Orphans, Widows, the Poor and Oppressed - Derek Prince

the slogan that our ministry has had for good many years is reaching the unreached and teaching the untaught and we have done that to the best of our ability I think my radio program is in about 13 languages my books are in probably more than 80 nations and in more than 50 languages but recently we got involved in Kosovo we didn't plan it God did it and we've added a new phrase to our slogan it's reaching the unreached teaching the untaught hmm and touching untouched and really that's what I'm going to be talking about tonight I have a message which God has laid on my heart and which I will seek to communicate as faithfully as I can I would like to begin from Philippians chapter 3 verse 9 where Paul says his prayer is that I may be found in him that's Jesus not having my own righteousness which is from the law but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from God by faith I want to speak about that the righteousness which is from God by faith and I want to suggest to you that there's only one kind of righteousness it runs all through the scriptures from the beginning to the end the righteousness which is from God by faith and it's a very practical righteousness it's not a religious kind of righteousness it's not sentimental it is down-to-earth it is practical and it is demonstrated in every age of God's dealings with his people and I want to take you briefly through the various main ages of God's dealing I want to start with what we would call the patriarchs and I want to go to the book of Job I have been so grabbed by this book of Job just recently I didn't I could never believe there was so much in it as I found lately basically theologians if you want to use that rather unpleasant word I mean I'm I'm suspicious of theologians to say the truth the word theologian means the Word of God and if that's what theologians were telling us I'd be delighted but most of the time it's not that's a simple fact anyhow the main ages of God's dealings I would say are the patriarchs including Abraham Isaac and Jacob the law of Moses the prophets and the New Testament and I want to look at the kind of righteousness God looks for in each of those ages and I want to show you it never varies is always the same it's very practical it's very down-to-earth let's turn to the book of Job chapter 29 this is 11 through 17 this is job's testimony of the way he lived and God himself bore testimony to job that he was a righteous man and this is what job says and these words have gripped me so much I can hardly get beyond them when the ear heard then it blessed me and when the eyes saw then it approved me because I delivered the poor who cried out and the fatherless and him who had no helper the blessing of perishing man came upon me and I caused the widow's heart to sing for Johnny I put on righteousness and it clothed me my justice was like a robe and a turban I was eyes to the blind and I was feet to the lane I was a father to the poor and I searched out the case that I did not know isn't it remarkable that job's righteousness was not his own there is no kind of self-righteousness anywhere in the Bible job said I put on righteousness and it clothed me he was clothed with the righteousness which he had received by faith from God and this is the out working of his righteousness I delivered the poor the fatherless and him I had no help the blessing of a perishing man came upon me and I caused the widows heart to sing for joy the poor the widow the fatherless are the objects of God's compassion the way we express our righteousness I put on righteousness and it clothes me my justice or my righteousness with like a robe and a turban I was eyes to the blind I was feet to the lane I was a father to the poor you find the people whom God has in mind when he speaks about righteousness or the widow the fatherless the poor the blind and the lame and we can measure how much we have God's righteousness by the way we relate to those people the fatherless the widow the poor the blind and the lame so tonight you're going to have an opportunity to search your own heart and life and see just how much of that righteousness there is in you then I go on to job 31 and this is a most remarkable passage verses 16 and following and I want you to understand job is here justifying himself and it's listing sins that he did not commit so all the things that he speaks about here are sins but he says I didn't commit these sins but we need to recognize there are sins if I've kept the poor from their desire or caused the eyes of the widow to fail or eat and I'm also by myself so that the fatherless may not eat of it but from my youth I reared him as a father and from my mother's womb I guided the widow if I've seen anyone perish for lack of clothing or in him poor man without covering if his heart has not blessed me and if he was not warned with the fleece of my sheep if I've raised my hand against the fatherless when I saw I had helped in the game then let my arm fall from my shoulder that my arm be torn from the socket jobless the things which he was doing he provided for the poor he blessed the widow he cared for the fatherless and he's he he provided clothing for those who without clothing and then this is the most remarkable statement it ripped me when I saw it he said if I have not done these things then let my arm fall from my shoulder and let my arm be torn from the socket if I understand it job is saying if my arm and my hand have not been continually engaged in these acts of love and mercy and provision for those who need it then it has no right to a place in my body that's a dramatic statement and it's a dramatic statement I want to say it again job said if my right hand and my arm have not been engaged in these continuously in these acts of mercy and love for the poor the needy the widow the blind and the lame then this right arm of mine has no place in my body I don't own it it's a disgrace that's strong language but it's the truth then we go on to the law of Moses and in Leviticus 19 we have a provision for the poor Leviticus 19 verses 9 and 10 these are ordinances that Moses gave to Israel when you reap the harvest of your land you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest and you shall not blame your vineyard nor shall you gather every grape of your vignette you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger I am the Lord your God I think probably Israel is only the nation on earth that has a legal system which compels you to provide for the poor you know breaking the law if you don't provide for the poor and the stranger that's remarkable isn't it that's romantic and yet it was the law of Moses and then God said