Silliman University Church Reflections

 (Mark 4:1-20)

When I was in kindergarten, I loved to play in the soil under the sun. In the evening at wash time, my Mom would scold me for soiling my clothes: “you smell of the sun or sometimes the soil.”

Thanksgiving Sunday is for people who work the good soil and who smell of dirt, who produce the rice on our tables. Thanksgiving is a celebration of harvest and fruitfulness. Who can forget the smell of newly pounded pinipig at the time of rice harvest? Or the smell of biko at harvest?

But there is a very deep theological significance in harvests. Especially so, when the global financial crisis is threatening to push us all back to the farms. When top industries stop production in the US, Europe, China and millions lose their jobs every day, the farms beckon to us promising rice and fruits, the seas will give us fish, the skies will give us fowls (manna) from heaven.

The bountiful gifts of God are displayed in all nature, in the way that creation bears prolific fruit of every kind. Our first lesson last week on stewardship is that God owns everything that we have. We are to make use of our gifts and bear fruit. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He constantly talked about the fact that we should bear fruit:

John
15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit— fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

Matt 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

In fact, Jesus goes even further, declaring “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1-2)

What that tells us is: bearing fruit is a serious thing with God!

This brings us to our text this morning Mk 4:3ff “The KoG is like a sower who went to sow seeds. Some seeds fell on the pathway and were eaten by birds. Some fell on stony ground and wilted under the sun. Some fell among the thorns and were choked. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

What is the evidence of God’s fruitfulness? Consider the potential of one kernel of corn. One kernel of corn will produce one corn stalk. Each stalk produces 1-2 ears of corn.

The average ear of corn has 250 kernels, so that 2 ears of corn will produce 500 kernels of corn or a 500% increase.” 1=500

Now… different plants will have different numbers of kernels or seeds depending upon what type of plants they are. BUT, they will all produce a crop THAT IS MORE than what was planted. As Jesus said they produce “a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”  

Implication for us: If the seed of God’s reign (Kingdom) has been planted in our hearts … we will bear fruit, and WHEN we bear fruit, it will be a yield far more than the single seed that was planted in our hearts and our fruits will compensate for the failure of others who do not bear fruit. God expects us to bear fruit because others will not. What kind of fruits do we bear?

1st - We’re expected to bear fruit in our attitudes:

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Imagine how one fruit of the spirit, say patience, can do wonders in the lives of others.

A prize winning scientist wrote his autobiography. In it he acknowledged a grade school teacher who patiently taught and challenged him with great words “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood … Make big plans, aim high in hope and work. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us.“

More than 30 years later, the scientist gave a speech in which he praised his teacher for giving him self confidence. A newspaper printed the story, and someone mailed the clipping to the beloved elementary teacher, who wrote him: “You have no idea what that newspaper story meant to me. For years, I endured my brother’s taunting that I had wasted my life, that I should have married and had a family. When I read that you gave me credit for helping to launch a career, I put the clipping in front of my brother and said, ‘You see, I didn’t really waste my life, did I?’” She bore good fruit.

In Paul’s letter to Gal. 5:14-21, he criticized people who bore no fruit of the spirit. He said: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Watch out for attitudes leading to sexual immorality,; idolatry,; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy; drunkenness, and the like. I warn you …that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The fruit of the spirit, say faithfulness, goes a long way to build a community. In Silliman, we remember individuals, like Roman Yap, who faithfully donated generously so that Silliman would be what it is today. He never wanted any honors. When he died, everybody wanted to give thanks by honoring him. During his vigil service, a strange thing happened. The family was going to play his acceptance speech for OSA an award he was forced to accept. The CD of his speech was pre-tested and everything. But when the time came for us to listen to his speech on CD, the CD  would not play. His humility and generosity led many others to give. He bore good fruit for Silliman.

