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Part 8 of 10
Stewardship Series
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The phrase "Can I speak to the manager?" communicates deep dissatisfaction—a customer wants to work with someone who has demonstrated ability, experience, and trustworthiness. The preacher applies this culturally familiar scenario to God's perspective: when we repeatedly handle His blessings poorly, God essentially asks for someone who will properly steward what He's giving out.
God will not give you what you want. He gives you what you can manage.
This is the foundational principle. If God gave many of us exactly what we wanted, it would be disastrous. There are things we desire that we simply cannot handle. The preacher's personal testimony: he wanted to plant a church at 25, but God repeatedly said no—not because he wasn't qualified on paper, but because he couldn't handle it at that stage of his development.
The harsh reality: if God gave someone a million dollars with their current financial habits, most would squander it. Without the discipline to tithe, pay off debts, save, or fund their children's education, sudden wealth would only accelerate poor decisions.
"Blessings make sick people sicker." — Pastor Mike McClure Jr.
Before God gives us what we want, He checks our spiritual and practical health. Many of us owe God an apology for assuming that not having something means God doesn't have it. The issue is never God's provision; it's our readiness.
The preacher illustrates this with his eight-year-old daughter Ava in a store—she wants everything, walking down the aisles asking for item after item. In a way, this childlike expectation reflects how we should approach God. We serve a God who has it. We should walk with expectation, not doubt.
The real question is not "Does God have it?" The real question is "Can I handle it?"
For many of us, the problem is not what we don't have—it's how we're managing what we do have. Someone wants a promotion but is chronically late to their current job. Someone wants marriage but hasn't managed their attitude and expectations as a girlfriend. Someone wants more money but mismanages the money they already have.
Whatever we cannot manage, we cannot expect more of.
Whatever we mismanage, we eventually lose. Be late repeatedly at your job, and attendance policies will catch you. Neglect your body through poor diet and no exercise, and high blood pressure and diabetes follow. Fail to manage something, and you're essentially telling God: "I don't want it."
God sometimes withholds growth until there is good management. The preacher points to Genesis 2:5:
"Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up. For the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no one to work the ground."
God had created the earth, but there were no plants, no trees, no fruit—and no rain yet. Why? Because whatever you feed will grow. God would not allow rain to come until there was someone present to manage the ground.
There are some things in your life that God will withhold growth from until you grow up.
Before God grows your bank account, He wants to grow your financial habits. Before He grows your relationships, He wants to grow your attitude. Before He grows your business, He wants to grow your time management skills. Many of us ask God to grow things when we should be asking Him to grow us.
We don't go to the next level—we grow to the next level. You outgrow where you are, and by default, you naturally move forward. The preacher challenges the tendency to wait for others to recognize your value.
When you keep growing, eventually they cannot keep you on the level you're on. They will see your skills, your talents, your abilities. Stop trying to position yourself; keep developing yourself. When you grow, nobody can take that from you.
This season is a season to grow—not to ask God to grow external things, but to ask Him: "God, if you don't mind, grow me. I don't want to be a little person with a big business. I want to be a big person with a bigger business. I don't want a big house but a small, broken family."
Stewardship is committing to treat something that is not yours as though it is yours.
The preacher illustrates with the borrowed car scenario: he had a cousin who would borrow the car but return it on empty. His father eventually said no—teaching him that borrowing something means returning it in the condition you received it, or better. The father was teaching stewardship: how to value and care for something that belongs to someone else.
Many of us bring back borrowed cars on empty and still drive our own cars on empty. We think the lesson is about cars, but it's about attitude, business, relationships—anything entrusted to us.
You can tell how committed somebody is to something by how they treat it. Commitment cannot be faked; eventually it reveals itself. If you truly don't commit to a friendship, you won't consistently show up for that person. True commitment produces good stewardship.
Jesus teaches about stewardship using a parable in Matthew 25. A parable (from Greek parah and boule—to throw alongside) is literally Jesus throwing a story alongside a lesson, teaching on two levels at once. On one level, it's a practical lesson about handling what's been given. On another level, Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure, death, resurrection, and return—and warning them that He will judge what they did while He was gone.
"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them." — Matthew 25:14
The phrase "entrusted his wealth" is crucial. To commit to stewardship, we must first understand the principle of ownership.
The principle of ownership teaches us that what we have was given to us by God and will one day be returned to God.
Some of us aren't humble enough to be good stewards. We walk around claiming everything is ours—"I got this job because of my connections, my degree, my resume. I did this." But humility and faith require recognizing that everything good in our lives comes from God's goodness, grace, mercy, and favor.
The preacher separates "the real ones from the fake." Some walk around saying "this is mine." Others have faith and humility enough to recognize: as difficult as my credit was, as troubled as my job history was, there is no way I should be living where I live or driving what I drive. It had to be God.
