A Heart for the Poor
US Poverty Threshold Based on Annual Income
One Person Household: $12,488
Two Person Household: $15,877
Three Person Household: $19,515
Four Person Household: $25,094
Five Person Household: $29,714
Six Person Household: $33,618
Residents with Income Below the Poverty Level in 2016
Springfield, MO: 32.9%
Jasper County: 29.1%
Sate of Missouri: 18.6%
1st God Has a Heart for the Poor
Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 10 NLT
But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
Psalms 41:1 NLT
Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.
Proverbs 22:9 NIV
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
Proverbs 28:27
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.
Proverbs 19:17 NLT
If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!
Proverbs 21:13 NLT
Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.
Proverbs 14:31 NLT
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.
Luke 4:18 NLT
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
John 13:29 NLT
Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.
Galatians 2:9-10 NLT
In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.
2nd Every Person is Valuable and Precious in God’s Sight
Isaiah 58:2 NLT
Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
Isaiah 58:3 NLT
‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
Isaiah 58:4-5 NLT
What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling?This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?
Isaiah 58:6 NLT
“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
Isaiah 58:7 NLT
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Isaiah 58:10a ESV
...pour yourself out for the hungry.
Isaiah 58:7 NLT
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
1 Timothy 5:8 ESV
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Isaiah 58:7 NLT
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Proverbs 22:2 NLT
The rich and poor have this in common: The LORD made them both.
3rd We Were Poor and God Graciously Gave to Us
1 John 3:16-18 NLT
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
Matthew 25:31-40 NLT
"But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'
Matthew 25:41-46 NLT
"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn't give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' "And he will answer, 'I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.' "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."
Now, dear Christians, some of you pray to made in the image of Christ. If so, you must be like him in giving. “Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.”
Objection: “My money is my own.” Answer: Christ might have said, “My blood is my own, my life is my own.” Then where should we have been?
Objection: “The poor are undeserving.” Answer: Christ might have said the same thing, “They are wicked rebels against my Father’s law: shall I lay down my life for these?” But no, he gave his blood for the undeserving.
Objection: “The poor may abuse it.” Answer: Christ might have said the same, with far greater truth. Christ knew that thousands would trample his blood under their feet; that most would despise it; that many would make it an excuse for sinning more; yet he gave his own blood.
Oh, my dear Christians! If you would be like Christ, give much, give often, give freely, to the poor, the thankless and the undeserving. Christ is glorious and happy, and so you will be. It is not your money I want, but your happiness. Remember his own word: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
~ Robert Murray M'Cheyne
