1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:02,760 If you're not a believer in Jesus, you're very welcome. 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:04,640 We're glad you're with us this morning. 3 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:06,520 Glad to have you. Hope you've enjoyed the service 4 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:08,280 so far. I hope you'll enjoy the sermon. 5 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,040 And I'd be delighted to talk with you afterward at the door 6 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:14,440 about anything that we've sung or prayed or read or anything 7 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:16,400 I'm about to say in the next few minutes. 8 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,520 One of the most common reasons I've heard from those who aren't 9 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,400 Christians for why they're not Christians is that Christians 10 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,600 are hypocrites. Lots of people who don't believe 11 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,960 in Jesus list Christians hypocrisy as one of their 12 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,080 reasons for not believing. Jesus commands that we love our 13 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,480 enemies, but so many Christians seem full of hate. 14 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,080 Jesus calls his followers to be salt and light, to be different. 15 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,880 But so many Christians seem no different from the world. 16 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,000 They just seem to be putting on a religious show, going through 17 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,520 the motions certain outward actions like attending church on 18 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,360 Sunday, but if you saw what they were doing on Friday and 19 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,400 Saturday, you'd say they're no different from anybody else. 20 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,520 Oh, except the only difference is that Christians preach 21 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:11,320 against and condemn other people for doing all the same stuff 22 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:17,080 that they do. A hypocrite is someone whose 23 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:25,080 actions don't match their heart. A hypocrite has ulterior motives 24 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:30,280 for their religious practice. They care more about impressing 25 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:35,560 people than worshipping God. They want to appear more 26 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:39,680 religious than they really are so that they can get some 27 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,560 personal benefit from the religion that they're faking. 28 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:51,600 One fact that sometimes escapes notice in this conversation is 29 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:58,200 that Jesus is himself the original and greatest critic of 30 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,320 hypocrisy. Jesus was aware of the problem. 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,600 He called it out, He exposed it, and he pointed the way to its 32 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,520 opposites. This morning we resume our 33 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,560 series in the Gospel of Mark with chapter 12, verses 38 to 34 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,040 44. If you don't have a Bible, you 35 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:16,560 can put up your hand. Someone will bring you one. 36 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,040 If you don't have a Bible, like you don't have one at home, then 37 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:20,360 take this one. Keep it read. 38 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,040 It looks like we've got one right down front, someone who 39 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,280 needs the Bible. If you're not familiar with the 40 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,160 Gospels, they're biographies of Jesus. 41 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:30,960 They were written by eyewitnesses and those who 42 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,160 consulted eyewitnesses within about a generation after the 43 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,000 time of Jesus. There they exist to tell the 44 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,760 story of what he did, what he taught, and then ultimately his 45 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,920 betrayal, his crucifixion, his resurrection. 46 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,000 We're about 75% of the way through Mark's Gospel here. 47 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:53,520 Our verses for this morning present the last little bit of 48 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,640 Jesus public ministry he's been teaching in the temple in 49 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:00,720 Jerusalem. He's had several rounds of 50 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,680 debate and conflict with the religious authorities there. 51 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,840 In the next chapter, all of chapter 13, he's going to 52 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,920 privately instruct his disciples about what the future is going 53 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:14,280 to hold for them and for the whole world. 54 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,320 And then after that, through the rest of Mark's gospel, he's 55 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:23,480 going to be betrayed, tried, crucified, and then rise from 56 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,160 the dead. In our short passage, the last 57 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,440 little bit of public teaching before all that happens, he 58 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:36,360 calls out hypocrisy and he points out the alternative. 59 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:43,760 Please follow along as I read Mark 12 verses 38 to 44. 60 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:51,320 And in his teaching, he said, beware of the scribes who like 61 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,160 to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the 62 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:58,320 marketplaces, and have the best seats in the synagogues and the 63 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:04,040 places of honor at feasts, who devour widows houses and for a 64 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:10,160 pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater 65 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:15,160 condemnation. And he sat down opposite the 66 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,560 treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering 67 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,200 box. Many rich people put in large 68 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,880 sums, and a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, 69 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,280 which make a penny. And he called his disciples to 70 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:36,400 him and said to them, Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has 71 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,880 put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering 72 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:46,800 box, for they all contributed out of their abundance, But she, 73 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:52,440 out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had 74 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,840 to live on. Here Jesus presents a stark 75 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:02,120 contrast. He condemns the scribes and he 76 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,640 commends the widow. He warns against these 77 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,920 influential religious leaders, and he celebrates the act of 78 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,520 this one poor woman whom nobody noticed and nobody cared about. 79 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:19,000 The choice Jesus presents to all of us is just as stark as this 80 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,080 contrast. Will you devote your heart to 81 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:27,360 self or to God? That's the challenge our passage 82 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:28,880 holds out to each of us this morning. 83 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,960 Will you devote your heart to self or to God? 84 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,880 That's the difference between a real follower of Jesus and a 85 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,200 fake one. That's the difference between 86 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:48,840 hypocrisy and holiness. So the two parts of our passage 87 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:53,000 present this choice by holding up two contrasting pictures. 88 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,080 The two points in the sermon, Each one will have 3 sub points 89 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:01,160 .1. A heart devoted to self. 90 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,800 A heart devoted to self. That's what Jesus is warning 91 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,560 against. The scribes in verses 38 to 40 92 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:14,920 shows us looking at the beginning of verse 38. 93 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,760 And in his teaching he said beware of the scribes. 