Okay. Turn back to Matthew 25,
title of the message, the final separation
of the just and the unjust. There are only two types of people
on this earth, the just and the unjust. the lost and the saved. Only two. Now our Lord tells
us here in these verses that He is coming again. Can you believe
that? You're really looking for Jesus
Christ to come again. There are many people who think
we're just nuts to think like that. You really believe that
God's going to put an end to this world, that this world some
day is not going to exist as we know it. He's going to burn
it all up. What's that tell us on how we
ought to handle these things? Loosely. Don't live loosely. But handle these things loosely. Someone said God will not have
to break your fingers when he takes them away. Because what
you and I see is temporary. The things of this life, this
world, is temporary. I think of my grandparents when
I used to go to their house. They lived in Huntington over
on West Pea Ridge and we'd go to their house. They're not there
no more. Somebody else lives in that house. My grandfather
built that house. They lived there 60 plus years,
raised a family there and now it's gone. They're gone. They're
gone. Our Lord is telling us here that
he's going to come again and when he comes, He's going to
be with great glory, great glory and power. And He's going to
come with all the holy angels that are going to come with Him.
And He's coming to make a final separation between the sheep
and the goats, between the saved and the lost. I don't know when
this is going to happen, but I assure you, by the Word of
God, it is going to happen. Now the first thing we have in
verse 31 is a person revealed. He is called the Son of Man.
Son of Man. When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, Then shall he
sit upon the throne of His glory. And I can only imagine that the
throne of His glory is who He is. That's who He is. Don't be looking for some marble
throne or some throne made out of gold. But here it's called
the throne of His glory, the throne of who He is. And we find out here who he is. First of all is the Judge. The
Judge. The Judge is none other than
the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who was despised and
rejected of men. This is the one whom the Jews
said, we will not have this man to reign over us. Not going to
do it. Not going to have this man in
power. This is not our King. This is
not the one that's of God. This is not the Messiah. But He is. He is. This is the one whom God the
Father exalted at His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior. This is the One. Our Lord, the
One we worship, and this should give us great comfort, the One
who is our Redeemer, the One who is our Sacrifice, the One
who is our High Priest, the One who is our Mediator, the One
who is our Acceptance, is also the Judge. He's the Judge. And it says He's going to come
in all His glory. The first time He came, It was
barely noticed. It was barely noticed. But this
time, all will see Him. Those who love Him and those
who hate Him. They're going to see Him in His full glory. There's no words to describe
such glory. No words to describe such a person. All the holy angels are going
to come with him. They're going to follow me. He's
going to lead the way. And he's coming. He's coming.
He's coming. And he's going to take his throne
of judgment. And the administration of the
judgment of the great day has been committed to the Son of
Man. This word Son of Man identifies
him with us. And by Him, God's gonna judge
the world in righteousness. God has committed, the scripture
says, all judgment to the Son. That's why it tells us over in
Psalms, kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and his anger be kindled
but a little, and you perish from the way. All judgment over
all things, over all persons, over all principalities, has
been committed to the Son of Man. A man is going to be sitting on the
throne, and every nation, as we see here, is going to come
before Him. Every person, and every thought,
every idle thought, the Word tells us, is going to be brought
into account. You can't even remember the serious
thoughts you've had. Let alone all the idle thoughts
and the foolish thoughts and the thoughts you're sitting here
now. That passes through your mind. He said that's going to
be brought up in the judgment. That's how thorough judgment
is going to be. Acts 17.31 Speaking of the Lord
Jesus Christ, because He hath appointed a day into which He
will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained,
ordained to be the judge, whereof He hath given assurance unto
all men that He hath raised Him from the dead. All men and women,
all, will appear before the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 32, "...and before Him
shall be gathered all nations." You can go over in the Middle
East right now and they'll shoot you if you mention that name.
They're going to be there too. All the nations that forget God.
All the nations that despise Him. Every nation on this earth,
it says here, is going to be gathered by Him. And he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats. Those that dwell together here
now are going to be separated. There'll be a day of separation.
You know, the Scripture says this, and this is comforting.
When He gathers all nations here at this judgment, the Scripture
tells us this, He knoweth them that are His, You're not going
to get lost in the crowd. You're not going to get lost
in that crowd. He knows them that are His. And
there's going to be a clear distinction made between the righteous and
the wicked, between them that are His and them that are not.
