Lent: The Blessings of Sheep

Announcements:

With Easter coming, there are several dates and times you will want to check out in your bulletin. We will have a short business meeting at the end of our service and take a vote about our property, but our first priority is worship through song and attention to God’s Word. So take a moment of silence before we begin.

Psalm 22:22-31

Psalm 22:22–31 NIV

22 I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. 25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. 29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

Prayer

Daniel 12:1-4

Daniel 12:1–4 NIV

1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”

Worship Set

James 2:14-24

James 2:14–24 NIV

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

Pray

Worship Through the Word:

The Blessings of Sheep!

If I told you that you could choose to be any animal you wanted. What would you choose? A Lion? An elephant? I think my baby brother would make a good monkey. He loves to joke around, so I can see him swinging from limbs and pulling jokes on people. Perhaps stealing their hats or sneaking up behind so when you turn around you are startled.

Do you have brothers like that?

If I told you that the best animal to be is to be a sheep, you would probably think me crazy. Sheep are not usually too smart. They usually are not much for leading other than to lead each other off cliffs or something. They get focused on eating and get lost. They are not nearly as cute as goats. Their wool gets thick and dirt and sticks get tangled in it. But today I will prove to you, that sheep will get the best blessing of all. You will want to be sheep.

Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31–46 NIV

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation 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 invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 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 invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his 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 did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

The Blessings of Sheep!

Jesus is talking to his disciples. For the most part, He is addressing the Jews, but today His message is a very important one for us as He is addressing the judgment of Gentiles which includes us.

To put things in perspective, we need to remember that the disciples have asked Jesus about the end times. What will take place and when will they occur. Jesus gave some details but He always points out that the important thing for us is to be ready and in so doing, He shared the two parables we spoke of last week. The first, the Parable of the Ten Virgins demonstrated the importance of us nurturing our internal spiritual walk with God. The Parable of the Talents also demonstrated the need to be diligent in kingdom work.

Now, Jesus shares why these two things are so important. When Jesus returns (talking about His second coming), those who will enter His millennial kingdom will be those who have a living faith. Remember, we are saved by faith in Christ, not through our works. However, the faith must be a living faith, not a dead one. It is not about a one time event. It is talking about a one time event that has changed our lives forever. This is demonstrated through our works of faith.

Now, at this point, Jesus turns to the inclusion of the Gentiles but not all the Gentiles will be included in the Millennial reign. In the previous two parables, Jesus has revealed the things that demonstrate our living faith that prepares us for His coming.

Up to this point, Jesus has been talking to Jews and they are assuming He is talking about only the Jews, but now Jesus shows the inclusion of the Gentiles. This is very important as this is talking about us and what follows may pertain to our future here and now. I call this the...

A. After Tribulation Separation, Matthew 25:31-33

Matthew 25:31–33 NIV

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Jesus has returned and all the nations are gathered. All the nations! This is inclusive of all Gentiles nations. The peoples of each nation will be divided into two categories which Jesus calls sheep and goats.

Now, keep in mind that this is a gathering of all those people who are still alive after the Tribulation. This is judgment time. Jesus is about to separate those who have survived the tribulation into two groups: Those who have been faithful to Jesus in one group and those who have not in another. These two groups are where we will spend the bulk of our time this morning.

1. The Blessings of the Sheep, Matthew 25:34-40

I often hear this called the parable of sheep and goats, but this is not a parable. This is prophecy of what is to occur with symbolism language of sheep and goats. The sheep are those who have followed the Shepherd, Jesus Christ who is now declared the reigning king of earth by the Father. They will now receive their blessing.

a. The Inheritance, Matthew 25:34

Matthew 25:34 NIV

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

The sheep will be invited to join Jesus in the Millennial kingdom. The millennial kingdom will be here on earth. It will be a blessed time. Life will be blessed in many ways. People will live longer, healthier lives. They will quickly repopulate the earth since there will be lack of disease and poverty. It will remain blessed for a 1,000 years. It will end the Gentile rule and the Jews will reign with Christ as well as the saints previously raptured and already living in their glorious new bodies. But the rulers will be loving, generous, and compassionate with the love of Christ demonstrated through all.

Now, where Jesus puts the sheep on His right and shares their blessing, He places a second group on His left and He declares...

2. The Cursing of the Goats, Matthew 25:41-45

Matthew 25:41 NIV

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Where the sheep were faithful followers of Jesus Christ, the goats were not. Their inheritance is not the lovely promise of a beautiful existence on earth during the Millennial reign. Instead, they receive...

a. A Sentence to Hell, v 41

There are no second chances. They have survived the Tribulation only to find that life in the Tribulation was better than what they receive now. They may have lived a good life but it was not good enough. There sentence is to the very place where the Antichrist and False Prophet ended.

