“The Case for Christ: - Stewards/Kingdom of God - 2”

There are two characteristics that Jesus stressed in the parable of the unjust steward - characteristics required for stewardship in the kingdom of God.

The first was total commitment, as in ‘a living sacrifice’ by making ‘friends of the mammon of unrighteousness’, receiving true riches so that there is a reception ‘into everlasting habitations’.

And the second was focus, or ‘unconditional faithfulness’ of serving only ‘one master’, God. 

Tonight I would like to spend some time continuing on with these two characteristics in mind and look at it in terms of the community of believers and the kingdom of God.

I am sure this will occupy us for a number of weeks so please continue to be patient and follow along closely as we all allow the Holy Spirit to minister His word to our hearts.

                    ************

Let us go back to Luke 16:16 where Jesus said: ‘The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.’

Jesus, as in some of His other parables, now linked stewardship in the kingdom of God with the spreading of the Good News of His kingdom and the ‘pressing’ into it.

                 ************

Why is stewardship linked to the kingdom of God?

To start with, it is through stewardship in His kingdom that men are brought face to face with the absolutely essential contrast of motives. 

It throws men into conflict of God’s ways over and against the current ways of men.

And that is a noteworthy and serious challenge to the life each one of us now lives!

It demands and corrects the life so that it always has God in focus and sets the life in accordance with that very point of concentration.

It demands that determination to know nothing but Jesus, and to know everything in Jesus, and Jesus in everything!

It demands putting that foundation first, and being sure that it is first well laid.

And when that foundation is laid, then the Gospel and its social aspects are properly applied.

The beginning of them all is the work of Christ under His Kingship. 

Jesus spoke of it as the ‘Gospel’, the ‘good news’, so He said: ‘...since the time of John’s preaching, the Gospel is now being spread and many press into the realm of its domain.’ 

This is why stewardship is linked with the Kingdom: only with motives searched out, with weighing God’s ways over men’s, with submitting to the conditions of His rule and making the necessary adjustments and corrections, can the faithful, committed steward be entrusted with the goods of the Master’s Kingdom.

Now - how is this achieved and fulfilled in the steward’s life?

Jesus went on: ‘...every man presses’ into the kingdom.

The word for ‘presses’ is ‘biazo’. It is a verb that suggests ‘forceful endeavor’. It indicates a ‘coming in beside’, entering ‘secretly, without observation’.

It means making ‘an effort to enter the kingdom in spite of violent opposition’.

What was Jesus indicating when He said: ‘...every man presses’ into His kingdom?

We look at the Pharisees again. They were obviously living according to the standards and opinions of men. They loved and craved praises of men. They looked after themselves, stored up treasures for themselves without a great deal of regard for others.

They thought nothing about laughing at the values Jesus set. They thought nothing about mocking and ridiculing the standards He upheld.

If people like that desired to enter the kingdom, they would have to resort to violence to get in.

They would have to trample underfoot everyone who got in their way to ‘upset their apple carts’.

To such, Jesus had this to say: ‘Yes - you are right about men’s opinions of yourselves. They think you are right and good as you justify yourself in their sight. 

But God knows what is way down deep in your heart and - you may as well know it now - that what men think is great and right is, in reality, an abomination to Him.

The law was in place until John’s preaching. But now I am giving you a new manifesto, a new view of the Kingdom of God and of the laws in it. 

And, if you want to enter that, you will have to take the standards of it into the heart and ‘press’ into it in God’s way.’

You see - it is not ‘trampling others underfoot’ that accomplishes the ‘pressing’ into His kingdom.

It is ‘trampling underfoot’ that which opposes Christ in man’s own heart that makes ‘pressing in’ successful!   

There are no lax ways there. There is no living there where commitment to Him and faithfulness to His ways are compromised!

Thus, He went on in verse 17 to talk of marriage and divorce with this theme in mind. 

There He said: ‘Everyone that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; and he that marrieth one that is put away from a husband committeth adultery.’

Let me just say a quick word about this particular insertion.

It seems a strange place to put this but it goes along with the idea of entering His kingdom with its demanding conditions.

Jesus inserted this probably because of the local and immediate situation. He was using it as a specific example of their wrong attitude toward God’s ways.

At that time, it was common for the husband to divorce a woman because of the slightest breach. If she happened to put too much salt into the soup, that was grounds to leave her.

We have silly reasons in our day, too, as you well know! I will not go further on this subject.

But this was part of their lax ways and their twisted, indolent attitude toward the Kingship of the Sovereign God.

And Jesus inserted it as a specific example of what He was teaching His disciples about stewardship in His Kingdom.

What He said about marriage could be applied, in a spiritual sense, to His disciples, as well, in their call into His kingdom. 

Many, many times, they, too, would be tempted to throw overboard their ‘high calling of God’, become half-hearted, even dissatisfied with their lot and divorce themselves from it.   

So they must be thoroughly established in the fact that any self-centeredness affects the life in His kingdom.

They must be so established that every one of their attitudes is adjusted to God’s kingdom in order for it to work as God has designed it to work.

Please do not think this to be a trivial thing! It most certainly is not! And let me explain briefly! 

I am sure you are aware that the three things the world prizes most are position, power, and wealth.

And these are all extremely strong, powerful allurements to the fleshly man!  

They are like the tentacles of a giant octopus surrounding and capturing its prey.

They do not relinquish their hold easily. It takes a ‘forceful endeavor’ to get loose. It takes an assertive, aggressive, vigorous struggle to become free!

And, as we have seen many times, succumbing to these powerful allurements of the world are what the Kingdom of God flatly rejects!

With those temptations facing the stewards of His kingdom, they must ‘press’ into it with a violent struggle against them.

For - it is through the violent struggle that self-centeredness drops.

