Full Transcript for 3 Biblical Principles for Financial Stewardship | Aaron Burke

talk to you personally first, and then we're going to talk organizationally. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:10.240 So let's start personally of what does it mean to be a financial steward? 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:12.560 Well, you have to understand three foundational truths. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:15.199 First of all, that God is the owner of all things. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.400 Now, this is vitally important to recognize that you're not the owner. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.520 We are just stewards of what God has called us to take care of. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:22.479 But God's the owner. 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:28.800 The Bible says that the earth is a Lord's and everything in it, meaning this, that man, it's not ours. 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:34.560 So we have this problem in America that we say, you know, it's my house, it's my car, it's my money, it's my kids. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:36.719 But the reality is it's all the Lord's. 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:38.400 He's the owner of it. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:40.560 And um, when it comes to the church, it's the same. 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:41.439 It's not my church. 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:43.039 I am um not the owner. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:47.439 I just take care of what God has given me for this season. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:57.439 And I think it's so important that you understand this because when you recognize as God as the owner, then you treat it differently because it's it's not yours to mishandle. 00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:58.479 It's the Lord's. 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.159 And um, and I know what you're thinking, you're going, but I'm the one that got me through school. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.520 I'm the one that that started this thing, I'm the one that puts in the hours. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:06.879 But who gave you the energy? 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:07.919 Who gave you the brain? 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:09.759 Who gave you the manpower to even do it? 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:10.800 Well, it's the Lord's. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:12.319 The Lord is the owner. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:17.680 The book of Deuteronomy says it is the Lord your God who gives you the ability to produce wealth. 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:21.919 Like even any blessing you have in your life is but by the grace of God. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.639 It is because the Lord um gave it to us. 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:25.919 So he's the owner. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:30.560 And then we go to that second point, which is God is the owner and we are the stewards. 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:31.599 So, what is a steward? 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:34.960 A steward is someone that takes care of somebody else's property. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:42.560 Our job is to manage what God has given us for the season and to hopefully hand it off better than we got it. 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:44.800 And this is what the Bible tells us that we're called to do. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:46.000 First Corinthians 4. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:51.360 This is how one should

regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:56.400 I mean, this has been handed down to us from generation after generation, and we will hand it off to the next generation. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:01.120 So everything that God's put in your hand is for a season and it's from him and it's for him. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:11.840 And if you look at the children, the car, the house, the money, everything that's in your life as something that God's called you to manage, not own, then you'll treat it differently. 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:17.600 And here's your third key is that you have to understand that your stewardship of the little determines if you can handle a lot. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.360 Everyone wants more in their life. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:21.759 I mean, you're listening to this because you're made for more. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:25.920 But you have to understand you don't get to more until you handle the little in your life. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.759 And isn't this the key for everything? 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.040 I mean, God really cares about how we handle the little. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.120 Luke chapter 16 whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:39.600 Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with must. 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:45.199 So if you've been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:51.040 And that is the case in life that if you can't be faithful with the small things, then God can't give you more. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:53.519 I remember taking a group of interns to New Orleans. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:59.199 I was preaching at a church there, and one of them went, uh, we were at a subway and he ordered his food. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:02.959 And when he was done ordering, he uh they said, What do you want to drink? 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:04.079 He goes, I'll take a water. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:08.639 And he grabbed the cup and he went over to the drink fountain and he got himself a Coke. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:11.199 And I looked at him and I said, Dude, you just ordered a water. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:12.319 He goes, Ah, it doesn't matter. 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:13.920 It doesn't really cost the company anything. 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:15.120 I go, it doesn't matter. 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:16.079 It's the principle. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:20.720 You have character and you're called to handle the little that God's giving you well. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:25.600 And so don't trade your character for a dollar and fifty cents or whatever it is for the drink at that time. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.480 You have to understand that what you do with little matters. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:29.920 I think of our church, man. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:35.279 Thank God for the resources and the increase and the people and the campuses. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.879 But all of it started in a rundown dollar theater in South Tampa, 190 seats. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:48.639 I'm in a gross, gross building, but it cost us$1,000 a month to lease out the building from the movie theater that we originally started at. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.079 And I'll tell you, we treated that facility like we would any facility God's given us today. 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:55.600 I mean, we made the most of it. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:00.319 We were cleaning the carpets, I'm scrubbing the floors, I'm making sure the bathrooms smell good. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:01.439 Because why? 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:04.079 I can't just dream up what's next. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:07.279 I have to take care of what God's giving me right now. 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:09.439 So let me speak right into the camera. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:14.240 You want a new car, but are you handling well that 1995 Corolla you got? 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:21.120 And if you got trash on the floor and it's messy and it's smelly and you go, but I'm believing God for something new. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:28.079 Take care of what He's giving you now because how you handle what God's giving you now sets you up in the future. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:30.480 Stewardship really matters. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:36.480 So if that's the case when it comes to stewardship in your personal life, let's talk about it organizationally. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:46.399 Many of you lead churches or you lead staffs or you lead a business and you go, man, I really want to set us up for more, then how do you handle it well? 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:52.639 Well, first of all, let's go back to the personal things because it connects with you organizationally too. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:59.040 The first thing I've realized is that truly you got to remember where the money came from. 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:03.439 So if you're in sales, you recognize that every one of those sales is from the Lord. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:08.800 If you're in real estate, you understand every one of those pieces of property is given to you by God. 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:16.240 If you're in the church, you recognize that every bit of those funds are not yours to just treat the way you want it to treat. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:17.279 It is from the Lord. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:18.480 It is from Him. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:19.920 It is for Him. 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:36.480 I train our staff on this idea that every time you spend money, you are spending someone's tithe, some dad or some mom that worked really, really, really hard to give to God and they honor the Lord. 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.079 And we got to treat that as holy unto God. 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:46.480 So the average church, you know, uh average Christian in America tithes about 2.5% of their income. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:48.319 You know, God tells us to give 10%. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:52.160 Um, some are really faithful to

God, some are struggling in that. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:53.199 So about 2.5%. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:55.920 So um our church, we're about double that. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.839 We're about the average Christian gives about 5%. 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:18.959 So if someone, um, what I tell our staff is so if you're spending$100 on something as a staff member of the church, that's roughly$2,000 of income from somebody where they had to tie that percentage um to the church to make that finances available for us to spend. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:23.920 So treat that hundred like it's two thousand, because honestly, that's what it is. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:26.560 And it's not ours, it's God's. 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:32.960 And so you got to ask yourself, is this the best use of God's money? 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:35.039 It's not your money, it's not daddy's money. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:41.200 How many know if when you're in an organization, it's easy to spend when you think it's this man, it somebody else will take care of it. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:46.559 And I I want to constantly train our staff, man, this is not ours. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:47.600 It's the Lord's. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:49.039 Let's treat it as holy. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:56.480 Proverbs 21, 20 says, precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it. 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:02.399 I want to be a wise man that has resources and margin and sticks to a budget. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:08.399 But the Bible says a foolish man, a foolish staff, a foolish organization devours everything they have. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:09.440 They overspend. 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:14.000 They're they're swiping the card without actually understanding where it came from. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:22.159 When you think of the finances, the income, the sales, the properties as the Lord's, you treat it different. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:24.080 Number two, you got to eliminate waste. 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:31.519 I had a wise man once tell me, he says, if you're ever financially strapped, it's because there is waste somewhere. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:37.519 Find the waste, eliminate it, and watch how God will bless the organization. 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:39.039 And that is so true. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:44.080 Anytime we have found ourselves getting into a place where we're like, man, money is so tight. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:45.519 You don't need to raise more money. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:46.559 You know what you need to do? 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:49.200 You need to find where the waste is at. 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:55.200 The Bible says the plans of the diligent lead to profit, as surely as haste leads to poverty. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:10:00.960 So when you're just spending all the time and there's waste and there's excess there, it leads to poverty. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:06.559 That's where so many people get it wrong in their personal finances, is why they're hasty in their spending. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:08.000 So they're just buying quickly. 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:08.960 And what happens? 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.039 They waste, they get the cheaper stuff. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:12.159 It messes up. 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:15.039 So what you do is you learn to slow down. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.360 You bring diligence and planning. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:22.000 And what that does is that slows you down so that you make the right purchase. 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:24.240 And then I do this all the time with our organization. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:25.679 Like, we got to buy this cable. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:31.440 I'm like, have you gone just for a few minutes and looked in some closet somewhere to see if it's there? 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.080 Because the reality is it's probably there. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:35.279 We have it somewhere. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:36.240 But what would we do? 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:37.840 We just want the quicker option. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:45.600 It is Amazon, three hour or less delivery that shows up and it's so damaging so many times because what do we do? 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.279 We just buy the next thing instead of really looking at what we already have. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:51.519 Figure out if there's waste there. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:58.159 So we're looking at this all the time: misplaced or stolen items, making sure that man, are things organized? 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:03.759 Because when they're not organized, with the things get misplaced, things get stolen, and we have to buy more. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:05.840 There's overproduction that happens. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:11.360 I mean, we do this all the time when we order food for an organization for some kind of event that we're doing. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:15.360 And uh there's a hundred people that are registered, so they'll order food for 100 people. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:20.080 Well, we've come to realize that if 100 people are registered, about 75 of them will show up. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:27.919 And if you order food for 75, the place, Olive Garden or wherever it is, will actually send you food for 75 to 100. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:30.879 So we've learned to order about food for 45 to 50. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.279 And I know the scarcity mindset people out there are going, oh no, but what if you run out? 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:36.240 We've never ran out. 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:39.519 And if you do, you run up the street real quick and buy some extra food. 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:44.559 But I'd rather have that than have trays and trays of food left over that is just wasteful. 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:49.039 And we care a lot about making sure we're eliminating waste. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:51.200 Unnecessary printing all the time. 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:52.399 They're like, we need to print this thing. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.759 I'm like, people are just gonna throw it out, use

