Introduction: We come to the end of our stewardship series today. Over the past 3 weeks we have looked at the topic of stewardship and how it relates to ones spiritual health. Today as we bring this series of messages to a close I want us to look at the topic of Faith.
Faith is not just a Christian word faith is woven into our life. When you arrived this morning you did not examine your chair before you sat in it. You just automatically committed yourself by faith to the chair, assuming it would hold you. Most of you got here by car; you slid in the car and turned on the ignition and away you go. You don’t have a clue as to what goes on behind the scene. You can’t explain the process. You just trust it.
The last time you went to a doctor, he wrote out a little prescription. You couldn’t read it. In fact, you wondered if anybody could read the thing! Then you took it to your pharmacist, and you gave it to him. He gives you the little bottle and says, "Take it three times a day," and by faith you do exactly what he tells you to do. Faith is woven into the system.
Faith is one of those words that Christians like to use. It is a strong word; it is a word that crystallizes who we are.
We are to be people of faith.
2 Corinthians 5:7, calls us to walk by faith and not by sight
Romans 1:16, the just live by faith
Hebrews 11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God
A quick study of scripture fined the word faith or faithful in 22 of the 39 OT books and 26 or the 27 NT Books
Faith is an important factor when it comes to God’s people. Faith makes the difference in our life. Faith makes a difference in the area of stewardship as well. I believe and scriptures point out stewardship is a spiritual issue. Giving is a matter of faith. Do we trust God or do we trust ourselves and others when it comes to the matter of giving.
Today I want us to look at 3 accounts in scripture to demonstrate how faith relates to the area of stewardship. Our message this morning has 2 points, one a negative and the other a positive look at faith.
Today it is my desire we will choose positive side of faith.
Let’s look at the negative side of faith first…
Lack of Faith leads to a lack of Contentment
We live in a world where contentment is lacking
A Google Search of the internet discovered there are currently 11, 400,000 sites designed to teach people how to play the lottery.
About once a month I receive an email from Nigeria that a prince has converted to Christianity and would like to give our church $25 million, all they need is our bank account – and it will all be set up. While we may laugh at this idea over 20 churches have been accepted the offer only to find their back accounts emptied.
E-mail scams, Pyramid schemes and Promises of getting rich quickly all prey on one thing – the discontentment of people.
Discontentment is not reserved for our culture alone
Discontentment began soon after creation
Genesis 2:15-17, The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Adam & Eve had a life blessed with perfection
Adam & Eve had a perfect relationship with God, walking with Him
They had a perfect habitat – the Garden
All their needs were met, they had what was a picture of contentment – but it was not enough.
Genesis 3 tells us Eve soon faced a battle with contentment from the serpent
Eve - We can have any tree but one – the tree of knowledge and evil
Serpent – Go ahead, what will it hurt
DANGER OF DISCONTEMENT – Damage your relationship with God
Note Eve’s decision
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Genesis 3:6-7
They had it all – a relationship with God, a home created by God, but they were still discontent. And it cost them dearly;
They were banished from their home, Genesis 2:24, says the Lord sent them out of their home
A more deadly consequence
“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden — except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Adam and Eve lost their life because they were discontent
Adam and Eve had a perfect home and a perfect relationship with God and yet they stumbled, because they were not content
Another man struggled with contentment as well, His name was David. David was a king; he had all the trappings of a King
He had loyal subjects, an ever increasing empire and a reputation has a great leader
And just has Adam and Eve had a perfect home and a perfect relationship with God, David had
A perfect heart
In 1 Samuel 13, David is described as a man after God’s own heart.
In other words David was a man who sought to please god all the time and in all ways, yet he too struggled with contentment
2 Samuel 11, we read of the army of Israel advancing once again, new conquest is ahead of them. David’s empire, which was already large was about to grow. Verse 1 says something interesting, while it was time to advance – David chose to stay home.
An evening stroll over the palace rooftops allowed David to survey his vast empire.
A palace, an ever expanding kingdom, wealth and the loyalty of his people, what more could he want?
2 Samuel 11:2-4, From the roof he (David) saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.
David had a kingdom at his disposal, but he wanted something that was not his. The man, who had a perfect heart, soon would have a broken heart.
Bathsheba discovers she is pregnant with David’s child. David tries to cover it up by having her husband murdered. He covers up the sin, he has Bathsheba move in with him and it seems he has escaped embarrassment and hidden his sin.
2 Samuel 11:27 But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
Through a series of events, the Sin of David and Bathsheba is discovered and the consequences are devastating – He is confronted by a prophet, all of Israel as well as the enemies of God’s people discover his behavior, the child which was conceived in this relationship dies and latter David’s own family will rebel against his leadership – WHY BECAUSE HE WAS NOT CONTENT
The events in the lives of Adam and Eve and David teach us some very important lessons when it comes to lack of contentment.
