Sermon Title .

The Stewardship of Faith

Sermon Text.. Deut 6:1-15
Invocation Scripture. . Eph 4:1
Main Idea :

Faith is a gift from God and we are

responsible to be good stewards of
this faith just as we are of any other
resouce that God grants to us.

Objective : To challenge members to live their faith

in every aspect of their life!
The Stewardship of Faith
Deut 6:4 - 15
Point I : Embrace Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deut 6:5-7
1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Cor 10:3-5, Eph 6:10-18
Believers r Israel.Gal 3:7-9, 29, Rom 2:28-29,
Rom 9:6-8, Phil 3:3,
Point II : Teach Faith .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deut 6:7a
Jesus taught, Matt 11:1, Mark 1:21, 6:2, Luke
10:21, John 7:14, John 8:21 Tim. 4:11
need to be taught! Heb5:12
Point III: Live & Share the Faith . . . . . Deut 6:7b-9
Rom 1:17, gal 2:20, Gal 3: 11,

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The Stewardship of Faith

Deut 6:4 - 15
Slide 1 Blank screen
We come to the third and what will be the final
point of the message that is focused on the Stewardship
of Faith. Though there is a fourth point, we will save
that to the end of our series as our jump off point for
sharing our faith. We looked last week about how
important that it is to Teach the Faith and then low and
behold, Wednesday evening Paul was telling Timothy
to find Faithful Men who are able to Teach the Truths
that Paul, in the presence of many witnesses had handed
down to Timothy!
Amazing, that with all the snow and having not
have services a few Sundays missing a Wed or two
worked out so that these two message came perfectly
back to back! Listen friends, if you want a more
informal, Bible study time, Wednesday is the time to
come! We are having a great time.
Slide 2 Now dont forget the 4 Principles of Stewardship.
Ownership, Responsibility, Accountability, Reward.
OK.. So we have considered the imperative that we
Embrace the Faith and then Last week that we Teach
the Faith. Today we will consider the truth that We
must not Just Embrace and Not just Teach, but we must
LIVE the faith that is the ONLY way that Faith will
mean anything to us, the only way that Faith will have
any TRUE impact in our lives.

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We reminded ourselves last week that Old

Testament Saints obtained favor with God in the same
way that we do in our day, and that is through faith.
came to understand that Faith was the entry point for
all. We noted that Abrahams entrance into Gods
favor came through faith and not through the act of
circumcision. We saw this in Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look
now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be
able to number them: and he said unto him, So
shall thy seed be. {6} And he (Abraham) believed in
the LORD; and he counted it to him for
righteousness.
This verse is repeated 3 times in the NT.
Rom_4:3 For what does the Scripture say?
"ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."
In addition, we can not forget the importance of
Hebrews 11:6 for it is critical!! The Scripture reads...
Slide 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
So... we turn today to consider the truth that we must
Live the Faith and Share the Faith!
Slide 10 (auto moves to next slide after 20 seconds)
< < < Read: Deut 6:4-11 > > >

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Point III: Live & Share the Faith . . . . . . Deut 6:7b-9

Live - Rom 1:17, gal 2:20, Gal 3: 11,
Share - Matt 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Acts 5:32, 10:39
Wow... We have read these verses now several times,
and I dont know about you, but for me, each time I
read them, they still leap off the page and scream truth
at me, rack me with conviction of my lack of faith, and
yet inspire me, as Paul says in Phil 3:14 to
... press on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Look back at vss 6-7... We dealt with those verses
extensively last week in the context of teaching the
word and made the clear point that not only are we to
teach them with our mouth, which is obvious from this
passage, I mean vs 7 says, you shall teach them
diligently to your sons...
But we considered the truth that we not only teach
with our words, but with our deeds, with our actions...
and we considered the truth that THOSE lessons may
very well be the most IMPACTING and POIGNANT
lessons we teach!!!
And so the challenge before us in this point is the
reality that we must LITERALLY, LIVE the Christian
life! And according to Moses, here in Deut 6, that
begins in the heart... look at the end of vs 6.
These words, which I am commanding you today,
shall be on your heart.

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Now I know that in our free-wheeling culture today,

where there are no absolutes, we dont like to be told
what to do, but my friends... like it or not, that is
just the way Gods Word is and Moses is one of the
few men, maybe the only one who ever spoke face to
face with God, and he minces no words here... Moses
is clear that he is COMMANDING these things....
So I ask you today...whats in your heart my friend?
Do you find that at times, you have to actually
command your heart to think and feel the right things?
Do you not find, when certain circumstances and events
invade your life that your heart can run off in wrong
directions? That you have to take control of it, and set
it back on track?
It never ceases to amaze me that we can get to work
on time every day and for most of us that is at 7:00 7:30
or 8:00... but somehow, we cant seem to get to Sunday
School or even church!!! HOW CAN THAT BE?
Now some of you dont want to hear this, but when
I say it, you know that it is true... but it hurts, it
convicts, it pricks!!
The reason we cant get to church on time is
because it isnt important enough to us to do.
I call it Casual Christianity!!
It is a matter of our heart!!
O beloved... the Bible has much to say about the
heart of man... In fact, the word appears over 726