in that context I am the Lord your God what did he mean by that I think he meant this that's the kind of God I am and that's how I want you to represent me I care for the poor the fatherless the needy I don't approve as selfishness I don't approve of eating your bread alone find somebody who needs your help and help them then you'll be representing me as the God that I really am and then again in Deuteronomy 14 verses 28 and 29 at the end of every third year you should bring out the time of your produce of that year and stored it up within your gates and the Levite because he has no portion no inheritance with you the Levite was the one who served the Lord and he did not have any geographical inheritance and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do so if you want the blessing of the Lord God said to Israel you've got to care for the widow the poor and the fatherless and when you celebrate the abundance that I give you don't leave them out it's a very powerful language very clear very consistent it's always the same message so let's go to the prophets we go to the great prophet Isaiah chapter 1 Isaiah chapter 1 and I want you to notice that Isaiah was addressing a very religious people but there were people who are not righteous in the sight of God and God says your religion where is me I'm tired of it I don't want any more of that kind of religion and I wonder if it isn't if God doesn't say that to some Christians too I'm not interested you know religion it doesn't impress me please stop it for Isaiah says in verse 12 when you come to appear before me who has regard this from your hand to trample my cause bring no more futile sack of incense is an abomination to the New Moon's the Sabbath's and the calling of assemblies I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates that's powerful language from God isn't it all your religious activities don't impress me the least bit they are a trouble to me I'm a weird I'm weird you're burning them when you spread out your hands I will hide my eyes from you even though you make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood God says don't come to me with all your prayers if your life isn't in line with my word and then he comes with the instructions of what he requires them to do in verse 16 wash yourselves make yourselves clean put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes cease to do evil learn to do good I want isn't learning to do good seek justice reprove the oppressor defend the fatherless plead for the widow what is God looking for not empty religious language and ceremonies but a practical care for those who need I can then he says learn to do good seek justice reprove the oppressor defend the fatherless plead for the widow come now and let us reason together says the Lord though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow and he continues but notice that religion does not impress God they were full of religious activity but they weren't caring for the people who needed their help God said if you wanted my favor this is what you have to do learn to do good seek justice I wonder how much we realize how intensely God cares about justice it's beginning it's become a revelation to me God is passionately concerned about justice he hates injustice learn to do good seek justice reprove the oppressor defend the fatherless and the winner everywhere you look in the Bible when it's this the things that right righteousness requires your always find the fatherless and the widow we have no concern for them our righteousness does not impress God at all I'm going to speak from personal experience in the relator and then in Isaiah 58 this is what David Wilkinson calls the key to continuing revival Isaiah 58 beginning at verse 6 is not this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke last night to the best of our ability we sought to do that and I believe many yokes were broken and many oppressed were sent set free that's what God wants the church to do and then he goes on is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the naked that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh I think that applies to the United States I'm an American citizen by choice I chose to take American citizenship and I'm grateful for all the privileges that it's brought to me but I want to ask you who are your flesh when God is speaking to Israel whom is he speaking about he's speaking about their fellow Israelites when God is speaking to you in the terms of this language as Americans what is he speaking about your fellow who your fellow Americans how much do you care how much do you really care for your fellow Americans I'm British and you can get offended with me and Britain has nothing to boast on but I would like to say that the inner cities of America are a crying shame to this whole nation and to the church in this nation and if the church is not concerned about them I think God has the same attitude toward the church in this time as he had toward Israel stop all your religious activity do something I always think when this happened years ago I was living in Florida in a house with a swimming pool and I have a large family I'll tell you how I got the family later and a few of my daughters and their husbands and some of their children who are my grandchildren were in the home and they were running around and playing by the swimming pool and a little boy of about four fell into the pool so they fished him out and he stood there dripping wet on the edge of the pool he looked us all and he said do something somebody and when I look at the church I want to say do something somebody please do something and then there's somebody who agrees with me so let's look at this what David Wilson posed the key to continuing revival Isaiah 58 verse 6 is this not the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke I believe that is what we were doing last night in our deliverance service it wasn't very dignified but I believe it was what God wanted I'm not sure that God is much impressed by religious dignity especially if it covers up secret problems and sins now what is it guarded on is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast down what do we call them today the homeless isn't den Rijn how many of you are doing then when you see the naked that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh your own fellow Americans then your light shall break forth like the morning your healing shall spring forth speedily has it ever occurred to you that there's a key to healing sometimes we have to do something to release God's healing John said if you do when I ask of you I'll release my healing it'll come speedily your righteousness shall go before you