So, good things happening around here. I'd like
for you to take your Bible please and turn with
me now to the book of Acts. We'll pick up where
we left off last week in the fourth chapter beginning
in verse 32. And the congregation of those who
believed were of one heart and soul. And not
one of them claimed that anything belonging to
him was his own, but all things were common property
to them. And with great power the apostles were
giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
For there was not a needy person among them,
for all who were owners of land or houses would
sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales
and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they
would be distributed to each as any had need.
And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth who was
also called Barnabas by the apostles, which translated
means son of encouragement, and who owned attractive
land, sold it and brought the money and laid
it. at the Apostles' feet. Grace Church Jerusalem
would certainly have been an appropriate name
for the fellowship that we're reading about in
the book of Acts because it tells us in the word
that abundant grace was upon them all. I cannot
think of a description that would be more acceptable
or honoring to God than that. Not all that took
place in these verses was intended to provide
a pattern to be followed throughout this age.
But we can learn a great deal by studying what
took place in that church in Jerusalem. That
church experienced abundant grace, and that abundance
of grace is evidenced in a number of ways in
our text. Last week we noted the phenomenal unity
that was present in the fellowship. God Himself
is the origin of oneness in the Church. It reflects
His very nature. Furthermore, oneness is an answer
to Jesus' prayer in John 17, and it is produced
by the Holy Spirit's work in the lives of God's
people. Practically speaking, unity or oneness
is the result of holiness in the lives of the
Lord's people. And it comes when there is a yielding
to Christ's lordship on the behalf of all. Whatever
creates disunity is not of God. It is of sinful
self. It is an expression of the flesh as we
saw last week. Now that's subtle. It's subtle
because it usually begins small, but it quickly
multiplies. That seems to have been Paul's concern
in the church in Philippi when he wrote to express
his concern about two women in the church who
needed to get along so that then the whole church
would be of one mind and heart. Each of us has
a responsibility to preserve and guard the fellowship's
unity, to deal with divisiveness, distrust, or
rebellion in ourselves first of all. as well
as in others, as the Word of God directs us to
do. We saw last week that God does, however,
sovereignly allow factions from time to time
within most churches. That is to provide for
a sifting of that church so that, as it says
in 1 Corinthians 11, those who are approved by
Him can be evidenced. Unity of mind, heart, and
spirit is so important, so fragile, and so difficult
to keep and guard that when it is found in a
church it must be confessed that it is the result
of God's gracious working. For there is enough
potential selfishness and carnality in any one
of us to destroy any church. That should keep
us, therefore, on careful watch in our own lives
against such a terrible sin as that. There's
a second evidence, however, of God's abundance
of grace in that church that we must look at
in the text, and that is their powerful witness.
Verse 33, and with great power the apostles were
giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus. We saw in chapter 4 earlier a definition
of what a witness is. In verse 20, Peter and
John said, We cannot stop speaking what we have
seen and heard. And so to be a witness in the
literal sense is to tell what I have seen, what
I have heard. If I am called into court to be
a witness on a trial, what I am to tell about
is not my opinion, not what I've read but what
I have seen and heard regarding that event. And
so in our witness for the Lord Jesus Christ,
we are likewise to tell what we have seen and
heard, what we have experienced personally, in
other words, regarding Him. The root of this
word for witness is our word martyr, which does
tell us the extremes to which at times a witness
may be carried. There are times in the history
of the world when to witness meant to give one's
life as a faithful martyr for Jesus Christ. That
was not yet the case, at least, in the Jerusalem
church, though it was later. Now, what was it
that they were witnessing, too? Well, it says
clearly that it was the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus. That is the distinction, of course, of
biblical Christianity. We have something to talk
about which no other religion in all the world
has We have a living Savior We have one who has
gone through the portal of death and then has
come back out alive That was the theme of the
witnessing indeed the preaching of the early
church as you read through the sermons in these
early chapters of Acts You have to be impressed
with the fact that over and over again what the
apostles emphasized was the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus. They talked about His death on the
cross, but the point that they truly emphasized
was His resurrection, that He is alive from the
dead. As they witnessed, it was with great power.
Literally it says with mega power. Earlier, it
says, or rather just in the sentence following
this, it says that with mega grace they ministered.
