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Welcome to Issues and Answers.
Our topic today is Stewardship,
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Love It or List It. Today our
guests are Reginald and Ebony
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Clark, graduates of
the University of Memphis.
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Reginald is a certified
financial planner, first elder
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in his church and a recognized
leader in America's financial
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planners. Ebony is a
tax accountant and auditor.
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Together they run P3 financial
groups in between caring for
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their three precious children,
Reginald and Ebony conduct
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seminars and trainings to
churches and the public on how
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to care for their finances
and be good stewards. Welcome to
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the program Reginald and Ebony.
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Thank you for having us.
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Thank you folks for coming.
So exactly what is stewardship?
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Karen, Stewardship is an awesome
expression of God's love.
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In my opinion, next to salvation
stewardship is probably the
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greatest expression of
God's love because what
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stewardship is, stewardship
is when something has been
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something has been entrusted to
the good care of someone else.
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The good care? The
good care of someone else.
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Wow. Okay. So when did God kind
of get the stewardship going for
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all of us. Well,
there are four components
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to stewardship. Everything
starts with God as you mentioned
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You have the Source, you have
the resources and the Source
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entrusted the resources to us.
The Source, the resource, the
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trust as well as the steward.
Actually what I'm going to do in
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the next few minutes is break
those four components down and
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just look at stewardship a
little deeper than what some
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people may be
used to in the past.
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Okay, well I'm excited. So we
get to have like we were going
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to one of your trainings or one
of the seminars. We're going to
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actually get a treat here. Okay
studio audience and those that
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are watching other places, we're
going to find out love it or
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list it stewardship. Okay.
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Well, we talk about the four
components of stewardship and
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let's talk about the first one.
The first one is the Source.
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Where does all of this come from
and of course the Source is God.
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God says through him all things
were made. Without him nothing
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was made that has been made. And
for every animal of the forest
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and the cattle on a thousand
hills is mine. Back then that
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was the currency of the day.
So he's telling you that even
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though it may belong to
you it came from Me. God is the
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ultimate source. So
God is the Source and so
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let's look at what are those
resources that we're talking
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about? What are those resources
that he's entrusted to us?
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What are those things that he's
given to us to take care of for
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him? When you look at it, you
have time, talents, which are
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our abilities, a temple, which
is our body, that's one of our
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treasures. Most of the time we
refer to those as the four T's.
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So let's take a look at each one
of those. Let's list each one of
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those. The first one is time.
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The question is, is God
concerned with our time?
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Well we all know that out of
the seven-day week he set aside
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one day and this is the day that
we are to come away and focus
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on him as our creator. But not
only is he concerned with how
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we spend our time on that one
day. He's also concerned about
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how we spend our time on the
other six days. All of the time
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that he gave us is precious, so
he wants us to be good stewards
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of the things that we do outside
of that time. Everything that we
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do should be to glorify him
so that time shouldn't be spent
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doing anything wasteful.
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Well you know people always say
we don't have enough time. You
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know time, 24 hours in the day,
you know how do we address the
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time issues that we have?
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Let's go to the word for
that. Ephesians 5:16-17 says
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So how do we make the best use
of our time. By understanding
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the will of the Lord. And that
may sound like pie in the sky,
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but it's not, it's really not.
If I'm conducting myself in such
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a way where God is pleased,
that's going to take me through
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all 24 hours, not just
from sunset Friday to sunset on
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Sabbath, Saturday. It takes
me through all the entire week.
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So we do have to make the best
use of our time as the scripture
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said because the days are
evil. _ our time here is limited
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on this earth is limited. We
have to make the best use of our
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time. So God is concerned with
how we use our time, which is
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our first resource.
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So how do people know if
they're making good use of their
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time? Like what kind of things
would be examples of how to do
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that, not to waste time?
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I think the best way not to
waste time is to be intentional.
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have a plan. Set goals. When
you get up in the morning have a
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plan for what you want to do.