This seems harsh but it is time people read their Bibles and understood that it is not about doing good deeds. We can never do enough to save ourselves from hell. Only Christ can save us and it is an act of grace. A gift He offers us. If we do not receive it, we cannot blame anyone but ourselves.

The only good deeds that make any difference are those that come naturally from a transformed heart. When we receive Jesus and follow His Holy Spirit within us, we do deeds not to acquire salvation but we work in accordance with Jesus’ direction. It is the obedience of those who trust Jesus.

James 2:17–18 NIV

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

Jesus then shares why each of these are considered a sheep or a goat and we find it is their deeds that gave the evidence of their hearts. It is interesting that what Jesus says here is grossly misquoted. It may well be one of the most misquoted scriptures of our time. I admit that even I have misquoted it since I have heard it misquoted so much.

Jesus gives 6 examples of the deeds they performed that demonstrated they had a living faith.

Six Righteous Deeds

i. I was hungry and you fed me. v 35

ii. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. v 35

iii. You did not know me but invited me in. v 35

iv. I needed clothes and you clothed me. v 36

v. I was sick and you cared for me. v 36

vi. I was in prison and you visited me. v 36

For each of these 6 things that the sheep did, the goats did not do. Why? Because here is where the misinterpretation comes in. Jesus is not addressing every day here. Now, I am not saying we shouldn’t work to do these things for the down and out today. God’s laws to Israel always provided ways to help the poor. So, yes, we are to do this all the time. However, in this moment Jesus is talking about the Jews during the Tribulation.

Matthew 25:40 NASB95

40 “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.’

The Jews will continue to be a target during the Tribulation time. Their persecution will once again really rev up. If you love the story of the Hiding Place, well the Tribulation may give you an opportunity to participate like a Corrie Ten Boom. Why is Christianity so despised? Because we worship the same God the Jews do. The sheep and the goats have just lived through the Tribulation, so Jesus is talking to them about how they have contributed to the Jews during this time, and I am sure it applies to any Christian under persecution as well. In giving aid, we will be putting our lives on the line. Will we be willing to do so?

Conclusion:

Before I conclude this sermon, I want to quickly address one subject that I think brings confusion. That is the Millennial kingdom. Here is a quick rundown on this subject as I understand it but keep in mind, there are many things we will not understand until that time.

When Jesus returns, the raptured and resurrected saints will be with Him, as well as the angels. The sheep and the goats will be separated. The sheep will remain as part of the Millennial reign. Jesus will rule along with the Jews. This will be an end of the Gentile rule. However, the saints who have returned will also be a part of this rule.

The people who survived the Tribulation will quickly repopulate the earth after all the loss of life that takes place during that time, as well as the banishment of the unrighteous. For 1,000 years, life will be blessed. People will have long lifespans due to the lack of disease and poverty. All needs will be provided. It will be a blessed living.

However, after the 1,000 years, Satan will be lose to once again try to bring rebellion. This will be a testing time for those still living on earth. It will be a final purging of unrighteousness and show proof of our weak natures. After which time, the final judgment will take place.

It is after this final judgment that God will create a new heaven and earth. Time will be no more. There will never be any judgments ever again. We will truly know our place.

It is really amazing to think that we are facing that moment in time called the Tribulation. Every piece of new news just confirms it. China and Russia working together to establish peace is one more sign. The very nature of their coming together in partnership speaks of the time of the end.

I am not saying these things to scare you. But now is not the time to be asleep. We need to watch not just our local US news, but world news is where we see the true picture of prophecy.

Last week, I recommended we start thinking of ways to reach our community. We always should address this periodically. Churches that do not take time every few years to do so will die. I have been here 7 years. We talked in depth on this when I first came. There are many things we prayed about that have been fulfilled. Our church has grown. Our finances are in a stable place. People are starting to be aware of their spiritual gifts.

The next step is to find ways to move out into our community. The list of 6 above is a great place to start. If the Tribulation is coming, we can begin to find ways to develop our ability to do those 6 things now. We will need everyone to invest their gifts in doing so. Gifts of service, gifts of teaching, gifts of compassion, etc...

God is endowing many people with dreams these days. The book I am reading about the Chinese pastor, he is often inspired what to do next through dreams. A revival campaign is about to take place in California because of a dream a man had. In the dream the sun was rising in the west instead of the east. He then dreamed of stadiums filled with people being saved. He woke believing God wants to bring an awakening to California and so they have 7-10 stadiums where they plan to hold revival services.

I say this as we need our hearts to be open to dreams God would give us for Elgin. It is time for something new here in Elgin. We need to start a new movement here. Hopefully, it is something we can do with all the churches in town. I do not think God calls us alone. So, be praying. The prayer campaign starting after Easter is a great time to spend time asking God, what would He have us do here!

Please bow your heads with me. Let us start that prayer right now.

Pray

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