CHRIST CREATIVE BAPTIST CHURCH
A SERMON PREACHED ON SUNDAY
MARCH 8, 1998
BY
THE REV. DR. GEORGE ST. ANTHONY FERGUSON, SR.
AUTHOR: Matthew
THEME: Jesus Christ, the King of Glory
DATE: 55 AD
TEXT: Matthew 25:40
The two most important commands that we as Christians must obey are to love God and to love our neighbors. Jesus said you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength. Jesus said you shall love your neighbor just like you love yourself. The most important thing in life is to love someone. Paul said owe no man nothing but to love him. John said God is love. John said how can you love God who you have not seen and hate your brother who you see everyday. Paul said now abides these three: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love. Jesus said God so loved the world… But the love that God loves us with is not romantic love. It is not sexual love. It is not hot buttered soul love. It is love expressed by action. It is love expressed by doing. It is loved expressed by His will. Love is not just a feeling, it is also an act of your will. Love is what you do in life. And the most important way we express our love for one another is how we treat one another. It is how we talk to one another. It is how we meet the needs of one another. God’s love for us was not romantic. It was love put into action. God gave to meet our needs. God gave the very best; Jesus. And so on this Second Sunday, the Lord told me to preach on the topic: Meeting The Needs Of Others.
God has brought us the 25th chapter of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew was a CPA who worked for the Roman IRS as a tax collector and private business man. Matthew was a wealthy man. Matthew became a disciple of Christ. Matthew ministered in Jerusalem, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Matthew was the pastor of a Jewish Christian community church who believed that Jesus Christ was the Jewish Messiah. Matthew was written to appeal to the Jewish mind. And to this community of believers, Matthew told that Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews. Matthew introduced Jesus as the King. Matthew told them the principles of Jesus the King. Matthew told them the authority of the King to heal the sick and raise the dead. Matthew told them the King was rejected by his own people. Matthew told them the two comings of the King as first a servant and than as a conquering King. Matthew told them the ministry of the rejected King. Matthew told them the King will come back. And here in chapter 25, Matthew tells them the judgment of individual Gentiles. We are at the end of what us scholars call the Olivet Discourse. Jesus was on the Mount of Olives and he is telling his disciples what will be the signs of his coming. He said to watch out for false prophets. He said to watch for wars and rumors of wars. He said to watch for famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. He said to watch for false deceivers. He said many believers will be offended and some will fall away. He said but they that endure unto the end shall be saved. He told the parable of the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins to be ready for the return of the Lord. He told the parable of the talents to use what you have to the glory of God. And beginning in V31, Jesus tells us how the judgment of the Gentiles will occur when he comes back to earth after the Tribulation to set up his Kingdom. In V31, Jesus said, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." My first point is this: Jesus Christ is the King of Glory. When Jesus comes back to earth at the end of the Seven Year Tribulation, he shall come in his glory. All the angels of God will be with him. He will sit down on his throne and he will be ready to judge the world. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people. He will separate the believers from the unbelievers. He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. He will separate the holy from the unholy. He will separate the wheat from the tares. He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep are the believers and the goats are the unbelievers. Jesus said he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. If I were you, I would not be a goat. I would not be a Billy goat. I would not want to be on the left hand side of Jesus. Jesus will put the believers to the right and he will put the unbelievers to the left. Jesus will come in his glory and separate the people. What is the glory of Jesus? His glory is the Holy Spirit. His glory is the clouds of heaven. His glory is the power of God. His glory is the anointing of God. And if I were you, I would praise God in his glory
GIVE GOD THE GLORY
GIVE GOD THE PRAISE
GIVE GOD THE MAJESTY
GIVE GOD THE DOMINION
GIVE GOD THE POWER
Jesus Christ is the God of Glory. Can I get a witness? We Need To Meet The Needs Of Others.