The first thing should obviously
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be prayer and worship. You're
feet shouldn't touch the floor
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without thanking God for waking
you up another day because some
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people don't get that
opportunity. But after then make
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sure that the things that you're
doing throughout the day makes
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your life better and makes
someone else's life better and
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ultimately glorifies God.
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That's excellent advice, have
a plan. Get up in the morning
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before you get up have your
prayer, have your devotion and
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then kind of write down a list
of things that you want to do
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or you wish to accomplish.
Is that what you mean by being
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intentional? Yes,
exactly, absolutely.
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I read a book that said do
all you can do that day, in that
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day do all that you can do.
Sounds simple but it's a really
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powerful concept. Do all you can
do in that day. Let's go to our
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talents, our abilities. That's
the second resource. Is God
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concerned? We do have to give
an account for our abilities.
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Absolutely, we most certainly
do. Let's take a look at this
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text here. It says:
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It says a gift here. Often times
we think about talents, gifts.
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When we look at that we say this
person can do this, this person
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can do this, they especially
have a talent. But instead of
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I like to say ability. We all
have abilities. You know there's
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something you can do a little
better than anybody else on this
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planet. I can
think of a whole lot of
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things that I
can do a lot better.
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I've seen examples of two people
take the same recipe and one
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person's tastes totally
different because they're gifted
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in that area and have the
ability to do that. So we have
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to give an account for the gifts
God has given us. We have to
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use them to his honor and glory.
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We also have to use our own
gifts. We shouldn't be envious
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of other people's gifts or
abilities because we have our
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own. So if I know my area is
not baking, I can just stay away
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from baking and hire someone to
bake a cake and I can focus my
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energy on the special talent and
ability that he gave me and then
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that just makes
everything flow and work well.
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So you're saying that God gives
each one of us certain abilities
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that we don't have to sit
and look at someone else's and
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wonder why can't we have
theirs. God gives us ours?
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Exactly, absolutely. I think
a lot of times people get upset
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because some abilities are more
public and some are more behind
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the scenes. But if you focus
on what your ability is that can
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take you so far in life and you
don't have to worry about what
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someone else is able to do.
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Well how do you know what
your abilities are? As far as
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for people, spiritual
gifts seminars and a whole host.
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But what's a practical way to
see maybe what you're good at?
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One of the best ways is to think
about what is that you enjoy
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doing so much that you wouldn't
have to be paid to do it. That's
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probably what your gift is,
that's probably where your gift
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is. God has given each one of
us something, some he gives more
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but each one of us has something
so special, unique to us, but
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you have to develop it.
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That sounds good,
that sounds really good.
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Another one of the resources is
your temple, which is your body.
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People may wonder well is God
concerned with what I do to my
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body and what in my body. Of
course he is. He says: Or do you
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know that your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit within
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you whom you have from God. You
are not your own, for you were
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bought with a price. So glorify
God in your body. That's from
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I Corinthians 6:19-20. So the
Holy Spirit lives within us and
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since the Holy Spirit lives
within us he is very concerned
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with how we treat this vessel,
whether it's what we eat, the
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activities that we choose to
participate in, our thoughts,
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our actions. All of that is his
concern and when we treat our
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bodies well we have the energy
to be able to glorify him and to
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spread the message.
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Okay, so what if somebody
watches the program says I
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really... I think this is really
wonderful about my body being
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the temple of the Holy Spirit
but I'm not at my best in all
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areas, you know. I may be over
here and I'm trying to get over
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here. How do I get from
hey everyone has New Year's
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resolutions or some point,
birthdays or anniversaries or
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whatever day they say I want to
do something better physically.
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How do we get
from here to there?
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Life is about progression and
steps. The scripture says seek
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ye first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness and all these
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things will be added to you.
He didn't say he'd multiply it.
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Added means it going to be
given to you a step at a time.
