230922-A Nail Firmly Fastened

Ecclesiastes, chapter 12. Not everybody could define Ecclesiastes. It's not one of those commonly read books, but there is such wisdom in it. And I feel that there today, and it should be an interesting discussion, an interesting study. So we'll launch into it. Good evening, sir. Good evening, everyone. Hey, Brother Emanuel, you're here and your network seems clear. Bless the Lord. Amen. Let's take it to the Father in prayer. Almighty God, we praise you for this night. And Lord, for the way that you watch over us, you keep us, you teach us, you train us. Lord, you protect us, you discipline us. Father, let your word be active and effective as a two-edged sword in our life tonight. The encouragement we need, the discipline we need. Oh, God, the instruction and wisdom which we lack. Oh, God, let it come by the Spirit of the Lord as we share one with another tonight. Let iron sharpen iron, we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. Ecclesiastes, the 12th chapter, and reading please from the 11th verse. The words, Ecclesiastes 11, the words of the wise are as God, and as nails hastened by the masters of assembly, which are given from wise shepherds. And father, by thee, my son, be admonished. Of making many books, there is no end. And much study is a willingness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandment. For this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every word into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. So in the early years, while in Nigeria, I remember this statement being so strong. Ensure your sins find you out. It was a commonly preached message that I don't know if it's preached anymore. But I hear that in the final verse. So let's look at verse 11 and just take a look at some of the words in this verse. You know, the Book of Ecclesiastes, first of all, is written by many, many, many people. Did you know that? So it's actually not written only by Solomon, but it's written by many people, and it's a compilation or a gathering together of wise sayings and wisdom. And so he even actually says this in this 12th chapter. He says, verse 9, In addition to being a wise man, the preacher, who is Solomon, also taught the people knowledge, and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. The preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. And then we have this verse. So what we understand is the Book of Proverbs and this Book of Ecclesiastes, they're different. The Book of Proverbs is more a gathering of proverbs, but this Book of Ecclesiastes is like, wow, almost like a white paper, a study of life and the purpose and the meaning and what's important. Poor guy, he really went through a lot as you look through this book. He tried all manner of things to find meaning and find what was important. And he sums it up, and I think we'll get to that. So, verse 11, Words of wise men are like goads. So, Pastor Xavier, what is a goad? I think you use them in Nigerian Uganda. That vocabulary is a little bit different for me. I don't know exactly. Good. Yeah, so I was wondering if everybody knew the meaning. So what do you do to a cow when you want them to move and they're not behaving correctly? What will the keeper have in their hands often? We call it a staff. A staff. Some also have with a string on it, like a whip. And so not to do damage, but to And so the goad is either a pointed stick or this small whip. So the words of a wise man are like, you know you should be moving, but you're hesitating. And so the words of the wise man are like, Xavier, how come you haven't done this yet? You know, the words of a wise man are like a goad. Another place in the Word of God where you remember hearing this word goad. What is it, Xavier? It's when the Lord was talking to Saul. And what did he say? He said, hey, well, let me just put the word for word. All right, you'll look it up. Is it for you? It's the keeping of the goads. The keeping of the goads. So when Jesus appeared to Saul, who became Paul, one of the words Jesus used was this word goad. Of course, it would be in the Hebrew language. Translated into Greek, it would be different. However, the word is the same, a small stick with a sharpened end to cause you to wake up and to move in the right direction. So now we know what a goad is. And how on earth can the words of a wise man behave like a goad in your life? I'm supposing, Xavier, you have a few examples, even in your own life, where it was somewhat of an awakening moment, causing it to move in the right direction. You know, our flesh loves to remain motionless. Do you have an example on mind? I'm trying to pick one out of many, because I have many, many, many, many examples. Me too. I think we've all experienced all the fellows who have a wife who is godly. Hallelujah. Okay. And the masters of these collections. It's a strange word, but the masters of these collections. You know, in that day, one of the purposes they had was to gather wisdom. And they would collect wise things, and they would compile them, hire a scribe, and