A Season of Change – Signs of Encouragement – 11/25
Date: 11/25/07
Title: Signs of Encouragement
Text: Matt: 25:31-34
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (ESV)
Theme: This passage which reveals a picture of final judgment should be taken as an encouragement for the Christian. Jesus stresses the principle of being active in kingdom building activities for Covenant people who are looking forward to the return of the king.
Introduction: Talk about the sheep that I have known. Mention their characteristics, how well that I knew them and what I could count on them to do.
Transition: For many of us the thought of final judgment is a terrifying thought. The last thing that we want to do is stand before God’s throne and have our life displayed. I suspect that most of us have, at least some measure, of dread at the thought of that moment. We each recognize that our attitudes and actions, our thoughts and emotions have not always been what they should be.
One of the things that I have noticed as I have studied through many of the passages that discuss the end times is the phrase – “therefore encourage one another with these words.” I have thought that this seems a bit odd after all of the talk about an apocalyptic end. But now that I have studied them a little more I realize that these are words of encouragement, even in the midst of some terrifying events we can find a lot of comfort in several aspects of these judgment passages. The first thing that I find comfort in is that it is the…
1. The Shepherd comes
a. Do you remember what Jesus said about himself as the shepherd during His ministry? He was a concerned shepherd that went looking for the one. This would have been an astounding thing to say to shepherds of the time but it demonstrates the passion that Jesus feels for each of us.
i. But although it is the gentle shepherd that is appearing He is appearing in a totally different format than the world experienced Him the first time around.
b. His angels in attendance
i. This signifies power. This is like coming to the battle in full military regalia.
1. A lot of times the words that are associated with angels have military significance. Sometimes the scriptures describe angels as legions of angels. While the angels have assumed several types of responsibility from delivering messages to comforting folks we cannot forget that they are powerful beings.
a. God sent one angel to kill all of the fist born in one night in Egypt.
b. When Hezekiah prayed for and asked Isaiah for the Lord’s leading when Sennacherib (the King of Assyria) surrounded Jerusalem, God sent one angel who struck down 185,000 soldiers in one night.
c. In Glory – Rev. 20
i. It is interesting that during His ministry on earth He showed Himself humble and plain. During His second appearance there will be no question of who he is.
ii. From His presence earth and sky fled. Rev. 20
2. The Shepherd separates
a. Sheep & Goats
i. John 10 – He is the great shepherd
1. He knows the sheep and they know Him. He has intimate knowledge of each of us. He knows us better than our spouses, better than our parents and in some cases even better than ourselves.
ii. He was the door for the Sheep. This would have signified the fact that He determined what came in to the sheepfold, and denotes His protection of the sheep. This is reflected now as he sees who comes in and who doesn’t.
b. The people one from another.
i. In the model that those of the pre-millennial persuasion hold, this is only one of several judgments that will come at the end of the age. They refer to this as the judgment of the nations and see it as the judgment that Joel predicted when he said that on the day of the Lord the nations would be judged.
ii. This phrase shows us that this is an individual evaluation of each person.
iii. Our final evaluation will not be because of our genealogical pool or persuasion but be based on our relationship with the Lord.
iv. Eph. 2:4-9
3. The Shepherd judges
a. What does He judge
i. This judgment does not determine whether or not we end up in heaven or hell that has already been decided by the separation.
ii. This judgment is all about how it is that we have upheld the principles that are important to Christ.
1. Just prior to this passage, Jesus tells some parables to apply His sermon to the disciples that are listening to Him.
a. The parable of the bridegroom
i. Be ready
b. The parable of the steward
i. Utilize God’s resources wisely – be busy
c. The sheep and the goats are instructed to…
i. Be charitable – be concerned with those things that God is concerned about.
