Thinking Rightly About Support, Sacrifice & Service - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you have your Bibles, first Timothy chapter five. Verse three, in an interesting portion of scripture, we're gonna trust that God has something for us. In verse three, we read honor widows who are truly widows, but if a widow has children or grandchildren, let him first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow left all alone has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self indulgent is dead even while she lives. Father, we know that this passage can be easily bypassed.

We know that it can seem tempting for us to just ignore it and not think that you have some wisdom behind it, but Lord, we pray now that your Holy Spirit would assist us in discovering your truth, your heart, your purpose behind such verses. Lord, we need your voice and your power to drive these things into our souls, and so we ask, we ask in humility and in desperation. In Jesus name, the risen Lord, we pray. Amen. The fear of death.

The fear of death is something that has plagued humanity since the beginning of time. And we know that the solution to facing that phobia is in fact found in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian can face death because the Christian has placed his hand in the hand of the one who conquered death. But the fear of death is not limited to our own experience, or the reality of that coming to all of us. It's the way of all humanity.

The fear of death can even come to the heart of the one who's concerned about the lives of others, the ones that they cherish. Sometimes the slight meditation of somebody that we love passing away can grip us instantly with fear, sorrow, despair. And that's a genuine concern for many. The slightest thought of it can destroy someone. And in this broken world, unfortunately, the desires of our hearts to have our loved ones remain with us forever is overruled by the result of sin from the beginning of time, robbing us of our loved ones.

And sometimes that experience is unexpected, and other times it seems sudden. But as you just heard, it's the gospel. It's the good news of Jesus Christ for yourself and for those that you know and love That is the only hope to transform our perspective on how that experience, which the Bible says is the way of all men, can be known. And this is the thing about verses like this. As you just heard, the gospel is the answer, but God has given people in this shattered world a support system to take them by the hand and to help them walk through this life in their brokenness with a greater relief and comfort.

And that support system is the body of Jesus Christ. And a specific category of broken people that the Lord has in mind in this text are widows. Now, I have to ask myself even looking into this, when was the last time I heard something about widows in the church? When is the last time you did? But I challenge you, and you know this, especially if you've read your Bible from cover to cover, that God says much about those who have lost a spouse, specifically widows.

In fact, he has given us almost an entire chapter on the subject. You think it's important to him, and it is. And I'm aware that a message like this can just be tuned off by thinking it's gonna be just a list of criteria of how we deal with people that need assistance in the church. I'm sure we can kind of just realize that maybe there's something here for church leadership, so they can gain a better understanding and wisdom to know how to deal with those who are in need of charity. But what is our principle as a church?

What is our practice when we come to this Bible every time we read it? We look for God's heart behind the subject matter. We look for God's wisdom. We look for the principles that we can pull out of a text even with verses like this, and that's where revelation comes. And in this case, we might think, is this really worth a Sunday morning message?

Well, look at verse seven quickly and determine that for yourself. Paul says to Timothy, after teaching briefly on widows, command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. You know what he's saying? If you're a pastor, it is your job to inform and educate your people, the people of God that he's entrusted to you, so that they would be blameless and without reproach in this area of ministry. He says, you better command these things, You better preach these things.

You better teach these things, so that we would be blameless. But a temptation for a church like ours being so young, is that we can't connect with something like this. How is my heart supposed to be stirred by something about a woman losing her husband? And I think that's one of the main reasons why God put this in the bible. Because Christians, whether in small churches or big churches, are tempted to overlook the broken in their midst.

And Christians, especially in our culture, can be so infected by this self life that is being promoted around us, that we bring that into the church and we look at people as burdens. We look at people and their brokenness as burdens, rather than opportunities for them to experience the love of Christ through us. So God reminds the church, hey, there are some people in your midst that perhaps are going through an amount of pain that you can't even imagine. Amount of loneliness and need that you can't fathom. Make sure that your eyes are on them.

And that's why he brings us to this point. But just in case you think that this isn't important because you don't know a widow or our church doesn't know widows, There is a series of attitudes that reflect the heart of our Lord, that should be adopted anyway. And I would argue that in these three verses that we read this morning, that there are three mandates. There's a mandate for the church, there's a mandate for the family, and there's a mandate for those who are broken, specifically widows. And so I want us to look at those three mandates.

