■ Wednesday Evenings
The Wednesday evening messages are designed to strengthen the faith and commitment of church leaders as Trinity communicates the stewardship teachings of the Bible to the rest of the church, the community, and the world.
Title: “What Is That in Thine Hand?”
Text: “And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand?” (Ex. 4:2).
Introduction
Moses was given three signs by which he was to verify his divine appointment as God’s leader of
1. The sign of the rod.
2. The sign of the leprous hand that was cleansed.
3. The sign of the water that became blood.
I. What is that in thine hand?
A. Just a simple shepherd’s rod. It became the visible symbol of the invisible God (Ex. 4:2).
B. David had a simple slingshot and five smooth stones (1 Sam. 17:40).
C. The lad had a boy’s lunch (John 6:9).
D. The maid in Naaman’s house had a simple story of one who could heal (2 Kings 5:13).
II. What you have is enough.
A. God does not expect us to do that which is beyond our ability or capacity.
B. God does not require more than we are able to do.
III. What has God placed in your hand?
A. The gift of speech?
B. The gift of song?
C. The gift of intelligence?
D. The gift of leadership?
E. The gift of teaching?
F. The gift of serving?
G. The gift of working?
IV. Use God’s gift or lose it.
A. Train yourself to use it.
B. Learn from failure.
C. Seek continually to improve.
D. Dare to begin.
E. Dare to fail.
F. Dare to try again.
Conclusion
Many of us are in situations where it seems impossible for God to meet our needs, let alone help us to react to those circumstances with faith and integrity. Yet this is exactly what he promises. Let us ask God for his presence to be real in our lives, his strength to conquer our sins.
Wednesday Evening, November 12
Title: Economic Consecration
Text: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1).
Introduction
In the world of our day, two great economic systems are engaged in a struggle that could win our present civilization. Only time will reveal which, if either, survives.
Socialism is built on the premise that a person owns property that is to be controlled by society, as far as possible, instead of by the individual. Capitalism is built on the premise that a person owns property that is to be controlled by the individual, as far as possible, instead of by society.
Christianity would speak to both socialism and capitalism and say, “You are built upon a falsehood. God is the owner of the earth and all that dwell therein.” If we all could accept the truth that God is owner and we are stewards, we would see a vast transformation in our human relationships.
I. Pagan ideas of ownership have made a battlefield out of our world.
A. We are theological believers and economic infidels.
B. People have shut God up inside the church building.
C. Someone has said, “Godless economics is worse than atheistic evolutionism.”
1. Atheistic evolution shuts God out of the distant past.
2. Godless economics shuts God out of the present.
II. It is time for Christianity in general and the Christian in particular to face up to the neglected truth of God’s ownership and our stewardship.
A. Stewardship of property is God’s cure for the cancer of covetousness.
1. The sin of covetousness is deceptive.
2. We permit ourselves to judge success in terms of the material.
3. We let gadgets become our god.
4. We put the material before spiritual.
B. Stewardship of property is the material side of personal consecration.
1. In consecration Christians give what they are to God.
2. In stewardship Christians give what they have to God.
III. We need to rediscover the truth that God is owner and we are managers.
A. This discovers and revitalizes the church.
B. This discovers and helps to recover the lost passion for the souls of people.
Conclusion
The worship of mammon is a great foe to kingdom advance. If a person is captivated by the ambition to be an owner, he or she faces the strong possibility of becoming less and less concerned about the eternal things of the spirit. Our American form of Christianity faces the peril of decaying in the midst of modern luxury if the economic significance of original Christianity is not rediscovered.
Title: Self-Robbery
Text: “Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you” (Jer. 5:25).
Introduction
On a Monday morning, a pastor entered the church. His office had been vandalized and his study had been ransacked. The drawers had been pulled out, and the contents emptied on the floor. The file cabinet had been pried open, and each file folder had been systematically opened and the contents permitted to drop. The thief was rewarded by finding an envelope that contained five dollars that had been sent to the church in the mail.
Someone commented, “If I were going to steal something, the last thing I would break into would be a church. I just can’t think of anything much worse than robbing a church.” Most of us would register a similar attitude. The church is sacred. It belongs to God and to his people. Its purpose is to serve and to help, and the great majority of us would not think of deliberately robbing or stealing from the church.
“Will a man rob God?” (Mal. 3:8). This question from the past should penetrate our hearts. And if we think about it for long, we will arrive at the conclusion that people have been guilty—persistently—of robbing God. From the time when Adam lived in the Garden of Eden, Adam robbed God of that place in his own heart that belonged to God. As Adam robbed God, he was also guilty of self-robbery. He robbed himself of innocence, peace of mind (security), fellowship with God, and the highest possible manhood. He brought upon himself a sinful nature.
I. We rob ourselves when we rob God of our time.
A. Thomas Edison said, “Time is the most important thing in the world.”
B. Providence plays no favorites in its distribution of time, for all of us share it in equal quantities. God has given us twenty-four hours in every day and 8,760 hours in every year. If we live to the age of seventy, it means that God has trusted us with 613,200 hours.
C. Life at its longest is brief and uncertain.
1. The psalmist said, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).
2. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).
