Episode Transcript
Proverbs 11, God willing, will be expounding verses 24-26 tonight.
Proverbs 11, verses 24-26.
I forgot to put my bag up back behind here for cosmetic purposes.
All right.
The tile of Messadnot is storing and scattering.
Storing and scattering.
When I was young, I learned the value of saving money.
And when I was older, I learned the value of sharing what you earned.
They're both important.
Both saving and sharing.
Storing and releasing are important parts of our lives.
And our text tonight gives us wisdom concerning both.
Solomon begins tonight by addressing a kingdom truth that might have otherwise been considered an oxymoron.
Had it not been for the Bible saying it.
Namely, Solomon says, if you look in your text now, there is that scatterth and yet increases.
There is that scatterth and yet increases.
Now, you think of scattering and increasing.
Scattering and is putting it out like this.
Storing is gathering it up like this.
Storing and scattering are two different things that you can do with your wealth.
And you would think, well, if I'm storing it, then I want to have more than if I'm scattering it.
But Solomon says there is that scatterth and yet increases.
If you continue to store wealth, then theoretically you will increase wealth.
On the other hand, there is that scatterth and yet increases.
That does exist.
If I store grain, for example, and I continue to store that grain, then my wealth will increase.
I'll gain more grain.
Yet if I scatter my grain upon barren land, then that wealth will return to me many times over than had I stored it in a silo.
In the same way, if I scatter the wealth God has given me a seed upon barren people, then that wealth will return to me many times over as well.
Deuteronomy chapter 15, verse 7 through 10, God said this to the nation of Israel.
"If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother."
Now think of money being in his hand and he shuts it.
That's storing.
He's storing.
Now if he shuts it, he's at least got what he has in his hand.
That's storing.
But he's saying here, if you have this poor brother here, and he says don't harden your heart and shut your hand from your poor brother, "but thou shalt open thine hand wide to him," that's scattering, "and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth.
Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, the seventh year, the year of release is at hand, and that I be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him not or nothing, and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved, because when thou giveth him," why?
"Because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou putth thine hand unto."
So the seventh year is coming up, the year of release, and so if there's a debt that your Jewish brother owes you, then after that seven years, man, they wouldn't hardly be able to buy a nice big diesel pickup truck today.
Those car loans are getting longer and longer, but after that seven years, the year of release is up, and they say, "Well, let's say that the year of release is up, and I don't want to loan him now, because if I do, then he won't have to pay me off, so I'll hold off.
I'll wait until it's more advantageous for me when it comes to lending him this money."
God says, "Don't think that way.
Don't be covetous."
He said, "You'll surely give him, and that heart shall not be grieved."
Don't let your heart be grieved.
Have a good heart about it.
Be joyful that you can help.
"When thou giveth unto him, because that for this thing, because you opened your hand wide, and because you ministered to your brother's need, the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works."
What you're doing and what you're gaining, if you scatter, God says, "I'm going to bless what you're doing, and you can gather more than you were.
I'm going to bless your hand in all your works, in all that you put your hand unto."
There's been an old saying, "You can't out-give God."
And that's true.
You can't out-give God.
Shutting the hand is storing, opening it wide is scattering.
We should scatter with a good heart, expecting God to repay us.
That's really what that verse is saying.
He says, "Don't worry if the seventh year is coming up.
Don't worry if this year of release is coming up, and your brother's not going to have to pay you back, or not going to pay you back, or unable to pay you back, because I'll pay you back.
I'll bless your hand, and I'll bless what you're doing.
It'll be okay."
And so, there is.
That scatters, and yet increases.
It increases because God gives the increase.
And we've read that in the New Testament before, right?
Some water, some sow, some water, but God does what?
He gives the increase.
He blesses the work of our hands.
So we should scatter with a good heart, expecting God to repay us.
We should scatter in faith, in faith, knowing that because that for this thing, the Lord thy God shall bless us in all our works, and in all that we put our hand unto.
Faith.
There is that scatters, and yet increases.
Look back in your text now.
"And there is that withholdeth more than is meat, but it tendeth to poverty."
Now, this is the opposite part.
So, there is that scatters.
I'm going to get rid of it.
