MISSION: WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING?

(Very rough notes of a sermon I preached yesterday in a Baptist Church in Melbourne.)

First, some stories:

Pedro and Isabella

(two Portuguese speaking landless poor in a Brazilian favella)

Bill and Mary

(middle aged couple where she is a victim of his rage/anger; his third marriage, her second)

Woman at the Well – John 4.

How were these people helped?

THE WORLD WE LIVE IN

1.1 billion out of 6 billion (including 50% of all Africans) live in extreme poverty ie. less than $1 a day – World Bank

Every three seconds a child under 5 dies of preventable disease/hunger

(the finger-clicking publicity)

8 million human beings loved by God die each year because they’re too poor to survive – Time Magazine 4/3/2005

The U.S. spends $500 billion a year on the military, but only 1/30th of this amount – $16 billion, on alleviating poverty – 0.15% of U.S. income

(Here in this church – 1/10 would have experienced depression, 2 or 3 seriously considered suicide)

SO IN THIS SAD SAD SAD WORLD WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

SHORT ANSWER: WE DO IN OUR WORLD WHAT JESUS DID IN HIS, AND WE DO WHAT JESUS HAS COMMANDED US TO DO

LUKE 4: 16-19

[1] SPIRITUAL – so first, PRAY! (As Jesus suggested in his ‘harvest’ teaching).

[2] EVANGELISTIC – how do the POOR understand ‘Good News’?

(Habitat for Humanity – keys to first house: ‘Have I got Good News for you!’)

[3] LIBERATION – prisons are varied – gaol, fear, guilt, anxiety, workaholism

(Prison Network Ministries’ Insiders’ stories – ‘out of prison to nothing’)

[4] HEALING – from physical, emotional, family-of-origin, spiritual illness

[5] JUSTICE – Jubilee = Freedom!

MATTHEW 28: 16-20

JOHN 20: 19-23

ALL OF JESUS’ MINISTRY – Matthew 23:23, cf. Micah 6:8; Luke 11:42

[1] JUSTICE/LOVE – ‘Deeper’ Needs

power/ ‘the powers’, fairness: strong helping the weak

Why? Image of God / worth and dignity of every human being

(Total acceptance – Romans 15:7 – vs. laws, dogma; John 8: what did Jesus say to her? Acceptance/repentance. Law and love – railway tracks and train)

(‘The Powers’ – Jesus in the Temple, Apostles ‘No’; Romans 13 – submit to their Laws vs. Revelation 13 – resist their evil. Bonhoeffer)

(‘Walmart factor’ – cheap Chinese imports — loss of jobs; cheap goods/low wages)

[2] MERCY – ‘Immediate/presenting’ needs

survival / food, clothing, shelter / well-being

Why? Where Jesus started his ministry

[3] FAITH – ‘Ultimate/salvation’ needs

Relationship with God

Ultimate Meaning – Love, guilt, death

ALL THREE IMPORTANT:

(Some churches major on one – Mainline Churches justice; Salvation Army mercy; Pentecostals/Baptists faith)

(Some individuals major on one – Billy Graham evangelism – but South Africa helped changed him to appreciating the value of biblical justice; Mother Teresa mercy; Lord Shaftesbury/William Wilberforce – justice, and mercy)

(Only Justice? – Radical/violence; only mercy? – do-goodism; only faith? – Bible bashing: start with needs not God – people as persons rather than souls-to-be-saved)

Back to our stories:

Pedro/Isabella: Food/clothing/shelter/job; ‘we want our farm back’; ‘Where’s God?’ The mercy, justice and faith factors

Couple with anger problem: Aetiology? Anger management – his/hers? Handling their woundedness; starting again – faith, love, hope. Mercy, justice and faith again…

Woman at the Well: three issues – water, males, self-esteem/God. Justice, mercy and faith again…

SO WHAT CAN ONE PERSON DO?

LET’S NOT SEPARATE WHAT GOD HAS PUT TOGETHER!

John 20: we do what Jesus did

Luke 4/ Matthew 28: we teach what Jesus taught/commanded

Matthew 23:23/ Luke 11:42: we emphasize what Jesus emphasized

That’s our mission: let’s do it!

(Needs? Empowering? Healing? Faith? Let’s pray.)

Shalom! Rowland Croucher