Tuesday, September 19, 2006
haha give to our building fund-www.bartley.org.sg
September 17th 2006
By faith we build challenge.
The pastors, staff and elders had already pledged a total of 1.72 million dollars in the form of a) monthly pledges, b) one time gift and c) faith promise giving. The fourth category is a loan scheme which I will elaborate later.
At our AGM on June 5th the proposal to rebuild BCC was voted by the members present with a overwhelming majority. Now that the decision has been made the challenging path is ahead of us. When I looked at the number of members currently giving to the church in the form of tithes, our target of 12 million is indeed a huge goal.
This is why the committee decided to call ourselves Building by faith Committee. This is a faith journey for each of us individually from very young to the more matured. This appeal for you to give must be set in the context of the example set by the Macedonian churches in 2 Corinthians 8. The Macedonian churches were given top marks by Paul. They excelled in everything; in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in brotherly love. But Paul had to remind them to also excel in the grace of giving. Our giving is a reflection of our relationship with God. They first gave themselves to God; our rebuilding starts with our personal lives. We need a right and loving relationship with God. We give because He first gave us. For our sakes He though rich became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich. We give presents to loved ones and friends because we love them. In the same way our giving is an indication of our love for Jesus. Our giving is also a tangible expression of thanksgiving to Lord for what He has given to us. We give willingly and without grudge to our love ones. God is asking the same of us even though He deserves much more; in fact all we have comes from Him.
I want now to talk about biblical mathematics. 2 Corinthians 8:15 quoted Exodus 16:18
?He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little?. In the context of 2 Corinthians 8:12, to give according to what one has. No giving is too big or too small for God. You give a lot, say 1,000,000, you didn?t give too much. You give 50 cents, it?s not too little for God. That is why we are giving out tin cans so that all from your young children to adults can join in this faith journey.
The other biblical mathematics is a formula:
Generous giving = generous receiving.
The more generous your giving on the left of the formula the more generously you will receive from God on the right side of the formula. This is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6. So what will you be receiving for your generous giving? Your work and everything you do will be bless by God. The Old Testament in Deuteronomy 15:10 puts it this way, ?Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.?
The New Testament in 2 Corinthians 9 said, ?And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.? v11, ?You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.?
Of course we should not give just because of the rewards of giving, the rewards are the side benefits. We give because we respond in love to Him who died for us, gave His life in exchange for ours and will be giving us rich inheritance in heaven. Ultimately our treasures in heaven are what counts and will last the decay that will happen to our riches on earth.
I want to share a personal testimony not so much to boast but so that you may be encouraged as I know some are going through difficult times. You asked how can I give when I am in trouble. There were 2 occasions in my life when I had no income. One was when I was without a job and not knowing when I?ll get one. I didn?t stop my tithe and giving to missions. The other was during the Asian crisis in 98 when I had negative net worth. That means that if I were to sell everything I would still owe the bank money. During this period I had a overdraft facility with a bank and I continued to give to the Lord. Hallelujah and praise Him, for today I stand here fully restored by the Lord. He is indeed faithful and the formula I shared is true.
Please turn with me to the pledge form. You can participate in 4 ways:
1) A monthly pledge for the next 1- 4 years
2) A one time gift
3) A term loan to the church. We may only need your interest free loan to the church in July 2007. If you are prepared to participate in this manner just fill in the amount and duration of your loan and we will get back to you on the details; like repayment schedule etc.
4) A lump sum faith promise giving. This is money you don?t currently have but your are trusting God in this faith journey to provide you the funds. Ask the Lord how much faith you should have and put in the amount trusting that He will provide
With this I hope that you will all give generously and cheerfully.
By faith we build challenge.
The pastors, staff and elders had already pledged a total of 1.72 million dollars in the form of a) monthly pledges, b) one time gift and c) faith promise giving. The fourth category is a loan scheme which I will elaborate later.
At our AGM on June 5th the proposal to rebuild BCC was voted by the members present with a overwhelming majority. Now that the decision has been made the challenging path is ahead of us. When I looked at the number of members currently giving to the church in the form of tithes, our target of 12 million is indeed a huge goal.
This is why the committee decided to call ourselves Building by faith Committee. This is a faith journey for each of us individually from very young to the more matured. This appeal for you to give must be set in the context of the example set by the Macedonian churches in 2 Corinthians 8. The Macedonian churches were given top marks by Paul. They excelled in everything; in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in brotherly love. But Paul had to remind them to also excel in the grace of giving. Our giving is a reflection of our relationship with God. They first gave themselves to God; our rebuilding starts with our personal lives. We need a right and loving relationship with God. We give because He first gave us. For our sakes He though rich became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich. We give presents to loved ones and friends because we love them. In the same way our giving is an indication of our love for Jesus. Our giving is also a tangible expression of thanksgiving to Lord for what He has given to us. We give willingly and without grudge to our love ones. God is asking the same of us even though He deserves much more; in fact all we have comes from Him.
I want now to talk about biblical mathematics. 2 Corinthians 8:15 quoted Exodus 16:18
?He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little?. In the context of 2 Corinthians 8:12, to give according to what one has. No giving is too big or too small for God. You give a lot, say 1,000,000, you didn?t give too much. You give 50 cents, it?s not too little for God. That is why we are giving out tin cans so that all from your young children to adults can join in this faith journey.
The other biblical mathematics is a formula:
Generous giving = generous receiving.
The more generous your giving on the left of the formula the more generously you will receive from God on the right side of the formula. This is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6. So what will you be receiving for your generous giving? Your work and everything you do will be bless by God. The Old Testament in Deuteronomy 15:10 puts it this way, ?Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.?
The New Testament in 2 Corinthians 9 said, ?And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.? v11, ?You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.?
Of course we should not give just because of the rewards of giving, the rewards are the side benefits. We give because we respond in love to Him who died for us, gave His life in exchange for ours and will be giving us rich inheritance in heaven. Ultimately our treasures in heaven are what counts and will last the decay that will happen to our riches on earth.
I want to share a personal testimony not so much to boast but so that you may be encouraged as I know some are going through difficult times. You asked how can I give when I am in trouble. There were 2 occasions in my life when I had no income. One was when I was without a job and not knowing when I?ll get one. I didn?t stop my tithe and giving to missions. The other was during the Asian crisis in 98 when I had negative net worth. That means that if I were to sell everything I would still owe the bank money. During this period I had a overdraft facility with a bank and I continued to give to the Lord. Hallelujah and praise Him, for today I stand here fully restored by the Lord. He is indeed faithful and the formula I shared is true.
Please turn with me to the pledge form. You can participate in 4 ways:
1) A monthly pledge for the next 1- 4 years
2) A one time gift
3) A term loan to the church. We may only need your interest free loan to the church in July 2007. If you are prepared to participate in this manner just fill in the amount and duration of your loan and we will get back to you on the details; like repayment schedule etc.
4) A lump sum faith promise giving. This is money you don?t currently have but your are trusting God in this faith journey to provide you the funds. Ask the Lord how much faith you should have and put in the amount trusting that He will provide
With this I hope that you will all give generously and cheerfully.
// posted by sleepless wherever @ 7:06 PM 
