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Father, we give this day out of this worship. Lord, I pray that every individual, both here in Claremont and gathered in the city, would gather with such anticipation, acknowledging the corporate body, the bride of Christ. And we offer our worship to you. And we glorify you out of our heart. And to you, we give all the glory and the praise. If you agree with that, say amen. Amen. You may be seated if you can. And normally, I give you a chance to welcome one another, but we're being joined right now by Claremont. Come on, would you give Claremont a big welcome, welcoming us right into together. This is a little different shift today, as you can imagine. We had anticipated.
Last week, we had a special day with our guests that came from Iran, and we live-streamed back and forth. And we only do this three or four times out of the year. But today, I was to preach here in Owasso, Claremont, and Jim Bell was to preach in Claremont. And he and Doritha were in Kansas for a memorial service for another family member when they got news. And Jim got news of his sister, who'd been fighting cancer, passed away on Friday. And so they had to get back. And just the weight of all that, we said, Jim, be with your family. And so thank you for being the church and letting us do this. And we have a great team of pastors. Any one of them could have jumped up and preached at the last minute. But we're on a particular subject today, so we didn't think we would put that on them. So God bless. God bless you. Thank you for being part of that. We just came out of ATI Conference.
Man, so powerful. Powerful. Come on, Claremont. It's powerful. In fact, today's worship, I just wanted to go ahead and preach out Revelation 4 and 5. I mean, that worship. Remember that set, guys. That's a great set. So very lively. Even the 9 a.m., before you're not going to think that people are awake, they were just joining in like you were. So thank you for being a part of that. I want you to get your Bible. I know we put the Scripture on the screen, but you can follow along there with us, if you will. We're in the third message on stewardship, and we're really calling it Holy Generosity. And today's message is on integrity in stewardship.
And I had my bottle of water, and I don't know what I did with it, but would somebody bring that to me? Thank you. I'm sorry about that, but thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. And on this area of stewardship, we're going to take next week is Father's Day. And then the week after that, we actually have a panel coming out of both campuses of people among us that's going to share on really how God's dealt with them about stewardship and generosity. And I think it's good to hear from our people because how many know that really generosity and stewardship is more caught than taught? And you actually catch it when you're around other people. Generosity is contagious, isn't it? It really is. When you see that in the heart of other people, you want to be a part of it. Well, today we're addressing the currency of trust in the kingdom. You can call it stewardship, but it's really a currency of trust because the kingdom operates on such currency. It begins by our trust in God, Him alone, and whether or not we can be trusted with what He's put under our care. If you don't hear anything else I say today, my challenge would be by the Holy Spirit that every one of us would walk out of here with a new awareness of the measure that God has placed under your care. It's called under your authority. It's called stewardship. And in kingdom stewardship, we are held responsible for that care. And Paul addresses integrity. He addresses what it means to be stewards in the passage that we're going to read. And that's why I believe integrity, integrity matters when it comes to stewardship. And the question is, what kind of kingdom steward am I? Can you remember that?
Ask yourself while I'm going through this, what kind of kingdom steward am I? So get your Bibles. We're in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. We believe in reading of the Word. So I'm going to read several passages here down through the end of the chapter. And then the first five verses in chapter 9. Hear the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God who put into the heart of Titus, the same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he's coming to you with much enthusiasm on his own initiative. Now, can I just say something here about spiritual sons, spiritual daughters? Listen to what Titus caught the heart that Paul had for the churches. He even said that about Timothy. You remember, I have no one like Timothy because they all care for their own. But I see this. He had his own initiative. He just volunteered. Hey, Paul. Paul, I want to go. I want to be a part of that. I hear your heart of how to raise the money for these saints that are suffering in Jerusalem among the Gentiles. And I want to be a part of that. And so he had his own initiative. He said, I want to go. Verse 18. And we're sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry offerings, which we administer in order to honor the Lord. And to show our eagerness to help. Now, in the Amplified, it says Luke. And we don't know who this guy was. We just speculate. But some believe it's Luke. Some believe it was probably Timothy. Some thought it could be Barnabas. But probably it was Luke.