Mega grace was upon them, abundant grace. And
as that abundant grace was upon them, they had
mega power, an unusual display apparently of
outward power in miracles and signs and wonders
that took place, which was appropriate in the
foundation age of the church. And then as well
as the outward signs, there was the inward display
of great power through the conviction of sin.
I suppose that we would think that those outward
things would be more important. That somehow
they display greater power than the inner display
of power. But that is deceptive. That is not
so. For it is a much greater display of God's
power and grace. for a man or woman to repent
of their sin and to trust Jesus Christ than it
is for them to be healed of some physical ailment.
The Apostle Paul speaks somewhat to this when
he writes to the Corinthians. Look at 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. He expresses first of all that his
Coming to them was not with superiority of speech
or of wisdom. Indeed, he did not desire to know
anything among them except the message of Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. He says in verse 3,
I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much
trembling. It's difficult, isn't it, to see the
Apostle Paul in that situation. We can see ourselves
there. That describes how we feel every time
we open our mouths to say something for Christ,
I suppose. But Paul, too, confesses that it was
with weakness, fear, and trembling that he was
with them. But he says, my message, my preaching
were not in persuasive words of wisdom. In other
words, not with logic, which Paul could have
used quite keenly. But rather, he says, in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. Why? That your faith
should not rest on the wisdom of men but on the
power of God. In other words, he says, I was
with you personally in weakness. I trembled.
But my speech, my preaching was with the power
of God so that as you heard the words, God did
a work in your hearts. He says something very
similar which gives us further insight to the
Thessalonians. Turn over to 1 Thessalonians.
Chapter 1, he says in verse 5, for our gospel,
by that he means the gospel that he possessed
and was to deliver to them, says, our gospel
did not come to you in word only, but also in
power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.
Just as you know what kind of men we proved to
be among you for your sake. He seems to say there
that God's power was evidenced in two ways. First
of all, in the conviction of their hearts. So
that as they heard the gospel, they themselves,
the Thessalonians, were powerfully brought under
conviction of sin. But then in Paul's own life,
he says, you know the holy manner of life in
which we conducted ourselves. And that too was
a powerful tool that God used to affect the Thessalonians.
And so when it says back in the book of Acts
that with great power the apostles gave witness,
it means that the Spirit of God was working outwardly
in signs and wonders and miracles that were being
performed to some degree. But in a more significant
sense, the Spirit of God was giving them boldness
and holiness of life. so that as they preached
the gospel, the crowds were brought under conviction
of sin. Need I remind any of us that we cannot
bring anyone under conviction of sin? That is
not our job. Our job is to deliver the truth
to people in the power of the Holy Spirit. And
as we do that, the Spirit of God is the one who
brings the conviction. I believe it was the oneness
of the church, the church's unity, which allowed
the Holy Spirit to move in such a mighty manner
as He did in this text. You know, we need to
remember that power, spiritual power, is not
an entity that is apart from the Lord Himself.
In other words, I don't believe that we ought
to pray for power as though that is some thing,
some extra thing that God is going to give us.
For spiritual power is a part of Jesus Christ
himself. He is in us in the person of the Holy
Spirit We need not pray for power because the
power is already there That's why in Acts 1 8
it says you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you You and I have trusted
Christ have the Holy Spirit in us already and
so that power of God is resident in our lives.
It is there waiting to be released. You say,
well, how in the world then do I get to release
it? Well, the release of it is very normal. That
should be the normal walk that we experience.
The real question is, what quenches it? What
hinders it from being released? And the answer
to that is very simple. It's sin. It's sin. It
is when the Holy Spirit is quenched or grieved
by sin in our lives, by unbelief, or some overt
action that has displeased God that the power
ceases to flow. But I believe this, when we have
confessed our sins and God has therefore faithfully
and justly forgiven us our sins and cleansed
us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1, 9. When
we have taken that action, But it is very normal
then for the Holy Spirit to begin exerting the
power of God through us. It just happens automatically.
That is the flow that is normal. Now the early
church had quite a flow, didn't they? As with
power, they witnessed to the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus. That brings us to a third evidence
of the abundant grace that was upon the church.
