Jesus In Disguise
Jesus In Disguise
Matthew 25:31-46 presents one of Jesus' most transformative teachings about service and judgment. In this passage, Jesus describes the final judgment where people are separated like sheep from goats, but the criteria isn't perfect theology or flawless behavior—it's how we treat the least of these. The shocking revelation is that when we serve those who cannot help themselves, we're not just being Jesus to them; they're being Jesus to us.
This truth manifests in three powerful ways. First, Jesus is present in the equality of all people, demolishing any sense of superiority we might have toward those we serve. Every person, regardless of circumstances or social status, has inherent dignity because Christ is present with them. Second, Jesus is found in the vulnerability of the human heart. When people are at their lowest points, they can't afford facades, creating authentic encounters where Christ meets us in mutual vulnerability. Third, Jesus is present in selfless love—when we serve those who can give us nothing in return, we engage with the very heart of God and discover the joy of pure giving.
Mother Teresa exemplified this understanding, describing those she served as Jesus in disguise and seeing her work as an opportunity to be with Jesus 24 hours a day. This perspective transforms how we approach service in our church families and communities, making every act of care a sacred encounter with the living Christ rather than just charitable work.
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Jesus in Disguise: Finding Christ in the Least of These
When we think about serving others, we often focus on how we can be Christ to those in need. But what if Jesus taught us something far more profound? What if, in serving the vulnerable and broken, we're actually encountering Christ himself?
What Does Jesus Say About Serving Others?
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus paints a powerful picture of the final judgment. He describes separating people like a shepherd separates sheep from goats, but the criteria might surprise you. It's not based on perfect theology or flawless behavior—it's about how we treat "the least of these."
The Shocking Revelation
"'For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.'" - Matthew 25:35-40 New Living Translation (NLT)
This passage reveals something extraordinary: when we serve those who cannot help themselves, we're not just being Jesus to them—they're being Jesus to us.
How Do We Find Jesus in Others?
Jesus is in the Equality of All People
This truth demolishes any sense of superiority we might have. Jesus doesn't say we're doing good deeds for lesser people. He says we're ministering to Christ himself. Every person—regardless of their circumstances, mistakes, or social status—has inherent value and dignity.
When we encounter someone at their lowest point, we often don't know their story. We don't know the abuse they've suffered, the trauma they've endured, or the circumstances that brought them there. But Jesus is there with them, and when we serve them, we serve Him.
Jesus is in the Vulnerability of the Human Heart
People at their lowest points can't afford facades. There's a rawness and authenticity that comes with desperation. When someone has nothing left to lose, they become genuinely vulnerable—and that's where Jesus meets us.
This vulnerability isn't one-sided. When we encounter truly vulnerable people, something breaks open in our own hearts. We become vulnerable too, and in that mutual vulnerability, Christ is present.
Jesus is in Selfless Love
Most relationships in life have some transactional element. We give and receive, whether in employment, friendships, or even marriage. But when we serve those who can give us nothing in return—no recognition, no advancement, no reciprocal favor—we engage with the very heart of God.
This is where we discover the joy that comes from pure giving. That sense of fulfillment when you help someone who could do nothing for you? That's the presence of God flowing through you.
What Did Mother Teresa Understand About This?
Mother Teresa captured this truth beautifully when she said: "The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved, they are Jesus in disguise."
When asked about her work, she explained: "I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus." She understood that in serving the poorest of the poor, she wasn't just helping them—she was encountering Christ himself.
She described herself as "a little pencil in his hand," recognizing that God was doing the work through her. This humility came from understanding that in serving others, she was the one being blessed with Christ's presence.
Where Do We Find Jesus in Our Daily Lives?
In Our Church Family
This principle doesn't only apply to strangers on the street. Within our church community, people go through vulnerable seasons—grief, anxiety, family crises, health challenges. When we reach out to support a struggling brother or sister, we encounter Christ in that moment of genuine care.
Sometimes we look at pastors or leaders and assume they have it all together. But everyone needs love, and everyone goes through difficult times. When we minister to one another in vulnerability, we meet Jesus there.
In Our Community
Whether it's visiting nursing homes, serving meals to the homeless, mentoring students, or simply being present with someone in crisis, these aren't just good deeds—they're opportunities to encounter the living Christ.
The beautiful truth is that those we serve often minister back to us. A elderly person's gratitude, a student's breakthrough, a homeless person's story—these moments transform us as much as we hope to transform others.
Why Does This Matter for How We Live?
Understanding that Jesus is present in the vulnerable changes everything:
It removes the power dynamic from helping others. We're not the saviors; we're fellow recipients of grace.
It makes service sacred, not just charitable. We're engaging in holy work.
It transforms our hearts as much as it helps others. We become more like Christ through serving.
It reveals God's character—that He chooses to be present with the lowest and most broken.
Life Application
This week, look for opportunities to serve someone who cannot give you anything in return. This might be volunteering with a local ministry, visiting someone who's lonely, helping a struggling neighbor, or simply being present with someone going through a difficult time.
As you serve, pay attention to what happens in your own heart. Notice the joy that comes from selfless giving. Recognize the presence of Christ in both the person you're serving and in your own experience of serving them.
Ask yourself these questions:
When have I experienced the joy of serving someone who could give me nothing in return?
How might my perspective on "helping others" change if I truly believed I was encountering Jesus in them?
What vulnerable person in my life might need my presence and care right now?
How can I move beyond just "being Jesus to others" to recognizing Jesus in others?
The truth is profound: when we serve the least of these, we don't just minister to Christ—we meet Him. In the vulnerability, equality, and selfless love of service, Jesus reveals Himself to us in ways that will transform our hearts and revolutionize our understanding of what it means to follow Him.
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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So we're going to come around the Word and I want to speak to you about this topic that I think is so important because this isn't just something we should do on the side. This should be the heartbeat of who we are. And there's a scripture that really I felt challenged with this week and I think it should challenge all of us. Matthew 25 if we turn there. Matthew 25:31.
