Generosity

If you have Bible—and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with—let me invite you to open with me to Mark Chapter 12. It’s good to be together again around God’s Word. This is how I would like to begin. I want to begin with a challenge. I know that I’m competitive. So, challenges are things that help me take the next step many times, especially in my faith.

What I want to challenge us to do, and of course in the days ahead, is to give God a blank check with our church. To say to God, “God, if you want us to sell the building, although we do not want to do that, but if you ever call us to do it, we’ll do it. God, if you want us to eliminate every single program we have, we’ll do it.

God, if you want us to totally reorganize our community of faith, we’ll do it. Here’s a blank check; no strings attached.” Those are challenges where we take our lives and we say, I’m a blank check… Lord, cash me in anyway way you see fit. I want to be, absolutely surrendered to you and your will. And why not.. Last week we learned that Jesus has full authority over our lives, and over the world, even when we do not acknowledge it.

And even when we do acknowledge it, but yet still do not bend the knee to his will. It doesn’t matter hai you are, Jesus is King. He is king whether or not anyone bends the knee now or not, He is king. Whether anyone acknowledge it or not, he’s still king. And he calls us into being a part of the kingdom. Right? He is the the king. I am the dumb…

when you put us together we have the kingdom. Can I ask you, in thinking of competitions and challenges and and being a blank check. Did you know that Jesus cheers for you? I want to explore that today as we look at generosity. Let’s look into Marks gospel, chapter 12 and find with me verses 41-44.. let’s read the word of the Lord together. 41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money.

Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” If you would just go back into the previous verses of this chapter, you would have seen some pretty tough moments for Jesus.

For instance, they asked Jesus should we pay taxes or shouldn’t we? Then the Sadducees came who didn’t believe in the resurrection and began asking him questions about marriage. If this guy dies, and leaves this wife, who does she remarry, because of this or that. Then, if that isn’t hard enough to deal with, scribes come along and hear all of Jesus’s wisdom and asks, well which is the greatest commandment?

The religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus with some trick questions. So you can imagine Jesus just constantly teaching and there has to be a significant amount of weariness and discouragement in his soul. He’s got to be tired. I know I would have been. So, what’s interesting is I believe after this whole ordeal with the trick questions and the constant teaching, Jesus needed to be encouraged. And so, he goes into the place where the offerings are being taken, and he sits down on the 50 yard line of the giving box.

And he waits, and watches. Mark tells us that Jesus watches many rich people come into the temple and put in large amounts of money Then, In verse 42 we see this transition word “Then.” Whenever we see this this word “then” what it denotes is that there is a transition and it clues in the reader that something important is about to happen. Look with me in verse 42… 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. So Mark tells us that this widow came and and she dropped two small coins. It is interesting that Mark makes sure that we know that it is 2 small coins. How does he know? I dunno. I’ve read this account in commentaries and it usually says, that you could hear the rich peoples money clanging on the sides of the collection jar as they would dumped their massive mounts of money.

These collection jars were like metal, brass trumpet looking horns. So when you dropped the money in, it would ring. I guess this was like the early day Long Johns Silvers bell. Right? If you enjoyed your food, you would ring the bell as you would leave to let everyone know you had a jolly roger of a time. But we see in the NLT, Mark says two small coins, which are called mites.

But here is what really caught my attention. Regardless of of the difference between the rich and the poor… This unnamed widow chooses to show overwhelming generosity and as she gives…...Jesus is watching her. And Jesus is cheering her on. Jesus is making her an example something that needs to be celebrated. He’s cheering for her. She doesn’t even know it… but Jesus is watching and cheering her on. Now watch this..

why does Jesus cheer her on? As the widow woman approaches the offering box with all she has, she is embodying the very posture of Jesus himself. The Goodness of God is reflected in the life of this poor widow woman. How’s that? Well let’s see, look with me in verse 43.. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.

44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” In this moment, Jesus takes the time to call the disciples over and to celebrate her act because it was an act that directly reflected the posture of Christ. Will the rich be blessed for giving… of course. Let me just say this… our western culture culture tells us that there is always this good and bad to everything.