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times in 677 verses. I remember keenly a verse from

my childhood about the heart of man... Actually, I had
the idea that man could have a good heart! In fact, I
wrestled with the verse and what it said, because I had
heard so many people talk about people having a good
heart, a kind heart... but mostly... I heard the
phrase, but he has a good heart.
It didnt dawn on me until later in life that the most
the time that I heard that phrase, was when someone did
something that we thought didnt fit who we believed
them to be.... and so we would say... o but he had a
good heart
And what was that verse from my early years?.... It
was Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer 17:9
Did you know beloved, that as early as Genesis 6,
we see a direct reference from the Lord God Himself
about the condition of the heart of man.... In fact it was
the heart of man that moved God to destroy the world
with the great flood in the days of Noah...
Look at Gen 6:5
Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness
of man was great on the earth, and that every
intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.
Listen beloved... the evidences of the wickedness and
depravity of the heart of man without God liters the

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landscape of history... Without God, we are capable of

unspeakable atrocities and heinous crimes against one
another!
This is not how God desired for us to be, nor is it
how He wants us to live!!! He wants us to live Holy
lives, that are pure and righteous! He wants us to be
just and to do good!
The only thing that can change the heart of man is
God!! We read in Ezekiel chapter 11 and chapter 36
Ezek 36:26 "...I will give you a new heart and put
a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart
of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of
flesh.
Listen beloved, in every facet of our lives, we are to
live the Faith that God has granted to us in Christ Jesus!
Look back at our text.... You shall talk of them
when you sit in your house... When you walk by the
way... when you lie down... when you rise up.... you
shall bind them on your hands... Thats interesting...
Bind Gods Word on your hands?... maybe that would
keep our hands from some of the things that they do
that they shouldnt do!!
They shall be as frontals on your forehead... you
shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on
your gates...
Wow... write them on my door, so that I remember
that my home is not my home, but Gods!! That my
wife is Gods sweet and precious gift and my children

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the heritage He has given me!! This is what the Bible

says... Look at Eccles 9:9
Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the
days of your fleeting life which He has given to you
under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in
your toil in which you have labored under the sun.
As for our children... we read in (Psa 127:3-5 NASB)
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD; The fruit
of the womb is a reward. {4} Like arrows in the
hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's
youth. {5} How blessed is the man whose quiver is
full of them; They shall not be ashamed, When they
speak with their enemies in the gate.
But you are also to write them on your gates, so that as
you leave your home and head out into the world that
you remember that you are a witness, that you are to
speak the truth of Gods reality of His love, of His
presence and of His power to Save us to everyone!
SO we see so very clearly that in EVERYTHING
we do, we are to be living out the TRUTH OF the
FAITH that God has granted to us in Christ Jesus!
But there is more here beloved... Look back at our text
< < < Read: Deut 6:10-12 > > >
Guard Against Pride. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deut 6:10-12
Beloved... I see here a stern warning to Israel not to
become prideful and not to think that somehow all the

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blessing that has been showered upon them by God was

of their own planning and doing...
Now, I am not disputing at all the fact that God
gave the Israelites an opportunity to join with Him in
His work and in His plan. God chooses to do that even
today... The problem... When we get our hands into
something, we start to think that somehow we own it
and if we own it, we have a right to it!!!
This is where it is critical not to forget the 4
Principles of Stewardship...
1. Ownership
2. Responsibility
3. Accountability
4. Blessing and Benefit
We have a tough time remembering that God owns it all
and that we are only stewards... That we are responsible
for what the portion of what HE OWNS to manage it
correctly and that WE WILL be held accountable for
how we manage it!! And that the level of blessing and
benefit we receive is in direct correlation to # 2 and # 3!
It is VERY easy when we become prosperous to
forget God and to forget that the opportunities, the
breaks, the circumstances that worked in our favor, the
open doors, the right people in the right places, the
gifts, talents, abilities and knowledge that we have all of
these... ALL OF THESE... came directly from God, so
that these things... in fact for that matter, IN ANY
THING, we have NO RIGHT TO BOAST!!

