TRUSTEES TRUSTEES OF GOD

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1 T TRUSTEES TRUSTEES OF GOD Part One Planted Christians Study #20 Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. I Corinthians 4:2 Lesson Overview I. Foundations of God s Trustees A. Foundational Principle of Ownership B. Foundational Principle of Partnership C. Foundational Principle of Judgeship II. Fields of God s Trustees A. Trustee of Time 1. The Right Perspective of Time 2. The Right Planning of Time 3. The Right Purpose of Time Have you ever stopped to think about all that we possess? The list is staggering. Just to list the amount of things that we possess would make us stand in awe. To prove this point, I encourage you to take a simple challenge. Take a blank sheet of paper and a pen in hand. Begin listing all that you possess, either tangible or intangible. Continue listing these possessions for 60 seconds and see how long your list becomes. Your list will contain a multitude of varying possessions. While looking over your list, ask yourself this question, How am I doing managing all of these possessions? To think of all that we oversee is a sobering thought. Every Christian is in fact a trustee of these possessions. A trustee is defined as: 1. An individual appointed to administer the affairs of another. 2. An individual which holds, manages, or invests assets for another. Christians are Trustees for our Lord! In this lesson we will learn critical lessons that every Christian should learn regarding being a trustee. We will begin this study by thinking on a few foundational truths regarding trustees. I. Foundations of God s Trustees The first foundational principle of a trustee is the principal of ownership. A. Foundational Principal of Ownership This principal is easy to state, but difficult to comprehend. The ownership principal is simply stated that every possession belongs to God. See, it is short and simple. In a nutshell, EVERYTHING is God s and nothing is ours. Allow me to prove this principle from Scripture.

2 Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Haggai 2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. If you believe the Bible, you must believe that EVERYTHING belongs to God. Some may say I am a self-made man. That is the most ignorant and pompous statement that a person could make. It was God that made us. It was God that gave us life! Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly Genesis 2:7..and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; It was God that put us on His planet. It is God that gives us strength to live. We couldn t exist, breathe, eat, walk, work, think, reason, laugh, cry, learn, or get gain without the hand of God and the gifts of God. There is no such thing as a self-made man, but those who claim to be so are really self-made fools. Others may say, I worked hard for what I have. I have earned it. While someone may have worked hard for what they have, it is God that gives the life and strength to even work. Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth Truly everything that a Christian possesses are ultimately owned by God! We are simply God s trusrtees. The second foundational truth of a trustee is the truth of partnership. B. Foundational Truth of Partnership This truth is also easy to state, but even more difficult to understand than the truth of ownership. The foundational truth of partnership states that while God owns everything, God has partnered with mankind to oversee His possessions! We are managing many of God s possessions. The very fact that we have been entrusted with God s possessions makes us trustees on God s behalf. God has willingly partnered together with us in the area of His possessions. The Creator of the universe has chosen us to be trustees of His wealth! What an honor. Lest you think that this is a crazy or off the wall idea, consider the parable of the talents.

3 Matthew 25:14-18 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. In this parable, the traveling man is picturing Christ, the servants are mankind, and the talents are the wealth or possessions of God. God has entrusted us with many possessions. Like it or not, every Christian is a Trustee for God! God has entrusted Christians with: Time Talents Treasure Truth Some Christians may not want to be God s Trustee, but it is not a choice. God has given these possessions to us and we cannot give them back to Him. We can only make wise use of them. The third foundational truth is the truth of judgeship. C. Foundational Truth of Judgeship This truth simply teaches that we will be judged based upon how we used what was entrusted to us. Remember, everything belongs to God, and God has partnered together with His children to oversee some of His possessions. Therefore, His children will have a day of reckoning on how His possessions were used. The owner has a right to hold the trustee accountable! This principle is clearly taught in the parable of the talents. Matthew 25:19-27 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 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 intothe joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, 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. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. It is clearly taught isn t it? Because the talents belonged to the Master, the master had every right to inspect how the servants had used His possessions. Ownership led to partnership, and partnership led to judgeship!

4 Just as it is true that every Christian is a trustee, it is also equally as true that every Christian will be held accountable for how we used what was entrusted to us. This is taught throughout the Bible. Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. I Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. If every Christian is a Trustee, then we own nothing, but manage something. Therefore, we are not free to do what we want with the Master s possessions. If every Trustee will give an account, then our decisions are not without a day of reckoning. Our Master will either be pleased or disappointed. You see, the matter of our being a trustee of Time, Talents, Treasure, and Truth is really a matter of Ownership, Partnership, and judgeship. Now that we have the foundations of God s trustees we can focus on the fields of God s trustees. We cannot list or teach on all of the areas that God has entrusted to us, but we will consider four of the major fields of God s trustees. II. Fields of God s Trustees As we have already stated, four fields of God s trustees are Time, Talents, Treasures, and Truth. A. Trustee of Time Every moment that we have is a gift from God, and every moment that we have been given will require being accountable to God. In order to be a wise trustee of time so that we may hear, Well done from the Master, we need to have the right mindset regarding time. We must have the right perspective of time to be a wise trustee of time. 1. The Right Perspective of Time Time should be looked upon as a fleeting commodity. Time is truly a vapor. a. Vapor Perspective James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Life is short, don t act like this life is forever; we are just passing through. I Peter 2:11 and Hebrews 11:13 call us Pilgrims and Strangers. We are just passing through, not setting up camp. Camp is in Heaven. The second perspective regarding time is the valuable perspective. b. Valuable Perspective Not only is time a fleeting commodity, it is also a precious commodity.

5 Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Time is the most valuable commodity you and I have. Once we spend it, we can never get it back. There is a limited supply of our time. In order to be a wise steward of time, we must have the right perspective of time. In order to be a wise steward of time we must have the right planning of time. 2. The Right Planning of Time If you do not plan how you will spend your time, your time will never be spent wisely or pleasing to God. In order to redeem the time, we must plan our time. Here are a few helpful and practical suggestions that will keep us focused on how to use our time. Spend time each day planning your day Use a calendar Prioritize your to do list, it won t all get don. Get started early Avoid time wasters; tv, telephone, internet The third consideration that will help us be a good trustee of time is to have the right purpose of time. 3. The Right Purpose of Time Because time is so valuable, we must spend each moment wisely! We must do things that matter for eternity with our time. God did not give us time on earth after salvation to further our kingdom; God gave us time on earth after salvation to further His kingdom! There are dozens of things in Scripture that Christians are commanded to do, and not having time to do them is not an excuse that our Master will accept from his trustees. God has given us 24 hours in a day and He expects us to use them according to His instructions. We are commanded to Assemble with others, Hebrews 10:25 Teach others, II Timothy 2:2 Win others, Jude 23 Serve others, John 13:14-15 Comfort others, I Thessalonians 4:18 If we are too busy to fulfill the commands of the One who gave us our time, then we are too busy and need to simplify our lives. One of the greatest needs of Christians is to simplify their lives. We need to trim about half of the stuff that we do and do the things we ought to do! We have filled our lives full of possessions that take too much time to maintain. We have filled our lives full of activities that waste too much time.

6 We have cluttered our lives up to the point that we can t find time to do what is required! We need to clean out and simplify our lives. So we are not wasting the time that we have been given. J.C. Penny said If you have too much business to attend church regularly, you have too much business. It is all a matter of priorities. Ask Truett Kathy how much money could be made at Chick- Fil-A being open on Sunday. But it is not open on Sunday. Why? Because a man had a conviction that he ought to spend his time in church on Sunday. God gave us a life and time to serve Him and others not ourselves. How are you doing on being a Trustee of Time?