Hello beloved and welcome to this evening's message where we are taking some time to look at prophecy, looking at the second coming of Christ and everything that revolves around that. Very exciting times that we're living in with what is happening in the Middle East and Jesus said there was going to be wars and rumors of wars and ethnic groups that's going to rise up against one another and kingdoms against kingdoms all those kind of things but those are all just the birth pains of the second coming of Christ. It's not yet the end. But when we look at everything that Jesus says with regards to his second coming, beloved, it's one thing that we can be for sure or certain of is that Jesus Christ is coming back because we are seeing the things happening all around us. I would like you to turn with me, please, to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. We're going to work our way through the passage from verse 31 downwards. From verse 31, Matthew 25. Before we continue, though, let's just have a word of prayer. Father, thank you so much that we can go into the Word, into your Word. and we can find the truth of your word, and that we can find prophecy, and we can find what Jesus himself said about his second coming. And I pray, Lord, that you will please enable us to understand your word, to take it to heart, and to, at the end of the day, apply your word into our lives, so that we may be ready for the second coming of Christ, as we pray in Jesus' precious name, amen. Right, beloved, Matthew chapter 25. verse 31 says when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him then He will sit on the throne of His glory now Jesus is speaking about His second coming when he will sit on his glorious throne and then all the holy angels will be with him just kind of get that picture in your mind what a sight it's going to be when that happens now verse 32 says and all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats Now Beloved, I want you to understand very clearly that everyone on earth are created in God's image. Alright? And everyone on earth are subject to Him, whether they like it or not. They are going to give an account to God. They're going to give an account to Christ for whatever they've done and whoever they are because they've been created in the image of God. All right, so what happens? Jesus gathers all the nations before Him. That's people from every ethnicity under heaven. Okay? So all the nations, all the ethnic groups will be gathered before Him. And what a sight that is going to be. then Jesus divides them into two groups. Only two groups. It isn't three or four or five groups. Two groups. He divides them into two groups. Verse 33 tells us, and he will set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left. So these two groups of people will basically stand before Jesus when he returns that day then when he will return. Now on his right hand is the sheep, on the left hand the goats and no other distinction is made about any other person or any other group by Christ Jesus himself. All right now notice what Jesus and remember he's the king of the kingdom. He is king, he's lord, he's master, he's judge and notice what he is going to say to the sheep on his right hand side. Verse 34 says, come you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Now notice, the sheep is invited to come and inherit the kingdom. And the kingdom was basically prepared for the sheep. And when was it prepared? Jesus said, from the foundation of the world. So from the foundation, when God created the earth, he knew there was going to be two groups of people among his creation. They were always going to be the sheep and the goats. Now you see when this world was created, the kingdom was part of that creation. That was part of God's creation plan. God's intent with the kingdom was to give it to the sheep at the right hand of Jesus Christ. that at his second coming so that was the plan and this plan has a very very long history you see when this earth was created the kingdom was part of God's creation to give to a very specific group of people and Jesus calls them sheep now when we go to verse 35 and verse 36 the sheep are basically identified How would anyone know if someone is a sheep or a goat? Well, let's look. Verse 35 and verse 36. Remember Jesus? He is the king of this kingdom and he will say to the sheep, he will say, I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me i was sick and you visited me i was in prison and you came to me so jesus was speaking about things done for him can you see that very clearly things done for him now that seems strange because it is only those people who were alive when jesus was on this earth who would basically classify as sheep. You see, Jesus said that the sheep gave him food when he was hungry, gave him something to drink, took him in when a stranger, clothed him when naked, visited him when sick, come to him in prison. Wow. So very few people in history would actually qualify as sheep if it was the requirement. Nah, I mean the requirement that they had to do it to Jesus himself. I mean, a few people actually saw Jesus alive. But wait, you see, the righteous was just as dumbstruck, we can say it like that, just as dumbstruck by the group that would qualify to be sheep. Because it says in verse 37, the righteous actually asked jesus now you speak they're speaking to the king they said but lord when did we see you hungry and feed you thirsty and give you drink when did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothed you sick or in prison and come to you i mean you see beloved no one would qualify to be sheep. Let's say very very few would qualify to be sheep because I mean no one could actually visit