The glory of Jesus is the Shekina Glory of God that overpowered Moses and Aaron as they tried to minister in the Tabernacle. The glory of Jesus is the Shekina Glory of God that caused Peter, James and John to tremble on the Mount of Transfiguration. The glory of Jesus is the Shekina Glory of God that cause the guards to fall down in the Garden of Gesiminee when then came to arrest Jesus. The glory of Jesus is the Shekina Glory of God that caused the guards to fall down like dead men when Jesus was resurrected from the dead. The glory of Jesus is the Shekina Glory of God that took Jesus up to heaven in clouds of glory. The glory of Jesus is the Shekina Glory of God that Jesus will be on when he returns to judge the living and the dead. And the Shekina Glory of God is what Jesus is talking about when he talks about coming back in his glory. Jesus will not come back as a little baby in a manger. Jesus will not come back as a little boy in Nazareth. Jesus will not come back as a meek and lowly savior. Jesus will come back as a Conquering King. And as a Conquering King and Righteous Judge, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. In the cattle industry, a goat called the Judas goat leads the sheep to the slaughter by making them think he is leading them to green grass and still waters; but in the end he betrays them. A goat is known for its destructive nature. In sports, a goat is the player who makes a fatal mistake. My father in law had an old goat named George and that goat would butt you and try to knock you down. But notice that the sheep are on the right hand of Jesus. The right hand symbolizes the power of God. The right symbolizes the blessing of God. The right symbolizes being in right standing with God. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. David says God upholds us with His strong right hand. You need to keep your hands in God’s hand. In V34 Jesus said, "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." My second point is this: If You Belong To Jesus, You Are Blessed Of God. After Jesus separated the sheep from the goats, he said come. When Jesus says come, you better come. When Jesus says come, you better go. When Jesus says come, he is inviting you into his Kingdom. Every time the doors of the Church are open, that is Jesus telling you to come into his Kingdom. Every time somebody witnesses to you about Jesus, that is Jesus telling you to come into his Kingdom. Every time we eat and drink the Lord’s Supper, that is Jesus telling you to come into his Kingdom. If you are not a believer, Jesus is telling you to come into his Kingdom for the first time. If you are a believer, Jesus is telling you to come deeper into his Kingdom. And the last thing Jesus tells us in the Book of Revelation is to Come into his Kingdom. The Holy Spirit says come. The Church says come. Jesus himself says come. And in the day of judgment, Jesus will tell his believers come. Believers will go into the Kingdom of God because they are blessed of God. That’s what Jesus called believers in V34. Jesus called us blessed of my Father. We are blessed of God. And when you are blessed of God, you will receive your inheritance. You will not receive my inheritance. I will not receive your inheritance. We will all receive the inheritance God had designed just for us. Jesus will look at us and say, Well done thy good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a few things now let me make you ruler over plenty. Enter into the joy of the Lord. If you are faithful unto death, Jesus will give you your crowns. If you are faithful unto death, Jesus will give you your rewards. If you are faithful unto death, Jesus will give you the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is not something that God just designed in the last few years. This Kingdom is not something that God will design at the end of the world. This Kingdom is something God designed before the foundations of the world. This Kingdom is something God designed since the creation of the world. This is the Kingdom of God that Adam and Eve lived in called Garden of Eden. This is the Kingdom of God that we call Paradise. This is the Kingdom of God that we call heaven. Heaven is where I want to be. And what will be the basis for Tribulation saints to get into heaven? What will be the basis for those of us who believe in Jesus today to be leaders in heaven tomorrow? In VV35-36 Jesus says, "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." Now let me slow this sermon down because I don’t want you to miss this. Jesus said in addition to believing in me, you need to do something for me. In other words, belief in Jesus as your Savior is just the beginning. You need to put some action behind the belief in Jesus if Jesus is going to be your Lord. James said faith without works is dead. Faith without corresponding action is dead. Jesus said the reason you will enter his Kingdom is because you believed in him. But the reason you will be rewarded highly in his Kingdom is because you served him and helped the needy. Jesus is the best example of that. Jesus served his Father. Jesus met the needs of people. Jesus met the needs of others. Our main purpose in life is to praise God and meet the needs of others. That’s what Jesus meant by loving God and loving others. Our main purpose in life as Christians is to praise God and meet the needs of others. Jesus said, they shall know that we are Christians by our love. Love is not a feeling, it is an act of your will. Love is direct involvement and action in somebody’s life. I don’t think you hear me this morning. But Jesus said these are the signs of Christian love and compassion. First Jesus said to have mercy on the hungry. Hungry people need food to eat. Second Jesus said to have mercy on the thirsty. Thirsty people need water to drink. Third Jesus said to have mercy on the stranger, Strangers need to be invited in the house. Fourth, Jesus said to have mercy on the naked. Naked people need clothes to wear. Fifth, Jesus said to have mercy on the sick. Sick people need to be looked after. Finally, Jesus said to have mercy on the prisoner. Prisoners need to be visited in jail. I don’t want Jesus to make me feel like a goat because I did not meet the needs of others. I’m going to meet the needs no matter how little I have. Jesus said,
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 INVITED ME IN
I NEEDED CLOTHES AND YOU CLOTHED ME
I WAS SICK AND YOU LOOKED AFTER ME
I WAS IN PRISON AND YOU CAME TO VISIT ME
We need to have a needs based ministry. Am I right about it? We Must Meet The Needs Of Others.
