mayfield church of christ

One Drop at a Time - Project Manila

Posted by Pastor Mark on 3 May 2009 | 0 Comments

Tags: Social Conscience, Manila, Squatter

This will be our last week for about a month.....as next Friday....Sue and I head over to Paris to meet up with Sarah....and then spend some time looking through Britain, Scotland, Wales and other bits......So any problems you have.....see Alan, Libby, or Luke......

I think it's important to have times away...to see what's happening in other places....firstly because it makes you so thankful about where God has placed you....but also I find these times help focus and excite and renew my spirit about what it is that we are doing here as a church of Christ...and how we can better IMPACT our world here and the world abroad with the love of Jesus......

This week....we launch that part of the year.....where we begin to focus very specifically on what's going on OUT THERE...and how WE as a body of God's people fit into that larger picture......and in particular for this next part of the year.... We want to focus on the work being done in Manila at the King Solomon Christian School.

And as we do that......I feel it's important that we have a clear idea of WHERE we are in understanding our own faith......

See....I have NO idea where each one of you might be on your own journey of faith.....

But personally....I feel like I've been TRYING to follow Jesus for a long time....but over the last year or so......I find myself challenged by a very basic question.......are Jesus and I REALLY interested in the same thing?

See I KNOW what I'm interested in....and I could make a list of those things.....and you probably could as well....and it's a big list....a fun list....BUT if we were to put ALL those things aside for just a moment...and get back to some basic principles......and ask the question....what is God passionate about.....what do you think we would come up with?

This morning....I want us to think about what God's passions ARE .....'Cause as I've been thinking about that this week....I think it comes down to two core passions......God is passionate about the world.....and God is passionate about Justice.....

What we know from the Christmas story....and what we see reinforced in the Easter story....and right throughout Jesus time here on earth.....is that God REALLY loves the world....John 3:16 says....that God SO loved the world.....that he gave his only begotten son.

God has this consuming passion for this world....which by the way.... means that he has this consuming passion for all these gazillions of people in it as well.....spread across all these interlacing continents and cultures....in every colour shape and size.....THIS is what God loves.....

NOW....let's do a little contrast....What do I love......what am I passionate about......Well to tell you the truth I can answer that....Every single day....I am TOTALLY passionate about.....ME!

I love ME.....I'm fascinated by ME....every single day.

I don't wake up in the morning and have to remind myself to think of ME.....it comes really really naturally.....and SUE keeps reminding me that perhaps this is a little NARROWER than I should be as a Christian....SO I'm trying to broaden my heart out a little bit.....

And I'm doing pretty well I think....cause on a really good day.....I can actually find myself extending love.....and compassion.....to ALL the people in the world.....who are in my immediate family....and that even includes the in-laws.....

That's a pretty good day for me......when I can extend more love and more care and more forgiveness.....to my wife and kids.....than I do for myself......in fact....they are days that Sue marks on the calendar with a circle......and I recon the whole family hopes and prays that it might happen again next year sometime.....

But you know.....I think there are times when I might even have a LARGER spiritual experience....and I might find my heart beginning to grow.....and I'll find myself extending love and compassion to ALL the people.....in my world.....that I LIKE.....and who like ME......and who are LIKE me......

See what I'm getting at...is that THIS then becomes MY world of FOCUS and energy and PASSION.....this little shriveled world....of ME and MY.

And I think....that Jesus probably finds this pretty natural......and I guess this is pretty understandable.....given what we are.....BUT I don't think that everything that is natural and understandable....is necessarily GODLY.....

So maybe this morning....you and I can identify...or at least agree to what the GOAL is.......And even if we're not there yet...that's OK....BUT.....the GOAL is to have a heart that is becoming MORE and MORE like the heart of our God.....that shares SOMETHING of His passion for the world.....and the people in it.

And every now and then....things happen which REMIND us and REINFORCE to us... what the goal IS......Possibly the most significant experience like that for me....was back in January of 2007....when Sue and I had the opportunity to travel to Manila in the Philippines....to visit this small church that was established by a Filipino Pastor and his wife in Tatalon..... one of the poorest areas of Quezon City....which is a suburb of Manila.

To give you some perspective......the City of Manila.....covers an area of just on 636 sq km.....That's about the same area as the city of Lake Macquarie. And crammed into that area.....is just over 17 million people....again....to keep that in perspective....the entire population of Australia is 21 million......so you can imagine our entire population living in Lake Macquarie.....that's Manila

The poverty in Tatalon.....is a tangible thing.....you can't miss it....it is truly shocking.....with not enough employment and not enough housing....and NO assistance for the poor because of a corrupt government....Tatalon is virtually a squatter city....of corrugated iron, scavenged timber, plastic and cardboard....where 20 families share one toilet and one tap......the whole place is chaotic....and noisy and it never....never STOPS...

