What If I Gave Everything

Bradley

Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Mark 12:41–44

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This morning we are picking back up in the Gospel of Mark.

If you’re new to MCF, it would be good for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”. What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking a book of the Bible, and then breaking it down chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what it means in our lives today.

With that said, we are currently working our way through the Gospel of Mark, a Gospel that is meant to teach us who Jesus is, what he came to do, and what it means to follow him.

And as we come back to Mark’s Gospel today, we find ourselves in the final week of Jesus’s life. And as we’ve learned, it’s been an eventful week for Jesus, as the religious leaders of his day have worked to discredit Jesus through a series of verbal attacks and arguments.

But their attacks have fallen short. With each encounter, Jesus has come out on top. With each argument, Jesus has been one step ahead. And at this point the religious leaders have abandoned their efforts to discredit Jesus, and will now focus their efforts on killing Jesus which will begin to take place in chapter 14.

That begin the case, and as we come to the end of chapter 12 today, we are coming to the end of Jesus’s public ministry. In fact, beginning in chapter 13, the only teaching and instruction Jesus gives will be given privately and only to his disciples.

And just as a preview, you don’t want to miss chapter 13, because the majority of chapter 13 is focused on the end times as Jesus will give us a glimpse into what the last days will be like before his return. So, if you are curious when Jesus is coming back, you don’t want to miss chapter 13.

But before we get to that, Jesus has one more lesson to give his audience. A message that for the most part sums up what it means to follow Him.

So, in order to set some framework for what Jesus is about to say, I want to begin by asking you a few questions.

First Question - When it comes to your finances and your livelihood, would you say that you trust God?

In other words, would you be willing to say that you believe God is your provider. That regardless of how much money you have or don’t have, God is going to take care of you. How many of you would say you believe that? As Christians, I think a good number of us would at least say that.

Second Question - So, let me ask yo this, when it comes to your finances, what percent of your income would do you say you trust God with?

In other words, if God were to ask you to demonstrate your financial trust in Him, what percent of your income would you be willing to designate to Him? (Would it be 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 75%, 100%). How much financial trust would you be willing to put in God’s hands?

That’s a different question, isn’t it?

For example, if I said in order to follow Jesus

Third Question - One more question. If you struggle to trust God financially with a certain percent of your income, what income level would it take for you to trust God with your finances?

In other words, if God were to ask you to give 10% of your income back to him, which the Bible calls the tithe, what level of annual income would you need in order to feel comfortable with that? ($50,000, $75,000, $100,000, $150,000). At what point would you be able to say, “Yeah, now that I make “x” amount of dollars, I feel comfortable giving 10% of my income to God.” What’s the number?

Or how about this, what if God asked you to give him 50% of your income. What level of annual income would it take for you to do that? ($100,000, $200,000, $500,000). How much money would you need to make in order to feel comfortable giving God back 50% of your annual income?

Now, at this point, some of you are probably thinking, “Oh wonderful. I came on the Sunday that pastor is going to talk about money. Awesome! I knew I should have just watched online today.”

Or maybe this is your first time to MCF today, and you’re thinking, “Of course, I knew it. I knew that’s what this church was about. I should have listened to what my friends were telling me. It’s all about the money.”

Well, if any of those thoughts are running through your head, let me put your minds at ease. Because the main point of today’s message isn’t about tithing or how much money you should put in the offering bucket. There will be no tithe challenge today. So you can all relax. Everybody take a deep breath. Today’s sermon isn’t about giving more money to the church.

However, I will say this, today’s passage does involve the subject of money and today’s passage does involve the giving of certain amounts of money.

Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor, that doesn’t make any sense. How can you say the sermon isn’t about money, but then tell me that’s what the passage is about?”

I can say that because while Jesus isn’t going to challenge us to necessarily give money, he is going to challenge us to give him something. Something we have to be willing to give him if we want to follow him. Something that is necessary to be a disciple of Jesus.

And because money tends to be something that is near and dear to us, Jesus is going to use the subject of money to illustrate what that something is.

So, before I confuse you to much, here’s what I want to do. First, I want to read through the passage and give some explanation to what is happening. And second, I want to show you what Jesus is asking from us in order to follow him.

So, with that as our basis, let’s pick back up in as Jesus delivers his final public words. Listen to what Mark tells us:

“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.” (ESV)

I can say that, because on the surface, it would seem that money is the main idea. But what were going to learn is, money is simply the object that Jesus uses in this passage in order to illustrate a greater point.