I want to read this. This is Jesus who's been preaching and he's been telling stories, illustrations, metaphors and he talks about himself when he will meet everyone at the, at the final judgment, Judgment day when our lives have been lived on this earth. And it's important to note before I read this scripture, I don't want to talk. People use this scripture to talk about heaven and hell and who's going where. We understand that we are saved by God's grace, don't we?
We're saved because of the grace of Jesus Christ and what he's done for us. And this scripture is going to talk about some things we do. I don't want to talk about, you know, who's saved, who's not. This scripture to me is not talking about are we saved by God's grace or not. It's talking about what do people who are saved by God's grace, what do their actions look like?
Because who knows that when Jesus saves you, faith without works is dead. And so Jesus is talking about, if you've been saved by my grace, if you've had a revelation of who I am, then something's going to change about your heart, and that will be reflected in your actions. And so this is what he's talking about, and this is the challenge to us today. So let's have a look at it. Matthew 25:31.
But when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. And then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me.
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and.
And you visited me. And here's an interesting part of this, because then these righteous ones will reply, lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality, or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to the one, to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.
That's challenging, isn't it? I'm not sure whether we fully. Well, I don't think we often think about the profound nature of this scripture because it's one of the most profound thoughts that Jesus gave. Because here's the Truth. We as Christians, we think about us going to those in need, don't we?
And going. When we go to them, it's us. We are being Christ to them, that we are being Jesus to them. We are full of. Next week, I'm preaching at Pentecost Sunday.
Don't miss it. It's going to be an awesome time of the presence of God. We are Pentecostal. We're a Pentecostal church. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, that he fills our lives.
And wherever we walk, God is with us. And we can see miracles happen, breakthroughs, people saved. We believe that, don't we? We are Jesus, hands and feet in this world. We believe it.
But this scripture is not saying that. It's actually saying something very different. That we find it very easy to say, I'm being Jesus to others when I love them. But in this scripture, quite profoundly and weirdly and beyond the belief of the righteous ones. In this passage, Jesus says, when you go and minister to the hurting and the broken, you are doing it to me.
That you are the one meeting Jesus. When you minister to those who are hurting, that actually you're not just being Jesus to them in some way, they're being Jesus to you. That's a bit. That's deep, isn't it? We don't think about that.
But I think we should think about that. Because I think if we do and we understand the nature of. And I think there's very deep things going on here. But if we can understand that there's truth in this, it'll change how we see reaching others. It'll change how we see God, how we see ourselves, and how we see people who are less fortunate than ourselves.
Whether that's practically socioeconomically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, we'll see them different. And we'll realize, actually, I can see this and in a more. Far more beautiful light. And so when I was thinking about this, I want to read you a snippet from an interview with someone that I think got this idea. And it's an interview with Mother Teresa.
Happened years ago with Time magazine. And someone interviewed her and she said these words, and I've brought them up on the screen for you. Listen to this. Because I think Mother Teresa got this truth from this scripture. The interviewer starts.
What did you do this morning? Pray. When did you start? Half past four. Right.
Let's just stop there right now. Let's all go and pray. So Lord, help me be like Mother Teresa. How's she getting up at half past four? And praying, who got up at half past four this morning and prayed.
There we go. There's a Mother Teresa in the making. No, well done. That's awesome. Right?
But there you go. That's. That's some of her spirituality. And then he says this. This is the bit I want to focus on after prayer.
What did you do after prayer? She says this. We try to pray through our work by doing it with Jesus, for Jesus, and to Jesus that helps us put our whole heart and soul into doing it. The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved, they are Jesus in disguise. Isn't that powerful?
I've titled today's message Jesus in Disguise, Jesus in Disguise. Because the truth of this scripture, he's saying, when you did it for the least of these, when you reached out in selfless love and care for those who couldn't help themselves in that moment, you did it for me. You did it to me. That in some way, when we're ministering to others in need, we're ministering to Christ himself. That takes what we do in this world to a whole other level.
That you're not just trying to help people to show them Christ, that you are actually ministering to Christ himself in those moments. It takes. Can I say, this church, the church for too long over history has acted like it is the great power and sort of use it. So we've got the answer and we need to show you. And that's a bit of a power play, isn't it?
We see it in the structures of church through history. It's like we know the answer and you don't. So you better do what you're told or else, you know. And this is the opposite of that. That's saying take yourself selflessly and minister and reach out at an equal level.
And you're actually ministering to Christ. It takes the power play out of it. And that's the first thing I'd say about this beautiful truth. There's a couple of things I want to say and then I'm going to share something and then we're going to hear from our team. The first thing I'd say is that how do we find Jesus?
We find Jesus in this truth, in the equality of all people. That Jesus is saying, you know what? There's no one of us can lord it over anyone else, that it doesn't matter the most. And this is why some of the examples he gives, those in prison, those without clothing, those are the worst point of their life. You know, what you discover and the teams discovered this.
We all discover this. The people at the worst, lowest point of their life that we look at and sometimes judge very easily and go, oh, look at them. How have they gotten to that state? They must have done something wrong. They must have done this.
You know what? Oftentimes we don't know people's story all the time. We don't know their story. We don't know why they're struggling like they're there, but by the grace of God go I. We don't know the abuse that was suffered.
We don't know the things that they went through to get there. And Jesus Christ is pointing us and saying, you know what? You don't. Because all people are equal. All people have value, no matter.
No matter how low this life has brought them. And he's saying this. When you minister to them, you're ministering to Christ because Christ is there with the lowest of the low in their deepest, darkest need. Not because they're less valuable, but because life has done that to them. And he says, I'm there because that God is present at the lowest point and is present at the highest point and says, you want to find me?
Go to the lowest place and you'll find me right there. As you minister to them, you're ministering to me. There's a beautiful truth in that, friends, we have to see. We're not here to try and fix everyone. We're here to minister the love of Jesus Christ and meet with Christ as we minister to those people, that all people have value, all people are equal.
