To see a supernatural harvest, one must leave the human realm and move into God’s miraculous dimension, through a sacrificial offering in the form of a devoted pledge or a vow.
CN PHOTOS: Gareth Gay, Niven Tham & Tetty Teh.
Over the Arise and Build Weekend last week, senior pastor of City Harvest Church, Kong Hee, brought the congregation a piece of uplifting news; out of the $13,177,582.84 Arise and Build funds pledged last year, $12,090,042.25 was collected—a 91.8 percent fulfillment.
Pointing to Lev. 27:28, which states that everything that is devoted to God is most holy to the Lord, Kong taught that God moves in power when there is commitment and sacrifice in the form of a pledge or a vow.
Referring to the famous passage in the Bible about the widow with two mites from Mark 12:41, Kong added that Jesus was not looking at the amount of money people were giving, but “how” they gave; He was looking at the heart and the attitude of those who were giving. While many rich people were putting in much, out of their abundance, the poor widow, who may likely have been a victim of the religious leaders, put in all that she had, her whole livelihood—money meant for her rent, her food.
“This widow was not moving in surplus, spare money … all of a sudden, heaven came to attention! God doesn’t measure money by the number that is written on it … if our offerings touch our hearts, it will touch God’s heart!” said Kong.
Kong also quoted the story of the woman with the alabaster flask (Mark 14:3), who established her name for all of eternity when she sacrificed her dowry, pouring a precious box of spikenard on the head of Jesus. Just as Jesus promised that wherever the gospel would be preached, her name would also be mentioned, Kong taught that Jesus never forgets the sacrifices of believers when they give their very best.
He reminded the members that the God they worship owns everything and lacks nothing; what He wants is not money but the love of His people. “When He sees us sacrificing our best, our faith activates Him into powerful action!”
At what point is one’s giving considered a sacrifice? There are people who give without the need for faith, “but there are others who give in such a way that God has to move now … because if He doesn’t, we are finished! At that point, the believer enters the realm of sacrifice. But until we are willing to sacrifice our best, we will never know Him as the Abundant Supplier!” challenged Kong.
In Genesis 42, when Jacob’s 10 sons were in Egypt to buy grain during a time of severe famine, their long-lost brother, Joseph, blessed them and sent them away with “sacks” of grain. But before they walked away, however, Joseph, whose identity was still unbeknownst to them, said the next time they came for food, they had to bring Benjamin, their father’s most precious belonging in the world.
When the food ran out and Jacob was forced to let Benjamin follow his brothers back to Egypt, it was then that Joseph made himself known to his brothers, eventually sending them back with wagon-loads of supplies. He challenged the members to likewise give their “Benjamins” in order to exchange “sacks”—provision that is just enough—to “wagons”—provision for entire nations of people.
The congregation also heard about the giving of Abraham, who was obedient to the point of sacrificing his own son. And God promised him, “blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed …” (Gen. 22: 17-18).
When the best is sacrificed, God starts positioning the world for salvation and revival. To see a supernatural harvest, one must leave the human realm and move into God’s miraculous dimension, through a sacrificial offering in the form of a devoted pledge or a vow.
And then there was the ultimate Giver, Jesus Christ, who gave His best, His very own life, to take the sins of the world. What gave Jesus the strength to do it? It was for the “joy that was set before Him,” (Heb. 12:2).
Kong said, “Like Jesus, we can see a greater harvest of souls in the church. We can see us permanently using this arena where tens of thousands of people can weekly worship God. We can see a facility for future workers missionaries to be discipled and released.”
“I need you to stay planted and complete what God has started in us five years ago, to reach self-sustainability here in Suntec,” he added. The target for this year’s Arise and Build campaign is $12M.
In closing, Kong exhorted the congregation to make their giving a devotion unto the Lord.
“This is not just a fund-raiser or a donation drive for charity. We are seeking to do something for Jesus that will affect generations … for our children and our children’s children.”
