[0:00] Good morning. Okay, brethren, as a matter of introduction, we're going to be focusing today on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25.
[0:21] We've been learning so much of this Gospel in the service when we are preaching in the Hispanic service.
[0:33] We'll be reading shortly about the verses of Chapter 25, the last part that we will be focusing on. But we want to say that this is called the Olivet Discourse.
[0:47] Because in Chapter 25 and the rest of the chapter that we'll be talking about, they are together, the chapters that is considered that the Lord sat in the Mount of Olives to talk about them.
[1:03] And the Mount of Olives is a small range of four summits that is about 2,500 feet above sea level.
[1:14] And the Lord, in this place, was where he talked about what is considered the longer aspect of the second coming of the Lord, the longest teaching of the end of times that we have in the Gospels, in what is called the Synoptic Gospels, that are Mark, Matthew, and Luke.
[1:43] Let's read our verses. We'll be reading from Matthew 25, verses 31 through 46. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne, all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
[2:18] He will put the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance.
[2:37] The kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.
[2:51] I was a stranger, and you invited me in. I needed clothes, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you looked after me.
[3:02] I was in prison, and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when do we see you hungry, and feed you?
[3:15] Or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When do we see you stranger, and invited you in? Or needing clothes, and clothed you?
[3:26] When do we see you sick, or in prison, and go to visit you? 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.
[3:48] Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire.
[4:00] Prepare 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.
[4:11] I was a stranger, and you did not invite me. I needed clothes, and you didn't clothe me. I was sick, and in prison, and you didn't look after me.
[4:23] They also will answer, Lord, when do we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you?
[4:40] He will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you didn't do for one of the least of these, you did not do so for me.
[4:53] Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. Let's pray before we start preaching.
[5:05] Thank you, Father, for your word. Help us focus, pay attention, because even though it's coming through a weak and fragile man, it's your word.
[5:22] We pray, Father, that your spirit apply it to our hearts in the condition that we are at now, that she may edify the saints, and bring salvation to those that don't know you.
[5:41] We praise you and love you. In Jesus we pray. Amen. And in these verses, so famously known, in Matthew 25, we will be talking today about two points.
[5:59] We'll be focusing on two points today. Number one, every human being will have a judgment day before Christ. And number two, your life is a visible manifestation.
[6:14] of your faith. Let's go to our first point. Every human being will have a judgment. A judgment day before Christ.
[6:26] And in our first verse that we were reading, we can see that you can note there, in verse 31, when the Son of Man comes in His glory.
[6:37] So there it's talking about Christ. And this term, the Son of Man, was used by Christ, to refer to His person. Actually was the preferred way, for the Lord to refer to Himself.
[6:54] But we find, looking at scripture, that this was not, the first time this term was used, in God's word. we can see in the book of Psalms, that is used in a poetic way, to refer, to ordinary beings, to ordinary human beings.
[7:14] But we can see too, that God Himself, used it, to refer, to the prophet Ezekiel, in the book, that verse, His name.
[7:26] So we find this term, in the Old Testament. But, in particular, there's a verse, there's a text, in the book of Daniel, in chapter 7.
[7:38] In the book of Daniel, chapter 7, we see that Daniel, had a vision, of the Son of Man, coming in the clouds of heaven. And right there, we see, a different, connotation.
[7:52] We see a different meaning. And our Lord, used to call Himself, the Son of Man. When we read more, on the book of Daniel, we see that, this Son of Man, come in the clouds of heaven.
[8:06] And, in a scripture, that is a sign, of divine authority. Of power. Of majesty. Right there, we see, that Christ, was calling Himself, the Son of Man.
[8:20] And it was just, the fulfillment, of prophecy. That Son of Man, that Daniel, had the vision, about, was nothing other, than our Lord, Jesus Christ.
[8:33] So, we see that, in our text, it tells us, that He is coming, in the clouds of heaven, in His glory. And this word, tells us, much more, than just, that He was, appreciated, or important.
[8:52] But, glory, in the scripture, means, magnificence. Means, beauty, power, majesty, honor.
[9:05] And, this is, Christ, in His second coming. We see, that He comes, with the angels, with Him. To do His will. to do, what the Lord, commands of them.
[9:19] And, this, help us, think of the text, that this coming, is completely different, from what we saw, in the first coming.
[9:33] When our Lord, came, in humiliation, in shame, and our brother, Leonardo, was talking about that, he made himself a man, suffered, was humble, tortured.