the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard then you shall call and the Lord will answer you shall cry and he will say Here I am in other words God guarantees answered prayer on the basis of our doing what he requires and then in Ezekiel chapter 16 and this is really one of the most remarkable statements in the moment because it's a statement about the sin of Sodom and if you or I as by mu literate were to be asked what was the main sin of Sodom we would answer homicide sooo anity it's remarkable that when the Lord lists the sins of Sodom he does not mention homosexuality when looking in Ezekiel 16 verse 49 these words are addressed to Jerusalem and the Lord calls Sodom a sister of Jerusalem is equal 16 49 look this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom she and her daughter had pride fullness of food and abundance of idleness neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and he does not a mention of homosexuality isn't that remarkable it's very very much like contemporary American culture am i right pride fullness of bread abundance of idleness not that she strengthened the hand of the poor and the needy now I would suggest you and this is a deduction that that kind of culture will always produce homosexuality and I believe it's that kind of culture in the United States that is the root cause of the tremendous upsurge of homosexuality that kind of lifestyle will produce homosexuality but homosexuality is not the roots in it's the fruit of the sin the roots in is a abundance of food and idleness and not caring for the poor and then healing their conditions in Sodom that produced homosexuality exactly in the same condition are producing homosexuality in contemporary America please understand I'm not justifying homosexuality it is a terrible horrible sin but its root cause is a kind of selfish self-indulgence which is to say the truth characteristic of contemporary America am i right I don't think you can argue with me me you you're welcome to do so if you want to and then just one from Daniel chapter four Daniel chapter four and verse 27 now you have to know the background to this Nebuchadnezzar the King had had a terrible dream which he saw a tree cut down with only the stump left in the ground and he went to his friend and advisor Daniel and Daniel said King Nebuchadnezzar the other tree if you don't change you're going to be cut down and then Daniel offered some very simple advice to Nebuchadnezzar how can you avoid the disaster that's coming Daniel 4 verse 27 therefore O king let my counsel be acceptable to you break off your sins by being righteous the Hebrew says by righteousness you see that's that's repentance it's not some gradual slow process it's breaking off sin and replacing it by righteousness that's repentance and then he says and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor so how could Nebuchadnezzar have prolonged his prosperity by showing mercy to the poor he didn't do it the tree was cut down and he endured the judgment that was revealed in the dream could that be true of contemporary America that we can postpone or set aside God's judgment by righteousness and showing mercy to the poor after all we are a wealthy nation we can afford as individuals to be generous and I thank God I have to say the American people have been wonderfully generous to me I'm not speaking out of any sense of need or want or any complaint but I'm concerned that America is headed for judgment and for disaster and there's only one way we can avert it and that's the way that Daniel toner began is breaking all of your sins by righteousness a complete change from sin to righteousness from dark to light and by showing mercy to the poor did it ever occurred to you that that could be the way we could either avert or postpone the judgment of God upon the United States not some political institution but we the Church of Jesus Christ by showing mercy to the poor I'm going to speak briefly from personal experience at the end and then you can challenge me if you wish let's move on to the New Testament and what's so remarkable is in the New Testament God's righteousness has not changed the least bit he still expects exactly the same from Christians as he did from the patriarchs from the people under the law of Moses from the people to whom the prophets spoke you know of course that God sent a forerunner before Jesus John the Baptist to prepare the way and the message that he that prepared the way was the message of repentance in one word repent and we read in Luke 3 verses 9 through 11 these are the words of John the Baptist to the people of his time Luke 3 9 to 11 even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees therefore every tree which doesn't bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire would you see that it's not sufficient that you don't bear bad fruit God requires good fruit a fruitless tree will be cut down just as much as a tree that bears bad fruit God will accept only one kind of tree a tree that bears good fruit and Johnson even now the ax is laid to the root of the tree you know what the word radical means you probably don't but it comes from a Latin word radix which means a root so radical is something that deals with the root and John the Baptist message was radical he said you've got to cut down the root you've got to get rid of this tree that does not produce good fruit and I believe Christianity is a radical religion anything that is not radical is not Christianity I had the privilege of ministering to some of the what later became called the Jesus people in the 1960s in fact had there been a hippies in the day when I was growing up I would have been a hippie but there were none so I just had to be a hippie all on my own but I could identify with him I understood them there there was a protest they were dissatisfied with the state of society they didn't know how to express it they didn't know what to do but they just didn't want to identify themselves with the secular culture that was so materialistic you see in most young people there is a kind of desire for something right I mean I went through this as a student and a professor at Cambridge I was a hippie before the we're hippies I didn't know how to identify myself I'm shocked and surprised some people by telling them then I had an an idea that I could make a fortune at Roulette and I had some friends who with me and I represented them they paid for me to go down to the South of France - can and Monte Carlo and I spent weeks there in Monte Carlo and in Monte Carlo it's usually pretty warm so I wore sandals and not shoes and for some reason I didn't understand I painted my toenails red people find that hard to believe but I did and I've