Porter Podcast

Series: Unstuck

Helping the Broken

Psalm 107:10-16

the incarceration problem

There are 2.2 million people in prison in the United States.   It costs 80 billion dollars to prosecute and house criminals.   Every year 600,000 prisoners reenter their communities.  

Two out of three people will be incarcerated again.   Currently in Lexington, there are ________ people in jails or prisons. 

homelessness in America

Approximately 553,000 people are homeless in our nation on any given night.   Each homeless person requires $11,000 per year for care.  There are 650 homeless in Lexington.   Locally, there are shelter beds for 500 people.  

Incarceration and homelessness influence one another. 

psalm 107:1-21

God is benevolent toward humanity.  

Homelessness and imprisonment are both significant life crises.   Both problems create broken relationships, instability, and despair.   

Both groups are seen as undesirable to help. 

God is faithful to love, in spite of failure.  

the benefit of involvement

  Broken people can become new people through the gospel.            

            Transformed lives are powerful testimonies.           

Biblical leaders were once criminals.  

  Homeless people and prisoners have time to engage spiritual realities.

  Ministering to the broken gives an opportunity to display unconditional love and confronts judgmentalism.  

  Ninety-five percent of prisoners reenter our neighborhoods.   

series takeaways:

1.  Churches should be solution oriented. 

2.  Helping should be a lifestyle, not a church event.

3.  No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. 

4.  Mercy recipients should be mercy proclaimers. 

Series: Unstuck

The Spiritual Reality of Helping

Matthew 25:31-46

context

This passage is a part of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse.   It records His teaching on the Tuesday before the crucifixion.  The End Times were the topic of his instruction.   

Jesus will come again and reign on the earth.    There is much disagreement over when this will occur.  Humility should be practiced in all discussions about the return of Christ.  

At the onset of His millennial reign, Christ will judge the nations.  This will result in a great separation.   

judgment metrics

·      Our relationship with Jesus.

·      Our treatment of our Fellow Man.  

How you treat others reveals your eternal destination.  (34) 

            Salvation is not a works-based righteousness.  

            It is a righteousness that affects our work.   

Your actions toward the least of these demonstrates the condition of your heart.   (35-36)

            The list Jesus shares in vv. 35-36 deals with the three basic needs: health, shelter and companionship. 

help stoppers

·      Ignorance

·      Diversity

·      Fear

The marks of a lost heart are not gross sins committed, but simple acts of kindness omitted. 

Your concern for the poor exposes your love for Jesus.  

       Jesus’ love language is how we treat the image 

       bearers.    

Every encounter is an opportunity to love Jesus.

today’s takeaway:  

Don’t be a “clutcher.”

Open your heart, eyes, and hands to Christ and to others. 

Series: Unstuck

Helping the Impoverished

Various

The Unstuck series is designed to help the church engage people trapped in circumstances that make it hard to hear the gospel.

Poverty is complex, and there are not quick fixes.  

why is there poverty?

·      Misfortune

·      Generational/Cultural

·      Injustice

·      Lack of Essential Resources

Wealth and Poverty

Identifying with poverty is difficult because we are so rich.   

If your household makes 25,000 a year, you are in the top 10% of the world.  If you make 50,000 a year you are in the top 1%.  93% of the families of the world do not have a car.    

In 1820 rich nations had four times the amount of wealth that poor nations had.  In 2020 rich nations have 75 times as much. 

 (Richard Stearns,  The Hole in our Gospel)

Prosperity theology and poverty theology are both incorrect views of God’s gifts to us.  A proper theology of wealth is one of stewardship.

Your resources have been entrusted to you for His purposes.    

The struggle to engage poverty

1. “The problem is too big”

2.  “Most of the poor are too far away”

3.  “It is the government’s job”

4.  “I am concerned about people’s souls more than social ills.”

Mercy ministries and gospel proclamation should be partners not adversaries. 

Why should we be involved?

1.  God cares

2.  Image bearers are in need of help

3.  It could be us.

4.  Fellow Christians are in need of help

5.  Faith requires action

6.  Mercy ministry is an effective gospel platform

How can we help?

1.  Open your eyes to the needs of others

2.  Actively pray for those in need

3.  Budget some money to help others locally

4.  Model mercy ministry for your children 

5. Partner with those who are actively engaging

Today’s Takeaways:

Series: Unstuck

Helping the Addict

Galatians 6:1-2

The goal of this series is to engage the church in helping people trapped in circumstances that make it hard to hear the gospel. 

Addiction in America

In the last 20 years in the US, 750,000 people have died from drug use.   Twenty-one million people have an addiction to substances.   One hundred thirty people die every day from opioids.   Over 600 billion dollars are invested in managing the addiction epidemic.   (addictioncenter.com)

definition:

            a harmful pattern of behavior that you cannot control

Addictions are first a spiritual problem. The root of addiction is sin.

Jesus is the only hope for eternal and temporal transformation. 

The solution to sin addiction is addiction to Christ.   