A clear distinction is going to be made. It says in Malachi
3.18, Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous
and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves
him not. There's going to be a clear distinction
made. Here it's often hard to tell. You know, I could look
out in this room, I can't tell you who really believes God and
who doesn't. I got a good idea by your testimony and by your
life. But if somebody walks in that
door, and he's dressed up, you can't see his heart, but God
can see it. God does see it. He does see it. In that day, we cannot often
tell here, but in that day, it'll be made very clear. Them that
are His, and them that are not. Without this separation, heaven
wouldn't be any better than this earth, would it? Heaven would
not be any better, paradise would not be any better without this
distinction being made. And without this separation being
made. And then he says, "...and he
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." The sheep are going to have the
place of honor and glory while the goats have the place of contempt and dishonor. It does not say
that the rich are going to sit on the right hand and the poor
on the left. It does not say the educated on the right hand
and the uneducated on the left. All distinction is gone. It's
either sheep or goat. It's either lost or saved. And He knows the difference.
He knows the difference, because He did to save him. He did to save him. And notice here, the righteous
are taken care of first. Then shall the king, the king,
we have a king, we are under a theocracy. This whole world,
though it doesn't recognize it, is under a theocracy. Jesus Christ
is not president, He's king. He rules and he reigns right
now whether we like it or not. Whether anyone likes it or not.
Now if God saves you, you like it. You're glad. You're glad. Then shall the king say to them
on his right hand, Come! That's what he says now too.
Come. Come to me. All you that labor heavy laden,
I'll give you rest. Come ye blessed of my Father.
Look over in Ephesians chapter 1. When did this happen? When did this happen? Blessed
of my Father. In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 2. Grace be to you and
peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who hath blessed
us, the Father has blessed us with all spiritual blessings,
everything I need to stand in God's presence, I have. God gave
it to me in heavenly places in Christ according as He has chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world. That's when He
blessed us. Come ye blessed of my Father. Before He ever created
the first thing, I was blessed in Christ. I was blessed in the
covenant of grace. I was given to Him. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. My soul we ought to be rejoicing
in this. This ought to wake us up. Then shall the King say to them
on his right hand, Come ye blessed that my Father inherit. the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Here the judge
is revealed to be none other than the king of glory, the one
reproached, cursed by the world, but blessed of God, appointed
of God. And when he speaks to them on
his right hand, it's not like he spoke at Mount Sinai, thundering
and lightning. It's a word of peace. It's a
word of comfort. He looks at them and he says,
come. He's always saying that to his
sheep, isn't he? He's always saying to us, come. Come. Come follow me. Come to me and
I'll give you rest. He that comes to me, I will no
wise cast out. Come. Come. Come. He speaks in peace and
He tells us that we are blessed of His Father. And brother, that's
just an indescribable blessing. I'm not even going to attempt
it. I'm not even going to attempt it. The King gives all the glory
of salvation to His Father and He says to His saints, His sheep,
you who believe, come. Blessed of my Father. Welcome. That's what he said. Welcome. Welcome sinner. Welcome. Old Simon the Pharisee,
when the Lord went to his house and that woman came in and she
took the hair of her head and washed his feet with tears. Welcome. Old Simon the Pharisee
said if he were a prophet, he'd know what kind of woman she was. He'd know who she is. I tell
you what, he knows what kind of woman she is and he knows
who you are, Simon. Who's the bigger wretch? Huh? It's that self-righteous Pharisee
sitting there condemning that woman. That's the biggest wretch
in the room. Oh, he said, come, come. Welcome
into the kingdom. You that follow Christ bearing
the cross, come. Bearing his reproach, come. Oh,
come inherit the kingdom. Blessed of my Father. What joy
will fill the hearts of saints in that day when he says, come
on in. Come on in. Come on in to the
rest. where sin will molest you no
more. We now come boldly to the throne
of grace, but then we're going to come boldly to the throne
of His glory. And we're coming to an inheritance.
Inherit the kingdom. Listen, prepared for you before
God created Adam and Eve. What did he do? He created the heavens and the
earth. He created everything on this earth. He created the
Garden of Eden. Absolutely perfect. And then
he brought Adam into it. He created Adam and then... Here
it is, Adam. Adam didn't do one thing. To
inherit that garden. To create that garden. It was
prepared by God. And here He says, here, "...inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
It's done! It's already prepared. Listen,
God has prepared a kingdom for you, and then He sent Jesus Christ
into this world to prepare a place for you in that kingdom, and
now He's preparing me and you for that kingdom. That's what's
going on. That's what's going on. This kingdom was purposed and
prepared before the world began for you. For you. Now if God has prepared it for
you, how glorious must that kingdom
be if God prepared it? Wouldn't you like to have seen
the Garden of Eden? I'd like to have seen it. But
you and I are going to see something even greater. We're going to
see something far greater. Those that are beggars here,
those who are despised here, are going to inherit glory, a
kingdom of glory. And then it's a kingdom prepared.
