Living Out Faith: The Sheep and Goats Parable
Summary
### Summary
Hello, Sanctus Church. Today, we delved into one of Jesus' most challenging parables, the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, found in Matthew 25. This parable is part of Jesus' final sermon before His crucifixion, where He discusses the end times and the final judgment. Jesus emphasizes that the timing of the end is unknown, but what matters is how we prepare for it. He uses the analogy of sheep and goats to illustrate the separation of the righteous from the unrighteous at the final judgment.
The sheep, representing the righteous, are those who have lived out their faith through acts of compassion and service to others. They are invited to inherit the kingdom prepared for them because they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited those in prison. These acts of kindness were done for Jesus Himself, even if they were unaware of it at the time.
On the other hand, the goats, representing the unrighteous, are those who failed to show compassion and service. They are sent away to eternal punishment because they neglected to care for those in need. This parable underscores that our actions reflect our faith and that true discipleship involves serving others selflessly.
Jesus' message is not about earning salvation through works but about demonstrating the transformation that faith in Him brings. Our good deeds are the fruits of our salvation, not the root. As followers of Christ, we are called to live out our faith by loving and serving others, reflecting the character of Jesus, who emptied Himself to serve humanity.
### Key Takeaways
1. Preparation for the End Times: Jesus emphasizes that the exact timing of the end is unknown, but what matters is how we prepare for it. We are called to live in a state of readiness, continually aligning our lives with God's will and serving others selflessly. This preparation is not about predicting dates but about embodying the values of the Kingdom of God in our daily lives. [02:10]
2. The Nature of True Discipleship: True discipleship is characterized by acts of compassion and service. The sheep in the parable are commended for their kindness to the least of these, which they did unknowingly for Jesus. This teaches us that genuine faith manifests in tangible actions that reflect God's love and mercy. [09:23]
3. The Fruits of Salvation: Our good deeds are the fruits of our salvation, not the means to earn it. Salvation is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. However, a transformed life will naturally produce good works as evidence of that transformation. This underscores the importance of living out our faith in practical ways. [17:17]
4. The Consequences of Neglect: The goats are condemned not for what they did, but for what they failed to do. Their neglect of the needy reflects a lack of genuine faith and compassion. This serves as a sobering reminder that our inaction can have eternal consequences, and we are called to be proactive in our love and service to others. [20:55]
5. Living Missionally: As a church, we are called to be missional, meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of people in Jesus' name. This involves a collective effort to use our resources, gifts, and talents to serve others and advance God's Kingdom. By doing so, we fulfill our vision of becoming a missional church of 10,000, impacting our community and beyond. [34:00]
### Youtube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[01:06] - Setting the Scene: Jesus' Final Sermon
[02:10] - The Importance of Being Prepared
[03:22] - The Parable of the Sheep and Goats
[04:42] - Jesus' Glory and the Final Judgment
[06:15] - The Vision of Jesus in Revelation
[07:54] - The Analogy of Sheep and Goats
[09:23] - The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep
[11:08] - The Inheritance of the Righteous
[12:49] - Serving Jesus by Serving Others
[14:18] - Who Are the Least of These?
[15:45] - The Misconception of Earning Salvation
[17:17] - Salvation by Faith, Evidenced by Works
[18:47] - The Fruits of Our Salvation
[20:08] - The Consequences for the Goats
[22:22] - The Sobering Reality of Jesus' Words
[23:31] - The Deeper Meaning of the Parable
[25:44] - Gospel Transformation and Heart Change
[27:24] - Living Out God's Love and Mercy
[28:05] - Examples of Missional Living
[32:04] - Personal and Collective Calls to Action
[34:00] - Becoming a Missional Church
[38:15] - A Call to Repentance and Commitment
[39:28] - Closing Prayer
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Matthew 25:31-46
2. Philippians 2:5-8
3. James 2:14-17
#### Observation Questions
1. In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, what criteria does Jesus use to separate the sheep from the goats? (Matthew 25:31-46)
