I Peter 4:7-11

&nb= sp;

We are partners with God

who respond to divine opportunities.

A sermon preached by

Rev. William O. (Bud) = Reeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

April 20, 2008

I heard a great story—supposedly true= 212;about a sweet little elderly lady who had finished her shopping one day and was returning to her car. When sh= e got within a few feet of the car, she saw four men sitting inside it. Immediate= ly she dropped her groceries and pulled a handgun out of her purse and screame= d, “I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!” The four men did not wait for a se= cond invitation; they bailed out and ran like crazy.

The woman was pretty s= haken up, but she got her shopping bags in the back seat and sat down behind the wheel. After three or four unsuccessful attempts at getting her key to go in the ignition, she realized something—this was not her car! Her car, similar in make and model, was four or five spaces down the row! In utter embarrassment, = she moved her shopping bags to her car and drove to the police station to turn herself in. The sergeant at t= he desk nearly fell off his chair laughing when he heard her story. Then he pointed to the other end o= f the counter, where four men were reporting a carjacking by an old woman with th= ick glasses, curly white hair, about five feet tall, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were file= d.= = [1]

Maybe all that disturb= ance could have been avoided if the little old lady had just asked herself the question, “Who owns this car?”= She thought it was hers, but it belonged to someone else.=

I believe most of the disturbances in our lives could be avoided as well if we would just remembe= r to ask the question, “Who owns this life?” Most of our problems stem from the mistaken identity of the owner. We believe that life is our possession, and that we are in sole control of wha= t we do. But I Corinthians 6:19 re= minds us; “you are not your own; fo= r you were bought with a price.” The reality is, our lives belong to God. He is the Owner. God created us; God sustains our l= ives both physically and spiritually. In the end, when we die, God will reclaim the life that he has given us. Our lives belong to God.

This is the idea of stewardship. It i= s not just about money, although money is part of it. Stewardship is about taking care o= f all of life. The key verse today = is I Peter 4:10: “Like good stewar= ds of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you= has received.” Stewards are trusted caretakers of= the property of the owner, and as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are stewards of this life that we have as a gift from God.= As stewards, God gives us freedom—that’s why we are so o= ften under the illusion that we are in control of our lives. We can do just about anything we w= ant to. But with our freedom come= s a divine responsibility. We can’t do just anything we want if we want to stay in the good graces = of the Owner of our lives. With = the freedom also comes responsibility to live our lives well. We are accountable for our actions= and for the way we choose to live our lives.

Whatever aspect of stewardship we are thinking about—time, talents, energy, wealth, the environment—we normally think of stewardship as our gifts to God. We give to God, and that’s o= ur stewardship. Today, I want to= turn that around and think about stewardship as God’s gift to us. We are talking about God’s g= ifts for God’s people, right? So let’s think about our stewardship as a gift from God. He includes us in this relationshi= p, as stewards—caretakers—of his manifold grace. It is our privilege&= #8212;not our burden—to receive and handle God’s gifts.

As stewards of his man= ifold grace, God gives us the gift of PA= RTNERSHIP. We are partners with him in ca= ring for creation, spreading the gospel, doing the ministry he calls us to do. As much as we depend on God to live effectively and productively, God also depends on us. Without our efforts, empowered by = his Spirit, there would be no Church, no ministry, no gospel, no hope. God needs our partnership.

St. Teresa of Avila was a 16th-century spiritual giant who expressed our partnership with God in these words:=

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

no hands but yours, no feet but yours,

yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion

is to look out to the earth,

yours are the feet by which he is to go about doing good,

and yours are the hands by which he is to bless us now.[2]

We don’t even have to be major partners in the Kingdom of God. It is enough just to know we are involved in the process. Dr. = Craig Barnes, a Presbyterian pastor near Pittsburgh, PA, tells about a funeral he conducted for a man who had helped develop the famous Boeing 747 aircraft. = After the service, he spoke with the widow and commented on how remarkable it was that her late husband had help= ed build that marvelous machine. She said, "The truth is, he worked on one little switchbox smaller than a = loaf of bread. That's all he worke= d on for 15 years. But when that 7= 47 lifted off the ground for the first time, it was the happiest day of his life."= [3]

That man worked on one small switchbox for more than a decade. Yet the huge plane couldn't have li= fted off without his contribution. Often we see only our seemingly small efforts, and we feel we aren't very importa= nt. But the simple fact is, we are God’s partners in the business of saving the planet, and every contribution is significant to the Kingdom of God.<= /span>

As stewards of the manifold grace of God, he gives us a second gift—the = gift of RESPONSE-ABILITY. What I’m talking about h= ere is more than responsibility. = Responsibility can sometimes feel like a burden or a chore, not a joy. Our gift from God is the ability to respond to his grace—our response-ability. He has given us the power and freedom to respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit in the world. This gift expresses itself in all = kinds of service, according to the spiritual gifts God has given each of us. Our Scripture says, “= Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another = with whatever gift each of you has received.” Then Peter goes on to say, “Whoever speaks must do so as one speak= ing the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies.”[4] Whatever gifts you have, big gifts or small gifts, use them for God. If you have the gift to share the = gospel verbally, say it! If you have= the gift to help other people who are hurting, serve them. If you are a gifted teacher or mus= ician or craftsman or organizer or caregiver, just do what God has gifted and cal= led you to do. It will make a difference, sometimes in a more profound way than you could ever imagine.

