GOD ’S LOVE FOR IMMIGRANTS Jerry D. Porter So Cal FRESH START Real Answers to Real Needs Bloomington, California February 2, 2013

Please stand if you immigrated … From your nation of birth? … From the nation your great- grandparents lived in? … From the nation where your ancestors were from? How many of us are descendents of Noah and immigrated from Turkey? Are we immigrants?

The word “stranger” is gēr in Hebrew and xenos in Greek. It can also be defined as foreigner, alien, or sojourner. In this message, immigrant is inserted for gēr and xenos. Are we immigrants?

I am an immigrant and a sojourner with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. ( Gen 23:4 ASV) Abraham was an immigrant

You shall not oppress an immigrant, since you yourselves know the feelings of an immigrant, for you also were immigrants in the land of Egypt. (Ex. 23:9 NASB) Human trafficking: Joseph in Egypt

Joseph migrated to Egypt due to human trafficking. Later Joseph’s whole family migrated to survive. Similarly, unwilling slaves were transported from Africa to the Americas; and today persons migrate to help their families survive: Albanians to Italy, Guatemala to the USA, or Filipinos to Japan.

Then she (Zipporah) gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been an immigrant in a foreign land.” (Ex. 2:22 NASB) Moses married a foreigner and raised a family as an immigrant

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me--an immigrant.” (Ruth 2:10 NIV) Immigrant Ruth found mercy

You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brethren or one of the immigrants who are in your land within your towns. (Deut. 24:14 RSV) Respect for immigrants

Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the immigrant who is with him. (Deut. 1:16 NKJV) Justice for immigrants

You shall not pervert justice due the immigrant or the fatherless... Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing. When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the immigrant, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Compassion for the immigrants

When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the immigrant, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the immigrant, the fatherless, and the widow. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing. (Deut. 24:17-22 NKJV) Compassion for the immigrants

“If an immigrant dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The immigrant who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were immigrants in the land of Egypt. (Lev. 19:33-34 NKJV) Compassion for the immigrants

“Love him as yourself” parallels Leviticus 19:18, which our Lord quoted as part of the Greatest Commandment! Compassion for the immigrants

Jesus said: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was an immigrant and you invited me in.” (Matt 25:35 NIV) Jesus taught love for the immigrant

The Jerusalem Church became an immigrant church. God often uses immigrants to spread the gospel. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered.” (Acts 8:1 NIV) Immigrant evangelists

Millions of displaced refugees flee from their homeland every year seeking safety and refuge. Remember also that Jesus and his parents fled to Egypt as immigrant refugees. Immigrant evangelists

“Do not forget to show hospitality to immigrants, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Heb 13:1-2 NIV) Immigrant Angels!

The Greek word for “show hospitality to strangers” is a compound word, philoxenia: philos: friend and xenos: foreigner. Christians are instructed to be friends of immigrants. Immigrant Angels!

We will respect, protect, assist, evangelize, disciple, and love the immigrants near us! God loves Immigrants!

We honor immigrants by referring to them as “undocumented immigrants” rather than “illegal aliens.” Their documents are not in order, similar to a person who drives with an expired license. God loves Immigrants!

We must differentiate between what is legal and what is morally right. Prostitution is legal in some places. It is morally wrong. Under South African apartheid, a person was arrested for using the wrong toilet. My wife’s ancestors illegally hid slaves fleeing to freedom in Canada. Their actions were morally right. God loves Immigrants!

If all laws were in keeping with the Kingdom of God, then breaking the law would always be morally wrong. Nations around the world, however, have crafted laws that often run counter to the clear biblical instructions to assist immigrants. We need laws that grant documents to productive immigrants. God loves Immigrants!

Regardless of the political debate… God calls us to respect, protect, assist, evangelize, disciple, and love the immigrants near us! God loves Immigrants!