Over
the last couple of weeks, we have been looking at Jesus’ teachings in Matthew
chapter 25. While these teachings were
original part of Jesus’ teachings on His second coming, they have a direct
impact on our lives.
The
Parable of the Ten Virgins reminded us that we need to Be Prepared. We need to
have that deep personal relationship with Jesus that only comes from truly
knowing Him. It is only through knowing Jesus that we will be changed by the
Holy Spirit and ready for Jesus when we see Him again.
The
Parable of the Talents was a reminder that we need to Be Faithful. Being
faithful means we need to be out doing what we were created to do. If you
remember the wicked slave did nothing with the money, he was given. He was so
worried about doing the wrong thing, that he did not even try. Jesus told us to
be witnesses, so that is exactly what we need to be doing. He is not going to
judge us on how successful we are, only that we acted in faith. We need to be
reaching the lost and serving Christ wherever we go.
Be
Prepared and Be Faithful, judgement is coming.
As
we open our Bibles to Matthew 25, we come to the section titled The Sheep and
the Goats. In here we find that Jesus is separating those who were prepared and
faithful from those who were foolish and lazy.
This
is the judgement of the gentiles, just like you and I, those who have lived
through the tribulation. It is the judgement to determine who will or will not
enter the kingdom. While we will not be there at the end of the tribulation the
requirements apply to us.
Matthew
25:31-33
31 “When the
Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of
His glory. 32 All the
nations will be gathered before Him, and He will
separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. 33 He will put the sheep on His right and the
goats on the left.”
Judgement day is coming. Jesus Christ will return
as a triumphant King. If you remember from a few weeks back, everyone will be
surprised by His coming but there will be no doubt that He has returned. Every
person alive at the end of the tribulation will know that Jesus Christ has
returned. He will then gather them up to himself as it was foretold by Joel.
Joel 3:2
“I will gather all the nations and take
them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there because of
My people, My inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign
countries and divided up My land.”
Jesus will be there in all of His glory, physically
here on the earth sitting on His throne. As all the gentiles are gathered
together He will begin to sort them. There will be those who were prepared and
faithful and they will be sent to the right. Those who were foolish and lazy
and they will be sent to the left.
Our Great Shepherd will sort all who are there by
prepared and foolish, faithful and lazy, sheep and goats.
Matthew 25:34-36
“34 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. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to
eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you
took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was
sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’”
The Shepherd is talking to His prepared and
faithful sheep. He is inviting them to come get the reward that was prepared
for them.
Jesus goes on to talk about things they have done.
Food for the hungry, drinks for the thirsty, caring for the stranger and for
those who had nothing. Taking care of the sick and visiting those in prison.
Please
remember that Jesus is not telling us that if we perform this work or that
work, if we give food or clothing that we will be saved. No He is reminding us
that taking a stand for those in need, giving where we can, is a sign of our
faith in Jesus and the gift of salvation that He has given us.
He is not looking for us to check tasks off of a
list of requirement. He is expecting us to be faithful every day of our lives,
serving others like He did. Where there is a need, meet it. Witnessing like we
have been told to do, and raising up disciples to follow in our footsteps.
When we continue reading the sheep respond.
Matthew 25:37-39
37 “Then the
righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or
thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without
clothes and clothe You? 39 When did we
see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’”
As us human’s normally do, those being rewarded
took Jesus literally. We never did these things for you Lord. We have never
seen you in our lives until this moment. How could we have done anything to
serve you if we never saw you?
Sounds like something some of us left brained,
logical thinkers would say. I could almost hear someone say something along the
lines of ‘yeah I helped others, I remember giving that young family some food,
but Jesus I have never given anything to you.’
Jesus does not see it that way.
Matthew 25:40
40 “And the
King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of
these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
Time out, listen to those words again, ‘Whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
Paints a different picture doesn’t it?
To those who had just lived through the
tribulation, Jesus would be talking about all the people that had needs during
that horrible period of history. The other believers that would have been
persecuted. The Jewish people who would have been hunted. Anyone who disagrees
with those in charge who would be imprisoned and tortured.
For us, it is simply that we are to serve everyone
in need. Whether it is the person in front of us at the grocery store who is
short a few dollars who is just trying to buy food for her family, or the man
who is so down on his luck that he has nothing to wear for a job interview. The
children who are hungry in this country and all around the world.
Sadly, the list could go on and on. There is so
much need in this world, and we the Church are told by our Lord to care for
those in need. Not in hopes of it saving us, but in service to others because
we have been given that ultimate gift that we do not deserve.
If Jesus has freely given us the gift of grace,
should we be giving gifts to others? You bet!
Matthew 10:40-42
40 “The one who
welcomes you welcomes Me, and
the one who welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me.41 Anyone
who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone
who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little
ones because he is a disciple—I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”
If we welcome those that Jesus puts in our path, we
are receiving Him. So anything we do for others, is in service to our Lord.
Faithful Service. This is what sets true believers apart from those who are
Christians in name only, it is the difference between being rewarded and being
judged.
Matthew 25:41-43
“41 Then He
will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into
the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! 42 For
I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me
nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you didn’t
take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you
didn’t take care of Me.’”
Think back to the message from 2 weeks ago.
Those who were not prepared, the 5 foolish virgins.
They heard these dreaded words.
Matthew 25:12
“But he replied, ‘I assure
you: I do not know you!”
Words that would make you skin crawl in fear as you
stand before the One True King.
Then last week when we looked at the Parable of the
Talents. The slave who did nothing was called evil and lazy and then this
happened.
Matthew 25:30
“And throw this
good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Lack of faith gets you thrown into hell. The
eternal fire prepared for the Devil. The outer darkness, weeping and gnashing
of teeth, and worst of all, a place separate from Jesus. Eternity without Hope.
As their eyes are opened to the harsh reality they
are about to face they cry out.
Matthew 25:44-46
44 “Then they
too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger,
or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’ 45 “Then
He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the
least of these, you did not do for Me either.’ 46 “And
they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.”
Like
the virgins and slaves, these people may have thought they were doing the right
things. They may have been attending church, wearing Christian clothes,
carrying a Bible, and even a little silver fish on their car.
The
difference comes down to if you are living out the greatest and second greatest
commandments.
Matthew
22:37-39
“37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as
yourself.”
Love
God and Love Others!
Ephesians
2:8-10
“8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from
yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from
works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”
Are
you doing the works created for you? What are you doing to live out your faith?
What are you doing to show your Love for God? What are you doing to love
others?
If
you are not living out your faith, I implore you to pray about it. Ask God to
change your heart, ask Jesus to forgive your lack of faithfulness, and ask the
Holy Spirit to put new opportunities in your path so that you can live out your
faith.
Don't sit on your faith, put it to action!
Blessings,
Robert
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