And he said he's been chosen to go along with us as accountability. Verse 20. We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. So apparently this was a lot of money because they gather in collecting it. From these churches. And he said, and over, by the way, over about a year period of time. He said, we want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right. Not only in the eyes of the Lord. Watch this. But also in the eyes of men. How many believe integrity is important? Clare Moore, I know you responded with me there. Integrity. Notice what he says in verse 22. In addition, we're sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways. He is zealous. And now even more so because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you. As for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches. They were like sent apostolically. And to honor to Christ. Therefore, show these men the proof of your love. And the reason of our pride in you. So the churches can see it.
Now look at chapter 9, verse 1. There's no need for me to write to you about the service. To the Lord's people. For I know your eagerness to help. And I've been boasting about it to the Macedonians. The Macedonians were the northern Greece. It would have been Philippi. It would have been Thessalonica. It would have been Berea. Those were the churches that he's talking about when he mentions about Macedonia there. And he says, Telling them that since last year, and in Achaia, that would be where the Corinthians are, in the lower part, were ready to give, and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I'm sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready as I said you would be. For if the Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, not to say anything about you, would be ashamed of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and to finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, watch this, and not as one grudgingly given.
That last part tells us a little bit about intentional. So here's what I want to address. I want us to address what Paul is addressing is his care for the churches, their systematic stewardship that he calls them to. So the question is, what it means, or the statement is, what it means to be a steward. That means there is some intentional aspects of it. Look what Paul does when he goes back to the church. He had already talked to them in 1 Corinthians. In fact, the last chapter of the first letter of Corinthians, chapter 16, here's what he says. He's reminding them in that first letter now about the collection, pardon me, for the Lord's people. Do what I told the Galatian churches do. So this was something he did all the churches with. On the first day of every week, watch systematically, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, everybody say saving it up, so make a point here, so that when I come, no collections will have been made. Then when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift of Jerusalem. That's accountability. It seems advisable for me. If it seems advisable for me to go also, then they will accompany me. Now, two things as a steward, he identifies. One of that is, number one, being intentional and systematic. He actually has them. I think it's interesting. Now, he's not talking about tithing here, even though it fits in that. He's saying, I want you to systematically, the first day of the week, whether they bring it, I don't know. It didn't say. But I want you to budget it. There's that terrible word. I think it's a six-letter word, but it's really a four-letter word in some people's mind. But that's what he's saying. I want you to budget it. I want you to be intentional. And that's key because if you see that, generosity comes out of intentionality. Now, sometimes we say, that person really was generous. And what we probably mean, they gave a lot. And that wouldn't be right to say they're generous, but I don't want you to think generosity is based on the amount. Generosity is of the heart. So it has nothing to do with the amount. Notice, he doesn't say anything about the amount. But he says, I want you to do this. Why would he want them to do that? Because there is something about the principles of a steward being responsible.
And sometimes I've said tithing is sometimes a people's first step towards living on less than they make. I googled what percentage of Americans live on more than they make, and it's surprisingly high. And the first means, if you just didn't do anything else, but that, that's the first step, isn't it? About systematic. So in this process, he's not even talking about tithing. But he said, I want you to set this aside, this sum. Be systematic with it. Be prepared for it. Why? Because stewardship, watch. Stewardship allows everybody to be generous, just at different amounts. Because you can think, man, if I had plenty, I'd be generous. But systematic intentionality allows that, doesn't it? And not only that, but he said to Gil, or proportionately, you're to do this. So what he's really teaching is a biblical example of how every believer is responsible as a steward for what's in their care. And that's true as children. It's true as young. I mean, my wife understood tithing from a friend of hers who had a garage sale, and they made $200. And her friend said, okay, let's count down our tithe. My wife was brand new to the Lord. She said, what's a tithe?
That's why I say sometimes it's caught more than it's taught. Because she saw that girl making God first with that. There was something that starts in the heart, in the small management of responsibility. And that's what a steward is. Let's talk about that. A steward owns nothing, do they? A steward is responsible, however, for everything under their care. What the Lord, small letter L, what the Lord, meaning the lords in those days, put them over. So they were stewards of that. A steward worked for his Lord. The Lord owned everything, responsibility, and the authority, listen to this, to direct all of the Lord's affairs. Joseph would be a good example of that, wasn't he? He's put in charge, and he'd direct those affairs. So as a steward, we could really say Adam was probably the first steward, was he not? Because in Genesis chapter 2, verse 15, God placed Adam in the garden to do what? To tend it, to tend the garden. Now, what does that word tend mean? It actually comes from two Hebrew words. One of them meaning to cultivate, or it actually could mean to service, as to this means to could work, to till, to serve. And Adam was interacting with creation. He was fostering a growth and nurturing his beauty and finding creative fulfillment in his work. Work is not a dirty word either, is it? It was before the fall. Now, surely, it was more than picking weeds. And did weeds come before the fall or after the fall? I don't know. Maybe they were in some kind of order, at least. I don't know how it was, but it was more.
