I don't want to give away my
age or anything, but those two gentlemen that just sung, they
were just young boys when I first met them. Not anymore. What a blessing. Teresa and I
want to thank you for inviting us. It's an honor and privilege
to be here. It really is. And the Church
of Madisonville, they've had a real interest in this building
project since you started. And I often be greeted at the
door at the back of the church saying, hey, how's it going in
Kingsport? How's everything progressing? And I said, well, Gabe says it's
going to be done such and such time. No. I doubt if any of the folks in
Madisonville are listening right now. They may tune in later,
recording or whatever, but I have three words to say to them concerning
this building. I want one. I'm not bashful to ask for it. I want us to read two accounts
of the same story this morning. The first account is found in
Mark chapter 12, if you would turn there with me, beginning
in verse 41. Mark chapter 12, verse 41. And Jesus set over against the
treasury and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury
and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain
poor widow and she threw in two mites which make a farthing.
And he called unto his disciples, the Lord Jesus did, and he saith
unto them, Verily I say unto you that this poor widow hath
cast in more than all they which cast into the treasury. For all
they did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want did cast
in all that she had, even all her living." Now turn over a
few pages to Luke chapter 21 with me. Here we have the second
account of the same story. Luke chapter 12 verse 1. Luke 21 1 Again we read in verse 1 and
he that being Christ looked up and saw the rich men casting
their gifts into the treasury and he saw a certain poor widow
casting in thither two mites I love that word certain. In
the scriptures, it's such a precious word. Whenever it appears, it
means a determined, particular, specific person. We have many
certain men and women here this morning. The Lord set his affection
on you before the foundation of the world, and what God purposed
in eternity, he brings forth in time, and he saved you by
his grace. This was a certain poor widow.
Verse three, and he said, of a truth I say unto you, that
this poor widow hath cast in more than they all, for all these
have of their abundance cast into the offerings of God, but
she of her penury, or poverty, hath cast in all the living that
she had. Now, I'm sure you noticed from
Mark's account that the Lord placed himself over against the
treasury on purpose. You know, everything God does
is on purpose. He's a God of purpose. And secondly,
from Luke's account, Christ placed himself there on purpose for
the purpose of seeing some things. What did our Lord see? Well,
he saw rich men cast in their gifts, and he saw them cast in
a lot, much it said. And he saw a certain poor widow
casting little, two mites. Some say it's less than a penny.
It wasn't much, but it was all that she had. All she had. Now let me say in the very beginning,
my message this morning is not about giving. It's not about
tithing. It's not about offering. You
know, that's what modern day religion likes to harp on. This
is a message about faith. This is a message about trusting
God for everything. Everything. It's not a story
about what we give to God. The gospel is not what we do
for God. I hear people talk all the time
in religion, look what we're doing for God. It's not about
that. It's about what God has done for sinners in the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's the gospel. That's what
God's people wanna hear. This is a story about what God
gives to us. This is a story about attitude. This is a story about dependence
upon Christ. Did you also notice in Mark's
account that it said, the Lord said over against the treasury
and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury. The
Lord wasn't looking at how much they gave. He was looking at
how they gave. That's something to think about.
How they gave, he was observing with what motive they gave. He was watching what attitude
they had in their giving. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. I wanna be a cheerful giver,
don't you? And these rich men out of their
abundance, it says, they gave. They gave out of their excess.
They could spare it, they had plenty. But this poor widow,
she gave all that she had. She didn't have anything left.
She threw in two mites, and I can just kinda see her in my mind's
eye, hurriedly throwing it in. She didn't want anybody to see
how little she threw in. She wasn't there for a show,
I'll tell you that. She just hurriedly threw it in.
And the Lord said that she gave all her living. She didn't have anything left.