[9:48] And, now, we see, a completely, different picture. That Christ, that came, to be mocked, laughed at, crucified, forcally accused, now, is going to be, the judge, of every, human being.
[10:06] Of every person, on planet earth. Even those, who mock Him, will have to face Him, now, in power, immortal, the judge, of every, human being.
[10:22] We see, that He sit, on His glorious throne, and, commentaries, think, that the glory, of the throne, is not, in the throne itself, but on Christ, that honor the throne, by sitting on it.
[10:39] So, there we are seeing, the deity of Christ. We are seeing, the revelation, of our Lord, as the second person, of the Trinity, coming down, from heaven, to judge, the earth.
[10:55] And we see, that, these verses, to puzzles, to think, about, what that means. To make us, meditate on it.
[11:07] But more than that, to fear, and tremble, if we are not living, and trusting in Him. If we are not serving Him. Because one day, we will be held accountable, for what we did, with the talents, and gifts, that He gave, to us.
[11:28] And, thinking, of these, verse, we, think, that, everybody, including, believers, will be, before Him, on that day, to give an account, of our life.
[11:47] Even us, even you, that are there, that profess to know Him, will have to give an account, of what you did, with your life. And this should take us, to our, second point.
[12:01] Your life, is a visible, manifestation, of your faith. What you profess, to know, about Him, is going to be evidence, about the life, that you live.
[12:14] with this, we should read, verses, 32, through 34, to put the context, of what we will be, talking about. 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.
[12:43] And in verse, I guess, I read verse 34, I'm going to read, 32, and 33. All the nations, will be gathered, before Him, and He will separate, separate the people, one from another, as the shepherd, separates the sheep, from the goats.
[13:03] And we see, in this text, that the Lord, continues His ministry. The three more important, aspects of, the ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ, were, teaching, healing, and preaching the gospel.
[13:20] And even, in this, scene, that we are, going through today, this text, that we are analyzing, is just about, is just before, the week of, what is called, the Passion, the suffering and death, of our Lord.
[13:37] And we see, that even, there, as He knows, what He is going to face, He continues, teaching, the disciples, on the things, that are going to take place.
[13:50] And, we see, in this text, that, even though, everybody is going to be, before the trauma, of Christ, to give an account, in this case, we see a difference, we see a change, even in, what Christ, will be talking, to us about, in that day.
[14:13] But, continue, on the text, we are going to talk about, the, the goats, and the sheep. the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, in teaching, is, putting the, daily sin, that was so common, in the life, of the people of Israel, that was, raising, goats, and sheep, and it seems, that sometimes, they were together, during the day, goats, and sheep, they were together, grazing, but they will be, separated, at night, because, the goats, were, more sensitive, to the cold weather, so they needed, to be put in a, warmer place, to spend, the rest of the night, when the weather, was colder, and, some, commentaries, think that this is, a parable, and has been referred to, as a parable, it's not quite clear, that it is, but that is not, the main point, is the truth, of the text, that we are seeing here, in the same way, that the shepherd, separate, the goats, from the sheep, the Lord, will separate, one person, from another, seeing our text, in verse 32, all the nations, would be gathered, before him, imagine the, seriousness, imagine how sober, sobering, is going to be sobering, that's that moment, every human being, before,
[15:50] Christ, glorify, in power, and he will, separate people, one, from another, can you imagine, that picture, where the separation, is, of eternal proportions, not to ever, ever, ever, be again, never, never more, to see each other, to communicate, with each other, never, ever, to know, anything, about each other, and this, for eternity, so brothers, and sisters, it's important, to pause, and, look at the scene, that we have, in our text, when we look, at what the Lord, is doing, the judge of all earth, separating, human beings, like the shepherd, separates, the goats, and the sheep, and we see, in our text, that, verse 33, he will put the sheep, on his right, and the goat, on his left, he will put the sheep, on the right, and the goats, on his left, the right, is a sign of, trust, of power, of, authority, we see, that Christ, when he finished, his work of salvation, in the book of Hebrews, he went, to the right hand, of the father,
[17:22] Christ, ascended, and was given, a place, of authority, power, and dominion, with the father, as the second person, of the trinity, in this case, he will separate, the sheep, and put them, to his right, in a place, of favor, of blessing, of authority, together, with him, but we see, that he will put, the goats, to his left, on his left, a place, of no favor, of no grace, of no blessing, and we will be, touching more, upon, that part, of the goats, in later verses, we see, that the, reason, that Christ, used, when we go, to verse 34, to separate them, is not, because they believe, in him, not, because, they profess, to know him, not, because, they profess, to love him, we see, in our text, none of that, what the person, thought about Christ, or what the person, said about Christ, let's read, verse 34, then the king,
