Greatest Expressions of Worship - Widow's Offering (Series) : Episode 4

Challenge your assumptions and broaden your perspective on 'Perspective with Pastor Aaron' as we explore the big questions of Life and Faith.

Episode 4: Widow's Offering

Transcript

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Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. When you are filled with the word of God, faith comes up strong. Are you looking to grow in your faith? Then welcome to the Perspective with Pastor Aaron Podcast. I am your host, Aaron Babachandha. The results of your faith correspond to the level of the word of God that is working in you. Let's dive in.

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Turn to Luke chapter 21, verses 1, 2, 3, and 4. And he looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So he said, Truly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all. For all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God. But she, out of her poverty, put in all the livelihood that she had. You know, it was quite a few years back when I read an article about 168 billionaires, yes, that is billionaire with a beam, who, along with Bill Gates, the richest man in the world at that time, announced that they would give away half of their wealth by the time that they die. And the reason they said they would be willing to give away half of their wealth was they had this desire, this innate desire, to help fund a wide variety of worthwhile causes that they felt were important for humanity. But you see, when wealthy people give away their wealth, or rather give away their money, don't get me wrong, I just don't see their giving as a way of sacrificial giving. Because even though they give half of their wealth, they're gonna still have money in their possession that most of society will dream of. So you can't really classify that as sacrificial giving. And so one day Jesus at the temple saw a group of wealthy men who were lining up to give away a portion of their wealth at the temple. And the thing about these wealthy men is that they were making a big show of it. And the reason they were making a big show of their offerings was they wanted people to be aware of their charity. They could have used small coins, but they used large coins so that when those pieces of money fell into the box, there would be an impressive clanging sound that would eventually impress all the people that came. I don't really call that giving, I just call that a demonstration of some kind of pomp and splendor. Now, the thing about wealthy people is they love to see their names on libraries, they love to see their names on press boxes, they love to see their names on foundations, they love to see their names on scholarships that are offered by prestigious universities. Now it's true that society has been made better because of their generosity, but don't be misled, because in some cases, just like we read in the Bible in this passage, most of these acts of generosity cost these wealthy donors very little. Because they still have more in their hand than most people could ever dream of. But the situation that we are looking at this morning is unlike that of a certain poor widow that Jesus observed quietly bringing her gift and quietly presented that gift to God. Nowhere in this passage do you find Jesus having a conversation with her. How did he know? You see, this poor widow had only two coins to her name, and her offering was the value of about a penny. And this was all she could possibly offer God. No one in the crowd would have noticed because she used small coins, small chains. But Jesus did, the Bible says, and he noticed something about her giving, which is what we're going to be looking at this morning. And what Jesus does is he looks at this act of giving, and then he he he calls together his disciples and he says to them, That widow put more in the treasury than anybody else. He says, All of you gave out of your abundance. But she gave out of all that she had, and we need to catch that. Because there's a principle about giving that you have to learn. God does not measure your giving by how much you gave, he measures your giving by how much you have left over. That defines a person's giving. Because if your giving is not sacrificial, God is not impressed. God was impressed with this poor widow and these two mites because her giving was sacrificial. He doesn't measure your giving by the amount that you write, he measures your giving by how much you have left over. Because if there's no sacrifice to your giving, then according to this passage, God is simply not impressed. You know, Jesus was always thrilled to see authentic faith lived out. He didn't just want Sunday going Christian, he didn't just want lip service through worship, he didn't want people to just come do some kind of a favor in church by coming to church. No. He wanted authentic faith lived out. And so when he saw this woman and the way she gave, he was really impressed. He was really impressed because she put her money where her heart was. In other words, she gave all she had, and that's what brought praise through his mouth for this woman. Number one, put this down. Her act of devotion was an indication that she had forgiven God. I'll have to explain this. Now understand the Bible calls her a widow, doesn't call her a happily married person. That means she had lost her husband. Now, some of you may have experienced events like that, and you are wise enough to know by now that you've gone through hurt and loneliness, and sometimes there's a temptation that you have bitterness, anger, and resentment that grows on the inside. I don't know if you are familiar with a very famous psychiatrist named Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. She was a pioneer in near-death studies. She was the author of a very groundbreaking book. It was called On Death and Dying. And it was in this book in which she first described the five stages of grief. You see, grief for most