Imagine that it is Christmas morning. You go to the tree and find there a trunk or a chest filled with packages. It is yours, a gift. All of it is now yours. What a gift!

But think for a moment. Is it really yours? You can claim ownership but to really own it, do you not first have to open the packages?  You can take the trunk into the attic and store it there with all of the packages unopened and rightfully claim that you own it, all of it. But ownership will do you little good until you open the packages; is that not true?

Throughout this series on Christian stewardship, we have said that the gift of God’s salvation is like receiving a trunk full of packages. When you respond to God’s love for you by trying to love God back, when you accept Christ as Lord and Savior and seek to live as his disciple, all of the gifts of salvation are given to you in that very moment. But like a trunk full of packages, it will take a long time to open all of the gifts that God gives to you when you receive the gift of salvation in Christ.

Of the countless gifts that God gives in salvation, in this series of sermons, we have opened four: the gift of salvation itself, the gift of God’s continuous companionship, the gift of a new perspective on creation, and the gift of Christ’s church. Each is a part of God’s gift of salvation and each requires a lifetime to open and explore.

Now imagine this. It is Saturday morning and your door bell rings.  You open the door and the man says, “Congratulations, you have just won the sweepstakes. Here is your check of one million dollars.”  It is a gift. This is your money to enjoy as you see fit. 

Who hasn’t had the fantasy?  Now, what are you going to do?  You can make a down payment on a boat. I heard on NPR that a new marina is being built in South Florida to house the yachts that are being built and sold. You may buy one for about fifty million dollars which reaffirms the wisdom of the old Florida fisherman who said that a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw your money. What are you going to do?

You may spend it on anything that you like and if you spend it in a particular way, it will be gone in about ten minutes. The only way that your money will be a continuing source of joy and happiness to you is if you learn to take care of it. Taking care of the gift is what Christians call “Stewardship.”

Let’s return to the Christmas trunk that contains the packages of salvation. Today you look in and lift out a small envelope. After the huge packages of creation and church, you wonder what this tiny little envelope could contain.  It cannot be much but it is a part of God’s salvation. It is in the trunk. What could it be?

You slice open the envelope and lift out a piece of paper. It is a check. It is all of the money that you will need to live your life on Planet Earth!  Given the fact that you live in Topeka, Kansas in the United States of America, it is probably more than you need to live your life. The question is, how will you take care of it? How will you take care of the cash that God entrusts into your keeping?

Somebody here is saying, “I earned this money. Nobody gave me anything.” 
And the Christian says, You did not even choose to be born. You did not choose your parents nor your place of birth nor did you even choose the talents that allow you to make your money. All of that is a gift from God. If you have used your gifts well to make the money you need for your family, good for you. That is the way it is supposed to be. But it all begins as a gift from God!

So, how do we take care of the cash? How do we live as good stewards of the money that God entrusts into our keeping?

Your money is an instrument of your stewardship. Your cash is an instrument to be used in taking care of the gifts that have come from God to you.

A couple of weeks ago, we said that, in our salvation, God has given us a new vision of creation. We see the creation as a magnificent work of art created by the ultimate artist, the Creator God. And we described some of the gifts that have been given to us in creation.

• The natural world in all of its beauty is a gift from God.  The way that we use our money has an impact on this fragile thing called “The Environment.”
• Our very selves; our bodies, minds, emotions are all gifts from God and require care. Taking care of yourself is an act of stewardship and our money is an instrument to be used in that care. It is money, hard cash that provides the room and board, the education and medical care and so much that is necessary to keep ourselves healthy. We cannot separate the way we use our money from our responsibility to care for ourselves.
• Our families are gifts from God. Let me offer a silly scenario.  Dad calls his wife and children around and says to them, “I love you and I want to take really good care of you. I want to fulfill my responsibility to be a good husband and father. But I am not going to spend any money doing it! Money has nothing to do with my love for you.”  You will say, “That is the dumbest thing that I ever heard in my life. You cannot take care of a family without money!”  Money is the instrument of our stewardship.
• Our communities are a gift from God. We cannot be human as we think of being human without the institutions of community – without schools and police protection and sewer lines and water pipes and highways and all the rest that goes with living in a community. And all of that requires money, our money. Our taxes are a necessary part of our stewardship.
• God has given us a world in which to live and a mission in this world. In John 3: 17 Jesus says that God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. Our mission is nothing less than the salvation of the world and sharing that message requires money.

Last week we talked about this great Christian community that we call church. It is a gift from God. The church has the greatest mission of all. We are the stewards of God’s gift of salvation. It is the church that has been the steward of the Bible. In church we learn to discern the movement of God around us. Here we pray and worship, weep together and rejoice together, and seek to fulfill God’s distinctive call to ministry.

Taking care of the church, being good stewards of the church and its mission is our God given response to the gift that God gives called church.  And money is an essential instrument of that care.

Let me try out some really silly statements on you:

• The church needs to have a really great ministry for our children but I do not want to spend money on it.
• The church needs to have a great ministry with our youth but I do not want to spend money to purchase materials or to pay the salaries of those who are needed to do the job.
• The church needs a great music ministry in order to worship God but I do not want to spend money to purchase music or to maintain the organ.
• The sanctuary needs to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter but I do not want to spend money for utilities.
• The church needs a really great staff but they should pay for the privilege of serving – let their spouses work, because I do not want to spend the money.
• The church needs to reach our community but not if I must spend money.

In this exercise of silliness, the obvious becomes…obvious.  The cash is an instrument of our stewardship and we cannot be good stewards without using the cash.

Let’s be more positive:

• Through the use of your cash, you can be a missionary in Africa and Asia and the cities of America.
• Through the use of your cash, you can share the love of Christ by feeding the hungry in Kansas City and Topeka.
• Through your cash, you can teach our youngest Faith Forrest and allow our youth to play bells in church.
• Through your cash, you can create a space for the worship of God and you can cause the organ to play and the choirs to sing.
• Through your cash, you can set aside the time needed every week to prepare the sermons and to preach the Gospel.

Is it only our cash?  Of course not. In fact, the cash is not the most important part. Your personal participation is what counts most, your prayers and your volunteer efforts are all needed. But this is also true, the cash counts.

So, how much cash?  Malachi says it clearly, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.” The biblical standard is 10% For some of us, that is too much. If we give 10% of our income to the church, we will not be able to fulfill our other stewardship responsibilities. The truth is that there are times when some of us need to take money out of the church. We have a “Fellowship Offering” that is used to help our members who find themselves in financial difficulty. But for some of us, 10% is not enough. We have more than enough and we are more than able to advance the cause of Christ through the church with significant portions of cash.

That is why we Baptists have never imposed a tax or established a specific amount. We simply say this, “Have a little talk with Jesus and then do what is right by him. You are the only one who can balance your own stewardship responsibilities. The privilege and responsibility are yours.

By the way, about once a  year someone will say something like this to me. “You must have noticed my pledge or that my offering has changed.” The truth is that I do not notice. As pastor, I do not know what you give and while I care deeply about your spiritual health, your financial contributions are a matter between you and God. The only reason that our financial secretary knows is because somebody has to keep the records.

Let me finish in this way. God has blessed you in remarkable ways. God has given you the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. God has given you the gift of God’s constant companionship. God has given you all creation to enjoy. And God has given us the church, this body of baptized believers wherein we continually discover anew the remarkable blessing that God seems to insist on pouring down on us.

May God grant us the grace to take really good care of the remarkable blessings that flow from the hand of God.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:10 (NIV))