Jesus did it, didn't he? Oh, they killed him, number one, because of what he said, number two, because of who he hung out with that he was. He broke their system. That if you want to be accepted in the religious system, accepted by God, you have to live a certain way, you have to wear certain clothes, you have to act like this. You have to follow all the laws, and then God will accept you.
And what did Jesus do? He went and met with the lepers, the ones that they had a religious teaching that said they're lepers because they're being punished by God and they must be separated out and removed. And Jesus went and met with them, the prostitutes, those who are the tax collectors who turned on their own people to make a profit, and their own Jewish people despised them. And Jesus said, I'm coming to your house today, Matthew. I'm coming to your place.
I'm coming to you. I'm going to go and meet with you. Because Jesus said, that's where I am. Come on. You want to meet with Christ?
Meet with the people who need Jesus the most, and you're going to find him right there. And this is the truth. We believe that they're going to find Christ. But here's the reality. Jesus is saying, you're going to find me too.
In that moment. In that moment, you want to meet with Jesus, realize people will have value. The second thing is, Jesus is in the vulnerability, in the vulnerability of the human heart. Because people who are at the lowest point, you get rawness, don't you? There's no point putting on a facade when you're at your lowest point.
If I've got no clothes, I've got no food, I can't really afford to try and say everything's okay, because it's not. When I'm going through the deepest battle of grief, you know this. It happens to us in our church as well, when we're struggling. The most vulnerability is where we're at, because we've got nothing left. And Jesus is saying, that's where I am.
You want to meet with Christ, meet with those who are vulnerable. And you get vulnerable, too. Isn't that what happens to you? I don't know about you. When I meet with vulnerable people, something breaks in my heart.
My heart opens up. You know what I discover? I discover the presence of God, that I'm ministering to Christ there. And he's ministering back to me in that moment. And I think, there's something beautiful about this.
People wonder, how do I get to know Jesus? How do I live a holy life? And we teach on this. And you know what? If you want to teach about holiness, right, how do you.
What do you teach? Right? We go read the Bible, pray and live a righteous life. What does living a righteous life look like? Right?
Don't sin, say the right things, have the right motives, don't lust, don't have anger and sit in your anger. We've got all these things, the deep inner things of the heart. And then the outward acts that we have and it talks about. Our words are important, aren't they? You know, out of their heart, the mouth speaks.
And we sin when stuff is wrong in our heart and all these things. There's truth in all of that. How do you know God? You come into worship, come into presence, live a holy life. But Jesus is saying something more profound here.
He's saying, do you want to meet with. Do you want to live a holy life? Do you want to encounter Christ? Go and minister to those who can't give you anything back in return.
You want to live a holy life, go and do that. That's holiness. You're finding holiness in that moment. You're finding Christ in the say yes. Worship, come to church, spend time in prayer in the presence of God.
I love it. We need it. Of course we do that. But you'll also meet Christ in the brokenness of others, won't you? And Mother Teresa had discovered that.
She said, I'm meeting Jesus when I meet with the poor of Kolkata, I'm meeting Christ. Something happened in her. And I tell you, it will change your life if you see it like this. You will see Jesus in a fresh way. Jesus is in the equality of all people.
He's in the vulnerability of the human heart. And Jesus Christ is in the sharing of selfless love. Because the reality is this, most relationships we have in this world, we get something back in return. There's a transactional nature to the relationship, isn't there? You give me this, I get this back in return, right?
Your employer, employee relationship, right? Very obvious. I'll give you a job, I'll promote you, right? And I'll pay you. But you give me some performance, otherwise it ain't gonna happen, right?
We look at even our marriage relationship, it's supposed to be selfless love. But so often it's like, you be nice to me and I'll be, hey, you get me a present on Mother's Day, and you might find you got a present on Father's Day. You know, you remember our anniversary. And I might remember our anniversary, too. You know?
And that happens in relationships. It's like, you know what? You do the dishes, Adrian, all right? And you might get a hug, right?
That's not true. But this is the transaction, right? We do it in our relationship. You know what's different about these relationships? That I think is the profound thing.
These are people that Jesus is saying, they've got nothing to offer you. You can walk past them. It's like the Good Samaritan, you know? And that story, there's the man who's been robbed on the side of the road. He's got nothing to offer anyone except trouble, pain and inconvenience.
And everyone walks by him because they go. Nothing to offer here except for the Good Samaritan, the one that no one expect to help. He goes out of his way, and that's where Christ is. You know why you're going to encounter Christ in that? Because when you offer selfless love, expecting and not being even able to Receive anything in return.
You're meeting Christ. You have just engaged with the heart of God in a profound way that will revolutionize this world if we let it. It'll revolutionize the human heart. Young people, it'll teach you that there is more to live for than what you get in life, than being successful. It'll.
That's where I met Jesus. When I reached out in the schools, when I went on the outreach program, when I showed love to someone who was hurting, I met Christ. And I want to tell you lives are changed and transformed and that is the most beautiful, valuable thing in the world. Have you found it? Have you found you know what I'm talking about?
Do you know that joy that you get when you reach out to someone and they could do nothing for you? The beautiful joy, the sense of I just helped someone and they could do nothing to recompense me. I just reached out in love and because I could. I'm telling you that's. You're sensing the presence of God.
That joy, that love, that greatness, that's God. You've just met with the Lord and his love is flowing through that time.
So I think this is something that we need to think about. It's something that made Mother Teresa. I believe this with all my heart. I believe that revelation caused her to give up her life and go and serve the people of Kolkata and beyond for the rest of her life.
What will it do to you and I if we get that revelation? How will it make you change the way you view your life and what we gain and what we get out of it if we see this the way that Jesus saw it? Interestingly, you know what? The righteous didn't even know they were ministering to Christ. They were encountering Jesus by helping those who were in need and vulnerable.
And they didn't even know that they were meeting with Christ.
I want to finish with this thought, this personal thought, because it's real in our church. It's not just the people out there, it's the people in our church. There's people next to us that need selfless love and care when we go through difficult times. And the truth of the matter is that today I'm not supposed to be preaching. It's Pastor Fua.