That is the evidence of plentiful giving Notice
if you will the balance between the spiritual
ministry that we've just spoken about and the
social ministry To meet the needs among them
One cannot be ignored to the exclusion of the
other without becoming unbalanced There are churches
that have gone both ways There are some who are
faithfully preaching the truth but have no social
sense of conscience. There is nothing that seems
to prick them and probe them regarding the needs
of society around. On the other hand, there are
those who have gone so much toward the social
needs that they now neglect the truth of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. They preach what is called
a social gospel, which is not a true gospel at
all. What we need is a balance, and I believe
the early church had that balance. They proclaimed
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in the way
of salvation, but at the same time there was
sensitivity to the needs, especially the needy
among them. I want to repeat that what we see
here in these verses is not Christian communism.
This is not an evidence of liberation theology,
as some would seem to say. Indeed, Christianity
and communism are antithetical. They cannot possibly
fit together. In their very basic teachings,
they are opposite. For example, the Christian
says, what's mine is yours. Communism says, what's
yours is mine. There's a difference in approach,
and it's basic. What takes place here is an isolated
incident. We do not see it repeated elsewhere
in the New Testament in the same way, and yet
it is a marvelous expression of abundant grace
from God upon them all. There's real caring that
is exhibited here. Real caring, not just in word
only, but in deed and in truth. In verse 32 it
says that Not one of them claimed that anything
belonging to him was his own, but all things
were common property to them. What that means
is that they shared their goods. That was a customary
thing. But they were all doing this. But in verses
34 and 35, where there is similar language, there
seems to be an extraordinary thing mentioned.
And that is that those who had the financial
capability also made the sacrifice of selling
lands and houses, and they would bring the proceeds
from those sales and give it to the apostles
to be distributed in the church as any had need.
And so they were all involved in a customary
way of sharing with each other. But then there
were those individuals who could, who did extraordinary
things to provide for the needs of the saints.
That happens, I am pleased to say, within the
ministry of Grace Church, Roseville. There are
thousands of dollars that have flowed through
our church to members and to some others in our
four years who have been in severe need, when
it was perceived that the need was real and that
that was the thing that needed to be done for
them. Thousands of dollars, and there are some
of our people who have made great sacrifices
for the sake of others. It is our custom, as
you know, when we have communion to take an offering
for this kind of thing. And that amount of money
is set aside in a special account and used when
families in our church run into severe, critical
needs. That ought to be our concern, to look
after one another, to care for those needs that
arise within our fellowship. Now, there is a
lesson that we see here, and that is that great
grace Great grace from God upon a fellowship
leads to unselfish generosity. It leads to a
willingness to sacrifice. These people that are
mentioned here, these believers, were still quite
attached to the temple and to the ordinances
there. They were undoubtedly giving as they were
commanded to do in the law at the temple. And
so what we see here was above and beyond all
of that. It was a real sacrifice on their part.
You know, giving itself is a grace. What I mean
by that, it is an evidence that God's grace has
taken root in one's life. All of us by our fleshly
nature are selfish and covetous. And we may dole
out in a miserly way to someone else, but we
will not be generous unless the Spirit of God
has brought God's grace and rooted it in our
lives. Turn over to 2 Corinthians chapters 8
and 9 where we're going to spend some time. I
want to talk a little while this morning regarding
this matter of our giving, God's grace in our
lives. Notice in verses 1 and 2 how the apostle
puts this, brethren we wish to make known to
you the grace of God which has been given in
the churches of Macedonia. Now he's not writing
to those churches, he's writing to the Corinthians.
He says I want you people to understand how God's
grace has been given to those brothers of yours
up north in Macedonia. He says, in a great ordeal
of affliction, their abundance of joy and their
deep poverty, what that means is their rock bottom
abject poverty overflowed in the wealth of their
liberality. Paul is saying here God's grace has
been so abundant up there in Macedonia that those
people though they are dirt poor. have taken
a generous offering for the needs of the saints
in Jerusalem." In verse 6 he says, to them, the
Corinthians, consequently we urge Titus that
as he had previously made a beginning so he would
also complete in you this gracious work as well,
this grace as well, he says. In other words,
he says to the Corinthians, look, Just like the
Macedonians, we want you to experience this grace,
this gracious work of giving. And so he says
again in verse 7, just as you abound in everything,
in faith, utterance, knowledge, in all earnestness,
and in love, we inspired in you. See that you
abound in this gracious work also. What work,
Paul? That of giving, that of giving. In verse
9, he reminds them, you know the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich yet
for your sake, he became poor. In other words,
he points to the great grace of our Lord Jesus
and he said, look, he was rich. Who could describe
his riches? And yet he impoverished himself.
