As I review the past after having served in the gospel ministry for more than 40 years. I can see clearly how God has mightily and abundantly blessed those churches and individuals who have given liberally and sacrificially, to MISSIONS or to other causes God has laid on their heart.
A particular and providential experience occurred in my life in 1965, immediately after I went on the staff at the Landmark Baptist Temple, where John Rawlings was pastor. At that time, I was told, the church was listed as the sixth largest church in the nation. I felt privileged to serve there after having spent 25 months in evangelism.
Much was said in the announcements from the pulpit of Landmark Baptist Temple about a missionary conference to be held in the church that year. Some of the most successful missionaries would be coming to be guest speakers. The entire membership of the church was challenged to make a faith commitment to give sacrificially for 26 weeks above the regular tithes.
I purposed in my heart not to commit MYSELF TO ANY OFFERING AT ALL. Far from being a selfish person, I had let bitterness color my walk with God. In my previous 25 months in evangelism, it appeared to me that local churches offered their treasure storehouse to the missionaries but did not recognize the evangelist to be so popular. My honest objective in each place in which I had preached was to spend several hours a week witnessing. Then I thought about the missionary. When he visited a church, his only purpose was to get an offering to get to the mission field. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that I was GUILTY OF JEALOUSY. How sad!
During the progress of the conference missionaries gave their persuasive messages. My heart began to soften. The sin in my heart seemed black. I cashed in on the promise in 1 John 1:9. Our merciful God forgave me. Then the Lord said (not in an audible voice), “You are going to do far more”. I responded, “Lord speak and I will submit.” The Lord impressed me to give $20.00 a week in addition to my tithe. Taking a pencil and paper, I quickly learned that giving this sum would not fit in with my budget. I confronted the Lord with this seemingly insurmountable problem. I felt His firm admonition, “Obey me or else.” How could I argue with God? So I purposed in my heart, if I had to sell my house, I would trust and obey. I made the $20.00 a week faith commitment.
The Lord had some special lessons to teach me the next six months. Never before in my Christian life had I experienced such miraculous happenings. WHEN ANY PERSON MAKES A HOLY SPIRIT DIRECTED FAITH COMMITMENT, GOD GOES INTO ACTION. During that six-month period I received a check from the government for $103 related to a mistake made years before. I won a man’s daughter to Christ. Quickly he gave me $25.00. I knew this was coming from the Lord to repay me. During this time, after hearing me speak. Granville LaForge spoke to me and said, “Brother Grooms, the Lord spoke to me while you were delivering the message and you are to hold a meeting for me in the Capital City Baptist Church in Des Moines, Iowa. When I explained to Pastor LaForge that it was not customary for me, as a staff member to accept an invitation to hold an evangelistic meeting, he replied. “I’m just telling you what the Holy Spirit said to me” and walked away. I pondered this in my heart and told John Rawlings what he said. Without any hesitation, he replies, “J.O., YOU HAD BETTER GO.”
The revival turned out to be one of the best I have ever conducted in my entire ministry. 28 were baptized at the conclusion of the meeting and the Lord supplied me with a good love offering. After the 26-week faith commitment giving that had amounted to $520, I looked at the record I had kept of how much extra the Lord had given me above my salary. IT WAS EXACTLY $563. The Lord did not make me sell my home. I learned by experience, God’s principles work. Jesus promised in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. FOR WITH THE SAME MEASURE THAT YE METE WITHAL, IT SHALL BE MEASURED TO YOU AGAIN.”
The same amount we give, He never fails to repay.
Years later, I shared this testimony with our youngest daughter, Janet Kay. She said something that gripped my heart I had never thought about. “Dad, had you not obeyed God and given the $20 a week, you would not have the privilege of travelling all over the world, doing mission work. She was right. The Lord always tests our faith, before using us to a great extent. The faith of everyone who reads this testimony will be tried and tested. The trial of our faith is more precious than gold that perishes (1 Peter 1 :7).
Does faith-giving pay off? It did for me. And there is no respect of persons with God (Romans 2:11). Since then, the Lord gave me four Scripture memory books. At least 2,000,000 copies of these books are in circulation. Treasure Path is in 10 languages. The Lord has sent me to the Philippines 8 times, 4 times to South America, 14 times to Russia, 6 times to Nigeria, 2 times to Egypt and other countries preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ. The 3 years in Africa alone, we had the honor of speaking to at least 200,000 people, with over 55 percent of them professing faith in Christ. To God be ALL the glory, for He said, “I will not give MY GLORY to another” (Isaiah 48:11).
From J.O. Grooms upon 40 years in ministry.