“Giving basics”
Mark 12:41-44
Mrs. Boman was a 6th grade Sunday School class teacher:
One morning she brought a pan of brownies to our class.
As the goodies sat tantalizingly over by her chair
she gave each child a slip of paper marked with a household expense:
house payment, phone bill, credit card bill, entertainment, and so forth.
Before long, Mrs. Baughman picked up the tray of fresh brownies:
and began naming the expenses named on the papers.
As the students gave her our expense slips,
she redeemed each one for a brownie from the pan.
Finally, the last brownie had disappeared:
But one boy named Donald still held his unredeemed slip.
"God!" called Mrs. Baughman.
Donald came forward, hoping the teacher had one more brownie hidden somewhere.
With a knife:
Mrs. Baughman scraped the crumbs from the bottom of the pan
into Donald’s napkin.
He got a pretty raw deal, I thought - just the crumbs.
The teacher explained:
"The brownies represent your money," the teacher explained to us. "If you don’t give God his share right away, he probably won’t get anything at all except maybe crumbs." (illustration credit to Jeff Strite)
This morning I have good news and bad news for you:
The good news is that this church has all the money we need.
The bad news is it’s still in your pockets.
I like that joke, but this sermon is not being preached
because the Church needs money
Giving is a matter of the heart
The Bible puts a great emphasis on our giving:
prayer is mentioned 371 times,
love 714 times, and
giving 2162 times?
But why should it matter to God what we give?
It’s the thought that counts isn’t it?
He doesn’t even need my money. AND
He shouldn’t need my money to know how much I love Him… should He?
Jesus says in Luke 12:34 (ESV)
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Jesus is saying:
- that what you value most will be in your heart
- and that it is a common problem for us
- to hold things and property in our hearts
- and we begin to worship created things
- more than the one who created everything!
Giving is a matter of the heart:
Do not let what you hold in our hand get ahold of our heart.
- someone once said it this way “own your stuff, don’t let your stuff own you"
We need to keep an eye on our hearts because the Bible says:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
Your heart will lead you astray:
- we are not going to listen to our hearts this morning
- because our hearts will lie to us
- your heart will often tell you what you want to hear
- and not tell you what you need to know
- we are going to listen to the Word of God
Please stand in honor of God’s word:
“And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44
What’s Jesus doing here?
He has been watching people put their offering into the temple treasury and… WHOA!
What does that say?
It says he was watching people put their money in the offering?
I don’t know if I like that!
What I put in the plate – no one’s business but my own… isn’t it?
Well, obviously not!
What we give is important to God.
And He does watch.
1. God knows what we REALLY give. Mark 12:41 (X2)
“And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box.”
Back in the olden days when we passed the offering plate…
Sometimes I’ve been caught off guard at offering time:
- maybe my check was in my wallet
- I used to carry a velcro wallet and so I’d slowly tear open the wallet
- other times I’d try to write a paper check and quietly tear the check loose
- Then I always would fold the check for discretion
- I mostly give in cash, so I’d fold the money so no one can tell what I give
- now I use the envelopes
So when I give:
- no one knows how much I gave
- It’s a secret
- it’s classified
There are a couple people that have to see the offerings:
- but they never give out that information
Giving...
The preacher doesn’t know what you give….
The person sitting next to you in the pew doesn’t know
Your neighbor doesn’t know what you give…
We keep it confidential… that information is locked down.
Your giving is between you and God:
- just you and God
- and that ought to motivate us to give what is right
- that God is watching our level of generosity ought to propel us to give sacrificially
I think we sometimes forget:
- that God is watching
- not only in the area of our giving
- but in all areas, especially areas that we think we can hide
- there are a lot of areas of our lives where only we and God know
WE must remember that God sees all…..
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
Proverbs 15:3 ESV
“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:13 ESV
“For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.”
Job 28:24 ESV
Once we comprehend that God is:
- aware of all things
- He is aware of what I’m doing and what I’m giving
- that one day I will be accountable for this life
Once we grasp all that:
- shouldn’t it change how we live
- should not that make us pause
- and make sure we are living a life that God is pleased with? (X2)
2. Some give much, some give a little. (X2)
“Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.” Mark 12:41b-42
In this story of the widow’s mite:
people were coming by and tossing their offering into the container that was provided.
