Jesus is Lord

Christ the King Sunday

November 21, 1999

Lesson: Matthew 25:31-46

Introduction

This is the last Sunday of the church yearly cycle. Next week we begin the wonderful season of Advent. The last Sunday of the year is called "Christ the King Sunday;" when the final chapters have been written, and the books are balanced and closed, the Bible tells us all Creation will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord of All.

God's Word for today is found in this 25th Chapter of Matthew; Jesus is speaking what shall come to pass. These words are sobering:

I. WE HAVE HERE A VISION OF CHRIST'S GLORY (not a parable!)

1. The people knew Jesus as the lowly Nazarene. Now Jesus tells them He is coming again as King and Judge. All the angels of heaven will be with Him— the angels that sang when He was born, and that fill heaven even now with praise— that run to and fro at the bidding of God— now will attend around a throne of great glory and splendor.
2. Jesus here tells us that human history will be brought to account. What we celebrate on Christ the King Sunday is vividly illustrated in the last enigmatic book of the Bible. The Revelation is a mysterious book which no one fully understands. But the message of Revelation is loud and clear, and that message is that we know who wins the war between Good and Evil!
3. Certainly not everyone believes this. Darkness and chaos abound; city streets are stalked by fear, and lawlessness has reached into every corner of our land. There are two kingdoms existing side-by-side; there are two ways of looking at life. Jesus tells us we can count on it: He will be here to take charge. The light that shined in the darkness has not been snuffed out; and the darkness cannot comprehend it. Jesus tells us that all Creation must join in the chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!

   But this is not simply majestic and dramatic. Jesus has promised us

II. HERE ALSO, THE PROMISE OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR US ALL

1. All nations shall be gathered before this glorious Throne where the Son of Man shall sit. The Apostle's Creed says that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father, "from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead."
2. This raises questions of "narrowness" and "sectarianism" and "triumphalism." But Jesus Christ is God Almighty, and if God Almighty is Faithful and True, then there must be, there shall be a final accounting. The concern at the Judgment is: HAS THERE BEEN LOVE IN YOUR HEART? HOW HAVE YOU EXPRESSED THAT LOVE?

   The moral and spiritual world that is without form and void, and that has darkness upon the face of the deep will hear again the word of Power: "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" And then IN THAT JUDGMENT LIGHT every sin will be exposed, every evil thought and intention of the heart will be brought into full view, and every motivation will be fully understood and rewarded in kind. That is what Jesus is telling us here.

   Explain away or edit this passage if you can. Many people will, and do. Tell us what it really meant to those who heard it, or those who thought they heard it and wrote it down in this form. I choose to believe that by the Holy Spirit this is the solemn word of God writing history before it happens. I cannot understand how or where or in what way this Great Azzize will take place. But YOU will be there. And I will be there. I will answer then for this message, and for the life I am living. And so will you.

[This is not a triumph of "us" over them. God is NOT on OUR side. God loves all people, everywhere. But how important it will be then to really be on HIS side!}

III. AN AMAZING PART OF CHRIST'S PROPHECY: BOTH GROUPS ARE SURPRISED BY HIS JUDGMENT!

They have an identical response! Their love, or lack of love expressed, has been for the most part totally unconscious! "When did we ever see You? When didn't we do what we were supposed to do?"

IV. WHAT WAS/IS THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS DIVISION OF THE NATIONS?

(After all, these are NOT real sheep and goats; they are people!) THERE WILL BE A DIVISION OF HUMANKIND!

NICODEMUS ASKED THE QUESTION: "What do I need to DO in order to enter the righteous kingdom? And what Jesus told Nicodemus is what we need to remember when we think of Christ the King, and the Day of reckoning:

YOU MUST BE... AND THEN YOU WILL DO!

[How may we "prepare" for the time when we shall stand before this throne of splendor? How do I make sure that I will be on the right hand in the Day of Judgment? Do I set out to be more sensitive? do I make sure I do the good things I should? Do I begin to love more and better?

DOESN'T THIS REFLECT A WAY OF THINKING THAT IN OUR BETTER MORE LUCID MOMENTS WE REJECT— THAT SALVATION REALLY AND FINALLY IS A MATTER OF WORKS AFTER ALL? IF I AM GOOD, THEN I WILL BE SAVED ... AND IF I AM BAD I WILL BE DAMNED?

