Acorns for the world.
“While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight- I’ll fight to the very end.”
You are all familiar with the words of William Booth’s final speech from the platform of the Royal Albert Hall in May 1912 and I am sure you are all aware that this is not the first time you have heard me read them. There are some who would say that the issues faced by The Salvation Army of our first general’s time are not relevant to the Army of the twenty first century but as I mentioned back in September of last year...
The problems remain, women are still weeping and more and more men are shedding tears of despair over the situations they find themselves in. Children are still going hungry, 30% of children in the United Kingdom are living below the breadline. Our prisons are full to bursting point, many of those serving time are there because of drink related crime. Alcoholism and drug abuse are on the increase, young and not so young women and men are selling themselves on the streets to make ends meet and feed their dependencies on whatever they find themselves addicted to and homelessness is still on the increase These are just some of the social issues that affect this country alone.
Last year’s earthquake in Haiti has left hundreds of thousands dead and even more living without shelter, clean water, food and in desperate need of medical attention but even before the earthquake, the Haitian people were struggling to survive. Haiti is known to be the poorest country in the world. The Salvation Army has been active in Haiti for many years before the earthquake struck, during the quake the Army’s buildings were destroyed but that didn’t stop the army swinging into action alongside the other relief workers on the island. Over one year on, the relief work goes on. In recent months we have seen the devastating floods in Pakistan, mud slides in Brazil and so on, wherever there is a disaster; The Salvation Army is in the midst of it, sleeves rolled up and getting its hands dirty.
Many of the countries The Salvation Army is at work in, although not as poor as Haiti are still struggling under their own poverty. The United Nations figures state that 25,000 people die of hunger or hunger related causes, put simply that’s one death every three and a half seconds, simply because they don’t have the means to feed themselves properly. H.I.V. and A.I.D.S. is now second only to the Black Death as the largest epidemic in human history, killing over two million people a year, which is one person every fifteen seconds.
In Deuteronomy 15: 11 God says “There will always be poor people in the [world]... therefore I command you to be open handed towards your brother [and sister] and towards the poor and needy.”
God is making it clear to us that he doesn’t want us to stand around watching his people die!
In two weeks time we will each bring our offering to the altar for this year’s Self- Denial Annual Appeal. Earlier we heard how the money you helped to raise last year was used to repair an orphanage in Bangladesh, build officer’s quarters in Zambia thereby freeing up the local community centre to be used at its maximum potential, provide a means of independent income for communities in Pakistan and tackle trafficking and domestic violence issues in the South America East territory At present I don’t have last year’s appeal total but in 2009 you helped to raise £1. 17 million. It is because the appeals of last year and preceding years dating back to 1886 that the Army can work amongst the poor and needy of the world. Earlier I read our Territorial Commander, Commissioner John Matear’s statement regarding this year’s appeal. In 2009 he wrote this...
“The principle of self- denial has been central to our lives as Salvationists for over 120 years. Our founder made this prayer on 6 October 1849: ‘God help me, enable me to cultivate a spirit of self- denial.’ Now we follow his example.” (Matear. 2009)
In this morning’s text we read of another act of self- denial, in verse 9 we read "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6: 9. NIV)
When I spoke about this text a few weeks ago we also looked at the text in the King James Bible which read “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (John 6: 9. KJV). We also learned that the Greek word John used for “Lad” could be used for either sex and commonly referred to a young slave.
This emphasises (for me at least) the scale of the self- denial involved, to the young slave those five small barley loaves and two small fish represented a full day’s rations, which the lad surrendered out of love to a man he had never met before. In doing so there was a very real prospect of the lad going hungry for the rest of that day, it was a tremendous act of sacrifice and self- denial on the lad’s part. How did Andrew look at this offering? In the NIV we read in the second half of verse 9 “...but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6: 9. NIV) Whichever version we look at, Andrew is saying “It’s not enough to go round!”
If we look at the £1.17 million we raised in 2009’s self- denial appeal as a comparison with the loaves and fishes in this morning’s text. We could see it from both points of view, that of the lad and that of Andrew. If we put ourselves in the position of the lad, £1.17 million pound would provide for us individually for the rest of our lifetimes. However, looking from Andrew’s point of view that same £1.17 million in real terms of the situations of need around the world would be like trying to feed five thousand people with five small barley loaves and two sardines.
The secret lies in not what we give but who we give it to, to use.