A subject that is near and dear to all of our hearts. And using the subject of money, Jesus is going highlight what it truly takes to follow Him.

So, if you’re serious about following Jesus, then I would encourage you to listen very carefully to what Jesus is about to say. Because in this final public message, Jesus is going to lay it all out.

In other words, Jesus is going to use the subject of money as an object lesson in order to illustrate what it takes to follow him.

So,

We’ll get to those questions in a moment. But before we do, I want to begin by accomplishing a couple of

First, I want to read through the passage, and then second, I want to give some explanation to the context of the passage.

So,

That’s what

You may recall, we are in the final week of Jesus’s life.

You may recall

Let me ask you something, “How many of you have ever been to a mall?” Most of us, right?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big mall fan. To be honest, I get zero enjoyment out of walking around a mall and looking in stores for endless hours. Not my cup of tea.

And the truth is, if I do go to a mall, its only because I have something specific that I’m buying at a specific store. Meaning, when I go to the mall, I’m on a mission and my mission is to get in and get out. No dilly dally.

However, I did raise two girls who like to go to the mall, so I’ve spent some time at the mall. And while I don’t enjoy walking around from store to store, what I do find I enjoy about the mall is what you might call “People watching”.

Have you ever done that? You know what I’m talking about, right? It’s when you find a place to sit at the mall and then you sit there and watch and observe all the interesting people walking by? To be honest, I get a lot of enjoyment out of that. Because the truth is, you can learn a lot about people through simple observation.

For example, you can learn something about somebody based on their clothing style. For instance, if a guy is wearing skinny jeans…I know everything I need to know.

You can learn something as you observe facial expressions. Whether somebody is happy, sad, or stressed out.

You can learn something by the people they are with.

You can learn something by the shopping bags they are carrying.

I mean if you’re really observant, you can learn quite a bit about people at the mall simply through observation.

You can learn a lot from

As we come to verse 41 today, that is the picture Mark has painted for us. Because as Jesus comes out of the inner temple area, he walks into the outer temple area, in a more public area called “The Court of the Women”. You might be wondering, “Why is it called the “court of women’? Is it where women went to shop? No, the reason it’s called “The Court of the Women”, is because this is the area of the temple that women couldn’t go past. In other words, it was a boundary line women couldn’t go past but the men could.

You might be thinking, “Pastor, that sounds sexist.” That’s because it was. In first century Judaism, women were considered less than men and weren’t allowed in the inner court of the temple. They could only go to a certain point and then watch from a distance. And to a degree, that’s still true of Judaism today.

So, as Jesus comes out of the inner court area, he stops in the court of woman, he finds a seat, and he sits down. And at this point he begins to do what many of us have done at the mall. He sits there and begins to people watch. He begins to observe the people passing in and out of the temple area.

So, what is he watching? What is he observing? Mark tells us. Mark says, “…he watched the people putting money into the offering box.” (ESV)

Now, you might be thinking, “That’s odd. Why would Jesus do that?” Well, we’ll get to the why in a second, but what we need to understand first is why this would have even been an option for Jesus.

And the reason it’s an option is because not only was the “Court of Women” the boundary line for women, it was also the place where the temple treasury was located. In other words, it’s where they kept their offering buckets.

But their offering buckets were a little different than our modern day offering buckets. They weren’t white with the temple logo on them. Instead they were trumpet shaped receptacles and there were thirteen of them. For our purposes this morning, we’ll call them trumpet buckets.

And unlike the way we give offering, they didn’t pass the trumpet buckets around the room and down the isles. Their trumpet buckets were fixed to a wall and highly visible for all to see. Meaning, when people gave money to the temple, everybody could see what everybody else was or wasn’t putting in the trumpet bucket as they entered or exited the temple area.

So apparently, Jesus is watching people put money in the trumpet buckets, and as he watches, he makes an observation.

What does he observe? Mark tells us. Mark says, “Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.” (ESV)

Mark says as Jesus sits watching, he observes some very wealthy people dropping in large sums of money. You might ask, “How did Jesus know they put in a large sums of money?” Well, for one, as I just said, it was a very public act that everybody could see. And second, more than likely the wealthy made a big show of it as they placed their money in the trumpet buckets. (Demonstrate counting out money for all to see).

