1. I own nothing. God owns everything
“The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psa24:1
Everything in this earth belongs to God. Everything. God owns everything. We are simply managers or administrators acting on His behalf. You do not have the right or control over anything that you have. Everything you have belongs to God. Even you yourself belong to God. We saw in the Parable of the Talents that the servants did not own the talents. The talents belonged to their master. Their job was to manage them and increase them so that they would have more.
The reason most of us struggle with stewardship is because we have an ownership mentality. We think that we own our life, money, resources etc. But it is not true. Who we are and everything we have belongs to God. God owns us multiple times over. He made us and He bought us. We belong to Him and everything we have.
“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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” 1Cor6:19-20
2. I am not my source. God is my source and sustainer.
“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” Deut8:18
God is the one who gives us the ability to prosper. It is His ability that causes us to prosper and to earn resources. You wouldn’t have a job or business if it wasn’t for God. You wouldn’t even be alive if it wasn’t because of God. God is the one who caused you to be born at this time in this place. Without Him we wouldn’t have the ability to prosper. He is the one that gives us our talents, strengths, abilities, opportunities etc. A steward understands that they don’t provide for themselves. It is God who provides for us. It was the lord of these servants that provided them with the talents they had. Their job was to multiply what He gave them. His job was to give them what to multiply.
Your finances are the result of God’s blessing on your life. You are prospering because of God’s blessing upon you. The steward doesn’t see themselves as their source of prosperity. They see God as their source. You will not prosper in God’s way without understanding that God is your source and you are not your own source.
3. I don’t do with money what I want. I do with money what God wants. It is His money
God has entrusted you with stewardship over His money and over His resources. What does God want to do with His money that is in your hands? We are a steward. God is the owner. We should come to the place where we look at whatever we have as belonging to God and not to us. We should do what God wants with what we have not what we want. This is what faithfulness is about. Managing the Lord’s resources the way He wants us to manage them. Luke 16
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
God wants us to be faithful with His resources. He wants us to do with them what He has instructed us to do with them. And these instructions are allover scripture. He has instructed us to tithe and give to the kingdom, to be generous, save and invest. This is what we should do with His resources.
BEING A TRUSTWORTHY AND FAITHFUL STEWARD
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” 1Cor4:1-2
We are responsible to God as stewards. We are accountable to Him. And He requires us to be faithful stewards.
Luke12
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
There is an urgency God expects of us as good and faithful stewards. God has entrusted us with great resources and abilities in these days so that we can accomplish His purpose all over the earth.
This involves us knowing how to handle our finances in such a way that they increase and we grow wealthier and at the same time spend and give to the Kingdom and support the gospel as much as we can so as to reach as many people as we can.
We have to attain a wonderful balance between investing and giving.
We need to plan and handle our finances as if the Lord is not coming back and we need to give and witness as if He is coming back tonight.
Sometimes the issue isn’t you trusting God. It is God trusting you. Can God trust you with riches? Can he trust you with power, influence or more? The money you have, the money you earn is not your money. It is God’s money. Everything you’ve got comes from God. Every opportunity you’ve got comes from God. It is God who created you, blesses your work and enables you to work and make money. It is Him who gives us life, health etc. All He wants from you is to be a good steward. A faithful steward.
“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.” Prov25:19
No one places their confidence in an unfaithful person. Nobody wants to hire an unfaithful steward. It pains from head to toe. We all should be faithful stewards of God. Don’t make God regret putting you in a position of influence, power, wealth and privilege.
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