Stewardship

Stewardship

We should know how to manage money if we are to be good stewards of the money resources God has entrusted to us.

UNDERSTANDING STEWARDSHIP

Luke 12:42-46 - Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

We are living in uncertain financial times. But when you have Jesus in your life and apply God’s Kingdom principles, external factors will not determine your success. You will be blessed regardless of the financial cycles the world experiences.

If your whole life is geared up to serve others and to serve God, then you are doing the right thing.

1. The devil is a time thief.

The Scriptures identify several essential principles of financial stewardship:

* giving is a spiritual matter, not just a financial one

* failure to give money to God is a personal affront to Him

* God will withhold many blessings from His people if they do not give to Him

Stewardship is all management and not ownership. A steward is someone who manages another person’s property, finances, and household. The steward owns nothing, but is in a position of authority as if he or she is the owner of it.

We are simply stewards or managers of what God has placed in our trust. Stewardship is a call of God for His people to assist in managing the affairs of the earth with Him. That has always been His plan from the beginning of creation and it has never changed.

We are God’s stewards and we are responsible for managing His property in a way that will please Him. Performance is measured against what God would want that person to produce.

2. Stewardship is a thermometer of our spirituality and discipleship.

A steward is someone who does not do anything for himself or herself but does that for another. If you are doing things for yourself you have missed what God wants for your life.

God will not force His will on us, but if we realize our responsibility and transfer everything to Him, He will keep His promise and provide for each and every need.

It is unbiblical to relegate personal stewardship to merely the religious portion of our lives such as tithing, using our talents for the church, or giving a percentage of our income to the Lord’s work. We belong to God and stewardship concerns every part of our life, which includes our time as well. How we utilize our time is of great concern to God. The devil is a time thief and he will do everything in his power to make sure we waste this valuable resource and produce nothing for the Kingdom.

We exercise stewardship of time in our daily occupations fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. We also invest time wisely when we enjoy our families or build relationships with our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Stewardship is a thermometer of our spirituality and discipleship.

Luke 12:34 - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

OWNERSHIP

We own nothing. Everything we have belongs to God and we are mere managers of that which belongs to Him. We are required to be good stewards or managers of those things which belong to God.

Psalm 50:10 - For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.

Psalms 24:1 - The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

Haggai 2:8 - 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the LORD of hosts.

Everything we own is on loan from God. That means, even if you are debt free, you are still indebted to God.

We come into the world with nothing and leave with nothing.

We come into the world with nothing and leave with nothing. Everything we have has been entrusted to us and when we die it is all gone.

The most important principle to keep firmly in mind is to understand whose money we are talking about. It's not ours. Everything belongs to God. God's ownership of everything is a foreign concept to most of us. We like to think of our money and our possessions.