And the Lord said, she cast in more than they all. Isn't that
just like God? Isn't that just like our great
God's kingdom and his kingdom? Those who think that they are
rich are poor, and those who think that they're poor are really
rich. The Lord Jesus said in Revelation chapter three, verse
17, because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched
and miserable and poor and blind and naked. They didn't even know
it. Paul instructed Timothy, he said, charge them that are
rich in this world that they be not high-minded, nor trust
in certain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly
all things to enjoy, and doesn't he? We're getting a little taste
of that here this weekend, as you said, so many times, a little
bit of heaven on earth. I'm so thankful for it. He giveth
us richly all things to enjoy. They that do good, they be rich
in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. Now to
truly be poor doesn't have anything at all to do with material things,
material wealth. If you have worldly riches and
you don't have Christ, then you don't have anything. You don't
have nothing. Remember in our Lord's day, this,
well, in our Lord's day, this poor woman, she didn't have anything.
And in our Lord's day, there was no social services. She didn't
receive any help from the Roman government, I can assure you
of that. Here's the interesting fact that
word poor there in in verse 2 That original Greek word is Translated
in the English is poor this way only one time in all the Bible
It's used 205 times in the Bible, but only one time in this verse
is it? that original word translated
poor and here that words means necessities In all the other
places in scripture, the word poor means depressed in mind,
weak, beggarly, impoverished, bankrupt, to be without. But
in our text, it means so much more than that. The word poor
in verse two here not only means to be without and to have nothing,
but it means to be without the means and the ability to get
any more. You know, if someone spends their
whole paycheck, and as a young man I used to do that, I'd have
it spent before I got it a lot of times. All our paycheck and we say we're
broke, but we still got a job and we still got the ability
to earn more. But this woman had not only was
she had given all she had, she didn't have the ability to earn
anymore. She truly gave all she had. That's what that word there,
poor, means. She was poor. It means much more than destitute,
much more than just beggarly, much more than just impoverished.
And there are many who are all these things, naturally speaking,
and yet they never see their necessity of Christ, who is the
one thing needful. What was this poor widow left
with? With nothing. She didn't have
nothing left. She gave all she had. What ability
did this poor widow have to get more? She had no ability. Do
you hear me? No ability. She gave all her
living. She gave all she had. She gave
knowing there was nothing left to give. She gave knowing that
she could never give more. Now the rich men who gave out
of their abundance, there was really no sacrifice made. None
really. This poor woman sacrificed all
that she had and all she had left was just complete dependence
on God. She trusted Him for everything.
Everything. And that would prove to be enough.
You know what? It always does. It always proves
to be enough. Christ is sufficient, more than
sufficient. Oh, God, give us the grace and
the faith to believe that, to trust in our Savior. Now, let
me ask you, if we can trust the Lord to save us and to keep us,
can we not trust him for everything else that we need? Sure we can. God enabled us to do that. Give
us faith to trust. It's called faith, trusting God
to provide all our need. Paul wrote, but my God shall
supply all your need, singular. Have you ever noticed that? Not
needs. Christ is that one thing needful.
If we have him, we have everything. He's able to supply all your
need according to his riches in glory. How? By Christ Jesus. That's how our needs are supplied,
by Him and Him alone. He is our singular need. And if we have Him, we have everything
else that we need. God the Father has blessed us
with all, how many? All spiritual blessings and heavenly
places, where? In Christ. In Christ we have
all we need and all that God requires. Now what can we learn
from this poor widow woman when we truly see her condition? We should see something of our
own spiritual condition. Oh, that God might show us that.
What was her condition? She was poor and needy. Needy. Is that your condition? Do you see yourself that way?
David referred to himself that way over and over again, as many
as 15 times. I think it's more than that in
the book of Psalms. And you know, when David claimed
to be poor and needy, he was a wealthy man. What was he talking
about? Poor in spirit, in need of God's
mercy and grace. Be poor in spirit means we have
no spiritual assets. What in the world is a wretch
like me gonna offer God? People say, well, offer him your
heart. He doesn't want my heart. It's deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked. I wouldn't dare offer him my
heart. What I need is a new heart from him. Oh, may God be pleased
to give it. You and I have a need of need. Don't we? We don't have a might worth of
merit. We don't have a farthing worth
of righteousness. And that's a good place to be
because that's who Christ came to save. Those that are needy. Luke 9 11 tells us just that
it said there that the Lord healed them that had need of healing
We don't go to the doctor just because we like him. Do we we
go to the doctor when we're sick when we need help Those that
are well those who are righteous in their own eyes they have no
need of a physician but a poor sick beggarly sinner does And
that's why we go to the great physician. He's the only one
that can supply our need. We have a need of need. You see, by God's grace, I see
that I'm sick. I'm sick. I've got a deadly disease. Like that leper that was full
of leprosy, I'm full of sin. That leper knew that it was not
his will that saved him, because he said, Lord, if you will, you
can make me whole. He knew that the Lord could.
