Serving the community
What does it take to see a movement of God?
When you surrender to what is the heart of God and surrender up to God the place where you have put your security, then you are making a way for God to move in our community.
Let’s break that down.
What is the heart of God?
Everyone matters to God, whether God matters to everyone else or not. If your priorities are not in alignment with God’s priorities, then we aren’t even ready for a movement of God.
John the Baptist spoke to crowds who asked him how they were supposed to prepare for God’s arrival. They couldn’t understand why their lives of obedience to the Torah, to the law, to the cultural norms for morality were not enough. John the Baptist answered them, saying that you should share with those in need when you have more than enough (Luke 3:10-17).
You can not treat people poorly, ignore their needs and still claim that you love God. To love God, you must love those He created. Everyone matters to God. The way to love God is to give and care for others.
Where have you put your security?
Often we place our security in a number, specifically a number with a $ before it. The fatter the bank account the more secure we feel. It’s not that a padded wallet is wrong; it’s that our security should not be found in money or possessions.
Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”
Then he told them this story: “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’
“Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’
“That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”
— Luke 12:15-21 (MSG)
Making a way for God to move
When you really want to see a movement of God, then you give up the thing that competes for your devotion, whether that is food, clothing, material possessions and/or money.
Dave Ramsey cites an ancient Jewish ceremony called the Havdalah. It happens at the end of Sabbath, each Saturday night, as the family prepares for the workweek ahead. The pouring of the wine in the ceremony is a beautiful reminder of God’s abundance in our lives and how His generosity overflows our own cup and spills into the lives of those around us. It symbolizes the intention to provide for one’s own family and to create an overflow of excess that will benefit others.
In order to make a way for God to move, we must put people above things. We need to love in the way that God loved us. We must love our enemy, move toward the marginalized, see those who offend us as an opportunity to love big, give out of our own abundance and our own poverty, embrace reconciliation and life, and acknowledge the value of every human being.
This is how you serve the community — love God and give generously, even if it costs you everything.
At Centerpoint, we are breaking down every barrier that keeps people from the love of God. We don’t shy away from the hard questions. No matter where you are in your faith journey, you are welcome to join us! Atheist, agnostic or Jesus-follower, there is a seat for you at our table.