WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:13.980 You may be seated. Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and it's my joy to bring you God's Word today. 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:19.920 Special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here and we're glad that you're here. 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:25.320 Not because you're filling seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community. 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:34.539 And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced there's no one so good, they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it. 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:40.120 Which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word. 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:49.240 We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark and you'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus in His life and His death and His resurrection. 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:58.040 And we're picking up where we left off last week, which was with this discussion of the centrality of the human heart. 00:00:58.160 --> 00:01:04.439 And I gave you this image of the elephant and the rider that comes from social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:11.920 And you'll remember that the elephant represents our heart, our desire, our longings, and the rider what we actually claim we believe. 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:16.420 And when those two things come into conflict, it's always the stronger one that wins. 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:19.500 It's the heart that has the last say. 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:23.900 And so what we saw last week was a discussion of religious hypocrisy. 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:30.859 This idea that being in church, religious activity does not make us immune to loving ourselves more than God. 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:37.240 Remember, we're in this section that began in verses 29 through 31, where Jesus gives the summary of the law. 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:42.519 And he says the summary of the law is simply this, love God and love your neighbor. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:49.659 And so we said we can love God and love our neighbor, or we can love ourselves and hate our neighbor. 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:58.159 And in fact, it's power and money that reveal our hearts, that turn up the volume on the song that is already playing inside of us. 00:01:58.679 --> 00:02:03.119 And so it makes sense that this week we're going to turn the spotlight on to money. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:08.219 What is the connection between our loves and our bank accounts? 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:14.800 What is it that truly impresses Jesus, that delights him when it comes to our giving? 00:02:16.480 --> 00:02:19.240 And so with that, we're going to turn together to God's word. 00:02:19.540 --> 00:02:22.900 We're in Mark chapter 12, starting at verse 41. 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:27.879 You can turn in your Bible, you can turn on your phone, you can turn in your worship guide. 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:30.719 No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:40.500 And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold, and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:44.000 And so that's why we read now, starting at verse 41. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:03:13.979 Verse 43. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:32.080 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:42.620 Our Father in heaven, we thank you this morning that your interest is not in our pocketbooks, but in our hearts. 00:03:43.720 --> 00:03:48.980 And yet we also confess that that perhaps is harder rather than easier. 00:03:48.979 --> 00:03:56.579 And we thank you for your word that teaches us and instructs us, that offers us more than what the world promises, 00:03:57.579 --> 00:04:02.319 that guides us and directs us, that tethers us to you. 00:04:02.399 --> 00:04:06.739 We ask that you would do all of those things this morning, that you would use your word in a powerful way, 00:04:06.959 --> 00:04:10.479 that you would help us to hear it clearly and directly, 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:14.840 that you'd use it to change our hearts and our minds and our lives. 00:04:15.619 --> 00:04:20.259 And most of all, you'd use it to grow our love for you and our devotion to you. 00:04:20.719 --> 00:04:23.459 We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:23.659 Amen. 00:04:26.459 --> 00:04:33.680 I imagine that many of you, like me, living in 80906 specifically, or Colorado Springs in general, 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:37.579 have made the necessary pilgrimage to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:43.759 And when you go to the zoo, you know that as soon as you enter, you have this very important responsibility. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:47.579 You're given, as you go in, three tokens per person. 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:54.459 And those three tokens are meant to represent the 75 cents from your admission ticket that's going to go to support, 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:58.120 not animals in the zoo, but animals out in the wild outside of the zoo. 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:02.939 And so every ticket has these quarters, and you get to go up to the green kiosk, 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:06.159 and you have to decide, where am I going to put my investment? 