Study Guide
Lesson 1 - Teacher's Guide
| 1. | I teach on financial stewardship on Thursday mornings at Charis Bible College in Colorado. The average student coming to school faces a decrease in salary, an increase in the cost of living, additional tuition costs, and part-time work to make ends meet. But at the end of every year, I ask the students how many of them are better off financially than they were when they came, and 80 percent or more always say they are better off. The reason they are able to prosper in spite of natural obstacles is that through CBC, they have received a revelation on the scriptural truths related to finances. Any of you who apply the scriptural principles I’m going to talk about will see financial prosperity begin to work in your life. Money will become a tool you use in life, instead of a master that rules over you. Too many Christians work at jobs they don’t like and do things they don’t want to do just to make ends meet. God has a better way for you to live. | |
| 1a. | Why are at least 80 percent of Charis Bible College students better off financially after a year of school? | |
| A. Because the other 20 percent didn’t mail in the CBC cash-back rebate | ||
| B. Because they pooled their money together | ||
| C. Because 80 percent of the students worked harder than the others | ||
| D. Because they have received a revelation on the scriptural truths related to finances | ||
| E. Because God decided to prosper them over the others | ||
| 1b. | What is the very first thing you need to understand about finances? That you are a steward of what God has given you | |
| 2. | The very first thing we need to understand about finances is that we are stewards of what God has given us. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a steward as a person “who manages another’s property, finances, or other affairs.” As Christians, we need to recognize that the money we have is not really ours; it’s a gift from God. Without the blessing of God upon our lives, we wouldn’t even have the ability to prosper. I know we are out in the world actually doing the work we get paid for, but we need to develop the mindset that the money we receive doesn’t belong to us; it belongs to God. Remember, God gave us our talents and abilities, and every good thing we have is a blessing from Him. God has entrusted us with all of our finances, and it is important to develop the mindset of being a steward—over God’s money, not ours. | |
| 2a. | What wouldn’t you have without the blessing of God on your life? Even the ability the prosper | |
| 2b. | How do you know you are a steward of every good thing in your life? Because every good thing in your life belongs to God | |
| 3. | Most separate their lives into “spiritual” matters like heaven and hell, and private, personal matters like career and finances. When it comes to money, they think it’s all up to them. As a result, many Christians are struggling financially, but God wants to be the source of everything in their lives. He never intended people to carry the burden of financial responsibility, and He wants to lift that burden from them. This simple change in mindset from owner to steward will make a tremendous difference for you. The first step toward becoming responsible with your finances is to get this mindset that money does not belong to you. Instead of clinging to your money, you need to think, I am a steward of what God has entrusted to me. God has blessed me with these talents and abilities. God has blessed me with my job. God has put me into a prosperous nation at the most prosperous time in all of history. God is blessing me, and God has given me all of the resources I have. It is not up to me to run my finances the way I want to. I’m a steward. People with an ownership mentality end up trying to do everything themselves, but stewards freely receive God’s blessing. | |
| 3a. | Why doesn’t God want you to carry the burden of financial responsibility? | |
| A. Because of your past experience with money | ||
| B. Because He wants to be the source of everything in your life | ||
| C. Because you’re not mature enough | ||
| D. All of the above | ||
| E. None of the above | ||
| 3b. | What should you think about your finances? | |
| A. The money is mine, all mine! | ||
| B. God has blessed me with my job | ||
| C. I don’t give, but God knows my heart | ||
| D. It is not up to me to run my finances the way I want to | ||
| E. B. and D. | ||
| 4. | Look at how blessed Abraham was:
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.When you read the entire story of Abraham, you see that God wasn’t talking about intangible spiritual benefits; He was talking about physical earthly blessings. Abraham was not wealthy because of his shrewd business sense, or because God rewarded his great integrity; he was prosperous because God promised to bless him and make his name great. It was purely the favor of God that made him rich. In the same way, your efforts are not the source of prosperity in your life. | |
| 4a. | Read Genesis 12:1-3. True or False: If Abraham stayed where he was, God would have blessed him anyway. False | |
| 4b. | According to the lesson, why did God bless Abraham and make his name great? Because He promised to | |