Notice what it was more of a bishop over it. He was more of the other part of the word means a guardian. You're responsible for it. Just like Jesus is the bishop of your soul, and you can say you actually bishop your own soul. I mean, your spirit in you could bishop your own soul. But you're responsible. You have a responsibility as a steward. So steward has things given under their care. That's what we mean by that. So in order to cultivate that or protect that, the question has to be asked. Listen to me now. Claremore, listen. The question has to be asked this. Am I being an effective kingdom steward of everything under my care? Am I being that? That means my home, my house, my yard.
I'll go over here. James, I don't know what you're doing in there, Claremore, but I'm really serious. I want you to think that everything under your care. If someone drives by your house, would they say that's a kingdom steward? I won't even look. I can't see Claremore, so I'm going to turn my back here. But isn't that the truth? I mean, anybody besides me ever get convicted of not stewarding what's under your care? I mean, I don't have a business. Jeff, but we have some rental properties and I felt convicted at times. I wasn't on top of it. Because why? It's under my care. I'm under my care. I believe this is eternal stuff. I'm going to show you here in a minute why I believe it's eternal. Because we think this life doesn't matter. But you're going to see Jesus is teaching. It really does. It speaks more to our heart, doesn't it? It speaks more to our kingdom lifestyle and our mindset.
And so, actually, that is a question. How do you care? For your family? Your family is your steward, right? Parenting. I mean, can I tell whether you're biblically parenting or presently cultural parenting? I might tell if I went and worked in the children's ministry. Right? In fact, this whole message, by the way, is the infomercial for this summer, Family Life Ministry. This next Wednesday to Wednesday nights, we've got parenting classes by Ed and Lisa Gilslider. They'll be teaching that. I want you to be a part of it. If you have children, come and be a part of that. Why? Because it's stewardship, isn't it? And it's not just fixed in two weeks. It's a process. It's a challenge of responsibility.
Then from that, we go two weeks of marriage. You actually, what? You steward your marriage, don't you? That's under your care. How healthy is your marriage? And then we're going to deal with finances, right? Can I get amen out, Jeremy? Since Jeremy will be teaching, the Rays will be teaching the marriage and then Jeremy and Carla Ford, the area of the finances. I'm serious. We need to take advantage of this because it's really about being what? Stewards. Stewards. I remember reading a book by Ed Savosa a number of years ago by the name of Transformation. We had it in our book nook for a long time. He's probably one of the first foremost forerunners of marketplace ministry, some people call it, in the sense of the kingdom being seen wherever you go. And he's written a book on anointed to serve, transformation, testimonies of the effect of people really taking stewardship to heart. And he was teaching this over in Singapore at a conference. And I don't know if it was his friend. I think it was his friend came to the conference because Ed was teaching and got convicted. And the story is that this businessman owned eight hotels in Singapore, but it was kind of like an investment. He had not seen responsibility. He had not seen it as, a part of his stewardship, excuse me. So he got convicted, started checking on them. He discovered that there were 2000 prostitutes visiting his eight hotels and best he could figure out 10,000 Johns. So he got convicted. What do I do? This is a kingdom. It's under my care. So he decided, I don't know where he got this, but he decided to hire 32 pastors. And he said, I don't want you to preach, but I want you to pray. And if you preach, I'm gonna fire you. He did fire three of them, he said. He said, I want you to pray. And what he did, he opened up one of the hotel rooms and turned it into a prayer chapel. And when people would check in, he would say, part of the service of our guests here, while you're staying here, we're gonna be praying for you. And as you feel that out, if there's anything we can be praying with you, just down the hall is our prayer chapel. We'll be praying for your stay. Guess what? The Johns quit coming. The prostitutes quit coming. And he began to remodel the place. And after 18 months, his testimony is out of 2000 prostitutes, 1,800 of them came to Christ. What is that? That's kingdom, stewardship. What if there's something under your care right now that the Holy Spirit would speak to you about?
