The Widow’s Coins

How many of y'all been watching a lot of football lately?

How many of you saw the Eagles play last week against the Rams?

! Did anybody see that game?

If you did, you probably didn't forget it.

If you didn't, you missed out on something.

How many of you are Eagles fans and dare to raise your hand as an Eagles fan down here?

Listen, I am by no means an Eagles fan and they were going to lose.

The Rams were going to beat them and I was happy about it.

Unfortunately, the game goes until there are zeros on the clock.

And let me tell you, you know what I left.

This little group down here is laughing.

Thank you, Larry.

Because I always leave this thing down there.

Let me tell you, the game goes until the very final play.

And you know what happened on the final play?

The Rams were kicking a field goal to win the game.

It wasn't even that long of a field goal.

They were going to win the game.

If you don't know what a field goal is, just tune this part out for a minute.

We'll get to the good stuff in just a second.

But this is Texas and probably most of you know what a field goal is.

Listen, it's an easy kick, all right?

Especially from where they were lined up.

Not all field goals are easy.

But this one was going to work.

The Rams were going to win.

And the Eagles blocked it.

This team like did a deal with the devil or something.

I don't know how they keep winning.

Makes me mad.

Anyway, more likely the Cowboys probably did a deal with the devil and now they're paying for it.

I don't know.

Look, the truth is sometimes, and coaches will tell you, the last play of the game matters even more than the first play.

You got to keep playing all the way through the whistle.

Anybody know what that means?

Play through the whistle?

You got to keep going until it's over.

Sometimes what happens at the very end is just as or more important than anything that happened before.

So, we've been talking about generosity.

And several weeks back, we started working on this together.

Let's kick off our Sunday sermon again with this call and response.

Ready?

I say the black.

You say the red.

God gives.

We give back.

How do we give back?

When it's open, I've still.

That's right.

And these are principles that we draw from Jesus' teaching on generosity.

Today, we're going to look at an example called the widow's coins.

The widow's coins.

Would you take your Bible and turn to Mark chapter 12, verse 41?

Mark 12:41

As you're turning there, we're thinking about the last play, the end, what happens right before it's all over.

So, let's look at what Jesus did as his final play, so to speak, before he started his passion week, in which he was crucified,

willingly laid down his life for all of you and for me.

What was the last thing he did in his public ministry, as abbreviated, as short as that was on this earth?

About 33 and a half years, it seems.

What was the last thing he did?

We're going to look at it.

Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

You'd think that this would be some big headliner miracle, that they'd all be writing about it in the papers the next day.

Jesus fed 5,000.

This time, he's feeding 10,000.

Jesus raised five guys from the dead.

He could do anything.

What did he choose to do as his final moment of public ministry on this earth?

For his last play of the game, so to speak, he points us to a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.

And he teaches us that that's what greatness looks like.

Let's look at Mark chapter 12, verse 41.

Mark 12:41

Mark 12, 41.

I'm reading out of the Christian Standard Bible.

It should be very similar to what you're reading.

Sitting across from the temple, the temple treasury,

Jesus watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury.

Many rich people were putting in large sums.

Then a poor widow comes along and drops in two tiny coins worth very little.

Summoning his disciples, Jesus said to them,

Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

For they all gave out of their surplus.

But she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had.

All she had to live on.

And that's it.

That's the end of Jesus' public ministry on this earth.

These others contributed out of their abundance.

Their surplus.

But this woman, highlighted by Jesus, probably not noticed by anybody else,

gave out of her nothing.

Her very little.

Her poverty.

Her poverty.

And she gave in all she had to live on.

What's happening here?

Well, they're probably in the court of women.

So if you think of Jerusalem, you think of the big temple,

and everybody's coming in to contribute,

to support the work that they thought God was doing through the temple.

Women were only allowed into the court of women.

That's why it was called the court of women.

Just wanted to clear that up.

Where men and women could come to give offerings.

There were many other courts around the temple.

The women were not allowed into them.

This was often common in that time of the world.

Women were very oppressed.

Very different than it is today.

The fact of a woman being allowed to work a job like women can work today,

or vote like women can work today,

is very, very rare, very uncommon back then.

And so in this time of female oppression,

Jesus highlights a woman and her sacrificial gift.

What were the offerings?

Offering boxes that she's putting things into.

It was something that looked a little bit like this.

There were these 13 trumpet-shaped offering boxes lining this court of women.

