“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.” For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.""
Today is Thanksgiving Day. Today, this day we will indulge in salads, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, corn, cold slaw, buttered rolls, pies, cakes, Alka-Seltzer, and Rolaids.
Are You Thankful?
The United Nations report, 25,000 lives are lost every day from hunger and poverty.
This year 11 million children younger than 5 years of age will die needlessly, more than half from hunger related causes.
Are They Thankful?
Poor families spend over 70% of their income on food. (An average American family spends just over 10%)
Are They Thankful?
They come from all walks of life.
What the Bible says about the poor.
Deuteronomy 15:11:
“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”
Matthew 26:11:
“The poor you will always have with you”
In Deuteronomy we read; what not to do and what to do.
Exodus 23:6:
“Do not deny justice to your poor people”
Peter 13:23:
A poor man’s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.
Peter 22:22:
Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court.
Leviticus 19:33:
When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.
Exodus 22:21:
Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
Leviticus 19:10:
Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
Exodus 23:9:
Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.
What to do with the poor:
Leviticus 19:34:
The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 15:11 again:
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
Luke 4:18:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” He blessed the poor.
Luke 6:20:
Looking at his disciples, He said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
Luke 14:13-14:
“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Mark 10:17:
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Keep the commandments. Teacher, I have kept all these.
Mark 10:21:
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” He said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” He walked away sad, for he had great riches.
James 2:5:
“Listen, my dear brothers; Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love him?
Phineas Bresee, founder of The Church Of The Nazarene started the first Nazarene church in 1895.
The new church had three emphases:
1. A desire to minister, especially to the poor.
2. A crusading spirit in the hot issues of temperance.
3. The doctrinal emphasis of Christian perfection as taught by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.”
Bresee organized a mission for neglected Chinese. He also started the custom of receiving a large plate offering each Christmas for the poor. This is the test, which we desire all men to apply to the Church of the Nazarene. It remembered the Master’s words; “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God?”
They visited the jails and hospitals. Everyone was put to work in this great mission to the poor and outcast.
What do I say? What do You Say?
James 2:5:
My dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised?
2 Corinthians 8:9:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
What did Jesus say?
Luke 14:13:
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind…
Sometimes it’s easy to look down on the poor.
There are Great Rewards:
Although we help the poor because of Compassion, God blesses those who give to the poor.
Peter 22:9:
“A generous man will - be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”
Peter 14:31:
“He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God”
– BUT -
Peter 28:27:
“He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.”
Peter 19:17:
“He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what He has done.”
What should I Do? What Could I Do? What Would I Do?
1. Hand a Beggar a buck, witness of God’s love.
2. Help a poor widow with a good deed.
3. Plan a good ministry for the church to help a poor family
May you have a Wonderful Thanksgiving season and share your bountiful blessings with someone else in need.
