SPEAKER_00 0:00

Little bit of struggle when it comes to time for the offering. Amen. Tell your neighbor this is for you too. Amen. Amen. Let's read our meditation text together. Hopefully, we can meditate on this during the week. We can put that. Here we go. Let's read. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Amen. He will do it. Amen. Yes, he will. Our main text comes from Luke chapter 21, verses 1 through 4. Read the Dead Bible, the New English translation. And here's how it reads. Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting in their gifts into the offering box. He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. They all offered their gifts out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty put in everything she had to live on. I want to talk about trusting God when the money is tight. Trusting God when the money. Say your neighbor, it's been tight lately. It's been tight. It's been tight. It's been tight. How do we trust God? How do we trust God when the money is tight? How do we remain generous in a gritty economy? And I think most of us would agree in some respects that this economy is like a squeeze on our pocketbooks, amen. Just a few statistics with any few statistics would indicate that average family carries about $270,000 in mortgage debt and $6,600 in credit card debt. Amen. Expensive children. 20% of parents report spending $30,000 a year on child care. Housing expenses, whether rent or mortgage, represent about 35% of the average household budget. So we surely are in a gritty economy. 53% of Americans state that they're engaging in what is now called financial gymnastics. That is, they are constantly trying to balance their income with spending essentials. Back in my day, they used to say we just robbing Peter to pay par. So I guess they got new terminology for some old habits. And surely with the recent deflection from the truth about the Epstein files, this conjured Iranian war, we are already seeing a 10 to 15% increase in prices at the gas pump. And to quote my main man, soon-to-be congressman of the 30th district here in Texas, Pastor Freddie Haynes. It's one thing I do know about the Epstein files. You won't find Obama's name in them. Tell your neighbor you'll catch that on the way home. My friend is preaching this week on giving. He's talking about regime change. I said it needs to start in America. Amen. Okay, I ain't gonna preach about that. I got it all out. But my point is, we live in a gritty economy and it's getting grittier by the day. How do we trust God when the money is tight? And I believe this text, and I've used this text before, and I believe it's appropriate for our times. I'll be forthright with this text. This is a text I believe, unfortunately, that many have misused and misapplied when speaking on the subject of giving. The homiletical argument goes something like this. Look at this poor widow. She has nothing. Look at her amazing faith. Down to her last two copper coins, about a half cent each in our terminology. And here she is, barely able to provide for herself, and she gives her all. And the point goes something like this: if this poor widow who had nothing can put in her all, what does that say about you and I? And even if you don't have it, you ought to give it because God deserves it. Sounds nice. I'm not sure if it convicts. And I'm not even sure if it honors God. But I don't believe that's what the text is saying. And as we've tried to teach in Bible study methods every first Wednesday, we have to understand a text within its context. And the issue is not what I wanted to say, the issue is what did the author have in mind, and how did the audience understand what the author was trying to share? And I think the answer to that is easily discerned if we go back to the previous context. Chapter 20, verse 47, the previous verse. And in that verse, Jesus condemns the religious leadership for how they abused and misused the widow's limited resources. Look what he says in chapter 20, verse 747. He says, You devoured the widow's property. Law demanded that. Care for the most vulnerable in society, especially the widows, was the responsibility of the religious leadership. Widows were completely dependent on their husbands for financial support. And if the husband died, they had no means for providing for themselves. No such thing as 401k, no such thing as Social Security, no such thing as a death benefit when it came to an insurance policy. They were at the whim of their husband's financial means. And many widows, because they did not have the money, resorted to prostitution just to support themselves. That's why in Jesus' ministry he hung out and allowed prostitutes to hang out with him. Not because he had some perverted sexual interest, but because he knew that they were there, not because they wanted to. That ought to be a word to all of us as people of faith. That you don't know why people do what they do and why they are where they are. Don't be so quick to judge somebody. You don't have the whole story. Jesus knew the whole story and invited and welcomed those who were marginal. But then to make matters worse, in that same verse, verse 47, they carried on in public with long, pretentious public prayers, as if their hands were clean and their hearts