Cornerstone Community Church Vodcast

There are major sins like adultery, murder, theft and covetousness. But did you know that complaining is a recurring problem mentioned in the Bible that afflicts God’s people? There are many ways to examine the Book of Numbers; one of which is to realise that there are 7 episodes of complaining found in this book alone. These episodes left a devastating impact on the whole nation and gives us a clear message about complaining.

“All the unhappiness of men”, the 17th Century French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, famously noted, “arises from one simple fact, that they cannot sit quietly in their chamber”. We’re living in a generation of stress, and it’s not only in the world; it’s also in the Church. There’s a tremendous pressure that’s coming down upon every person and no one is exempted from it. Unfortunately, Christians are some of the most worn-out people on the planet and that’s a shame, especially when we’ve been offered supernatural rest. The key to all this? Return to the simplicity of your devotion to Christ. Return to prayer, solitude, and intimacy.

God is the God of the many and is also the God of the one. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see how He feeds and speaks to the masses. But He also always stops for the one. It’s easy to lose sight of how much He loves us uniquely and individually.

Numbers appear in the Bible all the time. Israel has 12 tribes. Gideon had his 300. 5,000 were fed with five loaves and two fishes. There were 120 in the Upper Room. Revelations speak of 144,000 that follow Jesus wherever He goes. In fact, there’s a book in the Bible called Numbers. But not all numbering is approved by God. When numbering goes wrong, it can leave a devastating effect on ourselves and on others. Let’s start counting what really matters.

I have been doing quite a bit of introspection and soul searching over the past few weeks to see where I, or we, might have gone wrong in the process of trying to acquire a 2nd campus for Cornerstone. Did I not hear the voice of God correctly? Could I have done things better? Was I hasty? Was I too eager? Did I not check the warning signs? This message will take us through some of the lessons learnt on divine guidance and some principles that needs to be put in place.

If we haven’t heard this from someone, we probably have uttered it ourselves at some point in life. Life isn’t fair, and that’s for certain. We work really hard for something, but our labours do not materialise into results. We make sacrifices, but they’re not acknowledged. On a more serious note, we lose a child or a loved one, and we’re unable to understand why it had to happen. The unfairness of life is well-documented in the Bible, and it’s a subject that we all need some perspective on.