1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:04,840 Good morning, everyone. Let's try that again. 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:08,240 Good morning, everyone. Yeah, here we go. 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:13,160 If you are new, my name is Somane Megadi, one of the 4 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:16,880 pastors. Here we are in Advent. 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,400 I think I was 22. I was in Nigeria. 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,960 I had this conversation with a friend of mine, and we were 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,360 lamenting the way that the country was going, you know, 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,360 just spiraling downward, becoming bad. 9 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:36,640 And I remember we ended with this feeling that honestly, we 10 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,560 understood with Paul when he said, I kind of want to just go 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:41,880 home right now to be with the Lord. 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:48,080 Life sucks. I was 22, 19 years later, that 13 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,200 has not changed. I feel exhausted, and I'm sure 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,080 that many of us feel exhausted as well. 15 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,040 With the weight of sin and evil in the world. 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,640 We groan and we cry out. How long, O Lord, will you 17 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:05,640 endure the iniquity that you see? 18 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,040 Will you endure the unrighteousness, the injustice 19 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:13,840 in the world? Please come, Lord Jesus, and in 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,960 Advent, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, we are also 21 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:21,960 preparing our hearts for the second coming of the Lord. 22 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,080 Isaiah 11 is one of those passages that reminds us that 23 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,800 Jesus is King, and when he returns, we're going to see how 24 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,840 he reigns fully with righteousness. 25 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,640 That's right. Action that rises straight from 26 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,800 God's character, and then also with justice. 27 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:44,000 That's action that is a true verdict that sets things in the 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:49,320 right order because King Jesus blesses and he multiplies 29 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,120 anything that reflects his righteousness and he justly 30 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,200 redeems and corrects and if needed even punishes anything 31 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:02,560 that reflects sin and evil. Matthew 25 makes this, you know, 32 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,160 unmistakably clear. You have Jesus coming and all 33 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,000 his glory in the with the angels are with him. 34 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:13,840 Such power. He sits on his glorious throne 35 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,760 authority. He will gather all the nations 36 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:18,680 before him. They must come. 37 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,520 This is not a summit that any nation can opt out of. 38 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,720 They have to come to this. He's going to separate them 39 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,560 sheep from goat because he knows their hearts. 40 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:32,280 He knows who they are and he knows who are his own. 41 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,280 This is the king we follow. He reigns in righteousness. 42 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,000 He exercises perfect judgement, and he calls all nations to 43 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,560 account. He does more than that, though. 44 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,480 He calls you and I to participate in this. 45 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,440 The question before us today that I'm going to try to answer 46 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:54,680 is how do we partner with King Jesus to extend His justice and 47 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,440 His righteousness? And that's what we're going to 48 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,920 turn to. Our main passage is Matthew 25, 49 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:05,280 verse 31 to 46, found on page 780 of the ESV Bible. 50 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,440 That's what we're going to look at primarily this morning. 51 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:17,800 Let me pray for us, Father. May your word be a delight to us 52 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,600 this morning. May it give us hope, may it give 53 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:28,840 us refreshing, may it direct our hearts to your Son Jesus Christ 54 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:30,840 for the glory and praise of your name. 55 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,520 Amen. Amen. 56 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:39,800 All right, so Matthew chapter 25, verse 31 to 46, to better 57 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:45,320 understand what is going on in that passage, we're going to 58 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:46,920 talk about sheep for a little bit. 59 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,720 Sheep are strange creatures. If you've ever seen one, they're 60 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,440 very, very weird. They're cute and they're fluffy, 61 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,440 but they have weird habits. They drift and wonder if nobody 62 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,640 guides them. They hear a sharp sound and 63 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,200 they're startled. They have almost no defense 64 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,800 mechanism except when they huddle together and when they're 65 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:07,680 huddling together. If you're in the middle, you're 66 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,200 safe. If you're on the outskirts, 67 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:13,720 well, sorry, they can't clean themselves when they get stuck 68 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,440 in a place they need help to get out. 69 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,120 You put a sheep on its back, it's fallen and it can't get up. 70 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:22,920 It just can't. They are very vulnerable. 71 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,360 They need steady care. And yet this is the creature 72 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:32,400 that God, that Jesus chooses as a picture of his people. 