2. According to Philippians 2:5-8, what did Jesus do to demonstrate His humility and service to humanity?
3. How does James 2:14-17 describe the relationship between faith and deeds?
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why does Jesus emphasize that the timing of the end is unknown, and how should this affect our daily lives? [02:10]
2. What does it mean that our good deeds are the "fruits" of our salvation and not the "root"? [17:17]
3. How does the parable illustrate the consequences of neglecting to serve others? [20:55]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you helped someone in need. How did that experience impact your faith and understanding of Jesus' teachings? [12:49]
2. Jesus calls us to be prepared for His return by living out our faith. What specific actions can you take this week to serve others selflessly? [02:10]
3. The sermon mentioned that true discipleship involves acts of compassion and service. Identify one person or group in your community who could benefit from your help. How will you reach out to them? [09:23]
4. Consider the idea that our inaction can have eternal consequences. Is there an area in your life where you have been neglecting to act? What steps can you take to change this? [20:55]
5. As a church, we are called to be missional. What resources, gifts, or talents do you have that can be used to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of others? [34:00]
6. The sermon highlighted the importance of living missionally. How can you incorporate missional living into your daily routine? [34:00]
7. Reflect on the vision of becoming a missional church of 10,000. What role can you play in helping to achieve this vision, both individually and collectively? [34:00]
Devotional
Day 1: Living in Readiness
Description: Jesus emphasizes the importance of being prepared for the end times, not by predicting dates but by living in a state of readiness. This readiness involves continually aligning our lives with God's will and serving others selflessly. The focus is on embodying the values of the Kingdom of God in our daily lives, ensuring that our actions reflect our faith and commitment to Jesus. The unknown timing of the end should motivate us to live each day with purpose and intentionality, always ready to meet our Savior. [02:10]
Matthew 24:42-44 (ESV): "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Reflection: What specific steps can you take today to align your life more closely with God's will and live in a state of readiness for His return?
Day 2: Compassionate Discipleship
Description: True discipleship is characterized by acts of compassion and service. In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, the sheep are commended for their kindness to the least of these, which they did unknowingly for Jesus. This teaches us that genuine faith manifests in tangible actions that reflect God's love and mercy. Our daily lives should be marked by a commitment to serve others selflessly, seeing every act of kindness as an opportunity to serve Jesus Himself. [09:23]
James 2:14-17 (ESV): "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
Reflection: Who is someone in your life that you can show compassion to today? How can you serve them in a way that reflects Jesus' love?
Day 3: Evidence of Transformation
Description: Our good deeds are the fruits of our salvation, not the means to earn it. Salvation is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. However, a transformed life will naturally produce good works as evidence of that transformation. This underscores the importance of living out our faith in practical ways, demonstrating the change that Jesus has made in our hearts. Our actions should be a testament to the transformative power of the Gospel in our lives. [17:17]
Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV): "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Reflection: Reflect on a recent act of kindness or service you performed. How did it reflect the transformation that Jesus has made in your life?
Day 4: The Cost of Neglect
Description: The goats in the parable are condemned not for what they did, but for what they failed to do. Their neglect of the needy reflects a lack of genuine faith and compassion. This serves as a sobering reminder that our inaction can have eternal consequences. We are called to be proactive in our love and service to others, ensuring that we do not overlook the needs of those around us. Our faith should compel us to act, not just in grand gestures but in everyday opportunities to show God's love. [20:55]
James 4:17 (ESV): "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
Reflection: Is there someone in your life whose needs you have been neglecting? What can you do today to address their needs and show them God's love?
Day 5: Missional Living
Description: As a church, we are called to be missional, meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of people in Jesus' name. This involves a collective effort to use our resources, gifts, and talents to serve others and advance God's Kingdom. By doing so, we fulfill our vision of becoming a missional church, impacting our community and beyond. Living missionally means being intentional about our actions and seeking opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others, both individually and as a church body. [34:00]
1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV): "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
Reflection: What is one specific way you can use your gifts and talents to serve others in your community this week? How can you involve others in your church to join you in this missional effort?