people is an ongoing process that must be overcome at some point in their life. But she talks about five stages. She talks about denial, she talks about anger, she talks about bargaining, she talks about depression, and then she talks about acceptance. And she says these different stages kind of provide a framework that helps us go on living after we lose someone that we love so much. Now, some people with great faith they handle these stages very easily. But there are some people who are bogged down by grief and these different stages of grief. Now we don't have time this morning to deal with each step, but we know for a fact that one stage in those five stages is anger. This woman should have been angry with God. Why, God, did you leave me in this situation? Have I done wrong to deserve this? If you are God, why didn't you spare this person? And if you're a God that can do anything, why didn't you preserve my husband for me? Now none of us can deal with this idea very well. This idea of losing someone we love. Now, even though we know that they're in a better place, that God has prepared a place for them, and the place that they're in is far better than where we are, it's still difficult to let go. Where do you see resentment in this woman? Where do you see bitterness in this woman? Where do you see anger in this woman? None of it. You know, there's a beautiful story about a man who was walking down a road when he saw a young boy in a tree stradding a limb. He noticed the boy had a leaf in his hand and some string. And he was trying to tie the leaves back on a twig on the tree. He asked the young fellow, What are you doing? The young boy replied that his sister was very, very ill. She was near death, and the doctor had told his family that before the last leaf shall fall from this tree, she'll be gone. The little boy didn't want his sister to die. So he got up every day and he started tying the leaves back on the trees because he was scared. He said, By the time all these leaves fall off, your sister will be gone. He said tying back the leaves on the tree because he wanted his sister's life to be spared. What does that story teach you and I? None of us are experts at dealing with grief over losing a loved one. And even if an event like that takes place, it takes time. Healing takes time. And one of the obstacles they say towards that healing process is resentment, is bitterness, sometimes even anger. This widow should have been resenting God. This widow should have been bitter. This widow should have been angry. But the first thing that this widow should have shed is, you know, why should I go to church? Why should I pray? Why should I this? Why should I that? But you see, the story teaches me she had come to grips with her grief, she had overcome her resentment, and she was at peace with God. Everybody say peace with God. What does peace with God mean? Peace is not a sentiment. Remember this. Peace is a state. What does that mean? When you say I'm at peace with God, when we were sinners, when we were unrighteous, when we had fallen short of God's glory, we were not at peace with God. Through Jesus, now we are at peace with God. Peace is not a sentiment. Peace is a state. Because there was a season in our life, many of us will attest to this and edify with this statement. We were not right with God, we were wrong with God. And none of us came to earth neutral and went from neutral to righteous. No, we all were born sinners. Unrighteous. And from that he made us righteous. From unholy, he made us holy. From being lost, he saved us. From being nobody's, he's given us a new song in our mouth. So to have peace with God, we need to understand that we were sinners guilty to the core. And you want to know more about what it means to have peace with God, you should go sometime later this week and read Romans chapter 1, 2, 3, and 4. It's a great series of chapters that talk about how God has given us peace with Him. Firstly, we were guilty to the core. Number two, we were people that suppressed the truth of God. Number three, we exchanged the glory of God for things of this world. Number four, we refuse to honor God and give him thanks. It is out of that darkness that God has brought us into his marvelous light. And so we were unrighteous. Now God has, through his son, made us holy, made us pure. And when we were once in relational animosity, God has brought relational peace. And so this woman understood that peace cannot be bought in this world. Peace only comes through Jesus. And she had that peace with him. So I don't find her asking questions, I don't find her being resentful, I don't find her being bitter, I don't find her being angry. She had come to terms with it. She had dealt with her grief. And her attitude was an attitude of gratitude. So learn from this story this morning, number one, that her act of devotion was an indication that she had forgiven God. And I think many of us in our walk with God need to come to this place where we have not allowed anger, bitterness, resentment, whatever it is, to steal that devotion that we have forgotten. The second thing that really arrested my attention when I read this passage was her act of devotion was an indication that she trusted God. That's such a powerful point. Why? Because she had no social security, she had no pension, she had no monthly check. And in those days, widows were quite vulnerable. And what if her husband was a wealthy man? The Bible doesn't talk about her children supporting her. The Bible doesn't even talk about other relatives or family members taking care of her. So basically, this woman was at the heart of a heartless society. Nobody in this passage you find some kind of support for the Larin, absolutely not. And even Jesus said this is a poor woman. Jesus called her a poor woman, because Jesus is God, right? He's not only man, he's also God. So he knew that she was poor. And he indicated her poverty by the way he spoke. Because look at verse 3. Truly, I say to you that