Money And Our Hearts (Mark 12:41-44)

All right. Well, I know you've all experienced the goodness of God that we all have. And we can always say that he's always going to be faithful. So thank y'all for being faithful for being here. Good to see this good crowd. Yes, thank you for being here today. It's a great day because you are here, and you just fill out one of those little cards there, so we can have a record of your visit. I doubt I send you a card or car or anything like that said, but we will have a record of your visit and, and you'll probably hear from me in the, in the coming days. Anyway, so we thank you for that. Well, thank you for being here and I enjoy being your pastor. You have enjoyed how long I've been here now for four years. So I've enjoyed it so much. I love to teach and preach the Bible and y'all's so encouraging to me. So I appreciate that. Well, today, we want to continue in our series. And this is our series remember a life. Well, spent you say, what, what are you talkin about? We're talkin about money. And we're talkin about sewing, and we're talkin about stewardship. And especially today, we're going to talk about sacrifice, you know, God is interested in our money. Remember we said that Jesus actually about 15% of everything. He said, had to do with finances, and I think about that, Think about everything he said about prophecy. And all the Miracles that he and all the healing that he performed and all the teaching in The Parables that he did, 15% of everything that he said had something to do with money. And the reason is because I believe That money will display our faith and trust, or lack thereof. And so, I know we've been talkin about money on Sunday for the last 3 or 4 weeks on Wednesday night. We're talkin about the financial system of the church and so we're talkin about money being. So today, what I want to do is I want to give you a story in the Bible where only going to look at 4 versus. I only have two points, I guarantee you will be eating before 12. Probably, I would almost bet that they will be out there before 12. I only have two points, but it isn't very important that we allow these truths to sink deep deep down into our hearts. Because we all have some money. So I'm always may have more than others less than others. We all have some and God expects those with a lot and got it back. Those who have very little to be faithful with their finances, and this is what we're trying to do. So what I want you to do is I want you to get your Bibles and I want you to turn to Mark chapter 12 and this is our sermon for the date money. Or we can say our money and our hearts, Jesus knows our motives Jesus sees and he knows our motives when we give and our motives is very important. So let me start out and say this, I've always throw up fault that it's very interesting. What the last Public Act of Jesus's Ministry was? It wasn't a sermon. It wasn't a miracle. Jesus's last act before. He was captured and crucified on the cross was an evaluation you say well, what did he evaluates? Jesus win in herod's Temple. And he sat down beside the treasury. And watch people put in their money. That's the last thing that he did. He spend his last day looking at a public offering. And now, you know, we take up our offering here at the end of the service, just think if Jesus was here and it was his last day. He would be looking upon me and you as we gave our money back to him. That's the last thing that he did, Mark chapter 12 verses 41 to 44. And this is what the Bible says. In today, I'm reading out, first time ever, I'm reading out of the ESV English Standard Version. I'll tell you why. I'm just a minute. Verse 41 and he sat down opposite the treasury and watch the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor Widow came and put in two small. Copper coins, which make a penny and I want, is your Bible say Mike's. Put into small mics that make the white Farthing, okay. Alright, what? That word might, it means a small copper coin. that would be like our Penny and Kay matter fact it says which make your body when they say father, father and what it does it makes a penny So she had two coins that would equal a penny, is what she have. Now what look at verse 43 and he called his disciples to him and said to them, don't you love this. His last days he still calling his disciples trying to teach them a lesson and I look what he's obsessed. He says truly I say to you. This poor Widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. Alright let's stop right there. She put into copper coins, which equal to a penny. And the Bible says, right before, that that there was many rich people there and they put in large sums, I would assume more than a penny. Rich people put in a lot of money, she put in what was worth a penny. And Jesus says, I can tell you this poor Widow is put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box right now. Number one, number one, literally she did not put in as much as everybody else. You only had two Mike's. So you can't take this literally, but she put in more because the rich people put in a lot more So what is he saying here? Look how he says verse 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. She gave it all. Her last little bit. This poor Widow gave it all to points today. Number one, I want you to know