A byte-sized biblical study on the role God intended for us

Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.

Stewardship: Good and Faithful Servants

Good morning everyone. Blessed New Year to all of you. This is a very good morning to be anywhere else, so I’m thankful that everybody is here.

Many of you would have already known from the ZLY retreat that stewardship is the assembly’s theme for this year. Now in the last four years we have used a common theme each year to focus our assembly and the various ministries on one aspect of spiritual growth. Since 2020 we have considered things like evangelism, edification, encouragement, and most recently exaltation.

In general, the intention was to consider things at a wider assembly level. But from this year we will move away from the assembly view to an individual focus—to focus more on personal growth in our spiritual lives.

And we have chosen to start with stewardship because arguably it forms the basis of how a believer’s life should be. Now on the surface most of us instinctively know what stewardship is.

What is Stewardship, and Why Did God Call Us to It?

The English dictionary defines a steward as a person who manages another’s property, or one who takes charge of the household of another.

Now why then did God call all of us to be stewards?

Understanding this intention by the Lord is key, because it will allow us to see why, at an individual level, the qualities expected of a steward mirror those that the Lord requires of us as believers.

Scripture tells us in Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” This includes all of us. God is the Creator. God is the property owner of the world.

But God is also a loving Master. He provided everything for us to live well and to do good works. Sacrificing His Son on the cross for all of us is also testament of Him being a loving Master.

Now in return, He asks us to be His good and faithful servants—taking care of His earth, which is His property, and managing His household of believers and non-believers alike. This work includes, among other things, making sure that the gospel is preached at every opportunity so that the Lord’s kingdom is continually expanded.

Matthew 20:28 tells us that just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, it is also then true for us to be of service to others in our time on earth.

Therefore, when we love the Lord, we will want to do His work according to His will, and to do it well. Collectively, in a very broad sense, this is stewardship—God’s call for all of us to manage His kingdom.

Inevitably, there will be those who will readily accept God’s provisions and use it not for the Lord but for their own benefits, for their own desires—building themselves up and doing nothing for the Lord. They have chosen not to be stewards, or at least very poor ones. They have not heeded the Lord’s will.

At the risk of oversimplification, this is a summary of today’s message—if you need a too-long-didn’t-read version, TLDR—so now we can all go for breakfast already.

But this is why stewardship is such an important aspect of our Christian life: because our willingness to be one, our attitude to strive to be good stewards, reflects our obedience to the Lord—and it’s a litmus of our level of faithfulness.

Takeaway Point #1

A good steward is also, by definition, a good and faithful believer.

But we are all good Singaporeans, right? Ninety-nine out of one hundred is not good enough. Every parent will know this.

If we are commanded to be good stewards, we want to know what is the reference institution standard of stewardship.

And on this note, this is the right question to ask—because we should be concerned what makes a good steward, and how do we come to become one. This will be our goal in the next two weeks.

Today’s Plan

For today specifically, we will do three things:

1. We will look at key aspects and qualities about being a steward. This provides us the basis, the background, and the context.
2. We will consider what makes a good steward, and actually how it looks like. This allows us to know what is expected of all of us.
3. We will briefly consider how we can put this in practice to be good stewards in our daily as well as assembly life.

Now the third part will hopefully make it real and actionable for us.

Today’s portions will be slightly more technical, but it’s important to stage-set for next week, which is designed to be more practical in nature. So please bear with me this week, and I will help us join the dots by the end of today.

My promise is that I will avoid providing you an esoteric message of just “head knowledge,” but to try to keep the message light, relatable, and importantly for all of us, usable.

Three Tools Used in This Message

To make this message more useful and personalized for your own study, there are three different tools that I have used:

1. I have listed some takeaway points for those that prefer to just note the essence of the message.
2. I have listed some reading bookmarks along the way—longer chapters that you are encouraged to read on your own because in the course of the message I’ve only lifted some portions of it.
3. I’ve listed some personal stewardship challenges—simple questions for you to think about so that you can prepare for next week’s message.