94 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,040 Now the scribes were professional religious leaders 95 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,400 in Jerusalem. They were highly trained. 96 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,000 They were teachers of the people. 97 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,680 They instructed the people about how to fulfill God's law in 98 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:35,440 matters of daily life. Notice that Jesus warns his 99 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,760 disciples against them. Beware. 100 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,880 And we also should beware. Beware what religious teachers 101 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,520 you listen to. Beware who you let influence 102 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,200 you. From friends to preachers to 103 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,640 podcasters to the ever growing category of social media 104 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,720 influencers. Evaluate teachers who vie for 105 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:02,520 your attention based on how they're teaching accords with 106 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,920 scripture. Evaluate teachers based on what 107 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:11,080 you can see of their character. Evaluate teachers based on 108 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:16,000 whether they model and promote love of God and love of 109 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,160 neighbor. Beware Now. 110 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,000 Why does Jesus want his disciples to beware of the 111 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,400 scribes? It's because at least some of 112 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:29,480 them were hypocrites. Jesus goes on to describe a 113 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:33,040 radical disconnect between what the scribes practiced and what 114 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,560 they preached. There are three main parts to 115 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,200 Jesus's critique. Three ways in which the scribes 116 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:44,640 show that their hearts were devoted to self, not God #1 vain 117 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,520 glory. Vain glory, Not a word some of 118 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,120 us might know. That's OK, I'll unpack it in a 119 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:50,680 minute. Vain glory. 120 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:57,880 Look at verses 38 and 39. And in his teaching, he said, 121 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,760 beware of the scribes who'd like to walk around in long robes and 122 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,040 like greetings in the marketplaces, and have the best 123 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,080 seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts. 124 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,960 Jesus is describing Vainglory. That's a word that's fallen out 125 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:15,560 of use, but it is useful enough for us to bring it back. 126 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:22,320 Vainglory is being overly attached to how you appear to 127 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:28,480 others. Vainglory is the excessive and 128 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:36,360 disordered desire for recognition and approval from 129 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,679 others. Notice the very beginning of 130 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:41,480 Jesus's description of the scribes. 131 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:47,160 Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long roads. 132 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,040 They like it, they desire it, they want it. 133 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,440 The root of all these problems is in their heart. 134 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:56,600 It's in their desires. The robes that Jesus refers to 135 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,920 here are distinctive garments that mark them out as scribes. 136 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:01,880 Everyone they saw would know who they were. 137 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:04,040 They were authoritative, They were honored. 138 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,680 They were set apart, they were set above, and that's where they 139 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:11,720 liked to be. The next thing they liked too 140 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,600 much is greetings. In the marketplaces and ancient 141 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,640 Judaism, how you greeted someone was a big deal, and it was an 142 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,400 especially big deal to recognize someone's station or rank if 143 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:22,960 they were in any way superior to you. 144 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,840 One distant analogy today would be military etiquette and 145 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:30,400 protocol around how you're meant to address superior officers, or 146 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,560 who can speak to whom when there's any difference in 147 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:38,560 hierarchy. The best seats in the synagogues 148 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,680 would have been ones where they actually sat up front facing the 149 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:46,600 congregation, so everybody saw them and they saw everybody they 150 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:52,800 liked being seen. The places of honor at feasts 151 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,200 were another way to publicly display status and rank. 152 00:09:56,680 --> 00:10:00,000 You might think about a state dinner where the president hosts 153 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,280 a whole delegation from another country. 154 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,280 There's this big elaborate meal, dozens or hundreds of people all 155 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,680 sitting together. Staff members will obsess for 156 00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:11,040 hours over who gets to sit where. 157 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:15,000 There's many factors at play, but one of them is proximity to 158 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:19,080 the most powerful person. The closer you are, the higher 159 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:26,800 that shows you rank. The scribes hearts were captive 160 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:31,640 to Vainglory. They were addicted to other 161 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:36,600 people's admiration, respect, praise, approval. 162 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,160 They cared more about being praised by people than pleasing 163 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,120 God. These scribes are turned in on 164 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,880 themselves and they love to turn other people's attention toward 165 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,120 themselves. Whereas as religious leaders of 166 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,800 the God of Israel, what they should have cared more about, 167 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:57,640 what they should have loved more about what they should have 168 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,640 loved more, is turning people's attention to God and to their 169 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,840 neighbor. Their job wasn't to turn 170 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,080 attention to themselves. It was to teach people how to 171 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,600 worship God and love their neighbor. 172 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:13,480 The scribes hearts are devoted to self. 173 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,720 One reason it's worth scrubbing the rust off of a word like 174 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,440 Vainglory and bring it back into our vocabulary is that we live 175 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:24,960 in an absurdly vainglorious society. 176 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,400 Our society is constantly inventing new ways to tempt us 177 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:32,680 all to Vainglory and to immerse us in Vainglory. 178 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:36,200 There's a reason our culture has forgotten the word. 179 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:40,160 It is a willful forgetting. Vainglory is one of the single 180 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,160 best words to describe the entire society we live in, so 181 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,280 how convenient that we don't have a word for it. 182 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:54,680 Imagine that if you do anything with excellence, you will incur 183 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:58,520 the liability of other people's admiration. 