Summary: When you look closely at the history of the first church there in Jerusalem, you see an exciting & growing church. And as they grew, they became more & more concerned about helping those in need.

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER

RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

(REVISED: 2019))

TEXT: Matthew 25:31-40; Acts 4:32-35

A. During the past 2 weeks we've been looking at the purpose of the church & found that as a church we're called first of all to seek & to save the lost, & then to build each other up so that we may be the best that God can help us be.

This morning I want you to see that a 3rd part of our purpose is to minister to those in need. But there are a couple of things to be considered.

#1, we must not get our priorities mixed up. Luke 9:2 says, Jesus "sent them out to preach the kingdom of God & to heal the sick." Notice the order. Our first task is to proclaim the good news about Jesus & His love. Then, as a result of that love, we will heal the sick & care for their physical needs.

#2, helping those in need is sometimes an individual responsibility. I know that we're tempted to think, "That's not my job. There are all kinds of organizations & government programs. They're not my responsibility!"

But listen to these familiar words of Jesus found in Matthew 25, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, & all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him. . .” (Matthew 25:31-32)

Jesus goes on to say in vs's 34-40, "Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

‘For I was hungry & you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty & you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger & you invited me in, I was sick & you looked after me, I was in prison & you came to visit me.’

"Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry & feed you, or thirsty & give you something to drink?

‘When did we see you a stranger & invite you in, or needing clothes & clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison & go to visit you?’

"The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’"

B. When you look closely at the history of the first church there in Jerusalem, you see an exciting & growing church. And as they grew, they became more & more concerned about helping those in need.

PROP. This morning I want you to see some of the ways in which they minis¬tered to the people.

I. THE EARLY CHURCH MINISTERED TO PHYSICAL NEEDS

A. First of all, they ministered to their physical 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."

ILL. Some of you will remember that during Desert Storm we saw a tremendous unleashing of power, & we called it “shock & awe.” Our bombs struck target after target in Iraq. 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."

But I suggest that when Christian people become one in heart & mind, that can unleash power greater than any in this world.

ILL. A cartoon pictured two men walking out of church after the sermon was over wearing only their under shorts. 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 expressed their love for God & each other by being unselfish & generous to those in need.

B. Vs’s 34-35 say, "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."

1. Now notice: the people were giving sacrificial gifts. 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.

And as a result in the first church there in Jerusalem there weren't any needy people among them whose needs weren't being met.

C. 1 John 3:17 says, "If anyone has material possessions & 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, & so do you.

I don't believe that the Bible teaches that there is to be equal distribution of wealth. I don't believe the Bible advocates a socialistic or communistic system. There have always been rich & poor people, both in Bible times & today.

ILL. Look at Zacchaeus when Jesus went to his house & had dinner with him. Zacchaeus said, "Look, Lord! Here & now I give half of my possessions to the poor." (Luke 19:8)

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 this house." (Luke 19:9)

SUM. If our brothers or sisters are in need, then we must take pity on them & do something in the name of Jesus Christ to help them in their need.

D. 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 the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food."

Evidently, the church in Jerusalem 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 7 men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit & wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them..." (Acts 6:3)

And vs. 5 tells us, "This proposal pleased the whole group." Vs. 7 says, "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, & a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

When you're taking care of your own, when you roll up your sleeves & do something, the world 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.

E. Now there are a couple other passages that I want to call to your attention.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 says, "For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’" That is a principle in scripture that we should not violate. If a person is physically able to work, & if the opportunity is there, & he or she refuses to work, we should not give them anything.

Again, Galatians 6:10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Now that teaches that we ought to be concerned about everybody, especially those who are a part of the church. We're a family, & we need to watch out for each other.

II. THE EARLY CHURCH MINISTERED TO EMOTIONAL NEEDS

A. Secondly, not only did the early church minister to material needs, but they also met emotional needs.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "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."

ILL. Sometimes we need a lot of comforting. I'll never forget the time years ago when I was visiting in a nursing home, & took 4 of my grandchildren with me. I liked to show them off, & besides, people in nursing homes usually enjoy seeing children. It brings back a lot of memories.

Leaving the children out in the hall, I entered the room of one of our ladies to see if she was there. The room was rather dark, & at first I didn't see her but I could hear her. She was standing in the corner, behind a chair, sobbing as though her heart was breaking.

She was so lonely. She had outlived her husband & most of her long time friends, & her nearest relative lived 2,000 miles away. She had no one, no one except maybe the preacher & one or two others from the church who stopped by to see her every week or so.

She quickly tried to apologize for her tears & welcomed me into her room. And oh, how her face lit up when I brought in my grandchildren. We had a good visit, & then a time of prayer together.

And how different the room seemed as we started to leave & each of the children hugged her "goodbye."

B. I long for the day when more people will catch the vision of helping those in need, sharing comfort with them, dealing with depression; & with those who are grieving, the lonely, the hurting.

I tend to think that the greatest help comes from those who've been there, people who've dealt with difficulties in their own life sharing with others, lifting each other up, bearing one another's burdens.

ILL. Tony Campolo tells about the time his mother called & told him that Mrs. Kilpatrick had died. He says, "I'm 50 years old, but when you're Italian & your mother calls & tells you to do something, you do it."

"Mom called me up & said, ‘Tony, Mrs. Kilpatrick died & you need to go to her funeral.’" He says, "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 he went to the funeral home. Arriving a few minutes late, he rushed through the door, sat down & then saw that he was the only one there, except for one little woman in front of him.

Then he looked at the coffin & suddenly realized that the man inside the coffin was not Mrs. Kilpatrick. He was in the wrong chapel! He said that 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 do?" He said, "I stayed there for the whole funeral service."

"Then, since I was the only one there, I even felt compelled to go to the graveside service & stand there with the widow. When that was over & we were riding back together, I turned to her & said, 'Mrs. King, I want to be your friend, but I must be honest with you, I really didn't know your husband.'"

He said, "She reached out for my hand & gripped it tightly, & speaking softly & slowly, said, 'That doesn't matter. You'll never know what your being here has meant to me.'"

CONCL. There are people all over this world who are hurting. Maybe not quite that desperately, but many are waiting for someone to reach out & touch.

ILL. Ken Medima wrote these words about the church:

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.

I dream of a church that will reach out & meet physical needs, reach out & meet emotional needs, where we'll walk arm in arm & be able to face any storm in life together.

The Lord invites you this morning if you're outside of Christ, to come to Him & know Him as your Lord & Savior. We invite you to come as we stand & sing.