Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023007S
|
00:00 (inspirational music)
00:12 (music ends) 00:15 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We're glad to have you back again this week 00:20 as we continue our journey through the subject 00:23 of "Managing for the Master Till He Comes." 00:25 This week is lesson number seven, "Unto the Least of These," 00:30 "Unto the Least of These." 00:31 A fascinating subject, You're going to enjoy it. 00:33 Our guest this week, as every week this quarter, is Ed Reid. 00:37 He is an ordained minister and a licensed attorney, 00:41 and we're delighted to have him back again. 00:43 Before we dive into this particular lesson, 00:45 we're gonna ask God would bless our time together today. 00:48 Let's pray together. 00:50 Father, we want to thank You for being with us 00:52 and for promising to guide us as we study Your Word. 00:55 As we look at finances and how they intersect with faith 00:58 again this week, we ask that You'll help us 01:00 to gain a deeper understanding not just of finances, 01:04 but of You and Your plan for our lives. 01:06 And we thank You in Jesus' name. Amen. 01:10 Ed, thanks for joining us again this week. 01:11 >>It's a pleasure to be here. 01:13 >>I wanna start by reading the memory text, 01:15 as we often do here. 01:16 There's a reason that God has impressed you 01:19 to place this memory text here 01:21 at the beginning of this week's lesson, 01:23 and it is from Matthew, chapter 25, verse number 34. 01:27 Here's what it says: 01:28 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 01:30 "'Come, you blessed of my Father, 01:33 "'inherit the kingdom prepared for you 01:35 from the foundation of the world.'" 01:38 This week we are studying about the least of these. 01:41 Who is Jesus referring to, 01:43 and why are they considered the least of these? 01:47 >>It's interesting that the Bible has Old Testament 01:49 and New Testament, very vivid concern for the poor. 01:54 It's interesting also that the Lord says 01:56 we'll always have the poor with us. 01:58 And that's sad, if you're a poor person, 02:00 but there's things you can do about it 02:01 when we talk about getting out of debt and so on, but... 02:03 what I wanna share with you is that in this particular case, 02:05 it says--this is Matthew 25, verse 40-- 02:10 Jesus referred to "the least of these my brethren" 02:12 that He wants us to take care of. 02:13 So who are "the least of these my brethren"? 02:15 That's the question that you're asking. 02:16 The Bible speaks sometimes of strangers, 02:18 sometimes called aliens, the fatherless, the widows, 02:21 this group of people who are referred to as 02:23 "the least of these my brethren." 02:25 Can we identify these kind of people today? 02:28 It's very, very interesting. 02:29 We live in a very hostile world, as you know. 02:31 I remember just a few years ago, where there was a civil war 02:33 in Syria, and over 4 million people left Syria-- 02:37 listen carefully now--on foot carrying all they could carry. 02:41 You've seen big caravans of people walking, 02:43 carrying what they could carry. How much--you know, 02:46 we talk about wagging our luggage 02:48 into the airport sometimes, 02:49 but what if you had to carry it several miles or many miles 02:52 or several days, how much would you take along with you? 02:54 And these are these people that are displaced, 02:57 sometimes called aliens. 03:01 The equivalent our day would be 03:02 for these millions of refugees, 03:04 the fatherless children that have lost their fathers by war, 03:07 by accidents, by sickness. 03:09 This group could also include those fathers 03:11 who have been or are in prison or are otherwise absent, 03:13 a broad field of help we can offer to people. 03:16 Thank God there are many ministries 03:18 who do these kinds of things, 03:19 but we can help them, and we can individually help for those 03:21 that we know about. 03:23 The widows, of course, are those who have lost their spouses 03:25 for the same reason as the fatherless. 