x150 Advance by warriors1

CONTENTS SECTION 1 X150 History.....................................................................4 X150 Advance.................................................................8 How Can You Help...................................................18 Q & A..................................................................................20

SECTION 2 Group Curriculum...................................................22

SECTION 3 21 Days of Prayer........................................................40

SECTION 4 21 Days to Generous Living................................46 An X150 Advance Devotional

When you plant a biblical, missional, Gospel church that preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you end up impacting everything that is important in the Kingdom of God. When a church is what a church ought to be . . . then orphans get adopted, widows get cared for, the sick are prayed over, the poor are served, the lost are evangelized, the saved are discipled, the children are educated, injustice is confronted, the Gospel is proclaimed, Christ is magnified! When a Gospel church is planted, the Kingdom of God grows!

- Willy Rice

4 | X150 History

X150 HISTORY In 2016, Calvary celebrated its 150th anniversary. The occasion marked the launch of a new, decade-long vision that became known as our X150 vision. We realized that if we wanted to be part of a movement that would impact others well beyond our lifetimes, we needed to shift our focus from addition to multiplication. Calvary's vision is not to make one big church bigger. We aim to invest in many churches in our region, throughout the country, and around the world.

Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. - Acts 9:31, NKJV

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AFTER 3 YEARS, WE CELEBRATE 45 CHURCHES AS A RESULT OF CALVARYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S X150 VISION AND GENEROUS GIVING.

34 INTERNATIONAL churches have been planted internationally with our partners in Brazil, Guatemala, and South Asia.

Anirudh is a church planter in South Asia. Calvary is privileged to partner with him and his network to plant 16 churches - some in areas that are 80% Muslim. They are constantly met by great opposition and even physical persecution but their faith and persistence continues. Through faithful obedience lives are being changed, God is granting a great harvest, and the Gospel continues to advance through Calvaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s X150 vision and this partnership.

7 NATIONAL churches have been launched in North America.

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+ Bay Cities Fellowship, Oldsmar, FL + Eden Church, San Jose, CA + The Heights Church, Denver, CO + Grace Alive, Orlando, FL

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+ Living Hope, Powell, OH

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+ Center Church, Charlottesville, VA + Vintage Church, Pittsburgh, PA Center Church launched in Charlottesville, Virginia in January of 2019. Josh and Meredith Miller are leading this new church that meets adjacent to the campus of the University of Virginia. This new church is part of a collegiate church planting movement that understands the importance of evangelizing and discipling college students in North America.

(1) Anirudh, church planter in South Asia (2) Women worshipping in South Asia (3) Woman in Mozambique (4) Vintage Church, Pittsburgh, PA (5) Baptism at Calvary Seminole Campus (6) Center Church, Charlottesville, VA

6 | X150 History

45 NEW CHURCHES 3 REVITALIZATION churches have entered into a revitalization covenant with Calvary.

RiverRock (formerly Anclote River Baptist Church) is one of three local churches that was on the verge of closing down but through partnership with Calvary is experiencing a renewed mission and new life. David and Alisa Gatlin were members of Calvary. David answered the call to serve as Pastor and today RiverRock is making a difference in their community. (7)

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1 CALVARY CAMPUS was launched in Seminole, FL.

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Three years ago, Bay Ridge Baptist Church was on the verge of closing. After partnering with Calvary, the building was renovated and Calvary Church Seminole launched in the fall of 2017. Today, more than 300 people attend worship services each week, and last year, 27 people were baptized.

(7) RiverRock Church (8) Young man praying in South Asia (9) Boy being baptized in South Asia (10) Women gathered for worship in South Asia (11) Man in South Asia (12) Calvary Seminole Campus, Seminole, FL

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X150 ADVANCE We have accomplished so much together. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just plant some churches, we changed Calvary's culture. We moved from addition to multiplication and made giant steps forward in advancing Kingdom of God. Over the next 3 years, we must advance the Kingdom by planting 150 churches, raising up 150 champions and rescuing 150 children.

8 | X150 Advance

150 CHURCHES We will multiply 150 churches by 2025

(50 churches in the next 3 years)

150 CHAMPIONS

We will to raise up 150 champions by 2025

150 CHILDREN

We will rescue 150 children by 2025

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We will plant 150 churches by 2025

150 CHURCHES

5 CALVARY

100 international

20 church

25 NATIONAL

CAMPUSES

revitalizations

plantS

INTERNATIONALLY

35 CHURCHES Jesus came near and said to them, “... Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,...” - Matthew 28:18-19, CSB The world needs Jesus and we have been called to fulfill this mission of spreading the Gospel and making disciples of all nations. Through x150 and Calvary’s international partners, we are working to help identify the unreached, pray for salvations, send teams, and support church planters in efforts to take the Gospel to people that have never heard the name of Jesus. We will plant 35 churches in our partner areas of Brazil, Guatemala and South Asia. In addition, we have added Mozambique and London as

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DID YOU KNOW.... Over 4.5 billion people in the world today are unreached with the Gospel.

new focus areas for church planting.

(1) Woman in village in South Asia,

10 | X150 Advance

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NATIONALLY

9 CHURCHES There is a brokenness in America today that can only be reconciled by knowing Jesus. To reach these people, we need to plant more churches. We are partnering with Send North America to identify areas that have the greatest need for new churches. The potential for Kingdom impact and reach is greater in major cities with dense, diverse populations and college communities who have students preparing to be sent throughout the world. It opens doors for the multiplication movement to further advance the Gospel. We will help launch 9 new churches with our national partners.

DID YOU KNOW.... The western United States is the 4th largest mission field in the world.

REVITALIZATION

5 CHURCHES But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. - Ephesians 2:13, CSB The Tampa Bay area is home to millions of people who are in desperate need of the Gospel. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, many of the churches in our area are struggling to stay open, have lost their passion for evangelism, and are unable to help meet the needs in their surrounding community. This leads to cities, like St. Petersburg, having a lower percentage of regular churchgoers than Las Vegas. Through X150, Calvary Church is helping to change this narrative.

Potential cities and areas for national church plants

We will seek to partner with 5 churches locally that are declining or near closing to help infuse them with new life, new leadership, and a renewed vision for the future.

LOCAL CAMPUS

1 CAMPUS We will launch 1 new campus in the Tampa Bay area. Some of our key focus areas include: St. Petersburg, Westchase, Trinity, and Tarpon Springs.

Key focus areas for potential future Calvary Campuses

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We will also strengthen and enlarge our existing ministries on all 3 campuses so that we can increase our multiplication efforts for years to come. All campuses possess great opportunities to continue impacting our community. X150 Advance calls for capital projects as investments.

EAST LAKE There has been exponential growth at our East Lake Campus since its launch in 2013. Every week, over 700 people attend worship, including children and teens. We want to cultivate more opportunities to reach the lost, disciple the saved, and raise up leaders to send out for further advancement of the Kingdom. It is essential that we take this momentum that we have to the surrounding community and expand the campus to allow for further growth in our church family. This prospect for kingdom impact, future progress, and greater multiplication is enormous!

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Rendering of future 32,000 sq. ft. East Lake Campus. Front view.

(1) We are excited for what the Lord is doing in

our East Lake Campus community and look

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forward to seeing His impact on North Pinellas for years to come. (3)

(2) (1) Pastor Danny Bennett and East Lake Team breaking ground for new facility (2) Prayer note written at new Calvary East Lake building site during ground breaking ceremony (3) Young adults at Calvary East Lake on Easter

12 | X150 Advance

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The new East Lake building will be a standing testimony to what God has done and is doing in our church and our community! Over 6 years, we have outgrown our home, and now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to expand! This expansion will give our Student Ministry a dedicated area within our current building and allow us to more than double our worship, children, and preschool spaces in the new facility. We look forward with great anticipation to how God will use this space to advance His Kingdom â&#x20AC;&#x201D; by increasing our capacity to not only train and disciple follows of Christ, but to also send them out into the East Lake community and the nations with the Gospel. Danny Bennett, East Lake Campus Pastor

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New Chapel

CLEARWATER Worship Center Renovations Our Worship Center is in need of some key technology upgrades. As the broadcast campus for our physical campuses, as well as our online presence, it is critical that the Worship Center be able to meet the needs of our growing church and corresponding ministries. We need to upgrade our screens at the front of the room, and overall on-stage presentation, as well as continue upgrading broadcast equipment. We have dreams of a complete renovation that would provide raised

We dream of converting our former Athletic Center into a chapel area. There is a need for a sacred space that could be used for weddings, funerals, and even alternative services and smaller events where seating for 400 or less would be appropriate. Our new chapel would use the stained glass from our downtown campus that has been kept in storage for over a decade.

seating in the back and give a major upgrade to a space that is approaching 20 years of use.

Rendering of proposed Chapel space with stained glass from old downtown Clearwater campus.

Land Acquisition We are always open to purchase strategic, contiguous property when it becomes available. Rendering of proposed Calvary Clearwater worship center update and renovation.

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(1) Brad Noblitt, Director of Worship Ministries (2) Woman worshipping at Calvary Clearwater (3) Family attending Easter service at Calvary Clearwater (4) Young boy in Calvary Clearwater Kid's ministry

14 | X150 Advance

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Walkway and Parking We would like to extend the exterior walkway from our southern entrance toward our Student Ministry Center as a way of tying our campus together from our main building to our Student Ministry Center, our Community Ministry Center, and our Athletic Complex to the south. This would provide a safer way to traverse the campus, as well as involve some needed parking alterations and additions.

SOUTH ENTRANCE

SEMINOLE We launched Calvary Church Seminole in October 2017. We have now seen 45 people baptize to the glory of God! In 2019 on Easter, we saw 600 people gathered in worship. We are excited about all that God is doing in the Seminole area to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the campus is growing and thriving there are additional land acquisition opportunities that will help facilitate continued growth as well as address the need for expanded parking.

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Clearwater Campus walkway, connecting southern entrance with student center.

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(1) Tom Hudgins, Campus Pastor, Calvary Seminole (2) Women greeting each other before service at Calvary Seminole (3) Children praying in Calvary Seminole Kids Ministry (4) Student ministry center at Calvary Clearwater

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We will to raise up 150 champions by 2025

150 CHAMPIONS Then he said to his disciples, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.â&#x20AC;? - Matthew 9:37-38 (CBS) As a church with the mission to multiply, it is vital that we raise up future champions for Christian leadership. We will develop eager young adults to send out, plant churches, and cast vision of God's plan to multiply across the world. How will we do this? The Calvary Institute was established with 4 key training environments to build up prospective leaders.

