EXCELLING IN THE GRACE OF GIVING (3)

“And they did more than we had hoped. They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, just as God wanted them to do” (2 Corinthians 8:5 CEV)

Giving is not just about donating money or other material things to encourage the work of God, support ministers of the gospel, or help the poor. Christian giving goes far beyond that as we can see in the example of the Macedonian believers. They did more than merely give their money.  They did exactly what “God wanted them to do.”  What was that?  Our Lord was once observing an offering procession in the temple as people filed out to put their offerings in the offering box.  Of all that brought their offerings that day, Jesus singled out one for special notice. She was a widow. She gave probably the smallest amount of all that offered. She gave only “two mites, which make a quadrans” (Mark 12:42 NKJV). How come this poor widow who gave the least attracted the highest applaud from God? Our Lord explains, “Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”(Mark 12:42-43 The Message). Come to think of it, could it be that what we give to God is what we will never miss? Could it be that we are actually giving crumbs of our surplus, treating Him as dog and not God? D-o-g may be the mirror image of G-o-d, but the two are separated by an unfathomable abyss. God is the Creator and dog is one of the least of His creatures. To give God the crumps of our surplus as if He were a dog is abominable to say the least.

The poor widow was different. She placed the right value on God. She did not give God her best, she gave Him her all. Simply put, she gave herself to God! Having given herself to God, it does not make any sense keeping anything of hers from Him. This is how God gives. “If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?” (Romans 8:32, The Message). God is willing to give us everything because He first gave us Himself. This is the pattern He has set for giving in the church. The church of Macedonia followed this pattern in their giving and God was pleased with them. Paul testified of them, “And they gave in a way we did not expect: They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us. This is what God wants” (NCV). They gave way beyond the expectations of the apostles because of one overarching reason, namely, they first gave themselves to God.

The first step in giving acceptably is to first give yourself to God. What you give in church in support of the work of God is often a reflection of the extent to which you have given yourself over to God.  You give yourself to God to the extent you understand who He really is and to the extent you value Him. If you truly agree that God is your Creator and Sustainer, then you will more easily give both yourself and your all to Him. Nobody has given God all he has who did not turn out better than He ever was. The little lad with five loaves and two fishes did not realise the potential of what he had until He gave them all to Christ. That little thing, turned out to be enough to feed five thousand people with twelve baskets of surplus fish and bread. They came to God with a deficit and ended up with a surplus. Peter’s experience was even more astounding. He gave Jesus his boat to use for the gospel and his time to row the boat to a good location to enable the Lord to preach to the crowd. When Jesus finished preaching He asked Peter to throw the net again in a sea that seem to have no fish in it. Peter’s boat was filled with fish and in his generosity he invited the Zebedee’s to come and share in the blessing of God.  

The second aspect of the secret of the Macedonians’ generosity was their love and commitment to the apostles –“They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us.”  The love a congregation has for their ministers is reflected in their giving. A congregation that loves their pastor gives generously and sacrificially to enable him serve well. Let us take time to reflect on how much we value the ministers God has placed to serve us and see if we need to improve on that. We need to give ourselves to God, be loyal to our pastors, and give generously at all times for us to excel in the grace of giving. I sincerely pray that God will help us in this area so that nothing will hinder His blessing in our lives in Jesus Name.

EXCELLING IN THE GRACE OF GIVING (2)

“My friends, we want you to know that the churches in Macedonia have shown others how kind God is. ²Although they were going through hard times and were very poor, they were glad to give generously. ³They gave as much as they could afford and even more, simply because they wanted to. ⁴They even asked and begged us to let them have the joy of giving their money for God’s people” (2 Corinthians 8:1-4 CEV)

At the very heart of every giving is relationship. Generally people give to those with whom they share one form of relationship or the other. The relationship could be natural, spiritual, or emotional. But the rule of the thumb is that relationship drives giving. You are more likely to give to people you have family ties with than to strangers. Similarly, you are more likely to give to friends than to enemies. You can give to strangers, say victim of war or natural disaster, simply because you feel some degree of spiritual or emotional kinship with them. Thus, Christian giving is always an expression of love.  The depth of sacrifice involved in giving depends on the depth of love one feels towards the beneficiaries of his or her gift. This is true with our giving to fellow human beings as it is with our giving to God. Here then is a very sober truth –what you give towards the support of God’s agenda is in proportion to your love for Him.

