Notes from Friday, June 18th, 2010: Stewardship
Stewardship
This is not just a message about tithing and giving. Some of you are reading this and thinking “I tithe, so this message has nothing to offer me.” But stewardship is not just an economic or money issue, it’s a heart issue not a percentage-of-your-income issue.
God wants all of your treasure, time and talent. He wants to use you to make a difference in the world. Stewardship is about faithfulness (i.e. how, what and where you devote) and what we do with what God has given us. As 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
Stewardship is about looking at all of our resources and how they are used. Why is this important? Tithing is our need to give in order to express our appreciation because all good things come from God. 1 Chronicles 29: 10-14 says,
(10) David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
(11) Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
(12) Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
(13) Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
(14) But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
This passage shows where our possessions come from and what our stewardship should be like.
A Christian Perspective:
You don’t even own yourself, you have been purchased with the blood of Christ, through His death. Even our kids are not our own, they have been given to us in trust.
Stewardship is Obedience. The problem with this is that obedience seems to suggest weakness and subservience. In obedience we surrender control to God; control of material possessions, time, destinies, families, and ourselves.
1 John 5:3-4 says, “(3) This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, (4) for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
We obey because we love God, and that love comes from freedom in Jesus. So, we can stop being a prisoner of free will (Romans 6:16: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”)
Principles of Stewardship:
1. Don’t get engrossed in or with your possessions. (1 Corinthians 7:30-31: “those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.” i.e. time on earth is short so it is better to have an eternal perspective instead of an earthly one.)
2. Take care of the possessions you do have (we need to attend to what we do have instead of what we don’t have and stop assuming that God will take care of us without our active planning or preparation. There’s a balance, God owns everything but he entrusts us to care for our possessions. As Proverbs 12:27 says, “The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions.”
3. Provide for the future. (Plan for the future and your own retirement. Proverbs 27: 23-24 says, ”Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” i.e. pay attention to what is going on with your assets, because they are not guaranteed to be their forever.)
4. Give 10% of your income to the work of the church (tithe).
5. Give above the tithe as God blesses you and you feel led.
6. Steward your own life (areas: relationship with God, finances, health, relationship with spouse, children, and family).
Stewardship is every aspect of life. A faithful steward is surrendered to God and accepts and lives in submission to His plan.
Stewardship is a lifestyle. It is a sign of being an authentic Christian.
Discussion Questions
1. Why is discipline required to be a good steward?
2. What does a disciplined person look like? sound like? do?
3. Reread 1 Chronicles 29:10-19. What can you take and apply from it?
4. Have you been a good steward of time? Why or why not?
5. Have you been a good steward of talent? Why or why not?
6. Have you been a good steward of treasure? Why or why not?
7. What do you need to do differently based on what we have discussed and learned? Partner up and pray about it with them.
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