Latest / The Daily Word / October 8 – Does It Cost You Something?
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Hello friends, we are continuing in the month of October. It is October 8th, and it's Pastor Jenny here. We are reading today out of Luke 21. And so, don't know what you got out of today's reading. In fact, if you haven't read today, encourage you to pause this podcast and go read the chapter of Luke. Make some take find a scripture, make some observations. See what your application is, say a prayer, and then maybe come back to this podcast. See if you got something similar that I did. or maybe you got something completely different. I love reading God's word. I love hearing what God is speaking to us individually, but also corporately. So for today, out of this chapter in Luke, I'm really just gonna start right from the beginning and share just from these first few verses, verses one through four. So Luke twenty-one, verses one through four is probably familiar to many of you, but in case you don't know it, it says this. It starts off the title, The Widow's Two Mites, which for those of us that still know what a penny is, because the penny, while it has been discontinued, there's still lots of them around. the two mites would of course been much less than even a penny in today's standards. But says this, and he looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. So this would have Jesus. And he also saw a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So he said, Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all, for all these out of their abundance, have put in offerings for God. But she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had. Man, did this passage minister to me this morning? If you were with us recently on our TKK campus, as we've entered the month of October, I was sharing with our congregation and those with us reminding and stirring us up that the month of October actually ushers us in as a congregation in Both into pastor appreciation month, pastor appreciation, staff appreciation, leader appreciation, anyone who's really over you, I love the chance for us to talk about honoring those in authority over us because we all have someone who's in authority over us. And I don't think in today's culture we talk enough about honoring those in authority over us. So love when October comes and we have the chance to just recognize that all authority is from God. And that the opportunity we have to come under authority and the covering that he provides. Well, not all people are good, all those in authority may not be good. We I'm thankful for the structure and leadership and things that God that God has really set up and structured the principle of authority and he set that up. And so as we choose to come under authority, God has given us promises and that and blessing. So Anyway, back to today's passage. The point I'm trying to make here is as I was encouraging our congregation, we're coming into October ushers us into appreciation, really even becomes a month of preparation for November, which is familiar to all as a month of appreciation. Thanksgiving. We're preparing our hearts for that. Thanksgiving. We're preparing to make Thanksgiving meal bags for our food pantries that we operate out of our Cataba and Gastonia campuses. And in light of these things and on in light of preparing for our hearts for thanks, our mindset for thanks and preparing ourselves tangibly to give thanks, both to those in authority over us, but also to give towards our community, in preparing meals. But even as we pre come prepare our hearts and our minds and maybe our pocketbooks for the Christmas season of giving. I really sense the Lord's been talking to me lately about just making sure I'm keeping my eyes on looking at what's in my hands and not what's not in my hands. And so that's just really kind of something I've been meditating on and just I feel like the Lord keeps pulling me back to is what's in your hands. What's in your hands? What have I put God, that is, what has God put in my hands? And what am I gonna do with what He's put in my hands? Because I think it's so easy, especially in this season when there's constantly ads in front of us, maybe you're like me and you have some kids who are constantly asking for things that they don't have. It can be so easy to get sucked into the narrative of what we don't have or what we wish we had, so that we could even give it to others. We can have a good heart. But I keep coming back to Lord, what is it that I have? And what do you want me to do with what I have? So while I've been focusing on this, as I read through this this morning and I come to this, I was reminded though, while I it's important that I look at, Lord, what have you put in my hands? It's important I don't get comfortable with what God's put in my hands. Because that's really what happened with this first set of people. Going back to verse one, it says, And he Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts. into the treasury. See, the rich had put given out of their abundance. It really wasn't costing them anything. They they may have been giving a lot, but it wasn't costing them anything. And yet then a poor widow putting in two mites, she didn't put in hardly anything whenever when you're looking in from the outside, but it cost her everything. And it that just hits me. Is the is the sacrifice that I'm pouring out are the things that I'm giving to the Lord, what is it really costing me? When I'm giving of my time, talent, treasure, when I'm giving what God has put into my hands. Am I giving because it's just the extra on top? Lord, I'll serve you this week if if there's extra time in the calendar, if there's extra in the pocketbook after all the things I want to do. If there's extra capacity after I hang out with my friends and do all the activities that I want to do, maybe I've got some time to disciple someone this week. But no Lord, instead am I allowing what you've put in my hands, my time, my energy, my all that I am, am I allowing my sacrifice to actually be a sacrifice to cost me something? It was a question that I think we have to fully surrender to God. I hope you can ask yourself honestly and vulnerably today, Holy Spirit, we need you to show us, to reveal to us the hidden motives of our heart, because you know what, we've got this thing called our flesh that really does want that extra sleep, that really would prefer not to engage that difficult conversation. But Lord, this widow, while she may not have had much, what it from what the world thought, God, she gave you everything. And I want to be someone who gives you everything. Because God, you are so good. You lavishly pour out on us. You so loved us that you have poured out everything. You held with withheld nothing. You gave your one and only son so that we could have life and life. More abundantly, that's how good you are, God. I'm so grateful for that. So let's pray. God, we come before you, and I thank you so much for loving me, for loving us, and Lord, for not holding anything back. God, you chose to be in relationship with us. You chose to form us and create us, having full knowledge of where all of this would end up. Having full knowledge that your heart would be broken, but you chose to give us free will. And you've chosen to walk with us anyway. And Lord, as you walk with us, would you teach us? Would you continue to whisper? And Lord, would we continue to be humble and hear your voice speak to us as we look to wholly surrender and give to you what's what you've put in our hands? Would we surrender that back to you, trusting and knowing that he who lays down his life, that's how we get life. And anyone who chooses to try and hold on to their life, that's the one that will actually lose it. God, you're so good and you're so worthy, and we're so grateful that you choose to walk in relationship with us. And Lord, no matter what we give, you always pour out your love on us. But Lord, I want to be like this widow who chose to give everything she had. So Lord, as I go on my day, would I give everything I have to you today? In Jesus' name, Amen.