God’s Economics – the Widow’s Mite
Mark 12. 41 – 44
The message today is taken from Mark 12. This is the last section of public teaching by Jesus before his death. He would teach his disciples in the upper room, but this was for the religious leaders of his day. In the whole book of Mark Jesus has shown that his kingdom and his people will be different than the religious leaders of the day. What they taught and practiced was not what Jesus wanted for his church and his people. Read Mark 12.41 – 44.
This is what this might have looked like – 3 men putting in money in the offering with a lot of show and for the praise of men. One (smiling because it made her happy) putting in just two pennies but it was all that the person had. The people around praised the ones who have been giving a lot of money. They may have made fun of this widow for giving just two cents.
Let’s look at this widow, her gift and what it means to us today.
1. First, her gift was a gift of faith and trust. She gave all she had because she had learned that God would supply her needs. She had learned to trust God for what she needed. All of us need to learn to trust God and learn that he is faithful to supply what we need.
This lady is really dumb or very smart. She is dumb if she gave all she had and did not have anything to buy food or clothes. God does not expect us to starve to death or give everything we have to others. Then we would have nothing and need to depend on others for even our food. She gave what she had and in God’s economics she gave more than all the rest. Would we rather have the two pennies she gave or $200? I believe God can do more with her two cents than the $200.
If it is very clear to you that God is telling you to give everything, then do it. Give everything. But usually God tells us to give a certain amount and he will supply what we need. For the last few years it has been clear to me that God wanted me to give a certain amount – a very specific amount. When God made it clear to me what he wanted me to give, I did not have enough to cover that. But I just said, if you want that amount, then you will need to supply the money, and he has completely every time.
On our money is the motto of our country – In God we Trust. (It is there right now – there are some who what that removed.) As Chrs especially that should be our motto. God, I trust you to supply what I need for myself and to give to others.
2. Next, the gift of the widow was a sacrificial gift. It cost her everything she had to give this gift. The others gave out of their bounty or as one writer said, they gave out of their excess or superfluity. I like that word – superfluity. They had a lot of money and they just gave a small amount of that. Most of the time, we give out of our excess. After all, we need to take care of ourselves, don’t we? We give if we have any left over.
One of the things I have learned about giving is that some of the money I have is God’s money. In the OT the tithe or 10% of the income of the Jews belonged to the God. It was God’s money. It is not my money to spend. It is His money. In the OT God told his people that they were robbing him. They were robbing God in their tithes and offerings. People were using God’s money as if it were their own. God’s money has bought a lot of cars and clothes, and a lot of other things I think.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills according to Ps 50. He has an unlimited supply of money that he wants used for his purposes. What he does usually is get one of us to be the channel of his money. He says, Steve, I want this money given so you give it and I will supply it. (Too often he gives us money and we just keep it ourselves.) He gives us money so we can take care of what he wants to get done. If we give sacrificially he will supply what we need to give. We need to open channels to him so his money will flow to us and then out from us to do his will.
Lastly, the widow gave a gift of love. She loved God so she gave so his will would be done. The money she gave to the offering in the temple that day was to be used to support the priest and the poor. (I wonder if the poor got their fair share.) Even though she had little, she still gave so his work could be done.
The greatest commandment is Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This widow loved God and her fellow believers and she showed it by giving what she did – all she had. Our giving is an act of love – we give because we love God and we love the people who receive what we give.
Giving sacrificially helps us to know and love God. It is fun to listen to God about our giving and then watch him supply what we need. He does it in some unusual ways. It builds our faith in God as we see him working today – not just years ago. He wants his will to be done and he will supply what is necessary.
Last year the National Missionary Convention was in Cincinnati. Dave and I went to it. On Friday night they had an invitation for all who wanted to commit themselves to full time mission service to come forward. There were a lot of people with eyes full of tears as we watched about 100 people stream down the isles of that auditorium. These were mostly young couple and individuals, but many of them were middle aged and older. They want to go to mission fields to win people to Christ while there is still time to do that. I was thrilled, but I also thought that the churches need to supply the thousands of dollars that is necessary to send them to foreign countries and keep them there. These will need somewhere near $2-4 million a year to go and preach and teach.
Who is going to pay for this? We are in the churches. How? Most of us would claim we do not even have enough for ourselves. How can we give to others? God will supply. But he needs you and me to be willing to give the money.
I have a challenge for you. A while ago I heard a televangelist say – you send me $1000 and if God does not bless you in a special way, I will give you back your money. I am saying, if you give $1000 to mission this year and are not blessed in a special way, I will give you back your $1000 – no questions asked. Will you trust God and give?