Remember the rich young ruler that sought from Jesus the way to inherit eternal life, was confronted with a choice of giving away his wealth to the poor and following Christ (Eternal Life), he rather chose his wealth instead of Christ (Matthew 19:18-22). The implication is all too obvious –he loved his money more than God! Our giving is always a true measure of our love.   Our Lord explained this principle to Simon the Leper when Mary came and emptied a very expensive bottle of perfume on Him saying, “I tell you that her many sins are forgiven, so she showed great love. But the person who is forgiven only a little will love only a little” (Luke 7: 47 NCV). Our Lord is simply saying that we give to the extent we appreciate the love of God for us. In other words, your giving reveals the depth of your understanding of God’s love. The deeper your experience of God’s love, the more you would want to give Him. Love drives giving! Love always loves to give to the beloved.

This is also true even on the side of God. His giving reveals the depth of His love for us. The Apostle John therefore explained, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).  The amazing truth of this incredible verse of Scripture almost draws tears down my cheek.  This is simply what it means, that God valued me so much that He considered the sacrifice of His only begotten Son the only thing big enough to purchase me. Economists tell us that the value we place on anything determines how much we are willing to pay to have it. God purchased us with the blood of His Son (Acts 20:28). In giving up Jesus for us, God gave us His all. Paul posed this question for our reflection, “God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32 CEV). Our Father gave us, not just His best, but His all. Therefore, He can legitimately demand not only our best gift, but our all. He gave because “He so loved.” We should give back to Him because we love Him. We will never give enough to match God’s love for us, but we must endeavour to give generously.

This was the example the Macedonian believers left for us. “Although they were going through hard times and were very poor, they were glad to give generously” (2 Corinthians 8:2). If ever there was a congregation that should be excused from giving, this was one. The members were generally poor materially and were going through some very difficult times; yet they were glad to give generously to the work of God. They did not give their surplus. They gave out of their need. They gave willingly without any coercion and gave more than they could conveniently afford. In one word, they gave sacrificially! Theirs was such a gift that Paul described as “sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18 NLT). Can we in the CRM Family decide to follow the good example of the Macedonian believers? Unless your giving is a sacrifice on your side, it would fall below the standard set by the Macedonians. Can we learn to give sacrificially and joyfully, not because we have so much but because we love so much? Can we consistently prepare for God a sweet-smelling sacrifice that ravishes His heart? Sure, we can! And we will!  In Jesus name.

EXCELLING IN THE GRACE OF GIVING (1)

“Since you excel in everything –in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in your –see that you also excel in this grace of giving ” (2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV).

If you have been to a driving school to learn how to drive a car, you probably would have heard the term “blind spot.”  In driving, blind spots refer to those areas that are so close to the car that you cannot see them when you look into the rear mirror. You only see those spots when you twist your head to look backwards. Blind spots are therefore real but need extra effort to notice. Similarly, there are certain aspects of our lesser character that are too obvious to others and yet relatively unknown to us. I heard about a man who did not discover he talks too much about himself and rarely listened to others until on his eightieth birthday. He wished somebody pointed it out to him earlier. We are so blinded about our “blind spots” that we need someone to bring them to our notice, especially if we are the type that can take correction. My mother told me about a king who did not listen to counsel from any one (Eze Onye Agwala m), who went to a funeral ceremony with faeces on his clothes. Wise people, however, knowing that human beings are not perfect, accept the possibility of having some blind spots in their personality. 

The rich young ruler who accosted Jesus wanting to know how to inherit eternal life was not one of such wise people. He had a blind spot he was not prepared to accept and deal with, and that became his undoing.   Our Lord told him that if he must inherit eternal life, he must obey the commandments: “...You shall not murder,’ ‘you shall not commit adultery,’ ‘you shall not steal,’ ‘you shall not bear false witness,’ honour your father and your mother,’ and, ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 19:18-19, NKJV). From the young man came this boastful response, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”(Matthew 19:20 NKJV).  This man seemed to have everything in place. He was rich, religious, and confident. Like Saul before he became Paul, he seemed blameless concerning the law. But the man had a blind spot he was not aware of and our Lord would point it out to him.  “Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19: 21 NKJV). On hearing this, the man went away in sorrow, not willing to part with his enormous wealth. He was not strong in the grace of giving. He was selfish, not prepared to part with his money, not even at the behest of God!

Individuals, people groups or congregations do have some blind spot which they are usually unaware of, where as they are all too obvious to others. The church in Corinth was obviously one of the liveliest churches in the days of Paul.  It was certainly the most charismatic of the early churches. They were able to steward the revival fire that began on the Pentecost probably longer than any of their contemporaries in those early days. But it too, had a blind spot!  Paul pointed it out to them in our text: “Since you excel in everything –in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you –see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (NIV). They did everything better than any other congregation except in giving and Paul would want them to improve on that too.

