Three Stewardship Priorities
Proverbs 3:9; 1 Peter 3:15
January is stewardship month at BBC. Stewardship is one of the most important areas. There are three principles of stewardship:
1. Stewardship recognizes God is the Owner of all things.
Psalms 24:1—The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. (cf. Dt. 10:14)
1 Corinthians 6:19-20—…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.
Deuteronomy 8:18—But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth…
Romans 11:36—For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
2. Stewardship recognizes we are the managers of all God has entrusted to us. A steward does not render service to satisfy his own needs, but he works on the behalf of the owner of the goods.
How you manage what God has given you today will determine what God will give you in the future.
3. Stewardship recognizes there will be an accounting of how we managed all God entrusted to us (Luke 16:2; 1 Cor. 3:11-15). “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12).
Therefore, we need to make stewardship a priority in our lives.
PRIORITY: (1) Something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first. (2) Precedence, especially established by order of importance or urgency.
I. The first PERSON in stewardship is the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 1:16-18).
Stewardship gives Jesus Christ “first claim” to every part of our lives: C-L-A-I-M
C = Calendar. Give God the first day of every week and the first part of every day. Pray—“God if I don’t get anything else done today, when this day is over, may I love You more and know You better.”
L = Love (Mt. 22:37-40 cf. Rev. 2:4).
A = Associations. Put God first in all your relationships: Your family, your marriage, and your friendships.
I = Interests. Put God first in your hobbies, your career, your recreation, and your problems. Consider God first in your every decision.
M = Money (Pro. 3:9-10). If you want God to bless your finances, you gotta honor Him with the tithe.
II. The first PURSUIT of stewardship is the Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:31-33).
A. A Kingdom (domain of a King) requires a King.
B. The Kingdom of God is spiritual (Rom. 14:17– The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.).
C. Therefore stewardship involves (1) submission to the King and (2) prioritizing spiritual things over material things (Col. 3:1-2; 2 Cor. 4:18; John 6:27).
1. The main business of man is God and His business.
I hear people say, “I have so much, and yet I feel unfulfilled. I’ve got a good family… a good job… great kids… good friends. I’m part of a good church. Why am I so unfulfilled?” It’s because you were made for more than this! You will never find fulfillment in life until you begin to live for God’s Kingdom… by God’s power… and for God’s glory.
2. What does it mean to live for God’s Kingdom? It means…
•You make God’s agenda, your agenda.
•You make God’s will, your will.
•You care about what God cares about.
•Whatever you want God to bless, put Him first in that area.
III. The first PRESENTATION of stewardship is giving yourself (2 Cor. 8:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2).
When you give yourself to the Lord, then it follows that everything you have also belongs to God.
No one has begun to practice Biblical stewardship as long as he considers his life is his own to do with as he pleases.
Stewardship gives oneself on the altar and then the gift!
SUMMATION: The bottom line is stewardship is simply PUTTING GOD FIRST in everything we have and everything we do. Stewardship is not just about giving God money. It is about giving God everything.
“Putting God First” is our stewardship theme for 2015. Anything you put ahead of God is an idol.
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One Reply to “Three Stewardship Priorities”
Greetings Pstr. Al!
Thank you for sharing your sermon on Video. I’m bless with it, simple but Biblical. May God continue to bless your ministry God entrusted you.
Ruel J. Gustilo
Philippines