The Benefits Of Lifestyle Stewardship Series

3. This behavior is modeled by our Heavenly Father (verse 36).

4. This behavior will reap many benefits.

He talks about those benefits that we reap in verse 35; He talks about the fact that our reward will be great. In verse 37, He talks about the fact that if we do not judge others, we won’t be judged. If we don’t condemn others, we won’t be condemned. If we pardon, we will be pardoned. In other words, He basically teaches us that we pretty much determine our own sentence from God. If we’re harsh with others, He’ll be harsh with us. If we’re lenient towards others, He’ll be lenient with us. He says basically that our attitude toward others will determine God’s attitude toward us. Verse 38 was one of my father’s very favorite verses. I’ve heard him quote it hundreds of times: “Give and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will poor into your lap, for whatever measure you deal out to others it will be dealt to you in return.”

Folks, I’m excited not only about this message, but I’m excited about this month. Remember when you were a kid and the teacher would ask you a question and you knew the answer? Remember you’d put your hand up and you really wanted to be called on because you just knew that you had the answer, and you wanted the teacher to know, you wanted the other kids to know? You also remember those moments when the teacher was looking around for somebody to raise their hand and you kind of had your head down and you thought, “Oh God, don’t let them call on me. I don’t have a clue what’s going on here. Oh, my dear Jesus come now, spare me.” You say, “How do you know?” I’ve prayed that prayer thousands of times in my life. But you know what it was like when you could raise your hand because you knew that you knew, and you also knew that it would help somebody else. You see, what excites me about preaching this month on stewardship is I really know biblically how things can turn around for you financially, how things can turn around for you spiritually, and how things can turn around for your life. The stuff that I’m going to give you, not only this morning but for the next three weeks, I promise you n hang with me for these next four weeks — I promise you it can incredibly, beautifully change your life.

You see, God’s Word teaches us much about how to live a successful life and the missing piece in most Christians’ lives is this piece called stewardship: the management of the resources that God has given you and me. And this month I’m going to do my best biblically to teach you how to manage what God has given you and when you manage it correctly, you receive more. And when you manage it incorrectly you receive less. It’s not an accident nor is it a mystery why some people are blessed and why some people are not blessed. We’re going to talk about the fact that we can be a river instead of a reservoir, and that we can be a channel that God will flow through if we understand the biblical principles of stewardship.