Stewardship: Embracing God's Gifts with a Grateful Heart
Summary
The sermon begins with the speaker emphasizing the importance of being a good steward of the resources that God has entrusted to us. These resources include money, our ability to teach others about Christ, and our relationships with family and friends. The speaker challenges the audience to reflect on whether they are truly caring for and stewarding these resources in a way that pleases God. The speaker introduces the concept of an abundant life that God has blessed us with and emphasizes that the key to experiencing this abundant life lies in the condition of our hearts and our focus. The speaker also encourages the congregation to bring their Bibles and turn to 1 Chronicles 29 for the main scripture passage.
The speaker then discusses practical ways to be a good steward of God's resources. The first step is to develop a stewardship mindset, which can be achieved by regularly reading and studying God's word. By immersing oneself in God's word, their mindset and focus will shift from a temporal and earthly perspective to an eternal one. The second step is to pray daily, not just during meals, but to have a genuine conversation with God. Praying before and after reading God's word is encouraged. Additionally, making intentional choices in managing God's resources is emphasized, rather than waiting until the last minute to decide what to do.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of giving the best to God. They mention how God didn't need the best, but because it is God, it is only fitting to offer the best. The speaker relates this concept to the building of God's house, stating that it should also be the best. They then mention how David and various leaders gathered an abundance of silver, gold, bronze, iron, and precious stones for God's house. The speaker introduces a prayer that David prayed, blessing these offerings and giving them to God.
The speaker emphasizes the concept that everything we have is actually a gift from God. They use the analogy of parents allowing their children to use a room in their house without giving them ownership of it. The speaker asserts that just as the room belongs to the parents, everything we own actually belongs to God. This understanding should lead us to reflect on God's goodness and develop a heart of thanksgiving rather than entitlement. Once we have a heart of thanksgiving, we should be willing to accept the call to faithful stewardship. Faithful stewardship is defined as acknowledging that everything we have is a gift from God and using it wisely and responsibly.
The sermon concludes with the speaker emphasizing the importance of worshiping God with a heart of sacrifice rather than selfishness. They encourage the listeners to examine their hearts and offer their selfishness to the Lord as an offering. The speaker then urges the congregation to commit to a heart of stewardship, recognizing that everything belongs to God and that they are merely stewards of the resources He has given them.
Key Takeaways:
- Being a good steward of the resources that God has entrusted to us is not just a legalistic obligation, but an act of worship. This includes money, our ability to teach others about Christ, and our relationships with family and friends. ([49:32])
- The key to experiencing the abundant life that God has blessed us with lies in the condition of our hearts and our focus. We should develop a stewardship mindset by regularly reading and studying God's word and praying daily. ([27:50])
- Everything we have is actually a gift from God. This understanding should lead us to reflect on God's goodness and develop a heart of thanksgiving rather than entitlement. Once we have a heart of thanksgiving, we should be willing to accept the call to faithful stewardship. ([37:39])
- Giving should not be motivated by guilt or shame, but rather by a genuine desire to worship and show gratitude to God. We should consider the state of our hearts when giving, asking whether we are giving with joy and generosity or with anger and greed. ([50:38])
- We should worship God with a heart of sacrifice rather than selfishness. We should examine our hearts and offer our selfishness to the Lord as an offering. We should commit to a heart of stewardship, recognizing that everything belongs to God and that we are merely stewards of the resources He has given us. ([01:08:50])
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1 Chronicles 29:14-19 (ESV)
#### Observation Questions
1. What does David acknowledge about the source of all blessings in his prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:14-19?
