MAKE IT YOUR PROBLEM

Have you ever thought about what your final words would be before you die?
Often in movies the climax is when someone is uttering something with their last breath.
We hear lines like, “His last words where of you” or like in the movie Braveheart... What was the last thing William Wallace shouted before he died? FREEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!

These last breath scenes are often so intense! Why?
Because the last words of a person that are very significant, and precious, and important and even revolutionary to almost everyone on this planet.

Now these scenes are great for movies but it’s not so in real life is it?
We don’t have great lighting with some great soundtrack playing in the background that romanticise these moments.

The passage this sermon focuses on has not been romanticised but it was intense.

We encounter Jesus, not speaking for the last time on earth, but we meet Jesus teaching us for last time before He gets crucified.
Chapter 25 is Jesus’ final lesson and He finishes with a strong declaration.
He is teaching on the Mount of Olives and he is teaching about the future.

Matthew 25: 1-13 and Matthew 25: 14-30 are parables that teach about Jesus’ return but the third part of this reading is not a parable.
Jesus knows He’s time is up - so this is straight-talk - Jesus is bottom-lining His ministry for the Disciples and for us.

Matthew 25:31-46: The Sheep and the Goats
31) “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32) All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33) He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34) “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation 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 invited me in,
36) 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.’

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 invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39) When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40) “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41) “Then he 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.
42) For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43) 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.’

44) “They also will answer, ‘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?’
45) “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46) “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ”

Ask yourself this question: Do I fall into the sheep or the goat category?

When we read passages like this, it’s easy for us to become the heroes in the story and simply skip over the challenging parts and leave unchallenged.

So let’s to a self-assessment quickly:
Are you a sheep or are you a goat? (Answer Y/N to the following)

Do I...
Feed the hungry?
Quench the thirst of the Thirsty?
Invite strangers in?
Clothe the naked?
Care for the sick?
Care for the imprisoned?


But you might say, “I do my part. I tithe religiously, empowering the church to minister to those people in need.” There is nothing wrong with that and that is a deeply spiritual requirement of all of us, but is that the point? Are we not missing out on something greater?
The answer is YES! Why? Because it’s not enough to throw money at ministry – we need to get our Hands Dirty.

The reality is this: We live in a broken world and God wants to reveal Himself and heal this brokenness. God wants to heal his people and He needs us to be part of the healing process.

We might also say, “The passage speaks of people being righteous but it’s really tough to be righteous. I try my best but the more I try, the more I feel I fail. I constantly mess up!” Well that’s true for all of us. You are not alone.

And guess what, nor did the people in the Bible get it right all the time either.
Like Noah, for example:
He was a man of great faith!
He went up against all odds and built a boat-on-steroids in the desert, just because God said it was going to rain. As we know, the rains came and whole earth was flooded. And when it all ended, Noah got off the boat and got drunk and naked. Mmm... We don’t hear that preached.

And if we look deeper at the character in the Bible we see that every one of the heroes also found it tough to be righteous. Look at David for example; the mighty giant slayer and warrior king - but also an adulterer and murderer. But God still used him.

What about Jesus disciples? They did constantly not understand what Jesus was doing or teaching and Jesus kept on telling them they were lacking in faith. But Jesus never told them to take a hike – He used them.

And finally, look who Jesus associated with in his journeys; Tax collectors, demon-possessed people, prostitutes, cripples, and all others that society cast out. But Jesus called them friends.

But this is the GOOD NEWS – God still chooses to use ordinary people like us to do great things.
God uses US! COOL!

So we need to ask ourselves... who are the...
Hungry
Thirsty
Stranger
Naked
Sick
Prison
We can look at these words and already point out where to find these people. And we know we should be doing something to help them, but the request doesn’t end there. It’s not only about feeding the hungry beggar on the side of the road or visiting people in prison. It’s more than that...

If you look at these words, have you ever fallen into one of the categories? Of course you have.

Looking at this spiritually:

Have you ever been...?
Hungry for God and his answers?
Thirsty for God’s peace, hope, refreshment?
A Stranger feeling lonely, abandoned, isolated and you longing to belong?
Felt Naked - Exposed, vulnerable, unsafe, ashamed and you needed to feel covered up, protected, reassured?
Sick with sin, worry, or fear?
In Prison - trapped in bondage, sin, guilt, or in situation?
And through all this, you just wish there was someone out there to help you.

Can you relate? I can.

These words in Chapter 25 are Jesus’ Last words of you and for you!
Why ‘of you’?
Because it is for someone to minister to you.
Why ‘for you’?
Because it is for you then to minister to someone else.

God wants us, hard-to-live-righteously-us, to be the Jesus to one another.
In this broken world – there is healing: we need it and we are it.

So where do we start? With ourselves!
We must stop acting like we have got everything sorted out when our own lives are falling apart.
James 5:16. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed….”

To find healing in our lives we need to find someone in our lives that we can talk to about the stuff we are struggling with. The promise is there in James that when we confess to one another we will be healed. Confession does not mean only sin but it about talking about anything that is troubling you.

Last year a friend and I would meet once a week on Monday nights where we would pour out our hearts to one another. We would share intimate parts of our lives in the areas that we were struggling with. Taking this passage in James seriously saved me from a nervous breakdown and saved my friends marriage.

Something powerful happens when we simply do what God asks us to.

I visited an old man and his family last year in one of the township I used to minister in. They were all very sick and had been for months. When I walked into their house the whole atmosphere changed. I visited and prayed with them and nothing out of the ordinary happened, or so I thought. When I left, the old man said to me, “Tata (father), my God has visited my house today.”

Why is this all this so important?
In our reading, Jesus describes the King as presenting himself in the neediest way and in the neediest places. Where there is brokenness – there is Jesus! That’s where God wants to bring healing.

That is not simply a beggar, or offender, or sick person you meet. Inside that person is the Holy Spirit. Inside that person who is hungry, and thirsty, and naked, is Jesus!

Our journey is half complete is people see Jesus in us but we fail to see Jesus in them.


Looking at this literally:
He says’
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 invited me in,
36) 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.’

Jesus is revealing to us that we do not need to be super spiritual to be part of His healing work.
Jesus makes it so easy, so basic, to be part of building His Kingdom. Simply Be Active He says! Literally, give someone food, drink, clothes, etc.

By you simply doing that, God works powerfully through you to that person.
You may only see yourself feeding another human being, but the Spirit who is in you is meeting the need of the person spirit you are face to face with. Simply because you literally did what Christ asked you to do!

You have all you need to do this. You have the Holy Spirit who lives in you and he knows what’s best.
We are the hands and feet for Jesus and He gives us a mission. He says, “Make it your problem”.

Conclusion:
My friends – It's time to be healed and to be healers.
Its time to:
Feed and be fed,
Quench and be quenched,
Invite and be invited,
Clothe and be clothed,
Care and be cared for,
Free and be freed.

The people with Christ’s heart, hands and feet are those people who follow him.

The last word of Jesus is clear. Will you make it your problem?