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PIPELINE

PROJECT NEXT

INTERNS

is a scholarship fund designed to target students who might need help to:

APPRENTICES

+ Attend Calvary Christian High School

RESIDENCY

+ Be involved in global mission opportunities

(1) x150 Interns and Apprentices, 2019-2020 (2) Calvary Christian High School Students

16 | X150 Advance

+ Attend college and seminary level training in preparation for vocational ministry

150 CHILDREN But Jesus said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let the children come to me. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.â&#x20AC;? - Matthew 19:14 (NLT) Adoption and foster care ministries for children at risk are a focal point of our X150 Advance vision. Calvary hopes to invest in helping change the future of 150 children through foster care and adoption. Our X150 Advance will provide training sessions for Guardian Ad Litems, assistance with licensing for foster families, counseling and support to families involved in fostering and adoption, and funding assistance for families seeking to adopt. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children and families.

We will to rescue 150 children by 2025

50 care teams

50 Guardian ad Litem

25 foster

familes

children

25 adoptive familes

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X150: ADVANCE FINANCIAL GOALS & PRIORITIES Calvary’s X150 vision advances at the speed of our faith and obedience. We have a 12 million dollar goal to fully fund X150 Advance. If we are not able to meet the 12 million dollar goal or exceed our goal, we will adjust the projects proportionally to the allotted amount raised and will rejoice over what God has provided.

18 | What Can I Do?

treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... (Matthew 6:19-20, CSB)

KEY DATES

Capital Projects- 3,000,000

Commitment Sunday, Nov 17

X150 Projects- 3,000,000

East Lake Project - 6,000,000

12 MILLION

Don’t store up for yourselves

During our Sunday services on November 17th, everyone in our Calvary family will be encouraged to make a special commitment to increased generosity and a specific faith commitment to X150 Advance.

First Fruits Offering, Nov 17 -Dec 31 We are asking everyone to give as much of your commitment in a “first fruits” offering during the last 6 weeks of 2019. We want to make the biggest impact that we can right away so plan to make a special year-end first fruits gift.

What Can I Do?

GIVING TIERS

Increased Generosity

Pray about taking a step forward in your journey to generosity. If you have not been a regular giver at Calvary, start now. If you have been a regular giver, but have not committed to the biblical pattern of giving 10% of your income, take the step toward “tithing” by committing to give your first 10% to advance God’s kingdom. If you are a “tither”, consider advancing in generosity beyond the tithe to discover the true joy of generous living. Increased generosity to the ongoing work of Calvary through our operational budget is critical to advancing God’s kingdom.

EXTRAVAGANT I give beyond the tithe

TITHING I faithfully give 10% of my income

X150 Faith Commitment

We’re asking every person in our Calvary family to make a faith commitment to giving to x150 Advance. A faith commitment is a commitment to give over a 3-year period, November 2019-2022, a gift that is above and beyond regular giving through Calvary. A faith commitment card will be handed out.

WEEKLY MONTHLY ANNUALLY

I give consistently but less that 10% TOTAL

$2,000

$8,667

$104,000

$312,000

$1,000

$4,333

$52,000

$156,000

$500

$2,167

$26,000

$78,000

$300

$1,300

$15,600

$46,800

$100

$433

$5,200

$15,600

$50

$217

$2,600

$7,800

$30

$130

$1,560

$4,680

Non-Cash Giving

INTENTIONAL

There are also opportunities to make a huge difference through non-cash giving. Properties, possessions, vehicles, collectibles, stocks, bonds and annuities all represent opportunities to invest in God’s kingdom. Our Financial office stands ready to help you determine the best way to liquidate assets and invest in X150 Advance.

OCCASIONAL I give but not consistently

FIRST TIME I have not given

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Q&A How can I give?

There are many ways to give at Calvary. You can give online, write a check and put it in the offering, or give cash. Just make sure your gift is designated to X150 if that is where you want it to go. Our financial office is also available to work with any donor who wants to explore giving non-cash gifts such as physical property or stocks. Contact our financial office at 727-441-1581 for assistance in giving non-cash items.

How does the x150 account work?

Our X150 fund is separate from our primary budgeted ministry funds that finance all of Calvary’s ministries and support mission work around the world. The X150 fund is a designated account that will fund our approved X150 projects. We encourage people to give their primary commitment through Calvary’s undesignated ministry account, sometimes called “the budget” and to give - over and above that amount - a special gift to our X150 account.

When and how do I make a commitment?

We will ask everyone in our Calvary family to make a 3-year faith commitment to X150 on Sunday, November 17. You will have an opportunity to indicate your commitment on a Faith Commitment Card and turn it in on that day in our worship services.

Is this an obligation, debt or pledge? How should I view it?

We refer to this commitment as a “Faith Commitment” though sometimes people do call it a pledge. We do not want you to feel like this is a debt you owe or an obligation that becomes a financial burden should circumstances change. This is a serious prayerful statement of your intent that allows us to plan accordingly and leads us all through the discipline of praying and planning for the future. This is not legally binding and we do understand that circumstances change. We will never hold a commitment over someone’s head. This is a statement of what you believe God wants you to do and what you, to the best of your ability, will try to do over the next three years.

What is the time period of this 3-year commitment? November 2019 through November 2022.

When can I start giving?

Right away. Our X150 account is already in place. We are asking that people make their commitments to X150 Advance on November 17th and then make a first fruits offering the following Sunday, November 24th or as a year end gift in December.

20 | Q&A

What is the First Fruits Offering?

The First Fruits Offering is a biblical concept that simply means the first part. We are asking our Calvary family to give as much as you can right up front. While much of your X150 Advance commitment will be stretched out over 3 years, it is helpful if as many people as possible can give a major part right at the beginning, starting November 24th, or as a year-end gift during December. A major first fruits gift will be a huge help in positioning us for our East Lake Construction project and to achieving our goal of constructing it without long-term debt.

Can I give non-cash assets?

Yes, we encourage everyone to think about non-cash assets. You may have property, stocks, annuities, and even personal possessions that can be used to help fund x150 Advance. Our financial office has an arrangement with a certified stockbroker who will help you transfer any financial assets such as stocks or annuities without commission. They can also help you decide the best way to liquidate physical property such as real estate, jewelry, cars or boats. Don’t limit God. Often people have more resources than they realize in non-cash assets and we have many stories of people who initially thought they had very little to give, only later to realize that they could make a substantial gift through a non-cash asset. Is your “stuff” more important than funding the Advance of God’s kingdom?

Can I designate to portions of x150 Advance?

Yes, but we encourage people to give directly to our X150 account. If you have an interest in designating a large gift, please set up a meeting with our financial office at 727-441-1581.

How much of x150 Advance will go to pay for the East Lake Campus Project?

Our goal is to use approximately 50% of all the receipts to fund the East Lake project.

What about my regular giving?

It is important to remember that our regular giving to the budgeted ministries of Calvary is the backbone of financial support. We are not advancing if we take from regular weekly giving to designate to X150 Advance. This is a good time to evaluate your overall giving to God’s kingdom and raise the bar not only by making a major commitment to X150 Advance but stepping up to another level in your regular giving as well.

Can I give it all at once or annually?

You can give in whatever pattern works best for you, whether one-time, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.

What will you do today that will matter 150 years from now?

“TREASURES IN HEAVEN”: A LOOK AT MATTHEW 6:19-21 The driving force behind the life and death of Jesus was to restore our relationship with God. Through faith in Christ, we are no longer separated from God; instead, we are closer than we could have ever imagined - we are sons and daughters. As a new creation in Christ, we face many challengers as we grow to become more like Christ. One of the greatest challenges we encounter in our relationship with Christ is what to do with out money and possessions. God desires our devotion, and he knows we will battle the temptation of money, which leads us to Matthew 6:19-21. In this passage, we observe a direct correlation between how we handle money and possessions and how we live out our faith. In other words, we will either worship wealth or worship with our wealth. Jesus talks about “earthly treasures,” “treasures in Heaven,” and treasuring Him.

Matthew 6:19-21: “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

WHAT ARE “TREASURES ON EARTH”? Generally speaking, “treasures on Earth” include money and possessions. Earthly treasures include both the things you can touch (e.g., cash, clothes, cars) and the things you cannot touch (e.g., investments, 401k’s, Bitcoins). Now, before you jump to the wrong conclusion, Jesus didn’t say:

• You can’t own a phone. • You can’t purchase a home. • You can’t buy gifts for someone. • You can’t buy more than one pair of pants or one shirt.

• You can’t buy a computer. • You can’t drive a car. • You can’t save or invest money for retirement.

What Jesus did say was, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. . .” Said another way, don’t focus on accumulating money and things, but set your heart on pursuing “treasures in heaven”. 24 | Groups

WHAT ARE “TREASURES IN HEAVEN”? There’s a tendency to think that “treasures in Heaven” only refers to tithing, sharing with others, and being a generous person. There is an element of truth to this. We see this emphasized in several places in the Bible, including:

• Jesus encouraged his followers to sell their possessions and give to the needy (Luke 12:32-33). • Jesus asked people to give to others who cannot repay them (Luke 14:13-14).

In these two examples, Jesus references receiving “treasures in Heaven” and “being repaid” when he returns. We see that storing up “treasures in Heaven” does include giving to your local church, non-profits, and to those in need; but there’s more to laying up “treasures in Heaven” than giving away our money and possessions. It also includes living for God’s glory and the good of others. The Bible refers to many ways Christians can store up “treasures in Heaven” or “rewards," including:

• Faithfully enduring persecution (Matt. 5:11-12; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; 2 Tim. 4:8) • Loving your enemies (Matt. 5:43-48) • Praying in secret (Matt. 6:5-6) • Serving the Lord and his people (Matt. 10:41-42; 1 Cor. 3:8; Heb. 6:10)

From just these few examples, we see that “rewards” are also associated with living and loving like Jesus.

WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE? Real wealth is obtained by investing in “treasures in Heaven”. You are eternally rewarded when …

• You give

• You pray and fast in private

• You forgive someone

• You share the gospel

• You love your enemies

• You endure insults and persecutions

When it comes to rewards, the greatest reward every follower of Christ will receive is seeing God face-toface (Matt. 5:8; Rev. 22:4). Do you live your life for Him because of what Christ can do for you, or do you live for Christ because you can be with Him? Calvary.us | 25

DO YOU TREASURE JESUS? In this passage, we never heard Jesus say, "Get to work!” But what we do hear Jesus say is this, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21). Like an experienced doctor who can diagnose the source of your ailment, Jesus knows that our struggle is an issue of the heart. This is why Jesus connected his command to stop laying up “earthly treasures” and store up “treasures in Heaven” to the heart. What we value is reflected in how we live. When the “world” is your desire, you'll be committed to storing up "earthly treasures”. When Jesus is your treasure, you’ll devote your life to live for His glory and the good of others.

TODAY, ASK YOURSELF: Do I treasure Jesus or do I treasure the world? Do I obsess over earning more money or buying more things? Am I consumed with living and loving like Jesus?

NOTES ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 26 | Groups

“NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS”: A LOOK AT MATTHEW 6:24 When it comes to managing our money, do we really trust God’s plan? If we don’t, we will likely end up serving our money rather than serving our God. God doesn’t want our money, God wants our hearts. God cannot be our treasure if money is our treasure instead.

Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

WHAT DO YOU TREASURE? As far as your day-to-day activities go, describe what it looks like to store up treasures on Earth. What does a life led by an accumulation of stuff look like? This verse and the passage that precedes the text make clear that "treasures on Earth" refers to money and possessions. What other "treasures on Earth" do we seek? Explain what "treasures in Heaven" are. (e,g. future rewards, spiritual blessings, A closer walk with God) There is debate on whether or not Jesus’ point is that “where you store up treasures, then your heart will be there,” (the heart follows the money) or “where you store up treasures shows where you heart is" (the money follows the heart). Identify which one you think it is. Is it possible both arguments are true? Explain.

Matthew 6:22-23: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!"

A HEALTHY EYE In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus speaks of your eye being healthy. A person’s eye being healthy was an idiom for generosity, while a person’s eye being bad was an idiom for greediness. If that is the case, what is Jesus’ point in verses 22-23? What does a person’s relationship with money tell us about the state of the person? What does it look like for a person to serve money/possessions? Does this mean they can’t enjoy them?

NOTES ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Matthew 19:23-24 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

A CAMEL AND A NEEDLE Oftentimes, we don’t consider ourselves "to be rich"’. How accurate is that belief? Do you have a car? Do you have access to clean and safe water daily? Consider the fact that 815 million people struggle with hunger daily and 1.2 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day. Does that change your perspective? There is no reason to feel guilty about having stuff, but how does it change our view of this verse? Are we the rich that Jesus is talking about?

James 1:9-11 Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.

OUR ATTITUDES ABOUT MONEY Explain why this passage instructs the poor man to boast? In what way does Jesus' statement about “serving” two masters shed light on our attitude towards money? Are the poor free from certain temptations that wealthier people face? Talking about money and wealth in church makes some uncomfortable. There have been Christian leaders who have dishonored the faith by their focus on worldly prosperity and fundraising. But consider the fact that the Bible has over 2,000 verses about money, while it has roughly 500 verses on prayer and fewer than 500 verses on faith. Based on this, do you think the Church has done a good job stressing the importance of a Biblical perspective on money and possessions? Should we be afraid to address giving in the Church?

NOTES ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________

APPLICATION Perhaps the easiest application for this passage is to take a simple look at how you use your money. Keep track of the spare money you spend this week. You probably already have a good idea of where your money goes. What does that tell you about your priorities in life? Another application for this passage is to give something up that costs money this week. It could be giving up your daily coffee. It could be fasting for a day. In place of that, use the money that you would have spent toward God’s Kingdom. You could also use it as an evangelistic opportunity and take an unbelieving friend/colleague out to dinner/lunch and offer to pay. Get creative! In America, it is a very common thing to say, “time is money”. We’ve discussed what your checkbook says about your heart. What about your time? Are you selfish with your time? What does your weekly schedule say about your heart and priorities? What are some basic principles about how we should enjoy the possessions God’s given us?

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One of the primary things that Jesus warns about money and possessions in this passage is that “moth and rust destroy” them. Things on earth are only temporary and can’t make us truly happy, but we often get duped into thinking that they can. We dream of just getting that “one thing” or just getting “a little bit more,” and then we will be happy. What is the one thing you want that you think will make you happy? Challenge your thinking. Would you truly be content if you had that one item? Some people believe that Jesus teaches that Christians ought to live in poverty. Share some basic principles about how to properly balance money and possessions so that we can enjoy them in a God honoring way.?

“FIRST THE KINGDOM: THE CURE FOR ANXIETY”: A LOOK AT MATTHEW 6:25-33 Previous passages warned us how possessions can divide our minds so that they control our direction in life. In doing so, they capture our hearts and then control our will and aspirations (Matt. 6:19-24). Jesus continues the discussion concerning those material things in this passage. The results of this control by possessions will create worry, as our attention, our heart, and the identity of who we are become wrapped up in them. The solution is simple. Put Christ and His will first and make everything else secondary. Our hearts must be centered on what is truly important. The secret to a life of contentment is having the right perspective of our place in the Kingdom. As a Christian, we have to have the perspective that all things in life, all that we have, see, and use, do not belong to us. It all belongs to God. We did not create them; we are the stewards entrusted to care for, develop, and use them wisely, all to God’s glory. When we think we have ownership, we are deluding ourselves, creating worry and needless stress. We get ourselves off of God’s plan and will when we seek possessions and not His Kingdom.

Matthew 6:25-33: “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

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DO NOT WORRY We all worry, but why? What is it that is so important when compared to our purpose or our place in eternity? In the time of Jesus, even the most basic needs of most people were dependent on a series of variable influences. Their shelter, food, income, clothing, and safety could be put in jeopardy by a simple change in the weather. On the surface, it would appear that they would have had reasonable cause to worry, but Jesus tells them not to do so. Now, consider all that we have today–much more than even King Solomon would have had, after all, he did not have access to the food, material goods, or entertainment we have today. God is sovereign, and He watches over and sustains all of His creation (Psalm 104:27), including the personal needs of humanity.

• "How much more" for you (Matt. 6:30), this was a contemporary Jewish t• Most scholars believe the flowers that Jesus is pointing to (Matt. 6:28) are purple anemones, which was the primary ingredient in the purple dye used to make royal robes. These same flowers, when dried, were used in fireplaces to heat homes. This is an image of our mortality and that even the best of our possessions are merely temporary, eventually rotting and decaying (Psalm 103:15-16; Isa. 40:6-8). • Neither sow nor reap (Matt. 6:26). Adult birds are not idle. They do not plant or cultivate what they eat, nor do they sit around waiting for their food as the baby birds do. They are diligent, working to gather food, preparing nests, caring for their young, entertaining cats, and doing other bird things. The inference to us is that we are to do all we can to work using our talents, abilities, and gifts, ultimately trusting that God will guide and provide.

WHY DO WE WORRY? So why do you worry? (Matt. 6:31) This was a popular teaching and saying in the time of Jesus. He is pointing them to some of their own insights while challenging them to see it not as something academic, but something to practice. Jesus reminds His listeners then, as well as we who live now, that we can trust in God. He will provide. 32 | Groups

• The cultures around the Jews would gratify themselves with as much pleasure as they could find and endure. They would pray to their gods, seeking favors by making contracts of services to them in turn, thinking they would get what they wanted. • The Christian is called to seek God and His will, not our gratification, which ultimately leads us nowhere. We do not need to bargain with God or make promises that we know we cannot or will not keep. All we need to do is trust Him, and seek His will, which is what is best for us. • God delights in meeting our needs! He is not a killjoy, seeking our suffering and sacrifice for His pleasure or entertainment. (Matt. 6:8) • Worry is a lack of trust! It shows a disregard to our Lord who cares and provides for us. (Prov. 16:33) • To worry is to be distracted. Do not let stress about food and clothing distract you from the more important things in life. (Martha vs. Mary in Luke 10:38-42)

HOW DOES WORRY HELP? How can worry help you? When we worry, we doubt the capability, goodness, care, love, and power of our God (Romans 8:31-39). Furthermore, we miss the peace God has for us. We are not seeking Him or trusting in Him. Instead, worry has our attention.

HOW CAN WE COUNTERACT WORRY?

• As the previous passage taught us–by laying up treasure in Heaven (Matt. 19:21; Luke 12:33-34; 1 Tim. 6:17-19). • We have to know that the Christian life is not always safe. There are dangers, and we will have problems and setbacks. We have to be willing to risk it all for His glory, as our destiny is not here, but our work is. • We need to see God as the great Creator and Sustainer that He is. He created and sustains the universe, He can also sustain us. • Have faith in God's providence. If God, through His providence, provides for the needs of the birds, will He not do the same for you? (Matt. 10:29-31) Are you not more important to God than birds and flowers?

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HOW CAN YOU PREVENT WORRY? BY KNOWING THAT:

• We are created in the image of God. • We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. • Worrying about things does nothing to provide help. In fact, it will take you further away from help and solutions. Your energies will be so wrapped up in worry, you will accomplish nothing toward providing for yourself. • God has the ability and willingness to provide. Is He not able and willing to do so for you? • If we take to heart what Jesus says, then our lives will be like the house built upon a rock (Matt. 7:24-25). • We are not capable of handling tomorrow's worries, because we have no control over the future. Worrying about the future will only distract us from the duties in the present. Trust in God.

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD Seek first the Kingdom of God refers to our quintessential quest in life, seeking Christ as Savior and Lord. By Lord, we mean He is ruling our hearts, minds, and actions, including our motivations and desires. We seek God’s best as He has our best in mind. When we look to ourselves, we miss His opportunities and goodness. To seek God's will is our highest priority outside of our salvation. The will of God is not just a task, or an end to find, nor is it just a set of goals; rather, it is a hunt and a journey. The action of seeking Him and His plan is His will! This is the journey that produces the principles that grow and mold us in faith and maturity (1 Pet. 5). It never ends. It is always continuing until we are called home. God's will is for us to have a right relationship with Him. We are to recognize His sovereignty over the universe and our lives. Righteousness, character, and virtue are the main objects in our quest. These are the rewards that we take with us into eternity.

• Righteousness, character, and virtue must be our essence that spills onto others. If not, we are definitely not in His will. • When we worry, we cannot grow in righteousness, character, or virtue, be cause it takes over our lives, leaving no room for growth or maturity. • Worry will cut us off from our faith and growth because it inhibits us from focusing and concentrating on our Lord.

We have to understand that when we worry about trivial things, covet possessions and riches, even things we need, it will choke from us the life we could have had in Christ. (Matt. 13:22) It is our relationship with Him that is important, and that we are to seek. We are to work faithfully and trust His provision in every area of our lives. If we do not pay attention to Jesus' teachings because we are too busy worrying, we will go through life on Earth without His peace. Do not let Jesus be an academic concept, let Him be your Lord.

“FIRST THE KINGDOM: NEW VALUES”: A LOOK AT MATTHEW 6:33 This week’s passage, Matthew 6:33, which we also examined last week, shows how the follower of Christ, through trusting in God, can overcome their selfish nature and focus on God's purposes and properly relate to others.

Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEEK? Jesus instructs us to seek. To seek is to search for something. It’s a quest. Our Lord is inviting us on a journey. Consider the following characteristics of seeking:

• Seeking implies work. One does not seek by being idle. Jesus is calling us to a task. • Seeking implies thoughtfulness, planning, strategy, and creativity at least as much as it implies labor. If we are to be dedicated seekers, we must be constantly on the lookout, evaluating every opportunity. • Seeking implies a lifelong assignment. Jesus didn’t tell us to build, create, or bring about the Kingdom. That is His job. Our job is to seek. Will God’s Kingdom ever come to pass? When will that be? What will it look like?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEEK FIRST? Jesus instructs us to seek first the Kingdom and righteousness of God. He understood that His followers, including us, would seek after many things in this life, but the obligation of the Christ-follower is to prioritize the Kingdom and righteousness of God. To seek first is to make the Kingdom and righteousness of God one’s first and highest priority. Think of all of the things in your life that are priorities to you. If you’re married, you want to be a good spouse and have a healthy relationship. If you have kids, you want to be a good parent and have a happy family. If you have a job, you want to be successful, respected, and well-rewarded. You want to be physically healthy and fit. You want to be financially secure. You want meaningful friendships. Perhaps you have a hobby 36 | Groups

where you’re pursuing excellence. All these things are meaningful to you, but the properly ordered life of a Christ-follower seeks the Kingdom and righteousness of God above all else. Put another way, the foremost desire of a Christian should be God’s Kingdom and righteousness. Do you find it challenging to live like that? What are some priorities in your life that compete for your allegiance?

