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Living a life of
LORDSHIP
WHAT IS
STEWARDSHIP?

Biblical Presuppositions

1. God is a personal God


intimately involved in our lives.
2.God is in control
guiding the affairs of humans.

Biblical Presuppositions

3. God is owner of all as Creator and


Redeemerprovider of all.
4. God is in direct control of His church,
allowing room for human decisions.

Biblical Presuppositions

5. God provides everything to


accomplish His will for His church, in
His time frame.
6. God works in partnership with
human agents.

Biblical Presuppositions

7. Christ is Lord of all, lordship is a


choice of the will.
8. The Holy Spirit is the active
lordship agent.

Biblical Presuppositions

9. We receive the Holy Spirit by faith.


10. In Christ we are able to do
anything He wants us to do.

Stewardship Definition
Stewardship is the lifestyle of
one who accepts Christs
lordship, walking in
partnership with God and
acting as His agent to manage
His affairs on earth.

Let God Be God!


Stewardship is based on who God is!
1.

God is creator.

2.

God is sovereign.

3.

God is savior:

4.

God is love.

5.

God is owner of all.

6.

God is personal.

Exploring The Biblical Reality


1. Does God love unconditionally?
a. Can we do anything to make God
love us more?
b. Can we do anything to make God
love us less?
2. Is it possible to be a little bit Christian?
3. How does God see us?
a. Christlike.
b. Holy.

Biblical Christianity is:


a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Dynamic.
Focused on Christ.
Committed 100%.
Passionate.
Transformational.
Fruitful.
Peaceful.
Loving & accepting.

God makes us stewards


partners with Him!

Definition of Disciple:

A disciple is one who walks


with, learns from and lives in
submission to a master in
order to become like the
master.

Describing the Disciple


1. Passionately loves
Jesus Christ.
2. Maintains
intimacy through
daily devotional
life.

Describing the Disciple


3. Integrates Christ into
every area of life.
4. Makes Christ the
priority in all
decisions.
5. Actively shares Christ.

Love and Lordship


1. Only love can be the
foundation for lordship.
2. God has loved us with
an everlasting love.
3. His love for us is
unconditional.
4. As we experience His
love, love awakens in
our heart.

Love and Lordship


5. Our love leads us to
trust Him.
6. Trust leads us to
surrender to His
lordship.
7. Accepting His lordship
begins a partnership
with Him.

Lordship/Stewardship Process
1. Recognize Christ initiates stewardship.
2. Accept His gift.
3. Accept His lordship/ownership.
4. Claim His Spirit.
5. Acknowledge your status.
6. Accept His partnership.
7. Integrate your stewardship.

Lordship Model

Relationship

High

Low

Child

Dabbler

Partner/
Friend

Slave

Performance

High

Lordship Model

Relationship

High

Low

Child

Dabbler

Partner/
Friend

Slave

Performance

High

Truth Model

As A Person

High

Low

Know
A God

Know
God

Ignore
God

Know
About God

As Information

High

The inward area is the first place


of loss of true Christian life, of
true spirituality, and the outward
sinful act is the result. If we can
get hold of this - that the internal
is the basic, the external is always
merely the result - it will be a
tremendous starting place.
Schaeffer, True Spirituality, p. 14.

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

VISION

PRESENCE
ONENESS

GOSPEL

LORDSHIP

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

VISION

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

VISION

GOSPEL

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

VISION

GOSPEL

LORDSHIP

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

VISION

GOSPEL

PRESENCE

LORDSHIP

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

VISION

GOSPEL

PRESENCE

LORDSHIP

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

VISION

PRESENCE
ONENESS

GOSPEL

LORDSHIP

SPIRITUAL FORMATION, Cont.


Most problems come in areas of
Gospel/Lordship:
-- Failure to integrate Gospel.
-- Failure to submit to Lordship.
VISION

PRESENCE
ONENESS

GOSPEL

LORDSHIP

SPIRITUAL FORMATION, Cont.


Cause of the problem is often in the area
of Vision or Presence.
-- Loss of Vision distorts the Gospel.
-- Loss of Presence distorts Lordship.

VISION

PRESENCE
ONENESS

GOSPEL

LORDSHIP

SPIRITUAL FORMATION, Cont.