that Jesus sees what you give. Jesus sees what you getting look at it verse 41, he sat down opposite the treasury so he went right where you put your money and he sat down and watch the people putting money into the offering. I would you like somebody to be set beside you this morning and it's we take up the offering and as soon as I say we going to take up the offer and they sat there and they just start looking and you pull out your billfold and they start looking to see how much you going to give it to you. Like I know you don't like people doing that. Jesus came and set, pull up a chair set right by the offering and looked it while everybody was giving. And he looked at it, whatever I did, let me tell you a little bit about the offer. They were 13, treasuries in the courtyard of the Temple. And it was, they were put in the women's Court. Because the women couldn't go in all parts of the temple. The treasury were put in the women's court, so everybody would have access to it. Each one had a letter on it, kind of signifying the purpose of the offering. Now, the offering was not like a bowl or plate. It was like a trumpet coming out of it, kind of like the old RCA pictures, like a funnel narrow and then a big old round thing here at the top it so it was like a funnel and so, when many people cast money in it, those who wanted to be known by what they gave. Baby get all their coins and they would go to the temple and what they would do, if they would take their coins and instead of dropping it down like that, they would take those coins and throw it against that big round, and it would make a sound, like it would like a zinnia. Matter of fact, the people there, who, who would watch the people come and throw their money and like that. They called them zingers because they wanted people to know everybody in the temple. They wanted people to hear when they put their money in and they would throw coins in like this. They wouldn't put it all in. At one time, they would sing it all around so people could know how much money they were putting in. And so Jesus, sat and watched these people as they walk by throwing or dropping their coins in. The boxes again. What? Jesus 15% of what he said in the Bible has to do with money money and $0.01. Your money in $0.01 is your life compressed when we bring to God, what we have learned. And we are literally taking our lives, and compressing Our Lives. Into the coinage of the day. That's what we that's what we're doing. No Old Testament worshiper. Would ever dream, going to the temple empty-handed. No one would ever do that. He understood that. The essence of worship was to give back to God what God had already given to him. I wish we understood that today. I wish we understood that when we give at our offering, it don't take a minute, but when we do that, it is, it is our worshipping God. Because we're giving him back what he's already given to us. And don't you think that if the Lord took time to sit in a chair to watch, what everybody was giving, In this compared to bleep or culture when most of the people didn't hardly have anything. You can be sure that he watches what we give today in our culture of affluence, because we have so much more than what they had. So he sees exactly what we give today. Somebody's going to say. Well, yeah, but what I do with my money is my own business. Well, I understand that, but here in this message, In this passage, Jesus made it his business. He made it his business to what the people were giving and he didn't apologize for it. And it says maybe the King James says that he came and he beheld there. In verse 41 what that word beheld means, it literally means to gaze Jesus was gazing at them. In other words, it was like, if you were at home and you're really into a movie and you're watching it you're you're not glancing at it, you're gazing at it and Jesus gazed at them and he noticed the two small coins coming from this Widow and he used that as an object lesson to teach them something and I want you to see some two things here that he taught them. Number one, son, give a lot. Because they have a lot. You know, that some people give a lot because they have a lot. So, here's a contrast, here's this poor Widow had to mites that made up a penny. But the Bible also, says, they were some who were Rich putting money in the offering box and putting in large sums. So some people give a lot because they have a lot, but I want you to look at this. What it says in verse 42. It says a poor Widow. That word poor in the Greek means destitute. It means a beggar. It means that she had to depend on others for her livelihood. It wouldn't that where she just don't make 50 60,000 like so until over here, she only makes twenty or thirty thousand, you know, she was destitute, she had nothing except those two mites. A poor Widow. Matter fact, this Greek word was used outside of the Bible in contemporary times saying, things like