compile them into scrolls and books. And one of the works which King Solomon did was to, let's say, hire scribes, so that when all of these things were gathered, he had wise men coming from afar, and they would come and they would share. So I believe this is the meaning of this, where it says, the masters of these collections. The collections are these, the collections of wise things, and they are like well-driven names. So some of the versions read, securely fastened. All I would say about it is I believe that the truth of the word of God is a place that we can anchor our soul to. In the book of Hebrews, he says that this hope that we have is anchored within the veil, in the very presence of God. So these truths can anchor our souls. They can keep us in a time when we don't know what to do. And God's word can direct us. These truths can speak to us and bring us into truth and understanding. So this verse 11, there's already three things that we've come across. The words of wise men are like goats, and the masters of these collections of wise words are like well-driven, secure nails, and they are given by one shepherd. So we know who is a source of wisdom when we read the book of Proverbs. It's very simple. Wisdom is the spirit of God. The spirit of God is the beginning of wisdom. And wisdom cries in the streets. She says, come and I will teach you knowledge and understanding. When I open your ears and hear. So there's some knowledge and some interesting things here. Let's turn then and look at a little bit in this book of Ecclesiastes. Are you ready for an adventure with me? Chapter 11. Let's just go there. Chapter 11. Chapter 11 in the book? Yeah, read the first three verses, if you favor. Ecclesiastes chapter 11? Yes, correct. Okay, sir. Caste thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven and also to eight, for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth. And if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. So here we have some interesting, almost mysterious words in a way. And I'm hoping that different ones would be interested in looking at this and attempting, as I've done, to attempt to understand the poetry language where I say they're painting pictures with words. But I'm not always sure what picture they saw because I'm not in their time and in their culture. So often it takes some learning to be able to understand some of these things. And so I rely on some Jewish history. I rely on some commentaries that say, help me. I rely on the Holy Spirit saying, God, please teach me. Even from this book, Ecclesiastes, I've sometimes avoided this. Lord, I want to receive wisdom because I need those firmly fastened nails in my life. I need principles of your kingdom that will guide me. Amen? What principles of God's kingdom did this wisest man who ever lived, what did he find? And how did he present it? All right. Let's begin with the first one. Cast your bread upon the waters, and after many days you will find it. And we've heard it preached probably. Anyone, you've heard it? And what have you heard this to mean? Maybe you try, Faber. What principle is this? I think it's the principle of faith. It's the principle of faith and trust the Lord, yes. So, Faber, have you ever thrown bread onto water? In the physical sense of it? Yeah. I mean, because I've tried to see what this guy's painting. And, you know, I've never, other than when I was feeding the ducks. Yeah, I had thrown that bread. I've done that as a child. Maybe I was done with the bread. Or maybe, you know, just didn't want it anymore. I just threw it in the water. Some of the times, maybe I'll just dip it in the water to eat. And then it won't look so nice anymore. So I just, it looks a bit messy. So I'll leave it there. So, you know, when you put it in the water, it just breaks it apart. And it looks a little bit messy. Because it gets, it absorbs a lot of water. So how then would that apply to this? And after many days you will find it. You wouldn't want to find it after many days. So what mysterious truth can this, the wisest man, tell us? He's summing up the true meaning of life. In these, he begins to answer. He said in Chapter 8, you know, it's not just good to always just seek wisdom, wisdom, wisdom. Because it becomes grievous to the soul. Then in Chapter 9, he says, well, it's not totally fruitful to just seek pleasure, pleasure, pleasure, pleasure. Because it just becomes disgusting after a while. You find that you can never, you get tired of the pleasures. So then he applied himself to diligence in Chapter, end of Chapter 9, all the way to Chapter 10. He says, life is not all about being totally diligent all the time. And being devoted and so exacting that you don't have any fun or you're not seeking any pleasure. You're just working hard, working hard. He says, what is the meaning of this meaningless life? And so now we come to Chapter 11. And he begins to give us these answers that I don't understand. Go ahead. It looks like some mysterious code, Reverend. I would like to hear you. I think we would love to hear