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For all that we are and all that we have, we

ultimately Owe to God!!
Pride is a deceitful and subtle thing and can creep
into our lives in the most unlikely ways and in the most
unlikely circumstances, but its end is always
destruction and the downfall of the one who embraces
it! Ask Nebuchadnezzar about what pride did for him?
It banished him to the wilderness to live like an animal
for 7 years!!
As with the heart, the Bible has much to say about
pride, but one of the most familiar verse concerning
pride is (Pro 16:18)
Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit
before stumbling.
We MUST guard against becoming prideful and the
best way to do that is to keep the truths of God every in
our heart and ever before our face, just as Moses writes
here in this passage...
But also consider the next verses... Look back at
< < < Read: Deut 6:13-15 > > >
Guard Against Idiolatry. . . . . . . . . . . . . Deut 6:13-15
Listen beloved... we dont think of this much today,
because we have become so blinded to what worship is.
Worship is giving ourselves over to something, wholy
and completely, investing our time, energy and effort to
it with passion and being willing to literally give of our
hard earned resources in order to engage and participate
in it!

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I just described the vast majority of Americans and

their worship of Entertainment, Movies, NASCAR, the
NFL, the NBA, Golf, tennis, gymnastics...
We worship Entertainment and Sports, the Actors
and Actresses and/or the Sports Super stars!!! They are
our Gods and their thoughts opinions and ideas our
Bibles and their lifestyles our models and examples to
follow! GOD HELP US....
And if theis werent bad enough... in doing these
things, Moses warns us not to Tempt God!
You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as
you tested Him at Massah..
What in the world does that mean? Well If you go back
to Exodus 17:7 you see that the People of Israel were
thirsty and they began questioning whether God was
really with them or not!! We read there in Exo 17:5-7
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pass before the
people and take with you some of the elders of
Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which
you struck the Nile, and go. (6) "Behold, I will
stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and
you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of
it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in
the sight of the elders of Israel. (7) He named the
place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel
of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the
LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us, or not?"
Matthew Henry clarifies this as well as any where he

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writes...
They must take heed of dishonouring God by
tempting him (Deu_6:16): You shall not tempt the
Lord your God, that is, You shall not in any
exigence distrust the power, presence, and
providence of God, nor quarrel with him, which,
if they indulged an evil heart of unbelief, they
would take occasion to do in Canaan as well as in
the wilderness. No change of condition will cure a
disposition of murmur and fret. Our Saviour uses
this caution as an answer to one of Satan's
temptations, with application to himself, Mat_4:7,
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, either by
despairing of his power and goodness while we
keep in the way of our duty, or by presuming upon
it when we turn aside out of that way.
Listen beloved... Lack of Faith is an afront to God! We
must remember that He is omnipotent, omniscient and
omni-present!! We need fear nothing!!!
We would do well to remember (Gal 2:20 NASB)
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no
longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself
up for me.
Moses sums it all up with vss 17-18... Look back at
your text one more time....
(Deu 6:17-18 NASB) "You should diligently keep

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the commandments of the LORD your God, and

His testimonies and His statutes which He has
commanded you. {18} "And you shall do what is
right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it
may be well with you and that you may go in and
possess the good land which the LORD swore to
give your fathers,
This then is the key... We are to live a full and
meaningful Christian life, by living in the reality of His
power and His presence and His purpose... or.. In short,
living IN FAITH!!
Our study of the Word of God, should be so
complete that it directs our living of this life, so that our
living reflects Biblical truth and the person and the
power of Christ!
My Momma used to say that we needed to be
steeped in the Word! That is a vivid and classic
pictoral illustration that provides a very graphic and
powerful picture for us.
You see my friends, when you make a pot of tea,
you can make it weak or you can make it strong. If Im
going to drink tea, I want to know that I am drinking
tea! I want the taste to be strong and crisp, not diluted
and weak!
So hears the deal friends... When you steep tea, the
strength or weakness of it has to do with one thing and
one thing alone... How long you leave the tea bag in the
water. The longer you leave the tea bag in the water,

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the stronger, more robust, more pungent the tea!

If you dont steep the tea for a long time, the tea
will be weak, watery and tasteless...
Listen friends... The Word of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Holy Bible itself is the tea bag of Faith, if we soak
the tea bag for only a short time, our Faith is weak and
tasteless.
So you see my friends, the strength, the vibrance,
the pungency of the Cup of tea is totally depended on
how long you steep the tea!!
In other words... the strength, the vibrance, the
pungency, the VERY POWER of the Faith God has
given, will be either be weak or strong based upon how
much time we spend soaking in the Word of God!!
So may I ask you my friend... Are your living the Faith
that God has given you? HONESTLY...
Are you living it and if so... can others tell!!
Maybe you ought to ask them... if they cant tell, then it
is most likely that we are NOT living a full and
meaningful Christian life, but rather... something less!
Let me close with a vers that I hope will linger in your
heart and mind, the verse we began with this morning...
Ephesians 4:1
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you
to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with
which you have been called,

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The Stewardship of Faith....

1. Embrace Faith
2. Teach Faith
3. Live and Share Faith!
Are you?...
Really?....
Can we do better?...
In Christ, we can do all things!
Let us therefor ...press on toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14