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September 24, 2021 12:00 am
No passion in this particular way, building staffing, orphanages, caring for orphans bringing orphans in your home has been a unique activity of believers for surgery while why because the church accepted a letter from James, which happened to be the first letter to the circulated and is actually challenging the believer to demonstrate the gospel in the tangible, real way you choose a child without a home and you give them when we plant fruits or vegetables. We expect that plant to yield a crop. The Bible uses the analogy of fruit bearing to describe us as well. Spirit filled people bear spiritual fruit. But as you know many Christians seem to bear little fruit there may be times in your life when you feel like that describes you. Stephen addresses that in this message. This is part two of a message called both sound and sight for Stephen James is living in a pre-Christian period of time that I like to think of our own culture.
That way I discussed Christian the pre-Christian because this means we have great opportunity for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right church was birthed in a culture with the value of human life is an all-time low travel back to Greece, back to Ronnie travel back to the first century and abortion and infanticide were universally accepted effects. Seneca, the Roman historian who died in the same time.
James wrote this letter said and I quote the drowned children who at birth are weak and physically paired so common, the killing of children after birth. One historian blame the population decline of Greece upon that practice infant girls were especially vulnerable simply because they would not be able to care for their parents or carry on the family property through inheritance. So in Greece.
It was rare for even any family wealthy or not to raise more than one daughter, one inscription a Delphi record as a result of the second century sampling of 600 BC day second century took a sampling of 600 families and found that only six of them had raised more than one daughter.
The girls during the early years of the church until Christianity took root and things changed in the fourth century they would be left out on the porches, where at night. They can be carried away by wild animals or brothel owners to be raised as prostitutes or as slaves. As of the first century church began going around in my collecting and raising these children. Why because there is value in human life because life is the creation of God and God. By the way, Instead have a father's heart.
That's the gospel, God is saying to his servant James is asking are you helping those who cannot pay you back. That's genuine compassion and that is the gospel because God can say to us what I've done for you, and you can never pay me back when we do acts of compassion. We do them not to repay God which we can't. We do them to imitate God which we can. God wants his children to act like their father. Paul wrote to the Colossians, or read earlier. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved clothes yourselves with compassion, James specifically mentions orphans by the way, the word visit in your text is a bit weak. It's hard to find an English word that compares to this one its strong word.
In fact, it's a word is used of God visiting his people to give them encouragement and strength and help.
It's the word same root word that gives us the word Episcopal costs word used for the word elder that is administrating caring for seeing to the needs of the pastoral flock so we are to orphans to do very strong work. Jesus use the same word when he said in Matthew 2535 to 36 I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited same word. I was in prison and you came to me these are all wonderful acts of compassion ministries flourish in the name of Christ church through all of the things we just Jesus said earlier in Matthew 24 but nowhere perhaps at least in the mind of James's compassion see more clearly the believer serve someone who cannot serve them in return. Like taking care of an orphan or widow life expectancy during the days of Christ and for centuries afterwards was only about 30 years, which meant parents die, often leaving children, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 years of age, penniless, often in parentless Justin Martyr pastored 50 years after the book of James began to circulate, spoke of offerings collected in the churches for the orphan orphans were taken off the streets and reared believers home, any homes would wear more than one as many as they could. We Christianity was legalized in the Western world and 83. 13 Christians were caring for many orphans got together they formed co-op so to speak of a they created what they called orphan a trophy and it's which is a word that simply means orphanages and they didn't simply warehouse children, but lovingly cared for providing an education and training in some craft or discipline so they could care for themselves like an old throughout the centuries where the gospel was received and and and that nation which allowed the gospel of the truth of Scripture to to provide the foundation of their wall and their philosophy.
It would be that influence it would bring about this great care and Christians were always as it were, leading the way. Many of you are familiar with the name of George Mueller, George Mueller began caring for 30 girls thought 30 orphan girls and the net began to grow. The time of his death in 1898 is orphanages were caring for at that time. More than 8000 for more than 8000 orphans in America. One pastor who was impressed with Mueller's ministry, but he has been designed and desire was to see that orphans actually were in single homes and so he founded the children's aid Society where he put into practice his beliefs to accomplish his objective hundreds of of children were networked with farm families up the East Coast and into the Midwest and they were placed on trains that were dumped orphan train before they were placed on the train. They work For some time and they were trained in their training, including the memorization of the Lord's prayer, 10 Commandments, and some of Christ's parables, and some of the Psalms, so that the word of God would be in our hearts, they were put on the trains which headed north northeast an incredible success effectively. Want to see some pictures of the very moving. In my research I googled orphan train and saw pictures of children, well-dressed waiting to board the train and head toward the family farm is going to receive and when this ministry ended in the early 1920s 200,000 American orphans have been adopted. The orphan train became the founding concept of hot behind that that the modern day Foster care system beyond the practice of compassion and and in this particular way, building staffing, orphanages, caring for orphans bringing orphans in your home has been the unique activity of believers for centuries. Why why because the church accepted a letter from James, which happened to be the first letter written to the New Testament and is circulated and James was is actually challenging the believer to demonstrate the gospel in the tangible, real way you you choose a child without a home and you give them you choose a child without hope and you give them hope we choose a child that's hungry you provide for his food.
