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Hi everyone, this is Emma from Encounter Church Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our podcast.

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Our prayer is that through this podcast you can have an encounter with Jesus that will change your life.

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And now get ready for an inspiring message from our preaching team.

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Today we're going to be exploring our core value generous.

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How exciting is that? Yeah?

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So before we start, I'm going to pray.

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Father, I ask as we explore your word and text that you'll be in the room.

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Lord, that you'll soften our hearts so we're ready to hear what you have to say.

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I ask that you challenge us.

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So walk out of this room. We can continue to imitate your son Jesus.

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We thank you for all you've done, all that you'll continue to do. Amen.

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So in my previous job, I operated and managed an automotive workshop.

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And I regularly would look at the finances, the financial figures daily,

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ensuring that would make our daily budget and that would make profit on the work that was completed.

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This meant that I knew the amount of dollars that were coming in

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and the amount of dollars that were going out of the department.

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And at times we would have to meet KPIs.

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Now for some of you, you may not know what KPIs are.

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So I'll explain what they are.

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KPIs are key performance indicators.

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So they're basically measurable values that organizations or businesses

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use to assess how effectively they're achieving their targets.

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So my company would set targets like the percentage of brake pads that were sold

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to the amount of cars that were serviced.

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And when we did meet these KPIs, we'd be given rewards and further incentives

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to go above and beyond for the business.

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So if you're in a service center, sometimes they can take you on for a ride.

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That might be why.

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Every year in May, if we met these targets, so we sold enough brake pads,

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we'd be sent to the Mitsubishi Motors Awards evening,

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which was a night of celebration for all dealerships across Adelaide.

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It was at that celebration that the big boss would finally provide a small

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but nice compliment and a small reward for all the staff that made those targets.

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In May 2023, we finished the awards evening and the big boss insisted

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that we went to the casino for cocktails.

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Initially, I had two thoughts.

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Number one, I've never been to the casino.

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And number two, how much money would we be spending on so-called nice drinks at the casino?

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So we headed to the casino and we went to the bar and it was at that moment

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that I really, truly realized how much a good cocktail really was.

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80, 90, 100 bucks.

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Now, at no point would I personally spend that much money on 250 meals,

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but on the company card, absolutely I would.

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This opened my eyes to the world of business.

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For business in most cases, money is just currency.

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That just simply doesn't really mean anything but numbers on a page.

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Money comes in, money goes out with a click of a button.

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So for a business to be generous, it's easy to give out of abundance of figures on a page

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because for a business, that small little cocktail is a tiny little expense

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for the large monthly expenses that they have.

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For us as individuals, it's not that easy.

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For us, when we look at our accounts, we might think of a list of things

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before we even consider the idea of generosity

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because in our circumstances, there's always a cost, a sacrifice.

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For most people here to be generous, that can't come from abundance

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because we may not have an abundance.

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I know that I certainly wouldn't drop 100 dollars on a cocktail.

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That's just crazy.

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At work, generosity was something that came effortlessly.

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Giving was simple, it was convenient, and it carried no significant cost.

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So there's a difference between generosity giving out of abundance

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like my workplace and giving out of generosity out of sacrifice.

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When it comes to money, when it comes to generosity in your life,

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you may feel a heap of differing emotions.

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Money is one of humanity's biggest idols

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because it affects the control it has over our life.

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It affects what we do, how we act, who we see, our perspective.

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And for some of us, we might set financial goals to gain security.

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We might look at our budgets, see our spending habits,

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the debt that we have remaining,

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or to make sure that our savings account is increasing rather than decreasing.

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For me, at the start of this year,

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Emma and I sat down and we went through our budget

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to review our finances and yes, we had some questions.

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Number one, are we on track to meet our savings goals?

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Number two, will we have enough money if there's an emergency?

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Number three, will we have enough for a holiday?

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All good questions.

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By simply reviewing two things stood out.

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Firstly, we realised that we had been spending money

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where we just didn't need to.

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You wouldn't believe this, but we were paying for two lots of Canva,

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two lots of Foxtel for six months.

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Woo! Money down the drain.

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But this is why we have these conversations.

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This is why we do a budget.