00:05:06.779 --> 00:05:09.199 Am I going to invest in the elephants and the rhinos? 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:10.899 Is it going to be in the wild tigers? 00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:13.439 Am I going to go for the frogs or the ferrets? 00:05:14.159 --> 00:05:16.639 Am I going to support the giraffes? 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:22.759 Now, in my previous visits to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, I've had a soft spot for the giraffes, you know. 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:24.159 I hope that makes sense to you. 00:05:24.219 --> 00:05:25.779 They're just so good, so tall. 00:05:26.659 --> 00:05:31.680 But the last time I was there at the zoo, they were actually, it was during the Christmas lights, 00:05:31.719 --> 00:05:34.459 and they were just handing out coins way more than they usually do. 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:36.759 So I had this whole handful, not just three, 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:41.519 and I felt like it was important to sort of spread the wealth and diversify my investments. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:44.939 So I gave to all sorts of different animals. 00:05:45.039 --> 00:05:50.579 I want to say the giraffe still got an extra portion, but my memory is not as good as it used to be. 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:55.219 Whatever happens, you know that as you do this at the beginning of the zoo, 00:05:55.299 --> 00:05:57.799 this green kiosk is in view of everyone. 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.620 So it's no secret what it is that you're doing. 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:05.100 If you decide to go all in on the ferrets, you can't keep that to yourself, right? 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:07.180 You've got to own that in front of everyone. 00:06:07.819 --> 00:06:08.840 And it's a show, right? 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.819 You watch the coin as it drops down from the different places and goes all the way down to the bottom. 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:17.600 And then at some level, it must go out to support these animals. 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:23.820 I tell you this because that scene at the beginning of the zoo at the green kiosk 00:06:23.820 --> 00:06:27.680 is similar to the scene that we encounter here in this passage with Jesus. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:33.240 As you would enter into the temple, you'd be traveling from the east to the west. 00:06:33.280 --> 00:06:37.240 And as you come in the main entrance, the first large courtyard that you would enter 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:39.240 was called the Courtyard of the Women. 00:06:39.660 --> 00:06:44.620 And it was called this because it was the furthest place within the temple that women were able to go. 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:48.300 Into the further courtyards, only men would be allowed. 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:53.860 And there were, we're told, 13 of these offering boxes that were shaped like trumpets 00:06:53.860 --> 00:06:56.660 that were large at the bottom and narrow at the top. 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:01.980 And so much like you would go to the zoo and put in your coin and everyone could see what was going on, 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:04.079 the same thing would be going on here. 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:10.120 And so we understand then why it is that Jesus is able to sit down, as we see in verse 41, 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:13.600 and watch how much people are giving. 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:16.459 Remember that we're in Holy Week. 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:17.500 It's Passover week. 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:20.160 And so there's a tremendous amount of activity in the temple. 00:07:20.660 --> 00:07:25.300 People are there to see and be seen, to give and be admired. 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:29.540 It would not surprise us then that there's probably many generous gifts that are happening, 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:33.420 and you would know that they were generous by both the sight and the sound. 00:07:34.280 --> 00:07:36.379 You can watch the person putting in their gift. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:41.620 You can hear it as it clinks in the bottom of the offering box. 00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:45.579 And so Jesus decides here to be a people watcher. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:53.180 Verse 41, he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. 00:07:54.759 --> 00:08:00.560 And it's easy for him to tell which gifts are large and which gifts are small. 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:02.740 And that all makes sense. 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:05.399 It shouldn't surprise us that that's how things are happening. 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:09.560 What does surprise us, what should surprise us, is Jesus' response here. 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:13.819 Verse 41, there's many rich people who put in large sums. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.599 Perhaps some of them are very proud of this. 00:08:17.679 --> 00:08:21.939 Some of them want their coins to be heard as they're hitting the bottom. 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:24.879 But there's another sight that Jesus sees. 00:08:25.039 --> 00:08:31.839 Verse 42, a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:37.339 And it's at this point that Jesus turns the tables once again. 