And when you step into that world......it's jarring....BUT in amongst all of this......we spent three weeks with Pastor June....and his wife Milleth....a beautiful humble couple.....who grew up in this area.....who love the people around them.....and whose heart is SO large....with such obvious love and compassion and RESPECT for the MASSES of people around them......And BECAUSE they have a heart for the things that GOD is passionate about...even though they are just part of the masses..... they WANTED to DO something about CHANGING  the lives of these people...so they established a small church....which initially met in their lounge room....which is about 3m square......but which has just taken off....and to experience worship in that church of over 300 of the poorest of people....is just incredible.....

In a message I gave when I came back.....I introduced you to that beautiful quote that Mother Teresa once said...that everything you do.....seems but a drop in the ocean....but without that drop....it would be forever missing.

And I'll guarantee....that as June and Milleth started that small church in their community....they would have felt that it was just a drop in the ocean......BUT that drop grew...and grew....BECAUSE it is aligned with the heart of GOD

What I find so encouraging as a leader....is that Pastor June's VISION is huge......And he SAW a way to DO something......He understood.... that the ONLY way out of the cycle of poverty...for these people he loved.....was through education....BUT children in Manila just don't have a chance in state schools......with classes of 65 and up....most of the kids drop out of school because they just can't cope and don't get the support that they need....

And June saw OPPORTUNITY....so he and Milleth set up a small school..... the King Solomon Learning Centre....and that vision has grown and expanded and CAPTURED the hearts and minds of EVERY person who SEES what they are doing there.....And the school offers incredibly unique in this squatter area....education in an environment of respect, care and the LOVE of Jesus Christ.... And the children in the school are just magnificent.....they are SO beautiful....and they are doing so well.

And June's vision....is to continue to grow and expand that school to allow those kids who FIRST started with them...in kindy.....to continue to move into high school so they complete their full education ready for college, in King Solomon .....he has NO idea how that's going to happen...because what that actually means that he has to physically BUILD another two classrooms EVERY year to accommodate them......BUT he has a faith in God that leaves me breathless.....

At this point in time.....of the 300 kids in the school....there are about 120 kids who are sponsored to attend...they are the poorest of the poor.....and these kids attend because of the generosity of people who sponsor them......$300 a year provides their education.....uniform....books and equipment....and a lunch provided by the school....and often that's the only meal some of those kids have in the day.....in fact initially they had to make sure the kids ate their lunch....because these kids were taking the lunch home to feed the whole family at night......it's just MINDBLOWING.....

Within our church here.....we sponsor 21 of those kids...that's so amazing....and these kids write letters and they appreciate SO much what is being done for them ....

SLIDE - JANNA AND FAMILY

While we were in Manila....Sue and I went and visited our sponsor child Jana....in her home...which was perhaps the most significantly profound experience I have had up to this point in my life....Jana and her family...like most families....live in a space about 4m by 4m with a concrete floor and concrete walls....with  a single fuel burner to cook on.....and Jana and her two sisters and brother live there with their mum and dad....and EVERYTHING happens in that little area....sleeping, washing....eating.....they have SO little....and yet to talk with them.....it would seem they have SO MUCH ......they are so happy...and so welcoming...and so thankful for the opportunities given to their children.

And I had the opportunity to sit and talk with little Jana....and as I did....I had this realization.....in a way that I had never thought about before.....that the maker of the entire cosmos....specifically intended that this one little Filipino girl.....should exist.....And not only that....but He intended that THIS little girl...should exist to be with Him.....forever! And he wanted THIS little girl to exist with him so desperately that he was willing to give up his own son......just to ensure that THIS little girl would be with Him.....forever.

And as that thought hit me....I was just blown away by the cosmic significance of this one little 4 year old girl.

But you know what I also realized at that point...which was enormously confronting for me.......I realized that the thousands of other people who live around that little church....who are JUST as precious to God as this little girl.....they could all just DROP off the face of the earth.....and for me as a Christian in Australia.....it probably wouldn't affect my day....very much at ALL....

