CrossPoint Fellowship Messages

At the end of Joseph’s story, we see a man who went from punished by his brothers to justified by God and in a position of power. But he didn’t use that power to get back at his brothers. The struggles he went through taught him things and he became more loving, more grateful, more benevolent. It’s up to us to learn from the battles we face and come out a more Christlike person. 

Don't make an offer you aren't ready to fulfill. 

Battles can only be considered lost when you learn nothing from them.

With God's grace, suffering, partnered with perseverance of faith, will benefit us more than it can harm us.

Our actions show others that we have changed.

The story of Joseph changes drastically once he is freed from prison and made second only to the pharaoh. Next to his blessing, we see his brothers in the middle of trouble. In this passage we learn that, in the midst of the battle, we need to be looking beyond the “now”, learn from our circumstances and work with others to receive the blessing on the other side. 

Don’t let the battle leave you brainless. 

If we only have integrity when people haven't caused us offense, then we have favoritism. Treat those who have offended you with the same favor as those who have not. 

The midst of a battle is no time for an “I told you so.”

See past the now, so you can get to the wow. 

Joseph wanted to be remembered by those that he interpreted dreams for. He could have lied to Pharaoh's baker in hopes that they would have mentioned him to the pharaoh quickly, or to spare the baker's feelings. But in the end we see that it was his integrity, his desire to be truthful and the events playing out as he said they would that broke him out of his prison. 

Don't lie to protect people’s feelings.

Doing what's right is always better than doing whatever it takes.

Faith allows for integrity in the face of trials.

In Genesis 39, we read the story about Joseph, Potiphar and his wife. Potiphar’s wife tried to sleep with Joseph but he never spoke ill of her or of Potiphar, his master. In fact, Joseph was given additional responsibilities because of how faithful he was to him. We can learn a lesson from how Joseph treated others - trash talking and coarse language should never be a part of a Christian’s demeanor. We should be content with whatever the circumstances - if we have a good boss or a bad one, likable co-workers or unlikable, if we’ve been treated fairly or unfairly.

Genesis 37 starts the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob. Joseph was clearly Joseph’s favorite son but there’s a problem with favoritism - it sets up its object for failure. Joseph was given unrealistic expectations and it caused his brothers to resent him and stop caring. In our relationships, it’s important to not show favorites (or revel in it) and so much of that comes from our words. Holding our tongue and being humble is the best way to fight favoritism. 

How do we deal with differences in opinion in our team environments?

1) We all need to be in agreement that disagreements are okay.

2) Everyone on a team has the right to express their opinion.

3) Team Members must give each other the benefit of the doubt.

We have to see, know, understand, and have faith that our teammates are seeking to make us better - we can’t take disagreements as an attack. Encouraging differences in opinion brings success to the team - and when the team finds success, we all succeed.

The Book of Proverbs teaches us that humans can make goals, but God has the final say. Successful goal construction and completion takes God's Sovereignty into account. The goal must be flexible because God’s purpose will sometimes be different than our plans. That said, here are some goals that we’ve set for Crosspoint Fellowship:

1. Always have someone to minister to Children and Youth, to make them a priority.
2. Second to have a strong presence in our small group settings.
3. To regularly lead people into relationships with Christ.

Romans 14 instructs believers everywhere to encourage one another and keep each other accountable. Successful teams buy into the idea that they are responsible for each other’s success and rely on one another to stay on course. In order to succeed at mutual accountability, we need self-introspection, selflessness, and the desire for mutual edification.

God gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. A team has a hierarchy - there is a leader (Christ) and those who fill certain defined roles. But a hierarchy does not mean monarchy. Good leaders listen to those they supervise and therefore keep the momentum of the team going. Clearly defined roles provide purpose, pave the way for successful outcomes, and help set and maintain expectations. 

When we don’t receive a blessing from God, we assume that it’s because God didn’t want to give it but oftentimes it’s because we didn’t take the risk. When Jesus called Peter out of the boat and to walk on the water, it took a risk from Peter and a miracle from Jesus - and Peter reaped the blessing. Too often in our lives, inside the church, and out, we let fear petrify us into inaction. God calls us to do the extraordinary but if we don’t take a leap of faith, we just end up being ordinary.