Subject: Stewardship # Title: A Bag Full of Holes Text: Haggai 1:6

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1 Subject: Stewardship # Title: A Bag Full of Holes Text: Haggai 1:6 Haggai 1:6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Bulletin Blurb - April 26, 2015 A steward is a person whose responsibility is to manage the property of another. Applying the concept of stewardship to the life of God s people we immediately begin with the assumption that all things belong to the Creator. God is our Creator and so it follows that all things belong to God, yes, even ourselves! At the end of the day nothing belongs to us. It s all God s. If we (and all that we call ours ) are God s property, then we have great responsibility. We must care for all that God has entrusted to our care as God would care for it. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son... (John 3:16). If God cares for the world this way, then how much more should we, who are God s stewards? Along with responsibility comes the guarantee of accountability. One day God will rightfully ask us, How did you do? How did you manage MY resources? In our position as stewards we simply cannot do as we please. We will give an account. As great as this task may sound, so great is the reward. We are caretakers of God s property, and so we have a responsibility, we will be held accountable, and we will one day be rewarded for our faithful oversight of God s property and resources. God will honor our faithful stewardship of His resources. Introduction * Haggai is the first of three post-exilic prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi - the last three books in the Old Testament. * The Babylonian exile is past, a newly returned group of Jews are back in the land of Israel, the work of the rebuilding of the temple can begin. * Sixteen years after the process has begun, the people have yet to finish the project. Their personal affairs have interfered with God s business. They have been distracted. * Haggai preaches for renewed courage, renewed holiness and renewed faith in God to energize their efforts to complete the project. * This is the backdrop for the Minor Prophet Haggai. * A bag full of holes. Who would put his money in a bag full of holes? The metaphor speaks of several things: - waste - lack of productivity - foolishness - misplaced priorities - bad stewardship - take inventory 1

2 * The issue is stewardship. Fundamental Principles * God created everything (Genesis 1:1). * God owns everything (Psalm 24:1). * God has a purpose for everything (Ecclesiastes 3). * God gave man dominion over His earthly creation (Genesis 1:26-28). * Mankind is commissioned to manage (be stewards) over God s property (Genesis 1:28). * Man rebelled against God (Genesis 3). * The consequences: - broken fellowship (Genesis 3) - cursed earth - Paradise lost * God had a plan of redemption (Genesis 3:15) - renewed fellowship - John 1:12 - new earth - Romans 8: Paradise forever - Revelation 20, 21 * The resurrection of Christ is the future s guarantee that God is willing and capable of bringing redemption to man and His creation (I Corinthians 15:22). * Definition - A steward is a person whose responsibility is to manage the property of another. When we speak of Stewardship, our definition suggests four major components: 1. Ownership 2. Responsibility 3. Accountability 4. Reward C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, writes: Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. 2

3 FOUR PRINCIPLES 1. The principle of OWNERSHIP. Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. God owns all. We are managers or administrators acting on His behalf. Deuteronomy 8:17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. 18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. 2. The principle of RESPONSIBILITY. Owners have rights, stewards have responsibilities. We are given all things to enjoy, but we do not own them! 3. The principle of ACCOUNTABILITY. We are given opportunities, resources, abilities. One day we will have to give an account for how we have managed His resources. Parable of the Talents - Luke 19:12-28 We are to exercise dominion over God s creation under His watchful care. Stewardship encompasses: - Time - Wisdom - Money - Relationships - Ability - Authority - Information 4. The principle of REWARD. Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. The Bible promises that we will be partially rewarded for good stewardship in this life, but fully in the next! Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 3

4 Stewardship has to do with everything that God is doing in this world - and everywhere we can connect with that - Love God, Love People, Serve Others, Tell Everyone. Glorify - Him Serve - Him Further - His Kingdom Thomas Gilson, Thinking Christian...our churches are teaching a low view of stewardship. We are missing the essential goodness of work in particular, even non-spiritual work. Non-spiritual work, in case you re wondering, is any work in which God is not interested, which is just to say there is no such thing. Webster on Stewardship Steward - someone who manages property or affairs of someone else. Stewardship is a recurring theme in Scripture. An individual s recognition of God s role as Creator and Designer of every aspect of life radically changes how one relates and responds to the Creator. In essence, God had entrusted His people with a profound responsibility; to manage all that He created. This creation goes well beyond giving, sharing, spending, saving, raising money, and care for the environment. * In Genesis 1:26-28 God called mankind, beginning with Adam and Eve, to exercise dominion over the earth, subdue it and develop it to its fullest potential. We are called to fill the earth with His glory. Genesis 9:6-7 tells us that Noah was given the same mandate after the flood. * The idea that God gave man dominion means that God gave man responsibility over His creation. Francis Schaffer: Fallen man has dominion over nature, but he uses it wrongly. The Christian is called upon to exhibit this dominion, but exhibit it rightly: treating the things as having value itself, exercising dominion without being destructive. Man is fallen, salvation and Paradise lost. God has a plan for the Earth and He will complete it. He has given us the opportunity to play a part in His purpose for man and the rest of creation. What God started, He will finish. God gave Adam and Eve the responsibility to keep and dress the earth. Had they been successful through obedience, they would have taken the Garden and its beauty worldwide! 4

5 The Messiah came not only merely to redeem man from the consequences of his sin, but the Earth also from the consequences of man s sin, Paradise regained. Romans 8:22 tells us that the creation groans waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. At that point God s plan for this Earth will be resumed through the millennial rule of Messiah and His sons. The Millennium will provide the Christian the opportunity to be part of the Garden expansion! Reward now has everything to do with your function, place, responsibility and possessions in the Kingdom of Christ. Jerusalem will be the joy of the whole earth (Psalm 48:2). Man has been reckless in fulfilling his responsibilities of dominion, but a correct understanding of stewardship can lead to service, responsibility, giving and good stewardship. Nancy Pearcy, Total Truth When we obey the cultural mandate (Genesis 1:26-28), we participate in the work of God Himself, as agents of His common grace...entering upon a lifelong quest to devote our skills and talents to building things that are beautiful and useful, while fighting the forces of evil and sin that oppress and distort the creation. Justin Holcomb: God gives us the opportunity to reflect Him in His work of caring for and transforming all of creation. To follow this aspect of our multi-faceted calling as humans is to image in our lives the One who is at work in the world and in human life, creating, sustaining, and liberating creation. Jesus resurrection is God s first step in making all things new, which will culminate in a renewed world that completely honors Jesus, who rules it. We work for and toward this new world knowing that its full realization awaits Christ s Second Coming. * Our lives and work here are not about ourselves, but instead the good of the entire created order. We have a unique and important role to play, no matter how small it may seem in fulfilling God s purposes in this world. * Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in Earth as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:10). * In fulfilling our Stewardship we truly find our purpose in God s ultimate plan. * Wherever the Gospel goes it makes things better! * Isaiah 35 * Ownership - Responsibility - Accountability - Reward 5