Gal. 5:22-23 tells us that bearing the fruit of the Spirit means creating an atmosphere of love around us; creating an atmosphere of Joy in the church; being peace makers when people are mad at each other; having patience with others that are hard to get along with; being kind even to those who don’t deserve it… Being faithful and so on. (The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”)

2nd. Our attitudes lead to our actions. Paul wrote: “we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work…” Col 1:10

In others words, when we bear fruit we will be doing “good works”  all by-products of a grateful heart. These are the things you do because you LOVE Jesus.

Bearing Fruit is doing things for God because you love Him NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO - but because you want to give thanks. This is the real meaning of Thanksgiving Sunday.

3. Bearing fruit for God involves our attitudes and our actions… which lead to the last aspect of fruitfulness. Prov 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.”

Ultimately, we want to expand the sphere of God. The sphere of God is like a tree of life. Green. Productive. Sustainable. The sphere of God is life. Thankful people show their love of God by respecting the soil. Thankful people show their love by giving their best. Thankful people know, life is not taking but giving. The offering of agricultural products, is symbolic acknowledgement of God’s faithfulness and our thanksgiving.

Someone wrote, “to have real Thanksgiving, Count your blessings instead of your crosses; Count your gain instead of losses, count your joys instead of your woes; count your friends instead of foes; count your smile instead of tears; count courage instead of fears; count your health instead of wealth. Count on God instead of yourself.”

We are all fruits of the soil. Let us be prolific in our love and in our thanksgiving. Let us realize that in bearing fruits of the spirit and in doing good, we are being thankful to God and expanding his sphere?

 (sermon delivered at SU church, 9 am, Nov. 23, 2008)

 Matthew 25:14-30 

An ambitious young man told his pastor “I promise God a tithe of my income” if you will pray with me for blessings. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making P4,000 per month and tithing P4.00. In a few years his income increased and soon he was tithing P5,000.00 per month. He asked the pastor if he could be released from his tithing promise, and go back to his P 4 tithe. The pastor replied, “I don’t think you can be released from your promise, but we can pray and ask God to reduce your income to P4,000.00 a month then you’d have no problem tithing P4.00 once again.“

You’ve heard of IQ and EQ. Now let us talk about SQ. Stewardship quotient. The capacity to give on the basis of the question “who owns what I have” not on “how much should I give.” The Parable of the Talents, teaches us 6 Stewardship Lessons.

1. What we have is not ours. A wealthy man was going on a journey. So he “…called his servants and entrusted His property to them.”

The servants understood that the property and money belonged to the master. They were the possessors, but not the owners. Their job was to manage what they possessed. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”  How does this basic principle sound to you? You don’t really own anything. Everything belongs to the Lord. Until we recognize this truth, we will not be good managers of what has been entrusted to us. Our days are in His hands. Our gifts and abilities are on loan from Him. Our money is an “advance” from the Almighty. We really don’t own anything.

2. We’re given what we can handle. In verse 15 we read: “To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.”  

One talent would be the equivalent of about P 200 minimum wage x 30days x 12months x 20 years – P 1,440,000.

The Master gave the first servant 5 talents, about $7.22 million. The second guy received 2 talents, or P2.88 million. And the third steward got one talent, or P1.44million. God gives, out of His abundance to us! Your responsibility is tied to your ability.

3. We must invest what we’ve been given. Verse 16 tells us that the man who received five talents went “at once and put his money to work and gained five more.” He didn’t waste any time but immediately went to work on his investment strategy and doubled his master’s portfolio. The guy who got two talents did the same thing; he also doubled his master’s money. The third servant: “dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” He buried his blessing.

Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to Him. Are we investing what we’ve been given, or have we buried our blessing and kept it hidden from others?

4. A day of accounting is coming. We’ll have to give an account for how we’ve used what we’ve been given. Jesus invested something in you, and one day He’s coming back to claim it. Your job may be big or small, but whatever it is, do it to the best of your ability and you’ll be ready for your audit. Ask ourselves “How will my money management, or my service look on the day of accounting?”

