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We Treat You Right
Matthew 25:31-40
Not all fast
food restaurants are born and thrive in big cities. Some of them thrive
serving the fast food lifestyles of small rural communities. You see
what I have learned in my time with you is that just because the city is
small, and the community is well connected, it doesn’t necessarily mean
that we have escaped the fast food lifestyle. Just because our community
numbers 2,400 people we still feel the strain and pressure of the fast
food life style.
In 1940 Dairy Queen opened its doors and tried to meet the void that was
left in smaller towns, when the big fast food chains refused to open
stores in less profitable areas. They have been a staple along small
town landscapes ever since. But not only did Dairy Queen take up
residence in small towns they tried to capture a little of the charm
when they enticed the world by inviting us to come to the land of Dairy
queen “We Treat You Right.”
Isn’t that a great thought? Don’t we all desire to be a place where we
are treated with love, and compassion, and mercy, and well just treated
right. The good news is that God has designed such a place, it is called
the church. Turn with me to our text for tonight, it is found in Matthew
25:31-40, and listen to these familiar words. (Read the Text)
The Church is the place where God expects people to be treated right.
I’ve believe that God puts individuals before us and expects us to help
them. And when those opportunities come, we must be ready to help.
When you look closely at the history of the first church there in
Jerusalem, you see an exciting and growing church. And as they grew,
they became more & more concerned about helping those in need. Tonight I
want you to see some of the ways in which they ministered to the people.
The early Church ministered to material needs
Acts 4:32-33 says: "All the believers were one in heart & mind. No one
claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared
everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, & much grace was with them all."
One of the greatest advantages of news organizations like Fox and CNN is
that we can see what’s going on around the world at the moment it
happens. I will never forget the night that we began our counter strike
in Iraq, what a tremendous unleashing of power. Our bombs struck target
after target and the night sky was as bright as day. One commentator
said, "There was more explosive power in that first raid alone than in
the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan during WW2."
It was an awesome show of power indeed, but do you know that it pales in
comparison to the power we hold if we would humble ourselves and become
one in heart & mind. The power we would possess would be greater than
any power this world has ever seen.
I received a cartoon in Leadership Magazine that pictured a Family
walking out of church wearing barrels. One turned to the other & said,
"Boy, that’s the most powerful sermon on giving I’ve ever heard!" I
think that’s the attitude the church in Jerusalem had. When they
realized what God had done for them, & that everything they had came
from Him, they became unselfish & generous.
Vs. 34 says, "There were no needy persons among them. For from time to
time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from
the sales & put it at the apostles’ feet, & it was distributed to anyone
as he had need."
I want you to notice here that the people were giving sacrificial gifts.
They didn’t have a Yard Sale or bingo or a bake sale. They didn’t raffle
off a camel. They just brought their gifts, & it was strictly voluntary.
No one was telling them to do it. But because of what God had done for
them, & because they saw fellow Christians in need, they brought their
gifts.
Secondly, the church didn’t keep the money. The church didn’t become
wealthy, but distributed it among the people as they had need. I think
it’s dangerous for a church to become rich. God desires for the monies
we collect to be used in the building of His kingdom, not to hoard.
I heard about one church that struck oil on its property. Instantly they
called a congregational meeting & adopted 3 resolutions. #1. They
decided they would pump as much oil as they possibly could. #2. They
would distribute the oil money equally among the members. #3. They would
not accept any new members. Now that’s selfishness!
As the church grows and people give generously, then we have a
responsibility to make sure that those funds are used wisely to fulfill
the purpose of the church. And one result in the first church was that
there weren’t any needy people among them whose needs weren’t being met.
1 John 3:17 says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his
brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in
him?" I don’t know about you, but that passage weighs heavily on my
heart because I have material possessions, and so do you.
Now the question is, "Do I have pity on those in need?" Because if I
don’t, it says, "The love of God is not in me." Now this is not teaching
that there has to be equal distribution of wealth. I don’t believe the
Bible advocates a socialistic or communistic system. There have always
been rich people & poor people, both in Bible times & today.
Look at Zacchaeus when Jesus went to his house & had dinner with him.
Zacchaeus said, "Half of everything I have I will give to the poor."
Now, it’s interesting to note what Jesus didn’t say. He did not say to
Zacchaeus, "That’s too much. You only have to give 10%." Nor did He say,
"That’s not enough. You’re still richer than most of the others." He
didn’t say either of those things. He simply said, "Today, salvation has
come to your house."
If our brothers or sisters are in need, then we must take pity on them
and do something in the name of Jesus Christ to help them in their need.
And as the church continued to grow in Jerusalem, we find out how they
did that. Listen to Acts 6:1.
"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian
Jews among them complained against those of the Aramaic-speaking
community because their widows were being overlooked in the daily
distribution of food."