But then Jesus notices a woman who approaches the trumpet buckets, and probably based on what she is wearing and her demeanor, Jesus can tell she’s a poor widow. She’s a single mom. And he watches as she approaches and drops two small copper coins in one of the buckets.

So, what’s going on here? Why is Jesus creeping on people, why is he watching how much money they put in, and what is the significance of this woman?

He’s watching because he’s going to use this moment as a teaching moment.

The reason Jesus is watching and observing is because this is a teaching moment. This is a moment where Jesus is going to highlight a kingdom principle for discipleship. How do we know? Because of what Mark tells us next. Mark writes:

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.: (ESV)

Mark says after observing what the rich give and what the widow give, Jesus calls his disciples together for a teaching moment. And he says, “I want to show you something. Do you see that poor widow woman over there. She just dropped two copper coins in the trumpet bucket and her contribution equals more than all those that put money in before her.”

Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor that’s interesting. Why was it worth more? Was copper worth a lot of money back then or something? Were these two coins like two gold nuggets or something? Were these special coins that were worth a lot of money?”

That’s what you might think based on what Jesus just said. Because Jesus said her two copper coins were worth more than what the rich people put in.

So, what’s going on here? Here’s what we need to understand. In Jesus’s day, two copper coins didn’t add up to much.

In fact, the Greek word for coin here is “lepta”. And in the 1st century, the lepton was the smallest coin in circulation. It was worth 1/64 of a day’s wages.

So, think of it like this. If the daily wage was $100, the lepton would be like a $1.50. And she gave two lepton, which means based on a $100 daily wage, she gave around three bucks.

So, a great question would be, “Why does Jesus say $3 equals more than the hundreds and thousands that the rich gave ahead of her?” Great question.

Mark tells us. Jesus goes on to say, 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.” (ESV)

(ESV)

Jesus says, “The reason what she gave is more, is because of where she gave it from. Because she gave it out of her poverty, while they gave out of their abundance.”

In other words, she gave everything she had. All she had to live on. All she had was $3, and after giving the $3.00, she is now penniless.

But the rich gave out of their abundance. In other words, after giving what they gave, they still had plenty to live on.

They still had money in their emergency fund.

They still had more than enough in their checking account to pay the bills, go out to eat, go see affinity war at the the movie theatre.

They still had plenty of money to walk around Walmart and buy worthless pieces of plastic.

The fact of the matter is, what they gave was comfortable. What they gave didn’t put them in a financial bind. What they gave came out of their abundance. They put $200 in, but they had $10,000 in their checking account.

So, Jesus says, because the widow gave all she had, because she emptied her purse, she gave more than anybody else.

So, why is that? Why does her 3 bucks = more than the thousands others gave?

It’s because in this case it’s not about how much money she gave, it’s about how much trust and faith she placed in God to be her provider. In other words, she gave everything believing God would provide what she needed.

And what Jesus is trying to help his disciples understand in this teaching moment, is if they want to follow him, they must do the same. If they want to follow him, they need to be willing to give up everything. If they want to follow him, it’s not always going to be comfortable.

If they want to follow him, it’s going to require them to give God everything.

In other words, if they want to follow Jesus, It’s going to require them to trust God with more than 1% of their life. With more than 10% of their life. With more than 25% of their life. With more than 50% of their life. With more than 75% of their life. If they want to follow Jesus, like this poor widow, they need to be willing to empty themselves and give him everything in order to truly follow him.

That’s what he wants his disciples to understand. And a great way for Jesus to demonstrate this is through how people trust God with their finances. Because the truth is, one of the greatest measurements of a persons trust is often demonstrated through their finances.

Because the fact of the matter is, if you can’t trust God with your finances, then you can’t trust him at all. In other words, if you can’t trust him with your temporal provision and survival, how could you trust him with your eternal provision and survival? The answer is, “You can’t.”

So Jesus says, “You want to follow me. Look at that woman, because that’s the kind of trust it’s going to take. A willingness to give everything and trust that I will provide all you need.”

Now, at this point you might be thinking, “Pastor, that’s very interesting, but what does this have to do with my life? How does this apply to me? And didn’t you say this message wasn’t about me giving money? Because it sure sounds like that’s where you are going.”

Here’s how this applies to you and me. If you want to follow Jesus, then it applies in the exact same way. Because the fact of the matter is, if you can’t trust Jesus with everything, it’s going to be very difficult for you to follow him.