Bill Wilson is the fou= nding pastor of Metro Ministries in a very rough part of <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">New York City. He has been shot, stabbed, and had= a member of his staff murdered. Yet his church has an extensive bus ministry to bring kids to Sunday School—22,000 a week! T= here was a Puerto Rican lady who had been saved in a church service, and she cam= e to Bill Wilson to ask how she could work in the church. She had to speak through an interp= reter because she could hardly speak any English. Bill didn’t know how to u= se her, but she was insistent, so he finally said, “OK, I’ll put y= ou on a bus. Ride a different bus every week and just love the kids.”

So every week this Pue= rto Rican lady would board a bus, find the worst-looking kid on the bus, put the child on her lap, and whisper throughout the ride the only words she had learned in English: “I love you.&nbs= p; Jesus loves you.”

After a few months, th= e lady became attached to a particular kid on one of the buses, and she asked to s= tay on that bus. This little boy didn’t speak. He came t= o Sunday School every week with his sister, and he sat on the woman’s lap, but= he never uttered a sound. She, however, never let up with her talking, telling him over and over again, “I love you. Jesus loves you.” One day, to her amazement, the little boy turned around and stammered out, “I-I l-love you, too.” Then he put = his arms around her and gave her a big hug.&nb= sp;

That was about 2:30 on= a Sunday afternoon. About 6:30 = that evening, New York City police were called to an alley where the little boy’s body had been found. His mother, a drug add= ict, had beaten him to death and thrown him off a fire escape.=

Without a doubt, some = of the last words this little boy heard were “I love you, and Jesus loves you” because a Puerto Rican disciple of Jesus who couldn’t even speak English had offered what little gifts she had in his service. What a difference that gift of stewardship made![5]

Finally, as stewards o= f the manifold grace of God, we are given the gift of OPPORTUNITY.&nb= sp; If we are open to God’s Spirit, if we are partnering with = God in the work of the Kingdom, if we are responding in faith, God will give us= the opportunities to do great things for him.&= nbsp; Doorways will open up; pathways will become clear; ministries will be successful for those who practice good stewardship

Peter suggests two opportunities in this text: “= Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one an= other without complaining.”[6] These are a couple of good ones: love and hospitality. Love, of course, is the Christian’s calling card. Love is what we’re all about.= Love God; love your neighbor; love one another—the commandments are all over the Bible. Hospi= tality is just a practical outgrowth of love; if you love people, you will welcome them and take them in and care for their needs however you can.<= /span>

Years ago in Philadelphia there= was a small hotel, and one rainy night about 11:00 p.m., a couple came into the h= otel and asked for a room. It was a small hotel; the proprietor was on duty.&n= bsp; He could have just said, “Sorry, we’re all full up,̶= 1; which they were. He could hav= e sent the couple packing back into the rainy night. There were any number of reasons f= or him not to help—the bad weather, no reservations, the lateness of the hou= r.

But instead, the propr= ietor, George Boldt, said, “We don’t have any good rooms left; they’re all gone. I hav= e a room here that is not much, but I’ll have the night maid clean it up = and put some fresh flowers in there. Just wait here for a few minutes, and we’ll make you comfortab= le for the night. I can’t = send you back out in that rain.”

In a few minutes, the = night maid came down and reported that the room was ready, and Boldt personally t= ook the couple to the room. Then = he said he would have some hot tea sent up to take the chill off. He really had the gift of hospital= ity.

The strange thing is, = just a year and a half later, when the great Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was built in New York City, Joh= n Jacob Astor IV contacted Boldt to come and manage his brand new world-class hotel. How did he know this small hotel ow= ner? Because it was John Jacob Astor an= d his wife who had come into his hotel on that rainy night in Philadelphia![7] Boldt went on to a great career in= the hotel business, and he is credited with introducing the Waldorf salad and <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Thousand Island salad dressing.<= /span>

If we serve God as ste= wards of his manifold grace, he will give us opportunities to love and serve othe= rs, and that is the definition of spiritual success.

We have a particular opportunity today at First United Methodist Church of Hot Springs. Today is the day we will make our commitments for three years to the Holy Ground campaign, to be stewards of = this gift God has given us—First United Methodist Church. As I told the crowd at our reunion= last Sunday night, this campaign is all about positioning our ministry for the future, putting our house in order so that God can do great things through us. If we put ourselves in the position, God will give us the opportunity. In a moment, we will have an oppor= tunity to show who owns our lives. W= e will have an opportunity to celebrate the partnership we share with God. We will have the chance to respond to the manifold grace he has given us. And like the saints of this church= have done for 150 years, we will make a difference for our ministry now and for future generations. As our Scripture says, “…so th= at God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the po= wer forever and ever. Amen.”[8] Let’s say that again: Amen!<= o:p>