Say it badly: it’s called homework.

The Basis of Stewardship: Two Mundane Examples

To distill the essence of the basis of stewardship, allow me to use two mundane examples to kick us off.

Example 1: The Beef Noodle Stall

The first is about a food store that I used to go to. I like beef noodles, and one of my favorite ones growing up was this shop at the East Coast Lagoon.

In the early days it was a one-man operation—so the guy cooked and then he served. As time went by, probably for efficiency, it became self-service, and at this time he also hired an assistant to help with things like giving you the chili, giving you your chopsticks.

He is what I call a very precise guy. Before he blenched the noodles and the meat, he will count the portions and everything inside the bowl. He will even remove things like a pinch of salted vegetables here, five bean sprouts there. Even if it was a thin piece of beef, his mind will tell him, “This is too much,” so he will tear away half. He did this with other things as well—as I said, he was very precise.

And then you get to the assistant. This guy was like the direct opposite. He was giving away huge portions of chili condiments as though it was free. Ever so often you can hear the boss grumbling inside the store.

Now the assistant is clearly not the boss, and he’s probably on a fixed wage. In his mind, he’s getting paid regardless of what he does, and he’s clearly not on the same page as his boss inside cooking.

The assistant didn’t last very long, and he was replaced by another who was equally precise—who will then literally just give you one plastic saucer of chili, and then after that he will look away if you ask for more.

Example 2: My Children and the “Lease Model” Phone

The second anecdote is about my children—because they are always useful materials for morning ministry messages.

Most of us know as parents that the single most important decision you will make as a parent for your child is not PSLE or what school to go to, but when you want to give them a handphone.

In my household we operated on the lease model, because while we accepted the wisdom of not giving them the phones early, it does make coordination a lot easier—especially when you are running around chasing tuition classes and sometimes, and all parents know this, you just need them to wait at the curbside because you cannot find parking to pick them up.

So for Alexis, and now Aser, they first started using one of my spare phones and a basic line that I subscribed. At first they were very excited, right? They listened to every condition that you lay out.

However, as time went by, when you impose more and more curfews and limited phone usage, they will start to grumble about why we don’t let them hold on to their phones, why is there a need to take them back, why you don’t trust them.

At this point I find myself always reminding them: the phone is mine, the line is mine, the electricity that you’re charging the phone is also mine. The phone was only meant for coordination for classes, but they have now used it for all kinds of leisure activities—all of which me and my wife, we have lovingly closed both eyes—not just one.

But ever so often they had to be reminded as to who was the owner, and by extension who made the rules.

Three Key Aspects and Qualities of Stewardship

I use these two anecdotes to bring up a few key points that are useful to frame the basis, key aspects, and qualities of what a good steward is.

The first part is important because the only way to be good stewards is to clearly understand the original intention by God, and the fundamental basis by which He has commanded us to be stewards.

From the two anecdotes, stewardship is largely premised on three things.

1) Know Who the Master Is—and Remember the Difference in Role

We must know who the master is—AKA the boss. And importantly we must always remember there is a difference in role between the master and the worker.

Not all workers are price takers and just do the bidding of the boss. Many workers are given a high amount of autonomy and authority to execute the desires of the boss. But in the end they must understand their place as workers and not cover the role of trying to be owners.

In the anecdote of my kids, after a while they thought of themselves as owners of the phone. Hence their unhappiness stems from an unfairness of not being able to use it—but as a perceived owner rather than their real role as a borrower.

Many problems arise the moment there’s a diluting of these roles. Most specifically, when workers assume they are owners and start to make decisions as though they own the resource. They start to use their gifts and talents to try and assume the role of the master rather than to be contented in their role as workers.

They have forgotten their place, and cannot be good stewards.

