GOD’S OWNERSHIP: WHOSE STUFF IS IT, ANYWAY?

GENESIS 14:1-24

Ten Stewardship Truths

  I. Root of fighting (Gen. 14:1-3)

Prov. 15:6 [NIV]. The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble.

Prov. 15:16 [ESV]. Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.

1 Tim. 6:10 [NIV]. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

Jas. 4:1 [NIV]. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?

      Larry Burkett said that 50 percent of all new marriages fail. Of those, he said, 60-80 percent cited financial problems as the root cause.

      A. Covet (desire)

Lk. 12:15 [MSG]. Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”

      The culture measures self-worth by the acquisition of more money.

      Do not try to find identity in things but in God. It is more important to know Whose you are than to know what you have. It is more important to gain your identity from Who you belong to than from what belongs to you.

      B. Consume (dissatisfaction)

Ecc. 5:10 [GNB]. If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.

       Many overspend on themselves in an effort to overtake others. Happiness never results from having. Materialism leads to misery.

Acts 20:35 [GW]. Giving gifts is more satisfying than receiving them.

      A London newspaper offered a prize for the best definition of money. The paper awarded the prize to a young man who defined it as “an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven and as a universal provider of everything except happiness.”

      Andrew Carnegie said, “Millionaires who laugh are rare. My experience is that wealth is apt to take the smiles away.” John D. Rockefeller said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.”

Prov. 15:27 [NIV]. A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.

 II. Slavery of debt (Gen. 14:4-9)

      Because Lot did not recognize God’s ownership, the possessions Lot gained in Sodom took him captive. Instead of having things, things had him.

      A. Borrow

Prov. 22:7 [ESV]. The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

      B. Bankrupt

Lk. 12:21 [GW]. That's how it is when a person has material riches but is not rich in his relationship with God.

      Many borrow into bondage. Possessions tend to possess the buyer.

III. Transiency of things (Gen. 14:10-12)

Prov. 23:5 [CEV]. Your money flies away before you know it, just like an eagle suddenly taking off.

      Lot made life choices based upon a selfish desire for financial gain and lost something more valuable than possessions (Gen. 13:10, 14:12, 19:14-26; Lk. 17:32). Abraham made life choices based upon the spiritual principle of God’s ownership and kept something more valuable than possessions (Gen. 15:1).

      A. Treasures

Mt. 6:19-21 [NIV]. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

      B. Trust

1 Tim. 6:17 [NLT]. Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

      The wealth of the world is just a temporal treasure. The banks of this life hold no guarantees.

      In the end all the earthly possessions of Babylon will smolder in the fire as in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Rev. 18:10-19).

Prov. 27:24 [NLT]. For riches don't last forever, and the crown might not be secure for the next generation.

 IV. Right of property (Gen. 14:13-16)

      A. Gain

Prov. 13:4 [GW]. Whoever works his land will have plenty to eat, but the one who chases unrealistic dreams has no sense.

      B. Give

Eph. 4:28 [NIV]. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

      The Ten Commandments affirm the privilege of personal property. The purpose of getting is giving. Faithful stewards manage God’s resources with a higher motive than to get more.

      John Wesley lived by these financial principles:

•          Gain all you can (business and work)

•          Save all you can (“save not spend;” live without luxury)

•          Give all you can

  V. Source of supply (Gen. 14:18)

      God’s economics operate on the principle of man’s trust in God’s supply. Those who practice biblical giving by recognizing God’s ownership of everything regularly see the miraculous take place. A Christian who trusts God to take care of his eternal soul should not find it difficult to trust the same God to take care of his earthly supply.

      A. Provision

      Christians give only because of the grace God gives to give.

2 Cor. 9:10 [CEV]. God gives seed to farmers and provides everyone with food. He will increase what you have, so that you can give even more to those in need.

      B. Plan

Lk. 6:38 [MSG]. Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.

      God’s plan of economy is sowing and reaping (2 Cor. 9:6). God provides seed to the sower to scatter. Harvesting does not come from holding.

Prov. 11:24-25 [NIV]. One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

 VI. Lord of all (Gen. 14:19)

      A. Worship

1 Chr. 29:11-12 [NIV]. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

      B. Wealth

Dt. 8:17-18a [CEV]. When you become successful, don't say, "I'm rich, and I've earned it all myself." Instead, remember that the LORD your God gives you the strength to make a living.

      The Creator is worthy of the worship of the creature. God originated all the substance that sustains the creation.

      God owns it all.

VII. Recognition of ownership (Gen. 14:20)

      In bringing tithes to Melchizedek, Abraham tithed as unto Jesus (Heb. 7:3-4). Abraham tithed as an act of worship to the Most High. F. B. Meyer said, “This ancient custom shames us Christians. The patriarch gave more to the representatives of Christ than many of us give to Christ Himself.” Stewardship under the covenant of grace should be more extravagant.

      A. Tenth

Lev. 27:30 [CEV]. Ten percent of everything you harvest is holy and belongs to me, whether it grows in your fields or on your fruit trees.

      B. Total

Ps. 50:10-12 [NIV]. For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

      Proportionate giving recognizes that the part represents the whole. Giving to God as Owner keeps the heart from the self-deception that man is his own god.

Hag. 2:8 [NIV]. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the LORD Almighty.

VIII. Temptation of money (Gen. 14:17, 21)

1 Tim. 6:9 [GNB]. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.

      F. B. Meyer said, “The wealth of Sodom will scorch the hand that handles it, and will blight every godly enterprise to which it may be put.”

      Once, a man frantically reported to Wesley, “Your house has burned to the ground!” The preacher responded, “No, the Lord’s house burned to the ground. That means one less responsibility for me.”

      A. Price

Mt. 26:15 [NIV]. And asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

      B. Profit

2 Kg. 5:20 [GW]. Gehazi, the servant of Elisha (the man of God), thought, "My master let this Aramean Naaman go without accepting what he had brought. As sure as the LORD lives, I'll run after Naaman and get something from him.

      Satan tempts to sell out principles for a profit. The price of yielding to temptation always costs more than one can pay.

 IX. Entanglement of possessions (Gen. 14:22-23)

Prov. 30:8-9 [CEV]. Make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need. If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you; if I don't have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name.

      A. Success

Mk. 10:21-22 [NIV]. Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

      B. Substitute

      John Calvin said, “Where riches hold the dominion of the heart, God has lost His authority.”

Mt. 6:24 [HCSB]. No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.

      The riches of this life give only a shadow of success. Concern for riches compromises dependence on God.

      John Wesley said, “Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart.”

Lk. 19:8 [NIV]. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

      Tertullian said, “And so it is that when a man walks along a road, the lighter he travels, the happier he is. . . .”

  X. Determination of needs (Gen. 14:24)

      Abraham did not view a pay out from Sodom as a gift from God. Abraham looked to God not Sodom for needs.

Phil. 4:19 [NIV]. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

      A. Seek

Ps. 34:10. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good [thing].

Mt. 6:31-33 [NIV]. So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

      B. Satisfied

Phil. 4:12 [NIV]. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

      A thankful life is a contented life. Mature stewards learn satisfaction in God’s supply.

Prov. 11:4a [NLT]. Riches won't help on the day of judgment.