Hearing God's Grace: Grace to the Poor

This is Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verses 1 to 11, and that's on page 194, if you've got one of these red Bibles.

Deuteronomy 15:1–11

At the end of every seven years, you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done.

Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelites.

He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the Lord's time for cancelling debts has been proclaimed.

You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.

However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you.

If only you fully obey the Lord your God, and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.

For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations, but will borrow from none.

You will rule over many nations, but none will rule over you.

If there is a poor man among you, or among your brothers, in any of the towns in the land that the Lord your God has given you,

do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother.

Rather, be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs.

Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought.

The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts is near,

so that you do not show ill-will towards your needy brother and give him nothing.

He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.

Give generously to him, and do so without a grudging heart.

Then, because of this, the Lord your God will bless you in all your work, and in everything you put your hand to.

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.

Thanks very much, Alex.

Well, we're making our way through Deuteronomy.

Don't fear, we're not going to go through every single law.

While I'm away, there'll be others speaking, and they're going to be jumping right the way up to chapter 26 and 27.

But they're great things to read, and we're going to be looking at one particular law, one particular command.

And this morning, as the people moved into the land, the promised land, so God gave them laws, which they were to live with.

Let's ask for God's help to see how this applies to us today.

Father, we thank you for this amazing book.

And we come afresh to hear of your amazing grace.

We are needy people.

In many ways, we are poor.

And we need you to fill us with your grace, to enrich us, so that we may know you better.

And we pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would help us to know you better today.

And we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

A pastor, writing in a book, commented on an article that he had been reading.

The heading on one side of the page read this.

First Baptist Church celebrates new $23 million building.

And an article followed underneath, detailing the wonderful interior, the marble, and the stained glass windows.

Opposite, on the other side of the page, was another heading.

Baptist relief helps Sudanese refugees.

And the article described how 350,000 refugees in Western Sudan were dying from malnutrition.

At the end of that article was this.

Baptists have raised $5,000 to send to refugees in Western Sudan.

I hope your reaction is the same as mine.

But let's not be pointing the finger.

What is our response to the poor?

Whether in other lands far away, or increasingly so, the poor in our own country who are facing difficult economic times.

Well, three things we're going to look at from this section here.

First, God's love for the poor.

God's love for the poor is unmistakable.

Chapter 15, verse 4, we're told that there should be no poor among you.

That meant whether you were local or somebody from outside, there was to be no poor among you.

But, look down at verse 11.

It tells us there that there will always be poor people in the land.

So which is it?

Well, it's not a contradiction.

Rather, this is God expressing his heart's desire that poverty be completely removed.

However, the reality is there will always be people who are poor.

And people become poor through a number of different ways.

Either through the oppression of others, like greedy multinationals who operate sweatshops to meet the demands of cheap goods.

It could be the effects of natural disasters like flooding or drought that ruins crops or destroys businesses.

Or it could be the moral failure of ourselves.

Just pure laziness, poor choices and selfish living.

All of these things and any combination of them can cause poverty.

But God's desire, his response is that poverty is to be eradicated.

Because this is the kind of God that he is.

Look at how God describes himself in chapter 10, verse 17.

Chapter 10, verse 17.

Chapter 10, verse 17.

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the alien, the outsider, giving him food and clothing.

And you are to love those who are outsiders.

For you yourselves were outsiders in Egypt.

Look, he's reminding them.

You were once poor and enslaved in Egypt, in captivity.

But I released you from poverty.

And I have brought you into a good and a prosperous land full of plenty.

You've experienced God's generous and gracious love.

Therefore, you also must display this same gracious and generous love to the poor who are around you.

And of course, those who are considered the most poor, as it says there in verse 18, they were the orphan, the widow, the refugee.

These were people who had no land or property.

Therefore, they had no means of sustaining themselves.

And if we are in any doubt at all as to God's concern for the poor, listen to this from Deuteronomy 27, verse 19.

Deuteronomy 27:19

Let me read it to you.

Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.

Then all the people shall say, Amen.

You see, God loves the poor.

And his desire is quite clear to eradicate all poverty.

But second, God's grace in action or God's grace in our life.

God's love for the poor is expressed through the commands that he gives to his people.

In other words, if God's people begin to obey God's law, so God's grace is seen in action.

So let's look at chapter 15, verse 1 of Deuteronomy.

At the end of every seven years, you must cancel debts.

Now, I think Ireland knows all about debt, don't we?

And most of us have debt.

We've got a mortgage or some other kind of loan.

And we all know that if you're not able to pay off your debts, well, it can lead to terrible poverty.

And that's what we see within our own country at the minute.

Well, through the law that God offered to, or through God's law,

he offered grace to those who found themselves in poverty.

He provided a way out, as it were.

Let's read verse 1 again.

At the end of seven years, you must cancel debts.

This is how it is to be done.

Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite.

He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother,

because the Lord's time for cancelling debts has been proclaimed.

You see, when God's people moved into the Promised Land,

every tribe, every clan, every family was allotted a piece of ground for their provision.

Everybody had their own little allotment, as it were.

A place where they could keep their cattle to graze, and they could grow a few veg.

Now, as the years passed, some did very well, while others, for various reasons,

maybe they were lazy and they didn't dig their garden very well,

and they had to take out a loan, which left them in terrible debt.

And, of course, the idea was that over the years they would try and pay back that loan,

as they were able.

But if they weren't able to pay back that loan,

the law said that every seventh year, the loan was to be cancelled.

The debt was to be written off.

And the reason?

Because, at the end of verse 2,

the Lord's time for cancelling debts has been proclaimed.

So God is saying, look, I am the God who provides a way for you.

I am the God who cares for the poor and will release them from poverty.

You see, this debt, or the cancelling of debts,

was provided for each family so that they would have a fresh start,

a new beginning.

It meant that the slate was completely wiped clean.

In fact, the law also stated that every 49 years,

it was the year of the Jubilee.

And that meant that every piece of land that had been passed on to other people

because of debts had to be given back to the original landowner.

So God's law was put in place to give the people a fresh start.

Now, could you imagine if every seven years

you had a visit from your bank manager

coming to your house to tell you that

all debts have been cancelled,

whether you were at the Ulster Bank or whoever it is,

could you imagine?

What a joy!

What a relief!

The sense of freedom,

the weight that had been tying you down for so long,

has now been lifted,

and poverty is no longer a burden to carry.

You see, God's law obeyed

with God's grace in action.

It was really quite radical.

And no other nation had these kinds of laws.

The other nations that surrounded Israel

looked to them and said,

Wow!

What an amazing nation!

What a God who would provide these kinds of laws!

We don't have anything like this.

For everybody else,

it was, well, if you got into poverty,

well, that was your own fault.

If you were poor,

well, the gods must be angry at what you had done,

and they've cursed you.

But for God's people,

he was providing a means for a fresh start.

God was teaching them this very simple lesson.

I am the God who cancels debts,

wipes the slate clean,

and releases you from poverty.

Well, you think,

Wow!

I'm going to try this out tomorrow.

Hmm?

But you know what?

We're going to end up in all kinds of trouble

if we try and apply this directly.

If you went down to your bank manager tomorrow

and you opened up before him Deuteronomy 15,

Mr. Manager, or Miss Manager,

it's the seventh year.

Cancel my debts!

What would they say to you?

Well, we must remember,

these laws were given

to a particular people

in a particular place.

We're not Israelites, are we?

Anybody here an Israelite?

Didn't think so.

They were living under an old covenant.

We live under a new covenant.

And I don't think anybody here

has been allotted a particular piece of land by God,

have you?

Your house,

did God give you that?

Did he say,

this is where you must live?

You see,

it would be wrong

to expect these laws

to function in exactly the same way today.

However,

as we have seen,

these laws are all about

God's grace in action.

That God does love the poor

and it is God's desire

to eradicate poverty.

well,

that's exactly

what God has done for us

through his son,

Jesus Christ.

We're going to come back to Deuteronomy

and see how it does apply,

more so in a minute,

but for now,

go forward to

Luke's Gospel,

chapter 4.

Luke's Gospel,

chapter 4.

And verse 20,

well,

sorry,

verse 16.

Luke's Gospel,

chapter 4,

verse 16.

Let's read Luke 4,

Luke 4:16

verse 16.

Jesus went to Nazareth

where he had been brought up

and on the Sabbath day

he went into the synagogue

as was his custom.

And he stood up to read,

the scroll of the prophet Isaiah

was handed to him.

Now,

the prophets,

people like Isaiah

and Jeremiah

and others,

everything that they said

was really a repeat

or an application

of what God's law

had said.

It was a reminder

to the people

of God's law.

So,

Jesus,

the rest of verse 17,

unrolling the scroll

of Isaiah,

he found the place

where it is written.

The Spirit of the Lord

is on me

because he has anointed me

to preach good news

to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim freedom

for the prisoners

and recovery of sight

for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year

of the Lord's favour.

Well,

that's what we've just read

in Deuteronomy,

isn't it?

Verse 19 there,

the Lord's time

for cancelling debts

has been proclaimed.

Let's read verse 20,

then Jesus rolled up

the scroll,

he gave it back

to the attendant

and sat down.

The eyes of everyone

in the synagogue

were fastened on him

and he began

by saying to them,

today,

this scripture

is fulfilled

in your hearing.

You see,

as Jesus read

from the prophet Isaiah,

proclaiming the year

of the Lord's favour,

Jesus is proclaiming

to the people

who are listening to them

and to us today

as we read it,

Jesus is saying to us,

you know the seventh year

that you all long for?

