I had the opportunity to preach at the Vintage Uptown Campus worship gatherings this weekend. Our theme was faithfulness and we looked at Moses in Numbers 27:12-20. This is the end of his life and from this passage we see 3 statements about faithfulness.....
- Faithfulness isn't solely based upon our actions for God (v.12-14)
- Faithfulness involves a trust in God & His purpose (v.15-17)
- Faithfulness passes the baton to someone else after our race is finished (v.18-20)
Click here to listen
Click here for our Discussion Guide [Awesome how God led our disci
pleship team and my heart in the same direction]
Click here to connect with a Vintage Community Group
I had an intense week preparing and wanted to share a reflection that I wrote in my journal.
My Journal (3/15/11)
[READ Deuteronomy 34]
We’re here at the ending of Deuteronomy, the next page is Joshua which accounts God’s purpose advancing as the people occupy the land. Israel did become a nation and remained in this land. At times these people follow the Lord wholeheartedly.
While other times these people disobeyed His commandments. Through those times God both punished, as with Moses in Numbers 20, and He also restored. Ultimately his salvific purpose for all people in the world continued through this nation. In fact for 1,000+ years through many kings, battles, seasons, God’s purpose continues.
Then one day a young teenage girl receives a house call from an angel of the Lord. A baby is born who name is Jesus. Who as the Son of God was the ultimate example of a faithful servant, even to the point of death on a cross for my sins. [Philippians 2:6-8] One of Jesus’ disciples, Matthew, works through his Gospel letter to Israel to show that Jesus is the greater Moses. Like Moses, Jesus not only serve God and furthered God’s purpose while here on earth; but before His departure He entrusted God’s purpose into the
hands of His disciples in such a way that the advancement, like the transition between Moses and Joshua, did not miss a beat. The church was birthed and God’s salvation which had been promised long ago was now realized and communicated through men and women throughout the world.
Now we, Vintage Church, are a small part of this body carrying the same mission to see God’s purpose advance in New Orleans and around the world. So in response:
- The desperation with which both Moses & Jesus interceded for people must be characteristic in our faith in God. [Exodus 32:7-14; 33:12-18, Numbers 14:11-20, Matthew 26:36-44, Luke 13:33-35]
- The sacrifice with which both Moses & Jesus faithfully served God must be characteristic of our faith in God.
- The priority for advancing God’s purpose above their individual lives within which both Moses & Jesus faithfully lived out, encourages us that with God’s Spirit guiding us, we too can be a faithful servant of God.
Moses prayed: Psalm 90:16-17
16 “Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!”
Conclusion: Faithfulness is a life I live as a result of what God has done for me which furthers His purpose and rightly trains someone else to continue God’s work.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve Christ alongside my staff and church family in our city. And after talking with Pastor Rob Sunday night and Monday, I'm stinkin' stoked for the next couple months. One area of prayer is our Easter Weekend - "EGG the Homeless"
Planning to blog and update everyone a little more over the coming weeks, until then I'm reading and writing.......53 days until May 14th aka Graduation from Graduate School.
-Brick