But it cannot be done alone!
 
God ordained marriage for this to take place.

He also ordained the fellowship of believers for this to take place.

With that in mind, we move on into living in the community of believers where His kingship must reign and where committed, faithful stewardship is the governing factor in its functioning as God ordained it.

                   ************

How should such stewardship work in a fellowship of believers?

Let us look at 1 Pet 4:10: ‘As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.’

What I am about to say is a little hard to take for most of us. It is this: being a steward in the kingdom of God demands ungrudging service toward the community.

I said earlier that living in the kingdom of God lays a claim for a commitment and a faithfulness to His ways without compromise. 

And now we add: it also lays a claim for preparedness, eagerness, and willingness to serve in His kingdom.

In everything, a steward is answerable to the Lord and, always, he lives, thinks, and works with the Lord’s interest in mind.

Whatever he does, he does it willingly because his motivation is out of his deep love for Christ Who constrains him to it.

It must be this way! 

Anything less is the symptom of an incompletely surrendered life unto Christ. It questions the nature of our supreme loyalty to Him.

This is the point of failure for many. As the Pharisees did, there is always that subtle drawing to ‘justify yourselves before men’ in self and self-interests.

But we forget - we forget the ‘new covenant’ Christ promised to bring forth in His kingdom.

It spoke of a commitment to Him - yes! 

But it also spoke of a commitment to one another which is deeper and more demanding than most of us are willing to make.

For the building of that kingdom requires nothing less than total commitment and unconditional faithfulness in fellowship living.

This is why it is said of some of the Corinthians: ‘..they first - they first gave themselves - gave themselves - to the Lord.’ (2 Cor 8:5)

                    ************

Now go back to Peter’s statement: in the kingdom of God, ‘...every man hath received the ‘gift...’, he said.

What is the ‘gift’?

The gift is ‘charisma’. It is defined as ‘a gift of grace’, a gift involving grace on the part of God as the One Who gives it as he gives everything else the good steward has!

It is His grant, His provision for His people as the Holy Spirit operates among the fellowship of believers.

Peter went on to elaborate briefly on the use of ‘gift’ in a fellowship capacity.

As the first example, the one who speaks the ‘oracles of God’ has been given this ‘gift’. 

The other is explained in a more general sense: it is the ‘gift’ of ‘ministering’. ‘Minister’ is a word that signifies being a ‘servant, attendant, to serve, to wait upon’.

It is not connected with the discharging of ecclesiastical duties. Although they are certainly related to this gift of diverse ministries, they are separate God-called ministries.

But, ‘minister’ here, is anything that serves another’s interests. It is simply helping others in any number and variety of ways!

In thinking about this, the best example I can give is right here in this fellowship.

Have you ever considered what it is that the Lord has brought together among us? 

Here is a group of people who have been and are giving themselves faithfully in so many ways.

What are some of the ways, some of the ‘gifts’ of grace, the Lord has bestowed upon us?

There are those who faithfully teach - the children, the young people, or those asked for the various times. 

There are those who are faithful in the administration of the Sunday morning communion table, from setting it up to the actual serving it.     

There are those who have been faithful in the tape ministry, in the ministry of the sound system, in the ministry of the treasury, in the ministry of support, encouragement, and all other special helps.

There are those who share their homes to accommodate the various ministries. There is the ministry of faithfulness in visiting and calling on the sick and the elderly, of supplying meals when and where needed. 

There is the ministry of visiting and communicating with those in prison and jails.

The Lord has even given us the ministry of the physical health and welfare of His people.

There is also the ministry of sharing the abundance of crops the Lord has given. 

And, above all, there is the ministry of intercession and prayer, the ministry of participating in worship faithfully every Sunday, and there is the ministry of music.

I hope I have not overlooked any: forgive me, if I have.

But, in all of these ministries, the most assuring parts are two-fold: first, that the Lord is the One Who directs persons to these ministries - they were not elected, pushed, nor coerced by any outside force.

But, willingly they gave themselves first to the Lord so that it was all the Lord’s doing. That reassures us that He is the Governor of all ministries!

And, secondly, the other assuring part is the ministry of faithfulness and commitment that has developed and is being strengthened in His people. 

In many, many cases, the ‘right hand does not even know what the left hand’ does!  
  
It has been and is being done ‘...with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and power forever and ever.’ (back to 1 Peter 4 - verse 11)

What there is - is a representation of the mutuality of life in the Kingdom of God in Christ! 

And it is a confirmation of God’s power and God’s strength that are manifestations of His presence in the community of believers.

It comes from God and goes back to Him in the praise the community presents to Him, not only through worship, but through the dedication and commitment of the ones in it.

But - you see - for this to come together as the Lord intends, everyone involved must take the attitude of serving. It is not taking on the attitude of ‘being served’.

Sometimes, there are those who try to take all they can get and leave the hard and demanding part of community living for others to struggle with.

They skim off what they can get and forget about everything else that is involved in community living.

This cannot be in the kingdom of God! 

As I said another time, there are no spiritual pilferers in His kingdom.

The actual, Christ-gifted Christian does not take the view that he is in God’s kingdom to be served.

There must be the resolve to give Christ our ‘all’. If we are to serve so that ‘the kingdom of Christ is come’ to a living, vital fellowship, then we must be ready to give ourselves first. 

Fellowship in freedom is preserved when all are united in the love of God and in devotion to His will.

In closing, let me encourage you to spend time this week pondering these things shared tonight before the Lord. 

Let Him bring home to us that need of keeping our focus clear and consistent in all things and our commitment real and alive.

I pray we each may ‘give ourselves’ unto Him, without reserve.

May we always be the means of willingly, not begrudgingly, giving ourselves for the sake of others as we submit to the conditions set down in His kingdom.

Amen. 

Let us pray.