November 11 2018 Free for All

November 11, 2018 Free for all Psalm 127 *Mark 12.38-44 Lou Dolente playing both services Pastor Jacqueline Hines

A father tells the story of before his son could start going on job interviews, he needed to dress the part, that, he decided, he required a $500 suit.

"What!?" I answered, gagging at the price tag. "I've bought cars for $500!"

"That's why I want the $500 suit," he said. "So I don't have to drive $500 cars."++

++

Poverty is no joke. One of the prayers that has flowed through my heart every morning for the last twenty years is “Lord, deliver our children from ill health and poverty.”  [slide #  1   children] Children are more vulnerable to poverty than adults. Children depend on us to do the RIGHT thing, to take care of them, so that they can take care of themselves and eventually help to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves.

The riches of God’s kingdom are free for all creation. Still, we must seek God with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength because everything good comes from God. The spiritual life is not a free-for-all. It is not a lifestyle where anything goes, no matter how hungry we are for our needs to be satisfied or for our will to be done at all times.

The riches of God’s love and mercy are free to all who treasure them. There are times when we could not care less about being blessed, when we trash God’s treasure. Such moments come naturally for us. Still, the spirit-filled life calls us to live super-naturally. [slide # 2  super naturally]

Jesus noticed a widow who gave a small amount in the offering. She is usually pictured as feeble and unimportant because she is poor. Yet, Jesus lifts her up as an example of great importance. The widow’s great stewardship offers three keys for us to unlock the treasures of living supernaturally.

The first key to unlocking spiritual treasure is to look in the faces of poverty in the mirror [slide # 3  mirror] as well as in the world around you. There will always be a need in our lives or the lives of others around us. Oprah Winfrey once said, “You can have it all in this world. You just can’t have it all at once.” That puts all of our lives in perspective to some degree. No matter who we are or where we come from, we do not have all we want or everything we need all of the time. So, God fills in the gaps. When God is all we have, God is all we need.

When Apostle Paul asked God to take away his suffering, he said God told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” [slide # 4  my grace…is all you need.] Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

In this life, there is an equal opportunity for all humans to be in need or to have a deep, unfulfilled longing for something great or small. Our needs and wants are very, very personal and very subject to being judged by ourselves and the rest of the world. God knows it all.

Last week we heard Jeanne share that she thought her grandmother’s ring was so beautiful and she prayed it would be hers someday. God heard the desire of her heart. One thing led to another and she got exactly what she wanted. As Amy and Elaine were setting up the Attic Treasures for the bazaar, Mike DeMarco came in, spotted a tin canister, and lifted it up, saying I saw this being sold on EBay for $10,000. It was missing a lid so he concluded it might sell for $5,000 – maybe...but probably not….What one person barely notices or even sets aside as trash, another will long for and greatly treasure. Our needs and wants are personal.

No matter who we are and where we have come from, God treasures us. We may be carrying a load of trash, we may talk trash, we may trash a person, a place, a thing, but still deep down in God’s heart, God longs for us because God sees each one of us as deeply treasured, as valuable and worth a million.

In Monday night bible study, we discussed how God wants us to be in harmony with one another, whether rich or poor. God wants us  to be compassionate to others whether living in abundance and luxury or living in dire need; and to be humble whether you’re in charge or wishing you were in charge. We are all to be cherished, beloved, and valued. Only the power of God can make us cherish, love, and value one another when our feelings of fear, hatred, and superiority are so deeply rooted in the hearts of us Christians. I often think of how the night before the Columbine shooting, the murderous teens had spent the evening in their United Methodist Youth group. Things are not always as they seem.

Jesus noticed a poor widow. She was precious in his sight. He saw her for who she was, beloved and treasured. Such beauty can only be seen when we dare to look and see each other’s needs as well as blessings and know that the Lord is good even when life’s situations are not good.

It is not easy to see the truth about someone’s struggle when we are living in abundance and luxury. God helps us. Our eyes are open after being on a mission in a place where people are literally starving for food or freedom. So, the first key to unlocking God’s treasure is to see poverty in the mirror or in the lives of the 43 million Americans around us, nearly two-thirds of this country, and the billions around the world, including those who die in poverty or those who wish they were dead, rather than poor.

God’s treasures are revealed to those who are willing to see the truth and be set free. The treasured fruit of the Spirit is made richly available to feed hungry hearts, the gifts of God, like diamonds and gold, are unearthed, stirred up and displayed. The joy of the Lord flows like precious oil from heart to heart and mind to mind, bringing strength to the weak. There is no need to worry and fret about every need or all who suffer. Just trust God to guide you to do what you need to do.

If we want God to tell us if we are our brother or our sister’s keeper, we should at least look at him or her, and see them as the dear one as God sees them.

The second key to unlocking God’s treasure is to give to God no matter what, no matter who sees or does not see; who credits or does not credit; no matter how much or how little you have to give; no matter how the future looks, no matter how mad or afraid you are, give to God, give a tithe, or give the widow’s mite, but whatever you do, give. If you are worried about whether your giving is in vain, remember the scripture promise from Romans 6. 38 – “38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

You may have read Wednesday’s Upper Room where a husband says he and his wife read the Malachi scripture and began tithing though they thought they could not afford it, but when their resources increased, they were convinced it was because they had obeyed God’s word.

Growing up, I was reminded often never to come to the Lord’s house empty-handed, which is direction taken from the book of Deuteronomy. Even if it is a penny, or a smile, I need to give something. God is always worthy to receive some gift from us.

The third key to unlocking God’s treasure is to let your light shine. The widow could have stayed home and missed coming into God’s presence. She came and she was a shining light. She also received the blessed sunshine of God’s love. We need the sunshine of God’s love in order shine our own lights.

Solar lights shine at night without batteries. [slide # 5  solar lights] The more sunlight that they are exposed to during the day, the brighter they shine. The only way our lights can shine is if we have been in the presence of the SON. May you walk in the light, today and forever! Amen. [slide # 6  the light in you…]