Stewardship & Finance

Stewardship & Finance – Change the Heart

Obedience

Obedience to God’s stewardship principles is essential for our walk with Him.  Stewardship is one of the most talked about concepts in the Bible. It is important to note that there is a sharing of your income from employment that must take place. In the book of Malachi 3:10, we read, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops and the vines will not cast their fruit.” A commitment and obedience to the Lord means a blessing from the Lord.

Prayer

As we have already stated, we need to ask God through prayer how to use the resources He entrusts to our care.  I am amazed at how God will open the right door for those who fulfill His purpose for their life.  When we acknowledge His sovereignty over our lives, we move quickly through the process. Prayer is not about forcing God into action on our behalf, but acknowledging our need for His power and direction.

Worship

The foundation to stewardship is worship. In Joshua 22:27 we read, “On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.” When a sovereign king ruled over a land, he would typically assign a portion of his kingdom to someone who would act as his steward. If the steward was successful, he would give more of his kingdom for the steward to manage. If he was unsuccessful he would take some or all of it away. The steward was accountable for one hundred per cent of the portion he was assigned. In the church, we teach that if you give God 10%, you can do anything with the 90%. But that is not what God says. God owns it all. One of the words the Lord gave me is, “Even as I have blessed many of my children with great wealth, they haven’t asked me how to use it.” Consider how God will respond to your use of His resources.

Purpose

Centerpoint Stewardship was created to elicit hope, bring peace of mind, and restore dignity to people through a philosophy of teaching, coaching and equipping. Whether you are an individual, family, young couple, or senior citizen, business or church, we have the tools and resources to guide and encourage you. All the resources that God entrusts to you must be used for sustenance, our family needs and fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives.

Scripture

Likewise we read in Luke 12:20-21 about the man who laid up riches for himself. “God said to him, ‘You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasures for himself but is not rich toward God.” It is important to recognize the importance of demonstrating to God our desire to honor Him with our wealth. In Luke 16:10 we read, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much” and in Psalm 112:5 the scriptures say, “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely and to him who conducts his affairs with justice.” God blesses our careers when we demonstrate our trust in him by tithing what we earn. A tithe is 10%. As we mature we see the value of giving more than the tithe in the form of offerings and alms for the poor. Soon we come to the realization that God owns it all and everything we have must be used for His glory. Scripture is the foundation to all knowledge. All knowledge we receive must be filtered through God’s Holy Word to see if it the knowledge conflicts with His Word