Back to Basics #12

Stewardship

How much as you worth?

2 centsA millionMore than 1 million

Is your worth a negative number? In debt above your head?

When we are asked -how much are you worth- we are quick to add up the value of our assets -to add up our bank account and our valuables like our home, cars etc. -to add up those things we own.

Listen to this Bible verse about things we own:

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

WHAT!! – you mean I don’t own anything? It’s all God’s? YES, Yes.

-God is Sovereign and as such He owns everything

Well, I at the least, I own myself, my own body! I belong to me. Right?

Here’s another zinger from the Bible on ownership.

1 Corinthians 6: 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price…

So, how much are you worth now?

Your worth is not in what you have (you’re not an owner anyway) your worth is in what you are. So, what are you then?

• You are God’s child, His friend, an heir to God’s riches,

-you are worth more than money, for more than wealth

• -you are a sheep of His flock, a building stone in His church, a part of the body of Christ, a brother or sister of Christ and a brother or sister to each other.

-your value is greater than assets and riches

• -You are a called one and a called out one, a soldier in an army with a chief commander who is over the ‘Host of heaven’ and part of an undefeatable force.

-your worth is grander than houses and land

• -you are a precious jewel to God.

-to God you are the most precious of all,

Isaiah 43:4 …you are precious and honored in my sight … because I love you,

What am I then as it relates to money, wealth and possessions?

-you are a STEWARD of all of God’s possessions, including yourself

We, you and I, are not owners but stewards.

-man was created to be a steward, God put Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to take care of it, to steward God’s creation. God gave only 1 restriction, ONE DON’T, -don’t eat the fruit of that 1 tree.

They blew it and ate the forbidden fruit, they sinned, they broke the relationship with God as His steward.

They messed up as stewards; they messed up relationship with God and with each other and mankind has been scrambling ever since.

-just like Adam and Eve we too choose to be or not to be a good steward.

You see God is Sovereign in Heaven and on Earth -He owns everything including us. We are His Children, His beloved and His stewards therefore, we are to be Spritually-minded while living in an earthy setting for God is sovereign up there and down here. We are stewards down here not owners.

-we are accountable for what we do as stewards down here and a final accountability is coming for us up there.

What is a steward? Not an owner but a distributor under authority.

Definition of steward:

• A manager to look after another's property.
• a person employed to manage another's property,

In the Bible, a steward (oikonomos in Greek) is a trusted manager responsible for overseeing a master's property, household, or affairs. Biblically, it signifies that God owns everything, and humans are tasked with managing their time, talents, treasure, and the earth for His glory, not their own. 

As a Steward you are Accountable

Romans 14:12 … each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

-this accountability as a steward is comprehensive – it applies to all of your life:

Money/ finances/ assets

Time and talents

Relationships

Service and gifts

As a Steward you are to be Faithful

Yes, truly faithful -all the time - every time -doing your best

-accountable to God and reflecting God’s sovereign will in your life -faithfully stewarding all His resources entrusted to you

In 1 Corinthians 4:2 we read: ‘Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man(/woman -person) be found faithful.’

Be a faithful steward in all things you have been given.

You and I have been given much. And whether you have been given little or much you are to faithfully steward what you have been given.

-Let me illustrate this in 3 areas.

Relationships, gifts and money or treasures.

You see, it’s not all about stewarding money but rather about stewarding your whole life

Stewarding relationships:

A good wife is from the Lord as are children and grandchildren 🡪 these are Biblical beliefs. Oh, by the way, a good husband is too (even though we are so imperfect).

I am to steward that relationship faithfully, carefully, as best I can to the glory of God.

We are in relationship at Riverside we are brothers and sisters in Christ and as such we are to manage / to steward that relationship. God has told us how to steward this relationship with each other by following the one an others in the Bible (23 and more) -Like Love one another, encourage one another, serve one another, don’t lie to one another or gossip etc.

In all your relationships -be a good steward and bring honour to God by your relational deportment. You are accountable for that.

Stewarding gifts, spiritual gifts to be precise.

Let me read to you a passage that the Apostle Paul wrote about you & me.

Romans 12:1-6 King James Version

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members’ one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to each of us,

Each Christian is given a spiritual gift to be used within the body, this church, for the benefit of each other and all to the Glory of God. This gift of yours is to be stewarded faithfully as you are accountable for this.

-read Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 🡪it means get involved and let God work through you in your service.

Stewarding Money and Treasures

*It’s not all about money. It’s about where your heart is.

Jesus said that what you treasure in life is 🡪 that’s where heart is at.

*God doesn’t need your money -it’s all His anyway -cattle and gold ALL

*Tithing is part of the Mosaic Law in the OT -in 2026 the theme of giving to God is Biblical, timeless and part of good stewardship.

Here is New Testament teaching on giving to God

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 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. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

-should I give 10% of my income? I don’t know, ask God to lay on your heart what you should give. He will hear you and tell you -listen and obey.

If God says 10% So, be it -Amen.

Many times, I have been prompted by God to put extra money in my pocket, go to church and give it away to someone who needs help.

IT’S TRUE -SOW GENEROUSLY 🡪 REAP GENEROUSLY

-God is no man’s debtor even in spontaneous giving

I believe that God will take care of me, all my needs He supplies.

Be vigilant and faithful to steward your relationships, your spiritual gifts and your little or much wealth.