“Daniel 2:20
Power and wisdom… we don’t own it, it’s independent of us… we don’t possess it with exclusivity…
• Truth is truth, wisdom is wisdom, if it is true it belongs to the Lord… So to with power, it belongs to our Creator…
We’re to steward our power & influence in the light of God’s desires…
• Authority, power and privilege are not immoral things…
We need to be aware of the power we have, however small or great that power… everyone here has some measure of power…
Song of Solomon 2:15… the little foxes, that spoil the vines…
The spirit of domination, and abuses of power, start small… little entitlements here, little entitlements there…
So we need to guard our hearts how power effects us…
First, we must check our hearts… are we using our power selfishly, or selflessly…
• Are we following the example of Christ…
Luke 22:25-26
We’re not to follow the examples of this world of lording power over people…
Philippians 2:3-11
Jesus used His power to bring glory to the Father, to defend the weak, and to save humanity…
• He didn’t use power to make His life comfortable “the foxes have hole… birds nests…”
• This is not a call to weakness, look at the power and authority that sprang from His humility…
Isaiah 61:1-2
That’s not weakness, but power… selfless power…
• No matter how great or small your power is, follow the modeling of Jesus, and use it to serve others…
Second, to guard our heart and steward power well, we must be willing to take responsibility for our actions…
• Power and influence manipulated for selfish reasons can insulate us from accountability…
• So don’t take advantage of “privileges” … if you miss it own it, repent, and move forward…
• In part our world is in the mess it is today because of this… power is used to insulate those that have it, and the rest of us have to deal with the injustice of it… this breeds contempt, hatred, anger, jealousy… this creates a sick cycle that we all lose at in the end…
Finally, we must invite accountability…
• Our friends will see the boogers on our faces long before we do…
• Whatever power we may posses don’t live above accountability with it, be proactive…
If we do these things powers going to look a little differently flowing out of us!
• God gives us power and influence not for the sake of power and influence… but to be a blessing to the world around us, to serve others with, not to be served…
Proverbs 28:12
Proverbs 29:4
Proverbs 14:31
This same stewardship that we’re to practice over our power, we’re to practice it over our relationships… We’re to steward our relationships in the light of God’s desires…
The big idea we’re going to see in stewarding our relationships well is that we’re to treat each other with love, respect, honor, and thoughtfulness…
Ephesians 5:21-6:4
Within family relationship we all have responsibilities…
• And these responsibilities don’t begin with people, but with Jesus…
• God is painting a picture of the family of God to be seen within our families… Everything needs a head…
• This doesn’t mean that the wife is not considered, that the man lords over the woman from his lazy boy with a remote in one hand and a bag of chips in the other…
This is the image of Christ’s love for us, and our response to that love…
• This doesn’t mean there isn’t overlap in these things within our relationships… only that God’s desire for this relationship is to be a witness of Christ’s work in us…
Remember the context… “21…be subject (or submit) to one another in the fear of Christ.”
Of course the husband needs to respect his wife, and of course a wife needs to love her husband…
• But what’s “GENERALLY” harder for the different sexes to do?
• If a husband’s not careful he can go through routines, and get comfortable, and neglect to love his wife well…
• If a wife’s not careful she could become frustrated with her husband, and not treat him with respect that he deserves… It’s said sometimes, ‘well he doesn’t deserve respect… sometimes we don’t deserve love’
• Love Cycle/ Hate Cycle… who’s going to be the selfless, courageous person to break the bad cycles…
1 Peter 3:7
Our prayers are hindered by these cycles…
Colossians 3:21
1 Timothy 5:1-5
1 Peter 3:8-9
That is how our relationships should look!
The big idea in stewarding both our relationships and power in the light of God’s desires is simply that we’re to treat each other with love, respect, honor, and thoughtfulness…
• If we can do this our lives, and our church, will go a long way to showing this world the love of God…”