THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR A PRACTICAL BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

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THE GOSPEL TO THE POORA PRACTICAL BIBLICAL
THEOLOGY

• Keith Wasserman, Founder/Executive Director
• Good Works, Inc.
• A COMMUNITY OF HOPE
• www.good-works.net
• goodworks_at_good-works.net

- Since 1981
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Loving God our neighborLuke 927

• 1.Getting bitten is a part of the normal
  Christian life.
• 2. Ministry with hurting people is impossible
  except through community.
• 3. Being on the front lines require learning from
  others mistakes.
• Denying our pain does not work. It eventually
  comes back to haunt us.

• 5. Forgiveness is the centerpiece of the gospel.

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Two eye glasses

• Great Commission (Matthew 2819)
• Great Commandment (Luke 1027 John 1517)

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Thats why we need to be

• Luke 418-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
  because the Lord has anointed me to bring good
  news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the
  broken hearted and to proclaim liberty to the
  captives and recovery of sight to the blind and
  to proclaim the year of the Lords favor
• Anointed - the special grace from God to
  persevere in love with those who are often
  ungrateful and unresponsive
• 1. Where does this grace come from ?
• 2. How do we sustain it?
• 3. How does Jesus see the poor?
• Then Jesus said to his host. When you give a
  luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends,
  your brothers or relatives, or your rich
  neighbors if you do, they may invite you back
  and so you will be repaid. But when you give a
  banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
  the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they
  cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
  resurrection of the righteous. Luke 1412
• As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named
  Matthew sitting at the tax collectors booth.
  Follow me, he told him, and Matthew got up and
  followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at
  Matthews house, many tax collectors and
  sinners came and ate with him and his
  disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they
  asked his disciples Why does your teacher eat
  with tax collectors and sinners? On hearing
  this, Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need
  a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what
  this means I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I
  have not come to call the righteous, but
  sinners. Matthew 99-13
• This requires (1) A lifestyle of hospitality (2)
  A willingness to lay down our SOCIAL LIFE (3) A
  willingness to get bitten ( see Philippians
  310 and I Peter 41) (4) letting our need to
  be appreciated DIE
• REMEMBER THIS It is always and only about the
  Kingdom of God!

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A word about me

• Coming to Christ _at_ the age of 17 a
  comprehensive rescue!
• WORSHIP
• FELLOWSHIP
• DISCIPLESHIP
• EVANGLISM
• A calling vs a concern
• The gift of naivety
• Information verses impartation

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In-formation verses Impartation
practice makes _______ // Roses are red,
_________ (Can you think of any other phrases
like that in contemporary English
language? The poor you will have with you
always (Mark 147), therefore.. (People knew the
law, they know how to finish that
statement Deuteronomy 1511 There will always
be poor people in the land, therefore, I command
you to be open-handed towards your brothers and
towards the poor and needy in your land
Remember The Holy Spirit is our teacher (John
1612-15)
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Do most Christians agree that evangelism with the
poor should be a priority?

• Our priorities as Christians are revealed by our
  preparations. If the followers of Jesus believe
  the ministry of evangelism with the poor is a
  priority, this is revealed as ministry to the
  poor competes in the arena of other priorities --
  church budget, Sunday morning worship, youth
  ministry, sermon topics, leadership development
  and how Christians use their time outside of
  church meetings. Priorities are also revealed in
  fruitfulness. Are there poor people involved in
  the body life? Is your community a safe place
  for people in poverty?
• If we ask "Is the Church prepared to evangelize
  the poor?", I wonder. While I observe a wide
  range of relief work-- meeting immediate needs
  (primarily food and clothing), I see little
  effort beyond 'relief to the deeper issues of
  evangelism, rehabilitation, and development
  addressing the root issues of poverty and
  oppression. While there may be a handful of
  church members who have passion to care for the
  poor, I see so few church governments whose
  priorities reveal this.As I see through a glass
  dimly, Christian culture has had far more power
  to determine the priorities of the church than
  scripture. Even as scripture teaches over and
  over the necessity of loving the poor, and
  bringing good news to the poor, it is being
  silenced by the overwhelming example of what
  believers actually do. When a contradiction
  between what scripture says and what believers
  model occurs, our Christian culture pressures new
  believers to tame their view of scripture to the
  examples they see.

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GOOD WORKS The outward expression of the
inward change (Eph 210) Our good works glorify
God (Matthew 516) Jesus went about doing good
and healing (Acts 1038) We overcome evil with
good (Romans 1221) (See also I Timothy 618,
Galatians 67-10, Jeremiah 2216 Titus 31)

• Luke 10 25-37 THE GOOD ?
• Loving God loving our neighbors
• How Jesus defines the problem
• The obstacles of busyness theology
• The necessity of getting messy

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Evangelism with the poor

• But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
  comes on you and you will be my witnesses in
  Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to
  the ends of the earth Acts 18
• What you are speaks so loud, I can not hear a
  word you are saying
• You may be the only book about Jesus that some
  people will ever read
• Acts 18 II Timothy 45
• Acts 420 Acts 520
• LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR BEGINS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
  We are either a good witness or bad witness.
• EVANGELISM THROUGH THE BACK DOOR Unity!
• Being the body (John 1720-21)
• Welcoming not-yet Christians as to serve with
  us.
• Walking out being reconciled with one-another
• THE FOUR PRINCIPALS
• Earn the right to speak
• Get permission
• Always use respect as the primary lens through
  which you speak
• Pray Ask God what work of the Holy Spirit is
  already going on in this persons life . Use
  discernment

