Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ.

Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church located in Kernersville, North Carolina. The Lord's and the fullness thereof, not just the earth but everything in it. The world, and just in case you were wondering, and they that dwell therein.

That is the whole kit and caboodle. God owns the earth, everything on it, everything in it, and everybody that lives there. It belongs to God. Let's pray. Lord I love you.

Pray you'd help me. Lord you know I've resisted these particular things for years. And Lord I've waited till when you said it's time, and you have said it's time. So Lord please open hearts.

It seems we're tackling a whole bunch of things at once. And Lord this is just, I'm going to do what you've told me to do. We love you. Thank you for our people. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. The principle of ownership. Stewardship always begins with you understanding and me understanding who the owner is. When you and I understand who owns something, that controls what we do with it.

Everybody got that? Not just money, talent, time, effort, priority, future, family, resources, everything. It all starts with ownership. Do you own it or does God own it? That's where it all starts. It is clear that man was created to work, and that work is the stewardship of all of the creation that God has given.

Did you hear? Everybody agrees with the fact, hey man ought to work. Well what is that work supposed to be? Well he's supposed to provide for his family. Well how do you provide for your family? Everything about man and everything about man's responsibility to work is centered around that work is supposed to be man being steward of what God has given. You know that's how you feed your family is to be a good steward of whatever God gives you. Whether God gave you a half acre of land and you work and till it and grow some food on it, God's the one that sends the rain, God's the one that made the soil, God's the one that gives the seed birth, but God doesn't just hand it to you on a platter.

He may need to work, but that work centers around the fact that he owns it all. Listen to this. The Institute of Faith Economics, I think it's Faith Work and Economics. They have some good principles I just in research found on stewardship at least the way some statements that were made.

I wanted to give you a couple of these. Listen to this. The fundamental principle of biblical stewardship is this. God owns everything. We are simply managers or administrators acting on his behalf.

Now if you and I see everything in our life through those eyes, it changes everything. God owns everything. And what we do with it should be based on what God wants us to do with it. Our finances, our family, our children, our job, our time, our talent, our energy, everything, God wants us to do with it what he wants us to do with it.

Why? Because he's the owner. We're not. Therefore, stewardship literally, get this, expresses our obedience to God. The way you and I conduct our stewardship, it shows how obedient we are to God. People that often say, I don't agree with giving to a church. No, what really is you just don't want to obey God.

I'm just telling you. You say, well, you know, I don't think you need to be faithful to church. Well, then you just don't want to be obedient to God.

I don't care how we look at it. That's just the principle of it. And I think we understand that. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just trying to say I'm preaching to me as much as you or anything. I haven't gotten everything down pat on this stuff.

So I'm learning and I want to get better. But if this means my family is going to be more blessed of God, maybe not always just monetarily, but through spiritual blessings, then I've got to do things God's way. And I want you to be able to listen to this. Stewardship is the commitment of oneself and possessions to God's service. Recognizing that we do not have the right of control over our property or ourselves. And I know this sounds, it means we do not have the right of control of it.

Now keep that in mind. Let me give you a verse. This will be on the screen. And it's a few verses because you've got to see this. Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse 13.

And here's the interesting thing. And we know the up and down of the people of God, but notice verse 13. And when thy herds, you can read along on the screen, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply. That means when God blesses. And thy silver and thy gold is multiplied and all that thou hast is multiplied. Some of you are like preacher, mine hasn't been multiplied, it's been subtracted. I don't know what's going on here.

You know what I'm saying. Look at verse 14. Then thine heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God. God multiplies and multiplies and multiplies and then when that happens we forget the Lord thy God.

Listen to this. Which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. How quickly when the blessings come we forget the one that gave them.

When we're not done here. Notice in verse 15. Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions in drought. You know of all the times we preach about the children of Israel wandering through the wilderness and all that, rarely do we ever mention the scorpions and the snakes.

Of all the things they faced, this would be the worst. I hate snakes. Trust me I hate eating the same thing every day. But it's easier for me to eat manna than to stare down a rattler or something. God said hey I led you safely through all this, brought you through this. Notice verse 16, notice this. He fed thee in the wilderness with manna which thy fathers knew not that he might humble thee and that he might prove thee and do thee good at thy latter end. God did all this but you forgot him.

Now get it, get it. Here's the principle. Look at verse 17. And thou say in thine heart my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

Can I give you a Kernerville definition for that one? It means I think I'm the owner. I think I did it. Here's what God says.

You've literally got the point that you think it was your power and your hand that did that. Notice verse 18. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God. For it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth that he may establish his covenant.

Did you hear me? He didn't give you wealth to just have fun with it. He gave you wealth to establish his covenant. Whatever God gives us is always about his plan.

It's never about us. So what do we do? We take his blessings and then we decide to decide. We take what he owns and we claim ownership. It means this. Now listen to me.