2) Be Aligned to the Thoughts and Intentions of the Master

As workers, we must be aligned to the thoughts of the master so that we can understand what his intentions are, and the task that we are given.

The beef noodle assistant did not understand this. My kids also did not understand this.

When we don’t understand or are not aligned, we will find it difficult to do what is required of all of us. Sometimes you do everything—but not what is required. Many people fall into this category, though they may all have good intentions.

You know like what they say, right? The road to all bad things is often paved with good intentions. Now I change it a bit to be safe for church.

When we are misaligned, we cannot be good stewards because we are not taking care of the master’s business the way in which he wants it to be taken care of.

Understanding the intentions of the owner and being aligned is essential if one is to be a good steward.

3) Stewardship is Not Passive—It Is Meant to Expand What Was Entrusted

The role of the steward is not a passive one. Rather, we are charged to help the master increase and expand the things that were given under our charge.

The system was meant to increase profits for the owner—just like my kids were meant to help increase our convenience via the phones.

In the same way, we are not meant to be passive Christians—happy to just be personally safe, but not doing our part to bring more souls to salvation. We are not meant to be passive in just being attendees in the church and not contributing to the body life for edification or encouragement of others around us.

In short, stewardship is not simply about being careful with money or being careful about your time. Stewardship involves a whole gamut of things that revolves around our lives.

And we know that this was established by God as early as the Garden of Eden—when it was also likely His first instructions given to man.

Stewardship Was God’s Design from the Beginning

Reading Bookmark #1

Please read Genesis chapters 1 to 3.

For the purpose of today, in Genesis 1:26–28, it tells us: God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” And further down it says: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it; rule…”

Even at the beginning, it was already by God’s design that we were meant to be stewards of the earth that He has created.

Now if we read further in Genesis 2:15, it tells us: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it.” To take care of it. God told Adam and Eve: you had one job—take care of My garden and everything in it.

Now there’s a possibility to be confused here because in Genesis 1 God told them to rule and have dominion—subdue it—but in Genesis 2 He told them to work it and take care of it.

Was God telling them to be masters in Genesis 1 and then be workers in Genesis 2?

To understand this, consider Psalm 8:6: God made man ruler over the works of His hands; He put everything under their feet. And Psalm 115:16: the heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth He has given to the children of men.

So what does this tell us? That we are meant to be God’s representation on earth. The usage of the word “rule” is interesting, but it’s consistent with what the Lord wanted.

God made man in His own image, which means man was supposed to reflect the goodness and the glory of the Lord. It also meant that man could have a relationship with God because of this.

God instructed man to rule His creation on earth on His behalf. As such, the idea of ruling and having dominion must be seen from God’s perspective: a loving God that created everything would naturally love His creation and want the best for it—and God tasked the role of looking after it to us.

God made man His stewards to take care of things.

Luke 12:42 indirectly describes this expectation when it says: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at proper times?” The big things and the small things—likewise God expects His stewards to be faithful and wise managers.

So this is the plan for all of us as stewards.

God Also Established the Relationship: Master and Worker

Beyond commanding men to be stewards, God also established the intended relationship between Him and us, the worker.

In Genesis 2:16–17, He said: “You are free to eat of any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat it you will surely die.”

When God gave this instruction, He was also dictating three things:

1. God was the master and He created all things.
2. As the master, God makes the rules—and here His rule was that they should not eat from this tree.
3. God expected them to comply and obey because they were meant to be His workers.

Adam and Eve sinned because they decided to redefine this definition. They disobeyed because they were tempted to be like God. They sinned because they decided that instead of being workers, they also desired to be the master—to determine right and wrong, and to not take orders from anyone else.

They diluted their roles and were removed from God’s paradise.

Now having understood the basis and context of what constitutes a good steward, we can now proceed to examine how to be a good steward for the Lord.

What Makes a Good Steward: Examples from Joseph and Daniel

Instead of listing qualities like a laundry list, it might be more useful to look at examples from Scripture.