Jesus while he was in prison during that night that he was arrested and when he was judged before he went to die on the cross And now Jesus, the king, answers them. He gives this amazing answer in verse 40. He says, verse 40, the king will answer and say to them, assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. Ah, this changes everything, doesn't it? So you didn't have to do it to Jesus directly, specifically, you could do it to one of his followers. one of his disciples, one of his children, and then you've also done it to him. Now, listen very carefully. You see, Jesus the King isn't teaching good works as a means to be saved. That's not what he's doing. He's not saying that anyone must just make sure that he or she gives a believer some food or give a believer something to drink or when the believer is a stranger, take him in or clothe the believer when they are naked or visit the believer when that person is sick or come to a believer in prison. That's not the means of salvation. I mean, if this is the qualification for someone to have eternal life, then where is the biblical truth that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone? That would be a complete works-based salvation if Jesus was speaking about salvation, and that you would fall into the category of the sheep because you have done all these things for your fellow brothers and sisters. or if you are unsaved you've done it to God's people you see the thing is beloved Jesus is not saying that we can be saved by any other means but by His grace what Jesus was doing here was to show the Gentiles that if there how can I say if there were any other way to be saved then He would give it to them. But there is no other. If there was one other way of avoiding judgment and enjoying the Kingdom of God, then it would be this. Let's say, I want to put it as plain as possible. Let's say a gentile would want to be saved in a sense and they want to be part of the sheep. Then the most basic thing, the least that a gentile should be doing, a non-believer should be doing is to give a believer food if they are hungry or drink when they are thirsty. now or take a believer in as a stranger if they are stranger or clothing when they are naked or visit them when they are sick or go to prison when they are put in prison if a gentile would at least do that to any believer in jesus christ then i mean it was actually done to jesus christ the king because he is connected to every born-again believer but you see Jesus knew that the Gentiles, those who are not saved, they won't do that. You know, it's just one of those things. You see, if a believer or an unbeliever would at least do this to a believer or to believers, then at least They are doing it unto Christ, and it could be counted to their record kind of thing. But since we know, publicly speaking, we know that the Gentiles refuse to even do that, it means that there is only but one place for them to go, and that is into everlasting punishment. Why? Because if they won't even do those basic things, which are practical stuff, And we know that they don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as being the way, the truth and the life. There's no way for them to be saved. None whatsoever. All that is left for them is everlasting punishment. I mean, what a word from Jesus. I mean, right here at the end of the Olivet Discourse, when he was giving us prophecy upon prophecy upon prophecy of what would happen before he would return and the end of the world. So if a gentile, an unbeliever, would acknowledge that Jesus is king of his kingdom and he or she would acknowledge that the citizens of Jesus' kingdom ought to be handled in a specific way which means to know that the citizens of the kingdom are people that are supposed to be looked after Jesus says if a gentile would treat one of his followers in the way that he described Jesus would count their acts towards his followers as actions or things done to him but again just like the parable of the talents it has got nothing to do with the church or believers as such but rather how the world acknowledges that God is the Creator or refuse to acknowledge Him as the Creator and that everything belongs to Him or refuse to do so or that everyone is a steward of God's things whether you are saved or unsaved doesn't matter and they refuse to do that so likewise the separation of the sheep and the goats basically tells us that God has an expectation for every living person on this earth Jesus has an expectation you see from the Old Testament times even to the New Testament God made a distinction between His people and those who are not His people in the Old Testament The nation of Israel was seen as the people of God. And if the nations around Israel would bless the people of Israel, then God would bless them, okay? And he would let them be. And they could just continue to be a nation. When the nations would rise up against Israel without any cause, God would punish them. And sometimes he would punish them very severely. God called Israel to be a blessing to the nations, beloved. Israel is supposed to be a blessing to the nations. And God expected the nation of Israel, or Ahanetnetzei, to be such a blessing that people will see them and then that the nations would bless the people of God. And in blessing God's chosen people, they would be blessed by God. That's basically the principle that God worked on. and this principle didn't change you see in the new testament jesus christ the jewish messiah would be a blessing to the nations and whoever believes in him would receive eternal life whoever rejected him or rejects him would be punished in eternal death or with eternal death Now the children of God, the children of Jesus