In the economy of God’s kingdom, what takes our faith the deepest also takes the mission the farthest. This is the heartbeat of why we preach about money at Mercy Hill. At our church, we don’t talk about money all the time, but when we do, we don’t apologize! The reason for that is that we understand that in the economy of God’s kingdom, giving does two things. First, it takes our faith the deepest, and second, it takes the mission the furthest. This is God’s intentional design. Money, often a tempting idol, threatens to usurp the Lord’s place in our lives. Money offers false promises of security, status, experiences, and love—things we are meant to find in God and God alone. When we obey the Lord’s command to give, the idol of money is stripped from us. Our hands release their grip, our love for God intensifies, and His mission moves far beyond our individual lives.
Generosity Takes Our Faith Deep
When we preach about money, our primary goal is people’s discipleship. In my earlier years at Mercy Hill, my perspective on discussing money with our congregation lacked maturity. At that time, I viewed giving solely as a fruit of maturity. This perspective was not inaccurate, as generosity indeed reflects a believer’s maturity. However, generosity also serves as a pathway to maturity. Today, our motivation in discussing giving isn’t solely tied to the outcomes we anticipate. In our current season at Mercy Hill, our primary motivation is not the new home and hub we hope to see finished next year, the worship academy we hope to see launched, or the mission trip our church is mobilizing for. The primary motivation is that people would grow! Opening our hands is the key to all facets of Christian growth. Our time, talent, and treasure all belong to the Lord, and when we relinquish these things to their rightful owner, growth is the organic outcome.
Scripture illustrates this in Mark 10. When Jesus addresses the rich young ruler, it becomes evident that moral uprightness isn’t enough. His immediate “no” to giving indicates His lack of love for God. Money is a clear indicator of our heart’s affections. When God commands us to give of our money, it’s because He wants to capture our affection, and He wants us to love Him above all else.
Matthew 6:21 reinforces this idea: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When we’re thinking about giving only as a fruit of maturity, we think, “Where our heart is, that is where we’re going to give.” This is true, but it’s also true the other way—where our treasure is, there our heart will be. Ultimately, it’s God’s kindness to us to call us to give away our money. He does this so that we would fall more and more in love with Him.
As we fall more in love with God, our giving affirms His preeminence in our lives. When God is not number one in our lives, it will show up in our giving. Vice versa, in our giving, we can be taught that God is number one in our lives. Time and time again, we’ve witnessed individuals in our church starting with giving and then taking bold steps like embarking on a mission trip. Giving becomes a diving board into the pool of a deep relationship with the Lord.
During the recent Big Give Weekend at Mercy Hill, over thirty families and individuals gave to the church for the first time! We praise God for this obedience, knowing that the impact of this act stretches far beyond our current understanding. These thirty families and individuals have taken the plunge and are now swimming in the grace of God, going deeper in their faith. Great joy lies in anticipating what God will do next in their lives.
Generosity Takes The Mission Wide
When our satisfaction in the Lord deepens and our hearts are captivated by Him, the natural desire to give arises. And when we are generous, the fruit of our lives goes wide. Consider Psalm 1:1-3 – a person delighting in the Lord’s law is compared to a tree planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in its season. Our lives mirror this. When our root is satisfaction in the Lord, our fruit extends wide.
In a church like Mercy Hill, we don’t lack leaders, enthusiasm, or passion. While there are some churches that this would describe, we are not a church that has more money than passion. In growing churches, like we’re blessed to be a part of, the generosity of the church is going to take the mission about as far as it’s going to go. The pastors set the vision, but the congregation sets the pace through their giving.
Store Up Treasures In Heaven
As we approach the end of the year, we’re praying for substantial numbers in our end-of-year giving. However, this vision is twofold. Primarily, we desire our people to deepen their faith and learn reliance on the Lord. I pray that our people, as Matthew 6 says, would be more concerned with storing up treasure in heaven rather than building big barns that moths and rust destroy. That vision is first, but right on the heels of that, we long for greater mission. This has been our experience at Mercy Hill, and as our people give, this mission will continue to unfold. More salvations, baptisms, church planters, missionaries, adoptions, and restored families through foster care – these are the outcomes I know we will see. Church, I urge you to open your hands and trust Him with all. As we give and ask bold things of God, I truly believe we’ll see more than we could ask or imagine!
– Andrew Hopper (Lead Pastor)