That’s why some of you are struggling to follow Jesus.

The truth is, you’re trust in God is limited. It only goes to a certain %.

The truth is, when it comes to some areas of your life, you’re only trusting God to a certain degree.

When it comes to your finances, to a certain percent.

When it comes to your marriage, to a certain percent.

When it comes to your health, to a certain percent.

When it comes to your parenting, to a certain percent.

The fact is, you have a governor on your trust in God.

You all know what a governor is, right? It’s what they place on engines sometimes in order to keep the vehicle from exceeding a certain speed.

That’s where some of you are this morning. You’re trust in God is governed. It only goes to a certain point. And as a result, your’e struggling spiritually and your missing out on all that God wants to do in your life.

And then some of you, you’re right on the verge of trusting God with everything. Your’e at this place in your journey that if you were willing to give God just a little more trust, the flood gates would open.

Let me illustrate it like this. Maybe you didn’t know this, but at 211 degrees water is on the brink of reaching a transformational point. Because in just one degree, at 212 degrees, the water is going to begin to boil. And when water boils at 212 degrees, it makes something it couldn’t make at 211 degrees. It makes steam. And steam is powerful. Steam has the ability to power a train. Meaning 1 degree changes everything. Water at 212 has the ability to accomplish something that it couldn’t at 211.

Some of you, spiritually speaking, are at 211 degrees. You love God, you’re trying to live for Him, but you’re not fully trusting him. And what I’d like to suggest to you this morning is, if you were willing to trust God more. If you were willing to give him maybe even one more degree of trust, it could change everything for you.

One degree of trust could change your financial situation. It could reconcile your marriage struggles. It could provide parenting wisdom you’ve never had. It could excel your spiritual growth in ways you never thought possible.

So, a good question might be, “How do you do that? Like this poor widow, how do you trust God with everything? How do you move from 211 to 212 degrees. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to know the answer to that question. I’d like to know how a person trusts God to that degree.

The good news is, Jesus tells us. So, from this passage, I would like to give you two keys to trusting God with everything. Two keys that could move you from 211 to 212 degrees.

I can’t trust God with everything until I’m willing to admit I’m not.

Listen again to what Mark tells us, “And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box.” (ESV)

It would be easy to just keep reading and miss what Mark just said here. But Mark gives us an interesting detail concerning the actions of Jesus. He says, “Jesus was watching people put money in the offering bucket.”

(ESV)

Here’s what I want you to see. Jesus wasn’t watching how much money people put in the bucket. What Jesus was watching was how much trust people put in the trumpet bucket. And what that means is, Jesus is fully aware of our trust level in him.

In other words, because he’s watching, Jesus knows the degree to which you trust Him. Jesus is sitting in the courtyard of your spiritual life observing the amount of trust you place in Him. He knows what that amount is.

The truth is, we don’t often consider that God is watching us. Instead, what we’re more concerned about is what everybody else sees in our life. What we’re more concerned about is the image we're trying to portray to others.

So, we come to church on Sunday, and we act like everything between us and God is great. We put a smile on, we act like we have no worries, we raise our hands in worship, we drop money in the bucket, we take really good sermon notes, and from all appearances we appear to have it all together. Like the rich people putting money in the trumpet bucket, we want everybody else to believe, that spiritually speaking, we’re rich.

But the truth is, on the inside, our trust in God isn’t were it needs to be. We’re holding back. We’re not really trusting God. Our trust is in other places. It’s in our circumstances. It’s in our salary. It’s in our savings. It’s’ in our rituals. It’s’ in our tradition. It’s in our deeds. It’s in what we can do.

And while we may be fooling everybody else around us, we’re not fooling God. He can see right through the facade. He knows we’re not fully bought in. He knows your trust level in Him isn’t what it appears to be.

And really what God is looking for is the person whose willing to be honest. The person whose willing to say, “I’m spiritually broken. I’m spiritually destitute. I’m spiritually poor. I don’t have it all together. I’m not where I need to be with God.” He’s looking for someone like the poor widow woman whose willing to be transparent. He’s looking for somebody willing to be honest about their spiritual situation?

You might wonder, “Why’s he looking for somebody like that?” Because he truth is, until you are willing to admit how spiritually poor you are, you won’t be able to trust God.

God’s aware of your trust level.

