What is Stewardship?
What is a Steward? 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Peter 4:10
1. He is a "Keeper" of another person's property
a. The word 'steward' means "one who keeps house for another person"
b. He is managing the owner's property
2. He has a serious responsibility
a. He must put aside his personal interests
b. He must think only the interest of the owner
3. He must... (Matthew 21:33-46)
a. be wise and prudent;
b. be faithful and honest;
c. have integrity and loyalty;
d. be knowledgable and walk in good judgment.
Who are Stewards? 1 Cor. 4:12
The Bible teaches that every believer is a steward. All who are saved (followers of Christ) are responsible before God.
The emphasis of the Word of God is that "every man" is a steward of God's property. This "every man" means ALL WHO ARE SAVED (ALL FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST).
1 Peter 4:11, "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
Matthew 25:14 & 15, "For the Kingdom of Heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his ability; and straightway took his journey."
It is our individual, personal responsibility to manage the property of God that God has given to us. We are the manager of our bodies, our properties and of our income.
Whose property do we manage?
We are God's property
1. All that we have belong to God
a. Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the Lord's..."
b. Psalm 50:9-12 & Haggai 2:8, Everything on the earth is the Lord's
We must accept the fact and live in light of His truth that all we have is HIS. Our house, car, clothes, all are HIS. All we have should be used as HIS.
2. Our souls belong to God - Romans 14:7 & 8
"...whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."
3. Our bodies belong to God
a. 1 Cor. 3:16 & 17, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God..."
b. 1 Cor. 6:19 & 20, "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
c. The Word of God teaches that the body is the very temple of God. The Holy Spirit dwells within the believer.
d. We must be careful what we take into our body, what we think, and what we say...that we do not defile the temple, our body.
We who are Stewards...who do we answer to?
Romans 14:12, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."
2 Cor. 5:10 and Revelation 22:12
1. Jesus Christ has left...ascended into heaven - Luke 19:11-27
He has given to us 'pounds'/'talents' that we are to manage until He comes
2. Jesus Christ will come again - 2 Cor. 5:10
He will ask us what we have done while He was away...we will be accountable to Him of our stewardship
We are Stewards of what?
1. Our Talents
a. God has given gifts, talents to all believers
Ephesians 4:8 & 1 Cor. 12:4-7
b. We are to use those gifts for the Lord. Romans 12:6
2. Our Time
a. Time is a precious possession we have. We will give account to Jesus of our time
b. Every moment should be used for His glory.
Ephesians 5:16 & 17, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil..."
3. Our Tithe - Malachi 3:10
a. The tithe is His
b. The tithe given will bring the blessing God bestows upon obedience
c. The lack of giving is "robbing" God of that which is due to Him
Genesis 14:20 - Abram gave a tenth of everything he had to Melchizedek (the incarnate Christ). What is important about this? When Abram gave a tenth of everything...there was no law to give the tithe yet...the law did not come until later when God gave the law to Moses in Deuteronomy 14:22...thus therefore even without the law the basic giving to God was the 'tithe.' Jesus Himself commended the giving of the tithe in Matthew 23:23...Jesus pointed out that we who give the tithe must also show justice, mercy and faith.
Christian tithing is not a "goal." Tithing is a duty and obedience of all Christians. Tithing is not dependent on our financial ability...tithing is based on our duty and obedience.
There are 3 messages of Stewardship:
1. Stewardship shows our GRATITUDE (THANKS) to God's love
Romans 5:8
2. Stewardship shows our OBEDIENCE - that is our faith in action
James 2:14-18
3. Stewardship shows our FAITHFULNESS which is the evidence of our salvation
Luke 7:44-47
The story of Mary Crowley:
Mary was a single mother trying to make a living for her family. She was saved and baptized in the FBC of Dallas when Dr. George W. Truett was pastor. She was taught to tithe, even though she was having a difficult time making ends meet. Then she learned about 'sacrificial' and 'supernatural' giving. God gave her an idea for a business she could organize and run. She called it "Home Interiors and Gifts, Inc." It was designed to help women have parties in homes where home gifts and accessories would be sold. The first bank she approached to borrow the $5,000 needed to start the business turned her down. They said her idea would never work. Were they ever sorry they did that! Her business had become international in scope and one of the most successful businesses for women in the entire world. Mary is in heaven now, but her testimony of giving is still repeated here on earth. For many years Mary wore an intriguing, custom-made piece of jewelry. It had two little silver shovels. One was smaller than the other. Mary always enjoyed explaining this way, "The little shovel is mine. The big shovel is God's. Whenever I give Him a shovelful, He gives me a shovelful right back! But His shovel is bigger than mine. You can't outgive God." Mary's life was a testimony of Luke 6:38...she gave to get to give to get to give. She started with giving and ended with giving. The getting was only for the purpose of giving. This is God's plan for supernatural and sacrificial giving.
Conculusion: Are you a Sea of Galilee or a Dead Sea?
God even uses geography to teach us a very important lesson! Here it is... If you look at the land of Israel, you will notice that up in the North is the Sea of Galilee and there's this river that flows South and ends up in the Dead Sea. You know, the Sea of Galilee gets its water from the North where the mountains and there's also this spring that brings forth water into the Sea of Galilee. In this sea, there is life...its water is clear and has an abundance of fish. As the water flows South, it ends up at the Dead Sea. There is no way for the water to get out of the Dead Sea. The only way water can get out is by evaporation, which leaves a heavy salt concentration. There is no life in the Dead Sea. There are no fishes in the Dead Sea. There are no living things in the Dead Sea. That's why it is called the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee takes water and gives water and that's why there is abundant life in the Sea of Galilee. The Dead Sea takes water and does not give it away and that's why there is no life in it. The same principle applies to us! What do we do with the things that God gives us? Those of us who receive and give have abundant life. Those of us who receive and do not give are 'dead.' Which are you? A 'Sea of Galilee' or a 'Dead Sea'?