"A Sermon on the Amount"



It is great to be back in the pulpit and I certainly want to thank Ed Compton and Jack Clack for their willingness to fill the pulpit in my absence.

And after this mornings sermon you all may be asking for them to return.

It reminds me of the story about a sixth-grade teacher who posed the following problem to her arithmetic classes: "A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars. One-fifth is to go to his wife; one-fifth is to go to his son; one-sixth to his butler; and the rest to charity. Now, what does each get?" After a very long silence in the classroom, little Joey raised his hand. The teacher called on him for his answer. And with complete sincerity in his voice, Joey answered: "A lawyer!"

I don't think we are going to need get a lawyer but we are going to talk a little about who gets and gives!

Turn with me to Mark 12: 41-44 (Please stand as we read The Word).



Here at MMPC we currently have an annual budget of about $320,000--that equates to roughly $6,100 dollars a week over a 52 week year. 9 percent of our budget goes towards mission--both locally and globally. 54 percent of our budget goes to paying staff. The remaining 37 percent of our budget goes to general operations. You can figure out who gets what!

Now, according to our treasurer Danny Neff, we have some where in the neighborhood of 100 giving units--which includes singles and couples. But here is the reality: Only about 60 give--and of those 60 givers--8 percent of them give 40 percent of the total annual budget. That equates to 4 giving units giving roughly $128,000. You don't have to get a Doctorate to figure out that some of us are not giving.

Here is an even more alarming statistic--nationally speaking, 80% of dollars given to congregations comes from people 55 and older.

Let me throw a few more numbers at you: last month we had an electricity bill of $1,800.00. We pay $1,600 dollars a month for insurance. We spend approximately $150.00 a month on various items including those little MINTS in the Fellowship Hall. We allocate approximately $2,500 per month for mission related ministries.

Now you may have an idea why this message is titled: "A Sermon on the Amount"!

So what, preacher? If we wanted an audit of the church financials we would have called Danny ourselves--we came here for some spiritual nourishment, not numbers. OK--I'll give you that. But let me ask you this: how is your spiritual nourishment impacting your numbers? In other words, is your spiritual growth influencing Kingdom growth?

Picture the scene--Jesus is sitting outside the "Gate Beautiful"--this is between the Court of the Gentiles and the Court of the Women. In the Court of the Women (by the way, men and women were allowed in this court) there were thirteen trumpet shaped collecting boxes for contributions brought by worshipers. As worshipers walked into the temple treasury they would throw their contributions into the "Trumpets." Many of the worshipers were "rich" and would throw in quite considerable contributions.

But then something transforming happens. Verse 42 says: "But a poor widow came and put two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny."

"The Widow's Mite"--you know this story, right? The coins she threw in were technically called leptons--very tiny bronze or copper coins--but because they are the smallest and least valuable of all coins--the name "mite" has been used. Needless to say--at least from an economic perspective--the widow was not flush with cash.

Yet Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others."

What could Jesus have had in mind? What is the point of His little "sermon on the amount"?

First of all, I think Jesus intends for giving to be sacrificial.

John Calvin suggested that Jesus was teaching: "whatever we offer to God ought to be estimated not by its apparent value, but only by the feeling of the heart."

In other words, the amount of the gift never matters as much as its cost to the giver--not the size of the gift but the sacrifice. Which begs the question: "Are we giving sacrificially?"

Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. The man replied, "Nothing, the dollars are in the way."

Are the dollars in your way? Are you reluctant to give because the dollars you once saw are no longer as visible? Listen, it is no secret that we are in difficult economic times. There is no doubt that all of us have felt the sting of the so-called "Great Recession." And it is human nature to think that when times get tough we need tighten up the purse strings--after all, we have responsibilities--we have bills to pay; we have kids who need clothes and school supplies and educations; we have retirement to think about--I mean, come on, we have to eat--who knows when it is going to get better.

Interesting, don't you think, that the "poor widow" gave all she had? Interesting, don't you think, that she didn't hold back one of her "small copper coins" just in case. Interesting, don't you think, that she wasn't going to the Temple to "get" but instead to "give." Interesting, don't you think, that even though "times were tough" for the poor widow, that she didn't stop worshiping her Lord but instead came to Him and gave everything she had.

Someone once said: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God" (Corrie Ten Boom).

Is your giving sacrificial or comfortable? Is it calculated or recklessly spendthrift? Is it from your heart or from your abundance? Friends, don't be afraid to give--God knows.

Which brings me to a second point I want you to hear in this text: Kingdom giving involves taking faith-filled risk.

I read an interesting sign the other day--it said: "Do your givin' while you're livin', then you're knowin' where it's goin'.

Each of us is a part of the work of the Kingdom here and now. We have the most incredible privilege to live and give with great joy because we know where we are goin'! But here is the question: will we allow our faith to overcome our fears of giving?

Friends, there is work to be done. There are people to reach. There are blessings to be given. There are lives to be transformed. There are random acts of kindness to be shared. There is givin'and livin' to be done--but not just by 8 percent of us--but by all of us. But you know what; there are also bills to be paid; ministries to be funded; and visions to become realities! And we need to be a part of it--all of us.

If you have read the news in recent weeks then surely you have heard about The Giving Pledge--the brainchild of billionaire businessmen Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. The two of them have teamed up to ask the world's wealthiest people to donate at least 50% of their fortunes to charities. They believe that the richest people in the world can eradicate many of the world's problems through philanthropy. So far, out of the nearly 1,000 billionaires in the world, about 40 have accepted the giving pledge challenge. .

No doubt, great things have and will happen from this initiative and I just pray some will be for the Kingdom.

But here is what I get excited about--I get excited thinking about the day when you and me--truly some of the "richest people"--begin to take a faith-filled risk like donating at least 50% of our wealth of time and money for the work of the Kingdom!! As the people of God--we must be part of His redemptive work in the world.

So here is your challenge--spend some time praying about what you are CURRENTLY giving. Then, I want you to pray about what you SHOULD be giving. Then I want you to pray about what you COULD be giving?

I will close with this: I was talking with a member of MMPC the other day--really listening more than I was talking. He was sharing with me how the Lord has absolutely transformed his life--exciting stuff to hear and see the joy. But what really got me was when he said: "You know, I keep trying to give more than I get--but I can't. I can't keep up!"

Friends, we can never OUTGIVE our Lord--but it sure sounds fun to try.

Perhaps that is the real point of "A Sermon on the Amount."

AMEN.