I wasn't good enough to make this happen. I didn't dot every i or cross every t. No—it was the goodness and favor and grace of God. Everything good that has happened to me, God did it. This is not all mine—I walk around understanding that everything good is from God.
Everything we have belongs to God and will one day be returned to Him. Some of us aren't grateful enough to recognize this truth. We walk around claiming everything is ours—our job, our success, our possessions—when in reality, we should humbly acknowledge that it had to be God.
Consider those who have struggled: bad credit, troubled job histories, yet somehow they're living in places they shouldn't be able to afford, driving cars they shouldn't be able to drive. There is no way this happened through our own merit. It was the goodness and the grace and the mercy and the favor of God. We weren't good enough to make it happen on our own. We didn't do everything perfectly.
"As difficult as my credit was, as troubled as my job history was, there is no way I should be living where I live or driving what I drive. It had to be God."
This is the heart of gratitude: Everything good that has happened to me, God did it. This is not all mine. I walk around understanding that everything good is from God. What I drive, God did this. Where I work, God did this. The fact that my spouse and I haven't destroyed each other, God did that. That my children are saved and not in a grave, God did this. That I have a couple dollars in my bank account, God did this.
We must stop walking around with arrogance. Why? Because God did this. What I'm wearing, where I vacation, where I work—God did it. God made a way where there seemed to be no way. God opened a door that no man can close. It wasn't because of my goodness. It was because of God.
Not only must we understand ownership, but we must also understand the principle of capacity. The parable tells us that the master gave to each according to their ability: to one five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag.
Many of us would have complained at the distribution. We see someone receive five bags and think that's great for them. Then someone receives two bags, and we start questioning God. "Wait, we're going down? I thought we were going up." Finally, someone receives just one bag and gets mad that it's only one—forgetting that one is still more than they deserved.
"You didn't deserve that."
We have the audacity to be upset with God for giving us one when that's still one more than we deserved. We're turning our nose up at what God has done. It's still more than what He should have done.
For some of us, comparison is what's killing our capacity right now. We're so busy looking at what somebody else has that we're not focusing on what God is trying to do in our own life. You're not supposed to steward what God gave them. You're supposed to steward what God gave you.
"Keep your eyes on your own paper."
Whatever you give attention to will grow. If you keep focusing on what someone else has, you wonder why their stuff starts growing and yours stops—it's because you keep looking at it. You're ignoring all that God has done for you because you're caught up in what somebody else got.
Folks are going to stop judging what they see God give you when they don't even realize the stuff you had to live through to get there. Don't judge my public blessing when you weren't there for my private burdens. You didn't see the nights I cried. You didn't see the people that left me. How dare you judge what God is doing for me in public when you do not know what I live through in private.
You don't look like half the stuff you've been through. Just because it doesn't look like it doesn't mean it never happened. It just means that the grace and the favor of God have brought you through. Some of us have been to hell and back—we were sick, depressed, forgotten, forsaken, divorced, bankrupt—but because of His goodness and His mercy and His favor, we don't look like half of what we've been through.
The principle of capacity teaches us that how we handle this season determines what we're handed in the next season. If you're faithful right now, God is getting ready to hand you something incredible. Doors are opening, ways are being made.
This is a season where nobody's watching, nobody's looking, nobody knows your name, nobody's following you on Instagram. But if you can handle this season right now, the text clearly says:
"If you're faithful with a few things, I will make you ruler over many things."
You're about to step into a season of many things because of how you handle your now thing. You don't even understand that how you're handling where you are right now is prophesying about where you believe you're going.
Stop giving the devil credit. How you handle your business right now, how you steward where you are, how you steward the money that you have right now—it's prophesying about where you believe God is taking you. If you won't tithe off $1,000, all you did was tell God that you don't believe you'll ever make it to $100,000. What I've always dreamed of one day will be my tithe.
Look at verse 16: "The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more." I can tell the level of his capacity by the speed of his compliance. He didn't waste any time.
Wasting time is what many of us are doing. God gave you the vision. God convicted you. How many times are we going to stand up and say something, and you're just sitting there like it's not talking to you? Everybody else on your row has stepped up. It's only you wasting time.
We get slick about this. We think that because we're not straight-up telling God no, we're just giving Him a slow yes. We drag our feet a little bit. But slow obedience is still disobedience.
This man says, "The master has given me instructions and I'm going to go make this happen right now." I'm not telling you that you need to leave your job right now, but you need to start working on that business right now. You may not be able to afford everything you need right now, but you can reserve your name. You can go get a business license. A business plan is free.
The tragedy for many of us is that we are praying for things that we will never prepare for. God says "do that," and we say "God, do this," but one of the most frustrating things that ever happens is when we get something we prayed for and we weren't prepared for it. Good stewards don't just obey, they obey quickly.