00:08:37.459 --> 00:08:43.839 Verse 43, he calls his disciples to him because he decides this is a time for him to teach another lesson. 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:46.279 He tells them, verse 43, 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:56.240 Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:00.620 Wait, what? 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:05.660 How is it that this woman has given more? 00:09:05.780 --> 00:09:08.780 Everyone has seen she only gave a penny. 00:09:09.920 --> 00:09:14.480 Jesus' statement here then is meant to be disorienting and confusing and surprising. 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:17.519 It's the opposite of what the disciples would have expected. 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:23.460 What they and the culture around them would have valued would have been the amount of money that was given. 00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:28.980 The key to this passage to Jesus' teaching then comes in verse 44. 00:09:28.980 --> 00:09:29.980 He explains it. 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:31.200 He uses this word for. 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:32.720 We could translate it as because. 00:09:32.920 --> 00:09:36.460 Because they all contributed out of their abundance, 00:09:36.800 --> 00:09:41.120 but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:44.180 all she had to live on. 00:09:44.179 --> 00:09:49.120 These people gave a lot in terms of the amount. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:55.500 This woman gave the most in terms of her percentage of income. 00:09:55.500 --> 00:10:00.159 Those people gave a lot in terms of the amount on paper. 00:10:00.659 --> 00:10:05.279 This woman gave more than anyone else in terms of the percentage of her income. 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:06.360 She set a record. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:08.379 She gave 100%. 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:11.939 If we were judging things by the percentage and not the amount, 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.419 we would say she deserves to have her name on the temple. 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:20.399 Maybe she should have one of these offering boxes dedicated to her because of the gift that she's given. 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:28.379 Maybe she needs her name to live in perpetuity because Jesus here is valuing what the world overlooks. 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:30.840 This is meant to teach us this. 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:33.539 Jesus is not impressed by money. 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:37.779 Jesus is not looking for money. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:45.459 Jesus is looking for hearts that are given completely over to him. 00:10:46.839 --> 00:10:51.939 Jesus is looking for hearts that trust fully in him. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:58.959 The disciples, us, the world is tempted to be impressed by abundance of money, 00:10:58.959 --> 00:11:03.099 by abundance of resources, by large and extraordinary gifts, 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:09.040 Jesus is impressed by love and devotion and trust. 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:16.040 What Jesus loves and what the world loves are very different things. 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:20.200 In fact, it should not surprise us that love of God and money are intimately connected. 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:24.800 Remember Jesus in Matthew 6, verse 21 says, 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:31.160 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:36.059 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:38.100 And we're in this section about the heart. 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:41.699 It was only a few verses back, verses 29 through 31, 00:11:41.699 --> 00:11:46.319 where we read that the sum of the law is love of God and love of neighbor. 00:11:47.199 --> 00:11:49.860 And so if we're going to talk about loving God and loving our neighbor, 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:53.100 we can't avoid this conversation about money. 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:57.120 As we look at it then, I want to highlight two things for you. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.820 First of all, the danger of abundance. 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:03.340 And second, the joy of dependence. 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:05.639 First, the danger of abundance. 00:12:06.180 --> 00:12:08.480 And next, the joy of dependence. 00:12:09.500 --> 00:12:12.279 But first, we'll talk about the danger of abundance. 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:14.899 I have said it before and I'll say it again. 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:17.519 Power and money are not bad. 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:19.179 They're not wrong. 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:20.759 They're just dangerous. 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.139 The more dangerous something is, 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:27.399 the more care and skill it takes to handle 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:29.779 without hurting yourself and others. 00:12:30.379 --> 00:12:31.419 It's not wrong to have power. 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:33.399 In fact, we need powerful people in this world. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.279 We need them to do good and wonderful things. 