asked myself why did I do that and I then I think about the young lady with blonde hair who colors it blue and I'm not against that I mean if that's the way she wants to have her hair well alright but what is what is what is why don't I color my toenails red then why does she kinda hair blue it's a protest and a voice for this protest we're saying listen there's something radically wrong with society we don't want to be identified with this we want something different that's why there was such a move of God amongst the generation of the 60s because they were radical in fact I said to some of my friends later when they became Christians listen you're not the only radical enough you were much more radical when you were a hippie than when you're in a Christian as a hippie you'd have God in a con driven off to Alaska without thinking about anything now you wanted to have your fare paid and you want to know what Motel you're going to be stopping it that's I mean I have such good friends I think some of them are probably here tonight they remember it remember me from those days and I could identify with them not that I was living the same lifestyle but I had the same basic problem dissatisfaction with the way things are there must be something better than that and I sympathize with them and I believe they are the most fruitful field for the gospel because if you come to them with a radical message they'll respond I remember in the 1960s their slogan was tell it like it is and I said what preacher could ever ask anything better than the head tell it like it is let's tell it like it is and that's one reason why God has blessed John because he tells it like it is it's one reason why God has blessed me because I tell it like it is I'm not interested I'm not interested in I'm not interested in the fooling around with religion I had enough religion before I became a Christian I mean at school every day for 10 years in a preparatory school and and it Eitan we tended Chapel every day so that's a lot of Chapel going when I went to Cambridge I said well thank God I'm finished with all that now now I can begin to have real life and I did all sorts of things which were not real life but there was inside me this plea deep please show us something real show us something that works don't just give us language don't just give us religion we're tired of it and there's a whole generation out there saying that today thank God for them they're the most fertile field for the gospel but you're going to have to take a radical message and you're going to have to live a radical lifestyle amen all right you said amen so yes John the Baptist he says even though the axe is laid to the root of the trees therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the path so the people asked him saying what shall we do then now this was not the tax collectors this is not the prostitutes this was the people what shall we do and his answer was very simple and very down-to-earth he answered and said to them he who has two tunics they didn't give to him has none and he who has food they didn't do like ones that's righteousness that's the righteousness which is by God my fav that's the message of the New Testament that's repentance it's taking what you have and sharing it with those who don't have very simple you don't have to be a theologian to understand it the problem is it's too simple that's right well you can make your own Magnum now we turn onto Luke chapter 14 and verses 12 through 14 this is after Jesus had been invited to a a meal in a Pharisees house but he takes it more generally he applies it Luke 14 verses 12 in funny then he also said to him who invented him when you give a dinner or a supper do not ask your friends your brother's your relatives know your rich neighbors less they also invite you back and you be repaying but when you give a feast invite the poor the crippled the lame the blind do you do that do I do that that's good Jesus mean what he said and then he says and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you so for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just whatever we do that we paid for now will get no payment at the resurrection of the just whatever we do now that isn't paid for will be paid for in eternal currency at the resurrection of the just and then I came prepared for this meeting I wanted to make a little suggestion to some of you consider keep a little diary for a week and write in it how many hours you spend doing work that you'll be paid for in the resurrection of the just see what I mean most of the things you do you get paid for none so you won't be paid for those at the resurrection of the drugs but whatever you do that's good that is not paid for now you will be paid for praise God in eternal currency at the resurrection of the just I remember when I was in the Sudan as a soldier in the northern Sudan which is totally Muslim the British who administered the nation at that time did not allow missionaries into the Sudan because they didn't want trouble with the Muslims but I wasn't a missionary I was a soldier so I was posted to a place in the Sudan from Jew bait the Red Sea Hills a little hospital run for Italian prisoners of war and I was put in charge of the native labor in the hospital the Sudan II labor so there was what they call a race a man in charge of the labor and he reported to me every morning so we established a relationship of a kind that we had no real spiritual contact until one day I discovered he believed in Satan Shaytan as they say in Arabic when I said I believe in Satan too said strangely enough that was our meeting point we both believed in Satan we established a point of contact then one day he was a late coming to thee to the office when he came in he had his foot bandaged and he was limping and he said I've got a saw my foot I had to go to the clinic and have it dealt with so I don't think I'd ever seen anybody pray for the sick of that time but I knew it was in the New Testament so rather timidly I said would you like me to pray for you oh yes he said so I treated him rather like a bomb that could explode I didn't I didn't get too much involved with him I kept him at a distance and I laid hands on him prayed for him about a week later he came along again said we don't like to see my foot I said yes he said it's him I was almost surprised to say the truth well then we became friends so I used to take the King James Version on the New Testament and read it to him translating it into soldiers English because he understood English she didn't read or write it but he had a good knowledge of the kind of English that soldiers use which is not the English of the King James so I would translate from King James the