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By in reviewing it gave us reassurance

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where we're actually putting our finances.

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Money, unfortunately, occupies a significant part of our thoughts.

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We might navigate things like buying a house,

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taking out loans, managing wages, our financial decisions,

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and the wisdom behind them often dominate our conversations.

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Some of us, we might be a thinker.

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We might be constantly doing mass in our head,

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spending only if we have to, always asking, will we have enough?

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Inevitably feeling anxious about what generosity

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out of sacrifice will mean for our life, our family,

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and so then we struggle to actually be generous at all.

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We might be the kind of person that sees the money and spends it.

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We tell ourselves that everything is fine.

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We find it easy to be generous out of sacrifice

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and we put no dollar on love.

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Then we struggle with the reality of the sacrifice

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when it actually comes.

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Or we could be someone who looks at all the digits,

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all the figures, all the numbers on the page.

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We plan for every little expense,

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including all the generosity for that calendar year.

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And in this scenario,

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they wouldn't let doubling up on subscriptions happen.

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It's definitely not me.

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They've planned for everything.

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But you can't plan for generosity out of sacrifice

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because it's always going to break the budget.

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Or you could look at money differently.

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No matter who you are, we all have barriers

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when we think about sacrificial generosity.

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Generosity that comes out of personal cost.

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Generosity born of sacrifice.

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Generosity that requires sacrifice.

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In Mark 1241, we see Jesus sitting at the temple with his disciples,

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observing everyone as they come and give their offerings

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to the temple treasury.

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People watching isn't just a casual pastime.

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It's not a hobby for Jesus.

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He sees this as an opportunity to teach.

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Jesus often used everyday life and ordinary moments

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to reveal deeper truths about God's kingdom.

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And we see this throughout the Gospels.

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So the question is,

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why would people bring in money to the temple treasury?

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Or we can see it parallel in 2 Kings 12,9.

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Then Jehoedia took a single chest and bought a hole in a lid

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and placed it at the right of the main entrance into the temple of God.

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All the offerings were brought to the temple of God,

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were placed in the chest by the priest who guarded the entrance.

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When they saw a large sum of money that had accumulated in the chest,

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the king's secretary and the chief priest would empty the chest

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and count the offerings.

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They would give the money accounted for to the managers of the temple project

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and they in turn would pay the carpenters, the construction workers,

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the masons, the stone workers and the buyers of the timber

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and quarried stone for the repair and renovation of the temple of God

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and any expenses connected for fixing up the temple.

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Jehoedia, the high priest, established a system of collection for the temple.

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A chest was placed at the entrance of the temple

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and all the offerings were brought to the temple and counted by the priest.

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This action was a way to provide the temple's maintenance,

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the priesthood, the needs for the people.

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The offerings were given directly to God

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which is an important context to understand the significance of what people gave.

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When someone gave to the temple, they weren't just supporting the building,

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they weren't just supporting the institution or the community,

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they were giving to God.

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Isn't this what we do weekly?

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Now, as Jesus is observing, he notices two key differences

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and this is where he pulls his disciples over

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to highlight something that goes beyond the outward appearances,

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goes beyond what the disciples see, the heart of the giver.

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The first is the many of the rich who are making large contributions

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which may have appeared impressive to everyone watching, including his disciples.

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In terms of financial value, it was significant,

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like my boss spending big money on cocktails.

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But Jesus doesn't seem fazed by the abundance

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because there's no cost, there's no sacrifice for the giver.

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These contributions don't require them to depend on God for provision.

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This is the issue.

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Whereas the widow who puts in two small copper coins,

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essentially for us two cents, this was all she had.

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At that moment that Jesus draws his disciples' attention to the widow's offering

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as the true example of sacrificial giving.

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While the rich gave in their abundance of wealth without cost or sacrifice,

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she gave from her poverty.

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The widow's offering wasn't out of abundance,

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but rather out of absolute dependence on God.

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She simply trusted God that her insignificant two cents

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were significant in the hands of God.

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When we look a little deeper in the context of the widow,

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it reveals the sacrificial generosity that took place.

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Firstly, economic hardship was a struggle for the widows in Jesus' time.

