Wisdom on Lifestyle Compassion

Sermon Series: LIFESTYLE COMPASSION: Extending your heart of Jesus to the least of these.
Proverbs 21:13; 14:31; 19:17

October 21, 2007

Manuscript

Review so far in our series...

Today is week #3 in our series Lifestyle Compassion: Extending your heart of Jesus even to the least of these.

Two weeks ago I shared a message entitled; A righteous heart revealed where we looked at the story in Matthew 25 which described the separation of the sheep and the goats. That story revealed that a lifestyle of compassion is a key indicator that your heart that has in fact been, transformed by trust in and obedience to Jesus. Our big takeaway in that initial message on Lifestyle compassion was: Heaven is the inheritance for the one with a heart made righteous, through faith in Jesus, as revealed through a loving, compassionate lifestyle extended even to the ‘least of these.’

This is a blessed church, not a perfect church, but a blessed church. God has been with us and gracious to us and used us for his purposes, sometimes despite ourselves. And I want to say again, my sense is that we are positioned better than ever, to be a powerful tool in God’s hands to touch and serve our community, our region and yes, even the world. Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48). When I go to the viewing lounge and step back and look at the big picture, taking note of the many ways that God has blessed us, I don’t think he has started us and established us just for us to focus on us! This series is calling us to extend our Jesus transformed heart to those in our world...even to the least of these who having nothing to offer in return....the forgotten, the out of sight...the marginalized of our culture.

Last week Phil took us on a fly over of the lifestyle of Jesus and we saw how he modeled a lifestyle of compassion. We saw Jesus, refusing to ignore the helpless and the powerless, embracing the outcasts of the culture, extending compassion without conditions and without regard for whether their worldview or belief system aligned with his. These are the descriptions of a Jesus-kind of compassion. How closely do our lives align with the Jesus model? Where are those spaces in our hearts that have partially crystallized by cynicism and disillusionment? Are their places of your heart that have been partially anesthetized or have even completely deadened to overwhelming needs of the weak, the forgotten and the helpless of our culture and world?

Too often it’s an “out of sight, out of mind” thing. Too often it’s an overwhelming thing. Too often, the demands of our fast paced lives force us to tune out the world...it’s too much...I don’t have time...problems are too big and too complex...I’ve’ gotta keep my own ducks in a huddle. But, if I read my Bible right, if you are a Christian in the room today, living like that is not an option! Not, if you are going to love on Jesus and be blessed by Jesus. Not if you’re going to walk like, talk like and act like Jesus.

[Transition] - Jesus didn’t tune out the cries of the needy and the helpless he encountered, he tuned them in. And tuning into them he perfectly models the heart of God the Father. God’s heart has always been tuned into the least, the lost and the lonely. God’s posture has always been hot with compassion for the weak, the frail the powerless. And he mandates that those who follow him reflect his heart in these matters.

Today I want to look at God’s wisdom on lifestyle compassion. I want to take you to the Proverbs where it is made perfectly clear that caring for the poor, the hungry, the homeless and the most vulnerable is a huge concern of God’s heart. Turn first to Proverbs 21:13.

Proverbs 21:13, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”

This proverb is a sobering sound-bite. It emphasizes the cruelty of a person who is aware of some sort of suffering but closes his heart or hardens his heart to it, tunes it out and does nothing to relieve the need.

The phrase “cry of the poor” here refers to the poor’s loud and agonized crying out in acute distress, calling for help and seeking deliverance with this emotion-laden utterance.” This is a cry of utmost urgency for assistance.

The stunning lesson of the proverb is that those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need. The form of the word, “Shuts” points to “one who characteristically or habitually tunes out the needs of the weak and vulnerable around them.” And it warns us: If that is how you live your life...if you are in the habit of tuning out the needs of the “the least of these,” then know this: Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.

THOSE WHO IGNORE THE NEEDS OF OTHERS WILL BE IGNORED IN THEIR TIME OF NEED.

Jesus puts this principle this way in Matthew 5:7 – “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” And later in Luke 6:38 Jesus says, “...For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

[Illustration] – I don’t often do this, but let me recommend a must see family movie, “The Ultimate Gift.” The story is about Jason...a twenty-something, completely self absorbed, spoiled grandson of a mega wealthy Texas Oil tycoon who has just passed away. Jason has been living on a trust fund from his father, who was killed in a small plane accident a few years earlier. He never worked a day in his life and simply had unlimited resources to indulge himself.