We will use the examples from the Old Testament of both Joseph and Daniel to show us the gold standard of being a good steward.

Reading Bookmarks #2 and #3

• Genesis (Joseph’s account in Potiphar’s house)
• Daniel 6

In the story of Joseph (Genesis 39), it says that Joseph found favor in the sight of Potiphar and became his personal servant, and Potiphar made him overseer over his house and all that he owned—he put him in charge. And further down, it says Potiphar left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge, and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate.

That means he really delegated everything to Joseph.

Similarly, in the book of Daniel, Daniel 6:1–3, Darius appointed 120 satraps over the kingdom, and Daniel was one of the commissioners. And then Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

The common traits of good stewardship for both Joseph and Daniel were that:

1. Their respective masters trusted them fully—and because trust is typically earned, we can deduce that both of them did their jobs very responsibly.
2. They were both favored by their masters—likely because they both made significant contributions and helped their masters achieve their goals.
3. They both brought blessings to their masters.

Now using the same gauge, are we trustworthy in our work and walk with the Lord? This is the first question we need to ask ourselves.

Are we trustworthy in our work? Will we do the things that please and delight the Lord? Will we bring glory to the Lord?

Will we be as described in 1 Thessalonians 2:4: “Just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak—not intending to please people but to please God who examines our hearts.”

Takeaway Point #2

Being trustworthy, doing things that delight the Lord, and bringing glory to the Lord are the hallmarks of a good steward for the Lord.

And in fact these hallmarks are elegantly captured in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14–30.

The Parable of the Talents: Wisdom for Stewardship

In the parable, the man went on a long journey, called his servants, and entrusted his property to them. He gave five, two, and one—each according to his ability. Then he returned after a long while and settled accounts.

The first two doubled what they had. The last one did not do anything and was rebuked.

I love this parable because it conveys so much wisdom in a few short verses.

Based on what we have discussed, notice:

• In verse 14, the master trusted the servants—that’s why he entrusted them with talents.
• In verse 15, he gave them tasks according to their ability—the master understood each servant’s strengths and weaknesses.
• In verse 19, the master returned as promised to settle accounts—though it was after a long while.
• In verse 21, the servants who did well were commended.
• In verses 26–29, the servant who was a poor steward had his taken away.

Observation #1: All Were Given Time, Ability, and Resources

All three servants had three things in common, though not in the same amount:

1. They were all given time to do their work—the master went away for a while.
2. They all had some degree of ability and skill, and were entrusted accordingly.
3. They were all given resources to do their work—even the servant with one talent.

And don’t look down on the servant with one talent. Let me put it in proper context lest we feel that the master was biased against servant number three.

One talent is worth 6,000 denarii. One denarius is generally worth a day wage at that time. So 6,000 denarii is about 20 years worth of work.

Similarly, in the gospels, when the woman broke the jar and poured oil over Jesus’ head in Mark 14, she was rebuked by some who said she could have sold that jar for 300 denarii, which is a year’s worth of wages.

So what is salient here is that even for the servant with one talent, it was not a trivial resource. He was given 20 years’ worth of wages.

Takeaway Point #3

Do not let our own perceived shortcomings stop us from doing God’s work.
I use the word “perceived.” God has provided adequately for all of us.

This is similar to Jesus’ command in Luke 21:3–4 about the poor widow. The Lord looks at our hearts as stewards.

Observation #2: The Difference Was Not What They Had, But What They Did

The servants went about the task in very different ways.

The first two immediately set the talents to work. Because they did so, they doubled what they had.

The third servant did not invest in any work and hid the talent in the ground. And when asked to give an account, he merely returned the talent back to the master.

While it’s not written, there is likely some effort required by the first two servants to achieve their success. In verse 27, when the master rebuked him, he said he could have at least invested it in the bank to reap interest. Some commentaries argue the first two servants probably did more than a simple action such as depositing.