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:37.299 We need rich people in this world. 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:40.419 We need them to sponsor good and wonderful things. 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:45.299 We also need them to have skill in how they handle that wealth. 00:12:45.859 --> 00:12:47.459 And so first of all, what I want you to hear me say is, 00:12:47.579 --> 00:12:49.479 wealth is not bad, it's just dangerous. 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:53.379 In fact, wealth is in a sense our natural state, 00:12:53.439 --> 00:12:54.059 as some have said. 00:12:54.099 --> 00:12:57.000 The Garden of Eden was a place of incredible wealth. 00:12:57.219 --> 00:12:58.879 That's where God put Adam and Eve. 00:12:59.500 --> 00:13:02.479 And poverty, in a certain sense, is a result of sin. 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:03.559 It's a result of the fall. 00:13:03.819 --> 00:13:06.500 So the beginning of the story starts out with great wealth. 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:08.459 And then when we go to the end of the story, 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:11.199 in the book of Revelation, we see great wealth again. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:17.040 And Revelation chapter 21 tells us that the street of the city was pure gold. 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.060 So we're coming from wealth. 00:13:20.140 --> 00:13:21.040 We're going to wealth. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:25.220 The challenge is just how to handle it in the midst of our sin and brokenness 00:13:25.220 --> 00:13:26.920 between those two places. 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.100 And the danger, at least one of the dangers, is this. 00:13:30.640 --> 00:13:36.200 Money tempts us to believe that we are like God. 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:42.879 Money tempts us to believe that we are like God. 00:13:43.540 --> 00:13:49.360 Remember, one of the themes of the Gospel of Mark is that need is the price of admission. 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:56.220 Wealth makes it easy to believe the lie that we have no need. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:02.900 Wealth makes it easy to believe the lie that we have no need. 00:14:02.899 --> 00:14:05.799 There's an old joke you may have heard that says, 00:14:06.199 --> 00:14:08.779 you know, if you meet someone who has a doctorate, 00:14:08.819 --> 00:14:10.799 they have a PhD in one thing, 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:14.860 they are convinced they have a PhD in all things. 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:18.720 You reach a certain level of expertise, 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:24.059 and then you begin to overestimate how knowledgeable and skillful you actually are. 00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:26.179 The same thing is true with wealth. 00:14:26.319 --> 00:14:27.819 Wealth can make us delusional. 00:14:27.820 --> 00:14:33.820 It can disconnect us from reality and understanding how finite and fragile we actually are. 00:14:34.660 --> 00:14:36.460 We've had success, right? 00:14:36.640 --> 00:14:39.900 And so clearly we are an expert in everything. 00:14:40.300 --> 00:14:43.100 It is no longer our job to talk. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:45.720 It's other people's job to listen. 00:14:46.940 --> 00:14:49.640 We're the ones who've made the money. 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:53.939 If things don't go the way that you want them to, 00:14:54.139 --> 00:15:01.340 you are powerful enough and independent enough to take your ball, pick it up, and go home. 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:08.519 Wealth tempts us to believe we're like God. 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:14.399 Money allows us, at least for a time, to hold God at a distance. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:18.000 Back in the summer of 2009, 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:24.399 I went with our denomination's missions agency for two months to work at a church in Ireland. 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:27.539 And while we were there, we did all sorts of things at this church. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:31.279 One of the things they sent us out to do was door-to-door evangelism 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:32.980 in the neighborhood surrounding this church. 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:36.679 Now, let's put aside for a second whatever your thoughts are about door-to-door evangelism, 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:38.579 whether it's effective or manipulative or whatever. 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.319 This is what we were sent to do as college interns. 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:46.740 And we proved the same thing that has been said many, many times before. 00:15:47.379 --> 00:15:53.560 Rich neighborhoods are much less responsive to the gospel than poor neighborhoods. 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:59.400 People with wealth are convinced they do not need God. 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:07.160 They don't have material need that blinds them to their spiritual need. 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:13.639 Much easier to get an open door and a conversation with someone who is poor 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:15.899 than someone who is rich. 00:16:16.659 --> 00:16:22.219 There's something about physical and material need that puts us in touch with our spiritual needs. 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:24.459 Now, don't hear what I'm not saying. 