A Faithful Steward 1 Cor. 4:2 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Abraham’s eldest servant was a faithful steward (Gen 24). He accomplished what he was sent to do. He was sent to find a bride for Isaac and he succeeded. Nothing took precedence over the task at hand (Gen 24:17). He would not eat until he knew for certain that Rebekah and her family would agree to her marriage to Isaac. In this regard, the eldest servant was like Jesus Christ (John 4). Jesus said, “my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work,” (Jn 4:34).
You have a stewardship, and a responsibility, if God has given you anything to do for him. You have a stewardship over your family and any responsibility that you have in the church. Be faithful. A faithful steward:
Is a servant – Gen24:2; Gen24:9 – this man was a servant. We are servants (Matt 20:25-28, Matt 23:10). We have a master. Without a master we are nothing. In John 15:5 Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.” God calls a particular person for a particular reason. He expects you to apply yourself. Not everybody can do what you do. However, you are still just a servant. In Gen 24:2, this steward was Abraham’s eldest servant. That’s all he ever was. Though he ruled over all that Abraham had, he was never more than a servant. And, no matter how much responsibility you have in the ministry, you are nothing more than a servant.
Owns nothing – Gen24:10 – all of the goods of his master were in his hand. Yet nothing he was over was his own. Everything was owned by Abraham and then by Isaac (Gen 24:36, Gen25:5). He was like Joseph in that regard (Gen 39:8). The unjust steward in the New Testament made the mistake of thinking that some of what he oversaw was his own (Lk 16). When he had to give an account of his stewardship, he treated his master’s assets as his own and changed their value for his personal benefit.
In your stewardship, if you ever think that you own what you oversee, you will be in trouble. In the early church, “Neither said any of them that all of the things which he possessed was his own,” (Acts 4:32). As a matter fact, we don’t even own ourselves. We are bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19 20).
Is blessed – Gen24:31 – God was over and in all this man did. Prov 28:20 says, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings.” God gave the servant provision (Gen 24:7). He sent his angel before him. God answered this man’s prayer (Gen 24:12-14). Everything he did was bathed in prayer. Thus, the servant gave God praise (Gen 24:21, 26-27). This is God’s work and God must bless in order for us to be successful. We have a saying, “too much man and not enough God.” Too often men try to accomplish God’s work without God’s blessing and it becomes evident that the work is their own. God must bless the things that we do. If we are doing what we do for God’s honor and his glory, it will be evident to all that God is the one getting the work done through us (Gen 24:50).
Is a no name – Gen24:2 – presumably this servant is Eliezer (Gen 15:2). However, the steward who is the servant of Gen 24 does not draw attention to himself. He was like we are supposed to be (Luke 17:10). All of this work was for Isaac and for Abraham; none of this work was for the servant’s benefit. Until you met David Edens at our missions conference you did not know who he was. Yet, he has served the Lord faithfully in Niger, Africa for 45 years. He did that work for God, not for his personal recognition. Ronald Reagan said, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
Rachel Metzler served the Lord faithfully in Haiti leading children to the Lord Jesus Christ who would have otherwise been killed by their mothers. Through her work many came to the Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, you have never heard of her. Miss Metzler said, “There is no limit to what God can do with a servant who will not touch the glory.”
Conclusion: I encourage you to be a faithful steward. Remember these characteristics of faithful stewards and discharge your responsibility faithfully for God’s glory.