What should also be observed is that the third servant did not lose the talent. Neither did he squander it. He returned the talent intact—yet he was still rebuked for being wicked and lazy.

Some people used to tell me the third servant can be a very good civil servant because he didn’t lose anything after such a long time. But the master rebuked him as lazy because he chose the easy way out—chose not to use the talent for anything—and in the process wasted the potential of what that talent could have done.

Takeaway Point #4

We must do what matters.
If God is our Lord, then that is what matters.

God has given us gifts and resources—do we choose to use it for His work, or are we like the third servant who chose not to use the potential of what is given for God’s work?

The third servant was deemed lazy because he was not prepared to labor for the Lord. So the challenge for us is to decide what is important: do we work for ourselves, or do we work for God?

Observation #3: Good Stewards Live Ready to Give an Account

The master said he was going away and coming back—and he indeed returned.

The unknown duration of his absence matters because it reflects the faithfulness and loyalty of the servants.

If your boss gives you work and tells you he will check on tomorrow, you will surely be on the ball. If he asks you to account for something next week, you will also work at it very hard.

But if your boss gives you a piece of work and tells you he’s going away for a few years for holiday, and he’s not sure exactly when he’s coming back—chances are our attitude will change.

The first two servants worked on the presumption that the master would come back and account for their work. That is why the master called them good and faithful.

For the third servant, many commentaries have suggested he was reluctant to do anything as he was unsure if the master was really coming back. By hiding it rather than putting it in the bank, he gave himself—not his master—the best opportunity: if the master did not return, he could take it for himself; if the master did return, he could return it intact and no work for him.

We know he was called lazy or slothful, yet the master also rebuked him as wicked because he did not have the master’s interest at heart—his actions were self-serving.

Takeaway Point #5

Good stewards are always ready to give an account of their work.
Standby one—they’re always ready to give an account for their work.

We know the Lord is coming back, so it is important for us to have this mindset. Good stewards must always standby.

Now in verse 30, it says to cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There are two versions of explanations for this. The first is that the third servant represented a person that though was “safe” but actually was not—so his lack of faithfulness is testament to it.

However, a second argument is that the phrase is used as imagery: weeping is associated with terrible sorrow and repentance, whereas gnashing of teeth speaks of frustration, anger, and pain.

So the third servant was moved to a place where he experienced great sorrow and anguish—in truth, intense regret—when he realized that he could have done better with what he was given.

For today’s topic on stewardship, I shared this perspective on the basis that we can be believers and still behave like the third servant. We can be procrastinating, and we can do it because we have lacked motivation when it comes to the Lord’s things.

In the end we need to reflect on ourselves and ensure that while there is time, we must all endeavor to be good stewards and not end up like the third servant in a period of intense regret.

A reminder is given to all of us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may be rewarded for the deeds in the body, according to what he has done.

So takeaway point number five is a gentle reminder for us to reflect on our Christian lives: when we need to “pass up homework,” what do we have to show for it?

Personal Stewardship Challenges for the Coming Week

Having considered the three hallmarks of what is a good steward, I would like to propose three personal stewardship challenges for us to think about in the coming week. I hope that you will find time to do this—it will be really helpful for next week’s message.

Personal Stewardship Challenge #1

Reflect honestly: what have been your own reservations about doing more for the Lord?
It can be personal or assembly level. No need to bluff yourself.

Personal Stewardship Challenge #2

In my own life right now—whether you’re studying or working—what are my priorities, and where do I rank the work of the Lord?
No need to have the top 100 list. Top five is okay. The Lord’s work can be personal, like your quiet time, or participation in activity groups.

Personal Stewardship Challenge #3

On a scale of 1 to 10—10 being the qualities of the first servant, 1 being the folly of the third—where would you rank yourself, and why?
If you feel embarrassed you’re lower, no need to tell anyone. Self know can already.

