Sermon Series: In God We Trust 1 Matthew 25:14-30 Becoming a Trustworthy Steward of God Pastor Brian Long: January 17th, 2016 The phrase "In God We Trust" started seven months into the American Civil War. On November 13, 1861 the Reverend M. R. Watkinson of Ridley, Pennsylvania penned a letter to President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. Watkinson reasoned that the lack of a reference to the deity on American coins was a national disgrace. Shortly after receiving Watkinson's letter, Secretary Chase enlisted the help of James Pollock the Director of the Mint in Philadelphia to design a new coin that would declare the people's collective trust in God in the fewest and tersest words possible. In 1864, for the first time in US history, the nation's coins acknowledged the Christian God with the motto, In God we Trust. For James Pollock and Secretary Chase In God We Trust was a national declaration of Christian faith. In his annual report to Congress in 1862, Pollock explained that, {and I quote} in this hour of peril and danger to our country and liberties, it is becoming to acknowledge His [God s] power and invoke His protection. Our national coinage should indicate the Christian character of our nation, and declare our trust in God. It does not do this. On the contrary, ancient mythology, {referring the former image of goddess liberty on earlier coins} more than Christianity, has stamped its impress on our coin The adoption of the motto God our trust, or some other words expressive of national reliance on divine support, would accord fully with the sentiment of the American people, and it would add to the artistic appearance of the coins. With a nod from Congress and a bit of editing by Chase and Pollock, In God we trust first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin. Gold and silver coins that shall admit the inscription thereon were included the following year. It wasn t until 1956 that President Dwight Eisenhower approved a congressional resolution declaring, In God we trust the national motto of the United States. It first appeared on printed bills and notes in 1957, and shortly thereafter came to be featured in the design of all classes of U.S.
2 currency. (Latterell, J. J. (2011). In God we trust: Abraham Lincoln and America's deathbed repentance. Political Theology, 12(4), 594-607) over the past couple of weeks we ve been trying to think a little deeper about trust particularly trust in God. Let s review some of our key learnings so far. Last week I introduced a working definition of trust for us. Trust is a subjective confidence {belief} expressed in an act of dependency upon another for needs that cannot be met independently. Trust has both perceptual and behavioral dimensions. Perceiving someone as trustworthy and placing oneself in a position of vulnerability due to the possibility of betrayal is trust. You see, without actions that express belief, it is not trust. Trust of others and most importantly trust in God is a learned practice. It s something we exercise when we ask Jesus to be our Savior and then we continue to cultivate in more and more areas of our lives and in deeper and deeper ways over time. I presented Trust Development Model or diagram to you last week as a way of showing you how I think trust in God develops in our lives. {show enhanced color diagrams again} Printed in notes too Now, today I want us to consider the other side of trust which the Bible teaches us is a reality. Not only does God clearly invite us to trust him and grow in that practice of trust and enjoy the rest, peace, and freedom of that trust; he also wants us to know that he has put his trust in us as his people. He has entrusted us with so much; which is an amazing reality to think about. One respected scholar said this about God entrusting us, The background for all the Bible says about the steward is found in this, that God in His goodness thinks so highly of the human being that He will trust him {her} to administer that which belongs to God. The steward s calling rests on confidence When his stewardship is over he will have to give an account of how he took care of the calling (Gill, Stewardship-The Biblical Basis for Living, 159). In other words, The God of the universe knowing the risk has entrusted us to be his trustworthy stewards in a number of different areas. But this is
3 a responsibility each of will be accountable for. I want you to see one of the most obvious places this reality is presented to us in the book of Matthew. This parable comes in the context of Jesus teaching about the events of the end of the age. It s a call for you to be a trustworthy steward of God particularly in view of God s Lordship over all of life, and the afterlife. It s a call to be a wise and trustworthy servant of God in light of eternity. (Snodgrass, Stories of Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus. 503) In practical terms, this is a parable about what it means to live with the rule and reign of God in our lives today. The phrase the New Testament uses to refer to this rule and reign of God in our lives is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God his rule and reign has come now in our hearts now when we trust Jesus as Savior, and it will come in all its glory in the end times. This parable helps us understand what life as a Christ follower is to look like as we wait for Jesus return. Let s read the Parable of Jesus together. Matthew 25:14-23 Let s read through the first part of the parable The Parable of the Bags of Gold 14 Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag 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. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. Master, he said, you entrusted me with five bags of gold. 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!
4 22 The man with two bags of gold also came. Master, he said, you entrusted me with two bags of gold; 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! Key Lessons on being a trustworthy steward from this parable: Man going on a journey = Jesus who will go but then return at the end of the age. Wealth/Property = Everything we are and everything we have! The wealth the man in the parable entrusts to his servants really symbolizes everything God has provided for us life, breath, everything else things like time, talents, and treasure. And the main point of the parable is that God has given each of us all of the time, talents, and treasures we have in our lives to manage according to his values, agenda, and purposes. Therefore, the first part of the parable reveals us how God defines a trustworthy steward or manager and the rewards that come from being trustworthy. The servants/stewards represent Christ followers The first two stewards in the parable prove themselves to be trustworthy. So that we are all on the same page, let s understand what a steward is: In each instance the term servant/steward {Oikonomos} implies someone entrusted with the responsibility in the house of another. Jesus uses the term steward a number of times in his parables just as he does in this parable today. And when we summarize together all that is taught regarding stewards in the Bible we basically discover nine characteristics of a trustworthy steward. A steward is entrusted with responsibility in the house of another. The steward is extended the confidence of the owner and acts with independence. The steward is to exercise their responsibility as steward with prayer and worship. Stewardship by its nature grows from smaller arenas to larger, from stewardship of the less to the greater. A steward is wise and faithful.