SLIDE - BLUE WALLS

In Manila.....the wealthier people didn't like being confronted continually by the poverty of the squatter people.....SO the government came up with an innovative solution.....they HID the poverty.....along the main roads in squatter areas....they erected sheets of ply wood.....along the sides of the squatter settlements....and they cut windows and doorways into them and painted door jambs and fascias....and they painted the whole wall a beautiful blue....and they called this an URBAN FACELIFT.....but REALLY what it is....was a way of turning their back on the problem....hiding it away so it doesn't interfere with their lives.....so they didn't have to THINK about the problem.

And I think WE have become very innovative at erecting urban facelifts on those areas of OUR life that are inconvenient....that we don't want to be confronted by.......that are too difficult to deal with......and I think we need to be jarred back to reality.....

Because in that whole situation I began to see.....that there was a significant difference between the way Jesus looked at the world....and the way I did......And you know....I didn't want to BE that far away from what REALLY mattered to Jesus....and so that point in time began a journey for me......to begin to open up the borders of my heart.....beyond this shriveled world of just ME and MY.....to try and share something of HIS great passion.....for the WORLD.....

I recognized that for me living here in Australia....what I didn't see....didn't affect me.....like an urban facelift......And from right HERE.....it's pretty easy to SHIELD ourselves from having to think too much about the poverty and the need of a world over THERE.....Because when we DO...I think we start to STRUGGLE with the whole notion of HOW God could allow this....and certainly the line that's thrown out all the time....is.... HOW is God GOOD...when there is so much suffering and pain....

I've been staggered by statistics recently.....which suggest.....that there will be 20,000 kids in our world...who will just DIE today....because their parents can't give them enough food....and there will be 20,000 again tomorrow....and the next day....and on and on......And statistics like that....leave you just shaking your head....and wondering....how are those children....and how are their parents SUPPOSED to believe somehow that God is GOOD.....

When I hear of how children from the school in Manila DIE....because their parents can't get medical help for conditions as simple as the FLU.....I mean their not arguing whether they get to pick their own doctor or not....they just CAN'T see a doctor because they can't afford to pay the 40 Australian dollars that is COSTS to see a doctor and get some medication......and they DIE.....for the sake of $40....because $40 is more than most of them will hold in their hands in a lump sum in a month.....how are they supposed to believe in that situation that God is good?.....

Well the answer from the Bible turns out to be kind of surprising.....cause as it turns our.....WE are the plan....and apparently God doesn't have.....another plan!

Do you remember what Jesus said to us....his disciples....in Matthew chapter 5.....this is what he said....he said....YOU are the light of the world......let your light so shine among men....that they will see YOUR good works....and give glory to the Father...who is in heaven......

And I love this...because he doesn't say....you MIGHT be the light of the world....... he doesn't say you COULD be the light of the world....or....I really hope you turn OUT to be the light of the world......instead...Jesus is saying to us.....YOU'RE IT......like the words of the song Becky's going to sing later...that say.....Now I've seen you.....I am responsible......

So if ANY of you woke up this morning....wondering if your existence mattered......you need to understand that the God of the universe has decided to put his WHOLE reputation on the line....through US.... In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul says....that God is making HIS appeal to the world.....through US.

And for 2000 years...from that point......Our role hasn't changed....WE continue  to make it BELIEVABLE that God is GOOD...in a world that often STRUGGLES to believe it because of all the wrong and injustice in our world....not caused by GOD but caused by the greed and injustice of MAN......and so if there are people today.....who are suffering because they've never heard that God LOVES them......then WE'RE the ones who actually get to GO to them and share the good news....that God LOVES you.....and if people are suffering because they don't have enough food....then we get to FILL up that pantry with food.....and if people are suffering because they don't have medical care for even the most simple of conditions ......then we HELP them get it....and if others are suffering because they don't have homes....then we help them to find shelter.....because when we DO that....they actually SEE the body of Christ itself....         and it becomes believable to them....that God IS GOOD....and we CAN'T solve every problem......BUT....we CAN do it...one drop at a time....

So my prayer is this.....that this next part of the year for each of you will be a time of OPENING your heart.....a time of actively seeking the heart of God.....and then STICKING to the plan......of showing that love to a world that NEEDS to see it desperately.....whether it's here...or whether it's in Manila....

Father God...thank you for the reminder that WE are the plan...to show your love to our world. Father I pray that each person here will feel the tug of your holy spirit to tear down the urban facelifts in our lives....that allow us to hide away the things of this world that we don't want to have to deal with. Thanks for our great friends in Manila....we pray for your continued blessing on their work....and for the lives of every child in that school.

Amen