Lack of Faith is symptomatic of a Lack of Trust
Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world. There was no reason not to trust God he had provided for them everything. One of the names for God is Jehovah-Jirah, the God who provides. When Eve saw the fruit and desired it she no longer trusted God to provide – she lost faith in what God had said and she trusted the one who would never provide for her, rather would cause pain and grief.
Lack of Faith places our allegiance elsewhere
For the first 40 years of David’s life, his was a life of allegiance to God. Remember he was the man who had a heart like Gods. Instead of trusting God, David saw Bathsheba and desired her, he personally tried to cover up the sin and almost got away with it so he thought! David is guilty of many sins in 2 Samuel 11, Adultery, murder, deceit, but maybe his greatest sin was he simply quit relying on God and relied on his self and that brought disaster.
When we fail to trust God we put our trust in something else.
What I find amazing about this sin of David’s is what God told him after he was confronted with his sin. 2 Samuel 12:8, ’I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!
David if you would have trusted me I would have given you more!
Lack of Faith Brings forth Terrible Consequences
David and as well as Adam and Eve suffered greatly for their lack of Faith What are the consequences if I am not faithful in the area of stewardship?
We never receive the blessings God has in store for us (Throw open the window of heaven
God’s work may be limited in a particular area
We will not know the joy of giving – Jesus himself said, it was blessing to give than to receive.
As God’s people our focus should not be on the negative aspect that accompanies a lack of faith, rather we should look at a…
A True Faith is found in True Contentment
Our example of that is found in the life Abraham
Hebrew 11:8-10, It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
Noticed the Faith Steps in Abraham’s life…
By Faith he obeyed God – and left his home
By Faith he went without knowing where he was going
By Faith he reached the Promise Land and lived as a foreigner
Why was Abraham able to leave a home, travel to an unknown destination and settle as a foreigner – FAITH
Abraham’s Faith made it possible for him to be content with what ever God was asking of Him. Can the same thing be said of you? Do you have Faith in God to provide for you even when it does not make sense? If so you understand what it means to have a true faith in God
True Faith allows us to be content in God’s ways.
True Faith gives us the ability to trust in God whatever the situation.
True Faith allows God to work in us.
LET US HAVE TRUE FAITH!
Just as we learned there are lessons that come from a lack of contentment and a lack of faith, so there are…
Lessons for us who will live by true faith
True Faith is based on a relationship with God
Why was Abraham able to trust in God? One reason, Abraham had a relationship with God. Abraham is the only man in the OT called the friend of God
When we try to live under a set of rules or rituals we find that at time they become a burden or at the very least a duty. It is that way with our stewardship, if you are giving out of a duty or it is a burden to you eventually you will become hardened to the fact that you are giving, you may even resent the fact you are giving. If your giving is based on a relationship, you give out of love. Example of my children
The Greater the Faith the Deeper the Relationship
Abraham’s faith grew deeper as he trusted God to provided
He left his home
He lived in a foreign land
He was told he would have a son late in life and that son would be born from a relationship with his aged wife
He was told to sacrifice his son
Every time God asked him to do something his faith grew deeper and his relationship with god became stronger. I want us to read responsively the words of the Psalmist and note a deep relationship based on true Faith
Leader: The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid?
Congregation: The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
Leader: When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
Congregation: Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.
Leader: The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most
Congregation: is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections.
Does that describe your relationship with God? If so you understand what it means to have a true faith
The third lesson, The Greater the Faith, the Greater the Reward
Just as the lack of faith was devastating to Adam and Eve so the great faith of Abraham was rewarded. One commentary calls Abraham the father of the Faithful. If is because he was so faithful his reward was great. God used the family of Abraham to begin the lineage of Jesus Christ. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, down to David, Eventually Jesus himself. God promised Abraham if he would trust him – His descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and through him all nations would be blessed. And he told him this when he was 75 years old. Can you imagine the faith it must have taken to trust God when he heard this promise. Yet because of his great faith he was greatly rewarded.
For the last four weeks we have talked about stewardship, we have seen how God is the owner of everything, we are called to be generous with our giving and to give with a purpose to further the kingdom of God. Today I am asking you to step out in Faith. In your bulletin in a stewardship commitment card (If you are a member of our church) please take out your card. Today we are going to express in writing what is already written on our hearts – a commitment to pray serve and give. This is not to bless or benefit our church (even though that will happen) it is primarily to honor god who loved us first, and gave himself for and who empowers us everyday. These commitments are for Him. May he enable us to do great works and may his presence be evident in our church this coming year.
Would you please place your commitment on your card, please place it in the envelop and seal it, pass them down the aisle at the end of our service today we will announce how we as a body of believers will step out in 2007
PRAYER
INVITATION
Conclusion
