What is a steward: A steward is someone who manages the property of another person. The steward is not the owner but the caretaker.

Stewardship from a biblical standpoint is where God is the owner, and we are the caretakers.

The earth is the Lord’s, and EVERYTHING in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (Psalm 24:1 NLT)

The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; EVERYTHING in the world is yours—you created it all. (Psalm 89:11 NLT)

Stewardship was God idea right from the beginning when he created mankind.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and GOVERN it. REIGN over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” (Genesis 1:28 NLT)

• He gave them His authority to Govern and Reign.

What are mere mortals (MANKIND) that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?  Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You GAVE THEM CHARGE (STEWARDSHIP) of everything you made, putting all things under their authority. (Psalm 8: 4-6 NLT)

• Mankind was given that authority to be a steward over everything that belongs to God.
• Sin causes us to see ourselves as the owners instead of God.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NLT)

• With Him as the owner of your life, you will not perish but have eternal life.
• So why would anyone want to own their lives, their own destinies and bodies?

¹⁹ Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT)

Giving is easy when you realize that you don’t own anything, but God does.

• The Key to stewardship is A Giving HEART.
• A heart realizes that God own everything

⁶ Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants GENEROUSLY will get a GENEROUS crop. (2 Corinthians 9:6 NLT)

• Generosity is contagious. Generosity breeds generosity.
• Stewardship and giving is a motivation of the heart.

⁷ You must each DECIDE IN YOUR HEART how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT)

• The key to stewardship is a giving heart

⁸ And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT)

• God will provide ALL that you need. The owner will always make sure that the steward of His property is taken care of.
• Without giving there is stewardship
• Jesus gave His life as a gift to us so that the stewardship can be restore.

¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. ¹¹ Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)

• God reminds us to be a good steward of the gifts and talents He has given to us.
• A good steward is a good servant.
• A good steward is not seeking his or her own glory, but a good steward brings glory to the God.

CONCLUSION

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?