Stewardship of Time, Talent,
Treasure, and Ministry
“stewardship”
is the management of responsibilities (moral
duties) and obligations (commitments).
1 Cor. 4:1, 2 Paul and the apostles
wanted to be regarded as servants of Christ and what else?
[“mysteries of God” – are the previously unrevealed revelations that God
gave Paul and other apostles, like the gospel, Gal.
And what is required of stewards?
What stewardship (management of moral duty) was Paul entrusted with (
Are you a faithful
steward in sharing the gospel with people, as it’s every Christian’s
responsibility (Matt. 28:19, 20; Phil.
Eph.
5:15-17 What should these Christians do
because the days (i.e., this period of
time in the
Are
you making the most of your time/opportunities in living a life of Christ-like
love (vss. 1, 2) toward
non-Christians (outsiders) by sharing
the gospel with them (Col. 4:3-5; Matt.
28:19, 20) and toward Christians by building them up spiritually (vs. 19; Col. 3:16)? How?
Psa. 90:12 Because Moses
considered time such a valuable commodity, what did he pray for?
Why
did Moses pray for this?
Have
you asked God to teach you to constantly be aware of life’s brevity and God’s
judgment on sin (vss. 7, 8, 11)?
Are you asking God
for a “constant awareness of life’s shortness” so that you can present to God a
life of wisdom by living right? If
not, when will you, and why?
Jn.
17:4 Though Jesus was only involved in an outgoing
ministry for some three years, what did He say He did in that short period of
time?
What
was Jesus’ work (Lk.
What
work has God given all believers/Christians to do (Matt. 28:19, 20; 2 Tim. 4:5; Eph.
What specific changes
do you need to make in your life in order for you to be able to say that you’ve
accomplished the work of evangelism that God gave you to do?
Jas.
How
do you view your duration of life here on earth, and why?
Jn. 7:6, 8;
Does the right timing based on God the Father’s will and work determine
your activities? Why?
Or, do you do what “you” just feel like doing when you feel like doing
it, and why?
Col. 4:5 What is one way to show that
we are making “the most of the opportunity” (or
“redeeming the time”)?
Are you conducting yourself
toward non-Christians with wisdom by proclaiming the gospel (vss. 3, 4) and avoiding hypocrisy?
Col. 3:23, 24 How could you apply these
verses to the use of your talents, spiritual gift, and abilities?
When you work for or serve other people, do you do so
heartily as if you were (and you are)
serving the Lord Himself, and why?
Eph. 4:11-13 Why
did God give gifted men to the church (vs.
12)?
[“the work of service” is preaching the gospel and building up
believers spiritually, e.g., Acts 14:7, 15, 21-23, 26].
Are
you building up the body of Christ both quantitatively (through evangelism) and qualitatively (through the teaching and training of believers) until we all
attain to Christ-like maturity in character and mission? If so, how?
1 Cor. 12:4-6 From
where do our spiritual gifts, ministries, and effects/results come?
How
does knowing this affect you, and why?
1 Pet.
Give a recent example of how you used your
spiritual gift in serving another Christian.
Matt.
25:14-30 Though this parable is dealing with
Jews during the tribulation period, a universal principle/truth is taught here,
and that is that God expects people to faithfully use/fulfill the
responsibilities He’s given them according to their abilities.
Are you faithfully using/fulfilling the
responsibilities God has given you to the best of your ability that God has
given you?
Why?
Prov.
What do these illustrations convey?
Are you guilty of being an irritant to Christ’s
Church (i.e., other Christians)
because you are lazy?
If so, what do you plan to do about it, and how
soon?
Prov.
What
are some vain (spiritually and/or
eternally empty or valueless) things that people pursue as goals for their
lives (Eccles.
Are
you pursuing for self-centered reasons: worldly wisdom (e.g., Darwinianism,
Freudian psychology, existentialism, worldly philosophy, etc.), worldly
pleasure (e.g., alcohol, illicit
drugs and/or sex, clubbing, sports-crazy, pornography, rock music, etc.), materialism
(e.g., an expensive: home, car, truck,
boat, motorcycle, clothes, jewelry, furniture, computer, music system, etc.),
money (e.g., a high paying job,
working multiple jobs, gambling, etc.), worldly appearance (e.g., muscle man/Mr.
Universe, Miss America, etc.), or worldly prestige (e.g., a high career position; martial arts;
college degrees; etc.), and why?
Prov.
Are you diligent/hard-working in all
that God has given you to do in life? If
so, how do you show it?
Prov. 21:5 What will become of the
hasty?
Are you ever hasty or impulsive in your decisions
and actions so that you make bad choices?
Or, do you carefully think through, plan, and
diligently work out your plan?
Rom.
