If you would, please take your Bibles with me, and let's turn to Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew, and we're looking there in Matthew chapter 25. Tonight, we'll be looking at that portion where our Lord speaks of His second coming. Our Lord declares in Matthew, Matthew 25, Beginning there in verse 31, he says there, 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. Now the son of man in the days of his humiliation, when he was upon the earth, remember, He's the word made flesh, and he was despised and rejected. Scripture says, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him, and he was despised, and we esteemed him not. You see, he subjected himself to the sufferings and pains of death, but when he comes back, beloved, the scripture says, he comes back in glory. And so when the Son of Man comes in glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, all the holy angels, the scripture says, are going to come with him, and he's going to sit upon the throne of his glory. Now concerning these holy angels, what are they going to do? Keep your place in Matthew 25, and let's turn to where we read in Matthew 13, Beginning in verse 24, we see here the scripture setting forth in a parable what the holy angels are going to do at the second coming of our Lord and God. Matthew 13, verse 24, says there, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, dost not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servant said unto him, Will thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, nay, lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them. Now that's as clear as words can convey. You see, beloved, we don't know. We simply don't know who God's sheep are. I mean, if the Lord's pleased to call any of us out of darkness, it's him alone that makes the difference. Remember, our Lord said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. We read in Matthew 13, verse 30, that we're told to let them both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13, 36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house of his disciples, and went into the house, and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares in the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the son of man, the field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, Then shall the righteous shine forth as a son in the kingdom of their father, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Father, for Christ's sake, let us hear. Let us hear. Let us hear your son. Now in our portion in Matthew 25, our Lord declares there, beginning in verse 31. Matthew 25, verse, 31. 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 before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats. Every person that's ever been born are gonna be gathered by these angels, and they're gonna stand before the Lord, and the Lord knows His sheep, He's going to set the sheep on the right hand, and he's gonna set the goats on the left. You see, there's only two groups of people, just two different kinds of people, sheep and goats. It doesn't matter what nationality you are. It doesn't matter when or where you live in this world. There's only two groups of people. Verse 33, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Those sheep on his right are the elect of God. All those the father has given unto his son from before the foundation of the world. All those redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. And before they leave this world, all his people are made to know his voice and follow him. And he's gonna set his people on his right hand and all others on his left. Verse 34. And then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. The son of man is the king of glory, beloved. He's the king of kings and he's the Lord of lords and he's going to speak to his sheep and he's going to say to his sheep, come, enter in. Come, enter into that which was prepared for you before you were ever created. Before you were ever born, this kingdom was prepared, was made before man was ever created by God. You see, there's an inheritance prepared for them, for all those that God has everlastingly loved, for all that he predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, and I love this, this is Ephesians 1.5 at the latter part, according to the good pleasure of his will. All those that he eternally purposed to save, He's known them eternally, and those objects of God's mercy, those objects of his eternal love, they have an inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I can't even begin to number all the blessings contained in that inheritance, beloved, but I'll say this. That which the Lord has prepared shall be glorious, and it's glorious right now, waiting for us. That's the inheritance that they have in Christ. And it's not theirs by their ability or their so-called will, not by creature will, or by their works. Rather, Almighty God was pleased to give it to them freely. And why did he give it to his people? Simply this, because it pleased him to do so. Just simply because it pleased the Lord. That's what scripture says. You see, he prepared and made his inheritance ready for his people from the foundation of the world. Now notice what he says in verse 35. Verse 35. For I was a hungered, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. Naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came unto me. Now without a doubt, God's people are gracious people. We read, for example, in 1 John, John's first epistle, chapter three, beginning in verse 16. Hereby we perceive the love of God. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Take, for example, someone who confesses to be a believer, and he claims to know God, and there's a brother or sister in need, and they can meet it, and they don't. And here's the question, how dwelleth the love of God in you? Now, God's people are a sensitive people in that his people know to some degree what the Lord's done for them. And so they're going to be sensitive to the needs of others. And that's the amazing truth and effect of God's grace on his people. Our Lord expresses unto them, he says, I was a hungered, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. Naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came unto me. And these individuals on his ride are gonna say something to him that's so remarkable. It's really, really profound. Verse 38 of Matthew 25. Rather, verse 38. When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in? 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 came unto thee? Verse 40. And then the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, insomuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Now let me ask you something. What did they actually do? What was it that they did? Is this speaking to something merely physical, like someone was physically hungry? Take a believer, for example. If we find somebody, and they're hungry, and they come up to you and they say, have you got anything to eat? Anything to drink? We'd feed them, would we not? I mean, we'd find some water and give it to them. Or if you found somebody that was out in the cold, And they said, do you have a coat? You wouldn't happen to have anything. And we wouldn't just leave them. We would find, at a minimum, some old bit of clothing or some old coat that we could give them. And certainly a believer would be moved with compassion to help that person, would they not? And so we see here, these things are the very things that many in that day of judgment are going to stand up and claim they've done. Look at Matthew 7, if you would. Matthew chapter 7, verse 22. Our Lord is speaking here. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name have done many wonderful works. Lord, we fed the poor. We have a food bank. We have a food pantry. We have a shelter for the abused, and on and on and on they would go. Verse 23, and then while I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. There are many things that people can do that are really kind. And believers do such things. But they don't do them for salvation. Rather, they do them because of salvation. I mean, believers don't find any comfort whatsoever in the things that they do. I remember hearing a faithful minister of the gospel. He was addressing a room filled with other preachers. And he said, if you read the Bible, or you head out of the gospel track, or you preach, And you are comforted by that. You feel better about yourself. I'll tell you what that is. That's called idolatry. That's all it is, plain and simple. You see, beloved, the only thing that comforts God's people is to hear about the blood and righteousness of God's well-pleasing son. To hear the efficacy of his blood, how not one drop was shed in vain. And the righteousness that he established on the earth on behalf of his people is that righteousness that actually gives a believer a good conscience. Nothing else will do but perfect righteousness, beloved. And we know, found in Him, we're complete and lack nothing. A full and complete pardon of all our sins and a righteousness acceptable to God. Well, whose righteousness is that? It's not our righteousness, beloved. It's the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The old writers often referred to it as the great exchange, imputation, if you will. In 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, we read there, that glorious verse, what a comfort to hear that, how our heavenly father made his well-pleasing darling son, he who knew no sin, to be made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God and Christ. And so believers, We don't find any comfort whatsoever in the things that we do. But an unbeliever, well, an unbeliever is going to do the things he does because he thinks he's earning some merit, or he thinks that when he gets to heaven, he's going to get a reward for what he's done. And so in our portion, the Lord's speaking to something other than just physical feeding, or physical clothing, or physical visiting. Well, if he's not merely speaking of physical things, what's he speaking to? Well, let me ask you this. What was the last word spoken by the Lord to his people, to his disciples, before he entered into heaven? We have that recorded for us in Acts chapter one, verse eight. In Acts chapter one, verse eight, we read there, But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Notice, ye shall be witnesses unto me. You're going to be my witnesses. And beloved, that's key. He said you're going to be a witness unto me. And that speaks to the commission of our Lord to his people, does it not? Look at Mark, Mark's gospel, chapter 16. Mark chapter 16 says there in verse 15, this is what our Lord declared in that part of, the latter part of verse 15, as he said, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Now, no one is baptized unto salvation, but that's speaking to the believer's obedience. Every God-sent man, beloved, has taught you that he that believeth and is baptized is going to be saved, and he that believeth not is going to be damned. Verse 17. And these signs shall follow them that believe, In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. What has the Lord commissioned us to do? Preach the gospel. Preach the gospel. Nobody's going to turn away from that. Not a believer. Not a believer. No believer is going to turn away somebody that needs some help. But that's not what we've