73 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:35,960 That's not very flattering. Of course not. 74 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,000 But I think it gets to the part of the issue what Jesus is 75 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,600 looking for. Sheep have one strong trait. 76 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:49,760 They follow a leader. Once a sheep places his trust in 77 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,520 the shepherd, they will follow that sheep wherever that 78 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,760 shepherd, sorry, that shepherd, wherever he or she goes. 79 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,000 And they will be fully dependent on the shepherd for everything. 80 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,360 So Jesus says in John, my sheep hear my voice, I know them, and 81 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,640 they follow me. So he uses sheep because he 82 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:12,120 wants us to be people who follow him and depend on Him for every 83 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:17,760 little thing. And so Psalm 23 shows us how our 84 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,200 Lord leads us. He first of all leads us to 85 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:25,320 green pastures, the pastures of His Word. 86 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,560 True feed come to His Word. They feed on Scripture day after 87 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,440 day. They memorize it, they meditate 88 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,640 on it, they read it, they study, they feast on His Word to their 89 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:41,080 heart's content so that they can lie down with plenty all around 90 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,560 them. The Psalm also teaches us that 91 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,400 our Lord leads His sheep to restful waters, and that can 92 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,400 mean many things, but it certainly means the Holy Spirit. 93 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:53,840 Remember John Chapter 7, verse 37? 94 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,760 Jesus says if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 95 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,560 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his 96 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,520 heart will flow rivers of living water. 97 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,760 Now this he said about the Spirit whom those who believed 98 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:13,880 in Him were to receive, and the rest of that Psalm, Psalm 23 99 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,160 shows how the Lord provides abundantly for His sheep. 100 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,080 He guides us through difficult circumstances so that we are not 101 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,920 afraid. And like a generous host, He 102 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:28,240 sets a table before us with food and drink where we can eat in 103 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,320 safety even with our enemies nearby. 104 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,760 He anoints our head with the oil of gladness. 105 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:40,720 Our cup of wine just overflows with comfort and refreshments 106 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,080 and good things. Surely goodness and mercy track 107 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,400 US all our days, and we long to be in the House of the Lord from 108 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:51,640 day-to-day. You hear that and you want to 109 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:53,360 say Amen? Somebody give me an Amen. 110 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:56,520 Yes, yes, it's really, really good. 111 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:58,480 This is what Jesus provides for us. 112 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,160 And I'm constantly struck by believers who position 113 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:06,080 themselves where they can receive God's abundance like 114 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,920 this. And of course, I'm not saying 115 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,560 that they get everything right, but they show a tenacious 116 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:14,680 devotion to the things of the Lord. 117 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:18,240 I'm thinking, for example, of the early Quakers who gathered 118 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,960 for long stretches of silent prayer. 119 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,760 They're waiting on the Lord with open Bibles, and they wouldn't 120 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,360 leave till they heard God's voice. 121 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,120 I'm thinking about the people like the Amish, who structure 122 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,200 their whole lives around Scripture and worship and 123 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,360 community and food. And boy, do they know how to do 124 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,440 food well. They rise early, they pray 125 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,160 together, they read the word, they bear one another's burdens, 126 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,440 and they have very strict rules about how to engage with all the 127 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:51,160 novelties in the world. I think about the South Korean 128 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,560 brothers and sisters who rise at 4:00 PM every morning, 365 days 129 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,400 a year. They walk to church for an hour 130 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,720 of prayer. I think of what Bishop Andudu 131 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,720 told us here about his work in South South Sudan, southern 132 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:08,840 northern Sudan, where people walk for walk for hours just to 133 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,280 congregate together on a Sunday and have worship that lasts for 134 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,960 5 to 8 hours. May that happen here for 5 to 8 135 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,120 hours, just feasting and praying together and singing and 136 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,920 worshipping. There's an instance where that 137 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,720 was happening and Bishop Andudu was preaching to 2000 people. 138 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:29,640 And this was a time when the violence was much, much greater 139 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:31,800 than it is right now. And he saw a fighter jet that 140 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,200 usually that fighter jets that was coming and he know knew what 141 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,840 that meant, carpet bombing. They was going to shoot them. 142 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:40,080 And he didn't tell the people what was going to happen. 143 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:42,120 He simply prayed and kept preaching. 