When Giving Less Is More Part 2

One reason for us. Jesus longer.

Remember never feel manipulated preacher says God is watching those by as though he is watching Jesus was in the temple courtyard, watching as the rich make sure the crowds saw them do. Then he peered intently at the poor widow who dropped her last two might in the treasury church in Chicago. This is running to win with Dr. Moser is clear. Teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Master loser that widow had no idea she would become famous throughout history day. I absolutely love it. People don't understand that the good things that they do have ripples that go on for a long time's matter fact the Bible says in the book of Revelation that when a Christian dies.

Their works follow them. I love this story and I visualize it in my mind. We hear it running to win are committed to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But we do need funds in order to do it and were so thankful for the many of you who contribute to this ministry. But during this month of August. We are having a time of sharing, but also a time of matching gift.

By that I mean some of our friends have said that they are willing to match what you give dollar for dollar.

Would you consider helping us.

Here's what you can do. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now let's open our Bibles and visualize this remarkable scene and the church for as long as the church in doers. There is a lesson learned from this nameless widow. Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box where they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had all she had to live on while she gave more interesting to contemplate.

How did she get more by the way parenthesis. If if her to mites were given compound interest. You know that compound interest is an raising once you get to the higher sums it just is it just something mathematically that you have to understand, but it explodes.

Someone figured it out and I do know that it's true, but over 2000 years those to mites with compound interest might be worth something like 24 with 19 zeros at the end. So who knows how much she gave as far as the heavenly calculator was concerned. Somebody also said well you know how she gave more is that her story has inspired giving in the Christian church for 2000 years and you think of all of the money that has been given because of her and and I need to comment on that this woman doing that had no I DO that she was gonna be part of the Bible. She had no idea that for thousands of years preachers were going to be referring to her and using her as an egg sample she had no I feel that that was going to happen.

Let me give you word of encouragement. God never lets us see all the good we do never. We get little glimmers of it, but the impact of the person's life going from now throughout all of eternity and that is to say their impact going even as far as eternity.

We never know what impact you have some of you grandparents you will not understand the impact that you had on your grandchildren until you get to heaven. This dear lady, unnamed unsung.

She didn't know that she was going to be held up as an exhibit of generosity for generations got lesser, but I think what Jesus probably just simply meant is her gift meant more because she gave from the heart and she gave sacrificially it's probably what Jesus had in mind that when we give from the heart extravagantly because we love that means more to God then if we simply give because were expected to forgive out of our abundance as all of us do, including myself, because most of us, and I include myself in this have never given sacrificially in the sense of we had to go without because we gave most of us fit into that category. But if we give sacrificially where it actually impacts our lifestyle and impact of the what we have or what we don't have now were talking about a radical commitment of love and generosity. I think that there are two lessons that this dear widow has to teach us. First of all giving reveals the heart.

Obviously giving reveals the heart. This is found all throughout the Scripture. That's why the Bible says that the Lord loves a cheerful giver.

My friend, if before you put a nickel into the offering plate.

You squeeze it so much that it turns red.

Keep it running. If we are not a generous people because God loved us, we shouldn't give grudgingly.

The Bible talks about those who give grudgingly, or of necessity. Have you ever noticed here at the Moody church. We do not make it a requirement to tie we don't say to the new members coming in now if you want to be a member of Moody church. You must hide no we hold up the tide.

As an example as a benchmark as a good rule to follow, at least to begin, but we don't make it mandatory. I don't want people to say we'll see you know what they are there, forcing us to give because because you know they need the money. As I mentioned last time that idea that idea bad motivation.

No, we should be asking how much can I contribute because I love ultimately it is a matter of love. Now, having said that, it is very interesting. You know I began this message by saying that money always competes with God for our affections. I'm really serious. It does because the more money you have or the more money you make, the more difficult it is for some people to give it away. The poor sometimes are the most generous because they know what it's like for other people to do without, so they are generous with those who are going through tough times. They give out money to the poor because they've been poor and they know they and they are and how bad it is in poverty is is bad, no doubt about it, very bad. I think though that what is one of the most interesting things is that time all the statistics that I've seen in their been all kinds of studies on this.

They show that the less you make the higher percentage you give.

And that doesn't mean that the poor give more than the rich because if you give 10% of $20,000 a year, or $30,000 a year. It's not as much as 5% on hundred thousand a year or $200,000 a year so that the rich may give more in terms of the actual cash, but the percentage goes down know why that is but our hearts are really interesting. There is a story about Dr. Criswell, who was for many years.

The pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas Texas. I remember when I was there is a seminary student. I remember hearing Dr. Criswell preach the sense that time is going on to heaven.

But there's a story about Ted that he told about a young man who came to my young businessmen, said Dr. Criswell, you know, when I began my business and was just making such a little bit of money every year. He said I gladly gave 10 to the Lord, but he said is my business has grown and has now become the norm multimillion dollar business and I'm making so much money sit.

I just I just can't type anymore I can't give that much money to the Lord. Dr. Criswell said, let me pray for you say put his hand in the shoulder and said, oh God, I pray that you might reduce this young man's income. I pray father that his business will bring all God bring it down to a size that is right whereby he can be faithful with what you and him truly amazing. The more some people make percentage wise, the less they give why money competes with God for our affections. And that's why the Bible says when riches increase. Do not set your heart on them and that's why it has often been said you should proportion your giving according to your income lesson God brings your income in accordance with your giving but the bottom line is it's always been a matter of heart always.

It isn't so that we can pay the lights in pay the salaries. It's always a matter of heart.

That's what this dear woman teaches us. I think there's another lesson though inherent in here because I have to look at the text again. I can't just leave it the way it is. I have to ask myself the question now, this dear lady, God bless her. Did she go home and starve.

I don't know but I don't think so.

I think God took care of. I think that when she stood there and she gave her to mites and she didn't know that Jesus was watching. This was not a show she was, not a singer. She wasn't blowing her trumpet. I think it was given out of love but also faith faith to believe that God would meet her need. It's the kind of faith that you and I need in a time of economic uncertainty is the kind of faith that you and I need when it seems as if the whatever's been nailed down is being torn up and we don't know where the economic decline is going to and at a time like this. We need faith and we need to believe you know when you look at our bulletin.

You can tell that as a church were in great financial need and we haven't cut back a lot of things yet, although we have some things in place where we are not spending money even though could use it and needed but that we don't know what the future holds.

People say a pastor looks or are you nervous are you afraid no not really, because I believe God is going to bring us through it, but we never know what sacrifices will make in the way we never know where were going to have to cut and as leaders we always have the responsibility to make those kinds of decisions.

But what we need is faith now in order to illustrate, let me tell you that this past week I spent 2 1/2 days in the state of California could I say parenthetically it was just so gratifying. Maybe that's not the word to turn on CNN and see that it was 17° below in Chicago and then walked out of the hotel address just as I am now able to take off my suit coat later in the afternoon and enjoy the warm sunshine and I thought I hope the people of Chicago never know that there is a place like California.

I was speaking at the Masters college. Many of you are acquainted with the ministry of John the John MacArthur as a matter fact, the time that I'm wearing today was given to me by the school. It is the official school time. I told John I'd wear it in the pulpit on Sunday morning.

The topic was suffering. I've never been at a conference yet where I heard such messages on insight regarding suffering Dr. John MacArthur and also Sinclair Ferguson were there speaking about suffering in a way that I'd never heard before, but on Friday night before I spoke. They had a 20 minute testimony by Johnny Erickson, Todd know many of you will be acquainted with her. The moment I mentioned her name, but for those of you who aren't 40 years ago. Yes, it is 40 years ago. She dived into Chesapeake Bay and broke her neck and has been a quadriplegic for 40 long years in order to give you an idea of how long that was ago I remember when I read her first book, telling her story sometime in the 70s when I was pastor of Edgewater Baptist Church goes back a long long time. If you know that to. She has a wonderful ministry called Johnny and friends and some of our people here at the church. The Butler family.

For example, of often attended her retreats and brought music in that context, but Johnny was wheeled of course in her wheelchair and she spoke and I want to give you a summary of what she said because it does relate to economics. She said when this accident happened. She had some very tough questions for God, not just questions like, you might ask in a Bible study. You know what you think about this, no, no, no, no, she had some tough questions. God you say that you love your children if you love your children.

Why are you so mean to them. Why do you treat me like this.

She wanted to die fact sheet of committed suicide if she could, but as a result of that God brought her through that and gave her insight into suffering the likes of which none of us could possibly fathom. I don't know anyone who ministers to so many millions of people and she's on the radio and she is had a lot of exposure to helping people. I don't know of anybody who does who ministers out of complete total brokenness. She says every morning she wakes up she says God I can't do this another day. I can't I say also that her pain is worse than it used to be. She said now it's to the very level it was when this accident happened.

She said I live with chronic pain 24 hours a day, but at seven in the morning. The woman who's designed to who is taking care of her comes in and and begins the process then and Johnny tells God I can't do this another day. If I'm going to do this another day you have to do this if you don't give me my strength.

