Are We Ready To Give Series

I heard a story of a certain Christian lady who once said to a friend, "Our church costs too much. They are always asking for money."

"Sometime ago a little boy was born in our home," replied her friend. "He cost me a lot of money from the very beginning: he had a big appetite, he needed clothes, medicine, toys, and even a puppy. Then he went to school, and that cost a lot more; later he went away to college, then he began dating, and that cost a small fortune! But in his senior year at college he died, and since the funeral he has not cost me a penny. Now which situation do you think I would rather have?”

In order to be ready to give, we must be willing to give tenderly. In order to do that, instead of looking at the cost of giving, whether it is our time or our tithes, we should look at the cost of not giving. Will there be times when we think that Pico Canyon costs too much? Will there be times when the work seems to outweigh the reward? Maybe.

But what situation would we rather have?

I believe God has called us to plant this church because He has great things planned for us. I believe He has great things planned for our community and He is going to use this church to accomplish those things. God will fulfill His sovereign plan with or without our help. But I, for one, don’t want to miss that ride. What about you?

Are you ready to experience the hand of God on your life through a fuller understanding of His Word, a level of intimacy in worship deeper than what you may be use to, and fellowship that goes beyond a meeting of a group of people to the meeting of the needs of a family? Are you ready to be used by God to reach the lost, the tens of thousands of people just outside the doors of this clubhouse who don’t know Jesus Christ? Are you ready, not to re-invent the wheel, but to build another church that is obedient to the Word of God, whose members love one another in an authentic and biblical way, and whose hearts break over the idea of a single person, whether we know them or not, dying without a relationship with Jesus?

If you answered “yes” to those questions, then you must ask yourself, “Am I ready to give? Am I ready to give my tithes, time, and talents to be used by God to build His church—a church I want to be part of?” God is sovereign. In His sovereignty He has chosen to use people to fulfill His perfect will. May we be a church that He uses because we are ready to give Him everything, because He alone is worthy. Let’s pray.