Quotes
1. "Jesus Christ, He starts to go on in a sermon with them to explain to them that actually, it's not about when, but about how we should all be prepared. Not about when, why, because even He says that we don't know the hour, we don't know the day, but only the Father knows. But one thing we know, it is how we're all called to be prepared." [02:10] (22 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Can you imagine this Jesus Jesus Christ coming and revealing his full glory to all of us how majestic how glorious how beautiful to be see it is interesting because the last book of the Bible tells us gives us a picture the Apostle John he had a vision where he saw the son of man in his full glory and this is what it says Revelation 1 verse 12 I turn around the Apostle John says to see the voice that was speaking to me and when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man dressed in a robe" [04:42] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Jesus says in Gospel of John 10 I am the good Shepherd I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep sheep for the right goats to the left right was a place of honor left was a place of disfavor and it is right there now that he has like now whole humanity some of them on the right some of them on the left and there's no middle term at all there's no middle grounds here some of them they're all on the right the others they're all like on the left" [09:23] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Can you imagine the moments and how you feel having the son of man looking at you and now like saying these words two verbs come and inherit come and take your inheritance and see it is interesting that inheritance is not about what you do it's about who you are a son and daughter takes an inheritance not based on what they are doing but based on their position and it's right here that God says come and take your inheritance but who should come and he says you who are blessed by my father can you imagine this it gives me chills just" [11:08] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Let me ask a question do you believe that do you believe that every single time that you cared for someone you were caring for Jesus every single time that you were serving someone that was in need you were serving Jesus as I was reading this like I had a hard time picturing myself doing this to others and realizing that I'm doing for Jesus it brought to mind the words of mother Theresa of Calcutta unknown that she was so famous for all like how she devoted herself to the poor to them to the marginalized and she says that she sees Jesus in every human interaction in every human being I say to myself this is hungry Jesus I must feed him this is sick Jesus this one has" [12:49] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "Truly I tell you Jesus says whatever you did for one of the list of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me but see this right here that we should pause and also reflect a bit because I don't know Jesus it almost feels like I don't know Jesus I don't know Jesus I don't know Jesus feels that you're saying that we're saved because of what we do like we we can we can we can earn our salvation by what we are doing see right like this is these are Jesus words not mine and of course like if we only like take this passage here like we might have a distortion view of what Jesus he wants us actually to know and that's why we're not supposed to only look for these words of Jesus here but all his words his whole ministry his whole" [15:45] (47 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "The whole points of this parable. It is to reveal that God he wants us to really like now. Be changed by him and because we're changed by him now. We leave it out to others as well. Why because he is our Lord and Savior and also he's our model. He's the king. He's the son of man that now as the king who is judging the world's he's not only like judging from upstairs quite the opposite. He is the one that he emptied himself and he came here to Earth and he found us hungry and he offered himself as the bread of life. He found us thirsty super thirsty. Now. He revealed that." [25:44] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
8. "He found a sick and as a stranger, but now what he did he laid down his own life on the cross. Why to heal you and me he follows in prisons to our own sins and transgressions. But guess what Jesus Christ he came to set us free to completely set us free. He visited us. He changed us. Why because of his grace and love to all of us and seeing the same way his grace change us completely now because we're changed by him. We leave it out to others as well where we want to see others be transformed by God. We want to see his love like now reaching out to others the ship. They were met by God's love." [26:32] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
9. "What if like we now each one of us we come and say God, please I want to create margin in my life so I can bless others and guess what's God. He's always faithful when whenever you come and say God. He it is. He will display also his faithfulness as well as you create this March in your life. But what if like we come to him and say God, please I want to choose my life in the fullness of how you want to use my life, but not to come to all of us. Sanctus Church. It's interesting because our vision is to become a missional Church of 10,000 meeting the physical emotional and spiritual needs of people in Jesus name and I gotta tell you something like I love the vision that God has." [32:56] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
10. "What would be like if all of us we come to God and say, you know, you know, what God are offerings all that we have it is yours use it. What would be like if it now like we come to God and say, you know what God like I want to be faithful. You have always been faithful to me and I haven't done anything. But now it is above and beyond God use me. I was chatting with my wife like these days and this like what I was saying to her like when I come and approach this this message, I look at myself and I say God, please forgive me. Forgive me like when I was selfish. Forgive me when I'm thinking about my own. Plans what I want to do and I lose sight of how you want to use me." [35:56] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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