He became poor. He gave up all that he had, his
riches. Why? That you, through his poverty, might
become rich. So Paul's point is, if you understand
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, then that
grace will inspire you as well to impoverish
yourselves as it were, to give sacrificially
and graciously. And again in verse 19, he speaks
about this gracious work which he is commanding
of them. As we look at chapters 8 and 9 of 2
Corinthians, there are a number of principles
that God gives us to govern and guide us in our
giving in this age of grace. I can almost hear
somebody say, but why don't you follow Jesus'
example and not talk about money? Do you know
if I were to follow Jesus' example? I would preach
on money every other week. For between a half
and two -thirds of his parables deal with money
and its proper use. Did you know that? I'm not
saying Jesus was like some of the television
preachers that get on the tube and beg. That's
not what Jesus did. But what he did was to talk
about the stewardship of one's resources. Why
did Jesus talk about that so much? Because he
recognized that the terrible idolatry of the
human heart is covetousness. And that if we're
going to worship the true God, that worship is
going to be evidenced in the way that we treat
our money. And so up to two -thirds of all the
parables he told dealt in some aspect with money
and the way that we handle it. I think you would
agree that we talk about money very little around
here compared to what Jesus talked about it.
But let's look at ten principles of giving as
they're found in chapters eight and nine of 2
Corinthians. I will go through these quickly
because we're going to do something a little
different this morning. Principle number one,
giving is to be exercised whatever one's financial
circumstances. The Macedonians were in deep poverty
themselves and yet they practiced giving. In
1 Corinthians chapter 16 he writes, before he
wrote this chapter, to the same people and he
says to them, let every one of you lay by him
in store. Not those of you who are rich, but
he says let every one of you participate in this
giving. And so one of the principles of God's
Word is this, that giving is to be exercised
whatever one's financial circumstances. Are you
on welfare? You are to be giving. Giving is to
be exercised by all of God's children. If any
of us waits until he can afford to give, he will
never give. Never give. Because we will never
be able to afford it. What I mean by that is
we'll never feel like we can afford it. There
will always be something challenging us to keep
the money or to use it in some other way. Principle
number two. Giving is to be exercised in conjunction
with personal consecration. Paul says, I testify
that beyond their ability, they gave of their
own accord. And they gave themselves, he says
in verse 5, to the Lord first and to us by the
will of God. And so giving is to be exercised
in conjunction with personal consecration. When
you come right down to the bottom line, God does
not need my money or your money. After all, it
is all His. The silver and gold are mine, says
the Lord. But God does want our hearts. God does
want our hearts, and God knows that where our
treasure is, there our hearts will be also. Giving
must be in conjunction with, partnership with,
personal consecration. We give ourselves to the
Lord, we give our treasures to the Lord. Number
three, giving is to be exercised as a proof of
love. In verse 8 of chapter 8, the apostle says,
I'm not speaking this as a command, but as proving
through the earnestness of others the sincerity
of your love also. He says, their sincere love
is evidenced by their giving. He says, I want
that to happen to you. You say you love the Lord.
You say you love His church. You say you love
me as apostle. You say you love the Lord's people.
He says, now prove it. If you really love the
Lord, if you love his church, if you love his
people, he says, prove it by your giving. So
the third principle is, giving is to be exercised
as a proof of love. And before, it is to be exercised
in equality. Verses 12 to 14. He says that the
readiness is present, it is acceptable according
to what a man has. not according to what he does
not have. For this is not for the ease of others
and for your affliction, but by way of equality.
At this present time, your abundance being a
supply for their want, that their abundance also
may become a supply for your want, that there
may be an equality. That's one of the principles
of God's Word, equal giving. Now when I say that,
I don't mean that everyone gives the same amount.
That is not God's principle. But His principle
is that all should give with the same sacrifice.
To put it another way, we should give proportionately
to our income. The man who earns $20 ,000 a year,
if God lays in his heart to give 10%, will give
$2 ,000. That means he has $18 ,000 to live on.