03:27 Many of these are single-parent families 03:29 that could use help from church members, 03:31 help from fathers of other families 03:34 to encourage the children, and so on. 03:37 So this week we're gonna talk about 03:39 Jesus' concern for the poor. 03:41 >>In speaking of Jesus' concern for the poor, 03:44 that really is Sunday's lesson 03:46 or the title of Sunday's lesson, 03:47 the subject of Sunday's lesson, 03:49 is Jesus' perspective on the poor. 03:52 We know Jesus was concerned for the poor. 03:54 How did He demonstrate that? 03:56 He didn't just speak those words, 03:59 but He lived it, didn't He? 04:00 >>He did indeed, but He did both, Eric; 04:02 that's the interesting thing, 04:03 that He practiced what He preaches. 04:06 The story that we first start out with, and this one is 04:08 when Jesus first visited Nazareth. 04:11 Interestingly enough, when you read the Bible, 04:12 you find that during Jesus' three-and-a-half-year ministry, 04:14 He visited His hometown Nazareth twice, 04:17 and the people tried to kill Him both times. 04:19 So that's why He said, "A prophet is not without honor 04:21 except in his own country." 04:22 But on one of these occasions, when He visited Nazareth, 04:25 they asked Him to read the Scripture reading. 04:26 They handed Him the book of Isaiah, 04:28 and this is in Luke, the fourth chapter. 04:31 And it's interesting what He said there. 04:35 He found the place in Isaiah 61, I believe, 04:38 where He talked about this, very interesting. 04:41 He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 04:43 "because He [has] appointed me 04:44 "to preach the gospel to the poor; 04:46 "He [has] sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 04:47 "to preach deliverance to the captives, 04:49 "and the recovering of sight to the blind, 04:50 "to set at liberty [those] that are bruised, 04:52 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 04:53 It's interesting that many people 04:56 misunderstood Jesus' first coming. 04:58 They thought He was gonna free them from the Romans 05:00 and make Jerusalem the center of the world 05:02 and be one of the world empires. So they were disappointed 05:05 when He's talked about helping the poor. 05:09 And it's also interesting 05:10 that when Jesus was calling His disciples, 05:12 they said, "Where are You living?" 05:13 They wanna know where His home was. 05:14 They thought it might be a mansion, 05:16 but instead He's just a poor person living with them. 05:20 Usually the poor were looked down upon in Jesus' day 05:23 by the unscrupulous officials as the tax collectors 05:26 and those in business, even their own neighbors. 05:28 And it was commonly thought that poverty was a curse 05:31 and that God--in this unfortunate condition 05:34 must have had their own fault, these people. 05:38 With their mindset, few people had any concern for the poor 05:41 and their unhappy plight. So that's why James says 05:45 in James, the first chapter, verse 27, 05:47 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father 05:49 "is this: to visit [the] orphans and [the] widows 05:50 "in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted 05:52 from the world." 05:54 >>So we see that Jesus had a concern for the poor, 05:56 He spoke that, He verbalized it, 05:58 but He also put it into action. 06:00 One of the beautiful truths of Scripture is that Jesus says, 06:04 "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." 06:06 So if Jesus cared-- >>Right. 06:08 >>...for the poor and continues to care for the poor, 06:11 we can expect that the Father does as well. 06:13 What are some ways that God has promised to provide for, 06:18 to care for the poor, to minister to the poor? 06:21 How do we see that played out? 06:23 >>Well, the Bible answered that question very plainly. 06:25 It's interesting that in Exodus 23, 06:27 right after giving the 10 Commandments, verse 10 and 11, 06:30 God said, "Six years you shall sow" your field, 06:32 "your land and gather [your] produce, 06:33 "but [in] the seventh year 06:34 "you shall let it rest and lie fallow, 06:36 "that the poor [in] your people may eat; 06:38 and what they leave, the beasts of the field [can] eat." 06:40 And also, "In like manner...do [to] your vineyards 06:43 and your olive groves." 