(Excerpt from Pastor’s book, ‘How to Get a Grip on God’s Promises”)

This woman had long-haul faith.  She was not easily moved; her faith was focused.  The New Testament gives us some examples of those whose faith was not so steady.  Matthew 14:22-33 is the story of Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a storm.  When the disciples saw Him they cried out.  Jesus told them not to be afraid.  Eventually Jesus told Peter to come walk on the water.  Unlike the Shunammite woman, Peter started out strong but allowed the circumstances around him to move him off his faith.  Peter began to sink and cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus reached out his hand and then said to Peter, “. . . O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”  Do you remember in Luke 22:32, when Jesus prayed for Peter?  He said, “. . . I have prayed for thee, that your faith fail not . . .” Let me tell you the kind of faith Peter had.  Peter had what I like to call “burning rubber” faith.  That is how we describe when a car takes off quickly and leaves black rubber marks on the road.  Peter was good for about a block or two, then something would happen and he would explode and all you would hear was the screeching of tires and there Peter goes again.  Then he runs out of gas or his motor comes apart.

Years ago, the transmissions in some of the old cars we used to drive would suddenly stop working.  It was kind of embarrassing when it would malfunction in front of your girlfriend. You are showing her how your car will run and it lasts about a block or two and then it would stall.  That was like Peter.  I can identify with Peter because at one time I was like that. His heart meant well.  I mean this guy would cut off somebody’s ear to help Jesus.  But Jesus prayed that his faith would not just be short-haul faith; Jesus desired that his faith would be steady for the long-haul.

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

I am sorry to tell you that I spent too many years in the ministry without understanding what giving to God was all about.  I knew tithing was right; my wife Joy and I both came from tithing families.  We knew that we needed to tithe, but any offerings above the tithe were a big, big deal.  At that time we did not have the full revelation of worshiping God with offerings above our tithe.  There we were, preaching the Gospel and wondering how we were going to pay our utility bills.  We were suffering from what I call financial friction.  Let me tell you Joy and I understand friction very well.  Friction means two back payments rubbing up against each other.  Friction is a symptom of poverty.  Poverty means not having enough.  We have probably all been there.  Your seed will meet your financial need and the harvest will affect your entire life.  Paul said, “…my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19 emphasis added).  We discovered your seed will meet more than your financial need.

I am not saying that the blessings of God can be bought.  However, I am amazed at the things that I have seen God do for people who give to Jesus.  He meets their need on every level of life.  Joy has said it more than once since our daughter has needed around the clock nursing care.  A gift has been given to us much greater than money could ever buy; in the precious caregivers that have given of their time to come and help.  We could have never orchestrated this on our own.  But God has supplied the need.  We are so grateful for the seed that is being sown by these precious caregivers.

There are people who prospered by giving tithes and offerings, but once their harvest started to come in they decided they stopped giving. They decided they did not need to give those tithes and offerings anymore.  That is a very dangerous position.  Whatever it took to get you blessed is what it is going to take to keep you blessed.  Everyone knows the only way an airliner can stay at thirty-thousand feet is to keep the power on.  If you turn the engines off you will be able to glide for a little but eventually you will crash into the ground.  In the same way if you stop sowing seed you will cut off your harvest.

The harvest that your seed produces is more than money.  You may have a need that cannot be met by money.  You may need a physical healing, help in a marriage relationship, or your children may have needs.  Your giving is not just for you as an individual; you are planting seeds for your children and grandchildren.  Sure, you will get blessed in the process but that is not the end of it.  I am planting seeds for all of my family.  It is not just about Joy and me.  I plant seeds on a regular basis for my grandchildren and great grandchildren.  They will never have to look back and say, “Granddaddy was tight with God.”  I want my family to know that Joy and I were givers to God.  I want them to know that we did not stop giving once our financial situation was better.  Giving and believing God for a harvest is a way of life for us.

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

It is important to obey God and live a pure life in order to fulfill God’s plan.  Because of this, I want to live clean and pure.  The further I go in the ministry purity becomes more of a passion with me.  I have come too far to throw away my reputation.  I want to do the right thing.  I want to be a pastor that my congregation does not have to be ashamed of.  I want my faith to be an example that others can look to.  Keep the stream of faith pure.  Faith will always require obedience and sometimes the people around you will not understand you.  Sometimes members of your own family will criticize you.  If you are going to make your life count for God you cannot let what other people say deter you from being obedient to the voice of God.

There are some other things that I think God wants us to see.  In Mark’s account Jesus says, “She hath done what she could.” Notice that Jesus did not rebuke her.  Jesus will never ask you to do what you cannot do.  That might have been her only valuable possession.  The ointment was precious to her but she decided to give it.  When you cannot do everything you want to do, doing what you can is a powerful principle.

How do you really make your life count for God?  There are people of great wealth who say, “Well I will build a hospital or a library and they will put my name on it.”  That is admirable.  There is nothing wrong with that, but that is not how you make your life count for God.  People build these monuments to themselves so that they will be remembered.  In the Kingdom of God it is not so much what you get, but what you give that makes your life count for God.

If it had been me I might have looked at the expensive ointment said, “God is not asking you to do that.”  Believe me, you do not know how many times I have said things like that, when people took a step of sacrificial giving.  Many years ago there was a woman who went to our church here in Fort Worth who did a similar thing. Her deceased husband had left her a small pension from his work for the railroad which included a few benefits. She was a dedicated member of the church, a consistent tither, and a generous giver. One day she came in and handed me an offering of several thousand dollars, something that she had never done before. “This is my entire savings account, pastor,” she told me. I had an idea of how much she made with her pension. It would have taken her a couple of years to save up for an offering of this size. I would never encourage anyone to give away their savings, unless they are directed by God.  I would think this type of giving would be foolhardy without God’s direction.

“Now sister, this is just too much! You don’t need to give this.” I told her, but she was not moved. She looked me square in the eye and said, “Bob Nichols, you take this offering. You have been teaching about giving and I want to give this as a seed.” See, this is the attitude of people who are operating by faith in their giving. They are not moved by what anyone says to them. So I took the offering, believing that she would receive a harvest.

A couple of weeks later she testified that someone had asked if she was aware of some unpublicized pension benefits.  He informed her that she would have to sign up for them or they would be lost. This was the first that she had heard of it.  She signed up and received double the amount of money per month than she had been receiving! When you sow a seed in faith the result is a harvest of multiplication!

One day the woman with the alabaster box said, “I do not care what anybody says, it belongs to me and I am going to give it to Jesus.”  She did not bring a sick lamb or a lame donkey, she brought the most expensive thing she had.  She did not ask anybody about it because it would not have been their business anyway. So, she broke that alabaster box and poured the ointment on Jesus.  The moment she did, all monetary value was gone.  It was not coming back and that is why the world said it was a waste.  They said, if you wanted to do something noble, you could have sold that and given the money to the poor.

Jesus went on to say something else.  “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her”(Matthew 26:13). This woman’s gift became international.  Her worship and giving were actually recorded in God’s Word.  When Jesus said, “Verily” he meant that you can count on it.  Even today the story of this gift is preached all over the world.