Dear BPCWAians, Over the past two weeks, I have written about why we need to have a church extension, and the Biblical principle of giving. In giving to God’s work, we are not giving to the church, or to please man, or even merely as a philanthropic community work. And we definitely should not give just to get someone off our back, as some do when they are approached in public for donations to charities. If we have such ideas, we will shrink back from giving to a building fund. We think that the money is ours and someone is trying to get it from us. Those who have such ideas are those who Christ says will “will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13). Instead, for God’s work, we are simply returning to God what He has predetermined for us to give for His work.

How should I give? Even when we give, we must have the right attitude or we will give wrongly too.

1. Give willingly. “The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses”. (Exo 35:29) God reminds us, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2Cor 9:7) Only when we truly come to the full realisation that God gave us ahead of time for safekeeping as stewards, not for our own use, then will we return willingly. Also, only when we realise the time has come for us to have the privilege to be part of God’s work, then will we be willing of heart. If you truly have assimilated the principle of giving as stated above, your heart will naturally be willing and ready instead of grudging. And when the time comes, you will cheerfully return what He has given you, not out of necessity, but out of love for the work of God and for the generations now and to come.

2. Give in faith. Some are unwilling because they fear about their own future. Give honestly as the Lord has enabled you to do so. Giving is a test of faith, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2Cor 9:8). God will provide when you give back to His work. And those who give generously will reap bountifully, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. (7) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2Cor 9:6-7).

3. Give without desire to be known. Our Lord Jesus teaches, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Mat 6:1), and “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Mat 6:3-4). Even when we are willing givers, let us not fall into the temptation and trap of giving with a desire for others to know we are giving. To help you, we made sure you do not have to hand envelopes containing cash or cheques to anyone in church but only need to drop it into the offering bag instead. But our proud hearts can be creative in wanting others to know that we or our family is giving. Let us guard and plan carefully. Let us not lose our true blessing in giving. So beware. Plan carefully how you will not fall into the temptation of wanting to be known.

4. Give above your normal giving. Your current tithes and offerings are needed for the ongoing operations and maintenance work of the church. It also supports the mission work. Hence, giving to the church extension project does not mean reducing current giving, which can result in impacting our operations. Yes, it may mean tightening our belts on some things we are used to spending that are good to haves but are not necessities. You can do that even as a student. Going through self-denials for the Lord will bring a new experience of joy. For heads of families, teach your spouse and children and come together as a family to plan how to give. This is an invaluable experience. And the example you set for them will become a lifetime lesson. Giving over and above our tithes and offerings may cost us difficulties and inconveniences. But it is a test of our love for God’s church, His Kingdom’s work, and the future generation here.

5. Give and pray. Remember that there are 4 types of people. First, there are those who give and hence want to have a big say in everything. Second, there are those who do not give but still want to say much. Third, there are those who do not want to give so they avoid everything. Fourth, there are those who give willingly and bountifully and ask how they can pray for the project. Let us all be the fourth kind of people. We are not against objective questions and inputs. But none must give and expect that the church does what he wants.

6. When do I stop giving? There are 2 phases in our church extension project. As I mentioned during the update on the church extension, the church’s immediate need is to provide more rooms and space for Bible studies and fellowships. This is what we termed as “Phase 1”, where the need is to raise $1.3mill so as to build a new adjoining building fronting Canning Highway. But it does not end there. If God is pleased to grow the church further, our existing Worship sanctuary is insufficient, as we are already filling the fellowship area outside the kitchen. Should God should direct us toward having separate English and Chinese Worship services, we cannot use this additional space because there will be other activities happening concurrently while one Worship Service is on. Furthermore, as we are one church, we must hold combined Worship Services with both congregations coming together during key events. While phase 2 is not an immediate priority, we envisage that an extension of our current Worship Sanctuary will be needed in time. This will be the Phase 2 of our church extension project, and is likely to require an additional sum of several million dollars. So I hope that we will not stop giving even if Phase 1’s goal is reached. Remember the person who gave generously some 30 years ago was not our worshipper and does not even live in Perth. We enjoy the fruit. It is our time to give now to the future work of God.

God has been pleased to draw many to His church here to worship Him, grow spiritually, and to serve Him. Satan does not like the church to grow and expand. Hence, it is no strange thing that church building projects often end up in big disagreements in church and even splits. Then the work of God dies, not just the project. Let us not be used of Satan as his tool to be a trouble maker as the church expands. We welcome helpful and genuine questions. The building committee is not perfect but we have been and will continue to work hard and do our best due diligence. This we do because we know we are accountable to God. We need your prayers.

Finally, my brethren, we often exhort one another to seek the kingdom of God (Luke 12:31). This is your opportunity, in this time, in your generation, to “provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” (Luke 12:33)

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:34)

I pray that everyone of us will love the church and God’s work enough to give to our building fund.

Yours in our Lord’s service

Pastor