If you could turn this evening to Acts chapter 20, the book of Acts, the 20th chapter. My wife said to me, how do you get up after that? I was just glad that you didn't rehearse it. You might have told more lies. I'm thankful for this congregation very much so. You come from a tight-knit community like Northern Ireland where there's 60 churches or so within no farther than two hours driving distance from each other that are all of the same mind and then you come to North America particularly to Calgary, which is some people, I just found out some Americans aren't quite sure how west that is. So when someone said to me, what state's below you? I said Montana. Boy, you're real out west out there. So they didn't quite have it in their minds just how far west it is. And we don't have many churches out there. And there's not the same fellowship that you take for granted over there. So when you make friends and you get to meet with them, you're very thankful for them. And Ernie, of course, is a particular friend that you never forget, in many ways. He always leaves you with certain memories. And when I think of the memories of recently, when we were two weeks in Scotland, We were on a train going from Edinburgh back to St. Andrews and we all got on the train and some of us had bought books and I had planned to read through one of the books I had bought but there was a conversation immediately started as soon as we got on the train and Ernie sat in front of this Englishman, probably roughly around the same age, introduced himself and got talking to him And just launched into every topic you can imagine. I don't know, 45 minutes that train journey is, something thereabouts. And Ernie just, he was like a freight train bringing his whole world view to bear upon this man. And he was just, you could just sort of discern that he had never, ever witnessed anything like it in his life. Not that he was opposed to it, but he was, I guess, some things are novel and you take advantage of them whenever you experience them. And that was certainly the case. And I got off the train. I said, you know, Ernie, all that needs to be done in America is just put you on public transport or drive around. And you on your own, you will make America great again. God uses us all in our different ways. I'm thankful for you, brother. I'm thankful for your zeal and for your enthusiasm and your courage to speak the mind of Christ to souls around you. We're in Acts chapter 20. There's just one verse I wish to read this evening. In Paul's charge to the elders at Ephesus, Anyone who's involved in ministry will turn to this passage regularly. And in verse 35, there's a particular phrase, of course, that's in keeping with our theme. Acts chapter 20, verse 35, I've showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak. And to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. With the word of God open, let's bow our heads momentarily in prayer. Let's seek the Lord for the help that we need. Lord, we do need thy help. If only we knew something of the hymn we've just been singing. Channels only, blessed master, but with all thy wondrous power. flowing through us, thou canst use us every day and every hour. And the entire topic of what we're dealing with requires the help of heaven. And so, not merely for this season in the word of God, considering some aspects of this topic, do we pray for the help of heaven? Though we do, we need the unfilling of thy spirit. We pray the Holy Ghost, as happened in Cornelius' home that day, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the word. Pray we might know something of that this evening. Continue to minister to our hearts. We're thankful for thy grace shown toward us already, and favor in the world and around the world. And grant now that thou wilt give us the help that we need, and pour out the spirit upon us. And come, Lord Jesus, and minister to thy body, and strengthen us for the task that we face, that we might be like David who served his generation. Answer prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen. Up to now, I think it's safe to say that the Lord would have us care for the poor and oppressed. I think we've grasped that by now, at least I trust, in all that has preceded this particular service this evening. But knowing how to do it is another matter. A lot of what we have dealt with really has been, here's what the scripture says, and it has been helpful. I trust it's been helpful and instructive, but there's still those elements of, well, what about this and what about that? And from the outset, I'm going to tell you, I don't have all the answers. I'm still wrestling through various aspects of this whole subject and I said already today that this is very new to me. I'm handling a topic that feels very much alien to me and unfamiliar but I have been stretched and I have been encouraged and I have been challenged and in some ways I feel I have been brought to a point where I really have to re-evaluate, in a certain sense, how I'm going about the work of God. Understanding the authority of Scripture, the centrality of Scripture, the need to bring the Word of God and all of its weight to bear upon the minds and hearts of men, I get that. From the moment of my conversion, I was saturated in that environment. But not every church environment is has everything that it needs. We're all, well, semper reformanda, we're all continuing to reform and understand and grasp things. I think every preacher knows that. Every single preacher realizes that he's not the finished article because he did three or four years of seminary and he's read a few books, but he is constantly being challenged and ought to be re-evaluating, am I going forward to the full extent in the ministry and even just, well, I think of the words of George Whitfield about a few years near to his death. So he had labored for 30 odd years, unlike any other creature known to man. And he said, I will begin to begin to be a Christian. And there are times in our lives where we have to come back and say, I'm going to begin again. Repent and do the first works. Get back to the first principles. And then from there, evaluate how you go forward with God. I don't have all the answers practically. I'm hoping many more of those will come forth tomorrow. I'm praying very much for our brother and for insight and wisdom and the Lord to just give us all the wherewithal to some degree, walk away from the end of this week and say, all right, I have something to grapple with, things to consider, and I really need to be praying seriously about everything that we have heard I think we need to keep in mind, however, that where possible, the aim that we have is to lead men and women into their God-given responsibility of self-government according to the Word of God. We have to enlighten their minds to realize their responsibility before God and before men. And really that's what the gospel does, it brings men to a sense of personal responsibility before God and proper self-government. And that's what we're about. I remember a brother, Tim, the