The Apostle Paul asked a very thought-provoking question in his letter to the church in Corinth: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor 4:7). The answer, of course, is nothing. Everything we have has been received from God. He has given and continues to give us everything we have. All our abilities and opportunities are blessings from God. With this in mind, let us consider our second principle for carrying out our mission and moving towards our vision: Honoring God with our Resources. We shall specifically discuss honoring God with our time, our talent and our treasure.
Our Time
Concerning your life, who gave it to you? Did you determine when and where you would be born? Did you determine who your parents would be? Obviously you did not because that was out of your power and control. If you did not, who did? Paul, in his speech to the men of Athens, said that God “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). Paul then said that God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26). This tells us no one is an accident; no one is born by mistake. You living in or near Scott City is not by mere chance, but intentional. If God has given us life and breath and everything, then we have received it. If we have received it, why would we act as if we have not? If God has given us the time we have, then shouldn’t we seek to honor Him with it?
Our Talent
Not only has our time been given to us by God, but also our talents. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” This manifestation of the Spirit is in the form of a talent you have received for the benefit of others. God not only gives life but also personally equips individuals with different talents. When a person becomes a Christian these talents are to be used for the common good. Some Christians may be gifted in teaching, some for service, but all are gifted with a talent. 1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us that these gifts are all “empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” If God has given us the talents we have, then shouldn’t we seek to honor Him with it?
Our Treasure
Not only have our time and talents been given to us by God, but also our treasure. Where does your money come from? Who gave you your job? Does it come from your company? Where did your company get its funds? The answer is that since everything comes from God; He gave you your job and He provides for all you have. If God has given us our treasure, then shouldn’t we seek to honor Him with it?
Application
In order to make disciples, FBSC commits to honoring God with the resources (time, talent, and treasure) He has provided. Knowing “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17), each member of FBSC commits to evaluate our personal resources and the church’s resources and pray that we would be able to best utilize what we have been entrusted with.
Therefore we commit our Personal Resources to the Lord by refusing to allow any activity, profession, or recreation to regularly keep us from the Lord. We shall give the utmost priority to our relationship with God and honor Him with our time. We shall regularly read and study the Bible and we shall commit to pray. We shall give priority to our family. We shall not neglect our families and shall work to help our family grow closer to the Lord. We shall give priority to the local church and make the worship of God a priority in our lives and commit to serve faithfully.
We shall give to the Lord monetarily, “not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7), and commit our resources to God. We shall give our tithe to the church for the work of God and the building of His kingdom.
We commit the Church’s Resources to the Lord and work to ensure that the resources of the church shall be used in a Christ-honoring manner. We shall make the worship of God a priority in our lives and come with a humble attitude of worship. We pray that every song, lesson, sermon, etc. would be done for the glory of God.
We recognize that this is not our church but God’s church. We desire to neither spend money frivolously nor refuse to spend the money we have. We strive to be good stewards of our resources and evaluate ourselves to ensure we are being effective in our ministries, volunteers, and staffing. We desire that each staff member and each volunteer is gifted and equipped to faithfully point men, women, and children to Jesus Christ.
What do we have that we have not received? Nothing, we have received it all from God. If we have received it, what will we do with it? Let’s ask Paul, who spoke the words of God: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom 12:1) and lay your time, talent, and treasure before the Lord and say:
God, it all belongs to you. You have entrusted me with it and I will honor you with it.
First Baptist Scott City, MO 