It was used for saying like someone that you could see the ribs. You see someone's ribs, what do you think what they don't have money to eat? That's the way that word was used. And what many times people used it to say? Well, they only, they only wear Rags. You think of someone that don't have anything? Pending change their clothes. They wear the same clothes. I was, I, this was a shape that this woman was in and say. But the Bible says that that she gave it all to the Lord, you know, some people hide behind having much, but there's also people who hide behind having little I'm sure if that Widow was in here today, somebody would tell her look. You don't need to give anything, you don't have anything to give. God, didn't expect you to give you your poor, your destitute you, you don't need to do anything and it would be so easy for the preacher to stand up and say, look, you don't need to give me where we're supposed to help people, like you left, let the rich people of this church support this church and don't you worry about giving anything at all. But friends, that's not how God designed the church. He wants us all to give, no matter how much we have or how little we have, why? Because it's a test of our trust, and our faith. And if you give you have two or three people giving all the money you've just taken a blessing away from people because that's how God tests our trust in him. And Our Fate is, if we will let go of what he has already given us. And this is what Jesus all from this lady here. Our faith is revealed in are giving whether we give much or little, the Widow didn't have much, but she didn't use that as an excuse. She came and gave to the Lord matter. Fact, she didn't give out of her a bun that she gave out of walk, her poverty. She gave everything she had. Why would she do that? Because she knew the Lord would take care of her. That's exactly why she did that. She gave out of her poverty, because she understood that God sees what we give and God will bless us when we give. So some give a lot, because I have a lot B. Some gave their all. Do they have little And that's what this weird old lady did. It says that she had to Mike's the Greek word? There is lepton. Let me tell you what a lepton was. It was the smallest denomination of coin in the Roman and Greek world. And if you got a one day's pay, you got paid a Denarius. All right, you get one. Denarius for one day's pay a lepton or a mite. It would take a hundred and twenty eight of them to make one Denarius. 128. She had to and she gave both of them. You said she barely had enough to buy a scrap of bread. But she still gave it all to the Lord. She knew that the Lord sees our giving, and he knows our motives. I'm sure somebody that would look. Don't get both of them. Then you won't have anything. Just keep one of maybe give one or something like that. We have a tendency to assume I have so little. Shirley God doesn't expect me to give anything he does. No matter how little or how much you have he does expect us to give God cares about the amount. You give so much that he pulled up a chair and sat down beside the treasury and watched and looked at it. You see what he was looking at? Was not all this money that the rich are giving. He was looking at what this older lady did and she gave out of her poverty and God turn to the side to say, come here, I want a something this woman has given more than everyone because he saw her heart. What did God say to Samuel when he was going to pick the next king of Israel? Samuel saw all the sons go across there. Everyone, but David, he said, oh yeah, this one right here. Surely this must be the king because he was tall and he was handsome and things like that. God, look at them. Said Samuel, he's not too Keen. He said, let me tell you something, he said man, doesn't see you as God sees, man. Looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. And he looked on this woman's heart and he saw someone that trusted him with her money. In friends, we can count on the fact that he knows what we do with our money. So I'm give a lot because they have a lot. Some give their all though. They have little last Point. Number two, The only this Jesus see what we give. Jesus knows why we give. He knows why we give a sacrificial giving honors Christ. Even if the amount is small, look at it in verse 43. And he called disciple said to him 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 in it. Something how he evaluates the entire process now, the Lord, he understands math because he originated numbers, he understands the issue of finances better than anyone. And then when he saw this old lady, put it all she had in there. Just a Penny's worth, he called the disciples over and said that to them. Now, you know, those words had to shake up the disciples, they promised, what do you talk about Jesus? I've seen people put in thousands hundred thousands of dollars. This woman put in a penny. What do you mean that she put in more than the rest of them? You see, it didn't make any sense of them until he explained, yes, but they put in from their abundance and she out of her poverty. You see, sacrificial, giving honors Christ that Widow lady honored price, even though the amount was a penny, But then look at date. Comfortable giving honors. No one. Even if the amount is large you say what do you mean comfortable? Giving I'm talking about those who give out of their Surplus. You may have a lot of money. And you know, how you don't live paycheck-to-paycheck and you can just buy a pretty much whatever you want to buy whenever you want it. If you do is easy for you to give money here to charity and go and give money. Here, you just write that check the barbecue B. But how about those of us who