GENEROSITY: THE ANTIDOTE TO STINGINESS

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 12) - THE WIDOW’S GIFT

41 Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 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.”

BIG IDEA: PRACTICING GENEROSITY CURES STINGINESS!

WE OPENED OUR SERIES ON LAST SUNDAY WITH A PROFOUND QUESTION: DO YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE A GENEROUS PERSON?

IT WAS EVIDENT BY THE EXPRESSIONS ON FACES THAT MOST, IF NOT ALL OF US, BELIEVE OURSELVES TO BE GENEROUS...

SO WE TOOK IT A STEP FURTHER TO PROVIDE A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF GENEROUS: DOING GOOD TO SOMEONE ELSE, WITH THE INFERENCE OF FINANCES BEING INVOLVED.

WE ONLY GET TO GENEROSITY (AS WE LEARNED LAST WEEK) THROUGH SURRENDER, COMMITTED SERVICE, AND A WILLING SACRIFICE…WOW!

AS WE PRESS DEEPER INTO THIS CONCEPT, I WAS CONTINUALLY CONFRONTED WITH A KEY OPPONENT TO BEING GENEROUS - UH HUH - BEING STINGY!

IF SUPERMAN’S WEAKNESS WAS KRYPTONITE, GENEROSITY’S WEAKNESS IS STINGINESS!

STINGINESS: AN UNWILLINGNESS TO PART WITH SOMETHING BASED UPON A FEAR OF LOSING ONE’S GROUND.

STINGINESS ATTACKS GENEROSITY!

STINGINESS MAKES US QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF ANOTHER PERSON’S NEEDS...

STINGINESS MAKES US FEARFUL....

IF BEING BROKE IS OUR GREATEST FEAR, THEN STINGINESS BRINGS THAT UP CONSTANTLY...

A man one day came to the pastor and said, “Pastor, when I was making $30K a year, I’d give generously to the Lord. Now I’m making $150K a year, and I don’t have anything to give to the Lord. Would you pray for me?” The Pastor said, “Let’s pray. Lord, would You please take this brother back to $30K a year so that he can start back giving, Amen!”

BELOVED, WHY IS IT THAT WHEN WE COME UP, WE CLAM UP?

WHY IS IT THAT WHEN WE HAVE ABUNDANCE, WE LIVE AS IF WE HAVE LACK?

THE MORE WE’RE BLESSED BY GOD, THE MORE WE LIVE IN DENIAL OF THOSE BLESSINGS...

COMPLAINING OR (OUTRIGHT) LYING ABOUT WHAT WE DON’T HAVE, OR HOW LITTLE WE HAVE.

WE PRETEND TO STRUGGLE (WATCH THIS) SO THAT FOLKS WON’T ASK US FOR ASSISTANCE...

WHEN THE REALITY IS (AGAIN) - WE’RE JUST FEARFUL THAT POVERTY WILL OVERTAKE US...

BELOVED: GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT A SPIRIT OF POWER AND OF LOVE AND OF A SOUND MIND...

LIVING IN STINGINESS ONLY AMPLIFIES OUR DISTRUST IN THE ONE WHO BLESSED US IN THE FIRST PLACE....

LET ME GIVE YOU TWO EXTRA PRINCIPLES THAT WE’LL UNPACK IN TODAY’S MESSAGE:

BEING STINGY LEAVES US EMPTY!

BEING GENEROUS LEAVES US PLENTEOUS!

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 12) - THE WIDOW’S GIFT

41 Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 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.”

IT’S PASSOVER SEASON IN OUR TEXT...

JESUS HAS MADE HIS WAY TO THE COURT OF WOMEN, SO CALLED, BECAUSE THIS WAS AS FAR AS WOMEN COULD ENTER WITHIN THE TEMPLE COMPOUND...

VS. 41 GIVES US THE SCENE. JESUS:

SITS SO HE CAN SEE!

TEXT SAYS: ACROSS FROM THE TEMPLE TREASURY - IN VIEW OF WHO GAVE AND WHAT THEY GAVE…IN FACT THE TEXT SAYS, “HE WATCHED (((HOW)))) THE CROWD GAVE.”

Many rich people were putting in large sums.

JESUS SEES WHAT YOU GIVE.

JESUS CARES WHAT YOU GIVE.

WATCH THIS, AND DON’T FOOL YOURSELF: IF JESUS CARED THEN, HE CARES NOW!!!

JESUS KNOWS WHY YOU GIVE!

BELOVED DON’T GET DEFENSIVE. DON’T BEGIN EXPLAINING YOUR GIVING - WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! WE ALL WRESTLE WITH THE TUG OF STINGINESS - ESPECIALLY WHEN IT INVOLVES CORPORATE OFFERINGS...