06:44 Leviticus 23 also talks about that. 06:46 When you reap your harvest and your land, 06:48 don't make a clean riddance of all these; 06:49 don't reap in your corners and cleaning, make your harvest, 06:53 you know, really thorough go over everything. 06:55 Don't do that. Leave something for the poor. 06:57 And they were told in Deuteronomy, 06:59 the 15th chapter, verse 11, 07:01 this is right, again, before going into the promised land, 07:03 "For the poor shall never cease out of the land: 07:04 "therefore I command thee, saying, 07:06 "Thou shalt open thy hand wide to thy brother, 07:07 to [the] poor, and to [the] needy, in thy land," 07:09 when you get to the land. 07:10 So God always made provision for the poor. 07:12 It was really interesting also that Ruth the Moabitess 07:16 that came home with Naomi, she was gleaning in fields 07:20 that were owned by Boaz, as you may remember. 07:23 And he told his men, "Don't get all the stuff, 07:26 but leave some for these people that are poor." 07:28 So that was part of the command that God had given. 07:31 >>So God had several ways that He provided for the poor 07:34 or attempted to provide for the poor. 07:36 Of course, His people would have to follow His counsel 07:38 in order for the poor to benefit from those things. 07:41 But God arranged it; God laid it out and made that possible. 07:46 It's interesting as we get to Tuesday's lesson-- 07:48 Tuesday's lesson is called "The Rich Young Ruler." 07:51 And as you pointed out, all three synoptic gospels 07:54 refer to Jesus' interaction, 07:56 His encounter with this rich young ruler. 07:58 Why is this story so important? What lessons can we learn? 08:03 What lessons should we learn from this story? 08:06 Seeing as how it's in all three of those gospels, 08:10 it's not something that's overlooked. 08:12 It's clearly something that is meant to be lifted up 08:15 as an example. 08:17 >>Well, interestingly enough, 08:18 God's trying to tell us here that when God, 08:20 when He blesses you with more than you need, 08:22 you shouldn't think of storing it up 08:23 and using it for yourself. 08:25 And when he encountered Jesus, several interesting things, 08:29 the Bible says in one of these 08:30 that he came running to Jesus. 08:32 He was an energetic young man. 08:34 There's no indication that he had been dishonest 08:37 in his gain, of getting his property or anything, 08:39 he had been blessed tremendously for it, 08:41 but he was thinking about, more about it 08:43 than his eternal life. 08:44 So Jesus told him something interesting. 08:47 He says, "If you wanna be perfect, 08:48 go and sell what you have and give it to the poor." 08:51 And it's interesting that several verses in the Bible, 08:54 like Proverbs-- 08:55 "He who gives to the poor will...lack [nothing]." 08:56 This is Proverbs 28, verse 27. 08:58 "The king who judges the poor with truth, 09:00 his throne will be established forever." 09:02 That's Proverbs 29 in verse 14. 09:04 Psalm 41--I like this one--verse one, David noted, 09:07 "Blessed is he who considers the poor; 09:09 the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." 09:11 This always is a priority in ancient Israel, 09:13 and it should be to ourselves today as well. 09:15 >>So this young man interacts with Jesus. 09:17 Jesus gives him some counsel; He gives him some direction; 09:20 He calls him to take some practical, tangible steps 09:25 in helping to provide for the poor. 09:27 And we don't see that this man responds to that... 09:32 positively. What do we see happening? 09:35 >>It's really interesting, Eric, 09:36 that when we look at the story, 09:38 it indicates that Jesus had a kind regard 09:40 for this young man. 09:41 He was really hoping that he would be responsive 09:43 to his counsel, and He told him to do several things, 09:46 when he came. "What should I"--he asked the question, 09:48 "What good thing could I do to inherit eternal life?" 09:50 And Jesus said, "What? Why do you call me good? 09:53 If you want eternal life, keep the commandments." 