What about me?

new -Gather Prayer circle before church service

-Matthew 25:31-40

Matthew 25:31–40 (CSB)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 “ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’

40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

- Our sacrifice

Yadi and I are currently raising our Grand daughter Eden, while her mother works to overcome some obstacles in her life.

She is one of the sweetest little girls I have ever seen.

I call her smiley as does her school teachers in the head start program.

Usually, she is in a good mood, hence she is always smiling.

If you look at her, she can’t help but to smile.

Since she came to live with us some months ago, it has been a huge challenge for not only myself

but for Yadi as well.

Our son Ezra just turned 5.

So, it is we have Ezra and Eden running around the house together constantly.

Ezra being autistic, doesn’t always engage with Eden in mutual play.

We’ve noticed however, much to Ezra’s chagrin, not understanding his condition, she forces him to play anyway.

We’ve also noticed, that Ezra eventually does engage and seems to tolerate his little niece 2 years younger than himself.

We say tolerates because, Ezra, and those with his condition usually get a free pass when it comes to tolerating things when you don’t feel like it.

Although he doesn’t yet speak, Ezra, without words, demonstrates his love by his sacrifice of himself for his little niece, Eden.

Yadi, & I on the other hand, we can speak, and can communicate our feelings.

So, not only do we demonstrate our love for Eden verbally with our words and affirm them with other actions,

We demonstrate our sacrificial love for her by stepping in and providing a loving stable home for her.

I won’t stand up here and tell you it has all been easy.

Not by a long shot.

It has been and continues to be extremely trying, taxing and exhausting.

Our youngest son was about 13 years old when Ezra surprised us.

So, we have been out of practice for some time raising children,

We had to learn all over again, plus we were plunged into a crash course in Autism.

If it weren’t for God’s provisions and strength, I honestly don’t think we would’ve made even this far.

So, to say it is Sacrificial Love, is fitting.

We obviously love our grand-daughter, but to have to rescue her childhood from circumstance,

has really caused a rift in our lives.

So, is it something we WANT to do?

No!

Is is something we HAVE to do?

No!

So then Why do we continue to do it?

Because of LOVE.

We love her.

She is too young to pay us back.

She has no comprehension of what others are going through because of her circumstance.

It’s not her fault.

None of that makes any difference in the world, wether or not she could.

She was in need, We sacrifice this time of our lives for her, because of love.

You know, Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross for us.

I mean think about it.

He died for people like the Germans in WW2, knowing that these same people, would one day slaughter his chosen people by then millions.

WOW!

He also died for some who would gleefully commit unspeakable evil to children.

Knowing all of this, he did it anyway.

Why?

Because of Love.

You know, I don’t know why, as I am not a child psychologist, but when Eden sees one of us tickling, hugging, or otherwise paying special attention to Ezra,

Do you know what she does?

She comes running over and eagerly yells, “My Turn, My Turn”

It’s not so much that she wants to be next, to have her turn at being swung in the air or something.

No, I get the sense that she somehow recognizes her predicament, (having to live in a house thats not naturally her own), the sense that she has a fear of being excluded,

- What about ME?

As if she is yelling in three old language, “What about Me?”

One of the things I have noticed in ministry is, how many times needs there aren’t enough people to fulfill them.

In contrast to that, I have also, noticed that some, advanced in years, are the ones who seem to get it.

Although they have trouble

standing,

sitting,

moving,

lifting etc,

they are the first ones on line to serve.

When needs arise, many times it’s not the fault of anyone specific person or thing.

It’s just life.

Like when hurricanes, tornados, or earthquakes happen, it just happens.

People are left to pick up the pieces after

And thankfully out of natural Human love, many flock to those people in their time of need.

Selflessly!

To them, it doesn't matter what they have going on in life, they put it on hold, or pause,

They sacrifice themselves for another.

Love is selfless!

Its not concerned about the “self,”

Jesus was the Son of God made manifest in the flesh. He is the King of Kings, the creator of all that is,

Yet, He wasn’t concerned for his earthly self.