I'm going to put it out here and scatter my wealth, and yet even though I'm scattering it, I'm yet increasing more.
I'm putting it out of my hand.
My hand's getting fuller.
On the other hand, there is that situation where a person withholds more than is meat, and it ends up bringing that person into poverty.
Now, withholding is saving up what God's blessed you with.
You look at your check.
You've got money going into the 401(k), or you have something else, money going into taxes, or whatever it's called, withholdings.
And that's what that's talking about here, except this is withholding for yourself.
And so withholding is saving something up that God's blessed you with, and I have a certain amount that I withhold from my income to save for the future.
The Bible encourages us to withhold like that, but I don't withhold all of it.
How many of y'all save money?
How many of y'all save everything that you make?
Abigail, you may be able to, except for Ty, I say you wouldn't want to do that, but you may be able to.
It's not like you're making a house payment yet, but if you were, you wouldn't be able to save up everything you made.
Nobody does that.
And so as we see here tonight, God expects us to withhold that which is meat.
Now, where do we see that word "meat" at in Scripture?
Adam, after looking at all the animals, there was not found a helper that was meat for him, suitable for him, proper for him, that which was right.
And God expects us to withhold that which is meat, that which is proper, but we should not withhold more than his meat.
We should put some money in savings, and we should put some money in offerings.
I do both.
I put some in savings.
I love watching savings grow when it can, and I put some in offerings, and I love putting some in offerings.
When you put money in the savings, you're withholding.
When you put money in the offering plate, you're scattering.
You see?
We should withhold some money for us, and we should invest some money in others.
The offering plate is not the only place to scatter money.
It's the only place to pay tithes that should go to the storehouse, but that doesn't mean that that's the only way we can scatter.
Above my tithes, if a brother needed help and Tammy and I were to help him, that would be scattering.
And so if we withhold that which is meat, then our wealth will increase.
I put money back, and in the next check, I put money back, or the next harvest, I put more grain back, or however you want to put it.
I withhold that which is meat.
Just a reasonable amount of money that I set back, but at the same time, I'm able to scatter some, and if we hold that which is suitable, that which is meat, our wealth will increase, but if we hold that which is more than what's suitable, then our wealth may actually decrease.
The rich man in Jesus' parable was trying to withhold, right?
He's going to build more silos, and he's going to put up as much money as that man could, and enjoy the rest of his life, and he ended up dying and missing out on the fruit of his labor.
He didn't scatter.
He didn't invest.
He didn't think of anything concerning his wealth, other than being fat, dumb, and happy, and riding off into the sunset till he died.
Brother Shepherd in his Sunday school is listening to this morning.
He was talking about how with our earthly wealth, we should use it to finance, you know, God's kingdom, his agenda, and I've always said that and agree with that as well, that our secular job should be a means of financing kingdom work.
But this rich man in Jesus' parable, he didn't view his wealth that God blessed him with.
God blessed the work of his hand.
He gave him a lot of money, and instead of thinking, "You know, I've got more than I need.
I know what I'll do.
I'll just build more silos here, and I'll just stick it all back, and I'll take my ease, and I'll enjoy myself."
What's he doing?
He's quitting.
He's just quitting.
He's not just going into retirement.
Do you know what retirement is?
Retirement is when you quit doing what you have to do, so you can do more of what God wants you to do, more of what you want to do.
And I had a retired man the other day.
He saw some potholes out here in the drive, in the parking lot.
He said, "I'd like to come up here and fill that in."
I said, "Well, we'd love for you too, brother.
We'd love for you too.
I appreciate that."
And that's the way we ought to be when we retire.
But not the rich man.
He just wanted to put it up, put it up, put it up.
Man, our money needs purpose.
Yes, it needs purpose for us to live.
We need to withhold what is meat, but it needs purpose for others to live too.
We need to be able to give so the gospel can get out.
We need to be able to help our neighbor on a practical basis when that time comes as well.
Once again in Deuteronomy 15.10, God said, "Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be greed when thou give us unto him, because that for this thing, the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou putest thine hand unto."
However, if we withhold more than what is meat with our wealth, then God's not obligated to bless all that we put her hand to.
