Recap:
- • God has entrusted to us that which He considers valuable
- • Entrust = To assign the responsibility of something valuable to someone in confidence.
- • In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25), we learned:
- i. God owns everything.
- ii. We are stewards of what He has given.
- iii. God expects a return.
- iv. What we do with what we’ve been given matters.
- • In Part 1, we saw that God has entrusted us with the greatest message in the world — the Gospel. We steward it by preaching it, living it, and preserving it.
- • In Part 2, we saw that God has entrusted us with influence. Influence is not about having a platform — it’s about being faithful where you are and pointing people to Jesus.
- • In part 3 we discussed how God has entrusted money to us.
- • The Bible talks about money as a heart issue.
- • The Bible speaks more about money than faith, heaven, or hell because how we view and use money reveals what we value most.
- • What we have is what God has given us
- • Money is meant to be our servant and not our master.
- • The greatest return on investment comes from using resources for God’s Kingdom, which pays eternal dividends.
Entrusted with Relationships
Intro
In 2011, when Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, passed away, his sister Mona Simpson wrote a eulogy about his final days. She described that although Steve had built one of the most successful companies in the world, created revolutionary products, and accumulated incredible wealth, none of that was what mattered to him in the end.
As his health declined, what he wanted most was not his business achievements, trophies, or money. He wanted the people in his life that mattered most. Mona described how Steve was surrounded by his family in those last hours — his children, his wife, his sister. He wanted them close. His last words were simple but profound: “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.” He was looking at his family gathered around him.
It wasn’t about the empire he built or the fortune he made. In those final moments, what mattered most to him was being with the people he loved.
That tells us something: at the end of the day when it is all said and done, relationships are what matter most. Not possessions. Not achievements. Not what is in our bank accounts. But, people.
If what is most important at the end of our lives are relationships; then that tells us what is most important right now. People are the most valuable asset that we have in this life.
Relationships are one of the most precious gifts God has entrusted to us. They are essential to life. God Himself is a relational being. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit work together and commune together as one. Relationships are a reflection of who God is; it is a precious gift.
Knowing that they are a gift from God, we must know that God has given us relationships with a purpose. Therefore, we must learn to handle them the way God intended.
So today, we’re going to talk about how to manage relationships God’s way.
To do that we are going to take a look at what Jesus said to His disciples about relationships in Matthew 22. When Jesus was asked the greatest commandment, He didn’t point to rules and regulations, He pointed to relationships.
Matthew 22:37-40
“37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””
Jesus reveals what is most important to God by wrapping up all 613 commandments into just two: 1) to love God with all of your heart, and 2) to love your neighbor as yourself. Simply put, He says to love God and to love people. Both of these have to do with relationships. In other words, all 613 commandments in the Old Testament are wrapped up in how we treat God and how we treat other people. Clearly, relationships are important to God.
Why are relationships so important?
- A. Because God is relational by nature
- • From the very beginning, God has always existed in relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- • Genesis 1:26 “ –Let us make man in our image…” The Trinity shows us that God Himself is community.
- • Since we are made in His image, we were created to thrive in relationships.
- B. Because people are God’s most valuable creation
- • Out of everything God made, only humans were said to be made in His image (Genesis 1:27).
- • That means every person has intrinsic worth and carries His fingerprint.
- • When we love people, we are honoring the image of God in them.
Jesus says that we are to love God with all of our heart. First, God wants us to love Him. Our relationship with God is important! Why?
- 1. God loves you
- • God desires for us to love Him because He loves us.
- • God’s love for your is not based on your performance— His love is not based on what you do but because of who you are.
- • Psalm 103:11 — “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him”
- • When you understand how much God loves you, it changes the way you see ourselves— and in turn how you treat others.
- 2. God loves the people in your life as much as He loves you
- • While God does love you, He loves the people in your life just as much as He loves you.
- • Your family, your friends, your enemies, your coworkers, God loves all of them.
- • Sometimes we forget that the person we are frustrated with, the person we really don’t like, is someone that Jesus died for. God loves them just as much.
- • The people in your life are very important to God.
- 3. God cares about how you treat other people
- • Matthew 7:12 “ –So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
- • How we treat other people is very important to God
- • Your words, actions, and attitude toward others are a direct reflection of your faith
- • Jesus connects how you treat people with how you treat Him (Matthew 25:40)
- • Our love toward others is the true evidence of discipleship (John 13:34-35). Our love for others is the proof of our faith.
- • The Pharisees were experts in religion, but they missed it when it came to loving other people. We can read the Bible everyday, go to every church service, know every word to the worship songs that we sing, but if all of that doesn’t translate kindness and love toward others, then we have missed the heart of God.
- • We need God to soften our hearts toward the people in our life that are hard to love. Because how we love others is a direct reflection of how much of God’s love is within us.
- • How you treat your spouse matters. How you treat your kids matters. How you treat your coworkers matters. How you treat your church family matters. It all matters greatly to God— maybe even more than we realize!!
So how do we value people the way that God does?
- 1. Investing in People
- • Proverbs 27:17 “ –As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
- • Spend time with the people in your life
- • Relationships are paid for with time, attention, and care
- 2. Encouraging People
- • 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “ –Encourage one another and build each other up.”
- • Build people up! Build your spouse up! Build your children up! Build your friends up! Build your co-workers up! We have to build people up!
- • When people fall short in your life, don’t write them off and tear them down. Instead, build them up!
- • What you magnify in someone’s life is all you will see and all they will see. Don’t make people focus on their weaknesses. Instead, build people up!
- 3. Checking In on People
- • Philippians 2:4 “ –Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
- • When someone is on your heart, reach out to them. Check in on them.
- • Sometimes people just need to know that someone else really cares.
- • Checking in opens up doors for ministry that doesn’t always happen in church
- • Checking in on people prevents them from being isolated
- • Don’t wait until there is a crisis, check in now
- 4. Be There for People
- • Romans 12:15 — “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
- • Being there for people doesn’t always mean having the right answers. Instead, it simply means showing up.
- • Your presence is powerful
- • People may forget your words, they may forget your conversations, but they will never forget that you showed up.
- • When we show up for people, we are reflected Christ in our life (Emmanuel = God with us)
Takeaways:
- I. Relationships are one of God’s greatest gifts and greatest responsibilities
- II. How you treat people reveals how much of God is in you
- III. People may forget your your words, but they’ll never forget how you treat them
