A New Kind of Giving 1
STEWARDSHIP
A steward is a person who has been given the responsibility of looking after something that belongs to somebody else (see the parables in Matthew 25:14-30;
Luke 16:1-13). Spiritual stewardship is based on a conviction that everything we have in this life has been given specifically to benefit others, advance the kingdom of God, and glorify the Lord. Stewardship is the entering into a partnership with God.
PARTNERSHIP
As partners with God (1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 2 Cor 6:1), it is important for us to understand where our different responsibilities lie:
Ownership is with God " ...Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth" Genesis 14:19 (KJV) (see also 1 Chronicles 29:10-14; Job 41:11; Psalm 24:1; Psa 89:11).
All ownership is with God. Every single created thing, living or not, ultimately belongs to Him - including everything material or immaterial that we may personally have in this life - possessions, careers, families. He has given us all these things for us to enjoy, and when we realise that they still belong to God, we can rest in the assurance that God also has ultimate responsibility for them.
Stewardship is with us
We are not owners, but stewards who have been delegated special responsibility and are accountable before God for how we use the things He has given us (read Matthew 25:14-30). When we begin to see our Owner-steward relationship with God, then it becomes easy to give. Before God, stewardship covers every single thing that "belongs" to us:
Our life (Acts 17:25; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Galatians 2:20; Job 33:4).
Our time (Psalm 90:12; Ephesians 5:15-16; Colossians 4:5).
Our talents and abilities (1 Peter 4:10; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 1 Cor 12:11).
Our possessions (Matthew 6:19-21; Colossians 3:1-2).
Our finances ( Matthew 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 1 Tim 6:17-19) .
The message of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Cor 9:16-17; 2 Timothy 6:20). Even so, many Christians still find it a struggle to give, no matter how much they may want to. But the key that releases a believer into the full responsibilities of stewardship is SURRENDER - the unreserved giving of one’s entire life and purpose into God’s hands. It is only when we give OURSELVES that we learn what it means to give of what we have.
BARRIERS TO SURRENDER
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…" Ephesians 1:18. Hosea 4:6, Hosea 4:14 says, " ...my people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge...a people without understanding will come to ruin!" One of the enemy’s most effective weapons is to exploit a faulty concept or a gap in a believer’s understanding and thus chain him when by right he should be free. There are two basic areas of ignorance that tend to block the act of surrender, and thus a full release in stewardship:
Self-centredness
This is really an ignorance of one’s own nature - for most people, self is the absolute centre of every decision and action - and, sadly, this is also true of many Christians. The Lord has been added to their lives, but THEY are still sitting on the throne. But what we must realise is that we were not created to be self-centred, but to be centred in God. It is only when we are centred in the Lord that we suddenly discover that life is flowing WITH us rather than AGAINST us. This is because we are placing at the centre of our lives the One who is by right the Centre of everything! "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible ...all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together...so that in everything he might have the supremacy" Colossians 1:16-18 (see also Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6).
Surrender, then, is not surrender into bondage and frustration, but into the freedom, blessing and fulfilment God intended us for!
Fear
A fear of surrender stems from a misconception of God’s nature. Many have grown up in an atmosphere of insecurity, and this has often been carried over into our relationship with God. But, with the gentle encouragement of the Holy Spirit, we begin to see things differently. In the study of God’s Word, we read about God’s view of things, and we can look at the lives of those who have gone before us and see how God has proved Himself faithful (Hebrews 11; Romans 4:18-21). We begin to realise that God’s love for us is even beyond our understanding (Ephesians 3:18-19), and that He really is in control of everything (Eph 3:20; Eph 1:19-21). What has begun happening in us is simple: our mind is being renewed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24), and we are starting to look beyond our small horizons to a completely different viewpoint in God.
Now we can declare with David that God "alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken" Psalm 62:2 (see also Psa 61:2; Psa 89:26). This new understanding of God’s nature is more than mere mental assent, but a conviction that is placed by the Holy Spirit into the very fibre of a person’s being, burned in bold letters on his heart. It is a conviction so strong that one’s whole life can be banked on it, because that life is now secure in Someone who cannot change or be shaken (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 12:28; Heb 13:8). Because of this, surrender is not a step into an unsure future, but a surrendering into the Rock-solid security found only in God.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" James 1:17.
THE PRINCIPLE OF SURRENDER
Surrender is a principle which should operate in our everyday lives. Every time a new truth, revealed by the Spirit, challenges an old way of living, surrender comes into effect. Surrender, however, on a daily level can only work once there has been an initial surrender of one’s life to God - the giving over of the "throne" to God’s Lordship. When there has been a once-and-for-all surrender, the day-by-day surrender comes easily. Our surrender to God confirms in our hearts the reality that:
God is faithful (Numbers 23:19; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:24).
The Word of God is reliable (1 Peter 1:24-25; Isaiah 55:10-11).
We are in relationship with God (Matthew 10:29-31).
Faith is in operation (Hebrews 11:1).
Surrender is the gateway into everything God has planned for us. Like stewardship, however, it should not be an act of duty, but of love. "In view of God’s mercy" (Romans 12:1; Titus 3:4-7), Paul urges us to present our whole selves to God. Against the magnitude of the price paid for our lives, it can be the only reasonable response.