Evidently, the early church continued the Jewish synagogue practice of
collecting food & then distributing it to those among them who were in
need. But the church in Jerusalem was now far larger than the normal
Jewish synagogue, & some widows were being overlooked. So there was a
murmuring, & the apostles recognized that there was a problem.
Vs. 2 says, "So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together & said,
`It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God
in order to wait on tables." In other words, "We should not stop
preaching & teaching to take care of the needy."
So they said, "Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known
to be full of the Spirit & wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over
to them."
The next verse says, "This proposal pleased the whole group." And vs. 7
says, "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem
increased rapidly."
When you’re taking care of your own, that is something tangible that the
world can see. It’s one thing to sit around & talk about what a great
faith we have, & what a great church we are, & all the things we’re
going to do. But when you roll up your sleeves & do something, the world
sits up & takes notice & sees that it is not just talk. It’s a way to
express our faith. And when we do, many will notice & be attracted to
Jesus.
The early church ministered to emotional needs
We read in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, "Praise be to the God & Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion & the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any
trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
Sometimes we need a little comforting and sometimes we need a lot. A few
months ago Dan and I were making our rounds and it was Nursing Home day.
We went to Winfield to see Eunice and then made our way down to Adis’
room. She hadn’t been there long and after we found the right room, Dan
Knocked and we went in. The room was rather dark, and at first I didn’t
see her - but I could hear her. She was sitting in her chair beside her
bed with tears running down her face. She apologized for the tears and
her face lit up when she saw that it was Dan and I coming to see her.
Church is was and is lonely. Everyone she has is busy and every now and
then the preacher and Dan drop by, maybe her son, or grandson and one or
two others who stopped by to see her sporadically. But that day we had a
good visit. Before we left she was laughing, remembering funny stories
about Millatene, and others from the church. As we left she hugged us,
we said a prayer, and then she said something that broke my heart. She
said, “Please don’t forget me.”
Now I don’t want you to get the wrong impression Dan and I love to
visit, we love to spend time together, and time with you in your homes,
but neither of us are real thrilled on Nursing Home day. But once we
have gone and had the time to chat with those we love we always are glad
that we went.
I’m so thankful that we have members who take the time to go to the
nursing homes and to visit shut-ins. But I long for the day when every
member of this church will catch the vision of helping those in need, &
sharing your comfort with them. I long for the time when the church will
meet the needs of the community offering support groups for those
dealing with dealing with depression; struggling with addictions to
drugs and alcohol; for people who are trying to recover from divorce;
for those who are grieving, the lonely, the hurting. Meeting emotional
needs should be the calling card of the church.
Tony Campolo tells the following story:
"Mom called me up & said, `Tony, Mrs. Kilpatrick died & you need to go
to her funeral.’ Now I’m 50 years old, but when you’re Italian and your
mother calls and tells you to do something, you do it."
"Mrs. Kilpatrick lived just down the street from me when I was a little
boy growing up in the streets of Philadelphia. So on the day of her
funeral I went to the funeral home. Arriving a few minutes late, I
rushed through the door, sat down & then saw that I was the only one
there, except for one little woman in front of me.”
Then he looked at the coffin & suddenly realized that the man inside the
coffin was not Mrs. Kilpatrick. He was in the wrong chapel, and just as
he was about to stand up & leave, the woman turned around, touched him
on the hand & asked, "Did you know him?"
Tony Campolo asks, "What would you do if you were in a situation like
that? If you were the only one who came to the funeral of this grieving
woman’s husband, what would you say?"
Tony stayed there for the whole funeral service, and since he was the
only one there, he felt compelled to go to the graveside service and
stand there with the widow. When that was over they were riding back
together, and he turned to her and said, ’Mrs. King, I want to be your
friend, but I must be honest with you, I really didn’t know your
husband.’"
She reached out for his hand and gripped it tightly, and said, ’That
doesn’t matter. You’ll never know what your being here has meant to
me.’"
There are people all over this world who are hurting. Maybe not quite
that desperately, but many are waiting for someone to reach out & to
touch.
Ken Medima wrote these words:
If this is not the place where tears are understood, where can I go to
cry?
If this is not the place where my spirit can take wing, where do I go to
fly?
If this is not the place where my questions can be asked, where do I go
to seek?
If this is not the place where my feelings can be heard, where do I go
to speak?
If this is not the place where you accept me just as I am, where do I go
to be free?
If this is not the place where I can try & grow & love, where do I go to
be just me?
This is God’s house, God’s place, where we can cry & fly & seek & speak
& be free & be ourselves & say what’s on our heart. And those words will
find understanding ears & people who care & lift one another up.
If New Hope is going to Treat People Right we must reach out & meet
material needs, reach out & meet physical needs, reach out & meet
emotional needs. If we will walk arm in arm we can face any storm in
life together. This world will only know our Lord if we care enough to
show Him to them.
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