If I pick up a snooker cue, it’s just a long wooden stick with a tip on the end. I may be able to pot a few red balls and some colours to make a half decent break but in the end it wouldn’t amount to much. If I gave that same snooker cue to Ronnie O’Sullivan, it would be capable of scoring 147 breaks and winning world championships. If I hold a paintbrush, I may be able to knock out a half decent painting but in the hands of Monet it would be capable of creating a masterpiece. On its own, the lad’s small rations would have been enough to feed him for the day, but by surrendering those same rations into the hands of Jesus, five thousand people including the lad were fed to the point of satisfaction with plenty left over.
On its own, the £1.17 million we raised from last year’s appeal is merely money, but when we surrender that money to the work of God it changes lives, it equips hospitals, it provides education, it builds army halls, it provides clean water, it fights against human trafficking, it provides relief for earthquake victims and it enables people to live independent lives in a relationship with God through Jesus.
Earlier I quoted Deuteronomy 15: 11, in which God says “There will always be poor people in the [world], therefore I command you to be open handed towards your brother [and sister] and towards the poor and needy.”
However, he doesn’t say we are called to do it on our own. If we go back to the words of Jesus in this morning’s text, we read in verse 5 ‘When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"’ (John 6: 5. NIV) Notice he didn’t say “Where are you going to buy bread?” he said “Where shall we buy bread?” He places the importance on us working with him.
Jesus didn’t really need the lad’s loaves and fishes to feed the five thousand, he could just have easily fed them without it but he didn’t. Jesus was making it clear he wants us to share in his mission; the true picture of this has been lost in the modern translation of this morning’s text. In verse 11 of the NIV translation we read earlier it says “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” (John 6: 11. NIV) If we take this translation at face value, then we may as well assume it is saying that Jesus did it all on his own, which also questions why John even included the account of the lad’s self- denial.
If however, we go back to our old friend the King James Bible, it again changes the perspective. In verse 11 it reads “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.” (John 6: 11. KJV)
Jesus took the offering, given in love, multiplied it and gave it back to the disciples to distribute, he included his disciples in the work, he allowed them to share in his mission.
We could sum up this morning’s text by using the analogy of an acorn.
The acorn (loaves and fishes); on its own it would be enough to provide one squirrel (the lad) food for one meal. But by itself wouldn’t be enough to go round all the other squirrels in that area. If that same acorn is surrendered to the ground (Jesus) and fed by the nutrients in the soil (God’s love) the ground would give forth an oak tree that would grow and provide for the needs of all the wildlife in that area (God’s blessing and grace). But it doesn’t stop there, because not all the acorns are used for food, they fall to the ground and grow into other oak trees and over time a forest grows, just as God’s blessing keeps growing and moving outward.
Our Territorial Commander, Commissioner Matear, in closing his introduction to 2009’s appeal wrote “For the sake of the Lord, please donate out of love, not duty, something of significance to you...” (Matear. 2009)
I agreed with him then and I do now, when we give out of love we tend to give more than merely giving out of duty. However, I personally believe, there should be a sense of duty attached, because in accepting Jesus as our saviour, we also accept God’s mission for his world, which means it is our duty as members of the wider church of God, not just as Salvationists to share in that mission.
In September I said that “We could choose to close our eyes to the needs of others and pretend to ourselves that they’re not there and that Jesus cannot see us doing it, but Jesus makes it very clear we are closing our eyes to him, in Matthew 25 verse 45, he says” “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.” (NIV)
Or we could be like the lad in today’s text and give something of ourselves, something of worth that we are prepared to go without for one month, just four short weeks, then donate the money we save from doing so to the appeal, that it may be blessed by the Lord for the love in which it was given, that he may multiply the blessings it will give to others in his name through the work of our fellow Salvationists overseas. As it suggested in last year’s appeal literature “You’re not giving it up forever, but you are giving it up for good.”
In a moment we are going to sing again People need the Lord. Take the opportunity as you sing to reflect on this morning’s message and on the words of the song. Reflect on what you can give up this month to make your gift for the work of God through The Salvation Army overseas. It may be that someone here can’t give anything up because they haven’t yet given themselves to the Lord, our place of prayer is open for you to do so today or you can do it quietly in your own seat, either way let someone know so they can pray with you. One moment of sacrifice can make a lifetime of difference to ourselves and those we reach out to.
Remember that from one acorn a forest can grow, as you leave here today, it is my prayer for you to be Acorns for the world, may our glorious God bless you.
