Latest / DFC Podcast / Walking Worthy: Discipleship, Justice & God’s Heart for the Poor

Transcript

Walking Worthy: Discipleship, Justice & God’s Heart for the Poor · DFC Podcast

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Well, good morning again. I just want us to spend over the
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next few moments just considering discipleship and
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just this and the call that God gives us to serve the poor.
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And I know as a church, you've been walking through the book of
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Ephesians just over recent weeks, and I want us to be able
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to reflect on a few of those scriptures that Paul writes in
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that book this morning and then expanding to some some other
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things as well. But there's a question at the
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heart of Christian discipleship. And it's not do you believe,
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although that does matter. It is how we walk.
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Paul wrote this letter, amongst others, from a prison in chains.
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What I find fascinating about Paul is that he doesn't write
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about survival, because that would have been very easy to do
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in his position of being in a prison cell.
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But he writes to us about a call.
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He writes about a life worthy of God and walk and to walk worthy
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of Our Calling, which had now has been a real anchor Scripture
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and saying for you over recent weeks.
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And so just to remind us this morning from Ephesians 4, verse
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one, as a prisoner of the Lord, then I urge you to live a life
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worthy of the calling you have received.
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The Greek word peripeteo means to walk, to move through the
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world and to live every day. And it's the language of an
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ordinary life. And the apostle Paul here is
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talking about walking this ordinary life.
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And it's in the ordinary life, the day-to-day, where
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discipleship takes place in our every moment as we take our
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every breath. But the walk that we have in
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following Christ, it's not a neutral walk.
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It's a walk that moves towards something.
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It's walking in a certain direction.
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And the thing that I've observed over the years that I've walked
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with Jesus is that he often walked towards the poor and the
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marginalized, those that were ignored, those that were
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forgotten, those that didn't necessarily sit within society
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very well. So today I want us to just
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consider what does it mean to walk worthy?
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I want us to think about our identity, walking injustice, but
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not doing it alone, but walking together.
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So let's begin with just the foundation who we are in Christ.
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Paul spends the first 3 chapters of Ephesians not telling us what
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to do, but who we are in Christ before he tells us and
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instructions, instructions instructs us how we are to live.
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Discipleship doesn't begin with duty, but it begins with grace.
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And this morning we are all deeply grateful that we've had
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the opportunity to be saved by grace.
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We're never worthy, we're never enough, but through the grace of
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God we can be more than enough. In Ephesians one, verse 3 says,
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praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
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has blessed us in the heavenly realms.
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With every spiritual blessing in Christ today, friends, we can be
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reassured that He chose us before the foundations of the
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world, that we are adopted sons and daughters, that we've been
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redeemed through the blood of Christ and we've been sealed
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with the Holy Spirit. We're dead to sin, but we are
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fully alive in Christ, strangers and foreigners.
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Now fellow citizens of God's household.
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In chapter 2, verse 19, it says, consequently, you are no longer
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foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's
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people and all members of his household.
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He describes what Christ has created in the church.
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It's not broken down. It's not a dividing wall of
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hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles, between the
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insider and the outsider. It's a new humanity.
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And the early church was socially explosive.
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It gathered people across boundaries, across classes and
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races and statuses in the ancient world.
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There is no boundary. There is no wall in the Kingdom
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and within the family of God and so therefore discipleship that
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ignores the suffering of our brothers and sisters across
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other nations or maybe within our own town is an absolute
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contradiction. We cannot say we are one body
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and then live as if their poverty is not of our concern.
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You see, discipleship is always communal to walk, and the call
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to walk worthy is a call to walk not alone, but with others,
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including those who suffer. And so the character of the walk
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is having justice at the heart. Discipleship has always meant
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justice. Some people treat justice as a
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political add on to the gospel or something optional or even
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divisive. But the Scriptures tell us
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clearly about God's heart for justice in the poor.
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In Isaiah 1 verse 17, it says learn to do right, seek justice,
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defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless, and
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plead the case of the widow. In Micah 6 verse 8, He has shown
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you, O mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of
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you to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
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your God, To walk humbly. It's the same language that Paul
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is used in the book of Ephesians to walk, and the walk of
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discipleship is a walk of justice.
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It's not 2 paths, it's just one. Proverbs 31 verse 89 says speak
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up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights
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of those who are destitute, Speak up and judge fairly and
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defend the rights of the poor and the needy.
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For those of you that are sponsoring here today, what
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you're basically doing is enabling a local church to serve
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the poorest of the poor within their community.
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And every single one of those children have a voice.
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And what you're doing is you're enabling that local church
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leader and that community to elevate the voice of a child
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that needs to be heard. In Luke chapter 4 when Jesus
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announced his own mission and he recalls the word that we reading
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Isaiah and it says the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he
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has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
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He has set me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners in
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recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free and to
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proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.