Number one, the mandate for the church in verse three. Honor widows who are truly widows. God tells his people to give a special respect and reverence, not just to, as we learned last last time with elderly, mothers or or those who are older than us. No. Specifically, widows.

They are supposed to receive some kind of a special attention. Why? Because God has a special place in his heart for them. It's as simple as that. And the reality is when a woman loses her husband, there is a gap that is created and everything can change in the moment.

The love of her youth, her lifelong partner, her support system, and even her means of provision is all taken from her in a moment and she's almost left with a a lack of direction. If the closest person, the closest relationship that you can experience in this life, on a human level, is in the context of marriage, then surely the greatest pain you can experience is when that person that you have vowed yourself to and bound yourself to is removed from you. In fact, God uses widowhood to describe the state of Jerusalem under his judgment. Lamentations one one. How lonely sits the city that was full of people, how like a widow she has become.

You know what he's saying? I want you to understand what happened to this people. I want you to understand the pain. The pain of this city is is like the pain in a widow's heart. Oh, you you think it was just about describing judgment?

No. Jesus used the widow to describe the right kind of a prayer life. In Luke 18, when he wanted to teach that people should pray and not give up, you know what he points out of all examples of persistence and desperation? He points to a widow who came before an unjust king, and pleaded her case, and persistently came before him. Why?

Because a widow in Jesus' day lacked the economic, practical, and social support that many can benefit from today. And what Jesus, our Lord, does is he takes that kind of a person, sets them before his church and says, pray like a widow. Get desperate before me like a widow would get desperate in her state of need. Be needy and realize that I'm your source of provision in all things. You know, when I learn here from a holy God, what you should learn from a holy God in verse three, is that God draws near.

God truly has a special grace and place in his bosom for broken people. He's acquainted with our pain. He's attracted to the afflicted. He's connected to the crushed. He's calling his body to do the same.

Because as much as this might be a comforting thought, verse three is a convicting one just as much. Why? Because what we learn here is that although God's heart for the widow, for the broken, for the lonely, for the needy is clear, he expresses his heart through his body. He has ordained it that the heart of love, divine love, perfect love, would be performed and exercised through the church of Jesus Christ. His heart is known by his hands and his feet, you and I.

That answers at least in part some of the critics that would say, where is this loving God that you preach and boast about when there are starving children in Africa? When there are those in the slums in India? When there's lonely old people stuck in their homes. Where is your God? And here's our answer, he expresses his heart through his body.

It's your job and mine. It's your job and mine. And we gotta stop being more apologetic about it and defending that case and doing it and planning it. And the church has been doing that over the years. We cannot deny that.

And this is important. There's a mandate for the church of Jesus Christ. But you know what's amazing here? As much as we are to bring with this kind of compassion and care and be strategic in it, read carefully, honor widows who are truly widows. There is a category of a sincere widow in Paul's mind, more importantly, the Holy Spirit's mind, that he is going to go on to describe.

It's it's understood here that we are to be the expression of God's heart. But it's the second part of verse three that many Christians don't understand. Many believers have this idea that Christians are not called to question or put into examination those who request assistance, and just give handouts to whoever asked, and just empty our pockets to whoever requests for it. See, the honoring here in the context of Paul, in this letter, is not just admiring or greeting, it's actually giving financial support. Look at verse nine.

Let a widow be enrolled. So the idea here is that there is a, there's an enrollment. There's a type of thing that a widow can sign up for within the church where she is provided for. And you know what Paul is doing here by the spirit? He really wants to make sure that the true widows receive the assistance of the limited resources of the kingdom.

Christian, you're supposed to be loving but you're supposed to be wise. You're supposed to be thoughtful in your love and not careless, thinking that just because you are asked from somebody for something, or that somebody's requesting something, you just without even any thought, give them what they desire. If you're serious about using your resources to serve God, to represent God and to bless others, then this point will really really help you. I have to say that there are a lot of Christians that are unwise in this area. It is not more loving to extend a helping hand just because someone asked for it.

