Munroe Global Featuring: A Revelation On WORD | Dr. Myles Munroe and Grace for Financial Stewardship: Jehovah the Giver (Part 2)

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Grace for Financial Stewardship: Jehovah the Giver (Part 2)

by Creflo Dollar

Summary

Trusting God means turning over control to Him in all areas of our lives, including money. When we trust Him, we learn that money is not our master, but simply a tool we use to bless others. God gives, He does not take. That is evidenced in the Scriptures when He gives the world something from heaven that has great value—His Son. God gave us Jesus out of His love for us and He wants us to give back to Him in the same spirit. If we have the heart of a steward, it is easier for us to give in the right spirit, out of love for Him. Giving freely demonstrates to us that we trust Him in the little things, and it releases His power to bless us in the big things.

1. God is the ultimate giver. We succeed when we give the way He teaches us.
   1. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16, 17).
      1. God extends His love to the whole world, not just to those who attend a particular church or who are saved.
      2. God is love (1 John 4:8), and the character of love says, “I will give.”
      3. Jesus did not come only so that people could be born again. “Saved” comes from the Greek word “sozo,” which means delivered, sound, preserved, healed, and prosperous.
      4. Salvation does not just include born again, but also every part of the finished works of Jesus.
      5. God is the source of our prosperity, not us. When we forget that, we struggle and suffer.
      6. God is a give, not a taker. He gave us Jesus, who came to save us, not punish us.
   2. God only takes those who are already spiritually alive.
      1. He took Enoch (Genesis 5:24), He took Elijah (2 Kings 2:1), and He took Jesus (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9). He will take us also, and we will be caught up to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
   3. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32).
      1. God does not subtract, kill, steal, or destroy; that is not His nature. The devil comes to do that, but Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
      2. Through Jesus, we now have access to freely receive all things made available to us. We do not have to perform for these things.
   4. Stewardship is the key to prosperity. When we give and handle our assets like God’s stewards, He will bless us and multiply the money.
      1. Many people are afraid to loosen the “death grip” they have on their money because they think God will take it all away from them.
      2. God does not want Christians to live financially broke. We do not have to take a vow of poverty because Jesus vowed to deliver us from that. God wants to bless His children.
      3. Godly prosperity is different from coveting riches. God wants us to have nice things, but we should not get them by hoarding our money or spending it all on ourselves.
      4. We need the mindset of a steward. We should not make the mistake of thinking that the money we have is ours because we earned it. Everything good and perfect comes from God.
      5. When we acknowledge that God is the source of all good that comes into our lives, then He will bless us.

2. Financially, David was a great example of a steward.
   1. He saved gold and silver while his son Solomon was still a boy, in preparation for Solomon taking over the throne.
      1. David did this because God told him that Solomon, not him, would be the one to build His temple. David believed Him and obeyed.
      2. After amassing great wealth, David blessed God and acknowledged that everything in heaven and earth was His. David then gave one last gift before Solomon took the throne.
   2. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house. Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal. The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord? (1 Chronicles 29:3-5).
      1. The artificers were highly creative, extremely skilled at their craft, and anointed to build the Lord’s temple.
      2. Translated into today’s terms, the amount of what was given was one hundred ten tons of gold and two hundred sixty tons of silver. Today this would be six billion dollars’ worth of gold and more than three hundred million dollars’ worth of silver.
   3. David publicly blessed God.
   1. Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all (1 Chronicles 29:10-12).
   4. He encouraged the people to give willingly, and he rejoiced because the leaders of each tribe caught the spirit of giving. The leaders gave one hundred ninety tons of gold and three hundred seventy five tons of silver. The combined total given came to 17 billion dollars’ worth of gold and silver given in one day.
   1. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee (1 Chronicles 29:16, 17).
   5. David saw himself as a steward and he gave God the credit for being the source of all his riches.
   1. God knew David’s heart, and it was pure and upright.
   2. God also knows our hearts, and He delights when we give willingly from an upright heart and acknowledge that all prosperity comes from Him.