144 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,120 And for whatever reason, the guy didn't see them. 2000 people in 145 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,960 an open field, despite danger, they're coming to feast at the 146 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,800 table of the Lord. That kind of shames me when I 147 00:08:55,800 --> 00:09:01,240 think about myself, you know. At the same time, I'm amazed by 148 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,760 the number of Christians I meet who say they have followed Jesus 149 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,480 for years and years and years, and they've never even read the 150 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,040 Bible cover to cover. They stop at Leviticus. 151 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:11,840 That is a hard book I give, I grant that. 152 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,000 But they stop there. This is their word for life, and 153 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,880 they don't feast on it. Their prayer life is stilted. 154 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,920 If it exists at all, it's very feeble and it's constantly 155 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,880 interrupted by, you know, cute cat videos or sports or whatever 156 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,080 distraction you can put in there. 157 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,280 Spiritual rhythms, not so much. They nibble at the edges of 158 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:38,640 Jesus feast and they wonder why their spiritual life feels so 159 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,360 thin, why their strength fails them, why they fall into 160 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,280 temptation, why their life is constantly full of struggle 161 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,320 after struggle without any joy or peace, Why their compassion 162 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:52,120 dries up. Which kind of sheep are you? 163 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,640 The type of feasts on Jesus's abundance are the 1 nibbling at 164 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:02,800 the edges. What does this have to do with 165 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,280 extending Jesus's righteousness and justice? 166 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:11,360 So in Matthew 25, verse 32 to 33, it tells us that when the 167 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,360 Son of Man comes in His glory, before Him will be gathered all 168 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,720 the nations, and He will separate people one from 169 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,720 another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 170 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,160 And He will place the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on 171 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,520 the left. The sheep here are the ones who 172 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:33,240 have heard Jesus's voice feasted at his stable, and he leads them 173 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,560 in paths of righteousness. And where does that take them? 174 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:41,680 It takes them to where Jesus Himself dwells among the hungry, 175 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:46,320 the poor, the naked, the stranger, the sick, the 176 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,960 imprisoned. And this list is not exhausted. 177 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:54,600 And the goodness and mercy and abundance that follow Jesus's 178 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,880 true sheep naturally flowed from them to the least of these 179 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,600 listed here. Now, whenever I look at 180 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,600 Scripture, I want to be faithful to what it's saying, and I want 181 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:09,360 to do that here. Jesus actually qualifies who the 182 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,320 hungry and the poor are in the passage verse 40. 183 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,760 Truly, I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these, 184 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,560 my brothers and sisters, you did it to me. 185 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,800 If you do a simple concordance search of this particular word, 186 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:28,960 you'll find that it the for brother and sister. 187 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,280 You'll find that it appears 31 times in Matthew and it has only 188 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,880 two meanings. One, it means either a physical 189 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:41,040 relative or Kingsman or a fellow believer, someone in the family 190 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,600 of faith. The word actually appears in 191 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,080 Matthew chapter 12 with both meanings in there. 192 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,920 Jesus is talking to his disciples and someone says, hey, 193 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,360 your brother, your mother, your sisters, they're waiting outside 194 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,880 for you, Jesus. And Jesus looks at the messenger 195 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,080 and then he looks back at his disciples, who are my brothers 196 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,720 and my sisters and my and my mother, etcetera. 197 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:05,280 It is you all, you all who hear my word, who do the will of the 198 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,200 Father. He uses that word and he changes 199 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,240 what it means to be family. Those who are my disciples are 200 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:16,160 brother, sister, mother. So when Jesus says the least of 201 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,920 these, my brothers and sisters, he's speaking primarily about 202 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:23,440 his disciples, his followers who are hungry, poor, sick, 203 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:28,120 strangers or in prison. That shouldn't surprise us. 204 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:35,120 Acts 9. Saul is going to Damascus that 205 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,800 arrests Christians, blinding life falls off the horse hears a 206 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:44,160 voice. The voice says, Saul, Saul, why 207 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,720 are you persecuting my church? That's not what it says. 208 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:50,400 Persecuting my disciples. That's not what it says. 209 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:59,000 Why are you persecuting me? Jesus identifies very closely 210 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,440 with his church because it's his body. 211 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,520 And he certainly identifies with the least of his disciples who 212 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:08,440 fit these categories. For example, like Pastor Ezra 213 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,400 Ezra Jin and the 30 believers who were detained in China. 