God put this in our bibles for a reason, and I'll give you two. First, because God knows that there are people who understand the mandate of the church to reflect the heart of Christ, and will not come in humility and brokenness to the church, but with a conniving spirit, scammed the people of God. And God is not interested in his people being scammed by sinners. Secondly, we know here that easy handouts in the name of Christ, assisting people whether on an individual level or from a church leadership level, can be more damaging than it is a blessing to the recipient. You understand that.

Right? Sometimes good things, sometimes charitable things can do more damage than good. And here's an example. In second Thessalonians three ten, look what the same apostle writes to that church. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command.

If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. Let him not eat. You read that chapter and you realize that Paul strongly urged believers that if there is somebody in your midst that is not willing to work, that has the ability to work, but chooses not to look for a job, and to get himself busy, but is asking for your help. It's not the Christian thing to do to support that kind of an individual. That might be shocking to us, but it's true.

Why? Because God has it in mind that every single one of us, based on our capability, would have complete Christ like character, and that includes not being idle. And sometimes, in this case, if you feed into that person who requires something, but is lazy to the bone, you are not helping them in the pursuit of sanctification. You're hindering it. You're stalling him.

You're only fueling his flesh. Is it possible to do good in the name of God and actually hurt somebody in the process? Yes. So there is an intense wisdom that is needed individually and as a corporate body. We have to be calculated.

We have to be careful. We have to be wise with God's resources. When you might be thinking about few verses or you might have even examine your own heart in this moment right now thinking, I don't know if I agree with that. I think that's that seems pretty shrewd. I think that's kind of selfish.

I think if we do that, we're not gonna be giving much. And people will point to verses like what Jesus preached on the sermon on the mount. Somebody asked for you a tunic, what do you do? Give him your cloak as well. How do you reconcile that?

Somebody asked for my blazer, I should give him my shoes on top of it. That's how many have interpreted it. And you can see how many people who would go into the bible to find things, such as a verse like that, would use it against the people of God and bleed the people of God for their selfish and sinful pleasures. So what do we do? Well, we read the verse carefully.

Matthew five forty says, if anyone takes you to court, if anyone sues you, and they require your tunic, give them your cloak as well. This is not talking about casual request. This is talking about a legal scenario. And so what's the idea? That if you, as a believer, have genuinely wronged somebody and they are taking you to court and they are going to sue you, you must, it is your duty, it is your Christ like responsibility to not only give what the judge requires you to give, but to go above and beyond, to show your sorrow and your regret for misrepresenting Christ and giving on top of what is required of you.

So the the person that has been wrong will have no doubt in their mind that you are bitter against them or resentful against them. Oh, that makes sense now. Right? There are people out there who know Christians are very very charitable and will take advantage of that. And God from cover to cover says, be careful.

This is about church rule. Right? Be careful church leaders. People will come in and they'll have their hand out and they'll look shabby and they'll have a sob story and they'll call you, they'll write an email, they'll give you a fake testimony about how they came to Christ when they're really not in Christ, and milk you. And it's not love to just not screen it and not ask about it, and give yourself away.

The church has a glorious mandate to express the heart of God, but at the same time, she has a responsibility to use the mind of God at the same time. The church has a mandate. But not just the church. There's a mandate for the families within the church. Now look here with me in verse four.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. Very clear instruction. The church is not the primary place for everybody to have their needs met. If you are a widow and you have children, the family is the first one to step on the scene to come and help, lest the church be overburdened. And we read that and that's clear and and and it's it's a priority, obviously, and we see it.

It's very specific. And we know that if a widow doesn't have children or grandchildren, she qualifies for help. But but let's dig a little bit deeper here and realize what the heart of God is behind this. Did you read that verse very carefully? Believer, if you're serious about being godly, let's read this very carefully.

Let them first, first, first, first. Let them first learn to show godliness to their own household. That is where your primary mission field is. Your home. This is gonna really sober all of us.

It's sobered me, Because those who long to pursue godliness have an instruction here. And showing godliness does not seem to be an intentional thought when it comes to our own family members. We are we are much more intentional, strategic, and prayerful, being godly in every other arena of life. But when it comes to stepping through our own front doors, it seems as though we have this idea where we can be relaxed and let the flesh be loose. You know what the Holy Spirit says?

