Participants: Jason Sliger
Series Code: 16GYC
Program Code: 16GYC000015A
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00:34 Good evening, everyone.
00:36 I trust that the Lord has blessed you today, amen? 00:40 The Word of God says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good." 00:45 And I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, tonight, 00:48 I have never tasted and I have never seen 00:51 anything better than God. 00:54 In my personal time of developing the presentations 00:58 for GYC, it has been a special time that I've had 01:03 together with the Lord. 01:05 And I covet this same experience for each one of you. 01:10 I believe that the Lord has another blessing 01:12 for us here this evening. 01:14 And I have made the decision that the Sabbath is going to end 01:18 when I'm done preaching. 01:20 Is that okay? 01:22 We're going to linger. 01:23 I know the sun has set, but we're going to linger 01:26 on that beautiful blessing that God has given 01:28 to us on the Sabbath. 01:29 Would you bow your heads with me as we begin this evening 01:32 with a brief word of prayer? 01:41 Merciful God and ever loving Father, 01:47 we come to you tonight with a desire in our hearts 01:53 to hear a message from You. 01:57 Lord, we have our Bibles in our hands and we have minds that are 02:02 willing to hear the Holy Spirit speak to us tonight. 02:08 So Lord, send the presence of Your Spirit here, I pray. 02:13 And may we be blessed as we linger in Your presence. 02:18 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 02:26 How is the subject of the judgment relevant to a 02:31 GYC attendee tomorrow? 02:35 They get in their car, they get on a plane, 02:38 and travel back home. 02:42 How is the subject of the investigative judgment 02:47 relevant to you on Monday when you go back to school 02:52 or work, or whatever it is that you start on Monday? 02:57 How is the subject of the judgment relevant to you 03:01 when you go about your business around town 03:06 or taking care of various tasks in your daily life? 03:10 How is the judgment relevant in our everyday life? 03:14 Today, by God's grace, I want to share with you 03:19 something from the Bible that I believe will help us 03:22 to see the relevance of this subject today 03:27 in the time that we are living in. 03:28 Its practical application, if you will. 03:31 As I have studied this out in my personal preparation time, 03:36 this has been a subject that has challenged me to my core. 03:42 I pray that the challenge is the same for you. 03:45 The subject of passage that has been chosen for the theme of 03:48 this great convention, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, 03:53 again I repeat, the Bible says, 03:55 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: 03:57 Fear God, and keep his commandments: 03:59 for this is the whole duty of man. 04:01 For God shall bring every work into judgment, 04:04 with every secret thing, whether it be good, 04:07 or whether it be evil." 04:08 We're familiar with the passage. 04:11 And maybe passages like this perhaps leave you feeling 04:15 a little helpless and hopeless. 04:19 Maybe passages like this make you feel like you are 04:22 never going to make it into the kingdom of heaven. 04:26 The thought of your entire life in all of its hideous details 04:32 being reviewed by somebody, it makes you shudder 04:37 when you think about it. 04:39 Yet the fact still remains that the Bible tells us 04:42 there is a time of judgment. 04:45 And we are living in it right now. 04:47 I fear that for some of us, when we read passages such as this in 04:51 Ecclesiastes chapter 12, that when we think about it, 04:59 that we cross our fingers in hope that maybe we might 05:03 just happen to slide through and make it through 05:07 on the time of judgment. 05:09 That maybe we hope that if we do something good enough 05:12 that God will recognize that good deed 05:15 and will take it and allow us to make it through 05:18 on the time of judgment. 05:20 Now I'm here to tell you this evening 05:22 that the Word of God offers something better than luck. 05:27 That the Word of God offers something better 05:32 than just chance. 05:34 And I want to share with you a passage of scripture that has 05:37 spoken to my heart. 05:38 And I invite you to turn there with me if you would 05:41 to the book of 1 John 4, and we're going to look at verse 17. 05:49 1 John 4, and we're going to look at verse 17. 05:56 Beautiful passage of scripture here. 05:58 The Word of God says this: 06:04 "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have 06:10 boldness in the day of judgment: 06:14 because as he is, so are we in this world." 06:20 The question I want to ask you is, can I have boldness 06:25 in the day of judgment, yes or no? 06:27 There is no question about it. 06:29 The Word of God tells us that we don't have to cower 06:33 at the time of judgment, but that we can have boldness. 06:36 In fact, in the Greek it tends to give the idea 06:39 of cheerful courage in the time of the judgment, 06:43 or confidence in the time of judgment. 06:46 When our cases are brought in review before God 06:50 we can have hopeful expectation that by God's grace 06:55 working in and through us that we can be found 06:59 as conquerors in the eyes of God. 07:03 We can have boldness in the day of judgment. 