In other words, you can’t give God everything until you come to the end of yourself. Until you’re willing to admit and acknowledge that without Him, you’re not going to make it. Only at that point will you be willing to give God everything. When you are finally transparent enough to say, “God, I really haven’t been trusting you like I should. I’ve been acting like I have it all together, but really I don’t.”

There’s an interesting story in . It’s about a king named Asa. And Asa was one of those kings that had the appearance of trusting God. In fact on one occasion he called for a great sacrifice to be made to God. And on that day at the temple in Jerusalem, he sacrificed 700 oxen and 7000 sheep. In addition to that, he made a covenant that he and all Israel would seek and trust the Lord with all their heart and soul. And that if anybody would break the covenant, they should be put to death. Asa had the appearance of being spiritually committed and rich.

But then one day, an enemy king came against Asa. And instead of trusting God to protect him, Asa took matters into his own hands. Instead of trusting God, Asa took the gold and silver from the temple treasury, and he hired mercenaries to defend his kingdom. And while his plan worked, it angered God. Why? Because in that moment, Asa decided to trust what man could do over what God could do.

And so God sent a prophet to rebuke Asa for his lack of trust and to remind Asa what God was looking for. Listen to what the prophet said to Asa, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” (ESV)

You have done foolishly in this, for from now on iyou will have wars

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For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those gwhose heart is blameless2 toward him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.” (ESV)

The prophet basically says, “Asa, Let me remind you of something. Don’t you know God is watching. And what God is looking for are people who will fully trust him with everything. People who will quit putting their hope in their own abilities and start putting they’re hope in him. And Asa, because you haven’t done that, because you took the situation into your how hands, life is going to be a lot harder than in it needed to be. Because from this point, you’re going to have trouble.”

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You see Asa had the appearance of giving everything. Of fully trusting God. After all, he sacrificed 7000 sheep. He made a covenant. But apparently his trust was limited. His trust was governed. His trust only went to a certain degree.

So, how did Asa respond? Listen to what happened next. “Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.” (ESV)

2 Or whole

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Asa didn’t respond well. Asa showed his true colors.

Here’s what we need to understand. If we want to trust God with everything, we have to start by being honest and transparent.

The truth is, some of you have the appearance of trusting God, but the reality is, you’re trust is limited. You only trust God to a certain point, to a certain degree. And the only way you’re’ going to move from 211 to 212 is if you’re willing to be honest with yourself.

To be honest enough to admit, “No, I don’t fully trust God financially. Because if I did, I would be tithing.”

Honest enough to admit, “No, I don’t fully trust God with my work situation. Because if I did, I wouldn’t be laying awake at night worrying.”

Honest enough to admit, “No, I don’t fully trust God with my marriage. Because if I did, I wouldn’t be constantly trying to fix my spouse.”

Honest enough to admit, “No, I don’t fully trust Jesus with my life. Because if I did, I wouldn’t be constantly questioning God or trying to prove to God I’m good enough.”

(ESV)

You see how this works? The only way you can start trusting God with everything, the only way you can move from 211 to 212 degrees, is to admit that you haven’t been doing that. That while you may have fooled others. And while you may have even fooled yourself. You haven’t fooled God. He’s fully aware of where your trust level is. He knows how much you are putting in the trust bucket.

This leads us to the second key:

2. I can’t trust God with everything if I’m not willing to give him everything.

(ESV)

Mark writes, “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.” (ESV)

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.” (ESV)

(ESV)

What I want you to see here is the contrast that Jesus makes between the rich and the poor widow woman. Jesus says the difference is simply this. One is willing to give all their trust to God, and one is not.

Let me show you what I mean. For the rich, their trust in God is based on what they have left after giving to God. In other words, they give based on what’s comfortable. They give when they feel like they can afford to give.

Let me explain it like this. When it comes to church finances, one of the first things you learn as a pastor is that giving is often seasonal. In other words, people only tithe or give money to the church during certain seasons.

For example, one of the strongest giving seasons in the church usually takes place between the end of February-and first part of April. Now, let me ask you, “Why do you think that is?” It’s because people are getting tax returns. And for those getting refunds, it’s a time where they feel like they have extra money.

And because they have more money than normal, they often feel they can give more than they usually do. And so because they got $1000 back on their taxes, giving the church 10% of that doesn’t seem like a big deal. Giving the church $100 of that return isn’t a sacrifice. After all, they still have $900 of abundance left.