A man who earns $100 ,000 a year, if he gives
$2 ,000, that's the same amount, but he has $98
,000 to live on. That is not equal giving as
God defines it. Equal giving would be the one
who earns $100 ,000 learning to live with the
same kind of sacrifice that the one who earns
$20 ,000 does. To do that, he may need to give
50 % or more of his money. Giving is to be exercised
in equality. The idea is that the more I earn,
the more I give. A businessman friend of mine
was talking to me a couple of weeks ago in Chicago.
He related to me how that after college he took
the trust that his parents had provided for him
and invested it in a certain way and started
the business of his own, which today is flourishing.
And he soon hopes to expand it here to the Twin
Cities. He says that a number of years ago, he
and his family came to this place in their giving.
They decided that they would establish a budget
for their family. and that they would strictly
adhere to that budget, and they would turn the
business over to the Lord. And whatever came
in above that budget for their needs would all
be given. Now he told me how much he lives on
his budget. There's probably not too many of
us here that have a budget as high as the one
he's living on. I do not criticize him for that
or condemn him. That's his decision. But I know
this as well, there's none of us here that gives
as much to the Lord's work as he gives to the
Lord's work. Now, why is he able to give that
kind of money? Why hasn't the standard of living
creeped up on him as his income has increased?
That's the normal way it happens, isn't it? Well,
it's because several years ago he put a lock
on it. He said, this is the budget, and whatever
God brings in above this would be a hundred thousand
or a million. That's going to the Lord's work.
I commend him because I believe he has the principle
that's involved here in equal giving, all giving
with the same heart of sacrifice. Number five,
giving is to be exercised with a willing, joyful
heart. Verse seven of chapter nine, let each
one do just as he has purposed in his heart.
Not grudgingly or under compulsion, God loves
a cheerful giver. So giving should not be something
that is assigned to me by someone else. I am
to purpose in my own heart before God what I
am to give. But having done that, I am to give
willingly, not begrudge the Lord for what I've
decided to give. And I am to give it cheerfully
and with joy. You know, there really is no greater
joy than to be able to give with a free and generous
heart to the work of the Lord and the needs of
others. It truly is, as Jesus said, more blessed
to give than it is to receive. Many of you understand
the meaning of that. Number six, giving is to
be exercised with the expectation of blessing.
Two times here in chapter 9, he says, He who
sows shall reap. He who sows shall reap. You
and I can expect that as we give faithfully to
the Lord, we are going to reap blessing from
Him. That does not mean that as I give, God is
committed to make me a wealthy person. That is
not the blessing necessarily that is implied.
He is talking about spiritual blessing. Now,
you say, well, is God then allowing me to buy
spiritual blessing? Is that the idea? No. No.
It's that as I sow or as I give generously to
the Lord's work, that shows I have the right
heart attitude. And because I have a right heart
attitude, God has been able to pour into my life
a fullness of blessing that otherwise I could
not receive. Number seven. Giving is to be exercised
in accordance with need. Verse 12, he says, the
ministry of this service is not only fully supplying
the needs of the saints, but is overflowing through
many thanksgivings to God. What he is saying
here in part is that in fact the needs of the
saints were being met. As I consider my giving,
one of the things I have to put into the cauldron
of my mind is, what are the needs? What are the
needs? And then I need to ask the Father that
He would direct me to do my part that the need
might be met. And then as each of us obeys the
Father in that, the needs are met. It's as simple
as that. I need to give in accordance with the
need. Giving us to be exercised with the glory
of God Not to myself in verse 13. He says they
will glorify God for your obedience I'm not to
give so that others may know what I give so that
I can somehow Gain a special place of favor in
the organization or the church I'm not to give
so that I can have a big plaque on my wall or
receive this special notation from someone, but
I am to give so that God is glorified in my giving.
Number nine, giving is to be exercised as an
evidence of obedience. They will glorify God
for your obedience. It does boil down to that,
doesn't it? If I am not giving and giving according
to the principles of God's word, then I am not
obeying God. I want to be obedient so that I
can know His blessing, therefore I give." It's
an evidence of obedience. And finally, giving
is to be exercised regularly, regularly. In 1
Corinthians 16, 2, it says, "'Let every one of
you lay by in the store as God has prospered
on the first day of the week.'" I don't think
the point there is that every Sunday we have
to give, but the point is that according to our
income, however it comes to us, weekly, twice
a month, monthly. quarterly, however the income
arrives, I am to regularly give, not casually,
but according to a plan that I have laid out.