07:08 Now the question then is, 07:10 how do I have boldness in the day of judgment? 07:12 This is a great question. 07:14 How can I have that cheerful expectation, 07:17 that cheerful courage, that confidence 07:20 on the day of judgment when I know that my records 07:22 are going to be reviewed? 07:24 How do I get that, preacher? 07:26 Well go back to the text with me, if you would. 07:28 And let's let it plainly speak to us this evening. 07:30 The Bible says, "Herein is our love made perfect, 07:34 that we may have boldness in the day of judgment." 07:38 Don't miss it, the Bible tells us that our boldness 07:41 in the day of judgment comes by having our love perfected. 07:52 So then the question is, how do I have my love perfected? 07:58 Let's just let the Bible continue to speak to us 08:00 here this evening. 08:01 In verse 12 of the same chapter, going up a few verses, 08:04 the Bible tells us this: 08:06 "No man hath seen God at any time. 08:09 If we love one another," listen to this, "God dwelleth in us, 08:16 and his love is..." What, everybody? 08:20 "...his perfected in us," the Bible says. 08:24 Don't miss it. How is our love perfected? 08:26 It is perfected when we allow God to give us love, 08:30 not just for Him, but for our fellow 08:33 brothers and sisters in Christ. 08:36 There's no question about it, the Bible is clear. 08:38 It is not necessary for us to be fearful in the time of judgment. 08:42 In fact, in this very chapter of 1 John 4, 08:45 John tells us that perfect love casts out... 08:49 Finish it for me. 08:51 All fear. 08:55 We can have boldness, confidence, 08:58 in the day of judgment when our cases are brought before God 09:02 if we have that perfected love for God and for one another. 09:07 Now I want to give you a snapshot of what this 09:09 looks like in the Bible. 09:10 You have your Bibles, so go with me if you would 09:12 to Matthew the 25th chapter. 09:15 Matthew the 25th chapter, and here we will see a snapshot 09:18 from our Savior Himself that He is going to give us 09:22 of what this perfected love, what this pure love, 09:26 what this divine love, what the love of Jesus looks like 09:31 in practical manifestation. 09:35 Again we're looking at, how can I have confidence 09:38 in the day of judgment? 09:40 By having my love perfected. 09:41 What does that look like? 09:43 Matthew chapter 25 and we're looking at verse 31. 09:48 We'll begin in verse 31. 09:49 The Bible says this: 09:51 "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, 09:55 and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit 09:59 upon the throne of his glory. 10:01 And before him shall be gathered all nations: 10:04 and he shall separate them one from another, 10:07 as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." 10:11 Verse 33, "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, 10:15 and the goats on his left." 10:18 When Christ comes there will be two groups. 10:21 There will be the converted and the unconverted. 10:23 There will be no middle ground. 10:26 Verse 34, "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, 10:34 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 10:39 prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'" 10:42 How many of you here tonight want to hear Jesus 10:45 say that to you, amen? 10:47 Lord Jesus, please let that be what you say to me. 10:52 "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 10:55 prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 10:57 Verse 35, "For..." 11:02 So He's giving the reason why they can inherit 11:07 the kingdom of God. 11:08 "'For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: 11:14 I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: 11:16 I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 11:18 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: 11:21 I was in prison, and ye came unto me.' 11:23 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, 11:26 'Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? 11:30 Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 11:31 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? 11:34 Or naked, and clothed thee? 11:35 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?' 11:40 And the King answered and said unto them, 11:42 'Verily I say unto you, insomuch as ye have done it unto 11:46 one of the least of these my brethren...'" 11:49 What does it say? 11:51 "...ye have done it unto me." 11:52 Now don't miss it. 11:53 Why do the righteous inherit the kingdom of heaven? 11:57 It is obvious that the righteous have done a lot of good things. 12:03 It is obvious that the righteous have done a lot of things right. 12:08 But when it all comes down to it, when Jesus boils it down, 12:12 He puts His finger on one reason. 12:16 And the reason that He points to is that they have ministered 12:22 to Him through ministering to the needs of those around them. 12:28 I would submit to you tonight that the overarching reason 12:32 is that they have had the character of Christ 12:36 perfected in their lives. 12:38 And that character of Christ is not just a theoretical thing, 12:42 but it is seen in the expression and the actions of their life; 12:47 how they help those around them. 12:56 Those who inherit the kingdom of God, 12:59 listen to me carefully, they do not have a theoretical religion. 