digital options. 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:00.080 Um, when we have uh correction on different work that we're trying to get printed. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:05.679 I mean, how many times have we printed t-shirts and not proofed it or um items that were handed out and not proofed it? 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:11.360 And when you do this stuff and you have a correction, you got to reprint everything again or bring it back into production. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:15.279 Uh, last-minute purchases destroy an organization. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:19.039 So what you got to do is you gotta learn to plan well ahead. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:27.519 Luke chapter 14 says, suppose one of you wants to build a tower, won't you first down and estimate the cost and see if you have enough money to complete it? 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:28.559 I love this phrase. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:36.080 It's like, hey, if you're gonna build something substantial, sit down for a little bit and see if you can actually afford it. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.639 So we're budgeting it, we're planning things out. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:39.279 Why? 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:41.360 Because this is so important. 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:52.799 And as we eliminate waste, we are able to create margin to spend money on what we actually were created to do, which is for us is ministry and helping the poor and missions and care for people. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.399 So we can't do those things when we're wasting it on a lot of things. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:02.080 The more you eliminate waste, the more you create room for what God wants to bring you in your life. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:06.639 The third thing we do as an organization is that you make good with what you have. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:08.080 You make good with what you have. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:09.039 What does that mean? 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:15.360 You maximize every dollar, every facility, every staff member. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:20.480 Listen, until you maximize what you have, don't ask God for more. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:23.279 All the time, people are going, man, we want to go multi-site. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.759 I'm going, well, what are you doing in your church right now? 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:26.799 Well, we have two services. 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:27.919 Well, go to three services. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:29.120 Go to four services. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:32.639 Maximize the room you've got now before you try to multiply. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:34.559 Maximize before you multiply. 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:38.559 When it comes to staffing in your life, man, maximize who you have. 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:47.440 I've realized many times in our life that we're always thinking that another hire is the solution when in reality we have the people that God has given us. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:52.879 And if we just maximize what we have, then we would be able to do the ministry God's called us to do. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:54.559 So this is stewardship. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:14:00.720 Stewardship is saying, I'm gonna maximize what God has given me before I ask God for more. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:11.840 And we see this in the parable of the attack of the talents, where Jesus gives this beautiful parable where he gives them talents, he gives them money, and he says, I'm gonna leave for a little bit. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:12.879 And what did they do? 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:16.480 Some of them multiplied it, some hid what they had. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:21.759 And really, he comes back and he says, Okay, what did you do with what I gave you? 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:26.799 And by the way, that is one of the most important questions you're ever gonna answer. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.320 What did you do with what I gave you? 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:34.320 Because you are not responsible for the things that you didn't have. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.120 You're not responsible for the organization you didn't run. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:44.399 You're not responsible for the church that you weren't at, but you are responsible for what God has put in your hand today. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:45.919 So you have to answer that question. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:47.759 What did you do with what he gave you? 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:56.799 What did you do with the house he gave you, with the kids he gave you, with the spouse he gave you, with the car he gave you, with the church he gave you, with the opportunities he gave you. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.519 You will be held responsible for that. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:04.159 And the goal is that they maximized what he gave them. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.440 And that's what you want to do with everything that God's given you in your life. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:09.919 Maximize what he's given you. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:19.120 What I've told our staff is, and this is a good lesson for all, especially church leaders out there, is um excellence is not extravagance. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:20.720 Excellence is not extravagance. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:26.080 You go to some of these churches and it's just like extravagant, the lobbies, the look, the the feel. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.279 And so much of it is like, man, I want that. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:35.039 Listen, God challenges us to be people of excellence, take care of what we are given. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:41.200 But you don't have to go extravagant, you don't have to go in debt for it, you don't have to go overextend yourself for it. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:49.759 Like, just handle well with what God has given you and watch how it'll make room for you in the future for more. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:51.120 So ask yourself this question. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:52.399 I think this is so important. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:55.440 Is this the best use of this dollar? 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:07.360 And if I were never given more, am I okay with maximizing what God has put in my hand right now to