And people would come and drop their offering into it.

Oftentimes they would make a big show out of it.

They would pray some rich flowery prayer,

highlighting this great gift that they were giving,

and that was normally the rich, influential, powerful people doing that.

And so this woman doesn't do anything like that.

She has down to her last two coins,

and she said in her mind seemingly,

God can use these far greater than I can.

So I'm going to go and offer this up to God.

And I've got a sneaking suspicion that as Jesus witnesses this,

and he highlights it,

and he uses her as a teaching opportunity for his followers,

he probably took care of her after.

God probably intervened and blessed her for her sacrifice.

Here in Mark, he even highlights the value.

He says these were worth very little.

Mark is writing probably to a Roman audience.

When we look at this gospel of Mark,

one of Jesus' followers,

he's probably writing seemingly to the church in Rome

to hear about what Jesus did,

and what he taught, and what he said.

And so he's explaining to them,

these coins were tiny in size,

almost worthless in value,

but they were massive in meaning.

And Jesus teaches us this is the kind of generosity

that heaven notices.

If you want God to take notice

of how much you're giving back to him,

then give this way.

That's why we've been highlighting

from the very beginning of this series on generosity,

man, I imagine when I got up on the first Sunday and said,

we're going to be starting a series on generosity,

everybody's thinking, great,

he's just going to be begging for money

for the next however many weeks.

Because oftentimes that's what churches do, right?

And that is not right.

It's not what Jesus did.

What we're doing is trying to form

or conform our lives to who Jesus was,

how he lived,

and he was as generous as he could possibly be.

You and I should mimic the same kind of generosity.

He held nothing back from us.

And that was the attitude that this widow had.

She held nothing back.

So number one,

if you're keeping notes in your outline in the bulletin,

if not, don't worry about it.

Just listen up here.

Number one,

true generosity is measured by sacrifice,

not surplus.

True generosity is measured by sacrifice,

not surplus.

Surplus.

If you understand what surplus is,

you have all you need,

and then you have a little more.

And usually,

wealth is determined by how much surplus you have.

How wealthy or rich you are in the eyes of others

depends on how much you have

beyond what you actually need,

what you actually have to have.

We look at net worth and all these different things.

Nobody puts my net worth on the internet

because nobody would care.

Or yours,

more than likely.

And often,

we're not looking at a surplus,

we're looking at a deficit.

Right?

That's the opposite.

It means you don't quite have enough

of what you need.

And sometimes we find ourselves there.

But true generosity is not measured,

is measured by sacrifice,

not by surplus.

God's not looking at how much you have extra.

He's looking at how much are you willing to give to Him

and let Him take over.

What does that exactly mean?

Well, we're going to look at this.

We're going to try to understand what He's teaching us

from Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

The teachers of the law,

in this story in Mark 12 that really happened,

were taking advantage of people,

especially widows,

especially widows with surplus,

wealthier widows,

who'd had rich husbands,

and they died,

and they left this money to their wives,

and so they have these widows coming,

and the teachers of the law

were taking advantage of these people.

Now, that's totally unbelievable, right?

You would never think

that a Bible teacher

would take advantage of anybody.

If you think that,

you haven't been paying attention to the news.

Because unfortunately,

people who lift themselves up

as experts on the Word of God,

and oftentimes it seems like

the more well-known they get,

the more successful they get,

maybe the more vulnerable

or prone they get to

abusing this power

that they collect around themselves.

So this is not a new thing,

and it's not hard for us to understand

that these religious leaders

were taking advantage of vulnerable people

because they still do it today.

And that's why those of us

who God has called to a leadership position

and allowed to be in a leadership position

in His church,

we have to be extra careful,

extra intentional

to walk with Him daily

and keep running back to Jesus

because when we start to stray,

we can abuse our power

and affect people

in ways that others can't.

So it's a serious thing.

And Jesus is stepping into this moment

when teachers of His law,

His Old Testament law,

were taking advantage of people.

2 Corinthians chapter 8.

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

We're going to be there

for just a little bit,

so if you want to flip over

to 2 Corinthians chapter 8,

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

we're going to be there

right here on this point,

and then we're going to go there

on the next point as well.

Go back to it.

2 Corinthians 8.

You can keep a finger in Mark 12

if you'd like to.

Paul is teaching us something

that's very relevant

to what we're talking about here.

