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The Church that Models Stewardship
Pastor Ken Van De Griend
2 Cor. 8:1-5
Introduction:
1.
Today we are going to look at a model of Stewardship that was
pleasing to God. The church we
consider today is the church in
Macedonia
(
Philippi
,
Berea
, and Thessalonica). It will serve as a good
model for us to follow as God’s people.
2.
The Apostle Paul writes about a time when he appealed to the churches of
Macedonia
to help with funding for the saints that
were needy in
Judea
. It’s interesting that
Paul in a vision heard a voice saying, “Come over to
Macedonia
! Help us!” Paul was heading in the
opposite direction, but turned around because of this vision. It’s a few
years later now as this setting takes place, and now Paul
is asking the Macedonian churches for help.
“There’s a need in the Body of
Christ!” And now these churches are
coming to Paul’s assistance. I believe that’s
a beautiful picture of what God
expects of congregations.
3.
Look how Paul describes this church
 in
our text:
-They gave in the midst of severe trial—verse 2
-They gave out of extreme poverty—verse 2
-They gave even beyond their own ability—verse 3
-They gave entirely on their own—verse 3
-They gave as a privilege—verse 4
-They gave themselves first to the Lord—verse 5
4.
From this description we can learn what God wants from a church that
models stewardship. Such a church
has 1) A Proper Mindset; 2) A Proper Response; and 3) A Proper Prosperity.
I.
A Proper Mindset:
1.
They gave out of faith even though they were in the midst of their own
trials (vs. 2). They did not let
their problems shortcircuit their duty as stewards.
We all have problems, but that doesn’t release us from the call to be
good stewards.
2.
They gave in spite of their poverty (vs. 2).
Stewardship is a Christian response even for those in poverty.
It has nothing to do with wealth. God
is not so interested in the size of your bank account, but more interested in
what you do with what you do have.
3.
They gave because they saw an opportunity to serve the Lord rather than
from obligation. The Macedonian
Churches were begging Paul for the opportunity to help the church in
Jerusalem
.
II.
A Proper Response:
1.
The Macedonian Churches responded properly to the grace of God in
their lives. They first gave
themselves to the Lord (verse 5), and then they gave sacrificially as good
stewards.
2.
Before you can be a good steward, you must first be close to God.
Good stewardship flows naturally from a right relationship with God.
Jesus said, “A good tree produces good fruit.”
3.
John Maxwell makes the point that we don’t have to set up a
schedule of how many times we will kiss our wife or how many times we will say,
“I love you.” It just comes
naturally. So it is with
stewardship. If we have a right
relationship with God, stewardship comes naturally.
We want to be good stewards.
4.
The Macedonian Churches also responded by giving themselves to
Paul and the other leaders in the church. Paul
told the Macedonian Churches about the need in
Jerusalem
, so the churches responded to Paul’s leadership (gave themselves to us) by
giving generously to help the church in
Jerusalem
.
 III.
A Proper Prosperity:
1.
God blessed these Macedonian Churches for their proper mindset and proper
response by multiplying His grace in their lives (verse 1)
2.
God blessed these Macedonian Churches for their proper mindset and proper
response by enabling them to give even beyond what they were able!
How could this be? I don’t
know. But I know that God can do
that. What a joy to be able to have
an impact in the
Kingdom
of
God
even beyond what you are able to do at any given time!
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