MY $100 PLEDGE.
I was fresh out of Bible college, and my wife and I were pastoring a church in Western Pennsylvania. They had just moved us into a brand new parsonage with all brand new furniture. When we moved there she thought,
This is it. I'm going to stay until Jesus comes.
This was back in the middle 50's, so the salary that the church paid their pastor was $50 a week. I thought I was in hog heaven. I didn't have a bank account, but I was happy. I was in the will of God.
I was invited to speak in my hometown at a meeting with several important evangelists. I wondered how I was going to get time off to go to that meeting. I knew if I could get there, I wouldn't have to stay at a motel, because Mom lived there, and I'd stay at home. I didn't have to go to a restaurant—not when Mom's around. She provides the best cooking in the world!
Well, the church gave me time off to go down there, and I sat on that platform every night with all those sponsoring pastors—even though I was pastoring in the Pittsburgh area, 200 miles away from there. On the last Sunday afternoon of that meeting, Oral Roberts introduced something new.
He stood before those people under that tent and he said, "God told me to go on television."
My first reaction was, Oh, won't that be wonderful?
Put Jack Benny out of business. Put the revival on from a tent!
He said, "God promised me 1,000 people will give $100 to pay for the production cost of that television program."
That doesn't seem like much money today, but that was a whole lot of money then. One hundred thousand dollars. I was sitting up there on that platform; I bowed my head and I said, "Yes, Lord, speak to the people!" As if I'm not people, you know. That's the way we often pray, isn't it?
God spoke to my heart right away and said, "Son, I want you to be one of them."
I shouted a little louder, "Lord, talk to the people who have it! Yes, Lord!"—trying to drown out His voice now.
We're all made out of the same stuff. I was trying to push it over on somebody else now. I said, "Lord, you know I have nothing. I'm going to have to borrow twenty dollars from my brother to get back home."
That was my faith. And guess what? I did end up borrowing twenty dollars from my brother—because I had confessed it.
But God spoke to me again. He said, "Son, I'm not going to ask you anymore. This will be the last time. I know you don't have it. But I'll give it to you."
I said, "Oh, that's different." I leaped out of my seat, and I jumped down there with the rest of the 1,300 people who had come forward. Some 1,300 came forward because God has a way of giving more than what you ask for.
Brother Roberts prayed, "Lord, many of these folks don't have the money, but I'm asking You to give it back ten times over."
That got my attention. My computer brain already had the figures itemized out. I said, "Yes, Lord! Answer the prayer of that man of God!" I went back home, and I didn't have the money to pay my pledge. But God called me not long after that, to go on the evangelistic field. I told my wife, "Don't get settled in, honey. We've got to be on the move. We're going to be traveling."
God knew that I needed a trailer house for my family, and I didn't have any money. So when I resigned the pastorate, the church took an offering for me that Sunday morning. Up to that point, I had never seen that much money in all my life. To the dollar, to the penny, it was $1,000.
My mind went back to that tent. The man of God prayed that my $100 pledge would be multiplied. I hadn't given it yet, but here God multiplied it and put it in my hand. I learned another principle of giving under that tent.
First thing I did was pay the tithe off of it: I sent that $100 pledge.
That left me with $900, and God led me to a Christian man who sold trailer homes in Reading, Pennsylvania.
When he found out I was an evangelist and I was going to use the trailer to go on the road, he said, "Preacher, the first thing I'm going to do is knock $1,000 off the cost of this trailer."
Brother Roberts prayed and asked God to multiply it tenfold, but God gave it back twenty times. Exceeding, abundantly, above what you can ask or even think. You can always give what you have in your hand, but it takes faith to give something you do not have.
And I learned that lesson way back in 1954.
- RW SHAMBACH ( You Can't Beat God's Giving)
I was fresh out of Bible college, and my wife and I were pastoring a church in Western Pennsylvania. They had just moved us into a brand new parsonage with all brand new furniture. When we moved there she thought,
This is it. I'm going to stay until Jesus comes.
This was back in the middle 50's, so the salary that the church paid their pastor was $50 a week. I thought I was in hog heaven. I didn't have a bank account, but I was happy. I was in the will of God.
I was invited to speak in my hometown at a meeting with several important evangelists. I wondered how I was going to get time off to go to that meeting. I knew if I could get there, I wouldn't have to stay at a motel, because Mom lived there, and I'd stay at home. I didn't have to go to a restaurant—not when Mom's around. She provides the best cooking in the world!
Well, the church gave me time off to go down there, and I sat on that platform every night with all those sponsoring pastors—even though I was pastoring in the Pittsburgh area, 200 miles away from there. On the last Sunday afternoon of that meeting, Oral Roberts introduced something new.
He stood before those people under that tent and he said, "God told me to go on television."
My first reaction was, Oh, won't that be wonderful?
Put Jack Benny out of business. Put the revival on from a tent!
He said, "God promised me 1,000 people will give $100 to pay for the production cost of that television program."
That doesn't seem like much money today, but that was a whole lot of money then. One hundred thousand dollars. I was sitting up there on that platform; I bowed my head and I said, "Yes, Lord, speak to the people!" As if I'm not people, you know. That's the way we often pray, isn't it?
God spoke to my heart right away and said, "Son, I want you to be one of them."
I shouted a little louder, "Lord, talk to the people who have it! Yes, Lord!"—trying to drown out His voice now.
We're all made out of the same stuff. I was trying to push it over on somebody else now. I said, "Lord, you know I have nothing. I'm going to have to borrow twenty dollars from my brother to get back home."
That was my faith. And guess what? I did end up borrowing twenty dollars from my brother—because I had confessed it.
