MIDWEEK: STEWARDSHIP – “GOOD TO KNOW” SERIES

• James 1:22-26 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
• For Christians, stewardship is about recognizing where our resources come from and what we should do with them.
• Stewardship helps us develop a more complete picture of our relationship to God and prioritize our finances, values, and lives around the things that matter most.
• In the Bible, we’re encouraged to use and think about God’s resources differently than the rest of the world does.
• If we don’t live out biblical stewardship, we wind up wasting opportunities to glorify God and advance his kingdom on Earth.

• Steward is an ancient job title, and it comes from the word Oikonomia, which means “management” or “administration. ” It is derived from oikos (house) and nomos (law). Steward can also be understood as the management of a household or a resource. It describes a person who takes care of or manages something for someone else.
• Anytime you’re responsible for something that belongs to someone else, that’s stewardship.
• The Bible makes it clear that: Everything belongs to God, he entrusts some things to us, we have a responsibility to manage them wisely on his behalf.
• Biblical stewardship challenges us to recognize that God is the true owner of everything and that he expects us to manage his resources in a certain way.

EVERYTHING BELONGS TO GOD

• The Bible makes it abundantly clear that as the creator of everything, God owns everything.
• Job 41:11 Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine.
• Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.

HE ENTRUSTS SOME THINGS TO US

• Since God owns everything, all that we have comes from him. Not just our resources either. Things like wealth, riches, honor, strength, power, and authority belong to him too.
• 1 Chronicles 29:12 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

• Stewardship goes beyond simply “borrowing” things from God. He’s not just loaning us money and other resources. He’s entrusting them to us.
• As stewards, our challenge is to use God’s resources in ways that advance his interests.
• The Bible is full of passages instructing us to use our resources to care for the poor and those who are in need (1 John 3:17-18, Proverbs 28:27, 1 Timothy 5:8).
• Stewardship isn’t about “giving back” to God. It’s about using what he’s given us to accomplish something that matters.
• Matthew 25:26–27 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
• It’s not good enough to simply not waste what God gives us. We need to ensure that God gets a good return on his investment.
• Matthew 6:19–21 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
• We can choose to accumulate wealth and glory for ourselves here on earth, where it will not last, or we can use what God gives us to store up treasure in heaven, where it will last forever. Which type of treasure we pursue and invest in will reveal where our hearts are. Are we prioritizing our lives and our resources around the investments God cares about, or are we reaping our rewards now, on earth?
• Acts 4:32–35 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35 and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.
• We are called to use our resources to meet the needs in our own communities.
• Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

• The Apostle Paul didn’t consider stewardship to simply be a financial matter. He even considered his understanding to be a resource that he needed to steward appropriately, and encouraged the Corinthians to be stewards of the things that had been entrusted to them.
• 1 Corinthians 4:1–2 So, look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. 2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

“STEWARDS OF GOD’S GRACE”

• We have a responsibility to steward God’s grace. God has given each of us gifts, and when we use them to serve other people—especially those who cannot repay us or do not “deserve” that service—we’re sharing his grace with others.

“FILL THE EARTH AND SUBDUE IT”

• When God created humans, he gave us a job: it was to steward his creation.
• Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

IF YOU’RE A HUMAN, YOU’RE A STEWARD

• Not everyone believes in God. And not everyone believes they have a responsibility to use what they have in any particular way. But every single person is a steward, whether they’re a Christian or not.

LEARN WHAT GOD VALUES

• Part of our responsibility as stewards is to use what God gives us wisely. We need to apply our resources, skills, gifts, and time in ways that matter to God.
• If we want to be good stewards, we need to care about the things that move God. Through the example of Jesus, it should be abundantly clear that God cares about people—particularly the poor, the vulnerable, and the destitute.
• James 1:27 “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

• As you strive to be a good steward, it should cause you to think differently about the things in your possession. Everything belongs to God, and everything he gives us represents new opportunities to serve others and share the love of Christ.
• Cielo Vista Church has prayerfully decided on a mission that we believe God has called us to fulfill, and we’ve thoughtfully decided on the best way to allocate our resources to accomplish that mission.
• Mission Statement:” Inviting the lost and broken into our Christ Centered Journey form empty religion from empty religion to generational life change.”
• We execute the plan by adhering to the following 5 Values:

• • Biblical Truth Alive in Love
  • Power of Prayer
  • Life Changing Generosity
  • Unity In Diversity
  • Before You’re Ready

• “Tithing is Grace giving with a Goal.”
• REMEMBER THESE THINGS:

• • God doesn’t want you to give out of obligation.
  • He wants you to give out of a sense of obligation.
  • And He does not want you to give with a begrudging heart.

• 2 Corinthians 9:7 Each of you must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
• Luke 6:38 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I know that the penalty for my sin is physical, spiritual, and eternal death. I acknowledge that I can’t do anything about my situation. But I know that You came to pay the penalty for my sin. I trust in You alone as the One who died in my place. I repent of my sin and trust in You alone as the only One who can place me in an eternal relationship with the living God. I receive joyfully receive Your gift of GRACE. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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