3. The act of giving is not as important as our attitude toward it.
   1. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17).
      1. Whether we are saved or unsaved, God is the source of everything good that we experience in our lives.
      2. Seeing ourselves as stewards brings us peace in our minds and security in our lives.
   2. Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against the: I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine (Psalm 50:7-11).
      1. In the Old Testament, God rebuked the people because they made sacrifices and gave out of the wrong spirit. The people went through the motions of sacrificing, but did not give their hearts to God.
   3. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee (Psalm 50:12-17).
      1. The message from God to the people was that they should come before Him with thanksgiving and gratitude that He set up the sacrificial system for their sakes.
      2. In instituting the system He was trying to illustrate the need for blood to be spilled in order for mankind to be made righteous (Romans 5:9).
      3. The same principles apply today. Our attitude about money is more important than what we do with it.
   4. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts (Haggai 2:8).
   1. God does not need our money; giving ten percent to the church is for our benefit. Tithing is proof to ourselves that we trust God with our finances.
   2. If we cannot be trusted with money, which Jesus called the least, we cannot be trusted with the big things (Luke 16:10, 11).
   3. We can claim we trust God, but how we handle money either proves or contradicts what we say. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5, 6). Immediately after this, God talks about money (Proverbs 3:9, 10).
   4. Applying grace reconciles our finances with the truth. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
   5. We cannot brag about whatever financial resources we have. If we boast, we must boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).
   6. We can work all we want, but God is the source of our prosperity. Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7).

4. Giving joyfully out of thanksgiving is better than giving grudgingly.
1. For thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he who giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant that he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day (Deuteronomy 8:18).
1. Power is the ability to get the job done. God did not give us this ability for selfish, covetous reasons, but to help Him help others in the material realm.
2. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:3).
1. When we allow ourselves to be God’s stewards, His blessings will come from the hands of His stewards. Only a steward can fulfill this covenant.
2. Some people allow their traditions to make the Word of God of no effect (Mark 7:13).
3. Let each one give as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves, He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without, a cheerful, joyous, “prompt to do it” giver whose heart is in his giving. And God is able to make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing, come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient, possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation (2 Corinthians 9:7, 8, AMPC).
1. God loves a good attitude toward giving. We should not give out of a sense of guilt or condemnation, or because we feel compelled to give.
2. Our hearts and minds should be right, to give with the right frame of mind.
3. We need to believe the Word that prompts us to give. Unbelief cuts us off from the financial blessings, but when we give we release God’s ability to shower down abundant blessings on us.
4. Giving is a problem when we see ourselves as the owner of “our” finances.

5. When we see God as our source instead of ourselves, we prosper.
   1. For who separates you from the others as a faction leader? Who makes you superior and sets you apart from another, giving you the preeminence? What have you that was not given to you? If then you received it from someone, why do you boast as if you had not received but had gained it by your own efforts? (1 Corinthians 4:7, AMPC).
      1. The ability to prosper is a gift from God. He sets us apart from the world and gives us what we have.
   2. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22).
      1. We can prosper without God to a certain degree, but the price is high. This type of “prosperity” will come with much sorrow, heartache, stress, and pain.
   3. But they who will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many hurtful and foolish lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:9, 10).
      1. Having a wrong relationship with money and trying to get it for all the wrong reasons is the root of all the evil in our lives.
      2. Money itself is not the root of all evil, but the love of it is.
      3. The love of money is displayed by a willingness to do anything for financial gain, and a tendency to idolize money by putting it above all else.
   To learn more about trusting God in our finances, click on the link below for the four-DVD series, Answers to Spiritual and Financial Success—Volume 2.
   http://bit.ly/AnswerstoSpiritualandFinancialSuccessVolume2Series

Scripture References

John 3:16, 17 1 John 4:8 Genesis 5:24 2 Kings 2:1 Mark 16:19 Acts 1:9 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Romans 8:32 John 10:10 1 Chronicles 29:3-5, 10-12, 16, 17 James 1:17 Psalm 50:7-17 Romans 5:9

Haggai 2:8 Luke 16:10, 11 Proverbs 3:5, 6, 9, 10 John 1:17 1 Corinthians 1:31 1 Corinthians 3:7 Deuteronomy 8:18 Genesis 12:3 Mark 7:13 2 Corinthians 9:7, 8 AMPC 1 Corinthians 4:7, AMPC Proverbs 10:22 1 Timothy 6:9, 10