Next week we will speak of practical ways that we can be good stewards. But I want to end today by helping us connect the dots about what we have discussed.

Connecting the Dots and Setting the Stage for Next Week

In the first segment, we talked about the basis, key aspects, and qualities of a steward. This helps us set the stage, as being a steward is part of God’s design and His relationship with us.

In this relationship, three things:

1. We are to acknowledge the Lord is our master and be aligned to His will.
2. We have to be clear on our role as the steward/worker, and not be confused between the two roles.
3. Our work is not meant to be passive, but our responsibility is to go out there and do our best to glorify the Lord.

These are the three key aspects of a steward—and we have said it’s important because it mirrors our relationship with the Lord.

Only then can we strive to be good stewards, of which the hallmarks I have discussed in the second segment.

Now let me end and set the stage for next week by relating a biblical example of a good steward.

Reading Bookmark #4

Genesis 24 describes the contributions of Abraham’s head servant, called Eliezer.

He was the most senior and most trusted. Abraham trusted him so much that he sent him to find a wife for his son. The gist is that he undertook Abraham’s task with utmost seriousness. He never wavered from his task—even at Laban’s house when food was presented to him, he did not eat until the mission was completed.

There was no personal benefit for him to do this mission. In fact, as tradition, if Abraham did not have a son, all the possessions would have gone to him. But Eliezer persevered anyway because he was a model of what a good steward is.

Spurgeon described this best, and I thought it was useful for us:

Like every true servant of Christ, he put his master’s business before his own ease or comfort—even before the question of necessary food. When a man begins to think more of his eating than of the doing of the will of the Lord, he ceases to be a true-hearted servant.

There are many examples beyond just Eliezer, Joseph, or Daniel, but I would like to leave you with these—and then three more personal stewardship challenges, because in army everything must sign extra. So instead of three, give you three more.

Personal Stewardship Challenge #4

Identify: what are the gifts and resources that you have that you think you can contribute to the Lord’s work?
All of us have been blessed with abilities, but not all the same. The Lord expects us to use them well.

Personal Stewardship Challenge #5

Determine practically: what are the things that you can do for the Lord?
Practical things—no need lofty ideas like “I will renovate the whole church.” List them broadly. Put a time frame if it helps: immediately, or within the next three to six months.

My opinion: it is better to take a deliberate approach if you are starting out rather than just leaving it to feeling and motivation. We must all be deliberate in being stewards.

Personal Stewardship Challenge #6

How can we develop that sense of eagerness and urgency for the Lord’s work?

My own experience tells me: if you say you will focus on the Lord’s work when you are less busy, or that you will do more when you have a better paying job—that day will never come.

So what works for you is to trigger a sense of urgency.

Closing Encouragement

Now I hope this very broad overview of what stewardship means will be useful for you. I encourage all of us to consider the personal stewardship challenges, and also to take time to refer to the four reading bookmarks that I have listed.

Next week, God willing, we will go deeper and talk about specific areas that we are expected to be stewards of, and I will try to give practical examples about how we can start to be good stewards in our daily walk as well as our assembly life.

Prayer

Let’s pray.

Our gracious God and heavenly Father, we want to pray to thank You that we have this time and this privilege to be in Your house on this Lord’s Day—to remember You, to remember the Lord Jesus Christ who came down to deserve to die for each and every one of us.

Lord, we are always reminded that You have created us, that You have put us on this earth, and that You have made us stewards over all things. And that our role is to be good stewards of You—to be good and faithful servants—to expand Your kingdom, to spread Your word.

O Lord, allow us to continually remember this role of stewards that You have given and tasked each and every one of us. As we go about our daily lives—in our work and our places of study in the course of the week—allow us to take a moment to reflect, as it is also a new year, to see how we can be better stewards in our lives, that we can contribute not only just to ourselves, to our families, but to the assembly as well.

We want to pray all this and commit everything into Your hands. All this we pray in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

Thank you very much.