Welcome to a new edition of the Weekend Sermon. I hope and pray that everyone is doing very well today.
The storms in my area produced very heavy rainfall. There was a lot of flooding in the area, but thanks be to God, my house was fine. Thank you for your prayers in this matter. There is a small chance of storms today, and I would ask that you pray that these won't be bad. Pray for those that were affected by the flooding.
In prayer this week, please pray for those affected by the fires in the Western part of the United States. Also, continue to pray for those affected by the fires in London, Spain and Portugal.
Please continue to pray about the cholera epidemic in Yemen. This has become quite severe. This nation needs peace, and it needs aid to reach it so that more people do not become sick.
Continue to pray for peace in the very troubled areas of our world. Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan all need our continued prayers for peace and stability.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us all pray that the message of the love and grace of Jesus will reach those in Vietnam and North Korea.
For the past several weeks, we have been studying the parables of Jesus. Today, we are going to study a passage that some regard as a parable and some do not.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells parables about the coming of the end of time when He will return in power and great glory. We have already studied the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, and we will study the parable of the talents in the near future. In verses 31-46, Jesus gives us an account of what will happen when He returns in His glorious Second Coming.
Jesus said that when He returns, He will separate the nations as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Jesus will say to the ones on His right hand that they will inherit the kingdom. When He was hungry they gave Him something to eat. When He was naked, they clothed Him. When He was thirsty, they gave Him drink. When He was a stranger, they welcomed Him.
Those on the right hand did not know when they had done any of these things. Jesus said that when they had done it to the least of those among them, they had done it as unto Him.
On the other hand, those on the left were not allowed into the Kingdom. They did not do those things that the others had done. Jesus said that when they did not do good to the least among them, they did not do it as unto Him.
I do not think that this is a parable. While some think that this is an allegory of the last judgment, I take Jesus at His word and believe that this will take place when Jesus returns at His Second Coming.
One thing that I would like to point out is that this is not a judgment of individuals. Jesus says that He is going to judge the nations of the world according to the way that they treated the least that were among them. We don't have full detail of how this will take place. But, I am confident from these words of Jesus that it is going to happen.
I know that nations are made up of individuals. However, in the Bible, nations are condemned by the Lord for not doing what is right. One place that we see this is in the book of Amos where the Lord speaks judgment on the nations that surrounded Israel and on the nation itself. I think that this judgment may be on those who were in a position of authority within a nation. It was their responsibility to care for the least of these. Ezekiel 34 is a passage that does speak about what God expects from leaders.
The Lord expects that a nation will take care of the poor, weak and those that are the most vulnerable in a society. The leaders are to provide for the needs of their citizens and keep them safe from the exploitation of the powerful and the wealthy. Those that do not do this, will one day face the judgment of the Lord.
Right now in this world, there are nations whose leaders are not taking care of those who are the least among us. It is outrageous that in a nation as wealthy as the one that I live in that there are so many homeless people. Many do not have adequate healthcare, and many do not have enough to eat. It seems that in some nations, the leadership tries to do everything that they can to help the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor, sick and vulnerable. This, of course, is not the teaching of the Scripture, and it is certainly not following the example and teachings of the Lord Jesus.
While I think that this passage has its most direct meaning to the nations and their leaders, I believe that this passage also speaks to us as individuals. We as individual followers of Jesus have the obligation to help the least among us.
This passage has a special meaning to me. When I graduated from college, the commencement speaker spoke about this passage. He urged all of us to devote our lives to helping others and to trying to make this world a better place. That message and that challenge has stayed with me throughout the years.
I hope that everyone who reads this blog will try to find some way to help those who are in need. Try to find a way to make this world better. Volunteer, give, pray do all that you can to help those who need you.
Also, I hope that all Christians who have the opportunity in the nations where they live will advocate for social and economic justice. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. I believe that it is what the Lord expects of us all.
Next week, we will continue with our series on the parables. The message will be about a parable that no one doubts is a parable. On Monday, I will post the verses. I will have a review of a dog book on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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