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Whenever we have big goal
whether it's especially being
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able to take care of our temple
to be a financier or whatever
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it may be you break that big
goal down into smaller steps and
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you set attainable goals. You
set goals that stretch you out
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there a little bit but goals
that you can get hit so you can
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take these steps and be at the
next. So that's how you get... I
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mean just think about how
you climb a flight of steps, one
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step at a time. You don't
jump from the first floor to the
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second floor. It's
one step at a time.
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I think it's about each day
deciding that day. Every day
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you're either moving closer
to further away from your goal.
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So just take that one day. Just
decide today I'm going to make
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good choices. After that day
is done, the next day. Today I'm
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going to make good choices and
before you know it you will have
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reached your goal.
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So let's take a look at the next
component of stewardship which
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is trust. Again so we identify
the source; we know the source
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is God. We know the resources.
We went through those. So the
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next component of stewardship is
trust. Trust is such a delicate
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thing. Trust is very delicate.
As it relates to stewardship,
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there's a trust on behalf
of the source. God entrusts his
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resource to us. Then we need to
turn around and trust God that
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the resources he gave us last
week he's going to provide today
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and tomorrow. So trust works
both ways. When you think about
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trust think about trust in your
own life. You can work to build
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trust up over a number of
years with a person. It's like
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building a house of cards. Make
one misstep and that whole thing
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come tumbling down. So
trust does work both ways.
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The good thing about God is
that even if that whole house of
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cards starts tumbling down,
he gives you another chance.
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He doesn't make you wait,
he doesn't make you wait, he
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say uhhh, I'm not sure if
I'm going to trust her again. He
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gives you another chance
as soon as you ask for it.
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Let's look at the scripture real
quick. I Thessalonians 2:14 says
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For we speak as messengers
approved by God to be entrusted
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with the good news. Our purpose
is to please God, not people. He
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alone examines the motives
of the heart. That's from
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I Thessalonians 2:14. So God
has entrusted to us not only his
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resources for the spreading of
his word. He could have told his
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angels to do it. He said,
I'm going to trust this to man.
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So we've identified the source,
we've identified the resources,
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we've identified trust
and so the last component of
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stewardship is the actual
steward. Who is the steward?
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And God said let us make man in
our image after our likeness and
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let him have dominion over the
fish in the sea, over the fowl
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of the air and over the cattle
and over every creeping thing
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that creeps upon the earth. And
that's in Genesis. God created
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us, but after he created us
he said you've got all this. I'm
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putting you in control of
everything. So that is saying
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that we are the stewards. He
created it and then he gave us
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charge over it to care for
it in the way that he directed.
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He made it all for us. Ebony
share with us the next text.
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Okay. Psalm 8:4-6.
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You can't get
any closer than that.
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So we don't have to worry about
can we do something or should we
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try. You're saying that God has
given complete authority over
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the entire earth, to try
different things and to stretch
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out, to grow and develop?
Absolutely. He did a lot for us.
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I mean... Of course this world
has been marred by sin, but even
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in this sin-filled world there's
still so much good to experience
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and God, he wants us to
experience. That's the part we
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really got to get clear.
Stewardship is not about what
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I can't have and what I
got to give and this and that.
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No it's about God wanting
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his stewards to enjoy what he
gave to us. It's just like if I
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loan you my car, you need it for
a year. Now I'm going to have
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some guidelines, you know. You
should get the oil changed, use
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this kind of gas. I'm going
to tell you the best way to take
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care of it, but I want you
to enjoy it. And it's the same
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thing with God but it's much
more than just a car. Much more.
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So we've covered all the areas
for stewardship and the resource
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Okay, are we ready
for questions and answers?
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We've got one more part.
We've got to get to the last.
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Okay, absolutely.
This is the one right here.
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We've got to talk about the
treasure. Let's do this. Let's
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dispel some myths about God
and money. I've got some written
00:14:43.41\00:14:48.92
down here. It says, here's
a couple of myths we want to
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dispel. Money is the root
of all evil. That's a myth. We
00:14:51.92\00:14:54.82
shouldn't want to be rich.
