A Christian response to Trials, Troubles, Sickness and Sorrows in the World. Pt. 2
Good morning
We looked at some good God inspired truths to orient our thinking as we are confronted by much sickness and suffering in the world today. One thing we must remember is that we must be open to what God says in His word and seek to have a readiness to hear and heed.
Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
This will be our main text for today's post. In this text we see two groups of people who will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ in final judgment. Some will be sent to hell and some will enter into the Kingdom of Christ.
Jesus Christ is central to this passage. His holy angels are with Him ready to do whatever He commands as the Righteous Judge. Jesus will be seated on His throne of glory. No one will question the verdict that He hands down. This is the highest court in the universe and our Jesus is the solemn Judge.
People from every nation will be summoned to stand before the King and Judge of Eternity. What will Christ be doing? He will separate them into two groups, the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left hand.
The sheep enter into the kingdom of Christ.
Matthew 25: 34-36 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Jesus will pronounce judgment of the sheep on His right hand first. They are the blessed ones who have been born again and kept His Word. Jesus pointed out some specific things that these folks were doing that showed their love for Christ. They met the needs of those less fortunate by feeding the hungry and giving drink to those who were parched with thirst.
They befriended the stranger and clothed those who were naked. They visited people who were sick and shut in. They visited those in prison.
This is a lengthy list but the idea is not that we run out and check these things off the list. No, it is that our hearts are so full of the love of God that we want to help others and according to each one of our abilities we do. We may be able to do much or do a little but whatever we do with a willing heart will glorify God.
Colossians 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Paul shows us the internal joy and transformation of our thinking that happens when we really allow the Word of God to take root in our hearts. We will be witnessing for Christ. We will be worshiping our All Glorious God. Whatever we do or whatever we say will be focused upon Jesus Christ. We will want to love Him and serve Him and love and serve others around us.
In winter, we could shovel snow for a neighbor who cannot do it. We can pick up senior saints who no longer drive and take them to church. We can visit those in rest homes because they are often overlooked. We can mow the neighbor's lawn when they are ill or out of town.
We can all create a list of these very practical ways of ministering to others. It must come from within our heart and it will as the love of God is poured into us through studying His word and praising Him.
Think about being a Christian in the quarantined part of China. A believer can do things that can help those who are suffering with Corona Virus. They could do housework so that the sick may rest or share food with them.
They may care for them during the illness. Perhaps they help get the supplies of food that the ill ones need to survive. All of this is simply showing the love of Christ to the suffering.
The sheep asked the Lord about this and He said when you did it to the least of these "my brethren" you did it to me.
This is at the heart of why Jesus praised the sheep. It is living out the holy law of God by loving God first and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
The self absorbed and self centered are sent to hell.
Matthew 25:41-43 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Jesus then turns His attention to the goats gathered on His left hand. Their fate is dramatically different from the sheep.They are cursed instead of blessed. They are going to everlasting fire instead of eternal joy.
The reason for their fate is that they had selfish hearts that were hardened to the needs of others and they refused to love God first and then to love their neighbors.
Points to Ponder....
We looked at some good God inspired truths to orient our thinking as we are confronted by much sickness and suffering in the world today. One thing we must remember is that we must be open to what God says in His word and seek to have a readiness to hear and heed.
Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
This will be our main text for today's post. In this text we see two groups of people who will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ in final judgment. Some will be sent to hell and some will enter into the Kingdom of Christ.
Jesus Christ is central to this passage. His holy angels are with Him ready to do whatever He commands as the Righteous Judge. Jesus will be seated on His throne of glory. No one will question the verdict that He hands down. This is the highest court in the universe and our Jesus is the solemn Judge.
People from every nation will be summoned to stand before the King and Judge of Eternity. What will Christ be doing? He will separate them into two groups, the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left hand.
The sheep enter into the kingdom of Christ.
Matthew 25: 34-36 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Jesus will pronounce judgment of the sheep on His right hand first. They are the blessed ones who have been born again and kept His Word. Jesus pointed out some specific things that these folks were doing that showed their love for Christ. They met the needs of those less fortunate by feeding the hungry and giving drink to those who were parched with thirst.
They befriended the stranger and clothed those who were naked. They visited people who were sick and shut in. They visited those in prison.
This is a lengthy list but the idea is not that we run out and check these things off the list. No, it is that our hearts are so full of the love of God that we want to help others and according to each one of our abilities we do. We may be able to do much or do a little but whatever we do with a willing heart will glorify God.
Colossians 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Paul shows us the internal joy and transformation of our thinking that happens when we really allow the Word of God to take root in our hearts. We will be witnessing for Christ. We will be worshiping our All Glorious God. Whatever we do or whatever we say will be focused upon Jesus Christ. We will want to love Him and serve Him and love and serve others around us.
In winter, we could shovel snow for a neighbor who cannot do it. We can pick up senior saints who no longer drive and take them to church. We can visit those in rest homes because they are often overlooked. We can mow the neighbor's lawn when they are ill or out of town.
We can all create a list of these very practical ways of ministering to others. It must come from within our heart and it will as the love of God is poured into us through studying His word and praising Him.
Think about being a Christian in the quarantined part of China. A believer can do things that can help those who are suffering with Corona Virus. They could do housework so that the sick may rest or share food with them.
They may care for them during the illness. Perhaps they help get the supplies of food that the ill ones need to survive. All of this is simply showing the love of Christ to the suffering.
The sheep asked the Lord about this and He said when you did it to the least of these "my brethren" you did it to me.
This is at the heart of why Jesus praised the sheep. It is living out the holy law of God by loving God first and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
The self absorbed and self centered are sent to hell.
Matthew 25:41-43 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Jesus then turns His attention to the goats gathered on His left hand. Their fate is dramatically different from the sheep.They are cursed instead of blessed. They are going to everlasting fire instead of eternal joy.
The reason for their fate is that they had selfish hearts that were hardened to the needs of others and they refused to love God first and then to love their neighbors.
Points to Ponder....
- There is a coming day when all people will stand before the risen, glorified Son of God, Jesus Christ.
- We may profess to be a born again Christian but how we live really shows what is going on in our heart. Will you be a sheep or a goat?
- What we did or said will be the object of Christ's judgment. Will what we did and said be honoring to Him?
Our Lord has more to teach us about how our heart responds to His word. May He continue to reshape how we think so that His thoughts and His will become what we want for our own lives.
Bob
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