09:55 And he said, "Well, which ones?" 09:56 So Jesus started quoting the 10 commandments, and he said, 09:59 "Well, you can stop now. 10:00 I've been doing that since I was a kid. 10:01 What do I still lack?" And God told him, Jesus told him, 10:05 "Sell what you have and give to the poor, and then"-- 10:07 this is very interesting--"come, follow me." 10:09 Those were the exact words, "Come, follow me," 10:11 that He told to all of the 12 disciples. 10:13 He was inviting him into the inner circle 10:15 of his work on earth. 10:17 And if he would just do this one thing. 10:20 Now, it's interesting that God doesn't ask us all 10:22 to sell everything we have and give to the poor. 10:25 That wasn't the whole point. 10:26 But this man's god was his money, 10:28 and He knew that was the only thing He could tell him to do 10:30 that would really turn him around and save his soul. 10:33 I remember as a young person studying the Bible through 10:36 first or second time, I came to such a conviction 10:39 about the truth of Scripture that I said, "God, 10:42 You have my permission to do whatever it takes to save me." 10:45 "Did You hear what I just said? 10:46 "You have my permission to do whatever it takes to save me." 10:48 Then I added, 10:50 "Please help me learn my lessons the easy way." 10:51 So what I wanted to tell you is 10:54 if God tells you to do something, 10:55 it's for your own benefit that you do it, 10:57 because it's--interestingly enough, that man, 10:59 young man, went away sorrowful. Why was he sorrowful? 11:01 'Cause he knew he was making an eternal decision. 11:03 We never hear from this man again. 11:05 He traded his earthly possessions for eternity. 11:07 And that is a bad decision. 11:09 >>So trading things that today are 11:13 and tomorrow will be "cast into the oven" for something 11:16 that will last throughout eternity is a poor trade, 11:20 and it's not something that you want to do. 11:22 By the grace of God, He gives us the opportunities 11:25 to make decisions, to make choices 11:26 every single day in our lives. 11:28 And part of those choices, part of those choices, 11:31 are the choices that we make with our finances. 11:34 We can either use those finances 11:36 to help relieve the troubles, the challenges of the poor, 11:40 to help spread the gospel, to take care of our needs, 11:44 or we can spend them frivolously, 11:46 and one day we will be given the opportunity 11:49 to give an account for what we have done 11:51 with every area of our lives, including our finances. 11:54 And by the grace of God, we will be able to say, 11:57 "Lord, here's what I did with those finances 11:59 "that You entrusted to me, that You allowed me to manage. 12:03 "And I've used them faithfully to help others, 12:06 "to spread the gospel, 12:07 and to take care of the needs of my family." 12:09 If you are finding this particular quarter's lessons 12:11 insightful and helpful, I wanna encourage you 12:14 to pick up a copy of this quarter's lessons' 12:18 complementary, or supplementary, material. 12:21 It is this book, entitled "Managing for the Master" 12:23 by G. Edward Reid. He, of course, 12:26 is our guest this quarter 12:27 as we look at the Sabbath school lesson. 12:30 This particular book is a phenomenal supplement 12:33 to what you are studying in the quarterly. 12:36 It will give you additional insights, deeper insights, 12:39 more stories, and more evidence of how God is at work 12:43 in finances, in your finances, 12:46 and in the finances of people all around the world 12:49 as they seek to help spread the gospel far and wide. 12:53 You can find that at ItIsWritten.shop. 12:56 Again: ItIsWritten.shop. 12:58 Just look for the title, that is "Managing for the Master," 13:02 and you will be blessed if you pick up that book. 13:04 We'll be back in just a moment as we continue our study now 13:08 looking at the least of these. 13:10 We'll be back in just a moment. 13:11 (inspirational music swells and ends) 13:15 >>[John Bradshaw] It has been celebrated 13:17 in song, in poetry, in art. 13:22 Civilizations have worshiped gods dedicated to-- 13:25 and it's been said wars have been waged over--love. 13:30 The Bible says that "God is love," 13:34 that "God so loved the world 13:36 that He gave His only begotten Son." [baby crying] 13:39 Love led God to free His people from captivity. 