00:14:54.86\00:14:56.19
Rich or wealthy people got
their money from being low down.
00:14:56.22\00:15:00.23
Rich people only think about
money. Rich people can't go to
00:15:00.33\00:15:03.37
heaven. All those are myths. We
want to talk about some though.
00:15:03.40\00:15:06.40
We've got
scriptures to talk about some.
00:15:06.43\00:15:09.80
Yeah, budgeting. I have a
great scripture about budgeting.
00:15:09.87\00:15:16.31
As we discussed earlier, that
was the currency of the day.
00:15:20.42\00:15:24.75
So what God is telling us in
this scripture is to watch over
00:15:24.79\00:15:28.82
your money carefully. It's
not haphazard. You should know
00:15:28.86\00:15:32.83
this is where my money should go
and care for it as if you were
00:15:32.86\00:15:37.60
caring for an animal.
00:15:37.63\00:15:42.10
That's pretty strong. So you
can't just go and spend any way
00:15:42.14\00:15:46.17
that you want or kind of impulse
spending. You're saying that
00:15:46.21\00:15:50.25
it's like you would care for
an animal, you know, a flock of
00:15:50.31\00:15:53.58
sheep, you know, a lamb. You're
going to feed it, you're going
00:15:53.62\00:15:56.85
to water it, you're
going to care for it.
00:15:56.89\00:15:58.65
And just like you were caring
for an animal. You don't feed
00:15:58.69\00:16:01.32
them whatever. You have a
schedule. So that same care
00:16:01.36\00:16:04.99
should be taken and
used in our finances.
00:16:05.03\00:16:09.43
Money left on its own will find
something to do. You have to
00:16:09.50\00:16:14.97
tell it what to do. So many of
us we just earn, spend and pray.
00:16:15.04\00:16:20.51
Earn, spend and pray.
00:16:20.58\00:16:25.28
That's not what God would have
us to do. Here's a scripture for
00:16:25.31\00:16:29.85
some of your business owners out
there. It says wealth obtained
00:16:29.88\00:16:33.96
by fraud dwindles but the one
who gathers by labor increases.
00:16:33.99\00:16:38.99
it. This scripture's telling us
don't look for fraudulent ways
00:16:39.03\00:16:43.97
to try to get ahead. You
know even the fourth commandment
00:16:44.03\00:16:49.64
obviously it commands us to
observe a day of rest, but it
00:16:49.67\00:16:55.28
also says six days shall
you labor. So it's also a
00:16:55.31\00:16:58.18
commandment to work too. We just
kind of look over there, why
00:16:58.25\00:17:02.58
absolutely. As the scripture
says wealth obtained by
00:17:02.62\00:17:06.42
fraud dwindles but we are
admonished to labor to increase
00:17:06.45\00:17:10.36
our wealth. And
then contentment. This
00:17:10.39\00:17:15.60
scripture is about contentment.
Keep your life free from the
00:17:15.63\00:17:19.17
love of money and be content
with what you have. One of the
00:17:19.20\00:17:23.64
myths is that money is the
root of all evil and that you
00:17:23.71\00:17:27.88
shouldn't love money and you
shouldn't love money, but you
00:17:27.91\00:17:32.38
should be content with what you
have but still and gain more.
00:17:32.41\00:17:36.89
That doesn't mean that you
shouldn't want more. There's
00:17:36.92\00:17:39.85
nothing wrong with wanting
more and when people have money
00:17:39.89\00:17:42.79
they're free to do other things.
They're free to help people. If
00:17:42.82\00:17:46.53
you don't have any money you
really can't help people. So it
00:17:46.56\00:17:50.53
says that be at peace with what
you have but there's nothing
00:17:50.57\00:17:54.44
wrong with trying to get more.
00:17:54.47\00:17:55.87
If I could add a little
something to that. The scripture
00:17:55.90\00:17:59.41
is clear; it says keep your life
free from the love of money.