That true generosity

is measured by sacrifice,

not surplus.

Jesus wasn't after

the wealthy widow's surplus.

That was the teachers of the law.

That was the Pharisees,

the rabbis,

many of whom were corrupt,

and most of whom

were trying to get more money.

See, these guys weren't paid a salary.

And so that system

that was set up

by this new Jewish way

lended itself

or provided

for these guys

to go out

and abuse the system

and go guilt trip people

into giving them

their money.

And whoever was

the most effective at that

was the wealthiest widows.

They had these things

called patrons.

And without spending

a lot of time

on that kind of culture,

these were wealthy people

who would get followings

of people

who were dependent

on them for money

and often their livelihood.

So the more money

you got,

the more groupies

or posse you had

because people would be

hanging on to you

for the gravy train

so they could get

your money.

You were their patron.

So these rabbis

needed to go out

and find wealthy patrons

and man,

it would be hard

to get some savvy,

rich, wealthy man

but some of these widows

who had never been

in the marketplace

and never learned

these ways

of doing business

and what was fair

and what was not,

maybe they were easier marks,

easier prey.

So this is what was happening.

And Jesus ignores

all of that

and he focuses in

on the woman

who was worth nothing.

She couldn't be

a patron to anybody.

nobody could depend

on her wealth.

2 Corinthians chapter 8,

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

Paul teaches us,

I want you to know,

dear brothers and sisters,

what God in his kindness

has done

through the churches

in Macedonia.

We talked about this

a few weeks ago

but I want to come back to it

because it's very relevant

to what we're talking about today.

These churches in Macedonia,

now remember,

he's not writing

to these churches

in Macedonia,

he's writing

to the churches

in Corinth.

Be like if somebody

came here to Henrietta

and said,

listen,

I want to talk to you

about the churches

in Burke Burnett

for a minute,

okay?

Let me tell you about them.

So we're getting it

in context

and he says,

these guys in Macedonia

are being tested

by many troubles.

Let me lead out

of the gate with that.

They don't have it easy.

They're having a hard time.

Now,

they are very poor.

Now,

he emphasizes that

because the people

in Corinth

that he's writing to

were not poor.

Maybe there were some

but most of them

had some money.

Probably upper middle class

is about what they were.

So he said,

these people in Macedonia

are poor

but they are also filled

with abundant joy

which has overflowed

in rich generosity.

Do you see

the difference there?

He said,

they're poor

but they're rich.

They're poor

in earthly means

but they're rich

in generosity.

And that's what God

wants to do for you.

He wants to make you rich,

make you wealthy.

Wade,

don't just take

a little video of that

and then splice it right there

and say,

God wants to make you rich.

I heard Sam say it.

I know Wade's

going to do that to me tomorrow.

I'm kidding with you.

God wants to make you rich

in what matters.

Say,

yeah,

that sounds about right.

Money never matters,

does it?

Of course it does.

But God wants

to make you wealthy

in the things

that matter most.

These Macedonians

figured that out.

And they were rich

in being generous.

You know what?

God supplied their need.

How do I know

God supplied their need?

Well,

we could read about them

but also because

he promised to.

My God will supply

all your needs

according to his riches

in mercy

by Christ Jesus.

That's a promise.

from God.

He doesn't say

he'll supply

all your surplus.

He doesn't say

he'll supply

all the extra

that you want.

He does say,

he does teach

that when God

gives to you

in what truly matters,

he will give abundantly.

He'll give

pressed down,

shaken together,

running over

will be God's mercy,

his love,

his grace,

his protection,

and even

his provision.

He will provide

for your need.

And so the Macedonians

figured this out.

They figured out

this generosity code.

They cracked the code.

They said,

it doesn't matter

so much how much

we have,

it matters

who we are.

Remember we've been

saying this for several

months now,

God's not as interested

in what you do

as how and why

you do it.

because the how

and why

will determine

the what.

So if you're going out

and living like the devil,

you're not doing that

for God.

You're not doing that

for others.

You're doing that

because you think

it'll bring you

pleasure.

Because it'll bring you

what you want.

But that's the opposite.

Jesus says,

if you want to be like me,

if you want to follow me,

if you want to call yourself

a Christian and be my disciple,

be my follower,

then you've got to

understand generosity.

We talked about that

in week one.

He literally teaches

if you're not generous,

you can't follow me.

That's a hard truth.

