The Interrogative's of Stewardship - #2

The “What” of Stewardship

The Interrogative’s of Stewardship - #2

The “What” of Stewardship

Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

In the scriptures, there are many ways to study out a topic. One way is to follow the law of first mention.

This is stewardship month, and in the next few weeks, we are going to be studying about stewardship.

But today, we are going to lay a ground work for what stewardship is and what God has to say about it.

The “What” of

STEWARDSHIP

Pray;

According to Webster, a steward is:

· A man who was employed as the manager of another man’s possessions or affairs. The keeper or manager of the accounts.

In the passage of scripture we have read, we find the 1st mention of a steward / stewardship.

Abram is a great man. He has been blessed by God for the obedience that he has exhibited and in so doing, God blesses him financially.

In Gen 12, when God told him to leave Haran, he left with his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot, and his substance. There is not a mention of his being well off. As a matter of fact, God told him that he was going to make him great, so his wealth and blessings were in the future.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Gen 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

The promises given to Abram were based on his obedience. Once he obeyed, God was bound to honor his promise to Abraham.

In Gen 15, we find that he has been blessed:

He has possessions

He has servants

He has prestige

He has been richly blessed by God up to this point in his life.

God not only blessed him in the financial realm, he is also going to bless him in his family and make his seed to be multiplied as the stars in heaven. (that is a lot of grandkids)

In Abrams house, there is a man who is the steward of Abrams possessions. His name is Eliezer. Eliezer is not just a steward, but as the descendent of Shem – would be next in line as the heir of Abrams possessions if he did not have a son.

Abram was complaining to God that his steward was going to be his heir – if God did not give him a son.

This is not to say that Eliezer was not a good steward, because we really don’t know much about him. We believe that he was a good steward, as we can see how God blessed Abram & Sarah.

This man was in charge of all of Abrams house.

He was the one responsible for the management and administrative tasks in running such large household as was Abrams.

He was the steward:

Several things:

1. A steward took care of someone else’s possessions

2. A steward does not look after his own interests, he takes care of the masters interests

In the case of Joseph, you know the story, Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. After a turn of events, God blessed Joseph and elevated him in the eyes of everyone he worked for. God finally by the revealing of Pharoah’s dream was put in charge of Pharaoh’s kingdom. He was, in a sense a steward. But not only was he a steward, he had a steward as well…

Gen 43 - 44

Gen 43:19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,

Gen 44:1 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.

The steward was following the direction of Joseph. He did not have his own plans or agenda – He didn’t have that right. Everything that he was in charge of belonged to Joseph.

3. A steward will give an account of his stewardship

Luk 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

Luk 16:2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

As a steward, we have to realize that everything we have belongs to the Lord.

It is not my money

It is not my house

It is not my car

It is not my family

It is not my investments

It is not by business

It is not my…… anything…..

L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corp., who had given approximately 25% of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years, said, "The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord."

J. D. Rockefeller said, "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week."

Everything is God’s.

When I realize this, now I am on the right path to becoming a good steward.

I cannot be a good steward when I think that the possessions are mine

Illust:

A missionary, speaking of the need on the foreign fields, was to receive an offering to help out with the work. A man was sitting next to the aisle about halfway up. He had folded his arms and sat with a grim look, a scowl and a frown. He evidently didn't want to be there. Perhaps his wife had made him come. When the usher held the plate in front of him, he just shook his head. The usher jiggled the plate invitingly. Still the only response was the head shake. The usher leaned over and whispered, "It's for missions, you know." Still the scowl and a mumbled sentence, "I don't believe in &ls;em." This usher was a sharp man.

He leaned down and said, "Then you take some out. It's for the heathen, anyway."

This morning, we looked at “The “Who” of Stewardship

Now we are looking at “The “What” of Stewardship”

1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

You see, when we accepted Christ as our Saviour, we no longer belong to ourselves. We belong to him.

Not only am I His,

Everything that I have is His

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Mat. 6.24

Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Stewardship many times, and most of the time is tied to money, but not completely. We are to use all that we have for Him as well

· Our time

· Our talents

· Our abilities

· Our finances

Everything that we have is God’s

The reason we have a hard time being a good steward, is that we think that what we have is ours.

When you realize your place as a steward – that the Lord has given us everything that we have anyway, then I don’t have a problem doing what He wants.

I don’t have a problem giving away somebody else’s things.