If there's gonna be any place where you're gonna be godly, the first place is gonna be in your living room, at your dinner table, with your loved ones. I wonder for us who long to be holy and to be like Christ. I long if that I wonder if we long to be godly there before anywhere else. This is cutting, but it's true. And I think the failure to understand this is the reason why there are so many broken homes within Christendom, and there's a lot of hypocrisy in the land.

It's because they failed to see this instruction and apply it to their lives. They think, oh, this is just for widows. No. It's God's mandate for all believers. First, your house.

Before your ministry at the church, before your evangelism, before your mission field, before giving, your home is the place where Christ should shine before it shines any place else. So you have people that are willing to forgive a church member, but not forgive their brother in blood. You have people who would not hesitate to insult their spouse and bark at their wives, but they would never dare to do that to a ministry partner at their local assembly. You have people that are willing to give to the homeless, but not even give to their elderly parents. Why is that?

There's many reasons for it, but here's something that is very encouraging for us to consider. Jesus Christ exemplified it. You remember those famous words, right? When when the Christ steps into the Jordan River and comes to that fiery preacher who was his relative in the flesh at least, to be baptized by him. And then we see that wonderful portion of scripture where we are given the clear picture of the triune God had communing with one another.

And the father spoke over his son in Matthew three seventeen, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. We love that scripture. We see the warmth of God's heart towards his son. But have you considered the practical implications? Because not just the words are important, but the timing of the affirmation is just as important.

Christ never preached the sermon yet. He hasn't performed one miracle. He hasn't driven out one devil. He didn't even go to the cross. And yet the father says, over him from heaven, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Surely, the father was pleased that Christ was willing to humble himself and identify with sinners at this point in this act of baptism. Surely, the father was pleased that the Christ would commence the ministry in which he was sent from heaven for, but I believe it goes deeper than that. I believe that the father is expressing his pleasure over his son, for the way he had lived up to that point. You and I are given two clear understandings of what Christ did before he began his ministry. Two things.

Two simple things. He lived at home and he worked as a carpenter. Remember, his first miracle was at Cana. He didn't perform any signs or wonders before that. What was he doing?

He was working a job and he was a sibling and a son to imperfect parents. And the father said, I'm really pleased. I'm really pleased. I'm really pleased the way you were a son, the way you were a sibling. I'm really pleased with your honesty and your integrity as a carpenter.

I'm really pleased with how you dealt with your imperfect parents when they called you to submit to them. You submitted to them. And there is a reality even in Christ's ministry where he shows a balance that when his mother and his siblings came for him while he was teaching, they said, hey, your mom your mom and, brothers are out there asking for you. And he goes, you wanna know who my mom and my brothers are? They who do the word and perform the will of God.

But at the same time, he's on the cross while he's bearing the sin of the world and yet he can he is concerned about his mother's dwelling place. It says, John take care of her. Yes, it is true that when family tries to interfere with our ministry and our service to God and tries to hinder us, we have to make a stand. But at the same time, there's a love, there's a concern, there's a priority that they have in our lives. So what was Christ doing before this moment where the father could say, I'm well pleased with you.

It would be blasphemous to say that God was only pleased with the son when he started his full time ministry. And that before that thirty year mark, it was just nothing And and the father was just busy himself with other things. But no, oh, once he started his ministry, yes. Now I'm pleased with you my son. That's absurd.

That is absolutely absurd. But you know what? Many Christians think that. Many Christians think that your mundane family life and your nine to five is not important to God, but, oh, only when you go to the mission field, and only when you serve in a ministry in church, then God is pleased with you. That's not what the father said over the son.

We think God is only pleased with our giftings being exercised and people being blessed by our direct ministry work. That's not what the father said about the son. He said, I'm pleased with you, How you were a teenager, how you were a child, how you were an employee. Did Christ have a boss? We don't know.

But he was faithful. He was honest. I think that's amazing. Someone said it this way, and it's a sobering thought. The true test of characters be found within family relationships.

The true test of characters be found in how we relate to our family members. The revealing of someone's character is greatly discovered when you just peek in their home and you see how they are with their slippers on. Why? Because there's something amazing about the home. You can be one way in church, one way at work, one way with your friends, but the moment you step through those front doors, there seems to be this automatic effect where any cloak of character slips off, and the real you shows up.