5 The steward will give an account of his stewardship at some point. A steward s position is not unlike that of a guardian for a child, looking after everything for the advantage of the child. Stewardship also involves the intangibles like the Good News of the Gospel. The steward is to exercise stewardship publically and privately. (Gill, Ben. Stewardship-The Biblical Basis of Living. 164) Joseph is a classic example of one who became the chief steward of Pharaoh s entire household. He was a perfect example of a trustworthy steward and the blessings that come to the trustworthy steward. Rewards for Trustworthy Stewards: The parable points out that stewards will always face a moment of personal accountability. For the trustworthy steward that is accountability is a rewarding and affirming experience. Trustworthy stewards are rewarded with more of the Master s money to manage. Trustworthiness over what one has will be rewarded with the opportunity for more trustworthiness in an even larger sphere. The lesson of th parable is, no matter what you have, if you are willing to risk investing it in the Master s work you will be rewarded with more (V. 21, 28a). Trustworthy stewards will experience deep satisfaction and joy together with the Master (v. 21). There is a special sense of connectedness and intimacy with the heart and purposes of God when you are using the resources he s allowed you to have for his purposes. Now, while the first part of the parable reveals us how God defines a trustworthy steward or manager, the last part of the parable reveals more insight on the heart breaking outcomes for the untrustworthy steward. One scholar suggests the 5 talent, and 2 talent person are important to learn from in the parable, but they are window dressing to the true antihero in the story the 1 talent person. Look at verses 24-30 24 Then the man who had received one bag of gold 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. 25 So I
6 was afraid and went out and hid your gold 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? 27 Well 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 So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Marks of an untrustworthy steward An unwillingness to use his resources for the master s benefit. The 1 talent guy is confronted because he was unwilling to risk putting the money he was given to work for his master. Even though he has less to lose than the others, he refuses to use it to advance his master s cause. Notice the excuses he uses: V. 24 First, he blames the master s hardness and high expectations. But this master was not a tyrant. He was an expectant lord who loved to reward faithful stewards generously. He was a lord who was willing to entrust others with his resources. He was willing to trust this steward and he literally put his money (action) where his desire to trust {internal confidence} was. That s saying a lot. V. 25 - Next he blames his own fear. {Demonstrate using the Trust Diagram-pic 2} In the Kingdom of God fear is never an adequate excuse for failure in stewardship. In other words, we cannot allow fear to keep us from pushing through the trust challenges we have when it comes to giving, serving, or stewarding any of what God has allowed us to have our marriage, our kids, our job. This steward became paralyzed by his fear. The word the master uses for evil suggests a sloth that is incarcerated in its own lack of inertia and imprisoned it is own inability to move. His growth is stunted. He s
7 spiritually paralyzed. This master calls this steward who allowed fear to keep him from risking for his master an evil steward. This steward was unwilling to risk. Most Christians will not disagree that God, as our Creator, deserves the stewardship of their time, talent, and treasure. But at the same time they are unwilling to take the risk that actualizes the stewardship. At that point, they are unwilling to work through the uncomfortable emotions of trusting God in this area. According to our definition of trust they believe they are to be trustworthy stewards but they are unwilling to act on that belief. As a result, the one talent he did have is given to another. Those who risk for the kingdom receive more to risk. Those who fail to risk lose even the little they hoard. You see, when it comes to stewardship of all God has given us, opportunities not seized for the Kingdom pass on to those who are willing to take the risk and invest it in kingdom work. We ve seen over these past weeks that God is a trustworthy God. He is faithful, reliable, and never over-promises and under-performs. He invites us to trust him in deeper and deeper ways in each and every area of our lives. He then turns around and chooses to trust us and invite us to be trustworthy stewards of all he s blessed us with. You got your keys with ya? If so, I d invite you to pull them out. One way of looking at these keys is to say that they represent much of the property and things that God has allowed you to have. Car key(s), house key(s), Storage unit key, safety deposit box key, maybe a safe/vault key, key to your work office. These are all God s property that he s allowed you to use and mange. For many things God has blessed us with we don t have keys but we have passwords. You ve got debit card password, your online baking password, maybe your retirement account brokerage website password. These passwords protect the property and possessions God has allowed you to have. Many things God has blessed you with are intangible. Your health, your energy, your education, experience, your creativity, your intelligence, personality, and your temperament. The relationships in your life.
8 God has entrusted you with all those things trusting you to manage them in a way that aligns with his interests and advances his interests. I suspect that for most of us, there are some areas where we are doing great we are serving faithfully as the 5 and 2 talent stewards in this parable. And I suspect that there are areas where, like the 1 talent guy, we are not risking obedience. Investing in God s work is just too scary and so we ve been withholding. Maybe it s in time, maybe it s in service or maybe it s our treasure. God invites us to trust him as we practice trustworthy stewardship. He promises to bless us when do. But, sometimes we re just to afraid to give or invest in his work. You can t be a trustworthy steward, until you re willing to trust the Master!!! While we witness two trustworthy stewards in this parable, this parable is largely a tragedy of lost opportunity. It s a story of tragedy for those who refuse to trust God and use the resources they ve been given to advance his Kingdom work. Don t let this tragedy be your life s reality!! Pray. Church of the Foothills 2015