“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: God works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.” - 7-25-21
INTRODUCTION
Blessings
God carries our burdens daily.
God meets our needs.
God blesses us with spiritual blessings in Christ.
God forgives all our sins.
God heals all our diseases.
God redeems your life from the pit.
God crowns us with love and compassion.
God satisfies your desires with good things.
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”
Psalms 103:1-6 NIV
I. GOD WORKS
A. Good works.
“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.””
John 5:16-17 NIV
B. God blesses us.
“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”
John 1:16 NIV
“Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.”
John 1:16 Good News Translation
C. God works through us.
“Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 31:9 NIV
II. GOD WORKS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE
“He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
Psalms 146:6-9 NIV
“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”
Amos 5:24 NIV
A. Righteousness - the “right-ness” of God
B. Justice - “judgment”
“If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him?”
Job 9:19 NIV
Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.
H.L. Mencken, Prejudices
III. GOD WORKS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE FOR ALL THE OPPRESSED
A. God loves the oppressed.
“This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.”
Psalms 34:6 NIV
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
Psalms 9:9 NIV
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalms 34:18 NIV
“I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.”
Psalms 140:12 NIV
Jesus was sent to the oppressed
““The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””
Luke 4:18-19 NIV
B. God uses us to bring righteousness and justice for the oppressed.
“Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.”
Amos 5:14-15 NIV
World Vision - Here are 10 amazing ways that God is at work in the world:
1. Child marriage rates are falling
The number of women in the world married as children went down by 15 percent in the last decade. More countries, religious leaders, and organizations are recognizing the physical and emotional harm done when children are forced to marry.
2. Child and infant mortality rates are going down
In 1990, the global infant mortality rate was estimated at 65 deaths per 1000 live births, but in 2017 it had dropped to 29 deaths per 1000 live births. The under-five mortality rate decreased by 59% from 1990 to 2018.
3. The number of people living in extreme poverty is decreasing
One of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is to end extreme poverty by 2030. World Vision was an active contributor to creating the goals in 2015, and we are working to help meet them! Even as we work to increase our impact, we pause to celebrate success.
Nearly 1.1 billion fewer people were living in extreme poverty in 2015 than in 1990. As we continue to work alongside those in poverty to break the cycles that hold communities back, we praise God for every victory!
4. Fewer children are involved in child labor
All kids should be free to have a childhood. We work with other organizations, like the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, to help children leave forced labor and get back in the classroom. Since the year 2000, the number of children in hazardous labor has been cut in half, and global efforts have helped reduce the number of child laborers by 94 million since 2000.
5. Global literacy rates are going up (and the U.S. is helping!)
The U.S. — with strong bipartisan support — is working to improve global health, global stability, and the global economy in ways that are life-changing for the world’s most vulnerable. U.S. foreign assistance, implemented through partners like World Vision, has contributed to global literacy rates rising by a whopping 33 percent in the last 25 years!
6. More clean water is flowing to those who need it
If you know World Vision, you know that we get pretty excited about clean water. Almost 1,000 kids under 5 die every day from diarrhea causes by contaminated water, poor sanitation, and improper hygiene — but it’s not an unsolvable problem! We’re working to provide clean water to people in every community we work in, and thanks to God’s provision, we’ve seen great successes! For example:
• We reach one new person with clean water every 10 seconds.
• In 2017 alone, we were able to empower 3.2 million people with access to clean water.
• When combined with sanitation and hygiene interventions, access to clean water can cut preventable child deaths by up to 57 percent, reduced chronic malnutrition by 40 percent, and reduce school absenteeism among girls by 50 percent. When a community gains access to clean water, the returns are amazing!
7. Greater gender equality is helping communities rise out of poverty
Greater gender equality in society leads to faster economic growth, which means that addressing harmful gender norms and reducing gender-based violence is crucial to ending extreme poverty. And increasing the number of years a girl goes to school improves her future earnings, which in turn builds stronger families since women invest about 90 percentof their income back into their households.
With this in mind, we praise God that:
• Female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) has declined 30 percent in the last decade.
• Access to girls’ education is improving: In 1970, the global average for the number of years a girl went to school was about 6.7 years, but in 2019, it’s over 12 years!
8. We’re making progress against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis
There was a time when diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria felt unstoppable. But the world fought back! The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was created in 2002, and since then, its efforts have helped:
• Cut AIDS-related deaths and new infections in half since the 1990s/early 2000s
• Cut the mortality rate for tuberculosis by 42 percent between 2000 and 2017
• Reduce malaria deaths by 60 percent since 2000
• Save 32 million lives total (so far!)
9. God is using OUR voices
Of all the ways God amazes us, one of the most humbling is that he uses us to infuse his love into the world. We are flawed and limited, but we don’t have to wait around helplessly for the world to change. In fact, God says that we are the ones who are supposed to speak up to protect the rights of the hurting, the sick, and the hungry.
We thank God for the World Vision advocates who speak out every day, contributing to (among many other things):
• $1 billion in foreign assistance funding being dedicated to people impacted by famine or disaster. (Learn more about U.S. foreign assistance.)
• The Water for the World Act getting passed in 2014 after almost 18 months of advocacy.
• The protection of up to $4 billion of foreign aid funds that were threatened by a last-minute budget rescission package. Those funds will now continue to make life-changing programs possible around the world!
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10. God’s love is being proclaimed throughout the world!
Clean water, nutritious food, education … all these things contribute to the most important work of all: bearing witness to Jesus Christ.
There is nothing as transformative as the Good News that God loves us and wants to be a part of our lives. That’s why we’re so passionate about sharing our faith. In some contexts, respecting local laws and traditions means we can’t share our faith openly, but we bear witness to Jesus’ love by loving everyone and building trusting relationships with people of other faiths.
In other contexts, we’re able to proclaim more openly the reason for the hope that we have. For example, in 2018:
• 2,173,043 children and youth participated in discipleship and values education
• 99,884 faith leaders benefited from ministry and community care training from World Vision
• We worked with 45,195 churches to serve their communities
CONCLUSION
God works. God works righteousness and justice. God works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
“Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
Isaiah 1:10-17 NIV
The sign in the store window read: NO HELP WANTED. As two men passed by, one said to the other, "You should apply--you'd be great."
Principles regarding work, Decision-making and the Will of God, p. 336
CHALLENGE
Our challenge will remain the same each week of this sermon series. I just ask that you keep in mind the topic of each week’s message as you write down your weekly 3-2-1. The topic this week is the blessing of God’s righteousness and justice.
Write down 3 ways God bears your burdens daily. Write down 2 needs God has met this week. Write down 1 spiritual blessing in Christ that you cherish most. Acknowledge God’s blessings.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now. If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.
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