If Paul saw how he handled these things, had to be a testimony before God and before people in the finances, then don't we have the same kind of responsibility? Does the first Corinthians four tell us that it is required in stewards that one be found what? Faithful. So it's what I do with what I have. Do I know what comes under my care? And do I know where it's going? I stumbled on accidentally a little app called YNAB. Anybody ever heard of YNAB? Oh, some of you. Jonathan Cook, he's over in the Claremont campus. Jonathan, you can tell him. He and I are evangelists for YNAB. They don't pay us anything. We're just evangelists for it. And I stumbled onto it in 2018. And I wish I'd have had it 10 years before that. It's kind of like a Dave Ramsey, but it's on an app where you can redirect. But Mint told me where my money went. I needed to know where it was going. So I started using YNAB. And I think I had the first 12 months, just in 2018, the first 12 months as a slide of our finances, no more money, no more increase of money, just knowing where it's going. How many know that stewardship is important?
And so, I encourage you, I encourage you, I encourage you, I encourage you, I don't care what area it's in, that you know, Lord, what is under my care? What responsibility? What am I responsible for? Why is that important? Because that's what a steward is. So if I don't see it as that, well, let me ask you this. What does it mean then to have integrity as a steward? If I'm a steward, then what does integrity mean? Here's what Paul says, integrity matters to yourself, first and foremost, and before God. Paul writes, we want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift, for we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men. What does Paul do? He sends multiple brothers to travel with the offering. That's important. I know most of us give by text or online, but we still have offering containers, and you'll see two ushers, why? For accountability, two ushers, to take the money, put it in a sealed box. A sealed container, envelope, and put it in the vault. Then on Monday, two people count it, it's deposited it, and even our counting is outsourced, so we have someone outside of us to be able to check the books, is that okay? And anyone has responsibility to sign checks, they can't handle the finances. So that's key to have accountability. Well, if Paul saw the principle, did he not? And he said, I'm gonna be carrying this money, I don't want anyone to think, oh, I'm gonna be carrying this money, what has happened? So our testimony of stewardship is vital. Integrity is vital. And so he says, I'm sending multiple of brothers. And so this is one of the clearest principles, I think, of integrity. Integrity is before the eyes of God, but it's also what? Before the eyes of man. Somebody says, but yeah, but God knows my heart. Well, he knows your heart, but it's a testimony of the gospel. Stewardship requires wisdom, transparency, accountability, before others, amen? Just because you're spiritual, doesn't mean you don't need accountability. Don't we think, if I could reach a level of spirituality, I wouldn't need accountability. Well, Paul was the apostle, but he needed accountability. He wanted that accountability when he carried the offering. So if he embraced accountability, then how much more should we? Accountability, by the way, is not distrust. It's wisdom, isn't it? It's wisdom. And I'm glad I can say we have a team of elders, here, that have a high sense of integrity when it comes to dealing with anything. In fact, here's kind of a principle among us. We don't make a decision that we couldn't announce from the pulpit. Nothing can be hidden.
And this next part is just kind of a me thing on this, but when I've grown up around people and I know that they tithe, I don't take that lightly. I mean, it's easy just to spend money because the need is there at some time to do that. But whenever $100, I think that's somebody's full week of work or two weeks of work that they've labored, that they've come and worshiped with that. That needs accountability, doesn't it? It needs wisdom. It needs stewardship. But isn't that true for all that we have? Isn't it true? How am I stewarding this? Just because I can spend it, does that mean I should? And if I do, where does it should go? How many believe those are spiritual matters? Clare Moore, how is it? Are those spiritual matters? Yes, they're spiritual matters. And maybe you've seen that's secular for you and that's not spiritual. No, it's all spiritual. You're going to see this as we go through it.
