SERMON NOTES :: To Be Found Faithful - Genesis 39:1-10; 1 Corinthians 4:2
MESSAGE |
To Be Found Faithful
SERIES |
Stewardship
SCRIPTURE |
Genesis 39:1-10; 1 Corinthians 4:2
SPEAKER |
Pastor Joseph Ardayfio
KEY THEME |
God entrusts us with the careful and responsible management of his creation and resources.
1) Pride is a direct assault on God and Godly living because it confuses stewardship with ownership.
2) Stewardship implies Relationship + Trust
a. Potiphar knew that he could put things into Joseph’s hands and he would not abuse the relationship or trust.
b. We cannot understand stewardship without realizing that we have been given custody, not ownership, of another’s possessions and that we are expected to have integrity in the level of care given to something belonging to another.
3) Relationship + Trust are built on a shared understanding of purpose.
a. We entrust things to the care of others in order to fulfill a purpose. Some purposes have greater consequences than others, but there is always a purpose.
b. We can’t assume that our purpose for something matches the purpose of the Creator. If we are unsure, we can just ask him!
4) Temptation comes to test our understanding of God’s purposes, but we must remain faithful TO HIM.
a. Joseph endured under temptation because he understood the purpose of his responsibility. Adam + Eve knew the boundaries in the Garden but didn’t understand the purpose for those boundaries.
b. Many of us recognize that we must give an account for our actions but we operate on a flawed assumption that God must accept anything that we give to Him.
c. Stewardship is not simply faithfulness to ourselves or others alone, but it is first and foremost – faithfulness to God since he is the true owner of everything and holds the full purpose behind all that he has entrusted to us.
Scripture Index
Genesis 2:9
Genesis 3:1-7
Genesis 39:1-10
Psalms 24:1-2
1 Corinthians 4:2; 4:7
thoughts for further study
1) How is pride connected to our understanding of stewardship? How can you prevent pride from creeping into your life?
2) How does familiarity with God cause us to mistake ownership with stewardship?
3) Why is it important to understand the purpose of the things entrusted to us?