elder in this church, doing as he does sometimes, he throws out a question to garner some discussion about a particular thing, and he turned to this text, I remember, Acts 20 verse 35, and I can't remember how it all developed, but I remember just how he was leading me to consider something that I had never grasped before, and helping me to see that according to Acts chapter 20 verse 35, And the words were told to remember that Lord Jesus spoke, it is more blessed to give than to receive. That if we don't lead people into the privilege and responsibility of giving, we rob from them the blessing of God. And I'd never thought of it in that way before, that I have a responsibility to convey the teaching of the Lord Jesus, exclusively thinking of this text, bringing them to understand that they should grasp this, that it's more blessed to give than to receive. And if I don't enlighten their minds and eat them and help them to grasp that, I rob from them, I rob from them the blessing of God. that they need to understand. If I don't tell them, then how shall they know? And yet, with that said, it's not that easy just saying to people, here's what the Lord Jesus said, now go and do it. We are facing a great task with the hearts of men and women. Indeed, the souls of men are so enslaved by sin But I think it's right to say, and I think I can prove from scripture, that men, by and large, at least to some degree, actually prefer the difficulties of slavery over the privileges of responsibility and freedom. And I see that in the children of Israel. In Exodus chapter 14, you'll remember the scene, they're surrounded on all sides, they have nowhere to go, and we read in verse 10, And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid. And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord, and they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. This mass of individuals, this huge corporate body, this two million or so in number souls gather there and begin to complain to Moses, basically saying, did we not tell you it would be better to remain in Egypt? And essentially what they're saying is, right now we prefer the idea and the experience of the difficulty of our slavery. rather than the possible blessing of freedom that lies ahead. And if you do any form of evangelism, you talk with men, you will see that that is the case. I was thinking this morning as her brother preached on Acts chapter 3 and the lame man You know, was healed and went walking and leaping and praising God. But there's some individuals that are so dependent and desires to remain dependent upon welfare that they would be healed and they'd just sit there because they wouldn't want anyone to know that now they have the potential and capability of going out and working. And they try to hide it. And we know people do that, don't they? They try to hide the capabilities that they have so they can continue on in a condition of dependency upon the state. And they don't want people to know that they could work. It's no easy task, then, to change these minds, to get minds like the Israelites to realize that, no, it would be far better even if it was the will of God to die right here, having sought for our freedom, that it would be to continue on in slavery and no end in sight for our children and our children's children. I've been tasked this evening of dealing with guiding principles of Christian charity, guiding principles of Christian charity. And the aim, of course, with a title like that is to be more practical. And that's really where I kind of struggle, because I've thought about this and figured some things out, but I don't have it all figured out. As I put thoughts down, really what I end up doing for this message was asking myself questions or answering the questions that I already had asked and think I've figured out to some degree. And so this is not homiletical at all. This really isn't set out in my normal three points and maybe a few sub-points here and there. It's just laid out. I have 12 questions that I'm going to put before you in light of Christian charity And in the answer you will get some guiding principles. At least that's my aim and that is my hope. So I'm just trying to be practical. I trust that it is, and the Lord uses this, helps you to gain some light. And no doubt it may raise other questions or it may answer other things I didn't intend in your mind, but we need to think about these things. Again, do what I said already. Go through the scriptures. Just pull out your concordance you have. You can do it in seconds now on the internet. and put in the word poor, P-O-O-R, and then isolate the verses that deal with the responsibility of the people of God toward those impoverished, and see how much God says about that matter. It far exceeds other things we put a lot of weight upon, and yet we ignore this, I think, weightier matter. As we consider some guiding principles then, the first question I put at the head of all this is, how important is the church in all of this? How important is the church? And I mean that in the sense of the local sense. From memory, I think Bannerman points out five ways in which the word church is used. And of course, they give another dig there for Presbyterianism there of Bannerman. Anyone who wants to find out about Presbyterianism, that's the book to read. But he gives five understandings, I think, from memory of the word church. But I'm thinking here, essentially, locally. And the Lord Jesus says about his church, and of course he's thinking of the expanse of it, but it's reflected in local bodies. But in Matthew chapter 16 verse 18, I will build my church. and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will build my church." That's a tremendous word of promise and assurance of the future of the existence of the body of Christ. I will build my church. There's no question about it. There's no doubt about it. There's nothing ambiguous here. The Lord's saying, I'm going to build it. And nothing, absolutely nothing, will prevent me accomplishing what I seek to do. And I think it right to say then, central to the kingdom of Jesus Christ is his church. That he's expanding his kingdom through the ministry and activity of the church. And I would have to say, and this is why I begin with this, the greatest charity to a town or a city is a faithful church with a faithful preacher of the word. I don't think there can be more charity shown from God to man than having a faithful preacher in their midst. Can you imagine communities without the word of God, without a faithful preacher? It doesn't matter what you seek to accomplish. If there's not direction from a man seeking the mind of God from his word week after week and declaring it to that community, there's no hope for that community at all. None. I mean, you can do whatever you like, practically, but they will die and perish in their sins. The greatest kindness God shows to a community is he sends them preachers of the word. He sends them men whose hearts God has touched and who do not fear the face of man and will bring the word of