I’ve heard it in a couple of places, at a couple of different times. It’s given as advice to leaders and to leaders within the church, and I believe the advice has merit. Here it is: “Celebrate the Wins.”
Celebrate the Wins. Rejoice over the “W”. Recognize the victories. Mark the occasions where good has triumphed, where “success” has been obtained. Take a moment and pause to look at what has been accomplished before trudging ahead to the next challenge.
You get the idea. Celebrate the Wins. It’s important when things have gone well to take some time and recognize that fact.
With that in mind, it’s time to celebrate!
Last week, I shared with you all how I have a tendency to respond to people asking for help with a “knee-jerk no.” I confessed how I’m ever ready to say “nope” to requests for money or assistance, often with good reason. As I shared, I admitted that this response is not always good, nor godly. Instead, I proposed that an alternative response might be a general willingness to help. This is not necessarily saying “yes” or “no” to any request, but instead having a willingness to help, to respond to the situation as God prompts, to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in how I might be used in a given context.
In the midst of my confession, I shared an opportunity that we had/have to help. Orphan Voice, a ministry that seeks to help those who are hurting and share the love of Jesus Christ, was in the middle of raising funds to fight against human trafficking in Vietnam through a campaign they called “Enduring Voices”. Within this campaign, one gentleman was running for 114 miles (a ridiculous amount), and they were having people participate by doing their own runs/walks as they felt led. I shared how Christa was participating in this campaign by walking a half marathon to raise funds. Then, we extended an invitation for help. Help in this cause through prayer. If you were/are so led, help through giving. The idea was for us, here, in these communities to take a stand, no matter how small it might seem, against the wickedness that would seek to oppress the weak, the hurting, the vulnerable.
In sharing and in putting forth the request for help, we had hoped that we would have a nice time walking, that we would raise some awareness, that people would pray, and that we might raise about $500 to give to Orphan Voice. We had hoped that a handful of people would join with us in this fight. Boy did we underestimate!
For the walk, we had 3 ladies complete 13.4 miles in around 4 hours (a little over a half marathon…trust me, they felt those extra .3!). We also had 5 additional people who joined in the walk for a little over two miles. Not only that, but at the time of this writing, we’ve had over 30 different families/individuals help by giving a financial contribution! Together we’ve raised $2000!!!!!!! $2000 that will go directly into programs that teach young children that they are valuable. $2000 that will go directly into seminars that shed light onto the tricks and manipulative practices that are used in luring young people away from their families and into a life of slavery. $2000 that will be used to help council, comfort, and offer healing to those who have been rescued out of slavery. $2000 that will be used for light in the midst of darkness. $2000 that has been laid at the lap of Jesus as an offering and a prayer.
This is a victory! This is a cause to celebrate! This is a win! This is the Body of Christ coming together and accomplishing something larger than we could have done individually. This is a time to look back at what we have accomplished together and say, “Well done!”
Well done! Celebrate the Win! Rejoice in a victory!
Thank you for partnering with us! Thank you for allowing us to take a stand in a larger way than we could have by ourselves! Thank you for caring! Thank you for giving! Even more, thank you for praying! Thank you for joining with us to see light overcome darkness, to see hope prevail where there is hopelessness, to participate in the work that God continues to do in our midst. Thank you!
Not only do we want to thank you, but we also want to thank God!
In the Bible, when people were victorious, a large part of the celebration involved giving thanks and praise to God. After the Israelites crossed through the sea and the Egyptians were defeated, Miriam led them in giving thanks and praise (Exodus 15:20-21). When David was rescued from the hand of Saul, he gave thanks and praise (2 Samuel 22:1-51). The leper who returned to give thanks and praise to Jesus was given as a positive example in contrast to the 9 who were healed and did not respond in that manner (Luke 17:11-19).
With that in mind, let’s give our thanks and praise to the Lord as well!
Praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus! You, God, are worthy of our praise and thanks! You, God, deserve the glory!
After all, God is worthy of it. Not only that, but if we’re honest with ourselves, any real work that will be accomplished can only be accomplished in the hands of the Lord.
