Loving God! Loving People! Loving Life! Message Notes Dive In Part Six Life Church Smyrna Sunday, July 23, 2017 10:30am Pastor Shell Osbon Acts 2:41-47 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day - about 3,000 in all. 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity - 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (NLT) 1. Dive In To Stewardship Stewardship is defined as managing things that belong to God such as money, property, etc. Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (NKJV) a) Blessings _Begin With God b) Blessings Belong To God 1 Chronicles 29:11 Everything in the heavens and the earth is Yours, O Lord, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as being in control of everything. (LB) Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord s and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him. (NLT) Haggai 2:8 The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine. (NKJV) c) Blessings _Come_ From God 1 Chronicles 29:12 Riches and honor come from You alone and You are the Ruler of all mankind. Your hand controls power and might and it is at Your discretion that men are made great and given strength. (LB) Psalm 37:25 I ve been young and now I m old but I ve never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. (NKJV) Philippians 4:19 My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (NKJV) Genesis 1:1, 31 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... 31 Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good. (NKJV) Psalm 20:7 Some trust in their chariots and some in their horses but we trust in the power of the Lord our God! (TEV) The big idea: Dive in to stewardship!
part six Acts 2:41-47 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day - about 3,000 in all. 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. (cont d) 1
45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity - 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (NLT) part six 2
1. Dive In To Stewardship Stewardship is defined as managing things that belong to God such as money, property, etc. 3
5 things you can do with money: 1. Earn it 2. Spend it 3. Save it 4. Invest it 5. Give it Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (NKJV) God should be served and money should be appreciated instead of money being served and God being appreciated. 4
Jesus spoke about stewardship in 1 out of every 10 verses in the Gospels and there are 2,350 verses in the Bible that deal with money, possessions and stewardship. Ron Blue: You can t fake stewardship. Your checkbook reveals all that you really believe about stewardship. A life story could be written from a checkbook. 5
It reflects your goals, priorities, convictions, relationship, and even the use of your time. A person who has been a Christian for even a short while can fake prayer, Bible study, evangelism, going to church and so on, but he can t fake what his checkbook reveals. a) Blessings Begin With God Genesis 1:1, 31 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... 31 Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good. (NKJV) God was here before anything or anyone and He created everything that has, does or ever will exist. 6
Psalm 20:7 Some trust in their chariots and some in their horses but we trust in the power of the Lord our God! (TEV) You can lose your job, your stocks, your health, your house and your spouse but God can still bless you! b) Blessings Belong To God 1 Chronicles 29:11 Everything in the heavens and the earth is Yours, O Lord, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as being in control of everything. (LB) There isn t anything in heaven or on earth that doesn t really belong to God. 7
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord s and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him. (NLT) Everything means everything and that s everything that everything means! Haggai 2:8 The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine. (NKJV) All the money in your wallet, checking account, 401k, retirement fund and under your sofa cushions belongs to God! 8
c) Blessings Come From God 1 Chronicles 29:12 Riches and honor come from You alone and You are the Ruler of all mankind. Your hand controls power and might and it is at Your discretion that men are made great and given strength. (LB) God has the motive, the opportunity and the ability to provide everything you need! Psalm 37:25 I ve been young and now I m old but I ve never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. (NKJV) God won t fail to give righteous folks all they need! 9
Philippians 4:19 My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (NKJV) All means all and that s all that all means! the big idea Dive in to stewardship 10
we re all about Loving God! Loving People! Loving Life! part six 11