Sunday November 1, 2009 | Efrem Smith
“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 clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in 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 a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe 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.'
Efrem Smith preached about how being a Christian means participating in the Kingdom of God in between the first coming of Christ and the second. He used Matthew 25 to help us grasp this.
Efrem Smith preached about how being a Christian means participating in the Kingdom of God in between the first coming of Christ and the second. He used Matthew 25 to help us grasp this. This chapter ends with the teaching about the sheep and the goats. Jesus gives us very clear examples of what practicing the Christian faith looks like when he sorts out the sheep from the goats (vs. 34-40).
The parables that came earlier in that chapter also emphasize the importance of how we spend our time here on earth in between the first and second comings of Christ. The parable of the 10 bridesmaids is about being prepared for Christ’s return and living each day with the expectation that it could be today. And the parable of the talents illustrated how God not only forgives our debts through
Christ’s sacrifice for us, but also sends us out with talents to be invested in the kingdom of God! Rather than waiting around idly for the master to return, we are to get out there and use what God has entrusted us with to build the kingdom.
Again, when we ask what this looks like, we can go right from these parables to the sheep and the goats. God’s calling for us is to express compassion. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit those in prison, these are the examples Jesus himself gave us of what compassion looks like practically.
Efrem closed with a challenge to us. He told us about the African impala that is able to jump from a standstill 13 feet in the air. Even though they are able to do this, when they are kept in captivity, zoo-keepers have learned that they only need 3 foot high fences to keep them in because the impala will not jump if they cannot see where it is they will land. Efrem used this as an analogue for how we often lack the faith we need to act on what God is calling us to do. Even though God has equipped us to “jump” by serving others in the ways described in Matt. 25, we often can’t picture ourselves doing it, so we just don’t. When Jesus has been so clear, we owe it to ourselves and each other to challenge one another to jump with the eyes of faith!