Matthew 25:31-46

I'm very grateful to be with you this morning.

I thank the leadership in the church for giving me this privilege.

And thank you for your generosity.

For many years you've been partners with us and been a blessing for us

and for so many people and many refugees as well.

I'd like, if I may, read Matthew 25, verse 31 to 46.

Matthew 25:31–46

Matthew 25, start with verse 31.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him,

he will sit on his glorious throne.

All the nations will be gathered before him,

and he will separate the people one from another,

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the king will say to those on his right,

Come, you who are blessed by my Father,

take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.

I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.

I was a stranger, and you invited me in.

I needed clothes, and you closed me.

I was sick, and you looked after me.

I was in a prison, and you came to visit me.

Then the righteous will answer him,

Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,

or thirsty and give you something to drink?

When did we see you stranger and invite you in,

or needing clothes and close you?

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?

The king will reply,

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,

you did for me.

Then he will say to those on his left,

Depart from me, you who are cursed,

into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat.

I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink.

I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in.

I needed clothes, and you did not close me.

I was sick and in prison, and you did not look after me.

They also will answer,

Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or stranger,

or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you?

He will reply,

Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these,

you did not do it.

You did not do for me.

Then they will go away to eternal punishment,

but the righteous to eternal life.

May God bless his word.

Let us pray.

Just ask God to bless his word to us.

Lord, we thank you for this moment.

Lord, we pray to open our hearts and our minds.

I pray to give us freedom as we share,

and freedom as we listen to your word.

And we pray to cover our weakness, Lord Jesus,

under your precious blood.

And I pray that you help us continue to be clothes walking with you,

as you continue walking with us in this wonderful journey.

We love you, and we give you all the honor and the praise.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

The date, it was December 7, 1941.

The American soldier saw some signals on the screen radar

that there is Japanese jets fighter coming.

The soldiers on the operation system informed junior soldier

who disregard and neglect this warning.

And we know what's happened with Beryl Harbor

when the Japanese jets fighters bombed there.

The damage was huge.

And the main cause, probably it was,

because they're neglect and they're not really prepared.

And they didn't take the warning very serious.

More than 2,400 American soldiers been killed at that time.

Hundreds, about more than 180 lands been destroyed.

And the damage could be minimized,

but because lack of a preparation and receiving this warning,

this what's happened.

What I want to say, loved one,

the second coming of our Lord Jesus is reality,

that he is coming back.

Many people around the world are waiting for that moment.

The Christians, the Jews, the Muslims.

Even though each group, they have their own perspective

about second coming of the Lord Jesus.

But what we know for sure,

that the Lord Jesus,

who was faithful according to hundreds of prophecies

in the Old Testament,

came true for his first coming,

for sure he is faithful in his second coming.

For every prophecy about the first coming

in the Old Testament,

there is eight prophecies about the second coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One person said,

probably in every average,

every five verses in the New Testament,

in a way or another,

it talks about the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

Though the second coming,

it's reality that Jesus Christ,

he will come back as he promised.

We see so many prophecies in the Old Testament,

but also we see in the New Testament,

for example, in Matthew 24,

the Lord Jesus talks about the signs,

which precede his second coming,

and we see many of these signs already fulfilled.

And in the end of chapter 24,

and in chapter 25,

he talks about three parables,

about be ready for the second coming.

And the first parable about the faithful servant

who was waiting,

and he was faithful,

and he was taking care of his fellow servants.

So when the master came,

he was prepared,

and he was ready.

And the second parable in Matthew 25,

you know the ten virgins,

when we're ready,

five is ready,

and the other five wasn't ready

because there wasn't enough oil in the lamb,

and they missed the opportunity.

And the third parable,

it's about,

where is the master give five talents

to one of his servants,

and another two talents,

and another one talent,

and we know the parable,

where is the five multiply the talents,

and the second,

the two,

have the two also multiplied his talent,

but the one,

he missed it.

The question is,

are we prepared for the second coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ?

I want to say,

loved one,

the Lord Jesus,

the first time when he came,

he came as the Lamb of God

who laid his life on the cross

for you and for me.