The question in his heart was, will you? And what a way we should
come that way to our Lord. Lord, I know you can do anything.
I know you can do everything. But will you? Will you have mercy
on me? He's never turned one down yet,
Brandon. Not one. Not one sinner that's come to
him for mercy has he ever turned down. What an encouragement that
should be to us. If you have need, come to the
Great Physician. The Lord Jesus One day was leaving,
walking out of the city of Jericho and there was an old blind beggar
laying there. Bartimaeus was his name. Blind
Bartimaeus. And when he heard the Lord was
coming, he'd heard something before he heard the Lord was
coming because the first thing he cried out was, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me. He was a man in need. And of
course, everybody around him, shut up, dude. The Lord can't
be bothered with you. The scripture says the Lord stood
still when he heard that poor sinner's cry. Isn't that amazing,
Bob? The Lord stood still. He'll stand
still for you if you cry in desperate need. What do you need from the Lord,
Bartimaeus, that I might receive my sight? Same thing you and
I need, spiritual sight. And the Lord Jesus said, go thy
way, thy faith that made thee whole. And immediately he received
his sight and he followed Jesus in the way. Can you see that
poor, impotent man laying there at the pool of Bethesda? I've
pictured him so many times in my minds. He's laying there at
the pool of Bethesda, which means house of mercy. That's a good
place to be. For 38 years, this poor man lay with that infirmity. How needy do you suppose he was? Can you imagine, 38 years? The scriptures say, and when
the Lord saw him lie, he couldn't stand, he couldn't walk. He was
poor and needy. And there he lay at that pool
of Bethesda with a multitude of other impotent folk. But you
know, he's another one of those certain men too. Impotent means unable to take
effective action. Boy, that's a good definition
because that's me. I'm impotent and I'm unable to
take any effective action. Helpless and powerless, poor
and needy, by nature, that's all of us. Every one of us. These poor people were waiting
for an angel to stir the water. You know the story. And what
a picture of religion that story is. Men and women waiting for
something to happen. Men and women waiting for God
to do something. Men and women waiting for some
kind of heavenly experience when God's already done something.
He sent his son into this world to save sinners. Paul said, of
whom I am chief. He came to save poor and needy
sinners. Are you poor and needy? None of these impotent folks
were able to take effective action. I can tell you that. They were
impotent. They were helpless. And Christ
asked the impotent man, will you be made whole? And his reply
was, I have no man to put me in the water. He's being asked
this by Christ, who is the living water. He's the only man you need. He's
the God man, Jason. He's the God-man and he says
rise take up your bed and walk and this man who was impotent
was healed by the omnipotent You most preach the Lord Jesus
today is impotent, but he's not He's omnipotent. He's all-powerful Men and women need to read their
Bibles and His command is always effectual.
His word accomplishes what he sends it to do. And that was
the case here. And immediately, it says, the man was made whole.
Christ came in the world to save sinners, friends. And he came
to save the impotent. He came to save the poor and
needy. Are you poor and needy? Can you see that woman on her
hands and knees? She's had an issue of blood for
12 years, 12 years. It's rendered her helpless. It's
rendered her poor and needy. It says that she spent all that
she had on doctors and she grew all the worse. She spent all
she had. She didn't have nothing left.
That's where you got to come. You see, you don't have anything
to give, nothing to offer God. She spent all she had, she had
nothing, but she went from being a nobody to a somebody. You know
how I know? By touching the hem of his garment.