00:16:24.719 --> 00:16:30.139 I am not saying there's something inherently superior spiritually about people who are in poverty. 00:16:30.319 --> 00:16:33.100 Poverty also comes with its own set of temptations. 00:16:33.579 --> 00:16:34.919 So wealth has temptations. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:36.279 Poverty has temptations. 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:39.459 This morning, Jesus is talking about the danger of wealth, 00:16:39.459 --> 00:16:42.100 and so we are going to talk about that as well. 00:16:43.439 --> 00:16:46.839 What this teaches us is that the poor are drawn to say, 00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:51.079 give us this day our daily bread in a way the rich are not. 00:16:52.839 --> 00:16:59.639 The poor pray, give us this day our daily bread in a way the rich are not. 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:06.220 So that helps us understand Jesus' explanation in verse 44. 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:09.019 These rich people, what did they do? 00:17:09.139 --> 00:17:12.079 Why are they not the ones commended by Jesus? 00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:16.059 It's because they gave out of their abundance. 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:21.980 They had way more than they needed. 00:17:24.179 --> 00:17:27.000 There are many biblical principles when it comes to money. 00:17:27.339 --> 00:17:32.019 The principle that this passage highlights is the one of sacrificial giving. 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:35.220 What is this widow doing as a model? 00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:35.960 It is an example. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:41.819 She is giving beyond, perhaps, what someone would judge to be appropriate. 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:43.180 She's making a sacrifice. 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:49.200 And what lies behind that principle of sacrificial giving is what we already talked about in our confession of faith. 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:54.200 This fundamental core, rock-bottom belief that God will provide. 00:17:54.200 --> 00:18:04.299 And so what Jesus is telling us about these rich people is this wasn't a sacrifice for them. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:15.640 In other words, the more money you make, the easier it is to tithe and hold God at a distance. 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:29.160 Say you make a million dollars a year. 00:18:29.580 --> 00:18:30.360 You tithe on that. 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:32.080 You give $100,000 away. 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:33.500 Wow, that's a lot of money. 00:18:34.600 --> 00:18:36.440 Also, you're not going to go hungry. 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:44.620 You can still indulge in all sorts of experiences and pleasures and events. 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:52.000 It is easier, the richer you are, to give money to God and it's simply be checking a box. 00:18:52.080 --> 00:19:01.300 It is easier, the more money you have, to give large amounts, and this is the kicker, and still trust in yourself. 00:19:03.120 --> 00:19:11.120 The richer you are, the easier it is to give large amounts and still trust in yourself. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:19.539 And so this passage especially highlights for us, it teaches us the danger of wealth. 00:19:20.899 --> 00:19:27.079 That the more you have, the easier it is for you to stiff-arm God and say, 00:19:27.179 --> 00:19:28.839 I'll check the box spiritually. 00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:33.439 I'll give the money, but I will not give you my heart. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:37.519 Because I still have too much. 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:42.500 They gave out of their abundance. 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:52.440 As you dig into teaching on giving within the church, you'll hear this statement that may surprise you, 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.059 which is that the tithe is a great starting point for giving. 00:19:56.059 --> 00:20:03.119 When I say the tithe, I mean the biblical teaching that we give 10% of what we make back to God and his church. 00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:05.659 You might think, the beginning, what do you mean? 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:08.119 Like, I'm struggling just to give away this 10%. 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:12.480 Jesus is saying here, essentially, the principle is, 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:17.559 the richer you are, the more important it is for you to give more of that away. 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:26.259 Giving out of abundance makes it easy to stay far away from God, 00:20:26.339 --> 00:20:28.899 to give your money but keep your heart. 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:34.879 We don't just have those who give out of abundance, though. 00:20:34.940 --> 00:20:37.619 We also have this woman who gives out of poverty. 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:40.519 She shows us the joy of dependence. 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:44.220 This widow is close to God and trusts God. 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:48.259 Why is it she's able to give away all that she has? 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.559 Well, I would imagine that she's a devoted Israelite, 00:20:52.620 --> 00:20:55.339 that she's familiar with the scriptures of the Old Testament. 