Biblical Principles of Stewardship

For the final message on Stewardship, Mr. Barry Marshall, Operations Director for Card Services of JP Morgan Chase Bank N. A., Manila Site and Elder of Union Church of Manila, shared to the people of Connect the BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES OF STEWARDSHIP.

"Steward" defined -one who manages a property; finances, or other affairs.

5 Biblical Principles of Stewardship

1. Everything belongs to God
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

-stewardship is a lifestyle, "He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'

"But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." Luke 20:9-15

2. Time belongs to God
-breeds a dangerous self-importance if we allow ourselves to be mastered by time.
-we should ask ourselves, "what is telling me to do with my time?"
-time is a gift, a special gift that once lost we can never get back.

3. Our "call" belongs to God
-anything you do between Sundays.
-statistics showed that:
122 of 132 public appearance of Jesus were in the marketplace
45 out of 52 parables Jesus told had a workplace context
39 out of 40 miracles in Acts were in the marketplace
Jesus worked as a carpenter for 3 years
Jesus called 12 workplace individuals to build His church

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."1 Corinthians 10:31

-The workplace is where Christians have the greatest opportunity to fulfil the Great Commission.
-Be different... Be Godly in the workplace.

4. Our possession belongs to God
a. What I have belong to Him
"The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty." Haggai 2:8

"I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." Psalm 50:9-10

b. What I got came from Him
"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today." Deuteronomy 8:18

"For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" 1 Corinthians 4:7

c. We are stewards not owner of God's resources
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" Matthew 25:21

"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." 1 Corinthians 4:2

5. Money belongs to God
"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." Leviticus 27:30

-on first fruits
"We—the priests, the Levites and the people—have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law.

We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the LORD each year the first fruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.

As it is also written in the Law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there." Nehemiah 10:34-36

-a tenth
"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year." Deuteronomy 14:22

"Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:19-21

-giving back to God regularly, sacrificially and with priority

PRACTICAL THINGS TO DO:
Pray - ask God to challenge you
Assess - how much can you give?
Give - with sacrifice and regularity

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does." James 1:19-25