WE WONT STOP ADULT MODEL TALKPlease arrange for the Bible passages to be read before you speak: the talk refers to Leviticus 25:10-39, Luke 4:14-21 and Romans 8:14-16

Attention

Do we have any historians amongst us this morning?

I have a list of historic events and significant moments which all took place in the same year. I’m going to read each one out in turn and I’d love you to stand when you think you know which year I’m talking about.

(Read each fact below out in turn and ask people to stand when they think they know which year you are talking about. At the end of reading these out, ask the person who stood up first which year they think it is. If they don’t get it right, ask another person standing until you get the right answer!).

Okay, are we ready…?

This was the year that Boeing introduced the first 747 Jumbo Jet – a game changer in the world of aviation.

This was the year that two black athletes staged a silent demonstration against racial discrimination at the Mexico City Summer Olympics by raising a black-gloved fist during the National Anthem after being presented with their gold and bronze medals.

This was the year that the first manned spacecraft orbited the moon – on Christmas Eve no less.

This was the year that Manchester United won the European Cup Final, becoming the first English team to do so.

This was the year that the 39-year-old civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a year of triumph and tragedy; but which year was it?

That’s right – 1968.

Among the many historic events happening across our world, 1968 was also the year that Tearfund was born. So, for those who are quick at maths… that means that 2018 marks 50 years of Tearfund.

In Leviticus 25 we read about how the fiftieth year held great significance for the Israelites. According to the law, the fiftieth year was to be the year of Jubilee. In essence, Jubilee was about the restoration of a good way of life in which God’s redeemed, liberated people could flourish.

And as we look back over the last 50 years, we see countless examples of individuals and communities across the globe who have experienced restoration, freedom, equality and justice – just as God intended for his people.

The number of people living in extreme poverty across the globe has halved. In the countries we’ve been working in, we’ve seen millions of people lifted from material and spiritual poverty through the work of our local church partners.

Because of the continued support of churches and individuals across the UK, we have seen incredible transformation.

Empathy

But the need is still great. You only need to watch the news or look around you to see that we are still living in a broken world. Families who have been forced to flee their country due to conflict, farmers who can’t feed their families because the rains haven’t come, individuals who don’t have access to the skills or training they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

When we’re faced with the statistics, or images on our TV screens, poverty and injustice can feel like giants that are impossible to conquer. But then we remember that famous moment when an 'expert in the law' asked Jesus 'and who is my neighbor?'. Jesus inspires the church - his body - like the Good Samaritan, to 'go and do likewise' and care for those who are in great need. And the church - his body - is making a real difference right now for those caught in extreme poverty.

At Tearfund, we believe that an end to extreme poverty is possible. We won’t stop until poverty stops.

And so we continue to follow Jesus to where the need is greatest: to places like the DRC.

With a population of more than 80 million, the DRC is the second largest country in Africa. Despite being rich in natural resources, it’s one of the world’s poorest countries, with 87 per cent of the nation living below the poverty line.

Poverty in the DRC is fuelled by brokenness. With the country devastated by repeated conflicts, relationships have been broken. Turmoil is ongoing. The country is not just economically fragile, but socially and politically fragile too. The DRC is what we call a ‘fragile state’.

Insight

But broken countries and communities are no new thing. Knowing that brokenness and injustice are a part of the world, God gave Moses a number of instructions for the Israelites which would help them address some of the key issues he knew would become stumbling blocks for them. In Leviticus 25, a number of laws are laid out which are essentially concerned with how the Israelites should treat one another (social relationships), economic security, and the stability and wellbeing of the Israelite community.

God’s intention was for the Israelites to live in a way that reflected good, healthy, honouring relationships with God, with each other, and with creation. But alongside this vision of life as it was meant to be, this passage acknowledges the reality that society would gradually drift further from God’s intentions; and as this happened, some families would become poor (v25), some would be tempted to take advantage of each other (v14) and some would find they needed to sell themselves into bonded labour (v39).

God wanted to establish a system that encouraged justice to be right at the heart of their community, so that redemption and restoration, liberation and renewal could be experienced by all.

And so, the year of Jubilee, which was to take place once a generation (every fiftieth year) would restore Israel and the Israelites to the life that God intended for them. For example, by mandating the return of people to their original homes, every family and clan could redeem the share of land

God had given them when Israel was established. Jubilee provided a counter to natural successes and failures, to greed and exploitation and other sin that led to growing inequality and poverty. Ultimately, it restored Israel as a just society in which all creation could flourish, under God.

And just as God longed for the Israelites to live in a just and fair society, Jubilee reminds us that God’s heart today is still for justice and liberation for everyone: for individuals, communities and nations to be restored.

With 87 per cent of the country’s population living below the poverty line, the needs in the DRC are certainly great... but so too is the opportunity and desire for restoration. And God’s people are carrying his light into some of the hardest-to-reach places there. As they do, we are seeing incredible transformation.

Let’s watch a short film – PLAY FILM

Birungi lives in a small village in the north-east of the country that is so remote that from the nearest town (Bunia) it takes three modes of transport to reach her community. From Bunia you would drive by truck to the river. You would then take a boat to cross the river. And finally you would motorcycle down a narrow track into her village.

Many people would be put off by this long and arduous journey. But as God’s agents of change, inspired and driven by Jesus’ relentless love, our partner in the DRC, Action Entraide is committed to bringing hope and restoration to Birungi and other women and families like her.

By empowering people with the skills and training they need to lift themselves out of poverty, Action Entraide are living up to their name, which in French means ‘self-help’. Through our Church and Community Transformation approach to development, individuals are not being given ‘hand-outs’ or ‘aid’, but are being equipped with the tools and training to build strong and sustainable futures for themselves. Through livelihood-building initiatives like their skills workshop, Action Entraide are enabling people like Birungi to discover that the answer to poverty lies within themselves... and in so doing, their dignity and self-worth is being restored.

In all they do, Action Entraide include those who are marginalised – women and those from ethnic groups who are traditionally looked down upon, or whose opportunities are limited. People like Birungi.

Birungi was the eldest child in a family. Coming from a poor, rural family she, like many other girls around her, was expected to stay at home and look after her younger brother and sister. She was therefore never given the opportunity to go to school like the boys in her village. Instead, the long term plan for Birungi was to get married to an older man when she came of age in order to bring dowry and financial stability to her family.

Birungi’s uncle believed there was so much more for her, and told her about the skills workshop Tearfund’s partners offered to both men and women. This opportunity gave Birungi the chance to start rewriting her future. With this training, Birungi has been able to find stability and economic independence.

Birungi grew in her faith and understanding of God too as she spent time with the teachers, and her self-belief blossomed. ‘God’s word says we are all equal,’ says Birungi.

Her eyes have been opened to the God-given potential inside of her, and she is using her gifts and skills to run a successful business in her community. No longer brought down by the social brokenness that labels her as ‘just a woman’, she is seen differently by those within her community. And not just that, Birungi has discovered her true self-worth as a child of God.

In Romans 8:14-16 it says:‘For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.’

Birungi is now confident in her identity as a precious child of God. She has a purpose and a future. She no longer lives in poverty but has been set free. She now has the ability to choose her own path, and overcome the limitations put on so many young girls from poor families in the DRC. Hers is a story of redemption and restoration – and in our 50th year, it is these stories of redemption and restoration that we not only want to share, but to be part of writing into the future.

In Luke 4, Jesus, reading from Isaiah 61:1-2, says:

‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim freedom for the captivesand release from darkness for the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour…’ And finishes by proclaiming, ‘Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ Near the start of Jesus’ ministry, he returns to Nazareth where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he goes to the synagogue and reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. In so doing, he applies these verses to himself and his ministry. Jesus was saying to the listeners that he had come to make Jubilee possible and that ‘the year of the Lord’s favour’, a direct reference to Jubilee, was for all. No longer was this an ancient law that the Israelites were unable to fulfil, but one for his audience and their neighbours too. He was saying that his mission was God’s mission – and that he longed for his disciples to follow his footsteps and bring liberation and freedom, restoration and redemption to their communities.

In the DRC, Tearfund’s local church partners are doing just that – bringing good news to the poor, and setting the captives free. They are helping women like Birungi rewrite their futures so they no longer have to live in poverty, because they are given the knowledge, skills and tools they need to build a sustainable future.

And, as we know, we are his disciples too. By restoring people to God, Jesus makes it possible for his disciples to live in ways that pursue the values of Jubilee. As the body of Christ, called and commissioned to bear witness to the gospel, we are called to be a new community that marks the kingdom of God.

And so, God is calling us – the church – forward to meet the needs that still exist in our fragile world head on; to bring restoration where there is brokenness and to be a channel of his relentless love in everything we do. And so he speaks these words of Isaiah 61 over us as his church today.

‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on us,because the Lord has anointed usto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent us to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim freedom for the captivesand release from darkness for the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

Options

Birungi said: ‘Without my training I would still be at home, without even enough food to live on. I would be suffering.’

This could have been Birungi’s future.

But instead, Birungi is a successful business woman. She’s viewed differently within her community. She now has options, and a hope and a plan for the future.

However, poverty in the DRC is rife. Women in particular are given very little opportunity to learn the skills or receive the training they need to be able to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Other women, just like Birungi, haven’t yet been given the opportunity to rewrite their future.

In our 50th year, we have a vision... to see five million people restored from material and spiritual poverty.

Alone we know this vision would be impossible... but with the support of churches and individuals like you, and with God, we know this vision is achievable.

And so I want to invite you to be part of this.

You

On your seat is a leaflet. By giving £12 a month, you could enable two women in the DRC, like Birungi, within the course of a year to learn business skills and flourish. Whether you can give £12, or a different amount each month, your support will make a huge difference.

To accept this invitation and start transforming lives today, simply fill in your details on both sides of the form and hand this to me at the end of the service, and we will do the rest. If you don’t have your bank details, or need to talk with your family first, that’s absolutely fine. Fill in as much of the form as you can and then there is a box here that you can fill in with your name and telephone number (point to it) and a lovely person from Tearfund will phone you over the next few days for a gentle, no pressure conversation.

In a moment, we will play a short slide sequence which has a number of images from DRC. Please do take the opportunity to take a moment while this is playing to reflect on what you have heard this morning and ask God what he is saying to you.

Before we do this, and to end, I would like to close with a short prayer, written by Archbishop Justin Welby for Tearfund’s 50th year.

Let’s pray…

Gracious and generous God, you became poor so that we might be enriched by your love, and you gave the world’s wealth and resources as a common inheritance of all human beings.We pray you would strengthen your church to be a beacon of hospitality for the poor.We pray that, seeing the light of Christ’s love, the nations and peoples of the world may fight not to kill, but to outdo one another in care for the poor, and in actions of gracious generosity.Through him who, for our sakes, did not grasp the wealth of heaven, but instead gave all to live for us as a slave, and die for us in pain, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.Amen.

PLAY POWERPOINT