this, how did he know that those two kinds were all that she had? Because he was God. And that's what really arrested his attention. Because here's somebody with authentic faith. And he told the disciples, if she has done this with no pension, with no support from her children, no relatives taking care of her, no monthly check, she truly did it trusting God. And he said, if she's given all that she had, that means she trusts me that tomorrow when she wakes up and there's nothing in the bank account, that God is my provider, that he will give me that day my daily bread. Now that's a tremendous amount of trust. Not when you have 10 lakhs in your account and then you give God. There's no sacrifice in that. This is everything that she had. What are you gonna do when you wake up in the morning? But God shall supply all my needs according to his riches and glory. And she was probably telling God, Lord, I have trust in you, I have confidence in you, that Lord, you will come through for me, and that I am living a life of hope, and hope always pleases you, faith always pleases you. This was this poor widow's way of saying, Lord, I know you'll provide for me. Now why should we trust God? And how does God provide for us? One way God provides for us is through man's hand. He will bless you through people, he'll bless you through the connections that he puts on your path. Another way God can provide for you is through God's hand. God will do it in a supernatural way. Because they say if it's his will, it's his bill. You don't have to worry about it. If that marriage is his will, then it's his bill. If that ministry is his will, then it's his will. You don't have to worry about situations, people, God will take care of it. Another way God provides is through your hand. You don't have to live from emergency to emergency to another emergency to another emergency. Because God said, I took my children from nothing to a land of milk and honey, flowing, he says. But you also need to understand when they got to the land they had to work, not live off food stamps. Because God won't do what He's gifted you to do. He'll give you clients, go and work, He'll give you an opportunity, go and work. Number four, He'll also provide through your enemies, and I've seen this a lot. He's provided through my enemies. Because when Satan attacks you, no, understand, child of God, you are a valuable person. Otherwise, no attack will come. Number three, God show me something very powerful. Her act of devotion was an indication that she believed in the work of God. You see, the work of the temple that day was more important than her support. No, I only have so much, how can I give? The work of the temple was more important than a bank balance. You know, there's a man named the two men named Doug Sherman and William Hendricks. They tell about a man of their acquaintance who owned a very lucrative business. Several years ago, he said he and his wife went to a strategic future planner, whatever they call them, to help them chart their course for the rest of their lives. And so, for the better part of a morning, the consultant listened to them and listened to them, you know, talk about their plans. And finally, at the end of that hearing, the find the you know, the consultant took out a piece of blank paper and he drew a small box on the top of it. On one side he wrote Jesus, on one side he wrote money. Then the story goes on to say he looked at the couple and said, From what you've told me this morning, there are only two major forces that are pulling your life. And as I see the both of you, you are at one point of your life. But he said, You cannot go on like this. Either one, Jesus or money has to take priority. Now he looked at the couple and said, Now you tell me which one of these words should I put in this one box. Once you decide which one of these words to put in the box, then I will map out your strategy. So he said, if you put money in that box, I'll organize your life around it. If you put Jesus in the box, I'll organize your life around it. Which one do you want to put in the box? He said the room was quiet for about maybe five or ten minutes. The couple didn't say a word to each other, they didn't need to. It looked like they had come to a fork in the road where they were going to have to decide which agenda mattered. The Jesus agenda or the money agenda. Was it going to be the financial interest of their investment and their business, or was it going to be the commitment to Christ? The story goes on to say the couple chose Jesus in the box. And history tells us that they were such a blessed couple after that, not only their business, but also their legacy in establishing businesses around the world proliferated from that one decision. Because truly, when God said, if you seek me in my kingdom first and my righteousness, everything that the pagans run out of will run after you. You don't have to run after it. The question you and I need to ask this morning is which word will we put in the box? Which is your priority? Jesus or money. This widow spent her last two coins on the work of God. Her last two coins. We'd rather put on an investment plan or bring us some kind of ROI. She spent her last two coins on the work of God. In other words, she spent the last two coins on God rather than herself. Because for her, it's not only important to trust God, it's also important to work for God or believe in the work of God. Robert Schnaes, he wrote a book, The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. This is what he said in that book. Every sanctuary and chapel in which we have worshipped, every church organ that has lifted our spirits, every pew where we have sat, every communion rail where we have knelt, every hymnal from which we have sung, every praise band that has touched our hearts, every church classroom where we have gathered with our friends, every church kitchen that has prepared our meals, every church man that has taken us to camp, every church camp cabin where