God gave stewardship of the Garden to Adam and Eve before they sinned. They were given the responsibility to use the resources that God placed at their disposal to make certain that the garden and all of the animals in it grew and flourished and multiplied. They did things together with God's help.

After the Fall, Adam was told that he would have to work by the sweat of his brow without God's help. With Abraham, the idea of stewardship was slowly reintroduced. It continued through the Law, and the prophets, and culminated in the coming of Jesus.

What do I mean by stewardship? Stewardship is using all of our resources to manage something that belongs to someone else. So in Adam's case, he was given stewardship over the animal and plant kingdoms, with the understanding that it all still belonged to God and not to him. For us this morning, in the same way, God has given us stewardship over our lives and everything we influence. This means that we too, do not have ultimate ownership of our lives either.

Biblically, I believe that this truth means that my "wealth:" my money, my time, and my abilities are not mine, but God's, entrusted to me to be used wisely according to God's direction in partnership with Him. Let's look at two areas of stewardship - our time and our money.

1. THE STEWARDSHIP OF MY TIME

   We live in a world that is decidedly faster-paced than the world of the Bible. The wise use of our time is difficult in our hurry-up-and-go society. We are constantly on the move on the merry-go-round of life, riding from one place to another, and seemingly going nowhere.

   A little girl bounded into the kitchen one morning while her mom was preparing poached eggs using an hourglass-type egg timer. Her mother explained that the sand emptied from one side to the other in exactly three minutes, then just turn it over and it fills the other side in exactly three minutes. After school the little girl brought a friend home to play. They went into the kitchen to get some cookies. She spied the egg timer and told her playmate, "See, you run the sand through it like this, then you just turn it upside down and you get your three minutes back!"

   If it only worked that way. Each one of us has 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds per day. The question nags at us, "What is the best stewardship of the time God allows me to possess?" Not what is a good way to use it - not an admirable way to use it - not a way that is better than the way others use it - but what is the best way to use my time as I work together with God in the exercise of my stewardship?

   1. I can use time to keep in step with God. We heard about Frank Laubach last week, and how he used his time to keep in touch with God, and how God gave him influence that was international in scope. He commented that he started his minute-to-minute practicing of God's presence by "trying to line up my actions with the will of God about every fifteen minutes or every half hour." Most of us would fall far short of doing so once a week. We excuse ourselves by saying we're too busy with our everyday priorities to move toward a more God-centered life. Our tendency is to think that this minute-by-minute approach is a discipline for full-time religious professionals in our midst, but not for us. Let me encourage you. Certainly none of us will do it instantly, but if we keep trying, we can be certain of His assistance, and slowly we will become more practiced, and ultimately, it will become second nature. What could God do through a congregation that is in step with Him? So we can use our time to keep in step with God.
      
      
   2. I can use time to step back and regain a right perspective We get caught up in the heat of the battle of living, and lose our perspective on who is really in control of our lives. I can recall that very thing happening to me in Berlin. There was tremendous pressure to staff a growing church, preach uplifting sermons, deal with the spiritual and emotional battles individuals in the church were going through, all the while trying to learn the German language, and frankly, there were times when I had to take at least 24 hours and get alone with God to tank up spiritually and regain my perspective on what needed to be done in the church. I can here you saying, man I would love to do something like that, but it is impossible. Well, in my case, it didn't happen easily either, but eventually the pressure built to a point where I just had to do it. If you ever hear that I'm gone for a day or two - you'll know what's happening. I know of husbands who gave their wives the present of one day to retank - they have told me that it was worth the effort. Sound good ladies? Each one of us needs to ask the question, "Are all the activities that scream for my time really essential? Am I missing the burning bush for trying to keep the lawn cut?
      
      
   3. Time allows me to keep the right priorities. Green Bay Packers' head coach Mike Holmgren remembers a heartbreaking moment, when he was cut from the New York Jets as backup quarterback to Joe Namath, that directed him to a bigger plan. "I had committed my life to Jesus Christ when I was 11, but in my pursuit to make a name for myself in football, I left God next to my dust-covered Bible. But after getting cut from the Jets, I pulled out my Bible and found comfort in a verse I had memorized in Sunday school: 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths' (Proverbs 3:5-6). "I asked Jesus Christ to take control again. Now my priorities in life are faith, family, and football--in that order." Mike Holmgren moved on to coaching the Green Bay Packers to two Super Bowl titles - WITH his new priorities! It works.
   
   
2. STEWARDSHIP INCLUDES MY MONEY

   We all seem to be working more, and falling farther behind financially. The pressure to reduce what we give to God is great. I am aware of those pressures, because I experience them myself. But whenever those thoughts come, I remember the prophet Malachi's declaration, "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing" (3:10). I don't want to miss out on the blessing.

