When The "I Am" Says "I Was"

matthew chapter 25 and verse 31 when the son of man shall come and he is coming in his glory and all the holy angels with him then shall he set upon the throne of his glory and before him will be gathered all nations and he will separate them he's a god of unity but he can also separate what needs to be separated as a shepherd would divide his sheep from the goats and he sets the sheep on his right but the goats on the left he doesn't ask if it's fair he doesn't ask anybody's opinion he just makes the separation and the distinction that is necessary then the king will say unto those on his right hand come you're blessed blessed are the father gonna inherit the kingdom that i have prepared for you listen to this what's waiting on us in heaven has been prepared from the foundation of the world you ever been anxious to give a gift god's anxious he's anxious to give this church the gift here's why for i was hungry and you gave me meat i was thirsty you gave me drink i was a stranger you took me in i was naked you clothed me sick you visited in prison and you came to me then the righteous will answer what any of us would have answered lord when did we see you hungry and fed you thirsty and gave you something to drink when did we see you as a stranger and took you in or naked and clothed you win lord win sick prison what about that and the king shall answer and say unto them verily i say unto you inasmuch as you have done it under the one of lee of the least of these my brethren you did it unto me then he says to those on the left hand depart from me ye cursed i never want to hear those words my direction or anybody's for that matter into everlasting fire i prepared that for the devil and his angels and not for you and then he goes through that list of conditions again hungry and thirsty and stranger and they said they asked the same question lord when did we see that and he answers when you did it not when you didn't do it when you were hesitant when you withheld when you did not do that that the others have done to the one of the least of these you did not do that unto me and you shall go away into everlasting punishment i don't want to hear that but the righteous into life eternal i want to preach for a few moments on this subject when the great i am says i was and you may be seated

the i am statements of the jehovah in the old testament and then jesus in the new testament are such true and revealing statements about god's identity but in matthew chapter 25 the i am says i was and they were taken aback and they it staggered them at first in this chapter matthew 25 eight times he uses that two word phrase and then there's sometimes he didn't you he doesn't use it it's just inferred 12 different times he said that's the condition i was or i was in when they asked him that obvious question about when were you thirsty or hungry is when the lord said when others were in those conditions and facing those needs and trials in other words when we see others in essence we are seeing god because every man woman and child are made in the image and likeness of god all of the conditions were conditions of need and lack and they less than what it could or should be the hunger the thirst the strange strangeness the nakedness the sickness the imprisonment all of that was lack and need our god that we serve and we have felt it here this morning the god that we pray to the god that is in your life the god that you have been praying to has abundance he has abundance but he does not go only to where abundance is he goes to need and lack he identifies with everyone he rejoices when we rejoice in provision but he does not shy away from going to conditions and situations of lack now jesus did encounter those kind of situations in his lifetime on this earth but he was referring to more than his actual life what he is referring to and he spells it out here is he's referring to others that he called the least jesus sees anyone and everyone and their plight he sees and knows what it is that you and i lack and anybody else might be lacking and encountering today and he will come to that place of lack he will come to that place of need so don't feel today that you have to have abundance abundance of talent abundance of standing a plus abundance of goodness to get god's attention you have god's attention you ever had somebody not pay attention because you weren't somebody i was in marty's shoe store downtown many many years ago when vince coleman was playing for the saint louis cardinals i'd bought uh purchased some chews there before and gotten a good deal and i went back and was there in the highway and and the manager was there and he was helping me and he was waiting on me there while i was looking for shoes and vince coleman came in steve woodford wasn't in there anymore but god is not drawn only to the great and the strong the most but god is drawn to the least when you feel your worst god is at his best and will come and help you