00:17:59.44\00:18:01.81
It's the love of money that's
the root of all evil, not money
00:18:01.84\00:18:05.11
itself. Ebony hit the nail right
on the head when she said when
00:18:05.15\00:18:08.38
you look at contentment in this
context, what it's talking about
00:18:08.42\00:18:11.62
is be at peace with what you
have. Being at peace with what
00:18:11.65\00:18:14.92
you have right now is not
mutually exclusive from wanting
00:18:14.96\00:18:18.93
something else. It means you
don't sacrifice your sanity and
00:18:18.96\00:18:23.57
your peace of mind to go gather
things, always chasing something
00:18:23.60\00:18:27.64
else. No. Be at peace with what
you have and follow God's plan,
00:18:27.67\00:18:32.04
his economy and he'll bless you
with other things. He obviously
00:18:32.07\00:18:36.38
God doesn't have an issue
with things. Just do it in it's
00:18:36.41\00:18:38.71
proper order. Seek ye first
the kingdom. I gave you these
00:18:38.75\00:18:41.05
things. Things are nothing.
But you've got to keep it in the
00:18:41.08\00:18:43.39
proper order.
Step by step by step.
00:18:43.42\00:18:45.39
Step by step by step.
00:18:45.42\00:18:50.46
What about debt. Okay
let's talk about debt.
00:18:50.53\00:18:51.86
Yeah talk about debt. My
goodness Americans are so much
00:18:51.89\00:18:54.73
in debt. I think we're probably
like leading the debt as far as
00:18:54.73\00:18:58.07
individual
households. Is that right?
00:18:58.10\00:18:59.53
Oh absolutely and
it's growing every day.
00:18:59.57\00:19:01.04
How do people get caught up
in that? You know, people talk
00:19:01.07\00:19:04.97
about credit cards. Like the
average American household has
00:19:05.01\00:19:09.61
like $25,000 in debt between
credit cards and other things.
00:19:09.64\00:19:14.25
Is that true, really?
00:19:14.28\00:19:15.62
Probably worse than that and it
goes right back to the scripture
00:19:15.65\00:19:19.85
I just read. Not being content,
not being at peace. Oftentimes
00:19:19.89\00:19:23.66
we jump the gun. Here's what
debt does. Debt allows you to
00:19:23.69\00:19:28.23
live beyond your means. All
right? So if you can structure
00:19:28.30\00:19:31.80
your life to live within your
means and I know this sounds
00:19:31.83\00:19:34.57
simple, but if you can structure
your life to live within your
00:19:34.60\00:19:37.21
means, you can eliminate a lot
of debt. Another thing I'd like
00:19:37.24\00:19:40.61
to add is when you take it from
a scripture standpoint. Debt in
00:19:40.68\00:19:44.25
and of itself is not sinful. But
debt is a weight. You know the
00:19:44.28\00:19:47.42
scripture says let us lay aside
every weight, the sin that so
00:19:47.45\00:19:50.22
easily besets you. Debt is
something that brings us down.
00:19:50.29\00:19:53.29
It's a weight that brings us
down to the point of sinning.
00:19:53.36\00:19:56.22
Here's a practical way to
express what I mean by that.
00:19:56.26\00:19:59.09
If my life is entangled with
debt it's going to be easier for
00:19:59.16\00:20:04.07
me to maybe consider working
on the Sabbath or maybe consider
00:20:04.13\00:20:07.94
neglecting my family, doing
things that I know I shouldn't
00:20:07.97\00:20:11.81
be doing. Not
returning a faithful tithe.
00:20:11.84\00:20:13.74
Right, not returning a faithful
tithe, because I'm so entangled
00:20:13.78\00:20:16.64
with debt. Matter of fact
I've got a scripture for you.
00:20:16.71\00:20:18.28
Here you go.
