Presented to the Summer Rain Christian Festival and TSA AVM on 19 and 20 July, 2025 by Major Michael Ramsay
Last
year here I spoke about Human Trafficking and the workers at San Group. They
said they paid between $20 000.00 and $30 000.00 to come here to work for a
wage in excess of $30/hr. They said they never received that wage. They said
they were subject to unsafe working conditions: working with toxic chemicals
without proper protective gear, working long hours, many days in a row. They
were afraid for themselves, and they were afraid for the safe transportation of
their family. They showed us where they lived. They explained to us how they
lived. They asked us to help them flee.
fifteen
of the 16 workers were taken out of town to a secure Salvation Army facility in
Victoria where they could have their physical, emotional and spiritual care
needs met and where they could get the legal and other counsel that they
needed.
An
analogy that is striking is the people had the choice to get on the bus, drive
to salvation, or stay behind. 15 of 16 choice salvation. (Actually, I think
their salvation story is very much the parable of the gospel falling on
different kinds of ground as their story is developing – but it began with salvation
provided and they just needed to get on the bus -or take their own cars- to
experience it.)
The
years prior I spoke here about our Emergency Disaster Services work and pointing
people to salvation from natural disasters. This was really on my mind lately
as all those children recently died in Texas. The first international deployment
I was ever on was in Texas. Those children who died recently were at a Christian
sleep away camp. We just sent 33 children from here to a sleep-away camp. It
has been heavy on my heart. When I spoke about our EDS work here last, I spoke
about a hurricane that struck Galveston where people didn’t necessarily need to
perish; people who had the chance to choose to get on a bus to escape the
impending disaster or to stay and perish: some chose salvation, some rejected
it.
I often
speak about how salvation is forever and how it begins right now and we can
choose to take advantage of that salvation – whether it be a bus out of town to
free us from human trafficking or a bus out of town to free us from impending
flood or hurricane or a metaphorical bus out of sin and death into eternal
life. But…
Salvation,
of course, is more than that. Jesus, Luke, Isaiah, the Bible speaks about a salvation
society as one where the sick are healed, the captives are freed, the hungry are
fed, the lonely are visited, the perpetrator is forgiven, relationships are
healed. Isaiah 2:4 speaks of Salvation as where the Lord:
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
In our
world, in our country, in our province, in our city there is still conflict, abuse,
addiction, poverty, homelessness, murder, mental illness, hate, violence, unforgiveness…and
we still pick up our swords. What if we didn’t have to wait until we die to experience
a world without all of this? What if Christ was right and he wasn’t lying to
us? What if the Kingdom of God is actually at hand? What if the Church (and our
churches) is actually the body of Christ and what if we actually do this? It
has been said that poverty isn’t a matter of scarcity: God has provided more
than enough for the whole world; poverty is a matter of distribution. Countries,
organizations, and people with resources simply do not share. I understand that
the payroll of the NY Yankees alone could feed and clothe the world – how many
sports teams are there in Canada and the US alone? Baseball? Hockey? Football? I
plan to watch the game today … Is that what we choose instead of feeding a
starving child? America is seemingly always at war and we are when they tell us.
I read an article about their recent bombing of Iran. It was a very small American
attack – nothing like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya. etc. They only used four
planes: each plane cost one billion dollars, the missiles they launched each
cost 1 million dollars. How many American children could they feed, shelter and
educate for that? They (we) would rather spend money killing other people’s
children than providing the needed care and education to save their (our) own
children. It seems that they (we) would rather their (our) own children die in
poverty than pass up the opportunity to kill their (our) enemies’ children. Isaiah
says God’s nations will beat swords into ploughshares. We are beating ploughshares
into swords. I only pick on the US because I read the article about them and they
are the world’s only superpower: Israel, Britain, France, China, Russia, India,
Canada, etc., etc. etc.… it all applies. Our countries: if we are sheep nations
rather than goat nations, if we are saved, we will beat our swords into
ploughshares and we will put more effort into saving people than we do in killing
them.
Of the
over 35 million people in Canada today, 35 485 of us are locked in cages,
prisons. There are homeless people right here on the streets of our town today.
In BC addiction is more in your face than anywhere else in Canada. I did not
see as many people on the streets in Regent Park, Toronto, Canada’s first
ghetto, as I did in front of the OPS here when I first arrived.
Matthew
31 says that the sheep nations, the ones that are saved are ones who feed the
hungry, water the thirsty, visit the lonely, sick and imprisoned, house the unhoused
stranger…. Are we a saved nation or do we have unhoused, hungry, lonely people
in prison and on the streets? Do you care? Are we as the church doing our part?
Are we members of the Kingdom of God fighting to overthrow the powers,
principalities and systems of this world?
Who
here professes Christ as our saviour? When we look at Matthew 31 – even the
goat nations that don’t go to spend eternity with our Lord do that! Matthew 7
says that not everyone who calls Jesus Lord is saved. Salvation is more than
that. I recently read a poem that was shared at a ‘poor persons conference’ in Albergue
years ago. Here is a modified excerpt:
I was hungry
and you formed a … club
and discussed my hunger.
Thank you.
I was imprisoned
And you crept off quietly
To your chapel in the cellar
And prayed for my release
[Thank you]
I was sick
And you knelt
and thanked God
for your health
[Thank you]
I was homeless
And you preached to me
Of the spiritual shelter of
The love of God
[Thank you]
I was lonely
and you left me alone
to pray for me.