To seek first also means that God’s Kingdom and righteousness will impact every other priority in your life. If marriage and family are a priority, those relationships will model God’s Kingdom and righteousness. The same is true for career, money, friendships, and everything else. If you are not treating your family as Jesus taught and modeled, God’s Kingdom and righteousness are not your top priority. Do you have priorities in your life that are not aligned with God’s purposes? Consider how you can bring them into alignment or discard them. The payoff for seeking first God’s Kingdom is that we will be living in it for all eternity. The thing we sought first will be ours forever.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Few of us have ever lived under the rule of a king. We live in a representative democracy dedicated to the rule of law. Jesus’ first-century audience would have related easily to this concept. A kingdom is essentially a people group that lives under the rule of a king. The king’s values, decrees, and character determine the nature of the kingdom. From a practical standpoint, the Kingdom of God is the will of God being lived out by His people. He has made His will known to us through the teachings and example of Jesus, the teaching of the apostles in the New Testament, and, indeed, the whole counsel of His inerrant Word, the Bible. Put it all together in your mind. We are to seek (constantly searching) first (as our highest priority) and apply what we have learned from Jesus in our lives and in the world around us. Do you see someone who is far from God? Take the gospel of peace to them. Is someone suffering? Try to help. Is someone in need? Be generous. Is there an injustice being done? Take a stand. Love others well, even when it’s hard. Be gracious. Forgive. Be honest. We do not live in the Kingdom. Not yet. Our job is to seek it, and seek it first, by living under the kingship of God. What are some practical ways that you can seek God’s Kingdom here and now? Calvary.us | 37

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEEK THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD? Seeking God’s Kingdom is about making an impact on the world. Seeking God’s righteousness is about striving to live up to the highest ideals of our profession of faith in our personal journey. Remember, Jesus instructs us to seek. The quest for God’s righteousness in our lives is no different than the quest for His Kingdom in this world. It is a calling to a life of searching. Righteousness is a tricky concept. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that God has declared us to be righteous because the blood of Christ has removed the stain of our sin. (Romans 3:22, 26; Romans 4:5; Romans 5:17) We are righteous because our Lord has decreed it to be so. However, as long as we live in this world, we will continue to struggle with a predilection toward sin. Jesus is calling us to that struggle. To seek God’s righteousness in our lives, and to seek it first, is the calling and the joy of the believer. Is the quest for God’s righteousness in your life the priority that it should be? How would your life change if it were?

1 John 1:7-10: “If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

What are the implications of this passage for our walk with God? How can we best apply verse nine to our daily lives?

WHAT ARE “ALL THESE THINGS”? When Jesus said “all these things will be provided for you,” He’s speaking of all your other priorities. It doesn’t mean you’ll get everything you want or that life will be easy, but if you prioritize God’s Kingdom and righteousness above all else, God will look after all the other stuff you care about. That’s a bold claim. Jesus said it. It’s right there in bold, inerrant print. The question is, do you believe Him? As we come to the end of our study of Matthew 6, let’s take time to pray together. Pray that God will reveal to us, as a church and as individuals, what it would really look like to trust Him to provide every need in every area of our lives. God has given a vision to Calvary. We call it X150: Advance. Many of you have heard about the X150 Advance vision over the last month. It’s about planting churches: 150 of them all over the world. It’s about raising up champions. We want to identify, train, equip, and send 150 next-generation leaders to every corner of the globe. It’s about children. We want to help change the future of 150 children through foster care and adoption. It’s all about Advancing the Kingdom. Will you pray that God will show every one of us, starting with you, what it looks like to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?

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X150 ADVANCE 21 Days of Prayer

Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us — to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Ephesians 3:20-21

In 1997, there were two churches with about 40 believers in a North African country of nearly 9 million persons. In 1998, missionaries called on the worldwide body of Christ to pray for the nation’s lost. In addition to the many churches that covenanted to pray for the nation, several prayer walking teams arrived in the country to pray “on-site with insight.” A year after the prayer emphasis, the number of believers increased 500 percent and 13 new churches were formed. When a local missionary was asked what was the turning point, he said without hesitation, “Prayer.” . . . A Muslim background believer from [that country] expressed her gratitude for the prayers of Christians that, she believes, drew her and her family to faith in Christ. “For many years,” she said, “you all prayed for my country. And these prayers rose up to Heaven where they gathered and gathered like great clouds forming over the desert. Today, these prayers are raining down miracles all across my country. [This] has become a land of miracles.” “Church Planting Movements” by David Garrison

Over the next 21 days, we are asking you to join us as our Calvary Church family comes together to pray for God to do a mighty work. The Kingdom of God advances first through the prayers of His people. And we have a God-sized vision – to see the Kingdom of God advance through planting 150 churches, raising up 150 champions, and helping change the future of 150 children through foster care and adoption. This vision will require a sacrificial commitment from all of us, but it must first be rooted in prayer.

Use this guide to lead and fuel your prayer for the next 21 days. Read the texts over and over and let the Holy Spirit speak to you and guide you as you commune with God.

DAY 1 But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. - Matthew 6:33 Heavenly Father, help me to seek your Kingdom above all else. I ask that you would provide Calvary Church and its people with all we need to fulfill your vision and see your Kingdom advance.

DAY 2 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” - John 3:3 Heavenly Father, I know the fields are ripe for harvest. Please send me as a worker into your harvest, that I might proclaim your good news and see lives transformed by your Gospel.

DAY 3 Most Christian expect little from God, ask little, and therefore receive little, and are content with little. - A.W. Pink Heavenly Father, I ask you, through X150, to do more than I can ask for or even comprehend. I want to experience your Holy Spirit move in ways I have never witnessed before, please do a fresh work in my heart and in my church.

DAY 4 Jesus stared death square in the face, knowing

first come to you in prayer. May my prayers not just focus on earthly wishes, but the needs of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and the advancement of your Gospel and Kingdom.

DAY 5 But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. - Acts 8:12 Heavenly Father, I praise you for the life-transforming power of the good news of the Kingdom of God. I ask that you would bless and multiply the work of all of Calvary’s national and international church plants, revitalizations, and campuses so that we may see record numbers of men, women, and children being baptized.

DAY 6 Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God. - Phillips Brooks Heavenly Father, I ask that you raise up a future generation of missional leaders from Calvary Church and Calvary Christian High School. May these young men and women live rich lives, strengthened by your Spirit, willing to go wherever you may call them, accomplishing mighty works for your Kingdom that your name may be glorified.

his fate was inescapable. How did he face it? On his knees in prayer . . . - John Onwuchekwa Heavenly Father, as I look to Christ as my example, please remind me that in all circumstances I should 42 | 21 Days of Prayer

DAY 7 And he said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to

describe it? It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.” - Mark 4:30-32 Heavenly Father, may I be found faithful to focus on the “small” things of your Kingdom. Remind me that a few people so dedicated in time will shake the world for your glory!

DAY 8 After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” - Acts 14:21-22 Heavenly Father, please give me the opportunity to take your Gospel to new places and make disciples. I ask that you would give me your words to encourage and strengthen fellow believers and that together we would be ready to face times of difficulty for your glory.

DAY 9 Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you. - J.C. Ryle Heavenly Father, I lift up to your throne my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world facing persecution. While I do not know their names or their stories, you do. Please sustain and protect them, give them endurance through your Holy Spirit, encourage them in their faith, and give them boldness to proclaim your Kingdom.

DAY 10 Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. - Acts 28:30-31 Heavenly Father, please give me boldness to proclaim the good news of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Please remove from my life any hindrance or fear that keeps me from sharing the Gospel in my neighborhood and community.

DAY 11 When God has something very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it, the extraordinary prayers of His people. - Jonathan Edwards Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I cannot be part of seeing X150 succeed in my own strength. I ask you, through your Holy Spirit, to keep me plugged into the vine, help me produce fruit that is pleasing to you, and to use my life to do great things for your Kingdom.

DAY 12 There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer. - Arthur Pierson Heavenly Father, I lift up to you our church planting partners in the United States. Please use them through their Gospel proclamation to be catalysts for change in their communities, igniting awakenings that can only be attributed to your Holy Spirit.

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DAY 13

DAY 15

After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God. - Acts 1:3

When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. - Mark 10:14

Heavenly Father, I praise you for a Risen Savior who defeated death. Please use me to advance your Kingdom and take your Gospel to those around the world who have never heard. May they see the mighty works of your hand and believe in the One True God.

Heavenly Father, please use Calvary Church to help change the future of children through foster care and adoption. Please provide opportunities for me to demonstrate and proclaim the hope found in the Gospel to children in need.

DAY 16 DAY 14 If a church is to be what it ought to be for the purposes of God, we must train it in the holy art of prayer. Churches without prayer meetings

For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God. - Ephesians 5:5

are grievously common. Even if there were only one such, it would be one to weep over. In many churches the prayer meeting is only the skeleton of a gathering; the form is kept up, but

Heavenly Father, please protect my heart and set my mind on that which is pure and holy. May I be found to be a faithful citizen of your Kingdom.

the people do not come. There is no interest, no power, in connection with the meeting. Oh, let it not be so with you! Do train the people to continually meet together for prayer. Rouse them to incessant supplication. There is a holy art in it. Study to show yourselves approved by

DAY 17 What an instrument is this which God hath put into your hands! Prayer moves Him that moves the universe. - Robert Murray McCheyne

the prayerfulness of your people. If you pray yourself, you will want them to pray with you, and when they begin to pray with you, and for you, and for the work of the Lord, they will want more prayer themselves, and the appetite will grow. Believe me, if a church does not pray, it is dead. Instead of putting united prayer last, put

Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege to come to you in prayer. I boldly ask that you would use Calvary Church to take the Gospel to unreached, unengaged people groups around the world that we may see church planting movements in areas that are currently hostile to Christianity.

it first. Everything will hinge upon the power of prayer in the church. - Charles Spurgeon DAY 18 Heavenly Father, may my life and my church be marked by unceasing prayer. Please use my life and my prayers to advance your Kingdom and see lives transformed by the power of your Gospel. 44 | 21 Days of Prayer

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the Kingdom of God. - Acts 19:8

DAY 19 Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. Then he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. - Luke 9:1-2 Heavenly Father, please reveal your power through my service to you and testimony of your work in my life. Please use me for your Kingdom work and raise up more Calvary members willing to be sent as ambassadors for your Kingdom. DAY 20 This good news of the Kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. - Matthew 24:14 Heavenly Father, please hasten the day when a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, is standing before your throne. Please use me to proclaim your Kingdom and accomplish this end.

DAY 21 The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure, buried in a field that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy, he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. - Matthew 13:44-46

Heavenly Father, may I be willing to sacrifice everything to see your Kingdom advance. Help me loosen my grip on the things of this world and live a life of generosity marked by sacrificial investment in your Kingdom.

There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.

Heavenly Father, I ask that you would equip and encourage me to boldly engage with those around me who are lost and searching for the truth. May I be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within me without fear.

- Arthur Pierson Calvary.us | 45

Throughout X150 Advance, our first priority has been to invite each Calvary family member to go on a journey together to seek God. We trust Him to move through our Body as a whole to see his Kingdom advanced.

This devotional is designed to challenge each of us to align our hearts with His. Gordon MacDonald, the author, does a great job quickly bringing to focus our financial partnership with God. In context with the whole message of X150 Advance, this is an important part of the equation. As you go through it, simply keep asking God to make Himself evident to you.

Through the messages on Sundays, our group discussions, this devotional and each of our own walks with Christ, I pray God brings us all to a deeper tenderness of His heart and passion for His purposes!

In His Grace, Pastor Willy

DAYS

TO GENEROUS LIVING AN X150 ADVANCE DEVOTIONAL

Introduction You hold in your hands the 21 Days to Generous Living Devotional, a collection of twenty-one daily devotional readings, taken from Scripture passages on the theme of Christian generosity, and written by author and speaker Gordon MacDonald. These devotional readings are organized into three groups of seven, and they are designed to be read over a three-week period. There is a biblical theme for each week, on which all readings for that week elaborate. The weekly themes are as follows: • Week 1: God owns everything, and I am His money manager. • Week 2: My heart always goes where I put God’s money. • Week 3: If I look at Christ long enough, I will become a giver In addition, there is a memory verse for each week, corresponding to that week’s theme; so that ideally, on any given day, you would read that day’s devotional and work on that week’s memory verse. Whether you use this devotional in conjunction with your church or just for private meditation, we pray that it will help you to hear the word of God clearly and to excel more and more in the grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:7).

Written by Gordon MacDonald. Copyright © 2004, Generous Giving, Inc. Chattanooga, Tennessee www.GenerousGiving.org All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This document forms part of the Generous Church Toolkit, copyright © 2004, Generous Giving, Inc. Permission is granted to churches to reproduce and distribute 21 Days to Generous Living Devotional to their congregations, without altering any part of the document apart from substituting the church’s name and contact information on the front cover, and without charging recipients for the reprinted material provided to them. Otherwise, all rights reserved. Written By Gordon MacDonald. Copyright © 2004. From The Generous Church Toolkit. Generous Giving, Inc. www.GenerousGiving.org. All rights reserved. 48 | 21 Days to Generous Living

Daily Readings for Week 1: Theme: God owns everything, and I am His money manager. Memory Verse: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters” (Psalm 24:1).

Day 1: All We Have Belongs to God “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28). We are introduced to the idea of stewardship in the account of creation. This concept is among the Bible’s greatest and most significant themes. The Scriptures make it clear that all of creation belongs to God. He made it, directed how it was to be managed, and expects those to whom He has entrusted it to “report” back to Him. The health and beauty of life in creation has always depended upon our willingness to honor and obey God, as the Creator of all things. And so, the question remains: Do we understand that everything we have actually belongs to God, and has been temporarily entrusted to us? No one knows how long Adam and Eve lived under the “politic” of stewardship, caring for and delighting in all the things God had made. Was it days? Months? Years? Centuries? As long as they were diligent in their responsibilities and were obedient to their Master, all was well. Work is never more fulfilling than when it is seen in the context of stewardship. The steward (or the manager) knows what belongs to the master and what belongs to him. There is no confusion between the two. A good steward does not fight for control over things that do not belong to him. And the steward does not seek the honor that belongs to the one for whom he works. And, furthermore, the steward is careful to give an account of what he has done and to return to the owner that which belongs to him. The idea of stewardship is at the heart of the discipline of generous giving. Without it, giving becomes a miserable experience, and truly generous giving may not even be possible. The creation story reminds us that we do not give because we find it convenient or practical. We give because all that has been entrusted to us is God’s, and must be used as He sees fit.

Application Questions: 1. If everything I have belongs to God, and I am only a temporary trustee, in what ways should my life look different? 2. How am I doing at giving a good account of what I do with God’s stuff?

Day 2: God’s Kingdom Is a Community The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone ...” (Genesis 2:18). In God’s eyes, creation was not complete until it included a community of people. The first community was a twosome: Adam and Eve. We think of them as husband and wife, but they were also a community, a reflection of all people who live in some kind of covenant relationship. When God created Eve out of Adam’s rib and presented her to her husband, He blessed them. That is to say, the Lord formally covered them with His grace and approval. But with the blessing came responsibility. Everything God creates has a purpose. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands,” the Psalmist wrote (Psalms 19:1). In the highest sense, all created things—from the greatest galaxy to the tiniest microbe—exist to declare the glory of the Creator. How were Adam and Eve to declare the Creator’s glory? By filling creation with their progeny, by managing creation responsibly, and by exploring creation and giving the living things names. The right to name things was an indication of privilege, responsibility and accountability. There has never been a better “job” than the work of the first community before the Fall. It was a noble work of dignity, of delight, of renewal. It did not include the exhaustion and frustration, the mediocrity and the contentiousness, and the life-shortening and dehumanizing that we see today in the lives of so many workers. No, the work of the first community was designed by God, given to humanity, and seen as a privilege. Today the best work falls far short of God’s original intent. Adam and Eve experienced abundant energy, excitement and fulfillment; they finished every day with a sense of accomplishment. We grow tired, bored and fall short of our potential because we are afraid to fail. However, then as now, the work God has given to us is for our benefit—it is good. Through the work we do, we continue to reflect God’s order and creativity and continue to do our part to bring the life of Christ to the world around us—that is, to our community. Until the day of Christ, our work will always include frustration. But the ideal of the work of the first community should always be our guide star. We must reach for it so that, in working (whatever the work of the moment happens to be), God’s glory is proclaimed. Application Questions: 1. Am I an active part of a Christian community, or am I trying to go it alone? If the former, in what ways? If the latter, why? 2. If the work God gives me to do really is good, what should my attitude be toward it? How different is this from my current attitude?

Day 3: The Tragedy of Disobedience And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). In the first two chapters of the Bible, we learn of stewardship and its opposite: disobedience. In the early days of creation, all was well in the first community God had established. There is mystery and beauty in the words that describe them: The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. When these words were written many years later, how far the human race had come! The total transparency of the Garden, including spiritual and intellectual “nakedness” as well as physical nakedness, was gone. In its place was a society in which everything was divided and covered up. How had it happened? Answer: The principle of stewardship had been violated. Adam and Eve, God’s first stewards, simply decided that they knew more than God. It can hardly be said any plainer. Some critics of this story have scoffed at the triviality of eating fruit. However, if the first man and woman could not keep even this simple command—“eat from any tree but this one” (see Genesis 2:16)—how could they have remained faithful to issues of greater magnitude? Those who live as faithful stewards of the Master do not question His word. He knows what is his to control and use, and he knows what to leave alone. There is true freedom in following God’s directives; conversely, our disobedience brings only the tragic loss of trust and intimacy with our Master. In hiding from God, Adam hid from himself (“I was ashamed”) as well as from Eve (“it’s her fault”). And as these three relationships imploded, so did the relationship of the community within creation. From this point forward, creation was no longer Adam and Eve’s to manage. In effect it became the enemy: something to be overcome if they were to survive. When a steward breaks faith with the Master, tragedy results. Application Questions: 1. In what ways do I violate the principle of stewardship? 2. Am I willing to trust God’s word? Can I accept the fact that He knows best? Why or why not?

Day 4: Sheep and Goats When the Son of Man comes in his glory… all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:31-32). This text of Scripture records some of the last hours of our Lord before He was arrested and marched off to the trials that led to the cross. We might assume then that Jesus was trying one more time to drive home to His disciples the core truths of his gospel. One word that comes to mind to describe the theme here is accountability. The Savior describes what some would call an apocalyptic event: an incident in the time to come. In this picture that Jesus paints, the Son of Man (the Lord Himself) is seated upon a throne, framed by all the symbols of sovereignty and majesty. “All the nations will be gathered before him.” From other parts of the Bible we can bundle together descriptions of this apocalyptic moment and gather a sense of what is going on here. All of humanity is to be judged in the presence of God. Every heart (normally well hidden) is laid bare before him: the intentions, the ambitions, the secrets of everyone. One might imagine that this would be a rather uncomfortable moment. Too many of us have gotten by in life because we are adept at keeping our thoughts and designs hidden from the eyes of others. But here—in this moment—Jesus says, all the books of every life are opened for audit. Using farming language of the day, Jesus offers the notion of people being separated into two massive groups: the sheep and the goats. It would not have been unusual for anyone to see sheep and goats grazing together in the countryside. But there came a moment when the two species of animals were segregated according to their purpose and value. And so it is in this parable: sheep to the right, goats to the left. The important thought in the opening of this story is simply this: All the unknowns in our lives today will become knowns in the future. The person whose life is in business understands the reality of the audit. Each time a financial entry is made in the books, it is done with awareness that one day the books will be opened and inspected. All the day-to-day dealings of the business will be revealed. The strategies and priorities and effectiveness of the business owner will be there in the numbers. The truth will be told. The generous giver knows this also: that there is a set of books kept that will reveal the intents and convictions of each person’s heart. And these books cannot be cooked. We live in daily respect of that day when, with all the nations, we shall stand before him.

Application Questions: 1. What shameful things do I do in secret, thinking that no one will ever know? 2. Am I living my life in light of the fact that I will one day be audited? If not, how could I start living that way?

Day 5: Altars Everywhere Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (Genesis 22:2). Mixed into Abraham’s story is an obsession: Abraham wanted a son. Not to have one was unthinkable, for it would mean the end of the family line. Abraham must have a son. And he will do anything to make it happen. Despite God’s assurance that He had made Abraham the father of many nations (Genesis 17:5), Abraham acted as though God needed his help. At one time Abraham appointed a slave, Eliezer, to be his designated son. Later, Abraham impregnates his wife’s servant in the hope of having a son of his own bloodline. In both cases, Abraham paid a severe price for his connivance and manipulation. Finally, when Abraham and his wife were too old to have a child in the conventional way, God intervenes with a miracle: He gives them a son, Isaac. Isaac was more important to Abraham than anything else in life. No amount of wealth, no measure of influence, no promise of longevity could compare with the value of having a son. And so, Abraham must have been stunned when God asked him to lay Isaac on the altar, to give him back. In modern Western terms, this would seem to be one of the cruelest moments in the Bible. Yet there is also a powerful lesson for us. Isaac represents everything and everyone we hold precious in our sphere of influence. He is the sum total of all we are, all we have earned, all we own. We are not among the generous givers until we have, like Abraham, climbed the mountain of God’s choice, and laid it all on the altar. And when we do, we are saying: I acknowledge that what is mine is really yours. We are saying: I trust God that He knows what He is doing. We are saying: Though He asks for my very life, I will hold nothing back. Let us never think that the life of a generous giver is always going to be easy, full of laughter and applause, free of challenge or difficult decisions. There are altars ahead. And each altar is likely to elicit from us greater levels of commitment and sacrifice. This is the pathway of the generous giver. But at the end, we may hear, as Abraham did, Now I know that you fear God.

Application Questions: 1. What are the “Isaacs” in my life? What are the things that I hold most precious? 2. Do I trust God enough to offer those treasured things up to Him? How would I go about cultivating that kind of trust?

Day 6: Seek First the Kingdom “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). These are some of the most popular and most challenging words in all of the New Testament: Seek first his Kingdom and His righteousness. This is Jesus’ practical antidote to worry: Set your mind on other things than the length of life, food to eat and clothes to wear. Seek the kingdom. We spend our lives tempted to build our own kingdom—not a big one, of course, but certainly bigger than our neighbor’s. We want a little world where we are in charge, where our word and our will count for something. We want a private kingdom that is safe from fear and safe from need. So we go off to work each day, keep our stockbrokers busy, shop the sales, do deals and more. Nothing wrong at all with these activities ... unless they are really targeted on building a private kingdom in which we are the king. But seek His kingdom. Whose? God’s. A kingdom in which He is the undisputed Lord, where all things are His, where the final word is His, where the highest purposes are His. Biblical people understand this and submit to it. To seek first His kingdom is to think the lordship of Christ in every context. What would Jesus do? is not an unhelpful question to drive this idea. Jesus, Lord of my marriage and my family. Jesus, Lord of my friendships. Jesus, Lord of my career. Jesus, Lord of my financial activities. Jesus, Lord of all my plans and initiatives. The man or woman armed with this question and willing to press it into every choice, every plan, will see something new and fresh in life that relatively few people ever see. He or she will, first of all, quit worrying. That was Jesus’ earlier point. But well beyond that, he or she will be caught up in a dream: the dream of the kingdom, a world in which all eyes are upon Jesus and all of life is organized around His ways and means. Why worry about surviving when you can dream and then invest in a kingdom? Application Questions: 1. What things constitute my little kingdom? What is it I am building for myself? 2. Am I seeking God’s kingdom above everything else? What conclusions would someone draw from looking at my life?

Day 7: Getting on God’s Right Side “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? ...’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’ ” (Matthew 25:37-40). In the story of the sheep and goats, the sheep are located on the right. Then the Son of Man speaks to them, “Take your inheritance,” which is to say, receive your reward as the genuine heirs to the kingdom. How did Jesus determine which of these people were “sheep”? By things they had done in the past: They had fed the hungry, given drink to the thirsty, provided hospitality to the stranger, offered clothing to the naked, care to the sick, mercy to the prisoner. There are two surprises in this scenario. First: that the person in need was Christ. Jesus had distilled each of these generous actions into a single exchange, as it were, between the giver and Himself. “You fed me. You gave a drink to me. You took me in. You clothed me. You cared for me. And you came to my prison cell and visited me.” The second surprise: The “sheep” had no idea what Jesus was talking about. When did we do these things to you? is their startled query. And that is the catch. They didn’t know or realize that to act in such a way to the nameless and faceless poor of the world was, in fact, to have done it unto the Lord. This is indeed a wonderful surprise. There is an innocence, a naiveté to their question that gives added value to their original giving. But Jesus was emphatic. Every time you did anything for these who are the least of my brothers (in any society) you were doing it unto me. We must retrace our steps back to the people Jesus identified as the recipients of mercy: the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned. Of course, in the time in which Jesus told this story, there were no social “safety nets” such as we have today. In fact, Jesus was describing a genre of people who were totally without hope. Their rescue depended only on the initiative of generous givers. Today there are practical remedies available for the needy: Prisoners can appeal for justice, or the sick can seek medical relief. Food, drink and clothing can be had at various charitable institutions, and there are shelters for the homeless. We can support these efforts, of course; it is an admirable thing to do. Yet is this enough? Or is there more we can be doing to minister to the Lord “in distressing disguise”? Let us not leave these wonderful “sheep”, these generous givers, without reflecting upon this mystery. Many of us have believed that correct theology will assure us a place to the right of the Son of Man. Some rely on religious busyness to get us there. And a few may bet on simply being virtuous people. But in this story, the thing that qualified people to stand at the right of the throne was their enthusiastic generous giving. Now what is the message in that? This story does not end there, though you wish it would. There are still those “goats” on the left. Since this is a parable about accountability, their books also must be opened up; their deeds (or lack thereof) exposed.

And what do we learn? The people to the left were impervious to hunger, thirst, homelessness, nakedness, sickness and imprisonment. They didn’t see it when it stared them in the face. And if they saw it, they chose to ignore it. Again, Jesus personalizes the lack of transaction: You ignored me! I should think this would be a most uncomfortable moment for the goats. To realized that each of them meet the Son of Man again and again in the person of the poor and the weak, and passed Him by. Again the surprise; again you hear them protest: Was that you? Were you that person I left in the ditch, in the jail, in the final throes of hunger? You? And the response is eerily similar to the one given to the sheep: “What you did not do to these needy people, you did not do for me.” The ending assigned to the goats is not a happy one. It is pictured in its extreme: eternal punishment. This is not a time to raise the old question as to whether some people are destined to suffer forever. That is not at issue in this story. Rather, the “rabbi” in Jesus is making a point, a strong point: If you are blessed with resources and influence and you resist using it on behalf of those who are weaker than you, expect that your neglect will be exposed before God Himself. Expect that there will be a consequence. Few biblical passages make the case for generous giving as poignantly as does this story told by the Lord. In the final analysis, it serves to remind us that we might, in fact, encounter Jesus several times a day in those “insignificant” encounters with those who we might otherwise fail to see. Think about it! Application Questions: 1. How does my life square with Jesus’ judgment in Matthew 25? Am I a sheep or a goat? 2. Who are “the least of these” in my sphere of influence? How do I treat them?

Daily Readings for Week 2: Theme: My heart always goes where I put God’s money. Memory Verse: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Day 1: Building for the Wrong Reasons “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4). Babel was the first city of consequence recorded in the Bible. We know the city-building began with great enthusiasm and apparent expertise, with a common goal: to make a name for ourselves. The city was to convey an image of invincibility and power that would cause their enemies to think twice before threatening them. History has taught us that efforts like this usually lead to a sense of hubris or pride. “We’ve done this ourselves, and we need no one else.” Over and over, the Scriptures remind us of the dangers of this kind of self-sufficiency. The Psalmist reminds us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). We see further evidence of this in the Babel story. In verse 5 we read: “But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.” It’s immediately apparent that God does not like what He sees. The effort is cursed with a spirit of confusion, and, in a short time, the construction project is halted, and its workers are scattered. Sadly, the “spirit of Babel” is alive and well today. Employees of a phenomenally successful computer company in the 1980s sported T-shirts that read, “We’re ___ (the name of that company), and you’re not.” Not long ago the company lost enormous market-share, was acquired and, for all practical purposes, ceased to exist. The Babel story reminds us of the dangers of acquiring expensive things simply to build and project an image of power and self-sufficiency so that others will be impressed and respectful for the wrong reasons. Of course, it is not for us to judge someone who builds a $50 million-dollar mansion, acquires a 400-foot yacht or amasses a great art collection for his or her own enjoyment. However, it is our responsibility to conduct ourselves in such a way that, when the Lord sees us, He does not catch a “whiff of Babel.” As Christians, we stake our hope on eternity. What we accomplish here and the name we make for ourselves now must be evaluated in that light. Our names will one day be forgotten. But all we do to glorify God’s holy name will last forever.

Application Questions: 1. What things do I do just to make a name for myself? 2. What things am I doing that will last forever because they glorify God’s name?

Day 2: The Dangers of ‘Stuff’ And quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot (Genesis 13:7). All our possessions are gifts from God, to be used to enrich our lives and the lives of other people. However, these resources can become a curse if we fail to remember a simple, earthy, old principle: Stuff (let’s call it for what it is), if it is not well managed, can be a divisive force. It divides marriages, families, friends and communities. Stuff divided Abraham and Lot. As their business interests grew, it must have been easy for them to imagine that life could not get better. Yet their success was breeding an undercurrent of strife that reached a head and exploded in everyone’s face. The quarrel between those loyal to Lot and those loyal to Abraham probably had something to do with their spiritual priorities. However, Abraham was beginning to grow in his appreciation for God’s claim upon his life. Business was becoming less important to him as his walk with God increased in intensity. He chose the way of peace. For Lot, succeeding in business was very important; it was connected to acceptance and social standing. Lot was willing to do anything to advance his self-interests—even if it meant living in Sodom. Lot and Abraham symbolize for us the two different spiritual itineraries from which people of means must choose. The first does not despise success or wealth; however, it submits them to the purposes of God. The second way drifts steadily toward Sodom, where everything appears to be prosperous and secure. The man who put God’s agenda first went on to be the father of a great nation; the man who seized the initiative and took his family to Sodo m lost everything: his holdings, his family, his credibility. Which way will you choose?

Application Questions: 1. Is there ‘stuff’ in my life that is causing strife or division? In my marriage? In my family? At work? With my friends? What is that ‘stuff’? 2. What changes do I need to make in order to submit my ‘stuff’ to God’s purposes?

Day 3: Wealth Has Its Blind Spots With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out the city, for the Lord was merciful to them” (Genesis 19:15-16).. In Scripture we read that Lot pitched hits tents near Sodom (Genesis 13:12). Choosing the lush plains of Sodom was a sound business decision for any herdsman who was intent on increasing his holdings. In a place like that, achieving financial success was a “no-brainer”—though it made attaining spiritual success far more unlikely. Be careful where you point the front door of your tents, says the old adage. Soon you will head in that direction. And before long, Lot found himself no longer pointing toward Sodom but living in it. And before long, Lot was “seated at the gate” with the leaders of that community. Lot’s daughters were engaged to Sodomite men. His family was riddled with conflicting spiritual interests. His wealth increased, but his spiritual center collapsed. The generous giver is not protected from making grave, life-changing choices. The truth is, many of the questions facing a person of means have no easy answers. So how does one position oneself to enlarge business interests and still remain faithful one’s commitment to living a devout and holy life? Abraham headed for the hills. In terms of his business, this was not exactly a welcoming environment. However, it was there that Abraham found increasing intimacy with God. Clearly total isolation is not a possibility for most people—nor am I suggesting that it is even the ideal. So what is this sad story of Lot and his family saying to us? Let’s look at the situation in terms of results. Lot’s would-be son-in-law thought that the angels’ warning was a joke. His wife turned back, despite what she had heard (so much for Lot’s spiritual influence). Lot lost everything he owned and operated. Finally, Lot lost his dignity when his daughters enticed him to drunkenness in a bizarre plot to perpetuate the family line. Clearly, Lot and his family never escaped the gravitational pull of the culture of their birth. How does one grow in faithfulness to God yet remain free of the seductions of this present age?There are no easy answers to this difficult question. Generous givers must, like Abraham, “lift up your eyes” to find the answer.