Now we're not told her name, but Christ gives her one. He
said, somebody touched me. Nobodies become somebodies when
the Lord touches them. They'll tell you they're a nobody, but God calls them a special
people. I want to take you to that gate
at the city of Nain. The Lord stops in his tracks
and there's a funeral procession, a dead man there taken out to
bury him. And he was the son of a widowed
mother. She'd lost her husband, the son
was all she had left. She was poor and needy. And so
was he, because he was dead in trespasses and sin. He was dead. And so are we in trespasses and
sin. What a picture of us dead. Was there anyone more needy than
her? Was there anyone more needy than him? The Lord said, weep
not. You know, he came to comfort
the poor and the needy. Do you need comfort this morning?
He said, young man, I say unto thee, arise, and the scripture
says, he that was dead, set up. And he that was dead began to
speak, and the Lord had compassion on both the mother and the son,
for they were both poor and needy. I'm poor and needy, and my heart
is wounded within me, David said. I'm poor and needy, yet the Lord
thinketh upon me. There's help and hope for the
poor and needy. That's my encouragement to you
this morning. I need Christ to put my sin away. He appeared to put away my sin
by the sacrifice of himself. I need Christ to give me his
perfect righteousness because that's all God will accept. And
the Lord Jesus Christ took my sin He was made to be sin for
me. He himself knew no sin, but he
was made to be sin for me that I might be what? Made the righteousness
of God in him. I need Christ to justify me,
friends. He died the just for the unjust
that he might bring us to God. Need Christ to redeem me blessed
by the Lord God of Israel for he had visited and redeemed his
people Luke 168 I need Christ to give me spiritual life I'm
dead in trespasses and sin. I need to be born again. I need
to be born from above I need to be made a new creature a new
creation a People talk about reform. We have reformed churches
and reformed doctrine and reformed this and reformed that. I don't
need to be reformed. I need to be born again. I need
to be given a new heart, not a reformed one. I need to be kept by the power
of God. I need to be preserved. I must endure to the end to be
saved. How am I gonna endure to the
end? I can tell you how. Having loved
his own that were in the world. He loved them and to the end
That's how I'm gonna endure to the end because Christ loves
me. He preserves me. He keeps me That's our hope and
what a great hope it is The story of the poor widow woman
is a story of faith it's a story of dependence on Christ and How
did this poor widow display faith? She cast all she had into the
treasury. And friends, Christ is the treasury. You know, this world tells us
not to put all our eggs in one basket. This word says we better.
That's right, you better. She was persuaded that God would
take care of her. She didn't have nothing to offer,
nothing to give. She was persuaded. Has God persuaded you? Are you
persuaded? Quickly turn with me to Romans
chapter four. I told Brother Darvin before
the message, I said, I ought to be done by the hour and a
half. And I'll leave you about eight minutes. Romans chapter 4 look at verse
16 I'm almost done says therefore it is a faith
that it might be by grace to the end of the promise might
be sure to all the seed not to the whole world now Everyone
in it but to the seed those born of God Not to that only which
is of the law but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham
Who's the father of us all? As it is written. I have made
thee a father of many nations before him whom he believed even
God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be
not as though they were and Now look at this, who against hope
believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations,
according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. And being
not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, but
when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness
of Sarah's womb, he staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. He didn't have any children,
the Lord talking about seed. I don't have any seed, he's thinking.
I said, I'm gonna give you a son, and he said, I'm 100 years old. I'm 66, and if somebody told
me, me and Teresa were having a new baby, I'd say you're nuts. He was 100, and his wife was
90. But God can do anything. He can
do everything. It takes faith to believe that.
Abraham was persuaded that it was so. Verse 22, and therefore
it was imputed to him, charged to him for righteousness. Now
it was not written for his sake alone. Now this is where it gets
good for me and you. It was not written for his sake
alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also. To whom it shall be imputed if
we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Do you believe that God raised Christ from the dead? That's
the only hope I have. Because that tells me that God
accepted his work. And that means that he accepts
me in him. How are we accepted? In the beloved, in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse 25, who was delivered for
our offenses and was raised again for our justification. You see,
friends, faith is to believe what to others seems impossible.
