Rev Francisco BilogPsalm 90:10-12; I Peter 4:8-11; Luke 6:46-49
In the year 1958 our family transferred to a 20 hectare farm between the boundary of Barangay Osias and Katidtuan, Kabacan, Cotabato. I thought we became instantly rich, only to find out later that we were just hired to become a “Katiwala” or a stewards of the farm of Mr. & Mrs. Emilio Graza of Kabacan. My father took charge of the farm which consisted of 3 hectares planted with coffee, another 4 hectares of coconut and 13 hectares of upland rice farm. Now and then my father will bring the share of our landlord from the coffee, and coconut farm and also palay from the tenants cultivating the rice fields.
I assumed my father was a good “katiwala” or stewards of Mr. Grazas’ farm because we remained as “Katiwala” of that farm until he decided to sell it to concentrate in his grocery business.
Now St. Peter says in our text says that “As each has received a gift from God, so let us use such gift in the service of one another, like good stewards of the grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:8-10. St. Paul also tells the community of the faith saying “Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they may be found faithful.” (1 Cor. 4:1-2). If you have ever been on an airplane, you know what a steward or stewardess is. That person does not own the airplane or anything on the plane. The company owned everything, but he or she is entrusted with its care. That steward has been given responsibility of taking the goods that belongs to a higher authority and dispensing it to the people for their benefit. That is a steward- on an airplane or ship, and in the spiritual realm as well.
The theme of our emphasis this month is stewardship. I was requested to preach on it. When I look at the scriptures as a whole… there are three recurring themes of stewardship that keep coming up over and over and over again. These are the things that God has so graciously given us… and he has called us to use them wisely… and to use them in service to him. These three things… are money, talents and time. Each of which God has given to us in great abundance.
Today… we will look closer at the gift of time. Our Old Testament text says: “We live at best to be seventy years old, maybe eighty” Psalms 90:10 Jesus live for 33 years to fulfill his mission in life. Others would have 50 or sixty years as a gift from God. Specifically for each of us, we don’t know how many years. So the psalmist said: “so teach us to use our days wisely so we can have a wise heart” Psalms 90:12”
Imagine there is a bank that deposits P 86,400 into your account every single morning. Imagine that no matter what is left over that night… the balance goes back to zero P0, but every morning another P86,400 shows up. It is “use it or loose it.” What would you do? Draw out every cent… every single day of course!
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, we are credited with P86,400 seconds. We don’t get a single second more… and any second we don’t use wisely… is lost forever. Time carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. It doesn’t allow for any “rollover minutes.” You can’t keep time in a bottle. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today’s deposits. The clock is running. Make the most of today.
As I study Jesus’ life I am amazed that He never seemed to be in a hurry. Although He was doing the most important job in history (redeeming the world), and although He knew He only had a few years to do it, He never ran. He made time to consider the flowers and the birds of the air. He had time to put his hands on the little children and bless them. Time was His friend.
Wouldn’t it be nice to live like that? What was his secret? As I look to scripture… I see time and again… it is a balanced life… it is a purpose filled life… with God’s purpose always at the heart of it all. So you want to know how to really make life count… how to turn time into your friend instead of your enemy… then live for the right reasons!
“What is the best way to use my time in the light of the gospel?” That is a very good question we all should ask. Lets look at a few scriptures:
I)- Matthew 14:22-23 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
Jesus was a very busy guy… but several times he sought solitude… to meditate… to pray… to reflect on the word… too listen to God’s voice… to think about what HE had been called to do. Now if Jesus thought it was important… shouldn’t we also make it a priority… and make time in our personal lives for time in solitude… time to reflect on the word… time to pray… time to think about our calling in this life. Think about that.
When we think of stewardship, we often think of money, but time is something God expects us to be good stewards of as well. How we spend our time is going to be of tremendous importance when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I would like to read the Bible but I just do not have the time.” If you were to read the bible from Genesis to Revelation at the speed of someone doing the Scripture reading it would take seventy one hours. If you broke that down into minutes and divided it into one year, that means in only twelve minutes a day, you could read the Bible from cover to cover.
How many of us who do not read the Bible, can honestly say to God, God I just do not have twelve minutes a day to devote to your word. I have to talk on the phone, I have to fix my hair, I have to watch TV, I have to get some rest. Now God one of these days I am going to get around to it. The days will turn into weeks, the weeks months, the months years. Some of us will die having never read the entire word of God.
2). Part of being a good steward according to God is to study the word of God so we can apply its message to our lives. Too many of us are doing what we think is right, instead of doing what God has told us to do in the Bible.
Jesus put it this way, “I’m getting tired of hearing you call me Lord, Lord when you will not do what I say.” We go around all the time, “Lord, I need this. Lord will you help me over here. Lord I’m in need of a miracle. Lord I need your wisdom. Lord I need more patience. Lord, help me to get a raise.”
If we are going to call Jesus Lord, let’s do what Jesus says to do.
When we provide a stewardship of how we spend our time, it will be based on what we have actually done, not what we intended to do. Nobody is going to be rewarded for good intentions. The psalmist prayed, “Lord teach us to number our days.” When we truly number our days, we have a different outlook on life.
3). Part of being a good steward of our time is loving people. Jesus put it this way, “a new commandment, I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this will everyone know that you are my disciples.” Every now and then take a look at the obituary page in the newspaper and see how many people your age made an unexpected departure out of this life. The chance we have today, is a chance that’s not going to come again. You cannot love people without investing some of your time in them.
One night a boy once asked his father, “how much is your daily salary?”. His father replied, “why are you asking? You are planning to ask again money for your toys? You have many toys already. You know I worked so hard is to earn money. Then, he turned his back from him. While alone he felt he spoke harshly to his son. So he returned to his son and softly said “my salary is 400 pesos a day”. Then his son smiled and asked, “you please give me 20 pesos”. His father smiled and gave him 20 pesos. Upon receiving the 20 pesos, he ran to his room and picked out a bundle of money from his pillow. When his father saw the amount his son was holding, he said, you have so much money, why did you still asked 20 pesos?
Well, his son said meekly, I was planning to pay your one day salary so that you can be with us your children even just one day. Let us play, talk, sing and have a great time together. For many, many years you have been very busy, and we missed your presence with us. Yes, the son was saying to parents in general, your children needs your precious time.
4). When you were accepted as a member of the United Methodist Church you were asked this question:
“Will you be loyal to The United Methodist Church, and uphold it by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?
You responded, “I WILL.” Yes, you pledge to be good stewards through your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service. Take note important; for you to be able to be loyal to your and your God, you need to give you time.
Yes, what it all really comes down to… is a matter of time. What does your calendar say about you?
Brothers and sisters we have time. God gives us 86,400 seconds every day to use and use it wisely.
If God gives you 70 years to live, you will have 36,792,000 minutes in your life. If you spent just one or two minutes of your time to give your life to Jesus Christ and make a decision to live for Him, you will be welcome in the heavens prepared for you, for Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” Your clock is ticking down letting you know you are running out of time to do what God requires of you. The first step is getting saved. The second is living the life God has for you by using your time wisely.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
(FUMC July 24, 2016)