13:04 It's not just here. 13:07 But it's in their life, it's how they live. 13:09 In the book of James, James chapter 1, the Bible tells us, 13:12 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father 13:16 is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, 13:23 and to keep himself unspotted from the world." 13:29 The religion of the righteous compels them 13:32 to works of benevolence; meeting the needs of those around them. 13:39 The word for, "love," in 1 John, the perfected love, 13:42 is the word, "agape." 13:44 You're familiar with it, you've heard it before. 13:46 But recently I've dug into this subject 13:50 that is very familiar to us. 13:52 And what I have found in my study of agape 13:54 has really been mind-blowing. 13:57 And this is what Jesus is describing here 13:59 in Matthew chapter 25. 14:00 He is describing in an example, in vivid terms, 14:05 what agape looks like. 14:08 You see, agape is not something that we as humans 14:12 see very often. 14:14 Human love is something that has to be reciprocated. 14:18 You give somebody love, they give love back to you. 14:21 And therefore, that love exists. 14:23 Often times when the other party ceases to love you, 14:27 that love begins to grow cold unless it is agape love. 14:31 Because agape love is a special kind of love that can 14:35 stand on its own without needing to be reciprocated to. 14:40 That's why Jesus was able to make statements such as this, 14:43 "Love your enemies." 14:47 Do your enemies reciprocate that love? 14:49 Absolutely not. But that's agape. 14:51 When you see the love of God, when you see the love of 14:55 God the Father, He loved the world so much, 14:58 He loved the world so much that it compelled Him 15:02 to do what He could to redeem fallen man. 15:05 And this is what Jesus is describing here 15:08 in Matthew chapter 25. 15:10 He is describing what agape looks like. 15:13 That God's people in the last days that are living in the 15:16 hour of God's judgment, they will be compelled 15:19 to works of charity because the character of Christ 15:22 is in them. 15:29 I love this statement from 9 Manuscript Releases, page 128. 15:34 Listen to it carefully. It's a one liner. 15:38 She says, "A loving, lovable Christian..." 15:42 What kind of Christian, everybody? 15:45 Now listen to me carefully. 15:47 It's one thing to be loving. 15:52 It's another thing to be lovable. 15:55 Come on now. Amen? 15:57 "A loving, lovable Christian," listen to this, 16:01 "is the most powerful argument in favor of the truth." 16:07 Let the people of God say amen. 16:10 "A loving, lovable Christian is the most powerful 16:14 argument in favor of the truth." 16:15 And I want to tell you tonight that the world is starving 16:19 for a manifestation of this today. 16:23 All around us the world is looking for a religion 16:27 that is not theoretical, but is experienced 16:30 in somebody's life. 16:32 That the knowledge that they have has taken such deep root 16:35 in their hearts that it becomes who they are and how they act. 16:40 It's befuddling to me that much of the charitable work 16:45 that is done in the world is done by Gentiles. 16:53 Kind of fits the story of the good Samaritan, 16:54 doesn't it, brothers and sisters? 16:57 And I praise the Lord for those, quote unquote, "Gentiles," 17:02 that are doing the work of benevolence. 17:05 I praise the Lord for their work to try to lift up humanity. 17:09 But shame on us. 17:14 The world is looking for a demonstration of the character 17:19 of Christ in His people. 17:21 The story goes on. 17:23 Verse 41, the Bible says this: 17:26 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, 17:30 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 17:33 prepared for the devil and his angels.'" 17:35 These people must have done something pretty bad. 17:39 Verse 42, "For..." Or because. 17:42 This is the reason why. 17:44 "'...I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: 17:47 I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 17:50 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: 17:53 naked, and ye clothed me not: 17:55 sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.' 17:58 Then shall they also answer him, saying, 18:01 'Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, 18:04 or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, 18:08 and did not minister unto thee?'" 18:09 It's almost like they said, "Lord, if we had known 18:12 it was You, that we would have done something." 18:20 Verse 45, then Jesus says, "Then shall he answer them, 18:24 saying, 'Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it not 18:29 to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.'" 18:35 And we want to hit the delete button on verse 46. 18:39 But we don't do that. 18:41 The Bible says, "And these shall go away into everlasting 18:45 punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." 18:52 That's a promise. 18:54 That is a promise. 18:56 Why did the goats lose out on heaven? 18:58 Notice that Jesus did not list all of the 19:00 bad things that they did. 19:01 Of course they did bad things. 19:03 But Jesus does not list those bad things that they have done. 19:07 What Jesus does is, He goes to the heart of the issue. 