[18:40] Christ, 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, so we see, that this kingdom, that the sheeps, those, are his right, the kingdom, that they are receiving, was prepared, for them, before the universe, existed, that was, in the eternal past, in the plan, of the father, and that kingdom, came to be given, to them, at the judgment, of the nations, by Christ, but let's see, in verse, 35, for the reason, of this, for I was hungry, and you gave me, something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me, something to drink,
[19:45] I was a stranger, and you invited me, I needed, verse 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, so, what are we seeing here, we are seeing, that Christ, is talking to those, that the father, has given a kingdom, before the foundation, of the air, of the world, and now, he is telling them, to those, that the kingdom, was given, that the kingdom, is given to them, for the love, the compassion, that they showed, to those in need, in verse 35, we read, I was hungry, and you, give me, something to eat, thirsty, and you give me, something to drink, stranger, and you invited me, what are we, to make of this, is the Lord, not taking into account, that they repent, and believe, but dear brothers, and sisters, the text is clear, those, that by faith, in the perfect merit, of Christ, and in the complete, work of redemption, on the cross, are safe, is inevitable, that their life, will be, compromised, committed, in deeds, of good works, so we commonly see, on the book of Ephesians, in chapter, two, how people, quote these verses, eight and nine, that, many of us know, by memory, that by grace, we are safe, through faith, and this is not a rose, but a gift of God, not by works, that nobody should boast, and there's truth there, 100%, no doubt about it, but verse 10, is what many times, we neglect, in paying attention to,
[22:01] I will read verse 10, for you brothers, and sisters, for we are his workmanship, Ephesians 2 10, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ, Jesus, for good works, which God prepared, beforehand, that we should walk, in them, so the same works, that Christ, is praising, in our text, are the works, that the same father, that gave the kingdom, before the foundation, of the world, to those, to his right, predestined, to them, in walking, in those works, so, we are not, saved by works, but we are saved, for works, so that makes, a big difference, we are not preaching, salvation by works, but we are saved, to work, to work in the kingdom, in the kingdom of God, that is here now, among us, so,
[23:13] I think, and I, sorry, as I was preparing, the sermon, yesterday, I was thinking about, the society, that we live in, and that, may have a particular, application to us, we live in a society, that is wealthy, we have, much more, than most of the people, on planet earth, and I remember, the brother, praying, how we wake up, and we have food, and we have, warm houses, and we have cars, and we do, most of the people, on planet earth, don't have, none of those things, in a regular basis, if they do, at all, so, in our text, we see, that we have, the blessing, of food, the blessing, of provision, in this society, and in our text, we see, how Christ, talk about, supplying the needs, of the needy, giving food, to those, that have, no food, visiting those, that are in prison, dressing those, or clothing those, that don't have clothes, and we have, resources, we have, gift, abilities, and talents, that are given, by the Lord, to us, and they are a blessing, but it can become, a double-edged sword, because we may, use those gifts, to bless others, that prosperity, may mean, blessing, to others in needs, may mean, clothing those, that have no clothes, thinking about, a missionary, in a far away land, without resources, thinking in people, in our area, that has no food, that those resources, may become to, the center of our life, and we may, use them to, get those, possessions, those goods, to hoard them, to use them, just for us, and to focus on ourselves, that you see how, thank you brother, how that can become, a risk, for somebody, risky, something that may be, a blessing, or maybe, a burden, in the judgment day, so when we think, about that, we want to think, twice, of what are we doing, with what has been, given to us, we are saved, by grace, but the judgment, is by works, and we, will be, held accountable, of what we did, with the things, that the Lord, gave us, and the implication, is inevitable, that means, that everything, in our life, belongs, to Christ, our resources, our abilities, our gift, our skills, because in that day, we will give, an account, to the owner, of those resources, to the one, who gave it to us, to, employ them, in, his, kingdom, so we don't want, the, trivial, spiritual, sterile life, sits in, us, comfortable, in our homes, with so much, need, around, and we, to see those needs, needs, and Christ, himself said, that the poor,
