The "Heart" Of Stewardship

I hope you. Got enough food to eat. I'm sure some of you probably still have some leftovers that, you know, so that you can eat that. So, that would be good. And then just thinking last night about a month, you know, we'll do it all over again, want me? So, that's right. So that'll be, that's a good thing. Well, what I want to do today is an r-series and remember, this is a series win a life. Well spent, and we're talkin about sewing, and we talkin about stewardship and we're talkin about sacrifice. Let me encourage you to be here Christmas morning. Now, I know you have children or maybe you have grandchildren that made you open up gifts early in the morning and that's great. I understand that, but if you do it early enough, you can bring them to church with you and I would not be good. So I won't everyone this here today. If you would, if you can be here on Christmas morning, I want you two to be here. I want you to bring someone with you if you can because I'm going to preach the last message. In this series on Christmas morning and we're going to talk about sacrifice. You know nothing ever good comes without sacrifice of something. You say preacher, I think you got your holidays mixed up. We talked about sacrifice on Easter. Well, let me tell you something, the Lord sacrifice something. When he came to this Earth as a baby and that's what we're going to talk about Christmas morning. So you bring someone with you if you can a life. Well, spent and don't forget this to. Now we're going to start working on our church painting, the church coming up here in the next week or so, we're still taking up our special Christmas offering beautify new Grace until December 11th. So, if you haven't given yet, please consider that. You can put it in a envelope, just put beautifying, you Grace on it, or you can put painting on it, whatever you want to put, but we're going to take up that special offering up through December 11th. Our gold is $5,000 and so I wanted to let you know that as well. So a life well spent And so today, and if you have your Bibles with you, I want you to go ahead and start turn into John chapter 12, the Gospel of John Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the 4th gospel chapter 12. Now for you who were with us a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday night, I preached the sermon entitled, givers and takers. And we talked about the lives of Abraham and lot and how Abraham was a giver and lot was a taker. And we know how their lives ended not too well for lot. Well, today we come to another story. And I could have easily entitled this givers and takers. But instead I'm entitled this, the heart of stewardship. A contrast between generosity a giver And materialism a taker. And we're going to look at two people in this story and John chapter 12 1, the best lessons they ever learn. When and I learned this when I was at Fruitland, not at Southeastern. Was a Bible study method called Truth intention. Now what that is is the Bible is careful to present us both sides of an issue so that we can see it more in Balance. Now, this is never more seen than in character studies. And so remember, we studied the life of Joseph and we, we saw a lot of contrast in that when we looked at Abraham and lot, we saw some contrast in that God loves to

God loves to show us the life of one person against the backdrop of the life of another person. The Bible does this all the time. It gives us contract and I love the contrast the Lord taught us. The generous nature of Abraham with the selfishness of locked. And so to see this contrasts, you then can appreciate the influence of each life and the consequences of the choices that we make in. John chapter 12, there's a wonderful contrast made between two people. Marry and Judas. And unless you see each person's motives clearly, you can appreciate what this section of scripture is teaching, you'll never appreciate it, unless you understand their mode in. So let me set the background for you, Jesus. This is a incident that happened in his life. He had just raised Lazarus from the dead. Remember that? He raised Lazarus from the dead. Now remember this Lazarus Mary and Martha were brother and sisters? Okay, they lived in the same house who Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead about two weeks before. And then all the sudden, the Jewish leaders, when they found out about it, they were irate, and they were even plotting to kill Jesus. All right, and so so Christ had left Jerusalem. And he had went to this little desert city, Ephraim, and then he was going to come back and celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem in while he was on his way. This is where I remember, Zacchaeus. This is where Jesus met Zacchaeus. This is where this is the time where Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus, and then he visited his friend Lazarus and this is after he had raised him from the dead. So the Lord came to the home of Mary Martha and Lazarus in the city of Bethany just outside Jerusalem. And it is here, that John gives us a discount of this amazing event in the Life of Christ. Not remember, when we read this today and studied this was given to us for a purpose. So that we can contrast the attitudes of Mary and Judas and understand the results of their different choices. Just keep that in mind. So let's read the text. So we're here in John. Chapter 12, we have the background. This is what the Bible says and we going to read down through verse 11. Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was who had been dead whom. He had raised from the dead there, they made him a supper and Martha served but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. That speaking of Jesus. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil or let's just my the translation says very costly oil of spikenard. All right, let's we don't use that word today. So let's just look at it like this. She took a very expensive jar of perfume is what it was. It was very expensive perfume and it says here anointing the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. but one of his disciples, Judas, Iscariot Simon's son. Who would betray him say it? if you ever say a verse in the Bible that says one of his disciples Sayed. Look what this sent one of his disciples and then it tells us so much more about Judas. All the, all the tax had to say, was one of his disciples Judas said, or done say that, it says he Simon's son and he's the one who's going to betray the Lord. So already the text is telling us there's something wrong with this Judas. Here, there's something wrong with him and I look in verse five. This is what Judy says, why was this perfume not sold for $300, naira and given to the poor. Now watch the Bible, explain why he said it. This he said not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief and had the money box. In other words, he was the treasurer of the band of disciples they had given him the job of Treasurer. He kept up with all the money that the disciples and Jesus had and it says and he used to take what was put in it. So they would get some money. People give money and Judas would say he give the financial Reports. Say we got this, we got that and then he would take some of it. He was a thief, that's what the Bible says but yet he was a disciple. He was at church every Sunday. He was at his life, he look good on the outside. But his heart wasn't good. Looking for seven. This is what Jesus said to him. Let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial for the poor. You have with, you always with me, you do not have always Now, great, many of the Jews knew that he was their speaking of Jesus and they came not for Jesus sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead, but the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also. Because only can of him Lazareth. Many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. Well what type of story we have here today? It will. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to contrast Mary with Judas, because this is what the Bible is doing. So let's take the good part. First, let's look at Mary, so Mary and we see this in point, one is simply this. I want to give you principles of a giving heart, Mary was a giver. She was not a taker, she was a giver. So principles of a giving heart, and I, let me just, I've listed them here. Let's go down through each one. Number one, when you see Mary, what she did, It demonstrates to us the sacrificial attitude, that's essential to Christian giving. I want you to think of your own giving as we go through this, this morning on, giving to God on giving of your time, your time, your service, whatever it is. I want you to think of your own life and ask a question. Am I give her? Or am I take her? Which one? Which one am I? But she shows us the sacrificial attitude, essential to Christian giving. Look what the Bible says. In verse 3, been married to look at a pound, a very costly oil or perfume. Now you say, why do you know it just says very costly. But how do you know? It was really that costly because Judas and his his deceitful and depraved heart tells us in verse 5, he said why was this perfume? Not sold for 300. Dinara Now you say well what does that mean? Well it simply means this at at the time of the naira was equal to one day's wages. So, 300 than are, I would almost be equal to a Year's wages. Here's a woman. Who spent almost a Year's worth of wages on perfume to anoint, the feet of her savior. Does that sound like a giver too? You that sounds like a giver to me. It was an incredible sacrifice in a time when most people earn their living day-to-day? Yes, she did not mind giving up a Year's worth of wages. Now, we're talkin, we've been talking about this painting project that we're going to do and I have asked you during this time up to December 11th. If you could give an offering to help us pay for the painting. Now, you find out in churches all the time. Some pastors will will ask people maybe who support the church really well. A good Giver. They may ask for a week's worth of wages or something, something like that. But have you ever heard of a pastor or someone ask for a Year's worth of wages? Possible. We going to paint the church. We going to do some other things. Here's what I want y'all to do. I want to save up all the money you made this past year, and I want you to give it all to that. What would you think of me? You think I'm crazy to ask something like that but yet, Mary, she offered to the Lord, something extremely valuable that keep in