visit orphans

Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor

Grace Church, Sunday Worship

James 1:22-27

January 23rd, 2011 (Sanctity of Human Life Sunday)

 

introduction

Today is “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.”

Why this weekend? January 22nd (1973) is the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. This is the horrific ruling that made abortion legal and protected under privacy laws in all fifty states.

This is a holocaust that we are living in the midst of and we have a responsibility to do more than we are doing.

The VanAckers are adopting. This is a providential work of God that I pray will be a first fruits of much to come in this church.

I want to prepare you with this:

  1. Either we are obeying God’s word or we are not. That means that there is no middle ground. There is no waiting period.
  2. We will hear today, the question is whether we will do.
  3. Doing will mean something different for each family.
  4. What will God have you do?

 

The TEXT

James 1:22-27 ESV  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  (23)  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  (24)  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  (25)  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  (26)  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.  (27)  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

 

SUMMARY

Concern: True Religion…if anyone thinks he is religious

True religion is evidenced in hears who obey the Word – 1:22

Three marks of true faith or religion.

  1. Bridles the Tongue (26)
  2. Visits Orphans and Widows (27)
  3. Remains Pure from the World (27)

 

VISIT ORPHANS

For obvious reasons we will look at the second one on this Sunday.

James 1:27 ESV  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 2:14-17 ESV  What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  (15)  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  (16)  and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  (17)  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Lets Do Some Grammar:

The Subject – “You…who are pure and undefiled in your faith towards God, the Father.”

James is talking to the church. James is the brother of our Lord…who saw His dad adopt a boy…the one who is the Lord of the World.

This church has called upon the name of the Lord Jesus. They are disciples. They have been ransomed from their sinful condition and they are to live out their faith in a new way towards outsiders.

Faith has works if the religion or faith is real…Devils have faith but not works.

John 13:34-35 ESV  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  (35)  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

The Verb – “visit”

Here he means – “to care for”, or “to look after”

This is the word that describes the Messiah coming to His people to save:

Luke 7:16 ESV  Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!"

Luke 1:67-69 ESV  And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,  (68)  "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people  (69)  and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

This is ministry…this is role up your sleeves and sacrificially get your hands dirty at great expense.

The Object – “orphans and windows in their affliction”

God’s heart for the needy:

Exodus 22:22-24 ESV  You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.  (23)  If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry,  (24)  and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

Deuteronomy 10:18 ESV  He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

Isaiah 1:16-18 ESV  Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,  (17)  learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.  (18)  "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

 

TWO WAYS TO VISIT ORPHANS

Defend the Unborn

JOHN PIPER:

What does abortion have to do with orphans? The connection I see is this: God wants us to be concerned about orphans because they are helpless without mother and father, and we should feel compassion for the helpless who depend utterly on others for life. Picture a three-year-old child riding in his safety seat on the back seat of a car with his mommy and daddy riding in the front. There is a terrible crash and both mommy and daddy are killed. The child has minor injuries, but is okay. The hospital officials check and discover there are no grandparents and no other family members known. This is a heartbreaking situation. And God says to the church, step in there and take care of that child.

So orphans are children whose parents have died and left them at the mercy of others to take care of, lest they die. How does abortion relate to that? Well, abortion puts the child in a worse situation. The parents are not dead, but they have turned on the child and choose to have the child dead. This is worse than being an orphan. To have Mommy and Daddy choose to have you dead is worse than Mommy and Daddy being dead.

So it seems to me that if God wants us to care about the orphan whose life is endangered because his parents are dead, he would want all the more that we care about the child whose life is endangered because his parents choose to make him dead.

How?

Repent

Pray

Act

Participate In a Culture Of Adoption

The numbers are staggering.

First of all there are foster children in this country waiting to be adopted.

There are millions of kids across the world that need to be adopted.

What will we do?

We start by participating in the VanAcker adoption, but we do not stop here. I look at the VanAckers paving a way for many others in this church (including myself) to adopt.

See some stats.

Conclusion

Repent

Dream and Act

Pray

Give