Invitation, Praises, Prayer Concerns: Father in Heaven, creator of…everything! Lord today we humbly come before you asking for forgiveness and mercy for missing the mark that you have set for our lives. Please teach us to be more like your Son and our savoir Jesus our Lord. In His heavenly name Father,
Amen!
Message:Why the Widow’s Mite Was Rite!
Today I want to talk about how our God is active and robust, and most importantly for me, a real part of our lives. That might be the most important thing is say in this message, because we often either take God for granted, ignore his Majesty, or some of us, even begin to doubt His existence and purpose in our lives. All due to our being fallen people in a fallen world.
In fact, because we are sinners at heart, it becomes so so easy some times to get lost in our thoughts, momentarily or even long-term missing in actually being a part of the here and now, that we even go missing our relationships. Our status with other people and even God can get placed on hold so easily at times that it seems as if we are MIAs on autopilot.
What does any of this have to do with an old Widow, placing all she had into the offering for her Lord? As so often over the last six years that I have been honored to give the Sunday morning messages to you, the crux of the message today is attitude. You see, … it’s not enough to acknowledge God’s existence in our world and lives (even the demons of Hell know that)! We must also be in the business of working with the Lord on our attitudes. How we process information, the way we go about adversity, and the ways we behave in our dealings with God, and other people. How we forgive!
For me, the Widow’s story is an insightful door opener that God uses. It provides access to a much larger view of the incredible vista for understanding of our lives. Our thought processes or “attitudes” are an important part of that landscape in which we live in. And it all begins with recognizing who God is, the importance of the other people in our lives to our Lord, and then beginning to understand, what we are not. (Quote Mike Tyson; When I thought I was someone, I was always mad, now that I know I am nothing, I am happy)
When I have begun to prioritize important stuff in my life in step with how God views important things, I am now in a much better position to not only read and comprehend scripture, God actually is speaking and we are actually receiving His messages. For reference, please let me return to today’s Call to Worship reading from Psalm 99. It is the last of the enthronement Psalms or simply put, Psalms that explain the majesty of God. Now Psalm 99;
1 The Lord reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
*Interrupting the Psalmist to say; that this Psalm is stating for all to hear that our God is active and an integral part of the activities of this world in which we live. By the way, only God can establish equity, because at the end of the day, only God is always right. When people play God, they often if not always do the opposite of what was intended as a good deed. Verse 5;
5 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 Lord our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Yes, God is creator of all, and I am nothing. That is what this Psalm tells me, and yet…it also says that He provides. God loves us in spite of us. Because the Lord is God, He will do wonderous things in our lives and indeed is doing amazing things all the live long day.
We get to witness and testify to those moment-by-moment miracles of God when we are not filtering out his marvelous activities with the self-serving, empty, lost thoughts of a fallen people. That’s why our hearts must be of God’s agenda and not our own preconceived notions of God, but actually listening and then doing His will.
But what happens when we are filtering out what God is saying and doing in our lives? Who does God turn to when we are not available or listening to His Holy Spirit? The answer in short is… anyone God chooses. Our Lord is so incredibly advanced beyond our littleness that God can “will” someone who doesn’t even believe in Him, and shepherd that person into the activities that lead to the outcomes that God wants. All while giving that person their own free will at the same time.
Case in point, in the Old Testament we are shown how Israel, God’s own family, chose to go their own way. Israel was not available to God’s will, and so they sinned on a colossal scale and earned God’s wrath and more. First the Lord sends Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to clean house in Israel and carry God’s children off into captivity.
Then God picks yet another non believer Cyrus the Great and Persa to restore His children back to their promised land after a seventy-year time out. God will even call this non believer “His Anointed”. For confirmation of this, please let me read to you Isaiah 45:1-13;
1“This is what the Lord says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
*Interrupting Isaiah to add this: Cyrus came out of really nowhere (the mountains of Media), to become the founder of the first world class empire in world history. All to show God is God. That requires some deep thinking on all our parts. All to prove Himself to His beloved people…Israel! Now the Lord through Isaiah will expand on speaking of the reality that is indeed God at verse 7;
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
**And now we all should make what God says personal as we listen on;
9 “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,
those who are nothing but potsherds
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’
11 “This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 It is I who made the earth
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts.
