Dad (Pastor Tim Atchley) gave an excellent word on giving. It was entitled...
"Never Say I Can't" and afterwards, we had a time of ministry from our "Wee Scottish Prophet" Joe Ewin via Skype. Joe Ewin shared that he heard the Lord speak to Him from Psalms 65:9-13 for Harvest Church. It an excellent word too, to sum it up... The key point to it was "God is going to crown our year with many blessings."
Psalms 65:9-12 in the NIV version says:
"You care for the land and water it,
you enrich it abundantly,
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain.,
for so You have ordained it.
You drench its furrows
and level its ridges;
You soften it with showers,
and bless its crops.
You crown the year with Your
bounty,
and Your carts overflow with
abundance.
The grasslands of the desert
overflow;
the hills are clothed with
gladness.
The meadows are covered with
flocks
and the valleys are mantled with
grain;
they shout for joy and sing."
If you are at all like me, when you hear this, you breathe a sigh of relief with the image of a cruise-like future ahead of you. This is a promise abundance... what more could we ask for. We won't need or want for anything... in fact we're going to have more than enough.
These were my thoughts (in a sense) on Sunday the moment I heard that Word. In my mind it was timely and perfect. My company that I work for is going through very tremulous times, and I'm getting married in May. I really needed this Word.
Then, God spoke something to me very clearly, and He told me that I was not even in the ballpark of seeing the big picture that He had in mind for me, and even more importantly.... for Harvest Church.
You see, just before that Word, a just as timely one was spoken on giving. You wanna hear another crazy thing? All this week and even all last week, that was exactly what God was speaking to me. In fact, I taught on giving in my middle school class just that Sunday before
(the 4th).
God spoke something else very clearly to me,... the message that we heard on Sunday, and the prophetic word of encouragement from Joe Ewin later that same day, were to be seen and heard hand in hand. They were not separate, but rather they complemented one another in a very real way.
To continue my story, for two weeks God kept saying over and over again, "Give, give, GIVE" always three times in a row and over and over again. So, I kept trying to find more ways to give. Then, Monday, driving home from work, I once again heard God's voice whisper to me: "Give, give, GIVE". To which I responded this time, "God, I am giving... what are you trying to show me?"
His response both startled and confounded me, "To live abundantly, you MUST give abundantly. So, give in abundance that you may live in abundance."
Now, this may have been enough of an explanation for you, but it still confused me. But, I remembered Luke 6:38 (a scripture I'd used in my Sunday school class)
Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure,
pressed down,
shaken together
and running over,
will be poured into your lap.
For with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.
Then it hit me, God has supernaturally been showing this in the spiritual and in the physical and it's only just hitting me. Even in my office God has been using people to show me His intentions for Harvest Church.
Now, all of this may be a little muddled. It's taken me 3 days to get up the nerve to even try to communicate this because I know, that without the grace of God granting understanding, the weight of this will be missed. However, I want to say to you...
"Give, give, GIVE.... give abundantly that you may live in abundance."
We've heard some crazy words and promises but, let's not get caught up in the surface meaning and let's get down and let's ponder what God's really saying. This is the season in which we are supposed to lay aside current circumstances and give by faith. God said so. Let me tell you, He has some crazy things in store for us if we do.
Remember, "It is more blessed to give, than it is to receive."
Who's up for that blessing He's promised?!!!