It's because with integrity, you're doing what you say you're going to do. That's what Paul said. I don't even need to write this to you. You've made this commitment, and I know you want to do it, but I'm going to encourage you to do it. I'm sending some brothers with you in advance so you're not disappointed or not ashamed. Shamed because how we handle what's been put under our, I'm going to say your rod. I get that from the Old Testament. That's the way they tithed off to agricultural animals. They had their rod, and the animals would pass under them, and every 10th one, they would count that one and put that one over another corral. That belonged to the Lord. And by the way, if they saw a good, healthy one, they wanted to redeem. It cost them more. God wouldn't let them do that. He said, if you do that, you're going to have to pay. You're going to have to pay 20% more. So they trusted the Lord. Everybody say trust. So you have to trust the Lord in any kind of stewardship. But that was passing under the rod. That's where I get the idea under your authority. What's under your authority? Every one of us in this room have some measure under their authority. Clare Moore, you've got authority that you're a steward and responsible for. There may be people at work that you have a measure of responsibility for. You may be a business owner. You may be whatever. There's an area of steward. I want you to walk out of here today asking the question, Lord, what kind of steward am I? As a shepherd, I have to ask that question. Not for just the practical things, but for the people. Do we guard over them? Do we feed them? One of the reasons we teach through the word of God, we do that so that people are fed. It can't be just our ideas, can it? It's got to be what is the scripture teaching us? Being a steward of that. And so that's what really matters.
And so when our integrity, is there, we can be trusted with more. When you're faithful over one area, then you're enlarged. Jesus taught this. Over in Luke 16, he's telling a parable about an unjust steward. Some of you remember that. And this unjust steward was going to get fired. And so he thought, what am I going to do? He said, I'm too weak to dig. That would have been good for him to go out and dig. But he said, I'm too proud to beg. So what am I going to do? So he decided to find out those who owed his master. One of them owed a certain amount, so he cut it in half, 50%. And then he went to another and had so many bushels that he cut that to 80%. And so in each part of that, Jesus commends him. Not for being unjust. Don't miss it. Not for being unjust. He commends him for the, watch, for the way that stewardship is beyond this life. Listen to what he says. I'll read this. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself so that when you're rich, when it is gone, and by the way, it will be gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. What's he say? What's this? Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. I hear people say, what would it take to buy you off? A million dollars? 10 million? 100 million? Can I tell you what it is? $10. It's not the large amounts. You wouldn't break for the large amounts. Come on. It's the little. The dishonest over a lot starts with the little. So it's the integrity of the little. So there's nothing under your care that's too little. That can fix my heart saying it. There's nothing under my care, including my garage. Whatever the Holy Spirit speaks to you. There's nothing under your care that's too little. Does that make sense? Much less when it comes to the work of God in people in our life. Here's what he's saying. He's actually saying this. Integrity as a steward in this life has rewards. Here's what he says. He's saying use temporary earthly resources in a way that people are brought into the kingdom, helped spiritually, blessed materially, strengthened in Christ, and affected eternally. Then in eternity, there'll be people there because of how you stewarded what God gave you to receive you. Jesus taught that. So does it matter? Does it matter how I handle practical things for spiritual things? It does, doesn't it?
Not only how I handle it with integrity, but so that I'm in a position to be a part of God's generosity. Because that's important that we see that because there's something that works in us in that regard. Because integrity works that. In fact, that fits into the eternal. Paul made the statement to the Philippians that it would be to their account. He said, I'm not saying this to get an offering, but I want it to your account. Where do you think that account is? It's in heaven. Many of you give to missions above your time. Amy and I have been blessed. We've been married nearly 52 years. And there's not a week that I know of since married that we haven't given to missions above our time. I know that there's some fruit. I know there's some eternal fruit. Does that make sense? You say, Glenn, you can't think of it that way. Jesus did. Paul did too. Listen to what he says in 1 Timothy. He says this about those who have money. He said, command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and be generous, willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves, a firm foundation for the coming age, so they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Wow. There's something that happens in us spiritually when we steward and be generous with what God has given us. There's life in it. Some of the greatest joy happens in that. Why? Because before God, he trusts us, with greater responsibility. He tests us with ordinary stewardship, I think, to take us. Long before there's any public moments, there's private moments. Can I ask you a question? I've got several questions here I want to ask. Are we trustworthy with finances? If someone were to say to you, do you budget well? If you don't like the word budget, do you plan your spending well? Do you handle what's in your hands well? Do you, do you handle what's been put under your care? What kind of steward am I? Am I honest in business? Are we transparent in ministry? Are we faithful with commitments? That's a good one, isn't it? Are we dependable with what God has entrusted to us? Here's why this matters. Because as stewardship with integrity, it produces certain things. Look what Paul says. What a steward with integrity produces. Integrity produces a regular, a steadyness of generosity. And here's how he says it. Verse five, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. Have you ever forgotten something? You go, man, I didn't plan for that. Man, I didn't plan for that. And you feel a grudging, and he said, that's not, he said, I don't want you to be that way.