5. What we do with what we have reveals our view of God. Notice that the man who had been given five talents was eager to invest. He was excited to show the master what He had done. He’s bubbling with enthusiasm and thoroughly thrilled. He couldn’t wait to present what he had done because he wanted to please the owner.

The man with the two talents did the same. They were faithful and were called good because they had a right view of the master.

The one-talent guy understood the master differently v 24: “…I knew that you were a hard man…” He had a wrong view of the master. What we think about God is the most important thing about us. If we view God as a tyrant then we’ll be angry with God. When we blame God we bury our blessings.

6. What we have we must use or we will lose it.
Because the third guy did not use what had been given to him, he lost everything. It’s the “use it or lose it” principle. A Christian who is not using what God has given him is a contradiction in terms. What is your servanthood quotient, are you bothered by what you give? Or do you truly believe God is the owner of your life? Here are the differences between GS good stewards and BS bad stewards:

Good stewards are determined to make a profit; Bad stewards are determined not to take a loss.
GS are willing to work hard and take risks; BS take no risks.
GS received the gift; the BS refused the gift.
GS want to advance the master’s domain; BS have no interest in what mattered to the master.
GS viewed the money as an opportunity; BS saw it as a problem.
GS allowed the master’s gift to change their lives; BS refused to let the gift touch his life.
GS invested; BS wasted opportunity.
GS saw a blessing; BS saw a burden.
GS knew the master; BS had no clue.

Summary: Stewardship is best defined as the use of God-given resources for the accomplishment of God-given goals. This is not a matter of money. It is a matter of expresing our faith in God.

How faithful are we to God?

(Sermon at 10 am Nov. 16 at the Silliman University church)

Matt.25: 14-30

Once I visited the country of
Oman. We were taken to a building where the lights were on even in daytime. So I asked enviously, is it not a waste of energy to have lights 24 hours a day? The Arab man told me, what are you worried about? We produce all the oil we need in the world. There is no energy crisis in Oman.

Then we were taken to a small lush garden where water was allowed to be sprinkled at time intervals. So I told the Arab man, in my country there are forests with gushing rivers of water 24 hours a day. The Arab man was envious. But he said, so what do you prefer, all the oil in the world, or all the water? I could not answer him.

God blesses every country with abundant talents. The amount of talents is not the issue. How we use those talents is the issue.

There are now over 10 million Filipinos working overseas in over 150 destinations all over the world. They are in war torn countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. They are in developed, wealthy countries US, UK and KSA. They are in poor countries like Bangladesh and Burkina Faso. They are in lowly jobs as entertainers, domestic helpers in Jordan and Singapore. They are also in high skilled work such doctors, neurosurgeons, nurses, medical specialists.

Through their talents, OFWs have helped their economies compete in a global economy. Consider the Filipinos in Korea.

The Korean economy is divided into heavy industry, small and medium enterprises, and household family based production or light manufacturing. In the 1970s, the economy built the foundation for a manufacturing economy. A large part of the resources came from remittances of Korean migrant workers in Germany, many of whom were nurses and construction workers in Saudi Arabia.

Once Pres. Chun Doo Hwan visited Germany and he was met by many Korean nurses at the airport. The first question they asked was: Mr. President, when can we come home? Chun Doo Wan, with tears in his eyes told the women, not yet. But soon. I promise you. And so in the 80s Korean migrants began to return home.

In the early 90s, Korea began to import migrant workers and the economy moved from strength to strength.

Today, we have Koreans coming to our country in droves, not as migrant workers but as short term tourists, businessmen or because they can afford to come.

In the 70s Filipino workers were deployed to the Middle East as construction workers during the oil boom.

In the 90s, Filipinos were among the first migrants to enter Korea. They were under the program of “trainees” of the Korea International Training Cooperation (KITCO) and worked in small and medium enterprises. SMEs were involved in production of parts of machinery and products of the large and heavy industry sector.

The purpose for bringing in Filipino trainees was because they are willing to receive allowances as low as US$ 250-300 a month and they would not join the Korean unions.

