MY TREASURE-STEWARDSHIP
Sunday, May 18, 2008
MY TREASURE
STEWARDSHIP
Foundation Scriptures: Genesis 1:26
God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our
image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over
the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over
all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26 AMP
1. The lost sense of the Eternal.
Many people habitually think and act as if there is no eternity to consider
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James 2:12 AMP - So speak and so act as [people should] who are to be
judged under the law of liberty [the moral instruction given by Christ,
especially about love].
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2 Peter 3:12-13 AMP - While you wait and earnestly long for (expect and
hasten) the coming of the day of God by reason of which the flaming
heavens will be dissolved, and the [material] elements [of the
universe] will flare and melt with fire? 13 But we look for new heavens
and a new earth according to His promise, in which righteousness
(uprightness, freedom from sin, and right standing with God) is to
abide.
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Isaiah 40:6-8 NKJV - The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What
shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the
flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the
breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The
grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands
forever.”
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James 4:14 AMP - Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may
happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but
a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little
while and then disappears [into thin air].
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Psalm 39:4 AMP - Lord, make me to know my end and [to appreciate] the
measure of my days--what it is; let me know and realize how frail I am
[how transient is my stay here].
2. According to God’s Word, one of our main aims in this life is to prepare for the Next.
3. A steward’s primary goal is to be found faithful by his Master as
he uses the Master’s resources to accomplish the tasks delegated to him.
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God is the Master — We are the Steward.
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Ownership:
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God owns everything
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We are the custodians of what He has placed in our care. We are to wisely administer and expand the Master’s estate.
Power:
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All power is His.
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We are accountable to Him.
Trust:
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He entrusts us with possessions, authority and responsibilities.
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We are expected to be faithful with what we are given.
Expectations:
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He expects us to do what He asks and do what we can.
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We are to work and be industrious – to give our best and do our best for Him.
Absence:
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He is like the Master who went on a journey — He has left His estate in His servant’s hands—that’s you and me.
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We must use wisdom as we invest the Master’s wealth and manage His estate.
Return:
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He will return—it will be unannounced.
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We should be always ready and waiting for His return.
Generosity:
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The Lord is extremely generous.
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We should never take Him for granted. Fear the Master and appreciate His blessings.
Standards:
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God has set standards for us that are non-negotiable —there are no grey areas.
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We should be single-minded in service. We will give an individual account to God for our own words and deeds.
4. Things we must seriously consider:
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The long term significance of today’s behavior and choices (ours).
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The inevitability of consequences for all of our choices and actions.
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The weightiness of our responsibility to choose wisely and live rightly.
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We have clear cut incentives and motivations—our eternal treasure and crowns.
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We should place more importance on, and be more focused on, our
responsibilities than our rights. Our obedience is more important and
more fruitful than our temporary happiness.
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N.B. Anyone else’s evaluation of the steward, compared to the judgment
of the one and only Master, is meaningless. We are here to please the
Master. No one else’s opinion means anything, or counts for anything,
at all.
5. God owns everything:
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Deuteronomy 10:14
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Leviticus 25:23
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1 Chronicles 29:11-12
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Job 41:11
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Psalm 24:1-2
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Psalm 50:10-12
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Haggai 2:8
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1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Recent:
Righteous Now
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
“Therefore if any man be in Christ…” What does it mean to be “in Christ”? Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You are baptized into Christ when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The moment
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the