Do you see how that works. For some people, they only give out of their abundance, out of what is comfortable.

Now, when do you think the worst time of the year for giving is in the church? Typically it’s January. Why? Because people are recovering from Christmas. People are getting their credit card statements in the mail. People are feeling the financial strain of coming out of the holiday season. In January there is no abundance. And so they don’t give or they give minimally. It’s just the way it works.

This is the point Jesus is making. What Jesus is pointing out here is that some people only trust God out of their abundance. They only trust God to a certain comfort level.

But the poor widow woman is different. For her, her trust in God isn’t seasonal. It’s not based on what she has left after giving. It’s based on what she doesn’t have left after she gives. In other words, she’s willing to trust God when it’s not comfortable. Willing to trust God without the tax return. She’s willing to give God everything. Willing to trust God based on what she doesn’t have.

Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor, are you saying in order to trust God with everything that I have to empty my checking account? Are you saying that I have to give the entire tax return? Are you saying to give God everything I have to give up everything?”

No. What I’m saying is you have to be willing to. You see that’s the difference. The rich were only willing to give to a certain point. Out out of their abundance. The widow woman was willing to give without limits, out of her poverty. Willing to trust God with nothing left in her pocket. That’s what I’m saying.

Let me explain it like this. Let’s say God spoke to you today and said, “I want you to sell everything, move to Africa, live in the bush, and be a missionary.” If God asked you to do that, would you be willing to do that? How would you respond to God’s request?

The truth is, we would probably question it and resist to some degree. We’d probably say something like, “Wow, I don’t know God. That’s pretty extreme. Sell everything? Move to Africa? Live in a hut? Hmmm…I don’t know. God, how about this. Instead of me selling everything and moving to Africa, how about I put some money in the offering bucket for missions. How about that.”

Or, “God what if, instead of actually moving to Africa, I just took a week off from work to go on a missions trip to Africa. After all, I have some paid vacation stored up and I think I can afford to be gone for a week or so.”

You see how that works? The truth is, if God asked, most of us wouldn’t be willing to sell everything and move to Africa. That’s to uncomfortable. There are to many unknowns. Better for me to give out of my abundance than trust God in my poverty.

Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor, how do you know I wouldn’t be willing to do that. Maybe I would move to Africa.”

Here’s how I know most of us wouldn’t do that. We wouldn’t do that because most of us aren’t doing that in the things God has asked us to do.

For example, God has asked us to give 10% of our income back to him. But the truth is, most of us aren’t doing that. Why? Because it’s not comfortable. Because we don’t feel like we can afford it. Because it would require us to trust God in our poverty, and not in our abundance.

God has asked us to trust him with out marriages. But the truth is, most of us aren’t doing that. Why? Because it’s not comfortable. It requires us to quit trying to fix our spouse. It requires us to love them when we’re not being loved back. It requires us to trust God in our poverty, and not in our abundance.

God has asked us to to trust him with our children. But the truth is, most of us aren’t doing that. Why? Because it’s not comfortable. It requires us to quit coming to the rescue. It require us to allow them to suffer some consequences. It requires us to sometimes take our hands off the situation and allow God to work.

A few years ago I had a woman in our church come up to me and tell me how God was working in her son’s life. She said for a lot of years she was mad and frustrated with God. Mad because God wasn’t working in her sons life like she wanted God to. Mad because every time she tried to push her son in the right direction, her son pushed back. Mad because she was doing everything she could do to make sure her son was going to be ok. And it just seemed like God wasn’t helping her.

So, she said one day she cried out to God, “God, why won’t you fix my son!”. And she said in that moment the Lord spoke back to her, and he said, “I’m trying. But every-time I do, you get in the way. Every-time I put him in a situation where he’s going to have to turn to me, you bail him out. Every-time I put him in a position to submit to me, you wrestle him out of my hands.”

You see, the truth is, God has asked us to trust him, but instead of trusting God, we take the situation into our own hands. Because trusting God isn’t always comfortable. It forces us to trust him in our poverty, and not in our abundance.

You see, in order to trust God with everything, you have to be willing to actually trust him with everything.

And the problem for so many Christians is we say we trust God, and in some areas we do, but when push comes to shove, we’re not willing to trust him with everything.