soldiers English me read we became quite good friends well then he wanted me to teach me to ride a camel so I said okay when he taught me and I will tell you one thing about a camel I don't will you ever read one ridden one but when one part of a camel is going up another part is going down there's no kind when a camel is totally level anyhow I survived this test so I was in charge of the rations I could do what I wanted with them so I said well why don't we take a picnic out into the desert and ride our camels so we rode out on our camels came to a kind of little hill with a brackish stream trickling down it and took out our food but we have nothing to drink so he looked at me and he said well we Sudanese drink this water but you white people don't when I said if there's nothing else I'm prepared to drink it he said why are you different from other white people when I said jesus said if I drink anything deadly in his name it won't harm me so I drank the water and it impressed him well it so happened our reading that day was from John chapter 3 about being born again and I was translating this into Soviet English and he got more and more interested so as we were riding back on our camels I said to him would you like to be born again he said yes I would I want to tell you I had no experience in counseling and all that so I said alright this evening you go to your heart I'll go to my billet and when the Sun sets you'll pray and ask to be born again and I'll pray for you so he said ok or if he went met him next morning said did you pray he said yes I said did anything happen he said no and I was about to feel disappointed but the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear he's a Muslim I knew very little about Muslims at that time when I said did you pray in the name of Jesus he said no when I said if you want to be born again you have to pray in the name of Jesus are you willing to do that he said yes so I said the same evening when the Sun sets you go to I don't go to mind goody I met him next morning I looked at him and I said you've got it his whole face had changed and it impressed every person in that hospital they all said to me what's happened to your friend honey I said he got saved what's that I said let me tell you the commanding officer of the hospital sent him he said what's happened here friend ally I said he got say said what's that I said let me tell you I mean that was a dramatic transformation now when did I start to tell you that there must have been a reason I know why let's come back to Matthew 14 Luke 14 when you give a feast invite the poor the main the lame the blind and you will be blessed because they cannot repay I believe myself that if I make it through to the end I'll be repaid in eternal currency for what I did for that Arab race so I want to challenge you take a diary keep a record for seven days of all the things you do for which you will not be repaid now but you will be repaid in heaven eternal alright we're going on with the New Testament Matthew 25 I don't need to tell John what it's in this chapter this is the sheep and the goat nations Matthew 25 it's the last of the three parables in this chapter beginning at verse 31 when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him then he will sit on the throne of his glory you need to go back for a moment - what's the first prophet not Hosea Joel Joel chapter 3 verses 1 & 2 because this is the Old Testament setting for the New Testament Joel 3 says behold in those days in at that time when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem so it specifically refers to the time and the restoration of the State of Israel I will gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat and Jehoshaphat means the Lord judges and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of my people my heritage Israel whom they have scattered among the nations they have also divided up my man this is a very solemn Authority when Jesus comes he's going to judge the nation's on how they have treated his brothers the Jewish people and on dividing up what he calls my land this is a thing that we have to face as nations primarily the British but also other nations in 1919 at the end of World War one the British were given a mandate to govern what was called Palestine and make provide there a Jewish National Home in 1922 Winston Churchill with one stroke of the British pen signed off 75% of that territory to an Arab nation in which no Jew is permitted to live that nation is today call Jordan at the end of World War two the United Nations voted to partition what was left which was about 25 percent of the total land and they offered Israel or the Jewish people about 12 percent that was all of a total inheritance what is the the political terminology for dividing up the land what's the word partition God is going to judge the nations who have been involved in partitioning what he calls my land it's first and foremost his land then it's the Land of Israel because God gave it by an everlasting covenant to Israel and Jesus says turning now to Matthew 25 when he comes in his glory he's going to judge the nations by the way they've treated his brothers and his sisters it's a very solemn thought he once he would divide them into two groups he all nations will be gathered before him thus 30-32 and he would separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the gate goat he will set the sheep on his right hand the goats on the left and then he was saying to the sheep come you blessed by my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world where I was hungry you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me a drink I was a stranger and you took me and I was naked and you clothed me I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to you notice it's all very practical it's not religious then the righteous will answer him saying Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink when did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and globe or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you and the king will answer and say to them assuredly I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me that's a very solemn thought in relationship to the regather of the Jewish people in their land what we do to them is considered done to Jesus then he goes on and he wants to say on the left to those on the left hand the goats depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels notice the everlasting fire was not prepared for human beings the devil and his angels have no option they will have to go human beings only go if they refuse the offer of God's mercy and then Jesus says were hungry and you gave me new food I was thirsty and you