We live in a debtor society. Most everybody owes somebody. It is a rare thing to meet someone who is not in debt. Debt is so common place these days when you go to buy a car the salesperson immediately asks how much you can afford on a monthly payment. I even heard recently some people are financing vehicles for as long as ten years.
I hate debt and am working and praying for a day when I am completely debt free. That means we've had to say no trying to keep up with everyone else. I have neighbors who have boats, brand new houses and vehicles. Many of them also sport fancy golf carts. How much debt are those people in.
The Bible has a lot to say about money. It has something to say about debt.
Proverbs 22:7 (NKJV)
7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.
I recently heard about a businessman worth around 900 million dollars. I heard about another businessman worth several hundred million dollars. One of these men has made a fortune by other people borrowing his money to finance his products. When people get indebted they become enslaved like a servant. Until that debt is repaid the rich man rules over the poor.
Consumer debt is high. It is nothing to whip out a credit card and just charge it. You can get what you want now and worry about paying for it later. By the time interest is paid on the purchased item ,what looked like such a good deal is not so great after all. It would be better to wait, save and pay cash than to be enslaved in debt.
Churches are not exempt. Rather than praying, waiting, raising the money for their many projects it is quicker to finance them. Churches often struggle under the weight of those debts for years and even decades. Why not trust God on the front end for the money rather than on the back end. The banks do not need our interests. They are getting it from several others.
When I first came to Heritage we were enslaved to well over $100,000 in debt. One man thought it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $132,000. I was not even the pastor yet when God first put it in my heart to believe Him to pay that debt off. I was just filling in for them until God brought them a pastor. It took some time but God showed me I was that pastor.
We began praying earnestly for God to pay down and pay off the debt. We started seeing God whittle it down. We rejoiced when we finally got under $100,000. At the end of 2018 we prayed, fasted and took up a special offering to go toward debt retirement. With only a few dozen of us we celebrated when God supplied $14,000 through people's generosity and sacrifice.
Yesterday we got a chance to celebrate again. In one week God supplied and we were able to pay down $9,000 on our debt. We sit now at $75,000. What is that to God? It is not an immovable mountain. I have seen people give pocket change, sell possessions and reach deep to give generously and sacrificially toward this goal. We have debt retirement thermometer in the fellowship hall. The red ink marked in keeps inching up. We keep rejoicing and keep praying for God to remove the remainder as well.
Heritage has been held hostage by debt for a number of years now. God is slowly setting us free. I have already seen in my mind's eye the celebration when the last penny is paid off. What a day of rejoicing that will be. I believe God for the same thing for Brenda and I. Debt free. Financially free to give even more to Kingdom of God causes. What if a whole church lived that way. I hope and pray I live long enough to see a people who are not held hostage by debt.
Monday, April 1, 2019
On Mission
Today marks a new day in my ministry. A day unlike any I have ever experienced before. God has put a large mission in front of me. A mission that requires more faith and effort than I am accustomed. A mission that definitely stretches me way out of my comfort zone. A biblical mission. A Great Commission.
God does that. He calls us to things way beyond our abilities and resources. Impossible things that will never be accomplished unless God does it. When He does those things He alone will get all glory.
Let me be honest. For much of my ministry I have been a coward. Many would not identify me that way. They might think I'm bold and courageous. God knows the truth. I have been a coward. He has called me to something that makes me summon raw courage to follow through. I am resolved to do what He has commanded.
I have prayed about it. I have heard His call clearly. I can't shake it. I can't dismiss it. I can't ignore it. Woe is me if I disobey it. God requires obedience. He demands me to follow through. He beckons me to follow Him into this next great adventure. He invites me to believe Him for a miracle. In fact, a series of miracles.
I am not at liberty to share what this new mission is. That is not the point. The point is God calls all of us to be on mission for Him. He calls all of us out of our comfort zones and to follow Him into great adventures. The Bible is filled with such stories. David's life was one adventure after the next. From shepherd boy to military champion. From legendary warrior to fugitive. From fugitive to revolutionary and eventually king. His adventures did not stop when he became a king. There were ups and downs. Through all of it David was a man after God's own heart. The Psalms are filled with his passionate desire to know God. David was a man on mission.
Paul was also a man on mission. He received very clear marching orders. Orders many of us would have shirked. Read them for yourself.
Acts 9:15-16 (NKJV)
15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
Would you want a mission from God that foreshadowed your suffering? Would you embrace that mission? Paul did. Paul lived on mission for Jesus. I love what Paul said about himself.
Acts 20:24 (NKJV)
24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
God does that. He calls us to things way beyond our abilities and resources. Impossible things that will never be accomplished unless God does it. When He does those things He alone will get all glory.
Let me be honest. For much of my ministry I have been a coward. Many would not identify me that way. They might think I'm bold and courageous. God knows the truth. I have been a coward. He has called me to something that makes me summon raw courage to follow through. I am resolved to do what He has commanded.
I have prayed about it. I have heard His call clearly. I can't shake it. I can't dismiss it. I can't ignore it. Woe is me if I disobey it. God requires obedience. He demands me to follow through. He beckons me to follow Him into this next great adventure. He invites me to believe Him for a miracle. In fact, a series of miracles.
I am not at liberty to share what this new mission is. That is not the point. The point is God calls all of us to be on mission for Him. He calls all of us out of our comfort zones and to follow Him into great adventures. The Bible is filled with such stories. David's life was one adventure after the next. From shepherd boy to military champion. From legendary warrior to fugitive. From fugitive to revolutionary and eventually king. His adventures did not stop when he became a king. There were ups and downs. Through all of it David was a man after God's own heart. The Psalms are filled with his passionate desire to know God. David was a man on mission.
Paul was also a man on mission. He received very clear marching orders. Orders many of us would have shirked. Read them for yourself.
Acts 9:15-16 (NKJV)
15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
Would you want a mission from God that foreshadowed your suffering? Would you embrace that mission? Paul did. Paul lived on mission for Jesus. I love what Paul said about himself.
Acts 20:24 (NKJV)
24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
No matter how much Paul suffered he did not let that deter him from His God ordained mission. Paul testified to the gospel of God's grace to the very end of his days. He surely suffered for it.
Let me point you to one more person on mission for Jesus. He is a coach. He is a passionate follower of Jesus. He preaches and makes Godly stands for Christ in the classroom, on the gridiron, in the weight room, in churches and in jail houses. He recently told me God told him years ago, "Take Me with you everywhere you go." He has done that. I have seen his influence on my son first hand. Hardly a day goes by that Turner does not share a story about this coach and something influential he says. I respect this man. I recently emailed him to thank him for his Godly influence on students, mine especially. He wrote me back something surprising. He told me he has paid a high price for living on mission. He has been persecuted. He did not go into detail but the world persecutes those who live on mission for Jesus.
Following Jesus and living on mission is costly. If we, like Paul, do not count our lives dear, the high cost is inconsequential compared to the mission. So I say, "Onward Christian soldiers marching as unto war." You have a mission. I have a mission. May we stay on task. May we face our fears, overcome our obstacles, stare down sinister evil, swing the sword of the Lord and fight the good fight. May we stay the course. May we do what we say we believe and follow through on what we have been commissioned to do.
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