Sermon Cloud

Poverty Sunday

Ray Befus ~ Selected Scriptures

1. It's Thanksgiving week here in America . . . another one of America's Christian holidays in which thoughtful people stop to express thanks to God for the good gifts he's given us in the past year. If you listen in as folks give thanks this week, you'll hear that many of the items on our lists are things related to our financial income. That's not a judgment or a criticism; it's reality. Economic downturn aside, we are a blessed nation and a blessed church.

2. Thanksgiving also reminds us of the poor. None of us are going hungry this week, but the US Department of Agriculture recently reported that in 2007, 36.2 million American adults and children (12.2% of our national population) did not have enough food to maintain focused, active, healthy lives. These adults and children found it hard to concentrate in school and difficult to give their best at work simply because they were hungry. They went to bed at night hungry and anxious about how they would feed their children the next day. (GR Press)

3. Many of these people are now classed as ‘working poor'. ILLUS: Barbara Ehrenreich holds a PhD in biology and makes her home in Key West, Florida. Yet, Barbara wondered what America is really like for folks looking at life from the bottom up. So, she traveled from Florida to Maine and across to Minnesota, working low paying jobs, limiting herself to live on only what she could earn. She wrote her story in a book titled, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Very few of us have experienced the America Barbara Ehrenreich discovered. How do people get by working jobs that pay just $6-7 an hour, half of what is considered a living wage? Barbara writes of being called ‘girl' and ‘trailer trash' by managers and landlords who had no interest in her name, her life, her needs, or her hardships. She records the daily frustration of getting down on her knees to scrub the toilets of hotel rooms that cost more for one night than she took home in pay for an entire week. Even working two jobs, seven days a week-with good health, no kids, and careful budgeting-Barbara could barely keep herself out of America's homeless shelters.

I. CHRISTIANS CARE ABOUT THE POOR BECAUSE "THE LORD LOVES JUSTICE"

"The LORD loves justice . . . the King is mighty, he loves justice" (Psalms 11:7; 99:4). Justice is like a two-sided coin. The justice God loves has two sides or expressions. When wealthier people think of justice, they often think of . . .

A. Retributive Justice (protection and punishment)-justice provided by police, courts, judges, jails, and prisons.

ILLUS: As a young teenager living in East Grand Rapids in the late 60's, I prayed that God would help the police contain the rioting in GR's inner city so that it wouldn't spill over into my suburban world. Over-hearing my parents talk anxiously about the rioting downtown, I could almost imagine what it would like to see an angry mob surging up Cascade Road to burn down my house! It never occurred to me to wonder why poorer people were rioting in the first place. I just wanted the government to protect me from criminal violence. So it did, and I'm grateful.

When poorer people think of justice, they often think differently than white folks in the suburbs. They tilt toward . .

B. Distributive Justice (fairness and equality)-justice provided by good schools, good medical care, good jobs, and good housing. It's not fair or just when people who are born into poverty are kept there by poor schools, poor health care, poor job choices, poor housing, and poor legal process. God isn't prejudiced against the rich. But you can't read the Bible without discovering that our Creator does have a special interest in the needs of the poor.

C. The God we worship loves justice-retributive justice (certainly) and distributive justice (especially).

1. When Christians speak out against American's abortion laws and abortion industry, they do so on the basis of justice. God has called us to protect the weak and defenseless. "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this', does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it?" (Proverbs 23:11-12)

2. When Christians vote for better education, health care, and jobs for the poor in our country, they do so on the basis of justice. "The Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy" (Psalm 140:12). "Whoever is kind to the needy honors God" (Proverbs 14:31). "Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune" (Job 12:5). "Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker" (Proverbs 17:5). "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern" (Proverbs 29:7).

II. THE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER'S MINISTRY REFLECTS THE TWIN CONCERNS OF JUSTICE-PROTECTION FOR THE DEFENSELESS AND PROVISION FOR THE POOR. So, on this Poverty Sunday, we have invited Jim Sprague, the PRC's executive director, to join us and tell us about the PRC's ministry-of justice and compassion.

III. LET'S RISE ABOVE PARTISAN CONFLICT (now that the presidential election is past)

A. We are missionaries in a blue state.

1. Jesus has called us to be salt and light, not vinegar and noise. We haven't been called to mock and threaten people who disagree with us (what some call ‘taking a stand'). We've been called to make even our enemies the focus of our affections, to bless them, to surprise them with good news, and to pray for heart change.