In fact, it may be that God may curse what we put her hand to.
It may be that the very opposite would happen like what happened with the rich man.
God blessed his hand initially, and he wasn't responsible with his wealth.
And then God said, "Tonight your soul will be required of you."
Who took his soul that night?
God did.
God took his life.
So God's not obligated to bless us in all of our works when we got her hand clenched.
We say, "No, this money's mine.
This wealth is mine, and I'm not going to do anything with it, but please myself and nothing else."
God's not obligated to bless our hand.
The Bible says, if you'll look back in verse 25 now, "The liberal soul shall be made fat."
Now, don't look at the word "liberal" and think of politics.
That's not what it's talking about.
I know there's some fat politicians, but that's not what it's talking about.
"Liberal" here means generous.
Generous.
Not conserving, but giving.
The problem with the liberal is they give what someone else worked for.
That's the problem with liberalism.
But the liberal soul, the true liberal, someone who earned his wealth and then scatters that wealth to further God's purpose, God's purpose of relieving the poor, God's purpose of furthering the gospel, which is relieving the poor in spirit, that person that scatters liberally shall gather abundantly.
The liberal soul shall be made fat.
You would think the opposite, but not so, because God, for that cause, will bless all the works of that liberal soul's hands.
That liberal soul shall have abundance because they become a channel through which God's blessings flow.
That's why the blessings stopped with that rich man.
God's not blessing the work of her hands so that the silos will overflow, and that be the end of it.
He blesses the work of her hands so that we can be a blessing.
You know what God told Abraham?
He said, "I want to bless you."
You know what the second part of that was?
"And you'll be a blessing."
That was it.
"I'll bless you, and I'll make you a blessing.
In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
Not in you shall you be blessed, and blessed amore, and blessed amore, and blessed amore, but in you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
Abraham became a channel of blessing, and he knew that when he became faithful to God, and he stuck with the stuff, and he followed God's Word, he raised his child up, Isaac, the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
It wasn't just for him.
It wasn't just for Isaac.
It was for me and you.
We have to think outside ourselves.
Here's a kingdom truth.
God gives through liberal souls.
So God gives to liberal souls.
You want God to quit giving to you?
Don't allow him to continue giving through you.
So he says, look back in your text, "And he that watereth shall be watered also himself."
He that watereth shall be watered also himself.
God's not going to forget, and he's going to be a blessing to the Lord.
He's going to forget your labor of love.
God's not going to forget what you gave, your sacrifice that you've made in his name.
If you water, God's going to make sure you get watered.
Luke 6, verse 38.
Jesus said, "Give."
What's he saying when he says, "Give"?
He's going to be a liberal soul.
What's he saying when he says, "Give"?
Scatter.
So let's just use that word, "scatter," and it shall be scattered unto you.
Isn't that good?
How's it going to be scattered unto you?
Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
What does that mean?
Well, I'll tell you in a way you'll never forget.
You know when you go in the store and you get you a bag of Cheetos, you get you a bag of your favorite potato chips, and the bag is big and it's solid, and when you open the bag, the chips are way down here.
And it'll have this little disclaimer, "Some settling may have occurred during shipping."
Well, when God gives, before he ever ships it to you, he presses it down, he shakes it, makes sure it all settles.
When he gets through making sure everything's settled, he then puts some extra on there so it's running over.
Then he gives it to you.
God doesn't just sell by weight, he sells by volume.
And so he gives it to you.
And he says, "Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom."
Now, when men give into your bosom, what are they doing?
They're scattering.
So you scatter, and I'll end up scattering to you through these men, through these people.
You give what someone else needs, I'll make sure you get what you need, and you'll get more back in return than what you gave.
He says, "For with the same measure that ye meet," now that word "meet" is different than "m-e-e-t," this is "m-e-t-e," "the same measure that you're measuring out, the same measure that you're scooping into a measure to hand to somebody," he says, "with all, it shall be measured to you again."
In other words, the same spirit in which you give, I want to give.
You give liberally, I'll give liberally.
You give stingy, I'll give stingy.
2 Corinthians 9, verse 6 through 10, the apostle Paul says, "But this I say, he which soweth sparingly," now what do you do when you sow?