13:43 Love led Jesus to open the eyes of the blind, 13:47 to forgive sinners, and to heal the sick. 13:51 So what was it, then, that led God to destroy the earth 13:54 with a flood or to command King Saul 13:57 to destroy an entire people group? 14:00 Don't miss "Love and Destruction" 14:03 as we discuss love 14:06 and take a close look at the love of God. 14:09 "Love and Destruction," 14:11 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 14:16 More and more people are watching It Is Written TV. 14:20 They're watching their favorite It Is Written programs, 14:23 listening to inspiring sermon series, and much more. 14:27 They're watching them here, here, and even here. 14:31 See for yourself why people are turning to It Is Written TV 14:35 to watch their favorite Christian programs 14:37 live and on demand. 14:39 Watch It Is Written TV 14:40 for free anytime on Roku, Apple TV, 14:44 and at itiswritten.tv. 14:46 (inspirational music) 14:51 >>Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:52 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:54 We are continuing our study of lesson number seven, 14:57 "Unto the Least of These." 14:59 And we're moving through very rapidly. 15:00 We are on Wednesday's lesson right now 15:03 looking at the subject--or the person--of Zacchaeus. 15:08 Ed, who was Zacchaeus? What can we learn from him? 15:11 It's a story that some of us know, 15:14 well, at the very least as a children's song. 15:17 But what's the main lesson that God wants us to learn 15:20 from the story of Zacchaeus? 15:23 What did he do wrong, and what did he do right? 15:26 >>Well, it's an interesting story. 15:29 It's actually the 19th chapter of Luke; 15:30 the first 10 verses talk about Zacchaeus. 15:33 And I like to know that Jesus, you know, He went out 15:36 and prayed a lot early in the morning, 15:38 and I think He asked for guidance. 15:40 And I'll tell you why I think that, 15:41 because I think the Father and the Holy Spirit told Him, 15:44 "Today when you go through Jericho, 15:46 "You're gonna encounter a man up a tree. 15:48 "And his name is Zacchaeus. 15:49 He needs to talk with You. Go home with him." 15:51 So when Jesus came to Jericho, walking through, 15:55 Zacchaeus had closed his office. 15:57 My guess--he was a publican, 15:59 so he was either a CPA or an attorney. 16:01 And he closed his office, he'll be back in two hours, 16:03 the little clock on his door, and he ran off to the city, 16:06 to the main street through town. 16:08 But when he got there, you can understand what happened. 16:10 The crowd was already there ,and he couldn't see, 16:12 said, "Please, give way. I'm a short man." They said, "Well, 16:14 "you should've thought about that yesterday. 16:15 We've been waiting for a long time." 16:17 So he ran ahead and climbed up in a tree. 16:20 So if you can imagine a man in his business suit 16:21 climbing up a tree, this is incredible. 16:24 Little kids do that, but not big men. 16:26 So he's sitting up in tree just to get-- 16:27 all he wanted to do was see Jesus. 16:29 That was the incredible thing. "I wanna see this man." 16:32 So when Jesus came through, a miracle happened. 16:36 Remembering what the Father and the Holy Spirit 16:37 had told Him, this must be Zacchaeus. 16:39 And so He said, "Zacchaeus, come down." 16:42 And then Jesus did something that none of us would ever do. 16:45 He invited Himself home for lunch. 16:47 This is incredible to me because I've never invited myself 16:49 home to anybody's place for lunch. 16:51 And I don't think anybody's ever invited themselves 16:52 to our place for lunch without an invitation. 16:54 But, interestingly enough, when you invite Jesus, 16:57 you get 12 hungry men 16:58 that don't get regular meals coming with Him, 17:00 so it's 13 people coming for lunch. 17:02 But Zacchaeus was a wealthy man, 17:03 so he could take care of that. So he called-- 17:05 he must have sent word ahead to his wife or his servants 17:08 and said, "I'm bringing 13 men for dinner." 