(illust. Bro. Jordan’s Truck

I am very willing to give someone else’s things away.

Now, if I really believe that what I have belongs to the Lord, then when he asks me to give him a tithe and an offering, I won’t have a problem with it. Why – because it is his to begin with.

That is what stewardship really is. In every aspect of life…

My life

My possessions

My money

My wife

My children

My…..

Everything I have belongs to HIM. So if the owner asks for something that I am holding, It is only reasonable that I give him what he asks for.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones told a story about a farmer who went into the house one day to tell his wife and family some good news. "The cow just gave birth to twin calves, one red and one white," he said.

He continued, "We must dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We will bring them up together, and when the time comes, we will sell one and keep the proceeds and we will sell the other and give the proceeds to the Lord's work." His wife asked him which he was going to dedicate to the Lord. "There's no need to bother about that now," he replied, "we'll treat them both in the same way, and when the time comes, we'll do as I say."

A few days later, he entered the kitchen looking unhappy. "What happened?" his wife asked. "I have bad news," he replied. "The Lord's calf is dead." "Wait," said his wife, "you didn't decide which calf was to be the Lord's." "Yes," he said, "I decided it was the white one, and the white one died. The Lord's calf is dead."

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

It is God’s design for his people to give back to him. We show our love, dedication and obedience when we follow the teachings of his word.

Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Just as God blessed Abraham when he obeyed, God promises that He will bless us when we obey as well.

***** Preachers get tagged as being “money grubbin”. And some may be, but out of all of the preachers and churches that I know, when God’s people realize that they are a steward of what God has entrusted to them, and they GIVE THE TITHE AND OFFERINGS, then – God blesses the work and the mission of the church

From The Accountability Connection by Matt Friedman, Victor Books), New Man, JulyAugust 1994, p. 12.

John Wesley was eventually one of England's most wealthy citizens. Yet, as his income sharply increased, look at what happened to his spending habits:

Income

Living Expenses

To the Poor

First year:

30 pounds

28 pounds (93%)

2 pounds (7%)

Second year:

60 pounds

28 pounds (47%)

32 pounds (53%)

Third year:

90 pounds

28 pounds (31%)

62 pounds (69%)

Fourth year:

120 pounds

28 pounds (23%)

92 pounds (77%)

Later:

over 1,400 pounds

30 pounds (2%)

over 1,400 pounds (98%)

You are a steward – either a good steward or a bad steward. We need to start this year out being obedient Christians for the Saviour.

There is the business side of the ministry:

Building, Budgets & Bills

The work of the Lord takes dollars:

And God looks to his people and says:

I gave my son for you…..

Won’t you give your tithe back to me?

Stewardship…..

Be a good steward this year.

If you are not giving God the tithe, start this year

If you are tithing… what about an offering

Missions

Building

Others – poor, needy, hungry – food bank

If you are giving a tithe and an offering, you just be willing to do whatever the Lord impresses you to do for him.

God doesn’t need your money, but you and I need to give – it helps us prove what and who is important in our lives.

Be a good steward this year.

The “What” of Stewardship

The Who is you –

The What of stewardship –

The What of Stewardship is “Whatever” you and I have to offer…

Proper motives are essential in Christian service. This is especially true in the giving of our money. The Lord is more concerned with why we give than with how much we give. We must have a right heart attitude. Therefore we should never give in order to receive the praise of others, but because we love God and desire to see His name honored and glorified.

An experience in the life of English preacher and theologian Andrew Fuller illustrates this truth.

James Duff, in Flashes of Truth, told of a time when Fuller went back to his hometown to collect money for foreign missions. One of his contacts was an old friend. When presented with the need, the man said, "Well, Andrew, seeing it's you, I'll give you five dollars." "No," said Fuller, "I can't take your money for my cause, seeing it is for me," and he handed the money back. The man saw his point. "Andrew, you are right. Here's ten dollars, seeing it is for Jesus Christ." Duff concluded, "Let us remember, it is not the amount we give toward helping the Lord's work; it is the motive He looks at."

When we have the opportunity to contribute to some worthy Christian cause, may we do so with the right purpose in mind. We should never give just because we feel obligated to organizations or persons, nor because we desire to receive selfish recognition or reward.

The apostle Paul said, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). We should honestly say, "It's for the Lord!" - R.W.D.

W. A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he'd promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now.

The pastor replied, "I don't see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you'd have no problem tithing $4.00."

The “What” of Stewardship