If you are a true servant of Christ this message is for you. If you are not, I pray you will surrender your life as soon as possible as your time to do so is shorter than you think. If you are too busy to read this all the way through, come back to it when you have time. I pray you will all be blessed today in whatever you do!
Jesus told us, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). This is our primary responsibility here on earth as we live out our lives as servants of the King, Jesus the Christ. But who is it that we are called to reach in these nations? Is it only those who we know or that we do business with from day to day? Or is it a much larger population that is often neglected because they are mere strangers to us? After all, from the time we are introduced to the world we are taught we cannot trust strangers, and for good reason. It is the stranger who can and sometimes will take advantage of us in so many different ways. Therefore, through learned behavior we tend to avoid strangers to prevent negative circumstances that could and often do arise. We call this "minding our own business." Jesus, through word and deed, taught us to do just the opposite as He taught us that these strangers are our business; that is if we claim to be His followers. He taught us to reach out and minister to those who the world turns it's back on such as strangers, the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, the needy, those in prison, etc.
So, who and where are these strangers, sick, hungry, thirsty, needy, and imprisoned people? They are all around us and all around the world. To begin with, the dictionary tells us that a stranger is a person whom we do not know or is not commonly known in a particular place or community. You have many strangers living in your own community. As for the sick, studies show that just one in 20 people worldwide had no health problems in 2013, with a third of the world's population (2-3 billion people) experiencing more than five ailments, according to a major new analysis. Therefore, there are many who are sick around the world. Over 44% of the people around the world live in extreme poverty and as of 2015 there were an estimated 1.6 billion people around the world who live in "inadequate shelter" or are homeless altogether. Finally, where are the prisoners we should reach? They are not hard to find as over 11 million people are held in penal institutions around the world.
Thus, we are called to go into the world and minister to these neglected populations. However, this does not mean you must run out there blindly in an attempt to fulfil the needs of the countless people mentioned above. The true follower of Christ will, each day, yield themselves to do the will of our Heavenly Father as servants of the kingdom of heaven. He will carefully guide us to those He wishes us to minister to. We must learn to trust Him, in total faith, for His purpose in our lives knowing He will resource His work according to His riches and glory. This is His work; we are simply His willing servants. The true followers of Christ should not fear the strangers as this world does; we ourselves were once strangers in this world one way or another. In fact, as citizens of heaven we have become the real strangers in this lost world. Remember, when we allow the Lord to do His work through us, we are being led in this work by the Good Shephard who will never leave us alone. This is His work, not ours and He deserves all the glory and honor for the work He is doing through us! Our time on this world is short and there are few workers to reach so many. Wont you lay down your life today, pick up your cross, and follow Christ in service of His kingdom?
Therefore, what does it mean to serve the kingdom of heaven? "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 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. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by 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 took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited 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? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?' And the King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.' 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. 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 take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' And they too will reply, '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?' Then the King will answer, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mathew 25:31-46)
Jesus told us, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). This is our primary responsibility here on earth as we live out our lives as servants of the King, Jesus the Christ. But who is it that we are called to reach in these nations? Is it only those who we know or that we do business with from day to day? Or is it a much larger population that is often neglected because they are mere strangers to us? After all, from the time we are introduced to the world we are taught we cannot trust strangers, and for good reason. It is the stranger who can and sometimes will take advantage of us in so many different ways. Therefore, through learned behavior we tend to avoid strangers to prevent negative circumstances that could and often do arise. We call this "minding our own business." Jesus, through word and deed, taught us to do just the opposite as He taught us that these strangers are our business; that is if we claim to be His followers. He taught us to reach out and minister to those who the world turns it's back on such as strangers, the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, the needy, those in prison, etc.
So, who and where are these strangers, sick, hungry, thirsty, needy, and imprisoned people? They are all around us and all around the world. To begin with, the dictionary tells us that a stranger is a person whom we do not know or is not commonly known in a particular place or community. You have many strangers living in your own community. As for the sick, studies show that just one in 20 people worldwide had no health problems in 2013, with a third of the world's population (2-3 billion people) experiencing more than five ailments, according to a major new analysis. Therefore, there are many who are sick around the world. Over 44% of the people around the world live in extreme poverty and as of 2015 there were an estimated 1.6 billion people around the world who live in "inadequate shelter" or are homeless altogether. Finally, where are the prisoners we should reach? They are not hard to find as over 11 million people are held in penal institutions around the world.
Thus, we are called to go into the world and minister to these neglected populations. However, this does not mean you must run out there blindly in an attempt to fulfil the needs of the countless people mentioned above. The true follower of Christ will, each day, yield themselves to do the will of our Heavenly Father as servants of the kingdom of heaven. He will carefully guide us to those He wishes us to minister to. We must learn to trust Him, in total faith, for His purpose in our lives knowing He will resource His work according to His riches and glory. This is His work; we are simply His willing servants. The true followers of Christ should not fear the strangers as this world does; we ourselves were once strangers in this world one way or another. In fact, as citizens of heaven we have become the real strangers in this lost world. Remember, when we allow the Lord to do His work through us, we are being led in this work by the Good Shephard who will never leave us alone. This is His work, not ours and He deserves all the glory and honor for the work He is doing through us! Our time on this world is short and there are few workers to reach so many. Wont you lay down your life today, pick up your cross, and follow Christ in service of His kingdom?
Therefore, what does it mean to serve the kingdom of heaven? "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 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. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by 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 took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited 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? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?' And the King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.' 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. 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 take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' And they too will reply, '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?' Then the King will answer, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mathew 25:31-46)