214 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,200 We've been praying for them, detained for illegal 215 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:20,320 dissemination of religious information, like a Vietnamese 216 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:24,640 mother who became a Christian and immediately faced beatings 217 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,680 from her husband and the local police, and she and her children 218 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,680 had to flee to Thailand. And there they're being 219 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:34,360 supported by local missionaries ministries. 220 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,720 Jesus cares deeply about his people who are suffering the 221 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,120 least of these, and He wants us to show them love. 222 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,200 Now Scripture gives us several reasons for this, but one of 223 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,840 them actually comes directly from Jesus's own mouth. 224 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:54,520 He says in John 13, I give you a new commandment that you love 225 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:59,680 one another. By this everyone else will know 226 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:03,440 that you are my disciples if you love one another. 227 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:09,280 When the household of God shows love to itself, especially to 228 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,560 the least of these within it, the world sees it. 229 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,600 And when they do, our King Jesus says they will say, wow, those 230 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:18,840 Christians, they really love each other. 231 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,800 They must be true disciples. The gospel must be real. 232 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,680 And as far as Jesus is concerned, there's no virtue in 233 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,800 saying that you love non Christians and do good to them. 234 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,880 When you do not love your fellow Christians and do good to them, 235 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,760 there's no virtue in that. And so Galatians chapter 6 verse 236 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,880 10, it captures this with a good balance. 237 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:42,240 It says so then whenever you have an opportunity, let us work 238 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:48,360 for the good of all and especially for the household of 239 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,440 faith. Now it goes without saying, like 240 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,760 we just read from Galatians, this focus does not exclude love 241 00:14:55,920 --> 00:15:00,160 to those who are not believers. Jesus has told us many instances 242 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,240 in Scripture to love and serve those outside the faith. 243 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,000 The epistles carry the same command. 244 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:06,840 If your enemy is hungry, feed them. 245 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,520 If your enemies thirsty, give them something to drink. 246 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:14,320 Our acts of love must extend to those outside the faith because 247 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,120 everybody bears the image of God. 248 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,120 And This is why Scripture often ties God's judgment. 249 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:23,480 Whoever said Amen to that, thank you. 250 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,040 This is why Scripture often ties God's judgment directly to how 251 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:32,120 his people treat the least of this, whether Christians or not. 252 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,840 And here's an example. Zechariah Chapter 7 says, Thus 253 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,840 says the Lord of hosts, render true judgments, yes, Show 254 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,320 kindness and mercy to one another. 255 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:43,840 Yes. Do not oppress the widow, the 256 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,880 fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you 257 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,080 device evil against another in your heart. 258 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,720 But they refused to pay attention, and turned a stubborn 259 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,560 shoulder and stopped their errors that they might not hear. 260 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,280 Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts, and I 261 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,720 scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they 262 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,680 had not known. God takes this very seriously, 263 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,680 and so should we. But it is so hard to do this 264 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:17,760 well because none of the things that Jesus names is easy for 265 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,080 convenient. Because back then feeding the 266 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,080 poor took a significant amount of time. 267 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,680 They did not have Uber Eats. They couldn't make an easy 268 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,640 grocery run and just simply get food ready made. 269 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,240 They didn't have Grubhub. And visiting someone in prison, 270 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,240 well, good luck. You could walk for hours to get 271 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,400 there and you had no guarantee that you'd be allowed to see the 272 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:38,960 person you're visiting. And there's always a chance of 273 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:42,240 guilt by association. Welcoming the stranger carried a 274 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,040 real risk, whether they were a believer or not. 275 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:47,560 You did not know the kind of person you were bringing into 276 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,040 your home. A stranger could drain what 277 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,560 little you had overstay the welcome of turn out to be 278 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:58,200 uncharitable. A friend of mine in Nigeria came 279 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,600 in contact with this couple who had two kids and they were 280 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,440 living in a very terrible apartment and he found out 281 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,400 around 7:00 PM that night that they needed food that had 282 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,760 nothing to eat. There were there are no food 283 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:11,440 banks that you can go to in Nigeria. 