17:10 Interesting thing about this is that he was a wealthy man; 17:13 he was a publican. He worked for the hated Romans 17:15 collecting taxes from the Jews. 17:18 But, interestingly enough, the difference between this man 17:21 and Zacchaeus is that--listen carefully-- 17:25 one encounter with Jesus, 17:27 one encounter with Jesus this time at his home, 17:30 after Jesus talked to him, he said, 17:31 "Half of my goods I'm gonna give to the poor. 17:33 "And if I've taken anything by illegal means, 17:36 I'm gonna give it back fourfold." 17:38 Just one encounter with Jesus. Jesus then said to him, 17:41 "Today salvation has come to your house." 17:44 And this is amazing. There's probably not a person on earth 17:47 wouldn't give most anything 17:48 to have Jesus say that at their house-- 17:50 "Today salvation has come to your house." 17:51 That was the end story with him. 17:53 So, instead of running away from the request of Jesus 17:56 to help the poor, he volunteered that, 17:59 and that's why Jesus told him 18:02 salvation had come to his house. 18:04 >>So it sounds like Zacchaeus--his encounter with Jesus 18:08 changed not just his financial position, 18:13 ultimately, but it sounds like it changed his heart, 18:16 and the change in the heart 18:17 was what prompted some of those things. 18:19 Would that be accurate? >>Yes. 18:21 The real interesting part about Zacchaeus 18:23 is that he had a whole time change in his life; 18:28 life focus changed completely. 18:30 Rather than thinking of himself, he thought of others. 18:31 And this is amazing. That's the character of Christ. 18:34 And somehow what he'd heard about Jesus was more than true. 18:38 So when Jesus talked to him, 18:39 he was ready to make the decision. 18:41 >>So that brief encounter made all the difference 18:44 in Zacchaeus' life, and ultimately you can expect 18:46 that it made a huge difference in the lives of others 18:49 when he started giving of many of the means that he had 18:52 to help the poor and those he defrauded and so forth. 18:56 So a beautiful story of how Jesus touched the life 18:59 of one individual, and through that individual, 19:01 the lives of many others were, no doubt, changed. 19:04 Ed, I want to jump to Thursday now. 19:06 Thursday is called "Consider the Man Job." 19:10 Now, there's a whole book of the Bible 19:13 that's called the book of Job, which deals with this story. 19:19 And there's a lot in that book. 19:22 It's sometimes a book that people overlook. 19:25 Some might consider it a discouraging book. 19:28 I don't think that's the case when you see how it all ends. 19:31 But what do we learn about the poor 19:33 when it comes to the story of Job? 19:37 >>Well, Job is an interesting character 19:38 because the Lord described him as "perfect and blameless," 19:42 that he was one who cared for people, 19:43 and we know that when his kids got together, 19:47 he would pray for them 19:48 that they would do everything right and so on. 19:50 This is a most interesting story because we know 19:53 why he was being persecuted, why he lost his wealth 19:56 and his children and his livestock and so on. 20:00 But he didn't know it until the minute he let--you know, 20:03 I don't know how long that lasted, 20:04 but several weeks or months later, 20:06 he figured out what was going on. 20:08 But the main thing is he described himself 20:10 as one who helped the poor. 20:12 In his own words, he says in Job 29:16, 20:15 "And I searched out the case 20:16 that I did not know" about the poor. 20:18 He's trying to help people. 20:19 He looked and said, "Is everything going okay for you?" 20:21 He would ask people how they're doing 20:23 and what's the situation. 20:24 "Do you know anybody that needs prayer? 20:25 "Do you know anybody that needs assistance 20:27 of anyone like that?" 20:29 >>So Job was somebody who looked out for others, 20:31 he opened the door to assist them, and encouraged, 20:36 it sounds like, through his example, 20:38 others to help the poor as well. 20:40 Would that be fair? >>Yes, indeed. 20:42 And this is interesting, Eric, 20:44 because this is a level of stewardship 20:47 beyond which most of us even think. 20:49 And we think it's a big deal that we just are faithful 20:51 with our tithe and offerings. 