You're Being Watched
Scripture: Mark 12:41-44
You know, people who don’t come to church regularly will always come for their kids. They’ll come to see them sing in a choir or give a two sentence recitation, or hold up a sign, or wear a crazy little costume. They won’t make it a priority to come to see other people’s kids but they will come to see their own. Not only that but they’ll come and sit in the front row. They’ll bring video cameras and lighting systems. Without a thought they will stand up in the middle of a service and make any necessary spectacle of themselves to secure a memory in picture form. We’ll unthinkingly sacrifice our dignity for those precious moments and rightly so. Kids light up when their parents are watching. They wave and smile as though no one else in the world were watching them at that moment – just Mom and/or Dad. What a great thing that is. Totally unconscious of self and wrapped up in that relationship.
Somehow, I think that there is a parallel here as to the way that worship is meant to be. You’re not standing on a stage. In all likelihood, you’re sitting in a pew, fairly inconspicuous. You say that you have come to worship God. And of course, God attends because He loves to see His children perform . . . and participate in acts of worship.
Unfortunately we come to church many times to sit and take in. We make judgments on sound levels, musical styles, the sermon. And all of these judgments are related to the way that it impacts us personally, as if someone else were performing for us.
Whatever this may be, it is not worship. You may be safely tucked in a pew. You might have come early enough to get a back row, but God takes you at your word this morning and He is looking to see what you are going to do to capture His attention and ultimately He will be the one who evaluates the nature of the service today. It doesn’t have to be flawless. It can be as imperfect as most kids programs are and yet He can be delighted, not by our performance but by our participation. God blesses imperfect sermons, songs, services because He loves his kids – as a matter of fact He delights in them.
Psalm 149
1 Praise the Lord.a Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. 3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. 4 For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation. 5 Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. [1]
I believe that God shows up every week according to promise when we gather together to worship Him. He obviously loves to see what we have to offer Him. He expects that He will be the audience, or even the honored guest and we will be the cast and crew offering our praise to Him. Often He may find the house full. The majority of people sit as spectators and there are some few designates on stage. And we sit and evaluate ourselves by our own criterion, our preferences, our dislikes our likes. God sits in the nose bleed section and tries to bless and direct and guide and do all the things that He would like to do. But because we are self-absorbed, lost in our own performance, many leave from week to week never really “getting it”.
The scripture this morning tells the story of God going to church and what he gave particular attention to. I wonder if He still does this sort of thing. I wonder if he is here today, what might be the most accurate proclamation of faith that He would find. Would it be the music, the message? What might his attention be directed to? Let’s read:
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. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,a worth only a fraction of a penny.b Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” [2] Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)
1. Watching Intimately
Mark 12:41 says Jesus went to church with His disciples.
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.”
Jesus' watch was very intimate. Today we are very private about our giving. We don’t want to Pharisaically flaunt our gifts when they are large – a gift truly given to God should draw attention to His goodness not our own. Or we are private because we give less than we know we should give and we fear being judged or questioned. When Jesus told us to give in secret it was to curb the pride of a person’s heart and the tendency to rob God of glory by drawing attention to self. It was not meant to provide escape from accountability. The scripture tells us that Jesus intentionally went to where the offering was taken. He gave his attention to what was being given and by whom. Then as now, Jesus knew that how the people gave their money said something about their hearts. It's important to note that God is not primarily interested in your money, but He is interested in how you use your money because that is a clear indicator of where your heart is.
The temple Jesus visited in this passage, Herod's temple, was quite impressive. Approximately 15,000 people could pack themselves into the temple court, and it was truly an amazing place. Even the disciples were astounded by this majestic place.
“ . . . one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” [3]
It was a place to behold.
Jesus was in the midst of all these people, watching them give their offerings. In this plush place, the rich were obvious.
“Many rich people threw in large amounts.” – v. 41
Jesus was so close to the offering receptacle He could tell the amount the people were contributing.
