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Intro: One of my favorite bits on SNL happens when Seth Myers does a section he calls “really?” Really is heavily tinged with sarcasm and it is aimed at something or someone that seems incredibly, ironically messed up. It goes something like this: Really? Gas prices are four dollars gallon? Really? It cost me $80 dollars to fill up my car and the Exxon CEO makes that much money in half a second. Really? It’s a simple rant that normally springs up from a sense of injustice or disdain or hurt.

I tell you all of this, because I have had countless “really” moments in starting Fellowship White Rock going on eight months ago.  And most of these moments come from our heavy focus upon serving the teachers, staff, students and families of Hotchkiss elementary. For those of you who don’t know Hotchkiss is full of under-resourced, under-performing students. A full third of the 1000 students are from refugee families. Only five of those students are above a certain poverty line where they don’t get free and reduced lunch. 27 different languages are spoken in the school halls. The children are bused in from Vickery Meadows neighborhood that is considered to be one of the worst neighborhoods in Dallas. It is full of gangs, prostitution and drugs. It is a slum and it is right in our backyard. This is the place where we worship and this is the place we serve. We mentor, we adopt classes, we feed them, we bring them meals, we beautify their campus. And it is hard. It isn’t an easy place and I am not complaining, just telling but it has led me to countless “Really?” moments.

Really? We want to help this school but widespread ineptitudes and red tape keep us from helping? Really- we have money and people that want to help and ask nothing in demand and you can’t find something for us to do. Really?

Really, this school is full of fatherless children who only need some love and a fatherly example and these men are all fleeing in mass. Really?

Really, we give free food and clothing to some of these families but they still spend the money they do have poorly. Really, some of these people can’t pay for their kids lunch but they have 4000 dollars worth of rims on their truck. Really?

Really, we have people sign up to help and they bail out at the last second leaving me holding the bag? Really?

Here is a big one.  Really, God we have poured close to 20k, thousands of man hours and great amounts of prayer into this school and nothing seems to have changed. Really, God, really?

What you are hearing is my frustration with serving the city. A frustration with the recipients of our service, a frustration with those who are serving with me. A frustration with the God who called us to serve.

Two foundational truths right here. God called us to serve. Service can be insanely frustrating.

You see this in the church, and you see this in our culture. You see idealistic college grads applying to teach for America where they take their ivy league degree into the inner city to teach only to get spit out two years later- jaded, cynical, angry. We see social workers depressed and alone after seeing the dark underbelly of our broken cities. We see those who serve in soup kitchens discouraged after the newness and excitement of helping others fades away. Collectively, those who served are looking at a broken culture and they are throwing up their hands in despair and shouting really?

I have to share with you this morning a simple yet foundational truth: If your service to others is not anchored in your love for God, you will crash. If you do not have a theological/ Biblical foundational foundation for your service, you will be disappointed by the recipients of your service, the participants in your service and sometimes even with the God who called you to serve. If your service is founded upon a feeling or a video or one good sermon, you will crash.

So, today- I want to give you a Biblical framework for why we serve.

Deuteronomy 24:17-22

I am indebted to Tim Keller for some of my thoughts in this sermon. Check out his book Generous Justice. It is a quick and potent read and it is an apologetic for why, how, where we serve.

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I.               We serve because everyone has value

A.     Genesis says that we were call created in His image. Man and woman, he created them, he created humankind in His image. We are image-bearers. This doesn’t mean God has a face that looks like mine. Thank God for that. This is not a physical resemblance. Being image-bearers means there is something distinctive and special about humanity. He didn’t put his image on any other created thing.

B.     Genesis 1:26-27- From the beginning, God set this paradigm. You will look like me. You will be able to love, able to learn, able to choose. You have certain faculties that no other created being has. You are special. Anytime anthropologists talk about humanity and say we are nothing more than animals, I cringe. We are special and different. We are image-bearers. We find out later in Genesis 3 that you are also sinful and broken but even still, you are special.

C.     Genesis 5:3- This image is passed down to a son. This shows the hereditary nature that Adam alone didn’t bear this image but he passed it down. Not only that, we see the special relationship that it implies if God gave us his image- it is like a parent child relationship.

D.    Genesis 9:6- Whoever sheds man’s blood, has a steep price to pay. Why? You aren’t stepping on a dandelion or hunting a deer. You have killed something special, something unique and wholly different in all of creation. One of my image-bearers- a small part of me

E.     So, we serve because everyone has value. Everyone has value because we are all image bearers.  Take time, talents and treasure to benefit other people because they have value. Even if they don’t seem to have value. This is a biblical precedent.