God without fear of the face of man and what they might say and just hear, thus saith the Lord. And we have that here, don't we? Thank the Lord. So you brethren, you're involved in the work of ministry and you're bringing the Word of God and I think it's wise for us not to diminish how that is a tremendous act of charity from God in your community. that He touched your heart, He saved your soul, He put you in that place and He called you to preach the everlasting gospel to the souls of men. That, that's charity indeed. God showing mercy to men. There's no greater curse that God removes as preachers. No greater curse than God removes a voice when there was no vision, we read, of certain generations in Old Testament times. No vision before the people. No one with the mind of God to bring before the people. with no direction from God whatsoever. So I think that's the right place to begin. This is a tremendous sign of God's mercy to a community. So the church is central to Christ's cause, a faithful church, a faithful preacher, a faithful body that will minister the word of God as the Lord has given it. And the Lord shows his kindness And with that in mind, then, as we think even practically of the outworkings of helping the poor and the impoverished and the oppressed, one of the best ways to see that fulfilled is by planting churches. there has to be a vision for church planting. Because if those churches are functioning according to the word of God and imbibing some of the things we're dealing with even over the course of these days, as well as bringing faithfully the word to the people and so on, if churches are being scattered around the nation doing that work, that's a tremendous thing. And so we need to be praying. I think the greatest burden I have upon my heart presently Part of it is this, I would say, dealing with this, coming to grips with my responsibilities practically to the oppressed and the community. But a burden I've been carrying for longer than that is for labourers. I cannot get away every day the thought, Lord, there's a need for more labourers. There's just not enough labourers. And I would encourage you, and just take this moment just to exhort you, if you're not praying regularly, the prayer that I think, there are very few prayers we're guaranteed to see answered, because the Lord said, pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into the harvest. He said that. Why are we not rehearsing it in his ears? He said, pray ye. Pray ye. He didn't say, I will do it. Don't you worry. I've got this. Of course, the Lord has it all in control. But he says, pray ye. Ask of me. Why? Because when I send forth laborers, I intend mercy to that community. And this is what we need. What's America starving of? Faithful preachers and faithful churches. Even if you took this topic and you went in and you started to say, here, this is what we need to do practically, because they're not founded faithfully on the gospel and rooted in the truth, they will distort everything that we're dealing with over the course of these days. So the church is central. I think when you think about all of this topic, keep that in mind. Don't ignore the church, the local church. Secondly, the question I ask, how does this all relate to the Great Commission? helping the poor and the oppressed, how does it relate to the Great Commission? There's a significant connection between the command and blessing to be fruitful and multiply, in Genesis chapter one, and the commission to the church given by the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not going to unfold all of that here this evening, but essentially, just to say this, when the Lord said, be fruitful and multiply, he was wanting the multiplication of image bearers throughout the earth. Each one will be born, grow up and reflect the image of God. This is before the fall. After the fall, with a sense of the diminishing reflection of the image of God and man, it's still there, but it's diminished. The gospel comes to restore the image of God and man, noise, righteousness and true holiness. And so the Gospel comes in, Christ takes residence in the heart, the image of God begins to be restored through the process of the working of the Spirit of God and sanctification, and the image of God begins to be reflected. And what the Great Commission is, go and make disciples go and instill Christ in the hearts of men, that the image of God is restored and they do what Ma'am was intended to do from the beginning, reflect the image of God throughout the earth. Now, in doing all of that, the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 28, verses 18 through 20, when he came and spoke to his disciples saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. You will see, emphasized there, the work of teaching. Teach all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Now, we go straight to the book of Acts and see how they began to teach. Peter stands up. How does he begin to teach? As he stands before the Israelites, he begins to tell them, here's your sin. Repent. Here's your sin. You killed the Prince of Life! Here's what you need to do. Peter isolated their particular sin and told them what their responsibility was. The Lord Jesus essentially did the same. The woman at the well of Samaria, he didn't skirt around the issue. He got right to the heart of her sin. When he dealt with the rich young ruler, same thing. He unfolded before him his own covetous heart. And when we go out into the nations and we go and we teach all men, we seek to fulfill this commission, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. We preach the gospel to them, yes, and we tell them they need to repent. But sometimes what is missing is we're not really addressing their sin. Right. Now there's some that we address, talk about sexual immorality and various things like that. But how often have you ever heard someone go and speak to this lazy age in which we're in, and address the sin of idleness and indolence. You are slothful. And addressing them on that sin, you're lazy and it's repugnant before a holy God. Or going before a young woman and saying that her whole philosophy of having children out of wedlock and then depending on welfare to carry her through the rest of her life, that that is sin before God. We don't touch on these things. And I know, in certain contexts, there's need for sensitivity. I'm aware of that. But Peter wasn't too sensitive, was he? You killed the Prince of Life! And I think, then, that something that we're missing in a lot of our outreach and evangelism and trying to impact our community is really addressing where the sins are. and writing literature and raising discussion and beginning to talk to them about these issues. When we talk to someone who's out of work, why are you out of work? Could you be at work? I'm really addressing that and then telling them, you know what the Bible says about the man who doesn't work? Shouldn't eat. and go on and on and go, you know, you can begin to unfold. We don't know this though, do we? We're not acquainted. We