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Going through the Motions
Ever find yourself going through the motions?
- In your relationships
- At your job
- With your kids
I’m Here, but I’m not really here
- Just going through the motions
This happens for a few reasons:
1. Because you are tired
2. Because your passion is gone
3. Because your mind is somewhere else
At some point, in something, we all will find ourselves going through the motions
COMPLACENCY
– That is what going through the motions really is
It is born and fed by complacency
- Going through the motions removes the miraculous from following Jesus
Today’s BIG question:
When it comes to following Jesus, are you just going through the motions?
- Is your heart in it?
Mark 12
41 Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums.
Now, we don’t know a lot about these people
- Some may have been great, very generous
This is not a passage against the wealthy, it is just the example in this passage
This passage is actually about religion, or at least, RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
As long are you are doing things that “Look Good” people will think you “ARE GOOD”
But on the inside, we are not all good
- We are broken. constantly in need of the saving grace and forgiveness of Jesus
But we walk around throwing our preverbal “money bags” in so others can see and think that we “ARE GOOD”
That is the definition of GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS
- There’s no passion there
- There’s no expectation
- No anticipation
- No Desire
2 Chronicles 16
9 For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him.
IS YOUR HEART IN IT?
- Are you just going through the motions?
What does a wholeheartedly devoted heart look like?
42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.
What do we know about widows in this culture
- No social safety nets
- Very difficult if no family to take her in
Being a widow was a hard life financially
What else do we know?
- She understood pain and loss
- Knew what it was like to grieve
- Understood what loneliness feels like
But here she is, being generous with the little that she had
This is what Jesus had to say…
43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had —all she had to live on.”
From a practical level, those two coins were not going to help pay for much
- That little gift, from a natural perspective, didn’t add much value
But it is the ONLY gift that got Jesus’ attention
We live in a limited world with a limited world view
- More is better, less is not
The widow gave less, so it can’t be better, and the rich gave much so it must better
But we forget that God is a limitless God who is not impressed with what we have, but who we are
– Much does not impress him because he doesn’t need it
What turns God’s eye is the one who brings what they have
The Faithfulness Principle
- Showing up (even when it’s tough)
- Giving up (whatever you have)
This widowed woman demonstrated her heart for God by showing up and giving up what she had
The reason those 2 little coins meant so much is that she did not give them out of abundance, but out of scarcity
- That is when our faithfulness is demonstrated, when it’s hard, not easy
- When we give and it costs us something
Are you giving of yourself to the point that it costs you your “Standard Of Living”
- Not just money, Also Time…
- You don’t want to give up any time, because it’s more valuable than money, so you just give money
– Still not faithfulness. Your heart is what matters
God is not interested in what you can bring him, He is interested in making you Holy
Do all things for the Glory of God
1 Corinthians 10
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or Greeks or the church of God, 33 just as I also try to please everyone in everything, not seeking my own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved.
I wonder what God is asking you to bring to the table that has you thinking, what I have is not much, and if it’s not much, it doesn’t matter.
- That is a lie
- We bring to God what he has, and he will multiply it and do with it what he wills
I think that someone here has determined their worth by the size of what they can bring to God
- My gift is small, so I must be small
- My gift is insignificant, so I must be insignificant
- My gift seems worthless, so I must be worthless
That is a LIE….
You are not responsible for the outcome or the situation, you are just responsible for bringing what you have
- Whether that is a little or a lot, you bring it.
There is no size requirement
– On your influence, wealth, talent, etc…
Do all things for the Glory of God
In everything, Your heart matters
- in what you do
- in what you say
- in how you think
Those things may not seem like much to use, but they are deep demonstrations of what is actually king in our hearts.
Do all things for the Glory of God and it becomes the responsibility of God
- If you do something for your glory, you bear the responsibility.
You are NOT responsible for the outcomes, only what you bring
Each of us has many things we can bring to God’s table
- Talent
- Influence
- Finances
- Time
- Education
- Passion
- Experience
So, are you just going through the motions in your faith?
- Doing just what needs to be done to be seen
- No passion or zeal there = no life