08/25/2002
Lord, When Did We See You-
- The church today misses opportunity to minister to
the Lord - to touch the Lord - to bless the Lord
- We must open our eyes and see Jesus right in front
of us- everyday, everywhere (Matt 25)
- The Word of the Lord is clear for our congregation
- There is a calling on this congregation
- We are entering into new realms of glory, anointing,
and revelation - there is a momentum
- With the anointing comes responsibility
- God has given a clear vision but what is the cause-
Matt 25:31-46
31 "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.
- Jesus is speaking of the Day of The Lord
- A term that we see in the prophets starting with
Amos
- Peter quoted Joel in Acts 2, talking about the Day of
The Lord - The Great and Terrible Day
32 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.
- Clearly Jesus is speaking of the Day of Judgment
- A day when each one of us will stand before the
throne and give an account
- Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every
eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all
the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.
Even so, Amen.
- Jude 14b …"Behold, the Lord comes with ten
thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on
all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all
their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an
ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
- The day is coming!
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but
the goats on the left.
- Nobody wants to talk about this - but it is a reality!
- Not everyone is going to Heaven!
- Some are sheep, Some are goats
- We make our own decision what we are going to be
- How do you know if you are a sheep or a goat-
- John 10:26 But you do not believe, because you are
not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear
My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
- Ps 100:3b…We are His people and the sheep of His
pasture.
- Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but
he who does not believe will be condemned.
- Matt 7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, ’Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out
demons in Your name, and done many wonders in
Your name-’ "And then I will declare to them, ’I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!’
34 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:
- Eph 1:3b He "has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
- 1 Cor 2:9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor
ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who
love Him."
- In our blessing, there is a responsibility
35 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; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and
you came to Me.’ 37 "Then the righteous will answer
Him, saying, ’Lord, when did we see You hungry and
feed You, or thirsty and give You drink- 38 When
did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked
and clothe You- 39 Or when did we see You sick, or
in prison, and come to You-’ 40 "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.’
- Here is where the rubber meats the road - the cause
- Lord, when did we see you-
- I was hungry and you gave me food
o There are two important directives for each
o Natural & Spiritual - they both apply!
o There are people starving in the natural
o There are people starving in their spirit
o Deut 15:11 For the poor will never cease from
the land; therefore I command you, saying, ’You
shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your
poor and your needy, in your land.’
o (TLB) Deut 15:11 There will always be some
among you who are poor; that is why this
commandment is necessary. You must lend to
them liberally.
o Jn 21 - "Feed My Sheep"
o Will we take the time to feed the hungry-
- I was thirsty and you gave me drink
o Prov 11:25 The generous soul will be made rich,
and he who waters will also be watered himself.
o Having things does not make you rich, giving out
of you have makes you rich
o God wants us to be distribution centers
o When the water flows through…
o There are many people in a dry & thirsty land
o Will we take the time to give a drink-
- I was a stranger and you took me in
o It’s not just about our local church
o It’s easy to love folks you now
o 3 John 5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you
do for the brethren and for strangers,
o Strangers get us out of the comfort zone
- I was naked and you clothed me
o (J-t-B) Luke 3 So the people asked him, saying,
"What shall we do then-" 11 He answered and
said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give
to him who has none; and he who has food, let
him do likewise."
o Acts 2 - all things in common
o Many are naked in the spirit-realm - they have
come out from under the covering
- I was sick and you visited me
o (Grk.) You looked out for me
o Many are sick & hurting in their spirit
- I was in prison and you came to me
o (Grk.) accompanied me
o You may not be called to a prison ministry but
that doesn’t mean God won’t open an opportunity
o Many are in prison now in their spirit
41 "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: 42 for I was
hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and
you gave Me no drink; 43 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.’ 44
"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-’ 45 "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.’
- How many times have we let precious opportunities
slip through our hands-
- How many times have we wasted the precious
anointing of God-
- How many times have we passed on the
miraculous-
- How many times have we turned our back on Jesus
when He was in need-
- "The Least of These" is not just the poor
- In your mind who is least - God is no respecter…
46 "And these will go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
- Those who were just playing games
- Those who were religious but had no relationship
- Those who did not come into His pasture but wanted
to graze in their own fields
- ill go into everlasting punishment
- But the sheep - into eternal life, into glory, into a
place He has prepared
CONCLUSION:
- Sometimes the Lord needs to help us step back and
see the bigger picture
Prov 19:17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the
LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.
- (TLB) Prov 19:17 When you help the poor you are
lending to the Lord-and he pays wonderful interest
on your loan!
- Proverbs 22:9 He who has a generous eye will be
blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.
- We have a responsibility in our blessing - to bless
others, to take care of others, to minister to others
- Jesus proclaimed that He is holding us accountable
to that responsibility
- "To the least of these"