It's humbling. But God says, I want my people to learn how to first show godliness there before anywhere else. And if you lack motivation, realize that it is pleasing in the sight of God. As he says here in first timidity, that he says over his son in Matthew three. If you feel like you have no opportunity to shine the light of Christ or have any sphere of influence, realize that there's a place in which God finds great delight for you to exhibit your fruit.

And it's in the last place that you think God really cares about, it's with your family. It's at your workplace. Profound. Powerful. I see that attitude in the heart of the disciple, Andrew.

One of the two disciples who were after John the Baptist says, behold the lamb of God who takes away the son of the sins of the world. And they say, see you later John. We're gonna go after him. And they walk towards Christ. Christ stops on the way, looks back, says, what are you guys looking for?

Like, where are you staying? He says, come and I'll show you. And they go and they realize he's the Messiah. And Andrew is so touched, he realizes that this is the one that the prophets prophesied about, that the scriptures pointed to, and he can't contain it within himself, so what does he do? Listen to these words in John one forty one and forty two.

He first found, he first, he first, he first, he first found his own brother, Simon. That is the first place that he ran to when he discovered Christ. His own brother. And said to him, we have found the Messiah, which means Christ. Verse 42.

He brought him to Jesus. Out of all the places that he could have gone, where his heart was drawn to was his home and his brother. He says, Simon, you're the first person that came to mind when I realized who this person was, this Christ, and I need you to meet him. And you might be discouraged because you've tried that and you feel like it's a failure. Your parents haven't listened to you, your siblings haven't heard you, and now you're just left in distraught saying, I try to bring I try to bring them to Christ but they're not willing to move.

Well listen, if you can't bring them to Christ, then bring Christ to your home. If you can't bring them to the Lord like Andrew, Rob, Peter, then all you have to do in a very practical way is bring Jesus to them on a daily basis. That's it. And it doesn't look like preaching to them. It doesn't look like trying to sit them down and convince them that they're sinners.

There's a time for that. But all we see in first Timothy, a practical way of being godly, taking care of them. Giving special attention to them. You know what I've learned in my reading of the Bible? I'm sure you've learned it too.

The more I read and the more I wanna know what true spirituality looks like, it shocks me to see what God considers true spirituality. And it doesn't look like you stuffing yourself in your room praying eight hours a day, and fasting to the bone. No. No. No.

It looks like this. It looks like this. It's very practical. It has feet, you know. It walks.

It talks. It's not some subjective thing. It's not some experiential mystical thing. Oh, no. No.

No. No. Yes. There is a sense of delighting God and knowing God and pursuing God, but if it doesn't produce this, there's a mandate for the family. There's a mandate for you and I with our own families.

And may God give us the wisdom to know how to walk in that. And we saw here the positive sense that this is pleasing in the sight of God. And this is God's word. This is not my opinion, so you deal with God and his tone concerning how important this is to him. Scroll down to verse eight of first Timothy five.

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for members of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Now, if I were to come up to you this morning and tell you, name something that would put a Christian in the place where they have denied the faith, and are worse than an unbeliever, what would come to your mind? Murder, serial adultery, robbing banks, committing many abortions? Yes. Those are all vile and wicked, but I'm sure that at the top of the list, it would not be making sure you take care of your family members.

This is God's mind. This is God's This is not this is not this minister, this person's No. No. No. This is God's standard.

Think about it. Why is it worse? Why is it worse than an unbeliever to be in such a place? It's because even the unsaved have a natural understanding that you take care of your own. But we see here that God's mind is not like our minds.

And we see here that he thinks differently, especially in this next point. Because yes, there's a mandate for the church. There's a mandate for the church and there is a a mandate for the family, but there's also a mandate for the lonely saint. Look here in verse five. She who is truly a widow left all alone has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

But she who is self indulgent is dead even while she lives. The apostle goes from the church and saying, hey, honor widows. Honor those who are broken and in need. Don't overlook them. Don't get so occupied with other things that you you fail to see the pain of somebody that needs you, that needs the heart of God expressed through the body.

But then he goes to the family and he says, listen. You can't burden the body of Christ because God has called you to first show godliness within your own home. And now he goes from the church to the family to the actual widow and speaks directly, not to them, but about them. Because there's a mandate for even the broken and the lonely. She who is truly a widow left all alone.