Hold on. When we do not honor God first with our money, we are saying that we made the money ourselves. When we are saying that we made that money without God's help, we are saying that we're the owners of it. When we do not honor God first with our time, we are telling everyone that we own our time. I get to do with my time what I want. Even if it means I don't get time to do God's things.

You say, hey we're here this morning. Don't jump on us. And you know I'm not. But for some reason people look at their life as if they own it. As if they have the right to decide what they're going to use it for. Listen to me.

When we do not honor God first in our marriage, we are saying that we do not need God's help. Because we run it. The principle of ownership.

Who's the owner? Number two. The principle of responsibility. Proverbs chapter three. Verse will be on the screen for you. Verse nine. Honor the Lord with thy substance. We have a responsibility to honor God with what he's given.

And with the first fruits of all thine increase. What's our responsibility? Our responsibility is to honor God with what he's given. And not only that, to honor him first with what he's given. Only thing I have found, the more God gets of a person's heart, the more willing they are to do this.

It's usually not a giving problem or a priority problem, it's just a heart problem. Honor the Lord with thy substance. You and I need to understand that he is the owner and we are the steward and stewards have a responsibility. You see when you and I begin to think we're the owner, then we don't have any responsibilities because we're the owner. But if we realize we're the steward and he's the owner, then that means we have a job to do. Now listen to me.

First Peter four nine. Use hospitality one to another without grudging as every man hath received the gift. Even so, minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. It means that we are literally to be good stewards of God's grace. And God's grace is not just your money. Everything good in your life is God's grace. So we are literally to be stewards of all that.

Man. Let me give you this quote. Now this is the one I think that God used to say it's time.

Dr. Bill Peel wrote this statement. Although God gives us all things richly to enjoy, the Bible says, nothing is ours. Nothing really belongs to us. God owns everything. We're responsible for how we treat it and what we do with it. While we complain about our rights here on earth, the Bible constantly asks what about your responsibilities.

Now get this last phrase. Owners have rights. Stewards have responsibilities.

Does that hit anybody else but Daniel Hotry? You all and me and us, we tend to focus on what we have the right to do with our stuff. And I'm here to tell you lovingly we don't have the right to do anything. We don't have the right, why? Because we're not the owner. You don't have the right to decide whether or not you're going to give to God. You have the responsibility to give to God. Because he owns everything.

Anybody else a little bit convicted by that statement? Only owners have rights. Stewards have responsibility. We are called as God's stewards to manage what belongs to God. Now listen to me, if we don't understand the principle of ownership, then we will never understand the principle of responsibility. If we don't first admit and acknowledge that God is the owner, then we will never accept responsibility.

Because if we think we're the owner, then we don't have any responsibilities. If we see ourselves as the stewards, then we see our responsibility. It's not just to take what God has given and to use it for us. It is to take what God has given and use it for him. To do with it as he directs. While God has graciously entrusted us with the care, development, and enjoyment of everything he's given, listen to me.

As his stewards, we are responsible to manage his holdings well and according to his desire and purpose. Could I ask you something this morning and over these next few weeks? Could I ask you to make an effort to examine your life? Not examine your wallet. Not just examine your bank account. Lord knows I don't want to examine mine.

I'm sure you don't really either. I'm saying could we all not just over these next few weeks, if we're a church that has been told and challenged that we need to be the example. You know we don't want to just be the status quo Christian. We want to be the kind of Christians that God uses to do great things, that God blesses the body of believers that have gathered together. Because we all, and just imagine in Kerwin Baptist Church, if five to six hundred people here this morning decided that God's the owner and we're the steward. And whatever God tells me to do with my family and my future and my finances and every area of my life, I'm going to do it. Imagine what God could do.

Imagine. Could you consider with me these next few weeks if there's any area of your resources or of your life that you need to start being more responsible to God with. Maybe Sunday church isn't really just whether or not you feel like coming, maybe it is my responsibility to honor God with the breath and the life that he's given. This isn't about whether I feel like it or not. This is about God's the one that gave you Monday through Saturday. So let's honor him on his day to say thank you for the days that he's given.

Listen to me, please, and you know I love you. Could you and I maybe look at our life to see if maybe we need this. Number three. The principle of accountability. Now this is just an overview of what stewardship means. Stewardship begins with understanding who's the owner. Stewardship then proceeds to understand the responsibility of the steward. We're either the owner or the steward. And if we're the steward we have a responsibility. And principle number three is the fact that if I'm the steward I have to give an account to the owner. Luke 16 verse 10, verses will be up if you want to turn to it you're welcome to please.

