Sermon
#55 Series:
Mark
Title: Lessons From A
Certain Poor Widow
Text: Mark 12:41-44
Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15
Subject: Giving
Date: Sunday Morning - July 12, 1998
Tape # U-68b
Introduction:
Why
do you go to work every day? What is your purpose in working? It does not
matter what kind of work you do. We live in a society that honors and praises
professionals, whose jobs require a college education. Doctors, lawyers,
politicians, and executives are usually the people who have influence in
society, before whom others bow and scrape like groveling dogs. What a pity!
It is altogether proper that
we give honor to whom honor is due; but we ought never to look upon one person
with contempt and another with adulation, simply because of their different
social status. It does matter not in the least where you work, or what kind of
work you do. All honest labor is honorable labor. I do not care whether you
work for minimum wages by the hour or whether you make a million dollars a
week. If your labor is honest labor, it is honorable labor.
My question has nothing to
do with the kind of work you do. I want you to consider only one thing - Why
do you do it? What is your reason for working? In the Word of God, I
find three things, and only three things, which should motivate believers in
their labor. These three motives are very clear. There is nothing profound or
mysterious about them. I hope none of you will be surprised by the fact that
among these three motives for working, and working hard, there is not a word
about gaining riches, getting more stuff, or increasing our social rank. Are
you interested in Bible motives for work? Here they are. Three biblical motives for honest labor are…
1. The Glory Of God
1
Corinthians 10:31 "Whether therefore
ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
Ephesians 6:5-6 "Servants, be obedient to them that are
your masters according to the flesh,
with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; (6) Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God from the heart;"
Colossians 3:22-24 "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not
with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but
in singleness of heart, fearing God: (23)
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily,
as to the Lord, and not unto men; (24) Knowing
that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve
the Lord Christ."
When
we go about our daily employment, whatever it is, let us seek to honor our God
in the work we do.
2. The Needs Of Our Families
1 Timothy
5:8 "But if any provide not for
his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith,
and is worse than an infidel."
It is
the responsibility of every man to provide for his family. That provision
reaches beyond physical things. We are also responsible to provide for our
families spiritually. Every man is responsible to serve God as a prophet,
priest, and king in his own house.
We
ought to be motivated every day, as we do the work the Lord has given us to do,
to do that work (whatever it is) to the best of our ability for the glory of
God and the good of our families. But there is a third reason for working, a
third noble, biblical principle which ought to be a high priority and motive to
every child of God in his daily employment. You will find it in Ephesians 4:28.
We ought to work, thirdly, so that we
might enjoy the high honor and…
3. The Privilege Of Giving
Ephesians 4:28 "Let him that stole steal no more: but
rather let him labour, working with his hands
the thing which is good, that he may
have to give to him that needeth."
Proposition: If we belong to Christ, if we are his
servants, we ought to make the business of giving, open handed, open hearted,
generous giving, a high priority in our lives.
There are many, many great examples of
this kind of giving in the Word of God.
·
David
(2 Sam. 24:24)
·
The
Forgiven Woman (Mk. 14:3-9)
·
The
Macedonians (2 Cor. 8 and 9)
·
The
Philippians (Phil. 4:15-19)
I
want us to look at the example found in Mark 12:41-44 in the time that remains.
My subject this morning is giving. The title of my message is Lessons
From A Certain Poor Widow. Let’s read the text together.
Mark
12:41-44 "And Jesus sat over against the
treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that
were rich cast in much. (42) And
there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a
farthing. (43) And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto
them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all
they which have cast into the treasury:
(44) For all they did cast in of
their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."
There
are few events in the earthly life of Christ more commonly overlooked than
this, and few of his sayings which are less discussed than the one now before
us. Our Lord saw “many that were rich
cast in much”.
Without question, those who
have more should give more. That is seldom the case; but it should be. Usually,
the wealthiest people really give the least. And when they do give a little
something somewhere, they have lots of strings attached and a bag of instructions!
Then, our Master spotted “a certain poor widow, and she threw in two
mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith
unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than
all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their
abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her
living."
Divisions: Let me call your attention
to four things in this story. May God the Holy Spirit graciously and
effectually teach us the things here revealed in His Word.
1.
The
Observer
2.
The
Givers
3.
The
Gifts
4.
The
Lesson
I. THE OBSERVER
Mark 12:41 "And Jesus sat over against the
treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that
were rich cast in much."
A. The first thing evident in this passage is the
divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There
is no indication at all that our Master was informed by anyone about the wealth
of the rich or the poverty of this woman. Yet, he who is the omniscient God
knew everything about everyone before him. He knew how much each possessed, how
much each gave, why they gave it, and what the circumstances of their lives
were. I stress this fact because I want us ever to remember that he who gave
his all to redeem and save us is himself the almighty, omniscient God. He who is God gave himself for us![1]
2 Corinthians
8:9 "For ye know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,
that ye through his poverty might be rich."
Philippians 2:5-8 "Let this mind be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a
man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross."
That
Man who loved us and gave himself for us is himself our God. No wonder then
that Paul, when he thought on these things, exclaimed, “Thanks be unto God for his
unspeakable gift!”
B. Now, look at this - “He
beheld HOW the people cast money into the treasury.”
He
who is the omniscient God beheld everyone there, the rich and the poor. He
beheld what they gave and why they gave it.
Let
us ever be aware of this fact. Our God observes all things. He looks beyond
what we do and observes why we do it. All things are naked and open before the
eyes of him with whom we have to do.