284 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,800 And so he scrolled through his phone and found who can I call 285 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,760 to help right now. Called about 10-15 people and 286 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,160 many of them said yes, I have this, just come and get it. 287 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:25,319 For the next 2 1/2 hours my friend was driving around the 288 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:30,200 city picking up food to take it to this person that he just met. 289 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,080 And he gave them food and then they became part of his life 290 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:38,720 such that when they were evicted from the home, they stayed with 291 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,600 him. And in staying with him he found 292 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:43,560 out there were so many things wrong. 293 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,880 They were believers but part of the problem was their lack of 294 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:49,520 wisdom put them in that situation. 295 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,320 And he tried to help and he kept helping and kept helping and it 296 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,800 drained him. And in the end that relationship 297 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:59,400 didn't end very well. But till date he was like, I did 298 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,960 the right thing. It was good that I did that no 299 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,720 matter how hard it was. These things aren't convenient. 300 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,600 Jesus's sheep do these things and they do them without 301 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,840 thinking. When Jesus commends them, 302 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,880 they're like, yo Jesus, what are you talking about? 303 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,240 When did we see you and did all do all these things to you? 304 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,240 They weren't doing it because they were looking for reward or 305 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,080 merit. No, that never crossed their 306 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,240 minds. They did these things because 307 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,280 Jesus's sheep overflow with the abundance he gives, and everyone 308 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,800 around them feels the impact of that overflow. 309 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:38,040 And apart from that abundance, efforts fall flat. 310 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,840 Anyone who tries to do these good deeds, apart from being a 311 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,120 faithful sheep, will miss the mark. 312 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,880 The help be muddied, incomplete, temporary, and often 313 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:50,920 ineffective. You will have no abundance to 314 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:52,880 give. You'll be exhausted. 315 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:56,640 You'll be tired, weighed down by the enormity of all the things 316 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,400 that have to get done. You will freeze under its size 317 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,800 or push yourself to do what only God can do. 318 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,720 I'm encouraged because our church community is filled with 319 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,760 people who do good things like this. 320 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:15,040 I truly commend you for that. Some of you work on a macro 321 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,400 level and agencies that tackle food security, economic 322 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,600 inequity, criminal justice reform, safeguarding and 323 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,440 protecting the vulnerable. Some of you serve at a micro 324 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,240 level. You're walking closely with 325 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,880 individuals, whether they're Christian or not, through acts 326 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:31,760 of mercy and just being with them. 327 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,320 Our benevolence fund is run by your generosity. 328 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:36,560 Thank you so much for giving you. 329 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,080 Continue to give to the church, to the mission of the church. 330 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,920 Do not grow weary of doing this, good friends. 331 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,800 In due time you will reap the reward. 332 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:51,240 You will hear Jesus say, Come, you who are blessed of my 333 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,480 Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the 334 00:19:55,480 --> 00:20:00,080 foundation of the world. Keep going, don't give up. 335 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:08,200 But then there are the goats, and for them there awaits an 336 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:13,160 unpleasant conclusion. I love goat meat. 337 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:17,240 It's one of my favorite meats. It's so tasty, so tasty. 338 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:19,360 I don't think Jesus is saying like goats are bad. 339 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:22,160 Completely certainly not. That's not what he's talking 340 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,200 about. In fact, goats are independent 341 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:25,800 creatures. They choose their own path. 342 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,080 They're bold and curious. They're always climbing, 343 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,480 exploring, and pushing boundaries. 344 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:32,680 They move well in difficult places. 345 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,400 They can claim space. And sometimes that's a really 346 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,800 good thing. These qualities in other places 347 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,240 in Scripture are praised. They're good things. 348 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,160 The problem here isn't goats in general. 349 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,680 It's this one trait that Jesus is honing in on. 350 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,120 Goats depend far less on a shepherd. 351 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,320 They are stubborn. They trust their own minds. 352 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:55,920 I mean, when you think of a goat, many of you might be 353 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:57,960 thinking of that situation where you have a goat and the 354 00:20:57,960 --> 00:20:59,760 shepherd's trying to pull the goat and the ghost, like, I'm 355 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:03,160 not going, I'm not moving. That's what Jesus is getting at 356 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,080 when he's talking, when he's talking about goats, people who 357 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:10,480 refuse to follow him, they do what seems right in their own 358 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,400 eyes. They act from self will rather 359 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,320 than from the abundance of the shepherd provides. 