Christ would be visible all over the world. I mean, as they share the good news of the gospel and as they help to set sinners free from the power of sin by bringing the good news of salvation through Christ and forgiveness of sin. As they basically deliver demon possessed people. As they would be praying for people and people would be healed from their sickness. As they would live holy lives to the glory of God. Believers would basically provide food for other believers who are hungry. They will give thirsty believers something to drink and they will take in strangers who are believers. They will clothe believers who do not have food and they will visit sick believers and they will go to them in prison, those who were put in prison because of their faith. you see the believers those who are God's people will do all of these because they know that they are doing it for Jesus Christ for the King especially if they do it for a fellow believer that they know that it is something that is clear to believers that whatever they do for fellow brother or sister in Christ they are doing it for Christ they doing it for the King Now I'd like to ask a question. I mean, I've noticed that there is this idea that the church has volunteers who do the ministry in the local congregation or in local congregations. Now that I've heard that it has been said that people who are in church and pastors need to learn how to work with volunteers. Because those people who come to church, you know, when you become a deacon or you head up a ministry in the church, or if you do certain things in the church, whatever, it's because you are a volunteer. That people volunteer to do certain things within the church. Okay? I mean, people who profess faith in Jesus Christ will basically volunteer their time, their money, their expertise, And they do it without being expected to pay anything. That's what it means to volunteer. And if they are thanked for what they are doing, for their sacrifices, they're normally willing to go on. And when too much is asked of them, Then what happens is if it starts infringing on their life and their livelihood and their pleasures and their fulfillments and their happiness, that kind of thing, they just stay away. Or they resign church and they go to another church where they don't have to do too much because they are seen as volunteers. And a volunteer can stop volunteering at any time and move on. I believe beloved and this is really my belief it's to people like this that Jesus Christ is speaking loud and clear very very clearly you see a believer understands that whatever he or she does is done for Jesus if you do anything after you become a child of God if you profess to be a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ from that moment on you're a citizen of the kingdom You are a part of the church of Christ. You are now part of the body of Christ. So you are part of a body that functions as a body, as a living organism. And as a living organism, as you function within the body, you do certain things because you're part of the body. Not because you volunteer, but because you are part of something. The same thing with the local congregation. Nobody volunteers. to be part of the local congregation. No, the scripture tells us Christ Jesus adds to the church those who are saved. So if Jesus is the one who saves someone and then Jesus is the one who takes that person and makes that person part of the church, then basically what it means is that You're not in a local congregation because it is a place that you can volunteer your services. No, you are in that local congregation because the king of the kingdom, the head of the church placed you into that church for a specific purpose and you have to fulfill that purpose. Okay? I mean, you might think that giving money or food to, let's say for example in our case, to the Hungry Harry Project, or you give your time to help in the garden. You can think it's volunteer work. You are volunteering of your time and of your energy and of your, how can I say, expertise. But in fact, Jesus says, if you do anything, any of that, you are doing it to him. You're not doing it for the church. You're doing it for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You're doing it for the head of the church. You're not doing it for the church. You're not doing it as a volunteer. You're doing it for Him. You might think, let's say, giving finances to the church, you know, to pay the water bill and let's say to buy juice for a conference or serving the pastors when they come. you know, in make food, whatever, let's say for our pastor's conference, you can think, oh, that is voluntary work. You are a volunteer. Jesus says, no, no, no, no, no, no. If you did it to them, you are doing it to me. If you think that you are volunteering to give one of the speakers of our conference, for example, a place to stay, Jesus says no if you take any believer into your home you are taking me into your home can you see the implication of this passage brother if you think for example coming to church and sorting out the clothes at the back, you know, the clothes that we receive, or if you give away some of the clothes or you go and pick up the clothes, you know, the donations or whatever. And if you think you are just volunteering to come and do that kind of work, let me call it work, in the church, Jesus says, no, you're not volunteering. You are clothing me if you give it to believers, if you clothe believers. If you clothe a believer in need, you are doing it unto Jesus himself. If you think that you are doing a pastor a favor to visit someone who is not well, let's say for example you go to do a hospital visitation when there's somebody that's not well