We against hope believe in hope. We consider not the deadness
of our flesh. We stagger not at the promise
of God. What is the promise of God? Verse
24, that God raised Christ from the dead. Verse 25, that Christ
was delivered for our offenses. That Christ was raised for our
justification. That we're made perfectly righteous
in Him. And God won't accept anything
less than perfection. And we can't provide what God
requires. We can't in Christ. That's why
he's our message, that's why the theme of all our preaching
is Christ. Every message you've heard this
weekend and the one you're gonna hear when I sit down is gonna
be about Him. There is no other message. God's
love is in Him, Christ. God's forgiveness is in Him,
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's pardon only in Him, nowhere
else. Quickly turn to Romans 8. Verse
33, here Paul asks those blessed questions that every believer
rejoices in. Romans 8 verse 33, Paul asks,
who shall lay anything, anything to the charge of God's elect?
It's God that justifies. We just read in Romans chapter
4 that Christ was raised for our justification to make us
perfectly righteous. Who can charge one with sin that
Christ has died for? Verse 34, who's he that condemned?
Who's going to condemn you? It says, it's Christ that died,
and yea, rather that is what? Risen again. God accepted his
work. He's risen again, who's even
at the right hand of God. What's he doing there? He's making
intercession for us. He's on the right hand of God,
praying and interceding for us, pleading our cause. Who can condemn a sinner that
Christ died and risen for? Who shall separate us, verse
35, from the love of Christ? Who's gonna divide a chosen sinner
who's been made in union, who is in union, one with the Lord
Jesus Christ? Who could do that? Nobody. Verse 37, nay, in all these things
we, The poor and needy are more than
conquerors. How so? Through Him, Christ that
loved us. It's all about Him. Everywhere
you look in this book, it's about Him. We say it all the time.
I love it. I'm gonna keep saying it. This
is a hymn book. H-I-M. And in verse 38, he says, for
I'm persuaded, I'm convinced, I'm divinely influenced, sovereignly
swayed, however you want to say it, certain, assured, my mind
is put to rest, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, what else? Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God. Where's that love of God at?
In Christ Jesus, our Lord. God's love for the poor and needy
is in Christ, nowhere else. Forgiveness is found in Him,
nowhere else. God doesn't love everybody. He
loves every sinner that loves his son. It says God, when God
so loved the world, that means all his people in the world.
Doesn't mean anything more than that. And that's enough, isn't
it? What did Paul? Paul said, for
I know whom I have believed. Not what I believe. Doesn't matter
how much scripture you've memorized or anything else. It's in who
you believe. Salvation's of the Lord. That's
the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, I know whom I believe
and I'm persuaded. What are you persuaded of? That
he is able. He's able. to do exceeding abundantly
above all we could think or ask. He's able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. What did Paul commit
to him? The same thing every believer commits to him. They
commit to him to provide their righteousness. They commit to
him to put away their sin. They commit to him their justification. They commit to him their salvation.
They commit to him everything. Everything that God requires
of them and that's our constant message. It's finished. It's
it's done You know when we can truly rest when our works finished
The works been finished rest rest We preach to persuade men to
have faith and trust in Christ poor and needy cast all You have
in the treasury of God my friends All your hope, all your trust,
all your confidence, all your love, all your comfort, all your
sin. For you have need of nothing
this world or this flesh has to offer but this man. Because
he continueth forever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, wherefore
he is able to save them, poor and needy, to the uttermost,
that come to God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession
for us. For such a high priest became
us, whose holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made
higher than the heavens. Who need it not daily as those
high priests of old to offer up sacrifice first for his own
sins and then for the Sins of the people for this he did once
when he offered up himself God himself died so that you might
live now you tell me that ain't good news Never heard anything
like it Never will. He's worthy to be trusted. He's
worthy to be dependent upon. May God enable you and me to
trust him for his glory, for our good, and for Christ's sake. Amen. I sure appreciate your
attention. I hope I left you enough time,
Brother Darman.