gave me no drink I was a stranger and you did not take me and naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me then they also will answer him saying Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to anyone answer them saying assuredly I say to you in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me and these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life and I think some of the most terrible words ever spoken by God are there in verse 41 spoken to to the goat nations depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels I can't think of more terrible words that could ever be spoken to any person depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire and you will say run the prints what did they do I'm Cheyenne see you in one word nothing that's all you have to do is do nothing Jesus is looking for trees that bring good food every tree that brings bad fruit or that does not bring fruit will be cut down cost into the famine so you see right through from job to Jesus the righteousness which is from God by faith is totally practical it's not sentimental it's not religious it's down-to-earth it's meet the needs of the needy help the helpless take in the widow take care of the orphan that's God's message from job all the way through it has not changed God has not suddenly changed his mind about what he wants there's been a change and the way we attained that righteousness there's been no change in the righteousness itself let me just take a few more moments James chapter 1 verse 27 James 1 verse 27 pure and undefiled religion before God on the Father let me say this two things the salvation there's religion salvation is what God does for us religion is what God requires from us in return pure and undefiled religion before God and the father is this to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep himself unspotted from the womb hasn't changed to see it's exactly the same as it was with Joan to care for the orphans in the widow to keep himself unspotted from the world now as a good Pentecostal and I've been Pentecostal longer than some of you being born I've heard many sermons on keeping ourselves unspotted from the world isn't that right yeah it's a major theme do you know I've never heard one sample I'm taking care of widows and orphans never one never one except the ones I'm preached is there not a tremendous gap between our concept of righteousness and what the Bible says and what the Bible says it's so simple so down to earth you can't misunderstand it there's no room for some complicated theological explanation now let me oh I was I must read James 4:17 to you know James was typically Jewish he was very down to earth he didn't he wasn't impressed by complicated religion and he says in James 4 verse and therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is what see all right so you understand that we can be condemned not for the things we've done that were wrong but for the things that were good that we didn't do to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin see I'm really putting a lot of responsibility on you people here tonight because you're going to walk out of here knowing what is good and then you've got to decide when I do it you can no longer plead ignorance personally I believe the nations of the West the United States Britain your opposition will primarily be judged by God not for what we've done but Lord we haven't done where wealthy were prosperous we have abundance we don't know what to do with all we have and at least 1 billion people are without sufficient food today I almost shudder when I hear Americans say or British I'm losing weight brothers and sisters there are a lot of people who couldn't put weight on if they wanted to surely there must be some better way of adjusting things then we overeat and millions star I cannot believe that it's the will of God I mean I'm too clear in my thinking it is impossible that that's what God wants you don't have to agree with me now I want a few general promises about caring for the poor from proverbs 19 and verse 17 proverbs 19 17 he who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and he the Lord will pay back what he is given so when you have pity on the poor financially you're making a loan to the Lord and the Lord always repays what he borrows so I think I'd have to say God has prospered me partly for that reason I didn't do it with that motive when I look back in my life I have to say God has repaid me what I gave to the barn he's done more than that he's overpaid and I'm I'm not one who preaches prosperities the ultimate purpose of God it isn't actually the way prosperity is misunderstood in contemporary America it doesn't mean having a lot of abundance it means being successful Paul prayed for a prosperous journey to Rome and he got what he prayed for but he didn't travel first-class in a steamer he travelled as a prisoner under God in Chains and he had a fourteen-day storm in the middle of the sea but it was a prosperous journey because it accomplished the will of God you see this is simply a mistake in English the word prosperity has changed its meaning in modern America it means abundance wealth from that sort of thing but in the Bible and in and in the scriptures it means successful God said to Joshua if you listen to when I say and do it you make your way prosperous you have good success he didn't travel in an air-conditioned coach he was a sail soldier making war sleeping in the fields was a tough life but he was prosperous because he succeeded if you would just translate prosperity into success you'd get a much clearer picture of what God really says I don't believe it's God's will for any of us to fail I believe it's God's will for all of us to prosper and be successful in what God called us to do I don't believe it's God's will for all of us to drive a Cadillac mind you I do driver Mercedes myself but on the other hand it's 20 years old all right let's not go on today from ab steady one verse 20 this is the picture of the excellent wife the model woman and I bow down before this as I've been married to to one after the other let me end I know what this kind of woman is and it says amongst many other things in verse 20 she extends her hand to the poor yes she reaches out her hands to the needy so she cares for the poor and the needy she reaches out her hands she stretches out she goes beyond politeness or even duty and there was something beyond that and then let's take the warnings too in proverbs 21:13 whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard does that explain why some of our prayers are not answered because we haven't heard the cry of the poor we haven't responded God says if you don't hear