just think repent and believe the gospel. But this is a sin. This is a crime. This is one of the sins of our age and we should be bringing it before our communities and saying, you're wrong in this. You need to repent. I wondered about leaflets on these issues, not just the gospel. Look, I love tracts by J.C. Ryle and all of that, but sometimes I think maybe we need to get specific about the sins going on right here, in our communities, in our societies, and going to people and, as I say, raising discussions that are really relevant to where they are and saying, look, I'm not here to condemn, but I'm here to show you the judgment of God is upon your life. And what you're doing is a pattern of disaster and sin and corruption and waste. And here's Jesus Christ and here's what he can do and so on. And then bring the practical implications. Help them have classes for teaching. That's what it says. Teaching them to observe all things. How could we do that? Look, I am willing to come to church. We have a class on work, on budgeting, on dealing with whatever the issues are. and actually walking them through that, like one to one. And you say, well, that doesn't deal with their heart. No, no. But there's no way you can deal with all these things, if you have any sense, without conveying the gospel to them as well. Just sort of stand aloof and say, repent and believe the gospel. But we're not really getting to where they are, aggravating the sins and the sense of conviction. So the Great Commission is more than just going and saying, believe in Jesus Christ. It is teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Let him that stole steal no more. Let him work with his hands. Let him have to give, and so on. This is the apostle. He's not just saying, believe in Jesus Christ, look unto him. He gets to the nitty gritty of the sins in even the visible body. So when we're dealing with this whole subject of Christian charity, we need to think about the church, how important the church is and its central part in all of this, how it all relates to the Great Commission, that this is the Great Commission, going out and doing this is the Great Commission, it is what the Lord has called us to do. The third question I ask and put before you here this evening is how should we encourage the government to help. How should we encourage the government to help? I think this needs to be asked because I ask it because right now the church doesn't do a whole lot and the government tries to do much. But it's not doing very much. It's not really succeeding very well. And I think there needs to be, and I say this as someone who grew up in the UK which If you think socialism is coming in here and taking hold here, you need to go and spend some time in the United Kingdom. It's socialist through and through. People don't get it. They don't understand. They don't even see the issues at all. And I'm not saying that to discredit or be somewhat condescending. I didn't realize. I come over here, and the conversations are different. And you realize that people are discussing some things that we don't even talk about over there. And what it does is kind of break down some of your false ideas about things. As Christians, we should be vocal to encourage the government to get out of the way, that we don't need their help. Christians ought to oppose government involvement in welfare. I really think they should. The more I see what's going on and how poor its impact is, I mean, in the city of Calgary, I mean, I see it, I'm not going to get into specifics, but I see how a system tries to help troubled young people and feels miserably spending hundreds of thousands in the process. Hundreds of thousands on one individual. in a space of a short time to fail miserably. The government's job, according to scripture, is to create a safe environment for citizens to live for God, dealing with the lawbreaker and preserving life. At times, quarantining and all lead into that, but generally just staying out of our way. At the very least, if we don't see that, I think we need to be more active in making them aware that there should be no programs that encourage people not to work and remain in a state of personal poverty. I bring that up not to really deal with the topic, because that's a huge subject in and of itself, but I'm dropping seeds into your mind. If you're someone who's sat and been indoctrinated by the state, and you think that the government involvement is a good thing, it's not. It really is not. You think about when they try to take care of people. I touched on this a little bit earlier. Our responsibility to take care of our parents and so on. When a family decide, I'm going to take my mother in, my widow mother, and look after her, what does it cost you but time and food? You total it up. You know, if you have a well-functioning home there anyway and it doesn't really cost that much. Not in comparison than if you put them into some kind of home or environment where they're being taken care of by someone other than the family. It is the most inefficient way of taking care of people. The cost is astronomical. I remember my mom worked in seniors' homes for a considerable period of time. And this was years ago. This was probably over 15 years ago. And then the cost. This isn't in the city. This is just in a small town in Northern Ireland. The cost was absolutely frightening. You could eat up the cost of your home in a matter of years. Just disappear. And yet Christians will choose that over the inconvenience. God forbid, of taking in their own and caring for them. Family take care of family, and when they can't and they're not there, then the church comes in and does what it can to facilitate. So, again, when we think about the government, we don't go to them for help. That's a guiding principle I trust you'll remember. I'm not going to the government. I'm going to God, the local community. We've got this. If we actually put our heads together, we can do what God has called us to do. Another question. Is God calling me? this whole aspect of charity, is God calling me to give up all my possessions? Is he calling me to give up all my possessions? I think some think that way sometimes. You think again of the Lord Jesus addressing the rich young ruler, go sell all that thou hast and give to the poor. And people take, the Lord's giving a blanket statement for all believers. But he's not. I mean, if you go back and study it again for the sake of time, I'm not going to do so. You go and see about the commandments that the Lord brings before him. And he says, all these have I kept from my youth. He misses thou shalt not covet. He doesn't mention that. He doesn't mention that one. And he knows that's the heart of the issue. So he leaves it out and then conveys it in a different way. I'm going to expose the fact that there's one you don't keep. Sell everything. And he's like, no way, he went away sorrowful, for he had much possessions. The Lord doesn't call us to give them all up. Paul writes to Timothy, because in his ministry he's going to deal with people