Transcription
There was a book, uh, a few years ago that was a major leadership book called "Start With Why." And the book was really just saying, you know, unless you know why you're doing something, you really don't need to get about doing it. Now, I don't know about you, but, you know, my demographic in the room, the "why" when I was growing up was because I said so. That was the answer to the "why this" and "why that," and that was good enough back in the day.
But today, we don't want to do a "just because I said so" talk. Today, we want to stir around and ask, like, why are we, as a house, giving above what we normally give so that we can go beyond where we normally go? Why are we doing that? And I want to start with maybe why we're not doing that today.
I loved the message last Sunday from Dr. Crawford. Did you love his talk from Crawford? Litz? Uh, a few of you did. That was a smattering. I think we could give Dr. Crawford just a little bit more than that. What an incredible word! I love this guy. He is on our board, and I see this happen all the time. He can say more in a sentence than I can say in four paragraphs. And he opens his talk with this kind of front and center idea, and he says to us, all right, at the beginning, "God doesn't need your money."
And I was like, exactly. Of course, he doesn't need our money. He has what Psalm 50 says is the cattle on a thousand hills. Notice this. If you've heard that phrase before, it comes out of this incredible psalm where God is dialoguing with his people about their offerings and about their gifts. And he comes down in verse 8 and he says, "I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings." So they're bringing offerings to God, and he's saying, "I'm not going to push back on that, but I need you to understand that your motive in bringing the sacrifice is because you think I need it, then you've missed the point altogether."
And he unpacks that for them. He says, "I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine and the cattle on a thousand hills." Imagine that. God is saying, "I've got everything already." "I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry," now, he's not hungry, but he's just making a point, "if I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it." He has the cattle on a thousand hills, and he doesn't need our money.
So that kind of begs the question a little bit. If God doesn't need our money, then why are we giving above and beyond today? And there are two main reasons that I want us to think about together. And the first one is this: that the mandate of God on Earth does need our money. The mission of God on Earth does need our money.
The last command of Jesus Christ on Earth was this. He said, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." The last command of Jesus was to go. Go where? Go to every single person on planet Earth and tell them the story of Jesus. This is the most essential enterprise on the planet today, and it's expensive, and it requires that we lean in with our resources to fulfill the purposes of God.
Notice the way Paul said it in Romans 10. He said, "But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart." That is the word of faith we are proclaiming. That if, if you want to know how, like, a vet, to go from death to life spiritually, how to be saved, it's right here in the word of God. That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. How are you saved? Not by works, not by our effort, not by our good deeds. You're saved by confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead. And that is how we are saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Amen. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile; the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone, hello, who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Oh, come on, Passion City. This is, this is the mission. Yeah. Yes. This is, this is what Jesus has left us to do because every person, no matter who they are, where they're coming from, who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But then look what he says. How? This is what we're talking about today. The how. "How then can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?" As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
And what we're rallying around today is this idea. It is the sending part of the equation. It's going. We know the mission is to preach the gospel in the whole world. We know that this is the most essential thing going on on planet Earth right now. But how can people be saved if someone isn't sent? And how can someone be sent if there isn't the resource to send them?
I was preaching at Passion City Church DC last week, and one of our team there, a new person on our team, was highlighting in the giving section of the gathering some of the things they'd done in DC this summer. And she was talking about one of the, uh, meetups that they had had in Lincoln Park in DC. And it was an ice cream meetup kind of thing. And a bunch of folks from the church were there. But this one girl wanders in from the community. And she sees the free ice cream. She comes up, takes an ice cream, she starts talking to the person on our team. And she says, "Yeah, uh, what, where are you all from?" And she says, "We're part of Passion City Church DC. We're just out here with our community and meeting folks in the community." And she says, "Oh, church? Yeah, I'm not into the church thing." She says, "My boyfriend is. I wish he was here today. He would love meeting all of y'all." But she stuck around, spent some time talking to some of the door holders from PCC DC. And about an hour later, she circled back around and found the person on our team who she'd met at the beginning. And she said, "I just had the most incredible conversation with the people from your church. It was such a meaningful conversation." And in that moment, we were able to tell her when church is, tell her where the Lincoln Theater is on U Street, invite her to come and be a part of Passion City Church. And I don't know, that was just a few weeks ago. Whether she's come yet, I don't know where her story is going to end up. But I do know that it all happened because of a free ice cream cone.
