A cup of water - Mat 25:31-46

A cup of water!

September 30, 2012

Matt 25:31-46

Introduction

• During the last weeks we have been looking at God's love for us, and his compassion
• God loves us so much more than we can imagine!
• He watches over us, he takes care of us
• He leads us, shows us the way to go
• He gives us opportunities to make choices, to strengthen our character and our walk with Him
• When we fall down and we turn back to him, he extends mercy, he forgives us, and helps us back up
• What is important to God, is that we allow Jesus to live in us and work through us
• Today we are going to examine an aspect of our lives that is crucial to our eternity

Background

• Right near the end of Jesus' ministry, the messages he gave his disciples were increasingly sober and serious
• He knew his time was short, and there were things they needed to hear
• In Matthew 25 he speaks the parable of the 10 virgins, a warning to the church that we need to be alive and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us, not letting him lie dormant
• He gives us the parable of the talents, where we are told to exercise the giftings God has given us, once again, don't allow these things to be inactive, but use them for the Kingdom
• And now he teaches the disciples about the last judgment, in the parable of the sheep and the goats

Reading

• Matthew 25:31-46

A chronology

• Time is short. As I have warned, war is imminent in the Middle East
• There are many signs that Jesus' return is nearby.
• When Jesus returns as the reigning Messiah, the dead in Christ, and the saints who are alive, will receive their spirit body and rise to meet him in the clouds
• This is commonly known as the rapture
• At this point, Christians will receive their reward for their walk with God, and the fruits borne in their lives
• 1Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
• 2 Cor 5:10 When Jesus returns, we receive a reward for how we have conducted our Christian walk, and we will be invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb
• Rev 19:6-10 - the wedding supper
• This marks the beginning of 1000 years of Jesus' reign - Rev 20:4
• At the end of this time, known as the Milenneum, we have what is known as the Last Judgment
• Rev 20:11-15
• Our lives are recorded in books, and it is on the basis of the actions in our lives that judgment will be given

The sheep and the goats

• Matthew 25
• Jesus in this parable is not giving a chronology of the various judgments we just looked at
• In this passage he is telling his disciples what he will be looking at, when looking at the deeds that have been done
• He is telling his disciples, that our actions toward others are important
• He is saying we need to be looking out for each others needs
• Last week I told a little about the need for prison ministry
• People in prison need the gospel. They need it, they are open to it, all they need is someone to take it to them
• Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
• But there are other prisoners who are not behind bars but they might as well be
• Here I am talking about those in slavery to addiction
• This too is a prison
• Jesus is telling us in this passage, that we ought to be feeding the hungry, giving something to drink for the thirsty, if they are homeless that we invite them in, if they lack clothing that we provide for them, and in short that we answer them at their point of need.
• Jesus did exactly this.
• He dealt with people in compassion, he healed the sick at their point of need, and he set the prisoners free - those in prison to the enemy's clutches
• As Christians, we are being judged as to how well we are being a channel for Jesus continuing his work of setting the prisoners free.
• This is why God has given Dianne and me a call to help the broken of this society find freedom, so they can rise to the call God has on their lives

Conclusion

• God is working in this church
• At the start of the year, His message to us was just one word, change
• Change is coming, on an individual level and at a church level
• Remember the message from this sermon, that Jesus lives in you and he wants to continue his work through you, reaching others
• It is like Jesus said in John 7, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him"
• Here he is referring to the Holy Spirit who was yet to come on the day of Pentecost, accompanied by the sound of a mighty wind, and the appearance of cloven tongues of flame, and showed his presence by people speaking in tongues
• If we would like to be filled with the Holy Spirit, or if we would like to be prayed for to be filled again, please raise your hands and come forward at the end of the service
• If anyone has not yet received Jesus as their personal savior, and would like this awesome, incredible relationship, and would like to be forgiven of their past, please come forward
• Rev 22:17 "The Spirit and the bride say Come. And let him who hears say Come. Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life!