Good Shepherd Community Church
Ephesians 4:28 ESV
Exodus 20:15 ESV
BIG IDEA:
Love God by sharing what you have instead of stealing as you embrace God’s ownership, love, discernment and direction.
1. Stealing is both TAKING and WITHHOLDING - Exodus 20:15
a. Isaiah 61:8; Ezekiel 18:12-13 NIV; Ezekiel 22:29,31 NIV
Isaiah 61:8 ESV
Ezekiel 18:12-13 NIV
Ezekiel 22:29, 31 NIV
b. Ten ways people steal:
i. Blatant theft
ii. When we borrow and don't return or repay
iii. When we find something that was lost and don't return it
iv. When we cheat on our taxes
v. When we waste or neglect another person's property
vi. When we steal from our employer
vii. When business and employers steal
viii. We when take work done by someone else and make it seem like
our own
ix. When we bootleg or illegally copy something
x. When we withhold our possessions from those who need them
2. Taking and withholding both reject God's ownership and love.
a. Everything belongs to God.
Psalm 24:1 ESV
Psalm 104:24 ESV
Job 41:11 ESV
b. Everything we have is a gift from God
Acts 17:24-25 NIV
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV
James 1:17 ESV
c. God promises to meet every need if we live in obedient faith
Matthew 6:33 ESV
3. Sharing what we have embraces God's ownership and love
a. The heart of the 8th commandment is SHARING instead of stealing as we embrace God's ownership and love.
Ephesians 4:28 ESV
1 John 3:16-18 ESV
4. Sharing what we have requires God's discernment and direction
a. God's wants us to embrace His ownership and love with obedient faith, seeking His discernment and guidance for how to share HIS possessions in all the everyday moments of life as we follow Him.
With God, With Others, On Mission Takeaways:
• What possessions do you currently have that you no longer need? Seek discernment and direction from God on who to share them with.
• What abilities or skills do you have that others may need? Seek discernment and direction from God on who to share them with both inside and outside the church.
• Notice the focus is sometimes on “sharing,” which is slightly different from giving. Seek God’s discernment and direction for who you can spend time with, sharing the things you have with them and enjoying them together.
• Who do you know who needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus? You and I have what they need, and we MUST share it with them. If we don’t, we are stealing the Good News from them and robbing God of His grace.
BIG IDEA:
Love God by sharing what you have instead of stealing as you embrace God’s ownership, love, discernment and direction.
You shall not steal