God s Heart for the Fatherless Sample Sermon for Mother s Day Offering Prepared by Brian R. Gilpin

Transcription

1 God s Heart for the Fatherless Sample Sermon for Mother s Day Offering Prepared by Brian R. Gilpin Introduction When we accept Christ as our Savior and allow God to transform us into his image through the work of the Holy Spirit, our hearts will become more and more sensitive to God s ways (Romans 8:29). And by being more sensitive, our eyes will look upon the less fortunate with compassion instead of ambivalence (Matthew 14:14). As we know, we are saved by the blood of Jesus when we place our faith and trust in Him. We are not saved by our works (Titus 3:5) (Ephesians 2:8-10). However, we also know that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-17). Our acts of mercy, kindness, and love are probably our greatest witness to Christ. The simple old hymn They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love speaks volumes about how our actions testify to the love of Christ (1 John 3:18) (John 13:35). In fact, throughout the ages, one of the greatest witnesses to Christ has been the church caring for orphaned and disadvantaged children. By caring for the fatherless, we are not only following God s command, but we are showing His heart to those who do not know Him as well as making the gospel message relevant to more and more people. Today we will be talking specifically about our role as Christians in caring for the fatherless. In addition, we will also be taking up our special offering for the Florida Baptist Children s Homes, which has been caring for the fatherless for more than a hundred years. Let us pray... What the Bible says about the fatherless When reading the Bible, we find numerous references to the fatherless. In fact, the Bible uses the word fatherless more than 40 times by more than 10 different authors from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Who are the Fatherless? In Bible times the father was the physical protector and the provider. The father also ensured the proper training for the child s vocation and directed their spiritual development. So, when God commands us to care for the fatherless, we can properly understand the scripture to mean to care for children that need our protection, provision, and educational and spiritual guidance. Today, the fatherless are the children in our foster care system as well as other children in the world whose parents cannot properly care for them.

2 Children are not miniature adults Children are not simply pint-sized versions of adults. Children were designed by God to need the protection, guidance, and care of loving adults. We know that there are numerous negative consequences associated with being fatherless or orphaned. The fatherless suffer disproportionately from violence and abuse, poverty and malnutrition, lack of education, and lack of spiritual guidance and understanding. God s will for the care of children God s will is for each child to have a loving and responsible mother and father. Unfortunately, because of sin in our world, many children are forced to face the world in our foster care system and in other orphan care environments around the world. God s heart for the fatherless is seen throughout scripture We can see God s heart for the fatherless throughout the Bible including the Law, the books of poetry, the Prophets, in the life of Jesus, and in instruction to the early church. God commands us to care for the fatherless More than 1,500 years before Jesus walked upon the earth, God commanded his people to stand in the gap and help care for the fatherless (which were children that had no protector or provider). Example from the Law We will look at one example from the Law, which is from Deuteronomy 24: God commands his people to provide for the fatherless. But also notice that caring for the fatherless is a command that comes with a promise, that God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands (Deuteronomy 24:18-19). Example from the books of poetry (Job and Psalms) The book of Job is considered by many scholars to be some of the oldest scripture in the Bible. This earliest of scripture speaks of the righteous as being those that give protection and provision to the fatherless. We read about how Job is tested when God allows Satan to destroy his family, his wealth, and his health. Job vehemently defends himself against the suggestion that he is being punished for a lack of righteousness. Starting with the 29 th chapter, Job starts the long defense of his character, which includes several references to the fatherless. In Job 29:12 he says... I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.