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You see, we read that Jesus healed bodies, He fed thousands
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and he touched lepers. He stopped to speak to the woman
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nobody else acknowledged. He invited the crowd for blind
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Bartimais to come and stand alongside him.
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The incarnation of God walking towards the marginalized and the
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discipleship in our participation is that same walk.
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Ephesians. Paul's language about walking,
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particularly in verse in in chapters 4 and 5 is really
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practical. And I know as a church you've
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looked at that recently, but I just want to pick out verse 28
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in in Ephesians chapter 4 where it says anyone who has been
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stealing must not steal any longer, but must work doing
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useful with their own hands that they may have something to share
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with those in need. And then amongst those very
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practical verses in chapters 4-5 and six in Ephesians, Paul's
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leaning towards that we can do these things and we work so that
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we're able to share with others. And particularly emphasizing
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those that are in need to walk in the way of love.
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Christ. Love for us was self giving and
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it moves towards us and it moved towards us expecting nothing in
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return. And that's how we are to be with
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those that are vulnerable, those that are marginalised to give
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and to express the love of Christ with not expecting
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anything in return. But we already heard from Julie
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this morning about she feels incredibly blessed just to be
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able to write and encourage the young lady that she sponsors.
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And it is an incredible blessing and privilege to be able to do
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that. Here's a thought.
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The theology of justice is not a detour from discipleship, but it
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is the road. It's the road of Jesus in the
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direction of justice. And so as we consider who we are
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in Christ, and as we've considered just the character of
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the walk and what it's like to walk in discipleship as a
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follower of Christ than in justice, what does the walk in
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action look like for us as followers of Christ this
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morning? The church is God's instrument
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of justice. Ephesians 3 chapter, verse 10
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says the intent was that now through the church, the manifold
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wisdom of God should be known to the rulers and authorities in
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the heavenly places. It's the church that God's
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called to be His instrument. Not government, not even
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necessarily NGOs, and not us walking alone as individuals,
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but the church that God has chosen to display wisdom and
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justice in the world that we live in.
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It's a high and humbling calling and I think one of the most
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incredible things I love about compassion.
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And I think it's one of the things that really kind of
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cemented my yes when I had the opportunity to work for them.
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It was the fact that we exclusively partner with local
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churches. From the age of 16.
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I've been passionate about the church.
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I've served the church and the communities that I've lived in
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because I believe that Jesus is the answer and that a church
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community is a community where everyone can belong, can
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flourish and grow and become the best version of themselves.
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And the church without walls looks like what you're doing.
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Partnership, investing generously into the lives of
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children and families that are part of a community in another
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part of the world with God's posture towards the poor, but
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ultimately enabling a local church to serve them.
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That's the beauty of the body of Christ.
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We are one body. The call to what worthy is also
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for the child that sits on the street corner, that has no food,
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that has no health care, that has no education, that doesn't
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have the ability to dream, just like Ronnie had mentioned.
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And those children through the sponsorship program and the
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incredible dedicated work of the local churches, see those
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children develop holistically, physical, economic, social and
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spiritual. And when I've been to the field,
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and I think Ben would be able to testify this as well, we call
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ourselves a holistic child development charity.
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But for me, what runs through the whole thing is discipleship.
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It's undeniable and it's incredibly powerful.
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And so this morning I want to encourage you as friends to say
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that if you're standing alongside a child, you're part
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of their discipleship journey. You're encouraging and
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championing not just them, but their church leader and the team
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that work with them. They're deeply grateful for your
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generosity and enabling for Resource to Flow to be effective
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in what they're doing. And actually we are serving his
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disciples, not saviours. We do come across the odd person
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that speaks about white Saviourism, and I get it, but
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not in the context of our work. Because what we're doing is
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we're positioning people in their discipleship journey to
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serve the poor in a very practical, purposeful and
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personal way through sponsorship.
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And what we're doing is enabling the local churches and their
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communities to serve these children.
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In fact, what you're doing in Togo and the other nations that
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are supported with the children that you're sponsoring, you're
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enabling our CEOs of those countries and their leadership
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teams to outwork their strategic plan for their nation because
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they know where the most need is.
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We don't go in with our Western eyes and say this is what you
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need to do. This is where the need is.
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We trust 100% those leaders, those national directors in
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their teams to faithfully serve communities that are in the most
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need. You see, as a community, you
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should be aware of the needs within Dorchester because you
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live here, You understand the culture, you understand the
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context. And it's exactly the same for
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the church leaders that we're able to serve within those
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nations that we work in. They understand their culture,
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their context and their challenges and when I walk
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through the streets of Togo or Uganda or Kenya or Ghana,
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there's need everywhere. But the local churches are
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empowered to see those that are in most need, the poorest of the
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poor, and to reach out and see them supported.