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Widows didn't have a way to earn money on their own.

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The economic stability was often tied to their husbands,

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who were the providers for the family.

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In terms of property and inheritance, things weren't any easier.

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Jewish law back then typically failed male heirs.

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When it came to inheritance, so if the widow didn't have a son,

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she had very little control over her husband's property.

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Many widows found themselves with little to no resources

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and then just struggling to meet basic needs.

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There was also a lack of protection.

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Without a male guardian, whether a husband, father, or even a son,

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widows were exposed to all kinds of dangers.

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They were vulnerable to exploitation,

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where people might take advantage of their situation,

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both financial and personal gain.

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Despite the widow putting in two pieces of copper, Jesus makes it clear

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that the widow has given more.

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She gave two pieces of copper and they the rich gave bags and bags of money,

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abundance of wealth.

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How could that be?

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In verse 43 and 44, Jesus called his disciples over and said,

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The rich is that the poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together.

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All the others gave what they'll never miss.

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She gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford.

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She gave her all.

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Tom Wright says this,

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Giving up one's life is the theme of the final scene,

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where Jesus contrasts the rich, people who can afford plenty to the temple treasury,

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and makes sure others see that they're doing it.

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With the poor widow who has given literally her whole life,

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two copper coins, which were all that she had to live on that day,

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her sacrifice was small, was total.

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How can two cents from a widow be more valuable than bags and bags of gold?

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It's the odd values the heart of the widow.

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Rather than the abundance of worldly things,

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God values the heart of the giver.

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In verse 44, the NIV states, Jesus said that she out of poverty put in everything.

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Here we can see that God truly values generosity of sacrifice,

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rather than the generosity of abundance.

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We see, look at money in terms of monetary value, rather God looks at the heart.

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So how do we become someone who is sacrificially generous?

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It's pretty easy to be generous when we have an abundance,

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when there's extra, and we're not worried about running out.

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But the real test of generosity comes when it actually hurts a little.

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When we hesitate, when we're giving something that actually costs us,

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or when it feels that there's no logical sense at all.

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So I guess the question is, are you only generous when it's easy?

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Or do you find ways to give, even when it stretches your bank account, all your time?

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Does it feel uncomfortable?

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In Mark's passage, the emotions and feelings that the widow felt are similar to what we feel today.

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Trusting God in the struggle, relinquishing control with what little we have,

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and accepting the sacrifice and the cost involved in the decision and decisions,

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because generosity from nothing changes us far greater than any contributions of wealth.

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So how do we truly trust God?

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How do we relinquish control and accept the sacrifice just like the widow did?

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For the widow, it wasn't just a matter of parting with her money.

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It was about her heart being fully surrendered to God's will.

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She had this unwavering trust that no matter what, he would provide.

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That's the kind of faith not so easy to come by, right?

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And beyond just trusting, she had a willingness to let go of control.

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The widow wasn't trying to hold on to everything in her life.

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She gave away all that she had, everything on the line.

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Is that not a big deal?

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It's not just about money. It's about life, about surrendering our need to control.

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I think there's a lesson in us for that today.

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It's so easy to hold tightly to our plans, our comforts, like fancy cocktails, internet subscriptions, our time.

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But we're called to trust God just like the widow did, to let go of our control

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and really believe that he'll take care of us, no matter what happens.

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It's not just about the big dramatic sacrifices.

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It's about making those small sacrifices every day in the little moments when no one's watching.

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The widow gave from something much deeper, a heart that completely trusted God,

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a willingness to let go of control and a readiness to sacrifice.

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Therefore, we should be ready to trust God.

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We should be ready to relinquish control and we should be ready to sacrifice in the day-to-day situations that we face.

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The widow's generosity was an act of trust.

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Again, she trusted that God would provide for her needs, even when it seemed like there was nothing left to give.

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The widow arrived at the temple, trusted God, gave contributions without the expectation of people noticing.

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For her trust, she knew what she was doing and she knew the cost when she gave.

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So how often do external factors influence your generosity?

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We find it hard to give away our worldly things when we fear that we won't have enough for ourselves.

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We might believe that our own efforts are more important than his guidance.