mind. Mary had to pay. She had just paid for the funeral for her brother. You said that already buried him before Jesus came to resurrect Lazarus. So she had already gone through all the burial. Rituals you see her actions here point to something that I've mentioned over and over something, that King David said that he would not give God anything that didn't cost him something. You see, when we give out of our abundance, that doesn't cost us anything. But when we give out of our poverty, the Lord will bless that. You see she gave she gave almost a year's salary. You see? We give him that which cost us something Mary's actions reveal that she had a sacrificial attitude to give almost a Year's worth of wages in this perfume. Be It also demonstrates that Mary had a servant attitude and I look what it says in verse three. What she did it says she anointing the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet. With her hair. You see others? Remember when Jesus was walking around and others would come and it's a lower, could you heal me lower? Could you please make my child better? They're sick and about to die. Lord, could you cast this demon out of me? Everybody who came to Jesus, wanted Jesus to do something for them, except this lady here, she gave a Year's worth of wages. So that watch, she can serve the Lord asked him to do anything. She wanted to show him that she was going to worship Him. You see, she knelt and worship and Christ commended her for it, friends, listen, when we give it all to be, with this Same Spirit, we give willingly. We give lovingly not because we want to receive something from God, but because we want to serve our Lord. Amen. That's why we give because we want to serve our Lord. So a sacrificial. Attitude. She have is yours worth a servant attitude. She dropped to her knees and she anointed his feet. Let me tell you something else. She showed us some Missy give attitude this lavish gift that she put on the Savior. She poured it on his feet. You say what how does she shows the mission here? Because she let her hair down in public. Women didn't do that back. Then you let your hair down in public. Got that one thing that you a prostitute. That's what that meant. She let her hair down. And she wiped his feet with her hair. She didn't care what anybody else thought she was submitting to her savior. She didn't care what other people thought. She just wanted the Lord to know her great love and she gave him her best. She gave it lovingly and lavishly in spite of any criticism. She was submissive and we're the same way, no matter what people think we ought to give the Lord, what is he, is that matter what anybody else says? I look at this D. she also revealed a scriptural attitude toward Christian giving you see the joy of giving comes from From us. Sincerely, showing our love for the Lord. Mary gave her this gift because she believed that Jesus was God, she understood that something important was getting ready to happen something that the disciples didn't even understand yet. How do we know that? Look what? Jesus said about her in verse 7. Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. Mary knew Jesus was going to die cycle. Didn't even know that they kept going to be crucified kill. You know she knew something the disciples didn't know and you see here her actions was a part of the preparation process. This is the only Annoying that Jesus is body received before he died. Why is that? Because she knew he was going to die. And no one else knew it in a hurry cuz I didn't want to interfere with the Jewish holidays. So somehow God had told Mary and some way The darkness of the hour that was coming that he was going to die. And she was determined that Jesus who was about to die on behalf of his people that he deserve to be anointed, and she wanted to get it done. While the opportunity was there, let me ask you something. When someone dies, when do you send flowers? At the funeral. She sent her flowers before the funeral. She knew. I had a back home where I live. We had a gentleman in the community who died this past week. And his sisters and all posted a picture that they took together a week ago. And in the Facebook post she put we didn't know that. This was the last picture that we would ever take together. Disciples didn't know it. Either marrying. You. She brought her flowers before the funeral. She anointed Jesus before his death, wouldn't be good if we knew win. I love on maybe was going to pass away so we can say the things that we need to say. But the disciples didn't know, we don't know but Mary knew she it reveals a scriptural attitude toward Christian giving. Also it was a serious attitude letter e and that's necessary her gift was serious business. So when the opportunity to give came she didn't wait she didn't miss her chance, Jesus understood this to look what he said about what she gave in verse 8. He says for the poor, you have with you always with me, you do not have always