19:10 He doesn't talk about what they did. 19:14 He talks about what they did not do. 19:17 And He says, "This is the reason why. 19:20 Because those around you that were in need, 19:24 you did not reach out to them and help them." 19:28 Listen to this from the book, Desire of Ages. 19:30 This is Ellen White's commentary on this story. 19:33 The very beginning part of the chapter she says this: 19:36 "Thus Christ on the Mount of Olives pictured to His disciples 19:39 the scenes of the great judgment." 19:43 What is the scene here in Matthew 25? 19:45 The great judgment. 19:48 "And He represented..." 19:49 Don't miss this point. Listen to me carefully. 19:51 "And He represented its decision as turning upon one point." 20:00 Did you catch the significance of that? 20:03 "...turning upon one point. 20:05 When the nations are gathered before Him, 20:08 there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny 20:13 will be determined by what they have done or have neglected 20:17 to do for Him in the person of the poor and the suffering." 20:22 Tell me, brothers and sisters, this is important stuff here. 20:26 She's telling us that when it comes to the judgment, 20:29 it is hinging on this one thing here; 20:32 that those who minister to the poor or who do not minister 20:37 to the poor, it is hinging upon this point. 20:40 The implications of this parable are explosive. 20:44 The one point that the whole judgment turns on 20:47 is the point that will determine the destiny of 20:49 every person in the world. 20:51 It is how much I have cared for Christ in the person 20:55 of the suffering and the poor. 20:57 Simply put it is, have they had agape perfected in their hearts? 21:05 Have they had the character of Christ in their lives? 21:11 Listen, the righteous, what they did will reveal what they had. 21:19 And what they had is the character of Jesus. 21:24 And it was seen in what they did. 21:29 How many times have you walked past a homeless person 21:34 in your life, and maybe here while you were at GYC? 21:40 How often have you soothed your conscience with the thought, 21:44 "Well if I gave him some money to help him out, 21:46 he would probably just waste it anyways." 21:51 I remember not too long ago, 2015, when I was in 21:54 San Antonio, Texas for the General Conference session. 21:59 What a tremendous privilege it was to be there. 22:02 But in the area where I was staying while I was there, 22:05 there were a large number of homeless and downcast people. 22:10 I would drive past in my truck with all of the things 22:14 to keep me comfortable, and the food to keep me fed, 22:17 clothes to keep me warm. 22:19 And I would drive right past them, my heart would go out 22:22 in sympathy, but I did not lift so much as a finger 22:26 to relieve their suffering. 22:28 And as I walked past those poor, downcast people, 22:32 today I realize that I walked past Jesus, 22:39 and an opportunity to minister to Him 22:42 in the person of the poor. 22:45 When GYC comes to Houston, the homeless and the downtrodden 22:50 should know about it. 22:52 They should know that the people of God 22:54 have descended upon the city because of the expression 22:58 of Christ's character in their lives. 23:04 So I ask you this evening, 23:09 if your name was to come up in the judgment right now, 23:15 based on what Jesus has told us in Matthew 25 23:18 what would be the outcome? 23:20 Only you know. 23:23 But I think as uncomfortable as a question like that makes us, 23:26 it is worth us taking a moment to reflect upon that. 23:30 Because Jesus here is clearly outlining what it is 23:33 that He is looking for in His people when He comes back. 23:36 It's not the works, but it's His character inside of them 23:40 that is manifested in the works. 23:43 Don't misunderstand me here this evening. 23:47 We are not saved by our works. 23:49 We believe that we are saved by grace through faith. 23:54 But we all understand that the salvation that Christ 23:57 gives to us is manifested in the works of our life. 24:01 But to be perfectly honest with you here this evening, 24:03 sometimes I wonder if we wished that the judgment 24:07 would hinge on how much knowledge we have in our head. 24:11 Sometimes I wonder if we wished that the judgment 24:14 would hinge upon how much work we have done, 24:20 how many Bible studies we have given, 24:22 how much Scriptural knowledge we have in our head, 24:24 how many summers we have colporteured, 24:27 how many souls we have won to God. 24:29 Now don't get me wrong, brothers and sisters. 24:33 I'm not preaching a social gospel here. 24:36 I dedicated years of my life to public evangelism. 24:40 And I believe in that work. 24:43 It is important, it must be done. 24:45 God has given us a gospel commission. 24:47 But in Matthew 25, when Jesus separates the sheep and goats, 24:52 Jesus doesn't point to that. 24:54 He points to the manifestation of His character in His people 24:59 being revealed in the works that they have done 25:02 in helping the poor and the needy. 25:12 Too often I think... 25:15 ...that our church is kind of an "either/or." 25:19 We either do evangelism or we do community outreach. 25:26 And I don't think it should be an "either/or." 25:28 I think it should be a "both/and." 25:30 Amen? 25:32 And I think when we choose between one or the other 25:36 it weakens our witness. 