00:20:18.31\00:20:19.65
So whoever you allow yourself to
owe, that person controls a bit
00:20:24.79\00:20:27.36
of your life. You can look up
and you can be enslaved by debt
00:20:28.06\00:20:31.19
and it's driven some people to
do some crazy things. It really
00:20:31.23\00:20:35.16
has. Whenever you see debt
mentioned in the Bible it always
00:20:35.20\00:20:38.73
accompanies a warning. You'll
always see it with a warning.
00:20:38.77\00:20:42.27
There's a reason
for that absolutely.
00:20:42.30\00:20:47.34
That'd stop us cold in our
tracks. You going to give us
00:20:47.41\00:20:49.78
advice for people who are kind
of in debt or whatever? You got
00:20:49.81\00:20:54.62
some advice on how to get out
of that situation? So we know
00:20:54.65\00:20:59.42
know that it's a weight, right,
it's a bondage. It kind of holds
00:21:00.26\00:21:04.33
you down. The best
way to tackle debt is
00:21:04.36\00:21:09.53
systematically. Absolutely.
First live within your means.
00:21:09.60\00:21:15.27
Okay? So if you're not currently
living within your means, take
00:21:15.34\00:21:19.31
an assessment of how much money
you have coming in and what you
00:21:19.34\00:21:22.94
have going out. Anything that's
not necessary, that's causing
00:21:22.98\00:21:26.78
you to live above your means,
eliminate it, because in order
00:21:26.82\00:21:30.39
to tackle the debt, you have to
have extra money to be able to
00:21:30.45\00:21:34.32
pay the debt. Then after that
hit it systematically, say, I'm
00:21:34.36\00:21:38.23
paying this. Make sure
everything's paid on time, but
00:21:38.26\00:21:43.06
put a little extra money toward
a bill till that bill is paid
00:21:43.10\00:21:46.77
off. Then extra money toward
another bill until that bill is
00:21:46.80\00:21:50.04
paid off. Then just keep track
and before you know it, if you
00:21:50.07\00:21:53.31
keep at it,
you'll be out of debt.
00:21:53.34\00:21:55.58
I want to add one thing too.
Whenever you find yourself in
00:21:55.61\00:21:58.28
the hole and you want to get
out what's the first thing you
00:21:58.31\00:22:01.82
should start doing. Dig.
Digging right. So let there be a
00:22:01.85\00:22:05.19
starting point. Make sure your
mind is made up because you're
00:22:05.22\00:22:09.19
going to not use... You know
you got to stop using debt and
00:22:09.22\00:22:13.13
credit. We'll talk about
it in another segment but we
00:22:13.16\00:22:16.73
developed something where
we have people classify what we
00:22:16.77\00:22:20.30
call green debt,
yellow debt, red debt.
00:22:20.34\00:22:23.17
Give us that real quick, green
debt, yellow debt, all that debt
00:22:23.20\00:22:26.74
debt. Red debt is
personal things that
00:22:26.78\00:22:28.51
do not really have value to them
whatsoever. For instance, using
00:22:28.84\00:22:32.78
debt to maybe buy gasoline,
vacations, clothes, things like
00:22:32.81\00:22:38.32
that. Don't use
debt to get to those
00:22:38.35\00:22:40.06
kinds. Like
swiping your credit card
00:22:40.12\00:22:41.72
for vacation, or for
gas, or for clothing.
00:22:41.76\00:22:44.89
Absolutely that's red debt
you got to stop immediately.
00:22:44.93\00:22:46.96
You can't get anything like that
00:22:47.00\00:22:48.50
Stop immediately!
You have to cut that out
00:22:48.53\00:22:50.70
immediately. Then you have
yellow debt. Yellow debt is what
00:22:50.80\00:22:53.70
we say may be purchasing an
asset with the debt but it's not
00:22:53.77\00:22:57.34
an asset that's producing
new income. That's like a yellow
00:22:57.37\00:23:00.28
light means proceed with
caution. This is yellow debt.