Gina said why don't you just say all that perfume get 300 a Year's worth of weight and then you can give that money to the poor. Well that sounds good. Nothing but Jesus knew what was in his heart. He says this leave her alone, you don't understand. The poor will always be about you always have opportunity to do things for the pork. But I'm going to be with you only about a week longer. You leave her alone and let her do what she said. She was serious about it. Christ would only go to the Cross once, and this was the one chance that his followers had to anoint him for his burial. And that's exactly what she did. Other women came afterwards after his death, but his body was already wrapped in clothes and placed in a tomb. They gathered all these gifts to give him just like we do, we always give gifts and bring food. But it's always after the fact, she did it before the fact, and that reminds me something about our give it and I want you here this very closely and clearly Some Christians are always waiting to give at a more convenient time. So they say when they're young, why I can't give cuz I don't make that much money. It takes everything that I have just to live on so they wait. Well, then they start having children and they say well it's just not the good time, you just don't understand how it is. Raised two, small children, just diapers and Pampers and formula and all this. It cost a lot of money. We just can't give, I'll give when the children move out. Well, the children move out, they go to college and move out and then all the sudden I can't pay for the education, I don't have enough money, I got to pay for their college education and then when that's finished, all of a sudden, you're 40, 50 years old, you've never given and you say why I got to have something to retire on. I've got to save my money, I can't just give it. I've got to save you see their lives have passed while they were waiting for an opportunity to give but it never came. So, let me say this. No one can ever afford to give. there's never a convenient time to give I can always think of things, I can use my money for other than giving it to the church. Car problems in house problems and fix this and do this and do that. There's always something. There's never a convenient time to give that's why giving is called a sacrifice. We have to sacrifice. I bet some of you got married, and you couldn't afford to get married, But you got married, anyway. Why? Because you loved each other. That's why you couldn't afford a pot to do anything in But you, but you got married. Anyway, friends. It's the same thing. When it comes down to tithing and giving you don't have enough money too tithe, you just have to do it. You have to start by doing it and then let the Lord take care of the rest. Because one day we going to stand before him, give an account. And then he's going to say, Mikey wasted ever been the opportunity. You didn't give when you were young, you have an excuse for that. You didn't give a called your children's in college. Now you're saving for retirement, you never gave Mike, you never gave Well, let's move on to the next one and the last one. F. Mary demonstrates, the spiritual attitude that we all need to have. When we give, she saw a great, the great spiritual nature of giving her. I was on the future, you see, she gave her today for God's tomorrow, she invested in the Lord and did, you know what she did created? A memorial that is forever. Remember you say, well what do you mean by that? Look like Matthew said in Matthew 26, 13 About Mary. I surely, I say to you wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world. What this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. We remember what she did. Don't you remember the story of her wiping Jesus's feet? You remember that? If you don't remember, hardly anything else in the Bible, people remember this. Because she displayed this sacrificial Servants of mission, scriptural, serious, and spiritual attitude in her. Give it. We all know this story. We all remember this story. You see, monuments two, great men have come and gone. Nations have risen and Fallen. but Mary's gift of her perfume lingers we all remember that we remember Now giving is a spiritual action, not merely a physical one and Mary demonstrated an understanding of that think about Mary sacrificial attitude I'll give a Year's wages servant attitude I bow down submissive attitude I'll let my hair. I'll use my hair to wipe his feet scripture, she knew what was about to happen, when no one else. She brought her flowers before the funeral serious attitude and a spiritual attitude. Well, too bad. We can't stop with Mary. I wish we could but we need to say a few things about Judas and that brings us to point to And that is simply this principles. Of a selfish heart Mary, the principle of a giving heart Judas, the principle of a selfish heart. Mary is example of what we ought to be Judas is example of what we are. Not to be that notice how the Bible characterizes him in Verses 4 through 6. One of his disciples Judas Simonson. The one who was going to betray him said, why was this perfume? Not sold for 300 in there. I ain't given to the poor. This he said not because he cared for the poor. But because he was a thief and had the money box and he used to take what was put in it now. What do we say about Jude? Number one, he had a deceitful attitude, just as Mary's selflessness, giving became a monument to her love. Judas is selfish concern, became a monument for him. The Bible even talks about Judas. In the Old Testament. Look what Proverbs 10:7 says. The memory of the righteous is blessed, Mary?