Left all alone. That's a true widow in Paul's mind. You don't have children. You don't have grandchildren. You're isolated.

You're secluded. You're separated from everybody else. This is when the church comes in and make sure that there's not one person that ever feels this loneliness. But here, though it's a sad possibility for some, notice that it's quite amazing that someone who is described as left all alone, on a human level, that is very possible. But on a spiritual level, it should never be true.

Yes. You can be left alone. You can have your your husband taken away by death. You can have your children willfully ignore you, move on in life without you, or maybe you don't have those kind of relatives. But here's one thing you can guarantee in your loneliness, there's a God in heaven that you must set your hope on.

And you must learn how to commune with day and night. Paul says that is a true widow that you have to give respect and honor to. Why? Because they have they have tapped into the secret of living life, though you have received the the arrows of the effects of sin. But let's just move beyond widows and let's just talk about anybody in this place that is alone, or broken, or shattered, or abandoned.

Doesn't matter who you are. See, a widow had a a choice to make, and so does every single broken person in this room, or watching. You have a choice to make. That when you experience the blows of death, when you experience those rejecting you and despising you, tempting you to be bitter, you have a choice to hate God, be angry at God, turn your face away from God, or throw yourself at his feet and cling to him, and know how to worship him. And we see here that a true widow that was worthy of honor was somebody that learned how to walk with God and to enjoy him, and worship him, and love him.

I can't help but think of Anna in the temple. Remember? Jesus was still a baby. They came to dedicate that child. Then there's that prophet named Simeon who had been led by the spirit to realize that he would not die until he saw the Messiah, and he did.

And he grabbed that little infant and praised God and prophesied over him and his mother. But there's a woman after that named Anna. Would you know it? She's described as a widow, but a specific type of widow. She was a widow who lost her husband young.

She was in her eighties at this point, but it says that she came to the temple, worshiping God and fasting day and night. Day and night. Day and night. And I thought to myself, I mean, those especially in Jesus' day that were so overlooked, that were so despised, that were rejected. I mean, that's why Jesus taught in Luke 18, he gave the example of a widow, because that was very common in that day.

And out of all the people in that courtyard that could have had a revelation of the Messiah, two old people. And one of them was a widow. And I believe that God blessed Anna because she made the choice through her pain and brokenness and through the unexpected surprise of her her love being taken from her by the pangs of death. God blessed her and gave her a revelation of Christ. What if she had made the decision to become bitter at God?

What if she made a decision to never pray a prayer again? I'm gonna walk this life the way I wanna walk it. She would have missed it. She would have missed it. But no, she she knew how to tap into God's love and grace, and to enjoy that love and grace.

And God comes one day and shows her the Christ. She goes about thanking God and rejoicing, and telling everybody about what she had seen. Because it's possible to even be a broken person, like there are many people who are broken in life that make excuses for their sin based on their brokenness. You know that. Right?

You know that. Right? You counsel them and you sit with them and you ask them, why are you doing what you're doing? Why are you on this self destructive path? And then they tell you about the unfortunate circumstances, about their treatment as a child, about how their parents split up, and they they give all these reasons as though sin is gonna medicate them.

Look at verse six. But she, look at the contrast, who is self indulgent is dead even while she lives. Paul says, be careful that you use the resources that God has entrusted you with to fuel somebody else's sinful lifestyle. Be very calculated and wise in who you give to. But it's possible for somebody to come to this point, as a response to what they believe is unfairness or God's mistreatment or lack of concern for them.

What a statement. You're not a widow in this place, but this applies to you just as much. She who liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. That's what the King James says. She who liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

You want the Bible description of a zombie? It's that. Can you imagine it? It's the complete opposite of what the world says you need to do to know more life and vigor. Pursue pleasure.

Pursue pleasure and you'll know life. Here's what the Bible says. You do that, you're a walking dead man. Doesn't matter what kind of fleeting ecstasy you experience. It doesn't matter what kind of thrill you have.

It doesn't matter how many laughs and memories you have with your friends. If you live for sensual, carnal, worldly, earthly pleasures, you're dead inside. You're dead. What does it mean to live for pleasure? Well, I'll tell you that in contrast to verse five, that it includes this.

