Perhaps no message I have given recently has so inspired a renewed faith in our Lord as the one I shared on Sunday, October 19, entitled, More Than a Feeling. The message challenged our members (and, indeed, all Christ-followers) to run to the Lord and not away from Him in this time of economic and financial uncertainty. It exhorted us to put our hope and confidence in the Lord and not the uncertainty of riches. And it provided a specific challenge through which we, as individuals and as a church, can do just that.
Since our treasure reflects our heart (Matthew 6:19, 20), and the greatest commandment (according to Jesus) is that we "... love the Lord with all our heart ..." (Matthew 22:35-38), the elders at Mosaic have issued a specific challenge through which all who call themselves one with us might declare our love, faith and dependence on Him here at the end of the year. In so doing, we are expecting God to so move in us all as to create stories of His goodness, graciousness and compassion toward us as we embrace the challenge to actually increase our individual giving in November and December! In other words, if you give more than you might typically give ... if you give (as directed by God) and perhaps beyond what otherwise (humanly speaking) makes sense, etc., we believe God will not only still provide for you and your needs, i.e., you will still have clothes on your back, a roof over your head, food in your stomach, etc. Indeed, we believe God will bless you with a story(ies) to inspire other believers to step-up and lead out in trusting Jesus at a time when so many are losing hope. And in turn, such stories, we believe, will lead non-believers to Christ! This, then, is our ultimate goal!
In other words, this is a time of potential Kingdom harvest; and Mosaic is determined to lead and light the way!
Such stories are already being generated, as you can hear, for instance, in the intro to the message - the story of Bruce, one of our homeless members who responded so incredibly to the message after the first service last week (listen now). And just three days after I preached the sermon, committing Linda and I to increased giving ourselves, I received news four hours ago that a couple (outside the church and who did not hear the message) will be giving a gift of $36,000 to our church to be proportioned in increments of $1,000 a month in support of my salary, that portion that Linda and I released back to the church in order to hire Steven Weathers in September!
I want you to have such stories to tell, as well.
So, here's what I'm challenging you to do with Mosaic or your own local church in mind.
1. Listen to the message;
2. Take a brief moment after listening to respond by completing a brief survey;
3. Tithe (if you are not already, whether on your net and gross income) in November;
4. Begin to pray and to plan on making a sacrificial gift in December, something beyond what you might have otherwise planned to give.
Following the message, I received an encouraging email from Dan Gaffney, one of our members who is on staff at FamilyLife here in Little Rock. Dan wrote ...
"Thanks you for Sunday's message! Mark, you nailed it! I brought up the 'economic uncertainty' topic with my wife on the way to church. We had already heard some messages from other Christian leaders that shared a similar perspective to what we heard on Sunday, so we felt we had the right attitude and biblical mindset, etc. Yet as we talked further, I asked my wife the following question, “So what do we do about it?” We never actually answered the question, at least in the van ride to church ... until we looked at each other (more than once) during your message. Our hearts resonated with what was communicated! It was absolutely biblical at the core, and it was perfectly practical in answering the big question of what to do about it. I think we were both stunned as we sat in our chairs - by the timing of the sermon and the answer to our own prayer. All that to say, the Gaffneys are in! And we look forward with great expectations to what our King Jesus will do in November and December at Mosaic."
In the coming months, and with this challenge in mind, may we all have such an open, joyful and team spirit as one in Christ and in His Church!
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