who are wealthy. Some of them will be wealthy, that's just the way it is, and that's not a crime. But he does say to them in 1 Timothy 6, verses 17 and 18, charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." So they're to recognize that this has come from God, and He is my treasure, and I'm thankful to Him, and I love Him, and I adore Him. As whenever Abraham was presented with all the wealth, there in Genesis 14 and he refuses it. And then the Lord comes to him, I am the exceeding great reward. I am. And the Lord is. And rich men need to be reminded of this. The Lord is your reward. Jesus Christ is all the wealth of the believer. But then he says that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. Now, managing wealth is a challenge. It's a challenge that, thankfully, the Lord doesn't give to many of us, really. Not to the extent that some have it, and they need a lot of wisdom and a lot of grace. But I think a principle that should govern our attitude to our money is to consistently convey, listen to me, consistently convey that laying up treasure in heaven is more important to us than the riches of this world. To convey that, to convey that yourselves and to others, that laying up treasure in heaven is what matters. Yes, I have all this wealth, or God has put me in a position where lots of money comes through my hands. But I'm laying up treasure in heaven, seeking and keeping a conscious sense that I'm laying up treasure in heaven. The Lord's not saying give up that that business or that job or whatever that's very lucrative. He's not saying that. He's not saying walk away from that and that riches are a crime. But he would call us so that, as we talked about earlier, the importance of good works. And you see how that term is used here. We mentioned that already, how that comes up over and over again. Good works in relation to helping the needy and the oppressed. And he says here about the rich that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. Well, work backwards. Willing to communicate is giving. Distribute is giving. Good works, I'm inclined to think, is leaning on the giving side because it's about rich people doing good works in the context that they have all this wealth. And so the good works, they aren't just kind of arbitrary good works. The good works are in relation to the possessions they have. So God may not, and if you're wealthy here, God's not saying give up all your possessions. He may, not saying he never does that. But generally he doesn't say, he's not calling us to give up all our wealth. But he would say to you, have this in mind. Don't trust in those riches because they're uncertain. Realize everything you have presently has been given by God. convey your life, go through your life, keeping in mind laying up treasure in heaven. There's treasure in heaven. There's treasure in heaven. It's not about here. It's treasure in heaven. Now, I know many things are relative. A moderate lifestyle here may look extraordinarily wealthy in the context of places in the developing world. We know that. But I think generally, we should live relatively cautiously in exercising our liberty to purchase symbols of wealth. We should be very cautious there. So God's not calling you to give up your possessions. If that crossed your mind, I would say, in all likelihood, no. In all likelihood. But he would be saying, be very careful. He has given you wealth, and you're responsible for it. Let it flow through your hands as readily as you can. Lay up treasure in heaven. Keep these things in mind. The fifth question that came to my mind, more recently actually, was should the poor give to the poor? Should the poor give to the poor? Because some of us may think that, well, I'm not very wealthy. I'm more in the position of poverty. Do I have a responsibility to give to the poor? Our first responsibility in our giving is to the local body of the church. I think everyone agrees on that. I'm not going to argue the case, but there is a sense of every single person who receives benefit from the local body and the word should reflect that in their giving. The Bible's very clear on that. And I think, therefore, in general, that the poor need not feel the burden of giving to the poor, though they may find unique honor if they do, such as the poor widow who gave her two mites and was acknowledged by the Lord Jesus and honored in a unique way, Luke 21. She did. But I think if I take the balance of Scripture, it's not all there. Again, even the Macedonians, too, they gave liberally out of their poverty. 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verses 1 and 2, moreover, brethren, We do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed in the churches of Macedonia, how that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded onto the riches of their liberality. So in the midst of their deep poverty, they showed liberality. But as I say, I think generally in scripture, you have more of the context of how John the Baptist preached when he said, Luke chapter three, verse 11, he that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none. And he that hath meat, let him do likewise. So when you have an abundance in comparison to someone else, you can give. You have more than double than them. You have way more than them. Then you can give. Generally, that's the idea. If you're in the same condition they are, you're just kind of putting yourself in a position of struggle. So I don't think there needs to be a burden that's carried by the poor. Although I'm saying, I would say this, like the Macedonians, if a poor man gives, a poor widow gives, the Lord is reflecting in their life a monumental sign of the grace of God within them. Another question. Can I expect an able-bodied person to work? You may look at someone, they're needing help, but they're able-bodied. You may ask, well, should I expect them to be working? And I've already quoted this passage, 2 Thessalonians 3.10. Paul says, for even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Doesn't mince his words there, does he? If you're not willing to work, you shouldn't eat. Now, I think men need to know this. I think they need to be told. I think it needs to be conveyed clearly. You're not working and you could. And you shouldn't be assuming the right to even eat every day. You just think it's some kind of right. that either charities around you or the church or the government should put food on your plate when you're able-bodied and you're not diligently seeking out work. I've seen it. I've seen people with certain qualifications and certain status and been in a certain, got accustomed to a certain way of living for a time. And then there's a downturn in the economy and they lose their job. And they're unemployed. And there are jobs they simply won't apply for. They would rather stay unemployed than do that work. I understand. That's a big step down to go from earning six figures and exercising your master's degree in what you trained in, and then realizing the only job you can get in the current climate is in McDonald's. And