Purpose and blessing of Tithe – Part 5

An inspiring story from Evangelist R.W. Schambach: “I’ll never forget, the greatest miracle I ever witnessed began with an offering. It happened under the ministry of Brother A.A. Allen. ‘I was with this man of God for about five years in the 50s…’”

The boy was born blind, deaf and mute. Both arms were crippled and deformed. His elbows protruded up into his little tummy; his knees touched his elbows, both legs were crippled and deformed; he had club feet. When he was born, the doctors said that boy would never live to see his first birthday, but they were wrong; he was approaching four years of age. Of course, his condition was breaking his mama’s heart. She came to our meetings all week, and I got concerned about that boy. In those crusades, we had each person with a need fill out a prayer card, and the Holy Spirit moved, we would pray for the needs God inspired us to pray for. And the Holy Spirit didn’t seem to be moving us to pray for that little boy.”

“The following Sunday, his mother came to me and said: “’Brother Schambach, I am down to my 20 dollars. I have paid the hotel bill, but we have been eating in the restaurant, coming to three services a day and giving in every offering. All the money has run out. My baby has not been prayed for.’ She was very upset, and she was ready to give up and go home.”

I said, “Ma’am, I can’t apologise for the moving of the Holy Ghost. I know you have to leave tonight, but if you come to the service and once again, the Holy Spirit leads in another direction, and your son’s prayer card is not drawn for prayer, I will personally take your baby to the man of God’s trailer house and see that he lays his hands on your baby. You will not leave disappointed.” And I meant that from my heart.

That night I came out, and I led the singing in that evening service. Then I introduced Brother A.A. Allen, and he came bouncing out that platform and said; “Tonight, we are going to receive an offering of faith.” I had never heard him use that expression before, and I saw the eyebrows lift all over the congregation, He went on; “Now, if you don’t know what I mean when I say an ‘offering of faith,’ I mean for you to give God something you cannot afford to give. That’s a good definition, isn’t it? If you can afford it, there’s no faith connected to it. So give Him something you can’t afford to give.

“As soon as Brother Allen said that, I saw that boy’s mother leap out into the aisle and come running. Three Thousand people were watching her in that Birmingham Fairgrounds Arena, as she threw something into that offering bucket. I never saw somebody in such a hurry to give, and, I confess, I was nosy. I came down off that platform to see what she had given. You know what I saw in that bucket? A 20 dollar bill.

“I knew that was all she had. She has told me that. She had driven from Knoxville, Tennessee, to the meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. She didn’t know how she was going to get home or what she was going to use to feed herself and her baby on the way. I went behind the platform and wept. I prayed, ‘Lord, I’ve been trying to teach that woman faith all week. But now I’m asking you to give me faith like she’s got!”’
• Apostle Lawrence Achudume, Victory Life Bible Church Int’l, Km 9, Olabisi Onabanjo Way, Opp. OGTV, Ajebo, Abeokuta, Ogun State. P.O.Box 1537, Sapon, Abeokuta 110001, Ogun State, Nigeria, W/Africa. www.vl-bcinternational.Org.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