The Importance of Vision
Be Strong and Courageous
Raising money for ministry can be a daunting procedure. It can be particularly daunting if it involves visioning, preparing and planning for a major building project and then raising the money and seeing the project to completion. Ministers are generally not prepared for this, and by and large, neither are church leaders. It is sad therefore when plans for urgently needed facilities are shelved and put in the too hard basket.
The bible has a description of the preparations for a major building project: Solomon’s temple, in 1 Chronicles 28 and 29. It is easy to miss this as the books of Chronicles are not the ones that we normally go to for quiet time reading. I remember that when I entered Moore College to train for the ministry nearly fifty years ago, we first year students were almost immediately required to read and be examined on 1 and 2 Chronicles, probably because the college was aware that our knowledge of these books would be primitive.
1 Chronicles 29 contains quite detailed instructions about how King David raised resources for the temple. It is very practical and contains the magnificent theology of God’s ownership of our possessions and how David and the elders personally led the process of raising the money. Yet the preceding chapter, 1 Chronicles 28 also contains some vital information.
Here David
- Summons the officials to meet in Jerusalem.
- Reminds them that God had chosen David as king and has chosen Solomon his son to build the temple.
- Charges the elders to follow God’s commands.
- Directs Solomon to serve God wholeheartedly.
- Gives Solomon detailed instructions about personnel and associated rooms for the temple that the Spirit had revealed to him.
- Instructs about ministry of the priests and levites and the gold and silver required.
- Gives Solomon a charge to be strong and courageous. This is because God himself will be with Solomon, the priests and levites are ready and skilled craftsmen and obedient people are waiting for orders.
The charge to be strong and courageous appears elsewhere in scripture where a daunting task is before the people. It is associated with the command to rise up and enter the promised land. Moses, in Deuteronomy 31:6&7, exhorts the people to be strong and courageous. Similarly, God repeats the exhortation to Joshua after Moses’ death, in Joshua 1: 6,7&9. The people are not to be afraid. They are to keep God’s word and be confident of his presence.
I do not see these verses as an invitation to go off half-baked into some major project. David was confident that God had spoken to him and that he was following God’s command. He also had the support of the leaders and the people. Extensive plans had been given and made for the carrying out of the enterprise. David led the charge himself in raising the required resources. It was now up to young Solomon to complete the task. It was in this context that ‘be strong and courageous’ is given.
So, if you know there is a vital ministry need and you believe that through prayer and the counsel of godly, wise advisers, that this is God’s will and you have developed a well thought out plan of action and have the support of your congregation, be strong and courageous and complete the task for the extension of God’s kingdom.
For more details about how David raised the resource in 1 Chronicles 29, see my book, Giving Generously. https://givinggenerously.com/