I want there to be a systematic principle of development in your life so of these accounts, but you can give to whatever need. In fact, in that process of doing that, that's exactly what happens. I don't care what condition you're in, there can come a shift towards a godly kingdom steward. In Ephesians chapter four, he talks about someone who's committing crimes, and yet they shift completely. Look with me in that verse, would you? He said, anyone who's been stealing, what must they do? Stop it. So this is someone who's stealing in a crime. He said, there's a way to be adjusted. He said, there's a way to be adjusted. Through stewardship, what does he say? Watch, watch, he says, still no more, but he must work, doing something useful with his own hands so they may have something to share with those in need. That's a short sentence, but that is a process, isn't it? This is not a one week thing. This is, I want, Lord, my life to be recognized.
I'm a steward in the kingdom of God. You've placed people in my care. You've placed responsibility in my care, and everything that God has placed us. We are kingdom called. People, and I believe he wants us to flourish in that area, and as we grow in it, guess what? You'll have not only your tithe money, you'll have missions money, you'll have special gifts money, you'll have people in need that you want to give to. You say, I've never thought about that. I'm encouraging, I don't care how small it is, begin to designate, this is who I am. I am a kingdom steward, and I can bless. That's a tremendous feeling. Because sometimes we think of a one big blowout. And I've been a part of the big blowout, where God says, okay, I want you to do this. Something miraculous, something big. I want you to give this. I want you to give something big. Still hear the Holy Spirit. But overall, the long term effect, what I've watched after nearly five decades of pastoring, is the people that are doing what I'm talking about, stewarding, managing in their life, they are the ones that are prospering.
They're the ones that are increasing. They're the ones that are generous. Why? Because it produces it. It produces it in your life. And I believe personally, that's what it is. It's over a long period of time. In the next chapter, a little bit further down, chapter nine, in a couple weeks, we'll address this. But listen to what it says. He says here in chapter nine, God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Where does that come from? The stewardship of chapter eight. He says, in this deal, he says, and as it is written, they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor. Their righteousness, this is spiritual, endures forever. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. A spiritual, direct connected to stewardship. And so here's the call. Here's my call for today. I wanna ask some real certain pertinent questions. And here's what I wanna ask. What is under your authority? What do you manage? What is under your care? The youngest to the oldest, you have it under your care. What are you stewarding? You say, Glenn, I've never considered my stewarding. That's why I'm asking the question. Can I say this as sober? If you stood before God today, what kind of steward would you be declared? I'm not talking about your salvation. I'm talking about the measure that he's given you, to be what he's given you. Would you be seen as a generous steward, with integrity? I think those are sobering questions.
I'm gonna ask you there in Claremore and here in Owasso, would you stand with me before the Lord? I want us to answer that question. I don't want anybody to walk out of here.
You see, when we're teaching on generosity, today is the practical message, is how do I get to the point that I can be generous? Number one, don't think generosity is a certain amount. Number two, steward what's been given to you. Because even if it's a very small amount, you have that responsibility to steward it. I don't care if you've never given to missions. Start setting aside. Say, Lord, I'm a tither, but I wanna give to missions. Maybe you've never given to people who are in need. You say, I want to manage to do that. Wouldn't it be great, is out of this, that we would say, God, today, I'm reminded of what I'm in charge of. I'm reminded of my responsibilities. I want you to pray a prayer with me. Both in Claremore and here, I want to pray. I'm gonna let you do the praying, but I'm gonna pray over you. And I want you to ask the Lord to speak to your heart about your measure of stewardship. I think there's some in this room, you're going, you know what? That really is under my care. Someone walked out, they said, you know what? I'm gonna go home and tend my garden. That may sound like a small thing, but how many know that's where it starts? It might be you going home, as Jordan Peterson says, and cleaning your room. That might be where it starts. He uses that a lot, doesn't he? Why is that? It's a kingdom principle. You take what you're responsible for, and you say, Lord, how am I stewarding? What about my time? You say, I would love to be able to care for some people. How can I steward my time with margin for my family, for my children? When I said that, I felt that. I don't know if you're sensing that over in Claremore, but when I said that, I felt it. Managing and stewarding my time for family, for marriage. It's important, isn't it? I had a precious brother. He had a blessed brother. I've been praying for this, then we'll pray. Call me from another congregation. He said, I'm serving as an elder, I've been ordained as an elder, but my wife doesn't want to come to church services. services. She's