25:39 If we take the two of them together, as Jesus did, 25:42 I believe that we would see results in our public evangelism 25:46 that are explosive. 25:49 When you look at Acts 2, all of those thousands of people 25:52 that were baptized in one day as a result of Peter's preaching 25:57 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, often times 26:00 Peter is the one that gets the credit for that. 26:02 But we know that harvest came from the seeds that were sown 26:07 by Jesus in His three and a half years of earthly ministry. 26:12 And that as those seeds were sown, they brought forth 26:15 a bountiful harvest when the Pentecost came 26:19 and the latter rain fell. 26:21 And brothers and sisters, how many seeds are we sowing 26:24 so that when the latter rain falls we can have an outpouring 26:28 of the Holy Spirit that will bring a bountiful harvest 26:31 to the glory of God? 26:34 Now is the time to be sowing those seeds. 26:38 Listen to this, That I May Know Him, page 334. 26:44 Listen carefully. 26:45 "When the cases of all come in review before God..." 26:49 That's the judgment. 26:51 "...the question, 'What did they profess?' is never asked, 26:59 but, 'What have they done?'" 27:02 Let me read that one more time. 27:04 "When the cases of all come in review before God, 27:06 the question, 'What did they profess?' is never asked, 27:09 but, 'What have they done?'" 27:11 And she clarifies what she means by, "What they have done." 27:13 "Have they been doers of the Word? 27:15 Have they lived for themselves or have they been exercised 27:19 in works of benevolence, in deeds of kindness, 27:22 in love preferring others before themselves, 27:26 and denying themselves that they might bless others?" 27:32 And here's the promise. I love promises. 27:35 "If..." "If..." 27:36 "If the record shows... self-denial and benevolence, 27:41 they will receive the blessed assurance 27:45 and benediction from Christ, 'Well done.'" 27:51 Amen. 27:53 If they have showed self-denial and benevolence, 27:58 that's what they will hear come from the lips of Jesus. 28:01 It's the character of Christ practically manifested 28:05 in the life of His people. 28:07 Now I don't want to dwell on this too much, 28:09 but I cannot skip over it. 28:10 The stakes are too high. 28:12 Jesus clearly tells us why it is what He says 28:18 to those who neglect the poor and needy. 28:20 He says to them, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, 28:23 into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 28:27 Those who find themselves in hellfire will find themselves 28:30 there for many reasons. 28:32 But Jesus puts His finger on one of those reasons. 28:34 And He says it's because they neglected to help those in need. 28:39 They were more concerned about themselves 28:43 than they were about other people. 28:45 And I want to tell you something tonight, brothers and sisters. 28:47 I think there will be some people in that group 28:48 that have a lot of sound theology in their heads. 28:54 But that sound theology didn't do much to change 28:56 the way they lived their lives. 29:00 On the other hand, why do the righteous 29:03 help the poor and the needy? 29:05 Why is it that they are willing to spend of their time 29:08 and their energy to relieve the suffering of humanity? 29:11 It is because Christ's character is in them 29:14 and they cannot do anything else but what Jesus did. 29:19 That's why. Simply put. 29:22 After all, didn't Jesus feed the hungry? 29:27 Didn't Jesus visit the sick? 29:29 Give water to the thirsty? 29:31 The gospels are full to overflowing with examples 29:36 of Jesus' life, examples of Jesus' acts of benevolence 29:41 and love to those that He ministered to. 29:46 We know from the gospels that Jesus spent more time 29:49 ministering to the needs of people than He did preaching. 29:54 Yet for some reason today we think we need to preach 29:56 to people more than we need to help them. 29:58 Lord have mercy on us. 30:01 What ever happened to following Christ's method alone 30:04 for true success, where the servant of the Lord tells us 30:12 that He mingled with them, 30:17 that He showed them sympathy, and that He ministered 30:21 to their needs and won their confidence. 30:24 And then He bade them, "Follow Me." 30:28 What ever happened to following Christ's method alone? 30:31 Listen, I have heard this quote so many times 30:34 in connection with soul winning. 30:36 But I've recently begun to think to myself, 30:38 do we really believe what that passage says 30:41 or are we only paying it lip service? 30:44 We like the idea of bidding people to follow Him, 30:47 but we don't spend much time, energy, and means 30:51 in the preparatory work. 30:54 We leave that to the little old ladies in our 30:56 church to take care of. 31:03 If some refugees moved into your town, 31:08 or enrolled into your school, would you go out of your way to 31:12 make friends with those people who are socially outcasts? 31:19 If a dirty homeless man showed up at your church 31:23 on a communion Sabbath, would you be the one that 31:27 walked up to him and said, "Hey, brother, can I wash your feet?" 31:34 Tonight I want to ask you a question. 31:38 As you leave GYC, can Jesus say of you, 31:46 "I was hungry, and Jason gave Me meat. 31:51 I was thirsty, and he gave Me drink. 