Boy Hero to the Poor
Boy
Hero to the Poor
Opener: story or
illustration – An
article in the
Hunter
graduated from high school in 2005 and enrolled in University for his first
semester. His major was religious studies. He had a deep compassion for the
downtrodden. He and his friends often spent Saturdays handing out hot meals to
the homeless. He spent summers in
The
Seattle Times staff reporter, Lornet Turnbull who wrote this excellent article
in the newspaper told about Hunter Simpson doing something quite incredible. He
had a normal cafeteria meal plan, but he often ate only a cup of soup for his
meals. He had a plan. At the end of the semester, he spent the remaining $900
balance which he had saved on his meal plan and spent the entire amount on food
which he delivered to an organization to feed homeless children. 17Lines
Hunter
Simpson lived his life for the Lord. He practiced what he preached. He didn’t
expect other people to live a life that he himself was not living. He wanted to
earn his living and didn’t expect favors from others.
Hunter believed he should use his talents and skills to make a difference
in the lives of less fortunate peoples. He
believed he was meant to help other people and to make his Christian faith count
for the Lord. I regret to tell you,
my friends, Hunter Simpson died on Dec.31, 2005 of a lingering medical problem.
He was only 18 yrs. old and it was hard for him to keep going, but he was
determined to the very end to pass along what he felt the Lord had given him in
skills and talents. He wanted to make a difference, and I think you will agree
with me, we can learn a lot from Hunter. 26L
Hello all
of you out there! This is Rick Lawrence. There are a lot of problems in this
world we live in. And there are a
huge number of poor and disadvantaged people in the world. Not only do the poor
suffer materially, they suffer also from a feeling of being powerless to change
their lives and situation. Thank God for people like Hunter Simpson. He not only
shared his faith with the poor, he shared his finances, food and gave of his
carpentry skills to help build shelters for them. The poor suffer many problems
and many fall into problems and end up in prison.
Many would not be in prison if their lives were more normal and they had
the means for better lives. How
would you feel if you were poor hungry or homeless, or in prison today? 34L
Now, let
me tell you about another person, he, too, was a man. He wasn’t poor, on the
contrary he was one of the wealthiest men in his community. But, if he was like
most tax collectors, he was a stinker, he lied, cheated and oppressed the
middleclass and the poor. His name was Zacchaeus; he lived in the city of
“As
Jesus was passing through
tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the
crowds. So he ran ahead and climbed
into a sycamore tree beside the road, to watch from there.
When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name!
"Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick! Come down! For I am going to be a
guest in your home today!"
Zacchaeus hurriedly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great
excitement and joy.
But the crowds were displeased. "He
has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled.
Something
happened that day to change Zacchaeus. I’m sure he accepted Jesus as his
Savior.The Bible says, “Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said,
‘Sir, from now on I will give half my wealth to the poor, and if I find I have
overcharged anyone on his taxes, I will penalize myself by giving him back four
times as much!’"
Jesus told him, "This shows that salvation has come to this home
today. This man was one of the lost sons of Abraham, and I, the Messiah, have
come to search for and to save such souls as his." 52L
Thousands
of people wanted to get a look at Jesus that day. They had heard about
the great miracles he was doing to help people. And many people believed
he was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus stopped under the sycamore tree and
called Zacchaeus by name. I’m certain Zaccheus thought quickly to himself:
“How does he know my name? ...
How would he know me? ... Why me? ...
What does he want with me?” He escorted Jesus to his home.
Zacchaeus
is a story about a man who was transformed from greedy to generous, from selfish
to selfless, from a thieving heart to a thankful heart.
We ask ourselves: “What did
Jesus say to him there in that house?” If
only we knew what Jesus said to him. Perhaps we could talk about the fact that
Zacchaeus was one of the most immoral scoundrels in town, a skunk, a reprobate,
the worst of all possible sinners and Jesus ate a meal with him.
We could talk about the fact that Jesus will eat with anyone, no matter
how bad of a person he or she is said to be.
And If you are the biggest sinner in town, Jesus still wants you at his
table. The worst of the worst, Jesus
wants to share his meal of forgiveness with you.
The Bible
says that Jesus was crucified and died on the cross taking the whole worlds sins
upon himself, that every person who believed in Jesus and received him as their
Savior would be forgiven their sins and be given eternal life. Romans 5:8 says
that God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we
were still sinners.
As I
finish now – I trust you realize that God loved Hunter Simpson, the young man
I spoke of at the start of this program, but he loves you too even if you have
been a terrible sinner. I want to ask you if you are willing to turn from
your sin, give up ruling your own life and trust God to take over? You can do
this by inviting Jesus to come into your heart to become your personal Savior
and the Lord of your life. He will cause you to spiritually born again, you’ll
be a new person in Christ, you will have a new beginning!
In Rev.
3:20, Jesus says, “"Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am
constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will
come in and fellowship with him and he with me.” Will you open the door of
your heart and invite Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior and the Lord of your
life? He will
give you a new life in Him and you will be spiritually born again and assured of
going to heaven when you die.
Let
me help you pray, pray this prayer with me, “Dear God, I confess that I
have sinned against you. Thank you for taking all of my sin upon yourself on the
cross. I want to receive your forgiveness. I want to enter into a relationship
with you. I ask you to come into my heart and life as my Savior and the Lord of
my life. I accept you now, Jesus, as my personal Savior. Help me to live a new
life that pleases you. Amen.
If you've
made this decision, be sure and tell someone about it. Romans 10:9,10 says,
"9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
This is Rick Lawrence.
God bless you, my friends.
Closing:
by
Craig Burnett.com: Radio/Television announcer [
Guest
speaker today has been Rick Lawrence of Crossroads of Life ministry. Rick Lives
in a suburb of
Crossroads of Life scripts Next >>