But the name of the wicked will rot. Judas. His name will rot. You'll remember Mary everybody? Remembers that story. You'll remember him her, but the name of the wicked will rot. He was a false decide and he offered nothing but this little Pais excuse. Well, we could give that to the port. He didn't care about the poor. He just wanted the appearance of having spiritual concern in order to cover up his own greed. He was trying to make people believe he was something that he was not. In other words, what do we call that a hypocrite? Mary was holy. Judas was a hypocrite. Mary was a giver. Judas was a taker. Mary live for the kingdom of God Judas. Live for his own kingdom. He had a deceitful attitude. Well, not only that, he demonstrates a dishonest attitude. He didn't really want to give the money to the poor. He wanted that money to put it in the bag so he could have it. He saw a wonderful opportunity to replenish his own resources that he saw it. Go down the drain when Mary poured that perfume out and I'm sure if she had the dumb that he would have found some way to scheme around in to embezzle to get that money. It was no accident. That his last Act of selling the Lord was when he planted a kiss on the Lord, never had somebody kiss you and you knew that they didn't mean it. Nothing I hate worse than that. Somebody to hug your neck and you know, it's so cold. You can tell they could care less about you. You can you can tell what that's what he did. That wasn't a moment of weakness. It was the culmination of a lifelong hunger for money. Judas was a thief. Taking, what belongs to God. And spending it on him self. So we see here kinda a contrast of light and darkness. Judas, does wicked things and he hates things hates. The like, Mary had come to the light is clear, that her work was carried out by grace and through the power of God, her love is authentic. Judas is a hypocrite. He has a cold faithless heart, but yet he masked all that by his self righteousness and give it to the poor. While that sounds good, that sounds really good. There's a warning here. Judith gives us a warning. He looked and he spoke like a disciple, he did. He could have used hundreds of verses in the Old Testament, to back up, what he said about, giving money to the poor, but he didn't use a single first because he didn't care about that. His motive was self-centered. He was only concerned what he could get out of Jesus Judas, look good on the outside but he was filthy dirty on the inside. In friends, we can come to church and we can do and we can pray, and we can read the Bible. We can go to Sunday school and we can do all these things, but when it comes to our money and we start complaining, I don't know why. The church wants to do this. If they want to build this, they want to buy that. They want to do that. We could use that money for something else to help people. I guarantee the people who say that when you look at their given record, I probably hadn't given a cent to the Lord, but they'll complain about what the church does with the money. I did that with that's a Judas if I've ever seen one right there. You see he seems moral but money and possessions are more important to him than Jesus. And when he had when he was faced with a decision, Judas, are you going to give up your stuff? Or are you going to give up Jesus? What did he choose? He gave up Jesus. For thirty pieces of silver. You see stuff when when he viewed his possessions, as an opportunity to get something instead of blessed Jesus with. Well, let me give you the last one. That deceitful and dishonest attitude led to his deadly attitude. You make, what do you mean by that? Look at Matthew 27, verse 4 through 5, this is the last thing you read about. Jesus. Matter fact, what we just read that Jesus said, why didn't why didn't you sell that for $300? The first words that we are recorded in Scripture? That he said, look at the last name recorded in the scripture that he did. Saying this is Judah. Speaking, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. Remember he sold Jesus, for thirty pieces of silver. I have sinned and they said that the authorities Jewish authorities, what is that to us? You see to it? And look at the next verse

Then he threw down the pieces of silver that he sold Jesus within the temple and the part it and went out and did what he hanged himself. He committed suicide. That's where a deceitful a dishonest and a deadly attitude will lead. You see the contrast Judas was a taker. Mary was a giver. Mary was wholly, Judas was a hypocrite. He tried to make people think that he was something that he would and Mary build a memorial that we remember two thousand years later. But nobody wants to remember. Jesus. I mean if you know, someone in your family or amongst your friends, Whose name is Mary. If I know anybody named Mary, I know bunch of Mary's Mary parents. They're quick to name their children. Mary, how many people do you know? How many parents who named their sons you You know why? Because the blessing us will remain for those who are upright, but the evils named will rot. And that's exactly what happened to Judas. Matter, fact, you go to dictionary and under the word treachery, a synonym for treachery is Judas. Think about his name is in the dictionary with treachery as a synonym. You see there, seen in contrast. Here, the memory of the just is blessed but the name of the wicked shell rot. Well, I'm basically finished but I want you to see something that I saw last night as I was reading over this. And I didn't actually put it in my sermon, but I want you to see this. They were at Mary, and Martha and Lazarus house.