If I want to be a sheep I don't start out simply trying to act like a sheep. I don't give Jesus "an important part of my schedule;" or start doing good things, and associating with Christians and joining the church; but rather, like Nicodemus I need to hear Jesus say

UNLESS YOU ARE BORN AGAIN YOU CANNOT EVEN SEE THE KINGDOM!

If Jesus and the things of God are a more-or-less important part of my life, the chances are that I am not a Christian. If I am trying to become a citizen of the heavenly kingdom without swearing allegiance to the King I will never be anything but an illegal alien. To see the church as kingdom is much different from being a part of a "church" that exists as an auxiliary to life and living. If we are the sheep of God's pasture, if we are kingdom people, then the church must be a way of life for us. If we are NOT kingdom people, then we by default become part of the rest of the world, the kingdom of chaos, and hopelessness.

When, by the Spirit of God, I see that God so loved ME that He sent His only-begotten Son to die for me— when by the Spirit of God I see that Jesus has raised from the dead for MY life, for MY victory over sin and death— then I am coming close to birth into this great kingdom.

And when by the Spirit of God I pledge allegiance to the great Kingdom by saying from my heart:

JESUS IS LORD!

then I leave the rank of the "goats" and have been born again as a child of God— I may be counted among His sheep!

We are not saved by ACTING LIKE SHEEP== we are saved by BEING GOD'S PEOPLE OF GRACE, THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE— AND THEN LETTING HIS GOD-LOVE FLOW OUT THROUGH US!

AND THAT GOD-LOVE COMES WHEN WE SAY FROM OUR HEARTS: JESUS IS LORD! DO You indeed say it from your heart this morning?

1. It is a gift of faith to look to the past and see Jesus hanging between heaven and earth, dying on the Cross for you and me, and to truly believe that the Cross was not the end for a great martyr—BUT THE OPENING OF THE DOOR TO ETERNITY BY THE LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS! It is good, and it is right to say,

   Jesus WAS Lord!"

   It is a gift of faith to look to the past and see the open entrance to an empty tomb, and know that THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS DEFEATED SIN AND DEATH AND HELL! In the Resurrection,

   Jesus WAS Lord!

2. It is also a gift of faith, and even more thrilling to look to the future when our Lord shall return, and the promise is that EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER! I say with all my heart, and I believe it is true that,

   JESUS WILL BE LORD!

3. But what does SAVING FAITH say? It says, Jesus IS Lord!

   Right here and now, in the midst of problems! Right now, when the church is imperfect- right now, I affirm that JESUS IS LORD!

Prayer

Read together 125 Yours Is the Kingdom Sing

123 All Hail King Jesus

Scriptures for Christ the King Sunday - November 21 (1999?)

Ezekiel 34:11-17 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

Psalm 95:1-7 Come let us sing unto the Lord;let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to Him with praise. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the caverns of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have molded the dry land. Come let us bow down, and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Oh that today you would hearken to his voice!

Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of Man comes as King, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, and all the earth's people will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats: he will put the sheep at his right and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to the people on His right: 'You who are blessed by my Father: Come! Come and receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.' The righteous will then answer him: 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you into our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' The King will answer back, 'I tell you, indeed, whenever you did this for one of these poorest brothers of mine, you did it for me!' Then he will say to those on his left: 'Away from me, you who are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me drink; I was a stranger but you would not welcome me into your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.' Then they will answer him: 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and we would not help you?' The King will answer them back, 'I tell you, indeed, whenever you refused to help one of these poor ones, you refused to help me.' These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment; the righteous will go to eternal life. I Corinthians 15:20-28 But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised. For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man. For just as all men die because of their union to Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union to Christ. But each one in his proper order: Christ, the first of all; then those who belong to Christ, at the time of his coming. Then the end will come; Christ will overcome all spiritual rulers, authorities, and powers, and hand over the kingdom to God the Father. For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet. The last enemy to be defeated will be death. For the scripture says, "God put all things under his feet." It is clear, of course, that the words "all things" do not include God Himself, who puts all things under Christ. But when all things have been placed under Christ's rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all under him; and God will rule completely over all.