“This is an excellent sermon on God’s view of stewardship.” Barbara

“Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10

The World’s Economy vs Christ’s Kingdom Economy?

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

How much and with what heart posture we give is what the LORD looks at. Our giving to the LORD proves how much He means to us. It is shown in how we give to His kingdom people and work – the heart and the percentage (Matthew 6:19-21; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Mark 12:41-44). He gave us the ability to earn money that we may have to give – which is an integral part of our worship of Him.

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” Ephesians 4:28

“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.” Deuteronomy 8:18

I just read this headline shown in this graphic screen capture:

In light of the above headline, article, let us stop and think about how God has taken care of His people, most of whom do not earn any where near a 6-figure income. What does that say for the faithfulness of our LORD no matter what? We live under His blessing, His kingdom economy! Read Psalms 67 and 112; Philippians 4:19.

“They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” Psalms 37:19

People are eternal. Are you investing in people, eternal souls?

QUOTES ON STEWARDSHIP

“Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself; it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others.” – Oswald Chambers

“The fear of the Lord helps us recognize our accountability to God for the stewardship of leadership. It motivates us to seek the Lord’s wisdom and understanding in difficult situations. And it challenges us to give our all to the Lord by serving those we lead with love and humility.” – Paul

“Take heed that you faithfully perform the business you have to do in the world, from a regard to the commands of God; and not from an ambitious desire of being esteemed better than others.” – David Brainerd

“If God was the owner, I was the manager. I needed to adopt a steward’s mentality toward the assets He had entrusted – not given – to me. A steward manages assets for the owner’s benefit. The steward carries no sense of entitlement to the assets he manages. It’s his job to find out what the owner wants done with his assets, then carry out his will.” – Randy

“Since my money is God’s money, every spending decision I make is a spiritual decision.” – John

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; ²⁴ knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24

“We should never think that once we have given some money and time to the Lord that the rest is ours to do with as we please. All that we have belongs to God, so He should be taken into consideration in everything we do.” – Theodore

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

The world asks, “What does a man own?” Christ asks, “How does he use it?” – Andrew Murray

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” – 1 Peter 4:10

“When a church seeks a pastor, they want the strength of an eagle, the grace of a swan, the gentleness of a dove, the friendliness of a sparrow, and the night hours of an owl. And when they catch that bird, they expect the pastor to live on the food of a canary.” – Anonymous

“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. 17 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” 1 Timothy 5:17-18

“Givers can be divided into three types: the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. Some givers are like a piece of flint – to get anything out of it you must hammer it, and even then, you only get chips and sparks. Others are like a sponge – to get anything out of a sponge you must squeeze it and squeeze it hard, because the more you squeeze a sponge, the more you get. But others are like a honeycomb – which just overflows with its own sweetness. That is how God gives to us, and it is how we should give in turn.” – Anonymous

“And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, ³⁸ And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ……. ⁴⁴ And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. ⁴⁵ Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶ My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. ⁴⁸ And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:37-38; 44-47

“You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” — John Bunyan

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

“When we surrender every area of our lives–including our finances–to God, then we are free to trust Him to meet our needs. But if we would rather hold tightly to those things that we possess, then we find ourselves in bondage to those very things.” – Larry

“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.” Matthew 6:24

“You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.” — Amy Carmichael

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill

“Whatsoever I thankfully receive, as a token of God’s love to me, I part with contentedly as a token of my love to Him.” – Theophilus Gale

“Freely ye have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8b

“Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man’s real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man’s true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man’s character and how he handles his money.” – Richard C. Halverson

The stewardship of our money is a direct reflection of the priorities of our heart.

“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. ²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” Matthew 19:21-22

“We should use all our money for the Lord. This is, we should use all our money in a way that God would approve. In that sense, all of our money is to be given to the Lord. Stewardship is to be total, not partial.” – Wayne Mack

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21

“I am convinced that the devil has caused the subject of giving to stir up resistance and resentment among God’s people because he knows there are few ways of spiritual enrichment like the exercise of faithful stewardship.” — Stephen Olford

“My take on tithing in America is that it’s a middle-class way of robbing God. Tithing to the church and spending the rest on your family is not a Christian goal. It’s a diversion. The real issue is: How shall we use God’s trust fund—namely, all we have—for His glory? In a world with so much misery, what lifestyle should we call our people to live? What example are we setting?” — J.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. ² Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. ³ For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4

“No church ever has a money problem, only a faithfulness problem.” — Brian K.

“There can be no doubt that this possessive clinging to things is one of the most harmful habits in [Christian] life. Because it is so natural, it is rarely recognized for the evil that it is. But its outworkings are tragic.” – A. W. Tozer

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: ²⁰ and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, ²¹ and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; ²³ and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:19-23

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”—Missionary Jim Elliott

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: ²¹ for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ²² The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. ²³ But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! ²⁴ 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. Matthew 6:19-24

YOUR PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. Please unite my heart to fear Thy name. Touch the innermost part of my heart concerning the judgment and reward that lies ahead concerning how I choose to steward the resources You are giving me here on earth. Please forgive my sins in this regard and establish in my life a desire and grace to obey You by being a cheerful, generous giver as You are and proved such by giving for me and all the world the blood of Your very and only begotten Son. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

What God’s Word Reveals about Stewardship 

Support | STORE | Podcasts | The Return of Christ | Stewardship | Where to Give and Where Not to Give | Fruit Abounding to Your Account! | Consider Your Ways [podcast] | Consider and Build [podcast] | Holes in Your Money Bags? [podcast] | Dollar Dialogue | Jesus Sat Over Against The Treasury [podcast] | Escaping Sodom! | Waste | Stewardship | Giving

Dollar Dialogue [podcast]

Holes in Your Money Bags? [podcast] Curing the Dilemma of Diminishing Returns. If we want to see Heaven’s floodgates opened, we must examine what compliance, what agreement, what obedience the LORD may be leading us to render. The Reason Your Bag has Holes in it [podcast] (below) YOUR own bank statement tells you exactly who you are. Matt 6:21 A financial investor takes your money and multiplies it for your last few years in this temporal life, right? In contrast, laborers for Christ take your support and multiply it for Christ and themselves for all eternity. In Christ’s eternal kingdom […]

Living with an Eternal Perspective [podcast]

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 Someone has rightly stated that covetousness and greed and the love of money is going to damn more souls than any other sin. Read Jesus’ parable of the rich fool and memorize Luke 12:15. See Luke 12:15-21. Jesus says: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Luke 12:15 […]

Rusted Gold and Fire Untold [podcast]

Did you realize that rusted gold could cost you your eternal soul? Warning to the Rich “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4  Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, […]