🙏 Stewardship Class – Pastor Burns Notes

🙏 Stewardship Class – Pastor Burns Notes

Introduction to Stewardship and Its Biblical Foundation

• Stewardship is defined as the management of God's property, meaning everything entrusted to a person belongs to God and not to the individual.
• Children, for example, are described as God's children entrusted to parents, meaning parents cannot treat them as personal possessions.
• Pastors and leaders are likewise stewards of God's people, not owners of their own kingdoms.
• The foundational scripture for this teaching is drawn from 1 Timothy 3, verses 3 and 5, which establishes the principle of managing one's own house as a prerequisite for managing God's house.
• A person who does not know how to rule their own household cannot be expected to take care of the church of God, according to the passage.

Stewardship Beginning in the Home

• Managing one's personal life and household is presented as the starting point of all stewardship responsibilities.
• For unmarried individuals, stewardship begins with managing oneself, and marriage adds a greater level of responsibility requiring active effort.
• A troubled or unmanaged marriage disqualifies a person from leading others, as they cannot offer guidance they themselves have not practiced.
• Financial stewardship in the home is also highlighted as a prerequisite, with a poor credit score or unmanaged personal finances being cited as disqualifying factors for broader leadership.
• The principle is that faithfulness in small, personal matters must precede any elevation to larger responsibilities within God's kingdom.

The Process of Preparation Through the Cave and Wilderness

• God's calling on a person's life does not come without a process of preparation, often described as going through a "cave" or "wilderness" season.
• This period of isolation and difficulty is where prayer is developed, character is formed, and genuine spiritual power is obtained.
• Education and credentials alone are insufficient to sustain ministry, as it is the prayer life built during difficult seasons that provides true spiritual authority.
• David is used as a biblical example of someone who emerged from the cave strengthened, armed, and ready for the assignment God had prepared for him.
• Premature elevation, described in 1 Timothy 3 verse 6 as being "not a novice," leads to pride, which in turn leads to condemnation and spiritual downfall.
• God often reveals a person's destiny far in advance but does not disclose the full process, including the cave season, allowing the individual to discover it through experience.

The Requirement of a Good Report and Faithful Character

• First Timothy 3 verse 7 establishes that a steward must have a good report from those outside the church community, not only from within.
• Unpaid bills, hidden financial failures, and a poor reputation in the broader community are visible signs that disqualify a person from leadership.
• Falling into reproach and the trap of the devil is the stated consequence of neglecting this requirement of external integrity.
• Being found faithful is described as mandatory, not optional, for anyone serving as a steward or overseer in God's kingdom.
• Trustworthiness and the ability to execute God's commands and discharge official duties are the core qualities required of a steward.

Pride as the Primary Obstacle to Faithful Stewardship

• Pride is identified as the first and most dangerous of the nine appetites of the flesh that a steward must overcome.
• Lucifer is used as the primary example, described as the most beautifully crafted angel who coveted God's glory and fell because of pride.
• Pride is described as subtle and deceptive, often appearing as humility on the surface while still obstructing the flow of God's work.
• Even seasoned prayer warriors and intercessors are warned that pride can still be present and must be kept low enough that it does not interfere with the kingdom's work.
• The goal is not the complete elimination of pride, which is acknowledged as difficult, but rather its reduction to a level where it no longer blocks spiritual effectiveness.

Sexual Immorality as the Second Appetite of the Flesh

• Sexual immorality is presented as the second major appetite of the flesh that stewards and leaders must guard against.
• Many preachers and ministers have fallen in this area, with examples given of those who maintain secret relationships outside of marriage.
• The anointing of a leader is described as a point of attraction, meaning people are drawn to the spiritual power rather than the person, creating a specific vulnerability.
• Samson and Joseph are cited as biblical figures who were both anointed and prophesied over before birth, yet faced significant temptation in this area.
• Falling in this area is described as irreversible in terms of full restoration, with the warning that none who have fallen in this way have ever returned to the same level of anointing and effectiveness.

Greed for Money as the Third Appetite of the Flesh

• Greed for money is identified as the third appetite of the flesh that stewards must be vigilant against.
• Every person is described as having a price point, meaning everyone is susceptible to financial temptation at some level.
• The devil's strategy is to corrupt leaders through financial greed, particularly as they grow in influence and responsibility.
• Stewards are called to maintain integrity in financial matters, ensuring that personal gain never becomes the motivation for ministry or service.

The Anointing as a Stewardship Responsibility

• The anointing given by God is itself a form of stewardship, meaning it is not the personal property of the one who carries it.
• Misusing the anointing for personal gain, public display, or self-promotion is described as a serious violation of stewardship principles.
• God anoints individuals specifically to help, encourage, and advance the people of His kingdom, not to elevate the reputation of the individual.
• The danger of misusing spiritual gifts is illustrated through the ease with which a prophetic word or spiritual act can be performed for the wrong reasons.

Intercession and Spiritual Warfare as Stewardship Duties

• Being awakened by God in the early morning hours is described as a call to intercession and a form of stewardship over spiritual territory.
• Intercessors are positioned to stop demonic activity and spiritual attacks that occur during nighttime hours, making their obedience directly tied to the protection of others.
• Obedience to God's call to pray, even at inconvenient hours, is described as yielding a 100 percent result in the spiritual realm.
• The enemy is said to target intercessors specifically because their prayers disrupt his plans, making their faithfulness in this area a direct threat to his operations.
• Stewardship of the anointing and the prayer life together form the foundation of effective kingdom advancement.

Next Steps

• Participants are encouraged to begin or deepen their personal prayer lives as the foundational step in developing faithful stewardship.
• The teaching series on stewardship is set to continue with additional teachers, including Pastor Mellie and Pastor Jose, who will cover more detailed and practical aspects of the subject.
• Members are called to examine their home life, marriage, and personal finances as the immediate areas where stewardship must be established before broader ministry responsibilities can be pursued.
• The congregation is urged to pursue obedience to God's early morning calls to prayer as an active form of spiritual warfare and kingdom stewardship.