LEADERSHIP CAPSULE
Committed to raising and equipping leaders to ultimately fulfill the Great Commission....

Friday, December 09, 2016

TITLE : LEADERSHIP IS STEWARDSHIP 5

1 Peter 4:10 " And serve each other according to the gift each person has received, as good steward of the manifold grace of God"

Colossians 4:17 "And say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfil it"

STEWARDSHIP IS MINISTRY

Looking at leadership through the lens of stewardship - power over people and accountability before God - is the key to understanding what it means to lead from a biblical perspective. A steward is one who owns nothing but is responsible for everything.

How would you define stewardship?

Stewardship is another way of talking about ministry, and it would revolutionize ministry if people could think of it in terms of stewardship—that we are accountable to God for what we do and with what he has trusted to us. We are not the owners but have been trusted with resources and the care of everything— Creation, gifts and talents, money, time, the gospel—for the sake of God's kingdom and purposes in the world.

David, You mentioned that stewardship is another way of talking about ministry. Would you expand on that?

People define ministry by what they see the minister doing, which is proclaiming the Word of God and caring for people's souls And that's tragic, because ministry is more than that. As a steward of the grace of God, you have been given a unique gifts which you are to serve and minister to others. This makes every believer a minister. A lot of people have a misconception of ministry, they think that ministry is about standing behind the pulpit and holding microphone; but that isn't what ministry is all about, and that's not all it takes to be a minister. Ministry is not limited to the walls of the church.

A minister is a servant called of God with a unique or specific gifting to serve others. God has called each of us and given us gifts with which we are to serve others in His name. You've been called to minister to others in an area of a specific gifting. You are to serve others according to the gift you have received.

The word ministry in both Greek and Hebrew is the same word as servant or steward.. And servants are people who are at the disposal of another. And so once we replace the word ministry with the word service , we begin to see that stewardship is ministry.  God created us as kings and priests ( Rev 5:10). A king rules while a priest serves. In the sense that all of us, not just pastors, evangelists, prophets, apostles or teachers (ministry gifts) are responsible to do what God wants and are accountable to him. So, the word ministry points to the source and the ultimate goal, and the word stewardship implies the care of people, resources, gifts and talents, and the grace of God or the anointing.

It is not enough to know what God has called one to; one must go on to fulfill it. Jesus said in Luke 12:47-48. God wants you to fulfill your ministry and for you to do that you must "take heed" to that ministry. What does it mean to take heed to one's ministry? It means to give undivided attention to the ministry to ensure that it is finished. Romans 12:7 tells us....."let us wait on our ministering: or he that teaches, on teaching" Jesus was mindful of finishing the work which the Father gave Him to do (John 17:4). Paul was mindful of fulfilling his ministry ( Acts 20:24, 2 Timothy 4:7).

Dear beloved, as a steward you too must be mindful that you have a ministry to fulfill. This is the mindset that will help you come to the place where you can say like Paul "I have finished my course". And like Jesus  "it is finished!!"

Beloved, do you know God's specific purpose or calling on your life? Are you ready to fulfill the ministry entrusted to you?

Confession : In the name of Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a minister; therefore I use my gifts, talents, resources for the purpose of advancing the kingdom of God. Amen.