fulfill the vision he has for me? 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:08.879 I was never given more. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:11.759 Am I okay to maximize what he's put in my hand right now? 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:14.399 So I'm always looking at both of those things. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:15.840 Is this the best use of it? 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.720 And am I maximizing it for his kingdom? 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:22.559 This is what financial stewardship is all about. 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:29.519 Now, I'll close with this idea because we have hammered this since we started the church 13 years ago. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:40.559 Um, if you don't know our history, we came out of a church that um that I was a youth pastor at for years, and um I love my pastor so much, but he took over the reins after the church was in free fall. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:43.120 They were$10.9 million in debt. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:47.679 I mean, tens of thousands of dollars a month in an interest-only mortgage payment. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:49.440 Um, that he got handed this thing. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:58.399 And I remember seeing the behind the scenes of what it looked like for him to take over a church that was extremely mismanaged financially. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:07.599 And I thought, man, if God ever gives me a church, I'm gonna make sure I handle it extremely well, knowing this is not my, it's not my church, it's not my money. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:08.799 I'm gonna handle it well. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.079 And we have seen the hand of God in a supernatural way. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:21.759 We we were not able, I mean, in many times there was times and we could have gone in tremendous debt and pursued opportunities that would have crippled us financially, but we're slow. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:22.960 We were steady. 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:27.519 We were just going, hey, what's the most financially smart move in this moment? 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:32.720 I have a lot of wisdom of counselors around me to make sure that, man, we're making the right decision. 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:35.599 And because of that, we've just been slow at this thing. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:41.119 I remember in 2019, we were really believing God for a building for our South Tampa location. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:44.720 And at that time in the church, we had been going for what, six years then? 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:46.400 And we're thinking, this is our time. 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:47.759 We're gonna believe God for it. 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:50.880 And I want to raise$5 million for a down payment. 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:53.759 And I remember people thought we were crazy. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:18:01.359 They thought there's no way that um that this church is gonna raise five million dollars, and there's no way you're gonna do it without a piece of property to show them. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:02.960 And I said, no, well, we're gonna believe God. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:13.599 And so um, end of

2019, we raised five million dollars and then went into COVID, and the money sat in the account, um, yielded us, you know, some interest every month. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:18.319 But but I remember people left the church because they were like, you raised all this money, and where's the property? 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:21.359 And I go, I can't produce the results. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:25.519 All I can do is be faithful with obedience and just handle well what God's given us. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:27.680 And so we sat on it for years and years. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:33.839 God gave them multiple other opportunities, and um, we just continue to to grind it out, trusting God. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:42.640 And then last year, the door finally opened up for us to um have a long-term future location for our South Tampa location. 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:44.880 And uh, where did the where did the money come from? 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:48.559 Well, we had to start saving uh what, six years before. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:19:01.440 You see, you never know how that stewardship of the little and being faithful with just trusting God would set you up for really the blessing that God had for you in the future. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:09.200 And we were able to raise, I mean, a lot of money to do this entire project, hopefully by the grace of God, by the time it's done, totally debt-free. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:18.319 And um, and I trace it all back to not just what happened six years ago, but what's started 13 years ago, that we're gonna be faithful with every dollar. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:23.759 And as you're faithful with a little, knowing it's God's money, he will bring the increase in your life. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:39.279 And if he never brings the increase, just maximize what you have for his glory in your personal life, in your organization, because I'm telling you, what you do with what God gives you really, really matters. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:40.640 I'll end with this. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.559 One day you're gonna stand before God, and there's gonna be two questions that are asked. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:46.720 The first one is, what did you do with Jesus? 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.480 And that's the most important question. 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:52.640 And the only correct answer to that question is that he is my Lord and Savior. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:54.000 I surrender my life to him. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:57.519 And if you've never made that decision, it's the most important decision of your life. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:04.880 And then the second question that'll be asked is that you will stand before him and he'll say, Okay, what did you do with what I gave you? 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:06.240 This is the stewardship question. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:07.839 The first one is your salvation question. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:09.759 The second question is your stewardship question. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:12.799 And the second one, by the way, you're already in heaven, so it's good. 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:16.480 But the reality is, is there are treasures, there's rewards in heaven. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:20.160 Now we know we'll cast those at Jesus' feet because it's all been about him anyway. 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:22.240 But that stewardship question really matters. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:34.480 And I want to stand before Jesus and say, I handled well the life you gave me, the family you gave me, the finances you gave me, the church you gave me for the season that you gave it to me. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:37.519 And then I was a good steward of it. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:43.279 I maximized and multiplied what you put in my hand for your glory and honor. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.960 And that is a life that actually counts for eternity. 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:49.200 So I'm so grateful that you're watching this. 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:51.680 I hope it's been helpful to you and your organization. 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:57.599 You have more questions about stewardship and financial stewardship in your personal life or in your organization. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:20:59.440 You can always DM me on Instagram. 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:03.599 We have a whole team that monitors that, and we'd love to get back with you and help you. 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:04.960 But thanks for listening to this. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:09.039 I hope it's helping your staff, and we'll see you next month for May for More.