Jesus In Disguise | Ps Adrian | Connect Christian Church

Devotional

Day 1: Sheep, Goats, and Hidden Christ

Jesus describes final judgment like a shepherd separating sheep and goats. The righteous fed the hungry, clothed strangers, and visited prisoners without realizing they served Christ Himself. Their confusion reveals a profound truth: serving “the least” is serving the King. [10:44]

This passage redefines holiness. Jesus doesn’t applaud grand religious acts but simple kindness to those society ignores. He identifies completely with the marginalized – their pain is His pain, their hunger His hunger.

When you pass someone in need this week, pause. Is this a divine appointment? Will you see Christ’s face in theirs? What practical step could you take today to serve Jesus in disguise?

“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 foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’”
(Matthew 25:34-35, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to open your eyes to recognize Him in three people you’ll encounter this week.
Challenge: Keep a $10 note in your pocket specifically to meet an immediate need you observe today.

Day 2: Pencil in His Hand

Mother Teresa called herself “a little pencil in God’s hand.” Her sisters washed maggot-infested wounds and held dying addicts, seeing Christ in every act. The interviewer marveled – she insisted God did the writing. [15:13]

True ministry flows from surrender, not superiority. When we stop trying to “fix” people and simply make ourselves available, God writes stories of redemption through our ordinary obedience.

What task feels insignificant to you? Washing dishes? Filing paperwork? Changing diapers? Offer it as a love letter to Jesus. How might today’s mundane moments become sacred if you saw yourself as God’s pencil?

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
(Matthew 25:40, ESV)

Prayer: Confess areas where you’ve sought recognition over quiet obedience.
Challenge: Text three volunteers from Sunday’s video (Mark, Andrea, Myrtle) thanking them for being “God’s pencils.”

Day 3: Robbed Man and Radical Love

A bloodied traveler lay abandoned on the Jericho road. Religious leaders crossed to the other side. Only the hated Samaritan stopped, using his own oil, wine, and donkey to save a stranger. [24:26]

Jesus’ story shocked listeners – the hero was society’s outcast. True compassion costs: the Samaritan risked ritual impurity, spent money, and altered his schedule. He expected no repayment.

Where have you been “crossing to the other side” of convenience? Which relationship or responsibility have you avoided because it’s messy? What one inconvenient act of love is Jesus asking you to embrace today?

“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.”
(Luke 10:33-34, ESV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for His inconvenient love on the cross. Ask for courage to imitate it.
Challenge: Call your church office to get the name of someone currently hospitalized – visit or send a care package.

Day 4: Tears in the Boardroom

Pastor Fu collapsed under grief – conducting a baby’s funeral, surviving a car crash, leading a church. In a vulnerable moment, Adrian saw Christ’s face in his friend’s tears. Their shared weakness became holy ground. [30:19]

Jesus inhabits raw places. He didn’t appear to Peter after the resurrection boasting victory, but asked, “Do you love me?” Three times – mirroring Peter’s denials. Christ meets us in failure, not success.

Who in your circle wears a “strong” mask? What safe space could you create this week for someone’s hidden pain? How might embracing your own weakness help others encounter Jesus?

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
(Galatians 6:2, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to show you one person needing burden-bearing love today.
Challenge: Handwrite Galatians 6:2 on a card and mail it to someone facing hardship.

Day 5: Meals and Miracles in Frankston

Mark’s kitchen team chops vegetables for hundreds. Myrtle’s outreach crew packs hygiene kits. Lena’s singers bring joy to dementia wards. Through tuna casseroles and off-key hymns, they touch Christ. [04:18]

These aren’t side projects – they’re the church’s heartbeat. Every meal delivered, every lonely senior hugged, every struggling student tutored is worship. Eternal ripples flow from temporal acts.

What ordinary skill could become holy work? Cooking? Driving? Organizing? Who needs your version of Mark’s knife or Myrtle’s care package? What’s stopping you from starting today?

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
(Galatians 6:9, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three specific volunteers who’ve blessed you.
Challenge: Sign up for one community care initiative before sundown today.

Sermon Summary

Matthew 25 sets the frame and sets the stakes. Jesus speaks as the Son of Man who will separate sheep and goats, and the King names the test as concrete mercy: food, water, welcome, clothing, care, and visitation. Grace saves, but grace also moves. The text presses this: faith without works is dead, and the works Jesus names are not religious fireworks but ordinary love.

The King’s punchline flips the script. The righteous expect to “be Jesus” to the needy, but Jesus says the needy are him. “When you did it to one of the least of these… you did it to me.” The claim is not that compassion merely represents Christ, but that compassion encounters Christ. Mother Teresa’s line lands it: the poor are “Jesus in disguise.” That revelation reorders motive, posture, and joy.

Equality levels the ground. The story refuses lording and labels. The leper, the stranger, the prisoner, the person with no coat is not an object lesson but a neighbor of equal worth. Jesus’ own table proves it. He goes to lepers, prostitutes, and tax collectors, not to endorse sin, but to dismantle contempt. The way to “find Jesus” runs through the lowest place.

Vulnerability opens the door. Rock-bottom has no energy for masks. At the bottom, honesty is raw, and that rawness is where Christ’s presence breaks in. The call is not to fix people from a height, but to meet people at eye level, and let shared vulnerability soften the heart. In that space, ministry to Christ and ministry from Christ happen at once.