You're scattering, aren't you?
You're scattering your seed.
So, "he which scatters sparingly shall also reap," I'm sorry, "shall reap also sparingly."
In other words, whoever scatters sparingly, then God's going to make sure that men scatter them sparingly.
"And he which soweth bountifully," or scattered bountifully, "shall reap also bountifully.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver."
Be happy about it when you do it or don't do it at all.
And God is able, oh, that's the wonderful part, God's able.
God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency and all things, may abound to every good work.
He'll make sure you have what you need.
"As it is written, he hath dispersed abroad."
Now, he's quoting from the Old Testament.
When he says God's dispersed abroad, what's he saying?
He's scattered abroad.
That's exactly what he's saying.
He's dispersed abroad.
"He hath given to the poor.
His righteousness remaineth forever.
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower," or to the scatterer, "both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness."
He's able to do that.
He made the seed.
He supplies the seed.
He scatters the seed.
Verse 26, "He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him."
"He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him."
Now, that withholding, we see that we're withholding again, right?
I've got corn.
You need corn.
I'm keeping the sallow.
I've got more than I need, but I'm not turning it loose.
Look at all that corn.
I'm rich.
You say, "Well, I need corn."
I'm not cutting that up with you.
I'm not going to scatter it.
"He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him."
They'll hate him.
"If you have a surplus in a time of need, then your surplus should become another person's supply."
That would be the good kingdom of truth.
"If you have a surplus in a time of need, then your surplus should be another person's supply."
"So he that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him, but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it."
Now, I want you to pay close attention to the words here.
And the reason is, is because we've been so indoctrinated in our nation, so indoctrinated to make people think they're entitled to things and then people who are actually entitled to things to make them feel guilty when they ask for their entitlement.
For example, I've been paying into Social Security since I was old enough to ...
I mean, I've had a job since I was old enough to push a broom.
I've never ever had a day without a job since I've been old enough to push a broom.
And I've been paying Social Security all this time.
The year I become qualified for my full Social Security retirement is the year that Social Security says they're going to be insolvent.
How about that?
Congratulations, you made it, but we didn't.
And so when they feel the pinch on all that, a lot of the politicians say, "Well, we're just going to have to cut back on some of these entitlements."
But then they won't cut back on the welfare and on the freebies to people who haven't done a thing for them, the student loans and things like that.
They're not entitled to that.
They just want to give it away.
And so they want to make people who haven't worked feel entitled to what they didn't work for and make people who did work for it feel guilty for that entitlement.
And so our nation has done its best and actually done a very good job at actually turning things upside down in their citizens' minds.
But watch how the Holy Spirit words this here in the Scriptures.
The idea of charity in the Scripture is far different than the idea of charity in the United States.
"Blessing shall be upon the head of him that," what?
"Sal-e-fit."
Man, oh, oh, they loved Joseph in Egypt.
Because when famine came around, grocery store was open.
You know what old Joseph did?
He didn't sell.
He didn't give that stuff away.
He sold it.
And the people were happy about, "Here, take my money.
Take my money."
You know, they were happy about it because they were able to live.
They didn't second-guess their responsibility for working for what they were eating.
"Blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it."
So notice that Solomon wasn't speaking of giving this corn away.
Not once in this text does it say the wealth was lost.
Not once in this text does it say the wealth was given away.
There were two things in the text we've studied tonight.
It was loaned or it was sold.
Do you notice that?
It was loaned or it was sold.
The Hebrew word translated "loan" here, when you look it up in the Hebrew dictionary, it means "to pawn."
Good old Brother Ponchopp, right?
It means "to pawn."
So they were under no obligation to supply what they worked for without any obligation upon those who received it.
They were under no obligation to supply what they had worked for without any obligation upon those who received it.
Now, that said, of course, it's fine to freely give something as a gift of love.
That's not discounting that at all.
So we're not saying that never give anything away for nothing.
Always expect us something in return.
We're not saying that, but in this text here, it's loaned or it's given.
Why?
Because in time of need, you always have to continue to emphasize personal responsibility.
If a nation ever quits emphasizing personal responsibility, that nation's going to go down.