a great woman of the word and the Bible and a prayer, but right now she doesn't want to come. And he said, I think I'm supposed to resign. And I got so excited. I said, oh brother, you're so right on. Let me tell you how important this is. You're not only going to be an example in the days to come in that congregation of how to get priorities right, but this is a step for you because how many know our first church is a home? And I said, I want you to do that. And he shifted. He said, I'll do it. Nobody's going to understand, but I'm going to do it. That's big, isn't it? He said, I'm going to do it. He stepped out, started focusing on it, come to find out his own job. He was neglecting his family with his job. I mean, everything was there. And not only today has God restored their marriage, not only has God restored both of them in the house, they carry a load pastorally. We'll be reordaining them sometime this fall. Because why? Stewardship. What if the Holy Spirit's speaking? Something here today that you, that'd be big, wouldn't it? Lord, I just pray over us both in Claremore and Owasso. Lord, I pray that not one person would neglect what you've put them in charge of, the care. Oh Lord, both our families, our businesses, our homes, our finances. It's so easy to look at finances and think that's what the message is about because eventually money does matter as you taught us in the word, how our heart is revealed and how we manage that which is little, you give us the great. And that is true. But Lord, there's so many other things. I pray today that you would adjust hearts. Don't let us walk out of here the same way we came in. I pray that Father in Jesus name.
Now, one more thing, Claremore, one more thing, Owasso, would you put your hand over your own heart? And would you pray for that for yourself now? Would you pray for your, as a steward of responsibilities that got you, just patronize me and laying your hand on your heart, just say, I'm going to do that silly thing. But I'm praying over it, Lord, I accept my responsibilities of stewardship. I accept what you give me, open my eyes to see it by the grace of the Lord Jesus. Lord, even this house, Lord, help us as elders and shepherds and deacons. Help us, Lord, to be better stewards of everything you've given us, of our time, our resources. Lord, use this series for the kingdom of God to strengthen us. As a result, Lord, we would be established and stand strong in the word and in life. We give you the glory and the praise. If you agree with that, say amen. Amen.
I'm going to let those of you and Claremore be seated, and I'm going to shift over to Jonathan, and those of you here may be seated, and James is going to come. God bless you. Thank you for receiving the word and allowing us to speak both to Claremore and Owasso. Thank you at the same time. So good. Challenging, isn't it? Thank you, Glenn, for such a good, practical, spiritual word. That is applicable to all of our lives. And as he was sharing that, he brought out one verse that the scripture says that it's required in the steward that he be found faithful. Faithfulness counts big with God because, as Glenn has said so many times, when we stand before God, it's not the big things that's going to be noticed. Have you been faithful? Yes. Have you been faithful? Thank you. We want to continue to worship the Lord with our giving, and I say continue to worship because this is just a part of what we do all the time as we gather together. We want to worship the Lord with our giving, and we honor him with that which he has blessed us with. And I believe, I just knew. You also mentioned this in the message this morning, something I say quite frequently. It's not that we desire it. It's not because we got to have money to operate on. That's not the purpose of it. But our prayer is that there be fruit that would abound to your account. That's what we desire. We want you to be blessed as we give and as we honor God and as we worship God. Because I lied to myself for many years. We want fruit to abound to your account. We pray for you that God would bless you. We pray for you that God would add to you and cause there to be an increase in your life. We have several ways to give. If you're a regular, you know we have online giving. And you may do as my wife and I do, that we still write a check out. She does. I don't write checks. She does. Worship the Lord with our giving, right? But write a check and put it in the envelope. And there's offering containers at the back of the auditorium as you leave. But let me pray for you and bless you. Lord, we thank you this morning. We thank you that you have caused us to abound. And you desire that we abound in every good work, whether it be our finances, or whether we take care of home, whether we take care of our garage, or whatever it is that we're to abound in. You cause us there to be abundant. I pray your blessings on your people. I pray for those who need a job, that you would cause them to hear from you. Because I'm reminded, Lord, that when I needed a job, you spoke to my heart to go to a certain place and to inquire. And I did. And you blessed me with a job. I pray for that, for these that are needing jobs. Those who have jobs, I pray, Lord, that you would give them favor with their supervisor, with their boss, that they may increase. Those who have businesses, Lord, cause there to be an increase there as well, as they are faithful in their worship with their finances. I thank you for it. And I praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. I ask you. And amen. As you prepare your offering, check out these announcements. ... here in this house