Sermon Notes for 9/02/07

From the Sermon "The Least, the Last, and the Lost"...

Where are the eyes of Jesus fixed? They are fixed upon the Least, the Last, and the Lost...and the Church's eyes should be fixed there as well...

The LEAST

Matthew 25:31-46 “…when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 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; 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, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The Church does not exist merely to satisfy the needs of the Church…we have a mission…a mission that includes ministering to those who are considered the least, and also to those who are usually considered last by those who are secure in their comfort zones...too many people have tricked themselves into believing that merely attending church once a week will get them into heaven. This is a lie from the pit of Hell.

The LAST

Luke 13:22-30 “And [Jesus] was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up to us!' then He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know where you are from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets'; and He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.' In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last."

Salvation cannot be bought, inherited, or obtained through church membership…(the Bible says it is by faith in Christ we are saved, not works, lest anyone should boast). However, some people wrongly believe that this is the case…true Christianity is about having a right relationship with God, and ministering not only within the local assembly, but outside the local assembly as well. Why? In Mark 2:17 Jesus said, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus came to minister to the lost, and He calls the church to do the same...but if we aren't testifying to our lost friends and loved ones, who is? It is our responsibility as Christians to warn the lost about the danger of hell; Jesus himself preached four times more often about hell than he did heaven.

The LOST

2 Corinthians 4:3 “…if our gospel [is] hid[den], it is hid[den] to them that are lost.”

Romans 10:13-17 “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” 14 How, then, will they call on Him, in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him, whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

If we're not proclaiming the gospel message to others, then others cannot hear it proclaimed. We should take advantage of the opportunities we have to minister; we will one day be held accountable for missed opportunities that we were wholly aware of...