[27:14] always will be with us, we, to see those needs, as means, of serving, and that should be, your delight, that should be, your pleasure, to do that, because in that, Christ will be, conforming you, to his image, like the son of man, came not to be served, but to serve, and give his life, for many, we are not giving, our life, to save anybody, but to bless others, with the blessing, that we've been giving, by grace, and, that will, bring to my, bring, brought to my mind, preparing the sermon, Luke, in the gospel of Luke, in the same context, in the gospel of Luke, in the same context, of the second coming, in Luke chapter, chapter 12, the Lord, called us to be alert, awake, working for his kingdom,
[28:17] I will read, those two verses, Luke 12, for those of you, that are following, with your Bibles, verse 47, and 48, and that servant, who knew his master's will, but did not get ready, or act according, to his will, will receive, a severe beating, but the one, who did not know, and did, what deserved, a beating, will receive, a light beating, everyone, and this is the part, that I want to focus on here, emphasize, everyone, to whom much, much was given, of him, much will be required, and from him, to whom, they entrusted much, they will demand, the more, I really believe, dear brothers, and sisters, that we, will be here, held, to a higher standard, than many Christians, around the earth,
[29:23] John Piper, and many of you, know who he is, wrote, that we should be, a conduit, a conduit, of God's blessing, not a cul-de-sac, blessings, to flow, from us, to others, we should not, kept them for us, because we want them, to bless others, in the same way, that Christ, bless us, in other words, our well-being, our prosperity, materially, speaking, with skills, knowing scripture, being able, to preach the gospel, to teach others, to give our time, and talents, will be used, to work, in the kingdom, of Christ, and it should be, our delight, as we battle, with our flesh, to hold those blessings, we should delight, in giving them away, in the same way, that Christ gave himself, for us, for many reasons, that don't need, to occupy us, today, there's another emphasis, in I believe in Christ, and safe, and I go to heaven, and that's truth, there's truth in it, but, there's more than that, because we are saved, as we said before, for works, in the kingdom, and the kingdom, is here, in our midst, the kingdom, is not coming, the kingdom arrived, at the first coming, of Christ, we are the kingdom, of God, and we are to work, in his service, so we are expected, to be safe, to work, to work for the Lord, and, the fact that we trust, in Christ, that you trust in, in his merits, and his work, on the cross, should just, be visible, in the way, that you live, in the way, that you act, every day, let's read,
[31:44] Matthew, chapter 37, so I want to read, those three verses now, 37 through 40, then the righteous, will answer him, Lord, when do we see you hungry, and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something, to drink, when do we see you, a stranger, and inviting you in, or needing clothes, and clothe you, or when do we see you, sick, or in prison, and go to visit you, the King, Christ, will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did, for one of the least, of these brothers, and sisters of mine, of mine, you did, for me, so we see here, that, those, that are rejected, by society, the nobodies, without food, that have no, financial achievement, has no, 401k, and there's nothing, wrong with all those things, many times, are the children, of God, serving them, is serving Christ, being a blessing, to them, is blessing the Lord, they are part of his body, and even though, our Lord, taught us in scripture, in many places, the good Samaritan, parabol, the things, that our neighbor, is anybody, even beyond the kingdom, kingdom, so, as we serve those, that are not, of name, unappreciated, by society, we are serving, the king,
[33:41] Christ, and here, in our, last three verses, that we read, from 37, through 40, we see the evidence, that the righteous ones, were not doing, those deeds, to be safe, they were not even aware, when they did those deeds, that they were serving Christ, they were asking, when do we see you naked, and clothe you, when do we see you sick, and visit you, when do we see you hungry, and fed you, they were not even aware, because, it becomes, second nature, to not live for us, but for him, who saves us, by serving others, in need, in whatever need, physical need, emotional need, spiritual need, I don't think, that, this list, that we have here, is complete, about the many things, that we can do, for others, so, going, now, to the last, to the next, four verses, let's read, verses, 41, to 44, and then,
[34:51] I will put there, part B, of the 33, but the goats, on the left, and 41, and 44, 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, for I was hungry, and you gave me, no food, I was thirsty, and you gave me, no drink, 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, then they will also, 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,
