We’ve been preaching on the blessed man. Today, we’ll discuss this topic, “Blessed is the giving man”. Prov 22:9, “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor”.
This person “seeth his brother have need”, 1 Jn 3:17, but he doesn’t shut “up his bowels of compassion from him”. Because of his bountiful eye, he doesn’t “love in word”; rather, he loves “in deed and in truth”, 1 Jn 3:18.
And when he “giveth of his bread to the poor”, he is blessed.
The blessing is:
The Lord will repay you. Prov 19:17, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again”. Notice that when a man gives this way, he LENDETH UNTO THE LORD.
As in Prov 28:27, giving to a person in need can present an opportunity for the gospel. This is what Paul instructed in Gal 6:10.
When you consider Deut 15:7-10 w/ Heb 6:10, you recognize that the principal object of your bountiful giving is brethren and saints. Paul’s exhortations in 2 Cor 8-9 were about giving to help the poor saints in Judea. Today, we can help widows, those with medical bills, each other, missionaries who particularly meet the needs of people in their impoverished countries as a means of opening doors to preach the gospel.
The Lord assured us in 2 Cor 9:6-8 that, to those who sow bountifully, the Lord supplies abundant grace.
Men will give into your bosom. Lk 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again”.
We’ve seen this principle to be true over and over again here in the church. Before we ever built our first building, we gave bountifully to help a ministry with a big need and we sent a crew to Montreal to help BBC refurnish their building. When it came time for us to build here, God used the gifts of men to provide all that was needed to build without debt.
You’ll have heavenly treasure. In Lk 18:22, Jesus told the rich ruler to “distribute unto the poor”. And then he said, “and thou shalt have treasure in heaven”. This is one of the ways you lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
Imagine that you can give riches, that you cannot take with you and that can fly away as an eagle toward heaven, to meet the needs of others, and God lays your gift up in heaven for all eternity. What an investment!! He takes something that has only temporal value and converts it to a treasure of eternal value when you give it to meet the needs of others. Truly amazing.
Indeed, blessed is the giving man.