If verse five says, that a true widow is somebody who knows how to trust in God and seek him day and night, which is a a phrase for communion with God, then somebody who lives and self indulges is somebody who doesn't trust in God and does know how to commune with God. Are we talking about the joys in life that we'd experience? No. No. No.

We're not talking about that. We're talking about what James five five says, because the word there for self indulgent is used in one other place and that's James five five. What does James five five say? Well, in that whole chapter, we know that James is rebuking rich people, not because riches are wrong, but the way they were treating others because of their riches, their priorities in life. And look what he says here in verse five.

You have lived on earth in luxury and, here it is, in self indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. Pastor James, take a breath. He goes, no, no, no. You don't understand it.

And you have to read the context to realize, look earlier here in verse three, the last part, you have laid up treasure in the last days. Verse four, behold the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back from fraud. We're talking about a people who even profess Christ that are so consumed by making money, that are so consumed by knowing experiences and luxury in life that they're willing to mistreat others, trample on others, be dishonest with their dealings in finances. And you know what James says? You're just fattening yourself for a greater day of slaughter.

Paul goes beyond that. He says, you're a dead man walking. You're a dead woman walking. Because true pleasure is found in God. Let me ask you this question.

Who is more joyful? Anna, the widow, or the rich young ruler? Simple question. Read Anna's life, and you see that she found herself greatly linked to the place where God's people met, and she worshiped, and loved, and adored God. She had a revelation of Christ and it says that she thanked God, that's rejoicing, and went about telling others about what she had seen.

And here's the rich young ruler, this businessman. You know what many Christians would do? They would pity Anna, look at poor Anna in her eighties there. All she has is the church. All she does is worship and pray and see God.

Isn't that a sad life? And they'll look at the rich young ruler and say, look at that. I wanna be like that. He has a pretty moral righteous life. He obeys most of the commandments.

In fact, I think he obeys all of these commandments. Which one went away sad? The one who didn't have a revelation of Christ or at least had a revelation, but didn't think he was worthy of complete surrender. I don't There is not one inch in my heart of covetousness of this world. The scripture says over and over, especially in Psalms, do not envy the wicked.

Do not covet when their houses multiply and when their riches increase. Why? Because according to this verse, they're dead. They're dead. I stumbled upon a clip, I didn't look for it.

I guess that YouTube algorithm looks for things for you. Right? So I clicked on it because I was interested. Here's just one of these Look, I haven't listened to secular music in so long, so these things that show up recently just shock me. These these people now with tattoos all over their like, this is the trend.

It's just tattoos over your face and colored hair and it's not even I don't know what's going on in the mouth area there. And so it was just like this mini little thing where it showed this young guy, I'm not even gonna say his name because it would be ridiculous to even pronounce it. And here he is in his in his house with his friends and he has they have all these drinks and cigars and they're smoking in their nice car in their garage and they have all this camera equipment and they're eating food, slobbering over themselves, cussing, and all these things, and I'm watching this. And the only thing running through my mind is they're dead. How can you even envy such a life?

And there are believers that do. If they're honest, minus the tattooed face. The nice house and this is the Not wrong having those things, but if you live in pleasure and for pleasure, you know that the happiest you've ever been is when you were fully committed to God. You know that. Right?

That the closer you got to holiness, the more that you understood the will of God and the character of God and the presence of God, the more joy that has sprung up in your soul, and the most miserable you've ever been is when you try to have the pleasure of this world while having the pleasure of God. It doesn't work. Do you wanna know how it's possible? How is it possible to be dead while you're alive? Well, if you've been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, you know this very well.

That when you reflect in your unconverted days, you know what your soul felt like. No matter what you pursued, no matter what ambitions you seem to have fulfilled, no matter what kind of relationships you had, you went to bed numb. And you convince yourself before the grace of God intervene that perhaps, the reason why I feel so dead is because I need more pleasure. No. You're just deepening the grave.

She who is self indulgent is dead even while she lives. What a promise we have in these verses that even though you can know the pain of widowhood, there is a God that you can draw to. In Jeremiah forty nine eleven, the Lord says, when Jerusalem was gonna be judged, let your widows trust in me. He knew that when he was gonna sweep them by the hand of Babylon, that there was gonna be children left without parents and widows left without husbands. Let your widows trust in me.