He was preaching, he was getting his sermon ready and he was going to get. And I think he's a brilliant person to share about this because when he shares, it comes from the heart. I said, you're the exact person to share on this topic. And we're getting ready and this week, middle of this week, Fu and I caught up and I'd said to him, hey, Fu, I said, are you doing okay? Because I think there's some things going on.
And we met and we got vulnerable. And the truth of the matter is that Fuwa always is someone, for 10 years has been one of my great mates and just a pillar in this church, him and Alex. And just, you know what he does? He pushes through. You don't see all the times, you don't see all the times he was here at 6am in the morning, you know, when no one else got here, setting up this place for years as a volunteer to make sure our worship was good, you know, we didn't see all those times.
All the people he's met with, all the people he's loved all the time he just pushes through, pushes through, push us through. But lately in their family, a couple of things have happened in their extended family. They, one of their family members lost an infant child suddenly and it was a tragedy. And Fua, as one of the leaders of his family, they came around and he offered support and love and care on top of everything else he was doing for his family, for this church. And he had to do the funeral for a little baby.
And it was the first ever funeral he had to do in his life. And it was that. And I go, that's one of the, I've talked to one of my mentor pastors, he said, adrian, he goes, you want to do something tough and emotionally draining? He goes, that's one of the toughest things he said I've ever had to do. Fool just had to do it.
And then a couple of weeks they had some holidays and then on holiday there was a car accident that fool was in and he's okay physically and everyone's alright. The car was a write off. But you know, some of you have been in things like this where it affects you and you start getting anxious and because of the repercussions afterwards of an accident suddenly like that. And so Fuwa just, we talked and he said, you know, I've been feeling not my normal self. And so we've, you know, I said, well, you're coming off preaching.
You know what he said? He goes, but what are you gonna do? I said, it's all right, I'll get it. No, you've got too much on Adrian. I said, no, Fu, I said, you're my brother.
And so he's taken this week off this weekend, he's gonna take next week off. And he's saying, he's gonna be back next week. That's his plan. But so just so you guys know. And he said, I could share that with you.
Cause you're family. And I know we love Alex and Fua and their kids dearly. So let's just be praying for Fua in this time. But you know what I realized in this? Because we're so busy.
Fu and I, we've been busy. We work together and we see this church grow and all the team, and it's great. But it was one of those moments this week where we sat together and I said, you know what? This is more important than everything we do, you know? And it's full of was there sharing his heart, getting vulnerable as I got vulnerable.
We shared our love for one another. He said, I don't care about all the stuff you do, mate. I love you and I want you to be okay. And I want you to know I love you. And I want you to know I'm here for you.
And you know what I was able to do? I experienced this. I met with Jesus as I was meeting with Fua. There was love, there was tears, there was a joy in going. We've found what really matters.
It's not all the stuff we do and all the busyness and all the worship and all that. It's ministering to one another in vulnerable places where we meet Christ. And you know what? I believe I was Christ's love to Fua. But you know what?
Fua was Christ to me.
And that's what I'm talking about. There are people in this church and you'll find family. They need the love. And we won't get. We don't get perfect on this, all right?
We constantly mess it up. But you know what? Let's have hearts and say, God, help me. Help me to reach out to the vulnerable. You got to share that.
If you are vulnerable in this place, come and talk to someone and say, hey, I'd like to catch up and share. Because we want people in this church. We want to minister to you, but we want to minister to those who are hurting and broken. And that's where we meet Jesus. You get what I'm talking about?
That's where we meet Christ. And I share that with you because it's good for us to know. It's good for us to know that everyone needs love. And every one of us go through vulnerable times. And sometimes we look at me or another pastor and we go, oh, you look strong and you got it all together.
I go, we don't know what's going on beneath the surface.
You can make a difference. Can I tell you how many people in this church have been such a blessing to me personally in my life? When you think I'm blitzing it and things, but you don't know the vulnerability and someone's come and shared love and shared Christ, and I go, you know what? It's been a beautiful lifting moment in my life. And it can be a lifting moment of thought.
We can do it for one another. Do it for your spouse, do it for your children, and do it for your parents. Because that's where Jesus is. That's where we meet him. I'm going to share this little second part of this interview that Mother Teresa had, and then we're going to get the team up to share about this practically.
How God is using us and how we're meeting with Christ through the outreach and the things that we're doing. The interviewer said this people. He said to Mother Teresa, people know you as sort of a religious social worker. Do they understand the spiritual basis of your work? I think that's important, what we're doing practically.
There's a spiritual basis to it. And she says this, I don't know. But I give them a chance to come and touch the poor. Everybody has to experience that. So many young people give up everything to do just that.
This is something so completely, completely unbelievable in the world. No. And yet it is wonderful. Our volunteers go back different people. The interviewer said, humble as you are, it must be an extraordinary thing to be a vehicle of God's grace in the world.
She said, but it is his work. I think God wants to show his greatness by using nothingness. You feel you have no special qualities? I don't think so. I don't claim anything of the work.
It is his work, and I love this. Look at this beautiful metaphor. I am like a little pencil in his hand. That is all. He does the thinking, he does the writing.
The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil is only to be allowed to be used in human terms. The success of our work should not have happened. No. Then he says this.
What is God's greatest gift to you? The poor people, how are they a gift to you? I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus.
Isn't that amazing?
You have the opportunity as well. I have that opportunity to minister to Christ, with Christ in Christ. And he does a work in us, he does a work in others. This is the beautiful transformative power of God. It is miraculous, it is spiritual, it is deep.
And even though what we do is practical, it is having eternal spiritual consequences for those we reach. But I would put to you, maybe even, and just as importantly for us, that Christ is ministering into our hearts. We're meeting with him as we minister to others. And so that's my challenge, that's my thought. I thank God that we're part of a church that has this heart.
And I believe that we are going to see this explode in the years to come. As we capture this, I want to be known as a church that loves people selflessly and says we care about this because we've had that revelation. And as we do, you watch what God's going to do. Amen. Amen.