live paycheck to paycheck and we don't know, we going to be able to pay the electric bill and all of a sudden. Now I supposed to write my ties to the church, am I going to have enough money this month? It makes it harder. In it, it makes it harder is harder to trust God, it's easy to trust God. When you have all that you want and then some it's very easy. That's what Jesus said, they gave out of their bun is easy to give out of abundance, but she gave out of her poverty, the gift given by the wealthy, they didn't touch life at all. But the gift that this lady gave, even though it was one penny, it was all, she had hit touch the very being of her life. Friends lesson, God doesn't evaluate your giving back what you give He evaluates your giving about what you have. Okay. So this lady puts in a penny and I stroll by and I put in two or three hundred dollars, I have put in more money than her. But I may not have put in from the heart. I may have just given from my bundle. Okay, I got this left. I'll give it to God. She gave the only thing that she had and that is different. They did a study on people in America people with small businesses and people who like to make money and it concluded that people who make less than $10,000 a year, give the greatest percentage of income to God than anyone else. Think about that the people who make less than 10,000 percentage-wise gives more to God than anyone. And for every step you go up in the income bracket 20,000 4068 e hundred thousand dollars a year. The smaller percentage of their income is given They not something you would think it would be the opposite of that, but it's not. The more a man makes the less likely he is to give it away. But not something less likely, the amount might be greater, just like those who were rich and went to the treasury that day, they made a put in a hundred $200. The amount was greater but I guarantee you the percentage was less. I think of someone like Bill Gates. He's really known for doing a lot of charitable work. He gives he gives millions and millions of dollars away. Every year for Chad to charity, But I wonder what percentage he gives away because he makes billions and billions and billions somebody that may make 40,000 year, that pays their 10% tithe percentage-wise me to give more than him and he gives hundreds of millions away a year. It just seems like a great irony to me that a poor man who walks with God and then God, rewarded him with prosperity would gradually turn his attention away from God. But that's what happens. History has shown this to be the case one man in Romania, he was the pastor of A persecuted church. This is what he said, 95% of the Believers who faced the test of persecution pass it. 95% of the people who faced the test of prosperity fell it I think about that. You persecuted, you passed the test, you'll stand up for God. But if you live in high and you got everything you need, you'll fail the prosperity test, because we get tight with what we have think about the nation of Israel, whenever they were hungry and persecuted, what did they do? They turn to the Lord but whenever they experience peace and they prospered, what did they do? They turned after other gods. That's the, that's the history. That's what history tells us. Even the Lord said in Hosea, they were filled and their heart was exhausted. And then he said, and the people forgot me, In that what we do.

In that, what we do in America supposedly was started as a Christian Nation. And we turned to God, and God has blessed America Like No Other Nation on Earth. He has blessed us. But what do we want to do? We want to take God out of everything. See where we are showing the same pattern. The more He blesses us, the more we turn after other. So I don't know if you would call our prosperity a blessing or curse. I don't know which one that it is but as a nation is blessed with more and more, they realize less and less the involvement of God in their finances and that is a shame. Well, what kind of lesson can we take from this? Well, when Jesus visited the treasury that day, he saw a lot of people giving out of their abundance, but he took note of the lady who gave out of her poverty and she gave God all that she had now in the Bible and I've said this before, when the Bible wants to make a point, It gives us a contrast. We have a perfect contrast here, rich and destitute. Singers. Who wanted people to hear all the money they were cast in. And a little old lady who went in and put a penny in. You probably couldn't even hear it. Hit the bottom of the barrel. You see a contrast? Abraham generous with contrasted with the greedy lot. If you remember Barnabas, he was big hard and he sold some land and gave it to the church and then all the sudden ananias and Sapphira did the same thing in book of Acts that they kept back some of their money. They lied. They wanted the accolades that Barnabas got but the Lord would not allow them. Remember, Mary, she went and she had an alabaster box of oil and she poured it on the Lord's hair and she was rubbing his head. And remember she was contrast it with. I don't mean Judas in, What Judas, what are you wasting that oil for? We can take that oil and we could sell it and give that money to the poor. Just want you to say he didn't care. Friends list. We have people in our nation today.