and the house as a whole. Would you help us to be very good stewards or managers of your stuff? We don't own any of it, and yet you have entrusted it to our care, and even as men that you've given us the authority to direct it. So I pray that you would give us real supernatural wisdom. And Lord, there may be some here that are in need today of a job or better job, God, and direct them, Steph. Thank you for the opportunity to pray for me. To produce for our labor, to trade our labor for income. We bless you for that. And thank you founded first. We declare we trust you. We trust you. You will continue our provision of our health so it'll help us, to steward in the area of finances, steward in the area of our marriage, steward in the area of our children, even in these coming weeks. the summer. This summer is for family seminars that we're doing, but for these next six Wednesday nights, would you have fear or love? to produce for parenting. To trade our labor for income. We bless you for that. And thank you for us. visit dlc signup.com let it be a starting point for some and a real encouragement for those who are already on that journey join us in prayer over them as they travel you for it that's all the announcements this week if you have a prayer need please let us know we'd love to be in prayer with you well have a great week dlc i gotta be honest okay let me remind you on the floor next to this okay that's better okay good good good thank you for helping me there's a black book and the reason why we have it there is so that we can know that you've been here well we don't take attendance to make sure that you're showing up that's not it but it is to see uh to panama those who've been here and if you're not getting information from us we have one leaving for panama maybe because we don't have your contact information so you could put your email in there so we could uh be in contact trip you and keep you up to date of what's going on is there anybody in this service going dlc on that trip tomorrow stand up guys if you're new or relatively new or the first time here we have i want to pray over you guys we had you wouldn't mind just filling this out and dropping it in the offering container as you leave so that we can have a record of your your attendance 22 and uh going we can also be in contact with you and let you know what's going on at dlc would you stand with us as we dismiss let me pray a prayer of blessing over you as you go lord we thank you this morning that you have challenged us with your word we've heard your word you've spoken to us and we take it to heart and we cause us there to be good fruit in our life i pray lord that you now as we leave cause your face to shine upon us as we go your favor resting upon us we may declare your glory in every sphere of life we thank you for it in jesus name amen and amen god bless you go in the peace of the lord tell someone you love them and don't lie to them amen god bless you guys give them a great big hand would you as you think about the team this week as they come to your mind pray over them with jeff coats is bringing some leadership to that and layla is going to be helping us as well so thank you guys for doing that and then we'll see you next week we got another one going in july back to the same place they'll have a slightly different type of trip and i'm just excited uh about that and grateful to the lord for it so check out a few things happening here in dusty life and then we'll be dismissed hey dlc fam my name is noah and we're so glad you're here with us today let's check out these announcements hey man of dlc don't forget the men's breakfast is coming up saturday june 27th at 8 30 a.m on the claremore campus for all the info go to dlc signup.com don't forget our summer is for parenting don't forget our summer is for family parenting seminars start wednesday night june 17th on the claremore campus we pray this will be a night of equipping and encouraging for parents with kids in any stage of life sign up for child care at dlc signup.com freedom celebration is right around the corner join us thursday july 2nd for a night of fireworks and fun for families for all info or to sign up to serve visit dlc signup.com tomorrow we have a group that is going to panama they will be there the 15th through the 23rd join us in prayer over them as they travel that's all the announcements this week if you have a prayer need please let us know we'd love to be in prayer with you have a great week dlc all right 250 years of america i just want to say america every time i every time i say that that really is a blessing why don't you stand with us today i want to pray a prayer of dismissal and just invite our elders and deacons that are here and part of our church to pray for us and to pray for any of our prayer team to come if you have a need we'd love to agree with you over that need as you're dismissed father thank you for the opportunity to gather today in this facility with brothers and sisters in christ we bless you for that thank you for your a word delivered to us i pray that it would bear fruit and fruit that would remain thank you lord for shifting us even as we talked about in even in just the consistency of that i pray that you would help us in that give us divine ideas and wisdom discipline all those things thank you for your people today be with this team as they travel to panama and be lord with the rest of the congregation as we're dismissed into various arenas of society thank you for your favor over us in jesus mighty name amen god bless you you're dismissed if you need prayer please come we'll be happy to uh to pray with you today god bless you