were pure. And I can hear Jeremiah saying, God desires mercy for his people over ostentatious religious exercise. In a word, it's alright to have hallelujah moments. It's alright have a good time in worship. But my worship up here ought to lead to some help this way. If I can worship God where I am, I ought to be concerned with my brother and my sister that's struggling and sitting next to me. God wants us to share our hearts. So the issue in the text is not about the size of your gift or whether you have it or you don't have it. The issue in the text is about the size of our heart. In a word, this widow said, I'm gonna trust God even when the money is tight. I'm gonna trust God in the face of blatant injustice and overt corruption. I'm not gonna allow some corrupt, crooked, religious charlatans deter me from a way of living generously. I've decided to trust God no matter what. So here's my thesis statement this morning. Giving is a definitive statement that God is first in our lives. Oh, there are many ways we can declare God first. But Jesus said, where your treasure is, that's where your heart is. Ask that woman next to you, ask your lover in your life. You you can talk with words of love all you want, but she's gonna want to know, did you make a sacrifice? I wish I had an amen from those sisters here today. My giving says something about what I think about my God. And my brothers and sisters, we must understand that in this life we're gonna have some ups and downs. In this life, things not gonna always go our way. In this life, we're gonna have some good days and some bad days. Times of prosperity and times of a gritty economy. And in those times, God will test our faith. And he's gonna ask the question Am I still worthy when you had it? Do I do I still have, do you still have the faith to declare me first in your life? I'll say it like this. My wife and I, we've always tried to maintain above and beyond what we've set as a standard for Christ's community. We've set as a standard for Christ's community that we want all givers to give 10%. But if you can't give 10%, start somewhere with God. I don't believe in coercive giving. God doesn't need me to take. He don't need to take, he don't need my money, y'all. The Bible says cat on a thousand heels belong to him, and grandmama says the heels do too. So he's not sitting there trying to take it from me. Wants me to give freely. So that's the standard we've set. And then we've also said that if we do that as a church, we'd have one special offering at Christmas, and that would support the church. That if God calls us to do anything above and beyond, whether it's restoration or whether it's uh expanding our ministry, anything like that, we bring it before the people where we do this thing together. And our stand up for my wife and I is always to be above and beyond whatever we ask the church to do. But I gotta be honest with you this morning. Whenever we pray about a special offering, I'm a preacher, I'm a pastor, I don't care what you say, I love Jesus. I don't care what you say, I love Jesus. But when we pray about it, about 99% of the time, my number is always lower than Lisa's. No matter how many times, I think one time we were mad, and matter of fact, recently we prayed about something that we were given. I ain't gonna tell you what it's about. We were given something, and I knew my number was high. She still came in higher than my number. So when I got to the point where the Lord just said to me, Whatever number she said, just give that amount right there. Now don't look at me and judge me now. Don't you judge me? But how many of y'all know we all struggle with giving? How many of y'all know that when God puts a number on your heart, sometimes it's a struggle. But I've learned over the years that whatever number God puts on my heart or even on my wife, or on both of us together, not only has God provided to hit the number, but he's given above and beyond more than we could ask or think. But more than anything, this is what I've learned for myself, y'all. It is in those times that God says, I'm worth it. I'm worth it to declare me as first in your life. And when I declare him first, he has a way of using that to stretch my faith. He has a way of using that to build my faith. He has a way of using that to make me stronger as a person of faith to stand before him. God will use your giving to prove to the world that he is first in your life. So let me just say a few things about this. How do we handle this when the money is tight? Number one, first of all, we have to understand and remember that giving is always about stewardship. In a word, generosity flourishes out of a lifestyle of good stewardship. God expects me and you to manage our finances responsibly. He who is faithful of a few things, I will what? Make you ruler over many things. God wants me to be responsible for what I already have. And that's what we see in verse 3 and 4 when Jesus turns to the disciples and said, Look at this widow, look what she put in. Not only is he evaluating the offering, he's also evaluating what she has. So, in a word, whenever I give an offering, not only does Jesus see what I give, but he sees what I keep. He sees what I manage and how I handle what he's already given me. So we have to be good stewards