2. This is why some of the slanderous emails Vineyard church members forwarded to me, cursing and slandering the Democratic president elect so shocking and disappointing. We're missionaries here, trying to be Jesus to the men and women around us with blue state sensibilities-trying to become all things to all men, so that by all means we might win some (in the words of the Apostle Paul). Paul clearly instructed the Christians in Rome to respect and respond to their political leaders; our government leaders are God's servants (Romans 13:1-7).

B. We should do all we can to urge our government to pursue justice that protects the unborn and justice that provides for the poor. Personally, I believe protecting children in the womb trumps just about any other issue you can raise.

1. AND, did you know: In the world of the Bible, it was God's intent that government also provide for the poor? Personally, I think smaller government is better than bigger government, but when God was the chief legislator for the nation Israel, God himself enacted compulsory national laws to redistribute income and provide for the poor. Tithing was not voluntary. Tithing was compulsory across the nation-10% percent for the priests and a second 10% for the temple every year, and another 10% for the poor every three years. Farmers were required by national law to leave crops along the edges and corners of their fields at harvest time to be gleaned by the poor. Every seven years national law provided for the cancellation of debts and the release of slaves. And, when slaves were released, they were, by law, to be well provisioned for their return to a free life. National law prescribed that every fifty years, property-lost to bankruptcy or just poor management-was transferred back to the original owner's family. Talk about an economic stimulus package!

2. We probably should admit that simple selfishness is deeply rooted in our hearts. We say, "This is an age of grace! Generous giving should be voluntary and private. We'll be generous; we promise!" But our tax returns reveal that, as a whole, Christians only give away 3-6% of their income away to any non-profit organizations of any kind. Our main pursuit in life seems to be profit-personal profit. And, studies show that, among Christians, the more we make, the smaller the percentage of our income we share.

3. As clumsy and inefficient as government is, I thank God for state and federal programs that address justice issues. Churches can feed and clothe a few and even tutor some. But churches can't provide public education in America's inner cities, provide health care for poor children, build levies along the Gulf Coast, address immigration issues with fairness and compassion, provide law enforcement, or protect us from terrorism. The New Testament is clear: our government officials in general and our presidents in particular, are God's servants.

C. We can enjoy the relative wealth we've been born into, AND we can choose to live with greater simplicity and generosity for the sake of others. When we make personal purchases, we need to ask ourselves: Do I already have more than my fair share? Is it just for me to continue spending all of this money on myself and my kids? I think most of us were born with more than our fair share. We can't change that, but we can simplify our lives and be unusually generous people. Scripture tells us, "the righteous give without sparing," "give generously without a grudging heart," "are openhanded toward the poor and needy in their land" (Proverbs 21:26; Deuteronomy 15:7-11).

IV. WE VOTED PASSIONATELY; NOW LET'S GIVE GENEROUSLY

A. This year's Seeds of Hope offering is going to test our faith God and his word. We're not going to be giving out of abundance or surplus or optimism; we're going to be giving out of love, faith and hope . . . or not.

1. The Apostle Paul invited the economically stressed Christians in the ancient Greek city of Philippi to collect an offering for the poor in Jerusalem. Paul expected a dutiful but small offering that reflected their challenging circumstances. Paul was shocked by their response. "In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people" (II Corinthians 8:2-4).

2. What would have motivated folks experiencing financial stresses of their own to give so generously to the poor? Ancient wisdom: "Good will come to those who are generous" (Psalm 112:5). "A generous person will prosper" (Proverbs 11:25). "The generous will themselves be blessed" (Proverbs 22:9). It was these very Scriptures that stirred the struggling Christians in Philippi to give a generous offering to the Christians in Jerusalem. Do you trust God's wisdom? Let's stop and say what we believe, right out loud!

B. I hope you'll join me and Carol in stretching your faith in our Seeds of Hope offering. Have you given up a meal out, one movie night with friends, one personal holiday purchase to help the poor through this annual collection? Our 2008 tax returns will indeed have a testimony next April. They will tell our government that even before the president elect was inaugurated, we went first. We decided to trust God and lead the way, giving from the heart, to be Jesus in a difficult season.