To receive his inheritance from his mega wealthy Grandfather, Jason has to successfully navigate through several life challenges, set up in the will to teach Jason some critical life lessons about the gifts of life such as the gift of work, the gift of laughter and the gift of friends. To appreciate the gift of friends, the executors of the will strip Jason of everything he has. Completely broke and homeless, Jason is given the assignment to return to the executor in one week with just one true friend. Jason soon finds out that once his money, his high rise flat and his fast car were gone, so were all his friends. There is a scene where he calls every one of them for help and they all blow him off and completely ignore his cries. His self-absorbed, self-indulgent lifestyle left him abandoned and helpless in his time of need.

Jason’s story is an example of the warning of this proverb. Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need. The seriousness of this warning points to the seriousness of God’s heart about paying attention to the needs of the weak and vulnerable and DOING something about it. Again, as Christ followers we are called to action. As Christian, it is not an option to just tune it out.

[Transition] – When you act...when you refuse to tune out the cries of the needy, this next Proverbs tells what happens. Look at Proverbs 14:31.

Proverbs 14:31 - “31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

I like the way The Message paraphrases this: “You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you're kind to the poor, you honor God. This paraphrase really gets at the force of the words and phrases in this proverb.

WHEN YOU ARE KIND TO THE POOR YOU HONOR GOD.

The first half of the proverb warns us that mistreatment of the poor is equal to insulting the one who made them and cares for them. In other words, mistreatment of the poor is mistreatment of God. Doesn’t that sound familiar? In the story of the Goats and the Sheep we looked at two weeks ago, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Then later, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

To “oppress the poor” means to denigrate their significance, their worth, and/or their ability. Now, I recognize that we may not actively oppress, but neither may we go out of our way to help. The proverb teaches that when you ignore or any way, oppress the poor, you despise and disrespect God. This is because he is the maker of ALL mankind. Every living, breathing person is made “in the image of God,” regardless of their circumstances. And what’s more, all throughout the Bible, God is clearly identified as the “Defender of the Poor.” Psalm 140:12 says, “I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.” So, when you “dis” the poor and needy, you “dis” God.

But, notice what happens when you value the poor and take any sort of action to relieve their suffering. The proverb teaches that the one who shows mercy and kindness to the lowly honors and glorifies God. So, when you honor them by taking some sort of action to meet their need or alleviate their suffering, you honor God.

[Illustration] – A man named Job understood God’s high value for justice for the poor and great priority for upholding the cause of the needy. And he understood that those who follow God live under that same mandate. In Job 31 Job is in the middle of his climactic defense of his life. He has been accused by his friends of all sorts of sins against God which they try to convince him is the reason for all his suffering. But, Job gives this amazing review of his life and his faithfulness to the priorities of God. Read Job 31:13-23.

Job knew that when you pay attention and respond to the needs of the poor, when you take up the cause of the defenseless and when you respond on behalf of the vulnerable, you love and honor God...who made them and who has a huge place in his heart for them.

We can begin to show kindness to the poor by recognizing that they exist. Don’t get paralyzed by the overwhelming thought of trying to change the world or meet all the needs in the world. Do something to change the world for one person. It might start by doing something small that just changes one day or one night. As Pastor Phil coached us last week, start by focusing on to the needs that you cross paths with. You see, acknowledgement of, and response to, the poor can come in all sorts of ways. It can come as we make room for their needs in our budgets of time and money. It can come through us as individuals, it can come through efforts of churches like ours or communities like ours. Acknowledgement of the poor can be expressed through making sure that our elected officials are doing all they can to insure the justice and care for the needy.

[Illustration] – For example urging our elected officials to support the Jubilee Act H.R.2634. This bill will cancel the debt of approximately 67 impoverished countries in the Global South, freeing those resources to fight the poverty challenges in their countries.

[Transition] – These proverbs are teaching us that we are not to tune out the cries of the needy. In fact, when we honor the cries of the needy we honor God. And now I want you to see another fascinating dynamic in all this. Look at Proverbs 19:17.

Proverbs 19:17, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

The wisdom of this proverb is this: “Mercy to the needy is a loan to God,
and God pays back those loans in full.”