Holiness takes the low road. Bible reading, prayer, and worship matter deeply, yet Jesus locates holiness in mercy shown to those who cannot pay anything back. The Good Samaritan embodies the nontransactional love the King honors. Most relationships trade. This love gives. And in that freely given love, the giver bumps into the heart of God and tastes a joy that no applause can buy.

This call runs inside the house too. Mutual care in suffering becomes a live parable of Matthew 25. When one servant sits with another in grief, anxiety, and exhaustion, Christ is met both ways. That is the heartbeat, not a side hustle. The vision is big, the work is practical, and the fruit is spiritual and eternal. The pencil does not boast. The Hand writes.

Key Takeaways

1. Meet Jesus in the least [12:58] The King identifies with the hungry, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned, not as a metaphor but as a meeting. Mercy becomes a doorway where Christ is encountered, not only represented. Those moments carry a holy weight because they are communion with the One who hides in plain sight. The face in front becomes “Jesus in disguise.” [12:58]
2. Equality levels every power play [17:21] The judgment scene refuses any hierarchy of worth. The lowest place is not God-forsaken; it is God-visited. Moving toward those most discounted dismantles superiority and retrains the eyes to see image-bearers, not case files. Finding Christ among “the least” cleanses the soul from quiet contempt. [17:21]
3. Vulnerability opens the presence [20:09] Raw need thins the air and exposes truth, both in the one served and the one serving. When pretenses drop, compassion finally has room to breathe. In that mutual unguardedness, the Spirit often makes himself known with a tenderness that doctrine alone cannot produce. Ministry there becomes shared healing. [20:09]
4. Holiness takes the low road [22:07] Jesus locates holiness in acts that cannot be invoiced. Serving those who cannot repay trains desire away from recognition and toward love. That path reshapes character more surely than public victories, because it anchors the soul in God’s sight rather than human return. Holiness looks like a towel and a basin. [22:07]
5. Selfless love ends transactions [24:26] The Good Samaritan embodies mercy without angle, agenda, or scoreboard. That kind of love feels costly because it is free. Yet the paradox holds: in pouring out, the heart discovers a deeper gladness that is unmistakably God’s own life flowing through it. The gift becomes the encounter. [24:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:30] - Council green light update
[03:51] - Faith with works, community care
[09:12] - Heartbeat and Matthew 25 setup
[10:44] - Sheep, goats, and the King’s list
[12:58] - Jesus in disguise
[17:21] - Equality at the lowest place
[19:47] - Vulnerability and holy encounter
[22:07] - Holiness on the streets
[24:26] - Selfless love beyond transaction
[27:04] - Mutual care in suffering
[32:27] - Mother Teresa: the pencil
[35:22] - Celebrate teams and pathways
[54:00] - Give, go, and big vision
[64:29] - Prayer and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 25:31-46 (ESV)
Luke 10:25-37 (ESV)

Observation questions

In Matthew 25:31-46, what specific actions does Jesus say demonstrate service to Him?
How does the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) illustrate the idea of "selfless love without transactions"?
According to the sermon, why does vulnerability create space for encountering Christ? [20:09]
What does Jesus mean when He says, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these... you did for me" (Matthew 25:40)?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think Jesus specifically identifies Himself with the hungry, stranger, sick, and imprisoned rather than with religious or powerful figures?
How does the Good Samaritan’s refusal to seek repayment challenge our modern view of "helping with strings attached"?
The sermon says, "Equality levels every power play." How does serving others dismantle hidden attitudes of superiority? [17:21]
Why might Jesus emphasize that the righteous "didn’t even know" they were serving Him (Matthew 25:37-39)?

Application questions

Who in your life (or community) might be "Jesus in disguise" right now? What practical step could you take to serve them this week?
Think of a time you helped someone who couldn’t repay you. How did that experience shape your understanding of God’s love?
How can you intentionally create space for vulnerability—both in your own life and in relationships—to foster mutual encounters with Christ? [30:19]
Are there areas where you’ve treated relationships like transactions (e.g., expecting praise, reciprocity, or control)? What would it look like to release those expectations?
The sermon mentions mutual care in suffering as a "live parable" of Matthew 25. How could you lean into supporting someone in your small group or family without trying to "fix" them? [27:04]
What ordinary, unglamorous act of love (e.g., cooking, listening, visiting) could you prioritize this month to practice "holiness on the streets"?
How might viewing the marginalized as equals—not projects—change the way you engage with people in need?

Sermon Clips

41s

“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.”

33s

“He goes out of his way, and that's where Christ is. You know why you're gonna 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 say, that's where I met Jesus.”

40s

“And Jesus is saying, that's where I am. You wanna 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?”

39s

“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. Alright? Your employer employee relationship. Alright? Very obvious. I'll give you a job. I'll promote you. Alright? And I'll pay you, but you give me some performance. Otherwise, it ain't gonna happen.”

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Jesus In Disguise | Ps Adrian | Connect Christian Church

Devotional

Day 1: Sheep, Goats, and Hidden Christ

Day 2: Pencil in His Hand

Day 3: Robbed Man and Radical Love

Day 4: Tears in the Boardroom

Day 5: Meals and Miracles in Frankston

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Jesus In Disguise | Ps Adrian | Connect Christian Church

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