Stewardship Is a Matter of the Heart!

18th Sunday after Pentecost, 10/13/19
Amos 8:4-7


Stewardship Is a Matter of the Heart!
I. A heart that worships God lovingly
II. A heart that uses God’s blessings properly


I recently saw a billboard along an interstate that advertised a local hospital’s emergency department. It included a digital readout of the current wait time. If I recall correctly, it said 7 minutes. I was impressed. If you’ve ever had the need to go to an emergency department, you know that you can wait for a long time—hours even—depending the reason for your visit. If you are there for something rather simple such as cuts that need sutures, or you’ve been ill with the flu, or you have a simple fractured bone, be prepared to wait. But if you’re experiencing chest pains, the medical personnel in that department will likely put you near the top of the priority list. As everyone knows, problems with your heart are serious.

Today our worship is focused on stewardship. If I would have informed you a week ago that we’d be talking about stewardship this morning, would you have been more likely or less likely to attend worship today? Would you have thought, “Oh boy, here we go again? Another talk about my money”? I hope not. Because one of the truths of our Christian faith is that God doesn’t want your money if he can’t have your heart first. He’s infinitely more concerned about what’s in your heart than about what you put in the offering plate or how you use your time and talents.

So, let’s focus on our hearts on this morning in which we hear what God says about our stewardship of all the blessings he has given us. Let’s realize that stewardship is a matter of the heart. May we be led to give our Savior our hearts first, and then our lives with all their blessings.

Part I.

If I would have told you prior to this morning that we were going to hear a stewardship message this morning from the prophet Amos, would you have been mildly puzzled? Would you have wondered, “Amos? Why Amos?” Well, one reason for it is that Amos’ times were very much like our own. Amos preached his message to the Jews in the Northern Kingdom about 750 BC. That still doesn’t mean much to you, does it? Well, how about this? It was a time of roaring prosperity. The economy was booming. Many of the Jews were enjoying luxury and leisure. It was also a time of unusual military strength. The formerly powerful nations around the Jews were on the decline, so the Jews took advantage of it and started stretching their boarders and their markets. It was a time of free trade and the Jews were cashing in on it big time. Some of them were making money hand over fist.

So, what was the problem? Well, it wasn’t economical; it was spiritual. Can you find their spiritual problem in these words, “Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’” What’s this stuff about the New Moon and the Sabbath? In Old Testament times, the Jews held special worship observances every Sabbath day and every time there was a new moon, which marked a new month. Those observances required that all work—all business—stopped. In some Jewish cities the gates of the city were closed to prevent any trade from occurring. Imagine these Jewish businessmen sitting in worship on those days. The word of God was being read, but their minds were elsewhere. Instead of focusing on worship, they were looking out the windows wondering how much longer it will be before they can start making money again. Instead of being concerned about how their sins had damaged their relationship with their God, they were thinking about how they could grow their bank accounts or maximize a future business opportunity. And all the while they were simply going through the motions of worship.

They were “worshipping,” but their hearts were full of greed and materialism. For all too many of them, life was simply lived to get more money, get more things, and get more comfortable. They took no thought for the next life. If they had thought at all about their spiritual life, they concluded it was something they could address later. Right now, they had more important things to do than spend time with tier God. Their hearts were far from him.

And so, this is what the Lord had to say to them, “I will never forget anything they have done.” That wasn’t a compliment. Those words are not full of hope and joy. Those words are righteous condemnation. The Lord would not forget that they loved things more than they loved him. And their worship of him was a sham.

Stewardship is a matter of the heart—a heart that worships God lovingly.

You know that your relationship with a friend or relative is in trouble when it becomes apparent that something else or someone else is more important to them than you are. When a young man and a young woman are seeing whether their relationship can grow into something serious, the most important criteria is, “How important am I to him or her? Do I have to settle for second or third place rather frequently?” If so, that’s usually a deal-breaker in a serious relationship.

And it’s no different in our relationship with our God and his relationship with us. He wants—he demands—first place in our hearts. And when that’s true of us, we’re truly worshipping him. And yet, how often don’t we take the attitude that one hour of worship is too much of a sacrifice? How often do we look at the time when we’re in worship and wonder how much longer this is going to take, because if it takes much longer, we might not be able to do what we really want to? How often are we just going through the motions in worship so that we can put a check mark next to “worship” on our list of things to do? In other words, are we giving him our hearts or not? If not, then take to heart his words, “I will never forget anything they have done.” Let those words stir your heart to repentance. Recognize how often we give him half a heart, if anything at all. And then hear his gracious words, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12). That’s what the cross of Jesus accomplished for you. You can’t help but love a God who has removed your sins from you so that you can be his own and live with him. Worship God lovingly!

Part II.

When you pull into the parking lot of your place of employment tomorrow morning, or when you open the door to your school, will you be tempted to park your Christianity right outside the door? I hope not. But that’s exactly what the Jews of Amos’ day did.

Their greed caused them to misuse the blessings God had given them, and stewardship is about using those blessings properly.

One of the things the Lord wants us to do with the blessings he has given us is to care for those in need. The exact opposite occurred in Amos’ day. Listen again to the Lord’s description of what the people were saying and doing, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?…buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.” Instead of helping the needy, they were abusing them. And when the needy bought food on credit, using their sandals as a deposit, they sold them into slavery when they couldn’t repay. A heart that God is pleased with is a heart that helps the needy. That’s stewardship.

It’s also a heart that recognizes that blessings are not an end in themselves. These people had plenty to live on. How much more did they need? The same holds true for us. How much more do we really need? What are you truly lacking? Anything? Our blessings aren’t to be amassed; they’re to be used in ways that glory our God who gave them to us.

And as we use them, let godly honesty guide us. The opposite was a common business practice during Amos’ day. His fellow Jews were guilty of "skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales.” Jewish businessmen were known to have smaller than standard measuring devices. Furthermore, when it came time to pay for the grain, they used heavier weights on their end of the scale. And thirdly, the scale itself was off-balance. The entire transaction was a cesspool of cheating, lying, fraud, and stealing.

God had made it perfectly clear in his law, “Use honest scales and honest weights” (Lev. 19:36). A proper stewardship heart deals honestly with others.

That’s because stewardship is a matter of the heart—a heart that uses God’s blessings properly.

Have you ever read a corporate vision statement which read, “We’re in business to get as much money out of you as we can” or, “We want every cent you have”? While some business executives might have that in their hearts and minds, no business would ever be foolish enough to come out and state it so bluntly.

And none of us would be foolish enough to say, “My life is all about money and possessions.” We know those things aren’t what’s important in life. But we struggle. We think, “If I can just earn this much, if I can just attain this, if I can just drive this kind of vehicle or live in that kind of house…”

Jesus asks us to stop for a moment and think. Think about what he means to us. What does it mean to you to have a Savior who loves you unconditionally and died for you? Ponder that. And then show what it means to you. Show it in how you use the blessings the Lord has so richly given you. Reflect on what that means for how you use your talents and abilities, in how and why you worship, and in what you return to him as an offering.

Stewardship is a matter of the heart. Your Lord deeply wants your heart. Give it to him joyfully! Amen.