iMite Series: Sermon 1 of 4
Introduction:
A The Butterball Turkey company set up a hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys. One woman called to inquire about cooking a turkey that had been in her freezer for 23 years.
The operator told her it might be safe if the freezer had been kept below 0 degrees the entire time. But the operator warned the woman that, even if it were safe, the flavor had probably deteriorated, and she wouldn’t recommend eating it.
The caller replied, “That’s what we thought. We’ll just give it to the church.”
1 Why does that strike us as funny? She was consecrating that Turkey to God, wasn’t she? What she was offering was still good – wasn’t it??? BUT tho’ it may have been “consecrated”… though it still was “good,” it wasn’t going to taste good or smell good.
a Jesus is not watching to see if rich people give what their supposed to, poor what they supposed to . . . heart.
b
B Mark 12.41-42; Luke 21.1-4
1 He had just undressed the scribes for fleecing the people and then He sees the widow woman give her two mites.
a Jesus knew about her pain, struggle, need, emotional burden, financial crisis, worry . . . looking “how” she gave.
b He knows every penny I have and how I lay it out!
2 Everything we have, are belongs to God and we’re simply stewards over it.
a Trials become teachable moments; problems become possibilities.
b Sorrows find comfort; our needs become His supply.
c Ps. 37.25
I Jesus watches “how” people give, not “how much.”
A In the Temple there were 13 different chests that lined three sides of the “Court of Women” to drop offerings.
1 The first 9 chests were for offerings that were legally due by worshipers.
a The first two were for yearly tribute paid to the Temple.
aa (3) for turtle dove, (4) for pigeons
bb (5) for wood, (6) incense, (7) golden vessels.
cc (8 & 9) for left over money from burnt-offerings.
b 10-13 were for contributions (voluntarily) beyond the tithe (what was legally due) from worshipers. These are thought where Jesus was watching the woman give her contributions of two mites.
2 People (wealthy & poor) had been coming in all day giving their tithes & offerings.
a Wealthy folks would come and dump their offerings in the metal chests (w/ narrow top and wide bottom, shaped like a trumpet; called “trumpets” in Talmud) and the heavier coins made a lot of noise.
aa Matt. 6.2, describes the sound of wealthy giving.
bb Loud, attention grabbing, every eye in the house noticed!
b In all that noise, Jesus notices a frail widow woman, all by herself, who drops in two mites.
aa Smallest coin Jews used. 1/64 of a Dinarius (Days wages)
bb Fraction of Penny in reality: We can imagine a penny!
cc She drops them in the trumpet and hardly makes a sound. . .probably went unnoticed by everyone else . . . Jesus noticed.
3 Jesus noticed how she gave what she gave.
a He noticed how her life was.
aa Widow: No one to take care of her, sustain her.
bb Alone: “a widow” by herself.
cc Poor: Robe is in tatters, sandals worn thin, head covering is faded, She’s got two pennies. (Her last meal)
b Her condition is known and noticed by Jesus.
4 Jesus points out to His disciples that the widow had absolutely nothing left after she gave those two mites.
a It was what she left after she gave that determined the value of her offering.
b If I would have been there, I probably would have tried to talk her out of giving everything she had!
aa “Sweetie, God understand you have much.”
bb “Honey, why don’t you just give one.”
c Giving everything doesn’t make sense, reasonable, logical.
B The poor widow was operating out of faith (Not logic, rational, reason.)
1 Faith was the only way she could give! (Faith that God would supply all her needs.)
a She believed the same God who let her husband die; let her become destitute was still merciful.
aa He was still worthy of honor, praise, worship, obedience, offering.
bb He still loved her, had a purpose for her life.
b She gave out of faith!
2 She became 100%, totally dependant on God when she dropped those two mites in the chest.
a If she was going to eat, He’d have to provide.
b If she was going to have lights, He’d have to provide.
c If she was going to have clothes, He’d...
C
1 It is our faith that sustains us when we’re alone, poor, tried, tempted, forsaken, beat up, fed up, laid up, down and out.
a It is our faith that keeps us going . . . not logic, reason, rational.
b Lam. 3.22-23
2 Have we ever had to totally dependent on God?
a If we’ve never known incredible sacrifice, we’ll never know what it means to be totally dependent on Him.
b Do not know what it means to be dependent on God, we do not know what it means to be a disciple.
c Luke 14.33
3 Her offering got Jesus’ attention.
a Wasn’t much (1/64 of denarius)
b Wasn’t valuable.
c He saw the motive of her heart.
aa She believed in God’s work.
bb She gave because she loved.
4 You may expect me to preach “give until it hurts” or “give everything”, I’m not going to though.
a This message, “Give even though it hurts.”
b 2 Cor. 8.2,12
Invitation:
A There is a popular illustration on giving, regarding a little boy and his sister. The sister needs a blood transfusion to live, and her little brother is the most suitable donor of her rare blood type.
1 As he lays down on the stretcher beside his unconscious sister, the nurse inserts the needle that will give his sister the life giving blood she needs.
a A frightful experience for a little boy to say the least, but he never whimpers. After a few moments, the color in his Sisters face returns to a rosy red, as her blood supply is replenished and her situation pulls out of the critical stage.
b The little brothers face however is ashened and worried. The doctor comes in, checks his sisters pulse and blood pressure and announces that she will be fine.
c The little brother breathes a sigh of relief knowing that his sister will be fine, but still has a sullen look on his face. He turns to the doctor and asks. Doctor, how long until I die?
d The doctor realizing the what the little boy has been thinking now has a tear in his eye. "Your not going to die" You will be up and fine in about an hour.
2 The little boy thought that he had been asked to give all of his blood to his sister, and that he would die in the process. Yet he gave just the same.
a Expecting nothing in return, in fact expecting that he would die, making the ultimate sacrifice, and he was willing to do it , perhaps without a smile on his face, but certainly a smile in his heart.
b That is what pleases God. To give, sacrificially, without expecting something in return, and with a smile on our face or in our heart.
c Are you pleasing God with your giving?
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Mike Fogerson
