Values and Disciplines of the Kingdom – 7
Jesus had the disciplines of prayer, fasting, thankfulness, sacrifice, giving, submission, service, stewardship, perseverance, self-control, worship, and love.
This week we will look at the discipline of stewardship. Life in the Kingdom is about giving, expressing the character of God.
I am going to give you ten principles of stewardship. This is one of the most important things that Jesus talked about. He rewards people for being faithful to what He gave them. The parable of the talents makes this very clear – Matt 25.
There is a difference between tithing and stewardship. Stewardship has to do with increasing what you have, while tithing has to do with being obedient.
Stewardship and tithing are not about raising money but about raising Christians. I have never seen a mature Christian struggle to give or give an account of how they handle finances.
God will offend your mind to reveal what is in your heart.
1. Who is in charge? (He owns everything)
Until God is in control, I am out of control! We own nothing. God entrusts us with what He gives us. Everything I have is a blessing from His hand.
Psa. 24:1 “A Psalm of David. The earth is Jehovah’s, and the fullness of it; the world, and those who dwell in it.”
Deut. 10:14 “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to Jehovah your God, the earth also, with all in it.”
Psa. 115:16 “The heavens, even the heavens, are Jehovah’s; but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”
2. Give and grow principle.
Matt. 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and Mammon. As God is after our hearts, Mammon is the only spirit after your heart. Mammon does not care what stuff you have. The essence of Mammon is centered on selfishness, meaning that you have less if you give. It is a spirit that builds false hope and security in earthly things. People waste a lifetime and sacrifice family and friendship to pursue something that will never be sufficient. Because of Mammon, people become takers instead of givers. In Matt 19:16-22, a wealthy young ruler comes to Jesus. He asks Jesus what he must do to enter eternal life. Jesus responds by asking him to obey the commandments. He replies that he kept them from childhood and asks again: “What do I still lack?”
“Go and sell everything you have and come here and follow Me.”
Look at what Jesus is asking. The potential of this statement is enormous. It is the same thing Jesus asked his disciples. He invites the young man to be a disciple like the other disciples – follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
The young man left sad. He thought that if he did that, he would have less.
The Kingdom is not a savings account. It is an investment account. You tend to hold onto your savings. It pays minimal dividends. Your investment accounts are where you hope to make huge gains.
3. Who is #1 (The thing with the highest priority will always have your attention.)
What you value, you will steward. What you steward will increase. What increases will influence you? What influences you will determine the decisions you make. The decisions you make will show others the values you have.
Pro. 3:9-10 “Honor Jehovah with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase, and your barns shall be filled with plenty, and your presses shall burst with new wine.”
Luke 16:10-12 “He who is faithful in the least is also faithful in much. And he who is unjust in the least is also unjust in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous Mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over, they shall give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you measure, it shall be measured to you again.”
4. Cheerful giver attitude!
You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.
For God so loved that He gave. When we give, we express the character of God!
2 Cor. 9:7-8 “Each one, as he purposes in his heart, let him give; not of grief, or necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that in everything, always having all self-sufficiency, you may abound to every good work.”
5. Big shovel principle! (The measure of your blessing is in your hands)
There was a man called mad; the more he gave, the more he had. We determine the size of our harvest by how we give. If a farmer sows five seeds on his ground, he will only receive what five seeds can produce. If he sows ten thousand seeds on his ground, he will receive what ten thousand seeds can produce.
2 Cor. 9:6 “But I say this, He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.”
Luke 6:38 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.”
Pro. 13:7 “There are those who act rich, yet have nothing, and those who act poor, yet have great riches.”
6. Open hand principle. (Find the best place to sow your seed. Find the place of the greatest need)
Deut. 15:7-8 “If there is among you a poor man of one of your brothers inside any of your gates in your land which Jehovah your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother.” But you shall open your hand wide to him, and shall surely lend him enough for his need, that which he lacks.”
Acts 20:35 “I have shown you all things, that working in this way we ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
7. River principle (What flows to you must also flow through you)
God will give to us what He knows will flow through us! We are not a lake but a river. In the Kingdom, we are not containers but dispersers of His blessings.
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. A friend of mine says: Don’t eat your seed. It produces when the seed falls into the ground, not while it stays in your pocket.
John 12:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
8. “I am in debt” principle.
There is much we can be thankful for. By the grace of God, we are here. He gives us the power and strength to work and be productive
We are in debt to the previous generation for what they contended for. Our parents and grandparents worked hard to give us what we have today. Without them, we would not have a head start in life. Our parents or grandparents immigrated and started with very little, but they left an inheritance for many of us through hard work.
I am in debt to the next generation for what I can give them. What a blessing if they can do better than I did.
Prov. 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children….
Prov. 19:14 Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the LORD.
9. Fountain of youth principle. (Does my giving matter?)
We exist temporarily by what we earn. We all know that we will only live seventy or eighty years. That is our temporary existence for which God promised that He would supply our needs – Matt 6:25-34. We live by what we give. When we bless others, it brings purpose to our lives. It is more blessed to give than to receive – Acts 20:35. We live on in those we invested in. Here is the key! We can provide an inheritance, but our legacy is how people remember us. How will people remember you?
10. Do it now, principle. (It is never too late to start)
The key to tomorrow is in what you do today. If you want a harvest, you better start planting. No farmer sits on his front porch enjoying the view of the farm. No, he is working the ground, toiling, and sweating. Yet, he does all the hard work with hope in his heart. He knows that the seed has potential. If he does what he needs to do, the kernel will produce.
Pro. 6:6-8 “Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; who, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.”
