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How God Taught Me to Give

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“How much can I give?” I asked.

“Fifty dollars.”

“Fifty dollars!” I exclaimed. “Why, Lord, that’s two weeks’ salary. How can I ever get $50?”

But again the Lord spoke and it was still the same amount. It was just as clear to me as though he had spoken in an audible voice.

I can still remember how my hand trembled as I took my pencil, signed my name and address and wrote in the amount of $50.

How I ever paid it I don’t know to this day. All I know is that every month I had to pray for $4, and every month God sent it in some miraculous way. At the end of the year I had paid the entire amount—$50.

But this is what I want to make clear. I received such a blessing of the fullness of God’s Spirit when I paid the final amount and realized that it had been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

So great was the spiritual blessing that had come to me because I had given a faith offering that I had trusted God for, and had given in a scriptural way, that the next year of the convention I doubled that amount to $100. And from that day to this I have been sending on thousands upon thousands of dollars to the Bank of Heaven. If I had waited until I had it, I never would have given it, because I never would have had it. But I gave it when I didn’t have it. I gave a faith offering and God honored it.

What about you? Have you given a faith promise offering? If not, give it and God will honor you for it.

Had I waited until I had it, I
never would have given it, because
I never would have had it.

Editor’s Note: Like the shrewd manager in one of Jesus’ parables, we, too, will be called on to give an account of our stewardship. See Luke 16:2.

Wise stewardship is especially needed in times when so many Christians are facing economic difficulties and the work of Christ’s Kingdom is so vast, and by comparison the church’s resources are so limited. And sadly, so much of these resources are being drained into ministries to those of us who are already Christians, while two-thirds of the world is going to bed hungry and millions upon millions in our own generation are starving for the gospel.

Therefore, in managing the resources entrusted to us by our Lord, let us be very wise in how we invest to ensure that our giving achieves the greatest impact for the Kingdom of God for all eternity. When we stand before the Master to give an account of our stewardship, may we hear the words of our Lord and Savior: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21).

Oswald J. Smith was the founder and for many years the pastor of The People’s Church in Toronto, Canada. He was also a great missionary statesman, authored many books, and until his death in 1986 at the age of ninety-seven, was actively involved in missionary conferences and world-wide literature ministry.

According to Billy Graham, “Above anyone of the twentieth century, Oswald Smith has probably done more as a missionary statesman to recruit workers for the foreign fields and inspire the prayers and financial support of Christians everywhere to sponsor the implementation of our Lord’s Great Commission.”

Smith’s missionary vision was contagious. Over and over he repeated, “The supreme task of the church is the evangelization of the world.” This he believed. This he practiced. This he lived.

"By way of interest, God used Oswald J. Smith to challenge me to a literature ministry many years ago when he was speaking in a missionary conference in Adelaide, Australia." – Dick Innes

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All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.