Not only were the rich obvious, there was a woman there who was obvious to Jesus.
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,a worth only a fraction of a penny. (v. 42).
This widow had no human means of support. Her husband was gone and she was alone. She put in two small coins, lepta, that made a little "ting, ting" sound as they hit the bottom. A lepta was less than one of our pennies, and we all know you can't do much with a penny. As a matter of fact, a good number of people today will not bend over to pick a penny off the ground. A minister friend of mine with back problems used to tell me that he wouldn’t bend over for anything less than a quarter. I suppose that if Jesus was blessed then by “lepta” he might be blessed today by the pennies that we walk over or the money that we carelessly spend on this or that. A lepta was the smallest currency in Palestine at the time. And Jesus watched her put two lepta in the offering. He must have been pretty close to see those tiny coins! He sits opposite the treasury and watches this take place, and it tells Him volumes about this woman's heart.
2. Watching Critically
Jesus saw what everyone gave, and how they gave, and He analyzed what He saw. He watched critically, going beyond the obvious and looking into the heart of each giver. He wanted to know what was behind what they gave. Then,
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. (v. 43).
Jesus was so taken by the widow's actions, He called the disciples over for a life lesson. He didn't want His disciples to miss what had taken place.
Is that what you and I would have done? We probably would have been more impressed with the huge donations made by the rich men. We would have said, "Did you see Rabbi Levi put in $1,000? And Rabbi Ruben, he put in $5,000! Let's name a building after him! What a great guy!" But that's not what Jesus said, and that's not what He wanted the disciples to see. He called them over to see the humble sight of a poor widow putting in some measly change. This somebody was a nobody in the world's eyes, but she was a sight to behold in the eyes of Christ.
Jesus focused on this widow because she gave more than those rich men. How can that be? She only gave two lepta, two parts of a penny. How can that compare with the rich who gave hundreds or thousands of dollars to God? Jesus tells us:
. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (v.44)
That was the difference: The widow gave all she had, while the rich gave what they had left over. In today's terms, after the car note was paid, after the rent was paid, after their credit cards were paid, they gave what was left over. Well, this widow didn't have anything to give, but God looked at her heart. God measured her gift by her motive. This is the question concerning stewardship: Is the offering given with a motivation that honors God, or with a motivation to placate Him – to give the smallest amount possible? To do enough so that we can avoid feeling guilty and give the appearance of devotion.
It would be a mistake to assume that people who give a tenth can afford to do so. It would be a mistake to assume that people who give do not have the same sort of debt load that you carry. You see there are no excuses really for not honoring God with your finances. The widow had many reasons not to give an offering.
· She had an economic excuse: She was poor. All she had to live on was two lepta, verse 44 tells us. She didn't have more money at home or in the bank; that was it.
· She had a religious reason not to give because at this time there were crooks running the church. Jesus warned:
38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” [4] (Mark 12:38-40).
The temple's leaders were corrupt and were actually taking advantage of widows. She had reason to keep her money from these evil people. There are loads of “pseudo-spiritual” reasons that a person might give from withholding support to a local church. But when we hold back from the church we are holding back from God and ultimately we will have to account for that.
· The widow also had a motivational reason. She could have asked, "What good will two lepta do?" Her small contribution would not have made much difference in the great amount of funds the temple brought in. But the widow didn't worry about these things. She was giving to God. She went to the temple to meet with God, and it was to Him she made her offering. Her sole motivation was God.
Do you share the same motivation? When the offering plate comes around, do you sit there and think in terms of giving to God? Or do you think in terms of how much you have left over in your wallet after the bills are paid? God isn't interested in how much you give, He wants to know why you give it. He wants to know what is in your heart.
I heard about a preacher who tested one of his rich members. He asked the man, "John, if you had 100 pigs, would you give 25 to God?" John answered, "Sure, preacher." The preacher asked, "John, if you had 20 pigs, would you give 5 to God?" John answered, "Sure, preacher." The preacher asked, "John, if you had two pigs, would you give one to God?" John said, "Preacher, cut that out. You know I have two pigs."