The SMEs could not relocate because their capital was not enough, but they could hire trainees, survive and compete. OFWs pushed down production costs and contributed to the competitiveness of Korean products – Hyundai, Daewoo, ships, cellphones, televisions, kitchen appliances and many more.

It is now 2008 and we are still hoping to send OFWs abroad. Remittances to the country have grown to US$ 10 billion a year. Now there is a global financial crisis. Nurses, construction workers, domestic helpers, entertainers, our main exports, are the first to be laid off. OFWs are starting to come home.

How are we doing as stewards of God’s creation. If today the Lord would return, how would we stand in the accounting of the talents given to us?

Some of us may be confused about the talents given to us? What talents? My friends, we have lands, we have seas, we have minerals, we have intelligent and creative people. We are blessed abundantly. But are we using our talents well?

Have we as an institution of learning and as a church been preparing students to a life of stewardship? We need to do three things:

First, we need to discern what our talents are.

Second, we need to know how to develop our talents.

Third, we need to have a plan to make use of our talents for the benefit of our people.

1.        What are our talents? If we cannot recognize the talents given to us, how can we harness them?

The Arab man was amazed at how lush and green our country is. He said that the Gulf states, except a certain part of Oman, is desert, dry and sandy. The Greek island of Rhodes is barren except for small patches of land where olives and oranges grow. In certain areas of India and Africa, it does not rain for 2 years. Nothing grows. In ancient Korea, agricultural production happens only 6 months of a year. The rest of the time, people stay inside because of the snow outside.

But we have 7,000 volcanic islands, with fertile soil, lush vegetation, seas teeming with fish and still undiscovered marine and sea plant resources. We have people endowed with great singing talent, scientists, care givers, doctors, engineers all over the world. We are truly blessed. But do we know it? Do we appreciate what God has given us? Do we treasure these talents? Do we make them productive? Or do we take them for granted?

2.        How do we develop our talents?

If you have been reading the newspapers recently, you would have come across the protest against a system in Davao Oriental where Chinese nationals have leased rice lands from farmers, many of them beneficiaries of CARP areas, for 20 years. The Chinese are growing rice 4 times a year and shipped to China. The fields are sprayed with chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, killing fish in the ricefields and in the nearby sea, Davao gulf.

A week ago, a team of Arab businessmen expressed their intention to grow corn in the provinces of Davao to be shipped to Saudi Arabia.

Koreans are coming to our country to study English, start businesses, open missionary churches. Filipinos are starving for churches.

How have we developed our resources? Have we put in enough investments to develop our farms? Roads? Storage places? Irrigation? Or have we not in fact surrendered our rights to these resources and given them to others. Have we not in fact traveled around the world to give our human resources to the highest bidder in the world?

What values do we teach in school? How do we teach them to appreciate their talents? How do we teach to work hard with their hands? And not to be employees in an air conditioned office? What do we teach in Sunday school? How do children learn to use their resources for the good of their people? What kind of faith do we teach that appreciates God’s blessings and that challenges young minds to offer their talents to God?

3.        What is our plan to make our talents meet our needs?

Our government has for a long time, promoted a laissez faire attitude towards our resources. We take our riches for granted. As long as government officials can get some money from a crooked contract, it does not matter if the resources are taken by foreigners.. But what if the resources are depleted? Such as our forests? What happens then? Lets face it. If we have no plan to develop our resources on a nationwide scale, others will and they will make profit from us.

There is no investment for the development of resources. Our agriculture is a jok jok, full of scams, not agricultural extension programs that make farmers products competitive. Government conducts little research to make farm products competitive. We export OFWs like cattle not minding what happens to them on foreign soil. They are imprisoned, beheaded. Government even apologizes to host countries for their alleged crimes.

If we were to characterize ourselves according to the stewards in the parable of the talents, I do not think we will fit the first and second stewards, who were eager entrepreneurs. We are more like the third servant, who hid the talent in the ground, because he was afraid and did not really know the Master.

