She Gave All…
Mark 12:41-44
Introduction:
In this passage, Mark introduces us to a poor widow and the well-to-do crowd of her day.
As Jesus watched, He noticed the trueness of the hearts of the people as they gave their offerings.
Now do not get antsy, because this message is not about tithing…however, every believer must know that tithing is just a natural process for a believer.
A personal side note at this time from me -- You cannot be a true and faithful follower of Jesus and not adhere to the “principles of tithing.”
I have always said, “How can you afford not to tithe?”
Let us move on!
The purpose for the record of this story is to show that “one must be willing to give all to the Lord.”
Not only monetarily speaking, but with our service as well.
You see, Jesus pointed out in our text that it did not matter what the others gave…because they were able to do so, and should have.
The well-to-do or scribes dealt with issues of their own -- they were “ego” driven.
As one commentary stated, “Inwardly they were greedy and insincere. They robbed widows of property and livelihood in order to enrich themselves, pretending the money was for the Lord.”
Nevertheless, the case in point is that this poor widow gave of “all she had.”
She gave all. She jeopardized her livelihood to be obedient to the Lord’s word.
It truly is more of a blessing to give than it is to receive.
Acts 20:35 records the words of Jesus about the matter of giving.
Read with me -- “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” KJV
It is interesting to note that we will not find these words of Jesus in any of the Gospels.
However, they represent much of His teaching.
The Bible does remind us that God loves a cheerful giver.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 KJV
You know, I do not guess we can really preach this message without some of the “tithing principle” coming through. Can we?
She gave all. What does this imply?
It implies a measure of faith that supersedes the wealth of the others of the story.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
In Luke, Jesus said, “Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.” Luke 21: 3-4 KJV
Poverty had affected her life, but she gave all she had.
Oh, do we not see the truth of God’s Word--nothing should stand in our way of giving to the Lord--not even our poverty.
I am reminded yet of another scripture, that says it all -- “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 KJV
Did God let the widow go hungry? Did the widow lose her home? Did the widow get annoying calls from bill collectors?
I do not think so! Why? Because God knew her heart and He blessed her beyond measure.
How do you know He did, Bro. Curt?
Sure, the Bible does not tell us…but I just know that God would reward her for her faithfulness.
Let us go back to the Old Testament for a few moments.
Turn to 1 Kings 17:8ff. (Page 432)
In this story, we find the account of another poor widow and her son.
Destitute of food to the point of starvation, God worked a miracle for a display of faith.
She gave all…her last cup of meal and her last teaspoon of oil in order that God’s prophet might be fed.
The result was remarkable... the barrel never ran empty again nor did the oil run dry.
In an attitude of faith and obedience, she obliged the man of God’s request.
Moreover, in verse 16 we have these words.
“And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which He spake by Elijah.” KJV
You see you cannot out do God!
The widow gave all she had. Did she leave the temple with second thoughts?
Did she think “What have I done? I have given all that I have…there’s nothing left to live on!”
We don’t hear that do we? Why? I know we don’t see it, but faith was the key to her actions. I believe it.
Illustration: God had to show me something one day. I was somewhere in a church meeting or some conference when they took an offering. Have you ever been somewhere where they suddenly announce an offering? You kind of think in your mind, “Do I have any money on me? So I looked in my wallet and to my surprise, I had a $20.00 bill. I thought I cannot give that much and closed my wallet up. It was as if I heard the Lord say to me, “You got a $20.00 don’t you? Give it!” SO I did!
Did God bless me with a $100.00? Probably not, but eventually it came back more than I had actually given. Maybe not in a monetary blessing but nonetheless a blessing of some sort.
No other word is given to us about the widow as far as I know. Therefore, the story ends there.
What are the spiritual applications from this story for us today?
Let me share with you what I think we can learn from this.
Now I do not know your financial position in this world, but I can about guarantee you that if you are faithful to God He will be faithful in return to you.
I think that is what Matthew 6:24 is saying to us.
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
The widow did not love her money so much that she hoarded it and kept it for her self…she gave all.
What do we need to see today?
I. There is a joy in serving Jesus with every thing we have.
It is a pleasure to serve Jesus. Is it not?
Everything we have is just on loan to us.
We are required to be “good stewards.”
I think the widow simply magnifies this for us…she gave with a joyful heart because she gave all.
She could have kept one mite for herself, but she chose to give it all.
II. Giving is reciprocating our love to and for God.
Giving is an act of love. When you give, you are simply showing God that you are thankful for His blessing upon you.
If we love God, we will love to give.
God does not bully us into giving. He simply places the want to in our hearts.
The widow did not have to give at all…but she chose to give all.
Now God does not ask us to give every penny we have to Him. He simply requires a small portion. Oh, by the way it’s called a tithe. I had to bring that up again, didn’t I?
Sure, God does not need anything He already has it all.
He just allows us to be on the end of getting a blessing.
However, God’s Word does say something about “robbing Him.”
The widow could have held back and might have robbed God in a way.
When we fail to give God that which is rightfully His, we in a sense rob Him.
That is why Malachi reminds us that if we want a blessing we need to bring our offerings into the storehouse.
Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
I am not preaching a theology of “give to get.”
I am preaching be faithful to God and He will bless beyond your comprehension.
I know because I have seen Him at work in our lives.
It had to come from Him and no other place.
III. Giving helps advance the Kingdom of God.
God calls us to be missionaries.
God has placed that call upon our lives as the body of Christ.
It came with the “Go” imperative in Matthew 28:19-20.
Our giving to the cause of Christ not only keeps the mission going here at South Fork, but it extends to our associational missions, state missions, and foreign missions.
One thing that I hope for this church is that we will catch the vision for being more “mission minded.”
I do not know what the church is giving in accordance with our income, but if we are not at least meeting the criteria of 10%, we are missing the mission boat.
A church that will give will in turn receive blessings from the Lord.
If we are not giving according to the “principles of the tithe”, let us make sure we are. Why?
I want God to open up the windows and pour out a blessing upon us that we cannot hold.
Now I am not being greedy, I am being realistic according to His Word…and I believe His word.
For this message not be about tithing it sure has had enough about the tithe in it.
Let me close by saying…Let us be like the widow…let us sacrifice for the Lord.
After all, you cannot out give Him anyway!
Today you will have to examine your own life to see if you are like the widow in that you are willing to “give all to God.”
Giving all is not just about money, it is about your time and your talents as well.
Let God bless you…after all He wants to do it!
Let me close with a quote from the Believer’s Bible Commentary.
“Amazing how we can approve the widow’s action and agree with the Savior’s verdict without imitating her example! If we really believed what we say we believe, we would do exactly what she did. Her gift expressed her conviction that all belonged to the Lord, that He was worthy all, that He must have all. This is the life of faith--plunging all into the work of God now and trusting Him for the future. Did He not promise to provide for those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?
(C)2007 by Curtis G. Brock. Use is permitted as long as credit is given to contributor.