F.     That brings us to today’s text. Do not deny justice to the orphan, widow or foreigner.  You say, yeah of course- that makes sense- of course we care for orphans and widows and out of towners. We forget that we are living in a culture heavily influenced by 2000 years of Christianity and other cultural developments. We have systems and philosophies that lead us to have governmental aid and orphanages and work agencies. However, in this ancient near east culture, this was groundbreaking.

G.    Widows, especially older widows who couldn’t remarry because they were past their prime child-rearing years- which was everything. This was a culture obsessed with preserving family lines and passing on the family lineage. A woman who had already born children or was unable to bear children as widow was a liability not an asset. Something to be avoided. She can’t work, she can’t own property- which means she adds nothing and takes everything. Being a widow in the ANE was not an enviable position.

H.    The same can be said of orphans. A child not of your lineage was a liability not an asset.  Furthermore, children were seen as a nuisance and a third class citizen. We forget sometimes and we implement are understanding of kiddos into the text. We love our kids, we cherish and prize them. We take them to baby yoga and make sure they get a ribbon. We let them run our calendars and set our life agenda. Not so in this time period and if you want proof, look at the state of things over 1000 years later among Jesus. The kids try to come to Jesus and they are rebuffed by the disciples. Scram kid. Get out of here. Adults are doing important things here. Orphans were a liability not an asset.

I.      Orphans, widows and foreigners. This is exactly the same thing- a liability not an asset. A foreigner in your land and in your midst meant imposition upon your resources and time and it meant the communal economic pie was getting sliced a little thinner because someone else was draining resources. Foreigners were liabilities not assets. The point here is that we should respect and serve these categories but even more importantly these are types and they were the least of these in their culture. Our calling is to the least. To everyone in our culture who is normally viewed as a liability not an asset.

J.      Now, God says- serve these people. Do not deny them justice- do right by them. Create peace for them. Even them.

K.     We serve because everyone has value. They are all image-bearers.  The disconnect is that it is relatively easy to love image-bearers that look like you, talk like you, wear deodorant like you and think like you.

L.     Illus- I want to show you a picture. Halle is my image-bearer and it is easy to love her and serve her. What about the messy people? What about the ungrateful people?

M.   Illus- man at the gas station. I bought him $10 worth of gas and he was trying to scam more. Really? Really?

N.    We serve because everyone has value. Even cheating scammers. Even ungrateful liars. Even incompetent bureaucrats.  We serve because everyone has value. We bless others because they are image-bearers.

II.              We serve because God owns it all

A.     24:18-21 – This passage isn’t very American is it? We are taught from a young age, when you are eating dinner to do what? Clean your plate. Sit there until you clean your plate. Don’t be wasteful.

B.     We grow up as plate cleaners and then we go to work as plate cleaners. Squeeze every economic drop out of every single situation. Clean the economic plate.

C.     This passage says, give justice to the fringe people, those on the edge, those who are liabilities not assets. And as opposed to simply having good feelings for them, it gives you a way to care for them. Limit your intake for the sake of others. Sacrifice. Don’t clean your plate. Leave some for others to taste.

D.    This makes some of us uneasy. Think about it for a second. I doubt many of you in here are farmers but I bet you can picture this situation. I spend my money to buy seeds. I use my time to plant the seeds. I use my time to work hard growing and cultivating these plants. I use my effort to harvest and sell the crop. I put a lot of myself into this, and you want me to leave some. You want me to limit myself for the sake of others.

E.     The flawed but very common problem with this line of thinking is the mine and my talk.

F.     We serve because God owns it all. My time. My effort. My money is flawed. We serve people who the world views as liabilities because we are briefly holding on to and have been asked to be stewards of money, talents, and time.

G.    A major objection that some people have and also a reason many people get discouraged is that we believe we have earned what we have. We don’t believe it is a gift to be stewarded.

H.    Illus- two things happened this last week that reminded me of this idea. Sally Kearn- rep from OK said the reason that minorities don’t earn as much because they don’t work as hard. By extrapolation you can hear in her voice, I have worked hard and I deserve what I have earned.

I.      Illus- Another example-pastor I know said that our choices not our circumstances determine the type of life we live. And I couldn’t help but wonder if an orphan roaming the streets of Delhi India would agree with that statement.

J.      We are incredibly blessed to live in the 21^st century America. I think our circumstances and context has a huge impact on our trajectory and life course. Let me ask you a simple question, if Bill Gates were born in the Tibetan mountains in the 13^th century, would he be as successful as He is today?

