Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E102 | Everyday Eurasia | Sammy Robinson

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S1-E102 | Everyday Eurasia | Sammy Robinson · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  Today we will listen to Semi Robinson.
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  He's a husband to Glow, dear to Annie, Sofia and Kate, and is a
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  thankful pastor of Megan Nasrin in East Belfast, Northern
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  Ireland. He also serves as NMI President
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  for the British Isles N District and can often be found at
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  Ravenhill cheering on and standing up for his beloved
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  Ulster Rugby. Hello Eurasia.
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  My name is Sammy Robinson and I have the privilege of serving as
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  the lead pastor of Mcgeehan Nazarene in Belfast, Northern
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  Ireland, which is part of the British Isles N District, where
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  I also have the joy of serving as the district NMI president.
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  And it's a privilege for me to be able to share this short
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  devotion thought around the world Evangelism Fund.
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  And today we're going to be looking at 4 very short verses,
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  but perhaps well known verses tucked away in looks gospel.
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  And if you have your Bibles with you and it's safe for you to do
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  so, please either flick or click with me to Luke chapter 21 where
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  we will read together the 1st 4 verses.
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  And this is the word of the Lord.
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  As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into
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  the temple treasury. He also saw a per widow put in
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  two very small copper coins. Truly I tell you, he said, this
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  per widow has put in more than all the others.
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  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but
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  she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.
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  Last winter, as a local congregation, we watched on as a
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  10 year old girl that we know quite well taught us what true
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  generosity looks like. After receiving money for her
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  birthday, Eva decided that she already had too much stuff and
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  his other children had too little.
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  Her birthday always falls close to the Christmas season and she
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  was moved by the thought of children her age having to spend
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  Christmas in the hospital. So I'm with nothing more than a
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  tender heart and a little bit of money.
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  She went out and bought a number of books for the children's
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  unit, hoping to bring comfort and joy to those who would be
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  spending Christmas in the hospital.
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  What started out as an act of generosity would quickly become
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  a national news story, picked up by newspapers and news outlets
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  alike. In a few short days following
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  this interaction that we have read in the Scriptures, Jesus
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  himself would give up much more than his birthday money.
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  But before we get there, at the end of today's passage, we see
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  that he pauses to honor another giver, a widow with two small
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  coins and a big heart. Just like Eva.
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  The teachers of the law had been trying to trap Jesus all day,
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  but every attempt they made failed.
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  They've been questioning him about resurrection, about
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  authority, allegiance to Caesar, all the while hoping to
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  discredit him in front of those who gathered around.
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  Yet, as he so often did, Jesus exposed their motives.
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  You see, he knew that they cared more about control than they did
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  about truth. They cared more about religious
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  appearances than they did about genuine surrender.
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  So it is here that he pauses. It is in this place that he
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  honors one whom everyone else had overlooked.
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  It is here that Jesus chooses to honor this widow, despite the
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  fact that there were many others putting in much larger amounts
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  into the temple offering pot. It is the poor widow with her
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  two mites, her two small copper coins worth almost nothing, who
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  Jesus chooses to honor. As we read, Jesus calls his
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  disciples to his side and he teaches them.
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  This poor widow, he said, has put in more than all the others.
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  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but
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  she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.
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  She is honored not by this, not for the size of her gift, but
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  because of the depth of her surrender.
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  Whilst the others gave out of their abundance, she gave from
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  her poverty. She gave all that she had to
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  live on, whilst the truth is they probably would not have
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  noticed not having her two small copper coins to spend.
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  Her giving required trust because it was all that she had.
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  Here we see Jesus once again teaching of a Kingdom whose
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  values are the opposite of that of this world.
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  Of a Kingdom where holiness is shaped more by internal
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  surrender than it is by outward show.
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  Where true devotion is not measured by what we hold on to
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  tightly, but by that which we place trustingly into God's
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  hands, recognizing that he calls us to Himself and that he calls
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  us, not our stuff. As I think of Eva's story, I am
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  also reminded of a group of older women from the church in
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  which I had the privilege of growing up in, in Carrickfergus,
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  Northern Ireland, who would often say to me that little is
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  much when God is in it. It is amazing the impact that
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  our giving to the World Evangelism Fund has right
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  throughout the world. It is amazing.
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  And we have heard from our Global Missions Director and
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  also from Pastor Doug of the impact of all of the World
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  Evangelism Fund and the privilege that it is for us to
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  be a part of that. So today, may we offer our
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  lives, may we offer all that we are, all that we have, and all
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  that we hope to be, trusting that surrender to the King is
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  the only path to true victory, and remembering that little is
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  much when God is in it. Thanks be to God for His care
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  for us. Thank you for listening to the
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  Everyday Eurasia podcast Inspiring Faith for Everyday.
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  For more Everyday stories, subscribe on this podcast
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  channel, follow our socials, Facebook and Instagram, or our
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  newsletter snapshots. For our newsletter and further
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  information about the Eurasia region, visit our website,
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  eurasiaregion.org.