MERCY TO THE NEEDY IS A LOAN TO GOD.

The context of this proverb is a grouping of proverbs designed to educate the Son to Show kindness to the needy...19:16-23. And this particular proverb focuses on the unit’s goal in the son’s education: to esteem the powerless poor person as worthy of favor, active acceptance, and acts of charity because the Lord will reward him. The disciple stands apart from the crowd on the side of the poor who otherwise stands alone, without a friend.

The force of this proverb emphasizes that one who is characteristically or the one who is “known for” being gracious and kind to the ‘least of these’ are in effect, lending, however much they give, to the Lord. Isn’t this an amazing bit of wisdom? When you help the poor it’s like you are loaning to God who has a perfect credit rating. He always repays his loans.

Because Yahweh repays mercy shown to the needy, the proverb calls this interaction a loan to God. While the poor often cannot repay, Yahweh always can—not as the return for some kind of seed faith investment, but as a general reward for righteousness and its alignment with wisdom. Does this mean that we will never be “taken” or suffer a setback when we give to the poor? Of course not, But it does mean that this life of God-fearing wisdom will lead us to see that what we do have is a gift, not a privilege, and we will find that we need much less than we think.

[Illustration] - The best guard against twisting this verse to mean that if we give we’ll get...is in the form of a story about a friend of Martin Luther’s who once gave to a beggar and then said, “Who knows when God restores it?” To which Luther replied, “As if God had not long ago given it beforehand for such a time as this!”

[Transition] – God’s wisdom on lifestyle compassion is straightforward and powerful.

THOSE WHO IGNORE THE NEEDS OF OTHERS WILL BE IGNORED IN THEIR TIME OF NEED.
But, WHEN YOU ARE KIND TO THE POOR YOU HONOR GOD.
And, MERCY TO THE NEEDY IS A LOAN TO GOD.

And just for the record...the saying “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Biblical record.

Closing

As I said at the beginning of this series I want our awareness to be raised with regard to God’s heart for the least of these – the poor, the powerless, the weak and the vulnerable. I have been asking God to stretch our hearts and activate our compassion and enlarged our capacity to extend our Jesus transformed lives even to the least of these.

I want to invite God to unstop our ears...soften our hearts to reflect his heart that beats strong for those who are needy and least able to help themselves. One of the great ways to give God full and focused access to our hearts and minds is to experience a time of fasting. I mentioned at the beginning of this series that I wanted to invite you to do this with me during this series. So, let me invite you to do this sometime over the next two weeks. You pick the time that is best for you. On your way out you will receive a brief guide that will help you understand what Fasting is and how to walk through it.

Fasting is about laying aside our cravings, desires, even letting a hunger pain be the reminder to turn our hearts toward the Lord, that He is our life and our strength, our bread. In the end, this is a purposeful practice through which we tune our hearts and minds, our bodies and our actions, to the heart and voice of God. Whether you have a big decision to make, or you just want to draw closer to the Lord, fasting is a wonderful way to make ourselves completely available to God. And during this fasting experience, invite God to soften your heart to reflect his heart for the needy.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, on the final Sunday of our series, I’ve invited Phil Skellie to come and wrap up our series. Phil is the director of CAMA Services which stands for Compassion and Mercy Associates. It is the world relief arm of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Phil is going to show us how the Alliance is working to administer the truest mercy -- administering physical help along side spiritual help “to the least of these.” He is going to be talking with us about their high priority project right now...the Hope Clinic in Guinea, Africa. (Show Pictures from Vaughan’s newsletter) Hope Clinic is a dental/medical clinic in Guinea, West Africa, operated by CAMA Services Guinea. The clinic ministers God’s love to the people of Guinea by meeting their medical and dental needs while giving a verbal witness of the Gospel.

Here’s my idea...in two weeks I’d like us to take a special love offering in support of the Ministry of CAMA services to boost the work of the Hope Clinic. As you are fasting be praying for the Hope Clinic and their work with AIDS treatment and in two weeks at a minimum, lets bring the money we would have spent on food or whatever you choose to fast from and let’s put that together along with any other amount you feel led to give and then at the end of our series on November 11th, we can present a check to Phil for the work of he and his team there at the Hope Clinic.

Close in prayer.