#1 Building Blocks of Stewardship - ABC's & 123's
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Building Blocks of Stewardship
Building Blocks of Stewardship
#1 - ABC's & 123's
#1 - ABC's & 123's
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.
2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods.
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Clarence Benson called the earth “the theater of the universe”.
You see it is on this earth that we see and experience the greatest drama ever performed… The God of creation interacts with:
Planet
People
His divine PURPOSE & Plan will be executed Perfectly
What an amazing God we serve -
This God of the ages -
This Creator God
The owner and possessor of heaven and earth - has a plan for His World...
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
God own’s everything...
He own’s the earth and everything on it...
Stewardship is recognizing that we are guest’s on His earth, and everything is his… then being a good caretaker of what is His - for His honor and glory...
As guests on His planet, He graciously gives us gifts and many blessings to enjoy.
17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
The perspective is tempered by:
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Building Blocks of Stewardship
Building Blocks of Stewardship
#1 - ABC's & 123's
#1 - ABC's & 123's
Pray:
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.
In reality - God own’s everything… there is nothing down here on this planet that does not belong to him.
Ocean’s
Mountains
deserts
flatlands
cities, villages
states, countries
Continents
He owns it all - it’s all His...
gold, silver
diamonds, rubies, emeralds - amethyst
Currencies - economies
He is possessor of Heaven and the Earth -
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.
But this Great God allows us - as guest’s on His earth to live, breath, work, serve, grow, enjoy the earth and what he has given to us...
But there is rent...
It’s only reasonable that we would owe God for allowing us to:
live on His earth -
breath His air
drink his water
use his resources
enjoy the benefits of this word...
This is the Tithe...
30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.
31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.
33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
You see, the tithe was how the Lord planned for His work to carry on… -
As we have studied in years past, the Tithe was:
Before the Law - gen 14.17-20
During the Law - numb. 18.21-28
After the Law - mat. 23.23
The tithe is the tenth -
the word tithe means - the tenth...
So how does God look at the tithe?
ABC’s & 123’s of Stewardship -
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, Even this whole nation.
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.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, And he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; Neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
Question
Will a man rob God
robbery- different from stealing...
if you walk into Wally’s World and take a coat, shoes, jacket - food… and leave without paying for it - it’s called stealing...
If you walk into Wally’s and walk up to the cashier, put a gun to her head and take $50 out of the til, it is robbery...
stealing with threat of bodily harm or injury...
different severity of crime - even though the coat may have been $100, and the cash was only $50… different case to be tried...
when we with-hold the tithe,
When we with-hold the offering - God looks at it - not as theft - but as robbery...
Tithes - 10%
Offerings - above the 10%
Belongs to the Lord
Was given to the Levites
was brought to the storehouse - they would bring their actual seed, produce…
We use banks - money -
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3469 If Everyone Tithe
3469 If Everyone Tithe
If the Protestant people of America alone were tithing their income we could easily evangelize the entire world and put a copy of the Bible into the hands of every heathen on earth inside of ten years. According to government statistics, we are spending annually in this country six hundred dollars for luxuries for every dollar we spend for missions. We spend in America more for tobacco in a single year than both the United States and Canada have spent for missions since white man discovered America.
The Question
2. Accusation
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
The Lord never makes a false accusation… as a matter of fact, the Lord doesn’t accuse- He just states facts...
we may make false accusations
we may be falsely accused - but never by the Lord!
His assessments are always:
Right
Righteous
Just
Yet ye have robbed me
in tithes
in offerings.
The Question
The Accusation
3. Response
vs 8 “…but ye say, wherein have we robbed thee?...”
The difference between man’s view and God’s view.
Our response of innocence does not make us innocent
our disagreement with God’s assessment does not invalidate God’s assessment.
Our reasons do not excuse our disobedience
The Question
The Accusation
The Response
4. Condemnation
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, Even this whole nation.
Curse - divine judgment - harm or evil invoked upon...
Serpent - deceiving Eve
14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Cain - killing Able
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
When we rob God, we rob ourselves...
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
giving to God - is never unpaid...
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.
The Question
The Accusation
The Response
The Condemnation
ABC’s & 123’s of Stewardship -
Tithe - it is the Lord’s -
It is owed
It is expected
It is for His use -
ABC’s & 123’s of Stewardship - the tithe is the Lord’s