Sermon Central
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Just What Is True Stewardship? Series
Contributed by Bobby Stults on Jun 2, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: When you hear the preacher say that he is going to preach on 'stewardship' what do you think about? Money? That is what most people jump to, but stewardship... TRUE Stewardship is SO much more than mere money... Stewardship is giving our all to God for Hi
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Sermon Brief
Date Written: June 1, 2013
Date Preached: June 2, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Series on Stewardship
Sermon Title: Just what IS True Biblical Stewardship?
Sermon Text: Colossians 1:9-14 [HCSB]
Introduction:
What is true biblical stewardship? When you hear the word ‘stewardship’ what thought jumps into your mind? What do you THINK about when you hear it?
We can see some views of this word in the world around us… when it comes to Biblical Stewardship!
World’s View: Stewardship is the church trying to butt into MY business and MY life!
Cynical View: Stewardship is just a ‘code word’ the preacher uses to try to get more of MY money!
Typical Church Mbr View: Stewardship!? Oh, brother, here we go again, the preacher is going to try to make me feel guilty about MY money!
What is the Biblical view of stewardship? Well, in a general sense, Stewardship from the perspective of the Bible is: mnging resources God gives for His kingdom!
Resources is an important term in this broad definition of true biblical stewardship! But pastor, when you say ‘resources’ what you REALLY mean is money, right?
Well the fact of the matter is that while the term ‘resources’ does INCLUDE money, it is only a fraction of the meaning of true stewardship!
When I talk about the resources God gives us and how we should use them for HIS Kingdom… it means for us to take our Time, Talent and Treasure and glorify God by spreading His word and glorifying His name!
Stewardship is NOT just about money, but true biblical stewardship encompasses the ENTIRE life of the believer… there is NOT one part of a believer’s life that is NOT a resource that God has provided…
For us to believe that biblical stewardship is only about money is a severely limited vision of God and what our focus must be in God’s Kingdom!
You see true biblical stewardship has a foundation that UNLESS your life is built on this foundation, you will NEVER be able to become the true steward you are called to become in Christ!
However, before we explore the foundation of biblical stewardship, let’s look at the foundation of a TRUE believer. That foundation is FIRST and foremost Jesus Christ! ALL believers begin with Jesus!
You simply cannot become a ‘godly’ steward unless you have a foundation in Christ Jesus – You MUST know Christ as Lord and Savior before you can be a true biblical steward of His resources!
Now the foundation for True Biblical Stewardship is very simple, yet very profound! It actually goes counter to what humans believe AND it is counter to what our society believes and teaches in America!
In America…we want to believe that we EARN and OWN what we work for! That is the American way…work hard and you can have a piece of the American dream!
But the foundation for True Biblical Stewardship is found in this simple phrase: “God owns it all!”
But preacher, God doesn’t work at my job and do what I do… God does not get up and go to work and work hard like I do… God has nothing to do with my dedication and hard work for my family!
Well let’s look at that statement and evaluate it at its most basic level… Let’s look at it from God’s perspective!
First of all God is the Creator of the universe! There is NOTHING that exists in this universe that God has NOT created! The creator OWNS what He creates!
Second, God is the Caretaker of this universe! He is provider of all that is needed for the universe to function and for life to exist!
He provides a viable, life sustaining planet, air that is breathable and self sustaining within His creation! God actually breathes LIFE into all things he has created, plants, animals and humans!
Third, God is CONSISTENT in His provision of life and life giving resources. God created this universe, this world and all that is in it, and His design for creation still holds to this day!
Our sun provides the light we need…
Our planet is placed exactly where it needs to be in our solar system…
Our planet has an atmosphere the produces breathable oxygen…
The light of the sun and the oxygen of our atmosphere are the basic building blocks for life on our planet…
God is the provider of ALL this… He provides what is needed for life and the sustaining of that life! Without God there is NO life!
And my point here is that God consistently provides what is needed for life to exist… every second of every day! The apostle Paul expressed this very clearly in his letter to the church in Colossae when he was describing Jesus!
