Turn with me, if you would, back
to Mark 12. Mark 12, I want to read verses
41 to 44 again. Mark 12, 41. And Jesus sat 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 him his disciples and said unto them, Verily, I
say unto you that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they
which have 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. This is a sweet passage of scripture. This really is everything about
it. Start to finish. This is a very precious portion
of scripture. Our message this morning has
two parts. I want I want you to know that
I want you I want that to register. We have two parts. Okay. Let's
look at the first part. And then we're going to look
at the second part. All right. First, I want us to see what What? And then I want us to see
why I want us to see what the scenario is. Okay. And then I want us to see why
the scenario is. Now we said last Sunday morning,
you don't have to give a dime to be saved. You remember that? I had our brother read three
of the verses we looked at last Sunday morning to remind us that
in verse 40 he was condemning the scribes. He was condemning
religion. These men who stand up and it
says devour widows' houses. You better give your money. You
don't have to give a dime. Not to be saved. Not to be saved. Mercy is great. Grace is free. It's free. It's a free gift. Absolutely free. We can't buy
salvation. We just cannot buy salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. It's of the Lord. But God does move on the hearts
of his people. He really does. And he produces
a love and a thankfulness in the hearts of his people, doesn't
he? When grace comes, love comes. Thankfulness comes. And as we
have been given to, we have a heart to give. And we do, don't we? We all do. It's not a tithe, is it? It's not a tithe. Tithing stifles
God's people. It stifles God's people. They
come up with this number, you know, based on their starting
point. It stifles God's people. God's people don't just give
what they have to give. They give all they can. They
give all they can. And this is what they're saying
in their giving. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Is that not our motivation? Isn't that the motivation? Thanks
be to God for his unspeakable gift. We have a heart for his
gospel, don't we? This is his gospel. And he's
given it to us and we call it with the Apostle Paul, our gospel.
And we have a heart for it, don't we? We have a heart for his ministry. We have a heart to promote and
support any other place where his truth is preached. Don't
we? We really do. We don't give anything
to earn anything. We give because of everything
he's already earned for us. We give because of what Christ
has already given to us. We do. God's people do. It's
because of what Christ has already done for us. It's all for Christ's
sake. Every bit of it. All for Christ's sake. We don't
have to give. That's what I want us to understand
first. We don't have to give. We love it. We love it. Now, we have a little box in
the foyer, don't we? We don't pass the plate here.
We have a little box back here in the foyer. I'm going to show
you where that little box came from. All right. Turn with me
over to Second Chronicles 24. 2 Chronicles 24 verse 1 says, Joash
was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years
in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zabiah
of Beersheba. And Joash did that which was
right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the
priest. And Jehoiada took for him two
wives, and he begat sons and daughters. And it came to pass
after this that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord. He started looking at the house
of the Lord and it was in shambles. And he was minded to repair the
house of the Lord. And he gathered together the
priest and the Levites and said to them, go out unto the cities
of Judah and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of
your God from year to year. and to see that you hasten the
matter, how be it the Levites hastened it not." So, Joash gathered
this priest, Jehoiada, and these other Levites, and he said, I
want you to go out into Judah, and I want you to tell them that
we're going to gather the money that God commanded Moses to tell
us to give, and we're going to rebuild and re-fix up God's temple. Verse 6, the Levites didn't do
it though. Verse 6, And the king called
for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required
of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem
the collection according to the commandment of Moses the servant
of the Lord, and of the congregation of Israel for the tabernacle
of witness? For the sons of Athaliah, that
wicked woman, hath broken up the house of God, And also all
the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon
Balaam. They've vandalized it and stolen
everything out of it. Verse eight, and at the king's
commandment, they made a chest. This same story is recorded in
second Kings 12. And in second Kings, it says
they made a chest and they bore a hole in the top of it. Just
like our little box out there, a chest with a hole in the top
of it. Verse 8, At the king's commandment they made a chest
and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord. And
they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to bring
into the Lord the collection that Moses, the servant of God,
laid upon Israel in the wilderness. And all the princes and all the
people rejoiced and brought in and cast into the chest until
they had made an end. This proclamation went out. The
king says he's going to rebuild God's temple. And everybody was
so thankful. They all rejoiced and they all
started bringing their money and casting it into the chest.