00:23:00.31\00:23:03.08
You can get it but use it very
carefully. Purchasing the home
00:23:03.11\00:23:06.28
that you live in, the car that
you drive, maybe appliances and
00:23:06.31\00:23:09.22
things like that. Often times
we have to use debt for these
00:23:09.25\00:23:12.12
things but you should
do so very, very carefully.
00:23:12.15\00:23:14.26
And it needs to be debt that you
can comfortably pay off. Part of
00:23:14.29\00:23:20.50
the reason why the housing
bubble burst is because people
00:23:20.53\00:23:23.73
were getting houses that they
really couldn't afford. So most
00:23:23.77\00:23:27.74
people do have to go into debt
for a house or a car. But make
00:23:27.77\00:23:31.74
sure it's something that
you can afford long term. Okay.
00:23:31.77\00:23:36.01
The last one that we hit on
is green debt. Green debt can be
00:23:36.04\00:23:40.28
kind of complicated,
but green means go, right?
00:23:40.32\00:23:42.42
So we just go, we
just go into the debt.
00:23:42.45\00:23:44.69
Well, but you know, don't put it
like that. Not quite like that?
00:23:44.72\00:23:48.42
This is what we call good debt.
There is actually such a thing
00:23:48.46\00:23:51.73
as good debt. Oh really? Yeah
there is. This is where you use
00:23:51.76\00:23:54.96
debt that you're going to
buy an asset such as a rental
00:23:55.00\00:23:58.30
property and you're going
to earn more than the debt is
00:23:58.33\00:24:01.64
costing you. But even to do that
you do that under the careful
00:24:01.67\00:24:04.97
guidance of someone that knows
what they're doing. All right?
00:24:05.04\00:24:08.51
We definitely don't want to end
our time here without talking
00:24:08.54\00:24:11.98
about the system.
00:24:12.01\00:24:13.82
God has designed a system for
us to be sure we can keep our
00:24:13.92\00:24:17.59
life free from the love of
money. We've got to talk about
00:24:17.62\00:24:20.69
this system. There's such a
beautiful system. We call it
00:24:20.76\00:24:23.93
tithes and offerings. That's
what this system is for. That's
00:24:23.96\00:24:27.60
how we balance being at peace
with what we have, not falling
00:24:27.66\00:24:31.13
in love with money and still
have a desire for something
00:24:31.17\00:24:34.77
better. God put a system in
place for that called tithes and
00:24:34.80\00:24:38.41
offerings. You want
to get started on that?
00:24:38.44\00:24:42.84
When we talked
about giving God says in
00:24:42.88\00:24:47.28
One of the most important parts
of those verses is he says the
00:24:56.69\00:25:02.63
first of your produce. He
doesn't want what's left over.
00:25:02.66\00:25:07.24
He blesses us, and blesses
us and blesses us, so he desires
00:25:07.27\00:25:10.91
the respect and honor to say
you know what from what you've
00:25:10.94\00:25:14.51
already give me, because all of
it is his, I'm going to give you
00:25:14.54\00:25:18.15
back the first of it and then
I know that you can take care of
00:25:18.18\00:25:21.92
everything you need to take
care of with the rest. But how
00:25:21.95\00:25:26.15
dishonorable would it be for
us to say well okay I'm going to
00:25:26.19\00:25:30.16
take care of all this stuff and
whatever I have left, hey, you
00:25:30.23\00:25:33.73
can have that God. I know you
gave it all to me, but I'm going
00:25:33.80\00:25:37.23
give you whatever I have left.
00:25:37.27\00:25:38.60
No such thing as consecrated
leftovers with God. He asks for
00:25:38.63\00:25:41.84
the first. All right?
00:25:41.87\00:25:43.20
So you're saying swing the
pendulum from paying for your
00:25:43.24\00:25:47.28
car note and your house note
and those things and then seeing
00:25:47.34\00:25:49.58
what's left. You're
saying switch it upside down.