I'm just going to lie here.

I cannot do it in this dear woman whom we shall call Mary comes in and begins to help Johnny to get out of bed, brushes her teeth for her. Does everything and the as time goes on. Johnny begins to realize that God is given her strength for another day.

Now that's been 40 long years people say Johnny would like to pray for your healing. Can we pray for your healing, and Johnny says sure but first of all I want to tell you what kind of healing you should pray for. She said don't pray that I'll walk fact early on there were all these people who said God is shown me that you're gonna walk here and so forth, and it never happened. She said don't pray that I'm walk. She should pray for the healing of my soul. She said what 40 years in a wheelchair is done as it is given me a hatred for sin. And I see how terrible it is and she said my soul needs healing because she said I still struggle with pettiness with self-pity, with very very narrow abuse sometimes of people. She said she said pray that that will happen. That's more important than whether or not I walk holiness is more important than happiness or wholeness physically that's what she said and then she said this she said having a disability isn't the worst thing in the world. The worst thing in the world is to have an impure heart. Remember Jesus when he was talking about lust said if your eye offends you, pluck it out and cast it from you if your right hand offends you, cut it off and cast it from you will if you cut out your right IN your right hand, you'd be disabled but Jesus said it is better to enter into heaven disabled.

Having taken care of, lost in the sand that is keeping you from faith is better to do that than to arrive in the hell completely healthy and well. After which, of course, you won't be so.

She said the disability isn't the worst thing it's the sin in my heart that you have to pray for. I just thought while, but then she said this and this relates to economics it relates to this woman it relates to the fear that we have of the future. She said what this did was it blasted me against God. I had nowhere to go except God wholeheartedly. She said it was like sandblasting to blast out all everything I depended upon everything that was important to me whether it was my looks, whether it was my future.

Whether it was my career. All that was gone.

I had only God she said I discovered that God wasn't mean, I discovered that God cared about me. He is a loving beyond all words she said and she discovered that, in the crucible of suffering, but then she said this she said Jesus seems much bigger to us, and much more able, when we are desperate. I wonder if our financial downturn might be given to us by God to teach us that Jesus is bigger than we realized.

And better than we realized and more trustworthy than we realized. Because were in financial need and we don't know where to turn. The final lesson. I think this dear lady teaches us, and that is this what a beautiful picture of Jesus I say beautiful picture of Jesus because he also was rich he was rich. The Bible says, but he became dirt poor and he came to live on this earth and to die on the cross so that you and I could be redeemed and he gave it all in, extravagant, irrational love, and because of that he gave what he had, so that you and I might be saved but a beautiful picture of generosity is our Savior and that's why we should be generous is because he's been merciful and generous to forgive is to make as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, to give us all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ and because of that we too can trust and believe that God sees the sparrow fall was the God who will take care of us hard times. Yes, ask Johnny but is he loving is he kind trustworthy.

Can we believe him though our wallets are empty and the answer is yes.

What is pray our Lord today. We ask that you will help us help all those who came today whose focus has been on their need.

Help them to see father that that you are with us in the good times in the tough times and when we don't know where to turn. We ask that wholeheartedly will turn to you. Help us to see Jesus bigger because were desperate. What prayer do you have to pray today whatever it is just simply say Lord Jesus Lord Jesus I give to you my burdens. Some of you need to give him your sins.

And if you do, in faith, you'll exchange it with his righteousness.

Whatever God is talking about. You do father hear the cry of your people.

In Jesus name. You know my friend. During this time of great need in the financial uncertainty and fear, and perhaps even panic.

We need to just pause and ask the Lord what will you have us to do. There are many excellent ministries as you consider your gifts.

We would encourage you to consider the ministry of running to win were coming to the end of August and we have a matching gift program. By that we mean there is some of our friends who have said that they are willing to match what people give dollar for dollar up to $90,000.

That means that your gift will be doubled.

Would you consider helping us.

I'm sitting here and thinking about the many people in Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia and Jordan because running to win is now in Arabic and goes to these countries. Thanks in advance for thinking about us praying for us and here's what you can do. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. Your gift will be matched and the gospel will continue to go throughout many countries of the world, 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 Christians have bank accounts on earth but also accounts in heaven. They lay up treasures for moth and rust not correct next time I'm running to win will learn why the long-term view is best investments in things eternal their return.

We cannot even imagine will get an economics lesson as we hear about investing with your are all in mind. Thanks for listening.

This is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the teacher