Dear Partner,

One of the major concepts that has been lost in this generation is that of believers being "stewards" for the Lord Jesus Christ. Oftentimes when I'm ministering on the passage in Luke that is called the Unjust Steward I will read just this portion of the passage before asking the congregation some questions:

Luke 16:1  And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward ...

I'll ask, "Who is our Rich Man? Who is it that our lives belong to?" Of course, the congregation always responds correctly by saying, "Jesus!" Then I'll say, "Jesus is our Rich Man in the Kingdom of God. The question is ... does He have any stewards?" The silence that follows that question is always very profound as each person searches their own heart. Without my having to ask them individually, each one is asking, "Am I truly a steward to the Lord Jesus Christ?" That's a good question. Take a look at this passage from the book of Acts:

Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

What makes this so profound is that every person mentioned in this verse was a Jewish person who had grown up under the Law of Moses. (It would be several more years before the first Gentiles would be born again. The first Gentiles to be saved were those of Cornelius' household). The mindset of these Jewish converts had always been, "Ten percent of what I acquire is the Lord's and ninety percent of what I acquire is mine." That was the formula given under the Law of Moses. But immediately upon their being born again by faith in Jesus Christ, they acquired a new mindset: "Nothing I possess is my own." Or you could say it this way, "Everything I possess actually belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ who purchased me with His own blood. I am His steward!"

Jesus Himself told us that in order to truly become His disciple, we had to acquire this same mindset. At the core of our being we must have the attitude that nothing we possess is our own. Jesus said it his way:

Luke 14:33  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Does this mean that all of us should run out and distribute all of our possessions to others? No, it doesn't. It means, in our heart, we relinquish "ownership" of all that we possess to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are stewards of our possessions, not owners! If our lives belong to Him, does that not also, most certainly, include our possessions? If the Lord comes to any of us and asks for any of our possessions for His use in the Kingdom, does not He who owns us have every right to do so?

There was a time when Jesus needed the use of a donkey to fulfill a prophecy. Notice the attitude of those who had possession of the donkey when the Lord sent His disciples to get it:

Luke 19:29-35  And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.

Those who "owned" (possessed) the colt only needed to hear one thing in order to immediately relinquish it for the purpose of the Kingdom of God. All they needed to hear was, "The Lord hath need of him." That is the heart of a steward! When the Holy Spirit whispers in our ear that the Lord has need of anything in our possession, we immediately relinquish it for His use. One thing we can count on for sure regarding stewardship in the Kingdom of God is when Jesus finds a person who is faithful in little, the day will come when Jesus will make Him steward of more. Why? Because Jesus has found a faithful steward, a person He can trust to serve Him and not Mammon.

Luke 16:10  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

The Lord is raising up stewards for His Kingdom in these last days. People who can hear His voice when it comes to giving. People who have the heart of a steward regarding their possessions. As they prove themselves to be faithful stewards in little, the Lord is watching. The day will come when He will make them stewards of much more.

Sue and I love you and appreciate you. We thank God for your generous and giving heart. God bless you!

Your friend and co-laborer,

Gary Carpenter

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