D. It is a tragedy to waste time; once it is gone it can never be recaptured.
1. Idleness.
2. Reading frivolous literature.
3. Peddling gossip.
4. Lying in bed longer than necessary.
E. Stewardship of time.
1. Begin the day with prayer and worship.
2. Plan wisely.
3. Work diligently.
F. The Lord’s Day. A good steward will never get so busy that he does not have time to worship.
1. Worship.
2. Service.
3. Rest.
II. We rob ourselves when we rob God of our talents.
A. God has a purpose for every life.
1. We have native endowments. Each talent is a holy responsibility—a God-given opportunity.
2. We have opportunities to acquire necessary skills.
3. We must not bury our talents.
B. We must render an account of our stewardship and talents.
1. Talents increase with use.
2. Talents should be used every day.
C. The road of faithfulness in little things leads to the city of larger opportunities.
III. We rob ourselves when we rob God of our treasure and particularly when we rob him of our time.
The people of Malachi’s day had lost consciousness of the abiding presence of God. They were troubled, perplexed, and insecure. We can be guilty of the same sin and expect the same consequences.
A. We rob ourselves of a good conscience.
B. We rob ourselves of the joys of a great partnership.
C. We rob ourselves of rewards in heaven.
D. We rob ourselves of blessedness and happiness in this life.
E. We rob ourselves of the approval of God.
Conclusion
It is time for us to wise up to the foolishness of self-robbery. God has far more to give us than we can possibly acquire by our efforts alone. God is eager to bestow these gifts upon you now. He waits upon your faith and your surrender to his will. The time for us to give ourselves unreservedly into the service of our God is now. The Bible does not encourage us to make a decision tomorrow. It speaks to us in the present.
Title: Robbing God
Text: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings”
(Mal. 3:8).
Introduction
Some have been surprised that Jesus would be interested in what people contributed to the
The writer of Hebrews declares that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). He is the Christ who was interested in the offerings of both the rich man and the poor widow, and he continues to be profoundly interested in our gifts. It has been said that money talks. Nowhere does it speak more loudly than when one is faced with an opportunity to make an investment in the
1. Our gifts indicate our love for God.
2. Our gifts indicate our interest in the extension of God’s kingdom.
3. Our gifts indicate where our treasure is.
4. Our gifts indicate whether God or mammon is first in life.
5. Our gifts indicate whether we are being obedient to God.
6. Our gifts indicate whether we are trying to be faithful stewards.
7. Our gifts indicate whether our heart is in the work of the Lord.
Evidently God watched the treasury during the days of Malachi, for through this prophet the people were indicted with robbing God, which is a rather serious charge. We must grant the possibility that such could be true today. If people robbed God then, it is possible they do so now.
I. The cause for this sin.
A. Many are uninstructed. Some could honestly plead innocence because they have not been taught the Bible plan of Christian stewardship.
B. Many have been misinstructed. Some have taught that God requires less of us under grace than he did of the Israelites, who sought to obey the law of Moses. The emphasis in the New Testament is on total dedication rather than giving a tithe as a symbol of one’s acknowledgment of God’s ownership. This would require more of us than did the Mosaic law.
C. Many are guilty of robbing God because of little faith. They have not been encouraged by someone’s personal testimony to exercise faith in God’s promises to the tither (Mal. 3:10). God is able and does give to the individual far more than we are able to give to his kingdom’s work.
D. Many are guilty of robbing God out of covetousness. Webster defines covetousness: “to covet, to desire, to long for, especially something belonging to another.”
Jesus defines covetousness in terms of believing that real living is to be found in the possession of an abundance of things (Luke 12:15). To judge success in terms of material things, to live for the wealth of this world, is to be guilty of covetousness according to Jesus. Covetousness causes us to rob God.
E. People’s natural tendency to procrastinate has caused many to delay plans to become a tither. All of us hesitate to do that which requires discipline and sacrifice.
II. The curse that accompanies this sin.
A. The smile of God’s approval is removed (Mal. 3:9).
B. It would be a low motive for a person to tithe solely with an expectation of financial blessings. However, it is the testimony of many tithers that God has blessed them in their economic life because of their acknowledgment of God’s ownership and their stewardship in tithing.
The blessings of God are withheld from the nontither (Mal. 3:9). Someone has said that you can always buy more with nine dollars when God’s blessings are upon those nine dollars than you can with ten dollars when God’s blessings are withheld.
I have yet to see a faithful tither get into financial difficulty because of the practice. But I have seen many people in financial difficulty because of their neglect to let God come into their economic life.
C. One misses the joy of partnership with God in his worldwide program of redemption that is made possible by the tithes and offerings of his people.
III. The cure for this sin.
A. Recognize and acknowledge God’s ownership of everything (Ps. 24:1).
B. Recognize that stewardship is God’s program for strengthening our faith.
C. Permit God to share with us the burden of his concern for a lost and needy world.
D. Recognize that all things material are temporary and that only that which is invested in the souls of people can go with us into eternity.
E. Tarry at the foot of the cross until devotion to Christ wells up within and overflows your heart.
F. Dedicate your all to the glory of God.
Conclusion
If you are a consistent tither and God has blessed your heart in so doing, when the opportunity presents itself, bear your testimony for the glory of God and for the strengthening of the faith of someone who needs encouragement to trust God more fully in his or her economic life.
If you have not yet discovered the joy of being a tither, I challenge you to become a tither. If you do not have faith to make the full decision, then take a step in the right direction, and begin by increasing your regular contribution today.