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We may forget that he has plans for our life, that his timing, that his will are greater than our own.

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We simply need to, like the widow, trust God, relinquish control over our lives.

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By doing this, she was giving up control over her whole life.

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At that moment, when she put those coins into the temple, she was no longer in control of her future.

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She had no way of guaranteeing that she was going to eat food the next day.

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No assurance that she would be cared for.

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No assurance that she would be safe.

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All she could do was trust that God was in control and that he would provide for her.

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This kind of surrender isn't easy. Relinquishing control isn't easy, I would know.

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It's the one thing to give when we have a little extra in the bank, when we have a sense of security and control.

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It's another to give when we're faced with real vulnerability.

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When the safety net we rely on is no longer there.

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The Weiris action shows the real trust in God, often means stepping into uncertainty.

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Letting go of every desire to control the outcomes and surrendering our plans and expectations to him.

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This brings me to my third point.

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The widow both trusts God, relinquishes control.

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With that brings significant cost, it brings sacrifice.

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The widow didn't give out of her abundance, she gave out of her poverty, from literally nothing.

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This is the kind of generosity that God values. Generosity that costs us something.

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It's a kind of generosity that transforms not only the world around us, but it also our hearts.

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Sacrificial generosity requires a willingness to give until it hurts, to put the needs of others above our own desires and comforts,

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to put your subscriptions and your comforts on hold, or to remove them all together.

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Similarly to the widow, Jesus didn't have an abundance in worldly riches, rather the opposite.

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His life didn't involve a comfortable home, rather he lived in a complete vulnerability in the world that he created.

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He had no money to offer, no earthly possessions, no home to return to.

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His life was of sacrifice and utter dependence on the Father.

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Is this how you live your life daily?

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Utter dependence on the Father, on Jesus?

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Jesus saw the need for the world.

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He saw the need to be generous where generosity seemed all but gone.

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Like the widow, Jesus gave his all.

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Everything.

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His life.

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Jesus' death was intentional, willing sacrifice.

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He gave everything.

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His body.

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His blood.

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His life.

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Jesus knew that his sacrifice was significant.

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Significant for you, significant for me.

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The widow gave two small coins.

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Jesus gave his life.

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John 10, 17, 18 in the NIV.

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The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again.

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No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord.

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I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.

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This command I receive from my Father.

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The difference between the widow and Jesus is that Jesus knew exactly what would happen.

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He knew the pain.

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He knew the humiliation.

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He knew the separation that would happen from God.

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He knew he would face, he knew what he would face when he took on the weight of the world's sin.

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He chose it anyway.

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He chose the cross.

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He chose the cross for you guys.

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And he chose the cross for me.

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He chose the cross of people in Henley, people in Grange, the people in Adelaide.

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His sacrifice wasn't made in ignorance or out of desperation.

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It was an act of generous love and obedience to the Father.

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Jesus knew that his death would bring life to all who believe in him.

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All.

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So, I challenge you today.

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Let's be that generous church.

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A church where we actually feel the cost of generosity.

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Go to a generous act this week.

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But be generous where it actually costs you.

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Don't be generous from your abundance.

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Be generous from where it costs you.

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Let's pray.

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Father, we ask that you help us to live out generosity in our daily lives.

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Father, we ask that you challenge our hearts to give where it costs us.

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Just like the widow who put it all on the line.

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Father, we thank you for your sacrifice so that we can truly be transformed and renewed in mind and spirit.

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Father, teach us to give when it costs.

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Help us to be generous when it feels uncomfortable, when it feels inconvenient.

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Show us where we're holding back and help us to trust you and relinquish control over our life.

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Help us to be generous when it's a sacrifice, when it stretches us, when it challenges us.

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Teach us that true generosity is not about how much we give, but about what we're willing to surrender.

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Father, thank you for all that you've done and all that you'll continue to do.

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Amen.

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Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's message.

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If you felt challenged or need prayer, we'd love to hear from you on Instagram, at Encounter Henley.

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Or, if you're interested in how you can support this ministry, please go to our website, EncounterAdelaide.com.au.

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Thanks again for listening. God bless you.