20:53 But this is something about helping others, 20:55 and I think this is incredible about it. 20:58 >>So an entire book of the Bible about the man named Job, 21:01 an individual who cared for the poor, encouraging to see. 21:07 On Friday, Ed, I wanna read a statement here 21:09 and give you an opportunity to respond to it. 21:11 This statement is from the book called "The Desire of Ages." 21:14 It's found on page 637. Here's what the statement says: 21:18 "'When the Son of man shall come in His glory, 21:20 "'and all the holy angels with Him, 21:22 "'then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: 21:25 "'and before Him shall be gathered all nations: 21:27 "and He shall separate them one from another.' 21:30 "Thus Christ on the Mount of Olives pictured 21:33 "to His disciples the scene of the great judgment day. 21:37 "And He represented its decision as turning upon one point. 21:42 "When the nations are gathered before Him, 21:44 "there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny 21:47 "will be determined by what they have done 21:50 "or have neglected to do for Him 21:53 in the person of the poor and the suffering." 21:56 So, it's good to know your Bible, 21:59 it's good to be theologically correct, 22:02 it's good to go to church, 22:04 it's good to return tithe and offerings, 22:06 it's good to pray and sing and so forth, 22:10 but this statement, this statement's pretty... 22:14 well, it's pretty straight. 22:16 Talk to us a little bit about this statement, Ed. 22:18 >>Well, I included this statement in the lesson 22:20 in the quarterly, in the book as well, 22:21 because it's the most terse statement 22:25 on character development, showing of character. 22:28 If we're willing to help others, 22:29 our character's more like Christ. 22:31 If we're selfish, it's still-- more like Satan. 22:33 So what we're talking about here is being able to determine 22:36 our relationship to the poor helps God to know 22:39 whether we're safe to save for eternity, 22:41 not that we're gonna encounter poor people in heaven, 22:43 we probably won't, but the bottom line is 22:46 that it illustrates that we've been transformed 22:49 from selfishness to love 22:51 and we're ready for translation to His kingdom. 22:53 >>So, clearly, helping out the poor in practical ways 22:56 is part of a Christian walk. 22:58 I know for my family, we do that in several ways, 23:02 and it's been a blessing to us 23:03 and a blessing to our children. 23:05 Often when we're driving from point A to point B, 23:08 we'll pass someone who's standing by the side of the road 23:10 with a little cardboard sign or something like that 23:13 asking for, well, anything. 23:16 And we've been hesitant in the past to give money 23:19 because you're never quite sure 23:20 what the money's going to go to. 23:21 But something that we have done that's been a blessing to us 23:24 and been a blessing to many people 23:25 is to carry little bags of food, a brown paper bag 23:29 with a bottle of water and maybe a fruit juice 23:32 and some granola bars and things like that. 23:34 And to give those to people so that they can have something 23:37 to eat and to share with others as well. 23:40 We also regularly will-- 23:41 we have a ministry for the homeless in our church 23:46 that feeds the homeless downtown once a month; 23:48 we'll take them sometimes backpacks filled with necessities. 23:52 What are some other things that either an individual 23:55 or a church entity might be able to do 23:58 to minister to the poor, Ed? 24:00 >>Well, that's a very good question and a good practice, 24:02 and I commend you for that. Our local church where we attend 24:05 has what we call a "blessing box" 24:06 that's put out right above the road near our church, 24:09 and people bring stuff to the church 24:11 to put in the blessing box, 24:12 non-perishable food items generally, 24:15 some toiletry items as well sometimes, 24:17 but the people in the community who are of need 24:20 stop by, and there's a little sign that says, 24:22 "Give what you can, take what you need." 24:24 And there's no charge for anything like that. 24:26 So several of our churches in the area have blessing boxes 24:30 the people in the community know about; 24:31 they can come by and get something, if they need it, 24:34 and share it with others or bring something 24:36 that they'd like to share. 