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The American Family Association, in their January/February 2019 publication, published findings from a recent survey of 3,000 American Christians. Sixty percent agreed with the following statement: “Religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth.” How did these self-identified Christians come to such a conclusion? Did they arrive at that conclusion as a result of diligent search in their trusty Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible? Did they come to this conclusion due to the errors they discovered in God’s Word? Is Jesus no longer “…the Way, the Truth, and the Life?” Is Psalm 19:9 no longer true:
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
The answer to all of the above is NO!
This is GodSaidManSaid feature 932 that will, for the 932nd time, certify the absolute inerrancy of God’s truth found between the covers of His beautiful Book. We have published findings of third party experts in the fields of ancient history, archaeology, paleontology, anthropology, microbiology, medicine, geology, societal records, and simply plain human reasoning—and the conclusions are all YES to the Word of God and every single jot, every single tittle—miracles and all.
The accounts of creation and the fall of man, the Bible’s history, chronology, geography, the supernatural origin and perfectness of its commandments and precepts, all the marvelous miracles, the over 300 Old Testament prophecies of Christ, of His coming, His ministry, His crucifixion and resurrection—all fully certified beyond any reasonable doubt.
God’s Word is the unchanging truth; it is not opinion: Opinion is what you have when you don’t have truth. Truth stands alone and is not swayed or changed by the decaying unbelief and mores of the day. Man’s truth, on the other hand, is in a constant state of flux. Man’s truth of yesterday is debunked by his truth of today and his truth of today will be debunked by his truth of tomorrow. Why is this? It’s simple: Man’s “truth” is not truth. Truth is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Do you know this Truth?
In John 3:3, Jesus Christ, who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” tells Nicodemus how to get to heaven:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Have you been born again? Are you ready to shed your doubts and uncertainty for the solid, perfect, and never-changing truth? Are you ready to be sure? Today, in one simple step, you can begin your journey into eternal life. Today, all your sin, shame, and bondages can be washed away. Today, you can be born again—literally born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God. Today, you are in the valley of decision. Choose Christ, live life more abundantly, and even forever. Follow this simple prompt: Are you ready? Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Acts 20:35:
I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
GOD SAID, Psalm 41:1:
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
GOD SAID, II Corinthians 4:18:
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
GOD SAID, Matthew 25:34-40:
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
MAN SAID: These dumbbell Christian do-gooders live in a delusion! I’m going to take care of number one—ME!
Now THE RECORD: Friends of GodSaidManSaid have often been exposed to what is known here as the 180° Principle. A circle has 360°; at 180°, one is at exact opposites. This principle prevails and is obvious when you consider the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of the Devil. Some examples would include:
◑ God is love; Satan is hate.
◑ God is faith; Satan is unbelief.
◑ God is peace; Satan is turmoil.
◑ God is security; Satan is danger.
◑ God is life; Satan is death.
These are all the same kind of measure, but at the opposite ends of the yardstick.
The 180° Principle also is strongly demonstrated in various circumstances, and especially in the life of Jesus Christ:
🌟 Jesus Christ was deemed so unimportant, He was born in a manger. Yet, He had His own star and was announced to the shepherds in the field by the angel of the Lord. Luke 2:13-14 reads:
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
✟ On the Cross, the world saw a pitiful sight: There hung a young, single, Jewish man between two thieves. He was on display as a naked pauper, beaten and spat upon, His whiskers ripped from his face, ridiculed and taunted, a crown of thorns upon His head, and spikes in His hands and His feet. The world thought that this man was suffering from delusions of grandeur and saw and abject failure. But what actually happened couldn’t have been a greater display of 180° out. The world saw failure but Satan, the god of this earth, saw something entirely different. Satan saw his legal challenge, made in Job 1 and 2 totally shattered without any hope of an appeal. Because of the Cross, Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven, down to the earth (Revelation 12). Satan’s kingdom on earth was spoiled and all power and authority was given to the conquering Christ. Satan’s stranglehold on the sons of Adam was broken to all those who believe upon the Christ of Calvary. Even death itself—Satan’s ultimate terror—was swallowed up in victory. That is a sampling of what Satan saw.
♔Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns. Pontius Pilate hung a mocking plaque upon Christ’s Cross that read, “the King of the Jews.” The world saw a pauper and an impotent king crowned with thorns. Consider this 180: If someone owned that crown of thorns today, it would be worth more than the aggregate value of all of the crowns of all of the world’s kings since the beginning of time—and rightfully so, for Jesus Christ is the King of kings.
📖 Approximately 800 years before Christ’s virgin birth, this prophecy was penned in Isaiah 7:14:
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This passage in Matthew 1:23 speaks of the virgin-born Christ:
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
For the most part, the Jewish leaders of the day (and of today) refused to acknowledge that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin because if He was, they instigated the crucifixion of their Messiah. These leaders deemed (and hold this opinion still today) Jesus Christ a fatherless child, otherwise known as a bastard. One historian noted that around the time of Christ, Jesus was blasphemously called “Mary’s bastard.” Here is an absolutely staggering 180: “Mary’s bastard” was actually the one and only, virgin-born, only begotten Son of God, the one by whom God created all things visible and invisible on earth and in heaven, and the champion of eternal life for all that believe upon His name—surely not a fatherless child. He presently sits on the right hand of His Father.
Today’s feature is 180° all the way. Can you imagine that God is the master of business? The first commandment He gives to man is recorded in Genesis 1:28:
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Luke 12:42-48:
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
47 And that servant, which knew his lord''s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
God is the God of business and, as you should expect, it is the business of the 180.