[35:58] I will read them, the next two verses, to complete it, 45, then he will answer them, saying, truly, I say to you, you did not do it, to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me, and these will go away, into eternal punishment, but the righteous, into eternal life, faith, and it is important, to remember, that profession, of faith, does not mean, possession, of that faith, what we profess, profess, with our mouth, not necessarily, equals, what we really, believe, and treasure, in our life, faith, and that brought to my mind, there, James, the book of James, in chapter 2, when we see, that the Lord, is talking about, faith, and works, but, just before we read the text, keeping in mind, that, those who, didn't serve Christ, recognizing, as Lord, if we go to our text, we see that, in verse 44, when the Lord, told them, that they did not serve him, by not serving others in need, look in verse 44, then, they will also answer, saying Lord, if we notice, they recognize Christ, as Savior, as Lord, and King, and, right in the context, of the second coming, with the glorified Christ, we see, them, calling him Lord, that is a sign, you are the King, you are Lord, and Savior, but that was not, what Christ was taking, into account, at that moment, but their life, in that day, everything, will be clear, how we use our talents, what we really treasure, everything, will be exposed, to the light, what we really appreciated, what we long for, what type of life, we wanted to live, who did we wanted to serve, who did we really trust, it's going to be evident, without a doubt, and we see, how they are, telling him, right in his face,
[38:37] Lord, but they were, deceived, they were deceived, we see, that a life, that, is not changed, is not, indwelled, by a genuine faith, and that's when, I was thinking about, the text, in James, chapter 2, James chapter 2, verse 14, through 17, and look, what it says here, what good, is it, my brothers, if someone says, he has faith, but doesn't have works, can that faith, save him, if a brother, or sister, is poorly clothed, and lacking, in daily food, and one of you, says to them, go in peace, be warm, and filled, without giving them, the things needed, for the body, what good, is that, source of faith, by itself, if it does not have works, is dead, and again,
[39:47] I think the text, is simple, and clear, a fruitless faith, a faith, without good works, is dead, and cannot save, and we just, see it, over and over, in scripture, if you are not, transformed, by your faith, if you are not, taken out, of your shell, of your comfort zone, your faith, is not proving, to be, in the first place, that powerful faith, that raised you, from the death, spiritually, that brought you, to life, with Christ, a faith, that cannot transform, cannot save, that faith, will produce works, to love those, created, in the image of God, to love those, that has eternal souls, in the way to hell, if they don't receive the gospel, if through our love, we don't get to them, in their time of need, to bring Christ, and show compassion, with good deeds, if your faith, don't take you there, it's good to stop, and analyze it, meditate on it, reflect on it, tremble, because, something, may need to be checked, if we truly love God, we will love those, missing his image, if we, truly love God, then, we will love those, that he made, that he created, because the spirit, is working, that, in all of those, who love God, in sincerity, and truth, according to his word, so, in conclusion, we saw two points, every human being, will have, judgment day, before Christ, all of us, and your life, is a, visible manifestation, of your faith, it's an open book, that tell people, what you truly, believe, faith, and, quickly, as a way, of application, dear brothers, and sisters, these verses, are challenging, by, as I was, preparing the text, is, is a lot there, and, and, it shows us, that the Christian life, is about, the supremacy, of Christ,
[42:24] Christ, is not, an at-home, we have a job now, we have a 401k, we raise the children, they are doing okay, now, I need Christ, Christ, is everything, somebody, somebody has no family, no 401k, no children, and they have Christ, they are complete, if the Holy Spirit, brought conviction, to you, pray the Lord, asking for forgiveness, and start engaging, intentionally, in so many opportunities, that we have to serve others, here in the church, many ministries, many things, that can be done, time, with your talents, your gift, resources, they are, so many, limitless, those, afflictions, that we see around us, those trials, suffering, and opportunities, to serve others, even if you don't see, an immediate need, around you, there's still many others, multiple needs, everywhere, even overseas, if that were to be the case, and that brings to mind, the text in,
[43:39] Acts 20, 35, where Paul tells, and remember, the Lord Jesus Christ, that said, it is more blessed, to give, than to receive, and if anybody, is in this room, without Christ, and has not trusted Jesus, then you have, great reason to fear, Jesus is coming back, to judge the world, he's coming back, to judge you, for you to give an account, of what you did, with the life, that he, in his love, gave you, and this sermon, should be a wake up alarm, calling you to salvation, calling you to trust, trust, in Christ, and give your life, to him, to him, so brothers, let's, uh, praise, and close, uh, apply, uh, asking the Lord, to apply his word, to our hearts, thank you father, for your word, apply it to our hearts, oh Lord, the mistakes, the, distraction, of the preacher, take that out of the way, and put your word, apply it to your spirit, that may be a blessing, to your people, and to those, that don't know you, in Jesus we pray,
[44:58] Amen. Amen.