See, I'm just not

a generous person.

Let God make you one.

By nature,

I'm not generous either.

My wife is.

Some of you are gifted

with this gift of hospitality

and wanting to serve

and wanting to go out

and be a blessing to people.

It's just how you tick.

Some of us are not.

We really just care

about number one.

And as long as we're okay,

then everything else is okay.

So God has to teach us

to not be like that.

He's got to teach us

to change and be generous

if we're going to follow him.

So there's a principle here.

He said they are poor,

but they're overflowing

in rich generosity.

And this fills them

with abundant joy.

For I can testify,

Paul tells this church in Corinth,

that these people in Macedonia,

they gave not only

what they could afford,

but far more.

And they did it

of their own free will.

Do you think it's a good idea

if we open up the word of God?

You can come down here

and look at this big one.

That's in there too.

Same thing I just read.

If we open up

the big word of God

and we see a positive example given,

Paul,

whose job was to teach churches

how to behave,

do you think we should

follow that example?

Y'all talk back to me.

Do you think it's important

to follow a good,

positive, biblical example

that was given to us?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

So here's the biblical example given.

They gave not only

what they could afford,

but far more.

And they did it

of their own free will.

That's generosity.

That's sacrifice.

So the principle

we can take away from this

is joyful sacrifice

equals true generosity.

Not reluctant sacrifice.

Not somebody just

getting it out of you

or giving a good pitch

and you fall under their spell

and it's like,

okay, I guess I should do this.

Joyfully sacrificing.

Saying,

God sacrificed so much for me,

it's all I can do

to just offer it back up to him.

How do we give back?

Hands open.

Eyes up.

God,

I'm offering it back to you.

You want my bank account?

It's yours.

You want my life?

It's yours.

You want my kids?

They're yours.

You want my health?

It's yours.

Why?

That's crazy.

What are you doing

offering up those things

that matter most to God?

Because God can handle them

way better than we can.

God,

I'm offering it back to you.

What does that look like?

I'm going to prioritize

what you prioritize.

I'm going to do my best

to follow your teaching

and you're going to train me

on how to live this way.

If I offer my kids up to you

and I train them

and teach them

how to follow Jesus,

I trust

that their life

is going to go way better

than if I try to crack

this parenting code on my own.

Because I don't know about y'all,

maybe you've got it easier than I do,

but parenting's not easy.

It's hard.

And I got good kids.

I really do.

They're not even listening.

They are.

Megan gave them those things

to draw on.

They're all taking sermon notes.

That's what they're doing.

Parenting's hard.

Whether your kids are rascals or not,

and they're probably all rascals

at some point

because we all were

at some point.

But God can crack

this parenting code for you.

So offer up your children to him

and say,

God, teach me

how to raise my kids.

Teach me how to keep them safe.

Teach me what to prioritize

in their lives

and in how I parent them.

That's one example.

But this idea of hands open,

offering it all back to God,

that is joyful sacrifice.

God, it's a reward for me

to get to give this back to you.

You're worthy of so much more.

You're worthy of so much better

than I can offer you,

but you just say

that you want what I have,

so I'm going to give it back to you.

I'm going to offer it back to you.

That is generosity.

The Macedonian churches

are a mirror of this widow

that Jesus saw

in the court of women

dropping in her two coins.

they gave everything they had,

not from abundance,

not from surplus,

not from all the extra,

not what they could afford.

They gave it from their little.

All they had.

And they offered it back to God.

That's generosity.

So when we give,

it's not about what's left over,

it's about what's laid down.

Did you catch that?

When we give,

it's not about what's left over to give.

It's about what we lay down.

Jesus said,

I lay down my life.

You lay down yours.

I just want to jump back to this

for just a moment

before we move on.

We've been talking about it

every Sunday in this series,

and it fits right in here today.

This bounded set versus centered set.

If this is your first Sunday here,

then you haven't seen this before,

and I'll explain it to you real quick.

There's two types of ways

of doing religion.

There's two types of ways

of following Jesus.

On the left side here,

this bounded set,

that circle represents

the boundaries that you have.

That circle represents

the boundaries

that a church might have.

This is what we believe.

This is how we live.

This is what we do.

This is how,

this is what's important to us.

And if you look like us,

think like us,

act like us,

then you can be inside our circle.

If you don't,

then you're on the outs.

And unfortunately,

that is how churches

and religion has operated

for most of its history.

