A Passionate Commitment to the Poor Pt. 1.

July 16, 2006. A Passionate Commitment to the Poor Pt. 1. Deuteronomy 10:17-19.

Our series on the core values of CLF continues this morning with our fifth value which is a passionate commitment to the poor and marginalized. I chose the term passionate because as I read Scripture re: how God views the poor and marginalized it was one of the most appropriate terms I could choose. God doesn’t just remind His people to watch out for the poor and marginalized. No, He, Himself claims to be the One who will act in their defense. You could say that God considers it a personal insult when people trample upon and oppress poor people. His regard for the poor is evident in how He connects His eternal, supreme character to with His interest in their well being. This is the essence of our passage this morning.

The word Deuteronomy means ‘second law’. It is a book in which Moses, the man of God re-tells the law of God to the children of those who were delivered from Egypt. In it Moses recounts the work God did to secure a people for Himself. It begins by reminding the people that the reason they have wandered in the wilderness for forty years was due to their own unbelief and disobedience. Beginning in chapter 2 Moses spends the next several chapters giving multiple reasons for why God’s people should remain faithful and obedient to the Lord. These reasons include God’s leading them to military victories over enemies far stronger than they, the goodness and wisdom of God’s law, the beautiful and bountiful land He was giving them, the grace He showed in choosing them not because of their own righteousness, but on account of His love and His promise to live among them and be their God.

To emphasize this point Moses doesn’t fail to remind them about the golden calf episode. That was the time that the Hebrews directly disobeyed God and made an image to worship. Moses prayed for the people seeking God’s forgiveness which He granted.
Once again the people are encouraged to follow after the Lord due to His great mercy and compassion. Though He had every right to execute justice He instead decided to display grace.
In chapter 10 Moses appeals to the people by citing the eternal supreme nature and character of God. It’s as if He’s saying, “why would you not want to follow such a great and good God”. Moses ends his exhortation with the following beginning at 10:12:
"Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the LORD'S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15 "Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 "So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.

Before moving on that’s a good question for all of us today. In light of fact that God through Jesus Christ has defeated our enemies Satan, sin, death and the grave why wouldn’t we want to fear Him, walk before Him in holiness, love and serve Him. In light of the fact that He’s been good and gracious enough to give us His pure, righteous, nourishing word for guidance, direction and life why wouldn’t we want to fear, obey, love and serve Him. In light of the glorious truth that we have an inheritance that will never spoil, will never be corrupted and will never fail in its ability to satisfy our souls completely why wouldn’t we want to fear, obey, love and serve our great God. In light of the reality that the maker, sustainer and owner of the heavens and earth has chosen to take us to Himself, direct His loving affection toward us, enjoy our worship throughout all eternity and has sealed that choice with the blood of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ why wouldn’t we want to fear, obey, love and serve Him with our whole heart and for our whole lives?

Yet Moses isn’t finished. Beginning at verse 17 he sets forth one of the richest and most beautiful statements on the Person of God found in Scripture. What’s both incredible and surprising to us is how he links this superlative description of God’s nature with the Lord’s determined care for the poor and powerless. This text then must be one of the primary passages we depend on to form the thought or attitude of God’s people toward the poor. One might say that it is now a part of our culture concerning how the poor, oppressed and marginalized are to be viewed.
Consequently, our view on the poor, oppressed and marginalized doesn’t spring from a particular political ideology such as republican conservatism or democratic liberalism. Rather it’s grounded in a robust, biblical theology that links God’s supreme Person, nature and character to His passionate care for the poor.

God’s self described supremacy. He is God of gods and Lord of lords.
By this God isn’t saying that there are any other godlike figures in the universe. It’s similar to the first commandment which reads ‘You shall have no other gods before or besides me’. He alone is God in that He alone is the supreme being in the universe.
The issue for us is what is God declaring in His claim to be God for His people.

1. God and God alone provides us with purpose, meaning and significance in life. Entering into a covenantal, worshiping relationship with Him through Jesus Christ is the only way to discover and enjoy a life of eternal purpose, meaning and significance. Once you’ve placed your faith in Christ and begin a worshiping relationship with God you can begin to know why you were created and why you exist.
What gives you purpose, meaning and significance today? Why do you matter?

