The Stewardship of God's Grace 4: The Venom of Unbelief

 Luke 19:12-27 NLT
¹² He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. ¹³ Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ ¹⁴ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

¹⁵ “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. ¹⁶ The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ ¹⁷ “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’ ¹⁸ “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ ¹⁹ “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’ ²⁰ “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. ²¹ I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

²² “‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, ²³ why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ ²⁴ “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ ²⁵ “‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ ²⁶ “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. ²⁷ And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

There is an unfortunate state in the body of Christ that, without sounding redundant, fortunately not everyone partakes of it. It is called the state of unbelief. This is reflected when God sends a vessel to be the answer of their cries. He sends them someone qualified to be the answer to their prayers, but because the person or the circumstance in which the person appears is not what the people envisioned, they reject what God wants to do in their midst. The answer is not manifested without struggle and the messengers sent by God get blamed for the unbelief of those who reject them. These people don’t realize that by rejecting the vessels that carry their deliverance inside of them, they are also rejecting the One who sent them. It could be a racial issue, an ethnic issue, a gender issue, a financial status issue, a social or religious issue, etc., but God can make the rocks cry out if that is needed at a moment’s notice (Romans 8:22) because those He wanted to bless don’t want the vessels that carry their blessings. They have been fully prepared and have paid the price to carry the anointing that will deliver those who reject them, but unbelief is in the way, blocking the sight of those who are doing the rejecting as we see in verse 14 of the above passage.

The other important aspect of walking in unbelief is that those that are influenced by it, are missing important steps on the way to their destinations and callings from God for their lives and are also hindering the ones that are ready to take those steps with them because they understand it is for the glory of God alone. It is not about themselves, but about glorifying the Living God. For the ones that might have mishandled some steps, don't get angry when you are expecting a diploma, but instead God is saying to you that you need to do some make-up work or even repeat a grade altogether before you can reach your destiny. Remember what Galatians 6:7 says in the Amplified version, Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.

Verses 20 to 26 illustrate another manifestation of the spirit of unbelief that influences the people that are rejecting the vessels sent by God or the circumstances in which they are sent—they engage in gossip and backbiting, counting as evil what is actually good, not knowing that their actions are stripping them of the very blessings they are believing God for and those blessings are instead being passed down from God to the vessels they are speaking evil of. Their attitudes toward those vessels have made them worthy of condemnation by their own words. There is even the danger of losing for good what God wanted to give them by their forfeiting actions and attitudes.

For this reason, let’s examine our hearts so that, if it’s not too late, we can recuperate the things we have lost and walk out the process God has for us whether we understand the circumstance or the reason the vessels He chooses to use are there for because according to Romans 8:30 whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. So know that God has justified His sent vessels because they responded to His call and understood they were predestined to be the vessels that would carry the anointing to deliver others out of their bondage and struggles.

I admonish you to repent and give your heart to God so He can give you a new heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-29) that can help you have the right attitude toward the circumstances and the people He sends to your life, and also give Him your mind so He can help you renew it (Romans 12:2) and help you be conformed to the Image of His Son and not the ways of the world. To Him alone be all the glory■.

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The Stewardship of God's Grace 3: Learning to Borrow from the Lord

Psalm 37:21 the wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers NLT.

Psalm 24 says that the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him NLT. 

This means that in this earth we own nothing but are given the privilege to steward and administer the resources, finances, and everything else the Lord puts into our hands. For this reason it is a dangerous thing to neglect passing a resource or finances, or anything else the Lord would ask us into the hands of those He directs us to give them to.

Because we serve the Great I Am—a God who is everything to everyone who cries out to Him—He is the Great I Am of purpose, and everything He does in our lives and through our lives is to continue in His purpose for mankind to see Him as the only God there is, and as the Creator of every good thing He wants to make available to those He loves. That is why we are called in Galatians 6:2-3 to share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ because if we think we are too important to help someone, we are only fooling ourselves. We are not that important if we think everything we have is only for our own enjoyment. 

We are called to advance God’s kingdom not only with the gifts and talents He gives us, but also with every resource He makes available to us. Because we are only stewards, when He says give to…that resource or amount of money is no longer ours to decide what to do with it. It now belongs in the hands of those God appointed to give it to so that whatever need is there can be supplied and His purpose can continue to carry its course without delay. Many people hoard the things they have asked God to give to them and with selfish ambitions they go about building their own kingdoms apart from the mindset of being only a steward of what is in their possessions, thereby becoming a stumbling block to those who live purposely and with the knowledge and understanding that they are here to advance God’s Kingdom with everything they are given.

This mindset also makes the hoarders wicked people that do not pay back to God for what He lent them to be able to walk on earth as citizens of heaven that shine His light for others to see. They don’t repay God when they refuse to give to others when prompted by His Spirit. When a new season comes and they are tested to see if they have allowed mammon to rule their decisions about what they have, many in the body have failed that test and have been found worshiping mammon instead of the Living God.

Job 8:20 says “But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked NLT. This Scripture points out what happens when a person has been found worshiping the work of their hands with the things God has given him or her, and is no longer found with clean hands in His sight.

Psalm 24:3-5 explains further: ³Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?

Or who may stand in His holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
⁵ He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

We are required to guard our hearts in regards to the blessings we receive from the Lord and the spoils we obtain from the battles. They are not to own us, but we are to do with them as the Lord directs us. Not only does the first fruits of what we receive belong to the Lord, but all of it, He is merely allowing us to administer the rest to supply our needs and wants, and also to give to those in need and this way fulfill His purpose for each one of our lives. Proverbs 22:7 says, Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender NLT.

The rich person described here is God, our Lord, and we are the borrowers that are here to serve Him with every part of our lives and everything we have. If we have been found lacking when God tested us to see who we are worshiping in the area of giving and stewardship, let’s cry out in repentance and seek His face not just His hand, so as we come to obtain mercy and grace, He can show us where we fell and that way take sure steps in the right direction as Jesus did when He said to the devil in Matthew 4:10, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” 

To Him alone be all the Glory■.

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