and they're in hospital and you go and see them and you just pray with them or you go and see that person at their home. If you think that you are doing me a favor and you think you are volunteering yourself you know, your time and your fuel and your energy and all those kind of things. Jesus says, no, no, you're not volunteering. You are visiting Christ if you visit the sick brother or sister. If you think, You visit a prison to encourage, for example, a believer who are in prison because that person is, how can I say, is there because of their faith? You're not volunteering. Jesus says, no, you are visiting me. We are visiting Jesus. Beloved, because that's the whole, point of Christ I believe and that's why the unbelievers if they did these things to fellow brothers and sisters if they did it to believers if they did it to God's people then Jesus would have said to them as well well he actually tells it in this passage now because the unbelievers then says to him but when did we see and then they go through all this whole list and Jesus says it every single time if you did it to the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me the unbelievers don't do it to God's people because they hate God's people they they reject God's people they don't do anything for God's people because there's this this inerrant hatred towards God and his people and the church but when it comes to believers we understand that we are not volunteers in the church we're not volunteers in looking after one another and taking care of one another no we're not volunteers we are citizens of the kingdom of God we are part of a much greater kingdom than what is visible on this earth And the amazing thing is, if you and I do anything for God's people, if we do anything in the church that edifies the body of Christ, we are doing it unto Jesus. and that's why we are counted as being part of the sheep because that's what sheep does well that's what sheep do that's what we do that's why we would be counted as sheep on the right hand of Christ when he returns because we understand whatever we are doing we are not doing it for my fellow brother and sister. Yes, that's the physical person I'm doing it to. And that's the physical person that I am giving clothes to or I'm helping. But I know that I'm actually doing it as unto Christ himself, not to be saved. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. But as I do it, I know I'm doing it for Christ. Because as I do it unto His children, believers in Christ, I am doing it unto Him. That's amazing. Absolutely amazing. So, whenever you do something in the church again, whenever you do something for other believers, I would like you to think very deeply about this. And may the Lord remind us that when we do anything in the church, any visitations, any, how can I say, providing of food or whatever, those things that we do for other believers, we are doing it as unto Christ. It's amazing. Absolutely, absolutely amazing. Now, beloved, whatever you and I do in Newcastle Baptist Church. And we are under the impression that we are doing it as a volunteer. Think again. May the Lord help us not to have that kind of attitude. And at first, that's the way I was thinking about the members of the church. I was thinking of them as volunteers. And how do you minister to volunteers? And how do you get them to get involved in the work of the church? And all those kind of things. Until I got to the point where I realized, you know what? I am messing up. I'm not working with volunteers. I'm working with believers. I'm there to equip believers for their work of ministry. And if they don't do it, they stand before the king of kings and lord of lords, before the judge, before the king of the kingdom. And they will give an account why they haven't done what Jesus said they were supposed to do. Because if they did it for their fellow brothers and sisters, they were doing it unto him. And they will receive the reward. But if they don't, then obviously there's something wrong. This whole idea of being a volunteer is nonsense. We are God's children in the body of Christ for a specific purpose. And I pray, may the Lord Jesus give us insight into the meaning of the things that he said that would happen when he returns. Because indeed, he is going to return. He will return to this earth. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much that we can come to you in Jesus' name. Thank you for your love and kindness towards us, and thank you that whatever we do for our fellow brothers and sisters within the church, wherever we go, and we do it for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we do it because they believe. And because they are your children, we are actually doing it unto you. Make this sink into our minds, please, and that please enable us not to have a volunteer, how can I say, the idea that we are volunteers. Please, Father, I pray in Jesus' precious name. And thank you that as we look to that day when Jesus will return and he will divide the sheep from the goats, thank you that we as your children, may stand on the side of the sheep and even though we might ask you Lord you tell us you've done all we've done all these things but it's been in and through your power and therefore we praise you and glorify you and we did it because we love you and we just praise you and adore you so father we pray i i pray please May we have an attitude of citizens of the kingdom of God rather than having an attitude of volunteers in a worldly system. So I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Beloved, thank you very much for listening. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon you and give you His peace. God willing, until next time, bye-bye.