But it's not how Jesus operated.

And it's not how he taught us,

his followers,

to operate.

Instead,

he is supposed to be the center.

And we don't judge each other

based on whether we look like

we fit inside the lines or not.

Instead,

we judge each other

whether it seems like

we're moving toward Jesus

or away from Jesus.

There might be somebody

who looks totally different than you,

believes totally different than you,

but you can see that this person

is starting to move toward Jesus.

You let them in.

You go invite them in.

By contrast,

there might be somebody

who fits right inside those lines.

And they dress right.

And they mostly talk right.

And they seemingly act right.

But if you've been around them

for any length of time,

it's pretty clear

they're not moving toward Jesus.

They're moving away from him

in their heart.

That's the kind of person

we need to say,

hey,

this isn't what we do.

You've got to turn around.

You've got to move back

toward Jesus.

It's a different way

of thinking about church,

about religion,

about what it means

to be a follower of God.

So let's apply this to giving.

Most of us give

what fits our budget,

not how God's Spirit

is leading us to give.

Most of us don't even go to God

and say,

God, what should I give this month?

It's just easier to say,

this is what I'm going to do.

This is what I can afford.

This is what makes sense for me.

Good night, man.

How much more does the church want?

I give regularly.

That's not what it's about.

That's not joyful sacrifice.

Instead,

should we,

and I'm asking questions,

I'm not yelling at you,

but should we

go to God and say,

God, what do you want

for me this month?

Specifically,

with my money,

with my time,

with my emotions,

with my energy,

what do you want from me this month,

this week,

today,

this weekend,

Sunday's coming,

I'm going to go worship

with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I'm going to sing your name.

I'm going to hear it preached.

Maybe see somebody get baptized.

We're going to see exciting things happen

with your people.

How do you want me to support that

this month,

this week,

this paycheck?

That's centered set,

not bounded set.

That's listening to what God is teaching you

right now,

right here,

not saying,

well,

I've given 10% my whole life,

so that's what I'm going to stick with.

Because that fits inside the circle.

It's not about the circle.

It's about Jesus.

All right,

let's move on.

here's the question.

Are we giving comfortably

or courageously?

Are we giving comfortably

or courageously?

Y'all,

I promise you,

I have to ask myself that question.

Because it's way easier

for me to just say,

here's 10% of my paycheck,

going back to the church.

What if God wants me to give more that month?

What if there's somebody

out there

with a need

and I have the opportunity

to meet it?

But instead,

I pat myself on the back

and say,

you don't have to do that.

You've already given to the church,

man,

you're good.

That's not courageous giving.

That's not joyful sacrifice.

How do we live generously?

Joyful sacrifice is true generosity.

That's courageous giving.

So Jesus,

in his final moment

of public service,

highlights this widow

laying down all that she had,

giving it away.

Do you know what that was pointing to?

Do you know what her joyful sacrifice

was pointing to?

Jesus on the cross.

When Jesus laid down his own life.

So Jesus,

in his last moments here,

before he starts his Passion Week

and we see all the events

that led up to his death

and ultimately his resurrection

unfold,

before we jump into all that,

we see Jesus highlight this moment

of true sacrifice

that he was then going to show

to all of us

and carry out for all of us.

So our offerings point

to Jesus' cross.

This is why it's so important to give

because we're being like Jesus

when we give.

Jesus held nothing back.

He sacrificed.

He laid down everything.

We have the chance to do the same.

Yeah, whatever, preacher.

You just want money.

No, I want you to be like Jesus

and I want to be like Jesus.

And if we do this together,

then God can take our sacrifice

such as it is.

It might be two coins.

It might be two dollars.

It might be the equivalent of that

in today's money.

But God can take that sacrifice

and do something so much more

than it could ever buy you in a store.

So our offerings

actually reflect and point to

the cross of Jesus Christ.

I told you we'd go back

to 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 9.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

that though he was rich,

yet for your sake he became poor

so that you by his,

what does that say?

Poverty might become rich.

Rich.

This is what Jesus is offering to you.

Richness through his grace,

through his forgiveness,

but not just a one-time forgiveness of sins.

The fullness of God.

We now have access

to have our lives filled up with God.

That's rich.

That's wealthy.

That's not poor.

You get access to all of God in your life?

Y'all,

that's better than anybody

with seven or eight figure bank accounts.