   One of the spiritual thermometers indicating a good steward surrounds the issue of money. The Old Testament design for stewardship was to bring one tenth of all we earn into the storehouse (for us today, that would be the place where we receive our spiritual food). Malachi said that God was willing to be tested, and that He will always pour out a blessing, when we are faithful stewards with our money. Jesus told the Pharisees that they were right in bringing their tithes, so tithing is biblical in the New Testament as well.

   However, there is a broadening of the concept of giving in the New Testament writings. In the entire gospel of Luke, whenever Jesus spoke with anyone who had money or power, He told them that they should use those resources to help the poor. Later, in the first years after Pentecost, the Christians would bring the proceeds from the sale of their land and lay it at the Apostle's feet. By these examples, and many more, the New Testament model can be best described by this statement: "Giving the tithe, yes, but we all need to hold everything we possess at God's disposal if He asks us for it."

   J. L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corporation, who had given approximately 25 percent of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years, said, "The only investments I ever made which have paid constantly increasing dividends, is the money I have given to the Lord. Pastors will do their greatest service in leading their parishoners to understand the truth of God concerning the stewardship of time and money."

   From the beginning of his business career, John Wanamaker, merchant prince of Philadelphia, is said to have dedicated one tenth of his increase to the Lord. Likewise, William Colgate, the great soap and perfume manufacturer, rose to fame and wealth while consistently paying a tithe of his earnings into the gospel treasury. This he recognized as the minimum requirement designated by divine wisdom; and year by year as God prospered his efforts and multiplied his wealth, Mr. Colgate gladly gave far more than a tenth. Today a great Christian university (Colgate University) stands as a monument to his fidelity and generosity.

   These men, you might say, could give out of their abundance, it was easy for them. You don't know how hard it is for me. But God doesn't require any more of the person of modest means, than He does of the rich person. Ten percent from each. John D. Rockefeller explained how this works from his own experience. "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made, if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 a week." What Rockefeller is saying is that tithing is a habit that is begun early, when we don't have very much. If we are faithful in the small things, God will give us greater responsibility later.

   The passage we had read this morning, tells us: "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." Again scripture tells us in similar fashion to Malachi, that God honors the person who gives the tithe to Him. The Apostle Paul goes on to say in verse 8, that "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." He knows just how much financial pressure is weighing on you, He knows that you will need to step out in faith to start tithing, but just look at the promise He is offering if you do. Through His grace He is able to make you "in all things, at all times, having all that you need, abound in every good work." I call it God's economic principle. He will bless your life.

   I am aware that the long-term answer for the finances of a church to grow is to win new people. However, I am also convinced that if everyone in this church were to tithe, we would not have any financial needs. To show you the power of this principle, let me tell you the story of what happened when the church treasurer resigned in a church in the mid-west. The church asked the local grain elevator manager to take the position. He agreed under two conditions: a) that no treasurer's report would be given for the first year, and b) that no questions be asked about finances during that year.

   The people were surprised but finally agreed since most of them did business with him and he was a trusted man. At the end of the year he gave his report:

   • The church indebtedness of $228,000 has been paid.
   • The minister's salary had been increased by 8%.
   • The Cooperative Program gifts has been paid 200%.
   • There were no outstanding bills.
   • And there was a cash balance of $11,252!
   
   Immediately the shocked congregation asked, "How did you do it? Where did the money come from?" He quietly answered: "Most of you bring your grain to my elevator. Throughout the year I simply withheld ten percent on your behalf and gave it to the church in your name. You didn't even miss it!" "Do you see what we could do for the Lord, if we were all willing to give at least the tithe to God, who really owns it anyway?"

    

   I think it would help us to examine for a moment what our money really represents. Think this through with me.

   • When we receive our paycheck, it represents compensation for our time, and our abilities.
   • We also know that time is life - something we will never get back.
   • So the money we make, in a very real sense, represents our lives.
   • So when God asks us to return ten percent to Him, He is asking for a tithe of our lives.
   • When you place that tithe check in the offering, you are placing your life in that plate.
   
   To be a good steward with our time and finances are practical and tangible ways we can serve God and show Him how much we love Him. If I say I love you to my wife and don't show it in what I do, sooner or later she won't believe me. Although it isn't exactly like that with God, there is a great truth here.

    

    

   CONCLUSION
   
   In conclusion, it occurs to me that one of the most holy moments in our worship service is when we together place our lives in the offering plates. It also occurs to me that II Cor. 9 shows us that God is waiting patiently for us to give like that. When we do, we are living our lives in wonderful cooperation with His purposes on earth. Let me encourage those of you who are already tithing, to remain faithful in your giving. And to those of you who are not yet tithing, let me appeal to you to start right away. God will be true to His Word, and bless your life. For all of us one last question that will help to put it all in perspective: How much of your life are you returning to the Master, who gave His all for you?

    

J.T. Kauffman

"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."