that cry I won't hear your cry the God is a very I would say intense God I think that's a word that describes God he's intense he wants something and he's not going to change what he wants and then in proverbs 28 verse 27 he who gives to the poor will not lack but he who hides his eyes will have many curses he who gives to the poor will not lack now I believe in social security I thank God for but my confidence is not in the US government because that could go bankrupt overnight and then my Social Security would be just nothing but paper but I do believe in divine Social Security I believe that if I give to the poor I will not lack I don't depend on the American gun or the British government I depend on heaven's government there's a kind of social security which is dependent on the way we live he who gives to the poor will not lack I have a feeling this is just a general impression that there's coming a time in America when the bubble will burst and this prosperity that everybody's so excited about was suddenly commenced and I'm glad that that's not where my security race my security rests in the fact that I have given to the poor I have taken in the widow and the orphan I have cared for them and I believe God will care for me I'm not boasting I'm just making statement now I'd like to show you something else about the ultimate purpose of the Lord we're getting near the end just be patient Isaiah 42 verse 4 speaking about the Lord and it's of the Lord Jesus you can look at the context he will not fail nor be discouraged till he has established justice in there that impressed me I realized that God has a passionate concern for justice injustice is intolerable to him and his ultimate purpose is to establish justice in all the earth you see being a good Pentecostal I was always a little scared of a religion of works in fact I had a brother who wouldn't wouldn't minister because a certain mission is taking money for the poor he refused to be identified with it and I understand this feeling but you see it's not scriptural it's not scriptural the religion that works cares for the for justice cares for the court in some ways I can identify more with the secular who are out for justice than I can with the religious who do nothing I think I've said enough I got one other picture I never thought I'd get through all this you're a wonderful audience just hang in there it's nearly at the end Hosea Joel Amos now the message of Amos is God's passionate concern for social justice you read it through that's the theme of Amos from beginning to end and in Amos chapter 6 verses 3 through 6 woe to you who put off the day of the judgment who caused the seed of violence to come here now that's not true you and me who lie on beds of ivory stretch out on your conscience he lands from the flock and calms from the midst of the storm who chant the sound of stringed instruments and invent for yourselves musical instruments like david who drink wine from bowls and anoint yourselves with the best ointments but are not grieved for the affliction of jealousy now I don't believe God has any problems with abundance I think God normally provides abundance for us but when we are satisfied with our bundles when we all we want is out of a good life and pleasure and prosperity and we are not grieved for the poor we're not grieved for those who don't have enough then God says woe to you now you could say to me well brother Prince what have you done about it and it's a legitimate question so I'm going to tell you very briefly when I'm done I'm not boasting I make no special claims but I have cared for the orphans and the poor and the winners when I married my first wife Lydia who whom you knew she had a little children's home in what was then Palestine with eight girls six Jewish one Arab one English the day I married her I got eight daughters and they're still my daughters today and that was a long while ago when I married my second wife Ruth and many of you will remember she was Jewish her first husband had deserted her and she brought with her three more children two girls and a boy to whom I became a father so I am a father to 12 children 11 girls and one boy I forgot to mention that Lydia and I adopted a little black African girl when we were in ki so I have I have two something I have well let's start the other and I want one boy who's Jewish I've got one little African girl who's black I've got one Arab who's a Palestinian Arab I've got one English and all the rest are Jewish and this began at the end of World War two and we are still one family today actually actually I am a head of a family that contains more than 150 persons and I was an only child with no brothers or sisters he is a wonderful God and we are a united family there are representatives our family in Israel Britain Canada the United States and Australia but we are still one family in a period of history when families have been falling apart this family has stuck together because it was founded on Jesus the first child that my first wife took in was a little dying Jewish baby in 1928 and out of that family out of that little girl than that act of mercy there has come a family that now numbers more than 150 person I don't say this to boast I'm nothing to boast of and I want to say it works it works and I want to challenge you just in closing I want you to ask yourself what kind of righteousness of faith am i practicing is it just a religious kind of righteousness like the people in our Xia's day they spent a lot of time in the temple and in religious services but ignored the fatherless and the widow or is it a righteousness that cares for people I want to ask you for a moment just to consider this question when I'm trying to phrase it right after hearing what I say but I'm saying would you say to yourself I have to acknowledge I haven't really been practicing the kind of righteousness described in the Bible I've been in many ways selfish and self-centered I've cared for me and me first I'll tell you one sure way to be frustrated is to be self-centered you cannot be self-centered without being frustrated because there's nothing in self that will ultimately give you satisfaction so I want to give you an opportunity to think this over and to consider whether you need to change your wings I'm being very frank with you I love you you've been wonderfully gracious to me you've responded to my ministry I have no complaints I could walk away and say bless you praise the Lord but I don't want to do that because I really believe God has sent me here to challenge some of you your Pentecostal your charismatic is speaking tongues you sing the best choruses and you read all sorts of books or watch all sorts of videos but what are you doing for