31:55 I was a stranger, and he took Me in." 31:58 Oh we don't like that one. 31:59 We don't like strangers in our house. 32:02 "Naked, and he clothed Me. 32:04 I was sick, and he visited Me. 32:06 I was in prison, and he came unto Me." 32:09 I am certain that there are people in our great denomination 32:13 who Jesus could say this to. 32:16 I praise the Lord for those people. 32:18 Keep on working. 32:19 I know you're in the trenches and it's difficult. 32:21 It's a difficult work, but keep going forward. 32:25 Because this is the work that Jesus did. 32:28 And it will bring great harvests to our church one day. 32:35 However, I fear that this is not the majority. 32:38 There is a growing concern in my mind 32:42 that we as a people have come to believe that our entire work 32:48 is evangelism. 32:50 And I always have to qualify myself, 32:52 less somebody misunderstand me. 32:53 I believe in evangelism. 32:56 I do it in my churches. 32:58 I've dedicated my life to it. 33:00 I believe in evangelism. 33:06 However, brothers and sisters, the reality of it is this: 33:10 You can do evangelism and still be selfish. 33:16 You can do literature evangelism and still be selfish. 33:19 You'll be more effective if you're not. 33:23 But you can do it and still be selfish. 33:25 But I want to tell you something tonight. 33:27 What Jesus is telling us here in Matthew chapter 25, 33:30 this is a very difficult work to do selfishly. 33:38 If all that our work is is public evangelism, 33:41 and that is definitely an important part of it, 33:44 but if that is all we do, if that is where we stop 33:46 and we don't go where Jesus is taking us tonight, 33:49 then when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven 33:51 He will not be able to say to you, 33:53 "I was hungry, and you gave Me meat. 33:55 I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink." 33:57 Preaching the gospel is important, but never to the 34:00 detriment of meeting the needs of those around us. 34:04 And I believe firmly that if we take Jesus' example, 34:08 that we would see explosive results 34:10 in our public evangelism. 34:13 Does it bother you that there are people in your school 34:19 that nobody hangs out with? 34:21 What are you going to do about it? 34:23 Does it bother you that there are visitors who come 34:26 to your church and nobody invites them home 34:29 to have a fellowship meal afterwards? 34:31 What are you going to do about it? 34:32 Does it bother you that nobody goes and visits 34:35 the shut-in members in your church? 34:38 What are you going to do about it? 34:39 Does it bother you that your community service center 34:42 at church needs staffing? 34:44 What are you going to do about it? 34:46 Does it bother you that there are people in nursing homes 34:49 who have nobody that comes and visits them? 34:52 What are you going to do about it? 34:53 Does it bother you that you see homeless people 34:55 who are cold and miserable? 34:57 What are you going to do about it? 34:59 Does it bother you that there are elderly people 35:01 who have to bear the shoulder of hard work 35:04 that they shouldn't have to do in their old lives? 35:06 What are you going to do about it? 35:07 Does it bother you that there are people in your church 35:11 who are cold and unfriendly? 35:16 What are you going to do about it? 35:19 What are you going to do about it? 35:23 Listen to me carefully. 35:25 In the judgment, telling Jesus, "I was too busy," 35:32 is not going to cut it. 35:37 Telling Jesus, "I was too busy," is not going to cut it. 35:43 I want to tell you a story tonight in closing 35:46 that I believe illustrates this form of evangelism. 35:49 Because it is evangelism. 35:54 Dianna had been notified that she was going to 35:57 get a new patient. 36:00 Her name was Corky. 36:02 According to the notes, she needed intensive nursing care. 36:08 It said that Corky was non-compliant, combative, 36:12 maladjusted, unmanageable, and terminal. 36:16 Sounds like the patient everybody wants, right? 36:21 On the first visit to Corky's residence, 36:23 Mike answered the door. 36:27 He showed Dianna around the house, 36:30 how he was remodeling it for Corky. 36:32 He said, "I bought this place for her because 36:34 she always wanted to live next to the ocean. 36:38 And I'm going to put her right here in this room 36:40 where she can look out the window and be able to see." 36:46 Corky turned out to be just as difficult as her 36:48 medical history said she was. 36:51 She had a massive cantaloupe sized oozing sore 36:55 underneath one of her arms. 36:57 And her untreated cancer was causing her horrific pain. 37:04 She was uncooperative and angry. 37:09 Twice daily the nurses would come to minister to her needs. 37:13 Give her showers, dress her wounds, 37:16 take care of the house. 37:18 And Mike was there around the clock. 37:20 Day in, day out he was there helping Corky. 37:28 Helping her with her pain medication, 37:31 comforting her tenderly, urging her to eat and drink, 37:34 taking her pain medication. 37:36 And usually, abusive swearing was all the reward that 37:41 Mike would get for his work of tenderness and care. 37:48 Finally the inevitable day came, and Mike and Dianna 37:54 stood over the bed of Corky and watched her chest 37:58 raise up and go down for the last time. 38:03 And there she laid on the bed, still. 