Stewardship Will Only Work as We Love and Obey God
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thoughts on Stewardship
Stewardship Will Only Work as We Love and Obey God
Foundation scriptures: Deuteronomy 11 verses 8 – 28
Therefore
you shall keep all the commandments which I command you today, that you
may be strong and go in and possess the land which you go across [the
Jordan] to possess, 9 And that you may live long in the land which the
Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a
land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land which you go in to
possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you came out, where
you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot laboriously as in a
garden of vegetables. 11 But the land which you enter to possess is a
land of hills and valleys which drinks water of the rain of the
heavens, 12 A land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the
Lord your God are always upon it from the beginning of the year to the
end of the year. 13 And if you will diligently heed My commandments
which I command you this day--to love the Lord your God and to serve
Him with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being--14 I
will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the
latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your
oil. 15 And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, that you
may eat and be full. 16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your [minds and]
hearts be deceived and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship
them, 17 And the Lord's anger be kindled against you, and He shut up
the heavens so that there will be no rain and the land will not yield
its fruit, and you perish quickly off the good land which the Lord
gives you. 18 Therefore you shall lay up these My words in your [minds
and] hearts and in your [entire] being, and bind them for a sign upon
your hands and as forehead bands between your eyes. 19 And you shall
teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your
house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you
rise up. 20 And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house
and on your gates, 21 That your days and the days of your children may
be multiplied in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give
them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you
diligently keep all this commandment which I command you to do, to love
the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him--23
Then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you
shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place
upon which the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the
wilderness to Lebanon, and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the
western sea [the Mediterranean] your territory shall be. 25 There shall
no man be able to stand before you; the Lord your God shall lay the
fear and the dread of you upon all the land that you shall tread, as He
has said to you. 26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a
curse--27 The blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your
God which I command you this day; 28 And the curse if you will not obey
the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way
which I command you this day to go after other gods, which you have not
known. Deuteronomy 11:8-28 AMP
1. God promises His children blessings—as long as they obey Him and serve Him.
a. Many people want God's blessings—however, they want to have them without obeying and serving Him.
b. Remember, the blessings originate from God— wherever He is, they are—we must stay close to Him to stay in His blessings.
c. He loves us; He loves His children; He wants to bless us.
d. He cannot bless disobedience and sinfulness.
e. The blessing of the Lord makes one rich and He adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22)
2. If we obey we are blessed; if we disobey then we are cursed.
a. With every one of the promises of God there are conditions—if we meet the conditions then we will receive the promises.
b.
Can God trust you with the blessing? Can you be trusted with riches?
Will you continue to serve Him or will you be turned away after idols
or other gods?
Pastor Adonica's Thoughts:
Many people have a
major problem submitting to God. Some people are outwardly compliant,
but inwardly rebellious. Obedience is not just an act—it's an attitude.
The devil wants you to think that you are losing something or giving
something up if you submit your life to the Lord. What you don't
realize is that if you are not submitted to or obeying God, you are in
fact submitting your life to the devil. You might think that you are in
control of your own life, but you have given the devil place in your
life. Yielding to your flesh is yielding to the devil's will for your
life. Make a choice today to submit to the Father, who loves you and
wants only the best for you!
Pastor Rodney's Thoughts:
It
amazes me how many people in the Body of Christ, worldwide, think that
God is obligated to bless them, no matter how they live their
lives—whether or not they obey or serve Him! However, God's Word is
plain. The blessing comes from loving Him and serving Him. I have
wondered how to get that message through to people, when they don't
seem to want to hear it. I have decided the best thing is to just keep
on preaching the truth of the Word—some people will eventually grab a
hold of it and they will walk in the blessings of God.
Prayer and Confession:
Father,
I thank You for Your blessings in my life. I purpose to love and obey
You all the days of my life. I purpose always to put You first place
and to submit to and follow Your Word.
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