So we're going to hear from some of our teams right now and they're doing some amazing stuff. And the opportunity, as you hear from them, we just want to celebrate what they're doing. We want to thank God. And at the end of the service, as I said, there's an opportunity, if you want to, there's a form you can fill in, you can go talk to people. And if you want to, you can join one of these teams or you can say, hey, I want to give into this and help.
And all those are open to you. You just want to say, no, Adrian, I'm happy doing what I'm doing, but I love being a part of this. That's all cool, too. So there's no pressure. This is a celebration of what God is doing in our church and through us.
And I thought it's fitting that we should give a morning to this to say, let's celebrate what God is doing, because it's so important. So we got a few groups that I want to bring up and just briefly share with us. And the first of those, I just want to ask. We've just started a cooking team, a cooking meals team. We are now starting to cook hundreds of meals a week, not just here in Frankston, but in other locations.
But here at Frankston, we've got some people and so we've got. I just want to invite. Where's Mark? Mark and Andrea, come on up. Mark and Andrea, they're sort of heading up with Pastor Fua.
So Fua is oversighting all of this. And Mark and Andrea have basically said yes, and we've got other people joining the team. So why don't you just come on up and just share what God's doing, what you're doing and what God's doing in you at the Same time, second time. Let's do it. Give him a hand.
This is Andrea. We're doing a lot of meals. We're cooking a lot of meals Wednesdays. Yeah. We need help.
We've got a lot more coming up. There's so much to do. Yeah. So I don't think Andrew's gonna talk. And what, what's God done in you since you've, since you've said yes to that?
Because you came to us. Mark and Andrew came to us. We were talking on a Sunday. They started coming and they heard this call and he said, I've been a chef, I can help you. And suddenly they're in the kitchen.
Every Wednesday, Andrea's gone and done this massive clean out of our kitchen. And she's like the organizing queen of being Mark's like cooking it up, baking the menu. But what's God been doing in you since you've been doing that? So we wanted to volunteer and by doing that, because we're new to the church, obviously we came here in November last year. It's given us a chance to meet a lot of the pastors and spend a lot of one on one time with people here.
Yeah. So yeah, yeah, yeah. And you felt, I mean, you've become part of this church family very, very quickly. Yeah. And your daughter too, helping and yeah, you're doing a great job.
And here's the thing we do, we want to, we want to go from making a couple of hundred meals a week, we want to, in the end, we want to make it thousand meals a week across our churches. And so we have opportunity. If you know how to cook and you say, hey, I've got some skill, I can help. If you don't know how to cook but you say, hey, I can, I can come and help. Mark's got the training, Phil has got training, we've got others.
They'll teach you. You can just cut up veggies, you can help label things, put the packs together. So if that's on your heart, you can come and sign up to that. You guys will be at the the table and have a chat and it's a great area. Give these guys a hand.
Thank you. Well done, guys, well done. And then when we make those meals, we have a great team that has been going out. This team keeps growing and it's been going for nine years or almost nine years. And I want to invite Jocelyn and Myrta and all of the outreach community, Outreach team, quickly, I want you to all come on up on the stage.
There's people Everywhere, every Thursday night. So up they come.
Quick crank.
They're all, they're walking like you're in a wedding.
Very, very sophisticated. Thank you guys. You guys are awesome. There you go. Jocelyn, over to you.
Give these guys a hand. Come on. Well, good morning, church. My name is Jocelyn and along with each and every one of these amazing people and my mum. Come, come, come.
Where's Lee? Is Leah all right? Anyway, yeah, we have an enormous opportunity to go out each week to see our community. We are able to provide around 250 meals. The team come in each week.
This is some of us, we're probably about 25, 30 volunteers. We go out into the community and we give out these meals. We have homemade soups that some of our people make here and about 20 bags of bread that we take out. So all in all, it's around 300 meals that we're going out each and every week. Glory to God.
This team once started with very, very few people and we were doing several locations, several hours of work every week. Now, as you can see, glory to God. Again, he's moving. And what that allows us to do is to have really great conversations with people. We're able to take our time.
We're to able. Look, I'm reminded, reminded of Paul and Silas when they were in prison and they started to lift hymns of worship and praise to God and what that must have done for the prisoners that were around. They lifted their spirits and I'm not professing to be anything like or none of us are anything like that, but what we are able to do is go out into the community and love and sow seeds, just like lifting up worship. And it's through conversation I shared before that we've been talking about a spirit of curiosity. Jesus was a great, He's a great teacher and he taught us how good it is to listen.
He asked very few questions, but he listened a lot. And you're able to determine so much from a person's story. Some of the testimonies that we have, we have one gentleman lived in a car for many years and he just really appreciates us coming out to see him. He shared that he lost his son through tragic circumstances, through suicide, and he's never been able to share that with anyone before. Since we've been visiting him, we're able to share the good news of God.
We're able to share love and companionship. So we've left him with Bibles. We have another guy who lives in one of the caravan parks that we go and visit and mate. He just comes. We actually try to avoid him, to be honest.
No, no, no, no, not really. I love him. I love him. I love him anyway. But he gives you hugs, like, big hugs, you know, and he's always asking for prayer.
And it's not just prayer from one on one. It's like, let's pray, let's pray, you know, so we're all praying together and he honestly believes that his kids are still alive because of the power of prayer. So glory to God for that. I don't know if I've got. Yeah, that's Mario.
Michael over here.
Oh, yeah. Y.
It's not coming. Michael is a very good example of our outreach team. He. He help us. Very loyal and faithful.
And so, look, I just want to encourage you that, you know, sometimes you might think that going out into the community could be a bit daunting. One of our first experiences were quite daunting. I think the guy that came on a night to us looked a little bit scary. We ended up sleeping in the same bed together that night because I was a bit taken back by it. But God, God's been moving and my encouragement to you is that, like, just come, there's a place for everyone.
We'd love to welcome you on the team and just worship where you are. Worship where you are is the most important thing. And he's doing the work in us. Like, the work in us is incredible. We never.