Someone wrote this. I wrote this down. The happiness
of it must be great if God prepared it. It's a product of the divine
counsel. The Father designed it for them
in His thoughts of love, provided it for them in the greatness
of His wisdom and power. The Son purchased it for them
and has entered as the forerunner to prepare a place for them.
Isn't that good? I had to write that one down.
I had to write that one down. And now the Spirit of God is
preparing us for that kingdom. And it says it's an inheritance.
We don't earn an inheritance. It's a gift. It's a gift. Given to us by the grace of God. Given to the worst of people.
Isn't that amazing? And we can't lose it. See, Adam
lost the Garden of Eden. He lost it. Turned it into briars
and thorns and a desolate place. That's what it became, a desolate
place. But this kingdom, we cannot lose it, we can't destroy it,
because it's not on my shoulders, it's on Christ's shoulders. Galatians
3.18, for if the inheritance Be of the law, it's no more a
promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. The inheritance is
by promise. God has prepared a kingdom for
us, and He's prepared it for us, and He's promised it to us
in His Son, in that covenant of grace. It's promised to us.
Then we have a character revealed of those who He's talking to. You can't claim a promise. if
you do not fit the description of the character described in
the promise. Come unto me all ye that labour and heavy laden,
I will give you rest. Are you labouring and heavy laden? No. Well, he's not talking to you.
He's talking to those who are labouring and heavy laden under
sin. Hunger. Are you hungry? He said,
come and dine. You said, I'm not hungry. He's
not talking to you. We need to remember this. Are you thirsty?
No! Well, go somewhere else. If you're
thirsty, though, he's talking to you. He's talking to you. Here's the character. Verse 35
and 36. For I was hungry, and you gave
me meat. This is the character of those
who inherit the kingdom. I was thirsty, and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger, and you took
me in naked, and you clothed me sick, and you visited me in
prison, and you came to me." You notice how their works followed
them, and the Lord makes mention of them? They weren't forgotten.
He makes mention of them here in this judgment. He doesn't mention what they
believed, but how they lived. As I said over here in the Bible
class, the conduct of their faith. And He does not mention it as
their right to the kingdom, but as evidence of their interest
in the King, the Lord Jesus Christ. They denied themselves, they
loved the brethren, and they believed on Christ. They believed
Him. And here's their true humility. I told you faith is always evidenced
by true humility. Listen. In verse 37-39, Then shall the
righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry,
and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we
thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and we came to thee?
When did we ever do anything good? When did I ever do anything
like that? Well, when did we ever? You're
talking about somebody else. If you notice how in his providence,
in the Lord's providence, he brings some of his own into trial
for the exercise of grace in others. He might empty me in
order to fill you. And what a trial that is for
both of us. I would rather be the one hungry
than the one with all the food and no heart to give it. And the king shall answer and
say to them, Verily I say to you, inasmuch as you have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you've done it to
me. Serving one another is serving Christ. You say, how can I serve
the Lord? You're looking at him. Serving
one another is serving him. Oh, they're going to say, when
did we ever see you this way? And the king said, he's going
to say unto them, brother, I say to you, inasmuch as you've done
it to one of the least of these my brethren, you've done it to me. This reveals
the humble admiration which glorified saints are going to be filled
with. To find, someone said this, to find such poor and worthless
services so highly celebrated. Lord, when saw we hungry and
fed thee? Notice how lowly they think of
their own works, their own deeds. When did we ever do this? How different is the attitude
of the ungodly? In Isaiah 58, verse 3, they're
going to say, Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not? That's the attitude of the wicked.
Lord, we've fasted. You know what that Pharisee said?
I fast twice a week, give my alms, do all these things. Christ is among us more than
we think. He takes notice of every minute
thing about us. Everything. Everything. And then we have the attitude
of the wicked. The attitude of the just, the sheep, was just
true humility. Lord, when did we ever see you
hungry and do anything? When did we ever see that? He's going to say, and look in
verse 41. Then shall He say also unto them
on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. They are ordered to depart. They
are cursed. They have no place prepared.
Well, they have a place prepared for them, but not in God's kingdom. They have a place called everlasting
fire. And listen here, it's a place prepared, he said, for the devil
and his angels. That's a terrible place to have
to go to. But you know what that shows? That shows that they are as bad
as the devil. You're going to go to the same place, because
you're just as bad. It's a place with no mercy. It's a place, the scripture says,
where the worm dies not, the fire is not quenched. And the
reason being, that the death of the wicked cannot satisfy
God's justice. Can't do it. That's why it's
eternal. It can never satisfy. Only Christ,
only the death of Christ can satisfy the justice of God. No
other death. No other. It's a place of darkness. No light. That's why it's called
outer darkness. It's called the bottomless pit.
