Gtcotr/ss062517
That’s
the message Noah preached for more than 100 years before the flood came. Sadly,
people didn’t listen back then but fortunately people are much more willing to
hear what preachers have to say today. Funny thing is, the message hasn’t
changed one bit in all these years …
Key Scripture: Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father
in heaven.”
22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and
done many wonders in Your name?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of
Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the
rock:
25 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and
the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded
on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of
Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on
the sand:
27 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and
the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,
29 for He taught them as one having authority,
and not as the scribes.
I
must admit this scripture has always scared me a little and given me some
cautious concerns. I do not doubt the power of the blood of Jesus to save my
soul however I have rightfully and reasonably questioned myself and examined my
heart to make sure: #1) I have recognized how lost I am
without Christ; #2) I have repented of my sins; and #3) I have received
Jesus as my Savior and made Him my Lord.
Claiming
to be a Christian, having Christian parents and hanging with a Jesus crowd will
not save your soul. There will come a day when Jesus will gather all those who
have claimed to be Christians and separate them one from another as a shepherd
separates his sheep from the goats. Jesus knows His sheep and He calls them by
name. He will set them on His right side and those who have been living among
His sheep with empty hearts and false claims to Christianity will be set on His
left hand.
Many
will claim to be a Christian in that day because they did Christian stuff
however, unless you have a personal relationship with Jesus, all the works in
the world won’t help you in that judgment.
Just
two days before Jesus was crucified He made it very plain to His disciples when
they asked Him what would be the sign of His coming again.
Matthew 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples
came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will
be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Jesus
gives His answer in Matthew 24 and 25. If you are familiar with these passages
you will recognize the signs of the last days:
·
People
going about daily lives
Matthew 24: 37 “But as the days of
Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
o Like in the day of
Noah
o People getting
married and starting families
o Working in the
fields
o Working in factories
o Busy with life …
·
Some
people who are faithful servants and some who are hypocrites
·
Some
wise and some foolish virgins …
·
Some
who are diligent and faithful servants and some who are lazy and unprofitable
·
Then
unexpectedly the Master will appear …
Text for Today: Matthew 25
31 “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.
32 “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.
33 “And He will set the sheep
on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to
those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 ‘for 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;
36 ‘I was naked and
you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to
Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer
Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty
and give You drink?
38 ‘When did we see You a
stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 ‘Or when did we see You
sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 “And 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.’”
1. Jesus is coming!
2. He knows who belongs to Him.
3. If Jesus is your King you will be found
helping others.
We
do not work to become righteous we work because our hearts have been made right
with God and we have given our lives to Him to represent Him and do His will.
Not everyone who feeds the poor will go to heaven. Not everyone who claims to
be a Christian will go to heaven. But, everyone who is a born-again child of
God will care about the poor and will live a life pleasing to God because of
the heart change and a heartfelt conviction that salvation brings. Only
conversion will save the soul … you must be born again.
Conclusion: Today you will be
given Two Great
Opportunities.
1. Be Born Again
2. Help Others
For
the first to happen you will have to believe in Jesus from your heart and ask
the Father to save your soul.
The
second one will take you getting one of these backpacks and filling it with one
item from each table, writing a simple personal note of encouragement and
praying over it so that together we can all be a blessing to the homeless in
our surrounding communities this month.