00:25:49.61\00:25:51.75
Absolutely, absolutely. When God
gave us his son he gave us the
00:25:51.78\00:25:57.69
best that he had. We have to
return the best. Obviously there
00:25:57.72\00:26:02.16
is no comparison but we have
to return to him the very best
00:26:02.19\00:26:06.29
that we have. Like I said,
the first 10 percent. You know
00:26:06.33\00:26:10.37
tithe stands for 10 percent,
but the tithe is the minimum
00:26:10.40\00:26:13.94
requirement, okay. After the
tithe, of course, we have the
00:26:13.97\00:26:17.44
offerings. In Malachi,
it doesn't say you rob me in
00:26:17.51\00:26:20.38
tithes or offerings. He says you
rob me in tithes and offerings.
00:26:20.41\00:26:24.45
So we need to be
cognizant of that.
00:26:24.48\00:26:25.81
You have given us so much
information today. I mean lots
00:26:25.85\00:26:28.95
of things that we could probably
continue to talk about all day.
00:26:29.02\00:26:32.59
But I don't want to close out
the program without asking for
00:26:32.62\00:26:36.22
prayer for ourselves, myself,
the viewers that are watching,
00:26:36.26\00:26:39.36
as we're trying to become
better stewards. Would you mind
00:26:39.39\00:26:42.46
offering prayer for us please.
00:26:42.50\00:26:43.83
Sure. Let us bow. Lord thank you
so much for another beautiful
00:26:43.87\00:26:47.70
day. Thank you for these
concepts you've given us in your
00:26:47.74\00:26:49.64
word. Lord we ask right now that
you will please help us to be
00:26:49.67\00:26:52.61
better stewards of what you've
entrusted to us. Help us first
00:26:52.64\00:26:55.64
to recognize the relationship
that we have with you through
00:26:55.68\00:26:58.71
this thing called stewardship,
Lord. And we ask that you would
00:26:58.75\00:27:01.82
please give us these concepts
more clearly that we may be
00:27:01.85\00:27:04.59
better stewards. The main thing
we want to hear, Father, at your
00:27:04.62\00:27:07.69
return Lord, when you return,
that every steward wants to hear
00:27:07.72\00:27:10.86
we want to hear the two words,
well done. This is our prayer in
00:27:10.89\00:27:13.96
Christ Jesus' name we pray Amen.
00:27:14.00\00:27:15.56
Amen, amen. Thank you all so
much for coming to the program.
00:27:15.60\00:27:19.40
You all are
available? You travel at all?
00:27:19.43\00:27:22.74
Oh absolutely. And
you've got materials and
00:27:22.77\00:27:26.04
things that people can get hold
of okay. Absolutely. So that's
00:27:26.07\00:27:30.55
fantastic. We all want
to improve and become better
00:27:30.58\00:27:33.11
stewards. For those who are
watching at home, thank you so
00:27:33.15\00:27:36.38
much for joining us. We
hope that it was helpful that we
00:27:36.45\00:27:40.26
learned a lot more about
the different kinds of debt, the
00:27:40.29\00:27:43.53
resources that God has given
to us that we don't have to lack
00:27:43.56\00:27:47.30
anything because God has given
us so much. If you're interested
00:27:47.30\00:27:50.77
in knowing more about how to
reach Reginald and Ebony Clark
00:27:50.83\00:27:54.20
please contact us here at Dare
to Dream Network. We'd love to
00:27:54.24\00:27:57.61
hear from you. We'd like to
hear your questions and your
00:27:57.64\00:28:00.51
comments and keep the
conversation going. Again thank
00:28:00.54\00:28:03.21
you for joining us and we just
ask that God will continue to be
00:28:03.24\00:28:07.55
a blessing to your life and may
we give him our very best, give
00:28:07.58\00:28:11.85
him our first fruits, our
abilities, our plans, our dreams
00:28:11.89\00:28:15.79
out goals, our
ideals. God bless.
00:28:15.82\00:28:18.29