The Church - 2025 - Pt 3 - A Sent and Spirit Filled People engaged in Gospel Centered Service

GREET EVERYONE-

Good Morning Loved Ones

If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

The purpose of Stonewater Fellowship, The Reason why we are here, the mission that Jesus has given us both collectively as His church and Individual as His followers:

Is to engage people into a multiplying relationship with Jesus!

INVITATIONS

1- Welcome Home

2 - New members classes

3- Message Card's

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Open it to Matthew Chapter 25 and verse 31 today as we continue in our new teaching series exposing what God says about His Church -

PRAYER OVER SERIES

Is that every one of us would be

reminded,

renewed

or maybe for the first time it would be revealed to us

by the Holy Spirit through the Word

what the Church is

and as a consequence we would come to realize what the church is not.

I’m Praying that through this series the answer we so fervently give when the question is asked: Who is the Church?

and we answer “We are the church!”

My prayer is that answer will become more and more of a reality to all of us in an ever increasing way so that you and I live out being the church together.

My prayer is also that as we live that out together.

the Holy Spirit as we live out being the church together, would change us in an ever increasing way.

from from being consumers of Church to Disciples of Jesus who make up the church.

over the past 70 or so years, we have managed here in in the western church, to make lots of consumers of Church and very few disciples of Jesus who are the church.

I pray that more and more and more, that the Holy Spirit would move us and we would lock arms together more and more intentionally and collectively be devoted followers of Jesus not Just fans of Jesus

our devotion to him will be becasue we experiance His great love for us through what He did for us on Calvary and the fact that God raised Him from the dead!

PRAYER OVER MESSAGE

IS that as we grow in understanding our Identity in Christ -

understanding that if we are His followers?

we are His church and we are to designed to be a part of each other lives..

That we are a Spirit Filled, Sent, Gospel Centered People,Given a Gospel Centered Mission.

And I pray that through this mornings message that that we would come AIM for the right thing.

That our AIM is accurate and In alignment with Jesus.

We aim for the mission of Jesus in everything we do.

I pray that we must know that the mission is what we Must always aim for His mission.

That we would know that as a Spirit Filled Sent Gospel Centered People, on His Gospel Centered Mission

we are to be engaged in Gospel Centered Service to the world.

ENGAGEMENT –

Aim -

a Word that according to the Oxford Dictionary has very simple definitions.

To Aim or Aim

Means:

To point or direct a weapon or object at a target.

AND

Having the purpose and intention of achieving an intended outcome.

Now - I will concede that most of us don’t think about aim or aiming anything until and unless we think about it in terms of Shooting a Gun.

Ya know becasue when we shoot a Gun

or we are around Guns

or we are in the place where Gus are fired

or we are just cleaning our Guns.

Aim becomes really really important

Aim becomes a matter of life and death.

WE aim in all kinds of things other than in the area of Guns.

In Golf we aim.

In Baseball we aim.

In Basket ball we aim.

In almost every sport we aim and there is a mechanism for aiming.

But in reality I don’t think that we think about how much AIM effects our daily life.

When we drive we aim the Car over and over and over.

I mean think about it. If you started your car and didn't aim it?

Not so good.

Or if you started your car and then just decided about half way through your trip you are just tired of aiming and you stopped.

You Car, Just like a Gun has a mechanism by which to aim the Gar.

The Gun has a Scope or Sights.

and Your car has tires and a steering wheel.

But here is what happens - We just do some thing in our life that allow for us to aim well and we have been doing them so long that they are just habit.

Here is what is also interesting -

Aim the car the wrong way and you wont arrive at your intended outcome.

If I don’t aim the car with intention as to where we want to go and you will just meander all day long and never arrive at your intended outcome Your intended target.

Here is the other thing that we must acknowledge -

When we drive a car we do not use the mechanism of the steering wheel and the tires to aim the car.

We use the Scope and the sights as the mechanism to aim the Gun.

TENSION

Here is an issue that has such a negative effect on the world.

Some people in the Church, People who believe they are Christian.

Who Claim the name of Christ as savior.

Cannot, or do not understand what the AIM of the Christian life is.

In fact here in the west, in our western expression of Church, we must begin to ask ourselves: have really looked at the scriptures and have we aimed at the wrong thing?

Some think that aim is to be a better person.

Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good -

He Didn’t come to make decent people batter -

Jesus came to make dead people alive.

Some people think that the aim of the Christian life is to be generous, give to others, benefit and support the community around us.

Loved ones, Jesus didn't come to support the community Jesus came to Change the community, to bring His kingdom here on earth.

Jesus came to bring life and light to a lost and dark and dying world.

and what has happened in our western expression of Church is we have aimed at the things that are good and substituted them for what is best.

It like we aimed at being a better Steering wheels or better tires instead of using the Steering wheel to aim our efforts.

Jesus is going to make some interest statements in regards to what we use to accomplish His aim.

