You Don't Own Anything!
Day 1—The Power of Being a Tenant
I have a brother in Christ who is beyond generous to me and my family. Much of the reason I can still write, create daily videos, and build a discipleship ministry is because God has used him. Every time I thank him, he points upward. It is all His.
People like him walk freer. I know many wealthy individuals who carry so much tension you could almost pop them with a pin. But my brother in Christ? Yes, he sins. Yes, he falls. But he is free. Why? He is a son tenant of the most powerful Landlord in existence.
Being a tenant is far more powerful than owning anything.
The Power of Being a Tenant
The world claims ownership is power.
Jesus challenges that idea.
True power is entrusted, not possessed. Why?
Nothing you have is sourced from you. Nothing you have is sustained by you. If you owned your own oxygen, when sickness came, you would not die from the disease. You would die under the weight of trying to sustain yourself.
Everything good you see or do is His.
This week I want to explore tenancy with you.
We will discover the Owner, the tenants, the attacks tenants face, the tenants restoration, and real application for us today.
Who Is the Owner?
Genesis 1 is clear.
God is the Owner.
In the beginning, before time existed, God was already there.
And verse 26 shows the unity in diversity within God Himself.
Let us make mankind in our image.
Three persons. One God.
Look at the pattern.
God creates
Light
Sky
Land
Seas
Plants
Stars
Creatures
Order
Boundaries
Then He creates humans last.
Not as owners.
As stewards.
“Let them have dominion.”
Dominion means delegated authority.
Not absolute authority.
Not ownership.
Dominion means tend, care, cultivate, guard, multiply, and represent the Owner.
A kingly assignment under a greater King.
Notice the sequence.
God builds the house.
Then He hands you the keys.
You live in a fully furnished world you did not create.
You manage glory that is not yours.
You receive a mission that began before you existed.
This is tenancy.
And it is mercy.
Because if you created it, you would have to sustain it.
And you cannot sustain the universe.
You can barely sustain breath.
We could stop there and conclude that when we try to own what is God’s, we strip ourselves of His image and declare ourselves god. Genesis 3 shows where that leads. But let’s keep going.
What Belongs to the Owner?
Psalm 24 declares the earth is the Lords and everything in it.
David looks straight back to Genesis.
He expands it. The world and all who live in it are His.
David knows the Owner sustains everything.
That is why he carries supernatural courage.
The Lord is strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle.
Now a vital truth.
Salvation in both covenants is rooted in Christ.
Animal sacrifice in the Old Covenant pointed forward to the final sacrifice of Jesus.
The New Covenant is the fulfillment.
Same grace. Same Savior.
Revealed in different ways across the personal narrative.
Even if we stopped here we would have enough to worship. But there is more.
What Does the Owner Desire?
Revelation 21 reveals the future of the Owner tenant relationship.
A new heaven and a new earth.
A city you did not design.
A kingdom you did not build.
A world you did not architect.
There is no doubt about what He wants.
To dwell among His people.
To remove tears, death, and pain forever.
This is mercy.
He removes the weight of ownership for eternity.
Your eternal home is God made, not self made.
He brings His dwelling to you.
Relationship restored.
Dependency restored.
Union restored.
He is making all things new.
He Owns Everything
Until that day, here is what we know about the Owner.
God owns everything.
We receive everything.
Here are the truths we have seen so far.
You did not originate anything.
You do not sustain anything.
He is making all things new.
Never Finished Challenge: Release
Stop trying to claim what is not yours.
A simple test. If you cannot live without it, then it probably has too much Lanlord/CEO and not enough tenant.
Here are common CEO indicators.
Needing control.
Needing praise.
Needing the last word.
Needing security more than intimacy with God.
These reveal places where ownership has replaced worship.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying what God gives you.
But when something begins to define you more than the One who created you, it has become a toxic idol.
Ask God to expose the places you have acted like CEO.
Ask Him to help you release everything back to Him.
What Does Today Say About God?
Jehovah Shammah
The Lord is there.
God is not a distant landlord who fixes problems at cost.
He is a present and personal Landlord who renovates rooms inside you.
He builds more rooms, adds new levels, expands the house, and does it despite your desire to stay in a one story ranch.
And He desires to live in it with you.
He is not far away.
He is here.
What a Father.
What a King.
What a Friend.
Here Is Where We Are Going Next
Now that we see the Owner clearly, next we will walk through
The identity of the tenants
The attacks against the tenants
The restoration offered to the tenants
The application that transforms daily life
Thank You, Jesus.
That article speaks a strong warning to the church and reminds us how easily people can drift from the truth when they rely on human ideas instead of the pure Word of God and Jesus clearly said Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves Matthew 7:15 and Paul also warned the church to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles that are contrary to the doctrine you have learned Romans 16:17 so we must stay anchored in Scripture testing every teaching and every voice because not everything that sounds spiritual is truly from God. The enemy works subtly twisting the gospel just enough to lead people away from the narrow path and that is why Jude said we must contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints Jude 3. We cannot be passive or careless we must be discerning prayerful and filled with the Spirit so we are not carried away by clever words or popular movements. At the same time we hold the truth with humility and love remembering Jesus told us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves Matthew 10:16. The responsibility on us is great but Gods grace is greater and His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path Psalm 119:105. If we stay rooted in Him no deception can shake us and the church will remain strong pure and faithful to Christ until the end.