[Thank you]
You seem so holy;
So close to God
But I’m still very hungry
And lonely
And cold…
Liberation
Theologian Albert Nolan asks, “How can one speak about the church as the body
of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth when church people are so healthy, well-fed
and have no broken bones?” Are we
complicit with the systems of this world or are we fighting to expand the
Kingdom of God? What can we do? How can you and I at least, beat our swords
into ploughshares? How can you and I, at least, act like sheep? First we must
advocate for real change! (to de-commodify the world for starters) Then we must
do it!
Now
there is a glimmer of hope even here. This Thursday, as every Thursday, there
was I prayer meeting at the Bread of Life Centre. Friends who eat with us
there, friends who sleep there, friends who live and visit us there – they pray.
You should see the tears. You should hear the testimonies. The Spirit is moving
(preaching Good News through the poor); God is transforming lives.
When I
was in the Cypress Heath region, people were dying in the hospital without the
congregations or their pastors even knowing they were there. People were not
getting any support. The Lord used His people to set up a hospital chaplaincy program
where a pastor would do the rounds everyday and visit everyone in the hospital
and reach out to the pastors of the other churches when their congregation
members were in the hospital.
When I
was in Southwest Saskatchewan it was put on hearts, the number of people who
were going to prison over and over again – and the number of victims of crime
who never had the opportunity to face their accuser and never had the
opportunity to be free of unforgiveness. Before my time, God used TSA set up
restorative justice in SW Saskatchewan where the victim and offender were able
to see each other, the victim would be able to have their questions answered
and the victim would be given the opportunity to be freed from unforgiveness
which can kill us all.
During
my time there, God used His people to set up a transition through incarceration
program where we sat with the offender (and victim) in court, kept in touch
with them in prison, set them up with a place to stay, a job, a social group
that was different than the one they had when they went into prison. Of all the
people we sat with only one person ever re-offended. Societies can be changed.
God does transform lives and He will transform the world. (We do need to get
rid of prisons altogether! In the Kingdom of God people aren’t locked in
cages!)
Since
I have been in town, I have seen God use His people to set up the shelter at
the Bread of Life centre, and provide food and shelter 24 hours a day, seven
days a week through staff, volunteers, soldiers, and community partners (including
the ministerial association and various churches) past and present. (We do need
to provide supportive housing; there is no homelessness in the Kingdom of God)
My friends,
this is what the kingdom of God looks like; this is what Salvation looks like.
It is people being transformed as they come to know our Lord and Saviour; it is
societies being transformed as they come to follow our Lord and Saviour. Are
you a part of God’s transformative church in our society? Do you want to be? Do
you want to offer food and prayer to people on the food truck? You can. Do you
want to serve people at the food bank or the soup kitchen? You can. Do you want
to lead a Bible Study at the shelter or the Bread of Life? You can. If service,
study, or hospitality are not your gifts… maybe you would like to organize a
food drive? Maybe God has given you two coats and you can donate one to the
Thrift Store - so that it can either be given to someone in need, or sold to
someone in need so that they can have the dignity of selecting and purchasing
it themselves, and/or sold to generate funds for services to those in need?
Maybe you don’t think that you have anything to offer but maybe beyond your
tithes to your local congregation, God is leading you to feed the hungry in
your own community by writing a cheque. There are a million ways or more to
serve and be used by God as part of transforming our whole society into a
salvation society and everyone is welcome to participate!
I
often think of Randall from my time in Toronto. He is blind. I think he grew up
in quite an abusive home. He lived in 220 Oak, the worst building in one of the
worst areas of Toronto. Randall is a soldier in our Salvation Army. Randall
played music. He was a blind man carrying a tuba (or baritone) on his back, his
white cane in his hand, finding his way on subways, busses, and through the
roughest most crime ridden areas of Toronto by himself to play music at churches,
funerals, Christmas kettles, anywhere he went he shared the gospel in music.
And every Friday morning at 7am he would join me and others as we walked around
regent park and prayed for people living in the neighbourhood that was once North
America’s first ghetto. This is Salvation and it begins now and continues on
forever. I have friends of mine from my time serving at Stoney Mountain Penitentiary
in Winnipeg who, even though they were behind bars, led people to a saving
relationship with our Lord who then brought that Salvation they found behind
bars to the outside world. God can use each and everyone of us to change this
world, to grow His Kingdom!
We
posted a picture recently on social media of a child who donated his birthday
money to the Bread of Life Centre – most of our employees at The Salvation Army
are what in contemporary vernacular we call ‘piers’ or people with ‘lived
experience’ – most of us come from backgrounds of addiction, abuse,
homelessness. I can’t tell you the number of people we have working with us
right now who have their first ever jobs and they are in their 30s 40s and 20s,
parents, people who God is using to do wonderful, amazing things.
God
will transform Our world – He promises whole new heavens and a whole new earth.
The question for us is will we be a part of it? We can. He wants us to be.
So, let
us ask to the Lord where and how He would like each of us to live out our
salvation, to be a part of His Kingdom? Let us ask Him how He can use each of
us to point our neighbour to salvation both now and forever? As the
Lord is leading you to help out in your church, go talk to your pastor today
while it is still on your heart. As the Lord is leading you to help at the soup
kitchen, shelter, foodbank, food truck, or other ways, you are welcome to chat
with me today. As we all share the Gospel of Christ in word and deed, then the
Lord can and will save us all and He will use even us to transform our society
into His Kingdom, to make our whole world anew.
Let us
pray