Christians should be actively involved in helping those in addictions.

we must get involved

1.    God loves the addicted.

2.    People we love are affected. 

3.    Delivered addicts are grace billboards. 

4.    Addicts become great servants.

5.    Scripture teaches us we must get involved.

Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Galatians 6:1-3

How can we help?

1.  Provide community.    Addiction is accelerated by isolation.   

2.  Be honest and don’t enable. 

3.  Pray for their restoration and for your heart.  

4.  Be persistent.  Overcoming addiction is usually a long (and frustrating) process.  

5.  Be humble.  We are all sin addicts. 

6.  Constantly point people to the gospel. 

Series: The Book of Philippians

Gratitude, Contentment and Generosity

Philippians 4:10-23

Recap

            The church at Philippi was started by Paul.  They financially supported his mission endeavors and had developed an extremely close relationship with him.  When the book is written Paul is 800 miles away in a Roman prison.  After he receives a gift from the church, He writes a letter to thank them and encourage the congregation. 

Gratitude (4:10, 14-16)

Paul was grateful for their gift because...

·      It showed their love for him

·      They were the only ones who had helped

·      They were selfless

Paul avoids 3 pitfalls of saying thank you: manipulation, flattery, and silence.          

Contentment (4:11-13)

Contentment is learned. 

Contentment is internal.

Riches nor Poverty prove your spirituality.   

Possessions, circumstances or success will never provide lasting contentment. 

Contentment is found in focusing on Christ. 

Generosity (17-19)

When we receive from Christ, we have a responsibility to give toward the mission.

Giving brings blessings to the giver and receiver. 

God does not look at amounts; He looks at sacrifice.

God meets the real needs of those who give to Him.

closing thoughts

Only God has a glory that does not fade. 

Faithfulness has a far-reaching impact. 

Grace must bookend all we do. 

Today’s Takeaways:

Series: Philippians

Surpassing Value

Philippians 3:1-11

Philippians 3:1-7

True joy can only be found in Jesus.

There will always be enemies seeking to devalue the gospel.

Paul not only sees his sin as worthless, he sees personal success as worthless. 

Nothing received, achieved, or experienced compares to Jesus. 

Philippians 3:8

Christianity is more than a set of facts, religious ritual, or moral teachings; Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus.   

Philippians 3:9-11

the value of knowing Christ

·      Through knowing Christ, you have real spiritual confidence. 

·      Through knowing Christ, you experience His resurrection power. 

·      When you know Christ, you even have hope in suffering.

·      A relationship with Christ is never broken. 

today’s takeaways

The more enamored we are with the things of this world, the less our knowledge of Christ will be. 

Our relationship with Christ is proven valuable as we go 

through adversity, not when we avoid it. 

There is nothing more important than a personal relationship with Christ.  

Are you investing?

Series: Philippians  

Dealing with Anxiety

Philippians 4:1-9

Anxiety is an intense desire for something, accompanied by the fear of not receiving it.

Worry demonstrates a distrust of God and His Providence in our lives.

Context: 

The Philippian Christians were experiencing anxiety because of rejection, false teachers, and financial hardship.  Anxieties were increased by two women sharply disagreeing in the church.  

There is a connection between our “withness” and our “witness.” 

Practical Steps

Focus on the Lord.

Rejoice at all times. 

Rejoicing is a command, not an option.  

Respond with Grace to all people. 

            There is division over whether “the Lord is near” should   be taken as temporal or spatial.  It can mean either. 

            1)  He is coming again.  

            2)  He is very present with us.     

The two areas of battle in worry are the mind and the heart.  

Replace worry with prayer.

Don’t replay or invent scenarios. Dig for truth. 

            The world tells you to empty your mind to handle anxiety.  Christianity calls you to fill it!

            When we dwell on our problems, we glorify our      problems.

Learn from Christian examples.

Today's Takeaway:

Series: The Book of Philippians

Unity in Christ

Philippians 2:1-11

Maintaining unity in a church requires intentional effort by everyone.  

            If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. 3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:1-5

Steps to Unity 

 1.       Celebrate our common faith. 

            Unity is rarely threatened over core issues. It is usually     undermined by tertiary issues.  

            Maturing Christians become proficient at theological       triage.

2.        Abandon selfish pursuits. 

            Human nature will always pull us toward our own preferences.  

3.        Prioritize the needs of others. 

We must view others as people whom God loves. 

“One another” love is a helpful outreach tool.  

4.        Imitate Jesus.

Our goal should be to reflect Jesus, not only in conduct, but also in character.  

“Being like Jesus” is not the Gospel becauseno one can be enough like Jesus to be accepted by God.

      Many believe verses 6-11 are a Christological hymn of      the early church.  

            Sacrifice and humility are rewarded by God.  

Today’s Takeaways: 

1.         List your core beliefs.

2.         Pray for God to develop humility in you. 

3.         Seek to meet the need of a fellow church member this    week.

4.        Start each day this week by reading Philippians 2:1-11.