Well, Mars Hill, it’s that time of year again: our fiscal year end. And, providentially, the last couple weeks in Luke have been about money and stewardship as we’ve studied the story of
Zacchaeus and
Investing for Jesus in Luke 19.
God has blessed Mars Hill with an abundance of resources and talent. As such, we seek to be good stewards of God’s good gifts. Over the last 15 years, as a church we’ve grown:
- From 10 people to 10,000 people each Sunday
- From a few baptisms to 1,246 baptisms last year
- From one location to 10 locations and growing
- From 52 services to 1,500 services a year
- From an annual budget of $90,000 to $15.25 million
- From no Acts 29 Network to over 400 churches with combined attendance of 175,000 people per week
- From a few sermon downloads to over 7 million annually
And in the next year we plan to open new Mars Hill locations in Everett, Portland, Orange County, and Rainier Valley. Additionally, we’ve found or are in the process of finding bigger venues for Shoreline, Bellevue, Albuquerque, Downtown, and Federal Way, as they’ve outgrown their current buildings.
What an amazing return on investment for Jesus.
Don’t get complacent
As God grows his church, it can be easy for people to become complacent. People begin assuming that we’ve done enough, or that if there is more to be done, others will pick up the slack.
As Christians, we’re each called to respond to the generosity of Jesus, who died on the cross and paid the ultimate price for our sins, with our own radical generosity.
This means that it’s never OK for us to stop pressing forward, expect others to pick up our slack, or to compare ourselves with others.
Rather, we’re called to be righteous.
Four types of people
In the Bible, Jesus talks a lot about money, wealth, and possessions. Roughly 25 percent of his teaching in the four Gospels is about money, wealth, and possessions. The reason Jesus teaches so much about these things is because they’re indicators of our heart.
Biblically, there are
four types of people: unrighteous rich and poor, and righteous rich and poor.
Unrighteous rich and poor
The unrighteous rich and poor show through their actions that they are greedy and hard hearted.
The unrighteous rich sin in how they obtain and steward their wealth. They are often greedy and hold onto their money. They oppress the poor and consider themselves blessed because of their hard work. They often consider themselves as self-made.
The unrighteous poor find themselves in economic trouble because of sin. They aren’t poor because of circumstance but because of character. Some refuse to work or are poor employees who do not keep a job. They waste their money on frivolous things and are unwise, or they are stuck in a pattern of addiction to drugs, alcohol, or gambling, which eats away their wealth.
Righteous rich and poor
The righteous rich and poor show through their actions that they love God and want to please and glorify him.
The righteous rich are those whom God has blessed and who, in response to that blessing, are exceedingly generous. These are people who’ve worked hard, invested well, and are good stewards of God’s gifts. Some of the most generous people I know are also the richest. And, today in heaven, Jesus is both righteous and rich.
The righteous poor are those who are hard workers and, yet, through various circumstances no fault of their own, still struggle financially. Despite their hardships, they’re generous with what they have, give of their time, and show their love for Jesus by loving others. During his earthly life, Jesus was both righteous and poor.
So what’s the point?
Be righteous by God’s grace.
Jesus cares more about the condition of our hearts than whether we're rich or poor. But he does care about the condition of our heart. As Christians, we’re called to live a righteous life with our time, talents, and treasure.
Practically, this means giving as much as we are able, and doing so cheerfully.
As we come to the end of our fiscal year, I want to challenge you to look at your own life and determine where you are being righteous and where you are being unrighteous.
Each one of us can grow more, give more, and do more. Each one of us can become better stewards of the blessings God has entrusted us.
Together, let’s continue to strive to be even better stewards of what Jesus has given us for the opportunity he’s set before us.
Don’t be complacent. Be righteous.
As
Pastor Jamie wrote earlier this month, "As a church family, please pray, persevere, and
give so that we can make budget and start again strong this fall. Let’s continue to work hard, together for Jesus, so that we can see God’s great gift to us grow even more."
Lastly,
thank you to those who have been faithful and generous stewards of God’s grace in our church. Mars Hill is a miracle, and we are deeply thankful that you invest for Jesus with us.
–Pastor Mark