You’ll often hear in the business world the term R.O.I. The acronym R.O.I. stands for Return on Investment. If a farmer purchases a bag of corn seed, he hopes for a healthy ROI. He also purchases and prepares the field, the needed equipment, builds a barn and corn cribs, and inputs his understanding and the physical labor. Maybe the farmer hopes for 1,000 bags for the one bag of seed he planted. The return on investment is measured by adding up the total costs to create the 1,000 bags, then subtracting all costs from the value of the 1,000 bags of corn. The difference is the ROI.
In God’s business model, the ROI has much longer legs than in a typical ROI measurement. It not only delivers during this short vapour called life, but bears fruit for all eternity. The 180 is clearly on display in Acts 20:35:
I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist a short time after he had baptized Jesus in the River Jordan where John had pronounced that Jesus Christ was the long-awaited Messiah. However, now imprisoned, John had begun to question that pronouncement. Matthew 11:2-6:
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Jesus describes to John from what endeavors a Godly ROI would be derived.
God is the master of business and His anointed speaks of His commission in Luke 4:18-19:
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
God’s 180° Principle plays out first on the real platform, which is the spiritual one, then displays itself in this temporal vapour we call life. Surely, there is a measurable result: first in the real then in the vapour and it will become quite clear in Job’s secret. The secret of Job was revealed by Job in Job 29:2-13:
2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;
3 When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;
5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;
6 When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;
7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!
8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
9 The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow''s heart to sing for joy.
“When the secret of God was upon my tabernacle.” What was that secret and how did it work? The business world revolves around a certain discipline known as demography, which is a branch of anthropology dealing with the lifestyles of populations as demonstrated by various statistics as deaths, births, diseases, ethnicity, incomes, and more. An example of the use of demographics could be the case of a jeweler desiring to sell expensive, high-end jewelry. The prime demographic for this jeweler would be 25-70-year-old women with household incomes of $100,000-plus. The jeweler could purchase a mailing list as defined by the criteria just laid out and could mail an offer to that defined audience; he would expect a good return on investment for his advertising investment.
God is the master of business and His business in particular is the reconciliation of the lost sons of Adam. This is declared solidly in John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God is the master of business and He defines the best areas for optimum ROI and to those demographics we are specifically sent. Job reveals why the secret of God was upon his tent, his home, his tabernacle in Job 29:12-13:
12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow''s heart to sing for joy.
Keep in mind the 180. Give $10 to a rich man and he will be nonplussed, but give $10 to a poor and hungry man and his young son, and they will go to McDonald’s and eat a king’s feast. The poor man and his son will bless the giver from their destitute hearts. The poor man really is the one who has the blessing to give.
The poor man and seldom the rich man has the blessing of God to give.
✟ Psalm 41:1:
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
✟ Psalm 69:33:
For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
✟ Psalm 72:12:
For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
Blessing the poor is part of God’s super weapon against Satan’s bondages and this weapon is called fasting. Note Isaiah 58:6-8:
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
God knows where the best return on investment is hidden. How marvelous is Proverbs 19:17:
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Imagine when out of a heart of compassion, one gives to the poor, he is actually lending to God. What an awesome concept, that God could be indebted to you or me, and He will repay.
For 15 years, I was privileged to labor for Christ in a prison ministry. The ROI was serious. In prison, the souls of men and women are in Job’s secret place—“ready to perish”—and at this place, they are very responsive to the ministry of reconciliation; they truly have a blessing to give.
Concerning money and tithing unto the ministries of God—which means giving a tenth—Malachi 3:8-10 reads:
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Often, the tithe does not demonstrate an immediate return, but it will. Keep in mind, a grateful heart does not give to get, but gives because one has already received.
One last verse is James 1:27:
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
God is the God of business and the God of demography, and of the ROI. He sends His children to labor in the fields of orphans and widows, of sick and imprisoned, to the broken-hearted, to the hungry, and to the poor. These who appear to be the most unable to bless have the secret of God’s blessing to give. Job said, “…when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle.”
Medical literature is festooned with information concerning the marvelous hidden benefits of giving to the poor and needy, once again certifying the glorious benefits of following God’s commandments. Just a few paragraphs from the GodSaidManSaid feature “Give and You Shall Receive” follow:
Here we go! New research reported by WebMD on November 15, 2002, verifies the fidelity of the Scriptures one more time. The following is a direct quote from the article:
It really is better to give than to receive. Helping others—but not getting help from others—lowers the risk of death for elderly people. The finding comes from a University of Michigan study. Researchers Stephanie L. Brown, Ph.D., and colleagues looked at 423 married couples in which the husband was at least 65 years old. Over the five-year study period, 134 of these people died. Those who said they gave no emotional or financial support to relatives, neighbors, or friends were twice as likely to die. “Making a contribution to the lives of other people may help to extend our own lives,” Brown says in a news release.
Proverbs 10:16 reads:
The labour of the righteous tendeth to life:...
Again from the article:
About three out of four people in the study said they gave at least some help to others without pay. These people tended to live longer. But getting help from others didn’t help people live longer.[End of quote]
Truly, “it is more blessed to give than receive.” (Acts 25:30)
Finally, the article reports:The study suggests that care for elderly people should shift from making them feel supported to supporting them in helping others. The findings are scheduled for publication in the journal Psychological Science. [End of quotes]
The secret of God is discovered in the 180 and God’s ROI has extremely long legs. Those who have the blessing to give appear to be the most unlikely candidates.
GOD SAID, Acts 20:35:
I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
GOD SAID, Psalm 41:1:
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
GOD SAID, II Corinthians 4:18:
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
GOD SAID, Matthew 25:34-40:
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
MAN SAID: These dumbbell Christian do-gooders live in a delusion! I’m going to take care of number one—ME!
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
Authorized King James Version
GodSaidManSaid, “Give and You Shall Receive”
