Who are you Fooling?
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Who are you Fooling?
Who are you Fooling?
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Intro:
The thing I want to look at this morning is the stark contrast between......
Hypocrisy and Sincerity.....
Sincerity is.......
.....the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy.
(pause)
In Dr. Thurman’s book that we are studying in our midweek CFG classes, chapter 3 talks about how deception is used as a defense mechanism.
And Dr. Thurman suggests that....
“Hypocrisy is taken away from the disinherited as a defense mechanism when sincerity and genuiness shows up!”
(pause)
Dr. Thurman goes on to say that,
“Unwavering sincerity says that humanity should always recognize the fact that he or she lives always in the presence of God, always under Divine scrutiny, and there is no really significant living for humanity, whatever may be their status until they have turned and faced divine scrutiny!”
Barrel:
I can remember on several occasions as a youngster travelling with my grandfather to destinations that I would call “Least of these moments”
Waking up to the unfamiliar smells of homelessness sitting next to you in the pickup truck because someone was just picked up off the side of the road.
Riding up to the house of a widow who is stricken with poverty, and doing work around her house for several hours out of the day.
(pause)
And I promise you that whenever you arrive in one of these situations...
......it is because you sincerely wanted to be there!
And what it taught me is that.......
this same man that I call Grandaddy that sits in board rooms with other Bishops, and Governors
never forgot that......
the everyday life that he lives is being lived under the Divine scrutiny of God
(pause and shift)
In today’s text we are overhearing the conversation of the King in the context of the Lord’s return!
And locked into the syllables and sentences of this conversation.....
The King is communicating this contrast and comparison between two groups of people.
And according to the text the first group of people are called sheep that are on his right hand....
And the King says that this group is blessed, and then in verse 35 and 36 we are given the reason why!
Look at it now.....
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
The King says,
the reason I am granting you this invitation to receive your inheritance is because of the way that you have treated me!
(pause)
And here’s the first thing that we notice immediately....
The King has described several moments that are not connected to the life of a King......
He has described conditions of......
hunger
thirst
nakedness
sickness
imprisonment
being a stranger
And the significance here is that the King is,
identifying himself with afflicted people...
And just in case I have failed to mention it......
This King that is talking is Jesus..........
(longer pause)
And so the quandary arises.....
Why is Jesus identifying himself with afflicted people.....
And the reason is that not only is Jesus a poor, palenstinian Jew
But he also has.......
Real Sincere Compassion for them.......
(pause)
The King is not interested in using his status to seperate.........
The KIng is submitting himself to the condition of the afflicted.......
(pause)
And according to the text Jesus says to this group on his right......
You fed me....
You gave me something to drink.....
You welcomed me......
You gave me clothes to put on......
You took care of me.......
You visited me when I was imprisoned......
(pause)
And in verse 37, this group of people that Jesus has placed over to his right asked him a question.....
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
And for me it’s these first 8 words of their statement that reminded me of the Divine Scrutiny of God that a lot of times we don’t know is taking place in our lives.......
They said,
“Lord..........
.....when was it that we saw you”
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination.....
I believe that the whole time they are trying to figure out when they were in God’s presence........
.......their minds are also understanding that if we saw God,
that means God saw us...
And that’s when they get into the details of their question........
When did we see a King being hungry?
When did we see our Jesus thristy?
When did we see a King needing to be taken care of?
When did we see a naked Jesus that needed someone to welcome him?
(pause)
And Jesus we definetely don’t remember......
Feeding you and giving you something to drink
And taking care of you and giving you something to wear
(pause)
Now here’s what you got to understand........
Any ethical Jew reading these deeds that Jesus is listing would say that these are the STANDARD for any religious Jew.
So it is not so much the fact that these actions are being taken......
But the dificult thing for them to understand is how these ethical actions that are standard end up falling into the life of a KING.........
(pause)
And so the King clarifies it for them in verse 40.....
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
The text says......
“As you did it to one of the least of these......”
So......
It’s not how you treated those who looked like you.....
It’s not how you trreated those who you deserved your help.......
But......
As you did what you were doing to the least of these........
.......you did it to me!”
The way you looked at them
The way you talked to them
The way you TREATED them
As you were doing it......
.......it was happening to me!
(pause)
Now for this group.........
The King says,
I can’t find nothing wrong with how YOU DID IT!
As a matter of fact........
I am so pleased with how you treated “The least of these”
.........that I’m going to Bless you!
(pause)
But then in verse 41 the King turns to the other group on his left and says........
Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
In other words......
Get out of my sight.........
And as a matter of fact,
Go to the Hell that I prepared for the devil and his helpers.......
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination what I hear the King saying is.....
When you refused to help me..........
You were actually helping the devil!
(pause)
Because when I needed you to help me...........
When I needed something to eat....
When I needed something to drink.....
When I was a stranger and naked.......
When I was sick and in prison........
(pause)
You.........
Did.......
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING..........
(pause)
And in verse 44 the text says that they are going to ask the same question as the first group....
Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’
“Lord.......
......when was it that
.....we saw you?”
(pause)
Lord we couldn’t have saw you.......
I know we didn’t see you hungry
I know we didnt see you thirsty
I know we didn’t see you as a stranger or naked
I know we didn’t see you in prison
Lord.....
There aint no way we saw you in need, and didn’t take care of you!
And in my Spiritual imagination I hear God saying......
Who are you FOOLING......?
All of humanity is under the Divine Scrutiny of God.........
.......and you might Fool others
.......and you might even Fool yourself
But.......
......you can never FOOL a God who identifies with the LEAST of these...
The....
Breonna Taylors
George Floyds
Trayvon Martins
Atatiana Jeffersons
Tamir Rices
Michael Browns
Eric Garners
(pause)
But God I didn’t do anything to any of the names on that list.......
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I hear God saying......
That aint the whole list.........
Don’t miss my point.........
(pause)
I’m trying to get you to see that.........
........I am concerned about the LEAST of these
.........and when you MISTREAT the least of these
It is as if you have DONE IT TO ME!!!
When you OVERLOOKED the dispossesed......
When you Left out the disinherited......
Jesus says.......
You OVERLOOKED me.........and LEFT ME OUT!!!
(pause)
And Freedom family....
I just wonder if we will ever get to a place where every Believer in Jesus Christ will do like David did in Psalms 139 and say......
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
And here’s my challenge to us FREEDOM.......
Let’s not FOOL ourselves trying to be something or be somewhere.......
........only to find God saying
I was looking for you to be standing on the side of RIGTHEOUSNESS
But I couldn’t FIND YOU!!!!
(pause)
And I don’t know about you.........
.......but I started this sermon out by telling you that
.........I was taught by one of the BEST!!!!
And I know better..........
I know what it looks like....
I know what it sounds like.....
I know what it smells like.........
I even know how it moves........
(pause)
And that’s what God is looking for Freedom......
God is looking for some UNWAVERING SINCERITY........
.......that’s completely finished trying to play the FOOL!!!!
(pause)
And I wish I had about 30 folk watching me right now who would just shout at the screen.....
“I’m DONE.........playing the FOOL!”
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or where shall I flee from thy presence?
(slight pause)
“If I ascend up into the heaven, thou art there
If i make my bed in hell, behold thou are there
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me
even the night shall be light about me!