2. According to the sermon, what are some practical ways to develop a stewardship mindset? [56:09]
3. How did David and the leaders of Israel demonstrate their commitment to giving the best to God? [28:34]
4. What analogy does the speaker use to explain the concept that everything we have belongs to God? [34:52]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why is it important to recognize that everything we have is a gift from God, according to the sermon? [36:11]
2. How does the speaker suggest that our understanding of stewardship should influence our daily decisions and actions? [57:30]
3. What does it mean to worship God with a heart of sacrifice rather than selfishness, as emphasized in the sermon? [51:18]
4. How can developing a heart of thanksgiving change our perspective on the resources we have? [36:54]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current mindset towards the resources God has given you. Are there areas where you struggle to see them as gifts from God? How can you shift your perspective? [36:11]
2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of daily prayer and Bible reading to develop a stewardship mindset. What specific steps can you take to incorporate these practices into your daily routine? [56:09]
3. Think about a recent decision you made regarding your time, talents, or finances. How did your understanding of stewardship influence that decision? If it didn’t, how might it have changed your decision? [57:30]
4. The speaker mentioned the importance of giving with joy and generosity rather than out of guilt or obligation. How can you cultivate a heart of joy and generosity in your giving? [50:00]
5. Identify one resource (time, talent, relationship, or money) that you feel you have not been stewarding well. What practical steps can you take this week to improve your stewardship of that resource? [39:05]
6. The sermon encourages us to worship God with a heart of sacrifice. What is one area of your life where you can offer a sacrifice to God this week? [51:18]
7. How can you involve your family or close friends in developing a collective heart of stewardship? What specific actions can you take together to better manage the resources God has entrusted to you? [40:23]
Devotional
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Day 1: Stewardship as Worship
Stewardship is not merely a legalistic obligation, but an act of worship. It encompasses all resources that God has entrusted to us, including money, our ability to teach others about Christ, and our relationships with family and friends. [49:32]
1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."
Reflection: Reflect on the resources God has entrusted to you. How can you better steward these resources as an act of worship?
Day 2: Abundant Life through a Stewardship Mindset
The abundant life that God has blessed us with is experienced through the condition of our hearts and our focus. Developing a stewardship mindset by regularly reading and studying God's word and praying daily is key. [27:50]
Colossians 3:2 - "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
Reflection: What steps can you take today to shift your focus from earthly things to eternal ones?
Day 3: Thanksgiving over Entitlement
Everything we have is a gift from God. This understanding should lead us to reflect on God's goodness and develop a heart of thanksgiving rather than entitlement. [37:39]
James 1:17 - "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
Reflection: Identify one thing you've been feeling entitled to. How can you shift your perspective to one of thanksgiving?
Day 4: Joyful and Generous Giving
Giving should not be motivated by guilt or shame, but rather by a genuine desire to worship and show gratitude to God. The state of our hearts when giving is crucial. [50:38]
2 Corinthians 9:7 - "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Reflection: Reflect on your recent acts of giving. Were they done out of joy and generosity or out of guilt and obligation?
Day 5: Sacrifice over Selfishness
Worshiping God requires a heart of sacrifice rather than selfishness. We should examine our hearts and offer our selfishness to the Lord as an offering. [01:08:50]
Romans 12:1 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you've been selfish? How can you offer this area to God as a sacrifice?
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Quotes
"Make conscious decisions and realizations that everything you have is God's and then make your decision based on that reality." [57:30]
"Your heart, your focus is going to be the biggest key over the next few weeks." #!!25:17!!#
"What is it today that you're hanging on to a little bit tighter than you know you should be? What is it today that you need to surrender your selfish desires and motives? I don't know what it is but I suspect you do." #!!51:18!!#
"I'm talking about your ability to teach kids about Christ, I'm talking about your ability to manage Outreach events to reach others with Christ for Christ, I'm talking about your friend that is hurting and in need of a savior. Are you managing the resources that God has entrusted to you?" (#!!41:39!!#)
"David realizes the first thing that I see that David really realizes is the source of all blessing like David sees it right off the bat he sees the source of all blessing we just see that David pointed out that all things come from God all things not some of the things not occasionally things but all things come from God and that is such a profound realization right it's such an amazing realization that quite frankly many of us in this room or or even online should probably we would do well to remember that from time to time that all things come from come from God" #!!33:30!!#
"How sad is it to think that God has blessed you with an ability but you want to keep that ability separate from God...you should be using it for the Lord first...you shouldn't keep the gifts that God has given you are not meant to be kept separate from God." #!!01:04:18!!#
"Is your heart worshiping the Lord through sacrifice or is your heart worshiping yourself through selfishness? Those are really the only options." #!!01:06:39!!#
"God not because God needed it right God didn't need the best but because it's God why wouldn't you want to give the best right the same thing should be true of us today right we want to have this building God's house to be the best it's not just okay well it's good enough it's just a building this is God's house it should be the best right." #!!28:34!!#
"Faithful stewardship begins with my understanding that I am simply a caretaker of what God has blessed me with, that I am simply a caretaker of what God has put in my vicinity. I'm not the owner, I am a trustee of part of God's estate." #!!38:21!!#
"When you're filling yourself up with God's word, I promise you your mindset will change, your focus will change. It's amazing how that works. When you're filling yourself up with God's word, your mindset changes from a temporal mindset, an Earthly mindset, to an eternal mindset." #!!55:27!!#
Chatbot
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