12/10/2023 - Our Hope Motivates Humanitarianism
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Matthew 25:31-42
We began last week a series on the Truth about Our Hope.
We saw that Hope Motivates us to Holiness.
The Hope that we see when we look at this manger scene down here on this communion table is not a coming child, but the hope of a coming king.
The Christ child has already come, He has lived, He has given himself for us in His death on the cross…and He rose again on that third day shattering the chains of sin and death.
Our hope is wrapped up in what He has done, and what He is doing now, and what He will do one day coming soon.
So our Hope is looking forward...
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Our hope is looking forward to the coming of our Lord!
Here in this passage that we read just a moment ago, we see the coming day when all the nations will stand before Christ the judge.
On that day Christ will separate the sheep from the goats.
That is those who have accepted Christ (I believe this speaks to those saved during the tribulation), and those who have rejected Christ.
And there is one determining factor raised here.
Their humanitarianism - I tried desperately to come up with a smaller word…but nothing means quite what this word means.
That is not to say that their humanitarianism will save them…but that He will know His sheep because of their love.
Just as Jesus said in John 13.35
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
This is the Principle - The Hope that we have in Christ motivates His people to humanitarianism.
We have seen this to be true throughout all the ages.
The unsaved and pagan world does not see people through the eyes of compassion.
Plato and others taught that a poor man should be left to die if he could no longer work.
Christians through the ages have given to help the poor, the oppressed, the sick and the alone.
Sociologist Rodney Stark recognized the role of the Christians in the Greco-Roman world:
To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.
Many of the hospitals, orphanages, schools, and other places of refuge have been founded by Christians, and Christian organizations.
Humanitarianism is the outworking of love for our fellow mankind.
And Jesus said, This is how you the world will know you are mine....if you love one another.
In our passage today I want us to see Three Details to be Realized regarding this Hope that we have and it’s motivation in service.
First let’s see
I. The Assumption
I. The Assumption
Notice with me that in this passage there is assumption made about the sheep.
They are not sheep because they served…rather they served because they were His sheep.
Because they were His...
A. The Sheep Loved
A. The Sheep Loved
The actions of the sheep portrayed by the King are actions of love.
It is the outpouring of the Love they felt in their heart for their fellow man.
It was just what they did.
The Sheep loved… the goats did not.
Jesus said...
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The assumption made even by all men around us when they see us love another human is that we are Christ’s disciple.
Don’t get me wrong.
There are other motivations for doing good deeds
recognition
guilt
self-advancement
to feel good
The Age old Philosophical question, is there such a thing as a selfless act, if I receive a good feeling for doing the act.
But Christians are not motivated by any of these, or rather should not be…but are motivated to love one another, because we were loved by God.
God is Love, and if we are to have a part in Him, we must have love.
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
The assumption made is that the sheep loved those in need.
But just as any love, it did not stop at a feeling, for true love is not a feeling…it is an action verb…so…the Assumption about the sheep was that ...
B. The Sheep Helped
B. The Sheep Helped
There was action to their love.
They fed the hungry
they gave drink to the thirsty
They took in the stranger
They clothed the naked
they visited the prisoner.
The hope that they had in Christ motivated them to help others who were hurting.
Galatians tells us that it’s not the outward show that matters...
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
For the Christians in Galatia, it was the outward sign of circumcision.
For us it may be what we wear, what we drink, what we entertain our selves with…not that these things do not matter…but it is not these things that make us righteous…just as the circumcision cannot make us righteous...
But it is Faith which is at work by love.
Our love is motivated by our faith (hope)
Our works are motivated by our love.
It is just an assumption....If you are His sheep …You will love, and you will help!
Verses 41-46 make it clear…if you do not help others…you are not a sheep…but a goat.
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
So we see the Assumption made about hte sheep…they served and helped others…now let’s see
II. The Result
II. The Result
There is the natural and expected result of their service...
A. They Helped the Needy
A. They Helped the Needy
Of course we assume this.
The hungry became full
the thirsty became satisfied
the homeless became sheltered
the lonely became comforted
The naked became clothed
All as a result of these Christian’s outward focus.
They saw a need and they did something about it.
A lawyer asked Jesus what He might do to inherit eternal life…Jesus answered him, knowing that he was a lawyer..one who studied the Mosaic Law…He asked him…What is written in the law?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Jesus said to him do this and you shall live.