That want to take your money and give it to someone else. It's called income redistribution and let me tell you what that is. That is Marxist and communist is what that is. You do not take money from someone else. You do not take land from someone else and give it to someone else. Who is poor? You see our nation. We are run by people who want you to want. All of us to have free education. Free healthcare, free, insurance, free, housing. They want everything to be free because they want to control your life. That's what they want. And this is as unbiblical and it is Marxism. It is socialism, it is communism. And that is, what is being pushed on us today. And so, as I said here, when we read this scripture about the Widow, we see a woman who trusts completely in, God is what we see, he gave, she gave everything she had to him, because she knew that he would take care of us, or take care of her. Now, perhaps we need to examine our own hearts and find. The reason may be that we are reluctant to give to God. Maybe it's not a matter of treasure as it is a matter of trust. Maybe that's why we don't give think about this. If you're here this morning and you're saved, that means that you have trusted Christ as your personal Savior and you have entrusted to him. That he's going to take your soul and spirit to heaven when you die. You've entrusted him to do that. Let me say this. You ever seen it? No. You ever talk to him in person? No. Do you know he actually lived? Well, the Bible says that, but was out that I see him want this or no. And I'm going to entrust him with My Soul. The take me to hell. Yes, I am.

But I won't even trust him with the temporary riches that I have. Think about that, I trust him with My Soul but I won't even trust him with my billfold. Goodnight, something. We we call him God. We what we say our are we we we say all the right things and that God is good and that God is great and merciful and he's full of grace and love and all that is true. But yet, sometimes what we say, doesn't match up with what we do, we say we're Christian but sometimes we live as functioning atheist because we will not trust, God, not even with the temporary riches, but we say we will trust him with our Eternal Souls, something's wrong. Something is wrong with that picture. Well, the Widow at the temple, she saw past that treasury box past her own poverty. and she looked into eternity and she understood that, the things of this world are not worth living for The wealthy live for this world but the Widow live for the next World friends. Every person in here, we're either moving toward the treasury or away from it. But the person whose Treasures are locked away in eternity, we have every reason to Rejoice because of things in this life, whether these things are hard or easy for on our life, because that person has learned to trust in the faithfulness of God. And that same God watches us each time as we approach the treasury. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, and praise. You. Love you today. Lord for your word, for this, very important message. For we need to get it straight. Our attitude about our money. And what is in our hearts? Lord, help us to see this morning that Jesus sees what we give.

And Lord help us not to give out of the abundance.

Help us to be like this. Little lady who trusted Christ to give it all because she trusted him that he was going to take care of. Jesus sees what we give when he knows why we give. Lord help us, to understand that he honors sacrificial giving. Not the comfortable, giving the honors. No one. Lord, we thank you today. That you gave us so much teaching on money in scripture Lord help us to be the good stewards that you would have us to be. Lord help us to be good managers of what you've given us because we know that you own it all and we're only giving you a portion back of what you've already given us. Lord we thank you for today. And we thank you for this church and we pray that this church will be a light in this dark culture that we live in that. We will speak the truth in love. And Lord that whatever we do here at new, Grace will honor and glorify and magnify the name of Jesus, forcing his name, I pray, amen. All right. Well, thank you for being here today.