We're all working. Most of us are working or studying, and it gets really tough, especially during winter. Come home and we're running around. Gotta get to church and do all this stuff anyway. But we never leave more tired than what we did when we.
When we first started. So he renews our strength, he restores us, and he works in our hearts and minds as well. So, look, just grateful for the amazing team here and the church who's allowed us to, you know, who's entrusted us with this. So. Yeah.
Love you guys. Awesome. Hang on. So one on a couple of you. We don't have time for everyone because you guys are awesome.
Why don't a couple of you tell us, why do you do this? What happens when you've done it? Colin, why don't you tell us? Because I know you go and pick up the meals every week. Spends hours picking and bringing them over to us.
Why do you do it? What's God doing? Well, thanks, master. Yeah, no, it's a real privilege to be able to contribute to such a great team. My part's a very small part.
I just pick the food up from Preston and put it in the fridges. But these team go out at night and their testimonies and their videos and stuff of what they do is just amazing. To even watch, to even see the work that's going on. And it's very encouraging. So being able to be a small part of.
It's a real privilege for me.
That's awesome.
What about you guys was.
A few. Few short words for me. It makes my heart smile, you know, and it's a privilege to be working with all these people. So, yeah.
Anyone else?
I don't come every week, but.
But Jocelyn always makes sure that I have a place that I can come and just get involved in the team. So even if you're working or you're busy throughout the week, like, anytime you can make it, anything you can do is always appreciated by everyone. And it's always a great place to just bring people to church. You can meet people and invite people. Yep.
Awesome. He's really good, by the way. I gotta say. I was just jamming him up a little bit. But part of the big thing is to make people laugh, right?
Put a smile on the dial. That's what it's all about. Can't take yourself too seriously. Just got to get out there and make the rubber hit the road, knock on the door and say, what are you doing here? Oh, I'm here to crack some money, mate.
Just going to make them laugh. And maybe you can do that. Well, you know, we're just the instrument, right, Pastor? Amen. And I think it's brilliant because as they're ministering to others, I'm telling you right now, I talk to these guys that God's ministering to them.
They're meeting Christ in this. And it's changing your lives, isn't it? As you do this, Myrta, why don't you finish for us? Because this mighty woman of God I've known for nine years, and she's one of the great examples to me of someone. You know, Myrt has gone through a lot in her life, and she could.
She could say, well, I've been. You know, I've gone through this, and where's, you know, what she's done? She's taken all that and said, I'm gonna go minister to others and pour out love, no matter who they are, whether. And that just pours from her heart. She's got more vision than anyone in this church.
Honestly, every time I talk to her, she's like, adrian, we must do more. We must do this. We've got to do this because she's on fire for God, with the love of Christ. So why don't you just share with us a minute at the end and then we'll thank you guys again.
God changed all my mourning into joy, all my brokenness into blessings. And to see all the outreach team today is an honor to see our pastors. So I encourage, encourage you to be a part of it. I mean, we are not perfect, but Jesus is doing the work and he lead us. Okay?
So thank you very much for this time and thank you to the pastors. There is an anointing here. Pastor Trevor, Catherine, everyone. They are beautiful. Yeah, praise God.
Hey, love you. And you guys, Jocelyn, just have a look at this team because I'll tell you, when they first started, there was hardly anyone and sometimes it was just Myrta and Jocelyn going out themselves on a Friday night with meals they'd made to give to people in need. And they kept going. No matter what, they would not give up. They had hearts of gold.
And you look around now what God is building because your faithfulness, your dream and having a revelation of the heart of Christ. And we want to see say a big thank you. Why don't we give Jocelyn and Myrta as well a great hand for pillars of faith. Let's give all these guys a hand. Thank you.
Praise God. Trevor, why don't you just come up and share for 30 seconds about the meals we're giving out as well. You were telling me before we also give out hampers that people deliver and so why don't you just tell us about that? Yeah, it's great seeing God's love in action through his church. And Colin and his wife Linda is here today.
But yeah, for quite a few years since COVID actually we were handing out, doing food packages for people through Covid, but we've continued to do that since COVID has happened over the last few years. So Colin and Linda, they go and pick up food from Harbour Care, which is our food bank at Hastings Connect. And then they go and deliver those food packages to people in our need, especially in the Frankston area. So we just really appreciate and thank you guys. Your servant hearts expressing God's love to people in need.
So let's give Colin and Linda a hand this morning.
So yeah, just great. People got a love for God, serving God. We're on this journey together and each one of us can express God, express God's love in different ways, especially to the hurting, to the broken and those that are going through difficult times. But, yeah, good on you, church. Amen.
Thank you. Give these guys a hand again. Thank you. And now I want to invite our nursing home outreach team, Lena, you guys, to come on up and we're going to hear some of the awesome things God's doing in that space.
Thanks.
You have to come up on stage. Yes, you do. Up you come. In the middle. In the middle.
Just want to say, this is Gavin and Andrea and they're part of our nursing home team.
We actually have Connect together on a Thursday morning. And I got an email to say, would you like to come into a nursing home? We've got some residents, I think it was 31, who really want to have somebody to speak to them about Jesus. So we went and I was thinking when I did a bit of research, we've got 135 or 137 nursing homes in our community, and we've got these people who are isolated and they're just looking for someone to bring Christ to them. So that's what we do.
So we go to a little home in Rosebud and we have a church service. We have a little church room. The doors close. We've got our own pocket pulpit. Because I was a nurse for 25 years, none of the staff stay in the room with us.
So you can naturally assume we preach Christ crucified. We preach John 3:16. Harry. We've got a lovely response. When we do our message, we write our scripture out that we're going to speak on, and we actually invite them to read it to us.
Through the message, I stop and go such and such. Can you read yours? And that's the way it is. We involve them. They give us the songs they want to sing and we give them little sheets I print out every week for them to sing.
So we might have three or four songs on it. And most weeks they won't give them back because they want to take them to their room and learn them for the next time we're back. So it's just beautiful what God's doing in their lives. Also, I've had the opportunity to go in and sit with a lady who was palliative and sat with her and her husband prayed for her. And then, as I thought, I'll go.