24:37 In fact, some of the neighbors of our church 24:39 help us to furnish the blessing box. 24:41 But there's many things we can do. 24:43 We have, the fourth Sabbath of each month 24:45 in our church, we have called Something Else Sabbath school, 24:48 where we have a charity or a ministry in our local town 24:51 that we can support with clothes items in winter 24:56 and food items throughout the year and things for kids 25:00 when they start back to school and so on. 25:01 So there's always something that you can do. 25:04 We always--kids enjoy going back to school 25:06 and buying new pencils and notebooks 25:08 and erasers and all those things, 25:10 and many of them can't afford to get 25:12 what they would like to get, 25:13 but if we can provide help for them, 25:15 I'm sure they're very thankful for it, 25:17 and God will bless us as a result as well. 25:20 >>He does, most certainly, and through our example, 25:23 our children are being influenced as well. 25:25 And I know for our kids, when we carry those paper bags 25:29 filled with food, lunch bags filled with food, 25:30 around in our car, our kids will keep an eye out for people 25:33 that we can give them to. 25:34 And sometimes we have to drive around the block 25:36 in order to be able to make that delivery to somebody. 25:38 But it's great for the kids to be saying, 25:40 "We wanna minister to these individuals as well." 25:42 I think it starts 25:44 a spirit of giving and selflessness from a young age. 25:49 Ed, I wanna read one more statement here 25:50 from 1 Timothy 6, verses 17-19 25:53 and give you just a moment to comment on it. 25:55 Paul says, "Command those who are rich in this present age 25:58 "not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches 26:01 "but in the living God, who gives us richly 26:03 "all things to enjoy. 26:05 "Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, 26:09 "ready to give, willing to share, 26:11 "storing up for themselves a good foundation 26:13 "for the time to come, 26:15 that they may lay hold on eternal life." 26:18 Some quick thoughts on that? 26:20 >>Well, it's interesting what this talks about 26:21 is that instead of trusting in our riches 26:23 and what we've saved up, we trust in God to take care of us. 26:25 We'll have more time this quarter 26:27 to talk about that as well, but I would just suggest 26:30 that our first trust should be in God 26:33 'cause He takes care of us, we know that, 26:34 we can thank Him for it, 26:35 and we can give Him praise and honor. 26:37 But people pray for help, and we can be an answer 26:40 to people's prayers, Eric. 26:41 I think that's a blessing to know in your heart 26:44 that whatever we do to help people, 26:45 we're answering their prayers to God on their behalf. 26:49 So we're God's hands and God's feet on this earth 26:51 to minister as He did. 26:53 Most of Jesus' ministry was to common people, 26:55 and He helped them, feeding the 5,000 and the 4,000 26:58 and healing the sick and so on. 27:00 So anything we can do to help people physically, mentally, 27:02 or spiritually is a blessing to them and to us. 27:05 And I'm also saying that the values 27:07 that your children are learning 27:08 when you do things with them are incredible. 27:10 Character development, passing on values more than money 27:14 is really an asset, I would think. 27:16 >>I would agree with you wholeheartedly, Ed. 27:19 This week we've taken a look at the least of these, 27:21 how God desires to care for the poor 27:24 and how He desires to use us to help Him 27:27 in caring for the poor, 27:28 and through doing that, we are helped as well. 27:31 Ultimately, God wants all to be saved. 27:34 We just have to develop that character of Christ 27:37 and accept His way of life rather than our own 27:40 in order to benefit from that. 27:42 God bless you. Thank you once again for joining us this week 27:44 on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written, 27:47 and we will see you again next week. Take care. 27:50 (inspirational music) 28:26 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-02-09