Monday, March 17, 2008
sermon 3/16/08
Cross Talk
Mark 15.21-39
The cross is an unusual thing for us to talk about and display. It was the instrument of torture and death in the first century. It would be the electric chair or lethal injection equipment and the water boarding instrument all rolled into one. It is strange that we would wear a cross as a necklace or ear rings. Why do we display it in our churches? Because, the cross is absolutely central to the Chr faith. The cross was used by the Romans to execute traitors or terrible criminals. The torture element was that it could take days for the person to die on a cross. The person would struggle all that time in awful pain trying to breathe. Jesus was nailed to a cross and the crowd watched as he struggled to breathe. As he was on the cross different things were said to him and he said some things. This morning we are going to look at four things that were said and see how it applies to us.
Read Mark 15.25 – 30. The place of execution was a very public place – it always was so it would be a stark warning to other people not to do the crime being punished. Lots of people walked by to just stare at the condemned people. Some even shouted at Jesus thinking that they could heap even more disgrace on him. Mark writes that some said, “You who were going to destroy the temple and build it in three day, come down from the cross and save yourself.” Jesus could have saved himself – he could have popped those nails out of his hands and feet with the blink of his eye. The truth is that the nails were not what held him on the cross at all. It was the absolute love for you and me that held him on the cross. He had the choice to either save himself or save us, and he chose to save us by giving his life on the cross. What love! What self-sacrifice he made for us!
The truth is these people and the leaders of the Jews in the next section did not have a clue what was taking place before their eyes. They thought they were seeing a poor God-forsaken criminal getting what he deserved for his crimes. What was actually taking place was a cosmic, universal and eternal drama between God and evil. The pure Lamb of God was being sacrificed once and for all for the sins of everyone in the world. If Jesus would have come down from the cross, there would be no salvation, no hope, and no eternal life for anyone.
Next Mark records some of the things the chief priest and teachers of the law said to him. Read 31 – 32. These men demanded that Jesus be crucified and now they mocked him while he was on the cross. They did not believe he was the Christ – the anointed one. They did not believe he was the king of Israel. To them Jesus was just a man who was an absolute threat to them and their power as religious leaders. And they lied when they said that if he would come down from the cross they would believe in him. These men had seen all kinds of miracles – feeding on 5000 people, healing all kinds of sicknesses, driving out evil spirits, and even raising Lazarus from the dead. A simple miracle like coming down from the cross would not have changed their minds at this time. They in fact did not want him to come down from the cross – they wanted him to die so they would have been rid of him.
Later on the apostle Paul wrote that the Jews wanted to see signs of the power of God, but even the greatest display of power, the clearest display of power would not convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus did not come down from the cross because he loved these very religious leaders so much he was willing to give his life for them. He was willing to forgive them for what they were doing and saying. He wanted them to have new life in Christ. They wanted a show, a trick. Jesus gave them his life. Jesus gives us his life.
The next section of this chapter deals with one of the most difficult passages of the Bible. Read verses 33 – 38. I think Jesus knew this moment was coming even before he came to this earth. When he would be suffering the most, when all the sins of every one for all time were heaped on him, he would be separated from God. For all of eternity, millions of years, the Father and the Son had shared a loving and joyful intimate relationship. They were together in an absolute unity forever. But at this moment, when he was on the cross, he cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’ – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This was a pray to the father, as many of the other statements Jesus made on the cross. This was an absolute cry of the heart from one who felt completely alone at that moment. I do not understand why he had to be alone right then. It may be that the sin heaped on Jesus at that moment meant that God could not be there. This to me is a profound mystery.
The last statement in this section was made by the centurion, the Roman soldier in charge of the crucifixion. Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem probably hated their jobs. They were hundreds of miles away from their homes. They probably hated the religion of the Jews and the petty laws of the Jews. Here he was killing another Jew for some crime that did not make sense. He heard what the people said, and what Jesus said, and concluded and confessed that this man was the son of God. Not just the king of the Jews as the sign over his head, said. “Surely this man was the Son of God.” I do not think even the disciples of Christ at that moment would have confessed what this soldier said. I do not know if this was special revelation from God or maybe he was more spiritually awake than anyone else in the crowd so he could see that this criminal hanging on the cross was indeed the son of God. We confess that this morning – Jesus is the Savior, the son of God.
So here we are. Jesus was nailed to an ugly cross. His own people did not accept him or understand what he was doing. The Messiah, the Son of God, was hanging on a cross. He had breathed his last breath. He was dead. The darkness of that afternoon reflected the darkness in the heart of all his followers. They did not know that it was Friday and Sunday was coming. They did not know that the resurrection was coming. For them hope was gone. For us the cross is a necessary step – the death of Jesus on the cross, but it lead to his burial and eventually to his glorious resurrection – to Easter.
We are going to sing the invitation hymn, “On a Hill Far Away.” Before we do I want to look at this song for a couple of minutes. Turn with me to page 317. (Go through the song verse by verse.)
This morning – do you love the cross? Do you love the dearest and best who died on the cross? Are you ready to give your life to him forever?
