Crossroads Community Church

February 5, 2014 · 0 Comments

Nature has a way of interfering with daily plans, but it didn’t deter us from drawing close to God. Seeking Him and gathering together in His name always brings joy. We praise God for sending angels to those who have had struggles this past week, we pray for quick recovery for those injured due to inclement weather and road conditions .

Pastor Don blessed the service in prayer and began, “These past few weeks we have been learning good stewardship of our God entrusted resources.” Today I want to tell you that you do not have to do it alone, in partnership with God the dividends are exponentially increased. Now I know you have all heard various TV preachers preach from one end of the spectrum to the other, some preach poverty theology while others the prosperity theology, but which one is Biblically correct you may ask? 1John 2:15 we read, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.” In this scripture John seems to be making an appeal for the poverty theology but worldliness is much more than just external material things, it is also cravings and longings of the flesh, wanting pleasure and social acceptance, all these things begin in the heart, this is where the serpent attacked, to the heart desires of Eve and they were not material,(Genesis 3:6).

Now let us read 3 John 2 ”Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. “Here John seems to contradict himself by appealing to prosperity, so which one is sound? Let us ask Jesus, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money,” Matthew 6:24. I believe Jesus says that prosperity should not be our main focus or else we become discontent and enslaved to it. He doesn’t say maybe, or shouldn’t, He says cannot serve both at the same time but Jesus gives us perfect balance; stewardship. There was a rich young ruler who once asked Jesus what he should do to get to heaven, and Jesus said to give up all he had to the poor and follow Him, but the young man was sad,(Luke 18:22-23). Does this mean he should not have had a place to live or have food to eat? No Jesus knew that this man’s love for his riches was greater than his love for God. Many have wealth but do many good things for those in need because of their love for Jesus.

How about this scripture? “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for…( Matthew 7:7-8). Should we believe that we are entitled to get everything we ask God for? I think not for many times what we want is not good for us and those around us, much like our parents did not give in to our every whim for our own good. In God’s kingdom it is about balance, good stewardship so the question we ought to ask is what are we doing with what we have right now? Is it balanced and is it doing some good for God? This is where a healthy partnership begins. Acts 3:1-8 gives us a picture of what a good partner looks like. God wants ready and willing partners, (Isaiah 6:8). God wants people with a right heart when doing things for Him. He wants people who love and treat others as they should; He also wants people who want a growing relationship with Him. God also partners with those who are willing to have their life interrupted to do what He asks. What He asks is simple; help those around us when they need it because people don’t know you care until you show them how much you care. It doesn’t mean we all have to be rich either, helping is the choice to put others’ needs as a priority, sharing of whatever little or much we have. It is choosing to use what we have and trusting God with the rest.

Beloved God is all powerful and He can do all things, but he wants a loving Father~ Child relationship with us so He loves to share his love and knowledge and He loves when we have a willing heart to take part in what he is doing. There is no greater joy for any child to feel useful and to know we are pleasing our Father. This week with the Lord’s help, let us open our hearts, our eyes and our ears to be attentive to the needs of those around us, without forgetting to Praise God for all the blessings in our Lives… Asherey Shalom!

To Learn More visit www.shelburnecrossroadschurch.ca