And here's the thing about the free ice cream cone. It wasn't free. We are not subsidized by the ice cream cone company. We don't have a secret deal with the ice cream cones. We had to pay for the ice cream cones. And I was able to say to this young congregation, 60% of them in in DC under 30 years old, I was able to say to them, "Thank you for paying for the ice cream cones." Can anybody get excited about paying for an ice cream cone? Because I, I'm not kidding, who knows in heaven how her story is going to play out? And if it does play out for eternal life, that ice cream cone is going to, going to be a major part of that story of God finding her. Sometimes the sending is literally sending a person to an outpost on the other side of the globe. But sometimes the sending is an ice cream cone in Lincoln Park. It's God's way of touching someone's life. And I love that that's what we're a part of, and that we get to give into the most critical thing happening on Earth. And I pray that we will see something explode across Earth of resource pouring into this idea of Jesus being lifted up to all people.
It's been a crazy month in the political world. First, we have an assassination attempt, and at the end of that weekend, an amazing amount of money poured into that campaign, record-breaking amounts of money in a very short period of time. And it wasn't just big hitters. It was people all across the board giving in as they could. And then a few weeks later, we have a change on the ticket in the other party, and in the next few days, an unbelievable, record-breaking amount of money poured into that campaign. Not just the big hitters, but people all across the board giving what they could and smashing records. In both instances, people, people giving. Why? Because people in America believe this is a very critical moment. And I just offer today, what is more critical than the whole world hearing about the Savior? What is more important than the whole earth hearing about Jesus? And so I pray that we'll see some kind of record-breaking, mind-shifting participation of people going, "It's not just the heavy hitters. It's everybody doing what they can." And we're setting, if you will, heavenly benchmarks that we haven't seen before. We need warriors in the giving space who say, "What is it we need to send people with the story of Jesus? What is it we need to create a space that someone walks in and says, 'A, it's beautiful, and B, I felt welcomed, and I felt safe in this place'? What is it that we need to keep making space for people to hear about Jesus?" Just tell me what we need, because I'm all in on the most critical thing happening in Atlanta, Georgia, right now, and on planet Earth. That's why we are giving above and beyond today because our mission is the greatest mission of all.
The second reason why we're giving today is because your generosity writes you into the story of God. I love how Psalm 50 ends. I quoted, uh, "cattle on a thousand hills" a lot of times in my life, but I had never really dug into Psalm 50 from beginning to end and broken it down and taken it apart and put it back together. And when I did, I loved this landing point. It says in verse 23, "He who sacrifices," that word keeps appearing, "thank offerings honors me." This is the Lord speaking back to the people. "And he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." Not only does the sacrifice honor me, but the sacrifice prepares the way for me to move into that person's life in a greater way with the blessing of God, not just financial blessing, but with God's blessing of favor on a life for generations to come.
Interestingly, when I was digging down into this, this verse is really saying, based on the verses above, that God wants our heart. He said, "Your sacrifices of thankfulness, when they come from a life that says, 'You can have it all,' that is what leads you into the blessing of God, and it's what honors God." What he's saying is, it doesn't matter what you put in the envelope if your heart's not in it. You can keep it because I've got the cattle on a thousand hills. So if you put a million bucks in here, but you, you have bitterness in your heart toward your neighbor, you can keep it. I want your heart. I want your life. I want everything that is in you as a thank offering to me. And he says, when you bring me that offering that honors me, and it puts you in a position to be blessed by God, to move into the fullness, not to earn salvation from God, but to move into the fullness of the salvation from God in your life. Your giving, generosity, sacrifice, thank offering, writes you into the story of God.
And we've seen that already in these first few days of "Above and Beyond." The first gift I heard about coming into "Above and Beyond" was from a family in our church. They have means, and their gift today in "Above and Beyond" Sunday is $390,000. They have enormous capacity to be able to bring a gift like that into a moment like this. But we also heard about a single mom who had written on her card and sent it in already to us. And on the part where it says, "Write what you would like for us to pray for," she said, "This gift in this envelope is all that I have saved towards putting a deposit on an apartment." And this single mom had put $480 in the envelope as a part of "Above and Beyond." And I, I just love that in the very first few days, it was $390,000 and $480 because it highlights again that generosity is not about an amount. It is about our hearts. It's like that widow in scripture who put the two small coins in, and Jesus acknowledged her, and heaven applauded. And so think about that today. $480 from a single mom can set heaven off into thunderous applause today because it's not about the amount. The $390 can set heaven off into thunderous applause. Whatever we bring from a heart of wanting to be obedient to God and wanting to give thanks to God, sets off the applause of heaven, and it writes us into the story of God.
