Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Stewardship Principles

Stewardship Principles

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Kindness-Candidness-Influence --- The next step is where most people loose it & quit. 7am

Key Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

Text For Tonight: Matthew 21 NLT

33 ¶ "Now listen to this story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

34 At the time of the grape harvest he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.

35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

37 "Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

38 "But when the farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

39 So they grabbed him, took him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

40 "When the owner of the vineyard returns," Jesus asked, "what do you think he will do to those farmers?"

41 The religious leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest."

Jesus is talking about the concept and practice of stewardship.

* Stewardship vs. Ownership

* What I Want vs. What God Wants

We talked recently about the importance of Numbers and Nickels.

Numbers and Nickels are not what this church is after.

Numbers and Nickels are what we use to go after what we are after … Souls! It takes Numbers & Nickels to do God’s work.

Although we do not make the church solely about numbers and nickels, nonetheless, the Church must not shirk it’s responsibilities to teach the whole counsel of God’s Word.

God is very interested in His house being full.

Luke 14:23 "Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

He also has great desire to prosper His children.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Psalms 35:27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

It is the duty of the church to teach the principles of God’s word with grace but without apology. So, without further ado, lets look at some Stewardship Principles. We have already surveyed:

Our View of Stewardship: but allow me to recap - Our View …

Every Christian should identify themselves with a local church. This is basic membership. Each member is responsible to contribute to the vision and success of their church by the

* Giving of their time

* Volunteering with their talents and the

* Support of their treasury

The Purpose for Stewardship:

To take the resources contributed and provide as much Jesus as possible, first to the sheep of this pasture and then in ever increasing concentric circles to the utter most parts of the world. We hope To make our church important to God. We will accomplish this by:

* Reaching People

* Teaching People

* Keeping People

Our Impact As Stewards:

Our Church has already reached several of our local communities and over 100 other countries with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a real and vital way. We have built churches, bible schools, grammar schools, feeding centers, medical clinics, supported orphanages and funded seminars, workshops and crusades, drilled water wells, worked hospital, nursing home and jail ministries and provided counsel, covering and correction to people of all nations, races, tribes and languages all without charge, born solely on the strength of our member‘s giving. Even our whisper can now be heard around the whole world, 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

We have equipped saints and provided opportunities for them to be proficient witnesses to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, sending them out to the lost, in prisons, hospitals, on the streets, at festivals, on beaches, in schools, over the world wide internet and in daily life adventures, seeing a harvest of souls numbering into the hundreds of thousands, both in America and throughout the world. We are steadily advancing and enhancing the Kingdom of God and with each passing day we pray for greater doors of utterance and the resources to make the most of these opportunities.

Our Need for More Stewards:

The fields are white and ripe for harvest. We need more contributing members, who are committed laborers in this field. We need you to abandon your own way, come to Christ, bring your time, talents, tithes and offerings, be discipled and give yourself to the vision and work of the church. Discover your purpose and pursue your destiny. Learn Jesus and He will help you:

* Make a living

* Make a life and

* Make a difference

Commit to stewardship today. You Are Ready For Your Next Step!

For your next step toward success in life, 7am in the morning!