MAKE THE MOST OF IT
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Matthew 25:14-30 NLT
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. 16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. 19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ 21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together! ’ 22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ 23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Sounds harsh, but the clear takeaway should be this: God is serious about stewardship.
Stewardship: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something, especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care
Luke 16:11 NLT
11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
Grace & Growth
Our urgent need was forgiveness, but the ultimate goal is to become a difference making, Kingdom building disciple.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Psalms 84:7 NIV
7 They go from strength to strength,till each appears before God in Zion.
Psalms 84:7 NLT
7 They will continue to grow stronger,and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
1 Timothy 6:6 NASB
6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
Grateful yet growing.
Patient yet pressing.
Mindful of what God has done but moving forward to what he is yet to do.
Did you know that there is a version of you that you haven’t seen?
1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,and no mind has imaginedwhat God has preparedfor those who love him.”
I Corinthians 2:10 NKJV
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
The Floor for God’s MORE!
Ephesians 3:20 NIV
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Ephesians 3:20 NLT
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
God’s part is to do the more, but our asking, thinking, imagining establishes the floor for God’s ‘More’.
What are you asking, thinking, imagining is possible for you in your life of faith in Christ?
Two keys to effective stewardship: The New and the Now.
The pathway to the new, the next and the more of God is always faithfulness with the now of God.
2 Peter 1:1-11 NLT
1 This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. 2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. 10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
What has God put in your hand? Make the most of it!
And to remain faithful, sometimes you’re going to have to be willing to persevere – to keep on doing and keep on going and keep on loving and keep on moving!
Exodus 3:11 NLT
11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
Perseverance
In the parable, it said the master returned, “after a long while”.
Romans 2:7 NLT
7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.
Hebrews 12:1-4 NLT
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
Hebrews 10:36 NLT
36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
Galatians 6:9 NLT
9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
So, the pathway to the new, next and more is faithfulness with the now – what God has already put in your hand, provided you…
So to steward increase and growth, we must be faithful with The Now and willing to embrace the NEW of God.
To embrace the more God has in store, we have to embrace the new He is calling us to.
Luke 5:36-39 NLT
36 Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. 37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”
THE FEAR FACTOR
Matthew 25:25 NLT
25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
7 Concepts to help us break the stronghold of fear of failure or fear of the future:
1) Perspective:
Failures and setbacks are inevitable for those determined to do great things.
1 Corinthians 10:11 NLT
11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you…learn.
Proverbs 24:16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
Good people, Godly people are going to stumble
You only lose if you quit.
Proverbs 28:13 Living Bible (TLB) 13 A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.
Psalms 103:12 NIV
12 as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
What you might have done is not who you are.
What you’ve been through does not define you.
2) People:
If you shrink back in fear of failure, the people who would have been blessed by your calling and purpose will not receive the blessing that God created and invited and intended for you to be and become to them.
1 Chronicles 19:13 NASB
13 Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the benefit of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
Fear of failure often leads to:
3) Procrastination
4) Presumption
Enemy operates in procrastination and presumption. “One day or some day.” God’s word is give us “this day”…
Proverbs 27:1 NLT
1 Don’t brag about tomorrow,since you don’t know what the day will bring.
James 4:13-14 NIV
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Faith calls us to:
5) Priority
6) Pursuit
Matthew 6:33 NIV
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
7) God’s Presence
Faith calls us to pursue more of God’s Presence.
Matthew 14:24-33 NLT
24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
Fear-gripped, actionless lives do not make a difference and do not cause us to desperately need to depend upon God.
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Proverbs 24:16 NLT
16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
CONNECT
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GIVE
At Rev City Church, we believe that giving is a Christ-like lifestyle. We generously give forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, time-whatever is needed to reveal Jesus to others. Regarding finances, we faithfully tithe as the starting point for extravagantly supporting and building God’s Kingdom through our local church.
https://revcity.com/give/
WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER
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NEW LIFE
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https://my.revcity.com/NewLife