mtembezi
Mar 13, 2005
Is this responsibility 'subjective',ie; is my giving limited to my cheerfulness?Or does Scriputure more specific?Help please!
Is this responsibility 'subjective',ie; is my giving limited to my cheerfulness?Or does Scriputure more specific?Help please!
For some other thoughts on this:Giving to BeggarsAlso God says good things about those who consider the poor.
...all of Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25:31-46. Further, Jesus said to preach the Gospel to the poor. The bible also says that he who lends to the poor is wise. In the new testament sense, it says that we are to lend without expectation of being paid back.
Here is an outstanding sermon video, titled "Ministry to the Poor", by a western mission worker from the streets of Hong Kong. Jackie Pullinger exhorts and educates an American congregation with both urgency and graciousness. Her message was profound:that the rich are too few to reach the world...it will be the poor that reach the nations.The first 1/4 of the church service features songs and testimonies from a few young Christian brothers from the streets in Hong Kong, and the last 3/4 features the excellent sermon. Besides being ministered by her clarion call that the poor make up the vast majority of Christs' church, I was also challenged by the selfless countenance and kind spirit within this Godly woman. More then sound theology, this sermon helped me see a little of Jesus' heart regarding the poor. This video sermon is in the top 20 list on SermonIndex.https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=4396MC
Thanks for sharing, the scriptures, sermons and "giving to beggars" is a blessing to me.Thanks again.In God's love,
Interesting contrast to the thread on prosperity, just in hone-ing our perspective.
I want to write a long long post about american Christians to begin using their auto's as ministry outreach...to wit, stocking that car with a couple of small bags of groceries, bottles of water ,a dozen socks (available from Costco) hygiene supplies, soap, toothpaste, and most importantly, Gospel portions, ie the Book of John, and Gospel tracts to give out along with food.NEVER, never ever ever, give someone on the streets money.(dont plug into their yoke and addictions)But as the Spirit leads, stop, ask them their name, look them in the eye WITH LOVE. If you got to, to muster up this impossible love, pretend that they are a blood relation. If you do that, watch what happens to your encounter. These are broken hurting people, who will react to Jesus love like a thirsty person in the desert.Don't worry about "decisions for Christ", let God deal with that, you bring the love of Christ and the Spirit will take care of everything else at Meribah.so much more to say....maybe thats a good future post Mikey......"Autos as mobile outreach"harangue me about writing it(lol), I gotta hit the road.In Christ Jesus,Neil
Just watched the entire video by Jackie Pullinger "Ministry to the Poor".https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=4396I thank God...Ministry that is a lifestyle. She says many things about ministry with the poor, but two stuck (I've parapherased).Working with the poor, or those poorer than us applies the cross to our hearts.She also said that if God answers our prayer for revival, the harvest will come mainly from the poor, they're the majotiry, and they're not self reliant.I believe both to be true.My church has just began a mercy ministry, helping the needy in the church and the needy people who just walk in. And my Pastor has put me in charge. I covert prayer, advice and pointing me to sermons/articles.An example of what happened this past Sunday.Someone who didn't have food came and asked for help. I tried to put him on the 'vetting pipeline', ie. interviews to know what he's all about, etc. And we almost sent someone, a brother with a real need away.I understand the need to be discerning, but I don't want to send someone away in the name of 'discernment'. So you see my need.In another thread, someone put this about Oswald Chambers, any opinions....Oswald was used to the criticism of his family and friends, particularly in the area of money. He believed that Jesus’ words, “Give to everyone who asks,” meant exactly that.One evening, walking back to his lodgings after conducting a League meeting, he was accosted by a drunken man asking for money. Chambers listened intently to the man’s story, then told him, “Man, I believe your story is all lies, but my Master tells me to give to everyone that asks, so there is my last shilling.”After putting the coin into the man’s hand, Chambers noticed that it was not a shilling but half a crown worth two and a half times more. It didn’t matter. “There you are,” he told the man, “the Lord bless you.”When Oswald’s hostess heard this story, she chided him for being foolish. “I believe beggars are sent to test our faith,” Chambers replied, nonplused. “My duty is plain—to obey the command of God and give to everyone that asks. What the recipient may do with it is not my concern.”As the woman shook her head in disbelief, Oswald added with a twinkle, “Besides, the Lord always gives double for all I give away.” The next morning Chambers received a letter enclosing a gift from a person who was bedridden and could not come to hear him preach. The gift was three times what he had given the drunken man the night before.I thank God for the resource semonindex is.Reminds me of Jesus words, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12:48)May we find grace to be faithful, those like me who have been built up here.God bless you.