Not when I'm in the mood, because I'm rarely
in the mood, but I'm to do it out of a habit
to the Lord. Giving is to be exercised regularly
on my part. I believe that those are the ten
basic principles of giving in God's Word. There
are some of us who've had experience in this
area and I've asked John Benham to come as we
bring this message to a close and to give a stewardship
testimony to you. Not because he has perfectly
applied all of these all of his life because
he probably hasn't, neither have I. But he's
learning. I ask him to do this purposely because
John is coming on our staff full -time, he's
halftime now, as our church administrator. and
we'll begin that in a couple of weeks. I felt
it was important that he be able to share with
you and he asked that he might be able to do
this. So listen to the testimony of one person
and there will be others in our congregation
in weeks ahead sharing what God has done in their
lives as well as they've obeyed the word. John,
you have five minutes, dear brother. I confess
that I come in weakness and in fear and much
trembling. It's much easier to turn your back
that way and lead. Furthermore, I also feel under
conviction. I confess my mother called me last
night from Michigan and she's at that age when
insurance policies are maturing and her statement
to me was I know it's been a rough life and out
of a lot of ways with our family financially.
and there hasn't been much, but I feel I'd like
to give you a thousand dollars. And I'm going
to have to listen to this message twice this
morning. I hope I can keep part of that thousand.
As I've prepared to assume the position as church
administrator, I've spent many hours reflecting
the past few days over God's work in my life.
and my finances, and I would like to share some
of that with you this morning. First, I've discovered
the importance of understanding the principles
of biblical finance in my own management of that
which God has given me. As I look back, I have
found that the times of most severe financial
stress in our life are times when we neglected
those principles. As a child I was trained early
in the responsibility of giving as an act of
spiritual worship Dying quarter here and there
as a result of mowing a lawn or delivering papers
and later a part -time job all these things work
together to establish habits which Became valuable
in later life our home was that of a preacher
not a great deal of money and consequently most
of or much of what was needed, I had to earn
myself buying my own music instruments, lessons.
Neither Marity or I, as a matter of fact, had
any help financially going through college. We
both paid our own way. And though it was difficult
at times, we still maintained the habit of giving
back to God first, whenever we received money.
to act on their behalf. They did not follow some
required format. They did not begin, you notice,
by confessing their sins. They did not close
their prayer in Jesus' name. They did not use
any of the catchphrases that we so often do in
our praying. No. No. Prayer was real to them.
It was a spontaneous, joyful use of their access
to God, that access given to them by Jesus Christ
because He blazed the trail into the presence
of God and therefore they could come boldly to
the throne of grace and find mercy and grace
to help in the time of need. Is that the way
prayer is for you? We take that access into the
presence of God so much for granted. We all have
to be ashamed of ourselves. Recently I had a
prayer letter from some missionary friends of
mine who served the Lord in Ghana, West Africa.
He says, if you've ever been tempted to tear
your telephone out of the wall because it interrupted
you in an awkward time, perish the thought. He
said you will learn to appreciate the contraption
if you ever should make a telephone call from
Ghana to the United States. Listen to what he
writes. First, many days in advance, you must
book an appointment for the call and make a deposit
for how many minutes you wish to speak. Then
on the day of the appointment, you go to the
central telephone office in Accra, that's the
capital city, and confirm your desire to make
a call. Then the operator attempts to contact
an overseas operator in the United States. This
is done by satellite, and sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn't. When the operator is contacted,
then you enter a public booth and shout into
the receiver, hoping that you can be heard on
the other end. The shouting also helps the 20
or so others in the waiting room to hear your
conversation. He says on this trip, We wanted
to call Noreen's parents in Kalamazoo. So we
booked the call for 2 p .m. Ghana time, which
would be 9 a .m. Michigan time. However, we could
not get a United States operator until 5. And
then we were told that the line was busy. Our
next opportunity came at 6 .30 p .m. and then
we were told there's no answer. So after a trip
of 530 miles, A deposit of $50 for a 10 -minute
call, and waiting four and a half hours, we had
to admit defeat and cancel the phone call and
went home. And yet you and I can, as it were,
pick up the telephone of prayer and we can speak
to God anytime that we want to do it. What a
tremendous privilege we have. in our excess.