there may be arguments that it doesn't look good in the resume and all that kind of thing as well, but you can always spin it in the positive. When you stand, when eventually an opportunity arises and they look at this little... You work at McDonald's? How come? You say to them, because I'd rather be working for a minimum wage than sitting at home, doing nothing and depending on the state. And that should reassure you, future boss. that I'm a worker and I won't sit around and waste your time. We need to convey this. We need people to think practically as God has taught in his word. Now of course coming into this we have the principle of leaving the corners of the field for the poor which we see Ruth taking advantage of in Ruth chapter 2 and There's this provision that's made by the law that don't take the corners and that which has fallen, leave it so that the widows and so on can come and take advantage of it. And as has been rightly pointed out many times, that there's a sense in which they have to work then, isn't there? They have to work for what they get. There's mercy shown in that it's left for them, but they have to gather it up. And there you see a sense in which employers and those who are in a condition at that time in their life where they have abundance, they should recognise that abundance and then try to help those who don't have it. But they're not to just give handouts, they're to say you're able-bodied. And so if there's employees here this evening, or you know employers and you can convey truth to them and talk to them about these things, you can say, look, you could be a tremendous help to the community. Because you have abundance. You have responsibility with that. But you don't just give it out. Maybe they give so much out to charity, and they give all that away. And you say, why give all that away? And there's certain contexts in which they could give it away, but there's another way in which they could utilize that money. In employing people, and giving them work, and helping them make the whole business more productive. There are other aspects, of course, practical things to work through and that, but we must realise an able-bodied person should work. They should. Another question. Can I offer someone work and give them as little as I can get away with? Because when someone's down and out, there's an opportunity, isn't there? There's an opportunity. They're down and out, and I could take advantage of that. And I know it'd normally cost me $30 an hour to hire someone to do this work, but I could get them now at the position they're in, I think they would take half of that. The word of God speaks to that. Deuteronomy 25 verse 4, The Lord's word addresses even the right treatment of oxen. with regard to the privilege they should have in, as they tread out the corn, eating some of the benefits of their own work. And that very text is applied several times in the New Testament. You have it in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and 1 Timothy chapter 5. And it's applied in the context of men. And the man who works, he shouldn't muzzle the ox. The person who labours in the world. The one who's worthy of double honour. There shouldn't be a muzzling of the ox. There shouldn't be a withholding from them what they deserve for their labour. And so the laborer is worthy of his hire. Don't muzzle the ox when he treadleth out the corn. If you are an employer, if you are seeking to help people in the community who are down and out and have lost their work and you think, I could give them a job, don't take advantage. Now, you know what you're doing when you're doing that. You know the cost of a thing. You know the value of it. Added to that, of course, is the practical teaching. that we're taught in Deuteronomy 24 verses 14 and 15 with regard to not oppressing those you hire as well and giving them what they have earned on the day. Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy. whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. It doesn't matter whether he's brethren or stranger, it doesn't matter. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and set his heart upon it, lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. So here's a man, he's in dire straits, you give him work, but then at the end of the day he's hoping for that so he can go and buy bread on the way home to feed his children. And you say, no, no, no, I'll pay you at the end of the week or whatever. God's word says no. It's sin. This man is in need. Should we wait until the person is in an extremity of need before we help them? That's the eighth question I have. Should we wait until they're in a condition of extremity before we step in? Now, I've been in that position. where I have witnessed someone who's in a certain form of need, and then I've talked to my wife about helping them. Believe it or not, she can be a little bit more cynical than I can. And she's, well, I'm not too sure whether they really need it or not. And we talk about trying to perceive the condition they're in at present and what's going on. Because you know there's certain difficulties in trying to figure out exactly where people are when they're not completely upfront and honest with you. Where they give these kind of underhand vibes, these kind of signals of needing help, but they won't just say. And when you talk to them about it, they won't come out and just be clear. So a couple of times we have this discussion, trying to figure out exactly what we should do. But I always come down, I'd rather err on the side of grace here. I'd rather help them in this, even though you may be right and I may be wrong, and let's just do it anyway. I don't want to be the person who waits until they're in extremity of need and they come to your door on their knees saying, I am in a really bad way, help me now. The question to ask yourself, is this how you would treat your own kith and kin? Would you leave them until they're an extremity of need? Would you? Peter says in 1 Peter 3 verse 8, have compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful. Love is brethren. Think of what would I do for my own beloved sibling? What would I do for someone else that I greatly value and appreciate? Someone that I adore and love, what would I do for them? I would quickly come to their aid at the first sign of their need. So why should I look at someone else who's a brother or sister in the Lord, perhaps, and think I'm just going to withhold this until I have more evidence that they really need it? bear ye one another's burdens? Are we to wait until the burden is too great for them to bear? Do we step in whenever it becomes necessary for someone else to come and help them, or do we help carry it before it becomes too much for them? This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you, John 15, 12. You know, we cannot, Love in the measure of Christ's love. We can't. I can never love as Christ loves his people. But we are to love in the manner of Christ's love. To sacrifice. And I think we just are reluctant to do that sometimes. We're