And the Bible says here and I want you to look at it and verse two there, they made him suffer. And who was it? That served Martha. Martha was always doing something and what she she was always working in the kitchen and doing something for the Lord. You know, that's important for work for the Lord, that's very important. A household that works for the Lord. That's wonderful. What did Mary do? I was she took out a Year's worth of perfume very costly and anointed Jesus's feet. What did she do? She Worship the Lord. So we have one sister working for the Lord and we had one sister worshiping the Lord, in that great. When a household, does that works for the Lord and worship. And what did the, what was the brother doing? Well. It says, in verse 11, because on the count of him, many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus on the counter lazzara. You know what Lazarus was doing? He was a walking witness. We had a household that was working for the Lord that was worshiping the Lord. And that was witnessing for the Lord. And What happens when you have a household like that? You look at it and verse 3, the last part and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. In other words, love permeated that household. Because they were working. They were worshiping and they were witnessing for the Lord and love permeated that household. Love has an undeniable fragrance.net. Nothing that smell good. Love smells good. And when you smell it, you just want to linger there with it. You can't get enough Marys Memorial her gift, the where we can just kind of catch a whiff of that. Love. What is it? Leave it leaves us longing, for more. It leaves us waiting for the day, when the love of Jesus, when Matt fragrance, when it will feel the entire world and friend one day, it is when he comes back. That's what we're going to see when he comes back. Worship working and witnessing for the Lord. Now, let me just say this, I didn't preach this today, so people say, well, I don't really give that much. I don't, I don't give I feel guilty now, I don't want you to feel guilty because if you start giving the God, because you feel guilty, that's not going to honor him. Your guilt will not honor him if you give out of guilt. Now, it doesn't honor him either when we just decided to give because why I just got too much other stuff to do. I just can't afford it. That doesn't honor him as well. You see, we have a choice. We can either be like Mary and give generously or we can be like Judas and failed to give him anything at all. Either way, whichever one you decide you are creating and building your own Monument. Today you're building your own monument and I'm convinced that if Christians in churches today would give as we should the church would never have any need. We wouldn't have to resort to bake sales to bingo night or anything else to make money if the church would give like Mary J. You see the concern is not about raising money. The concern is about raising obedient Believers to be stewards of God's resources. That's what we're trying to do giving is a spiritual concern. And we all have to decide. Am I going to be a beating or disobedient? And the choice we make will have eternal results. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you and praise you. Love you today, Lord for your word Lord. I just thank you for this contrasts that you was able to show us today that the heart of a giver. Is a sacrificial attitude. A servant attitude. Submissive is scriptural is serious and a spiritual Lord help to have those attitudes in our own hearts. as we give to our Earth one, when we give our gifts or talents are time, whatever it may be The Lord also let us look at the other side of the coin. And let us understand what the principles of a selfish heart is. That is deceitful, that is dishonest and eventually it will lead to death. Lord help us to be cheerful givers help us to be good stewards of the resources that you've given us, will be careful to praise you to worship you to work for you and to which just like this wonderful household did in Christ's name. I pray. Amen. All right.