Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction- War On Poverty

📷President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Poverty Bill (also known as the Economic Opportunity Act) while press and supporters of the bill look on, August 20, 1964

The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on Wednesday, January 8, 1964.

This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent.

The speech led the United States Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to administer the local application of federal funds targeted against poverty.

These policies can also be seen as a continuation of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, which ran from 1933 to 1937, and the Four Freedoms of 1941.

Johnson stated, "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it".

Deregulation, growing criticism of the welfare state, and an ideological shift to reducing federal aid to impoverished people in the 1980s and 1990s culminated in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, which President Bill Clinton claimed "ended welfare as we know it."

In the decade following the 1964 introduction of the war on poverty, poverty rates in the U.S. dropped to their lowest level since comprehensive records began in 1958: from 17.3% in the year the Economic Opportunity Act was implemented to 11.1% in 1973.

They have remained between 11 and 15.2% ever since.

In 2004, more than 35.9 million, or 12% of Americans including 12.1 million children, were considered to be living in poverty with an average growth of almost 1 million per year.

According to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, since the Johnson Administration, almost $15 trillion has been spent on welfare, with poverty rates being about the same as during the Johnson Administration.

Poverty continues to be a problem within our population

Even Jesus said:

Empathy is the ability to experience the feelings of another person.

It goes beyond sympathy, which is caring and understanding for the suffering of others.

Transition To Body- Context of - To Love the LORD God is to love all of your brothers and sisters

Wait on the LORD- The LORD God Keeps His Promises

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 1:26

Deuteronomy 1:

After 38 years of leadership, Moses Will Not Enter The Promise Land- Due to Disobedience

Deuteronomy 2:

Deuteronomy 3:24-26

A nation who is great because their God is so near and they are so righteous

Ten Commandments- Love God expressed in Love For One Another

Deuteronomy 5:6-

Deuteronomy 6:40

A Chosen Holy Redeemed People

Deuteronomy 7:

So Don’t Forget What The LORD Has Done

Deuteronomy 8:3

Not Because Of Our Righteousness- But Because The LORD God first loved you!

Deuteronomy 9:6

Open Your Heart To Receive The LORD God’s love!

Deuteronomy 10:16

Deuteronomy 10:18-19

Tithing- An Act Of Loving Others

Deuteronomy 14:29-

Giving is an act of grace that ought to be done in a manner that expresses our gratitude for our salvation and our joy and satisfaction in the LORD Jesus Christ

But the LORD presents a paradox (2 statements that seem to contradict one another):

Deuteronomy 15:4

But we know there are poor people among us- even within the church

Illustration: Deacon’s meeting and discussion of the makeup of our congregation...

Deuteronomy 15:5

(Transition: The people/children of the LORD ought to make a positive difference in the lives of others- we ought to be about the business of being used by the Holy Spirit to help make the lives of the poor better.

And to accomplish this mission and commandment of Jesus Christ our LORD and savior, within the church)

Body- Love Expressed With Openhandedness & Open heart Towards The Poor

In Relationship With Your Brothers & Sisters In Christ (v7a)

Be aware of what’s happening within the land (community) the LORD has given you (people and places which you are to bear fruit):

community (brothers and sisters in Christ, family, and friends, & place of employment

brothers and sisters in Christ- have a need for intimate holy community in Jesus Christ

family- have a need beyond you just working- be engated

friends- have a need beyond just hanging out

place of employment- unbelievers who are poor in Spirit

community- people are physically & spiritually poor

Without Jesus Christ, we are all poor

(Transition: Because I am in fellowship with those who have been save by the grace of God, this shared experience should lead me to act with humility)

Having Humble And Soft (Compassionate) Hearts (v7b)

(harden = be strong, have a high status, make firm, let grow strong)

Remember The LORD God gave you what you have

Deuteronomy 8:2

Deuteronomy 8:3

Don’t think or act like you earned what you have

So you do not look down on those who are poor or who are in need

Or look at them as if they do not belong because: they do not look, dress, act, or even smell the way you do

(Transition: Now I can better see the needs of those who are poor)

Giving To The Poor Sufficiently (v8)

2 Corinthians 8:

Give to meet the need...

Consider how would you want to be treated?

Empathy is the ability to experience the feelings of another person.

It goes beyond sympathy, which is caring and understanding for the suffering of others.

Give both physical and spiritual gifts

Guarding Against Unholy Thoughts (v9)

i.e.

only giving when you will believe you will get it back what you give

Jesus’ words regarding our motivation for whom we fellowship and whom we give

Luke

Primarily giving for tax deduction purposes

Getting people to come to church with the ulterior motive of them improving the church’s finances

Only fellowshipping (hanging out with) the brothers and sisters:

whom you can get something from

get something from or who can repay you or expand your business and/or social network

who can repay you

who expand your business and/or social network

Giving Faithfully Knowing The LORD Will Bless You (v10)

Seeing Opportunities To Be a Blessing (v11)

2 Corinthians 9:7

Transition To Conclusion- Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

Illustration: Give Thanks (with a grateful heart) written by Henry Smith in 1978

There was a man named Henry Smith who had trouble finding work after graduating from college.

He also suffered from a degenerative condition that eventually left him legally blind.

One day while at his church in Williamsburg, Virginia, his pastor inspired him with a reference to how Jesus made himself poor to make others rich through him.

Henry Smith was so inspired he wrote “Give Thanks (with a grateful heart)

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich