Sharing the Way God Created You to Share

Ephesians 4:28 “Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his hands so that he can have something to share with those in need.”

HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED

“It is more blessed to give than receive.” Acts 20:35 Apparently Jesus wasn’t talking about Christmas. He was talking about our everyday lives.

Luke 18:18-27 “Good teacher, what else do I need to do to go to Heaven?”

“If you really want to go to Heaven, sell all of these possessions of yours, and give to the poor.”

The man went away sad because he had great wealth.

If you did not already know it before today, you are Rich!. If you live in the United States, you are rich compared to the rest of the world. “In fact, it’s real hard for the rich to go to Heaven.”

I have studied this for over 2 years now; read books, listened to sermons, read commentaries, asked preachers and teachers. 1.As Christian Americans we love to dumb this down and think that Jesus didn’t really mean what he said. 2.We know how to enjoy God’s material blessings, but have forgotten – or don’t really care to know – how to use those blessings to help others in Jesus name 3.A man named John Wesley who lived in the 1700’s, who took Jesus serious, felt Jesus was talking to him here, and put this into practice. I have discovered 3 main things…

John W. died in 1791 He preached for 53 years You know what he left when he died? A handful of books, his preaching attire, 6 silver spoons somebody gave him, and his notes… He could have died as rich as any famous person. Sure he made money, and lots of it… and built orphanages, printed Bibles, supported missionaries all around the world, and gave it to the poor. He died worth about $30.

How in the world does a camel go through the eye of a needle?

Jesus may not have been talking about a sewing needle. Needle’s eye was an opening in a wall around Jerusalem. When the gate was locked at night, the only way in was through this small opening, called needle’s eye. If you were traveling with a camel, it took a lot of effort to get that big camel through needle’s eye.

Matthew 25:31-46

Through these next number of slides, try to identify Jesus, I will tell you the answer after we have gone through all the pictures…

A. Is this Jesus? i.e. A hungry person?

B. Is this Jesus? i.e. A thirsty person?

C. Is this Jesus? i.e. A stranger?

D. Is one of them Jesus? i.e. Somebody in need of clothes?

E. Is this Jesus? i.e. A sick person?

F. Or is this Jesus? i.e. A prisoner?

G. All of the above? H. None of the above?

And the answer is… G. All of the above!

Did you see Jesus in all of those pictures? “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brother’s of mine, you did for me.’ -Jesus Matthew 25:40

Were you unable to locate Jesus in any of those pictures? “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” -Jesus Matthew 25:45-46

“The only ones around you who will truly be happy, are those who have sought and found how to serve.” -Jedda Bragg

If you are now waiting for me to give you the punch line… the place to write the check to… or waiting for me to bring the homeless guy up on stage… then stop waiting… Go and Do!

“Be relentlessly suspicious of your comfortable life, and of the comfort zones that render so many Christian fellowships insensitive and ineffective in our communities… God calls us to do more! (and you and I can lead the way, one small step at a time)” -From Under the Overpass by Mike Yankowski

Renew your mind everyday to: Seek somebody to help and share with… See Jesus… And let the wonderful and mysterious love of God work!