184 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,680 Do anything well and you run the risk of other people noticing, 185 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:07,120 and not just noticing, but saying something about it to you 186 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:12,240 or to other people. Not only that, but there are 187 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,800 good and right reasons for showing honor to those who are 188 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,560 in authority and for honoring those whose achievements merit 189 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:20,680 recognition. There's a sense in which that's 190 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:26,040 good for everybody. So Jesus's point here isn't that 191 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:28,840 any of these outward circumstances are wrong in 192 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:33,240 themselves. His point is that it's wrong to 193 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,080 love them. It's wrong to be hungry for 194 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:39,760 them. It's wrong to be devoted to 195 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,600 them. It's wrong to be addicted to 196 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,480 being seen and noticed and recognized. 197 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:54,240 How can you combat Vainglory if you're a believer in Jesus? 198 00:12:55,080 --> 00:13:00,160 First, realize that God loves you despite everything that's 199 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,160 wrong with you. God loves you not because of any 200 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:05,760 achievements. God loves you not because of any 201 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,960 moral accomplishments. God loves you simply because he 202 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,920 loves you. And God sees you and approves 203 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:17,280 you not because of your good works, but because he looks at 204 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:22,240 you as you are unified by faith with His perfect, beloved Son. 205 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:27,600 When God looks at you, He sees Jesus, and He is well pleased. 206 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:34,080 A second way to combat Vainglory is to labor for God's approval 207 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:39,560 more than any human approval. Don't seek the praise that comes 208 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:43,320 from man, but the praise that God Himself will pronounce over 209 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:47,240 you on the last day. One great test of that is 210 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,240 whether you are willing to continue doing something that 211 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,320 you know pleases God when it doesn't seem to be pleasing any 212 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,200 people. No one seems to notice, no one 213 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,040 seems to honor you, no one seems to recognize you. 214 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,520 A second feature of the scribes self devoted hearts. 215 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,520 Greed, greed. Look at verse 40. 216 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:19,760 Who devour widows houses? In all times, in all places, 217 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,200 widows are vulnerable to exploitation, but in ancient 218 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,080 Israel they were particularly vulnerable. 219 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,520 Their surviving family members were responsible to provide for 220 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,200 their needs. So if their family members 221 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,160 didn't, or if the widow didn't have any surviving family, she 222 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,600 simply have no one to look after her, no one to care for her, no 223 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,920 way to be provided for. What does it mean that the 224 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:46,760 scribes devoured widows houses? It means they economically 225 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:50,280 exploited them. They took advantage of them to 226 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:52,800 enrich themselves. We don't know exactly how they 227 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:56,160 did this, but some good historical hypothesis would be 228 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,160 that they might have charged excessive fees for legal 229 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:03,880 services, or when they managed widows estates they could have 230 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,520 siphoned off money and resources for themselves. 231 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,000 Oh sure, I'll take care of that for you. 232 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:10,040 This house, this field, this building. 233 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,960 And they sort of whittle it away for themselves little by little. 234 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:18,280 In any case, the point is that they abused their position of 235 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,240 religious authority to enrich themselves. 236 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:26,960 They took advantage of people who are humble, pious, trusting. 237 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:31,960 They fleeced vulnerable people by making them think their money 238 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:36,320 was going to the work of God. Sadly, today there's a close 239 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,800 analogy to these practices and what's often called the 240 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,800 prosperity gospel. Preachers who claim to represent 241 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,880 Christ promise people that if they give to support their 242 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:47,240 ministry, God will make them rich. 243 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,680 It's essentially the same logic as what the scribes were doing. 244 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:56,600 And it's just as false, just as abusive, and it can be just as 245 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:00,560 devastating. The prosperity gospel makes a 246 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:06,800 predatory promise. If you enrich me, God will 247 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:12,440 enrich you. Throughout Scripture, God 248 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:16,040 demonstrates committed care for widows and other vulnerable 249 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,880 people, and He exhorts us as his people to have the same heart, 250 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,120 the same compassion, the same commitment, the same care. 251 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,560 As Deuteronomy 10/18 declares, he executes justice for the 252 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:32,320 fatherless and the widow and loves the sojourner, giving him 253 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,320 food and clothing. How can we use a congregation 254 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,840 care for those among us, among our own members who are most 255 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,960 vulnerable? One way to look at it is the 256 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:47,000 less support someone has from their natural family, the more 257 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,600 the church should step in to help them as their spiritual 258 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,680 family. That's a principle Paul uses in 259 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,280 for in First Timothy 5 when he's talking about how to support and 260 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,360 care for widows in the church. So among members of the body, be 261 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,840 on the lookout for those who have fewer people looking out 262 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,440 for them. They might live far from their 263 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:05,520 family. They might have strained 264 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,280 relationships with their family. They might have few or no 265 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:13,480 surviving family members to help care for them positively. 266 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,040 Consider how you can share whatever abundance the Lord has 267 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,800 given you with brothers and sisters who need it. 268 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:25,119 That abundance includes money, but it goes well beyond money. 269 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:28,840 My friend Jake Meter in an article recently said that the 270 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,760 local church should be a community of abundant 271 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,680 competence. Even a local Church of 63 272 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:41,240 members or now 83 members is a community of abundant 273 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,120 competence. So we should share whatever 274 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:48,400 competencies we have with those who lack and need them. 275 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,200 I'm going to keep this anecdote sort of anonymous. 276 00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:58,200 Let's just say someone in the church might have a washing 277 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,760 machine that broke. Let's just say when they went to 278 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,720 replace the washing machine, they discovered a long standing 279 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:10,160 leak in the pipe that it drained out of, which damaged the 280 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:15,600 drywall and required the tearing out of a portion of the wall and 281 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,480 the replacing of many little bits of plumbing. 