Now notice in V37 that the righteous believers will be totally dumbfounded. They will answer him and say, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in? When did we see you needing clothes and clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? Isn’t that a great. When you are deeply involved in ministry, you don’t notice that you are ministering to Jesus. When you are deeply involved in ministry, you don’t notice that you are serving Jesus. That person you gave some food to is made in the image of God and could be Jesus. That person you gave some water to is made in the image of God and could be Jesus. That person you took into your home is made in the image of God and could be Jesus. That person you put some clothes on is made in the image of God and could be Jesus. That person you visited in the hospital is made in the image of God and could be Jesus. That person you saw in prison is made in the image of God and could be Jesus. You don’t know who you are talking to so that why you ought to love everybody and treat everybody right. The song says the Holy Spirit will make you love everybody and treat everybody right. The writers of Hebrews told us we might be entertaining angels unaware. You might be talking to the next Billy Graham. You might be teaching the one who discovers the cure for AIDS. You might be preaching to the next president of the United States. You might be touching the next winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. You might be in contact with the person who will meet your needs in the future. But everybody was created in the image of God. We theologians call that the "Imago Deo." We were created in the Imago Deo. We were created with the impremato of God on us. We were created with the stamp of God on us. We were created in the image of God. The old folks use to say, God don’t make no junk. In God’s eyes there are no throw away people, no throw away children, no throw away teenagers, and no throw away adults. Jesus loves the little children… Jesus loves me this… Jesus loves even you. Jesus loves even me. No matter how low you go, God can reach you. David said if I make my bed in hell, God you are there. Jonah went into the belly of the great fish and came back to let us know that God can bring you back from the deep blue sea. Jesus went to the pit of hell to preach and rose from the dead to let us know that not even hell, death, and the grave can keep God from reaching you. Be careful how you treat people on your way up because you might meet them on your way down. You would be surprised how many times you thought something meant nothing in your life but it was God himself testing you. It is only in the doing that you are just like Jesus. For too long the Church has erroneously preached that it does not matter what you do so long as you believe the right things. But Christ Creative, I came by to tell you the truth today. God not only wants to believe right. But God also wants you to do right. That’s why you hear me say may the Lord add a blessing to the reading, hearing, and DOING of His most holy Word. James the half brother of Jesus knew that the key to spiritual and numerical growth in any Church was in the hearing and doing of the Word. James said But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. You are deceiving yourself if you think that all you have to do is have the right faith and believe the right things. God also wants to see what you do. Only what you do for Christ will last. And this is the haunting question before Christ Creative. What are you going to do to make this Church grow? If you don’t what this Church to grow, you will do nothing. But if you want this Church to grow, you will do something. The question is this, do you as an individual wants this Church to grow? I want it to grow! God wants it to grow! Jesus wants it to grow! But what about you? Jesus said that will be his witness where we live and throughout the world. The reason to witness is to win souls for Jesus and to grow his Church. Jesus said to baptize them in the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit and teach them to observe everything I told you. The reason you baptize is raise disciples and to grow his Church. You need to be doing something to grow this church period. Us four and no more ain’t gonna cut it with Jesus and it doesn’t cut it with me. Jesus in V40 said, "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.’" My