reluctant. We will lead someone into a condition of where they have to go maybe to find help somewhere else where they shouldn't have to go. Maybe they have to go to another church. Maybe they have to go to the bank. Well, if we did our Christian duty, they wouldn't. So I'd say again, as you're considering all of this, don't wait until people are in extreme need. The ninth question, what if it is not appreciated? What if it is not appreciated? What if what I do isn't valued in any way? This morning I quoted Matthew chapter 25, making a different application, where the Lord talked about that day of judgment and the goats and the sheep. And he said, for I was in hunger, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came unto me. All these works, all these ways that these individuals showed mercy. What the Lord doesn't deal with there is how all that was received. Maybe they gave meat and someone turned their nose up at it. As I told you already today, giving food to someone, and they turned their nose up at it because they wanted money for their habit. Maybe we tried to clothe them, but they didn't like what we gave. Maybe we visited them, but they didn't want to see us. Maybe we came to them in a time of great need but they just turned away and they despised our presence. Maybe. The Lord doesn't focus on their response. That's the point. He doesn't focus on it. He focuses on the fact that they did this. They did it anyway. This is what they did. They gave meat to the hungry. They gave drink to the thirsty. They came to those who were alone as when they were strangers and took them in and when they were naked they were clothed and they clothed them and they came to visit them when they were sick or in prison or whatever. They tried. That's the point. They tried. It's very hard to be buffeted and be rejected and to keep going on. It makes you callous and hard and we need to fight against that. As I just point out that application, Christ makes no mention of how these individuals were received, it didn't matter. They tried. They served with these works. And at the end of the day, what does it matter how men view us, what we're trying to do? What does it matter? Remember what Paul said in Colossians 3, verse 22, servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. Not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, I think of it, you say, well that's servants and their masters, but the whole context applies in every sphere. When I go to help someone and minister to someone, I am not their servant in that sense. There's a sense in which I am. But ultimately, I am a servant of Christ. And I go to them in the name of Christ. And while I serve my generation, and I'm a servant of all, at least try to be, yet you keep in mind that ultimately, I'm a servant of Christ, a bondslave of Jesus Christ. And so really, when I go to someone in need, who am I obeying? My master, Jesus Christ. And so I don't think about what men think. I don't look at what they see and what they consider. And singless of heart, I fear God. And whatever we do, we do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. So we may be rejected. You may not be appreciated in all of your efforts. You may go out into the caterer or into your communities and try to deal with the drug addicts, and the alcoholics, and the down and outs of every description, and the single mothers, and people who need work. And you go out and you exercise effort and labor. And you're going to find it's really, really hard. And there's loads of rejection. If you don't realise how hard it is, it's because you haven't tried. It's really hard to make a difference. As I said at the start, these people have a slave mentality. They'd rather go back in bondage to Egypt than be free men with the responsibilities that that comes with. Tenth question, trying to be practical here. What about third parties and foreign missions? What I do if someone says, here's a need, and give to that. And I'm not going to be long-winded with this. I just want to state this. We need to be wise stewards. And this is my principle. And you can follow it or not. It's up to you. But I recommend never giving to any mission work or any kind of outreach or help work and giving your money away to anything unless you know what they're doing, or you trust someone who knows what they're doing and can say to you, I know what they're at, and I recommend them, and so on. That the furthest apart I get from giving away my money is that I either know that person, or I know this person that I trust says this is a sincere word. As pastors, you get emails all the time. saying, send money, send money. We need money here, we need money there. I mean, you literally couldn't meet the demands that come your way, both locally and foreign, you know? And you just have to realise, I don't know these people. Am I being a good steward just to throw money there? I have to be judicial. I need to understand that God has given us certain responsibility in what we do. So I just bring that in because I think some people, they don't know what's going on in a foreign mission. and they throw their money thinking that what they're doing is good because the videos are nice and the brochures are all emotional and they have no idea where their money is going. This means you have to get out there and find out what's going on and get to know people and be aware of what's actually happening and what the church is doing, maybe in other areas, and asking questions. It takes work. It's a lot easier just to, oh, there, and I'll just throw in a check or send a few dollars and whatever. And just detach yourself and think, I've done my duty. I've done what the Lord would have me to do. No, no, you just frittered away what God has blessed you with. You need to figure out, you need to ask questions, you need to see what they're doing, you need to be involved, you need to be supportive, you need to be an encouragement. When you find some work that's actually doing something faithfully for God. The 11th question, and there's just one more after this. Should I give or send clothing and other practical items? This again can be locally or foreign, but especially foreign, I ask this question. You see this all the time. Local groups come together, and they buy all this stuff, T-shirts and sweatshirts and footwear and all these things, and they send them away. They send them to these other nations. And they think they're doing this great work of charity for the needy in Eastern Europe or somewhere in Africa or South America. And they're not. They're not. They're not helping at all. First of all, they have a real damaging impact upon those that receive these things. talk to the missionaries on the ground, they'll tell you how it's a bad influence. Second of all, what you do is you actually militate against those in that local economy who are living biblically. People are trying to work with their own hands, who are employed in selling, let's say, clothing or footwear. And you're coming in with all your American stuff or North American stuff, and