We have such an incredible story here. Passion City Church's story is a story of a miracle. Miracles. Um, we've told the story a lot here, and you guys at Cumberland, some of you have been over to this location, some of you not. But you probably know what over here in Trill, same. Some of you know there's a 515 up there. Some of you have been, some not. But this is where it all started, right here. This is why there's a DC. This is why there's a Cumberland. This is why there's a Trill from right here. And this building was a miracle. I've told you this story many times. We're moving around the city for the first couple of years, meeting in venues, the Tabernacle downtown, GAC, Cobb Energy Center. But we wanted a home. And, uh, the first week that Shell and I had since the Lord was saying, "Plant Passion City Church," we've been praying about it, talking about it for a long time. But at this conference that we were at in another country, it, it clicked, and God just put it all together. This is going to happen. And we knew we're planting a church by the grace of God in Atlanta, Georgia. Then we had no one to tell because we're in another country. So there was one other speaker at this conference, and he was a pastor from Atlanta, Georgia. I did not know him, but I knew of him. And toward the end of the week, I felt like I just need to ask somebody for their blessing. That's the way life works, by the way. When you set out to do something, find somebody ahead of you and ask for their blessing. Especially if you're going to plant a church in a city, find somebody already in that city building the church and ask them for their blessing. And I didn't know this person, but I, I walked up to him at the end of the week and I said, "Shell, really, and I feel like the Lord wants us to plant a church in Atlanta. You're a pastor in Atlanta, you have a lot of influence in Atlanta, so I'm asking for your blessing to plant a church in Atlanta." And I was just hoping for a, "Wow, that's amazing. God bless you." And hoping not for a, "How close is it going to be to my church? And when are you going to be planting?" And, uh, "Atlanta already has a lot of great churches." You know what the person said? The person was Jensen Franklin, by the way. You're all trying to figure out who the person was. And he said, "You know what Jensen Franklin said to me?" First sentence, he said, "I know right where your church is supposed to be." I was like, "We just figured out like three days ago we were planting a church, so we're not really looking for the location right now because we got, you know, nothing right now." He goes, "I know right where your church is supposed to be." I was like, "Really?" He goes, "Yeah. You know, on, when you go up 85, right before you get to the 400 split, there's a huge flagpole that sticks up. He goes, 'Right there is where your church needs to be. We were going to put one of our churches there, but we're going to put it in a different location now, and you should get that location.'" I'm like, "Okay, thank you. I know we're planting a church and I know there's a big flagpole, so this is good so far."
We come home, and a few weeks go by, and I go driving to the flagpole. But the flagpole I was thinking about off 85 was different from the flagpole that he was thinking about. And when I got to my flagpole, I couldn't see anything that looked like what he was talking about. And so, you know, some months went by, and finally, I'm, you know, like, I've got to find the right flagpole. So we call back, "Can you give us the address to the flagpole?" And we put it in the GPS, drive down, get off 400, and turn right on Sydney Marcus. And I'm like, "Yeah, no, this isn't the right way." But sure enough, we come right around the curve on Garson Drive and see the largest flagpole I've ever seen before, out in front of this building. Most all of you know the story. This was an abandoned Home Depot Expo Design Center, and it had gone out of business. But the PGA Superstore guys had come in. They put a wall down the middle of the building about where our main hallway is. And on that other side over there, you could buy your golf clubs and your golf shirt and your golf shoes and your tennis rackets and your tennis skirt and your tennis balls and all the things you needed for golf and tennis in the half over there. But that also had gone out of business. And so now the only thing left was the flagpole. And we had the opportunity to make a deal and get this building. And that deal came to a halt, and we had to walk away from it. And we had to say to the people who had this property, they were going to build a big condo tower here right when the market crashed in 2008, and this whole thing just kind of went up in smoke. When we got here, chain-link fence around it, graffiti tags all over the building, sinkhole out in the parking lot. And the deal that we needed to make, they wouldn't make. And so we had to walk away. A day or day and a half went by, and they called back and said, "We, we, we're willing to make the deal that you want to make." And from the moment they said yes, it has been a miracle in this place. It's been a miracle that we are in this place. And thank you, thank you, Pastor Jensen Franklin, for the flagpole, because we're sitting in your flagpole right now.
So we were having a financial oversight team meeting. We weren't meeting in here. The building was completely, uh, as it was left on this side, and as it was left on that side. But we were having a financial oversight team meeting here. And we were meeting over in the PGA Superstore side, side, around a, a folding table. Some of the guys that were pioneers of helping us figure out how to do Passion City Church. And you can see in the picture, um, interestingly, they had this, uh, golf gallery on the wall on one side that's blown up photograph. This is our warehouse space now. And, so if you're in there and you look over your shoulder, don't be freaked out, uh, because these people are all on the corner of the wall. If you were testing your putter, you had an audience, you know, to do that. I don't know why the lady has tape over her face, by the way. It's not some kind of privacy issue that we had with her. Um, but also in this space was this right here. I mean, they had a place where you could test out your tennis rackets and check out things. There was a net there at one point. And as you can see there, this tennis ball is laying around the whole court right there. And one of the times that we were meeting, we're sitting at this table, and Bob Day comes to the table, and he's walked over and picked up one of the tennis balls and he's taken a Sharpie and written on it. And as we're talking about how are we going to take the steps we need to take, he sets the tennis ball in the middle of the table and he says, "Our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills." And that became, uh, yes, let's do. Let's, let's just celebrate that. That's beautiful. And that became an emblem for us. What's the step? What do we believing God for? What, what are we trusting God for? Well, we're trusting the God who has the cattle on a thousand hills. We, we're moving with the God who has the cattle on a thousand hills. We're moving with a God who is writing an incredible story. And that's our story. Our story at Passion City Church, from that moment to now, if we had three days together, we could just talk about miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle of how God has made a way and how he has proved that "I've got it. I've got all the cattle. I've got all the hills. I've got all the creatures of the earth. If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you because everything belongs to me. Trust me and follow me and believe in me and watch me do a miracle." And that's what God is inviting you into today. We have a miracle story, and I believe after this "Above and Beyond" season, we're going to have another miracle story. But God wants you to have a miracle story.
