God Of The Oppressed

Text:

Psalms 72:12-14:

12: For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

13: He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.

14: He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

 

Theme:

God Of The Oppressed

 

Introduction:

David and the Psalms:

• The Psalms from which the text is taken is believed to be the prayer and praise book developed by David, the King of Israel anointed by God. These hymns are hallowed cries of God’s servant, David, as he struggled to serve God in spite of his shortcomings.
• David’s life was a plethora of varied experiences: reared as a faithful shepherd of his father’s sheep, the slayer of the gargantuan Goliath, the leader of the victory over the Philistines, the one anointed by God as King of Israel, a “son” of God in his appointment to establish Jerusalem as the center of God’s Kingdom, his son appointed to build God’s House in Jerusalem, the Temple, while at the same time, David committed murder, and had an affair with another man’s wife.
• David knew what it meant to be human, fallible, sinful, weak, stained, tainted, marred, guilty, and ashamed before God but what overshadowed all of the former adjectives was the fact that David was HUMBLE before God and saw God as his only source of strength and refuge.
  • As he writes in Psalms 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
  • David knew who he was and whose he was. David knew that he was a sinner living only by God’s grace and that he was God’s child.  When all else fails, who else could he go to but his Creator…the one who created his life and his living.
• In summary, David realized himself as one who was OPPRESSED within the context of this world.
  • Paulo Friere, the author of the book, Pedagogy Of The Oppressed, states:

“Concern for humanization leads at once to the recognition of dehumanization, not only as an ontological possibility but as an historical reality”

• Oppression is a reality…even for the Believer!

 

Body:

• Those who are oppressed are expressed as being dehumanized…their core identity is being taken away.
  • Oppression manifests itself in many ways in the world:
    • Society
      • People suffer from the systematic oppression of our society and its perpetual use of the hierarchical existence of people based on race, creed, color, and/or socioeconomic background.
      • Indications in history are Slavery, apartheid, the holocaust, the Civil rights movement, Jim Crow laws, the Ku Klux Klan, Reaganomics, and the list goes on….
    • Education
      • Children are not being presented with the same educational opportunities depending upon where you live, who you know, and how much you earn.
      • Testing for children has serious socioeconomic subjectivity that leaves children who are not mainstream at a disadvantage.
    • Business
      • The historic “Old Boys Network” is still alive today leaving the “white, male, protestant, slender, younger” candidate with the greatest advantage.
    • In our thinking
      • Systematic thinking runs the risk of breading systematic oppression by nurturing short-sighted, exclusive, limiting ideas that cause us to judge others.
  • Then oppression also manifests itself in our churches
    • Some tradition has depicted God as one who limits our possibilities and potential…holds us down/back
      • NOT TRUE à Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
    • Some people in leadership positions are leading people to them instead of God.
      • Matthew 6:2, “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
      • 2Peter 2:10, “But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.”
        • The Preacher is “speaking evil” of the Called Preacher.
      • Some people in leadership positions are not feeding the sheep of God.
        • They are giving them potato chips when they should have been given steak
  • Then oppression manifests itself in our personal relationship with God.
    • Hebrews 13:21, “Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
      • BUT….
    • Romans 7:21, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
    • It is SIN that separates us from the Love of God…This is oppression!! à Sin holds us back from God!
      • Isaiah 57:21 says, ‘There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
      • Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
      • One sin to highlight is that of FEAR!!
        • 2Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
      • Another is that of LUST!
        • Romans 6:12, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

 However, the text teaches us that we serve a God who looks out for those who are oppressed.

God is a GOD OF THE OPPRESSED!

• “For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth”
  • Psalms 118:5, “I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.”
  • He comes when we call Him in our distress!
• “ the poor also”
  • Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
  • Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;”
  • James 2:5, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”
  • God wants you when you as you are!
    • “Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me!”
• “and him that hath no helper.”
  • Psalms 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
  • We are never alone. He is a very PRESENT help in the time of trouble.
• “He shall spare the poor and needy,”
  • Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
  • Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
  • God will not only help, but also SPARE, RESERVE, those who are poor and needy
• “and shall save the souls of the needy.”
  • Matthew 18:11, “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
  • Jesus did not come for those who are OK. He came for those who are lost!!!
• “He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:”
  • Romans 5:9, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
  • He delivers us from whatever deceit and violence this world, this life, this charge leads us THROUGH
    • Romans 8:36, “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
    • 2Peter 2:9, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations,”
• “and precious shall their blood be in his sight.”
  • Revelations 6:10, “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
• He is a God of the OPPRESSED and not the OPPRESSOR!!

 

Conclusion:

• That’s why we can counteract OPPRESSION with PRESSURE!
  • Paul said in Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
    • When the world PRESSES you downward, KEEP PRESSING
    • When your flesh PRESSES you downward, KEEP PRESSING
    • When your enemy PRESSES you downward, KEEP PRESSING

• Don’t worry about it cause as it says in 1Corinthians 15:58,

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

 

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