2. God and God alone provides us with identity. Identity relates to what defines my primary character, to whom do I belong, where am I accepted and whose agenda will I pursue. Once we place our faith in Christ He becomes our identity. His Person now defines my character. I now belong exclusively to Him and am bound to pursue His agenda. Does that mean that I ignore completely the reality that I’m still a Black man in America? Of course not. However, it does most certainly mean that where the black man’s agenda contradicts Christ’s agenda I always come down on the side of Jesus Christ.
Whom do you identify with this morning? Where or what group accepts you today. A couple of weeks ago we looked at Jesus’ ministry to a Samaritan woman who it seemed wasn’t really accepted by anyone. Jews didn’t accept her because she was Samaritan. Men didn’t accept her because she was a woman. In fact they only wanted to use her, not accept her. Her own village didn’t accept her because she had lived an immoral life right in front of them. Even the man she lived with didn’t really accept her as he didn’t even bother to marry her. Perhaps he thought she just wasn’t worth it.
But there was one who was willing to identify with her, accept her and even die for her sin so that she could enjoy new life with Him and forever be accepted and welcomed into His family.

3. God and God alone provides us with healing, restoration and wholeness. God is the one who knows the wounds of my heart and soul and is committed to bringing complete healing to those wounds. He knows and understands what it is to grieve from a heart that’s been broken through loss, pain and the sin others have inflicted on me. Jesus Christ is the one who is familiar with sorrows and acquainted with grief. He’s promised to give eternal comfort to those who mourn now.
Where are you broken right now? What are the deep emotional scars you carry with you that won’t seem to go away? Moreover, where, what or to whom are you looking to for healing of those wounds? Are you looking to alcohol or pleasure? Perhaps you’re escaping through entertainment. Maybe you’ve pinned your hopes on a relationship. Let me encourage you to bring your pain, scars and brokenness to Jesus. He will begin to heal the innermost recesses of your heart. Though there’s no guarantee that you will be completely healed in this lifetime Jesus has promised to wipe every tear from your eye in the age to come. That is, he will provide such a complete healing in the life to come that you won’t even have a memory of the pain you’ve endured in this life.

4. God and God alone provides us with sure, solid and confident hope. Jesus is our expectation for a better future. We cannot ultimately place our hope in anyone or anything else. Why? Because no one no matter how wise, powerful or good can control every single variable connected with our lives. No one can absolutely guarantee you that all of your plans, dreams, ambitions and goals will be realized exactly the way you hope they will be. There is simply too much that can and will go wrong in this life. Does that mean then that we should pack our bags, move way out to the country and wait for the return of our Lord? Of course not! Why? Because disappointment doesn’t prevent us from enjoying abundant, rich, meaningful life with Christ right now. Why? Because Christ himself commanded that we stay connected to this world until He returns for us. We are to represent Him as we relate to our communities, places of work and relationships. Why? Because we are the hope dealers of this world. Like salt sprinkled into steak God has sprinkled us into our communities to spread the message of hope centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What is your confidence for a better future in right now? What thing have you hoped for that will not happen? As you look to your loving Lord to heal the wounds of that unrealized hope know that you will never be disappointed in the hope He offers through salvation. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
What is the glory of God? It is that full, total and complete blessedness that Christ will bring with Him when He returns to the world in full majestic, awesome glory. The glory of God is a universe made new in which all of creation gathers around the through of the Lamb and God the Father to forever shout His praise and enjoy His presence. What is the glory of God?
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Notice that Paul said we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Many of you know that the term translated hope means confident expectation or glorious anticipation. It’s not hope in the sense of wishful thinking, but hope in the sense of something that will certainly happen. Thus, Paul says that we take extreme delight in the certain expectation of enjoying and participating in the glory of God. How can we have this kind of hope?
5. We have this hope because God and God alone provides full, eternal and definite salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Salvation is a general term that we use to convey that we’ve been rescued or delivered from having to face God’s certain anger, judgment and punishment against sin. God Himself saved us by sending His Son who lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death taking the punishment that should have been ours. We know God accepted His sacrifice because Jesus physically rose from the grave after lying in a tomb for three days. In saving us Jesus has dealt with our sin once and for all and that is great, glorious news. Think of how we even now wrestle and struggle with our sin. Think of all the times this day, this week, this month, this year, this decade and this lifetime that we’ve disobeyed God, disregarded His commands and through our own wills disqualified ourselves from enjoying the glory of God. In fact that’s how Paul describes the consequences of sin in Rom. 3.  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
That is, all and that includes us have disobeyed God, missed the mark of moral perfection stated in His law and are therefore disqualified from enjoying His glory. What’s worse is that humanly speaking there wasn’t anything you could do to correct the situation.
Yet, what we could not do God did by sending His Son on our behalf. Therefore though the Scripture says that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory the very next verse declares and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
We are declared to be in a right standing before God by grace on the account of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
What does it mean for God to be God to His people? It means that He and He alone has taken the initiative to bring meaning, identity, healing, hope and full salvation to us by coming in the Person of Jesus Christ living among His creation, suffering, dying and rising again.
What other response is there then to gladly offer ourselves to this great God in worship, love, delight, service and obedience.

To Him Who Loves Us…
Pastor Lance