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:58.759 And I wouldn't be surprised if in her mind as she does this, 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:01.579 she has the words of Psalm 23 running through her. 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:04.240 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:11.680 She believes that and trusts that in a way that the rich do not. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.240 Money doesn't have power over this woman. 00:21:16.340 --> 00:21:19.539 She's free in a way that the rich are not. 00:21:20.840 --> 00:21:24.500 She trusts God in a way they do not. 00:21:25.620 --> 00:21:27.060 She's not in love with money. 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:28.279 She's not afraid of it. 00:21:28.820 --> 00:21:30.420 It comes and it goes. 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:36.259 She knows that her security and her power and her future 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:39.460 belong to God, not her bank account. 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:45.720 She knows that her future, her security, her foundation belong to God 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:47.380 and not her bank account. 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:49.920 And there's an irony here. 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:53.960 Remember, I told you she is in the court of the women 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:58.680 and it's called that because she can't go any further into the temple. 00:21:59.360 --> 00:22:02.019 This is as close as she can get to God's presence. 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:04.259 Who did we look at last week? 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:10.139 The religious leaders who were hypocrites and cared about money, not about God. 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:16.440 Those religious leaders can go further into the temple than she can, 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:21.440 but this woman is actually closer to God. 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:26.339 They're the ones who have access to the temple. 00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:29.500 She's the one who's given God her heart. 00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:42.059 It's not religious show or pomp that shows our relationship to God or measures our heart. 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:44.940 She's farther from the temple. 00:22:45.679 --> 00:22:47.159 She's closer to God. 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:51.359 And it's not an accident that she appears right after. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.899 We've talked about religious hypocrisy. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:56.759 She's meant to be an indictment, a condemnation of those leaders. 00:22:57.139 --> 00:23:00.159 Jesus is most enthusiastic here over the smallest gift 00:23:00.159 --> 00:23:02.720 because it shows the largest heart. 00:23:04.019 --> 00:23:07.359 Jesus is most enthusiastic over the smallest gift 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.899 because it shows the largest heart. 00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:12.240 It is insignificant in its amount. 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:17.540 It is record-setting in where she finds her trust. 00:23:18.860 --> 00:23:22.620 The world applauds raw numbers. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:30.040 Jesus is looking for that Deuteronomy 6, verse 5 sort of commitment 00:23:30.040 --> 00:23:32.640 to love the Lord your God with all your heart 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:35.280 and without your soul and with all your might. 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:39.600 And she wins on that account. 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:43.620 She has joy. 00:23:44.540 --> 00:23:49.080 We can easily imagine that those with abundance lack. 00:23:49.860 --> 00:23:53.880 She has trust that those with abundance lack. 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:59.140 She has confidence and hope that those with abundance can only dream of. 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:04.220 The theologian Jim Carrey says this, 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:09.540 I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of 00:24:09.540 --> 00:24:12.180 so they will know that it's not the answer. 00:24:12.180 --> 00:24:19.960 So we've seen the danger of abundance, the joy of dependence. 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:23.120 Where does that leave us here this morning? 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:26.120 Jesus doesn't give a command here. 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:28.240 He doesn't say to his disciples, 00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:30.460 go and do likewise. 00:24:30.820 --> 00:24:32.539 If we look throughout the rest of the scriptures, 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:37.880 there's no demand, no requirement that we give up 100% of the money we have. 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:41.600 In fact, some people think that Jesus may be hyperbolic in his teaching here. 00:24:41.760 --> 00:24:46.760 So we're not meant to necessarily imitate this woman woodenly or slavishly. 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:50.880 We are, however, meant to imitate her in principle. 00:24:51.560 --> 00:24:55.020 And the principle, as I mentioned before, is a principle of sacrificial giving, 00:24:55.220 --> 00:24:58.080 giving that reflects that our heart belongs to God, 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:04.220 giving that shows that our confidence and trust is in God more than anything and anyone else. 00:25:04.220 --> 00:25:09.299 There's a quote from C.S. Lewis that we've run before in the worship guide 00:25:09.299 --> 00:25:13.259 where he says it's hard to determine how much someone should actually give. 