Trust

Throughout the New Testament, followers of Jesus are challenged to keep striving toward maturity. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul expressed the hope that we would all “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (4:13).  

Jesus compared entry into the Kingdom of God to birth (John 3:3). In other words, we enter the family of God as babies. The expectation is that we will continue to grow and develop spiritually just as we expect children to grow physically. However, there are impediments that can hinder the process of spiritual growth in the life of any new believer. In fact, all believers have to deal with road-blocks to growth.  

At the core of our struggle is our penchant for selfishness. Our selfish attitudes and behaviors grow out of a sinful nature that is in rebellion toward God. We all struggle with selfish impulses and desires. If we are unable to reign these in, our lives will be characterized by spiritual immaturity and a general lack of trust in our Creator.  

One of the signs of spiritual development is a growing selflessness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we learn to deny these selfish tendencies that lead us to self-reliance and ego-centric behavior. We can learn to combat these selfish impulses and live a live characterized by service and stewardship.  

This 8-week leg of our journey will be given to assisting you to grow in your ability to trust God with your life. We are going to address the challenges of selfishness and seek to develop a basic, core trust in God. One of the evidences of this trust can be seen in how we handle our money and our material goods. God has called us to be good stewards all entrusted to us. We are not owners – just stewards.  

So, we will highlight our Stewardship Theme as a church family for this year – In God We Trust. Obviously, this is a familiar phrase to all of us. But – it is more than a pithy saying for us. As followers of Jesus, we are to truly demonstrate our trust in God in how we actually live.  

It goes beyond our money. Of course it does. Serving others is also one way that we express our trust in God. We choose not to expend all of our energy in caring for ourselves and providing for our own needs – because we trust that God will provide for us!

The Trust sermon series runs September 11 - November 5, 2011.