March 30--The Poor

Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23 Luke 8:40-9:6 Psalm 71:1-24 Proverbs 12:5-7

The Dallas International Street Church had a few dozen people from the homeless shelters and from off the streets of Dallas last Friday night. These guys had lost everything. They were poor and needy. Through worship, preaching, prayer and serving food, our Hillcrest Church team fulfilled this Scripture from our reading today, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land" (Deuteronomy 15:11).

Jesus, in beginning His ministry, said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor..." (Luke 4:18). We are commanded to make this our mission as well. The text in Deuteronomy has some advice for us in how to bless the poor: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you" (Deuteronomy 15:15). We should go with our own testimonies like that in Psalms today, "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you--I, whom you have redeemed" (Psalm 71:23).

The redemption that the poor in Dallas need is the same that we have received:
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)

May we reach the poor. May we go just as our New Testament lesson today shows that Jesus sent out the twelve, with "power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases... to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:1-2). May we go sharing our own testimonies of faith, of being redeemed and of being set free. May our message be like the chorus: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! I'm redeemed, I'm redeemed, Praise the Lord!"

Pastor Paul