The Generosity that Exposes Our Heart

 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:1-4).

There is little else that gives a better glimpse into the heart of a person than a look into their bank account or wallet. Why is money such a delicate and dynamic issue for people? I believe it’s because money is a significant measure of our performance and status. If we work 40 hours and earn $400 then ten of those dollars equals an hour of our life. But if we are born again, we are no longer of this world…  “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:16). We are not subject to the judgments and standards of the world. We are growing up into the much higher and eternal standards of the kingdom of God. In the shadow of the boastful and noisy giving of the rich, Jesus drew attention to a poor widow, and He challenged His followers to take a step closer to true discipleship by observing and imitating from her, the generosity that exposes our heart.

Maturing disciples give out of our prosperity. Evidence that Christ lives in our heart is an increasing apprehension of our true spiritual prosperity. The poor widow’s generosity was not hindered by the earthly living expenses of today. As our faith grows we draw closer to Jesus. The Spirit inspired Paul to reveal to us that true disciples are actually sitting next to Christ in heaven… “(God) raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). Our generosity is a sign to others that we are not of this world. We are not living for today but we live in anticipation of a more glorious future in heaven… “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:32-34). As we grow in faith our generosity proclaims that we’re rich and storing up treasure in heaven.

Growing disciples give out of our poverty. Evidence that Christ has transformed our heart is a growing perception of our true natural poverty. The widow was very aware of her financial distress. In giving “all she had to live on” the poor widow revealed that in her heart she was trusting her entire life and well-being to the Lord… “In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10). Despite the noisy commotion raised by the wealthy, this act of faith caught the attention of the Son of God. The Holy Spirit affirms that giving out of poverty is always a worthy mark of true discipleship… “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5). As we grow in the faith we recognize that God has entrusted us with little or much to help us grow in generosity, and with Him, little is always much.

Diligent disciples give out of our passion. Evidence that Christ fills our heart is a passion for His people and His work. As our fellowship with Christ deepens, we become more like Him. The love and compassion that compelled Him to come to earth conquers our heart and compels us to give and to serve like He did… “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). As we grow in the faith His passion within us increases our generosity.

As we grow up into Christ, we become a clearer reflection of Christ as we grow in…

The Generosity that Exposes Our Heart.

The Confession that Exposes Our Heart

But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?” And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation” (Luke 20:41-47).

Jesus confronted the scribes with a penetrating question… “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son?” This query echoed a question He asked His disciples at another time… “’Who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:15-16). Peter’s reply was met with Jesus’ promise to build His church on the confession of true disciples that would publicly acknowledge Him as the Christ… “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). In this encounter with the scribes and in His warning to His disciples, Jesus added depth to our understanding of the confession that exposes Our heart.

True disciples confess that Christ is God. As David’s Lord, Jesus was acknowledged as Israel’s savior. The Spirit inspired Isaiah to declare that Israel’s only savior would be God Himself… “I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11). The Spirit used the same prophet to declare God’s affirmation of Christ as divine… “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The Spirit moved Matthew to reaffirm the divinity of Christ and to encourage us with the truth that in Christ, God put on our skin and walked in our shoes… “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel which means, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Maturing disciples confess in word and deed that in Christ, God is with us.

True disciples confess that Christ is man. As David’s son or descendant, Jesus met the requirements for being the Messiah… “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). In Christ, all of God became all of man. There is no greater example of humility… “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). Diligent disciples imitate the humble, servant spirit of Christ the man.

True disciples confess that Christ is in their heart. The Spirit inspired Paul to teach that Christ lives in the heart of born again children of God… “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). It is faith that invites Christ into the heart… “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17). There is outward evidence of this inward faith. Jesus publicly exposed and rebuked the unbelieving hearts of the scribes and added a warning for us. Jesus will publicly expose the true state of our faith before His Father in heaven… “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). He taught that the true condition of our faith is also revealed daily in our speech and behavior… “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). What do our attitude and action declare to the onlooking world around us about our faith in the Son of David and God?

As we grow up into Christ, our maturing faith in the son of David and the Son of God is revealed by…

The Confession that Exposes Our Heart.

The Temporal Nature of Marriage

There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.” And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him any question (Luke 20:27-40).

Marriage is a precious gift of God. It has an eternal purpose and a temporal nature. It is an expression of the social nature of the Trinity in a broken and hurting world and it is the foundation of the family. However, Jesus said in the resurrection there will be no need for the temporal nature of marriage.

Marriage reflects the triune nature of God. God’s first created institution was marriage. God intended the marriage of a man and a woman to be an image of Himself… “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). The child that is born of the father and the mother in marriage is a reflection of the Holy Spirit that proceeds from the Father and the Son in the Trinity… “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (John 15:26). In the resurrection, we will be like the angels, forever in the presence of God… “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven” (Hebrews 12:22-23). In the resurrection, a reflection of God’s triune nature is unnecessary in His true presence.

Marriage remembers the temporal nature of life. God’s first command to man was fill the earth with human life… “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’” (Genesis 1:28). The consequence of the fall was death… “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Christ has conquered death… “Our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). For God’s elect, there is no death in eternity… “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more” (Revelation 21:4). In the resurrection, the temporal nature of life is transformed into eternal life, leaving no need for reproduction through temporal marriage.

Marriage reveals the true nature of the Church. Truly born again and maturing disciples live in a mysterious and revealing relationship with Christ… “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:31-32). Maturing disciples are being prepared as a bride is prepared for her groom on their wedding day… “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). Marriage is a revelation of the growth in holiness that prepares us for our place with Christ in eternity… “So that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). In the resurrection, the true nature of the Church will be marriage with Christ.

As we grow up into Christ, we enjoy the blessings but anticipate the transformation of…

The Temporal Nature of Marriage.

The King that Rules All Kingdoms

The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent” (Luke 20:19-26).

The point of the parable of the wicked tenants had found its mark in the hearts of the wicked religious leaders. Jesus’ intention was for them to repent and take the steps toward becoming more effective spiritual leaders, “but they feared the people” more than the Lord. Fear drove them to craftiness, and with insincere and deceived hearts they attempted to trap God with worldly cunning. How silly, you might say? Do we sense a little conviction in our own hearts? Have we not, from time to time, tried to reason with God over something He wants to do in us to help us to grow up further in Christ?... “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). Jesus replied to their vain attempt to trap Him with a question that revealed to them and to us the truth about authority. He made it clear that while there are several kinds of kingdoms, He alone is the king that rules all kingdoms.

There are the kingdoms of the world. God institutes and limits the authority of worldly kingdoms… “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1). God creates worldly kingdoms to enable the advancement of His kingdom on the earth… “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4). True disciples respect and submit to the kingdoms of the world as Jesus did.

There is the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom has unlimited and eternal authority… “He was given power, honor, and a kingdom. People from every province, nation, and language were to serve him. His power is an eternal power that will not be taken away. His kingdom will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). We are to live as loyal citizens and subjects of God’s kingdom… “We, however, are citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ coming from heaven as our Savior” (Philippians 3:20). Diligent disciples trust and obey Christ, living in this world and the next as subjects of the kingdom of God.

There is one King over all kingdoms. God establishes His Son Jesus Christ as the authority of all kingdoms… “Our Lord Jesus Christ… he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:14-15). Jesus will conquer all kingdoms and authority for God… “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful” (Revelation 17:14). Jesus will surrender all kingdoms and authority to His Father… “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power” (1 Corinthians 15:24). Maturing disciples serve Christ, the King over all kingdoms.

As we grow up into Christ, we enjoy the blessings of His sovereignty as we learn to obey…

The King that Rules All Kingdoms.