I will concede that this passages of Text that we will unwrap this morning if understood by itself could cause us to miss aim.

To aim for the wrong thing.

But loved ones know this.

You cannot interpret scripture in a vacuum.

In order to understand and apply scripture accurately we must use the who of scripture to understand and teach what the scripture is teaching us.

BACKGROUND

Some back drop to the Passage of Text that we are in as we open to Matthew 25

This discourse comes right after Jesus has entered Jerusalem for the very last time.

He is directly on His way to the Cross

This is right before Jesus is to be betrayed by one of His own.

Right before His last supper with His disciples -

He has called the 12 - up to a little hill where olive trees grow there in Jerusalem.

Called the mount -

That is what little hills are called - mounts.

He calls them to the mount of Olives

and He begins to prep them for what is coming becasue they ask. “Tell us what are the thing that will happen that indicate the end of the age and the sign that you are coming back?”

and Starting in Matthew Chapter 24 Jesus begins to tell them what is going to happen and what must happen for the end to come. For Him to come back.

He lays our some interesting things.

WE wont go through all of them, it is a very interesting read.

But one of the Key Indicators that will signal Jesus return is found in Matthew 24:14

Matthew 24:14 ESV

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Jesus says before His Crucifixion: T

his is the condition that will be in place “then the end will come”

Here is what is phenomenal - We don't aim for that!

In many ways we aim for the wrong thing.

Then at the beginning of Chapter 25 He begins to speak His last three Parables.

1st one the Parable of the 10 virgins which Ephesians that as believers we are to live in constant readiness of His return.

2- The Parable of the Talents - A parable that emphasizes that as His servants we must use the resources we have to multiply HIS kingdom.

both of these parables He says “this is what the kingdom of heaven is like”

and in Matthew 25 verse 31 He begins to speak of what is going to happen when He comes again.

It is spoken in Parable form, however it is not a parable.

Parables are spoken in Allegory and have Hidden meaning.

This is spoken in the form of a parable, there are hidden meanings but it is also literal in its content.

Remember they The Disciples, have been asking “What is going to happen around you coming back”

UNPACKING

Beginning in verse 31 - Jesus get specific.

VS31

Matthew 25:31 ESV

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

It begins with WHEN not IF

When the SON OF MAN - Now this is important to understand

Jesus is using the term “Son of MAN” to refer to Himself.

How do we know this is HIM - Son of Man” is a very important reference to the Messiah, the Son of God, the Prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament -

This reference is understood from properly interpreting the Vision that the prophet Daniel had and spoke of back in Daniel Chapter 7.

Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV)

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

The “one like a Son of Man” in Daniel is the Son of Man in Matthew and that is Jesus. the one with the name above all names the name by which all people must be saved, the one whose kingdom and authority will have no end.

This is Jesus

When Jesus returns and all of the angels with Him - He will sit on His throne-

Loved ones the Bible says that He will sit on His throne as King of King and Lord of Lords - and He will judge the living and the dead.

So Jesus comes back with all the angels and He sits.

Matthew 25:32 ESV

32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

and What is going to happen is that all of the people groups are going to be gathered together standing before Him.

Now your text says “Nations” -

in order to understand what Jesus meant we have to know a little about the original language.

When the New Testament uses the word “Nations” in the English. We think Geographical boundaries.

The word that is in the original language we get our english word “Ethnic”

and in the context of the new testament that would be easier for us to understand as “People Group” or TRIBE

If you were from the Nation of Israel back then that did not mean that you were living in Israel, You may have been living in Judea or many other parts of the world but what that meant is that you Belongs to the People Group of Isreal.

Here is what is interesting -

People groups are what we use to divide ourselves into our own People Groups.

Groups Based on Skin Color

Groups based on education or skill set or occupation

Groups based on common socio- economic characteristics

Groups based on language, customs, history, religion, Lifestyle, Former life style.

We divide ourselves up into several groups.

Jesus is going to reshuffle.

Jesus is going to put all the people groups together and He will separate “one from another”

Here is what is interesting.

Jesus is not talking about separating one people group from another people group.

What Jesus is referring to is Separating people form people. Persons from Persons. Individuals from other individuals.

“As a shepherd separates Sheep from Goats.

He pulls sheep out of the mix one at a time and He pushes away the goats one at a time.

Here is the outcome - Two new groups.

One Jesus refers to Sheep

and the Other He refers to as Goats.

Matthew 25:33 ESV

33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Now I don't know what the significance of being on the right or the left but here is what happens.

Matthew 25:34 ESV

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.

Watch what the Text just said:

The King! The One who is sitting on the Throne -

The King which is Jesus.

The King will speak to those on His right -

Who is on the Right of Jesus. His Sheep -

It is interesting that Jesus said that He knows His sheep and His sheep know his voice.

Watch what Jesus says:

It is almost like His Sheep respond to the entrance into the Kingdom with this surprise response. Like Wow, What did we do?

