Jesus Cares James 2:5
James 2:5 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?
Jesus cares. When John the Baptist asked if he were the Messiah, Jesus answered, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (Matthew 11:5-6).
1. We care ministry in Welch Ted Osgood every two months
• The poor have always been a major concern for Jesus and his followers. Jesus cared for the poor
• Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth by saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18).
• Note the feeding of 5,000 hungry people is the only miracle reported in all four gospels. On a grassy hillside, he gave them “as much as they wanted” (John 6:11), so they could finally “take it easy.”
• Jesus was famous for healing the sick, and Mark tells us that “wherever he went … all who touched [the fringe of his cloak] were healed” (Mark 6:56). On one memorable occasion, a woman approached Jesus because she had spent all her money on physicians, but none of them could stop her bleeding. She came up behind him, “touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped” (Luke 8:44).
2. Blessed are the poor says Jesus. Why are they blessed because Jesus cares for them.
• Jesus began one of his greatest sermons by saying, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20).
• When John the Baptist asked if he were the Messiah, Jesus answered, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. (Matthew 11:5-6).
• He also took stands for social justice, criticizing the scribes and Pharisees for loving “to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues.”
• He called them hypocrites because they focused on religious practices instead of “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith” (Matthew 23:6, 23).
3. The kingdom of Heaven is open to the poor
• Heaven is open to those who cared for jesus they had helped him, and those who help the other he said “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:31-40).
• We care for Jesus when we care for the least
• We care for Jesus by sharing good news to the poor. Remember Jesus said he was anointed to bring good news to the poor.
4. Those that are poor in spirit
• Are Those that need God there is an old Gospel song Oh I need him oh I need him
• I can’t even walk without you holding my hand
• Poor in Spirit means to recognize our deepest human need for God
• The psalmist said we need him Psalm 54:4. Behold, God is my helper. ...
• Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
5. Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, he desired justice and mercy for the poor
• The book of James or Jesus s brother tells us that "religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27 NRSV).
• Yes that’s it Jesus cares for : Jesus hit the streets and healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, and told the people to go back and tell what they had seen: "the poor have good news brought to them" (Matthew 11:4-5 NRSV).
6. Jesus cares for and so do we
• We care : we were paying appointments to UMC complaints about it now be give voluterrally to Elaine Harbers mission to the needy have not heard one complaint.
• We care for the sick (we pray emails come through constantly)
• We care for the hungry we gave 600 to amy house of hope and a meal, Marys Cradel other mission Bonnie organizes
• We care for the needy (we were confronted with a person who needed gas money) the next board meeting we laid aside $100 for me to give what I felt was right amount to give to a needy person. I have already give 40 of that to a need.
• We care about Gods Word (Monday ladies Bible Study, men Bible study, livestream Bible study, and InPerson Bible study. Sunday School )