The Lord said, no, you stay. You need to stay with this man. No children, just him and her. Married for 75 years. And she was there and he kept, you know, rubbing her head.
And they were Christians, so that's amazing. So I spent about two hours with him And a couple of weeks ago, he actually came into our service and sat in the service, the husband. So God is doing a real work in these people. And it's because of our model. Love people, love God, change lives.
And we're changing lives. So now we have another four nursing homes. So when we get the email to say we need help, I ring them. I go and have an interview with the staff at the nursing home to see what they're looking for. We got two Catholic nursing homes.
And they said, helena, what do you speak to them about? I said, I speak to them and I tell them they need a relationship with Jesus. And that's all we're doing. So we've actually had up to 15 volunteers put their name down. So that's to God be the glory.
Thank you for. I think we've got. Did you say five? Want us in there now? But there's so many more opportunity and God's doing them mighty work.
We're going to get the schools guys up in a second. But before we do, have you asked someone to come here? Because you might say I'm time poor and I don't have time. But there's another way to help this ministry and all these ministries that we're doing, they cost money for us to go in and we've, we've been able to. Helena's been able to come on staff to do this nursing home ministry and give it the time so we can increase it.
And we have Connect Community Care is an organization itself that everything given in or $2 plus is tax deductible. And so you might say, you know what, on my normal giving in the church, that's great, but I would like, you know, you might give into other areas or whatever, but you might say, you know what, I want to give tax deductibility into this so we can do this. And I've invited one of the great friends of our church, a friend of mine and is a business person who sowed into this ministry for many years, Graham Wells. I want to come on up and Graham's part of our church. He normally goes along to Hastings, but I want to tell you, I've just asked him to share for a couple of minutes just about his heart and why he gives into this ring and what it means to him.
And he's got something to share, so give him a hand. You're a family member, mate. We love you. Over to you.
You better put your glasses on. Oh, you look younger now.
Adrian just asked me to. Yeah, from just what he said. So I'm just at the top of this bit of the thing I'm going to read is just finances, why I give and the reason behind it. Giving to me has been an interesting journey. Over the years, I had questions of why I should give and how much I should give.
In my earlier years, I always heard at church to give 10% of your income. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't. For various reasons, I was blessed to be involved in a family business, which I took over in my late 20s. The challenge with running businesses is sometimes you have spare finances and sometimes you don't.
I used to feel bad when I couldn't give my 10% or any offering from our family business to church. I felt this way for many years. I got to a stage where I said to God, I want to give you everything to you. Now I'm trusting you to help me make finances so I can give back to you. This was an easy thing to say, but a hard thing to do.
I would trust God for a while and then take back control again. I knew in my heart that giving total trust to God is what I needed to do. It took a lot of years, but now, because of regular prayer with him, sharing my needs and wants with him, he answers in ways that are the best for me.
Now our personal and business finances are now being used to build the kingdom of connect. It's fantastic. Now giving away my finances is more rewarding than receiving them. And I've just written down a verse here, Second Corinthians 9, 6, 7. I'm just going to read out the later part.
God loves a cheerful giver.
And Graham, he doesn't like the attention, but I wanted to, I want to do want to honor your brother. Because I go, you've been a friend, you've stirred my faith. I'll meet with Graham and he'll tell me, adrian, you got to believe for more because God can provide and he's been honestly, you've been generous. Some of the things we've been able to do do in our community care, especially because of your generosity. And we thank you.
And yeah, it's a ministry and maybe if you have that ministry and ability, no pressure, but like you said, God loves a cheerful giver. It's a way that God can use you and you can make a big difference. So that's available to you. There's the ways you can go to the desk. There'll be a desk there.
It's available online as well and it is tax deductible. So we do need your details so we can get you a receipt at the end of that. So that's one way I want to invite up this amazing team from nursing homes to outreach to the school's ministry. So Harry and the team are going to come on up and finish and share with us what God is doing in this amazing ministry. Thank you.
Thank you. Good morning, church. It's good to see you all. Yeah, I really want to about talk about our schools ministry because, you know, I think for many years at the heart of our church and our youth ministry, schools has always been where we want to be present in the community. But the sad reality is, is that now more than ever, it's getting harder and harder and harder to get into the community, to get into schools, whether it's public schools, private schools, Christian, whatever it may be.
And so we as a team have just been really proud, praying, praying and believing for God to open the doors. And just. It was last September we got a school actually reached out to us and asked if we would come in to run a lunchtime program weekly. And so it's just Mount Aaron College just behind us across the road there, which is where I went to school. And so we've been going in every single Friday during their lunchtimes at about 1 o' clock to 2pm We've been going in with about 20 to 30 students that come into the classrooms and we just connect with them, we're present with them, we play games, we have activities, team building things.
And then we have the opportunity to encourage them to bring up a positive environment and a safe space where they can feel open enough to share about themselves that someone is willing to listen to them. And so we've been going in every single week and we can't talk about Jesus and we can't preach the gospel to them because it's a public school. But as we go in there, we can be reflections of Jesus and we can be present with them and let them know that someone cares about them. Every walk of life, every, every student has come from different family situations, different areas, and they're all going through something and we have the opportunity to go in and really just love on them. So just love them and serve the school.
Serve the school to pray with them, pray with the chaplain and you know, before, well, no one can see us. We're like hiding in the room and praying over the school that God would move in it because God is on the move. And just last week we had our regional Youth Alive event on the Peninsula, which we had the honor of hosting here the honor and privilege. And we saw over 350 young people and teenagers come and hear the gospel and preach. But from that, we had 12 students from Mount Aaron decide to come along.
For the first time, 12 students come in here, and they heard the gospel and they listened to worship with other teenagers. And then we had one girl that heard the gospel and responded to the altar call for herself. And we were able to pray with her and give her a Bible. And now she's telling her friends about youth and about Jesus. And there's a curiosity, there's a wonder, because we're showing up week after week, and there's a curiosity going, why do you keep coming in?