282 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,360 Let's say the person whose washing machine this is did not 283 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:29,600 know how to do any of that. Let's say there's a church 284 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:34,040 member who knows how to do all of that and who, in an act of 285 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:39,160 astounding generosity, spent half a Saturday at the drop of a 286 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:45,520 hat taking care of it all. That's a way to share your 287 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:50,400 abundance, to share your competence with those who lack 288 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,120 it. Money is great when money is 289 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:58,000 what you need. Skill in a plumbing and drywall 290 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,760 and painting and all sorts of other stuff is also really great 291 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,840 when that's what you need and you lack. 292 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,400 Look for ways to share your competence, your abundance, and 293 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,520 your concern, especially with those who are most vulnerable. 294 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,280 1/3 feature of the scribes devotion to self is hypocrisy. 295 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,320 Hypocrisy. Jesus names that explicitly in 296 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:28,080 verse 40 who devour widows houses and for a pretense make 297 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,120 long prayers. They will receive the greater 298 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:36,080 condemnation. Why will the scribes receive a 299 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,120 greater condemnation? It's because instead of using 300 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,400 their authority to help others flourish, they use it to enrich 301 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,960 themselves at others expense. Instead of humbling themselves 302 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:51,120 to serve others, they exploit others to serve themselves. 303 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:57,200 And on top of all of that, they make a show of devotion to God 304 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:02,520 to hide their injustice. That's why on the last day and 305 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,720 throughout eternity, they will receive an even more severe 306 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,920 retribution than they would have otherwise. 307 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,720 God will hold them to account forever because if they spat in 308 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,320 His face by using the position He'd entrusted to them to enrich 309 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:23,760 themselves and exploit others. In verse 40, note the word 310 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,640 pretense. A pretense is something false 311 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,080 that you throw out like a blanket to cover the truth and 312 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,880 keep it hidden. A few days ago when we were on 313 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,320 our in the process of getting our kids out the door to school, 314 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,240 no one could find Margaret's backpack. 315 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,760 We looked in the car, not there. We looked in her bedroom, not 316 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,480 there. We look in the little entryway 317 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:49,560 where kids going to dump their stuff when they come in, not 318 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,560 there. We look in the kitchen, not 319 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:53,680 there. I get down and look under the 320 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,160 couch to see if it's like, fall, you know, someone push it under, 321 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,280 not there. So Margaret had to go to school 322 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,040 with like a Trader Joe's canvas bag and, you know, not her usual 323 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,240 lunch box and not her usual water bottle. 324 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,840 Kind of a bummer. The next day, Kristen found the 325 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:15,240 backpack in the living room on a couch under a blanket. 326 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:20,400 The blanket looked just naturally rumpled enough that 327 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,120 you could not detect the backpack underneath. 328 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:32,640 What are the scribes using to hide the backpack of their 329 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,000 injustice? The blanket they're throwing 330 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:42,880 over it all is prayer that should hit you in the gut. 331 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:50,720 To use something that is meant to be pure devotion to God as a 332 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:56,640 cover up to hide evil. This is compounding evil, evil 333 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:01,000 upon evil. Jesus is saying that they are 334 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,280 praying long prayers with ulterior motives. 335 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:10,920 Not to praise God, not to confess sin, not to bring 336 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,600 requests and needs of the body and try to advance the work of 337 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,400 the gospel, but to pray the kind of long prayers that make 338 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,480 someone go, wow, that person must be really godly. 339 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,200 Wow, that person is impressively holy. 340 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:26,320 While that person really must have a Direct Line to God. 341 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,960 I mean they must if they are just there talking to him for so 342 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:34,920 long, praying long prayers as a cover up. 343 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:40,280 A blanket thrown out to hide injustice. 344 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:47,360 The scribes were using fake devotion to God to cover up 345 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:52,520 their real rejection of God. The scribes were using fake 346 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:58,600 devotion to God to cover up their real devotion to self. 347 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:06,120 That's the essence of hypocrisy. They were not seeking God truly 348 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,680 yet imperfectly. The only way anyone can see God 349 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:14,680 in this life is imperfectly. The only way any Christian can 350 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,040 live a real Christian life is truly yet imperfectly. 351 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:18,240 But that's not what they were doing. 352 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:23,400 Instead, they were seeking self and they were using a religious 353 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,920 front to cover up their self seeking. 354 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,520 If you are in any way a religious person, especially if 355 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,200 you're a professing Christian, why do you pursue any religious 356 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,560 activity? Why do you come to church? 357 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,720 Why do you pray? Why do you read your Bible? 358 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:48,440 Is your goal to glorify God or to Polish an image of yourself? 359 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:51,440 Who are you concerned to impress? 360 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:57,960 Who would you especially like to see and notice your religious 361 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:04,160 activity? Now, some genuine believers have 362 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,600 extremely sensitive consciences about this sort of thing. 363 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:09,200 In some ways, that's a good thing. 364 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,400 You want to serve the Lord, not honor yourself. 365 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,680 You want to serve the Lord, not impress people. 366 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,560 But you can become so paranoid about not seeking praise from 367 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,720 people that it can threaten to cripple your service to others, 368 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:28,360 especially if that service is in any way public. 369 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,760 So how can you serve God, especially in public ways, 370 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:39,440 without becoming either a hypocrite or vainglorious? 371 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,400 Some examples you can think about leading in prayer, in 372 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,400 church or scripture reading, or any form of public teaching, 373 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,640 whether here or in the assembly, here in the assembly or with 374 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,240 kids. You should prepare for any of 375 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,000 those things diligently and carefully. 