IDEA: Ministry to those in need is an expression of our faith.
TEXT: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting 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 no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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 everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:31-46).
PURPOSE: To show listeners that Jesus is not setting up a works-righteousness, but a faith-righteousness which shows itself in works.
When you read Matthew 25:31-46, doesn't it sound at first as though Jesus is telling us that good works are what relate us to God?
Since we know that other passages in Scripture tell us that we are related to God by faith, and faith alone, how do we respond to this?
I. What is it that keeps us from sharing what we have with other people?
When you leave a tip at a restaurant, why do you leave it? People often approach giving that way.
We feel that what we have is ours, and what we give is simply an act of generosity on our part.
We don't feel any obligation to the other person.
We keep what we have because it provides a deep sense of security for us.
II. How we give reflects our faith.
In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus tells us two things:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up treasures in heaven.
You cannot serve God and money.
How we respond to Jesus' commands is a matter of faith.
Matthew 6:25-34 makes a promise that if we will put God's interests first, He will supply what we need.
God is interested in those brothers and sisters who hurt. One way we put treasure in heaven is by trusting God to supply our need as we help supply the needs of others.
III. What Jesus is saying in Matthew 25 grows out of what He has already said in Matthew 6. It's only as you trust God to supply for you that you will willingly supply for others.