But God spoke to me again. He said, "Son, I'm not going to ask you anymore. This will be the last time. I know you don't have it. But I'll give it to you."
I said, "Oh, that's different." I leaped out of my seat, and I jumped down there with the rest of the 1,300 people who had come forward. Some 1,300 came forward because God has a way of giving more than what you ask for.
Brother Roberts prayed, "Lord, many of these folks don't have the money, but I'm asking You to give it back ten times over."
That got my attention. My computer brain already had the figures itemized out. I said, "Yes, Lord! Answer the prayer of that man of God!" I went back home, and I didn't have the money to pay my pledge. But God called me not long after that, to go on the evangelistic field. I told my wife, "Don't get settled in, honey. We've got to be on the move. We're going to be traveling."
God knew that I needed a trailer house for my family, and I didn't have any money. So when I resigned the pastorate, the church took an offering for me that Sunday morning. Up to that point, I had never seen that much money in all my life. To the dollar, to the penny, it was $1,000.
My mind went back to that tent. The man of God prayed that my $100 pledge would be multiplied. I hadn't given it yet, but here God multiplied it and put it in my hand. I learned another principle of giving under that tent.
First thing I did was pay the tithe off of it: I sent that $100 pledge.
That left me with $900, and God led me to a Christian man who sold trailer homes in Reading, Pennsylvania.
When he found out I was an evangelist and I was going to use the trailer to go on the road, he said, "Preacher, the first thing I'm going to do is knock $1,000 off the cost of this trailer."
Brother Roberts prayed and asked God to multiply it tenfold, but God gave it back twenty times. Exceeding, abundantly, above what you can ask or even think. You can always give what you have in your hand, but it takes faith to give something you do not have.
And I learned that lesson way back in 1954.
- RW SHAMBACH ( You Can't Beat God's Giving)
MY $100 PLEDGE.
I was fresh out of Bible college, and my wife and I were pastoring a church in Western Pennsylvania. They had just moved us into a brand new parsonage with all brand new furniture. When we moved there she thought,
This is it. I'm going to stay until Jesus comes.
This was back in the middle 50's, so the salary that the church paid their pastor was $50 a week. I thought I was in hog heaven. I didn't have a bank account, but I was happy. I was in the will of God.
I was invited to speak in my hometown at a meeting with several important evangelists. I wondered how I was going to get time off to go to that meeting. I knew if I could get there, I wouldn't have to stay at a motel, because Mom lived there, and I'd stay at home. I didn't have to go to a restaurant—not when Mom's around. She provides the best cooking in the world!
Well, the church gave me time off to go down there, and I sat on that platform every night with all those sponsoring pastors—even though I was pastoring in the Pittsburgh area, 200 miles away from there. On the last Sunday afternoon of that meeting, Oral Roberts introduced something new.
He stood before those people under that tent and he said, "God told me to go on television."
My first reaction was, Oh, won't that be wonderful?
Put Jack Benny out of business. Put the revival on from a tent!
He said, "God promised me 1,000 people will give $100 to pay for the production cost of that television program."
That doesn't seem like much money today, but that was a whole lot of money then. One hundred thousand dollars. I was sitting up there on that platform; I bowed my head and I said, "Yes, Lord, speak to the people!" As if I'm not people, you know. That's the way we often pray, isn't it?
God spoke to my heart right away and said, "Son, I want you to be one of them."
I shouted a little louder, "Lord, talk to the people who have it! Yes, Lord!"—trying to drown out His voice now.
We're all made out of the same stuff. I was trying to push it over on somebody else now. I said, "Lord, you know I have nothing. I'm going to have to borrow twenty dollars from my brother to get back home."
That was my faith. And guess what? I did end up borrowing twenty dollars from my brother—because I had confessed it.
But God spoke to me again. He said, "Son, I'm not going to ask you anymore. This will be the last time. I know you don't have it. But I'll give it to you."
I said, "Oh, that's different." I leaped out of my seat, and I jumped down there with the rest of the 1,300 people who had come forward. Some 1,300 came forward because God has a way of giving more than what you ask for.
Brother Roberts prayed, "Lord, many of these folks don't have the money, but I'm asking You to give it back ten times over."
That got my attention. My computer brain already had the figures itemized out. I said, "Yes, Lord! Answer the prayer of that man of God!" I went back home, and I didn't have the money to pay my pledge. But God called me not long after that, to go on the evangelistic field. I told my wife, "Don't get settled in, honey. We've got to be on the move. We're going to be traveling."
God knew that I needed a trailer house for my family, and I didn't have any money. So when I resigned the pastorate, the church took an offering for me that Sunday morning. Up to that point, I had never seen that much money in all my life. To the dollar, to the penny, it was $1,000.
My mind went back to that tent. The man of God prayed that my $100 pledge would be multiplied. I hadn't given it yet, but here God multiplied it and put it in my hand. I learned another principle of giving under that tent.
First thing I did was pay the tithe off of it: I sent that $100 pledge.
That left me with $900, and God led me to a Christian man who sold trailer homes in Reading, Pennsylvania.
When he found out I was an evangelist and I was going to use the trailer to go on the road, he said, "Preacher, the first thing I'm going to do is knock $1,000 off the cost of this trailer."
Brother Roberts prayed and asked God to multiply it tenfold, but God gave it back twenty times. Exceeding, abundantly, above what you can ask or even think. You can always give what you have in your hand, but it takes faith to give something you do not have.
And I learned that lesson way back in 1954.
- RW SHAMBACH ( You Can't Beat God's Giving)
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