| 5. | Even Abraham’s nephew, Lot, benefited from the blessing of God on Abraham. Both their flocks and herds grew to be so big that they couldn’t occupy the same land. Abraham took Lot up to a hilltop so they could look out over the whole land: one part of the land was a wellwatered plain, lush with grass; the other part was dry. It isn’t surprising that Lot chose the well-watered land for himself—no one who relies on natural circumstances and their own efforts for prosperity would ever give up a well-watered plain for their animals. But Abraham knew God was his source, no matter what things looked like to the naked eye. Right after Abraham allowed Lot to take the better land, God appeared to him and promised even more prosperity than Abraham had already experienced. The blessing of God made Abraham rich, and he prospered much more than Lot did. | |
| 5a. | Read Genesis 13:14-17. What did God do after Abraham allowed Lot to take the better land? He promised Abraham even more prosperity than he had already experienced | |
| 6. | Not long after Lot and Abraham separated, foreign kings raided the city of Sodom, where Lot lived, and took everyone captive. When Abraham heard that his nephew had been seized, he armed his servants who were trained for war and pursued the foreign kings. His party consisted of 318 men, which gives you an idea of how many servants he had (Gen. 14:14). Abraham’s men defeated the foreign kings and brought back all of the spoil and the people who had been taken captive. The king of Sodom was grateful, so he offered to let Abraham keep the spoil. But Abraham didn’t accept the king’s offer:
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.Abraham’s confidence in God as the source of his wealth was so strong that he gave away millions of dollars’ worth of spoil, which he had rightfully earned by conquest. I’m sure Abraham put effort into maintaining his flocks and herds, and he had hundreds of servants helping him, but he still saw God as his source. He trusted in God, and because of that, God prospered him supernaturally. This same attitude is necessary for any Christian to really begin to walk in the financial prosperity God desires for them. | |
| 6a. | Why didn’t Abraham accept the spoil from the king of Sodom? Abraham didn’t want to give the king any basis for saying he made Abraham rich | |
| 7. | After Abraham boldly declared that God was his source, and had given away a fortune so the king had no basis for saying he made Abraham rich, the Lord appeared to Abraham in a vision and said, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:1). This statement had spiritual meaning, but it also had financial significance. Abraham gave away millions to preserve God as his sole source, but God gave back to Abraham even more financial increase. Until you recognize God as your source, nothing else the Bible says about finances is going to work. As long as you are hoarding possessions and holding on to your money with a clenched fist, God’s method of prosperity won’t work in your life. You have to see yourself as a steward managing the financial blessings He has given you. | |
| 7a. | After this, what did God say to Abraham, according to Genesis 15:1? “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” | |
| 7b. | Until you recognize God as your source, what will work concerning your finances? Nothing | |
| 8. | God is the source of your resources just as surely as He was the source of Abraham’s. The difference is that Abraham knew God was his source, and his trust in God caused him to prosper. One of the reasons you don’t see greater prosperity in your life is that you haven’t learned the lesson of being a steward. You see everything you own as being the result of your own sweat and tears, and because of that, you have a stingy, selfish attitude toward money. The first step toward walking in financial prosperity is to recognize that you are not the source of your financial blessing. | |
| 8a. | Since Abraham knew God was his source, what did his trust in God cause him to do? | |
| A. Prosper | ||
| B. Jump | ||
| C. Fast | ||
| D. Gloat | ||
| E. Tithe | ||
| 8b. | If you haven’t seen greater prosperity in your life, what is one reason why? You don’t see yourself as a steward | |
| 9. | Seeing God as your source doesn’t mean you sit at home and do nothing. You are supposed to work, but you need to recognize that even though you work, it is God who gives the increase. A farmer has to prepare the soil and plant seeds in order to get a crop, but God created the natural laws that govern sowing and reaping. God sends the rain and sun that make plants grow, He gave the land to farm on, and He is the source of the farmer’s health. Likewise, it is the blessing of God that makes it possible for you to prosper, and the foundation of prosperity is seeing yourself as a steward. | |
| 9a. | Just seeing God as your source doesn’t mean you can what? Sit at home and do nothing | |
| 9b. | What are you supposed to do, then? You are supposed to work and recognize that even though you work, it is God who gives the increase | |
| 9c. | What is a good example of this? A farmer who prepares the soil and plants seed but depends on God to send the rain, make the plants grow, provide the land, and keep him or her healthy | |