See, as long as we're being hypothetical, it is easy to be generous. But when God asks what we're going to do right now, we hold back.
3. Watching Spiritually
God watches your act of offering intimately, and critically, but at the heart of it all, God watches your offering spiritually. When you give to the kingdom of God, it's different than giving to any other organization. No other organization cares why you give money; they just want your money. But God asks why you are giving that money; He looks at the heart behind the offering. Is it a heart motivated to give God the first fruits, or to give God the leftovers?
Your love for God is measured and tested by the hold you have on your wallet. There is no way around it. It was the first and foremost test fore the rich young ruler.
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [5] Mark 10:21 (NIV)
What you do with your money is an indicator of how you feel about Him. God wants your love for Him to be reflected in your gift or your sacrifice, not because of the good way He makes you feel or the good He does for you, but because when the rubber hits the road, He is worthy of your sacrifice.
The widow gave all she had, so she had nothing left. She entrusted herself completely to God to meet her needs. I know of people just like that. People who give to God first and look to meet their own needs second. And I know God to be faithful. This woman was banking on God, and she threw herself on Him. She needed Him and she knew there was no better place for her to be than in His hands. The widow gave more than the rich men, not in portion, but in proportion. Where she gave 100 percent, they just gave the leftovers.
There is a great story of sacrifice in the book of 1 Kings 17. The widow of Zarephath was down to her last meal, and God told her to give it to the prophet Elijah. She trusted God and did as He said, preparing the last of her food for Elijah. The widow and her son prepared to die because they knew they would have nothing left to eat. But God intervened and provided unending amounts of flour and oil, and they were able to eat for many more days. She put God first, trusted His Word, and obeyed Him, and He rewarded her beyond what she could have imagined.
Somewhere, somehow, sometime every child of God needs to develop the practice of putting God first, because He is God. Every day we experience God's provision, so shouldn't we trust Him to provide when we give Him the first fruits, the best of our offering instead of the leftovers? The amount of your offering is insignificant to God because it is the state of your heart that matters. If you are giving a million dollars, but it's a leftover million, it shows that God is a leftover God to you.
In closing this morning, let me ask you first of all, do you come to church as a spectator, looking to receive or as a child looking to find the face of your father in the crowd? Do you want to find the joy of Divine attention fixed on you as you offer your worship to Him as though there were no one else to perform for? A person can come, cross their arms and defy God to speak to them. Is that you? I guess I’m asking for a change in determination among us today. I am wondering how many might be willing to begin to come to church to direct your efforts and your attention toward God and understand that He is looking for you on Sundays.
Also as a matter of stewardship regardless of how much money you put in the plate, I would ask you to evaluate your gift today. Is my giving honoring by it’s motives. Am I truly giving to God in proportion to His giving to me. Is the cash crisp or leftover crumbs after other interests have been served? Big or little – it doesn’t matter but what your heart says about what you give is crucial. I am asking today if you are willing to begin to honor God in you giving?
I fear, wherever riches have increased (exceeding few are the exceptions), the essence of religion, the mind that was in Christ has decreased in the same proportion. Therefore I do not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of true religion to continue long. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality; and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, so will pride, anger, and love of the world in all its branches.
What way then can we take that our money may not sink us to the nethermost hell? There is one way, and there is no other under heaven. If those who "gain all they can," and "save all they can," will likewise "give all they can," then the more they gain, the more they will grow in grace, and the more treasure they will lay up in heaven.
John Wesley
* The outline of this sermon was taken from an internet article called “The Motivation of Christian Stewardship”
by Tony Evans
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a Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 9
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Zondervan: Grand Rapids
a Greek two lepta
b Greek kodrantes
[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Zondervan: Grand Rapids
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Zondervan: Grand Rapids
a Greek two lepta
[4] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Zondervan: Grand Rapids
[5] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Zondervan: Grand Rapids