Let me put it like this. The fact of the matter is, God has asked us to trust him with 10% of our finances. And the truth is, most of us struggle to do that. We struggle to trust that God can do more with 90% than we can do with 100%.

Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor, you said you weren’t going to make this about money. You said no tithe challenge.”

And my question for you is, “Is the same true for you?”

Here’s why I bring this up. If you’re not willing to trust God with 10% of your income, how can you trust him with 100% of your life? How can you trust him 100% with your kids? How can you trust him 100% with your marriage? How can you trust him 100% with your salvation? Because he’s not asking you for only 10% of your trust. He’s asking you for 100% trust in him. In fact, that’s what it’s going to take to follow Jesus. It’s going to take you trusting him 100%. So, if you can’t even trust him with 10%, how can you trust him 100%.

Because here’s the reality

The fact of the matter is, you and I have to be willing to get to a place with God, that if he asked us to give 100% of our income to him, we wouldn’t even hesitate. And I’m not saying God would ever ask you to do that. I’m just saying, if he did, trusting him 100% means you’d be willing to do that.

And the proof of that is in what Jesus did for us. Because the fact of the matter is, Jesus was willing to give 100% of his life. Willing to do something that wasn’t comfortable. Willing to make a sacrifice. Willing to leave his throne, leave his kingdom, come down to earth, become a servant, get on a cross, and give his life 100% for you.

The Apostle Paul puts it like this, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (ESV)

Jesus gave out of his poverty, not his abundance. He emptied himself. He gave everything. He put his trust fully in the Father. And in his poverty, in his trust, God rewarded him. Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes it:

“...who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (ESV)

What Jesus wanted his disciples to understand is that following him would require a willingness to give everything. A willingness to go where he said go. A willingness to make sacrifices. A willingness to not always be comfortable. A willingness to step out into the unknown. A willingness to trust God in their poverty and not their abundance. And to believe that as they trusted him, he would take care of them.

And the same is true for you and me. Following Jesus requires us to be willing to give him everything.

As we close this morning, I’d like to leave you with three questions to consider:

Question # 1 -When it comes to your life, have you put your hope and trust in Jesus?

In other words, do you believe that God is a necessary component in your life.

In other words, have you come to a place in your life where you recognize your need for a savior. Where you recognize that without Jesus, your’e in trouble. Are you following Jesus?

I hope that’s the case for most in the room. But maybe it’s not for you. Maybe you’ve never made the decision to follow Jesus. Maybe you’ve been trying to do life without Jesus. Maybe you’ve been trying to be your own savior. And the truth of the matter is, it’s not working out for you. In fact, that’s why you’re here today. You’re here because you know something is missing. You know your in need. Maybe for you, today is the day you admit your poverty. You admit your need for a savior.

The good new is, if that’s you, Jesus is here to meet your need. The Bible says he became poor so you might become rich. And the fact is, if you’re willing to put your faith in Jesus, he will be your savior. He will give you what you can’t give yourself. He will restore your relationship with God and give you the promise of a future.

Question 2 - If you are following Jesus, to what degree are you following him?

In other words, to what degree are you trusting him? To what degree are you trusting him financially? To what degree are you trusting him relationally? To what degree is Jesus leading your life?

I ask you that question, because to the degree you are trusting is the degree to which God can work in your life. And the fact of the matter is, for God to work more in your life, it’s going to require you to trust him more. To move from 211 to 212 degrees. And maybe that starts today by admitting you’re not trusting him like you should. You’re not trusting him financially. Your’e not trusting him relationally. You’re only trusting him to the degree it’s comfortable. But the truth is, if you want more of God in your situation and more of his working in your life, you have to be willing to trust him more.

Question 3- Are you willing to give up everything to follow Jesus?

In other words, if Jesus asked you to give something up for him, would you? Would you be willing to give up some friendships that aren’t healthy? Would you be willing to give up some habits that aren’t fruitful? Would you be willing to give up some time you don’t think you can spare? Would you be willing to give up some resources you think you need?

The question is, how far would you be willing to go in your trust? Because the truth is, God can only take you as far as you’re willing to go. And what you have to come to believe, is that where God wants to take you is better than where you are currently at. But to get there, you may have to give something up. To get there, you’re going to have to trust God in your poverty and not in your abundance.

Let’s Pray

God’s aware of your trust level.

God isn’t impressed by the amount of money you give Him.

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.

God is impressed by the amount of trust you give Him.

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.”

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