He shed his blood

to give us forgiveness,

healing,

restoration,

and to experience wonderful relationship

with him.

But in the second coming,

he will come as a judge.

And I want to say,

if you didn't meet with him now

at the cross,

as the Lamb of God,

and experience this wonderful salvation,

you have to meet with him

before the white throne of God.

But you will meet with him as a judge,

and it will be too late,

and you will be eternally separated

from the very presence of God.

Are we ready

to the second coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ?

In the verses

I just read with you

this morning,

it talks about that

the Son of Man,

named Son of Man,

because he's the one

who's going to judge humanity.

And I want to say,

he's the one and the only one

qualified to judge,

because the one

who has the right to judge,

he should be that he died,

that he raised,

that he's sitting

in the right hand of the Father,

and he intercedes for us.

And this is what Romans 8

talks about,

that Jesus is the one

and the only one

have these qualifications.

But when he is coming

with his glory,

and with all the angels,

he will be sitting

in his glorious throne,

and then all the nations

will stand in front of him.

And then he will,

what the shepherd does,

he will do,

he will separate the sheep

from the goats,

the goats,

and the sheep will be

on the right

and the goats will be

on the left.

And then he will say

to the sheep on the right,

come,

you have been blessed

by my heavenly Father.

You have been blessed.

Come enter,

come take the inheritance,

enter the kingdom

which has been prepared

for you

before the foundation

of the earth.

I want to say,

when Jesus said these words

to his children,

that every person

who put his trust

on the Lord,

who believed what Jesus

did in Calvary for him,

and became a child of God,

he been blessed

by our heavenly Father.

And I want to say,

loved one,

every one of us

as the children of God,

we have this privilege,

we have this honor,

and this blessing.

And this is what

Ephesians chapter 1 say,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

that all of us

have been blessed

by our heavenly Father.

And we have been blessed

by every heavenly blessing.

We have the redemption,

we have the reconciliation,

we have the forgiveness,

we have the restoration,

we experience,

we experience these blessings

in our life.

What I want to remind you

and to remind myself,

especially when we go

through tough times,

and all of us

go through that.

When you go through

time of trials,

when you feel down,

when there is sadness,

or even depression,

please remember

that you've been blessed

by your heavenly Father.

Don't listen to the liar,

don't listen to the evil one

when he tries to put

these lies into your head.

Remember,

you are blessed

by your heavenly Father.

And then he said,

come to inherit the kingdom,

the kingdom of God,

which is prepared for you

from the very beginning,

before the foundation,

or before the creation

of this universe.

before this world.

And I want to say,

this kingdom,

the moment you give

your life to the Lord

and you allow him

to rule in your life,

you become part

of this kingdom.

The kingdom of God,

it's within,

where Jesus ruling

in your life.

But the kingdom,

as we say,

it's now,

and yet to come.

Which means,

this kingdom

will be completed

in the second coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And this kingdom,

loved one,

is not by chance,

but he said,

it's been prepared

for you

before the foundation,

before the creation

of this world.

What I want to say,

that you and I

have been in the mind

of God

and in the heart of God

before this creation.

This is how much

he loves you,

and this is how much

he cares about you.

I love the words

in Ephesians chapter 1,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

that he chose us

before anything else.

Before God created

this wonderful universe,

this wonderful world,

he chose you.

You've been in his mind

and in his heart.

I love the verse

in Ephesians 2,

chapter 2,

verse 10,

where he said,

you are his workmanship,

you are his masterpiece.

You've been created

in Christ Jesus

for good works.

God already prepared

for you

in order

that you walk

in these good works.

imagine with me

God saying,

I want to do

wonderful work

in the 20th century

or 21st century.

In specific,

in 1960 to 2020

or 2040,

I want to do

good works

in this part of the world.

And I know

my son,

so and so,

whom I created

in my image,

whom I preparing him,

he will be the one

and the right one

to go

and to do

this good works

in certain time,

in certain place.

Many people

may be doing

good things,

but they're not doing

the best.

The best which is

God prepared

for you

and for me,

loved one,

and the blessed

the man

and the woman

who are able

to discover

and to experience

God's ultimate

plan

for their life.

