(Sermon by Pastor Michael D. Schultz 09/30/07)

INTRODUCTION:

Before my arrival in Lawrenceville, a good number of people did a great deal of work in putting together ministry plans for each area of congregational work.  The following sentence appeared in the Stewardship Ministry Plan of 2001: Evaluate the offerings of the congregation regularly, and share these evaluations with the members of the congregation. There are different ways churches do that.  I know of some congregations, as recently as twenty-five years ago, that printed and distributed what was rather rudely referred to as the scandal sheet – the household name and the annual offering amount for every household.  Everyone got a copy.  Would that be well-received today?  I rather doubt it.

I’m not proposing this, but what if the stewardship committee met with each household, shared their annual offering statement for the previous year, talked with the family about their annual income, and discussed if the portion they returned to the Lord was pleasing to the Lord?  Would that go over well?  Some churches use annual pledge cards so families can plan annual offerings and check themselves at the end of the year to see if they followed through.  Should we do any of these things or other things or no such thing?

Listen – when words about money come across this pulpit to the people in these chairs, those words do not come from the pastor or the stewardship committee or the church or the synod.  Look at the lesson from Luke’s gospel last week, this week and next week – money, money, money.  Words about money are words from the Lord.  We would want to welcome the Lord’s words to us about money in the very same way that we would want to welcome the Lord’s words to us about forgiveness.  It is the Lord who loves our souls with a love deeper than the ocean who speaks to us today and says, “You can’t serve both me and money.  I want nothing more than to keep you as my own and to see to it that money doesn’t ever take you away from me.” 

In Jesus’ name and from Jesus’ lips comes this message to you and me:

How You Use Money Is Of High Concern To God

God would have you use it intelligently, to extend Christ’s kingdom, and faithfully, to serve your Savior.

The manager who was about to lose his job used his head.  His master’s accounts receivable would take a hit but his clients’ accounts payable would be decreased, and when he was unemployed, he would have some people who owed him a favor.  It wasn’t ethical but it was smart.  It’s a one-of-a-kind message in the scriptures. We should be so smart!  Unbelievers are characteristically shrewder in achieving their fiscal objectives than believers are in pursuing theirs.  Be as innovative, decisive, resourceful and aggressive in your use of money as unbelievers are in theirs, but do that to accomplish spiritual goals.

Money has many legitimate uses, but one of its best uses by far is to put it to use to bring people into the kingdom of Jesus.  How far superior to making interest or paying a mortgage or buying gas would it be to have someone from Russia or Roswell (whom you had never met) walk up to you in heaven and say, “Thank you.  The mission work you subsidized or the missionary you supported was God’s way of bringing me the truth about Jesus, and here we are now together, worshiping the Lamb who was slain.  Thank you!” 

How you use money is of high concern to God... He would have you use it intelligently, to extend Christ’s kingdom.  Offerings are first for the Lord and secondly they are the greatest possible investment in people.  Offerings in those plates first honor the Lord and secondly bring the gospel to people.  Offerings to our synod first honor the Lord and secondly bring the gospel to people in many places.  Offerings to a mission church first honor the Lord and secondly bring the gospel to people.  Offerings to a building fund first honor the Lord and secondly provide a place to preach the gospel to people.  Feel sheepish or hesitant to talk about money in church??  Not when we hear what Jesus says!  Offerings that go to work to put the gospel in people’s hearts and to bring people into heaven – there is no single use of money that could possibly be better than that use of money which God blesses to bring about eternal results – souls saved for heaven!

After all this talk about money, money itself is rather low on the list of “most important things in life.”  Hearing the Word, sharing the Word, a growing faith in Jesus, an active love for people around you are all more important than money.  If we’re off track in our use of money which is low on the list, how can we be on track for the more important things?

How you use money is of high concern to God... He would have you use it faithfully, to serve your Savior.  If having money or making money determines your family schedule, your work schedule, your worship schedule, your class schedule, your decision-making, your attitude, your sense of security and your self-worth, then it has replaced God as your master.  You can’t serve both.  Beyond offerings, God knows what all your checks and debits were for, where every dollar went, and your motives with regard to every red cent you spent.  We don’t publish it, but God knows what’s on the scandal sheet.  He sees how we clutch and crave money and how we fail to view it as truly his, not ours.  He even sees how we might prefer a quick 'Amen' to a sermon like this as compared to dwelling on the topic.

Seeing what he has seen (and having reason to be steamed), he looked directly at Jesus on the cross and counted him as the stingiest, greediest, most materialistic, self-centered waster of money the world has ever seen.  (This is to give you peace, not guilt.)  Because he loves you, he regarded Jesus as one who had hugged money and kissed it and bowed down to it and idolized and worshiped it, like we have.  (This is to give you peace, not guilt.)  He has rid the earth of your monetary sins and all your sins through the death of his Son.  He has certified and sworn to you that you are the sin-free, guilt-free apple of his eye by raising Jesus to life.  That is his colossal, eternal, unchangeable love for you!

It’s an unchangeable love that changes you and me.  It makes us genuinely delighted to open a service folder and see lessons and a sermon about money.  God’s love in Christ makes us truly thrilled to enjoy the privilege and the freedom to give money and to use money in ways that honor the Lord.  Our Savior’s message about money?  Bring it on!  Lord Jesus, make us love to do your will!

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