so jesus said i was hungry i lacked food i lacked nourishment i didn't have strength because i had not been able to eat there is multi-faceted hunger in this statement and i'll just jump real quick to the spiritual aspect i know there is physical i know there is emotional hunger but there is spiritual hunger people are hungry for god the spa taught on being rejected and maybe that statement could be rejected in some of our hearts and minds because we encountered somebody that would reject your testimony or reject the word of the lord but i'm going to tell you today people are hungry for god they do not realize what they are hungry for maybe somebody that's watching today or somebody in this room you may not realize what and who you are hungry far and so they respond and try to satiate that hunger with things other than god but when you and i respond to the hunger of others we are doing what jesus and those righteous people are doing and to not respond or to withhold a spiritual bread from them to withhold spiritual nourishment you know what your prayer for somebody is going to strengthen them and give them a power that they are hungry for you don't have to pray a certain prayer or a perfect prayer but that soul is starving and god has spoken to you and you know and so you stepped forward and you prayed for them all the while thinking i don't know if i should be doing this or not and all the while there's a hand stretching up give me that piece of bread give me that nourishment i need that people are hungry for god some of you did that this morning you felt to go to people and you prayed far and with them or god laid somebody on your mind and your heart and you prayed for them you were helping to feed their hunger stay aware listen hear me hear me i want to stand on the right hand of god he made a very stark analogy jesus didn't mention any word he said these are sheep and these are goats these are good and these are bad come on settle down jesus you're going to hurt somebody's feelings i'll hurt feelings more if i'm not honest sheep good goats bad good because you responded bad because you withheld response to others i just give to you today do not hesitate or be fearful to give people the food that you have there is a general and a widespread fear to talk about god i'm talking about amongst believers right now there is a general fear to give a bible study or to talk about the word or to give a testimony or to give some bible information because we do fear that rejection but just remember this you have spiritual food jesus is saying when you saw that one that was hungry when you saw that one that was in need that was me when you're giving that bible study to somebody just think i'm giving this to jesus i'm giving this to somebody that god loves the lord expects you and i to offer the spiritual nourishment that we have the prophet amos said in his book he said there is a famine of bread it's not of bread it's not of thirst of water but it is of the hearing of the words of god a famine doesn't mean people aren't hungry and you may have thought or heard that before people just aren't hungry he said there's a famine a famine means people are hungry but there's no distribution happening there is no food happening spiritual food is not available to those in the famine because of the failure to distribute that word he says give them that bread give your witness to somebody somebody's soul who i feel is very strong somebody's soul is hanging in the balance and they're about to literally starve spiritually to death and you have the bread you have the meat in fact jesus said when i was hungry you gave me meat give them meat i don't know about you but there are some substitutes foods in fact most substitute foods i don't like i'd rather have a good old pure real piece of roast beef than that stuff that looks like it's rubber and comes out of a loaf give them meat don't give them a substitute for the born-again experience don't give them a substitute for the oneness of god give them meat there is a famine there is a famine in the land by the way in several cases he says you gave you gave you emptied yourself you stepped forward you didn't sell for an inflated or reduced price i'm gonna tell you this gospel is not up for sale and there is no bargain on sacrifice there is no bargain on holiness there is no bargain on the word of god we've got to have the meat of the word of god that's what they are hungry for that's what people need to have their soul fed and he said you know what you did sheep you gave you didn't try to bargain it you didn't try to just loan it to him you didn't even try to sell it to him you just gave we're not in this for the money we're not in this for what we can get out of people anybody could come in through those doors if this is your first time here you have every right to lift your hands you have every right to be forgiven you have every right to have healing come to your body blesses and benefits others god and ourselves

jesus said i was thirsty and you gave me drink he takes care of our thirst he said i was a stranger and you took me in foreigner i was an alien i was the guest i want to stop right here and say how i appreciate this church through the years and consistently walking up to strangers or guests or visitors and making them feel welcome i'll just say to any guest that might be here you might have figured this out already all of us are not extroverts in fact most of us are not extroverts and that is a challenge but people have accepted the challenge we need to accept the challenge the sheep said i'm going to go and i'm going to take that stranger in the goats said not me i'm too bashful i'm not an extrovert that's not my nature jesus said when i was a stranger you took me in that literally means you led in bringing together you took initiative the right response was you brought together lives you greeted you treated them with love just because we don't know somebody doesn't mean they don't have a need and it doesn't make them any less a candidate and yes people that we know and we are burdened for and we know the details we are going to feel a heaviness about them but the same need and the same strangeness and the same lack of connection and lack of community and lack of relationship is in many that we don't know oh praise god whew we just need to go on the offensive and take people when i say take them in i'm not necessarily meaning into our house or into our location you do that as you feel it i'm talking about taking them into a relationship you know a good way to to bring somebody in is a compliment don't fib but give them a genuine compliment i don't care if it's the the girl or the guy at mcdonald's window serving the coffee our starbucks are wherever it is we can we can open a door we can bring somebody was doing some work the other day and i just said to them you've done that before i think it was a girl that took blood out of my arm i was glad she had done it before i don't want that surgeon saying you're my first surgery we got to start somewhere strangers take them in look for a way to open a conversation i i know i know introverts are nervous right now get out of the goat pen oh come on pastor i'm just reading what he said huh i just reading what he said be approachable be willing to approach and be willing to be approached no man is an island to himself talk to me talk to me i'll tell you to quit when i'm done talk to them build a bridge of friendship walk across with discipleship and lead them toward jesus and his salvation plan i say to anybody in here today you can find your salvation we say it often we say it often it doesn't matter you don't have to be a member of 20 years or 50 years or 15 years or even 5 years if you need god today you can stand to your feet and say i need god and there is going to be prayer for you