38:06 No signs of pain in her face any longer. 38:10 Peaceful. 38:15 Dianna looked over at Mike. 38:21 And this is what she says she saw. 38:27 "He stared at her silently. 38:30 Tears running down his cheeks and dripping off of his chin. 38:36 His suffering affected me more deeply than Corky's death. 38:41 Choking back sobs, I mumbled some sort of condolence, 38:46 and finished by saying that he had done more 38:49 than most husbands would have done under the circumstances, 38:54 and that she could not have doubted his love." 39:04 Mike looked at Dianna sharply, "Husband? 39:11 I'm not her husband. 39:13 I hardly knew her." 39:17 Seeing the expression of bewilderment in Dianna's face, 39:21 Mike went on, "She lived on the streets. 39:26 That's where I found her. 39:28 She didn't have anyone who cared about her. 39:32 I knew she was dying, and I bought this place 39:36 so that she would have somewhere to go. 39:39 If I hadn't taken care of her, who would have? 39:44 She had no one else." 39:47 That is Matthew 25. 39:51 That is what Jesus would have done. 39:56 And Dianna said when she looked into the face of Mike 39:59 she saw the face of Jesus. 40:04 There's no question about it, friends, 40:07 the work that Jesus has outlined for us here 40:08 in Matthew chapter 25 is a messy and difficult work. 40:15 There's no question about it. 40:17 It's a work that provides very little glory 40:21 to the one who performs it. 40:23 It's a work that is very hard to quantify its success. 40:27 There's no gauges or measures. 40:29 It's hard to come up with solid numbers 40:32 that reveal the success of this type of evangelism. 40:36 There's no way that you can really come up with a 40:39 fancy report that shows the success of meeting the needs 40:43 of those around you. 40:44 Because what I have found as I have begun to apply 40:47 this method of ministry in my life, 40:50 that as you go around helping those in need 40:52 you get very little credit. 40:54 In fact, 99% of the time you never see the person again. 41:01 But Jesus is not concerned with that. 41:04 He's still working with that person. 41:06 You are just part of that experience. 41:09 But He wants to use you to awaken in their hearts 41:13 that, yes, there are people who are Christians, 41:16 who are believers in God, that are willing to help 41:19 those who are in need. 41:21 And that seed will grow, it will germinate. 41:24 They will take it with them. 41:25 And when they are in the very depths of despair, 41:28 when they are in the gutter of sin, 41:30 that seed will germinate. 41:32 And the character of Christ reflected in your life 41:36 may bring that poor helpless soul to the cross of Jesus. 41:42 It didn't take a Bible study, 41:46 it just took being friendly, 41:48 and getting involved in the mess of their lives. 41:53 Maybe somebody else will do the Bible study later on. 41:56 Because God wants to lead His people in the truth as well. 42:04 Tonight, how many of you want to make the judgment 42:08 relevant in your life by reflecting 42:11 the ministry of Jesus? 42:14 If that's you desire, stand with me this evening. 42:18 Lord, tonight, the last day of 2016, 42:26 I want to make the judgment relevant by reflecting 42:31 the ministry of Jesus in my life in meeting the needs 42:35 of those around me. 42:38 Listen, brothers and sisters, this is not an easy thing to do. 42:42 What you are responding to is not a flippant thing. 42:46 It's not something that you just do on a whim. 42:49 You are going to spend and be spent. 42:52 You are going to be uncomfortable. 42:53 You are not going to necessarily enjoy it. 42:56 It will not bring you glory. 42:58 But you are showing Jesus that you want to do what He did. 43:08 The book, Desire of Ages, page 641, says this: 43:12 "When we love the world as He loved it, 43:20 then for us His mission is accomplished. 43:26 We are fitted for heaven, for we have heaven in our hearts." 43:35 Listen, we can't just put this fruit on. 43:38 This work of Matthew 25 has to come from the heart. 43:43 It has to come from the character of 43:45 Christ that is in you, the hope of glory. 43:50 Now I want to take it one step further. 43:53 Maybe there of some of you here this evening, 43:57 and in your local church there is not a ministry 44:02 of Matthew 25 taking place. 44:06 There is no ministry where there is reaching out to the needs. 44:09 Yes, there's Bible studies; yes, there's literature; 44:12 yes, there's evangelism; yes, there's all of that stuff. 44:15 And we praise God for that. 44:16 But the work of Matthew 25 is languishing in your church. 44:22 And tonight you feel the pricking, the conviction 44:26 of the Holy Spirit in your life saying, "You are the one." 44:30 Tapping you on your shoulder. 44:32 I want you to start that flame. 44:36 Maybe your church isn't even interested in doing this. 44:39 And tonight you want to say, "Lord, I don't care. 44:41 If the church doesn't want to do it, I'm going to do it myself." 44:46 Maybe your church does have some sort of 44:50 beneficent work that's taking place, 44:52 reaching out and helping those that are in need, 44:56 but it's struggling to keep its head above water. 45:00 You know, I don't know what it is, but every church 45:02 I've ever gone to, the community service center 45:05 is always run by older people or retired people. 