You and Your Finances

Following is a letter written by a friend named Tommy Musick.
Tommy belongs to a House Church - a spiritual community that
is hungering for all the spiritual gifts and ministry opportunities
that God has to offer. They are receiving BOTH! I fellowship
with this group on occasion and have been immensely blessed
each time. Recently, Tommy sent me the following note along
with a message be was burdened to share. He’s a simple man;
a humble, soft-spoken Texan with a sensitive nature and a
heart for helping others. I trust his message will bless you. Many
others have written to say how much this message has blessed THEM!
Tommy wrote:

Mike,
Attached is an article written by me about how God has used our
church group to minister financially to many families of this
community. You will soon find out how little I know about writing.
My motive in this is to illustrate how God can use anyone willing to
follow Him. Also, it seems to me the home church movement can
generate a huge cash flow. These monies can be used for things that
will effect peoples lives, instead of buildings and salaries.I believe our little group has become an example of generous giving.
No one in our group is wealthy. Most live from paycheck to paycheck,
yet they are still able to give generously.

…I would like to make this article available to anyone interested.
I fear it might come across as “Braggadocios”. This may even be a
very bad idea.

I believe, also, that people need to understand the blessing we
receive thru giving. God has provided a system thru which we
believers can bless ourselves by how generously we help others. I know
this may sound self-serving, but this is the way it works. I didn’t
design it that way, God did.

Please lend me your thoughts.

Tommy

God’s Blessing Is Revealed Thru Giving

This is an object lesson, a life lesson if you will, about how God used a group of people to illustrate how He can bless financially those who are willing to give.

My name is Tommy and this is a story of small home church. Our home group began meeting together March 26, 2006 in a home in Lingleville, Tx. The lady of this home, Cherry, gathered these folks together for a meal, fellowship, and bible study. These people were the remnants of a church that disintegrated a couple of years before. These people had not found another church home since the breakup. Cherry asked me and her husband, Randy, to help teach bible studies of which we gladly agreed. Cherry provided the meals and her home. Guess what, we began having church again. Each Sunday more people came and before long, eighteen to twenty folks were attending. One memorable event was when Frances asked us to dedicate her newly adopted baby daughter, which we gladly did.

After a few weeks, a strange thing happened, some of the regulars asked if they could bring their tithes, as they had not been tithing for some time and felt like they needed to. We put an offering plate on the dining table and it began to fill with tithes and offerings. I still had the checking account from the “church that disintegrated”, since I had inherited the treasurer position before it folded, and it still had just over $600 in it. We decided to open a new account under a new name, Gospel Outreach Center, and appointed Frances as treasurer. This was in August of ‘06. By then we had accumulated more than $1200.

In October, just two months later, our people had grown spiritually and so had the checking account, to over $2500. Someone mentioned that we should help a needy family during the Christmas season. We all agreed. One thing led to another and, by Christmas, we had helped financially seven families by about $6000. Interestingly enough, we still had about $2500 in the bank. There were all types of situations we were fortunate enough to give into. For example, one widow had a gas leak in her home. When the plumber came, he found that all the gas pipes needed to be replaced. The job would cost $1100. We were able to pay it in full for her. In another case, a woman suffered a leg injury and was disabled for several weeks. We were able to help with some of the utilities bills. In another case, a battered wife, along with her children, left her husband. By leaving him, she did not have enough money to live on. We were able to help her pay some bills. There are other stories like this, but I think you get the drift. We began to look for ways to help the people of this community, and God began to show us how.

This movement didn’t end at Christmas, God continued to show us ways to help those in need. I checked with Frances this week, May 1. To date we have given $12,789.97 to those in need. We still have $2255.24 in the bank. I don’t know where the money comes from, except that I know that God directs it toward us. We have people who give into this ministry who don’t attend church with us. This is a home church group of only about 10 families. It seems the more we are willing to give, the more God blesses our families.

We recently finished a bible study, which lasted several weeks about the system God initiated called “tithes and offerings”. This system enables God’s people to receive blessings through giving. I know it sounds weird, but I have found that the more I give, the more I have to give. Our church group has certainly found this concept to be true.

I tell this true account, not to be braggadocio, but to encourage other home church group to join the act of giving. As the home church movement grows, so will the wealth associated it.

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Thanks, Tommy! As your group has discovered, we can’t out-give

God. Prayerfully and obediently give away what God gives you

and He will give you more. It’s a system that has served me well

in my own Christian life and probably flies in the face of what most

financial experts would say. All I know - and all Tommy and his

Church knows - is that God’s system WORKS. So, work the system…

with God’s blessing.

Every blessing,

Michael