These containers had a trumpet shaped top,
Like a funnel that they could toss their money into and
it would go down into the box/case.
These giving boxes were outside the place of worship:
These funnels were made of metal, like brass and
so it would ring out and everyone would hear their gift.
And many of them knew how to toss it so that it would make a lot of noise.
The bigger the noise,
the larger the offering,
the more praise from people they would receive
Many rich people:
put in large amounts into the temple treasury, but
their gifts were small
compared to the poor widow’s gift.
But Jesus was unimpressed with how big or loud their giving was:
He didn’t care that they were making their gift so public.
What He cared about was their heart. And
for those who were doing it just to be seen,
their hearts were in the wrong place.
3. Sometimes less is more. (X2)
“And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:43-44
IF you are familiar with the widow and her two small coins:
You know the widow didn’t put much in the kiddy
that her “mite” she gave was 2 small copper coins
that combined were worth only a fraction of a penny.
But, The point here:
is not how SMALL her gift is,
the point is actually how BIG her gift is.
You see she gave everything she had. All of it.
She was saying Lord everything I have is yours. And here it is.
The key to this whole story:
- is not how much the rich people put in the giving box
- it’s not even all about how much the widow put in the box
- the key is how much they kept for themselves
Consider:
- the rich man gave much money, but he kept much more for himself
- when the rich man gave people were impressed
- when the widow lady gave, JESUS WAS IMPRESSED
“but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:44
The widow:
- put all she had in the giving box
- there was not welfare or food stamps in those days
- she put her whole life in the box
- meaning, she could have starved to death
John Wesley coined the phrase that says
“get all you can, save all you can and give all you can.”
We have changed that to say:
get all you can,
save all you can as long as you can and
then hold on to the can
Jesus directs us towards generosity and benevolence:
“Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:33-34
Jesus was constantly demanding more from His followers.
And there were many who were simply not willing to pay the price.
There were those who said they would follow Him wherever
But then they walked away.
The Gospel is Good News:
- for the sinner
- and the Good News is that Jesus went to the cross
- the sinless Son of God
- God in the flesh
- Jesus paid the debt you owed
Praise God for the salvation we have in JESUS CHRIST:
- but let's remember the commitment we made
- remember that we died to ourselves
- when we were baptized into Christ
We no longer:
- live for the pleasures of the flesh
- live to please ourselves
- no we died to self and live for Christ
Listen closely to these words….
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25
But for many of us our heart is in the wrong place:
We place far too much value on material things …
We value material things more than spiritual things.
We do it because our heart is in the wrong place.
Jesus said we need to put him first:
he said we need to take up our cross and follow him.
We need to be willing to give up anything we have
we have to release our grip on our possessions
The poor widow gave more:
- than just all she had financially
- she gave all of herself (X2)
The phrase, “all she had to live on”:
in the Greek is understood to mean
“She gave her whole life.”
That is the more important thing to consider:
- It’s not just have we given of our resources but
- have we given of ourselves?
- have we given ALL we have and are the Jesus?
That is the best thing you can do:
- is to give your life to the Lord
- and you need to do it
- if you haven’t given you life to the Lord
- don’t wait any longer
The Bible says:
- that we are all sinners
- we’ve all gone astray
- that we are all guilty and deserve to die and go to Hell
But Jesus made a better way:
- He offers salvation to any and all
- your past doesn’t matter
- God’s grace is bigger than your sin
But you have to respond:
- God wants you to be saved
- Do you want it?
- Jesus is the only way to heaven
John 14:6 says
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Matthew 7:13
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”
You have a choice to make:
- the decision is yours
- the decision is yours and so are the consequence
- one way leads to heaven, one leads to hell
- which way will you go?
Credit:
I had some help from Jeff Strite on the introduction
Points 2 and 3 and part of the conclusion
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/quot-the-widow-39-s-might-quot-david-henderson-sermon-on-faith-251206
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-poor-widow-s-offering-derrick-tuper-sermon-on-widow-s-mite-195487