We are angry at God. Why? God did not make our land more beautiful than it is already. We want to be like Juan Tamad, who simply waits for the guava to fall to his mouth. Well, the parable of the talents teaches us what happens to Juan Tamads.

The Master called the third servant– “you wicked and lazy servant, so you think I harvest where I do not plant. Why did you not just put my money in the bank where it would have earned interest.  Take his resources away from him and give it to the good steward. For to everyone who has more will be given. And for one who has not, even what little he has, will be taken away from him. Throw this wicked and lazy servant into the darkness outside where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Are we waiting to be thrown away into the darkness by the foreigners who have come to our country and begun to enjoy the abundant resources we have taken for granted? Let us appreciate our talents now. Develop them and have a plan, or what we little we have will be taken away from us.

 (Sermon delivered by Mrs. Ma. Angela C. Villalba, at the Chapel of the Evangel Fellowship, Silliman University, 16 Nov 08)

 Matt. 25: 1-13

Ship Capt. Florencio Marimon Sr. of Princess of the Stars, had passed this route a hundred times before. He was confident his ship would weather a typhoon. He was told on June 20 before he left the
port of Manila, that a powerful typhoon was coming possibly to cross his path. He knew that his ship was carrying about 800 passengers and cargo He set sail anyway at about 10 pm June 20. But from midnight to 12 noon on June 21 he gave no distress signal indicating his radio was broken. He must have had a cellphone with numbers of his office friends in Cebu, friends in Pagasa weather bureau, his wife, but he must have forgotten his cellphone in Manila. He gave no one any indication the ship was in trouble. He sent a distress signal only at 12 noon on June 21. By then the waves were too big to avoid, it was too late. The cargo broke unbalancing the ship. The ship listed to the right and overturned. 600 persons perished including Marimon. The Board of Marine Inquiry found the ship captain negligent putting the ship in harms way.

This is like the parable of the foolish bridesmaids who were negligent and forgot to bring oil in their lamps. The ship captain did not bring his cell phone. He was not prepared and nothing could save him and 600 of his passengers and crew. There are 3 points the story raises for us.

1.We must be ready. If there is one thing that Jesus consistently and continually preached it was that we need to be ready. He said “So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matt 24:44).

Jesus was talking here about our need to be ready for his Second Coming. But he was also talking about being ready to meet the Master any day. Like Capt. Marimon, we have to be ready for the unexpected day when we meet our Maker. Are we ready?

It is possible that the captain was aware of a defect in his radio. Or perhaps he was aware that the ship had been modified and was dangerously constructed. He intended to complain to his superiors but because of “manana habit.” he had failed to prepare his ship well.  For many there is a disconnect between faith and ethical behavior. Many people could have saved lives, if only they were more prepared to take action in time. But they were not ready.

Spiritual readiness does not just happen. It comes as a result of intentional habits built into one’s life. It comes by taking time for prayer and being alone with God; reading God’s Word; acts of service to others; moral faithfulness and loving obedience. It comes through spending time with other Christians for mutual prayer, study and encouragement. These are the things which enable a person to grow in Christ and be prepared for Christ’s coming, as well as to face the normal difficulties of life.

We need to develop some holy habits in our lives which take precedence over other claims on your life. As these habits become developed, life ceases to be a struggle. Your ship is in shape. You have SOP. Being a Christian is like anything else — the harder you work at it, the better it becomes. It does not just happen.

It is interesting that in the parable, the bridesmaids all appeared the same. They all thought of themselves as bridesmaids. They all dressed alike. They were all expecting the bridegroom. They all fell asleep as they waited. They all had lamps. They all trimmed their lamps. They all wanted to be a part of the wedding feast. But not all of them were prepared. This is the warning: Be sure that you are truly prepared, because it is possible that you may look just like other Christians, talk just like other Christians, carry a Bible just like other Christians, think of yourself as a Christian, you may be a Christian alright, but you are not ready.

