NEXT STEPS DEPARTMENT LIFE CLASSES

BIBLICAL FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

Introduction:

It is God’s plan and will to prosper and bless us because He wants us to be a blessing.
Ephesians 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

2 Peter 1:3 - as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.

We need to understand the bigger picture involving our attitude towards God’s purpose of
prospering and blessing us. He has called us to be faithful stewards.

1 Peter 4:10 - As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God.

STEWARDSHIP:

๏ Stewardship involves every area of our being, our body, our soul , and our spirit.
Everything we become involved in has an effect upon the physical , the emotional and the
spiritual.

๏ Each of these areas must be in harmony. Without harmony we can make wrong choices
and bad decisions.

๏ Christian stewardship involves every area of our day to day life. What we did in the past
affects our life today. What we will do today will affect our future.

๏ If we exercise good personal discipline in every area. We will find happiness and joy in
living even when faced with difficult situations.

๏ Personal stewardship involves our attitude about what is most important;

 our value system
 our priorities
 our vision,
 our personal goals
 our lifestyle.

๏ The Christian walk of stewardship that is dependent on God’s direction in our lives can
truly be an abundant and prosperous one.

Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and
multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over
the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

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 Matthew 10:8 Freely you have received, freely give.

๏ Stewardship is delegated oversight of another’s possessions.

๏ It is delegated authority coupled with accountability.

๏ In the New testament Jesus uses parables about stewards as examples of God’s people
and Paul refers to Christians as stewards of the epistles (gospel).

๏ The greek word for stewardship is EPITROPOS , meaning: one who oversees another’s
possession.
๏
๏ What we possess is not our own but of God’s.

Luke 16:11-12- “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will
trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s
property, who will give you property of your own?”

๏ Stewards are charged with great authority and responsibility that their character cannot
be flawed. Additionally their value system must be one of great integrity.

๏ FAITHFULNESS is a fundamental virtue of a person who serves as a stewardship.

1 Corinthians 4:2“ It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

๏ There has to be integrity.

๏ Integrity means, “being complete, unimpaired , perfect condition, of sound moral

principle, uprightness. It is steadfast adherence to truthfulness.

๏ True riches are not determined by what a person possesses, but by his integrity.

๏ Faithfulness leads to responsibility.

 Adam is an example of an unfaithful steward; although God had given him the
oversight of the garden of eve, he betrayed the owner’s trust.

FAITHFULNESS

God wants us to be faithful with His possessions:

1. Faithful with all resources

2. Faithful regardless of How much or how little we have

3. Faithful with another’s possession

๏ Faithfulness builds character

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 ๏ Faithfulness leads to contentment and contentment brings peace.

God is interested in the whole picture and is interested in our willingness to manage and
administrate all that He has given to us.

๏ Stewardship involves every area of our life. It is about self discipline during times of
personal temptation.

 There is stewardship of time.

 Stewardship of money.

 Stewardship of resources (house, car, even personal possessions like watches, shoes,
clothes, laptop, etc.)

 Stewardship involves honesty, integrity and accountability.

The key to understanding God’s will in finances is the proper understanding of

stewardship.

๏ As stewards, we understand that God owns everything and He chooses whom to entrust
it with.

Psalm 24:1 “ The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world , and those who dwell in
it.”

See yourself as a builder instead of a consumer:

๏ Because of our faith in Christ, our relationship with Him becomes the foundation of our
lives as well as that of our finances.

๏ Our old consumer identity slowly disappears and our new builder identity has come.

๏ The consumer identity is destructive; it is about wasting ,squandering, and using up.

๏ The builder identity is constructive; it is about building into relationships, creating lives
of meaningful contribution, and honoring God in all we do.

CONSUMERS BUILDERS

1. Life is all about them 1. Life is all about God

2. Money and things matter 2. People matter

3. Competition 3. Contribution

4. Seek happiness for self 4. Glorify God

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๏ The bible teaches us that in Christ we’ve become a new creation. The old financial
identity that has gone in the consumer identity; the new financial identity is our builder
identity.

๏ We were designed to use money for productive and God-glorifying purposes.