3 In Job 31:21-23 he says... if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things. Job was a man of God who gave protection and provision to the fatherless, which was one of the reasons he was considered blameless and upright by God. There are several references to the fatherless throughout the Psalms. One very clear and pointed command from God is from Psalm 82:3: Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Example from the Prophets -- Elijah and the widow at Zarephath There are also many references to the fatherless throughout the prophets. We will look at one example from 1 Kings 17: 1-24, which is the story about Elijah and the widow at Zarephath. Many of you are familiar with the story where God commanded the widow at Zarephath to take care of Elijah. He asked the widow for a drink of water and a piece of bread. She responded by saying that she was down to her last tiny morsel of food and that she was going to prepare a little meal for herself and her son, and then they would die because they had no more food. It was a fatherless household, so there was most likely little protection and of course we know very little provision. However, God called his prophet Elijah to this fatherless household. Elijah told her that her jar of flour and the jug of oil would not run dry until the day that the Lord sent rain. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. Some time later the widow s son became very ill and finally stopped breathing. Elijah took her son, the fatherless child, and prayed to the Lord to let the boy s life return to him. The son revived and Elijah gave him back to his mother. She responded by saying, Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth. God, through his prophet Elijah, provided for the fatherless household and raised up the fatherless child from death. This final act was the proof to the widow that Elijah was truly a man of God and the words of the Lord from his mouth were the truth. Example from the life of Jesus raising a widow s son outside the town of Nain (Luke 7:11-16) Jesus, with his disciples and a large crowd following him, went to a town called Nain. As he approached the town gate a dead person was being carried out. The dead person was the only son of a widow. A large crowd from the town was with her. When Jesus saw her his heart went out to her, and he told her not to cry. Jesus stopped the funeral procession and said, Young man, I say to you, get up! The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. After witnessing this amazing miracle, the many people said that God had come to help his people. And then the news about Jesus spread throughout the land.

4 Just like Elijah hundreds of years earlier, Jesus raised up a fatherless child. And in both stories, the witnesses said the miracle testified to the presence of God. The widow said that Elijah was truly a man of God and the crowds said that Jesus was God. Instruction to the Church And finally we see an example in instruction to the church in a very well known verse from James 1:27. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Caring for orphans is one of those acts of service that brings credibility to our faith. The ministry of Florida Baptist Children s Homes Florida Baptist s, united as the body of Christ, joined together and established the ministry of the Florida Baptist Children s Homes in Since that time, they have cared for thousands of abused, neglected, and orphaned children. The Children s Homes has six campus locations across the state where they care for children in residential style group homes they call cottages. They also have eight other locations across the state where they provide services for foster care, Safe Families, and adoptions. They also have an international childcare program called Orphan s Heart where they take weeklong mission teams to provide aid to orphans and disadvantaged children in locations in the developing world such as Guatemala, Haiti, and Uganda. The Florida Baptist Children s Homes is helping thousands of orphaned and disadvantaged children by providing them with proper food and clothing. They also ensure that the children in their care receive a proper education and are prepared to take the next steps in life after they leave the Children s Homes. They also minister to the children s emotional needs by providing them with counseling to help them through the tragic events and heartbreaking situations they have experienced. Most importantly, they guide them spiritually by taking them to church and ensuring that God s Word is part of their life through daily devotions. Thousands of orphaned and disadvantaged children have come to know Christ through the Children s Homes. Conclusion The Florida Baptist Children s Homes has been raising up the fatherless in the name of Jesus for more than a hundred years. We invite you to be a part of this ministry by following God s command of leaving something behind for the fatherless. As we remember, this command is followed by a promise from God to bless us in all the work of our hands. In addition, our ministry to orphans is called true religion by God, and it is a great witness to the world around us of the loving God that we serve.

5 Because of God s command and because of our witness to the world, we are going to imitate the actions of Jesus when we stopped and raised up the fatherless child outside the city of Nain. Today, as the body of Christ, we are going to stop and raise up the fatherless by taking up our annual Mother s Day Offering to benefit the Florida Baptist Children s Homes and all of the precious children they care for every day. Let us pray... Prayer Heavenly Father, there are millions of orphaned children throughout the world. You know each and every one by name. You see their suffering from severe poverty, malnutrition, disease, and physical and emotional abuse. You know the thousands of children that are ignored and left to feel invisible in a dark and hopeless world. Dear God, these children are not invisible to you. You see them and care about them. You hear their cry and comfort them. Please continue to watch over them. Please keep these children safe, send them aid, and guard their hearts against the bitterness that can come from the cruelties and wickedness in our world. Please help us to practice pure religion. Please show us how we can reach out and help the fatherless. Please help us to be more intentional in helping the weak and oppressed. We pray in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior who gives grace, mercy, and everlasting life. Amen. Take up Mother s Day Offering Invitation We invite you to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. Today, we took up a special offering that will be used to minister to the fatherless. When you accept Christ, you are immediately adopted into the family of God. By believing on the Lord Jesus, you can know without a doubt that you will always have your heavenly Father beside you all the way. Jesus is the ultimate protector and provider. Come today and let him be your eternal heavenly father.