STEWARDSHIP OF GIVING
Hello Steemians @steemchurch, may the peace of the lord be with you. Today I will be talking about the stewardship of giving and I pray that you will be bless by the word.
<Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.
– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity>
Stewardship is a theological belief that humans are responsible for the world, and should take care of it. Stewardship is people who believe in one God who created the universe and all that is within it, also believing that they must take care of creation and look after it. Creation includes animals and the environment.
A biblical world view of stewardship can be consciously defined as: "Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation." The central essence of biblical world view stewardship is managing everything God brings into the believer's life in a manner that honors God and impacts eternity.
Mathew 8:1-9
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away. 4 And his disciples answered him, How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves do you have? They said, Seven. 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.
>WHERE DO WE LAY OUR GIVING IN STORE?
* Old Testament... God has only one place - the tabernacle and then the Temple.
* New Testament...God has only one place - His churches.
Let every one of you...
Calls for responsibility. This message by the Apostle Paul was originally addressed to the church at Corinth. This is to Christians, like ourselves, who had been baptized and joined one of the Lord’s churches. To all of us this scripture says, "Let every one of you..."
No member is excluded. This is for young and old, rich and poor - all have a responsibility to give to the Lord through the church.
* Our Lord commended the widow’s two mites to teach us that no one could be too poor to give.
* And He also received the wealth of Barnabas to demonstrate that no one could be too rich to sacrifice for God!
Someone might ask, Am I to give if I don’t feel like it? Well, let me say your life is or would be a mess if you lived it my your feelings. You would not be married if you determined your marriage by your feeling.
There are three (3) levels of giving.
1. I have to...law.
2. I need to...obligation.
3. I want to...love.
Meaningful giving comes from the heart, not just the checkbook or pocketbook. Giving is not just an obligation to get God off my back; it is an opportunity to get God in my life.
<Jesus teaches His disciples the principles of giving and doing for those in need by teaching how God reveals need and it is out duty to commit to meeting that need and take the intentional action necessary to meet that need, the power of the Holy Spirit>
We need to be faithful stewards of all God has given us within the opportunities presented through his providence to glorify him, serve the common good and further his Kingdom.
I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been giving generously from their , to @tikhub for the birthday celebration at the orphanage, that's a huge motivation to me. Thank you very much
COMING SOON!!!