You know,

the sad thing

is many people

wasting their life,

wasting many years

of their life.

Imagine with me,

a person after 50 years,

he relies,

he laying

the ladder

of his life

in the wrong building.

the Lord

put passion

in your heart

when you are

created in Christ Jesus,

a special passion

for certain things

to do

in this life.

And he will give you

the talents,

the abilities,

in order to do

the things

which he prepared

for you.

There are special things

no one

could do

better than you.

the way

God created,

designed you,

the way

he allowed

you to go

through

different

tribulation

in life,

different

trials in life,

different circumstances,

all these things,

loved one,

to prepare you,

to make you

the person

he wants you

to be.

And no one

else could do it

better than you.

But the sad thing,

if you miss

what God

best for you,

I pray

God help us all

as a believer

continue

to discover

these good works

which God

already preceded

and prepared

for his children

to walk

into

and

to reflect

his love

through these

wonderful

things.

Thanks.

we see

in verse

34,

after he said,

you blessed

come to inherit,

then he

invites

his children

when he

said,

because

I was hungry,

you give me

something to eat,

I was thirsty

and you give me

something to drink,

I was

stranger

and you invited

me

in.

I want to say,

loved one,

the Lord Jesus

didn't give them

the kingdom

according to

their good works.

We didn't

inherit God's

kingdom

because of

good things

we do.

We know

who we are.

But these

good works

coming as

naturally

as the

good seed

of faith

been planted

in you

as you received

his goodness

and his grace

and his work

on the cross,

naturally

after you're

born again,

good works

start to come

out naturally

from you.

I want to

say,

when Jesus

said,

I was hungry,

I was thirsty,

he knows

what he was

talking about.

Because for

40 days

and 40 nights

he was in

the desert

in Palestine,

hungry.

He knows

what it means

to be hungry.

hungry.

And when he

was on the

cross,

he said,

I'm thirsty.

And they

gave him

vinegar

instead of

water.

When he

said I

was a

stranger,

he's the

one who

lived the

heavens.

He's the

eternal one.

He's the

Logos.

He chose

to incarnate

through Mary,

lift the

glorious

heaven and

born in

simple place

in Palestine

in Bethlehem

as a

stranger.

And when

he was a

baby,

he left

his town

where he

been

home for

him and

went to

Egypt as

a stranger

and as a

refugee.

So he

knows what

it means to

be a

refugee.

I never

forget

when we

have to

evacuate from

Gaza, my

family, and

about seven,

eight other

families, because

it became very

dangerous.

One of our

church members

had been

kidnapped and

after ten

hours been

executed because

of his faith and

because he

refused to be

converted to

another faith.

He was

willing to pay

the ultimate

price.

So when we

went to

another town

in Palestine,

even though

that town is

Bethlehem, it's

part of

Palestine, but

when we

left Gaza, we

felt a

stranger and

that was

hard.

I don't

know if you

were able to

imagine what

it means to

leave your

home, to

leave the

streets you

love and

the people

you like.

And then

the Lord

put in my

heart to

come back to

Jordan and

I was a

pastor in

the exile.

But then

the Lord

connected me

with Iraqi

Christian

refugees.

Both of

us went

through

suffering and

persecution.

Both of

us experienced

what it's

like to

leave home.

But you

know, loved

one, through

suffering and

persecution, God

connected us

together.

And many

of our

Christians,

brothers and

sisters,

especially in

2014, when

ISIS came

in, literally

they lost

almost everything.

Their homes,

their properties,

their cars, and

some of them

even lost

their savings.

It wasn't

easy to see

that, and

some of them

are doctors,

engineers, and

professors at

the university.

And they

never thought

one day they

will be coming

to church,

waiting for

a parcel

of food.

And always

I tell my

brothers, any

one of us in

the Middle

East, especially

as a Christian,

could be in

their place.

We see

widows and

losing their

husbands and

the mother

become overnight,

the father and

the mother for

their children.

children.

But we

saw also

many people

are rejoice

and very

excited in

spite of

everything.

What's

happened and

the things

they lost,

they still

have this

joy and

that they

didn't deny

their faith and

continue to be

faithful even

they lost

almost everything.