The lawyer was caught and saw himself as guilty by his own words…he wished to justify himself, so he asks, “And who is my neighbour?”
To answer this Jesus gives the parable of the Good Samaritan.
A man is found in need:
He has been stripped of his clothes
He has been robbed
He is injured and left for dead
Along came a priest, but he passes on the other side of the road
Then comes a Levite, a worker in the temple, and he also passed on the other side of the road.
But a Samaritan came a long and helped the injured man.
Not the one you would expect to help an injured Jew.
There was a bitter feud between the Samaritans of Jesus time and the Jews.
This lawyer that Jesus was speaking to would have had very strong opinions about these people.
They ignored God’s Law and created their own temple to worship.
They had intermarried with other races who the Babylonians had brought into the land of Samaria, so they were no longer full blooded Jews.
Jesus asks the question, which of these three is the neighbour unto the injured man.
The Lawyer had no choice but to say the one who showed mercy.
The one who expressed love through his works.
And Jesus says, Go, and do thou likewise.
The Bible plainly and clearly commands us...
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
In the Old Testament it is commanded
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
Paul sums up the last five of the 10 commandments in this one command.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The result of the service was the meeting of the needs of the needy.
I heard about an elderly woman who walked into a church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps, “Where would you like to sit?” he asked politely.
“The front row please,” she answered.
“You really don’t want to do that,” the usher said “the pastor is really boring.”
“Do you happen to know who I am?” the woman inquired.
“No.” he said.
“I’m the pastor’s mother,” she replied indignantly.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
“No.” she said.
“Good,” he answered.
He helped the needy, but wasn’t really doing very good at the loving his neighbor part.
It really is no surprise that the sheep were known by their service...But the surprising twist that Jesus offers in our text, is the whole point…in serving others...
B. They Served Christ
B. They Served Christ
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Our focus needs to be pointing outward, like Paul says, in Philippians 2.4
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Don’t let you focus only be
your own food
you own water
your own clothing
your own home
but also focus on the needs of others.
It’s really kind of an interesting scene …when we focus on Christ, he points our eyes outward to the needs of others.
When we put feet to that focus and help others…we are actually helping and blessing Christ.
The upward focus, leads us to an outward focus.
The outward working, is actually and upward working.
In this passage there is an assumption made about the sheep and the goats:
The sheep love and help
The goats did not love or help
Then we see the result of the service…the needs of the needy were met, and we end up serving Christ in the process.
But Why should we serve others?
Oh I know we are Christians and Christians are supposed to love…but what is the ...
III. The Reason
III. The Reason
that is the reason for the service - what motivates the Christian to serve one another.
We look outside of this particular text for the answer.
It is just assumed that the sheep will serve others.
But in Ephesians we are told, one reason that the Christian will serve …is because they are...
A. Created unto Good Works
A. Created unto Good Works
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The Christian is not like Christ because of his own works.
No we are His workmanship - That which is the result of the work of someone else.
Our good works are a result of the Word that Christ has done for us, we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
The reason we serve is because we were created to serve.
In China, some churches welcome new believers by saying, “Jesus now has a new pair of eyes to see with, new ears to listen with, new hands to help with, and a new heart to love others with.”
We need to be busy serving others, and thereby serving God!
We were created for it!
The little boy’s first grade teacher asked him, “What position does your older brother play on the football team?”
The boy thought for a moment and proudly answered, “I’m not real sure what it’s called, but I think he’s a drawback.”
Perhaps too many of us are willing to settle for that position in our jobs, in our churches, in our families, in our relationships. It’s not enough to just be on the team; we need to also find a position of valuable service.
Not only were we Created Unto Good Works
But we were...
B. Gifted for Good Works
B. Gifted for Good Works
God has gifted each and every one of us for the purpose of serving Him.
And in case you haven’t figured it out yet…we do that by serving each other, and serving those who are in need around us.
10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
You have a gift given to you…be a good steward of what God has given you and use it!
Think of the Parable of the Talents, you will find it just above our text here beginning in verse 14...
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
You have been gifted a talent or many talents…here in these verses it is dealing with a monetary value, but in our gifts we use the word talent that God has given us in it’s normal usage.
Are you using it, or are you burying it?
There is no greater gift you can give God than to use what God has given you to give back to Him!
It’s exciting to give a gift of somethign to our children, or someone else.