Mark 15.21-39
The cross is an unusual thing for us to talk about and display. It was the instrument of torture and death in the first century. It would be the electric chair or lethal injection equipment and the water boarding instrument all rolled into one. It is strange that we would wear a cross as a necklace or ear rings. Why do we display it in our churches? Because, the cross is absolutely central to the Chr faith. The cross was used by the Romans to execute traitors or terrible criminals. The torture element was that it could take days for the person to die on a cross. The person would struggle all that time in awful pain trying to breathe. Jesus was nailed to a cross and the crowd watched as he struggled to breathe. As he was on the cross different things were said to him and he said some things. This morning we are going to look at four things that were said and see how it applies to us.
Read Mark 15.25 – 30. The place of execution was a very public place – it always was so it would be a stark warning to other people not to do the crime being punished. Lots of people walked by to just stare at the condemned people. Some even shouted at Jesus thinking that they could heap even more disgrace on him. Mark writes that some said, “You who were going to destroy the temple and build it in three day, come down from the cross and save yourself.” Jesus could have saved himself – he could have popped those nails out of his hands and feet with the blink of his eye. The truth is that the nails were not what held him on the cross at all. It was the absolute love for you and me that held him on the cross. He had the choice to either save himself or save us, and he chose to save us by giving his life on the cross. What love! What self-sacrifice he made for us!
The truth is these people and the leaders of the Jews in the next section did not have a clue what was taking place before their eyes. They thought they were seeing a poor God-forsaken criminal getting what he deserved for his crimes. What was actually taking place was a cosmic, universal and eternal drama between God and evil. The pure Lamb of God was being sacrificed once and for all for the sins of everyone in the world. If Jesus would have come down from the cross, there would be no salvation, no hope, and no eternal life for anyone.
Next Mark records some of the things the chief priest and teachers of the law said to him. Read 31 – 32. These men demanded that Jesus be crucified and now they mocked him while he was on the cross. They did not believe he was the Christ – the anointed one. They did not believe he was the king of Israel. To them Jesus was just a man who was an absolute threat to them and their power as religious leaders. And they lied when they said that if he would come down from the cross they would believe in him. These men had seen all kinds of miracles – feeding on 5000 people, healing all kinds of sicknesses, driving out evil spirits, and even raising Lazarus from the dead. A simple miracle like coming down from the cross would not have changed their minds at this time. They in fact did not want him to come down from the cross – they wanted him to die so they would have been rid of him.
Later on the apostle Paul wrote that the Jews wanted to see signs of the power of God, but even the greatest display of power, the clearest display of power would not convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus did not come down from the cross because he loved these very religious leaders so much he was willing to give his life for them. He was willing to forgive them for what they were doing and saying. He wanted them to have new life in Christ. They wanted a show, a trick. Jesus gave them his life. Jesus gives us his life.
The next section of this chapter deals with one of the most difficult passages of the Bible. Read verses 33 – 38. I think Jesus knew this moment was coming even before he came to this earth. When he would be suffering the most, when all the sins of every one for all time were heaped on him, he would be separated from God. For all of eternity, millions of years, the Father and the Son had shared a loving and joyful intimate relationship. They were together in an absolute unity forever. But at this moment, when he was on the cross, he cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’ – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This was a pray to the father, as many of the other statements Jesus made on the cross. This was an absolute cry of the heart from one who felt completely alone at that moment. I do not understand why he had to be alone right then. It may be that the sin heaped on Jesus at that moment meant that God could not be there. This to me is a profound mystery.
The last statement in this section was made by the centurion, the Roman soldier in charge of the crucifixion. Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem probably hated their jobs. They were hundreds of miles away from their homes. They probably hated the religion of the Jews and the petty laws of the Jews. Here he was killing another Jew for some crime that did not make sense. He heard what the people said, and what Jesus said, and concluded and confessed that this man was the son of God. Not just the king of the Jews as the sign over his head, said. “Surely this man was the Son of God.” I do not think even the disciples of Christ at that moment would have confessed what this soldier said. I do not know if this was special revelation from God or maybe he was more spiritually awake than anyone else in the crowd so he could see that this criminal hanging on the cross was indeed the son of God. We confess that this morning – Jesus is the Savior, the son of God.
So here we are. Jesus was nailed to an ugly cross. His own people did not accept him or understand what he was doing. The Messiah, the Son of God, was hanging on a cross. He had breathed his last breath. He was dead. The darkness of that afternoon reflected the darkness in the heart of all his followers. They did not know that it was Friday and Sunday was coming. They did not know that the resurrection was coming. For them hope was gone. For us the cross is a necessary step – the death of Jesus on the cross, but it lead to his burial and eventually to his glorious resurrection – to Easter.
We are going to sing the invitation hymn, “On a Hill Far Away.” Before we do I want to look at this song for a couple of minutes. Turn with me to page 317. (Go through the song verse by verse.)
This morning – do you love the cross? Do you love the dearest and best who died on the cross? Are you ready to give your life to him forever?
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