Are you diligent/hard-working and
intensely energetic in your service to the Lord? If so, give an example.
2 Thes.
What’s
the point that this verse is trying to make or stress?
Does
God consider full-time missionary service, like evangelism and spiritually building
up and training other Christians, work (Eph.
4:11, 12; Acts 15:38 with 13:32, 33, 38, 39, 46, 47; 14:7, 15, 21, 22, 26)?
Lk. 16:9-11 How
should believers (“the sons of light”,
vs. 8) use their money (“mammon of
unrighteousness”), vs. 9?
For
what purpose should they use their money to make friends (vs. 9)?
Are you using your
resources (e.g., money) to build
relationships with people with the hope that the friendship will influence them
to listen to and more readily accept the gospel (from a human viewpoint), so that when you get to heaven, those who
got there before you will receive/welcome you into the eternal dwellings? If so, how?
Or,
do you use your money primarily for self-centered purposes, and why?
[Though you can and at times should build some type of
relationship/friendship with certain non-Christians (e.g., fellow students in
your classes, fellow employees at work, neighbors in your neighborhood,
teammates on your team, etc.), money can help you do this by buying them snacks
or other items or gifts when appropriate; however, the most frequent method of
evangelism in Scripture is to simply share the gospel with total strangers (e.g.,
Acts 13, 14, 16 – 20; 28:17-31; 17:15-17).].
1 Tim.
Why do
you think this is true?
Has
this ever been a problem for you, and why?
Prov. 6:6-11 What does an ant do
that we should imitate?
Are you, and why?
[Some Christians think it’s wrong to have a
savings account, that it’s a lack of faith in God, but
that’s not what God is teaching here. Being a good manager of the food and/or money
God entrusts you with involves saving when and while you can, so that you’ll
have it when you need it.].
1 Tim. 6:7-9 With
what should we be content?
Are
you content with the food and clothing that God has given you, or are you
seeking to be rich, eat expensive foods, and/or wear the latest clothing
fashions and why?
Are
you a good manager of the food and clothing God has given you by seeing that
your food isn’t wasted and the clothing is taken care of so that it lasts
longer? If
so, how?
1 Tim. 6:17-19 What
are we instructed to do?
If
you are rich, does it motivate you to be conceited and/or to trust in your
riches rather than in God to take care of you?
And
if you are rich, are you using your riches to do a lot of good for people,
being generous and sharing? If not,
why?
1 Cor. 16:2 What
criterion is given here for giving?
Do
you give to Christians in genuine need according to how you prosper (i.e., proportionately), and why?
Do
you have any other criteria that governs your giving? If so, what?
Would the following criteria as to whom to give be good guidelines?
1.
Non-Christians who are in true/real need of the basics (e.g., food,
clothes, water, etc.) who you know or personally meet and who you plan to
share the gospel with.
2.
Non-Christians and/or Christians who you know or meet who you know are
hard-working or are diligently looking for a job and are in need.
3.
Non-Christians and/or Christians who are in real need because they can’t
work (e.g., international students or those whose physical handicap prevents
them from working).
4.
Christians who are diligently involved as full-time missionaries
in evangelism and building up other Christians spiritually and, therefore, need
to be supported financially and/or materially.
5.
Christians you know who are good, personal financial managers, but who
find themselves in need due to an unexpected emergency that was out of their
control.
6.
If long-term help is needed and you either can’t help or choose not to
help for whatever biblical reason, then direct such people to appropriate
agencies, like food banks, homeless shelters, etc.
2 Cor. 8:2-5 List one principle from
each verse as to how these Corinthian Christians gave:
Do you give generously, even
more than you can really afford, to needy Christians, even though you are poor,
and you do so with great desire, having first given yourself to the Lord?
[The fact that they gave more than what they
could really afford doesn’t mean you should, unless God specifically leads you
to. This is just stating what they did, not what we are commanded to do.].
2 Cor. 9:6, 7 What principle is taught in
verse 6?
Whom does God love?
Do
you grudgingly give to others or because you’re pressured to, and why?
If
you feel like you can’t give cheerfully, what should you do?
Matt. 6:19-21 What
shouldn’t be done?
Do you ever do this, and why?
What should be done instead?
[Notice that what’s condemned is laying up
treasures (great amounts of money) for yourself
(selfishly). Having a savings account to pay for future necessities or
unexpected emergencies is not wrong, nor is saving a large amount of money for
a special project to further Christ’s kingdom wrong.].
1 Cor. 6:19, 20 Who
owns us: God, ourselves, our parents, society, or our government?
[If God
owns us, then everything we have is His (e.g., our time, talents, money, etc.).].
Are
you properly/biblically managing everything that you have for and on God’s
behalf? Why, and how?