It says this. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon. Now I hate to tell you, but you know what the unrighteous mammon is? It's money. It's your house. It's your resources. It's earthly possessions. God says if you have not been faithful with that, listen, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

You say well I don't really like that. Well you're not accountable to me. You and I are accountable to God. And God says if you're not going to be faithful with the little bit that I give you why would I give you more? And then he says if you're not going to be faithful with earthly stuff why would I bless you with more heavenly stuff? Now look at this verse.

Even though it's not fun, this is true isn't it? It's just biblical. Verse 12, and if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's. Now if you don't understand ownership yet you're not going to get it. But when I understand that everything in my life God owns that I don't that means everything in my life is another man's. Listen, he said if you're not faithful in that which is another man's who shall give you that which is your own?

Now get this. You and I are accountable to the owner whether or not we have been faithful as the steward. God says if you've not been faithful with earthly things how can I trust you with heavenly things?

God says if you've not been faithful in that which belongs to me why would I bless you with things that belong to you? A steward is one who manages the possessions of another. And we're the stewards.

That's why we need to practice stewardship. I'm almost done. I've got one more quick one at the end but you've got to hear this. Don't tune me out.

I know the time. Don't tune me out. I have not been preaching long. Now just because the service goes long doesn't mean the preacher went long. Now sometimes that's the case.

But there's other people involved. Pass it on. Listen to this.

Please hear me. One day each one of us will be called to give an account for how we managed what God gave. We're going to give an account to God for it. How we managed our money, how we managed our time, how we managed our abilities, how we managed our priorities.

God has entrusted his resources to us and we are not allowed to rule over it as we see fit. We will all give an account to the rightful owner as to how well we honored him or managed what he entrusted to us. This will change how you do things. This will change how you see things. Seatbelt click. When you get to heaven, good luck trying to explain to God that you did not give or tithe to him because you did not feel it was necessary.

Let me know how that goes. Imagine standing before the one who gave you everything. And trying to justify why you couldn't even give him a tenth back. Number four, the principle of reward. As a steward, we've got to know who's the owner. We have to know what our responsibility is. We have to know who we're accountable to. But as a steward, number four, we have to understand that there's a reward. Stewards aren't slaves or he would have called us slaves.

Did you notice that? A steward is a person that if he does what's right and honors the owner, he will be rewarded for it. I think I'm the only one trying to pump things up or something.

Somebody help me. There was an announcement last week. Now I'm preaching on stewardship. Good Lord. That's like the first thing do not do as a pastor.

Wait till we put the smoke machines in. I mean, I'm just going to kill myself. I'm telling you.

That was a joke. Principle number four is the principle of reward and as I let you go, Colossians chapter three. Whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done. And there is no respect of persons. It's black and white with God.

There's no gray area. Do you remember what we read in Proverbs earlier about ownership? I want you to look at the next verse. Proverbs three, nine, and ten.

Look at this. Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits. That's why we believe tithing is a tenth. And you take tithing off of your gross income, not your net. We don't let the government get theirs first and then we give God his. God gets the first fruits.

And listen, and don't get mad at me about this. There might be some here that say, listen, I don't think that tithing is scriptural. I think that tithing is something that we have to do. And Wednesday night I taught on the dispensations of the Bible. I had more reaction.

I had people thanking me. I had people say, would you just do this on a Sunday? Everybody needs to hear this because the dispensation of the passage that was written in the Bible dictates to you if that applies. Or how it applies in your life. But listen to me, tithing is an Old Testament principle. But it's a New Testament principle too.

Here's the point. When we were under law, the tenth was the barometer. This is where we start. Even under law, we're going to give God a tenth of what we make. But under grace, I'm here to tell you it's fine, I think, if you don't believe in quote unquote tithing.

I believe that you need to believe that you should give above. Because if the law was a tenth, we're under grace, we should give more than a tenth. So if you don't want to tithe, that's fine, just make sure it's more than ten percent. Because you dip under that, you're not even giving God back. Even after he died on the cross for your sins.

Don't listen to me. Honor the Lord with thy substance with the first fruits of all thy increase, but notice this. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty. And thy presents shall burst out with new wine. Oh and God get your heart.

Everything seems to follow. And then you get to that growth as a Christian where you find out you cannot out give God. Let me show you something real quick. Look at this verse on the screen. God says you honor the Lord with thy substance with the first fruits of thy increase. So what are we giving God here? Everything that that field yielded. Every bit of the crop, God says give me the first fruits.

So imagine with me, let me just use your common sense here. So everything, all the crop I got from this field, I take the first fruit of that and I give it back to God. And what does God then give you? He said I'll fill up your barns. So the first fruit of this crop that would not fill up a barn, the entire crop probably wouldn't fill up the barn. But if I give God the first fruit, God will reward me for that little bit of first fruit that I gave.

And God said I'll fill up the whole barn. Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kerwin Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192 or via the Web at KerwinBaptistChurch.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you.