Time to Celebrate

Have you ever watched people boiling over with such excitement as they celebrate some sort of achievement? If you watch sports, it is a great picture of a championship team. Maybe you have been at a restaurant in May as family gathers to congratulate a young adult who is graduating from high school or college. Some nights you are able to catch a couple madly in love as they celebrate an engagement over a meal and dessert. At work, an office celebrates record sales for the year and may even pass out bonuses to honor hard work. Celebrations are a magnificent part of our lives to mark great accomplishments.

Celebrations come in all forms, big and small, financial and verbal. Celebrations happen in our lives each and every year. But, they also happen in the Bible. One celebration in particular happens in Ezra 6:16. The people of Israel and Judah have been exiled to Babylon because of their rampant idolatry. In His grace and providence, God is bringing them back to the land of promise and has provided for them to rebuild the temple. In Ezra 6:16-17, the temple is restored and it says, “The sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. They offered for the dedication of this temple of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.”

God had done something great and magnificent in their midst, so they celebrated. I am here to tell you that God has done something great and magnificent in our midst and we have an opportunity to celebrate! On Oct 20, I came to you with a challenge. Something truly monumental for our church. The challenge was for us to make monthly budget needs for the first time in a LONG time. To be sure, this is a great provision of God as YOU gave in obedience to HIM!

When I sent out the challenge on Oct 20, we were around $16,000 of meeting our monthly goal. Give Your Best Sunday was an enormous springboard for our church towards the goal. However, on Sunday, Oct 22, our offering was roughly $5900. That meant that we still needed nearly $10,000 to get there on a 5^th Sunday of the month. Historically, the 5^th Sunday is not the greatest offering week as many are waiting on the first of the month to get paid. So, you can see in this picture how things shaped up. I made notes over the past two weeks on the white board in my office about where things stood in relation to the monthly budget. I honestly was not sure what would happen on the Oct 29, but prayed that God would provide. Remember - God supplies our needs according to HIS riches, not ours! Not including online donations, our offering this past Sunday was just over $10,000. WE MADE IT!!!! This marks the first time since December of 2013 that our church met monthly budget needs! It also marks just the 10th time that we have met monthly budget since 2010. This is a VERY big deal, so let the celebration begin!

Let me offer two observations about this celebration, our church, and the future:

1.  Meeting budget for October is not just about a financial figure. There are two things that are conveyed here; one is spiritual and the other is practically. Let’s start with the practical. We have a fiduciary commitment as a church to one another. It is part of church membership. Practically speaking, this is how we support one another in ministry. If we do not make budget, then we are limited in what we can do to reach Fairburn. It forces us to make internal vs external decisions. For example, do we buy SS material or hold Vacation Bible School this year; do we pay the electric bill or do we pay for gas to drive the bus to pick up people for church. These are some of the practical decisions that making budget this month alleviates. Spiritually speaking, it is a matter of trusting God’s provision. I know that some of you gave more this month than maybe you ever have in any other month of your life. In doing so, you knew what God had shown you to do and you trusted that He would provide if you followed Him. That is spiritual. To meet budget this month in church that has not met budget in years demonstrates a spiritual growth and trust of our people to follow God’s leadership. Giving is never financial only, it is always spiritual.
2.  Meeting budget in October is not the end. You will notice something with me…Ezra does not end in chapter 6. Actually, the history of Israel does not end in Ezra 6. The story of God’s redemption (we call that the Gospel message) did not end there either. Rather, from Ezra we get to Nehemiah where the task was rebuilding the wall and the city of Jerusalem. We catch a break from the building in Ezra-Nehemiah when we get to the book of Haggai. Israel had started something big for God, but got focused on everything else. When the focused on everything else (namely, their own houses), giving went down and the temple was left unfinished. Church, we have unfinished business in Fairburn, GA. We have a monumental task to reach this city that is shrouded by darkness. PLEASE hear me when I say that October was GREAT and reason to celebrate, but we cannot celebrate to the detriment of looking forward. The last time that we met monthly budget needs was actually a time when we met these needs in back to back months in 2013. I believe we can do this again. Help me ensure that we finish 2017 strong because there is work to do!

I am excited about the future of FBC Fairburn. God is moving us forward. God is stirring the hearts of men and women around us. Make the commitment today to give in accordance with God’s leading for you and your family. I cannot wait to worship with you on Sunday as we publicly celebrate God’s provision.

If you would like to help us get ahead for November, follow this secure link to give online:

FBC Fairburn is a diverse community of believers seeking

to glorify God, make disciples, build families, and reach our community 

in waysthat stretch beyond age, ethnicity, and status.