This yin and yang to daily life and stories we live and tell. If the widow is the focal point of Jesus’s teaching, then our culture sometimes automatically makes us think that the rich people are the bad guys. I don’t believe this is the case. This isn’t Jesus saying, the rich are bad, and the poor are good. This is simply Jesus looking at everyday moments in life, and seeing the goodness of God shine through.

However, Jesus wanted the disciples to see her because her act was the preview of what He was about to do. And that was to go to the cross. I mean, think about this… just two chapters before this Jesus says, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10: 41-45 This moment with the widow was a teaching moment for his disciples as Jesus cheered her on.

And the tremendous truth to be gleaned from the text is this: Jesus wasn’t interested in what was in her hand but rather what was in her heart. You see, this tremendous sacrifice, of giving everting she had in the temple was a was a demonstration and byproduct of a heart of generosity and surrender. This heart of generosity and surrender was the very heart of Jesus. Think of this… before the Holy Spirit and pentecost Jesus is seeing himself in this woman.

He sees, sacrifice. Her heart was one of surrender and sacrifice. Think about it… The woman was a widow.. so that meant that to be a woman during these times, and a widow, You were always at the mercy of others to care for you. You’re not rich.. this isn’t some cougar out there in the temple looking for a rich man. This is a woman, giving, and sacrificing and surrendering everything she had.

And that meant that if she had to live at the mercy of others, she was also living at the mercy of God. When I think of widows and sacrificing and surrendering to the mercy of others, I think of my mom. My father passed when we moved here and my mother had nothing to pay for anything. The house had to be paid, the utilities, the car, and on top of that she had to come up with over 3,000 dollars to bury her husband.

And all I can say is this… she was at the mercy of others, and God has stepped in and made sure my mother was cared for. She owns the house and land now, she has a car, she’s daily cared for by God. What we can begin to take away from this is this truth: SACRIFICE TURNS OUR HEARTS TOWARDS GENEROSITY. When we’re willing to sacrifice things because of the goodness of God, We’re able to experience the provisions of God.

Think of David when he writes, “Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see - how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8 That’s not only an invitation for us to come and taste, but its also a promise that reminds us that we can trust in God.

And the provision…. Did you see what it was? It was joy. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him… that’s joy. You’re provision is joy… Think about this… you’re leading someone to Christ and they go, what’s the perks of being a Christian? And you answer joy! When you are persecuted you will have abundant joy! When you are ridiculed for being a Christian, you will have joy!

Could you live your life knowing that you may not be rich, or famous, or well known… but in every circumstance you can have peace and joy that surpasses all knowledge? You see, when we have the provision of joy in our life, that’s from God… that means we have trust, and True trust in the Lord always brings transformation and a change in trajectory in our lives. What I mean by that is this…

transformation of our hearts, and trust in God will always change how generous I am. Let me explain that… The psalmists proclaims in Psalm 119:36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way (NKJV). SO, the beginning of this joy we speak of comes when? When I turn my eyes from looking at worthless things in my life and I look to God's ways to be my ways.

And so David wanting GOd’s ways, begins like this… incline my heart. This is a heart that desires God more than anything else. David longs that his life be one of generosity not one of covetousness, or selfishness. And so when we see this word inclines, what we see is David is putting his heart in a posture. Think of it like this, When I think about incline, I also think of the word inclination.

Inclination is the persons natural tendency to feel a certain way. To be a certain way. I want my natural tendency and response to be that of Jesus Christ. I want my inclination to be the testimony of Jesus and His unbelievable generosity toward me. I realize that for the human heart many of our inclination isn’t to be inclined to God and to generosity. Let’s be honest, most times we see hearts willing to decline or recline.

But sacrifice and surrender is a heart condition. Think of David in Psalm 51:16-17, Where he write, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. I’ve learned in my life and walk with Jesus, that if I offer God sacrifice without being totally surrendered to Him, I will always give him less than my all to him.