Jesus says in Matt 25:35-36

Matthew 25:35–36 ESV

35 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, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

and Loved ones I want you to watch the change in Verse 37.

Up to this point these people that Jesus has separated, these Sheep that are His -

These people that are on the Right side of Jesus. These that Jesus has just said “Come, you who are blessed by my father” Inherit the Kingdom,, prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

you ARE Blessed by the Father -

Inherit - Received what has been prepared for you -

You see loved ones one of the things that is prepared for those who are blessed by the Father - A kingdom -

But watch Watch what the Scripture Says -

Those who are sheep -

Those who are blessed by the Father -

Those who inherit the Kingdom -

in Verse 37 they are now called something Else - They are called THE Righteous!

Here is what is important to understand about this word - It this context it means “one who is in alignment with what God requires”

This naturally then lends to the question what does God require?

From the whole council of Scripture - God requires surrender to His son so that the Righteousness of His Son can me imputed to us by His grace through the Gift of Faith.

So the Righteous - The one who are surrendered to the Lordship of His son ask -

Matthew 25:37–39 ESV

37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

Jesus Replies

Matthew 25:40 ESV

40 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.’

Then there is the other Group of People - The Other group of Individuals -

The Other Groups that was aiming for the wrong thing -

This other group are called Goats. The People on His left -

Loved ones hear me - The one on His right are called Sheep, Righteous and they are given an inheritance -

I don't know if that is a cultural thing or a political thing to be on His right or His left -

Here is what I do know for sure -

I know its a salvation thing to be called His Sheep -

Loved ones look at me - In our culture this very day there is an Acronym that has invaded out thoughts and our pursuits - the Acronym is GOAT

and that acronym stand for Greatest of All time!

It makes me wonder if Jesus saw that one coming 2000 years ago when He spoke this passage of Text.

Matthew 25:41 ESV

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

This pursuit of being the Greatest of All time has invaded our culture - it has invaded our reasoning - it has invaded our definition of being blessed by God - It has invaded the desires of God people.

and loved ones it is from the pit of Hell -

Look what happens to the Greatest of all time - Look what happens to the Goats of this world and of our culture.

Jesus sends them away - This should be extremely frightening to most if not all of us.

It is Jesus casting away - It is Jesus who says Depart - It is Jesus who sends the Goats into eternal fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels.

He calls them CURSED.

Jesus gives them the reason why?

Matthew 25:42–43 ESV

42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

and the cured ones who jesus is sending into eternal fire will ask “when?”

Matthew 25:44 ESV

44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’

Loved ones I want you to look at what was just said - How the scripture defines these activities -

Ministry - We will come back to this in a minute -

but Jesus says to these goats these who consider themselves the Greatest of all time - These that pursued their own kingdom and building their own empire and not the kingdom of God.

When you did not do it to the least - the smallest and least significant of these -

What are the “These” These are people who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked sic and in prison.

These - The least of these - The smallest of these and the insignificant of these.

The Jesus lays down His final Judgement when He comes back

The GOATS - The ones considered the greatest of all time - Eternal Punishment - Objects of His wrath - CURSED

the Sheep the ones what hear His voice and know Him - His Sheep -

Eternal Life With Him - Recipients of His grace.

APPLICATION

Loved ones Here is where we can go wrong with this passage of Text.

If we took this passage by itself and didn't look at how do we apply this to our life from the whole council of Scripture.

We might come to the conclusion that if we wanted to be considered righteous - If we wanted to be judged by Jesus as His sheep

We would do these things -

We would just go a feed hungry people -

We would provide thirsty people something to drink -

We would shelter homeless people - Taking strangers in

We would clothe naked people and visit people who were sick and in prison.

IF we didn't have the whole of Scripture - If we didn't have the commands of Jesus we might think these are the thing we must do to earn heaven.

Loved ones - We must not mistake what the Scripture has just said about these things - This is ministry

What is interesting is that Jesus did not command these things -

Jesus never said “all authority has been given to me now go into the world and feed hungry people. Give thirsty people something to drink,

Shelter homeless people, clothe naked people and visit those who are sick and in prison.

Jesus never said “Go into the world and do ministry”

Jesus said Go into the word and make disciples.

Loved ones - This is what Followers of Jesus do becasue this is what Jesus did.

You see loved ones we do these things becasue when we were Hungry Jesus fed us with himself the bread of life.

When we were thirsty Jesus gave us water, the kind that if we drink from the Water he gives we will never be thirsty again.

When we were a stranger, an enemy of God, rebellious He adopted us as His children and provided shelter for us under shelter of the most high.

When we were naked He clothed us with His righteousness

And the Stripes of his torn flesh and His suffering Healed us from the sickness of Sin

and He himslef came to set the captives and the imprisoned to sin, He came to set them free.

THE GOSPEL CONNECTION

STICKY POINT

APPLICATION OR IMAGINE

PRAYER TEAM