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5/ Jesus is the judge of the sin-lost and the saved… (About separating the ‘sheep from the goats’.)

In Matthew 25 Jesus is with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, and He is teaching them on the who are and who are not subjects of His Kingdom.
— FOR EXAMPLE: Matthew 25 starts with the lesson from the 10 virgins waiting for the wedding party, and it points to 5 who run out of oil in their lamps. It ends with their being shut out… While the ‘wise virgins’ carry sufficient oil to be part of the glory of the wedding feast.

SEE Matthew 25:31-33 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. (32) Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (33) And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

As you read through Matthew chapter 25 to keep with the understanding of these verses, you find that Jesus is speaking of judging those who claim to be believers. “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like…”

— The ‘flock’ here represents His followers (That means, those who call themselves Christians).

— As we read this we see that they not only call themselves Christ-followers, they actually believe that they are true followers of Jesus.

Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
— Being IN CHRIST JESUS is the KEY!

So my focus in this study is on Jesus judging the ‘Church universal’, not about God dividing the worldly, non-believers from the believers in Christ.

— I read in ‘The Christian Post’ that according to Scott Sauls, the senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, “In 21st-century American evangelicalism, it can be very tempting to shift toward a different model of success — one focused on money, fame and numbers — than the one outlined in Scripture.” He also told them, “That biblically, success is defined as demonstrating faithfulness, character and integrity.” …end of quote.

Jesus is going to separate the true believers from those who assume that their behaviours, ceremonies prove that they are following Him (Jesus). He will judge some as true followers (these will be saved), and others as sadly deluded into thinking they are saved (these will perish).

Q1 – So as a church, what in your mind, determines if your fellowship is succeeding?

— Q1A/ Is it all about growth in numbers and outreach? (This seems like a relevant measure of success.)

• Is it about the music? Or whether somebody notable is the pastor? Maybe it’s that the people you want to associate with attend there?

— Q1B/ Or is it about whether each member of the body is growing in Godly understanding, maturity, and witness to the world around them? (Including those in leadership.)

Q2 Do you think that a Megachurch is more important to God than a small rural church?

• If you think the larger the church the more important it is to God, you should read of the renewal of the evangelical church which started back in 1906 through the Azusa Street church.

• This revival was first rejected by members of an established church who did not like the preaching of William J Seymour, an African American preacher.

• However God can not be defeated by rejection, and the revival began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915.

• On the night of April 9, 1906, pastor Seymour and seven men were waiting on God in a house-Bible-study on Bonnie Brae Street, LA, California, when they suddenly felt the Holy Spirit move upon the 15 members (men, women and children) and many began to speak in tongues and shout out praises to God.

• This was the event that totally changed the Evangelical movement from those days and continues to this day.

We see that Matthew 25 makes no reference to judging success by the numbers,
or by anything but the growth of the members to become more like Jesus.

(Lord willing, in the coming studies we will dive deeper into Matthew 25,

so to keep up you need to be sure to reread the whole of that chapter…)

Q3 – How does God’s Church grow in truth and in spirit? (SEE John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. (24) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”)

— Q3A/ Did that ‘hour’ which Jesus spoke about here ever come, or are we still waiting? (SEE Acts 1:1-5)

— Q3B/ What is required for us to be able to “WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH”? (SEE John 3:1-10)

Q4 – Do we become so blinded by our material culture, that we think that the church can only exist if the building and expenses are met by a large enough income?

— This is the mentality of the ‘goats’ in Matthew 25:33, it keeps the church bound to a pursuit of numbers, both butts in the pews, and the amounts in the offerings.
(We had a good conversation about how the Pharisees and religious leaders in the days of Jesus and His disciples were staunch supporters of the ESTABLISHMENT ‘CHURCH’ and the preservation of the number of their followers. This position placed them in opposition to the lead of the Holy Spirit.)  

— When I hear of a church struggling to keep its doors open I am always captured by the scripture, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

— Q4A/ How are the leading voices in our modern-day churches instructing us to grow God’s church? (Is it seeking this baptism of power from on high? …OR… Is it more about instituting courses on leadership building, and outreach programs?) – How do you, or the other members of your church, feel about the lead of the Holy Spirit in your worship and organized activities?
(It is important to note, as we brought out in our discussions, that salvation is found only in repenting of our sins and accepting the sacrifice of Jesus as our redeeming price paid in full. This must be accompanied by making Him Lord of our life. God’s Holy Spirit draws us to this and becomes our indwelling guide as we do this. ~ The baptism of God’s Holy Spirit, as in the ‘Day of Pentecost’, is about becoming equipped with His power for ministry. That is why Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem. This means Jesus did not want them (or indeed us) to try to evangelize without His power from on High. …KK)

— Q4B/ What has God’s Church done in the past, and even in our world today when His people cannot gather together freely in a building? (Have ‘Home-churches’ found any power and success in promoting the Good News of Christ’s salvation?) SEE the growth of the persecuted church in China.

— Q4C/ So how do you think God’s church should be judged regarding their success?

Q5 – What do you do with the financial needs of the church you attend?

Q6 — Let’s take that a step farther and ask, What if Christian churches are banned in the country we live in?

What are you prepared to do? — (This becomes a measure of our faith.)

• Sadly, God’s Word predicts all this falling away in this God-resisting world that ours is turning into.
  

• WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE MATTHEW 25 NEXT WEEK
  (I must add, “Lord willing!” — If you wonder why, SEE James 4:13-15)

To close on a positive note… Let’s take time to share the victories that we’ve had in our churches thus far.

— What preceded your VICTORIES? (I would like us to consider the negative and the positive events here.)

— Were you excited and grateful when God led you through the fire to these victories?

— Are you stronger today because of those trials?

— Do you remember to still praise Him for all He has done for us?

We will finish our study with further discussion and fellowship as we remember our prayer requests.

We will close with the worship song ‘Spirit of the Living God’ before we enter our time of prayer.

As we enter our time of prayer, I am going to remind all of the instructions from Ephesians 6:16-18 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; (17) and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (18) praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…