You're not a widow. Let those who have known the greatest and deepest pain from being severed by the closest people to you, let them trust in me. Draw near to him. He will hear your cries. He will satisfy your souls.

And I believe this is where the message comes full circle because like Anna, she knew where to go to in that kind of state of brokenness. She bound herself to see God enjoy him forever where God's people were gathered. In her context, it was the temple and today it's the church of Jesus Christ. Why? Because Psalm thirty six eight says this, they feast on the abundance of your house.

They feast on the abundance of your house and you give them drink from the river of your delights. Is that how you feel about God's house? Is that how you feel about coming before God? Oh, I know we all go through numbness sometimes. We all go through dullness.

But can you testify to that truth? I refuse to let a man in the old covenant say that about his relationship with God. And me and you being in a new covenant not being able to express the same if not more. They feast on the abundance of your house and you give them drink not from the little pond, not from the little glass, but the river of your delights. It's inexhaustible.

It's deep. You can swim in it. You'll never exhaust its resources. You'll always be amazed to know how God will make and bring delight to your soul when you come with one prerequisite to know this river of delights and that's thirst. Thirst.

A river of delights is not attracted to somebody who is not thirsty. But as a deer panteth for the water, so my soul panteth for you, oh God. And you come and you drink from him and he will make his river known to you. A brother asked me Friday night after bible study, a very honest and wonderful question, because he's a new believer. Does it get better as you move on?

Because what do we tell people? Oh, you're gonna get dull one day. We love your zeal, but you're gonna be like me. I don't wanna be like you. Does it get better?

As one hymn says, the longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. It's true. If you avoid the temptations of this life that say, indulge yourself, indulge yourself, indulge yourself, and sinful pleasures and carnal hollow pleasures. If you can just walk faithfully by the grace of God, you will know that year by year, he gets sweeter. And he will shock you with his revelations and he will impress you with his manifestations.

And you will be somebody, even if you are broken by the weightiness of life and death, like Anna, you can still thank God. You can still thank him and rejoice in him. This is our portion. I've said this so many times before and I'll say it again. There's no losing in the Christian life.

There's no losing. So the church, yeah, we have a mandate to honor widows, but carefully, the family, would you have known that here's a call for all men and women to show godliness first in their own homes? And lastly, if you are that lonely person, if you are that fractured person, if you are that needy person, don't run anywhere else to fill that void. Don't try to fill that gap with anything else that promises satisfaction. Let people say whatever they wanna say.

Let people criticize your God all they want. Believe that as you come before him like that woman did in the temple, God will have His eye on you. He may just surprise you with things as you've made a decision to say, Lord, I know that life did not go as planned. I know that my family is broken. I know that people have abandoned me, but I know you won't.

I wanna sit at your feet. Lord, I have nowhere else to go to. My husband's gone. I can't know his fellowship. I can't know the warmth of his touch.

I've lost the pleasure of intimacy, at least on a human level. But your word says that there's a river of delight in your house. There is an abundance for me to eat from. So Lord, lay out that banquet because I need you, and God will answer that. And you know how else he answers that?

Not just with direct interaction with the broken. You and I are his body. We are his body. So they that come in here, that are wounded, should experience something of God through us. And that's what we're called to do.

May God give us wisdom in Jesus name. Let's pray. Lord, we believe that you can speak in any verse through any subject, through any instruction. And Lord, we know that your word said much, and so we choose to meditate and ask you to apply these things into our hearts. God, as a church, we pray that you would give us wisdom to be careful, yes, but to be overwhelming with love for others.

Lord, we pray for every household in this place, and every Christian that might feel like they're the only Christian in their house. Lord, like Andrew, if they can't bring people to Christ, show them how they can daily bring Christ into that home. And Lord, for those in here who may not be a widow, but maybe a single mother, a single dad, a persecuted sibling, Let them know that sin will never be able to provide any satisfaction, any healing. Let them know that in this place by your grace, Lord, and let all people know that this is a place where they can experience the abundance in the river of the lights. Your word says is flowing through your house.

God, we ask that you would teach us these things not just today but throughout our week and on our practical living. And we wanna worship you today, Lord, the God who says to broken people, trust in me. Come to me. We do that now in Jesus' name. Amen.