"Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I
was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not
clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then
they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or
thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then
He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did
not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us today. It is a tremendous privilege to come together with you today for the study God's Word. Together, may we continue to lead others to Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us today. It is a tremendous privilege to come together with you today for the study God's Word. Together, may we continue to lead others
In years past, preachers preached on the reality of Hell as well as the blessings of Heaven. Jonathan Edwards terrified his listeners with his sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," said, "If you tolerate visible wickedness in your members, you will greatly
dishonor God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the religion which you profess, the
church in general, and yourselves in particular. As those members of
the church who practice wickedness bring dishonor upon the whole body,
so do those who tolerate them in it."
When we contemplate the realities of heaven and hell, there is a sobriety that comes over us. Yet, today modern evangelism rarely warns their congregations of hell because it
makes them uncomfortable, they've determined it just sounds too harsh for our loving God. Many don’t believe in the reality of hell, they dismiss it as a metaphorical place. However, Jesus spoke of Hell as a literal place, one of unending of eternal torment, a place where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Hell is not a myth or a figment of our imaginations, it is a frightening place that is too difficult for us to comprehend. Even though many may reject Christ, they will one day face the reality of a place devoid of His presence, that's the most significant element of Hell's horror!
Today, many people live above the law, because no one holds them accountable for their actions. In the Judgment, we will all stand before God to given an account for the good and evil we have done. Rest assured, God knows our every thought and deed, He will judge them all.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
In His name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: The Judgement-Sheep and Goats- Part 3
Unbiblical views of Hell are dangerous, therefore, we must take great care to ensure that we
continue to uphold sound biblical teaching of what Scripture actually says, not what we think it says, of an eternal Hell, from which there is no relief. Because God is not only able to cast the wicked souls men into Hell, but He can do it with ease. However, He has no desire that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Though the exact location of the lake of fire has not been
revealed in the Scriptures, there is absolutely no reason to question the
physical reality of its existence. According to Jesus, both heaven and hell are a real, literal place. There is nothing imaginary about that. Heaven will be incredible for those who put their trust in Him, 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles long, and 1,500 miles high. That's more than 2 million square miles on the first floor alone!
So, we shouldn't be surprised as we return to Matthew 25 to find that Jesus' has some harsh words about judgement and Hell that are pretty intense. He gets right to the point, there is real judgment for those who reject God and His ways.
Open your Bibles to the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 25:41-46. I
invite you to follow along with me as I read the entire passage to
refresh our minds, then we will look closely at these last six verses, 41 through 46, for
today's
study, as we come to the climax of the judgment. So, let's open our hearts and our minds
to see what the Spirit of God has
to say us today. Matthew 25:41-46.
"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All
the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from
one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
"Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 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 invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
"Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Let's look at verse 41, "Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.""Then He will also say to those on His left," in ancient times, the person that stood to the right of the king was honored, whereas the person who stood to the left was not. Last time, we looked at those on the right, to whom the King said, "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." In verse 41, He speaks to those on His left. Who are those on His left? They are not only the ones who have rejected God, but also the ones who never revealed a changed life. This is no light sentence.
"‘Depart from Me," or get away from Me, speaks of isolation. "Accursed ones" speaks of association, those who have chosen to identify themselves with the devil and his angels, they’re damned not because of what they did, but what they didn’t do. It is the absence of the love of God that comes through faith in Christ, that's demonstrated in deeds of love. They never showed love for the brethren. Go with the devil and his angels, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for them. The eternal fire or Hell, was prepared for the devil and his angels, because there was no plan to redeem them. Fallen angels cannot be redeemed. Rather than remaining in the presence of a holy God, they chose unholiness and there's no way to reverse that.
Think about that, the same judgment that is reserved for the devil and his angels will be poured out on those who failed to pay attention to His commands. People are redeemed because they’re chosen by God. They’re damned because they just buried what God gave them to use for His glory, just like the servant who received one talent, he didn't sin, he just did nothing to produce a return on what his Master gave Him. And, that lack of faith, damned him to outer darkness. Giving yourself in acts of love and kindness to meet the needs of others is the manifestation of the Lord's presence. I want you to understand how important to grasp. We must be ready at all times, how you spend your time here on earth is a choice of every soul. Choose wisely because judgement is irreversible and sentencing is final. If we are only pretending to follow Christ, we will be condemned.
Let's look at what they didn't do in verses 42-44, "For I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I
was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not
clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then
they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or
thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’"
The church is not about your pastor, serving with his spiritual gifts. The church is the best possible earthly way to demonstrate the love, mercy and compassion of Christ. We live out our life of worship in loving and serving one another. Who are we to deprive Him of the opportunity to demonstrate to unbelievers what the world should be like? It's not complicated. If our hearts are so filled with the love of God, we would be impossible not to serve, give and sacrifice. Many sincere people misinterpret, manipulate and misuse to justify their sin, their lack of Scripture. Such was the case with the Pharisees, when Christ performed many miracles, they accused Him of doing them through the power of Satan. In His Word, God has given us clear instruction as to how we are to live, to love and to serve Him. May I suggest we all do a little spiritual inventory. We must ask ourselves if we have really submitted our lives to Christ's control or are we denying Him with the way we live our lives. He calls us to be fruitful in all that we do.
Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."
That brings us to verses 45-46, "Then
He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did
not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Many people can fool us with their outward religiosity, pretending to be a follower of Jesus. Can you imagine a goat trying to fool the Shepherd into thinking that he was a sheep? If your life has been changed by Jesus, then you will live like a changed follower of Jesus. Pastors try to elicit feelings and emotions to bring someone to Christ but that doesn't transform lives. Let's face it, we live in a society that doesn't want the truth, they only want the "truth" to make them feel comfortable in their sin, whatever sin that may be. Preaching the Word is out of season.
Ezekiel 33 says, "But as for you, son of man, your
fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of
the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the Lord. They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain."
We are all either sheep or goats, traveling along the narrow way or on the broad way. The judgment of the sheep and goats refers to those who profess to be in a relationship with Christ, who are impenitent, possessing no genuine salvation. Because their hearts are hardened, selfishly living for themselves, rather than to give adherence to His commands, they're relying on His graciousness. Only to find they cannot be excused from what is expected even of the heathen. No one will get away with their sin because of position, family connections,
financial status, no one will escape judgement because of their ignorance or their refusal to recognize Christ. However, for the sheep on the narrow way at His right it will be a wonderful promise fulfilled, an overwhelming sense of joy and the feeling of being home at last.
In Closing..
Challenge yourself to live out this Christian journey, in true humility, reaching out for the good of others and to the glory of God. May the love of Christ inspire you to wonderful deeds of love so that you may stand and hear Him say, "Well done, you good and faithful servant, well done..enter into the joy of your master."
As we move toward the story of the cross, we can see both the suffering and the good news of the Gospel and better understand that God delights in forgiveness. The prophet Joel reminds us to come to God on His terms;
"Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning;And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil."
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved