MY TESTIMONY: GOD CARES FOR THE ORPHANED AND THE FATHERLESS

SERMON NOTES FOR January 22, 2012

 Good morning. My name is Inez M^cGowan. I arrived from Canada on January 1^st to help my mum with her work here in Malawi. I will be here until July.

A lot of things here in Malawi are very different from what I am used to in Canada. For example, the petrol queues.  I have never seen that before coming here. That reminds me of a story I heard:

(Out Of Petrol)

A nurse who worked for a local home health care agency was out making her rounds

when she ran out of petrol. Fortunately, there was a station just down the street. She walked to the station to borrow a can with enough petrol to start the car. The attendant regretfully told her that the only can he owned had just been loaned out, but if she would care to wait he was sure it would be back shortly. Since the nurse was on her way to see a patient she decided not to wait and walked back to her car. She looked through her car for something—anything—to carry to the station to fill with petrol. She saw a bedpan that she was going to deliver to her patient. So, she carried the bedpan to the station, filled it with petrol, and carried it back to her car.

As she was pouring the petrol into the tank of her car two men walked by. They looked at the nurse pouring the contents of the bedpan into the tank. One of the men turned to the other man and said; "Now THAT is what I call FAITH!"

I want to start this morning by reading a Scripture for you:

Psalm 68:4-6 (NIV)

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,

extol him who rides on the clouds;

rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families,

he leads out the prisoners with singing;

but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

I want to tell you about my background. I was born in a fishing community on the coast of BC, Canada. I had an older sister and an older brother, who were both not yet 3 years old. My mother was very busy with 3 little children!  My grandmother helped Mom to take care of us.

My father was a commercial fisherman. He fished on the ocean for salmon to earn a living. When he went fishing he would be away from home for a week or more at a time. So, it was hard for my mother, raising her children alone. She was unhappy. And when my father was home, he drank alcohol. They argued often: about money, about alcohol, about everything. Their marriage broke apart. My mother found another man, who turned out to be a bad man. He took drugs and he sold drugs to others. My mother became addicted to drugs. My father found another woman, and he continued to drink. My grandmother helped as much as she could, but eventually my father decided he would give us to his sister to take care of us.

I was in grade 4 (standard 4) when my father took us on a bus to the next province, Alberta, which was about 1400 km away. The next day he went back to his home in BC.  I was devastated. No mom. No dad. No grandmother. For at least a month, I cried myself to sleep every night. I missed them so much. My mom and my dad said that they loved me. But why didn’t they keep me? My heart was broken and I was sad for a very long time.

My father sent me a Bible for my birthday. I found a Bible verse that seemed to be written to me:

Psalm 27:10 (KJV)

Though my father and mother forsake me,

yet the Lord will take me up.

I printed it in the front of my birthday Bible and read it every day.

My uncle was a pastor. Soon after I moved there I went to the front of the church at the end of one of his sermons.  I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and be my Lord. I became a Christian.  I found a second verse about God’s love and printed that one in the back of my Bible:

1^st John 4:10

Herein is love:

not that we loved God,

but that He loved us

and sent His Son

to be the propitiation for our sins.

“Propitiation” means atonement, or payment. I understood that God loved me so much that Jesus came and died—gave his life--for me.

My uncle and aunt taught me many things about living for God and serving God. They trained me to work hard and to remember to pray. I prayed for my father and mother. When I was 16 years old, my mother came back to Jesus and began to live for Him again. God delivered her miraculously and instantly from drug addiction.  My aunt and uncle were my guardians until I finished secondary school. This is the aunt that I now call Mum.

When I was 20 I married a man named Marty. Like me, he also had no father or mother. Like me, God heard Marty’s cry to be loved and to know God’s love. My husband and I have now been married for 30 years. We have 3 children: Jesse, Mike, and Rachel. We raised our children to know God.  We taught them this verse:

James 1:27 (AMP)

External religious worship

[ religion as it is expressed in outward acts]

that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this:

to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows

 in their affliction and need,

and to keep oneself unspotted

and uncontaminated from the world.

Caring for those who struggle to care for themselves is God’s COMMAND. It is not an option.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do right!

Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor.

Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.

I went to university and earned my teaching degree. I have taught school since 1989.  In 2010, I decided to look for a different job. God directed me to come here to Malawi to teach school until July. My husband sent me here, saying, “Go and check on your mum. See if she is okay. And, go and do some good for God by helping the people there.” So here I am!

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If you are a Christian, God also commands YOU to help the widows, the fatherless, and the orphan.

Deuteronomy 24:19

When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf

 in the field, you shall not go back to get it;

 it shall be for the stranger and the sojourner,

the fatherless, and the widow,

that the Lord your God may bless you

 in all the work of your hands.

When you beat your olive tree,

 do not go over the boughs again;

the leavings shall be for the stranger and the sojourner,

the fatherless, and the widow.

When you gather the grapes of your vineyard,

you shall not glean it afterward;

 it shall be for the stranger and the sojourner,

the fatherless, and the widow.

Notice that the command comes with a blessing:

 that the Lord your God may bless you

 in all the work of your hands.

If you are blessed with extra—you are commanded to share. And God will bless you with more—to share!

There was a woman—a nun—named Mother Teresa, who went to India to care for lepers who were dying. She wrote:

At the end of life we will not be judged by how

many diplomas we have received,

how much money we have made,

how many great things we have done.

We will be judged by "I was hungry,

and you gave me something to eat,

I was naked and you clothed me.

I was homeless, and you took me in."

Hungry not only for bread -- but hungry for love.

Naked not only for clothing -- but naked of human dignity and respect.

Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks -- but homeless because of rejection.

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If you are not a Christian:

I am here today as a witness of God’s love. I testify of God’s faithfulness. I am proof of God’s salvation. What He has done for me, He can also do for you!

God heard my cries for help when I was a little girl. He put me into a family. He saved me.

His Word tells us that he has a special love and concern for the widow, the fatherless, and the orphan:

Psalm 10:14

You have seen it;

yes, You note trouble and grief (vexation)

to requite it with Your hand.

The unfortunate commits himself to You;

You are the helper of the fatherless.

God made me part of his family. Does he love me more than He loves you? Absolutely not!! God has the same promise for you.

2 Corinthians 6:18 (KJV)

“And I will be a Father unto you,

and ye shall be my sons and daughters,

saith the Lord Almighty.

Will you turn from your own way and give your life to Jesus today? God wants to offer you a place in His family. If you want to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and make you part of God’s family, we will pray for you this morning.

Thank you.