Best answer -- combine Vision & Presence
-- it transforms the way we live.
Place to start Vision -> Gospel ->
Lordship -> Presence.

VISION

PRESENCE
ONENESS

GOSPEL

LORDSHIP

Transforming the Mind


Why the Mind Is Important:
1. Gods ultimate gift in the creation of man.
2. Controls all of life.
3. Where habits are formed.
4. Where the relationship with God takes
place.
5. Where sin and the battle with sin takes
place.

Steps for Transforming the Mind


1.

Prayerfully face your sinful reality.

2. Gratefully accept your reality in Christ.


3. Focus your mind on Christ and the things
above (Col. 3:2; Heb. 12:1-3).
4. Be willing to live with the mystery of God.

5. Practice devotional skills:


6. Practice the presence of God.
7. Actively resist sin.

Why Money?

1. It is the theme most often


mentioned by Christ:
a. Over two thirds of the parables
deal with money or material
possessions.
b. Over 2,000 biblical references
to money! Only about 500 on
prayer, and less than 500 on faith.

Why Money?

2. Money is life.
Time + Talent + Energy = Money.
3. It is a common denominator.

Why Money?
4. Finances are a spiritual battleground:
a. In the world.
b. In the work place and business.
c. In the home.
d. In the church.
5. God uses money.
6. Money competes with God (Matt.
6:24).

Why Money?
7. Time & money the most fluid aspects of life.
a. Quickly reflect one's walk with God.
b. Quickly impact on relationship with God.
c. Therefore the Tithe and the Sabbath are
spiritual thermometers.
1) Individually
2) Corporately

Why Money?
SPECIAL NOTE:
Money is an important part of
stewardship. Yet proper
financial stewardship can only
come in the context of the
Christian lifestyle of
stewardship.

Giving must come


from a personal
walk with God.

General Conclusions
1. The tithe belongs to and is returned to
God.
2. Tithing is an act of worship to God.
3. The tithe is returned in response to
Gods blessings.
4. Tithing is a test of loyalty for Gods
people.

General Conclusions
5.

Tithing is part of revival and a return to


God.

6.

The tithe is the starting point of our


worship to God in the material areas of life
our freewill offerings to support the local
church flow on from this.

7.

In the O.T. God supported His corporate


people by giving the tithe He receives to
support the sanctuary and the Levitical
system. There is a similar system in the
N.T. for supporting His work.

Testing Our Loyalties

Key Principles:
1. Put God first "Seek ye first . . ."
(Matt. 6:33).
2. Worship only God.
(Exodus 20:3)

Gods First Test


1. The setting:
a. A perfect world.
b. A perfect humanity.
c.

A perfect relationship.

2. The temptation
"You will be like God . . ."

Gods First Test


3. The issue the seduction of
ownership.
a. Who is God?
b. A choice of life or death.
c. Loyalty to the creator.
d. Who do we trust?
e. Who do we obey?

Gods Contemporary
Tests of Loyalty

The Sabbath
in time.

Gods Contemporary
Tests of Loyalty

Tithe in
possessions.

The Sabbath Test of Loyalty


1. In Eden the test was to put God first.
2. The Sabbath is a sign of:
a. Accept God as Creator. (Ex. 20:8-11)
b. Accept God as Redeemer. (Deut. 5:12-15)
c. Accept God as Sanctifier. (Ex. 31:13)
d. Accept Gods kingdom. (Isaiah 66:23)

Principles for Sabbath Observance

1. Accept the gift of salvation & eternal


life.
2. Seek intimacy with God.
3. Lay aside the burdens of life.
4. Make it a day of focused worship and
fellowship.

Purpose for Tithing


a. To worship God.
b. To combat selfishness by making God first.
c. To test our loyalty. (Minimum Test)
d. To remind us of unconditional surrender.
e. To provide for the full-time gospel
ministry.

Tithe as Worship:
a. Accept our relationship with God.
b. Recognize God as Creator.
c. Accept God's Ownership. . .
d. Recognize God's care, guidance
and love.
e. Accept redemption as a
restoration of God's ownership.

Testing Our Attitudes

Loyalty determines
WHO we serve.
Attitude determines
HOW we serve.

Gods Contemporary Tests

The level of our


passion for God is
proportionate to our
intimacy with God.

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