he said i was naked and you clothed me in other words i lacked covering i lack proper modesty i lack self-esteem folks we know some folks like that now i want to be careful here but have you ever had one of those dreams hmm okay i'll explain it you just want you're baiting me aren't you you're acting dumb so i'll get out there and be dumb in what i say when you weren't properly clothed so the fear of the preacher is especially with glass pulpits i'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count there's something uncomfortable in many and most settings to not be properly clothed some have plenty of nice clothing but their spiritual soul is naked bare and exposed jesus said it he said i was exposed but somebody said i know where a wardrobe is i know where a robe is i know where some clothing is we should not point at or make fun of and i appreciate this church for not making a practice of this for people that are improperly clothed i'm talking about now with righteousness and the peace of god and the knowledge of god it's uncomfortable no wonder some of those persons respond the way they do because their soul is bare and is exposed laodicea got in trouble for that but jesus said when you saw that nakedness when you saw that i was exposed to the elements i was exposed to disease i was exposed to things that could harm my life scripture says you clothed me that word literally means to throw around and when i first read that phrase i thought of just a big old robe being thrown around someone that was shivering because of exposure or someone that was uncomfortable are embarrassed there are people that are embarrassed because of what has happened in their life i pray that apc just weaves a great big rope we're not trying to expose anybody or anything we're not in the exposure business jesus loved and this church will love people at their best rejoicing when they are rejoicing but they will love them at their worst thank you for that agreement right there i don't really need that only you need that and somebody that is bare and exposed needs that there let there be no embarrassment here that the only embarrassment be if it's inside of somebody in their own self but none of us are going to cast the aspersion of embarrassment if it were not for the grace of god if it were not for his garments of righteousness all of us would be exposed i feel to make this a this appeal today somebody be an intercessor be forgiving be compassionate throw a robe of righteousness around somebody provide a wardrobe of righteousness say hey i know where you can get some garments of salvation that isaiah talked about i know where you can get a robe of righteousness hey we didn't always wear this robe that we're wearing in the holy ghost i said we did we weren't always wearing this robe of righteousness we didn't always look this way even physically but there was a robe in a wardrobe of the father come on i want to invite any prodigal come on back home we're not going to embarrass you we're going to get the best robe the father come on come on church you need to preach this with me we we need to get the best robe come on prodigal i read a tweet somebody offered just i think it was yesterday or earlier this week the holy ghost is calling prodigals back into the fold he is in the restoration business can i get an amen he's in the restoration business we're in the season of prodigals returning believe it pray it rejoice in it and then brother trimble responded to it he said i believe it and i agree in prayer apc let's agree with it i agree with it let's pray right now for prodigals come on we got to take this molten moment it's on us right now it's on us you can you can pray a name but just pray if nobody comes to your mind just pray for an open pathway and god i pray that you would anoint us and anoint our spirit for the one that needs to be clothed the one that is exposed prodigal they're not proud we may not be proud of what they have done but this is their home and it's not my house it's the father's house oh i feel god dropping a burden in people's lives go ahead pray and and don't give up don't give up don't give up praying for that loved one praying for that person that god in fact here's what's going to happen god's going to bring some name and you you were not even very close to that person but god's going to drop that name and then you're going to respond