***I interrupt once more to say; God will once again emphasize that he is lifting up this non believer to do His bidding in verse 13;
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,
says the Lord Almighty.”
That’s what happens when we are not available to listening to what God is saying. The Lord will find someone else to bless and they will indeed be blessed by serving the Lord. God will choose who He will choose, and hopefully give each of us a chance to learn from our missing the mark by observing God in action.
That’s why being in a real and personal relationship in and with our God and His family are so critical to not only living the good life, but an informed life. Deeper understanding and real maturity in knowing the world existing around your faithwalk. For only God can truly open our eyes to the bigger picture and the nuances of the Lord’s unfolding plans for us in life.
And if you thought God choosing Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus, Babylon or Persa, were one offs from the Old Testament, here is a passage from Matthew full of irony for thought. Reading from Matthew 22:15-22;
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
In the past, I always focused on this passage and referenced it for good Christian citizenship. And that is a proper way to go, but there is more there than meets the eye. Simply put, God anointed even horrid pieces of work like the leaders of Rome for God’s plans without the need for consulting the pottery in the shop (you and me). God did this through out history, and He is doing it today.
Whether it be political in our society and communities, or even in future leadership in this Congregation, there will be people raised up that you would never have thought God would choose to serve. I’m sure there have been plenty who had those kinds of thoughts of irony pertaining to my own service in the past. It seems that God has one heck of a sense of humor at times. But giving to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s, and giving to the Lord what he asks of you, is a way of life and discernment that God has called all of us to.
And that is how I would like to wrap up today’s message by tying taxes, obedience, and the faith of an old Widow giving God her all together this morning. First today’s Message reading, one more time. Mark 12:41-44;
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
First, the people were giving by throwing their money into brass collectors (wide at the bottom and narrow at the top making theft a hard proposition), and they looked like inverted horns standing up. When money was thrown in they made a classical Las Vegas Cassino kind of sound. Those putting on a show of their wealth would space out the giving into a long continuous sound of slots falling, hence they were called blowing their own horns. Some of the richer could do a whole cantata of: I love me!
The Widow’s mite was also called a lepton, the smallest Jewish coin in the New Testament and worth about 1/64th of a denarius, which was considered a day’s wage. Those two copper coins were all she had, and it represents her loving God with all she had.
We are also called to have that same mindset with our Lord, and yet in today’s world and with your abilities, you are called for even more. Yes, you are called by God to love Him with all you have and to love your neighbor as yourself, and then to use the discernment that He gives you to do both not only in good faith, but in real harmony in and with God’s plans.
In the future, you will have new Pastors and church leaders who you might never have considered. He may, with His sense of humor, send you someone opposite of what you think you want right now, but I am certain it will be who you need. That person or people in your future will be as good as you let them be in your life. Let God lead and you follow, and with Him driving the Bus, you won’t have to worry about being thrown under it, unless you need it.
Let your discernment on how things are going in the future be based on some basic Christian tenants;
- Are things transparent? If your leadership and pastor are open in all things, you will all be able to walk forward humbly in harmony together.
- Using the Bible as the reference mark without cherry-picking answers in and for church.
- Are they open in finances? If God is calling you to give, He is calling your leadership to account for every penny (or mite)!
- If you experience closed meetings or secret dealings, ask questions.
- Does your leadership act entitled to their position?
- Are they arrogant?
- Do they respond to your questions and needs?
- Do they overlord over others or are they servants, placing others first?
- Do they gossip?
- Do they know scripture, and do you?
Failure on any of these areas of consideration must raise flags in your heart. Pray for God to lead your way in the future not only your faithwalk, but in the health of this church.
Always pray for your leaders, not to do as you want, but as God calls them to serve. In the end, these proactive faith-based actions will serve God’s people as they move forward. And will become a way of life for you as you prove the Widow’s Mite, Was a R-I-T-E. A formal and deeply sacred… sacramental service to God as a way of life.
Amen!
Benediction Psalm 23…