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And they're the children and those young men and women that
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are in the programme today. Paul wrote the book of Ephesians
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I've already mentioned in chains.
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In a prison. He couldn't walk very far, but
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he called the church to walk humbly, gently, lovingly and
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justly worthy of everything they had been given in Christ Jesus.
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On August the 25th 2024, I was in a 13 seater mission aviation
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plane flying from Entebbe in Uganda to Umbrara.
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As the plane was coming in to land on the red dust, the
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Ugandan soil, I saw to the left side of the runway A mangled
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helicopter. And I said to the pilot, what's
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been going on there? He said, oh, about 10 days ago,
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the helicopter come down and no one survived.
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And the thought crossed my mind, there's no guarantees for
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anyone, is there? Really?
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But as I stepped off that plane, I was meted by a group of people
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that worked for Compassion Uganda.
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And one young man met me with a firm handshake and a huge smile,
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and he said, welcome to Uganda. He's become a great friend of
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mine. But in one of my early
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conversations with him, I remember him talking about his
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own journey as a sponsored boy. And he referred to poverty as
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being like being in a prison cell.
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Just like the one that the apostle Paul was writing from a
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place where food wasn't guaranteed, where water came at
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a cost, and where dreams fell out of reach.
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And so I want us just to turn to the screens, to the for a
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moment. And I want to invite you just
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into the story of James. I've seen that video about 30
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times and I still get emotional every time I see it.
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James is a remarkable man and in fact he in January this year was
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asked by Compassion International to work for them
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and be the WASH specialist for Compassion International.
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So now James overseas the water intervention, water
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interventions across 29 countries.
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James's sister was supported as well as a young girl and she now
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lives in Peckham in London and is married to Ronnie.
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You see, what I love about God is that we never know where our
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obedience is going to lead, do we?
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We never know the impact of a word or a sentence or a prayer
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or a conversation that's going to impact someone's life or
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giving financially. We're never going to know the
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full impact of that this side of heaven.
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And James has just invited us this morning to part of his
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story. And there's 3 words in that film
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that have stood with me, with me.
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And it's the words. This is it, this is all life
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will ever be. It wasn't rebellion, it wasn't
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anger, it was just this resignation that this is going
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to be my life. And today, for 412 million
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children in the world, poverty still sounds just like that
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voice. James's life didn't change
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because of a big idea or a one off moment necessarily.
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Or well meaning emotion. It changed because of a local
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church that chose him and to walk with him.
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An ordinary church just like this one in a rural community.
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Faith is saying yes, not just once, but over years and years.
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It's this church here, Cucumber Chapel.
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This is the church where James went as a boy and was sponsored
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by a girl called Gillian and was holistically developed, where
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that dream of becoming an engineer began.
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Today, James still attends this church and sews into this
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community with his wife and children.
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This is the place where food became consistent, where
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healthcare became possible, and where school became a reality.
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But more than that, it was a place where someone disabled
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him. Dorcas.
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She didn't just teach James, she walked with him.
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She even renamed him Engineer James.
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Before the qualification, before the degree, before the job.
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She spoke identity before evidence, and when you write to
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a child, that's exactly what you're doing.
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We're not just relying on the people that are physically
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present, but those that sponsor can have the same impact.
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Calling out who we could become and staying there long enough to
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help them grow into it. Not to rescue, Not an act of
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charity, not a moment, but presence, formation and a faith
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that stays. The power of local churches
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working together, serving together, not just meeting
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needs, but making disciples. And today, it's still happening.
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It's happening with the 71 children that are currently
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supported and sponsored here. It's part of your story.
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It's part of your story. It's more than programmes, but
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they're being known. And for James, who knew where
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his story would go. This is a filthy pond that I
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stood next to last August. This is the only access a
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community, in fact one of our frontline church partners have
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at the moment. I saw four and five year old
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kids with a small canister walking down to this pond to get
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water. They would only most probably
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give them disease. Animals drank from that pond
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whilst I was there. But thanks to the generosity of
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a local church here in the UK, by the time January the 1st
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happens in 2027 there'll be a water solution here that will be
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long term and sustainable and give them safe water.
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And it's through the power of local churches and what will be
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installed will be something like this, where there be a tap stand
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where the church has put water his life and this particular
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community. When the water intervention went
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in at 280 typhoid cases that year and 180 hookworm cases when
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I visited in 2024, on the board it said that there was 3
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hookworm cases in 0 typhoid cases that year.
