Godsloveandlaw's Blog

In Matthew 11:5 we read —

“The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” 

Our King mentions the poor specifically.And in the book of Isaiah it says it as well —

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound..”(Isaiah 61:1)

But why are the poor, those without much worldly goods and money, apparently much more receptive to the Word of God? In the Lord’s final message of Elijah, the poor ones greatly exceed the comfortable or well to do ones. In fact the minorities (Blacks, Hispanics, Filipino, etc.)  make up probably 80-90% of the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists.

One of the reasons we believe is the plain ol comfort of worldly goods/money. Jesus emphasised this issue —

“Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.” (Luke 6:20)

Our Lord set the example, not even owning His own home and relying on others to spend the night in rest. The example is clear–often money and worldly comforts stymie our desire for a close and needful relation with our maker. Too many distractions and the need to be spiritually uplifted is diminished or not seen as important enough.

“Though the LORD be  high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly: but the proud He knoweth afar off.” (Psalms 138:6)

Let’s face it, we here in the USA have so many comforts. Usually a nice home, nice car, nice TV and other electronics, etc. Our time is often spent on things of this world.

The message comments on this poor situation–

“It is a well-known fact that as a rule the most learned men are the most hesitant to accept the gospel of Christ, and among the last in keeping pace with the Truth. In this respect more than in any  applies the saying, “Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.” Luke 6:20.

Parents may rid their children of the desire to come into possession of riches which have been earned by others, only if they very early in the child’s life start uprooting its introvert habits and inculcating extrovert ones in their stead. In the struggle for character, personality, and usefulness, the children of poor parents have the advantage over those of wealthy parents.” (Answerer, vol. 5, p.12-13)

The poor are often less confident, less secure in life generally leading them to be more open to listening. Once again the message clarifies–

“Isa. 61:1, 2 — “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.”

   These are the two verses which Jesus read as He stood in the synagogue of the city of Nazareth, the place where He was brought up.  He read these verses and then sat down without making any comments.  As His listeners were still in a stupor as to why He had read and then had sat down without adding a word, Jesus arose again and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

   The reason given for the Spirit’s power upon Him is that the Lord God had anointed Him to preach good tidings unto the meek, implying that if the Lord had not anointed Him to preach, the Spirit of the Lord would not have been on Him.  Moreover, He was anointed to preach to the meek, to those who are not self-sufficient, not high-minded, but humble and teachable; the other class could not be taught.  He was to comfort all that mourn, to bind the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives (not to free them immediately).” (Timely Greetings, vol.1, no.41, p.24-25)

Is it a sin to be wealthy? Of course not, yet how hard it is to fight an uphill battle with all the temptations surrounding such ones. We all remember Jesus’ solemn words to the rich man.

“The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matt. 19:20-20-24)

But how will the faithful poor today live in the soon to be kingdom set up in Israel?

“Lift up thine eyes round about, and see all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on Mine altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory.” (Isa. 60:4-7.)

Wealthy and satisfied indeed! But this use of wealth is for the glory of God because they have followed “the Lamb wheresoever He goes.”

In closing, it becomes clear that the poor are more susceptible to the Word of God. Maybe it’s because they have very little now and can dream much more about the riches of the Kingdom. The wealthy and comfortable have their luxury and needs met and often aren’t interested in dreaming about a future kingdom. Yet that kingdom is just about to come in the sight of both wealthy and poor.

This entry was posted on November 25, 2017 at 4:19 am and is filed under Humility. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.