Verse 11. Now it came to pass that at what
time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand
of the Levites. And when they saw that there
was much money The king's scribe and the high priest's officer
came and emptied the chest and took it and carried it to his
place again. Thus they did day by day and
gathered money in abundance. And the king and Jehoiada gave
it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the
Lord and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord.
And also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of
the Lord. So the workmen wrought, and the
work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in
his state and strengthened it. And when they had finished it,
they brought the rest of the money before the king in Jehoiada,
whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels
to minister and to offer withal, and spoons and vessels of gold
and silver. And they offered burnt offerings
in the house of the Lord continually. all the days of Jehoiada. What
a blessing that little box is. Everybody was so thankful. They
said the building is in shambles. Everything has been stolen. We're
going to build it back so we can worship God and they all
rejoiced. It's the joy of God's people
to cast into that box. It is the joy of God's people.
I love putting my gift in that box just like you do. I love
it. Now, after my gift goes in, I
don't want to have anything to do with that box. I don't want to have anything
to do with it. I don't want to see what's in it. I don't want
to see who puts something in it. I definitely don't want to
see how much they put. If I'm in the foyer and somebody
starts walking to that box and reaching in their pocket, I don't
want to see it. I want to leave the room. I don't
want to have anything to do with it. Because of that, because
that's how I feel about it. What our Lord did in our text
absolutely fascinates me. It is fascinating to me. Go with
me back now to our text, Mark 12. Mark 12, verse 41 says, And Jesus sat over against the
treasury and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury
and many that were rich cast in much. Our Lord got him a chair
and sat it down right next to the chest. There were actually
13 of them. They had, they had them divided
out into different reasons for offerings. And he got him a chair
and he sat it down right against the treasury. And I can just
see him leaning on it, watching people put their money
in the box. I can just see him looking at
their money and then looking at them right in the eyes. All right, now he knows everything
about them. He knows everything about him.
He knew everything they had at home. Everything they owned,
he knew whether or not they were tithing. Right? 10% of their cattle, 10%
of their corn, 10% of their cash, 10% of everything. He knew whether or not they were
tithing. I'm sure most of them were. I'm sure most of them were. It does not say he rebuked them. You notice that? It does not
say that he rebuked them. It just says he watched them.
Verse 41, and Jesus sat over against the treasury and beheld
how the people cast money into the treasury And many that were
rich cast in much." That's great. They should. If they were given much, they
ought to give much. Isn't that right? To whom much
is given, much is required. That's what they did. We just
read it. Many that were rich, they gave
much. Our Lord didn't rebuke them.
He didn't tell them they were doing anything wrong. But verse
42 says, There came a certain poor widow and she threw in two
mites which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples
and said unto them, verily I say unto you that this poor widow
hath cast more in than all they which have 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, does
that endear her to your heart? Does that endear her to your
heart? Can't you see that poor woman? Two mites, that's all
she had. That is so special. I believe
that's inspiring. I believe it's absolutely inspiring.
I believe it's something to love in a person. The others were
not necessarily doing anything wrong. They were doing what was
required of them, but this poor woman right here went so far
above what was required of her, so far above. Not only did she
give, and not only did she give of her substance, she gave of
her lack. She gave of her lack. Two mites
is a little bit more than a penny. That's all it is. It's the amount
of money that would buy a day's worth of barley corn. All right. She needed all of it in order
to have anything to eat that day. Instead of going to the
market, she walks into the house of God. She walked up to that
box and she dropped both of them in. That's precious. God was standing there watching
it all. That whole thing is precious. I have thought about this woman
many times in my life. I've heard her story many times
in my life. I wonder if that woman was a
believer. I wonder if she was. Just because
a person gives, that doesn't make that person a child of God. And I've wondered before, I wonder
if she was a believer. I hope she was. I would love
to talk to her in glory. I would love to know what happened
after this, what the rest of her story was. It doesn't say.