Application Questions: 1. Where is the door of my tent facing? Am I dangerously close to dangerous influences? 2. In what ways have I been seduced by this evil age? How can I escape their influence?

Day 4: Soften Your Heart [The Lord says,] I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them (Hosea 14:4). It was Hosea’s “misfortune” to live in a time when a population thought it could control everything that makes life secure and reasonably comfortable. Thus, it must have been unsettling to the people in the street when the prophet warned them that God would tolerate their spiritual hardheartedness for just so long. Here is his ringing cry—a one-stringed instrument, if you please—Return, O Israel! Hosea had warned his people: “Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears ... (you) are a flat cake not turned over.” To those who thought they were appeasing God by empty religious exercise: “I desire mercy, (God says), not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea had heard the boasts of the wealthy: “I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity.” Translated: If you’re rich enough, you can live above the rules, you can cover up your dark sides, and you can get special treatment.” Hosea’s blunt answer: It doesn’t work that way. And that’s why he offers the only solution there is to jump starting a cold and ineffective spiritual life: Return or repent. Either way, it means to abandon all pretense that who we are, what we think we are, and what we have makes any difference at all to God. “Take words,” the prophet writes, “and say (to God), ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously ... Assyria cannot save us; we not mount on war-horses. We will never again say “Our gods” to what our hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion’ ” (italics mine). His point? Stop looking at things you’ve earned, made or acquired and thinking of them as gods. For that, indeed, is what we all do (then and now) when we permit our money and our possessions to symbolize security or stability in life. Hosea has put his finger on the mind and heart of the person seduced by materialism. And he challenges us to renounce it when we see it in ourselves.

Application Questions: 1. Do I secretly believe that my wealth lets me live above the rules? What conclusions would someone draw from looking at my life? 2. Am I willing to abandon the ‘gods’ that are my possessions? Have I ever truly repented? If so, how do I know? If not, what is holding me back?

Day 5: Whom Do You Work For? “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24). As this collection of sermons (known in sum as the Sermon on the Mount) moves along, we may grow increasingly uncomfortable at the insights of the Master. He knows too much about our interior lives: what we think, what’s important to us, and what our hidden intentions are. This bit of insight is no exception. He knows that all of us dearly wish to have it both ways. We want to maximize our wealth here on earth, and, at the same time, we’d like to maximize our approval in heaven. The Savior is not in a mind to negotiate these issues; He is blunt and to the point: You can’t do both. Here is a challenge about priorities. There cannot be two masters or controlling principles in life. And in case we do not get the point, He moves—as does the typical rabbi of His time—to the opposite extremes. You must love one and hate the other. In our Western mindset, we struggle with this presentation. We want to point out the logical impossibility of what He asks. But Jesus does not deal, at least here, with the Western logical mind. He is making a point. Your desire to be a pleasure to God as a generous person and your desire to have it all now are incompatible. One perspective must ascend above the other and ascend with dominance and conviction. Devoted is a key word in this text. It means to cleave or adhere to. It describes a passion which must grow in our interior lives: a passion to be wealthy or a passion to serve the living God. One of these passions must control the other. And if it is the latter of the two, then all wealth will be placed at the disposal of the One we have chosen to serve. This is the mindset of the would-be generous giver. This is his devotion: to serve the One who is the giver of all things and to seek His purposes at all times. This is a high calling, difficult to reach, but packed with immense blessing and satisfaction. The truly generous giver comes to know this.

Application Questions: 1. Who or what is my master? Could you tell by looking at my life? 2. Am I trying to have it both ways? Am I trying to please both God and Money? In what ways?

Day 6: Are Your Gods on the Altar? When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had great wealth (Matthew 19:22). The confident young man probably shouldn’t have asked what it was he was lacking. For the Savior hit him with a challenge and an invitation that no one in his right mind would have put forward: “Go sell everything you have, give the proceeds to the poor, and come and follow me.” Herein lies one of the great Christian enigmas. Does Christ really want any person to have (much less enjoy) wealth or not? Why does Jesus give this confrontational command when others in the biblical literature (both Old and New Testaments) appear free to have many possessions? The only conceivable answer is this: Jesus, looking into this man’s heart, knew that his wealth owned him, that he defined himself with his money and his status. Or to use religious language: His money and his lifestyle was his god, and he worshipped it all. It was this abnormal attachment that stood between him and the eternal life he asked Jesus about. Not a lot different from the attachment Abraham apparently felt to his only son, Isaac. In both cases, men were challenged to lay their “gods” on the altar. One man, his son; the other, his money. “When the young man went away, he felt sad because he had great wealth.” One wonders, how long did this young man live with that sadness? A few days? Months? A lifetime? A laser beam of conviction had been shot into his soul, and his real god had been exposed. What if the young man had said to Jesus: “I’ll do it. I’ll meet you here tomorrow after I’ve divested myself of everything.” Can you imagine Jesus saying, as heaven had answered Abraham many years before, “Stop, now I know that you love me”? Some think that the young man actually thought this challenge through and did what Jesus asked. I’m doubtful. If only that I suspect Matthew would have told us the end of the story had that happened. The would-be generous giver must read this story many, many times. Memorizing it would not hurt. It speaks to the chief temptation any successful or wealthy person has: When does all of this become a god to me? And what if Jesus were to put the challenge to me?

Application Questions: 1. Have my possessions become a god to me? How far is it before I cross that line? How would I know if I crossed it? 2. Do I take Jesus’ challenge to the rich ruler seriously? Or am I quick to explain it away? Do I even acknowledge the possibility that Jesus might ask the same thing of me? If no, why not?

Day 7: Are You Fully Devoted? As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God” (1 Kings 11:4). “King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart” (2 Chronicles 9.22-23). Yet Solomon died in disgrace. The young man who’d prayed for wisdom, who’d built a temple, who’d led a country with extraordinary insight so that he was sought as an expert by other kings, failed. How? Once again, the three classic temptations raised their ugly heads: money, power and sex. Solomon began to accumulate enormous amounts of silver and gold (1 Kings 10:14-25). We hear of all wealth that came pouring in. We hear nothing of the way it was poured out. Is there a message here? An argument from silence about hoarding and not giving? Solomon began to accumulate horses and chariots, the symbol of human power. It was like a president or prime minister today who builds the army larger and larger to project the power base of the country. Solomon wanted a reputation as an intimidator. And, finally, Solomon began to collect wives—700 wives, 300 concubines—“and his wives led him astray” (11:2-3). Centuries before (Deuteronomy 17) Moses had warned that a king must not mass large amounts of silver and gold, large numbers of horses, and many wives. And Solomon violated this principle to the extreme. As an old man, at the time he should have been at the height of his spiritual strength and intimacy with God, the Bible tells us that “the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away ... [So God said,] ‘Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees ... I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you’ ” (11:9ff). Any man or woman who has been given stewardship of money, influence or unusual skill must read this story with great fear. It reminds us that life, in most cases, has many years. And that the early years of success do not guarantee that the latter years will be greater. It reminds us that great gifts can be squandered, misused or forfeited. Solomon had great wealth; he hoarded it. Solomon had great power; he felt driven to enlarge it. Solomon was attractive to many women; he engaged with them in the wrong way. And this wonderful heart of his—which God had filled with wisdom—became clogged with the wrong things. And the wisdom that had ruled a nation was no longer powerful enough to rule the life of one man.

Application Questions: 1. How am I handling the wealth and influence God has given me? Have I succumbed to their gravitational pull? 2. Do I presume that I cannot fall away from faithfulness? Am I being diligent to the end? In what ways am I being presumptuous?

Daily Readings for Week 3: Theme: If I look at Christ long enough, I will become a giver. Memory Verse: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Day 1: Our Shepherd God “I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. ... I will shepherd the flock with justice” (Ezekiel 34:15-19). The gods of the peoples of Israel’s day were not caring gods. They were aloof, insensitive, capricious, amused by the sufferings of people. The best a pagan worshipper could hope for was that his god would be appeased, somehow mollified into granting the prayerful petitioner his wish. Not so with Israel’s God. He not only cares, but Ezekiel pictures Him also doing what the shepherd will not do: “I myself with search for my sheep.” The world had never heard of a God who would come down, hear the cries of His people, and act on their behalf. Listen to God’s intentions: “I will rescue them ... I will bring them out to their own land ... I will pastured them ... I will tend them. ... There they will lie down ... feed in a rich pasture ... I will bind up the injured, strengthen the weak. ... I will shepherd the flock with justice.” This is the mind of God, revealed to us. Surely, it provides a platform for the thinking of the would-be generous giver. If this is God’s intention, His pattern and His expectation, then what should be ours as we look to the future and ask concerning the best investment of our lives and our resources? There is no question about it. A God who would go to these lengths, in the perspective of Ezekiel, is a God who expects us to be doing the same. One’s day takes on a new orientation after reading these words. No longer can one pray, “God show me your will and your purpose for my life.” In the largest sense, that prayer is already answered. As God has engaged in searching for His sheep, has He left us with any question as to what He expects of us?

Application Questions: 1. Do I relate to God as my shepherd? Have I experienced His searching, care-giving love? When and how? 2. Am I faithful in obeying the will of God that He already has revealed to me? Or am I always asking Him to show me His will, while ignoring what He already has said? And why?

Day 2: A God of Relentless Love The Lord said to me, “God, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods” (Hosea 3:1). No one must know more about biblical love than the would-be generous giver. And one cannot appreciate the depth and breadth of biblical love unless he is acquainted with the larger cultural context of human relationships as it was practiced in the days of the Older Testament. Most people lived according to the ethic of vengeance or at least the rigid one-for-one justice that said, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Hurt me, and I will hurt you back significantly more. Bring shame to my family’s name, and I will make you suffer.” Enter Hosea. Under God’s directive, Hosea marries Gomer, a woman who sounds pretty much like a prostitute. It would be difficult to exaggerate the lowness of her status in the culture of those days, where sexual infidelity was usually punished by stoning. But in obedience, Hosea marries Gomer and begins to raise a family with her. And just when one might think that Gomer has learned her lesson and will live gratefully as Hosea’s wife for the rest of her life, she leaves again and returns to the streets. The first time was bad enough. But now she has re-entered the old way of living. Most of us—then and now—would say that she deserves whatever consequences come her way. Except God, who says to Hosea, “Go show your love to your wife again, even though she is loved by another and is an adulteress?” And here’s the real message, the next line: “Go love her as the Lord loves the Israelites.” This is biblical love; it refuses to be scorned. It keeps going back. Who could love like that? The love behind generous giving looks like that. The money we give does not buy loyalty, even appreciation. It does open the door of grace, and it provides the pathway by which some will discover not only relief of the body but also relief of the soul. But the end result is God’s business. What does He ask of us? To match our money with our mercy and love. Love for the “Gomers” of this world, who never quite get it but who never fall off of God’s horizon, or ours either. This is a love—this biblical —love that knows no limits.