you're putting it in there, and you're bypassing a local business. And he's there trying to make ends meet and there's a potential opportunity to sell his wares in the local economy but he's just been bypassed by something shipped in from a foreign country. You're doing harm to the local economy. You make that man angry at Christians because they actually destroy his business. And he gets upset about all these Americans or Canadians or British people coming in and I can't sell, if they do that, I can't sell my wares. But it helps our conscience. Makes us feel good about what we're doing. We need to think. We need to think about what we're doing. There are ways of helping that aren't just throwing money into the thing or sending stuff. What about making contacts with the local economy? The people there, the businesses there. What about making contacts with those people? Talking to them, getting them out to church, supporting them in what they're seeking to do. Maybe helping build their business so that people in that church who have nothing might become employees of that business. What about that? That would take more work. A lot more productive. I'm just dropping seeds. That's all I'm doing tonight. I'm just dropping seeds. And you go out there and you try to do something that you think through what you're doing and you just don't become idle and say, I'll just throw money at this. And I've done what this conference has asked me to do. No, you haven't. No, you haven't. Final question I ask then, is there a place for withholding charity? from unbelievers? Is there a place for withholding charity from unbelievers? This is one of the toughest questions. Do I have a right to, at times, judicially, with discernment, say I'm not gonna give to that person when they're in need? I think, and I say this carefully, realizing there are different circumstances, But I think there is a place for saying no, and I'll try to explain my reasoning. This morning I tried to convey that charity is ultimately a divinely appointed evangelistic model to reflect what is true about God. It's a way of conveying the gospel. Of course, we bring the message, we speak it clearly, but the practical hands-on thing of helping someone in need is a model and a framework in which to bring the gospel. And it's part of our evangelistic effort. I think we see this in Matthew chapter five, when Jesus says in verse 16, let your light so shine before men. that they may see your good works. Come back to that phrase again, your good works. And glorify your Father which is in heaven. Not that they might just hear your words, but see your good works. And what is the product? Glorify God. come to an understanding of who God is. And a way of bringing sinners to an understanding of who God is is through a life full of good works. That being the case, good works that are seen of men are evangelistic. And what did Jesus say if evangelistic efforts are rejected? What did he say? Matthew 10, verse 12. When you come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city." End quote. If charity properly practiced brings the gospel to sinners, we've stated that, then there is a place for turning away from repeat rejecters of the words and deeds we bring to them. You may think differently. Jonathan Edwards did. But again, I think the context of his culture was slightly different. A sense of someone within a local community could be named and shamed and feel all of that. But here, they can kind of hide amidst all the multitude of people, even in small towns, and not be known for the charlatans that they are. This is the last time I'll address you. As I close, I thought, as I said this morning, I've thought so much about the need for something to actually happen out of this conference. That we are mobilized by a sense of responsibility to be doers of the word. Solomon says in Proverbs 14, 23, in all labor there is profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. And if all we do is talk about this, it will lend to penury, it will lend poverty. What kind of poverty? Poverty of our churches. Some of our churches are in periods of poverty. There's no advancement. There's no growth. There's no sense of encouragement. The prayer meetings are dying. There's no sense of the spirit of God moving. The word goes forth, and it's dry and dead, and nothing is accomplished. There's a sense of poverty over the work. Imagine. There's a sense of irony in this, isn't there? If, if. or going out and addressing the poverty stricken, the needy, the oppressed in our communities actually brought prosperity into our churches. That the way to increase the health of our churches is to go to those in poverty. And if we don't go to those in poverty, we bring poverty upon our churches. pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, but have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. Have we omitted some of the weightier matters? Today I've poured out my heart to you on this topic. As I say, I think we need to sit down seriously and talk with those who understand this, have worked through this, are experienced in this, and really, really brainstorm and pray fervently and very directly about, Lord, what would you have us to do? Am I here just to live out my days and not serve my generation? Am I here just to tread water in religious practice? When you look at the lives of men down through the history of the church and we lift them up for their preaching and their heralding of Christ, many, many, many of the greatest examples of preaching the word of God of bringing Christ to sinners, of reviving and reforming communities, many, if not all, of any significance, were active in helping the needy. And maybe today they would look at our form of Christianity and say, what are you doing? What are you doing? May God give us help and give us grace and enable us to think through these things and be thorough in our labour for Christ in these days. Let's pray. Lord, thou know'st our hearts. Thou know'st my heart. I found this tremendously challenging, this whole this whole experience of waiting through thy word and thinking and wrestling with all of this. And even right now, I don't know exactly where to go or what to do. I pray for the right people to be brought into my own life. I pray for understanding and wisdom. I pray for a spirit like Nehemiah, that we might have a mind to work, to give ourselves to laboring and doing what we can, and that thou wilt knit together men and women with a unity of mind and heart that feels, that feels the brokenness of our age, that looks over the city like Jesus, and weeps, give us a broken heart, contrite spirit, and a vision that while we may not feel equipped to meet the needs all around us, the promises of God are still sure, the power of God has still been purchased by the blood of Christ, and all that we need, all that we require, is available to us. For if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, remove hence, and it shall be done. Lord, increase our faith, and remove our fears, and take us forward. In Jesus' name, amen.