It does appear to me that the CRM Family needs to covet this grace of giving too. We seem to be doing so many things well but certainly need a new attitude when it comes to giving. I can hear God saying to us: “You do everything better than anyone else. You have stronger faith. You speak better and know more. You are eager to give, and you love us better. Now you must give more generously than anyone else” (CEV). God has blessed us as a ministry but we are yet to begin to show commensurate appreciation for His blessings in giving generously to His work. Paul reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver, who gives willingly and in proportion to what God has given him or her. Let us deal with this blind spot of penny-pinching and see what God will do in us, for us, and with us.  Let us begin to give like the woman who used a whole year’s salary to purchase alabaster oil she poured on Christ. Let us give like Barnabas who became a son of consolation to the apostles. Let us give like the widow who gave God all her livelihood. More importantly, let us pray that God will endow us with the grace of giving in CRM.

The World Congress offers us a great opportunity to give to the work of God. Give the 30% of your one month income as we have been directed to do. Do it today! It shall be well with you.

APPRECIATING GOD’S FAVOURS

“Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.”(Psalm 66:5 NKJV)

We just turned the corner into the second half of the year. I feel it is a good time to pause and count our blessings and name them one by one. This is necessary because if one does not recognises what God has done, one may never consider it necessary to return thanks to God. Recall the reaction of our Lord after He healed ten lepers and only one turned up for thanksgiving. “Jesus asked, “Weren’t ten men healed? Where are the other nine? Why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God?” Then Jesus told the man, “You may get up and go. Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:17-19 CEV). Notice that the person who returned to thank God for being cleansed for leprosy was not a Jew but a Samaritan! Our Lord expressed surprise and admiration to this Samaritan for his sense of appreciation and respect for Him.  What can we say about the nine Jewish lepers who were also healed, but never bothered to show up for thanksgiving?

First, they took Christ and His blessings for granted. One meaning of taking someone for granted is when you fail to properly appreciate the person for favour the person had done for you, especially as a result of over-familiarity. Those nine lepers being Jews felt that Jesus is one of them and that they have a right to his services anytime they need it without showing any appreciation.  Their attitude revealed their gross underestimation of the value of Christ and His ministry. You take God for granted when you fail to show that you are grateful to Him for blessing you even in the slighted way or when fail to appreciate Him for being there for you always. The degree of familiarity with God that would result in taking Him for granted must be discountenanced. The way to avoid over-familiarity with God that leads to contempt, we must constantly pray with the Psalmist, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11 NKJV). God invites us to intimacy and not familiarity.   We must ever pray to live in His fear and never try to take Him for granted in any way.

As we look back to the past six months, there abound reasons to thank God and praise His Name.  Each of us must make notes of these favours and for each of them give God profuse praise. As a ministry, God has steadily blessed CRM in so many ways. We dedicated several church building both within and outside of Nigeria. God protected us in our journeys and several souls have been brought into the kingdom through our ministries. We have seen several healings, deliverances and other miraculous interventions of God in our lives. For us here in particular, the Holy Ghost Power Explosion this year was a watershed experience. God honoured us in remarkable ways and blessed us. Before that, we have had a weekend of Signs and wonders in which God blessed us profusely. Our Sunday services and other weekly activities have continued to be inspiring and enlightening. Our evangelistic outreaches have been moments of great visitations. Many people have been helped through the free Medicare we held in different communities.  God has indeed been good to us. We have reasons to praise Him and celebrate His mercies towards us.

Several of our sisters had their babies without must hassles. Some of us got married, some graduated from schools, some completed their national youth service, some bought cars, some prospered in their businesses and all of us enjoyed peace in our families. Great indeed is the faithfulness of God. We must therefore join the Psalmist to invite the world, “Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.” Each of us must invite the rest of us to showcase the blessings of God in our lives. In so doing, we will be setting the stage for what He has in store for us in the second half of the year. This month of July will be a month of repositioning. God will reposition you strategically for more blessing. Let us prepare to be moved to vantage positions both in the spirit realm and in the physical.  Since promotion comes only from God, remember to give Him glory when He repositions for favour.  The reposition processes will be by divine arrangement not man. As we all look forward to a happy month, “I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32 NKJV).  May the Lord bless you in the month of July and throughout the entire second half of the year in Jesus name.