“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Ga 2:20 AV)
We are blessed to be in the middle of our Missions Conference. The LORD is doing a great work. Last night, there were not a whole lot of 'Amens'. The preacher took notice of that. Sometimes, silence is misunderstood. Sometimes, the congregation is checking out and not responding to the message. But more times than not, just the opposite is happening. There are few 'Amens' because God is working on the hearts and minds of those who are under the preaching. What we were challenged with last night is represented by the verse above. In short, there will be little heart for missions and the great commission if at first, there is not surrender to God's will.
As a church, we studied Grace Purpose Giving as revealed in Second Corinthians chapters eight and nine. Paul tells his readers that giving by purpose upon the foundation of God's grace starts when we are will to give of ourselves first. In other words, those whom he was using as examples were able to give out of their deep poverty because they had fully surrendered first. They saw the giving of their means as an extension of their full surrender to the will of the LORD.
What we need to realize is that God does not need our means. He has created and owns it all. God is not begging for our nickels. He doesn't need them. What He desires is our hearts. If He has our hearts, then He has the relationship that He deeply desires. Giving towards the spreading of the gospel is only and extension of our relationship of faith and love of the Father. What is important to Him becomes important to us. What a glorious meeting we are having, and it is all of the LORD. He is going to do a great work here. I know it. It is a privilege to be in the midst of what God is trying to do! Praise be to God!
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