Psalm 50:10 “ For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills”

1 Chronicles 29:10-12 “Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly and David
said:

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father , Forever and ever.
Yours , O , Lord is the greatness, the Power and the glory . The victory and the majesty for
all that is in heaven and in earth is yours:
Yours is the kingdom , O , Lord,
And you are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You.
And you reign overall

In your hand is power and might; In your hand it is to make great

And to give strength to all.”

๏ God is the source of our abundant supply.

๏ He is El Shaddai - the God that’s more than enough.

๏ He is Jehovah Jireh - the God who provides.

๏ Everyone and everything else is His instrument for getting it accomplished.

๏ We are earthen vessels that He uses as He pleases.

Our attitude towards money tells us what we think of God for these two are closely
related.

Deuteronomy 8:18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you
power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is
this day.

๏ God is the source of all wealth.

 He is the original owner of all things.
 He made all things.
 God also gives us the ability to gain wealth.

๏ A steward is simply a manager of someone else’s money and possessions. We are all
stewards and must be the kind of stewards that are faithful.

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๏ God is concerned about our attitudes towards money and possessions.
๏ Neither our abundance or lack of money affects our relationship with Him, but our
attitudes do.

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the
faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
 A lover of money cannot be a good and faithful steward. Their priorities will
be all wrong.
๏ How we use material resources is a testing ground that reveals our true priorities.

๏ Money is amoral, it is a tool to be used.

๏ God did not design His people to live in poverty. Clearly for God’s people wealth should
mean more than just the accumulation of material possessions.

๏ How do we care for those possessions God has entrusted to us?

 Do we keep our house in good repair both inside and outside?
 Is it clean and spotless?
 Are we organized ?
 God is very organized. He created and continues to manage galaxies, the universe,
billions of stars, the earth, sun and moon. We are to be equally as good at the organization
and management of our affairs.
 Everything belongs to the Lord. We are caring for God’s blessings.

HOW GOD USES MONEY

๏ The Lord knows we need wisdom in using money.

๏ He revealed in scripture His principles for working, earning, spending, saving, investing
giving, getting out of debt, and teaching children how to handle money.

๏ We usually hear teachings on giving which is so important but rarely on principles of

earning and spending.

๏ Therefore, God’s people have managed their money from the world’s perspective,
rather than God’s.

๏ The way we handle our money is a reflection of what is in our hearts.

๏ Check your bank statement and checking account and it will tell you how much you are
spending in a particular area.

๏ The purpose of money is to meet our basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter and
also to enjoy life.

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๏ But many times we use our money for wants that we don’t really need instead of basic
needs.

๏ Or buying things we can’t afford through credit cards and so we get into debt. (i.e. cell
phones, shoes, TV, cars, jewelry, etc)

๏ Our financial decisions should be based on being contented with what we have, waiting
patiently for the things that we want and desire the most to come at the right time.

๏ Godliness with contentment is great gain.

๏ Let’s stick to the basics and allow God to provide at the right time. When God blesses us
with something, He adds no trouble to it.

๏ Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust from God.

๏ God uses money to teach us to trust Him.

๏ For many people, money is the greatest test of all.

๏ God watches how we use money to test how trustworthy we are.

๏ God wants to bless us and prosper us because He wants to use us as channels of

blessings.

๏ As channels we are open to receive and open to give also.

๏ Clogs can hinder the flow both ways.

๏ God wants us to be open channels - givers; and not blocked pipes or hoarders.

๏ Be reminded that EVERYTHING BELONGS TO GOD and we need to be GOOD STEWARDS OF

HIS RESOURCES.

๏ Money is a tool that God puts in our hands so He can direct where it will go. He gives us
wisdom and revelation knowledge to give it where it is needed.

๏ His plans for us are not always the same as our desires so we must be willing to accept His
plan.

๏ We need to look out for the Holy Spirit and be ready to yield to His commands.

๏ Yield sign reads “give way”. This is what God wants us to do as He reveals His will.

๏ God will use money as a means of revealing our willingness and obedience to His will
rather than our own.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him , and He shall direct your paths.

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