You know why it's called the bottomless pit? Because the fall
never stops. It's an endless fall. Just deeper and deeper
and deeper in the darkness. But notice here, they had the
same opportunities. Christ said the same thing to them. He didn't
say anything different to them. I was hungry and you gave me
no meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me
no drink. When Christ went into that house of Simon's, He said,
she hasn't ceased to wash my feet with her tears. He said,
but you gave me no water to wash my feet. You didn't give me the
common courtesy that you give to everybody that walks into
your house. You didn't give it to me. I was a stranger, and you didn't
take me in. Naked, and you clothed me not. Let me give this thought while
I'm reading this. I'm standing here preaching the
truth to you, the gospel. We have the Bible. Are you hungry? I'm feeding you. Am I not feeding
you? I'm feeding you. We're not strangers
from the Commonwealth of India at one time. You're strangers.
I'm taking you in. Naked! He said, well, you're not giving
me any clothes. The righteousness of Christ. I'm speaking to you of the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. When they went to the temple
that day, they got nothing but lies. You have to tithe, you have to
do this, that. I mean, they didn't get fed. They didn't get fed. The sick wasn't taken care of.
Are you sin sick? That's being taken care of. Prison? Talks about him setting
the prisoner free. Have you ever been set free from
the prison? Has God set you free? Yes, He has. If you believe He
has. Then shall they also answer Him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry and thirsty, or a stranger,
or naked, or sick, or imprisoned, and didn't minister to you? Then
shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say to you, inasmuch
as you did it not to one of the least of these My brethren, you
did it not to me. But they say, Lord, when did
we ever see you this and not do it? That's what they're saying. Did you catch that? Let me read
it to you again. Lord, when saw we thee hungry,
or thirsty, or stranger, or naked, or sick, and imprisoned, and
did not minister unto thee? The sheep said, Lord, when did
we ever see this? When did we ever see you like
this and minister to you? When did we ever see you like
this? And when did we ever give you, when did we ever do these
things? And they said, when did we ever not do them? Big difference. When did we ever not do them? It's evident by their conduct
they were graceless, self-righteous, lost. The work of the Spirit
was not in them even though they professed. When did we not do? We've always done these things. Why, we've given to charity,
we've done. Now if I tell you what you did
do, you stood in the pulpit and you lied. You lied. It wasn't, you know, for years
I went to services. I hate to call it church because
it wasn't a church. But I went to the services. I went to church. It was called
Temple, you understand what I'm saying. I didn't hear anything. I didn't
hear of the righteousness of Christ, the blood of Christ,
substitutionary work of Christ. I didn't get that. I wasn't fed.
I was hungry. I kept telling someone there,
something's missing. I don't know what it is, but
something's missing. Christ was missing. Jesus Christ was missing. The man preached another Jesus. I was hungry. I didn't get fed. I was naked. I didn't have His
righteousness. I was just a lost religious person like everybody
else. I didn't get anything. I didn't get any of this. When the gospel is preached to
you, and it's truth, you're being fed, you're being taken care
of, you're being clothed, right? They said, well, Lord, when did
we not do this? Every time you stood in the pulpit,
you didn't do it. And then every time you saw a sinner go by in
need, like that Good Samaritan, when that came by, That man was
laying down there in the street, and that Pharisee stood on the
other side, the other side of the road. And here's the end. Verse 46,
"...and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the
righteous into life eternal." Life eternal. That's where you're
going. Life eternal. Big difference, isn't it? Big
difference. The final separation of the just
and the unjust. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. The saints of God are going to
inherit a kingdom prepared for them by the Father before the
foundation of the world. You were taken care of before
He ever created the first thing. Isn't that, that's such a That's
such a glorious gospel. That's such good news. I was taken care of. I'm getting
an inheritance. And it's all because of Him.
It's all because of Jesus Christ. Not one, one iota has anything
to do with me. None. But then there's going to be
some. And there's already a bunch of them there now. He's going
to say, depart from me. I never knew you. I never knew
you. And I thank God for that message
of where Aaron Matthew, he says, come to me. Come to me. Are you here this morning? Come
to me. That's what he says, come to me. I come to Christ every
day. I'm glad for that because I need Him every day. He that
comes to me, I'll never cast out. I use that all the time.
Lord, you said you'd not cast me out. I'm worth casting out. But he said, I won't do it. If
you come, come to me. All right, Lionel.