BUT BEFORE I INTRODUCE THIS NAMELESS WIDOW, LET ME ASK YOU:

WHEN YOU’VE GOT ONE PIECE OF GUM LEFT, AND SOMEONE ASKS, WHAT DO YOU DO?

WHEN YOUR CHILDREN/GRANDCHILDREN ASK FOR THAT LAST PIECE OF CAKE, WHAT DO YOU?

AS SILLY AS THESE QUESTIONS ARE, THEY GIVE VIEW TO OUR PERSPECTIVES ON GENEROSITY AND STINGINESS...

WE KNOW WE CAN GIVE OUR LAST PIECE OF GUM, BECAUSE BUYING ANOTHER PACK IS EASY....

WE KNOW WE CAN GIVE OUR LAST PIECE OF CAKE, BECAUSE BAKING ANOTHER CAKE IS EASY....

YET, WHEN IT COMES TO US GIVING OUR LAST TO GOD - WE SOMEHOW DOUBT THAT GOD CAN DUPLICATE THAT GIFT OR THOSE RESOURCES…WE DOUBT THAT GOD CAN DO IT AGAIN!!!

42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 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.”

Ah, so in struts this nameless widow! She realizes that her stuff wasn’t hers! One morning she stepped out for worship. As she trekked the dusty road to the temple, she began to rejoice for being counted in that number! She worshipped God on that day like never before, because Jesus, Himself, was in the house! Then it came time for the sacrificial offering. She dug deep into her pouch and pulled out all of its contents: two coins – Lepta, the least valuable Greek coin! As she stood in line, she clinched those two coins. She realized that her worship (Like her life) was incomplete until she gave God all that she had! Her simple act of sacrificial living & giving got the attention of Jesus, and her testimony lingers until this day.

Why does her offering make us so uncomfortable? It doesn’t take all of that! Surely we don’t have to give ALL!

Most of us would like to think that from time to time we please God by giving until it really hurts. But how many of us would even consider giving until it is gone? You see, this sort of radical lifestyle makes the average Believer uncomfortable…We can give away stuff we do not want, which costs us nothing, but not the stuff that we cling to! The sacrifice comes when we give away the stuff that means something to us…AND most of us don’t give LIKE THAT anymore!

LET’S STACK IT UP: JESUS SITS SO HE CAN SEE!

VS. 42 - THE WOMAN:

GIVES SO SHE CAN SHOW....

THE WOMAN WANTS TO SHOW WHAT SACRIFICIAL GIVING REALLY LOOKS LIKE...

THE WOMAN WANTS TO SHOW WHAT GENEROSITY REALLY LOOKS LIKE....

WE THINK WE KNOW, BUT WE’RE JUST LEARNING...

IT WASN’T JUST HER AMOUNT THAT WAS NOTEWORTHY…IT WAS HER COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD’S ABILITY TO REPLENISH WHAT SHE GAVE!

WATCH THIS:

THEY GAVE UNTIL THEY FELT GOOD!

SHE GAVE UNTIL GOD FELT GOOD!

WHEN WE GIVE GENEROUSLY - CHEERFULLY - WILLFULLY - WE DEMONSTRATE A LEVEL OF TRUST IN THE ONE WHO ENABLED US TO GIVE AND WHO GAVE US WHAT WE GIVE....

Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Jesus’ commendation of reality 12:41–44 (cf. Luke 21:1–4))

“The means of the giver and the motive are the measure of true generosity.”

“The test of liberality is not what is given, but what is left.”

THE WOMAN GIVES SO SHE CAN SHOW...

IF WHAT WE GIVE COSTS US NOTHING, IT’S NOT A SACRIFICE. AS A RESULT, IT CANNOT BE GENEROUS.

IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE DON’T MISS IT, THEN IT DIDN’T COST US!

YOU SEE, THE RICH FOLK GAVE OUT OF THEIR SURPLUS…THEY WOULDN’T MISS ANY AMOUNT OUT OF THEIR SURPLUS...

THIS SHOWS WHAT GENEROSITY IS NOT: IF ALL YOU GIVE: TIME, TREASURE, TALENT, SERVICE IS OUT OF YOUR EXTRA, THEN THERE IS NO SACRIFICE.

BUT WHEN WE GIVE WHAT HAS WEIGHT, THEN WE STEP INTO GENEROUS / SACRIFICIAL GIVING!

THIS WOMAN GAVE THE LEAST AND THE MOST AT THE SAME TIME!!!

SHE GAVE TRUSTING GOD FOR HER NEXT...

JESUS IS TEACHING THEM AND US HOW GENEROSITY IS THE ANTIDOTE TO STINGINESS:

GIVE HUMBLY - NO BOASTING OR FLAUNTING

GIVE SACRIFICIALLY - NOT OUT OF SURPLUS - TRUSTING GOD WITH YOUR NEXT...

GIVE TO GLORIFY - ALL TO HIM