376 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,920 Your preparation in private should be a form of spiritual 377 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:02,960 meditation. You should engage with God 378 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,160 privately in order to then lead others. 379 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:10,520 In engaging with God publicly, you should seek to benefit from 380 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,960 God's Word and humble yourself before God's Word. 381 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,320 Before you in any way lead others from God's Word. 382 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,200 And then when you come to your service, you should dedicate it 383 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,720 to the Lord, pray that it will serve others, pray that it will 384 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,000 be for His glory, and leave the results to Him. 385 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,440 If people encourage you for your service, thank them and give 386 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,480 glory to God. If you mess up in any way 387 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,760 committed to the Lord and rejoice that you're not 388 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,400 justified by your service to Him, but only through faith in 389 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,960 Christ. If you're not a believer in 390 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,400 Jesus, what do you make of Jesus warnings against Vainglory, 391 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:55,080 greed and hypocrisy? Do you see any of those sins in 392 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,600 your own life? Where do they come from? 393 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,720 If you're not a believer in Jesus again, what do you think 394 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,680 Jesus wants you to take away from His warning against 395 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,960 hypocrisy? Is it enough to be able to 396 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,880 identify and judge hypocrisy in others? 397 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:20,320 What does Jesus want for you? So Part 1 of the contrast. 398 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:25,120 A heart devoted to self. That's the root of hypocrisy. 399 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:29,680 The deepest root of hypocrisy is self devotion, self worship, 400 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,520 putting yourself in the place of God. 401 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:37,840 If you put yourself in the place of God, you will care more about 402 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:42,600 putting on a religious show then about the reality of worshipping 403 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:48,640 God and serving others. What's the alternative point #2A 404 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:53,560 heart devoted to God? A heart devoted to God? 405 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,760 That's the point of Jesus commendation of the poor widow 406 00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:02,440 in verses 41 to 44. Look first at verse 41. 407 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:11,440 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people 408 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:13,120 putting money into the offering box. 409 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:16,440 Many rich people put in large sums. 410 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:20,560 Jesus is in the part of the temple complex that was called 411 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,880 the Court of women. Jewish historical sources tell 412 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,960 us that there were 13 large metallic trumpet shaped 413 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,040 receptacles attached to the walls where people could come 414 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,680 and make donations that would go to the upkeep and the service of 415 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,480 the temple. This was not the payment of a 416 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,200 required temple tax, so it wasn't anything required. 417 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:42,480 It didn't have a specific amount. 418 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,480 These were generous free will contributions. 419 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,800 And just as Jesus watches, many rich people are coming and 420 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,960 putting in large amounts. Nothing surprising about rich 421 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,280 people putting in large amounts. And the point here is not even 422 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:57,760 necessarily that it's a critique. 423 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,320 It's possible that those rich people were giving in such a way 424 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,360 that it drew attention to themselves, but the text doesn't 425 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,240 say so Jesus doesn't criticize them. 426 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,480 Instead of criticizing, he's interested in drawing a contrast 427 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:18,200 based on what he sees next. Verses 42 to 44. 428 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,600 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins which 429 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,800 make a penny. And he called his disciples to 430 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,680 him and said to them, truly, I say to you, this poor widow has 431 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,120 put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering 432 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:35,800 box, for they all contributed out of their abundance. 433 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:40,840 But she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all 434 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:46,040 she had to live on. How did Jesus know this was all 435 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:49,840 that she had to live on? He seems to be displaying His 436 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,840 divine omniscience. He knows everything. 437 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,120 He knows how much money she does and doesn't have. 438 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,080 Now, how much exactly did this poor widow give? 439 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,040 I am not going to get into complex math. 440 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,280 I'm not going to bore you with ancient currency conversions. 441 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,520 We can simply say that these two coins combined would be worth 442 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:16,200 about a dollar in today's money. Everybody knows a dollar does 443 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:18,560 not go very far. It will not get you a tank of 444 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:20,720 gas. It will not get you a burger. 445 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,160 At most fast food places. It's not much. 446 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,960 It's hardly anything. And if it's all you have, you 447 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:33,400 are really, really poor. Some interpreters have suggested 448 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:37,320 that the widow here is a victim and that Jesus is further 449 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:39,920 condemning the scribes. Some people have argued that 450 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,320 Jesus is criticizing an oppressive religious system that 451 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,600 would rob a widow of her last dollar based on false religious 452 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,200 promises, But I don't think that's an accurate reading of 453 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,640 the passage. What does Jesus say? 454 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:56,080 He commends her. Truly, I say to you, this poor 455 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:59,640 widow has put in more than all those. 456 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,760 He's making a comparison. He's assigning greater value, 457 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,880 greater worth to her gift than even these big sums put in by 458 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:10,240 rich people. Her gift is greater. 459 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:11,720 It's worth more. Why? 460 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:18,720 Verse 44 tells us because she didn't contribute some from her 461 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:23,600 wealth, instead she gave all from her poverty. 462 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,160 She had two coins, she could have kept one. 463 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:37,000 She gave both. In other words, this poor 464 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:41,720 widow's gift is a living parable of total devotion to God. 465 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,360 It's a living picture of what it looks like for your heart to be 466 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:47,600 fully given to God rather than self. 467 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:49,720 It's a stunning contrast with the scribes. 