“Begin
With the End in Mind: Living as Fruitful Stewards in Time” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
1.
Grace, mercy,
and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen. Today, we begin our stewardship program
Bearing Fruit for Jesus: His Grace and Power at Work Within You. For this week, our focus is on being
fruitful with our time. The
text is from Ecclesiastes 3:1: “There is
a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” The message is entitled, “Begin With the End in Mind: Living as
Fruitful Stewards in Time,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Come with me for
a little adventure. Listen
carefully. Imagine you see yourself
going to the funeral of a loved one. You
arrive at the church and walk in. You
see friends and family and you feel the sense of grief that fills their
hearts. You walk up to the casket at the
rear of the sanctuary and come face-to-face with yourself. This is your funeral. All these people have come to honor you, and
you hear them expressing feelings of love and appreciation for your life. As you take a seat and wait for the
service to begin, you look at the service folder in your hand. There are four speakers. The first is from your family, the second is
a friend, the third is a co-work or neighbor, and the fourth is your pastor.
3.
Now think
deeply. What would you like each of
these speakers to say about you and your life?
What kind of husband, wife, father, or mother would you
like their words to reflect?
What kind of son or daughter or cousin were you? What kind of friend have you been? What kind of worker or neighbor were
you? How would your pastor describe your
Christian life? How would those who know
you best remember your relationship to them?
Bottom line: how would you like to be remembered when you
die? You will be thought of in definite
terms. (To say, “I don’t care; I’ll be
dead anyway;” is not an option.) If
you participated seriously in this exercise, you revealed some of your deep,
fundamental values, principles, and beliefs. (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,
by Stephen Covey).
4.
Time is a gift
from God, and, if Christians would begin each day with the end in mind, it
could change lives. Every
day we live under God’s grace. We live with the saving faith in Jesus Christ
Who died and rose victoriously that we might live the abundant life as fruitful
stewards of time. Let me put it this
way: To begin with the end in mind isn’t to be focused on “What will others
think of me when I’m dead and gone?”
Rather, how differently would I use the time God has given
to bear witness of His grace at work in my life? When we consider how we will be remembered
upon our death, it awakens our sense of urgency for living what I call a Christfilled, fruitful life.
5.
It means, I’m
connected to Christ as the true vine; I am one of the branches, so connected as
to take my life from Him, and to bear fruit.
"I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do
nothing.” (John 15:5). Jesus is telling us that as branches we
will bear fruit as long as we stay connected to Jesus, the Vine. In order for us to be fruitful with the time God
gives us, we need to stay connected to Jesus.
My time and life has meaning from beginning to end. And even then, the end is only the beginning
of all eternity. In Christ, you will
be fruitful stewards of time.
6.
When people in
their eighties were asked, “What would you do differently if you had life to
live over?” Their
response was threefold: Risk more, reflect more, and leave a legacy (something
that would last beyond their time here).
What did they mean by “risk more?” Gamble?
Invest more money in the Stock Market?
Live with reckless abandon? Drive
like there were no tomorrow? (Some are
doing this already!) Rather, for the
Christian doesn’t it mean using our time to boldly, confidently, and openly
share the love of Christ, risking ridicule and rejection for the reward of
eternal life for all who believe?
Doesn’t it mean using my time with a non-Christian to share Christ with
him? How about risking a relationship by
using your limited time to share your faith. Colossians 1:6 says, “All over the world this gospel is bearing
fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard
it and understood God's grace in all its truth.” It was because the early Christians were
willing to risk it all for the sake of Christ that the church grew in the power
of the Holy Spirit.
7.
Reflect more. What does this mean? It
has a two-fold or dual meaning here. To pause and think; to retrace the past; to
stop and smell the roses; ponder; or reflect as the moon reflects the sun in
the night sky, or a mirror reflects the image before
it. By the use of our time, we should
reflect such a life filled with fruit that others would know decisively that we
are Christians. (“Produce fruit in
keeping with repentance.” Matthew 3:8).
8.
We need to use
our time to reflect on the richness of God’s grace revealed in His Word. We need to use our
time to reflect on the power and benefits of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and
for living for all time and eternity. AND, we need to be closer to Him Who is the
Light of the world that we might more brilliantly reflect His light and love to
the world, to others. “Let your light shine before men, that they
may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew
5:16). Jesus doesn’t want us to hide
our lights. He wants the world to
see His light shine through us.
9.
Leave a lasting legacy. “Begin with the end in mind.” Your use of time (how
you prioritize and live your life) each day sends a powerful message to others
regarding what you value the most. Toward the end of the 19th century,
Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the
local newspaper. It read: “Alfred
Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more
people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man.” Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who
had died; a newspaper reporter had bungled the epitaph. But the account had a profound effect on
Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known
for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and
for amassing a fortune in the process.
10. So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the
award for scientists and writers who foster peace. Nobel said,
“Every man ought to have the chance to
correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.” Few things will change us as much as
looking at our life as though it is finished. (Is It
Real When It Doesn’t Work? Doug
Murren and Barb Shurin; quoted in Leadership by Rex Bonar, Summer, 1991)
11. There is a time for everything under
heaven. This
is your time, a gift from God. It is
your appointed time. For such a time as
this the Lord has appointed you to live as a fruitful steward of the days and
years He will give. The Holy Spirit
is our powerful source of strength for living as fruitful stewards of time. Begin with the end in mind, because the end
is the beginning of forever with Jesus! Amen.
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