In another thread, someone put this about Oswald Chambers, any opinions...."Ministry that is a lifestyle"Like that brother.Regarding this Chambers out take, found it to be true after the fact. Here's another excerpt:Chambers possessed a rare capacity to trust matters to God in prayer and wait for Him to move. When one student informed Chambers that the couple hired to cook and clean were stealing supplies, he decided not to confront them, but to ask God to convict them.The loss of food and linens continued for several weeks until one day the man came to Chambers, deeply guilty and sorrowful, to confess his thefts. “I’ve known about it all along,” Oswald told him, “but we wanted to wait until God’s Spirit spoke to you.” The man was astounded, and both he and his wife came to a personal faith in Jesus Christ.In another case, Chambers might have acted differently. He often said, “You cannot tie God down to a particular line. Get to know how God deals with you and how he deals with others through you in the most practical way.”Oswald Chambers Abandoned to God.Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. And to emphasize that later part of the quote, it seems of utmost importance that we learn to not only listen but to obey that still small voice, prompting us to do what is necessary at any given moment, something I have been failing at much lately...In other words, that we wouldn't premeditate how we would react to someone who asks, willing to give without any qualifications or presuming upon what they might do with it as he mentions, but be led by the Spirit and as Mary said to the servants: Whatever He tells you to do, do it"
Matthew 25:31-4631 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternalPretty Clear
There are hundreads more
Jesus said, "the poor you'll always have with you" meaning those who don't have any money.But those whom Christ refers to when He said, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God", I am convinced He was not referring to the poor without money but the poor in spirit. The reason why I say this is because Christ didn't have any money, and when it came time to pay His taxes, He still had none, but told Peter to go on a fishing trip and the first fish you catch there will be a gold coin.Even when it came to time for the last supper there was no money that exchange hands to rent the banquet hall, it seems to be a mysterious thing.Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised"Everything that Christ states here is all an inward work that only He could do. Jesus said to the Jews that they were in captivity only to hear them say, "we have not been in bondage to no man", so Christ was referring to the bondage that they had to sin and that He was going to free them from that slavery and fear of being under the law and what the law only produces when the flesh tries to perform it.In this verse Christ speaks about being anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. Is the gospel not for the rich?This is why I am not convinced that He was referring to the poor who have no money, because Zacchaeus was a wealthy man yet salvation came to his house. Matthew was another rich man, he was tax collector whom Christ called to be one of His desciples.When He said, "woe to you rich", was he referring to the material possessions that he possessed?I do not believe so, I know that He was referring to those who stood in the way of the kingdom of God and wouldn't allow those who were passing by to enter in. They fed themselves of what the field produced but they wouldn't allow anyone else access to it. Christ is saying that they would be mourning while those who have desired and sighed to enter into it, will be satisfied, while they would thrusted out.A perfect example of this is the Rich man and Lazarus Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.Notice that Lazarus was laid at the rich mans gate, the gate was entering of the Kingdom of God, the Rich man was in the kingdom, but cared nothing for the affairs of his own people, who needed norishment of the word of God. The Rich man fed only himself and no one else. He was like dead sea, water flows into it but nothing flows out.Lazarus was just content to receive the crumbs that fell from the masters table while the children ate. That healing bread which is the word of God had power even in the crumbs, yet that Rich man wouldn't' even let him have that.Even the dogs came and tormented him by licking his sores. If you remember in Revelation 22:15"For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.Lazarus was without the kingdom.Lazarus was being vexed by everything that was in the world, as the soul of righteous Lot was being vexed by the filthy lives of the wicked in his day.The Rich man went to hell because he was nothing like our Saviour as He said, "depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you". I never knew you means that my character was never formed in you, I only know myself, when I see you I don't see a relection of myself, therefore, I never knew you, I don't know who you are. The rich man was full of himself, and had not one ounce of Christ in him. How many ministers today block the way into the kingdom of God?Too many to count, they feed off the flock, they cause them to starve to death, while they feed on the word and receive and drink, but thy will not share this word to others. I remember my Dad went to the Pentecostal minister of the church he was attending at the time, back in the 60's, and he would ask, "Pastor why don't you preach this, it's the word?". "Oh brother, if I preached that I'd lose my congregation".I asked another minister a couple of years ago, and asked a similiar question after the sermon was given, I said, "Pastor, why don't you preach your entire message, why do you stop about half way?" "If I don't stop at 20 minutes I'd lose them".So the rest of the word was left untouched, he fed himself, while those who are eager to hear, are left without.That is why it says, "My people perish for a lack of knowledge". Then he goes on to say, "Woe unto you shepherds who scattered the flock".Karl
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