Signs Of The Second Coming Of Jesus
10-19-2011 Vol. 5 Part 11b
Psalms 48:1-14 NKJV A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge. For behold, the kings assembled, They passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away. Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind. As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, In the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments. Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers; Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generation following. For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death. Father we praise your name, we give you all the glory. Jesus we ask that you bless us and unlock your holy and true word to us so that we can have a deeper relationship with you. Open our ears, mind, and heart to your blessed voice. In Jesus name we pray! Amen!
Matthew 25:35 – 46
Matthew 25:35-46 NKJV 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.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Last week I covered verses 31 – 34. This week I will finish the rest 35 - 46. Just reading through the rest, it all seems very simple and easy to understand, but as I read the verses I receive a totally different message than what is on the surface and what I have gotten from these verses in the past.
First of all a person can get the idea that if they did all six things; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give shelter to a stranger, give clothes to the naked, visit the sick, and visit the imprisoned they can earn their way to Heaven. That is not what the verses are saying or even implying. There is only one way to Heaven and that is putting faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross. In other words you must have a spiritual birth. John 3:5-6 NKJV Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The results of a spiritual birth, faith in Jesus, will produce the six items listed above. James sums it up pretty good with this verse. James 2:14-17 NKJV What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. John also makes a similar statement in first John. 1 John 3:16-19 NKJV By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
If we only give lip service to others that we care for them, but don’t do anything to help them, we are only fooling ourselves. God knows what is in our hearts and if we can’t show genuine love by our actions which is a product of our faith in Jesus Christ, then one must examine themselves and ask the question, “Am I truly Born Again and a child of God?” If I die today will I be going to Heaven? Am I living for God or my flesh? Jesus has this to say about his brethren; John 13:35 NKJV By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Now that we know these acts of love, charity, and kindness are a product of being a disciple of Jesus through faith, does that mean all people? Yes it does, and Jesus states this in the following verse, (Matthew 5:44-45 NKJV But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.) but Jesus is speaking of something a little bit different when he states, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” The key word here is brethren. Who is Jesus referring to when he states, “brethren”? Is it everyone in the world? The answer is no, he isn’t referring to the world in this instance.
In this instance, brethren is referred to as persons united by a common interest; persons united by a common calling; the disciples, and so, by implication, all believers. Jesus loves everyone, but has a special place in his heart for those that are Born Again followers of His. Scripture states this in a number of verses. John 17:9 NKJV "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.
When a person has a Spiritual Birth and becomes a true believer and follower of Jesus, they are adopted into God’s kingdom and become Jesus spiritual brother and sister, along with God being our spiritual Father. Romans 8:15 NKJV For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." Galatians 4:4-6 NKJV But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Ephesians 1:5-6 NKJV having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. So you see, when you are Born Again you are adopted and the Holy Spirit comes and lives in your heart. You receive special treatment and privileges that non-believers don’t.
You ask, how can this be, Jesus has to love everyone equally? Stop and think about this and maybe it will put it in perspective. If you have brothers and sisters, do you love your friends and neighbors more than them? Do you give your friends and neighbors more love and gifts at Christmas times than your brothers and sisters? The same analogy goes for fathers and mothers. Does a father or mother give more love, care, and gifts to their neighbor’s children than their own? Why wouldn’t God treat his adopted children and Jesus treat his brethren with a greater love and rewards than the rest of the unbelieving world? We are made in God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit likeness and when a person comes to Jesus and gives his life to Him they are rewarded in many, many, ways.
The following verses is a discussion Jesus had with the Pharisees, which also points out that many people claim to be Christians, because they believe in their ideas and laws, but don’t know the truth and they belong to their father the devil. John 8:35-44 NLT A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill Me because there's no room in your hearts for My message. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with My Father. But you are following the advice of your father." 39 "Our father is Abraham!" they declared. "No," Jesus replied, "for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. 40 Instead, you are trying to kill Me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father." They replied, "We aren't illegitimate children! God Himself is our true Father." 42 Jesus told them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on My own, but He sent Me. 43 Why can't you understand what I am saying? It's because you can't even hear Me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
So what Jesus is alluding to is that if you see someone in need, and you ignore them, and they are a true believer, then Jesus will not look favorably on you come judgment day. Not knowing whether the person is a true believer, causes us to treat all with the same love and kindness, because Jesus is the only one that can see what lies within our hearts. This is a difficult thing for some people but very easy for others to show kindness to all at all times. Who would have thought the beggar Lazarus was a brethren. Luke 16:19-23 NKJV "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead……
So I leave you with these final thoughts. Tomorrow when you are out and about and you see someone in need. Will you pass them by or look at them with a whole new look and offer to help them? Do you have a sibling or a parent that you don’t have a very good relationship with or have turned your back on? What if that stranger, sibling, or parent is a brethren of Jesus Christ, how will your actions affect your eternity.
Mark 9:40-41 NKJV For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth,
Unless you are Born Again, you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."
Bill
Last Week’s Trivia: After studying this right and left hand of God, was the thief on the cross that stood up for Jesus on His right side?
Answer: I don’t have an answer for you on this one. I’ve read and search scripture and can’t come up with an answer. If anyone knows, let me know, but I would venture to say the thief that went to Heaven was on Jesus right side. What do you think?
This week’s Trivia: Was the Queen of Sheba saved?
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