Especially a gift of something useful that can be used to bless others. Years ago we bought my wife a Cricket cutter, it cuts out shapes out of paper, or vinyl that can be used for projects or bulletin boards, etc. It’s exciting every time she gets that out and uses it to bless someone with a gift or a project. It’s even more exciting when she uses that gift to bless me!
What are you doing with your gifts?
May the hope we have of the coming of Christ motivate you to use your gifts to help those around us!
We serve the others, and there by serve the Lord because
We were created unto Good works
We serve the others because...
we were gifted for Good works
and then lastly this morning, we serve others because we are...
C. Provoked unto Good Works
C. Provoked unto Good Works
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
The author of Hebrews says, as we hold our faith with out wavering, we ought to consider one another (to think of one another) to provoke us to love and do good works.
We often are good at provoking one another…but the goal here is not to make someone else mad…but to be provoked to love others…and to do good to others.
When native converts of the island of Madagascar used to present themselves for baptism, it was often asked of them, “What first led you to think of becoming Christians?” The answer usually was that the changed conduct of others who had become Christians was what first arrested their attention.
“I knew this man to be a thief; that one was a drunkard; another was very cruel and unkind to his family. Now they are all changed. The thief is an honest man; the drunkard is sober and respectable; and the other is gentle and kind in his home. There must be something in a religion that can work such changes.” The converts would say.
there was a difference in their life because of Christ, their good works showed them to be sheep rather than goats.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I wonder if our lives would live up to the assumption that is made here in Matthew 25.
Does our lives show that we are His Sheep?
Are we feeding the hungry
Are we giving drink to the thirsty
Are we taking in the stranger
Are we clothing the naked
are we visiting the sick
are we coming to those in prison
We support ministries that do these things, but I wonder if we take the opportunity to do this for ourselves.
I recently received a call that the Fisher home is starting service back up in their home.
They asked if we would be interested in coming in once a week. I of course was hoping that someone could do that in our church, but I was hesitant to commit myself to doing this. I approached a couple of people…and it may be that the Lord lays upon your heart to take on this ministry, or at least help.
My hesitation was just that I feel pulled in every direction right now between family obligations, church needs, sermon preparation, a remodel around the corner, and just life in general.
As I was studying for this sermon the Lord brought this opportunity back to my mind.
That is the very heart of what we are talking about right here.
I could easily walk away from the Holy Spirit’s prodding my willingness and say but I am already doing a lot for you Lord!
But the truth is I need to be willing…even if someone else is able to help…I need to be willing to give of myself and allow God to fill in the gaps.
What about you?
What can you do to love, give, and serve in your life?
Can you visit someone in the hospital?
Can you visit someone in prison, The prison ministry is always looking for someone to go in and love those prisoners?
Can you give toward the deacon fund, so that we can help people within our church and community that need help?
Can you clean someones house, or clean a room in the church that needs some extra time and care?
Can you visit a widow, or maybe a fellow widow, who is struggling?
Could you stand outside on a community day, Like yesterday, and offer water, hot cocoa, a smile, a tract.
Could you help organize a community outreach to provide a snack in the church’s name to teams at the school.
Do you have a skill that can help others: building, technical services, baking, singing in the choir?
Could you put together Operation Christmas child boxes, where the gospel is sent along with Christmas gifts to devastatingly poor areas around the globe?
Could you reach out to the police in our area and let them know you are praying for them, and maybe bring them a snack?
Could you be a greeter, a nursery worker, just a smiling face as you act as a roaming greeter as you walk around and greet people in the sanctuary?
Could you take on the Coffee ministry and make it extra special for our guests and members?
Could you cook breakfast for the Men’s prayer breakfast, or organize a special meal/activity for the church members?
Could you bake communion bread for the deaconesses each month?
Could you regularly take photos and video around the church and at activities to use for advertising and promotions?
Could you watch for those who have not been to church in a while, and call them and encourage them…not berate them for not being there…but encourage them?
Could you be available, and let the teachers know you are available to pick up kids who would come to Sunday School, but don’t have a ride?
There are so many other opportunities that could present themselves for us to Love people around us, if we would just open our hearts, and pray, “Lord show me what you want me to do to serve the people around me.”
What great hope we have in Christ!
Because of this small babe, that was born int hat manger so many years ago, we have the hope of the coming Kingdom of God where:
righteousness will rule
Peace will reign
and Christ will be our King!
Because we have this hope - may it motivate us to look out side of ourselves and serve others around us.