When Jesus asks You for a Loan
Prov. 22:7
7 ¶ The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. {the lender: Heb. the man that lendeth} (KJV)
7 El rico se enseñoreará de los pobres; y el que toma prestado es siervo del que presta. (RVG04)
"On loan from God"---Rush Limbaugh
Pr. 19:17
17 ¶ He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. (KJV)
17 El que se compadece del pobre, a Jehová presta, y lo que ha dado, Él se lo volverá a pagar. (RVG04)
Borrowing and returning are commonplace in our society. Probably more the borrowing than the returning.
I have been a lot of places where someone wanted to borrow a dollar (or more), or so they said. The truth be known; they had no intention of paying it back.
We can blame it on our forgetter or we can admit that sometimes we are not real responsible.
Wouldn't it be nice to not need to borrow from someone else. There is a promise in the Word of God that leads me to believe that it is achievable.
Deut. 28:12,13
12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. (KJV)
12 Y Jehová te abrirá su buen depósito, el cielo, para dar lluvia a tu tierra en su tiempo, y para bendecir toda obra de tus manos. Y prestarás a muchas naciones, y tú no tomarás prestado. (RVG04)
13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: (KJV)
13 Y te pondrá Jehová por cabeza, y no por cola: y estarás encima solamente, y no estarás debajo; cuando obedecieres a los mandamientos de Jehová tu Dios, que yo te ordeno hoy, para que los guardes y cumplas. (RVG04)
-Of course, there are conditions that have to be met.
Anyway, we have Jesus as our prime example. There are 3 occasions in the New Testament when our Lord got something on loan. It would do us good to see how He handled the stewardship matter.
I. I need a Hamburger (A Taco for our Latino friends)
John 6:7-13
In this account, a great need arises. There are over 5,000 people who are hungry and Jesus has been teaching and preaching to them for a good while. The disciples assess the situation. No food amongst them, and just a small amount of money.
Their first reaction, according to the gospel of Matthew, was to send them on their way. That is the easy out. Well, let's just dismiss the service. I guess the Lord is done moving. We might as well go home.
They had the "give up" mentality, but Jesus wanted them to have a "give out" attitude.
So one young man had a sack lunch. It wasn't nearly enough for the whole multitude. Jesus said, "Son, may I borrow your lunch for a few moments" (Benners' translation)
A great lesson in faith and surrender is taught here.
Don't despise what you have to give to God, thinking that it is so small and insignificant.
A. Start with what you have.---- I was ministering at a "rehab center" in San Luis Potosí. We almost always took clothes and/or food items and then preached to them. On this particular day, I felt impressed to give the brother in charge some money. I looked in my wallet and all that I had was 20 pesos (less than 2 dollars) I told myself that it was such a small amount that it would be an insult to offer only 20 pesos to the director for the work of the ministry. I was impressed a second time by the Holy Spirit. Soon I was handing the paper bill to the brother with a word of apology for not bringing a larger offering. He was near tears telling me how he needed just enought gas to go to a business a few miles away where there was vegetables and tortillas to be donated to the rehab center. For less than half a gallon of gas, he could make it there and back.
B. Give it up to Jesus.
C. Do it His way.--No hay pero que valga.
The Lord didn't necessarily need the food to work the miracle. It was borrowed to make a great object lesson.
Our job is to distribute, His is to "manufacture".
There is no mention of distrust or reservation on the part of the young lad. He did not feel abused or manipulated. Jesus asked for all of his lunch, not just a portion of it. Evidently, he was willing to give it all to the Lord, trusting Him to be responsible and fair.
I personally believe that the boy went home with 12 baskets full of food to do with as he desired. Now that is a great recompense of interest for a short term loan.
On top of it all, 5,000 people were content with a full belly, the disciples were fulfilled in serving the people, and the name of Jesus was magnified.
II. May I go take a Stroll with your Pony?
Mark 11:2-10
The colt of this story sounds a lot like you and I. (v. 4)---It is about loaning your life to God.
A. It was tied.---In my sins I was bound and trapped. I couldn't get free on my own.
B. By the door---Jesus is the door. He is the way in. Being by the door is not good enough; I must go through the door.
C. Where two ways met---A place of decision. Which way will you go? There is straight and narrow way that leads to life eternal and there is a broad way that leads to perdition. The pull is so great, the temptation is so strong to go the wrong way.
D. They loose him---Aren't you glad that someone led you to an encounter with Jesus?
The reason for the loan request was simply--"The Lord hath need of him" (v.3)
Would that be reason enough for you to give Him a loan? You and I would probably require some type of security or a reasonable explanation before consenting to such a thing.
The colt was borrowed, but it became a central character for a city parade. It was out, front and center, carrying the chief and hero of the parade.
When the colt was returned, its owner sure enough had some bragging rights.
III. Gravesite for Lease: First 3 Days Free
Matthew 27:57-60
A little known, but very important disciple of Jesus was Joseph of Arimathaea.
This man begged Pilate for permission to take the body of Jesus down from the cross and give Him a decent burial. (The 11 principal disciples have tucked tail and ran. They are nowhere to be found.) By doing so, he made himself ceremonial unclean. Having touched a dead body, he would have to remain outside of the city until the priest declared him as clean again. This meant that he was missing out on the greatest feast of the year for the Jews--the Passover. One could compare it to voluntarily doing a deed that would keep you from being at home for Christmas with the family.
Joseph loved Jesus. Since Jesus had little or no earthly belongings, He did not own a burial site. Without being asked, Joseph gave a loan to the Son of God. It was a tomb that had been purchased at a good price and cleaned up and arranged for the burial of an important person.
We do not know the intensity of the faith of Joseph. Whether he believed that Jesus would occupy the tomb for a few days or for a long time. What we do know is that he had the greatest of love for Jesus and was willing to "loan" Jesus his burial site without conditions.
Even in a loan situation that was humanly impossible to repay, the Lord made sure to return the borrowed item.
Most probably, the site where Joseph of Arimathaea was/is buried is more famous than it would have been otherwise.
In essence, anything that was loaned to Jesus always came back and it came back with a whole lot more worth than it had originally.
Just what have you "loaned" to the Lord?
IT IS NOT THAT GOD CANNOT MAKE IT WITHOUT YOU. BUT HE IS WAITING AND WORKING ON YOUR WILLINGNESS.
