God does not accept grudging service from anyone. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23). Heartily means, “with all your heart—all your strength, all that is within you.”
Paul writes, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity [unwillingly]…” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The apostle makes a dual application of this matter of giving: it has to do with our financial offerings—and the giving of our very lives to God’s work!
Paul wrote that the church in Macedonia literally begged him to let them take up a collection for the poor, suffering saints in Jerusalem. These Macedonians were so wholly given to the Lord, they gave out of their poverty!
“…But first [they] gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 8:5). Paul says the Macedonians gave much more than money. They told him, “Here is our offering. Now what do you want us to do? We volunteer our services to the work of God!” They spared nothing in serving the Lord and their brethren! “…beyond their power they were willing of themselves” (8:3). They gave beyond their human ability—with much prayer!
If you give only because you believe it is commanded—or if you’re always wondering, “Is tithing a New Testament concept, or just Old Testament?”—your heart-attitude is all wrong! If you give ten percent because the pastor asks it of you, that is wrong also. None of this gets to the issue—to the heart of what it means to give!
If you’re going to give yourself wholly to the Lord and his service, you must do it cheerfully! “…for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
I am sorely convicted by this verse—because so often I go about my life and ministry without the joy of the Lord. I hear so many Christians say, “I’m so weary, I don’t know how I’m going to make it. Oh, God, you’ve got to come and give me strength!” That is a human cry, common to us all. But to give oneself to pleasing God, it must spring from a cheerful spirit—available to us all by simple, childlike faith.
The word for cheerful in Greek means “hilarious, merry, glad”—having a light heart, willingness, gladness; being full of hilarity. God is saying, “Whatever you do in your labors for me—whether it’s interceding, worshipping me in my house, or seeking me in your secret closet—do it cheerfully! Be joyful and generous with everything—your money, your service, your time, and your life!”
I ask you: Has serving the Lord become a bore, a drag to you? Is it just a burden, leaving you mostly sad and weary?
God doesn’t want you complaining about your burden—he wants you to chase those things out of your life by laying hold of his Word!
Your checkbook to his resources is faith! He is saying, “I have already made provision for you. What need in your life is so great that I cannot supply more than is required?”
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.