In the Gospel of John, there is a story about a small boy and his lunch.
A great crowd has gathered to hear Jesus speak, and they begin to get hungry. Unfortunately, this was an unplanned event, so the food trucks did not know to come. The Meatball Madness truck missed the event. Papa’s Pierogies wasn’t there either. The Gyro Genius? Nowhere to be seen. You couldn’t even find the “Sorry…All We Serve is Sausages” cart. No funnel cakes. No lemonade. Nothing.
Jesus’ friends were worried. “The food trucks aren’t here, and we didn’t order the party pizzas! What are we going to do? All these people are hungry!”
Fortunately, in the crowd, there was a boy. His mommy had thought ahead and packed him lunch. He was willing to share what he had. 5 small, barley loaves. 2 little fish.
But what could that do? Even the most efficient, mobile Chick-Fil-A unit couldn’t have processed a crowd so large.
Jesus.
He wasn’t worried.
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. (John 6:10)
When they were done eating, guess what happened? Everyone was hungry? Nope! Everyone was full! Not only that, but there were leftovers! There was enough left over that people could take home extra bread to feed their chickens! There was an abundance, an overflow, an outpouring, more than enough!
(So this was my loose paraphrase, check out John 6:1-15 for the actual account.)
There are a couple things that I want to point out for today.
First, the boy was willing to give, was willing to help. Obviously a couple of loaves of bread and some fish were not enough to feed the large crowd. They weren’t even enough to feed a large family. Still, the boy was willing to help.
Maybe “all" you are able to give to a particular cause is a prayer (giving time in prayer is no small thing, by the way). Maybe all you could give on a particular occasion is a couple of pennies. Maybe all you could give to help was $20. It turns out, size, in the kingdom of God, isn’t always important. Instead, the thing that matters more is heart. That young boy could have given a half of fish and a slice of bread in the same manner. The results would have been the same. (See also the widow’s offering, Mark 12:41-44) Willingness to give to the Lord is the important thing.
Just so we’re clear, I’m not really talking about willingness to give to a particular cause, or willingness to give financially, either. I’m thankful that we gave to Orphan Voice! I’m celebrating the victory! Rejoicing in the win! But do you want to know what I hope for even more than that? I hope that we are giving our all to God. I hope that we are giving Jesus our entire lives, not just throwing some money at something. I hope that we are laying our lives down on his altar as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), that we are willing to give our hearts.
$2000 to fight against human trafficking is small compared to the large problem. It’s like 5 loaves and 2 fish with a huge crowd. Not near enough. Not even close.
$2000 given in faith to Jesus? That’s a different story.
Second, Jesus is the true provider. The boy in the story played an important role. He had to be willing to give. He was used of God. Jesus took that offering and multiplied it. Jesus used it to feed more. Jesus provided so much more that there were leftovers. The boy had a role, an important one at that, but it would have been insufficient without Jesus. Jesus is the one who gets the true credit, the true honor and glory.
We have taken an offering. We have provided a gift to the Lord. We have acted in faith. It’s pennies in a bucket. It’s like fighting a blazing gasoline inferno with a couple drops of water. Not going to work. $2000 is relatively nothing compared to the enormous wickedness that is human trafficking. I know it. You know it. We all know it.
But, given in faith, placed into the hands of Jesus? There are no boundaries. There are no limits. God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Jesus is able to take that gift and multiply it, spread it, use it in ways that we are unable to imagine.
So, friends, it is time to celebrate the win! Celebrate the good that was done! Give thanks to each other. Give thanks to God! Continue to trust God to use what was given for God’s glory, for God’s purposes! Continue to lay our lives down at the feet of Jesus and know that He will use our offering given in faith, no matter how small, in ways that we cannot imagine.
As we do, let’s keep our eyes on Christ. Let’s continue to trust for him to provide. Let’s pray that he continues to work, to move, to act. Let’s plead with God to bring freedom to those who are in bondage. Let’s ask for God to take our offering and multiply it. Let’s worship God for he is worthy of our praise.
~ Pastor Chris