Though he was rich,

he laid it down

as a sacrifice.

He became poor

like that widow,

like that church in Macedonia,

so that there was an end goal to it

so that you and I

could become rich.

There's a truth here.

The widow's offering

pointed forward

to his offering

and our offerings

point backward

to his offering.

Do you understand that?

She was giving.

She gave all that she had.

She didn't even know it then,

but her sacrificial gift

was pointing forward

to what Jesus

was just about to do.

2,000 years later,

you and I,

when we drop something

on the offering plate,

or if you want to be like me

and you go on the little church app

and you hit giving

and then you give

through the app.

Super convenient

and it works just as well.

When you and I

choose to give

to what God is doing

on this earth,

we are then pointing back

to his gift

to us.

His offering.

That's where we get

the inspiration

to give our offerings

today.

So,

what's the application

of this?

the widow gave

her last two coins.

Jesus gave

his final breath.

What can we give?

What can you and I give?

In the same manner,

in the same way,

with the same level

of sacrifice,

what can you and I

offer up

to our Jesus

who we say we love

and we say we want

to follow?

Here's the application.

Generosity

is not meant

to be a movement,

a moment.

Sorry about that.

It is meant

to be a movement.

Generosity

is not meant

to be a moment.

It's meant

to be a movement

away from myself

and toward

my Savior.

Away from myself

and toward

my Savior.

Hands open.

Eyes up.

Generosity

is a life change.

It's a lifestyle.

It's an attitude.

It's a way

of thinking.

It's not a moment

when I decided

to be generous.

It is God

changing me

into a generous

person.

Moving me away

from myself

and toward

salvation.

Saying yes

to Jesus.

Seeing the gift

that he offered

up for me

and then saying

God you take

over my life.

Such as I have

I give it to you.

Forgive me

for my sin.

I receive this gift

and then I offer

myself back to you

as the gift

that you want

even though it

pales in comparison

to the gift

you offered

to us.

And that's what

we do at salvation.

We turn it all

back over to God.

But then somewhere

along the way

we start taking it

back.

And that's where

sanctification comes in.

That's a big word.

What does it mean?

It means to be made

holy.

To be set apart.

To be separated.

God wants to make

you different.

not just how

you do your hair

or the language

that you refuse

to say

or maybe you

don't go to bars

on Friday nights.

I don't know.

Whatever you think

holy looks like

that's not even

what I'm talking

about.

I'm talking about

what's happening

on the inside.

God wants to

change you

on the inside.

So generosity

is moving away

from myself

and towards

salvation.

Towards sanctification

and then toward

sacrifice.

just like the

church in Macedonia.

Just like the

widow dropping

in her last

two coins.

Just like Jesus

laying down

his life on the

cross.

And we have

many more

examples in

the scriptures

and in our

real world

of what

sacrifice

looks like.

That's

generosity

moving away

from myself

and toward

sacrifice.

And you know

what the great

thing is?

Ultimately

generosity

is moving

away from

myself

and toward

satisfaction.

Because I

can promise

you

walking in

the path

that you

want to

walk in

will not

bring

satisfaction.

There is

a way that

seems right

to a man

Proverbs

teaches us.

But the

end of that

way

is death.

I was up

at Straight

Street last

night in

Wichita Falls.

Anybody know

about Straight

Street?

It's a

wonderful

ministry.

Danita Long

from our

church

invited me

there and

she works

there every

weekend just

about and

got to

preach to

I don't

know 100

plus kids

who have

it rough

man.

A lot

of those

kids if

they weren't

there at

this spot

where they

do State

Street and

they have

football field

and basketball

court and

a place for

these kids to

get off the

street get

out of trouble

and just

spend their

Friday and

Saturday

nights there.

So I got to

go up there

and preach to

them last

night and I

preached that

exact verse

to them.

I said listen

there is a

way that you

want to walk

there is a

way that others

want you to

walk but the

only end to

that path is

death but the

way that Jesus

lays out for

you that is

the one that

will end in

life.

Two teenagers

a boy and a

girl brother and

sister came back

talked to me and

gave their lives to

Jesus last night at

State Street.

Yeah that is

something to get

excited about.

That is

satisfaction.

Trust me I was

so satisfied after

that.

Man I felt

amazing after

that like this

was the coolest

night I've had a

long time.

Those kids

experience the

satisfaction of

Jesus.