he said i was sick and you visited me lacked health lacked vitality kind of get the picture not only physically and he's a healer of physical but he's a healer of all diseases spiritual emotional he is still there's there was healing in this place it's still here and it really moved strong a while ago and if you need healing it's still here it is not too late for you to receive healing he's a healer he's a he can heal physically brother cardin just told me again today for 22 months he had struggled with and been challenged with dizziness and it would just hit him he said almost every day and perhaps some seizures of that were worse than others but now how long has it been then december 19th somebody prayed for him hallelujah and all of those consecutive days for 22 months and now for almost two months not one spell of dizziness he is a healer he's a healer tell your loved ones i tell everybody in this room god is a healer but the only sickness is not physical you know it emotional that's why the medications in this world are on the increase because there's a weakness there's a weakness that that person feels in their life there is a melody that they sense and that they feel oh god but jesus said when you see that you don't try to expose that don't try to embarrass that he said you visited me now i pretty well thought i knew what that meant but i wanted to see how it really flowed out in the original language and it means visit here's the literal words to go to see that person to attempt to relieve there's another definition inspect to really in other words take the time to care when i read that phrase brother bud de long i just wanted to sit in my chair and clap my hands and say thank you by the buddy the longing team brother buddy for 25 plus years has gone to hospital after a hospital and prayed for and he took our pastor when he was just a little boy and his other children the same way brian took them with him he and sister colette thank you for going to see jesus said when i was sick you just thought you were visiting brother so and so but you just thought you were visiting that name that somebody in the church had given you but that's not what jesus said he said when you did it unto these you were doing that unto me i'm gonna tell you god can heal the spiritual and the emotional sickness

he said you were in prison there are so many things that imprison literally means to be guarded in a hold or in a cage or in a cell a guard walking relentlessly guarding making sure that that one is held in prison so hopelessness just walks back and forth i'm not letting them out i'm not letting them have hope habit just walks back and forth addiction relentlessly saying you'll never get out habits fears like a guard a sentinel walking back and forth they're not getting out of that jail they're not getting out of that cell pride walks back and forth i'm keeping them i'm never gonna let them be fully what god wants them to be but then jesus and the sheep you and i come on the scene and somehow we got in and we visited them and we brought light and we brought peace there are people they they are not lost forever they are bound right now they hear me they're being held in a cage they're being held in a cell and it doesn't matter you know i've often wondered what would happen what would happen now i'm not feeling so much pressure about this but if the pastor got put in jail for you know some of those things that they got thrown in jail for can't you just hear the grapevine i wonder what he really did huh am i coming home here getting home it's no fun to be incarcerated physically spiritually emotionally it's no fun but there is a deliverer his name is jesus and according to this we are his deputies brian i don't want you to have to stand behind the bars with a relentless guard walking up and down in front of you saying remember what you did no i want to come and i want to visit and between us and god do you know somebody that's in a hold right now there's a burden just settled in here i'm fixing to stop right now even if i got thrown in jail for preaching the gospel there would be a shame there'd be just a sense of shame for my flesh and then if i got tossed in jail for speeding my lord or something else i would feel that shame bec come here please just a minute but what i need is somebody that loves me somebody loves me i love you in jail but i loved you out of jail and i will still love you in jail and we may have to kiss through the bars but what i need is somebody that loves me to come visit me people that are being held they don't need more fingers they don't need more rehearsing

stand with me if you would please plea nobody move around other than standing right now there is a heaven burden that's here right now we're going to go to prayer right now for people that are struggling and they're at their worst right now but god loves them best or worst and he said when you have done this i make an appeal today please hear me hear this appeal every listener that is present and online to take action beginning now on these actions that jesus lifted out please do not shovel this off to somebody else it is you if you're saved and if you're going to be saved oh god god help us to own and repent of our own failures we just need to step it up and own it i want to read the last few verses just in your hearing before i open this altar and you can go to come to the altar go to the pews wherever you want to go or go to your face verse 41 then shall he say unto them on the left hand depart from me he cursed if we don't do this if we don't do this he said there's curse everlast that's how important jesus said it was he didn't evangelize anything he didn't try to stretch anything and as much as you did it not he said in 45 to the least of these you did it not to me and verse 46 and these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous are going to life eternal we need to own what we need to own church step up where we need to step up and i open this altar right now and it's time to pray all over this building and i'm going to ask there would be very little visiting if any we need to visit with the lord right now or maybe your prayer will be a visit to somebody that's sick we don't always go physically we go with a prayer visit your prayer may be visiting somebody that feels uh like they are in a strange land and feels foreign and alienated oh yes oh god oh god come on that guard that guard hasn't let his guard down the church we can't let our guard down he hasn't stopped pacing we can't stop praying oh come on mama be relentless come on daddy come on friend hallelujah hallelujah come on family member come on bird and soul come on intercessor that's right that's right that's right oh god god yes help us yes god help us to repent i repent lord