when it comes to giving. So, number one, let me say it like this: giving is not a lottery pipe dream. Many times we have this tit-for-tit mentality when we come to God with giving. Well, if I give God this, he's gonna give me that. No, it doesn't work that way. If I give God this, I'm gonna hit the slot sheet and I'll be set for life. Oh, here's the one I like. Well, when I when I hit the lottery, that's when I'm gonna give to God. And I'm like, if you ain't giving to God now, you sure ain't gonna give it to him when you hit the lottery, baby. It's not a slot sheet. Listen, y'all, giving is an opportunity to say to God, you are first in my life. You are the source of everything. And the only reason I have an offering this morning is because you provided everything else that I have. You the head of everything I have. Also, too, God is not advocating debt giving. Hear me well, because I know this ain't popular with my prosperity Christian uh preachers, but I'm gonna say it. God does not call anyone to go into debt to giving. Let me say that again. God does not call anyone to go into debt to give an offering. That is not God. That's greedy preachers that care nothing about the gospel of Jesus Christ. My God says He came into my life to make it better, not make it worse. Well, Pastor, if I don't have it, what's the real issue? What God is saying, He's not gonna make you go into debt with giving. But what he is gonna say, you need to look at what I've already given you. And you need to evaluate how you're spending and handling what you already have. So when I don't have it, God says, No, go back and take a look at what you already have. And as I said earlier, that's why Jesus said, Where your treasure is, that's what your heart is. That's where your heart is. What does that mean? All I have to do is look at where I'm spending my money the most, and you'll discover what I really trust. So I spend all my money going out to eat every single day of the week. I'm going out Friday night, I'm going out big time, and come to Sunday and don't have anything to give. I'm telling God where my treasure is. I trust my food more than I trust my God. If I spend all my money on entertaining me, going here, going to this concert, going there and traveling there and going and know I don't have the money, going to Vegas where everything stays in Vegas and all that kind of stuff. What I'm telling God, I am more interested in what blesses me, and I'm not interested in you. And so God says, no, you got to evaluate and look at where your money is going. So here it is, when the money gets tight, tell your neighbor, don't cut God. You need to cut some non-essentials. That's what a bad economy means. Bad economy doesn't mean cut God, because in a bad economy, you're gonna need God. You're gonna need him in a good economy and a bad economy. You you want God on your side. But in a bad economy, it's a time to evaluate and cut the non-essentials. So we gotta cut out those subscriptions we ain't using. Cut out those exercise memberships we ain't used since the beginning of the year, say amen. Cut out Netflix that we don't even watch. Some of us we don't need to be watching, say amen. Amazon Prime, DoorDash, all that kind of stuff. Just get all the maps off your phone. There go your offering right there. See, see, I was I was in retail sales. I I used to sell uh analgesics for McNeil Consumer Products. And and we we understood one thing. Now there was a there was a situation where you put it on the shelf and you wanted to have shelf presence for people to buy your product. And if you had good shelf presence, you you did pretty well. But the money mover was not shelf presence, it was those in-cap impulse buying displays. Impulse buying is what really fattens the bottom line. In other words, you want to get people in a certain mood, you want to make sure they hear they jam. Yeah. And when they hear they jam and they see their color, even though they had no intentions of spending that money, next thing you know, they'll find it somewhere and it comes out and they spent money they don't even have. Listen to what one report says. The average American adult spends approximately $1,500 a month on impulse spending. That's unplanned, unbudgeted spending. That's $18,000 a year. That ain't an offering, that's a tithe right there. In a word, when it comes to our giving, y'all, God wants us to be good stewards. God has no problem with you being blessed. He wants you to be blessed. James says every good and perfect thing comes from him. And he gives us good things to enjoy, not to lose our mind. That's another sermon right there. That's a whole nother sermon. So, number one, number one, listen, giving is about good stewardship. Let me say this. Uh, God also, more than anything, let me say this under this last thought. God desires for us to be a generous people. God desires for us to be generous. Why? Because our God is generous. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. We can't say we love God and not be generous. God is a generous God. And I don't know about you. Doesn't it feel right to know that if you've helped somebody, you've done something right with your money? Am I right about it? Always feels right. Proverbs 11 and 25. A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. God has a way of using our generosity to refresh others. And so, number one, giving is about stewardship. Number two, giving reminds us that God is our provider. That's what she's doing. When she brings these two small copper coins, she's basically saying, God, you are my provider. It's her way of exposing God. This is how you're gonna leave me like this? She's saying, Look, look, you are my provider. I know you're gonna make a way out of no way. And she you and God will use gritty times to remind us that He is our provider. Not our job, not our employer, not our paycheck, not our resume or our skills, not a good economy, and not based on who's in the White House or who's not who's not in the White House. God says, I am the one that gives you the power to make money. Uh Psalm 34 and 10. Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. The Lord knows what we need. God also wants me. To bring my concerns to him when I have financial concerns. So sometimes in a gritty economy, what God is saying, I need you to come talk to me about it. Talk to me about those expenses. Talk to me about how expensive they are. He's not surprised by inflations, layoffs, or rising consumer price. Jesus said, Your heavenly Father knows exactly what you need. Paul says, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. And how many of y'all know the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus? Bring your anxieties about finances to the Lord. Bring those expensive children to the Lord. And then they got the nerve to complain, and they're so expensive. Amen. Said, Lord, do you see these kids about to eat me out of house and home? Bring that expensive spouse to the Lord. Preach, Pastor. Preach. Preach it right there. Preach it. Bring it to the Lord. Bring your anxieties to the Lord. And the Lord knows how to make a difference. But here's the real issue: God wants us to understand the difference between a need and a want. Because sometimes we're asking God to fill a need when in fact it's really a want. That's why Paul says, My God shall supply your every need. Doesn't say that God will supply every want. And sometimes God will take us through a gritty economy to let us know you don't need 40 pairs of shoes in your closet. Oh Lord, you ain't talking to me now. You ain't talking to me now. 40, okay, I'm going to mess with the men. 40 suits in your closet.

unknown 23:53

Okay?

SPEAKER_00 23:55

It's knowing the difference between a need and a want. And God is faithful to meet our needs. Faithful to meet our needs. Faithful to make sure we have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over our head. But can I testify here for a minute? God will meet our needs. He doesn't promise to meet our wants. But every now and then, does anybody know? He'll still give you what you want. Oh, come on now. God will take care of your needs. But sometimes, every now and then, God has a way to say, I'm gonna give you what you want. He'll give you exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think. That ain't just needs, y'all. That's wants. That's stuff I really don't need. And God has a way of providing it anyhow. He'll turn around and bless my wants as well. I remember when I first went into ministry, I was really kind of struggling about it and going into it and what have you, because I already knew that as a pastor wasn't gonna make a whole lot of money, and I was making really good money in corporate America. I just want to be clear on that. I was making good money. Can I say that again? I'm gonna take my glasses off of that one. I was making good money. That was 40 years ago. I really was. I was making good money on a good, good path, but knew the Lord was really working on my heart. And I said, Lord, but seem like if I give this up, I said, you know how much I love the Lakers. I said, you know, I go, I get season tickets, I buy tickets to the games. I ain't gonna be able to afford anything if I could become a minister. And the Lord said, See, you that's idolatry and all that kind of stuff. You just need to trust me. I trusted him. I wish I can testify to the stuff that even when I had money that I've been to that I wouldn't have been able to afford anyhow. I can't testify to, I can't tell you how many times I've sat on the floor at a basketball game. I've heard Mays in a private concert. I've heard Stephanie Mills in a private, I've heard Earth Winning Fire in a private concert. I've been to so many places and not one penny came out of my pocket. Don't tell me God every now and then won't give you what you won. Tell your neighbor every now and then, every now and then, let me wrap this thing up. Finally, giving is an opportunity to honor him. What does giving say? Giving says, Lord, thank you for what you've given to me. And that's that's also what I see in this. It's very simple. She gave all she had, it's her way of saying thank you. And here, uh, God says to us that when we honor him, how many of y'all know God has a way of turning around and blessing and honoring us? Old folk would say you can't be God given. And what they meant by that is that God's not gonna let you outgive him. And I can testify even right there, y'all, for all that I've tried to give to God, even in my struggles. God, time and time again has given