Scripture: Matthew 25 v 31 - 46.
Two very important chapters in Matthew that focus on a)
the state of the world; b) state of the Church; and c) the state of Israel at
the time of the end are Matthew 24 and 25. The last passage of chapter 25
concerns Jesus' earthly judgment between the sheep and the goats.
Sheep follow so are righteous; goats butt and are
unrighteous. The sheep go on His right hand and goats go left. Sheep are gentle
and non-aggressive animals that are easily controlled. Goats are not. So when
Jesus comes in glory with His holy angels He will divide the sheep from the
goats. What is His definition of right and wrong?
I was hungry and you fed Me; I was thirsty and you gave
Me a 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 visited Me. Our
response to Jesus is - When did we do these things to You?
He says whenever you did it to your fellow human beings
no matter how down and out they might be - you did it to Me. To My Body. And
Jesus was not meaning our hospitality. There is a deeper meaning to feeding Him
and giving Him a drink.
The souls in the world become hungry for knowledge about
Jesus and what the Bible says about Him. The most unlikely people eventually
feel the hunger pangs and need us to feed them with what we know about Jesus.
He is the Bread of Heaven - If we allow Jesus to have His way and share His
love with them we are sheep. If we turn away and ignore the cry for help we are
goats.
They thirst for righteousness and we need to explain that
when we are born again we come alive inside Jesus and His righteousness covers
us by grace. If we deny them this drink of Living Water we are goats.
When did we see You as a stranger and take You in? A
stranger is one who has not been assimilated into the Body of Christ. He is
born again but has not found his place in the Body. We need to help him feel at
home in the Church or group and include him in its activities. Sheep are warm
and friendly but goats are aloof and uncaring.
There are many naked ones who have no spiritual clothing.
This does not mean religious garments but garments of praise and holiness,
prayer and worship. We need to be an inspiration for those who are new to the
Body to be clothed in robes of fellowship. Sheep will provide this service,
goats will ignore the opportunities.
We visit the sick, not on hospital duty rosters, which is
a blessing for those who choose to be kind and friendly, but when we are
alerted that a brother or sister is in trouble. We pray for their needs to be
met and if led by God we get involved in helping to fix the problems. The needs
are all around you and there is never a lack of people struggling. Are you a
sheep who cares and helps or a goat that is selfish and full of excuses?
Finally, we visited You in prison, when was that exactly?
When you saw people in bondage and ministered to them. When you discovered that
there is a personal devil that hates God's people and goes all out to destroy
them, learn how to withstand him and rescue those in severe situations out of
his evil hands. If you are wise about it you are a sheep. If not, not a sheep.
Everything we do and how we respond to every situation is
faithfully recorded in Heaven for the Lord to use on the day He separates His
sheep from the evil goats. It is never too late to begin to be a true sheep in
the Lord's flock knowing that every good thing we do is being done to Him.
Prayer: Father God we are all in this together and there
needs to be unity among the sheep of the Lord. Perhaps we will win some goats
over to Your loving ways. Teach us to be Your hands extended to meet the needs
of those who You show us. In Jesus' name. Amen.