the people who really need you the people all around you the poor the homeless the orphans the neglected children what are you doing are you doing anything you see I believe if the church in America would change and really act like Christians and care for the uncared-for and love the unloved and go out and show love not wait for them to come into the building you know most unchurched people they have no idea what goes on inside the church it's just a building out there some strange people go there every Sunday and do something I don't know what it but you go out and you begin to show love to people who've never been loved and to care for people who are not careful and they'll begin to want to know what makes you tick why are you behaving like that I believe it could bring a great move of God to this nation first of all if we go out to people sooner or later they'll want to come to know what makes us tick secondly if the charismatic and the non charismatic begin to work together in helping people who are in desperate need it won't seem so important whether they believe in a proof pre or post rapture they'll get more interested in things that are more practical and fundamental I really believe we could have a move of God in America and in Britain if we would start acting like real Christians I hope you are not in something but that's the kind of Christianity that I read about in the New Testament it's the kind of faith that I read about all through the Bible it's a faith that cares it's a faith that Lunz it's a faith that does something I think of my little grandson standing there on the edge of the pool and looking at us all and saying do something somebody and oh I stand in front of the church so many times and I want to say do something somebody do something now this is a wonderful church and many of you are doing something tremendous but many of you are not and I want to give you an opportunity to make one simple decision the decision is I'll do something I'll put my faith into action I'll care for those that are not careful I'll show love to the unloved I'll provide for the homeless and the needy out of my own pocket I'll even offer some of them a place in my home to sleep in that nice bed of mine which I've kept so clean tidy what a sacrifice but after all Jesus made a sacrifice too he left heaven came to a took a very humble place they'd a very humble line ministered in a ready print away and as you know ended up on the cross I say to Americans many times we have two idols in the American Church comfort and convenience and they dictate to us much of what we do if it suits me if it's convenient if I enjoy it I'll do it I want to suggest to you the message of John the Baptist you need to repent you need to change your mind you need to change the way you think you need to change now I'm going to give you an opportunity to make a decision don't make a decision if you don't mean it but the decision you will make is this and some of you do not need to make this decision I fully acknowledge many of you do not need to but some of you and maybe you're a little far away I can still see you and so can God and he's looking right down into your heart right now and he knows exactly what's going on and he knows on your struggles and your uncertainties but I want to suggest to you that you would make a decision you know repentance is a decision it's not an emotion the decision is I'll be a real Christian I'll do what the Bible teaches I will care for them orphan and the widow I will feed the hungry I will take the homeless into my home exactly what Jesus said exactly what John the Baptist said God has not changed his mind exactly the same today now if after careful consideration you say that's the decision I want to make I want to be a real committed Christian practicing the New Testament righteousness I want to care for the UM care I want to reach out to the lonely and the hurting you know I'm by nature not an emotional person but God has been dealing with me and I can hardly talk about some things without crying when I think I'll tell you who really has my sympathy the single mothers and I'm a champion for single mothers I mean I never realized this but I married the single mother twice first one I got eight the second I got three picked up one more on the way and I don't regret it I never had regretted my life has been full it's been rich it's been rewarding it's been challenging it hasn't been easy but I wouldn't change it and I'm sorry for the people that are leading an easy life with no challenges and no sacrifices I'm sorry for them you don't know what you're missing so if you are here this evening and you sense that God has been speaking to you maybe you came here almost without planning it or intending it but you say what that man is been saying is real it's true Christianity is not just sitting in the church seat it's not just singing a few nights hymns it's caring for the unpayable looking for the lost preaching to the unreached I told you they motive the ministry the motto of our ministry is reaching the unreached teaching the untaught and we have added touching the untouched because we've seen it's not enough just to give a book or a Bible you have to get a loan you have to give a hug I mean the character of our ministry has changed since we radically converted ourselves financially to the people in Albania and Kosovo and we took up an offering nation worldwide the biggest single offering we've ever received because it touched people's heart these people that preached are doing something I want to say I've said it too many times I want to say again do something somebody now if you want to do something if you want to make your mind up you want to make a commitment I just want you to have the opportunity to indicate it to God to yourself to the people around you I want you to stand to your feet right where you are if that's your decision and don't stand I'm pastor you've been so good to me all you do people yeah I really want to say thank you I've enjoyed my time with you but the best thing I can do

Channel: Derek Prince

Views: 47,170

Rating: 4.9003019 out of 5

Keywords: sermon on orphans, orphans and widows bible verse, orphans and widows bible study, bible study on orphans, what the bible says about orphans, sermon on the oppressed, giving to the poor sermon, what the bible says about the poor, sermon on giving to the poor and needy, sermon on giving to the poor, bible study giving and receiving, bible study on giving to the poor, giving to the poor bible study, the oppressed bible study, bible study on the oppressed, bible study the oppressed

Id: vXa0O3KMnPs

Length: 73min 54sec (4434 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 25 2013