When you move

away from

yourself and

towards salvation

towards sanctification

towards sacrifice

toward the

Savior you find

satisfaction.

Generosity gives

us satisfaction.

I'm going to

close with this

song.

Matthew West is a

Christian singer who's

well known in that

genre.

He has this song

called Broken

Things and I put

it up on the

screen for you.

If it's true that

you God use

broken things then

here I am Lord.

I'm a broken

thing.

I'm all yours.

That's the

widow.

That's the

Macedonian

church.

That's offering

ourselves up.

Say here I am

God.

I'm all yours.

I might be

cracked.

I might be

broken.

Karen Schaffner

was telling us on

Wednesday night at

our Bible study

group our life

group on Wednesday

night that meets in

the fellowship hall.

We're talking about

broken things and

offering it up to

God and she said

you know light

shines through the

cracks.

That's how God's

light shines through

the cracks in us.

I thought that was a

really cool example.

So if we just give

what we have it might

be those two coins.

It might be a

cracked vessel offering

it up to God.

He'll take it and

he'll do something

great with it.

Jesus seemed like he

lost when he

offered up himself

to those who

didn't know what

was going to

happen.

Seemed like his

loss.

His team lost.

Should have picked

a different final

play.

Should have done

something that would

have turned the

crowd with him

instead of against

him.

He didn't handle the

end of the game

well.

And then they killed

him and they buried

him and it was over.

But it wasn't over

was it?

He didn't lose.

Seemed like he lost.

But he turned the

ultimate sacrifice

into victory.

He turned it into

satisfaction for you

and me.

He turned it into

something special that

we could never

replicate.

So how do we give?

Generously.

Generously.

Join Jesus in the

generosity movement.

commitment.

God wants to

change you.

If it's true God

that you use broken

things, here I am.

I'm all yours.

Where's God calling

you to be generous?

Where's God calling

you to trust him more

deeply by giving

yourself away?

Is it your finances?

Is it your time?

Is it service?

Talked about picking

up your towel last

week.

What kind of sacrifice

is God asking you to

make today?

Let's say it one more

time.

God gives.

How do we give back?

Hands open.

God, that's how we

want to give to you.

Today, right now, we

want to open our

hands.

We want to turn our

eyes toward heaven.

Say, God, use me to

make Henrietta look

more like heaven.

Use me to make Clay

County look more like

you.

God, how do we do

this?

How do we take on

this level of

sacrifice?

It's hard.

It's not easy.

But when we discover

this secret, it will

become easy.

It will become the

only thing that seems

reasonable and will

give joyfully like that

church in Macedonia

gave.

Not out of our

abundance, not out of

our surplus, but laying

down everything

sacrificially like you

did.

Teach us how to do

this.

It's in Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

Church, would you

keep your seats just

for a moment?

Linda, would you come

and play something for

us?

It's June.

Sorry.

I always pick the

wrong person, man.

June's going to play

some music.

Let's keep our seats

just for a moment.

And for the next two,

three minutes, let's go

to God in prayer.

Let's ask him how he

wants us to respond.

So try to keep this a

quiet time.

Maybe not put everything

in the purse just yet

and slip out just yet.

If you can, just keep

your seats and do a

little business with

God right now.

As you're praying, I'll

ask just a couple

questions.

First off, is there

anybody who says, I

need to take that

first step away from

self and towards

salvation?

Today's the day I

need to give my life to

Jesus for the first

time.

I need him to forgive

my sin to make me his

child.

I put all my faith in

Jesus.

And I want to talk

about that before I

leave here today.

If that's you, would

you slip your hand up

right now?

I'd love to have that

conversation with you.

Thank you.

What about this?

Somebody who says,

God's working on me

about something.

Could be sacrifice.

Could be something else,

but God's working on my

heart about something

right now and I need

some prayer.

Would you slip your hand

up and I'll be happy to

pray for you as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

God, you see the hands

and there's probably some

I missed, but listen,

right now, would you just

shut out all the

distractions?

The devil doesn't like

us to be open to your

voice and your leading.

He's going to try to get

any number of other

thoughts in here to just

take our minds off of

that and put them on

something else.

Let us hear your voice

right now.

Make it clear.

Show us what we need to

lay down.

Show us where we need to

open our hands, not hold

on so tightly.

Show us the sacrifice we

can make like you

sacrificed for us.

It's in Jesus' name we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.