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You see, it's not just about giving him safe water, but the
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local churches, they educate about how to use safe water.
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And here's James at the Natural Well and Spring just talking to
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us about it. And what amazed me was that this
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place was lower than the project where the water was.
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And they used engineering and all the science to pump water
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from this spring up to that community.
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And the the pressure of the water that came out the tap was
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better than what I've got in my own home.
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It's a remarkable thing that they're doing so educated and
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they're just expressing some wonderful things through putting
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safe water into communities. And the reality of James's story
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here is that discipleship does multiply.
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When Gillian, on a morning like today, said yes to sponsoring
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James, she didn't know where the story would lead.
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She was just faithful with what she was feeling led to do.
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She stepped into an opportunity to lean into God's heart for the
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poor because it's something that she wasn't doing and expressing
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in her own life. She simply followed Jesus and
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trusted Him for the outcome. She didn't realize the ripple
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effect would go across many communities in Uganda and now
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across 29 countries in the world.
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And she began to understand that through her sponsorship and
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standard alongside and seeing James disciple, that she wasn't
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just releasing him from poverty in Jesus name, she was releasing
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him to Jesus. And so this morning, as we just
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come to a close, I want us to consider for those of you that
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may not be engaging in serving the poor and marginalized in
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some way today, whether it's here locally or maybe overseas,
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but there's an opportunity in a moment for you to step into
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today where we can stand alongside further children.
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We've got another 15 children here with us this morning with
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profiles that are looking for a sponsor.
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And maybe is it something that you can do as an individual or a
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family or a couple of families or some friends together where
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we can continue to care for these children?
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Yes, it is a commitment and yes, it will cost, but it is a part
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of enabling the local church across the globe to serve God's
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heart for the poor. And who knows what will happen?
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It costs £32.00 a month to sponsor.
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It's maybe 6 to 8 to 10 coffers a month, or maybe 6 pints of
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beer or a couple of Domino's pizzas if you've got a 50%
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voucher. But friends, let's just look and
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consider about stepping into this space and I'll close with
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this. One of the most exciting things
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that's happening with compassion right now, and it's beginning in
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Africa, is that when children graduate from the program,
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they're not just being left to go into their world and their
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space anymore. We're starting to gather
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compassion and alumni through countries.
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And there's a young man called Emmanuel in Rwanda who was a
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sponsored child and took it upon himself as a youth pastor of a
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local church to start gathering alumni.
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And right now in Rwanda, there's 10,000 compassion men and women
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alumni that were sponsored as kids in the gathering together.
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They're part of 200 cohorts and they gather together, they pray
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and they're asking God, OK, it's our turn now.
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What can we do to change this nation?
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It's happening in Kenya, it's happening in Uganda, and it's
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happening across the nations. And so this small act of
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generosity and kindness that we're doing in sponsoring these
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kids, I'm telling you, what's it going to look like in five,
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10/15/20 years time across these nations when these children that
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are grown up into men and women of God and now taking on their
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responsibility to see the Kingdom of God established
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through their life and in their communities where God's called
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them to be friends. It's an incredible thing that
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God is doing. And so thank you for those of
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you that have stepped into this space and for those of you that
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haven't, and if you are able to, then I just want to encourage
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you to step into this space this morning.
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Let us pray. Father God, I thank you for the
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apostle Paul. And I thank you that even from
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his prison cell, he didn't talk about survival, but he talked
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about a call, a walk that's worthy.
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And Lord, as we've looked at this this morning, as the church
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has looked at the book of Ephesians over recent weeks,
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Lord, we thank you that you have called us into a life with
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Christ set free from sin and death, fully alive.
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We've got every spiritual blessing that our access.
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And Lord, I pray that we will be disciples of you, actively
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pursuing you and seeing people come to the knowledge of the
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Lord Jesus Christ here in Dorchester, in the surrounding
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areas, but also to the ends of the earth.
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And I thank you, Lord, that this church here has lifted their
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eyes and have not just looked at what God is calling them to do
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here, but he's looking at how can they see God's Kingdom
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established and expanded in other nations.
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And so, Lord, I thank you for partnership.
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I thank you that we are one body working together, sharing
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resources, but serving the same God.
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And so Lord, this morning, I just pray you continue to
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strengthen and move throughout this community.
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And Lord would see your Kingdom strengthened to become more
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established through this church and the other churches that are
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serving you here in Dorchester and with endorse it.
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Lord, thank you for the privilege of following you.
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It's not easy. Sometimes it can be difficult
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and hard. But Lord, we know that you've
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called us to this. And Lord, as we serve together,
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as we stand together and encouraging and strengthening
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one another, Lord, we can see you do incredible things in and
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through our lives in Jesus name, Amen.