we have slept, all are the fruit of someone else's extravagant generosity. And he says, we have been the recipients of grace upon grace. And he says, we are the heirs, we are the beneficiaries of those who came before us who were touched by the generosity of Christ, enough to give so generously and sacrificially things that have made us experience the truth of Christ in our lives. Powerful. And he says, They have done it for us, we owe the same for the generations to come. And maybe this widow would have thought on that front, someone was generous and that's why I'm here. Now I'm gonna be generous for the next generation. And it was that act of sacrifice, that act of worship that brought him pleasure. And she came, she dropped in her coins. And this is what the Lord showed me. He said, She dropped in her coins because she believed she was part of something bigger than herself. If you give the last two mites that you have, if you give the last two coins that you have, it is a proof that you have desired to see and be a part of something bigger than yourself. You know, a certain woman had lost her husband and she was having difficulty moving through stages of grief. You know, the story tells us for weeks she went to the cemetery to put flowers on his grave because she simply could not let go. No matter what she did, it seemed that her grief would just not dissipate. In her despair, she went to her doctor for a checkup. When she told him about taking the flowers each day to the cemetery, the doctor made a very brilliant and a very gentle suggestion. He said, Uh, ma'am, instead of taking the flowers to the cemetery, would you take the flowers to a hospital? He said, I have two patients who are all alone by themselves. Their children have abandoned them, they're all alone. They have no family in this city, and they would really enjoy you bringing them some flowers. So why not take these fresh flowers to them instead of the cemetery? And he said, every time you go there, ask them about their progress and give them some encouragement and see if there's anything that you can do for them. The lady took the doctor's suggestion, she took the flowers to the hospital and the cemetery, and the story tells us she overcame grief like that. It's the same thing with this woman. She took those coins and she came to the temple and she put it in the treasury. And I believe that was probably an important part of how she recovered so quickly from all that she had been through. Because by dropping in those last two coins, not two coins out of two hundred coins or two thousand coins, two coins. She was telling them and she's and she's teaching us today that she was part of something bigger than herself. In other words, she was participating in God's work on earth. And no wonder Jesus was pleased to see that offering. All these rich guys came, they threw so many coins, not impressed. This is a woman who was, as the Bible teaches me, victorious over her grief. A woman that trusted God for her daily bread, and a woman who was involved in an ongoing work for the kingdom. I was asking the Lord to teach me a principle on giving through this story, and this is what he said. We give in proportion to our faith. We don't give in proportion to our income. Because conventional wisdom will say that when we give, it is in proportion to our resources. Wrong. We don't give in proportion to our income. We give in proportion to our faith. Because so many people today who are living are so uncertain about the future. They're not only worried about their finances, they're also worried about the economy if the country will produce enough wealth. Forget my wealth. The country has to produce enough wealth for me to be wealthy. So on both fronts, they're stressed. The reason is they're afraid. That's why people are not generous. They're afraid that the stock market will fall, afraid that they won't have enough to pay the bills. Some of them are afraid that they won't have the nice things that the neighbors have, others will think badly of them. Some people are just afraid because they want to be afraid. But the Bible tells us that the problem is not income, the problem is a lack of faith. Little faith, someone said little gift, big faith, big gift. You can't have little faith and expect a big gift. Doesn't work that way. There are principles in the kingdom that never change, just like the law of gravity. There's a law of giving. For some people, 100 rupees is a big gift. For somebody else, 10 lakhs is a big gift. Some people, once a is a big gift. But understand, giving was never in proportion to income. It's in proportion to faith. Let this poor widow teach you that lifeless than on giving. Because God measures our gift not on the basis of its size, He measures our gift based on the level of the sacrifice involved. I want to close by saying this. You never know the good that comes even from the smallest gift. Because Jesus uses woman's small gift of less than a penny to instruct his disciples through the scriptures. Millions of his later followers like you and me, including us, teach us a lesson about giving. Remember that young boy with two small fish and five loaves of bread? Multitudes of thousands were fed. This story, two coins. You have no idea Jesus is watching when you give. This poor widow had no idea Jesus was watching when she dropped in those last two coins. But he was, and he knows. And let this story teach us that our giving is not in proportion to our income or resources, it's in proportion to our faith. That the God who sees, he does not regard gifts in proportion to the size of the gift, but he looks At how much of sacrifice was involved.

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Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of the Perspective of Pastor Aaron Podcast. If you like what you've heard, visit our website at www.amazinglovechurch.in. Or follow us on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram at AmazingLoveChurch. See you next week.