K.     Here is another example.  If you make more than 25k a year, you are in the top 10% of earners in the world. 90% of the world makes 25,400 or less. That top 10% has 50% of the world’s wealth. This is about 20 grand less than the median income of the average American. What does this mean? Americans are either really hard workers who have earned everything they have…or we are extremely lucky to live where we live.

L.     Illus- Money fliers. 10% of you are rich. You got those at random. If we went outside and entered again, do you like your chances of getting a green flier and being a part of the lucky 10%? Probably not. With that in mind, if you knew chances were slim that you would be in that special 10%, wouldn’t you hope for a world where those with a lot helped those with a little. It is easy to come up with objections when you are in the 10%, it is harder when you picture yourself in the 90%.

M.   A very good objection or accommodation to this idea is our modern day idea of taxes. I pay taxes and a portion goes to under-resourced orphan, widows and foreigners.  And that is true. In Jewish culture, we often mistakenly think they were only called to give a tithe. 10%. In all actuality, the mandated giving was closer to 23%. This act of willingly limiting your grain field was in addition to the mandatory giving. How do I know this? Matthew 12- the disciples are walking through another man’s field and they harvest some grain.  The heart of worship is moving past mandatory and into sacrificial.

N.    We serve because God owns it all. This takes away our mine mentality and leads us to realize how lucky we are to have what we have and how responsible we now are. Don’t clean your plate. Leave margin. Limit yourself so that others can thrive. It is a wild thought, and it is God’s command.

III.            We serve because God first served us

A.     V. 17 and 22 bookend this section. You are to do this because. This is the clearest motivator of the three. We serve because God served us. God says in this passage, if you need motivation beyond the simple fact that I commanded you to do it, here it is: You were in bondage and I set you free. Spend some time setting others free.

B.     The Exodus is the major shaping narrative of the Old Testament just as the cross is the major shaping narrative of the New Testament. And they are strongly related. They both are moments where people were released from bondage. In a similar sense then, you might look to the New Testament and hear a similar idea. Romans 5:8.

C.     While we were yet in bondage to sin, Christ set us free. Therefore, serve others. We serve a God who stoops and serves. And if you think you have excuses for why you shouldn’t serve, listen to this.

D.    Illus-Quote from Robert Murray McCheyne

E.    “Now dear Christians, some of you pray night and day to be branches of the true vine, you pray to be made all over in the image of Christ, if so you must be like him in giving, though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor. Objection: my money is my own. Answer: well Christ might have said my blood is my own and my life is my own, then where should you have been. Objection: the poor are undeserving. Answer: well Christ might have said, ‘these are wicked rebels, shall I lay down my life for these? Or shall I give to the good angels, the deserving poor?’ But no, he left the 99 and came after the lost; he gave his blood for the undeserving. Objection: well if I give my charity the poor may abuse it. Answer: Christ might have said the same thing, yea with far greater truth, Christ knew that thousands would trample his blood under their feet, that most would despise it, that many would make it an excuse for sinning more and yet he gave his own blood. My dear Christians if you would be like Christ, give much, give often, give freely to the vile and the poor, the thankless and the undeserving. Christ is glorious and happy and so will you be. It is not your money I want but your happiness, remember his own word: it is more happy, more blessed, to give than to receive.”

 

F.     And if that weren’t enough. Consider this- your service is worship.

G.    Matthew 25 from a few weeks ago- we often read this and miss something monumental. When you do this, you do this for me. The primary purpose of service is not the conversion of souls. It is worship. With that in mind, none of your service is wasted. It all makes it to the throne. It’s all sweet before him. Your service to others must be anchored in your love for God.

Conclusion: Recap of Easter Sunday Serve Day at FWR. 25 kiddos drawing a picture to take home of the empty tomb. 25-30 people who were not going to church on Easter Sunday who chose to worship with us. And three people who put their faith in Jesus Christ. It gave new meaning to the phrase “really?” It was no longer cynical or jaded, it was inspired and awe-struck.

Really. You would use pancakes and sausage and kids chasing plastic eggs to bring people to yourself. Really?

Really, 150 people would hear the gospel and 50 more would participate in a worship service on Easter Sunday?

Really, three people’s lives were changed forever because of your Gospel. Really?

Really, simply serving and loving your community will be such an audacious act of worship that people will come to accept the Gospel. Really. Really.

Join us May 15^th for a day of worship. We will be worshipping through service and no matter the outcome, God will be glorified. Really.

 

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