(From my column “Looking Forward and
Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, August, 1988.)
We ARE moving! Praise the Lord!
But NOT until the battle is won and complete victory is ours. As
everyone knows, we had planned to move in August and begin our Season
of Victory in our new home—our “Promised Land.” That was assuming that
we would have the $60,000 we needed to move in debt free. We assumed wrong. Are
we disappointed? Very definitely, yes! Are we defeated? NO!
God showed us our “Promised Land,” and
He set the conditions—(1) Honor your
commitment not to go into debt; (2) Raise the $60,000 and go in debt free. We set the time table—we thought we
could do it in a year. We have come a long way ($42,000), but that leaves us
$18,000 to go.
When we started last September to
raise the money in one year, by August this year, it all seemed so logical—that
would be approximately when the Fellowship that owns the church felt they would
be ready to move and our lease expired in September this year, plus it would be
the beginning of a new season. It all seemed so right and still does.
Nonetheless, we do not have all the money needed and the priority commitment is
still one of no debt. Do we honor that commitment or not?
As the deadline for moving approached
and we realized that funds would be short, the temptation to find ways to
borrow funds and not call it debt has plagued us. We have doubted our faith, we
have looked to our own resources, we have contacted people on the possibility
of loans, we have done everything Satan would have us do. But, praise God,
though we have been sorely tested, the convicting power of the Holy Spirit
would not give us a peace about using funds that were not ours—debt is debt
whether interest is charged or not, whether borrowed from a friend instead of a
bank, whether covered by pledges or not. And, yes, we have had more than one
offer to loan us the money. We have been
tested.
So many have given sacrificially this
last year believing and standing with us on our pledge to move in debt free.
Could we turn our backs on all who have heard and believed our words when we
said, “We have a commitment to God not to go into debt?” The answer, of course,
is NO! We are, and will continue to
be, a ministry of integrity. Therefore, we will NOT borrow money. We will continue to work and pray until we have
it all.
As disappointing as it is to us and to
you, our loyal patrons, not to be able to move now and begin the new season in
our “Promised Land,” we know our commitment to God comes first. We know victory
will come soon. God has held the door open for us—the church is willing to wait
on the sale for a few months, the landlord from whom we now rent is willing to
let us rent by the month for a while longer rather than sign another year’s
lease. So you see God is with us.
Our new goal is to try to have all the funds by September or October—to
be in our new home before we open the second show of the season. We will move
as soon as we can. Believe me, we are anxious, but we will not move until we
can move in the front door with our heads high—not in the back door making
excuses why we broke our commitment.
Please pray with us, work in any way
you can to help us finish that which God has given us to do. He never promised
He would drop the money in our laps. He told us to raise the funds. We are
trying. Please help if you can.
The response this past year has been
great. We praise God for all who have given so generously. Most have been
faithful to their pledges. We have only had to drop a few hundred that was
pledged and did not come in. Our success with pledges has been greater than
average. We thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts. It has been a good
year. We have only $18,000 to go and then we can all march victoriously into
our “Promised Land.” Thank You, Father! Praise Your Holy Name! Jehovah!
COMING NEXT: ANTICIPATION
OF CROSSING THE JORDAN!
We
are filling the house. We need more seats. We need to move into the “Promised Land.” Will God be faithful as He
promised?
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