When these same convictions grip us as they grip
that early church, we will know something of
the power they knew in those early days. When
we become a praying church, as were they, then
we will know something of the power which God
was free to release through them. A praying church
is composed of praying members. This church can
only be a praying church to the extent that you
and I are praying people. A survey was done by
an evangelistic team several years ago in scores
of churches throughout the United States involving
literally thousands of Christians. You know what
that revival team found out? that the average
person attending those services prayed every
day. Now these are born -again Christians. These
are not nominal Christians. These are born -again
Christians attending Bible preaching churches.
The average one of them prayed every day, not
for an hour, not for 30 minutes, not even for
five minutes. but for less than two minutes a
day. We need not wonder when that is the case
why churches are impotent instead of powerful.
In your worship folder you should find a three
-by -five card and on that card are a couple
of verses regarding prayer. And then this statement,
I resolve by the help of God to set aside at
least 20 minutes every day to spend alone in
God's presence. You say 20 minutes? What do I
do with 20 minutes? Well, perhaps we've given
you an idea or two as we've gone through this
prayer meeting this morning If you really are
concerned about what to do for 20 minutes call
the office this week and I Will make available
to you will mail back to you some information
that will help you to know And to see what kind
of a difference It'll make in your life as you
begin to spend just 20 minutes a day In prayer
with God Let's bow together Just now in the quietness
of these moments Maybe you'll want to take a
pen out and sign the statement. You don't have
to return it to me. I'm not interested in it
except to the extent that It'd be kept in your
own possession as a reminder to you of your commitment
to the Lord. We must become more of a praying
church than we are. I thank God for those who
do pray, but I'm afraid the average in our church
would not be much, if any. beyond what that revival
team found in the average evangelical church
in America. We've got to change that, folks,
for the sake of our own walk with God as well
as for the sake of the ministry of this church.
Father, make us a praying people. Thank you for
the challenges that you have given to us even
in recent days, which have taken us to our knees.
Thank you for getting our attention to remind
us that this ministry depends not upon our sufficiency
or power, but upon yours. And I pray that we
will begin on a regular basis, many of us, to
pray and thus interact with your power and see
you work in mighty ways. Lord, we do not pray
for power. but we pray to be a praying people,
knowing that the fruit of that will be the release
of your power in our lives and in our church.
Amen. I bargained with the church custodian to
clean the church a week so that the church would
be cleaned for the wedding and not have to pay
it. In fact there was no money for a honeymoon
and we didn't have any money to pay down on the
apartment we were going to move into. God provided
gifts of money at our wedding whereby we were
able to pay the first two months rent on our
apartment and we received a two -day all -expense
paid trip for a honeymoon. to Elk River. We might
have been able to make it three days, but I had
to get back on Sunday for church because there
was another $15 check waiting if I would sing
the solos in the Easter Continent. As we began
the initial years of our marriage, which we were
both in college and then later in grad school,
we were usually out of money when it came to
the day to buy groceries. Now as you can tell
by looking at me, God usually provided in some
way a cash gift or a check. In fact, it became
an exciting time for us, Grocery Day, because
we always knew that there would be something
in the mailbox. We never knew where, but there
was always a check. And in 22 years, that's never
failed. These were continual challenges in our
life and building blocks of our faith. And a
few years later when I began a business in repairing
music instruments, it was the intent of providing
some supplemental income to what at that time
was a rather meager teaching salary. I remember
saying, Lord, let this business be yours. You
take the first 10 % of the gross. I thought that
was rather generous of me. Just please bring
in enough beyond that so that I can cover paying
for the... initial investment of equipment and
supplies. I really don't care how much I make,
and I do believe I was sincere about that. But
if you want to bless this business to provide
you for your ministry, that's fine. Go ahead
and do it. I don't believe in tithing, per se.