It's recorded here in Mark. It's recorded in Luke. And it
doesn't say. But our Lord, seeing everything
that she gave and recognizing her the way he did, he put her
in his word. Why did he put her in here? Do you think he took care of
her? I wonder if she had anything
to eat that day. I would imagine that her story
is pretty amazing. I really would. I would imagine
that it is. But as I look at this woman, I think, how could
she do that? How could she do that? To say
that it was only two mites, it was still all she had, right?
All you have is all you have. It doesn't matter if it's two
mites or two million mites. You're giving it all. You're
giving it all. You're leaving yourself with
nothing. Absolutely nothing. The ones who were rich, they
did what was required of them. They did what they were required
to do, but it was still just a small piece of their abundance,
wasn't it? They had this much. They gave
this much. and they didn't feel it, it didn't hurt. But this woman gave every last
thing she had. Verse 44 says, for all they did
cast in of their abundance, but she of her want did cast in all
that she had, all of her living. All right, now that's what the
scenario is. Have I preached the gospel to
you yet? Not sure how long it's been,
15 minutes? Have I preached the gospel to
you yet? That's a great story, isn't it?
I mean, I really do love her. I think it's amazing what she
did. I wasn't joking. I believe it's
inspiring. She is endeared to my heart.
I pray she is a believer. I do want to know what her story
is. I want to be like that. The Lord pointed out, he commended
her on her just deeply generous giving. He called his disciples
over and he said, I want you to look at this woman. He pointed
out how much it pleased him. The Lord loveth a cheerful giver,
doesn't he? He loves a cheerful giver. But
that is not why this account was given. That is not why this account
was given. He did not put this portion of
Scripture in His Word to give His preachers an opportunity
to preach on giving. You talk about night and day. Last week, it's almost like I
was going to screw a piece of wood on top of our box, right?
This week, I start the message out with, oh, let's give, let's
give. Our Lord didn't put this here
so we could talk about giving, to give us an opportunity to
preach on giving. The king's heart is in the Lord's
hand. Did we just say that? Just a
minute ago in our Bible study, didn't we see how sovereign this
God is? The king's heart is in the Lord's hand. All hearts are
in the Lord's hands. And he moves every one of us
like rivers of water, exactly what he wants us to do and where
he wants us to go. And I promise you, if God wants
his people to give, they will give. You don't have to stand
up and beg a man to give. If God wants his people to give,
they will give. Then why did he tell us this?
He told us because this is the gospel if it has ever been told. This is the highest glory of
the gospel if it has ever been told. In every portion of scripture,
there is a road that leads to Jesus Christ crucified. And by God's grace, we're about
to find that road and get on it. All right. In this poor widow,
our Lord is illustrating to us exactly how he saved sinners,
exactly how. He is illustrating what he did
for us. He is letting us in on his mind,
on his heart, on his will, on his work. Look with me over at
Ephesians 1. I pray the Lord will let us truly
enter into this. It's going to be brief, but let's
truly enter into this. Ephesians 1 verse 13 says, In whom you also trusted, after
that you heard the word of truth, The gospel of your salvation. That's what he's telling us.
