Welcome to the Food for Your Soul podcast, where we apply the word of God to the hearts of men and women to stoke the fires of your delight in Christ. Here's your host, Dr. D. Richard Ferguson. If someone asked you what the book of 1 Timothy is about, what would you say? Do you know that 22% of that book is about widows? It's a book written to a pastor about how to run a church. Why is over a fifth of it devoted to the topic of widows? The answer goes to the very core of the Christian faith. James 1 27, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. Religion is going to have an effect on your speech. Secondly, on mercy, verse 27, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. Now orphans and widows, that just stands there for the most helpless and needy among us. All through Scripture you see God having special care and compassion for orphans and widows. Anyone who's in trouble, and has no one to protect them, nobody to provide for them and care for them, draws the most tender affection from the heart of God in Scripture. Right? I mean, doesn't God reserve His tenderest and most gracious affection for widows and orphans and people who are in trouble? And if you're a true child of God, you'll have a heart like that. A special heart for orphans and widows. Do you know that the very first organized ministry in the church ever was a ministry to widows? Acts chapter 6. It's the first thing they got going. Ministry to widows. The book of 1 Timothy, it's a book about how to run the church. You want to know how to run a church? Read 1 Timothy. It's all about how to run a church. 22% of that book is about ministry to widows. God cares about people in need. And if my religion doesn't extend far enough for me to touch my wallet and my calendar, my day timer, so that I'm actually helping somebody in need, it's a bogus religion. It's worthless. If you have some kind of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that doesn't move you to help the needy, it's not saving faith. And this isn't new with James. I mean, this is all through Scripture. This is crystal clear all the way through the Bible. In fact, chapter 1 of the book of Isaiah is all about this. The people then, they were doing all the stuff God wanted them to do. He told them, I want you to offer sacrifices. I want you to, you know, celebrate the new moon festivals and the Sabbaths and all that. And He gave them all this stuff to do in the law, and they were doing it. They were doing all of it. And yet God didn't accept it. He hated it. He couldn't stand it. Why? Because they weren't caring for the widows and the orphans. And so it made everything else worthless. Isaiah 1.13, your meaningless offerings, your incense is detestable to me, new moons, Sabbaths, convocations, I cannot bear your evil assemblies, your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, my soul hates." And he goes on and on with that. Why? Verse 17, learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, that's the orphan, and plead the case of the widow. When you see someone in trouble, especially someone who's weak and can't defend themselves, can't care for themselves, and your heart isn't moved with compassion to help that person, your religion is defiled and unacceptable in God's sight. Compassion for those in need and giving a generous heart to those in need, that's a mark of true faith. That's what it's going to be all about on Judgment Day. I mean, Jesus made that clear in Matthew 25, right? Sheep and the goat judgment. He says, Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to drink. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to eat. And I was in need of clothes, and you clothed me. And I was in prison, and you visited me. And I was sick, and you looked after me. And he says, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Jesus is saying that. He's going to say that to us. Every time you took care of an orphan, every time you took care of a widow, every time you took care of somebody in need, you were doing that for Me. And that's the foundation, that's the criteria in Matthew 25 of whether you go to heaven or go to hell. Why? Because that kind of care for the needy is evidence of whether your faith is real or fake. To care for the needy is absolutely fundamental to the Christian faith. It's one of the most natural things we do in the whole Christian life. It's natural. It's so natural. When we first planted this church, way back before we had anything organized, we didn't have any ministries going at all. We didn't have any children's ministry, no Sunday school. We didn't even have live music. We were just playing a CD and singing along. Nothing organized, no ministries, except one. You know the one that started the very first thing? Right from the very beginning, we had a benevolence ministry. And you know why? When we started that, I'm terrible at starting ministries. Most of the new ministry proposals I come up with are total flop. They never work. But this one, you know how we started it? I just got up one day and I said, hey, if you want to help the people who are in need in our congregation, just put some money in the box and write benevolence on your check. And you did it. And you've been doing it ever since. All these years now. I mean, we mention it once in a while, but we don't have to ever badger you or cajole you into giving to the benevolence ministry. Sometimes we try to put pressure on you to do one thing or the other. We never had to do it for that. We never made a big push. And yet, there's never been a single time, all these years, when somebody has come forward with a benevolence need and we've had to say, There's no money in the fund. Never. Once. Praise God for that. That's your heart. That's your natural heart. This is what faith does. And if you want to do more of that, praise God. Let's grow even further. Let's put even more into that benevolence fund. And if you want to do more than give, get on the benevolence team. That's a great ministry. If you have a heart for helping people, just get on that team so that you can be part of the group that helps these people. We're not just throwing money at them, but we're saying, here, let us help you get your life to where you're not in trouble all the time, and we can help you make some steps to recover. That ministry is so close to the heart of God. You care for the needy. You take care of orphans. Adopt an orphan? Man, I think if you're thinking about adopting an orphan, that's one of the sweetest acts of worship you could ever offer the Lord Jesus Christ. What a beautiful thing. We had a couple that was going to do that and people were donating to help them raise because it's real expensive. What a great ministry that is. Or if you go down to Life Choices Pregnancy Center and volunteer, help them. You know, if you think about an orphan, if God has special care for an orphan because they're in trouble, I mean, an orphan is in trouble. If your mom and dad are dead, then you're in trouble. If your mom and dad want you dead, you're really in trouble. And so, if you've got a heart for those poor children, so that you want to go and help those women that are in crisis pregnancies and save the lives of those children, of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Or sponsoring a child with Compassion International. Today's our Compassion International potluck. And if you didn't know about that, as soon as we're done, go grab a Caesar's pizza and bring it. Even if you don't bring any food, you're still welcome to come. And just sit in on that potluck and listen. And the whole time, just ask God, Lord, spark in my heart compassion for these children who are in need and don't have anybody to provide for them. James is telling us that if that kind of thing doesn't move your heart enough to step in and do something, your religion is flat-lined. So what does it look like to be a doer of God's Word? Well, it includes talking and it includes helping. Orphans and widows are the most extreme example of people in desperate need, but the principle applies to any circumstances when someone near you is powerless and you are in a position to help. For example, if someone is being gossiped about, that person isn't there to defend himself, but you're there. which means you have the power to step in and rescue that helpless person from the harm their reputation is suffering. Anytime someone is at a disadvantage, they lack power or the ability or knowledge or resources to help themselves, but you're in a position to help. If you have a heart after God's own heart, you'll be moved to help. Is there anyone in your life right now who is in some degree of helplessness and you have the power to show mercy? If so, then you know what to do. If not, then ask God to make you alert to the next time that will be the case so that you'll be ready to extend God's merciful love to that person. Thank you for listening. If you found today's episode edifying, why not share it with a friend? This season of the Food for Your Soul podcast features excerpts from our sermon series on the book of James. 50 expository sermons covering every verse. You can find those and hundreds of other sermons for free download on drichardferguson.com. And if you like listening on your phone, download our free Food for Your Soul mobile app. Until next time, rejoice in the Lord always and set your mind on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.