I believe in giving. Ten percent for me just
seemed like a good place to start. Interestingly
enough, It was a year later when I lost my teaching
position through what had become common cuts
in teacher court and decided therefore to go
to graduate school and that business investment
paid my way through graduate school. Little did
I realize then that 18 years later after teaching
for that amount of time we would end up going
into that business full time. Now that's when
the test of faith really became strong and times
of tension were something else. Lord, we said
it seems time to retire from teaching and to
do this full time. This business is still yours.
What about doing it full time and perhaps being
more involved in ministry and your work half
time, let's say in music. So we packed up We
loaded the truck and drove ourselves to Minnesota
with no business promised, with literally no
income, and approximately a month and a half
salary and savings. The first week we were here,
I received a phone call from some people, New
Life Baptist Church as a matter of fact, who
said, look, we had a band man lined up, we want
to start a program this year. Would you at least
work with us long enough to start the program?"
And I said, certainly. That was the first answer.
The second Sunday we were in Minnesota, I began
the ministry at Grace Church, Roseville. The
second answer to prayer. Now the problem became,
how do we establish that advertising and public
relations business whereby we can make the business
grow? And the third week I was here, a mill levy
failed in Moundsview, and someone said to me,
would you lead the struggle to try and save music
in our district? Now, my first response was,
I don't have that kind of time. I have a business
to run. And yet, we said, why not? We'll do it.
For three months, I literally did not work at
my business as far as going out and calling on
schools. And that's the way we survived. What's
interesting is God had planned something better.
Because at the end of that three months, we found
a new way to justify financially keeping music
in schools. And rather than my having to call
on schools, I was invited to speak to the state
convention of Minnesota music teachers. And it
was given the opportunity to present my business,
not just to people one at a time. but literally
every music teacher in the state. So God advertised
my whole business and blessed that dedication
to him by literally paying us to advertise the
business. I confess to you that Psalm Proverbs
16, 9 took on new meaning. A man's heart devises
his ways, but the Lord directs his path. And
I confess to you that over the last three and
a half years have been many times when we literally
did not know again what we would do on grocery
day. I think last Thursday was the last time.
There are some principles that come through for
us here that have become firm in our faith. One
is God cares for his own and he is in control
and he gives back to us. and blesses us as we
give to him. And also that he's always preparing
us for something else. Matthew 6, 19 says, lay
not up for yourselves treasures in heaven or
on earth, but lay them up in heaven. Did you
ever stop to think how can you lay up treasures
in heaven? What are the means whereby we get
treasures in heaven? And the only thing that
I can think of is that when we give, others hear.
And the treasures that are in heaven literally
are those who are one because we give. Now all
of us here at Grace Church are seeing the church
become our means of storing up treasures in heaven
through our providing for the training of ourselves
and others to win others for his kingdom. And
with God's blessing, I look forward to working
with you as we face the challenge together of
faith -building spiritual stewardship here at
Grace. Thank you. John, thank you for being the
first of several who will share with us in the
coming weeks. As I heard John speak, my heart
was... and I'm sure yours was too in some way.
Perhaps there's someone out there saying, Pastor,
I agree in my heart with those principles and
I want abundant grace to be evidence to my giving,
but I have so many bills I just can't give. Let
me suggest a couple of things to you. Number
one, you can give something to the Lord as evidence
of your sincerity, and you should. Number two,
Confess your past poor stewardship, if that's
the case, and the bad financial habits that you've
had. And trust the Lord to begin working in your
life and do your part to work your way out of
bondage. We're going to spend two or three weeks
more talking about God's Word in our family finances.
So that all of us can better understand the principles
that God has laid down for the handling of our
money Realize that God's going to honor your
heart's desire my friend and work on your behalf
to deliver you He's going to look to you to take
the first steps if you're sincere Father I pray
that today our hearts have been stimulated as
we see the abundant grace which was displayed
in the Jerusalem Church. Deliver all of us, Father,
from giving to you out of our leftovers. But
I pray that you will have such preeminence in
our lives that you will have first priority in
our giving as well. May we with David testify,
I will not offer that which costs me nothing.
Fill our hearts with your grace. Deliver us from
covetousness. Allow us to walk, I pray, in obedience
with you. Work in our lives to deliver any of
us from financial bondage so that we can be free
to give as you lay it upon our hearts. In Jesus'
name, amen. God bless you. We're dismissed.