Why do you keep coming? Why do you care so much? And that gives us the open door to show the love of Jesus. Do you guys have any highlights and testimonies? One of the highlights is definitely beforehand before we go in, we have, like, a set routine where we have to pray before we go in.
So there's always some pastors here that, you know, they're doing, like, their pastoral stuff in their offices, and as they walk out, they always see us outside. If the weather's good, we're always outside in a group, huddling, praying. And I definitely think that prayer is one of the powerful things that has gotten us this far. The impact that I'm seeing on these young kids, you know, they don't come from a Christian home at all. Obviously, some of them may, some of them may not.
We do get some interesting stories from the young ones, but it's always so, you know, it's such a good place, impact on my own life and the young ones lives as well.
I think for our team, it's been such a blessing to be able to go into the schools. You know, like we've spoken about today, everybody has a story, and people just want to be listened to. So for us, it's just really going in there and being that listening ear to these young people. And our prayer is just to really carry the light and the love of the Lord and, you know, bring that comfort to kids that may not have that in their homes.
I don't have many highlights, but it's just such a privilege and a blessing to just be a vessel of the Lord and just such a light to them.
And we've. We've been praying and believing for more and more schools, and I really believe that. That we have an opportunity to reach not just one school in our community, but many, many more. And so this Thursday, we got invited to Go into EMC to go be a part of them. And you know, so we're going to build relationship, we're going to start the conversation.
But at the heart of it, we just want to know how can we serve the school, the teachers, to support them, to support those communities. I was even talking to some of our young people about starting student led ministries, about prayer groups and Alpha studies in their lunchtime. Because I tell you what, we can only reach so many. But when we empower our young people to preach Jesus for themselves, there's endless amounts of people that we can reach and share with the love of Jesus. So yeah, God's on the move.
So I want to just say thank you and keep praying for us because God is opening the doors and we're just being obedient to him truly like the pencil.
Proud of you guys. So I think you can see we are not short on vision. There is no shortage of opportunity. And if God's stirring you, you can be involved in it. We're going to do this.
And my dream is this, that we can expand far beyond what we're already doing. And we want to expand in every area. All these needs. I want to see us in multiple schools. Here's another thing that we're looking at.
We're looking at getting buses because we can't preach the gospel in public schools, but we can invite them to youth and we want to get buses from our other locations, bring them here on a Friday night. That's going to cause just two buses that we hire is going to cost about $400 a week to do that. And that's why, you know, funding and all this helps. But we are changing lives in doing it. And so we're going to pray, we're going to finish, then we're going to finish with this song.
Holy, holy. The bridge bit, that's good. And, but who feels inspired from that? Hey, and I want to say a big thank you for your generosity, your heart. It's possible because of the heart of all of us.
You're a part of this because you want to see this happen. So let's believe God for even more, Lord. Come on, let's bow our heads, Lord. We just thank you, God, for what you're already doing. I thank you for the volunteers, for the givers, for the people with generosity of heart, saying, Lord, we want to go and minister to those in need, Lord.
And in doing so, we are Christ to them, but they are Christ to us. Lord, we're going to encounter you and be changed and transformed as we do it. So Lord I pray for your people. Help us have that revelation and help us find ways in our lives either through this church or in our personal lives God to minister the love of Christ to others. We pray it in Jesus name All God's people said come on why don't we stand to our feet we're going to finish with this song let's worship the Lord let's lift him high in the place it's all for his glory today.
Now and evermore Only is the Lord Almighty all of heaven now and evermore King of glory Hallelujah My God.
Jesus Holy Jesus the name above all name so worthy to be Praise Jesus.
Jesus only Jesus the name above all name you're worthy to be Pray Jesus only Jesus forever forever.
Oh thank you J. Go out and improve all the different counters and enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you for coming to J.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the main message of "Jesus in Disguise"?
The sermon is based on Matthew 25, where Jesus explains that when we care for the hungry, the stranger, the sick, or those in prison, we are actually doing it for Him. The message challenges us to see that when we minister to the hurting, we aren't just "being Jesus" to them; they are actually being "Jesus in disguise" to us.
2. Does this mean our good works save us?
No, Pastor Adrian clarifies that we are saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ. This teaching focuses on how people who are already saved by grace will naturally reflect that transformation through their actions and hearts.
3. Why does the church focus on people at their "lowest point"?
Jesus taught that He is present at the lowest places and with the "least of these". By meeting people where they are most vulnerable, we encounter the rawness of the human heart and the presence of God without religious power plays or facades.
4. How can I help with the cooking and meals team?
The church is currently cooking hundreds of meals a week on Wednesdays and aims to reach 1,000 meals weekly. You don’t need to be a chef to help; volunteers are needed to cut vegetables, label packs, and help with organization.
5. What happens during the Thursday night community outreach?
A team of 25–30 volunteers goes out into the community every Thursday night to distribute around 300 meals, including homemade soups and bread. The focus is on building relationships and listening to people’s stories.
6. What is the goal of the Schools Ministry?
The team runs a weekly lunchtime program at Mount Erin College every Friday from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. They create a safe, positive environment through games and team-building, serving as a reflection of Jesus’ love for students from all family situations.
7. How does the Nursing Home Outreach work?
Volunteers visit local nursing homes to provide companionship and hold church services for residents who feel isolated. They sing songs the residents choose, read scripture together, and provide support for those in palliative care.
8. Can I support these ministries financially?
Yes, the church operates Connect Community Care, an organization where everything given over $2 is tax-deductible. These funds help cover the costs of meals, school programs, and staffing to expand these outreaches.
9. What if I feel I have no special qualities to offer?
Pastor Adrian references Mother Teresa’s quote that she was like "a little pencil" in God’s hand. The sermon emphasizes that God often shows His greatness by using "nothingness"—simply being willing to be used by Him is what matters.
10. How do these ministries change the volunteers?
Many volunteers find that their strength is renewed and their hearts are changed by the work. As Mother Teresa noted, serving the poor is a gift because it provides the opportunity to be with Jesus 24 hours a day.