Let us make necessary preparations. Some of the bridesmaids slept the sleep of indifference. They knew they needed oil, they were negligent. They overlooked their responsibility. They ignored something important. The lesson we learn is: Do not take your faith and your hope for granted.

2. No one can do it for you. No one can bring your cellphone for you. Readiness is personal. You must bring your own. The foolish maids thought they could borrow some oil from friends. They were wrong. This means another person’s faith will not save you. Just because you were reared in a Christian home does not mean that you have faith. Faith does not rub off just by sitting next to someone who has faith. You cannot “catch” faith like you catch a cold. You cannot borrow it from your friends, and you cannot get it from your parents. God has no grand-children, only children. Every spiritual birth comes directly from him. Your faith must be your own.

A man was in a great hurry to attend an important gala affair. But his suit was dirty. So he stopped by a shop along the highway that said ONE HOUR DRY CLEANING. I will wash up and get this back in one hour he told the girl attendant. “I can’t get this back to you until tomorrow” girl said. The man: “I thought you did dry cleaning in an hour,” he said. “Oh, no,” she replied, “That’s just the name of the store, we don’t actually do that.” There are many who wear a sign saying “I’m a Christian”, but they fail to deliver the goods.

The foolish bridesmaids did not realize their need of oil until the last minute. A relationship with God cannot be bought at the last minute at any price. Jesus said, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning” (Lk 12:35-36). The wise maids said, “Go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.” You need to come to him while there is still time. Like the captain don’t let the moment of death be the thing that alerts you to your spiritual poverty. You will reach for a cell phone that is not there.

3. There is a time called “Too Late.” What are we preparing for? Many do not take the second coming of Christ seriously. But even without the second coming, we need to be prepared to meet God anyday. Many churches today do not want to be reminded, even though they know its true, that someday the end will come.” The foolish bridesmaids cried open the door , but their cries were insincere, for even though they said they wanted in, they never made preparation to enter. Their preparation would have been the proof of their true desire. They had oil too late.

It is amazing how we can ignore warnings. The day will come when we realize we only fooled ourselves. The problem is that when you wake up it may be too late. You will want to go in, but the door will be shut. Are you ready?

(Sermon delivered at Silliman church, 4 pm, 9 November 2008) (Inspired by sermon of R. Buchanan)

 Matthew 23:1-11

Happy Stewardship Month! We are all stewards/trustees of God’s gifts – our lives, the whole created order, time, treasures & talents. One of the primary gifts is the Word of God and the faith that it creates. How do we as church keep the Word and inspire faith?

Our text in Matt. 23 tells us what Stewardship of the Word is not.  Jesus says about Scribes, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, “Do whatever they tell you. But, do not do what they do! Here is a good lesson on bad stewardship, saying the right things, but doing the wrong things — the best way to turn people away from the Word and cast doubt on faith.

One of the harsh criticisms we receive in UCCP is we are seen to be drifting away from the Word. We are certainly perceived not as faithful as the previous generations of pastors. Our behavior is perceived as liberal — We smoke, we drink, we womanize. We are accused of clouding the truth by pointing to inconsistencies more than the unities of the Bible. Our favorite word in hermeneutics is criticism. We are selective in choosing the Word to interpret. We read less of revelation and the timeless aspect of the Word. We read more about the organizing work of Jesus and the relevant aspect. We emasculate it by gleefully explaining all the historical, contextual, editorial limitations of the Word? We are seen to cast doubt and take away the reliability and power of the word. We have a problem uniting the two attributes of the Word – relevance and timelessness.

The UCCP Statement of Faith states: “Scripture is the faithful record of how God revealed God’s self to people in history”, talking to Abraham, Moses David, the prophets Isaiah, Amos and many others, and changing them.