We know that, because he traded it away for you and I.

- Jesus never asked “What about Me?”

Jesus never asked, “What about Me?”

He just did it.

Those of us who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior expects us to do away with the “self” and concentrate on others.

Those who refuse to put aside the self, in order to

protect what is yours,

or to protect your time

Or to protect your pride

or to protect yourself or yours,

The bible tells us that although you try to protect your life, you will lose it.

Luke 9:23–24 (CSB)

23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.

You see, its not our lives anyway.

We have given up our lives to Christ.

Everyone who professes the love of Christ in their lives should live as Christ.

Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

- Who are you giving your self for here today?

Who are you giving your self for here today?

Paul tells us in the book of

Acts 20:35,

35 In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Though we are shown in scripture where Jesus actually said this, we must remember that Paul’s understanding of the gospel came not from the apostles, but from Jesus Himself.

So in our days,

you see things happening in our world,

You see things happening in our State,

You see things happening in our city,

You see things happening in our church,

What have you given of yourself to any of these places mentioned?

Or, rather, have you been too concerned about how whats going on in these places affect YOU?

Meaning, instead of becoming part of the solution, you’ve been too wrapped up in how things happening around you are out of your control,

Then You have been become part of the problem?

Nothing that is happening anywhere, in the

World,

Country

State

City,

or even in your Church

Is all about you.

In fact, it should all be about Jesus in your life, and how it benefits the Kingdom of God

- It’s not about you

Not YOU

It’s not all about YOU!

So, if you are troubled or disturbed because things are happening that you have no control over,

ask yourself, “how can I help better the situation for Christ?”

Instead, “How can I stop this from happening to me?”

Or when you see others benefitting from your effort somehow,

Or when you see other being blessed more than you

When we see these things, even as adults, we want to stop what you are contributing,

You want to use what ever in your power to block, to stop, to change things or even prevent change

You give up on helping others and want to quit because of that old internal question

“WHAT ABOUT ME?”

Its not about YOU.

- It’s about Jesus

It’s bigger than you.

Start asking how to help benefit others, instead how to stop it from benefitting others.

We are told several times in scripture, as we read earlier,

Jesus tells us that those who try to preserve their life, or analyze everything in a matter of self interest,

will lose it.

Live as Christ lives in you. Selflessly.

- Don’t just come to church, be the church

Don’t just come to church, BE THE CHURCH.

Let your willingness to serve others be so much that you lose count on how or when you’ve sacrificed yourself selflessly.

For we are assured Jesus will remember.

Matthew 25:37–40 (CSB)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’

40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Brothers and sisters and all watching across the world on live stream,

Let me in closing touch on the elephant in the room.

The “What about ME?” Question.

Like my grand-daughter, we all too fear that while we see others being blessed, we too should be blessed.

We are all children of God too aren’t we?

Of course we are.

But we do well to remember that although we are all human, God created us all individually.

Though some of us may look alike, we are not alike, we are individuals,

And, God has a plan for each and every one of us, specifically tailored to our individual selves in our individual circumstances.

Like Eden, we all may feel at times we need to protect what we have coming to us,

But this is a lie from Satan,

The same old lie he told Eve in the garden.

God was holding out on her somehow, and she disobeyed, for self-gain,

Brothers and Sisters that is a lie,

The “What about me?” question has already been answered in your lives.

At the moment of your salvation, when you accepted the blood of Jesus over you,

The moment when you gave up your life for Jesus,

He accepted you into the kingdom and covered your sins with His blood so you can get to heaven where He is now with the father waiting for your arrival,

Brothers and Sisters, that was your moment!

Thats when it was all about you!

At that moment it was about you Alan, Vickie,

point to members

Your moment came when Jesus saved YOU, out of billion and billions of people

Our Savior reached down for you!

Jesus said if we give up our lives for Him, we will gain it! Amen.