That seventh year

is me.

I am the one

who has come

to cancel your debts.

I am the one

who has come

to give you

and your families

a fresh start.

I am the God

who provides you

the new beginning

that you all

so long for

and desire.

I am the one

who wipes

the slate clean.

It is me

who is going

to release you

from poverty.

The year

of cancelling

debts,

it is me.

However,

with Jesus,

this poverty

is no longer

confined to

material poverty.

It is about

spiritual poverty.

He came to preach

good news

to the poor.

Yes,

Jesus was concerned

for people's

material

and temporary

needs,

but his greatest

concern was

people's

spiritual

and eternal

needs.

For God

loves people

like you

and me,

people who

are truly

poor,

people who

are weighed

down by the

debt of sin,

who are crippled

by our guilt

and our shame

from the past

and from the

present,

that we carry

with us,

crippling us

so that we

cannot live life

the way it's

meant to.

And the

ultimate expression

of God's love

for the poor

was to come

to people

who are poor

like us.

God was not

so immune

from us,

but he actually

entered into

this world

through his

son Jesus

Christ for

people like

you and me.

Jesus came

to take

our debt,

to take

our sin

from past,

the present

and the future,

to eradicate

it once

and for all,

to wipe

it away

so that it

would never

be a burden

to carry

ever again,

to wipe

the slate

clean

and to give

us the fresh

start

that every

one of us

needs

every single

day.

you see,

as Christ

would hang

on the

cross,

he was

proclaiming

to the

world

that through

his death

now is

the day

of the

Lord's

favour,

that all

sin debts,

past,

present and

future,

are cancelled

here through

Jesus Christ.

It's only

through the

gospel,

through the

good news

of Jesus,

that our

spiritual

poverty

is completely

ended

and we

have been

set free

to live

a new

kind of

life

with him.

That's

where we

must start

with Deuteronomy

15.

This is

where it

is pointing

to and

where it

leads us

to and

we must

come back

to the

cross

every day

as people

who are

poor

needing

to know

that fresh

start

and the

forgiveness

that he

alone

can bring.

Well,

you say

that is

good news

and in

some ways

that should

be sufficient

in itself

but what

about those

who are

in poverty

materially?

What about

them?

Does God

not care

about that?

Well,

thirdly,

God's

command

to the

church.

You see,

if we

have been

released

from

spiritual

poverty,

then we

will want

to see

others

released

from

material

poverty.

Loving

the poor

and giving

to the

poor

is a

crucial

sign

that we

actually

believe

the

gospel.

If we

say we

believe it

and we

say I'm

a

Christian,

then the

sign that

you are

a Christian

is your

love for

the poor

and giving

to the

poor.

two

things.

First,

open-handed,

not

hard-hearted.

Go back

to

Deuteronomy

15.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 15:7

15,

verse 7.

If there

is a

poor man

among

your

brothers

in any

of the

towns

of the

land

that the

Lord

your

God

is

giving

you,

do

not

be

hard-hearted

or

tight-fisted

towards

your

poor

brother.

rather be

open-handed

and freely

lend him

whatever he

needs.

You see,

a closed

hand

is a sign

of a

hard heart.

If you

know someone

who is in

need,

perhaps they're

struggling to

pay their

bills.

Maybe they

cannot provide

for their

family

adequately.

And you

know what

that need

is and

you do

nothing

about it.

It's just

a reflection

of your

own heart.

It's a

sign that

you are

still in

spiritual

poverty

and have

never

experienced

the fresh

start that

Jesus gives.

Alternatively,

if you

respond to

the material

needs of

others,

then that

is a

sign.

It's an

outworking

of your

genuine

belief in

the gospel.

It's a

sign that

yes,

you have

been to

the cross

and you

have

experienced

God's

grace in

your life.

Listen to

how the

early church

obeyed

God's law

from

Deuteronomy

15 and

demonstrated

their

open-handedness

to one

another.

These are

familiar

words.

I read

them from

Acts 4

Acts 4:34

verse 34.

This is

what it

says of

the believers

there and

this is

paralleled

from

Deuteronomy

15.

There were

no needy

persons

among them

for from

time to

time those

who owned

lands or

houses sold

them,

brought the

money from

the sales,

put it at

the apostles'

feet and

it was

distributed

to anyone

as he

had need.

What a

radical way

to live.

Nobody

was in

need

among them.

Well, we

as a church

have sought

to do

something about

that.

We have

what we

call a

ministry of

mercy,

something that

we're seeking

to develop.

There is

some funds

available and

it would be

great if that

were increased

to be able

to give

to those

who are

in need.

So if you

know people

within the

family of

this church

who are

in need,

maybe there's

people who

you work

with or

within your

neighbourhood

or friends

who are

in need.

What better

way to

express and

to show

the grace

of God

by giving

them

something that

would help?