Take the story of Paul in Acts 9. Saul was a persecutor of Christians. He was on his way to
Damascus to arrest Christians when suddenly a blinding light felled him from his horse, and a loud voice asked him “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul replied: Who are you? I am Jesus. Get up and go to the city.” And through this experience, Paul became a Christian, called to be the greatest missionary of his time, who wrote more than half of the NT. Paul’s life forms part of the corpus of God’s Word. Scriptures is about God’s revelation to Paul and many others who brought God’s word alive and faith to others. Paul was a good steward of the Word, we know because he inspires faith. His word is relevant. We too have received the gift of God’s word and faith. Now how do we inspire faith in others?

1.       Knowing the Word:

The Word of God is still like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope he sees distant objects with greater clarity; but if he looks at his telescope, he does not see anything but an instrument. The Word of God is something through which we see God up close. The danger is in only looking at it and seeing only the dead letters of a book.

Knowing the Word is seeing God in always new light. Not a God that takes away pain, but one who shares pain with us. Theres a story of a woman who had congenital defect which she passed on to her daughter. The daughter died young. For years, she had a question why did God let this happen? Until she realized she had to rephrase the question. Did Jesus not suffer death for us? Has God not shared our pain with us? For indeed, she realized God’s power is shown in weakness.

Knowing the Word is seeing God in ever new light. Without the Word of God, how can we strengthen faith? Without the word, how do we know God’s great commandments by heart? Build Christian character? Strengthen faith? Can there be faith, without the Word of God? Obviously to be good stewards of the Word, we need to constantly read the Word, study it, live by it, be inspired by it towards greater faith. The problem in stewardship is the misconception “that we can add Christ to our lives, without taking away our un-Christlike selfishness; that we can have faith without changing our behavior.”  The word is timeless — God reaching out from yesterday and the future, and it is relevant, because it changes us today.

2. We inspire faith by Living the Word: We were created to live by the Word. Others keep the word, but do not live by it. Jesus referred to them in v 5 – they make their phylacteries wide and tassels on their garments long. They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogue. They love to be greeted in marketplace and to be called Rabbi.”

They become Spiritual exploiters. Spiritual abuse is using spiritual language to lead people away from spiritual reality. It demands from believers a deep spirituality, but excuses themselves from the same. We demand spirituality for believers, but material benefits for ourselves. And so in church history we have terms like simony, immorality and indulgences, which are idolatries that reflect our love of self. This destroys the faith of the believer. We have heard of priests and pastors sexually molesting children, preachers making good sermons but living double lives.

Spiritual abuse is not the exclusive domain of church leaders. It is practiced by everyone: sometimes flagrantly in-your-face insulting your gifts; other times subtle behind-your-back, criticizing a misspoken word or “unforgivable” act. It can be relatively benign or lethally toxic, but usually it stems from a misuse of the spirit by anyone including religious leaders (ordained or lay) toward members perceived to have lesser spirit.

Being a good steward of God’s word means living the word in our lives. When you serve Silliman, or government, corporation, hospital, you proclaim your Lord. You are both offering your service to God and being accountable to God for what you do. Matt. 25: 45 – whenever you serve others (the least of the brethren), you serve God.. Work and life is of the spirit.

3. Being inspired and humbled by the Word: this virtue comes from our understanding that we are a people under grace. Our natural inclination is to serve ourselves. It is not our natural inclination to love. Only God’s spirit enables us to deny ourselves for others. This is the timeless aspect of the Word. Therefore, we must be humble, not supposing that by ourselves we are great, for only God is great. We can be great only in so far as we serve a great God.

V 10-11 cap the passage – “Those who would be great must be the servant of all. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Each one has a gift. We are to use those gifts for God’s purpose alone. In so far as we relate our lives to the eternal purpose of the Word, this is the timelessness of the Word. In so far as we allow this truth to create a change in us today, this is the relevance of the Word.

Stewardship of the Word is more than being able to recite Bible verses. It is making our lives a part of God’s word, so that through our lives, God is revealed, and faith is nurtured. This is the relevance and timelessness of the Word.

I leave you with these questions to ponder: “Does our life, form part of God’s Word? And does it bring faith to others?”

(Sermon at Silliman University Divinity School Devotions, 9 am, Nov. 7, 2008)