You take a child without hope and give them grace was moving to me to meet individuals affect with individuals in our church staff who were orphans adopted grown-up now serve Christ with their lives with numerous people in our church service foster parent volunteers, and orphanages.
Many of you going overseas to serve for a period of time, and orphanages bring the love of Christ to them. Many of you of adopted children and service foster parents. Some of you adopted stateside children. Some of you have adopted international children to profound demonstration of the gospel, and it is precious.
In fact, it is the sharing of life of those in spite of the fact that they will never be able to piggyback in kind, but let me tell you something you will be paid. You will be paid you will be rewarded for James calls this visitation. This administration sure, and undefiled religion and we will be rewarded for anything that is pure and undefiled right and you will be uniquely rewarded who are doing this, the church that cares. The church that wants to support these kinds of ministries will be a reportable assembly because we chosen to do it. James and Paul and other biblical authors exhort us to do show compassion to those in need and I can tell you I get to the entrance that I visit. I come to the we have yet to begin. I am deeply convicted learned in my study of one payback that came unexpectedly when believers in Holland learned that the Nazis were systematically rating the orphanages and taking the Jewish babies and children deporting them of the concentration camps. Brave Dutch men began this impersonation when they would impersonate SS officers at the risk of their own lives that we don't win and act like they were raiding an orphanage they would collect all the Jewish babies and children. Then they would send them the safehouses and from there they would be taken and adopted by families that would provide great courage, great courage.
One such safe house was the 10 boom house the ring a bell probably have heard of. Corrie 10 boom, or family would serve as one of the safehouses for these infants, children who would then be ferreted out to homes to be taken care of. Peter 10 boom.
Corey's nephew would also play a role with her safe house was betrayed, discovered all of the tendons were sent to concentration camps. Most of them died.
Corrie survived as well as Peter. Peter went on to be an evangelist. He was older when he was incarcerated in the concentration camp and on one occasion as an older man. Peter was in Israel. Speaking preaching and had a heart attack.
He was rushed to the hospital. Surgery was going to be needed to save his life.
Just prior to surgery. This article recorded. The cardiologist was talking with Peter and asked him, I see her last name is 10 boom, are you by any chance related to the 10 booms of how the children Jews. Peter said yes that was my family doctor said with tears streaming down his cheeks. I was one of the babies your family saved, and now it is my privilege to try and help save your life which you did in the mind of James and our God, who is also a father. It doesn't get any shorter. Caring for the child.
Not only them, because on the talk about widows as well. He says pure religion and undefiled insight of our God was a father is this, to care for orphans and widows in their distress, depression, there need the Old Testament had always back to the law had made provision for the window, calling on the farmer to sell his field. When I came time to read to leave the corners alone.
They were for the poor and the needy.
This was a built-in course on faith. This built compassion into the nation Israel.
The course remember one wealthy farmer follow the law that a bride out of his name is what Boaz found Ruth, the widow would come to foraging his field.
In the days of the early church for 2 million church leader recorded about 100 years after James wrote this letter that offerings were being taken once a month to support widows for the fact that the first church on the planet in Jerusalem had probably won its first organizational meetings where they commissioned men the diaconate more than likely grew out of that there may have been the first were not sure but commissioned these men and their service as deacons was specifically tied to meeting the needs of widows because the early church, even though it was early in young and close to the truth and the barely come back together that Christ split open as he ascended already. There was prejudice in the Hebrew widows were receiving financial support in the Grecian Hellenistic widows were being overlooked and the solution was, not Hebrew. Widows deserve it all. But let's have some men selected and let them administrate needs of these with James Wood been in the meeting he would become the pastor teacher of this church and the value of this group of people in the church was elevated given respect and care see you go around the world today my friend and you discover a nation or culture that does not have the gospel of Jesus Christ and the value of a widow is next to nothing. You go to India, where when a woman's husband dies, she is as good as dead because again of their religion there. There their theological beliefs so to speak of annuity of 300,000+ gods but the Hindus saying is that I quoted.
If her husband is happy she should be happy if he is sad she should be sad and if he is dead. She also should die, so I culture came to succeed as widow burning became the object of the responsibility speaks the expectation that she was to mount her husband's funeral pyre where he was going to be burned as a corpse she would be burned alive if she refused. She was often put there by force and often by her own son.