this. Enough teasing you already, right? Hallelujah. Oh, bless the Lord. Father, we love you. We just thank you for your Word. God, break your Word open to us that we could just really understand what the preacher understood as he wrote this book and compiled these terms. Ecclesiastes 11. I've often understood one thing about this. Bread and seed, bread and grain, often are interchanged in the words they use. So there is a picture that this might be painting. I've watched the Native Americans, and I've heard that in the Middle East and Mediterranean, this area, that they would take a small, like a canoe, with seed in it. And they would go in the shallow parts of the river and the side parts along the mud and the muddy edges, and they would cast seed along all these places. And then they would sow their seed. And after some time, you know, the animals would come to drink water, and they would work that seed into the ground. And then it would begin to dry, and the seed would sprout. And the farmers would come back in some time. And after some time, the fruit would be born. So there's one beautiful picture. And what would be the meaning of that? Well, many talk about this entire chapter as being about giving alms. Others talk about this chapter as how you invest and use your money. And I really have found some meaning in this book, for me, in this chapter, for me personally, instructing me how to live my life regarding my skills, my finances, and my giving. And so let's dive in and see. Sowing of seed possibly means giving to others, which there's quite a few verses that I see that talk about Luke 6, 38 being generous when we're giving, sowing our seed. Nehemiah 8, verse 10. Maybe we can read that one. Nehemiah 8, verse 10. Mm-hmm. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy unto our Lord. May that be your story, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Amen. God began early on to teach these people to be generous, to teach them to give. Yes, sir. Teach them what to do with their seed. So this was a feast, right? And he said prepare portions for feasting, for enjoyment, but also remember to prepare portions for those who have nothing. And this is all throughout the Bible in so many, many places. I just find it fascinating to see that the Word of God is full of generosity and sowing your seed. For example, here's another very solid example in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 15. In fact, we studied this maybe six months ago in this class. But I think it's good for us to read Deuteronomy 15, verse 6 to 11. What to do with your seed. Deuteronomy 15, 6 through 11. For the Lord thy God blessed thee as he promised thee, and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow. And thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. 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 thy heart, nor shock thy heart from thy poor brother. But thou shalt open thy hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanted. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand, and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him naught. And he cry unto the Lord against thee, and he be straight unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him. Because that for these things the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto. For the Lord shall never cease out of the land, for the poor shall never cease out of the land. Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in thy land. So from the beginning, when the Lord was laying down the principles of the kingdom that were in the land of Israel, he said, if you have a poor man come to you, and you go ahead and take him as a servant, but you know the seventh year is coming, and you have to release him. And you have to pay him, which they would have to do. They'd have to pay him for the whole seven years, whether he worked seven or not. It's quite an interesting arrangement. And so they would say, no, no, I can't do this. I'm not going to help this man because the seventh year is coming. He was teaching them, I am blessing you so much that you can be a blessing. You hold back because you feel like, and you have experienced like, you have not enough. But from the beginning, God spoke to these people that did not have enough and said, you are a blessed people. I have blessed you, and I have called you, and I'm going to teach you how to be a blessing. And as you are a blessing, I'm going to bless you. So I would say, if we go back to Ecclesiastes 11th chapter, that casting your bread upon the waters could very well mean helping those who are in need. Because, like Faber said, when you put bread into the water, it's not going to come back to you. It's gone. And so when we give not expecting and not demanding or requiring in return, this is the principle of God's kingdom. It's held up in so many places in the word of God. Even Jesus said that, don't let your eye be evil towards the needs of those others. Meaning, an evil eye, we even read in Deuteronomy, lest your eye become evil. It's a term in another picture of closing