II. THE GIVERS
Mark 12:41-42 "And Jesus sat over against the
treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that
were rich cast in much. (42) And
there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a
farthing."
I
have only one thing to say here; but I want you to hear it. There are many in
this world who are rich, very rich in material things, even rich in religious
tradition, ceremony, and activity, who are poor, utterly destitute before God.
And they are many very poor people in this world who are rich, infinitely and
eternally, rich toward God, rich in Christ. Learn what that means.
·
Riches,
luxury, ease of life, and earthly exaltation are no indication of God’s favor
(Ps. 73).
·
Poverty,
afflictions, and earthly sorrows are no indication of God’s disfavor (Job -
David - Lazarus).
·
Those
who have Christ have all; and you who are yet without Christ have nothing.
Without Christ you are without God, without promise, without grace, without
mercy, without hope!
III. THE GIFTS
In the temple worship of the Old Testament,
in addition to the tithe required by the law, those who were so inclined
brought their voluntary gifts (freewill offerings) and put them in an offering
box here called the treasury. These offerings were used in the maintenance of
the temple and to supply the priests with those things necessary for the service
of the temple and the worship of God. Though the worship of God had degenerated
to nothing but religious ritualism during the days of our Lord’s earthly
ministry, it was customary for people, when they entered the temple to put some
money in the box. Many, we are told, who were rich cast in much.
But our Savior calls our attention to a
certain, poor widow. She had only two mites to her name. And that two mites is
what she put into the collection box. Now listen to what the Master says.
Mark 12:43-44 "And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you,
That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the
treasury: (44) For all they did cast in of their abundance; but
she
of her want did cast in all that she had, even
all her living."
Anyone
who observed such an act as this, were this story not recorded on the pages of
Inspiration, would declare that it was an inexcusable act of misplaced zeal. It
would be condemned by all as an unnecessary, useless act of presumption.
·
Unnecessary
because God did not require it.
·
Useless
because her two mites were materially insignificant.
·
Presumptuous
because when she had given all she had she had not exercised any wisdom or
prudence with regard to her future needs.
But the Son of God not only approved of what she did, he
called his disciples’ attention to her gift, and said, Boys, this is what the Bible calls giving!
Though she gave only
two mites, our Savior commends her gift as something both great and good.
·
Great
because it involved great sacrifice.
·
Good
because she gave as unto the Lord, for the glory of God, to the utmost stretch
of her ability.
This poor woman’s gift, in itself was small,
insignificant, even contemptible in the eyes of men; but it was highly valued
and esteemed by the Son of God!
All that was given by the
wealthy was given out of their abundance. It was just the overflow, the excess,
what they had left over after buying all they wanted, throwing away all they
wanted, and saving all they wanted.
·
They
gave a portion, but only a portion of what they had. She gave all!
·
They
gave out of their wealth. She gave out of her poverty!
·
They
gave and had much remaining. She gave everything she had. - All her daily
sustenance!
“She
did cast in all that she had, even all her living; her whole substance, all
that she had in the world; what was to have bought her food, for that day. She
left herself nothing, but gave away all, and trusted to providence for
immediate supply.” John
Gill
·
They
gave out of a sense of duty. She gave because she wanted to give.
·
They
gave to be seen of men. She gave because she loved the Lord.
·
They
gave to get glory to themselves. She gave to the glory of God!
·
They
gave what they did not need. She gave what she very much needed.
·
They
gave their spare change. She gave everything!
I
have heard men and women speak with a pretended modesty of giving their “two
mites”. We have given our “two mites” when, like this blessed woman, we have
given our all!
IV. THE LESSON
You
will find the lesson of this story in 2 Corinthians 9:7.
2
Corinthians 9:7 "Every man according as
he purposeth in his heart, so let him
give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful
giver."
Give
me your attention for just another minute or two, while I wrap this message up
by answering three questions.
A. What motivates such giving as that which this poor widow exemplified?
Believers give, not by legal constraint, but
by grace, not by force of law, but by the force of gratitude. Believers
understand what the world can never understand. Why do believer’s give as they
do? Because…
1.
We
recognize that Christ gave his all for us!
2.
We
realize that everything we have has been given to us.
1 Corinthians
4:7 "For who maketh thee to differ
from another? and what hast thou that
thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"
3.
Believer’s
love Christ, his gospel, and his people.
4.
Believer’s
understand that it really is more blessed to give than to receive.
B. Who should give
In
the light of this story, I cannot imagine anyone asking that question; but just
in case…EVERYONE OF US!
·
Pastors,
Elders, Preachers, Teachers - We ought
to set the example in all things!
·
Old
and Young
·
Rich
and Poor
C. How should we give?
If
you are interested in honoring and serving God with what you possess, I urge
you to carefully study the chapters we read earlier - 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.
1.
First,
let us give ourselves to Christ.
2.
Give
purposefully, in proportion as the Lord has prospered you.
3.
Give
secretly.
4.
Give
cheerfully. “If there be first a willing
mind…”
5.
Give
generously.
6.
Give
regularly - “On the first day of the
week.”
7.
Give
for the glory of God, as unto the Lord.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive!” (Acts 20:35). It really is!
May the Lord graciously teach us all to abound in this grace also, for Christ’s
sake. AMEN.
[1] The fact of Christ’s divinity assures us of the certain efficacy of his work. If he is God, he cannot fail. If he can fail, for any reason, to accomplish what he desires or tries to accomplish, then he is not God!