468 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,080 Their hearts are devoted to self. 469 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:58,720 Her heart is devoted to God. The language in verse 44 even 470 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,240 echoes the greatest commandment that Jesus taught about a few 471 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,080 verses earlier. What is that greatest 472 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,800 commandment? Mark 1230 quoting Deuteronomy 6. 473 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:11,080 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all 474 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:15,640 your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength. 475 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,480 The phrase at the very end of verse 44 echoes this command. 476 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:24,280 She gave everything she had, all she had to live on. 477 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:26,560 That's a good translation. It's idiomatic. 478 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,080 It gets the point across. But the Greek wording is 479 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:36,920 literally her whole life. She gave her whole life and 480 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,440 giving those two coins she gave her whole life because she gave 481 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:45,200 all that she had to live on. Her giving her whole life 482 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:50,040 expressed her loving God with her whole heart, soul, mind and 483 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,480 strength. She loves God with all that she 484 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:59,360 is and all that she has. You are what you love. 485 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:06,600 If you love self above God, you'll live for yourself and 486 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:11,560 other people will pay the price for your selfishness. 487 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:18,520 If you love God above self, you'll live for God, and other 488 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:22,600 people will benefit from your selfless giving. 489 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:27,240 Jesus contrast between the scribes and the poor widow 490 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,960 highlights the most fundamental divide between human beings. 491 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,640 Either you love self above God, or you love God above self. 492 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:42,720 Augustine put this point so powerfully 1600 years ago in his 493 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:46,440 work City of God that even though I have already quoted 494 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:49,080 this passage from this very pulpit, I'm going to do it 495 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:52,440 again. Nobody said it better, and it's 496 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:57,720 a crucial point. Accordingly, 2 cities have been 497 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:02,160 formed by two loves. The earthly by the love of self, 498 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:06,560 even to the contempt of God. The heavenly by the love of God, 499 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:11,720 even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories 500 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:14,880 in itself, the latter in the Lord. 501 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:22,000 For the one seeks glory from men, but the greatest glory of 502 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,680 the other is God, the witness of conscience. 503 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,440 The one lifts up its head in its own glory. 504 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:34,000 The other says to its God, Thou art my glory and the lifter up 505 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,000 of mine head. That's the choice that confronts 506 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,440 you this morning. Will you love self to the 507 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:45,880 contempt of God, or will you love God to the contempt of 508 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,880 self? Will you devote your heart to 509 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,920 self or God? To help us apply the passage 510 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:57,120 like we did in the first point on a highlight, three features 511 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:00,640 of a heart devoted to God that Jesus teaching about the widow 512 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:06,920 shows us #1 generosity. Apart from sort of cultural 513 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:08,679 background knowledge. You know, we assume this woman 514 00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:11,000 is Jewish. We only know three things about 515 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,520 her. One, she's a widow. 2 she's 516 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:21,159 poor. 3 She gave God everything she had. 517 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:25,840 A heart devoted to God will be a generous heart. 518 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:29,639 A heart devoted to God knows that everything you have is from 519 00:34:29,639 --> 00:34:33,080 God, and so a heart devoted to God will be eager to give back 520 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:37,360 to God and to give to others for God's sake. 521 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,480 This certainly applies to money, and one of its most important 522 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,400 tests is money, and it also extends far beyond money. 523 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,960 When it comes to applying the woman's example in this passage, 524 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:53,520 we need to avoid 2 extremes. 1 extreme would be to say that 525 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:57,360 this woman is a model for all believers at all times in all 526 00:34:57,360 --> 00:34:59,680 places. But that's clearly not true. 527 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:05,200 Jesus does make an example of her, but he doesn't say that all 528 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:08,680 his followers must always give up all that they have to live 529 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,280 on. For one thing, this woman had no 530 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,040 dependence. She was not responsible to 531 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:17,120 provide for anyone else. She could depend on God more 532 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,680 directly in some sense because she didn't have others depending 533 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,120 on her. So this verse is not a 534 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,520 comprehensive one verse theology of stewardship. 535 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:35,280 But another extreme would be refusing to let the passage 536 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:43,120 challenge us and shake us up. Jesus does hold up an extreme 537 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:50,960 act of generosity as an example. We want to be careful not to let 538 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:54,280 prudence speak louder than Jesus. 539 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:58,720 This kind of radical generosity is not a required rule for every 540 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:02,120 believer, but it is an example that Jesus holds up of what it 541 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:04,080 means to dedicate yourself completely to him. 542 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,120 We should let that challenge us. There should be times when we 543 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:10,200 give in ways that don't make sense to the world, that we give 544 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,720 in ways that don't make economic sense. 545 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:16,840 We give in ways that show we are totally dependent on God and not 546 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:21,960 on our bank accounts. More practically, to think about 547 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:25,480 giving as Christians giving money, one good place to start 548 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:29,440 is Galatians 66. Paul says the one who is taught 549 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,760 the Word should share all good things with the one who teaches. 550 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:35,120 There's a principle of reciprocity here. 551 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:38,240 Every church member receives spiritual benefit from the 552 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:41,440 church, which means that every church member is responsible to 553 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:43,800 help sustain and support the church. 554 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,040 Now, that obligation doesn't land on every member in the same 555 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,160 way. You might be a college student 556 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:52,960 and have literally no income. If you have literally no income, 557 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:55,680 I would not expect you to give from the income that you do not 558 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,640 have. You might be retired living on a 559 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,120 small fixed income, which imposes certain challenges and 560 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,920 constraints. But you should ask yourself, how 561 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,000 can I fulfill what Paul teaches in Galatians 6/6? 