It may be

small,

but it

is a sign

of the

grace of

God.

And if

you want

to think

through that

more,

you can

speak to

Alex or

to Jan

who are

looking after

that on

behalf of

the whole

church.

Open-handed,

not hard-hearted,

a sign that

we have

experienced

God's grace

in our own

lives.

second,

generously

and not

grudgingly

in terms

of our

giving.

We need

to be

careful that

we don't

have a

sinful

attitude

towards

the poor.

Look at

verse 9

of Deuteronomy

15.

Be careful

not to

harbour

this wicked

thought.

The

seventh

year,

the year

for

cancelling

debts

is near.

so that

you do

not show

ill will

towards

your

needy

brother

and

give

him

nothing.

You see,

the law

was something

like this.

If somebody

came looking

for financial

help

in year

six,

the reality

is they

would have

very little

paid back

by year

seven.

One year

is not a

long time

to be paying

back your

loan.

So the

temptation

would be

that if

you were

somebody

who had

plenty

and somebody

came along

in year

six and

said,

you know,

I wonder

if I could

just have

a loan

here.

Well,

the temptation

would be

to say,

well,

year seven

is next

year.

I mean,

how am I

ever going

to get

the money

back in

a year's

time?

The temptation

would be

to think,

well,

no,

you've got

yourself

in a

mess.

You

sort

yourself

out.

Why

should I

take the

hit for

your

mistakes?

Well,

that kind

of attitude

is a sign

that we

don't

believe

the gospel.

Deuteronomy

15,

look at the

rest of

verse 9.

He may

then appeal

to the

Lord against

you and

you will

be found

guilty of

sin.

Give

generously to

him and

do so

without a

grudging

heart.

debt.

I think

we can

have that

very

attitude

towards

the

poor.

I know

I can.

Somebody

who is

in need

and you

think,

well,

you know

what,

they were

just very

unwise with

their money.

Why should

I help

them?

After all,

they've just

been on

holiday and

now they

want a

handout.

Huh?

You've

got to be

joking.

If they're

in debt,

well,

it's because

they were

foolish and

silly.

I was

careful with

my money.

I saved

it.

I put it

in a

pension fund

and,

well,

I've been

very good

and they've

just wasted

theirs.

Well,

let me ask

us this

question.

What if

God had

that attitude

with us?

What if

God looked

at my

sin debt

and said,

you know

what,

Johnny?

That's

your mistake.

You

sorted

out.

What if

God were

to show

me and

to throw

before me

my

continued

sin and

said,

you never

learn.

I've

forgiven you

time after

time after

time,

but this

time deal

with it

yourself.

The reality

is we

would be

left in

our

spiritual

poverty.

We

would be

left with

hell.

You see,

if we

have known

the

cancellation

of all

of our

sin

debts,

past,

present,

and future,

if we

have known

the generosity

and grace

of God

who has

provided us

with an

eternal

kingdom,

the ultimate

promised land

where we

will never

be in

want and

never be

in need,

if we

have

experienced

the fresh

start that

only God

can give

to our

lives,

then we

will want

to follow

his command

to love

the poor.

It will

not be a

duty or

a grudge

to do it,

but we

will just

love the

opportunity

to do it.

look at

verse 11

of chapter

15.

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.

may God

give us

grace

that we

would always

see how

rich we

truly are,

that we

would be a

church that

is open-handed,

demonstrating

the amazing

grace of

God,

building those

bridges to

welcome people

in so that

they may have

their spiritual

poverty,

their sin

debt cancelled,

once and

for all.

Let's

pray.

Just

reflect for a

moment

on the

amazing work

of Christ,

who has

taken our

sin debt

on himself,

took our

poverty.

Thank you,

Jesus,

that you have

cancelled it,

wiped the

slate clean,

and given

us a fresh

start.

heart.

Thank you

that every

day we

can come,

as it

were,

to the

cross and

find that

fresh start

because our

sin debt has

been cancelled.

Thank you

that we live

today in the

knowledge that

we are your

children,

treasured and

loved.

Lord.

Thank you for

your rich,

generous grace

to us.

And thank you

too for

blessing us.

Thank you that we

live in a country

despite all of our

economic struggles.

thank you for

our homes,

for running

water,

for food to

eat,

for the

blessings that

we have every

single day.

Thank you for

your amazing

grace.

And please

would you

work your

grace in our

hearts

so that we

are not

hard-hearted

but open-handed.

Please

provide for

us in our

lives so

that we are

generous.

I thank you,

Father God,

for this

church family,

for the many

expressions of

generosity.

I pray that

you will

continue to

meet all of

our needs

so that we

are a

generous people

first to

one another

and to

our wider

community

that they

may see

something of

God's

grace,

that they

may be

drawn in,

that they

may experience

what it is

to have

their sin

debt

cancelled.

We ask

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.