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:16.200 But we do know this, we should give so much 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:21.299 that we give up some of the luxuries and pleasures of the world around us. 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:25.960 That's how we know our hope is in God and not money. 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:29.740 Billy Graham said this, 00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:39.740 So your homework for today is this, 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:41.940 examine your hearts. 00:25:43.660 --> 00:25:50.259 What does your checkbook reveal about your desires and your longings and your loves? 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:56.559 What does your checkbook show about your heart? 00:25:56.640 --> 00:25:58.240 What does your spending reveal? 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:02.099 And by the way, no matter what's there, hard to get off the hook. 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:07.400 There's a quote on the back of your worship guide where Tim Keller makes this point that 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:10.299 there's multiple ways you can use money as an idol. 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:12.960 Some people use money as an idol in their spending. 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:16.259 They spend their money so that they can make themselves more beautiful 00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:19.000 and have access to social circles and influence. 00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:22.079 And that shows the idols of their heart. 00:26:22.120 --> 00:26:26.000 But there are also people who take all their money and they save it up. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:28.160 It just gets larger and larger and larger. 00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:32.420 And Keller points out, hey, they're actually spending their money on something as well. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:35.440 It's not that that one person has an idol and the other doesn't. 00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:39.720 It's that the second person loves security more than anything else. 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:46.359 In fact, he tells the story of a pastor at his church sitting down to counsel a couple in their marriage 00:26:46.359 --> 00:26:48.000 and the financial struggles they're having. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.680 And the husband is very frustrated because his wife is constantly spending money 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:56.599 and he sees himself as superior because all he does is save. 00:26:58.160 --> 00:26:59.759 And the pastor finally says to him, 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:06.019 do you see that you love security more than anything else? 00:27:07.740 --> 00:27:10.400 That money is actually an idol for you too. 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:12.640 It's not that your wife has a problem and you don't. 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:15.700 It's that both of you worship things other than Jesus. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:20.360 And he said at that point, there was a breakthrough in their marriage 00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:24.660 and they will be able to begin to resolve their financial disagreements. 00:27:26.080 --> 00:27:27.540 And so examine your heart. 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:34.180 What does your checkbook say about your love and your longings? 00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:38.700 It's been pointed out before that money serves as a thermostat. 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:41.279 It measures the heat of our hearts. 00:27:41.380 --> 00:27:43.680 It shows the temperature of our hearts. 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:48.100 But it can also function, sorry, as a thermometer. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:49.660 The thermometer measures our heart. 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:52.060 But it can also function as a thermostat. 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:54.320 It can change the temperature of our heart. 00:27:55.019 --> 00:27:56.640 Remember Matthew 6, 21, 00:27:56.900 --> 00:27:59.660 where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:01.259 That can work in two ways. 00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:05.619 You can look at your treasure now and see where your longings and desires are. 00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:09.720 But you can also make new decisions about your money 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:11.900 and change the location of your heart. 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:19.319 You determine with every expenditure where your heart is going to live. 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:25.119 The kiosk at the beginning of the zoo, it illustrates one thing. 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:29.039 It shows us what it's like to have a public display of giving like happens in the temple. 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:31.019 It also shows us another thing. 00:28:31.259 --> 00:28:35.759 Every coin is a vote for a certain kind of animal. 00:28:37.940 --> 00:28:45.619 Every time you spend money, you are voting for where your heart's longings and desires will live. 