562 00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:13,040 What does it mean for my money? What does it mean for my other 563 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,480 resources? The Bible doesn't lay an 564 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:19,000 obligation on Christians to give a certain percent of our income 565 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,880 to the church, but it does command us to give regularly, 566 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:25,280 cheerfully, proportionately, and sacrificially. 567 00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:28,160 You can hear those principles in the following passages. 568 00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:33,400 First Corinthians 16 Two, on the first day of each week each of 569 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:35,440 you is to put something aside and store it up as he may 570 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,200 prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 2nd 571 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,560 Corinthians 8 Two to three in a severe test of affliction. 572 00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:47,640 Their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed 573 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,520 in a wealth of generosity on their part, for they gave 574 00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:54,600 according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their 575 00:37:54,600 --> 00:38:00,640 means of their own accord. 2nd Corinthians 9 seven. 576 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,440 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not 577 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:10,680 reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 578 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:15,280 Jesus teaches that what matters far more than the amount you 579 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:20,120 give is what that amount says about your heart, what it says 580 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:23,160 about your devotion to God. The kind of giving Jesus wants 581 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,760 is an expression of your devotion to him and trust in Him 582 00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:30,440 and love for Him. Giving money should be an 583 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:34,040 expression of giving yourself to God. 584 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:38,360 As Paul says in Second Corinthians 12/14, I will not be 585 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:42,280 a burden, for I seek not what is yours, but you. 586 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:47,360 God seeks not what is yours, but you, and you show that you are 587 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,320 devoted to Him by what you do with what is yours. 588 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:53,840 Are you giving sacrificially and cheerfully? 589 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:57,920 That's a far more important question than how much. 590 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:01,320 But giving money is only one of the ways we give. 591 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:05,600 We give not only treasure, but time and talents. 592 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,120 This passage also has a lot to teach us about how to use all of 593 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,880 our gifts generously to glorify God and benefit others. 594 00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:17,480 So still on this theme of generosity, one of the most 595 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:23,840 common temptations regarding spiritual gifts is to despise 596 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:28,280 your own. To think that your gifts don't 597 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,400 amount to much. They don't seem important or 598 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:34,480 impressive. Doesn't seem like God has given 599 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:37,320 you anything big or flashy or notable to do. 600 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:41,440 Brothers and sisters, service isn't a race. 601 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:49,320 Service isn't a competition. There are no church Olympics, no 602 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:54,400 gold, silver and bronze. Your job isn't to rank your own 603 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:57,000 gifts compared to the size or shape of others gifts. 604 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:00,600 Your job is to use your gifts for God's glory and other 605 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,480 people's good. Your job isn't to judge your 606 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:08,760 gifts, but to give them. What does Jesus say? 607 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:12,320 Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all 608 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:14,400 those. God doesn't care how big or 609 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:17,080 small your gift is. He's the one who's given it. 610 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,960 He's the one who's decided how big or small it is. 611 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:24,720 And it doesn't matter. What he does care about is that 612 00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:29,680 you give all of that gift. In service to him and others. 613 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:36,320 Brothers and sisters, comparing your gifts to others and then 614 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:39,880 deciding that they somehow aren't worth using is a great 615 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:44,520 way to let Satan sideline you from doing any spiritual good. 616 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:51,400 The simple meal served in a messy house to welcome someone 617 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:56,040 new into the church is more than a Michelin star caliber meal 618 00:40:56,040 --> 00:41:00,960 served to impress. The short, simple, heartfelt 619 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:05,120 prayer with someone right after the service is more than a 620 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:08,320 theological treatise delivered off the top of your head with 621 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:10,800 perfect accuracy and 0 compassion. 622 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:18,760 Sometimes the things we're tempted to think are nothing are 623 00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:21,440 more than the thing you're comparing it to. 624 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:27,600 Kids in the congregation, Remember that Jesus cares not 625 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:31,360 about how much you give, but that you give him all you have. 626 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:33,440 What can you give to Jesus today? 627 00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:39,200 What can you give to someone else for Jesus's sake? 628 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:42,800 A heart devoted to God will be a generous heart, generous with 629 00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:45,120 money and generous with everything else God has given 630 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:48,600 you. Second dependence. 631 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,920 Dependence. This poor widow gave all that 632 00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:56,160 she had to live on. Who did you have to depend on? 633 00:41:56,600 --> 00:42:01,640 Not family, no rich friends, no bank account or 4O1K. 634 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,680 So who did she depend on? Got alone? 635 00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:09,200 That's impressive. That's something marvelous and 636 00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:13,680 miraculous. What does Jesus find impressive? 637 00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:18,360 Not wealth, not status, not power, but faith. 638 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:23,000 Not impressive gifts or influence, but faith. 639 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:26,760 The scribes had knowledge, They had standing, They had 640 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:29,320 impressive appearances. This woman had nothing. 641 00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:32,760 But Jesus saw in her what no one else did. 642 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:36,080 He saw utter dependence. He saw radical faith. 643 00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:40,080 He saw a woman free from the world's clutches and a woman who 644 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:43,960 had power that nothing in the world could give her or take 645 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:50,000 away from her. If you become a Christian in 646 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:54,360 order to advance in the world, then you will throw away your 647 00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:58,120 Christianity as soon as it stops advancing you in the world. 648 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:04,760 But this woman was clinging to God alone by faith, when she had 649 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:12,960 nothing and no one else. Third commitment, Commitment. 