He's saying, let me tell you the gospel of your salvation. That's why he called his disciples
over there. Here he is sitting here watching all this going
on. He said, come here. Let me tell you the gospel of your salvation. All right. Now, here it is. I
want you to turn with me to Romans 11. Romans 11 and look with me at
verse 36. For of him and through him and
to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Everything goes to him. Isn't that right? Everything
goes to him. Colossians 1 says, all things
were created by him and for him. All things. All things. Turn with me to Psalm 50. Psalm 50 verse seven says, hear,
O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify
against thee. I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy
sacrifices or for thy burnt offerings to have been continually before
me. I will take no bullock out of
thy house, nor he goats out of thy fold, for every beast of
the forest is mine. and the cattle upon a thousand
hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains,
and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I
would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fullness
thereof." Everything belongs to Him. Everything. It's all His. Oh, the unsearchable
riches of Christ. Romans 2 tells us of the riches
of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering. Romans 11
tells us of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge. Ephesians
1 tells us of the riches of His inheritance. Ephesians 2 tells
us of the riches of His grace. Ephesians 3 tells us of the riches
of His glory. All of His riches are past finding
out. The riches of our Lord could
never be comprehended. Do you believe that? Never comprehended. Now turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 8. 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 verse
9 says, For you know the grace, the gift, the giving. You know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor. that you through his poverty
might be rich. He gave it all up. He gave it all up. I mean, he
gave it all up for our sakes, he became poor. It's all his. It all belongs
to him. For our sake he became poor,
he became dirt poor. Down to his last dime poor and
then he gave that away too. Could not our Lord have saved
us in his riches? Think about this. Couldn't he
have saved us in his abundance? Couldn't he just have given a
small amount of what he has? Why didn't he pay what was owed
out of a small portion of his great indescribable abundance? The reason is because he wouldn't
have felt it. He wouldn't have heard. In order for Him to pay our price,
He had to unite Himself to us. He had to be touched with the
feeling of our infirmity, our lack, our want, our emptiness. So He gave it all up. He literally
cast in all that He had. All of His living, His entire life,
down to His last drop of blood, He gave it all. I mean, He gave
it all. And He did that, that we, through
His poverty, might receive it all. Now, let me ask you this, does
that endear Him to your heart? He had it all. He cast it all. I mean, all is
all. All that you have is all that
you have. When you give all that you have,
there's nothing left for you. There's nothing left for you.
If you give it all, if you give it a piece of it, you have something
left. But when you give it all, there's
nothing left for you. That's precious. That's love. That's love. The sweetness of
his liberality, what an unspeakable gift. I mean, unspeakable. And here's the question, how
could he do that? How could he do that? He gave it all. Do you mean to
tell me he gave it all? He gave it all. You know what
it costs to redeem us? All of heaven and earth and everything. He gave it all. You know what that means for
us? We have received it all. We've received it all. We are
joint heirs of God. If Christ died, it is Christ
that died. How shall God, not with him,
also freely give us all things? All things. Christ gave it all. We have received it all. People
listen to the truth of salvation and the first thing they say
is, that's not fair. Amen, brother. Boy, you've spoken truth. It
was not a fair transaction. He gave it all, we received it
all. Now, I don't know the outcome
of this poor widow here in our text, but I do know the outcome
of our Savior. Go with me over to John 17. John 17 verse 4, he said, I have
glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. And now, O father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. Christ gave his all to his people. So God the Father gave his all
to Christ, his son. Because Christ did that, because
Christ gave his all, God the Father gave his all. Gave it
all. He gave him the kingdom. He gave
him the crown. He gave him the throne. He gave
him the judgment. He gave him all the glory. He
gave him all the people. He gave him everything. Everything. And all of heaven cries, Amen,
so be it. So be it. He alone is worthy
to receive it all. We wouldn't have it any other
way. He alone is worthy. I'll close with Revelation 5.
Revelation chapter 5. Because our Lord cast in more
than they all. Because our Lord cast in all
that He had, all of His living. Because He gave His body, His
blood, His life. Revelation 5 verse 9 says, They
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof, For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and
I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the
beast and the elders and the number of them was 10,000 times
10,000 and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy
is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing and every
creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth
and such as are in the sea And all that are in them heard I
saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen.
And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that
liveth forever and ever. Our God said, Give and it shall
be given unto you. Isn't that what he said? That's what Christ did, and that's
what happened. He gave it all. He gave it all. Don't you love the word all?
If it wasn't all, you'd wonder if He gave enough. Did He give
enough? Did He give enough? Did He really
give enough? What must I do to be saved? What
is my standing before God? Is God satisfied with me? Is
my debt paid? He gave it all. I mean, He gave
it all. He gave it all. Therefore, all
has been given to Him. God has honored Him, exalted
Him, and every soul in glory is standing there crying, Amen.
Amen. That's what we're gonna say for
all of eternity. Amen. So be it. To God be the glory. All right, let's stand together.