your heart. Don't let yourself see. I can't see anything. I can't see anything. It's closing your eyes and closing your heart so that you can't see with a spirit of generosity. And you don't realize that you are blessed and will be blessed as you cast your bread on the surface of the waters. And you will find it after many days. So that's my suggestion of the meaning of this. And there are many scriptures that probably would back it up. I don't think we want to go into all of them tonight. Let's take the second verse. If there are any questions or challenges to this, I'm very happy to hear it. Verse number two. Brother Faber, Ecclesiastes 11. Let's look at verse two. The first four or five verses follow the same theme. Ecclesiastes 11, verse two now. Give a portion to seven and also to eight. For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth. And if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. I think that one is divide or give your portion. What does it mean, your portion? That which belongs to you. Isaiah 58 says that we'll be blessed. If we give out of our own selves to help the needy. Give out of your own breath. And so this is what he's talking about. Divide your portion to seven or eight. For you don't know what kind of misfortune is coming upon the earth. Jesus said the wise one took money. He found out he owed all of this money. He took what he had and he was generous with many people. And he made deals with many people. So that after he got fired, many people would be happy with him. And they would still have a good relationship with him. He wouldn't have lost everything. And Jesus said wiser are the children of mammon than those of the kingdom. And I believe God would have us understand that there's wisdom for natural things. I began to minister from Proverbs 8, verse 12, which says, I wisdom, thou with prudence. And I have witty inventions. The wisdom of God is both spiritual and natural. God doesn't limit or God does not divide. His wisdom is poured out in every area financially and spiritually. Relationships. God pours out his wisdom in every area of our lives. And so here he's sharing this principle of dividing and giving out. And he said after many days, God knows how to bless. God knows how to increase that which has been given if we've given it unto him. You know, favor another message back in the day that was really strong. When Agnes would come, she'd minister on Isaiah chapter 58, and how that God would use the people to bless the needy, bless the poor. And she was told in no uncertain terms that the Nigerians never give. No, no, no. This is not going to work. This is not going to work in Nigeria. It will not work here. And that was told to her almost bitterly on several occasions. However, the porch of the small cottage where that they were staying, was never empty with things that had been given. People would just bring, you know, part of a bag of rice or lentils or animals would show up. And it was to the degree that they had to say, they had no lack and they had to give to others. So they had to employ the help of people to make sure that those provisions would go to the needs of other people. That's a true story that we experienced. And I remember the offerings, the joyful offerings that Brother Peter would have. My goodness, they would sing and worship and come bring the offering at the front. And the offering, the altar would be covered with chickens, partial bags of rice, a little cassava, a goat or two. It would all be brought unto the Lord in generosity. And I know your country has suffered corruption. But I believe one of the enemies of corruption is generosity and kindness and wisdom. I just believe there's another, an opposite spirit to corruption. And that is the spirit of generosity. Corruption comes from selfishness, from thinking of no one but yourself, not realizing the consequences. If you don't realize the consequences of one person being corrupt, which leads to two other people being corrupt. And then because you can't make ends meet, all the policemen have to be corrupt because they have to eat. And on and on it goes. And so now all the people have been stolen from. And so they take from their neighbors. And if they get a chance to cheat somebody, they do. And it becomes systemic throughout the whole system. And we are agents of the kingdom of God as we begin to sow our bread upon the waters. We begin to give to seven or eight. And we begin to be like clouds that just pour out upon the earth. And we don't mind whether the tree falls to the north or it falls to the south. We are those who are going to be generous. We're going to give. We're going to serve. We're going to help. You know, sometimes we don't have food to give. But we can give time. We can give prayer. We can give attention. We can give our love. We can pour out what we have. And a portion, and a portion of our food can be given. Hallelujah. Jesus said, weep with those who weep. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Visit those in the hospitals and the prisons. This is all sowing your bread. Because spiritually, there can be an atmosphere of transformation when the people of God begin to let their light shine. Begin to sow out and not to be victims, but be generous givers. Even from the beginning in Deuteronomy 15, God said, I've already blessed you. Don't you know you're a blessed nation? I want you to not hope if you see somebody in need, because I will bless you above. You see, the way we work is, oh, I don't think I have enough. We might not have much. I fully understand that. But when we operate in principles of God's kingdom, one of the principles that I operate in is that God blesses. Watch this. Many people teach about God's blessing, but this is something I tell them here. God blesses the works of my hand. You search it out yourself in the scriptures. You'd be amazed how many times both the positive and the negative, where God refused to bless the works of their hands because they refused to acknowledge God. And the places where Isaac who sowed in a famine and reaped a hundredfold because he obeyed God and didn't go to Egypt. How is God able to prosper in famine? But he can. I think it's the book of Obadiah, how they worked so hard and gathered it into the barns and then God breathed on it. Just breathed on it. And it became not. Became nothing. Dear ones, we can change the atmosphere of this place by operating in the principles of God. By refusing to operate in the principles of this world. Verse four. Let me read verse four. Yeah, please do. He that observes the wind shall not sow, and he that regards the clouds shall not reap. And also, Xavier, read verse six as well while you're reading. In the morning sow your seed, in the evening withhold not your hand. For you know not whether shall prosper either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. One of the principles of the first three verses is many times when we're sowing, we don't see the results right away. The sowing and the casting of your seed upon the waters and then bearing the harvest after many days. This whole principle of taking and dividing your portion to others. This whole principle takes a patience and says to us, you know, often you don't see the reaping of your sowing right away. And it may take some time, but be patient. For the Lord of the harvest will cause it to reap. Now this one in verse four begins to talk about some people that are just really too careful. Too careful about when they sow. We can be just too careful. No, I don't think I should give to that person because I think they're just going to take advantage of me. No, we can't give to that person. They've just wasted their life and they don't deserve what I have to give. Maybe I'm giving my pearls before the swine. No, I don't have enough to sow. No, we're not going to sow now because it doesn't seem like it's a good time. And he's saying, if you watch the wind, you will never sow. Sow when it's windy. Sow when it's not. Sow when it's raining. And sow when it's drought. Sow. Just sow. Just keep on keeping on sowing in faith, knowing that you're sowing in obedience and unto the Lord. Everything I do, I do unto the Lord. If I do it unto the Lord, I know it will reap a harvest by faith. Amen. Oh, bless the Lord. Sow your seed in the morning. Sow your seed at night. Don't be idle. Just keep on sowing. Keep on operating in those principles of God's kingdom and you will see a harvest. Hallelujah. The sowing and the reaping. You know, many I've heard say, give it to my ministry and then you will reap. I think that can be true. I think that could come true. But the sowing that I see in the Word of God is more to the needs of others. I'm just telling you how I see it. The more is just give. Just work. Just apply your skills and your talents. If your skills and talents are seed, don't hold back because, oh, it's not a good time. Just take all the gifts and all of the talents that God has given you and begin to give and serve and work with wisdom and strength and not separating. Oh, I'm doing a natural thing. Oh, I'm doing a ministry thing. God is the one who's given you the skills, the talents, the abilities to give. So I would call your skills, talents, abilities, things, and even your finances and your provisions, that's all seed. Whatever you do, do it all your heart and listen to the Lord. Don't be of those who hold back because of this and because of that. Oh, let you be of those who, hallelujah, who pour out and who give. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. Talk to me, Pastor Xavier. What do you see in what we're sharing tonight? I'm seeing that I'm still a student of this subject. Yeah, you see, this is a little bit delicate subject tonight. It is. And you see, even you did something which is quite unusual today. You sent the topic very early. And I tried to look for what to say. I couldn't see what to say. And I said, let me wait for myself to learn. However, when we get to sowing seeds, I know of scriptures which include sowing. In Genesis chapter 8, which as long as the earth remains, sowing and reaping shall never cease, much as day and night shall never cease. Then when we go to the book of Galatians, we find there a principle of sowing whereby in this moment of pain, the sowing which Paul is talking about is either in the spirit or in the flesh. So it depends on which principle you have chosen to follow with the type of sowing. Like you have just said, some teachers will come and say, you know, sow in this ministry and they even give you the amount of seeds to sow. They even give you the amount of harvest to sow. But as you have just said, that the real good way of sowing seed is sowing in the needs of other people, especially the needy. And one more thing I can say about this sowing is that as we see the normal sowing of the seed, for example, about two weeks ago, I sowed corn. It took almost seven days before I could see those seeds germinated. And because there was a little bit of sunshine for the first four days, when it rained after one week and like one day or a few days, the blood came. And to my surprise, most of the seeds had not germinated. So I had to go and replace them. Keep on sowing. Yes. Don't give up. Keep on sowing. In the same garden, I had sowed, let's say, for example, five kilograms, but I realized only three had germinated. So I had to go and substitute the two. Actually, one of the gardens, I went there previously and found almost half the garden did not germinate, but it was a small garden here near the village home. So when I went to my director's farm, I found there Irish potatoes. So he asked me, do you have some garden where you can sow this? And I was like, yes, I have a ready garden where I can sow Irish potatoes. I've been forced even to change my mind from maize to Irish. So this business of sowing, we need to continue to sow even morning, evening and night because you don't know whether these will germinate or they will not. And to my surprise, one of those gardens, it germinated almost 95 percent. But some gardens, they have just refused them to the extent of changing the type of seed. So I think also we need to sow different types of seeds and we sow at different times. But we need to accept that the harvest is not overnight. We must wait for the seed to die or the seed to germinate or the seed to become a plant. And for the seed to bear fruit, then we can have the harvest. That's my comment for tonight. I will just talk about only sowing because the subject, Reverend, is very complicated. Yeah, it can be applied in so many ways. Yes. Did you know that in the Old Testament, when God set up the temple and even in the tabernacle, that in the temple itself, there was a storage area that the gifts should be gathered into the storehouse. So when we read in Malachi chapter 3, bring your gifts into the storehouse, there may be meat in my house. One of the purposes that God set up the temple, bringing the tithes, was so that those in need should be ministered to. And so when you study this word storehouse, you find out that from the beginning, God's plan that the people of God and the temple of God would be instrumental in making sure that the widows who were widows indeed, all through the Old Testament, from the beginning, God set it up. And then in the New Testament, Acts 19, when he said, these two things that I ask of you, that you make sure that you serve the needy, and that you abstain from things that have been offered, that you don't eat blood and things that have been offered to idols. There is only two things, and one of the things was making sure the needy were taken care of. So even in the New Testament, we find consistently that there's a principle of God's kingdom. We feel like, oh, I don't know if I will have it if I give. But that's a deception of the enemy. When we stand up and say, I am blessed, and God has blessed me, and I'm going to begin to sow, even if I don't see it coming back right away. He says, cast your bread on those waters, and in due time, they'll come back. Divide your portions, seven or eight, and they will come back to you. Don't hesitate or decide, well, this is not good ground, or this is given. It will be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, running over. Will men, other people, give into your bosom? That's the scripture, isn't it? So there is a principle of God's kingdom that if we miss it, then we misunderstand how to become blessed and our works of our hands to be blessed. Oh, bless the Lord. So I find also another interesting verse. I wanted to share tonight in Daniel. So if you would read Daniel chapter four, verse 26 to 28. Oh, bless the Lord. Yes, once again, Daniel 4, 26. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee. After that, thou shalt know, thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thy iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility. All this came upon the King Nebuchadnezzar. There was only this for one year, and then he fell to pride again. David, explain to me what's happening in this chapter. I think it's under your chair. He just had this dream, right? Are you familiar with this, sir? Yeah, he, this king prospered. And when he prospered, he became proud and thought he achieved this success because of himself. So, God brought him a dream, warning him that he was not in full control of everything, and promised him of imminent punishment. That after the end of the punishment, he will learn wisdom, and he will come to know that God in heaven is the one who rules in the affairs of men. So, this is when he commanded, you know, someone to bring the interpretation of the dream. And then they brought the interpretation of the dream. Unfortunately, this guy did not change, and finally the dream came upon him. So, what was the advice that Delta Scherzer, or Daniel, had given him in verse 27? Yes, in verse 27, Daniel gave him an advice of repentance, that he should break off his sins by doing righteousness, and his iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Oh, the poor have come back again here. He had given him counsel to do repentance, and then giving to the poor. That's interesting, right? Yes, sure. I found that, when I found that, I was reading through the book of Daniel, and I undermined it because I'd never seen it before. And I said, wow, this is amazing. That this king could avoid pride, and all of the sinfulness coming from pride and thinking he is God, by humbling himself, repenting from his sins, and beginning to love other people in need. And God said I would, no, Daniel advised me, put off your punishment for a time. And it did only for a time, and only because, 12 months later, walking on the roof of the royal palace, one of the 10 wonders, ancient wonders of the world, and he marveled at how amazing he was. Rather than giving glory to God. Pride is a deceitful thing. Yeah, sure. And we fail to give glory to God. And we think that we are above others who are in need, and we have earned what we have, and we should keep it for ourselves. It's really a selfishness and pride. What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? What was the sin, or sins, of Sodom and Gomorrah? Sodom and Gomorrah, their sin was, I think, does the Bible call it homosexuality? I wanted to say sodomy. Sodomy, uh-huh. I think it was homosexuality. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 16. And Ezekiel, and I know that you're correct, that that is one of the observable sins, that, yeah, I think just verse 49 is sufficient. Oh, behold, Ezekiel 16, 49. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom. Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters. Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy. Oh, my God. Isn't that amazing? Quite amazing. Oh. So then verse 50 gets into the abominations. But that wasn't, that was the fruit of the wrong heart, okay? So then it gets into, and they were haughty and committed abomination before me. Therefore, I took them away. I took them away. So I think those sins that you could see are the ones you mentioned of sodomy. Definitely. Abominations. The haughtiness, haughtiness often goes with that sin. Definitely. You see, it's just the haughtiness and very proud spirit. In fact, they have pride marches. Haughty marches. They call it themselves pride. And they are correct. It's pride, pride and abomination to the Lord. Anyway, but this was the iniquity. Pride, fullness of bread means they didn't have to work. They just had too much. And they had too much time. And it produced neither did she. Care for or strengthen the hand of the needy. And I like how that term is there because often, the most thing you can do with someone who is needy is to help them to strengthen them just enough so that they can sow their own corn and they can reap their own harvest. Often, they just need a strengthening of their hand. I know of a minister that would co-sign for leased land, small pieces, just enough for a personal garden for some of these widows. And a portion of the sales of the harvest would go to the lease. But they had no money to pay the lease in advance. So this minister would co-sign, meaning if they fall to pay you at the end, I will pay you. So I took the risk. And they were faithful and appreciative. So many little things like this. Sometimes all they need is to help to get a little medicine to strengthen their hands. It's quite amazing when you begin to see the principle all through the Old Testament. It's quite amazing to me. It's in the New Testament in many places as well. But these are some astounding... Even Jesus in the Sermon on the Mountain, he highlights prayer, he highlights giving alms, he also highlights fasting. I think in chapter six. So it is quite an important subject of almsgiving. And James chapter one, like about the last verse, James 1, 24, 20-something, it says pure religion and undefiled is this. Before God, 27. Do you want to just read it so I don't misquote it? James 1, 24. Okay, the very last verse. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unsupported from the world. To look after the orphans and the widows. Yes. So orphans are those without parents. Yes. And widows are those, according to Scripture, those without husband or older sons, without those to support her husband or other sons, or even... Even older sons is considered. Yes. Yes, she's okay. I remember the story of the widow who had no children. She said, I have no one to care for me. And the one that she said, she said, I have only myself and my sons. They are threatening to take my sons from me. And then I will have nothing. So in the New Testament, where Paul was instructing them, he said, help those who are widows indeed. And if they have no one to care for them. So some were just become his bodies and this and that. And they were still okay. But he says, make sure that they're truly in need, that they don't have older children and be well cared for. So a son of age becomes responsible for his mother as well. That's one of the lessons from that. I know it's a subject that is delicate. It's a subject that could cause a lot of controversy and questions. But I think I stand on pretty solid ground. Isaiah chapter 58. Isaiah chapter 58 verse 7. Giving your bread to the hungry, clothing the naked, bringing the outcasts into your house. He said, that is the fasting. You want to fast? He said, this is what I will accept. The kind of fasting that I accept, he said. It starts in verse 6. I think we can read 6 to 8 because the promise is there. Is this, is not this the fast that I have chosen? Lose the bonds of wickedness? Lose the bonds of wickedness? To undo the heavy burdens? And to let the oppressed go free? That you break every yoke? Is it not to give thy bread to the hungry? And that you bring the poor that are cast out into your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him? And that you do not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth as the morning. And thine house shall spring forth speedily. And thy righteousness shall go before thee. The glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. So the light and the glory come. The light and the glory come. The light and the glory come. From breaking bands of wickedness, letting oppressed go free. Breaking the yokes. Dividing your bread, your portion with the hungry. Bringing the homeless who are poor into your house. And clothing the naked. And not hiding yourself from your own flesh and blood family. Then the light comes. Are you ready for one more savior? No problem. Ezekiel 34. In Ezekiel 34, the Lord began to reprimand the shepherds, the leaders. And he called them to task. These are leaders in the house of God. The kingdom of Israel. We can read from verse 2 to verse 4. Verse 2. Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds. Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Yea, eat the fat, and he clothes you with wool. You kill them that are fed, but you feed not the flock. A disease have you not strengthened? Neither have you healed that which was sick. Neither have you bound up that which was broken. Neither have you brought again that which was given away. Neither have you sought that which was lost. But with force and with cruelty have you ruled them. And they were scattered because there is no shepherd. And they became meat to all the beasts of the field. And they were scattered. And they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every hill. Yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth. And none did search or seek after them. There are four shepherds here, the word of the Lord. As I live, saith the Lord God, Sure, because my flock has become a prey. And my flock became meat to every beast of the field. Because there was no shepherd. Neither did my shepherd search for my flock. But the shepherds fed themselves, and not my flock. There are four ye shepherds here, the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I am against the shepherds. And I will require my flock at their hand. And cause them to cease from feeding the flock either. Neither shall shepherds feed themselves any more. For I will deliver my flock from their mouth. That they may not be meat for them. Too much. Yea. They were carried shepherds for sure. And they didn't care for those who were sickly. Diseased. Or lost. I see this in verse two. They were feeding themselves off of the flock. Yes. Eating their fat and clothing themselves with their wool. Yea, and so we see some pastors like that. Yea, sure. You know the pastors rich and fat. And the people are skinny. And he's still teaching them to give. Oh Lord have mercy. Sure, have mercy Lord. And I'm certainly not against giving and tithing to the storehouse. But when you look at the whole purpose of it. It's much different. The Lord held them to task that they were not. Taking care of the widows. Taking care of the widows, the needy. Those who are sick and broken. Even like it says brother. In Matthew chapter 25. When I was in prison. Did you visit me? Hm? Yea, do you remember that one in Matthew chapter 25? Yea, sure. When I was hungry. Whenever you've done it to the least of these my brethren. You've done it unto me. So there's casting your bread upon the waters. Dividing to seven or eight. Book of Ecclesiastes is an interesting book.