What made the widow’s giving so admirable?  The fact that she ended up with nothing?  "Giving everything away is stupid.  That’s stupid, if all you have is the testimony that you gave everything away."  She gave everything away that she would trust God.  Her dependency was on God.  She gave it, just like another widow gave her offering and told the prophet.  He asked, “What are you going to do with all that?”  “I’m going to make a couple of cakes.  My child and I and going to eat them and we’re going to die.”  He said, “Make for me first.”  All of a sudden, her giving became worship.  Her giving became dependence on God.  “Now I’m not going to eat two little cakes and die.  I’m going to give it to God and see what He’s going to do!”  Beloved, He gives exceedingly abundant above anything that we could ask or ever think; amen?  But it may not come in dollar bills.  It may come in family and friends.  It may come in many different ways that bring us life and strength and refreshing, people interceding for us, friendships that are for life.  You want to be rich?  Just look around and see what you have here in this place, tonight.  People don’t have that, beloved.  People don’t have what we have here.

One of my friends is a pastor of another church.  His friendship is one of those that whether you see him every day of the week, or you don’t see him for three years, you pick up exactly where you left off.  There’s not a warming up or anything.  That’s the kind of friendship it is.  Many of you have that in your lives, and it’s a treasure.  That’s what I’m making a statement about right now.  During the protests, he came down here and he said, “I just had to come down here with my own eyes and make sure you were okay.  I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”  How much is that worth?  And you have it here in abundance; amen?  You can turn around, look across this room, and know that the majority of these people will stand there with you in adversity, in the trials of your life.

The point is: what a treasure the true body of Christ is!  What a source of strength the true body of Christ is!  What a need we have of one another!  In this kingdom, there is no merit in self.  “I’m going to stand on my own.”  Our strength is in humbling ourselves and letting people love us and edify us.  That’s the true church.  The other church is one that comes in and preys upon one another.

One of the greatest predators back in the 1980s in churches was Amway.  Some of you may have sold Amway.  I’m not talking about the product, and I’m not talking about every individual.  But many of them were taught, and taught others, “Go into churches and befriend people.  Churches are friendly.  They’ll open their lives up to you.  It’s one of the greatest opportunities to make yourself rich by having them work for you.”  It became that kind of an organization.  

We hear testimonies that went on, and I think I’ve shared this before, testimonies in the faith movement.  “I just want to praise God!  I was believing God for that airplane.  I’ve been asking you all to pray with me and believe in God for that airplane to carry out this ministry.  We need a private plane, because we know, bless God, that God’s prophets can’t fly commercial!  God’s prophets can’t be found in that tube of sin!”  It’s funny to listen to some of these guys, if you want entertainment.  They want to put it off as some great miracle of God when their riches buy them a new plane.