Application Questions: 1. Have I experienced God’s persistent, rescuing love? If so, do I still experience it daily? Why or why not? 2. Does my charitable giving bear the marks of biblical love? Is it unconditional and persistent? Or is it stingy and judgmental? What would someone conclude from looking at my life?

Day 3: Going the Extra Mile “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” (Matthew 5:39-40). You could call it Moses’ justice: eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. That was Moses’ answer to the culture of vengeance all around him, which called for the eyes of seventy-seven in exchange for one wrongfully blinded, or seventy-seven lives in exchange for one wrongfully killed. With such retributive “justice,” Moses saw, the world would kill itself off rather quickly. So, Moses had an answer: one for one. And it seemed to work. But our Lord had an even better way: forgiveness. Don’t hit back. Don’t hold onto what you have if someone is determined to take it from you. And don’t refuse to go a mile with a soldier if he commands you to carry his pack; in fact, go two miles. Oh, and give to one who asks you. You can be sure these contrasts between Moses’ tradition and Jesus’ teaching caught peoples’ attention. By taking things to these extremes, Jesus guaranteed, first of all, that He would evoke thought and reflection on the part of his hearers. But more importantly, He was effectively getting people to think about grace, the absolute opposite of hatred and reprisal. We thought that generous giving began with solving practical problems such as who the worthy recipients of our gifts might be. Or with the resolution of tax and other legal problems: How much can I write off? How about a private foundation? Do I want recognition for my gifts? But here is Jesus taking us deeper. Watch Him poke at those tiny sensitivities that exist in all of us. If someone hits us, we want to hit back. If someone wants to fight us in court, we want to fight back. If someone makes demands upon us, we want the right to say no. And if someone keeps begging for money, we would like to refuse them. Our internal wiring points in these directions. And here is Christ saying to renounce this kind of thinking. Are we discovering something more about the spiritual makeup of the would-be generous giver? That he is called to a much deeper life: one that could gladly, if prompted by God’s Spirit, actually do what Jesus has said here? To do this, one must be willing to spend much more time in the presence of the Lord learning what this all means, how it is done, and overcoming the resistance within that thinks this absurd. These are not easy words ... for any of us.

Application Questions: 1. Do I always insist on just deserts? Did God insist on just deserts with me? Why is my attitude what it is? 2. Is my charitable giving hung up on the technicalities? Do I only give what I think people deserve? Or is my giving truly gracious? What are my criteria for giving to someone?

Day 4: Cultivating a Heart of Compassion When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14). Thousands of people gathered that day in the countryside. It was evidence to the face that the reputation of Jesus was growing throughout the entire area. And it was also evidence of how spiritually empty most people felt, how open they were to new ideas spoken by a charismatic figure. But now they were out there in the middle of nowhere, and they were hungry. The good news was that they were there; the bad news was that no one had thought through the implications of being so far from sources of food. “Jesus had compassion on them,” Matthew writes. Jesus saw their needs. He saw sick and diseased people, empty stomachs and empty hearts. And, more than anyone else, He knew that you can’t fill the vacancy of the soul if hunger and sickness are gnawing realities. Compassion—the act of feeling as another feels and wanting to do something about it—was Jesus’ dominant perspective at the moment. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the disciples. A few years later it would be different. Perhaps those men who later led the early church first learned compassion in this event. Who knows? But we need to look at them in the harsh light of their disinterested perspective that day. Jesus healed. What they did is not mentioned. Later the best these well-intentioned men could say was, “It’s getting late; there’s no food here; get the people out of here.” Here’s a key thought for would-be generous givers. Great giving is certainly strategic (or should be). But strategic thinking is not where it all begins. Compassion is the starting point. And compassion is not instinctive with most of us. It is a perspective that we will have to acquire. How? By asking God repeatedly for it; by disciplining ourselves to renounce self-centeredness; by intentionally extending ourselves and entering the lives of others by listening, watching and learning what human need looks like and what can be done about it. Slowly the heart gets the message. It must generate genuine—not pretended—compassion. The heart develops spiritual antennae that hone in the cries of humankind and sets in motion the appropriate response. Watch Jesus from this perspective. His is the model heart. He takes in this crowd of 5,000 and perceives accurately what the collective needs are. And not only does He set out to do what He can, but He does it in the correct order—and without making a big deal of it. This story is an important model for the generous giver. In it he sees perfect opposites: what compassion looks like and what it does not look like.

Application Questions: 1. What is my internal response to people in need? Do I have Christ-like compassion? Why or why not? 2. What is my attitude in giving? Do I have a posture of compassion? Or is my giving nothing more than a fiscal transaction? What would people who know me say about me? Written By Gordon MacDonald. Copyright © 2004. From The Generous Church Toolkit. Generous Giving, Inc. www.GenerousGiving.org. All rights reserved. 70 | 21 Days to Generous Living

Day 5: The Principle of Human Need One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy (Luke 14:1-2). Those who plan parties and dinners say that the first mark of a great party is the guest list. Make sure it includes people who are pleasant, convivial and socially skilled. Invite the curmudgeon, the bore or the oddball, and the party may go downhill fast. Jesus was someone a Pharisee invited as a dinner guest only after careful consideration. Not that Jesus was socially unskilled—far from it! At the same time, inviting Him to a dinner party pretty much ensured that someone would be put on the spot during the course of the evening. This Pharisee learned that lesson the hard way. He had invited the Lord to dine with him and his guests on the Sabbath day, presumably so that Jesus could be observed, studied and, eventually, neutralized when they found out His vulnerabilities. Instead, Jesus studied them. And, according to Luke, He made at least three salient observations that undoubtedly left people a bit off balance. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” At the party, Jesus was presented to a man who suffered from dropsy. It is not clear whether the Pharisee arranged for this man to be placed (as Luke puts it) “in front of Him.” However, the test was clear: Would Jesus, the healer, heal on the Sabbath day? Or was healing a form of work, to be avoided on the Sabbath? Jesus raised this very question to the people present at the dinner. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? And no one answered. They had always assumed that it wasn’t lawful, but now that Jesus had asked, no one was sure. They just knew they’d not seen it done before. So Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way. Then He pointed to a relevant piece of the law as the basis for a continuing discussion: If a boy or an ox falls into a well on the Sabbath, do you leave him there or pull him out? As soon as the question was raised, the momentum shifted. There was no further need to make the point. Genuine human need comes before anything else: before religious ceremony, before prohibitive laws and legalisms, before one’s own convenience, before one’s right to hoard and possess even those things that are rightfully ours. Human need requires a loving response. The would-be generous giver must master this principle. We must understand that when human need rises up before us and declares its presence, the party must stop. We must lay down our glass, set aside our knife and fork and ask, “What can I give? What can I do?”

Application Questions: 1. Have I ever been in serious need? What was it like? How did people respond? 2. What is my attitude toward human need? Where does it fit in my priorities? What do my checkbook and calendar say about my priorities?

Day 6: Giving to the Church, Sustaining God’s Work [The Lord said to Moses,] “With his own hands he is to bring the offering made to the Lord by fire” ( Leviticus 7:30). Leviticus is hardly the book most people would want to read for a spiritual jumpstart on a new day. It is filled with long, detailed descriptions of various laws and rituals, which Moses taught to the Israelites during their sojourn in the desert. Yet by reading it, we learn something about the themes that were important to the first generations of people headed to the Promised Land, which in turn set in motion a new way of life and conviction for the people of God. The first several chapters, a certain phrase appears again and again that will interest the generous giver: “Bring an offering.” These chapters detail many of the ways people were asked to give to the Lord, along with a description of how that offering should be presented, what it meant, and what the priest would do with it. Leviticus 7:28 describes the fellowship offering—an expression of thanksgiving or gratitude—to be brought to the tabernacle “with (one’s) own hand.” In other words, it is not something to be delegated or done impersonally. Someone who wanted to acknowledge that he has been blessed with abundance expressed his thanks by carrying his offering himself to the priest. Through it, the Israelites were reminded of a deeply personal element to their expression of faith and generosity. Part of this offering was to go to the priests, who were charged with maintaining the spiritual life of the community (Leviticus 7:31, 35-36). The message? At the core of the spiritual life of any group of people, there must be some organization and some appointed people to keep it going. Giving to the Lord and to His purposes means giving toward this “spiritual overhead.” What is most interesting about the detailed instructions that dominate Leviticus is how seriously the act of generous giving is taken in their corporate spiritual life. As the architecture of their walk with God is developed, giving and the way it is to be done are at the center of faith.

Application Questions: 1. What are my offerings to God like? Do I bring them thoughtfully, or in an offhanded way? 2. What is my attitude toward giving to the church? Do I resent it? Am I suspicious of my church leaders? Or am I glad to submit to them and support them with my gifts?

Day 7: The God Who Sees and Calls The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7-8). These are monumental lines in the biblical literature. They reveal something highly significant about the God of heaven and earth: The Creator of the universe has not distanced Himself from the people He has made, nor is He disinterested in their fate. He is aware! He seeks involvement! He is a rescuer! Those of us who have lived in the biblical tradition all our lives can scarcely appreciate the significance of these statements. We are accustomed to hearing of a God who is present to His people. But Moses lived in a day when the gods were presumed to be dispassionate, disinterested, capricious and inured to the sufferings of people. The gods didn’t care. God, however, did! At the core of the thinking and convictions of every would-be generous giver must be an awareness of the heavenly Father, who is greatly moved by human need and who desires to act on it. The cry of the Israelites has reached me. ...I am sending you. Moses, aged 80, was the man of the hour. The call, the assignment and the delegation of responsibility set in motion the events that would lead Israel out of Egypt. Part of the making of a generous giver is an experience not unlike the one Moses had: an experience of calling. Perhaps ours will not be quite as dramatic, nor will the magnitude of the call be as great. But the assignment is just as real. We must assume that God has, for each of us, a part to play in His grand scheme of redemption. Through our giving and the investment of our skills, God anticipates that we will play a seminal role in reaching people in their hour of need. Until that vision is clear and until it has attached itself to our hearts, we remain only marginally useful. But when we have heard God speak, everything changes. Like Moses, we head for our Egypt. Do you know where your Egypt is?

Application Questions: 1. Have I experienced God’s call on my life? If not, why not? Is it possible I am not listening? How would I recognize His call when I heard it? 2. Where is my Egypt? What is it that God would have me do to serve Him?