The Risen Lord, Jesus, calls His people to make disciples of all nations as an expression of His supreme authority in heaven and on earth. A disciple is someone who follows Jesus, someone who desires God, and who God uses to bless others. In Luke 14, a disciple is someone who has surrendered to Jesus Christ, one who lives by His standards, follows His Will, submits to His Word, and embraces suffering; thus, if we desire to be all the aforementioned, that means that in order to be more like Him, we must obey what He desires from us. This mission entails baptizing disciples and teaching them to heed Christ’s commands. All of the above takes me to the topic I was asked to refer to, which is “Investing in the Local Church.”
Leviticus 27:30 says, “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit is the Lord’s and is Holy.” Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops.” In other words, you should give a portion of whatever you make back to God. This is obeying His desire for us, this is part of following His commands.
We should never shy away from speaking on the subject of giving; money is necessary to effectively execute the main mission of the body of Christ, which is to make disciples. The Great Commission that Jesus spoke about is found in Matthew 28:16-20, and it says this, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We are commanded to do this. We must follow Jesus’ command and bring others to Him. Churches survive as a result of God’s grace through His people. Churches have expenses, staff, mortgages, basic needs such as water, electricity, building repairs, and support for missionaries. In our attempt to reach the world as a local church Jesus said giving is not an option, it’s an expectation.
Pastors and staff are called by God and they lead the local church. In the book of Timothy, Paul writes “The laborer deserves his wages.” He exhorts believers to care for those working hard in the church to care for others. Our pastors are just like us in many ways, they have families like us, obligations such as mortgages or rent payments, they need financial support to feed themselves and their children, and they have every right to expect that members of the body of Christ would love and support them. You must give where you are fed. Your responsibility as a Christian is first and foremost to your own local church.
Why do I give? Because of gratitude. I give to honor God for all He has given me. He gave me into the care of the two most amazing parents anyone could ever want. He entrusted me with three beautiful children. He rescued me from deep despair. I am here by His grace, He took mercy on me, extended His hand, and embraced me when I was at my lowest. He gave me clarity of mind, opened my eyes to the amazing people in my life, and with His and their help I was able to put my life back together. He opened doors of opportunity for me to get ahead and provide for my children while I was a single mom. I have shared part of my story with you before and am doing it again because I strongly feel that there are many women and men as well, who are living under the same circumstances and desperately need to be reached, but we cannot do it without you. There has been a lot of sorrow in my life and I am grateful for it because, in God’s perfect plan, I have had to go through it so I can grasp a better understanding of other people’s circumstances. I know where you are. I have been where you are and I have struggled. But I maintain we must follow our Lord’s commands. He works all things for good!
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I urge you to obey God’s heart’s desire and give joyfully, whatever you can for in doing so, know that your gift is going forth to advance His kingdom.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you at ganabela773@gmail.com.
