Deut 24:19, "When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 
	This chapter of our reading is filled with the heart of God toward His people in many and sundry ways. He is setting forth those elements of the treatment of one another in the manner that will honor the Lord and protect and provide for the fellow members of the community. It is the detailed way in which the Lord was making provision to meet the needs and the safe keeping of those who were the oppressed and neglected among the nation of His choosing. We would do very well to consider that what He commanded of His people in terms of the social treatment of those in need are principles that still should hold true in our hearts and our actions toward one another. 
The Lord has never changed in His care of those who are in need. That is why He sent His Only Begotten Son for you and for me who were in desperate need of salvation. He has always been working for the good of those who were the sick and the poor and the rejected of society because they are the ones who would respond from their position of poverty to the grace and the mercy of His riches in Christ Jesus. Where the learned and the rich feel that false sense of self-righteousness and self-aggrandizement, the poor and the ill and the desperate fully know their need for someone who will save them from their dire straits and social stigma.      
	We see this throughout the scriptures in passages such as Isa 61:1-3. Please open to it to understand how the Lord sets His heart upon those in need. In reading it, also note that it all works to the purpose of the Lord’s glory as those who are so utterly lost and desperate find their every need met in Him.
Isa 61:1-3, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 
Then consider what the Prophet Ezekiel triumphantly proclaimed in Ezek 34:14-16. Ezek 34:14-16, "I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in good grazing ground, and they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. "I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord God. "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. 
    	In this passage is both the care given to those who are lost and in need and the judgment meted out to those who feel that everything is OK. It is upon those who grow fat and rich and strong by oppressing the weak and the helpless and the widows and the orphans who will find that on that great day of reckoning, their worldly power and fame and fortune will avail them nothing before the throne of the Almighty. What man gains by the abuse of the weak and the poor will actually testify against him on that Day of Judgment. 
	Rather, the heart of God is to seek to bless those who are impoverished and helpless. This is the Lord God Almighty Who sent forth His own Son to deal with the strife of those who are lost and sick and frantic for any help. He meets the hopeless in their earthly and spiritual condition of poverty and fills them with His super-abundant joy. 
This seeking after meeting the needs of the impoverished is recounted for us by Christ, Himself, in Mark 2:17. Mark 2:17, And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." 
And listen to Him succinctly once more in Luke 19:10. Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." 
Since this is the very heart of God and since He is the One Who has made it so very evident, let us spend the remainder of this morning looking at His Word to us with respect to how we should be dealing with all those in physical as well as spiritual poverty. It is true of us in our family situations, in our business practices, in our relationships at work, at school, and at play. We need to have open hearts everywhere and anywhere that the Lord impresses us to be of service unto those in need. 
Our care for the less fortunate may not be in terms of money. It could be words of encouragement, standing with those who are mourning or grief-stricken, holding them in our arms as well as our hearts. It could be a gentle gesture of spoken understanding or a supply of food or clothing. It might be as simple as assuring someone that we will stand with them in prayer and then absolutely doing so. We open our hearts unto their plight in whatever means the Lord may use us to ease their burden and their strife. Oft times it means taking them before the Lord in our prayers of intercession because they are at a point of inability to do so for themselves. 
We find this laid out for us to have that heart for those in need as in Deut 15:7-11. Please read along with me. As we do so, note the manner in which we are to give regard to those in dire circumstances. And as well notice how the Lord will respond to our heart of generosity unto those in need.
Deut 15:7-11, "If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. Beware, lest there is a base thought in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,' and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you. You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.' 
	Next, we need to consider how Job felt about the way he treated those in need. Here was a man who had suffered the loss of almost everything of this world, and yet he placed the needs of others above even that little that was left to him. We find this in his words recounted in Job 31:16-22.
	Job 31:16-22, "If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her), If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering, If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep, If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate, Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow. Despite all that he was going through, there was still that care and concern for those who had even less than himself in the days of his affliction.
	Next, we turn to the Psalmist in the declaration of that which is the manifested goodness of the Lord to those who so honor Him and His heart of compassion for those in dire straits. We do so by caring for those in want and lack of food and shelter and clothing and any of the other basic necessities of life. That could be in trouble from without or in dealing with the addictions from within. It is the matter of being a help and an encouragement to those who are powerless and feeble and incapable to face life by themselves. We willingly reach out to anyone who needs the greatest gift of God, eternal, spiritual life which is only found in Jesus Christ. This everlasting life is freely given to any who will accept that so great gift of God’s salvation through the death and resurrection of His Only Begotten Son. 
	We start with Ps 41:1-3, if you would please turn to it. In this passage, we have the blessing of the Lord pronounced upon those who so selflessly care for others. 
Ps 41:1-3, How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble. The Lord will protect him, and keep him alive, And he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, Thou dost restore him to health. 
	There is a reward for those who are so considerate and giving and caring for anyone in need. As we are told in Ps 112, the Lord’s consideration of such a one brings forth much more than what is given. 
	Ps 112, Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. For he will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever. He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is upheld, he will not fear, Until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries. He has given freely to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor. The wicked will see it and be vexed; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked will perish.
	This whole essence of the Lord’s blessing upon the one whose heart is open to those in dire circumstances and dilemmas is further specified in several of the Proverbs. Take for example, Prov 11:23-25. 
Prov 11:23-25, The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. 
	Prov 19:17 is especially enlightening as it is the promise that when we give as unto the Lord in our treatment of others, the Lord will take it very personally. He will be the One Who repays that which was offered to the poor. We do not expect the recompense from man, but we are promised it fully from the abundant Heavenly treasury of the Lord. Prov 19:17, He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, And He will repay him for his good deed. 
 We now turn again to the Prophet Isaiah, in Isa 58:6-11, where we find the details given as to what the Lord expects and will so generously lavish upon those who follow through on the gracious bestowment of that which is given freely by the Lord. It is so very much more than just the giving of gold and silver. It is the relationship that we have with the Lord. This is what is reflected in the manner in which we deal with others and with which the Lord will be fully honored in our lives and hearts. 
Isa 58:6-11, "Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? "Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. "And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 
    	In Luke 6:27-38, Our Lord Jesus, once again details how we are to treat those unto whom the Holy Spirit brings us as the course of honoring God and man. Please open to it. This goes so much further than just merely handing out token emblems of our supposed hearts of generosity.
	Luke 6:27-38, "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. "And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way. "And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. "And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount. "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." 
	Next, the Apostle Paul, in 2 Cor 9:6-11, weighs in with the measurement of how the Lord repays that which is freely given. This is in comparison with that which is meagerly and begrudgingly handed down with condemnation and obligation in our hearts. 
2 Cor 9:6-11, Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, "He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness abides forever." Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 
    	We close with the Apostle John’s explanation of the difference that Christ is in the hearts of true believers and their dealings with others. This is recounted in 1 John 3:16-24.
	1 John 3:16-24, We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 
This is the measure of how much the Word of God really means to us. We can find so many excuses for hoarding unto ourselves the treasures of this age. However, when we value the Word of God, when it matters that we are pleasing to the Lord in the utterness of the manner in which we live our lives before both God and man, then we will be characterized by this same heart of the Lord. We will see as He sees the needs of people and we will give as He so freely gives to us to meet those needs in love and compassion and obedient reverence unto God. So be it!
"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Amen.
This morning’s benediction is Matt 7:7+8. "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Amen.