360 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,240 And as a result, they don't attend to the least of these. 361 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,720 And the sad thing is this. Many of the goats, according to 362 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:30,560 verse 44, will call Jesus Lord. They will recognize that He's 363 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,760 king. He's just not their king. 364 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:37,760 They echo the people Jesus describes in Matthew 7. 365 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:42,280 On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy 366 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:46,160 in your name and cast out demons in your name and perform all 367 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,960 sorts of miracles in your name? Jesus is going to look at them 368 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,840 and say, what are you talking about? 369 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:58,200 You have done evil. You have taken my teachings of 370 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,200 justice and mercy and grace and righteousness and holiness and 371 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,320 twisted them to your own ends. And by associating with Me, you 372 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,480 have put My name with your evil deeds. 373 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:15,200 You have used My name in vain. I don't know who you are if you 374 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:19,760 claim to be a sheep, the follower of Jesus Christ and 375 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,400 your life is not marked by a steady flow of his abundant 376 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:28,680 provision, the Word, the Spirit, the the table he sets before us, 377 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,640 and that abundance isn't flowing to others. 378 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,600 You are deceiving yourself and you need to repent. 379 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:40,720 You might be a goat. You cannot come here within the 380 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,640 community of God, week after week, hear the scriptures, 381 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:48,240 receive the Spirit, come to the table, and yet fail to extend 382 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,560 Jesus's righteousness and justice. 383 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,320 That is not true worship. It's a lie. 384 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,720 The fate of the goats in this passage is very sobering. 385 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,280 Jesus says it plainly. We can't avoid it. 386 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:09,280 Depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for 387 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:13,120 the devil and his angels. And these will go away into 388 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:17,640 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 389 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:29,840 That should land hard. Is anyone here familiar with 390 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,960 Everybody Loves Raymond? Yeah, Yeah. 391 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:35,600 I'm not endorsing yet. That's not what's happening 392 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,040 here. It's a funny show. 393 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,560 Here's my point as you continue to watch it over and over this, 394 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,280 there's a there's a, there's a theme that keeps coming up, a 395 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,680 pattern, everything. Raymond's family is Italian. 396 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:53,240 Every single time he walks into his mother's kitchen, he always 397 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,720 asks, are you hungry? Some variation of that. 398 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:02,640 And whether he says no or yes, she's going to say, I'll make 399 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,240 you a sandwich or there's some leftover pasta. 400 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:07,440 She's going to set the table no matter what. 401 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:13,200 And Raymond's mom is like many mothers, like my mother and my 402 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,920 mother-in-law, certainly the way they say I love you is to say, 403 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,800 have you eaten? And then they feed you whether 404 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:25,080 or not you are actually hungry. And God help you if you try to 405 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:27,840 say no, I don't want anything. You're on your own. 406 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:34,040 And once the table is set, y'all, my mother's can can can 407 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:36,600 cook. The food is delicious. 408 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,880 And if they see that your plate is empty, they're like, Sul, 409 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,000 there's more food. Please let me go and fetch for 410 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,120 you. Let me get more for you. 411 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:45,560 And they'll take your plate and get more food for you. 412 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,920 And after you're all filled up, they'll say, please leave room 413 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,160 for dessert. I've made cake. 414 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,160 I've made cake. Do you want more, Zobo? 415 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,440 Truly, your cup runneth over at that table. 416 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,800 This is a picture of the table that Jesus sets before us. 417 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:08,360 He wants us to be filled to the overflowing so that out of our 418 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:12,000 abundance we can extend His righteousness and justice. 419 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,120 We can love mercy and walk humbly with Him. 420 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:22,760 So I invite you, come, eat, drink, and receive from Jesus 421 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,960 every single day. There is no lasting way to 422 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,480 extend His righteous reign apart from the abundance that He 423 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:34,560 provides. Let's feast with our Lord. 424 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:45,930 Let's pray. You have laid a table for us, 425 00:25:45,930 --> 00:25:51,930 Lord God, and we pray that You would give us grace like sheep 426 00:25:51,930 --> 00:25:57,490 to come to the table and eat from your table, that by the 427 00:25:57,490 --> 00:26:02,080 power of Your Holy Spirit, what we receive from You will flow 428 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:05,520 into the world. It is in Your name we pray. 429 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:06,600 Amen.