45:07 And that's a shame. 45:11 That's a shame on us as young people. 45:15 And tonight you want to tell the Lord, 45:16 "Lord, I want to take my youthful energy 45:20 and I want to apply it to the work in my local church, 45:25 meeting the needs of people in my community." 45:30 If you fit one of those things, and you feel the conviction 45:33 of God prompting you in that direction, 45:35 I'm going to ask you to come on forward here 45:37 and tell the Lord, "In 2017, Father, I want 45:42 Matthew 25 to be me. 45:45 I want Jesus to be able to look at me and, yes, 45:48 see the wedding garment on, but also see it in the 45:51 practical expression of how I meet those in need around me." 45:56 Praise God that there are people who are saying, 46:00 "Yes, Jesus, I'm going to start this work. 46:04 Yes, Jesus, I'm going to add my youthful energy to this work. 46:08 Yes, Jesus, if nobody does it, I will do it." 46:12 Praise the Lord. 46:14 For those of you that are still contemplating it this evening, 46:19 we're going to be blessed with beautiful special music. 46:22 And I pray that you would reverently listen to the words 46:26 and pray them in your heart tonight. 46:51 Thomas the disciple had an unbelieving heart 46:58 that Jesus was alive again. 47:05 When he saw the scars he realized it was true. 47:13 Jesus told him what it means to have a true faith; 47:20 trusting without your vision. 47:27 "No matter what comes," you'll say. 47:32 Yes, I believe; I believe with all that's in me. 47:39 Yes, I believe; though the world rises up against me. 47:46 I will be faithful to the choice I have made. 47:53 I am determined I will not be ashamed 47:59 to live so the whole world can see that, yes, I believe. 48:09 There will never be a reason to lose His confidence, 48:16 for I have found where my assurance lies. 48:23 It is not my own power, but in whom my Savior is. 48:29 Because of this conviction forever I'll say, 48:36 yes, I believe; I believe with all that's in me. 48:43 Yes, I believe; though the world rises up against me. 48:50 I will be faithful to the choice I have made. 48:56 I am determined I will not be ashamed 49:03 to live so the whole world can see that, yes, I believe. 49:12 We believe He is risen. 49:16 In Him we have life because of the gift, 49:22 His great sacrifice. 49:28 Yes, I believe; I believe with all that's in me. 49:34 Yes, I believe; though the world rises up against me. 49:41 I will be faithful to the choice I have made. 49:47 I am determined I will not be ashamed 49:54 to live so the whole world can see that, yes, I believe. 50:03 I believe. I believe. 50:21 Tonight I want to encourage you to mark down the 50:25 decision that you have made, like we talked about last night. 50:29 And I want to encourage you to actually take 50:31 those decisions and write them in the 50:35 back flyleaf of your Bible. 50:37 Put the date next to them. 50:39 "This is the day I made this decision 50:42 to get involved in the work of Matthew 25. 50:46 This is the day I made this decision at GYC." 50:49 And reflect on those decisions in your devotional time. 50:53 And pray and say, "Dear Jesus, I don't know how this is 50:57 going to happen, but please help me 51:01 to follow through with the decisions I made at GYC." 51:06 Would you bow your heads with me as we pray? 51:08 Loving Father in heaven, we thank You for the awesome 51:13 challenge that You have given to us. 51:17 And Lord, we want, we desperately want 51:22 the character of Jesus in our lives. 51:26 Lord, we want the good works to come forth from within, 51:32 that they would just tumble out because of who we are, 51:38 because of what You have created us to be. 51:42 And Lord, we pray that any work that is done in our lives, 51:47 that all glory would be reflected back 51:51 to the source; to You. 51:55 Lord, thank You for these precious young people, 51:58 even some adults here today, 52:00 who have come forward and said, "I want to put my energy 52:05 into doing the work of Matthew 25. 52:07 Not to the neglect of the gospel commission, 52:11 for we would never do that, 52:13 but in addition to the great work of spreading the 52:17 three angels' messages. 52:19 Oh Father, help us to have a steady gaze on Jesus. 52:24 That we would look unto Him and find our salvation. 52:28 That we would look unto Him and find the example 52:31 of how we ought to live our lives. 52:33 That we would go about sowing the seeds of good works 52:37 that would bring forth a bountiful harvest 52:40 when the showers of Pentecost, of the latter rain, fall 52:45 upon this world. 52:48 Oh Lord, we want this work to be over with. 52:51 We're anxious, Father, to be with You on the streets of gold. 52:57 But we recognize there's some work 52:59 that still needs to be done in us. 53:01 And we humbly submit our will before You tonight, 53:04 saying, "Lord, we are willing to be made willing." 53:10 We are willing, Lord. 53:12 Father, as we start a new year out, 2017, 53:18 may there be a change in the way that we live. 53:22 And may Jesus be the all absorbing focus 53:27 in our lives. 53:29 We love You, Lord, with all of our hearts. 53:32 We thank You for doing the work that only You can do. 53:37 For we pray it in the all mighty and all powerful 53:41 name of Jesus. 53:44 Amen. |
Revised 2017-05-24