The Jesus Driven Church

The Jesus Driven Church

As I look at all the messages that Jesus delivered this is without a doubt, to me, one of the most powerful.

Jesus makes it clear that when He returns he will be able to distinguish one person from another in their relationship with Him. He will know who has been true to him and who has not.

Not only will he know, he will separate those who have been true, those who are saved, from those who have not been true, those who are not saved. Notice what it is that identifies the saved from the unsaved.

The King does not say, come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance prepared for you since the creation of the world, for you are the immersed.

Yes, yes, yes, I believe in the plan of salvation in the Bible. You must believe, repent, confess, and be immersed. But I also believe that according to this scripture there will be a lot of wet goats. Christians who did very little between getting buried in the water and buried in the cemetery.

You see…

Outreach identifies you as a child of the King

(Verses 31-34)

The sheep were very clearly identified by their outreach.

They gave the hungry some food.

They gave the thirsty some water.

They invited strangers in.

They clothed those without clothes.

They visited the sick and imprisoned.

Was it their outreach that saved them? Absolutely not! Their outreach identified them. It was clear from their lives that they were children of the king.

Notice something else about how Jesus separates the people one from another:

He doesn’t put the rich on the right and the

poor on the left.

He doesn’t put Americans on the right and

foreigners on the left.

He doesn’t put Republicans on the right and

Democrats on the left.

It is not who you are that determines what side you are on. It is how you lived.

In other words,

Outreach can be done by any Christian

(Verses 35-36)

The people here are called “the righteous”. They may not have been to Bible College, they may not have had perfect Sunday School attendance. They were certainly not sinless. They were righteous because they strived to live a right life for Jesus Christ. Any Christian who is willing can do that.

Outreach didn’t make them righteous, outreach showed that they were righteous.

Outreach is not just for ministers and elders and deacons. Outreach is for any and every Christian.

Notice again the acts of outreach performed:

They gave the hungry some food.

They gave the thirsty some water.

They invited strangers in.

They clothed those without clothes.

They visited the sick and imprisoned.

The outreach wasn’t holding 14 day crusades.

The outreach wasn’t donating a million dollars.

The outreach wasn’t performing in front of thousands.

The outreach was simple ordinary acts of love performed by simple ordinary people who loved Jesus Christ.

Notice the recipients of outreach:

Those who could not even provide the basic

needs for themselves

Food, water, and clothing

Those who did not know a friend, they were

strangers

Those who couldn’t take care of themselves,

because of their health

Those who were what we would now call convicts

Thieves, murderers, liars.

Outreach should be done for anyone

(Verses 37-40)

Reaching out those in need can get messy. And most Christians do not like messy. We will tolerate a little messy around Christmas, but we don’t want messy all year round.

If this church wants to an outreach church like never before, I am here to tell you, things will get messy. Carpet will be stained, windows broken, seats taken, services interrupted. This room will have people in it who do not know how to do church. They have not had years and years of being in church. You will be uncomfortable and probably even offended at times. But I say the mess is worth it considering what Jesus Christ did for all of us at Calvary.

When the Bible says that God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever ….

Whosoever means anyone. Not just people like you and I. Not just people fit the mold. Not just people who have something to offer. Anyone!

Notice what the King says to those on the left.

Depart from me you who are cursed. Those who have not demonstrated their righteousness by acts of outreach. Lack of outreach in your life says a lot about your relationship with Jesus.

In fact…

Lack of outreach identifies you as a child of Satan

(Verses 41-44)

Satan is identified as the Father of lies. The greatest lie you can tell is to say that you are a Christian and then not live it out in your life.