I want to

say, is it

possible to

have joy in

the midst of

persecution?

This is what

we read in

Matthew 5,

in the

beatitude

number 8,

that to

rejoice.

And we

experience that

by the grace

of God.

But I want to

say we

cannot experience

the 8th

beatitude

before we

are able to

experience what

is the first

beatitude is all

about, what

it means to

be meek,

what is to

be poor and

desperate that

you desperate

want God in

your life and

what it means to

mourn over your

sins, what it

means to be

humble and

before the

Lord and what

it means to

hunger and

thirst for the

things of God,

what it means to

forgive and have

mercy toward

others and how

to be pure in

your heart, to

do the right

thing when it's

nobody's watching,

what it means to

be man of

peace.

When we

are able to

experience these

seven beatitudes,

I assure you

loved one, when

you go through the

toughest days of

your life, you

are able to

experience joy and

peace in the

midst of

persecution.

And we

saw that in

the life of

so many

people.

The Lord

Jesus

said, I

was hungry, I

was thirsty, I

was a stranger.

And then he

said, if you

did that, because

they asked him,

Lord, when, when,

when, because when

we did that to

you, you know, to

you, and he

said, if you did

it to the least of

these, you did it

to me.

Because his

children, his

disciples did

that out of

love to the

people and to

their master.

Why, as the

body of Christ,

why, as a

church, we need

loved one to

continue to do

what we do?

Again, I'm

grateful for your

church.

They've been very

generous and

standing with us

all these years.

We need to

continue to do

that and to

reach out to our

brothers and

sisters and also

to the people even

who's unbelievers,

because this is

what the Lord

Jesus teaches.

We need to do

that because Jesus

command us.

And he said, if

you do that, if

you reach out to

the people, if

you reach out to

the refugees, and

if you did it in

my name as if you

do it to me

personally.

You know, the

theologian William

Barclay, he

say these two

stories.

The first one, it's

about Francis

Assisi.

Francis Assisi in

Italian town, you

know, he was a

rich person, but he

didn't feel content

at a certain time in

his life.

So the story said

he was walking

down and he

noticed there a

leper, a person

with leprosy.

And when he saw

him, he moved

by what he

saw.

And he came

close to him and

he held his head

in his hand.

And the story

said, the face

of that leper, it

changed to become

the face of Jesus

in his hand.

And remind him,

when you did it

to one of these,

as if you did it

to me personally.

And the second

story he mentioned,

it's about Martin

of Taurus.

Martin was a

Roman soldier, but

he was a Christian.

One day he was

working downtown

and he, a beggar,

approached him and

asking for money.

And Martin didn't

have anything.

He didn't have

money to give him,

but he gave him

what he had.

And it was a

cold night and

this beggar was,

you know,

it was very cold

and so he took

his, his coat,

the Roman soldier

coat and even

though it was an

old coat and

torn, but he cut

it in half.

And he kept

half and he

gave the person

the other half.

And the story

said that Martin,

that night he

saw a dream

when he was

asleep and in

that dream he

saw the heavens.

And in the

heavens he saw

the Lord Jesus

and there's

angels around

him and he

was in the

midst and

Jesus have

this coat.

He were

wearing that

coat.

And one of the

angels he said,

what do you

have on, you

know, from

where you get

that coat,

master?

And Jesus

softly said,

my servant

Martin gave

me that

coat.

If we do

it to one

of these as

if you do

it to me.

Why we

need to

continue?

Because our

brothers and

sisters belong

to the same

body, the

body of

Christ.

And if it's

part of the

body has

been hurt,

all the

body is

hurting.

It's wonderful

to see,

my beloved,

the east

and the

west get

together and

to do what

God called

us to do.

The last

thing I want

to say,

why we should

continue to do

what we do,

because history

will keep the

records.

History will

write down

how the

body of

Christ,

how the

church of

the Lord

Jesus around

the Lord

responded when

our brothers

and sisters

became

refugees.

May God

help us all

to stand

together and

to do what

God called

us to do.

Thank you

and God

bless you.

Thank you.

Well, brothers and sisters, we come now to the Lord's Supper where we remember what it means.