GOD’S SPECIAL TREASURES

Proverbs 15:25 (KJV)

The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

I am reminded of a New Testament passage that is very well known but not at all understood.

Matthew 5:1-12 (KJV)

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

I don’t guess we would have anyone in this room who would challenge this passage at all.

·   It’s a wonderful thought

·   It’s an oft quoted sentiment

·   It’s a cherished piece of prose

But I wonder who will volunteer for it?

Our world, frankly including the majority of the Christians in this world, practice exactly the opposite.

We rejoice in:

·   The successful

·   The merry

·   The powerful

·   The comfortable

·   The decisive

·   The influencer

·   The dynamic

·   The deal maker

·   The popular

If we are going to find a mentor, it’s going to be one of those guys we look for, isn’t it?

I don’t think the Bible challenges us to be champions for Christ but to be beggars of His grace.

We might all need to re-evaluate our relationship with the Lord

Let me show you three classes of people God promises to pay special attention to:

I. THE FATHERLESS

Psalms 27:10 (KJV)

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

This passage isn’t speaking about the orphan but the one whose parents have gone a direction different than the child.

We live in a day when parental abandonment is commonplace

·   Abandonment through neglect

·   Abandonment through disinterest

·   Abandonment through spiritual disobedience

·   Abandonment through abuse

·   Abandonment through immaturity

In some cases the father and mother are still in the house but they are not there

·   Emotionally,

·   Intellectually or

·   Socially

You might have grown up in an unstable family environment.

That is no excuse for your own failures.

God has a special promise for us – He takes us up.

·   Abraham’s dad wasn’t fit to go into the Promised Land

·   David’s dad didn’t believe he could be a king

·   Daniel’s dad was violently taken from him

Every one of these people found special favor and usefulness to the Lord.

God fills in the gap and takes the place that a faithful mother or father should have filled.

We have no reason to ever complain that God didn’t take care of us.

He promised to take us up.

We just have to accept it and enjoy it and grow up for God because of it.

Another class of special people are,

II. THE NEEDY AND THE POOR

Psalms 72:12 (KJV)

For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

I am thinking right now of the rich man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19-24 (KJV)

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,

And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

How old do you imagine the rich man and Lazarus might have been when they died?

Moses lived 120 years

Caleb was 80 years old and said he was still has strong as he had been 40 years earlier.

But it seems like life expectancy declined pretty quickly after that.

King David said that the average life expectancy in his day was threescore and ten, or seventy years, and once in a while a super healthy person might make eighty.[1]

In my mind’s eye I see the rich man as older, maybe even much older than Lazarus.

·   Perhaps the rich man lived to be eighty years

·   Lazarus, because of poor nutrition and illness maybe lived thirty

It would not be difficult to envy the rich man and pity Lazarus, would it?

·   One has a long, prosperous life with comfort

·   The other is short, sickly life

I’ve even heard preachers say that Lazarus must not have been a very spiritual man because he was a beggar and God’s seed is not supposed to beg bread.[2]

But I ask you to reconsider.

Which one did God give His special treatment?

·   Lazarus was carried by the angels

·   Lazarus was taken into Abraham’s bosom

·   Lazarus was comforted

The rich man was mercilessly translated to hell where he has still today:

·   No comfort

·   No ease of suffering forever and

·   No hope of help

A third group who are special in God’s eyes are

III. THE AFFLICTED

2 Samuel 22:28 (KJV)

And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

We probably don’t think of King David as an afflicted person.

·   He was a great king of a great nation and

·   He is greatly respected by both Jews and Christians today

But he was an afflicted person.

David had not set out to be king. He was happily tending his father’s sheep when Samuel anointed him to replace King Saul.

He had slain Goliath but that was out of devotion to God and not an attempt to steal the kingdom away from Saul.

And yet King Saul got jealous of him and hunted him like a dog for nearly 10 years.

Even after Saul died in battle against the Philistines, David had enemies among the followers of Saul.

And yet after all of that David wrote the song recorded in 2 Samuel 22 and repeated in Psalm 18 and he says to God, “…the afflicted people thou wilt save...”

God has a special love for the afflicted.

Finally, God has a special love for,

IV. THE WIDOW

Proverbs 15:25 (KJV)

The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

(I think this means he will protect her house.)

A. God commanded the widow of Zaraphath to sustain Elijah, and in so doing was sustained

1 Kings 17:9-16 (KJV)

Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

B. God provided for the prophet’s widow with just one vessel of oil

2 Kings 4:1-7 (KJV)

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

C. God blessed a widow named Anna with the chance to see the child Jesus

Luke 2:36-38 (KJV)

And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Conclusion

The point of my message tonight is that:

·   We ought not feel sorry for ourselves

·   We ought not to look makes excuses for ourselves and

·   We ought not to shrink from serving the Lord

Just because we view ourselves as one of these hurting Christians.

Truth be told, those of us who are:

·   Afflicted, or

·   Fatherless or

·   Needy or

·   Widowed  

Those are the saints God specifically promises to bless.

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[1] Psalms 90:10 (KJV)

The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

[2] Psalms 37:25 (KJV)

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (I do not condemn the preacher. The point he was attempting might have been valid and we are all but men.)