Every time….. No matter what I sacrifice… Time. Money. Comfort. Every time I sacrifice anything without being totally surrendered, I always find a way to give God less than my all. And most times its because there’s a war in my heart of all the things I find competing against God. Jesus isn’t king of my heart, he’s just a compartment. That should fight for the right to be upfront of all that I sacrifice and due.

How is that absolute surrender? How’s that a meaningful sacrifice? It’s like how the saying goes, “You can give without loving but you can’t love without giving.” I can give to someone homeless, but yet not love them. I can give my time to help someone, but be not really care or have compassion for them. Have you ever noticed in your life that you can be in the same room with someone in your family but have little to do with them because you’re engaged in other things?

I mean, think of this… now days we have cell phones and it’s nothing today to go to someones home, even our home, and even to the restaurant and see people total engaged in their phone more than the person. Try it sometime, because I’m guilty of this as well. Go somewhere and watch people. Here’s one… how many times have we watched a tv show and as soon as a commercial comes on, we find ourselves immediately looking at our phones.

And listen, don’t hear what I am not saying. It can be ok to be in the same room as someone and not engage them. It’s okay to be able to sit in silence with the people that we care about, but if you want to know that person and be known by them, there are just certain things that you’re going to need to do or want to do to engage with them, and that’s really what the invitation that we in Davids life when he reminds us to taste and see that the Lord is good.

But it is easy to give and to sacrifice and yet not love. And, Lord help us if we live our lives like that because we are no where near being Christ like if we do not love. I can come here every Sunday, and give, and sacrifice, and sacrifice and give, and be the greatest and most generous giver, while even sacrificing working overtime or doing something else with my life, and yet, still miss the point that I only give out of my surplus like the rich, but not out of my total and utter surrender to be like the widow.

It was her heart that Jesus saw… The woman's heart was inclined and focused on God. And because it was focused on God, her sacrifice was not a waste, but, get this… her sacrifice became a heart felt act of worship…. When our moment by moment sacrifices become acts worship, our everyday life begins to overflow with generosity. That’s true because we know our source. We no longer live out of our surplus, but by faith and trust in the Lords goodness.

I want to close us with 7 lifestyles of being generous… Practice generosity with your time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. Each day there are so.many moments we use our time for meaningless things. The older I get, the more I realize how much of my life I’ve wasted on stupid things.

Hours of playing video games, hours of living life for myself. Each day, God gives us a new day, with new mercies to use wisely. Maybe I can find ways to use it to bless others? Be Generous with your words. Proverbs 16:24 says, Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Words are powerful, not because we can speak things into existence (which we can’t), but because of how much they can affect others.

Just the other day, I was getting short with Abby because she didn’t know how to put a tent up, and I was tired, and aggravated. We need to be reminded about how our words can lift or tear down. And remember this.. Kind words cost you nothing but may mean everything to someone. Share your gifts, talents and skills Our sign is being built by someone who has gifts, talents and skills in woodworking.

I Peter 4:10, says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. You can also be generous with your talents and skills by using them outside of your job, and for free. Someone once asked me how much do I charge for wedding and funerals. I said nothing. They gasped. Well, how else you supposed to make a living? I believe God blesses those who are generous, and Im called into ministry not for money, but to serve.

Be generous with your possessions. Im working on it, and it’s hard… but I’m working on being a minimalist. And I’ve many times given away many of my things, like electronics and such. Be generous with your things and lay up treasures in heaven. You know it was coming.. Practice generosity with your money. Give as you can afford to give, and as much as you want. Don’t give out of obligation or necessity.

God cares more about what’s in your heart than what’s in your hand. Here is one we forget often.. be generous in extending mercy and forgiveness. Jesus teaches us in Luke 6: 36,37 that we can be more merciful to others and more forgiving. Wherever you are in forgiving someone else, just know this.. you can always forgive them more. I believe that. Not holding on to grudges, giving the benefit of the doubt, not jumping to conclusions, not being quick to judge others.

And lastly, Practice generosity with intentional acts of kindness. No one knows who said it, but there is a saying that goes, “Always give without remembering, and always receive without forgetting” I think what it means is this… give with humility, receive with gratefulness. I hope these help you become generous.. lets; pray. *