The only person who has to loan or who has to sell is someone who is personally responsible.
And that's very important for us to understand.
Here's the kingdom truth for you tonight.
Our liberality should not support another's irresponsibility.
Generally speaking, the poor have a responsibility to do what they can to receive what they do not have.
That said, Solomon didn't say that we had to make a profit off what he sold, did he?
He didn't say that.
We didn't have to make a profit.
Let me tell you, in the Scriptures, price gouging is not condoned in the Bible.
Because the whole idea in this supply to the brother is that it can't be with the wrong heart.
What if the day comes up and he gets liberated from this loan here?
I can't give to him.
No, be willing to lose.
The idea is not to gain.
The idea is to supply.
And so he doesn't say that you've got to make a profit off of it.
If I had something and I could turn it loose or someone had a need, and they say, "Well, loan this to me and I'll pay it out in monthly installments.
I'll make it good over time."
Okay, brother.
Okay, brother Billy.
And I shouldn't think, "Hmm, brother Billy's in need here.
How can I profit off, brother Billy?
I know what I'll do.
I'll set him up with a balloon payment at the end."
"I'll set him up with, you know, absolutely, brother Billy, I love you.
God bless you."
We'll make that 12% interest.
Is that okay?
That's not what Solomon's talking about.
That's not what God is talking about.
So we have to have the right heart.
In fact, it's possible to sell goods and services for no price at all in Scripture.
You can sell it for no price at all.
Thank God this is the way salvation is.
Isaiah 55 verse 1 as we begin to close, "Oh, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters and heed that hath no money.
Come ye buy."
How about that?
You're going to buy with no money.
"Come ye buy and eat.
Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."
Proverbs 23, 23, "Buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction and understanding."
So there's some things you can't put a price on at all.
There's some things you can't pay for at all, yet you can buy them.
Well, how can you buy something without money and without price?
Use a different currency.
When it comes to the gospel, I mean because he says, "Buy the truth and sell it not," you can't buy the truth with money.
When it comes to the gospel, we buy without money and without price by buying the truth of Jesus.
And we buy it with somebody else's expense, you see.
We buy it with somebody else's expense.
Salvation is not free, but we're not the ones paying for it.
We buy it without money and without price.
This morning, my wife went in to Tyler with me, and she wanted to go to the doctor's office with me for my appointment.
And so we walked into the building that I work in, and they have a coffee cart set up.
And there's a retailer there, and he's setting up, getting ready to sell this fancy coffee.
My wife's a black coffee kind of person with some cream, but every now and then, she likes the fancy stuff.
And I said, "You want some fancy coffee?"
She goes, "Maybe I do."
So I pulled my billfold out, and I gave her some cash.
I said, "Here, get you some fancy coffee when he opens his cart up."
Now she bought it, but she bought it without money and without price.
I paid for it.
She bought it.
And that's the way it is with the gospel.
Faith is the only currency the gospel accepts.
The gospel was God scattering, and our praise and our love for Him is our blessing upon His head.
You know how they sold corn?
And if you sold corn, the people would bless Him.
God scattered when He gave His Son, and our praise and our love for Him is our blessing.
The people bless Him because of it.
A lot of wisdom in these three verses tonight, and I pray that we'll apply them to our lives, both spiritually as well as physically.
Father, we thank You so much for all You've done for us.
I pray, dear Lord God, that we'll be liberal souls.
I pray, dear Lord God, that You'll work the attitude of Christ into our heart, work the attitude of liberalism, of love.
Lord, the attitude, Father, of responsibility to bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Lord, I thank You that Your Word is so balanced, dear Lord.
It encourages us to give.
It encourages us to supply.
And at the same time, it encourages the receiver, Father, to be responsible.
It gives us, Father, the opportunity to freely release without the obligation, Father, to do without.
I thank You for that, Father.
I thank You, Father God, for not relieving someone of duty when they receive Your bounty.
God, help us to have that wonderful mixture of love, charity, Father God, in the truest sense, and at the same time, Father, that our liberality will never promote someone's irresponsibility.
Guide us with Your truth, in Jesus' name, and make us a blessing.
Amen.