She somehow alluded this practice. She was forced to shave her head, thus becoming unattractive, the future husband. She was allowed only one meal a day. She was never allowed to be a rather pregnant woman under the belief that her glance would bring a curse.
So you look into the ministry of a William Carey who brings the gospel there and you and you read his bladder via value with great passion for he thought against widow burning. He would go to where they were done at Bertolino and he would preach the gospel with tears.
It was eventually outlawed primarily because of the gospel to taken root.
But it still isn't a practice that is completely gone away.
Fact as late as 1987.
Time magazine carried the article of an 18-year-old widow who voluntarily mounted the prior holding her husband's head in her lap asked for the pyre to be ignited. The article revealed that the throng of cheering women to get imagine that supported her action after she was virtually cremated. Thousands of women came to receive blessings from the ashes of this dead widow believing with their religion that she had now become a goddess. The gospel delivers a different message than there is a future and a hope for everyone. Widows included the death of a husband is not the death of hope because it is not the death of God and because of our maturing walk with God were challenged to demonstrate the differences of Christianity in our conversation in our compassion finally quickly in our character. James ends verse 27 the writing, keep oneself unstained by the world. The world, what is he mean that word translated refers to the world's system, the world's way of thinking.
It's a word most often is used in the New Testament talk of fallen ungodly mankind and their ungodly morals but also this is the point. I believe James is making their ungodly value system.
What they considered to be of value. And that's the context of this paragraph, Christianity is turn everything upside down. In doing so, right side up.
The world would say use your time to promote yourself, talk about yourself, build yourself up.
The greatest believe and what James is bright on that kind of speech, compassion, people who belong to me and let me tell you, that isn't some distant philosophy. That's what you and I struggle with today, and then in our conduct. He says don't buy the world's value system and got it all wrong. Keep yourself untainted.
You could render that unstained and you meet only thing that is not possible. I live in a dirty world and rubs off on.
That's why the verb tenses present tense if the deal with this daily, one more daily activity. One more daily discipline why we take our hearts or minds regularly to a divine dry-cleaning system with a wonderful cleaner. Don't we never got around to staying somewhere and he did not baby around the front of shirt or blouse and nobody told you that he wondered at the end of the day when he finally sought the mirror how many people solve me like that was even worse is if he knew it and didn't care.
That's what he's talking when you're stained and you know deal with it. So go to the cleaner so to speak, who specializes in staying removal thing.
James is talking about just any kind of stain the geese thinking specifically.
In this context, it's easy for us to become stained with the value system of our world and life doesn't matter that the pre-born is just a mass of tissue that the deformed need to be shut away that poor people are probably getting what they deserve that if I give that guy a dollar. I'm really not solve his problem and so you probably a good work anyway. Then orphans are concerned that widows are our responsibility along our family that you serve only some money they can pay you back.
That's a business deal right compassion. You see how easy it is for us to adopt the value system of our world.
So how do you keep yourself clean and keep your religion pure honey. Keep your tongue bridled maybe three things quickly, and will wrap it up number one. We refused to defend the slightest infraction of an unbridled week in this context is what he means when I get to talk about yourself when you promote ourselves ready to focus everybody's attention on us. Number two. We refused to ignore the needs of others who cannot repay us first. We refused to defend the slightest infraction of an unbridled Tom. Secondly, we refused to ignore the needs of others who cannot pay us back. Third, we refused to accept the value system of world objects choose to demonstrate the gospel humility with our tongues compassion with the resources purity in our lives so that if our lives were television screen. The world will be able to hear us and watch both sight and sound, hearing and seeing a demonstration of the gospel that has radically impacted everything about us putting our conversation, passion and character. With that we bring to a close this current you're listening to wisdom for the hearts Stephen Davey has been teaching through the early verses of James in this series called bringing faith down to earth before we and our time today. There's a couple of resources I want to make you aware of.
Stephen has written a commentary on the entire book of James in his practical and pastoral exposition of this great book. You'll find tremendous insight for your life during this series we been making it available at a very special rate and today is the last day to take advantage of that.
We've also had several people use it as a guide for a group Bible study and again.
It's available today at a special rate and you can order as many copies as you want. I also want you to know that if you want to listen to this series again or share it with a friend. You can do that as well. You can download the audio files and the printed manuscripts from our website at no cost to you. But if you prefer to have it on CDs we can help you with that as well. The book and the CD set are available on our website.
Wisdom online.org you can also call us at 86 648 Bible.
That's 866-482-4253 and I hope we hear from you today. Our mailing address if you'd like to write to us is wisdom for the heart PO Box 37297, Raleigh, NC 27627. Let me give you that once again you can write to us at wisdom for the heart PO Box 37297, Raleigh, NC 27627 on her next broadcast, Stephen begins a series called Armageddon in the fall of Babylon. You won't want to miss that. So join us next time here on wisdom