I love when Jesus met that woman at the well, that Samaritan woman whose life was blown up all over the place, and he offered her living water that would never end. She was so blown away, she went back and told everybody in the town. And look what happened. "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him, in Jesus, because of the woman's testimony." Her testimony was, "He told me everything I ever did." That sounds like a terrible testimony, but it just showed her that, you know, all the bad stuff about me, and you're still here reaching toward me? You're still offering me eternal life? So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words, many more became believers. Now, you don't want to be the few that didn't, right? But many more did. And they said to the woman, "This is so cool. We no longer believe just because of what you said. Now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." Their story went from, "I heard about what he did for you," to, "Now I heard it myself, and this is what he has done for me." Their story went from, "I, I know that you have a miracle in your meeting with Jesus," to, "But now I have a miracle in my meeting with Jesus." And ultimately, at the end of the day, I believe this is the why of "Above and Beyond." Our story is a story of cattle on a thousand hills, God. Our story, when we look back, is from nothing to everything. We've seen. We didn't have a sponsor. We didn't have a gifting-sending organization. We didn't have a dollar in our bank account when we started Passion City Church. And the first gift we got from another church on the other side of the world, when a pastor heard, "You're planting a church," great, "here's $50,000. We just want to be a part of that." And that same group sitting around that same table with that same tennis ball on the middle of the table said, "We just got $50,000." That was like $50 million to us in that moment. And that same group of people sitting around that same table with the same tennis ball said, "Let's give it away." And we gave $25,000 to a church plant in Atlanta that was just getting off the ground, and $25,000 to a church plant on the other side of the earth that we knew was just getting off the ground. And we said, "We just want to be a conduit of the generosity of God." And it's a miracle story. And even in these next few days, some of it is ice cream cones. But 10% of everything that we give in "Above and Beyond" is going to our partners globally and locally, in DC, in Atlanta, and around the world. Trill specific partners, Cumberland specific partners, 515 specific partners, DC specific partners, and then some big organizations that are doing phenomenal things on planet Earth. And 10% of everything we give in this season is going through Passion City Church to other places on the earth that are sending people to share the story of Jesus everywhere to everybody. Our story is a miracle story.
So why should you give? I'll tell you why. Because the "why" turns our story into your story. And it won't just be the miracle that was "Above and Beyond" at Passion City Church. It will become the miracle that is "Above and Beyond" in your story. God doesn't just want us to have a story. He wants you to have a story. And he's inviting you in today. When you leave today, every family will get a tennis ball. And we didn't write anything on it because I want to let you write on it what you're believing the God who has the cattle on a thousand hills for. Maybe you'll write a thousand on your tennis ball and say, "I'm just believing in a God who provides." Maybe for you, it's a certain amount that you're trusting God for, the amount to put a deposit on an apartment. And by the way, only a handful of people, that person is in church today, that single mom. And only a handful of people knew about your gift. Just a few. But a family in our church that knew about your gift has said to us, they don't know how much the deposit is, the full deposit you were saving for, but it's paid for right now. Your full deposit for you and your child right now is the "Above and Beyond" at Passion City Church today. Maybe it's the initials of a coworker or friend that you're wanting to see come to know Jesus. Maybe it's the address of somewhere that's important to you that you're trusting God for. But everyone gets a free tennis ball on the way out today, except for the fact that the tennis balls weren't free. They were cheap, though. I will tell you that if you buy a bunch of tennis balls from Amazon, they'll bring them in four or five vans and unload them for you, and they're pretty cheap, but they're not free. But they're free to you. And I hope that maybe a lot of these will be in cupholders like that one was that we had back in the day for several years. It was in one of the cupholders of those men for several years, made appearances at staff team meetings. And I hope maybe yours will be somewhere prominent that'll just remind you that God's writing a great story.