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Plowing is a spiritual act of worship.John the
Baptist gave his life to prepare people to
receive Jesus
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A poor man is shunned by all his relatives how
much more do his friends avoid him! Though he
pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to
be found Proverbs 197 Questions to consider

• 1. Who are the poor ?
• 2. How do we bring good news to the poor in the
  21st century?
• The gospel must be good news for us before it
  will ever be good news for them. The gospel is
  not about information it is about
  TRANSFORMATION!! (Romans 116)
• The gospel must be overflow (Ps 235/ Col. 27)
• The gospel must be both proclamation and
  demonstration (Matthew 105-10)

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MATTHEW 935-38

• Jesus went through all the towns and villages,
  teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good
  news of the kingdom and healing every disease and
  sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had
  compassion on them, because they were harassed
  and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then
  he said to his disciples, The harvest is
  plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord
  of the harvest therefore to send out workers into
  his harvest field Matthew 935-38
• Principals from Matthew 935-38
• 1. Jesus reached out beyond the system to where
  people were he went to the multitudes.
• 2. The good news of the kingdom will always
  involve healing of some kind.
• 3. SEEING the multitudes (as God does) will bring
  compassion in us.
• 4. We must wrestle with WHO or WHAT is harassing
  them if we are going to help them!
• 5. We must wrestle with WHO is helpless in our
  community and why.

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Q How do you bring good news to the poor in the
21st century?

• A By creating a context (a venue) a way for
  the good news to engage the people, to intersect
  with the lives of those in need marked by grace
  a grace to participate, to freely receive and a
  grace to reject! Each context will open up new
  relationships for those serving and those being
  served.

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Principals of evangelism inside a
contextassess and adapt assess and adapt
assess and adapt and..

• Always seek to do the thing that builds trust!
• Meet the felt need ( clothes, food, cars,
  housing, support)
• Err to the side of mercy. Mercy triumphs over
  judgment (James 212
• Pray/Ask Lord, what are you doing already and
  then get in line with that. Use discernment!
• Get permission which communicates respect.
• Always take the posture of being teachable (I
  Peter 55)

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• Personal choices
• vs.
• Systemic sin
• Personal choices
• Proverbs 69-11
• Proverbs 104
• Proverbs 113
• Proverbs 1318
• Proverbs 1423
• Proverbs 204
• Proverbs 2125
• Proverbs 2433-34
• Systemic sin
• Proverbs 1323
• Proverbs 1420
• Proverbs 193-4 7
• Exodus 18-22

How long will you defend the unjust and show
partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the
weak and fatherless maintain the rights of the
poor and oppressed, rescue the weak and needy
deliver them from the hand of the wicked
Psalm 822-3
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Luke 1412

• Then Jesus said to his host. When you give a
  luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends,
  your brothers or relatives, or your rich
  neighbors if you do, they may invite you back
  and so you will be repaid. But when you give a
  banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
  the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they
  cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
  resurrection of the righteous.

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Part 1
With whom is God concerned? Scripture study on
the widow, fatherless and stranger

• Psalm 1014 (helper of the fatherless) 685,
  (defender of widows)
• Exodus 2221-24 Commands to the people of God
  to
• Not mistreat or oppress strangers
• Not take advantage of a widow or an orphan
• Leviticus 1934 2535
• Treat the stranger as you would the 'local'
• Help the 'locals' as you would a stranger
• Deuteronomy 1018
• God defends the cause of the fatherless, widow
  and orphan. We are to love the strangers and fear
  the Lord.
• Deuteronomy 1428-29
• Strangers, fatherless, widows and Levites are
  grouped together so that they all may glean. When
  THEY glean, we are blessed. The Levites had no
  allotment or inheritance of their own.
• Deuteronomy 157-11
• "Do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted. Do not
  harbor this wicked thought
• God listens carefully to these people "he may
  appeal to the Lord
• There will always be poor in the land,
  THEREFORE. I command you to be OPENHANDED

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Part 2
With whom is God concerned? Scripture study on
the widow, fatherless and stranger

• Deuteronomy 2417-18
• Do not deprive the alien (stranger), or the
  fatherless of justice
• Do not take the cloak of the widow as a pledge
• Remember You were once in this situation!!! That
  is why God COMMANDS this!
• Deuteronomy 2612
• The 'set-aside' was for the Levite, the alien,
  the fatherless and the widow so that they may
  eat.
• Deuteronomy 2719
• There is a curse upon the person who WITHHOLDS
  justice from the alien, fatherless or widows
• Deuteronomy 3112
• Include the alien (stranger) in your gatherings
  (assemblies) SO THAT they can fear the Lord and
  follow carefully all the word of this law.
• Proverbs 1525
• The Lord tears down the proud man's house but he
  keeps the widow's boundaries intact
• Proverbs 2310
• God seems to be very concerned about the
  boundaries of the fatherless. "Their defender is
  strong and he will take up their case against the
  one who encroaches on their fields
• Other scriptures to consider Isaiah 117, James
  127, Job 2912-17 Jeremiah 76-7 4911 Matthew
  2531-46

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A look at the poor through the lens of the
Proverbs

• Proverbs 1015, 1323, 1431, 175, 1811,
  194 7 17, 2113, 229 16 22, 2320 21,
  2411-12, 283 5 27, 297, 307-9, 314-9.