final point is this: We Need To Serve The Least, The Last, And The Lost If We Are Going To Grow This Church. Jesus is the King and he is saying I tell you the truth, whatever you do for one of the least of these my brothers, you did unto me. There are two aspects to the ministry of Christ. First you must tell people that Jesus can save them. But second you need to meet the needs of people. When you feed the hungry and clothe the naked you are doing the second aspect of the ministry of Jesus. Conservative Christians only want to focus on salvation. Liberal Christians only want to focus on meeting needs. But Jesus did both. And Christ Creative, you will never come into your greatness unless and until you evangelize and meet individual needs. Somebody is going to hell, what are you doing about it? Somebody is hungry, what are you doing about it? Somebody is thirsty, what are you doing about it? Somebody is in the hospital, what are you doing about it? Somebody is in jail, what are you doing about it? Your faith in Jesus has to be mixed with your action for mankind. James said:
WHAT DOES IT PROFIT IF A MAN SAYS HE HAS FAITH AND NOT WORKS?
WHAT GOOD IS IT IF A MAN CLAIMS TO HAVE FAITH BUT NO DEEDS? CAN FAITH WITH NO ACTION SAVE HIM?
SHOW ME YOUR FAITH WITHOUT YOUR WORKS AND I WILL SHOW YOU MY FAITH BY MY WORKS
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD
ABRAHAM’S FAITH WAS DEMONSTRATED IN HIS WORKS, AND BY HIS WORKS HIS FAITH WAS MADE MATURE
BY WORKS A MAN IS JUSTIFIED AND NOT JUST BY FAITH ONLY
AS THE BODY WITHOUT THE SPIRIT IS DEAD, SO FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS ALSO DEAD
You must work in the Kingdom of God. Say amen. We Got To Meet The Need Of People.
Well, as I get ready to sit down, Jesus had a word to say to those who will not do anything for him. Jesus will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." I told you that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. And Jesus will say for I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. Then these unbelievers and unproductive people will ask, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?" And Jesus will say, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." And do you know that Jesus said then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life. Now you can either go to be with Jesus or you can go to be with Satan. You can either to up or you can go down. You can either go to heaven or you can go to hell. The choice is yours. And I don’t know about you, but I want to go to heaven. But in order to get to heaven and get rewards, I need to do two things. I needed to be saved from my sin and I need to serve God by meeting the needs of others. I need to give God the glory and meet the needs of others. I need to love the Lord and meet the needs of others. I need to praise the Lord and meet the needs of others. That’s why we need to be members of the SHARE program to feed people. That’s why we need to do Operation Multiplication to save people. We need to meet the needs of others. Preachers need to meet the needs. Deacons need to meet the needs. Trustees need to meet the needs. All of us need to meet the needs. James said if you see me hungry don’t just say God bless you or I’ll pray for you. No, take me down to IHOP or McDonalds and get me something to eat. Then tell me about Jesus. If we live for Jesus and we calm to serve the cause of Christ then we can’t help but meet the needs of the people. And Jesus met the needs of others. Jesus died… Jesus forgave sins. Jesus saved lost souls. Jesus fed the 4,000. Jesus fed the 5,000. Jesus healed the sick. Jesus raised the dead. Jesus opened blind eyes. Jesus makes a way out of no way. Jesus is a bridge over troubled waters. Jesus is bread in a starving land. Jesus is water in a thirsty land. Jesus said I am the bread of life. Jesus said I am the rivers of living waters. If you’re hungry, feed on Jesus. If you’re thirsty, drink in Jesus. David said O taste and see that the Lord He is good. David said I’ve been young and now I’m old and I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. David said the Lord is my light… David said the Lord is the strength of my life… David said the Lord is my shepherd… And Christ Creative I just want to ask you one question, "Are you going to meet the needs of our church and community?"
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