me exceedingly abundantly more than I could possibly ask. Because God is not gonna be let me beat him giving. I saw this, I saw this, y'all, in a podcast I was listening to. So I was listening to a podcast this week, and and it was an athlete on the podcast, and they were complaining. Uh, I don't know if it was an Olympian, I don't know if they played in the WA, it was a sister in the WNBA or what have you, but she was just complaining. You know what she was complaining about? She was complaining because she couldn't afford a private chef. She said, it just ain't right that I'm an athlete and I can't even afford a private chef. You want to know how much this private chef costs every month? $7,000 a month. And she was just going on and on and on. I just can't believe I can't afford a private chef. I'm living here and I'm living here. I ought to be making all this kind of money. I'm saying to myself, now wait a minute, the fact that you can even raise the issue of a private chef already lets me know that God has already blessed you with something. And it dawned on me in that moment that God was saying to me that maybe the problem with that sister was she was so focused on what she didn't have that she didn't have the common sense enough to thank God for what she did already have. And all I'm simply trying to say, when it comes to giving, it's a reminder to thank God for what he's already given me. And if I thank God for what he's already given me, does anybody know God has a way of giving me more of what he hasn't given me? So thank God that he put food on your table. Thank God that he's giving you health and strength, thank God that he's giving you transportation to and someplace. Thank God you got some women a woman. Thank God you got a feminine man. I'm gonna give them the Bible says in the middle of the family, give them this woman come in the mouth of the middle of the sun, the low God's blessing give me the big woman in here, the nose how to give them a thumbs up, hallelujah, but you follow your body, make your full, make your following woman, make you follow your club, make you fall for lesson, make you follow the lesson, make your fellow hollow, make you follow your love, make your life, come in the blood, make the law, make you love, you the law, hallelujah, in the house, the word when you get hallelujah, hallelujah, in and how in and how hallelujah when the money's tight, I'm gonna keep trusting him, y'all. That's all I'm trying to say. Yeah, I may struggle, but I'm gonna trust him because he's the source of everything I have. I'm gonna bless him forever. Because he's worthy, and he's been too good for me to mistreat him. So with my gift, I'm gonna bless him, and that's my thank you for all that you do. Hallelujah. I'll finish with this. I'll finish with this. The lady K. Bailey loved to tell a story about a woman he knew in the church he grew up in. Carried two shovel necklaces around her neck. One was a small shovel and a big shovel. And he would tell this story over and over again. Because he wanted people to know how giving works. And so people would ask this lady, she was an elderly lady, she'd have two shovels in the form of a necklace around her neck. One was small, one was big. And they would ask her the question why you got those two shovels around your neck? She said, The little shovels for me and the big shovels for God. If I handle the little shovels, she said, God, every time it's gonna work the big shovel. That was her testimony. That's my testimony this morning. That's why I'm gonna thank him. Let's prepare our hearts for the Lord's Supper right now as we come. Let's pray about our gifts. Some of you here today, you've been faithful with your giving. I just want to encourage you to continue to trust God. Stay faithful. Trust him for what he does in your life. If he's stretching you, let him stretch you. You can't beat God again if he's got a big shovel. But he's worthy whether he uses the big shovel or not. Some of you here it's been a little tough. Not here to beat you up. Just want you to pray about it. Go back and look at your finances. Look at what you can cut and pray about it. And ask the Lord to lead you. And he'll lead you. I hope he don't give you the high the the higher number like he give my wife, huh? But he will lead you. He'll lead you every time. And whenever he leads you in your giving, he will honor it every single time. I'm a living wicked. A living God. The word is not returned for us on that issue. I just want to encourage all of us. I don't know what this administration is up to, and I don't know what the future holds, but I know the one who holds a future. And I'ma say it like my grandmother used to say, God ain't dead. And he's gonna get tired of this mess after a while. I'm just saying. Tell your neighbor, don't get it twisted. God sees everything that's going on. And when he gets tired, you're gonna know. Just don't shout too loud. That's my word. Come on, let's prepare our hearts and just bow our heads for a moment of prayer and reflection and meditation. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Ask the Lord to speak to your heart as we come to the Lord's Supper. Practice the Lord's Supper because that's what he left for us. We believe he engages us in this very sacred moment.