Being A Successful Steward

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Church. It is such a pleasure to see everyone.

Last week we had a wonderful service! We talked about how God is calling every believer to greatness. We were created in the image of God and since God is Great, He is also calling us to be Great. We talked about how greatness does not come by accident. Rather, it takes a determined heart and life! We become great for God by serving others, expecting big things from God, by being persistent and being a giver.

This week we are continuing down this path that God has us on. This is an exciting path no doubt. This week we are talking about being a great steward for God.

Speaking of stewardship, I want to share a story with you about a fellow Assembly of God pastor. A women from his congregation came to him and said “ Pastor my dog passed away, and I was wondering if you would be willing to do a funeral? This good Assemblies of God minister said “I’m sorry, but we do not do funerals for dogs.” Then this pastor had a thought, and he said to the woman “ Maybe you should try the Lutheran pastor down the street.” And the women responded “ Thank you so much for the information, Do you think $2,000 would be enough for the funeral?” The Assembly of God Pastor said “ $2,000, You did not tell me your dog was Assemblies of God, I would love to do the burial. “

In case you are wondering, No we do not do pet funerals for $2,000, and no we do not charge people for funerals. While we may not think about being great and stewardship are related they really are two peas in a pod. Stewardship really touches all the things that God has given to us and how we use these resources. When you look at stewardship, really in the purest sense, is dealing with trust. God entrust us with many blessings and it is His desire that we value the things that He trust us with and that we use them in a way that we honor Him with!

I. Principles of stewardship

A. Formula

a. There are many key principles that we are going to discuss here this morning pertaining to stewardship.

b. First, we must understand the principle between ownership and steward ship.

c. This escapes many people. They feel like they own everything that their name is on.

d. The owner of everything on the earth is not Bill Gates, Donald Trump, George Soros, the Koch brothers, Jeff Bezos.

e. No, the real owner is God.

B. Defined

a. In looking at the biblical definition of stewardship, Charles Bugg defines stewardship in the Holman Bible dictionary as such: Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.

b. When we look at the principle of stewardship, there are two main facets that standout.

i. Authority- This is delegated authority. In other words, it is where authority is passed from one person to another for a specific purpose.

ii. Secondly, Responsibility which really deals with having a duty to deal with something or having control over someone else. Because of this responsibility we are accountable for what we do.

C. Character

a. What will drive us being a good steward will be the character that we have within us.

b. Character speaks to the level or our personal integrity.

c. With great abilities also comes a tremendous amount of temptation and accountability.

d. In fact, the bible says in Luke 12:48b(NKJV) 48 For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

e. When God gives you a lot, He also expects a lot.

f. For some they have been given little, yet they are faithful in the little. While others may have been given a lot and are not faithful with the lot that they have been given.

g. This is an important principle to understand because we are not to compare ourselves to others.

II. Talents

A. Talents

a. So often people fall into the trap of thinking that they have nothing to offer God. Yet, God has given each and every one of us talents and abilities.

b. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:11(NKJV) 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

c. The talents that we have been given, we are called to use for the glory of God. We are called to use these talents to bless others. 1 Peter 4:10(NKJV) says: 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.