650 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:16,440 This poor widow was totally committed to God. 651 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:20,560 She was utterly devoted to Him. She held nothing back. 652 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:25,560 She kept nothing for herself. She embodied the whole sold 653 00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:28,480 commitment that the Great Commandment calls us to. 654 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:30,800 She gave all that she had to live on. 655 00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:33,960 She gave literally her whole life. 656 00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:37,200 How can you live out that kind of commitment to God? 657 00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:41,440 It's only by trusting the God who is totally committed to you. 658 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:44,080 How can you give God your whole life? 659 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:48,760 Only by trusting the God who gave his life for you. 660 00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:53,040 God has given us everything we have and everything we are. 661 00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:55,440 He's our creator, He sustains us. 662 00:43:55,600 --> 00:44:00,800 He makes your heart beat every time, but the way we've 663 00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:04,800 responded to Him is as if we're self creators, as if we've done 664 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:07,680 this all for ourselves. We've made ourselves, we've made 665 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:09,840 everything we need to live on. And so we can do whatever we 666 00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:11,680 want with it. We can take all the credit for 667 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:13,160 it. We can do anything we want with 668 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:15,800 our lives, our bodies. And God can't really tell us 669 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:17,520 what to do or have anything to say about it. 670 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:20,320 That's the essence of sin. Putting self in the place of 671 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,800 God, living how you want instead of how God wants you to and 672 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:28,600 giving back no thanks to God. Seeking to live independently 673 00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:31,560 from God. That's spitting in God's face. 674 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:35,320 It's rejecting His goodness. It deserves His wrath. 675 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:39,480 And He does promise that he will punish in eternity all those who 676 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:44,160 persist in rejecting Him. And yet, on top of his 677 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:47,240 astounding generosity and giving us life itself, on top of his 678 00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:50,680 astounding generosity and giving us all that we have, He sent 679 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:54,400 Jesus into the world to give his life, to give all that he had to 680 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:58,360 pay for our sin, to redeem us from sin, to ransom us from sin, 681 00:44:58,360 --> 00:45:02,160 so that anyone who believes is instantly reconciled to God. 682 00:45:02,720 --> 00:45:05,520 Jesus proved to be accomplished on the cross by rising from the 683 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:10,320 dead on the third day, defeating death, conquering the grave, 684 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:12,920 entering into a whole new glorified life so that all who 685 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,120 believe in Him will experience that glory too. 686 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:23,320 You cannot outgive Jesus. You cannot be more generous than 687 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,040 Jesus. The only way to come, to start 688 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:29,240 to live this kind of life of devotion to God, this kind of 689 00:45:29,240 --> 00:45:34,280 life of generosity, is by first receiving the infinite gift that 690 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:38,320 is Christ himself. The only way to be generous from 691 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:42,800 the heart is to know the God who's been infinitely generous 692 00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:45,360 toward you. If you've never turned from sin 693 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:48,960 and trusted in Jesus, believe in Him today. 694 00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:54,800 One test of your commitment to God is how you handle 695 00:45:54,800 --> 00:46:00,680 disappointment now, how you handle loss, how you handle 696 00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:05,960 going without. Does your commitment to God rise 697 00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:10,480 and fall depending on how much he's giving you? 698 00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:15,080 Think of all that This woman was not receiving. 699 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:20,280 No wealth, no help, no support, and yet she gave God all she 700 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:22,240 had. Jesus sees that. 701 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:25,280 Jesus celebrates that. No one else notices her. 702 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:29,040 But Jesus does. So often. 703 00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:35,680 The Acts that most demonstrate your devotion to God are acts 704 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:42,040 that no one else sees. You don't get any reward for 705 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:48,680 them now. No praise, no recognition, no 706 00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:51,320 status boost to feed your Vainglory. 707 00:46:52,400 --> 00:47:00,160 No one sees, no one cares. No one except God. 708 00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:08,800 What did Hagar name God? The God who sees God sees. 709 00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:13,840 God cares. God is keeping perfect records. 710 00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:19,240 And on the last day, God will do for every single one of His 711 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:22,960 people what Jesus does for this woman. 712 00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:30,000 Now, just as Jesus commends her now, if you trust in Jesus, so 713 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:37,640 will God commend you. Then God sees your hidden 714 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:45,800 devotion, and on the last day He will display and reward your 715 00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:51,240 hidden devotion, as Paul proclaims in First Corinthians 716 00:47:51,240 --> 00:47:53,680 4-5. Therefore, do not pronounce 717 00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:57,240 judgement before the time before the Lord comes, who will bring 718 00:47:57,240 --> 00:47:59,840 to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose 719 00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:03,240 the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his 720 00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:07,800 commendation from God. Part of your reward on that day 721 00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:10,160 will be God himself commending you. 722 00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:15,440 So devote yourself to God now. Devote your heart to God now. 723 00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:19,800 If you're overlooked, if you're unrewarded, if no one sees and 724 00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:25,760 no one cares, you're simply storing up a greater weight of 725 00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:32,520 glory for them. What's the difference between a 726 00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:35,560 hypocrite and a real follower of Christ? 727 00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:39,320 The hypocrite covers up their failures. 728 00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:43,640 The real Christian confesses their failures to God and 729 00:48:43,640 --> 00:48:46,880 others. The hypocrite cares more about 730 00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:49,200 what people think than what God thinks. 731 00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:54,320 The real Christian cares more about what God thinks than what 732 00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:59,560 people think. The hypocrite protects their 733 00:48:59,560 --> 00:49:03,520 image with no concern for spiritual progress. 734 00:49:04,440 --> 00:49:10,400 The real Christian pursues spiritual progress with no 735 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:16,560 concern for their image. No Christian is perfect, but 736 00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:21,480 every real Christian is really trying to become more like 737 00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:23,840 Christ. Why do that? 738 00:49:25,560 --> 00:49:28,560 Because you love him more than you love yourself. 739 00:49:30,720 --> 00:49:35,600 Why do that? Because he's your perfect life. 740 00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:41,240 He's your Prince of Peace. Let's pray now together. 741 00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:57,400 Heavenly Father, we thank you for your astounding devotion to 742 00:49:57,400 --> 00:50:02,160 us who don't deserve it. We thank you for your generosity 743 00:50:02,160 --> 00:50:05,640 to us when we've deserved the opposite. 744 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:09,120 Father, we pray for all of us who trust in Jesus, that we 745 00:50:09,120 --> 00:50:12,320 would really seek real devotion to Him. 746 00:50:13,440 --> 00:50:16,720 That our lives, our bank accounts, how we use our time, 747 00:50:16,720 --> 00:50:19,080 and our gifts would all reflect love for you and devotion to 748 00:50:19,080 --> 00:50:21,680 you. Pray for those who don't know 749 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:25,880 Jesus that they would be melted in their heart by His generosity 750 00:50:26,720 --> 00:50:28,320 and entrust themselves completely to Him. 751 00:50:29,360 --> 00:50:31,640 We pray in Jesus name, Amen.