Celebrate Freedom Teaching Letter December 2010

It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since our Celebrate Freedom weekend. I believe we’ll look back on November 20 & 21 as a weekend that changed our lives and set the course for a future that far exceeds our hopes and dreams.

I was deeply moved during the Celebrate Freedom services, as I watched everyone come to the altar and sow in faith. As good as that weekend was, though, I know it’s all too easy to slip back into “earth curse” thinking, because we were all raised under that system. That’s why we must choose to continually renew our mind to the Kingdom of God.

We read in Joshua 1:8–9, “Do not let (the Word of God) depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. … Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” This command was given to Joshua right after he was told to step out in faith and go to a place of promise. God told Joshua not to be fearful, because He knew that journey would require faith and courage.

I believe we’re on that journey. We’ve launched out in faith, and we’re heading toward the promise. Now we must stay the course. We must daily remind ourselves why we sowed and why we continue to sow. And, we must meditate on the Word of God, to renew our mind.

I know that, each time I’ve sat down to balance my checkbook these past few weeks, I’ve heard that small voice – the voice that was trained by the earth curse system – saying something like: “You know Tim, you really should hold off on all that extra Celebrate Freedom giving. Think about all the things you could use this money for. It’s fine to wait till you see an increase in income, then it’ll be easy to give more. Really Tim, there’s no rush. You have lots of time to fulfill your faith goals…”

Whenever we step out in faith, the enemy tries to get our focus off the promise and back on our current situation. Five years ago when God told me to sow $30,000 into Celebrate Home, I had no idea how I would come up with that kind of money; all I had was faith and a plan from God. The plan was to take a percentage of my income each week and sow it into Celebrate Home. I believe my obedience to consistently sow toward Celebrate Home, long before seeing any real increase, was the key to my amazing testimony and abundant harvest.

The plan God gave me for Celebrate Freedom is, once again, stretching my faith. It’s not always fun to have your faith stretched, but it’s the only way you’ll grow to the next level. If you don’t have a plan, seek God for one, then follow through on it! I personally believe that you should consider consistently giving towards your three-year faith goal, because sowing consistently keeps our heart focused on the promises of God.

Right now, we’re in a critical season of the faith journey. Like farmers, we’ve planted our seeds. Now, we wait. During this season of waiting, let me encourage you to focus intently on the promises of God. Remember, when a farmer plants a seed, there’s a period of time where he doesn’t see anything happening but, really, there’s a ton happening to that seed beneath the surface!

So keep watering your seed daily with the Word of God! Use a concordance to search the Word for every promise God has regarding finances, or whatever you’re standing in faith for. Pull out every weed of doubt that tries to grow in your heart. Long before we see a harvest, change has to take place in the ground. The same is true in our lives. Before we see the promise come to pass, change has to take place within us.

Together, let us submit to this process of change within.

Together, through faith and patience, we will Celebrate Freedom!

Tim Howe
Campaign Director