Stewardship

Stewardship and the Tithe

¹⁹I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Careless living causes carless decisions.  This principle applies in the natural as well as the spiritual.  What do we base our decisions on, is the lust of the flesh or the will of God.  These are the two principle conditions to which we make our decisions.  When I begin to desire something of the world, does the flesh lead my thought process or is it the spirit?

Things can have an appeal to our eye but the result of that decision is death, one right decision and one bad decision makes a bad situation that sometimes we have to live with.  The decisions I make, who do they effect?  We must consider our impact on others lives; my family, church, friends and the community around us.

There is more weight placed on our being in the divine will of God in our decision making than we what to accept, but we have no choice but to accept.  Seek first the kingdom of God, have a single eye, pray without ceasing.  In the book of Isaiah 7:  ( ¹⁵Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.)  We must allow the Word of God to guide us so will know what the refuse and what to choose, if we do not do this we may have to live with decisions that not only effect me only but many people that are around us.

May God help us today to choose life, the way of flesh is death, but the way of life is joy and peace.  It may not be what the flesh wants but it is what is best for us because it is God’s will.  Choose life.

Genesis 13:17 “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

The thought that I would like to share is taking new ground in our spiritual walk.  The responsibility of the Christian is to grow and be conformed to the image of Christ, and with this command from God you and I must be willing to take new ground.  Often times, more often than not people like to find a comfort zone, an area that they are familiar with and stay there, but the command to Abram was to go to a new land that God would show him. 

Had Abram become satisfied with his present state he would have never received the promises that God had for him.  We are the same way, God wants us to grow but we must be willing to move, sometimes the command to get up is the hardest part but as we journey with God we will find some of the greatest opposition but there will also be the greatest blessings.  Had Abram not walked his inheritance, he would not have received the fullness that God had for him.  Abram had to walk, that means to continue to move.  The mindset of many Christians is that they are reluctant to change, I am not suggesting that we run after every wind of doctrine, but life requires growth, and when growth stops, we die.

We must not quit walking, we see through a glass darkly but we will be changed, that is conforming to the image of Christ.  The mindset that we have obtained it all creates a deadly nearsightedness that gives us a false point of reference, we are always judging others for their shortcoming all the while not considering our own faults.  The Bible tells us that if we judge someone we are guilty of the same. A man once told me that new ground produces the best vegetables, and I have found this to be true.  If you and I don’t take new ground, the land that we have already possessed becomes weak and unable to produce as well as it did in the past.  This happens because God requires us to grow, we where born babes but we are not to stay a babe, we must grow or we will spiritually die.

As we take this new ground you may find that some of the greatest opposition are from people that you go to church with.  When Moses sent the spies out to check the land that they were to possess, only Caleb and Joshua came back with a positive report, the other ten spies discouraged  the people and told them how big the giants were, and said that we be as grasshoppers in their sight.  All the ones that bought into their theology did not cross that river that was over the age of twenty except Caleb and Joshua.  If we don’t want to cross that river don’t hinder others that would cross.  It is not going to be easy to take our possession, but God promised it to us so that means He will be there for us.  God promised Israel that land and all they had to to was to believe God but they chose not to, and if we limit God to some boundary of conventional religion, we limit the blessings of God in our life.

We must have a faith that will keep walking, Abram walked that land and He was still looking for a city with foundations who’s builder and maker is God.  If the revelation ever stops that means that we have stopped.  May we continue this walk and take our inheritance that God has promised us.

Philemon 6:

That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

This week’s lesson I would like to discuss the communication of our faith.  The question that I want to ask is, do we display, show and communicate Christ to people when they see our conversation?  Our conversation is more than what we say but it also involves our actions, that is the way we respond to situations in life.  When we are faced with adverse situations is Christ displayed or do we display the flesh.

I can tell people a lot of things but what do people see when they look at me.  When they see me am I always complaining, gossiping or am I displaying a peaceable life hid with Christ.  As Christians we are to be hid in Christ, that means that when people see us they see Christ, or that is to say a Christian.  Sometimes when I was younger I would play hide and seek, and as long as I stayed hid no one could see me but the minute I stuck my head out I was clearly visible.  This is true for Christians, if we stick our selves out people will see us, that is our flesh instead of Christ.

Colossians 3:3

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

If we are hid with Christ lets display the Christian life.  The fruits of the spirit are the values that you and I are to display.  Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance these are the values and attributes that people display when they are hid with Christ.  There are a lot of displays of the flesh that we can show are well but if we do these we are not communicating our faith.  If we have hatred, strife, murmuring and complaining, we are displaying the devil instead of Christ.  The bible tells us they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh.  The biggest problem that we have is the flesh man warring against the spiritual man, these two are in a constant battle but we must overcome the flesh and display Christ.

As Christians we are to have a good name, we should be a respected people, people may not agree with us but they can take knowledge that we do know how to behave ourselves.

Proverbs 22:1

A Good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

This message is not to make us feel bad if we fail to display Christ as well as we need to, but to realize that we are to be his representation in this life, we are not to bare a false witness. If I tell people that I am Christian I must give an accurate account of who Jesus is and that He lives in me.  I should show people by my conversation that Christ lives in me.

Acts 14:22

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

On thing to notice in this scripture that they exhorted one another, we need each other. When we see our brother or sister in the Lord begin to fall a little or get loaded we who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. We need each other and this will become more prevalent in the days ahead as the tribulations of life begin to effect more people.

There are circumstances that present themselves in our life that we would rather not go through, these are times that I would call having to worship at the dung gate. In the book of Nehemiah we can find that when Nehemiah and Ezra split the people into two groups that the first place that they had to learn to worship was at the dung gate. If they could learn to worship God at the least esteemed gate or when the times are hard then we can worship him in the good times as well.

There are promises to the people that endured tribulation and afflictions in this life, and if we overcome with the testimony of Jesus, that is during all our tribulations people can see Jesus in us.

Pslam 34: 19

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

Though it seems that we have to endure such tribulation it will be worth all of it to hear Him say wel done though good and faithful servant. The Lord has prepared a place for his people, and if we hold on to the Lord and do what He has asked us to do then we one day can say “it was worth it”

Revelation 21:4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death. Neither sorrow, nor crying , neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

It may seem hard sometime, and it is but it will be worth doing what is right even when everyone around you may say that your wrong, but as long as we stand sure on Gods word it will be worth it, we can make it.