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:53.420 Every time you spend money, you are voting for what's going to have control of your heart. 00:28:53.420 --> 00:28:56.840 And so really the self-examination comes in two parts. 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:58.080 Where is your heart now? 00:28:59.539 --> 00:29:01.680 Where do you want it to be? 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:04.779 Giving is the thermometer. 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:06.740 Shows you where you are. 00:29:07.360 --> 00:29:08.340 It's the thermostat. 00:29:08.860 --> 00:29:11.220 Can take you where you want to be. 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:21.940 Now I mentioned before the question of how the widow is able to do this while the religious leaders are not. 00:29:21.940 --> 00:29:32.920 And it's not stated explicitly here, but the principle that lies behind this type of giving is this unshakable trust in God. 00:29:33.740 --> 00:29:38.400 It's this unshakable belief that Psalm 23 is actually true. 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:40.400 That you actually shall not want. 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:45.039 That the Lord does lead you to green pastures and beside still waters. 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:47.639 It's the function of Jesus as the good shepherd. 00:29:48.700 --> 00:29:52.420 In other words, do you want to have childlike faith? 00:29:53.980 --> 00:30:00.220 Do you want your heart to love and long for what is good and true? 00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:04.359 Money shows your heart. 00:30:05.399 --> 00:30:07.480 Your heart follows money. 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:12.879 And so as we think about Jesus and his relationship to our money, 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:18.560 the answer is not simply that we are generous because we want to do good things or be good people. 00:30:18.620 --> 00:30:19.780 That's the answer of the world. 00:30:20.100 --> 00:30:24.800 The answer of Christianity is instead what we already confessed in faith this morning. 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:31.820 He watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:38.680 The more you believe that, the more generous you'll be able to be. 00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:49.980 It's not until you believe that, that you'll be able to give, not out of your abundance, but out of poverty. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:57.759 In his book, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens tells us the story of a boy named Pip. 00:30:58.340 --> 00:31:01.400 Pip is an orphan boy who is living with relatives. 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:08.460 Pip's very poor, as you can imagine, but he has a crush on this girl, classic, who is wealthy. 00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:11.980 And he imagines that if he just had enough money, he could be with her. 00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:19.740 Well, lo and behold, shortly into the story, he comes into a vast fortune from an anonymous donor. 00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:22.100 And so he begins to make these preparations. 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:26.660 This donor wants to train him and disciple him to be truly a rich gentleman. 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:32.960 And so his next step is to head off to London so he can begin his new life. 00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:41.460 The only challenge is that in doing this, he leaves his family that he loves and who loves him far behind. 00:31:42.660 --> 00:31:48.340 The day that he finds out about his fortune, as evening draws on in this family's house, 00:31:48.340 --> 00:31:53.799 he begins to contemplate what's next for him, leaving his family behind, who he loves and trusts. 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:58.779 And so Pip sits down in this chair and begins to think about what his future holds. 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:08.220 And he says this, he was feeling very sorrowful and strange that this first night of my bright fortunes 00:32:08.220 --> 00:32:11.460 should be the loneliest I had ever known. 00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:28.340 Brothers and sisters, we can be close to money or we can be close to God. 00:32:29.579 --> 00:32:32.960 We cannot be close to both. 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:35.600 In fact, that's what Jesus tells us. 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:37.200 Matthew 6, verse 24, 00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:42.740 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:46.240 or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:50.200 You cannot serve God and money. 00:32:51.539 --> 00:32:52.240 Let's pray. 00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:58.900 Our Father in heaven, we thank you that like a good father, 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:02.720 you instruct us and direct us, even when it is hard and it's challenging. 00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:08.460 We ask more than anything else, not that you would first change our giving, 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:11.360 but that you would change our hearts, that we would trust in you, 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:17.319 that we would believe that not a hair can fall from our heads without the will of our Father in heaven. 00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:23.019 That that belief would change our life and our minds and our hearts and our giving. 00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:26.340 We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.240 I invite you to stand for our closing hymn.