Verse 17 says, "So also the one with two bags of gold gained two more." The man with five got five more, and the man with two got two more. They doubled. This means that good stewardship allows you to move from just maintaining what you have into multiplying what you have.
Are you just maintaining or are you multiplying? When we commit to good stewardship, we move from maintaining what God has done to multiplying what God has done. The man started with five, applied good stewardship, and his five turned into ten. The man with two committed to being a good steward, and his two turned into four.
My favorite example is the game of checkers. If I stayed focused, if I properly stewarded my moves across the board, I could work my way from my side to my opponent's side. When I made it through all the obstacles, when I found my way and my strategy worked, I finally made it to the other side. When I made it to the opponent's side, I could stand up and shout "King me!"
When I say "King me," I go from having one piece to two pieces. I double. But the best part is not just that my piece looks bigger—when I get kinged, my piece works better. Instead of being able to just take one space, when I become a king, when I become a queen, when I become a good steward, I don't just take small steps. No. I jump. I can jump multiple spaces.
I don't know who this is for, but I want to pronounce this over your life: As you become a good steward, God is letting you jump over some stuff. He's letting you springboard some things. But it starts with stewardship.
They started with five and ten, started with two and ended with four. This means they weren't stuck where they started. You're not stuck where you start. You may have started on the wrong side of the tracks. You may have started with a messed-up relationship with your parents. You may have started out with a bunch of debt around your neck. But guess what? You're not stuck where you started. Good stewards are never stuck. I'm not stuck because I know how to properly steward.
God expects us to steward in three specific areas.
You don't have a time problem; you may have a time management problem. We waste the blessing of God's time when we assume He will give us more time to do tomorrow what He already gave us time to do today.
We avoid wasting time by giving God the first of our week and the first of our day. That's why you're in this room. That's why you're watching online. God deserves the first of my week. Before you jump into this work week, before you jump into school or whatever's going on, come and give God the first of your week. If you need to stream, stream. We're a digital church, physical and digital. But you've got to give God the first of your week.
You also have to give God the first of your day. Stop waking up, rolling over, and checking social media. I remember preaching a few months ago and I was so proud because my Bible app streak was going strong. I woke up that Monday morning and realized my streak had ended the same Sunday I preached. The Holy Spirit said to me, "You were so eager to go and work for me that you didn't have time to actually be with me. You were in such a rush to go and speak about me to thousands of people that you forgot to actually speak with me. I want your time."
We've got to stop wasting the talent that God has given us. If you're only using your gift at work and the only one being impacted by your gift is you, you're still wasting it. You're the only one getting better because of this gift.
God expects us to use our gifts to serve God and God's people. What are you waiting on? Get in the game. Your church needs you. Your community needs you. This country, your family needs you. They need what God put inside of you.
You're not just at this church because you believe in the pastor or the leadership team. No, you're here because we believe in you. There's something inside of you. That's the way God has created and crafted you. There is something you could be doing.
We don't have a money problem; we have a money management problem. Have you ever looked at your direct deposit and thought, "I made that much?" Where did it go? Sometimes the problem isn't the money. Sometimes the problem is the manager.
God expects us to commit to stewarding our talent, our time, and our treasure. We steward our treasure by participating in God's management training program: tithing. He says, "I'm going to give you increase now. You give me back the 10%." This isn't as much about money as it is about management.
When you give it to God, He multiplies it back to you—better and bigger than before. This is the heart of stewarding our treasure: participating in God's management training program, which is tithing.
Tithing is fundamentally about management, not money. God doesn't need our money. He wants us to become good managers of what He's given us. By tithing—giving back the first 10% of our increase—we train our ability to manage resources well. We practice saying no to spending everything and yes to trusting God.
God makes a powerful promise to those who tithe faithfully. He says: "I dare you to trust me with the first of it, and if you can trust me with the first, I will bless the rest." This isn't a transaction; it's a relationship of trust.
Give, and it shall be given back to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will men give unto you. God will cause people who don't even like you to give to you.
Why? Because you became a good manager. When you demonstrate stewardship, God opens doors and resources you never expected.
We haven't always been good stewards. We repent of mismanaging what God has entrusted to us. But repentance means more than sorrow—it means returning and recommitting.
We must not be like the servant in the parable who hid what was given to him. He was the only one who knew where it was. He was the only one who could use it. He was the only one who could find it. His fear kept both him and his master's resources trapped and unproductive.
Instead, we want to hear Jesus say: "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. I'm going to make you ruler over many." This reward comes to those who steward well, not those who hide away what they've been given.
Right now, in this moment, we recommit to stewarding what God has given us the right way:
When we give to God, He multiplies it. When He gives it back to us, it's better. It's bigger. We can trust that He will move us from maintaining what we have to multiplying it.
