Rev. Jerrell H. Miller is the Editor & Publisher of The Remnant International

By Editor Jerrell H. Miller
All Things Are Equal At 
The Corss and so is giving

MOBILE, AL -- There is an old tradition in the church
that stops the work of God. That is
the tradition of pastors and speakers feeling guilty about asking the congregation to give. Recently, the spirit of giving has touched me in a mighty way and I want to take this opportunity to share what is on my heart. I understand now that giving needs to be a big part of the life of every child of God. If giving is not a part of the life of a Christian, you will know it immediately by the way they speak.
I used to go to meetings without my checkbook, because I knew there was going to be a minister there that was going to press people to give. I knew I would feel the conviction of God during the service and would empty out my pockets. Recently, I was in a meeting away from home and only had a certain amount of money in my pocket for food and expenses. During the meeting, I heard the testimony of a person who had given all they had at a time when they were falling apart financially. Have you ever noticed that God comes to you during your deepest times of distortion and requires ministry out of you? You might be going through one of your deepest times of sorrow and then God shows up and says to you, "See that person over there?

I want you to help him." I have often felt that the Lord does that to us when our faith is at its lowest level in order to raise our faith level a bit. During this meeting, I heard many testimonies on giving. Person after person testified about how they were blessed after giving. The thing that touched me about the way they were speaking is that many of them had needed money desperately, but gave with their last ounce of substance. I used to wonder how could God ask a person to give when their life is falling apart? Isn’t that a mean thing to do…but logic shouldn’t play a role in our giving ability, faith should. Sometimes faith requires you to get to the bottom of yourself in order to see what God can do. My spirit had been touched in a deep way that night and I took everything I had in my wallet and sewed it into the offering. Something instantly came over me that I have never felt before. Boy what a release! It was like all things had become new inside me. It was like the time I got saved in college and knew that I had done the right thing. The Spirit of God touched my spirit man and said to me, "I have been speaking to you to do this for the longest time. Now watch Me, Jerrell, and see if I will not pour you out a blessing."
The very next night I was in Florence, Kentucky visiting Heritage Fellowship and Pastor Cleddie Keith asked me to get up and share with the people. There were many others present who could have gotten up and very seldom do I ever say anything at Heritage Fellowship. I felt the Spirit of God upon me as I saw many young missionaries in the congregation that Cleddie had raised up to go out on the mission field. I knew they would have to have unshakable faith to make it. Something began to move upon me and I felt an anointing to tell the people that if they had any plans for ministry, but had not been able to reach those plans yet because of finances, it might be that God wants to challenge their giving process. Any great work of God requires faith and belief that God will get you there. I said that money in ministry is important, it is right up there with air. You need it to survive. I challenged their dreams. Do you have a dream of ministry but you can’t get to the next level of faith to see it manifest? Not that you should give strictly to get a blessing — we must give out of our hearts and never look back. Blessing is God’s job. We are to give sacrificially with our hearts, because if we don’t ever get to this place, we will never be able to see what God can do. That night, I told the people about giving most of what I had the night before. Not for the purpose of boasting, but because that was the conviction God had put in my heart.
As I sat down, others followed and spoke about the blessing of giving. As the evening went on, people started coming to me and putting money in my pockets. By the time I went back to my hotel room, I had more than $120 cash in my pockets. One person, who will remain anonymous, wrote out a check from his personal account for $600. Many people that night told me they had heard me speak before, but that there was something different about me this time.I knew something had changed in my life. No more was I afraid to speak about giving — I feel as if a poverty mentality was broken off of me. Hope comes through many packages, but the greatest hope I have experienced this year was the attitude of my faith as God got into my wallet and taught me a lesson that He has been trying to teach me for years. Many people never fully make use of their gifts because of their lack of faith in the area of giving and receiving back from God. It’s time to learn about ourselves and cast our dreams toward the throne room of the Almighty. He is waiting, just as He was waiting when you got saved. He is waiting for you to give it all to Him and never look back. He wants you to go out so far on that limb that there is no chance to come back. Believe me, being out on that limb will cause you to stop thinking about things in your head and start living by your heart.Simon wanted to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit, but Peter quickly said that it wasn’t for sale. The rich young ruler was in love with his money. That’s why he never received from God. He never positioned himself to receive the blessing. People who give and turn their pockets out for God will never miss with Him. You have to stop loving money and give it away to understand the principle of faith. Within one night after giving most of what I had, I received a harvest of $720. I put myself in position for the blessing. I wasn’t looking for money after I gave, I just knew God was going to take care of me. All the way back home, I had money to eat - not just at McDonald’s, but money enough to stop at a good place to eat if I wanted.
I’m new at this giving thing, but my eyes have been opened up for the purpose. We are supposed to fund the works of God. His purpose requires us to give, but when you sit in a pew and measure another man’s motive as he asks you to give to God, then the very substance that he has asked you for will be held back from you by your own choice. The wealth to do the work of the Lord has been stored up for us, but only our hearts can release it.