AUGUEST THEME – “Seeing Revival from God’s Perspective”
Join us in prayer and celebration as Belmont Baptist Church celebrates our Year of Jubilee, marking fifty years of God’s amazing faithfulness and looking forward with grateful hearts to all He has yet to do.
BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART’S
IT’S EASIER TO COUNT WHAT I HAVE THAN TO ACCOUNT FOR WHAT I DID WITH IT
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” — Romans 14:12
“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” — 1 Corinthians 4:2
We have talked about earning, spending, saving, tithing, firstfruits, generosity, inheritance, and legacy. But there is one final truth that brings every lesson together: one day my stewardship will end, and my accounting will begin. There is coming a day when I will no longer be concerned about the balance in my bank account, the value of my house, the size of my retirement account, or how much property I accumulated. I will stand before the One who gave me everything I ever possessed, and the question will no longer be, “How much did you have?” but, “What did you do with what I gave you?” The ultimate goal of stewardship is not to die with the most—it is to stand before Christ having been faithful with what He entrusted to me.
I AM NOT THE OWNER; I AM THE STEWARD
Jesus repeatedly described a master who entrusted something valuable to his servants, went away, and eventually returned to require an accounting. That is a picture of our lives. God has entrusted each of us with different amounts, abilities, opportunities, possessions, and years. Some have much and some have little, but everyone has something. The servant in Matthew 25 who received five talents was responsible for five, while the servant who received two was responsible for two. God will not ask me why I did not have what someone else had. He will ask what I did with what He placed into my hands. My income is a stewardship. My home is a stewardship. My possessions are a stewardship. My abilities, influence, opportunities, and even the number of days I have been given are stewardships. God will never hold me accountable for what He placed in someone else’s hands, but He will hold me accountable for what He placed in mine.
GOD IS LOOKING FOR FAITHFULNESS, NOT IMPRESSIVENESS
The world measures financial success by numbers. How much do you make? How large is your house? How much have you saved? What do you own? How successful have you become? But Heaven uses an entirely different measurement: “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” God does not say a steward must be wealthy, impressive, famous, or financially powerful. He says he must be faithful. The widow who gave two mites had very little in her hands, yet Jesus noticed her. Others gave larger amounts, but she gave from a heart surrendered to God. Perhaps you never accumulated great wealth, but you tithed faithfully, helped people quietly, supported missionaries, provided for your family, gave when God prompted you, and refused to allow money to become your master. Heaven noticed every act of faithfulness. God’s accounting books measure faithfulness where man’s accounting books measure dollars.
SOMEDAY I WILL SEE WHAT REALLY MATTERED
Imagine standing before Christ and suddenly seeing your entire life from eternity’s perspective. Things that seemed enormous here may suddenly appear very small, while things that seemed insignificant may suddenly appear enormous. That check written to a missionary, that meal purchased for a struggling family, that sacrificial offering, that Bible purchased for someone, that young person helped, that ministry supported month after month, that quiet gift nobody knew about, and that tithe faithfully given when money was tight—perhaps you have forgotten some of them, but God has not. Jesus taught that even a cup of cold water given in His name would not lose its reward. We may discover that some of the greatest investments of our lives were things nobody applauded, nobody engraved on a plaque, and perhaps nobody else even knew we did. Jesus said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). What I kept eventually belonged to someone else; what I invested in eternity was waiting for me when I arrived.
Every month a bank statement tells us what came in, what went out, what was deposited, what was withdrawn, and what remains. Imagine receiving the final statement of your life, not from your bank but from Heaven. On that statement is everything God entrusted to you—every dollar, possession, opportunity, ability, and year. Then beside it is the record of what you did with it. Some was necessary for living. Some provided for your family. Some was enjoyed with thanksgiving. Some was saved wisely. Some was given generously. Some advanced the Gospel. And perhaps some was wasted pursuing things that no longer matter. At the bottom of that statement there is no dollar balance. There is only one question: WAS I FAITHFUL? Someday I will close my earthly accounts, but Heaven’s accounting will reveal what really mattered. The most important financial statement of my life will not tell me how much I accumulated, but how faithfully I used what God entrusted to me.
LIVE TODAY FOR “WELL DONE”
This is where our stewardship series must end—not with money, not with tithing, not with inheritance, and not even with legacy. It ends before Jesus. One day the house will belong to somebody else. The car will belong to somebody else. The savings and possessions will belong to somebody else. My earthly stewardship will be finished, and I will stand before the One who gave it all to me. On that day, I will not wish I had accumulated more; I will wish I had been more faithful with what I had. So spend with that moment in mind. Save with that moment in mind. Give with that moment in mind. Plan with that moment in mind. Use everything God has placed into your hands with that moment in mind. Eventually every stewardship ends, every servant comes home, and every steward stands before the Master. When that moment comes, there is only one financial goal that will matter: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
WARFARE PRAYER
Father, in the name of Jesus, deliver me from living as though this world is all there is. Break the power of greed, materialism, comparison, fear, selfishness, and the desire to accumulate merely for myself. Remind me continually that everything in my hands came first from Yours. Give me wisdom to earn honestly, spend carefully, save wisely, provide responsibly, give generously, and invest eternally. Show me anything You have entrusted to me that I am wasting, hoarding, misusing, or withholding from You. Lord, I do not want merely to finish life financially comfortable; I want to finish faithful. When my earthly accounts are finally closed, may there be missionaries who were supported, souls who were reached, people who were helped, children who were discipled, families who learned generosity, and Gospel work that was strengthened because I faithfully managed what You placed into my hands. And when nothing earthly remains for me to manage, may I hear the words worth more than everything I ever possessed: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DAILY CHALLENGE — LIVE TODAY AS THOUGH YOU WILL GIVE ACCOUNT TOMORROW
Take a few minutes today and look honestly at what God has presently placed into your hands. Then ask one final stewardship question: “If I stood before Jesus tomorrow and gave account for what He has entrusted to me today, would I be satisfied with the way I am managing it?” If God puts His finger on something, do not postpone obedience. Make the change. Correct the spending. Begin the tithe. Pay the obligation. Give the gift. Help the person. Support the missionary. Make the plan. Put your affairs in order. Invest in eternity. I do not know how much longer I will be a steward, but I can decide what kind of steward I will be until Jesus comes or calls me home.
IT’S EASIER TO COUNT WHAT I HAVE THAN TO ACCOUNT FOR WHAT I DID WITH IT.
DON’T SPEND YOUR LIFE TRYING TO HAVE MORE TO SHOW PEOPLE—LIVE SO THAT WHEN YOU STAND BEFORE JESUS, YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW FOR WHAT HE ENTRUSTED TO YOU.
SATURDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS
Britany Smith
Darlene Kelley – Our Cousin _ Recovering from Cancer
Darlene Thaxton
Ginny Ford
Deanne Boynton
Anna Belle Taylor – Irregular Heartbeat – Jackson’s Special Friend
Rob Davis – cancer
Kim McClain’s Mother