been called to do. We've been called to preach the gospel to every creature. And our Lord has told us, you're going to be witnesses unto me unto the ends of the earth. How is the Lord going to call out his sheep? Through the preaching of my gospel. And Paul said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Now back in our portion tonight, Matthew 25, to those that were standing on his right hand, he said unto them in Matthew 25 verse 34, come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was a hungered and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came unto me." Here, our Lord's speaking about his people. When he said, I was hungry, he said, you're going to be witnesses unto me. Who are we witnessing to? We're witnessing to the sheep of the Lord. And the Lord said, you're witnessing to me. And when you're witnessing, you're preaching to my body. That's who you're preaching to. And he said, come in. You come in. You that believe on me, come in. You that were called out of darkness, you that have heard my voice and have been given a heart of obedience unto me, you that know my voice, you that follow me, come in, for I was hungered and you fed me. Again, remember, he's talking about his sheep, his people. When he says, I was a hungered, his people were hungry. And that's before we were called out of darkness. And this speaks to spending money, does it not? It really does, it speaks to spending money. We read in Isaiah chapter 55, there in verse two, it says, wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? There's many going around that think to themselves, well surely we're pleasing to the Lord. I mean, I've given my heart to Jesus. You'll hear this. They'll say, I've given my heart to Jesus, and they've exercised their free will, or walked down an aisle, and they say, did I not do this, or did I not do that? Our Lord said, I was hungry. Speaking of his people, and he said, you gave me meat. What did we do? The Lord said, you told my people that I'm the bread of life. that I am the bread of heaven. I was hungry and you gave me meat. Now our portion tonight is in Matthew chapter 25. We're looking there in verse 31 through to the end of that portion, verse 46. Listen to this from John six, verse 35. These are the words that our Lord declared. Our Lord declares in John six, verse 35, And the Lord Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. He says in John 6, verse 48, I am that bread of life. And in verse 51 of John 6, he says, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. I was hungry, and you told my people of me, of my shed blood, of my broken body, and you told my people that the only one that satisfies the hunger of that new heart is me. Now, that old heart doesn't hunger, but you know, he gives a man a new heart, and that new man, he hungers for Christ. The old man's gonna hunger, but he's hungering for self-worth. He's hungering for everything except the Lord. And our Lord speaks in our portion. I was a hungered, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. You told my people of me, the one who is the fountain of the living waters. And you told them of my shed blood. You told them of my broken body. You told them of me, who laid down my life for the sheep. Listen to this portion from Isaiah 55 verse one. Isaiah 55 verse one, it says there, ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. In that last day, that great day of the feast of the Lord, Our Lord cried, if any man thirst, let him come unto me. And so our Lord's talking about his people. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. So who are these strangers that the Lord is speaking about? Well, turn with me to 1 Peter, if you would. 1 Peter chapter one. And the apostle writes here, He speaks about who these strangers are. It says there in 1 Peter 1, verse one, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bethany, Bethania, excuse me. Again, who are these strangers? They're all over the place. I don't know where they all are. I know where some of them are. I'm looking at some of them. and they're gathered somewhere where somebody's preached the gospel to his people. You that believe, beloved, somebody told you about the bread of life. Somebody told you about the water of life, and you that were a stranger, verse two, you're elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. You were a stranger. He said, I was a stranger speaking of his people and you took me in. We read in Matthew chapter 13, beginning in verse 47, Matthew 13, verse 47. This is where we read the preaching of the gospel being likened to Annette. Verse 47, our Lord is speaking here and he's likening preaching of the gospel to Annette. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto Annette, that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind, which when it was full, they drew to shore and sat down and gathered good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world. The angel shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just. Verse 50. and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Our Lord said, I was a stranger and you took me in. Beloved, when the gospel is preached, the Lord said, it's like a net that's thrown out into the sea and it gathers in all kinds of goats and sheep. And they're gathered into the shore and they're separated one from another. And there's some things that people will hear They'll hear the gospel, and they'll come, and they'll appear for a while according to the parable of the sower. You see, the sower went forth to sow, and they'll hear some things for a while. They may even be excited about it, and they're going to rejoice in it, but persecution will come, and it'll wither away, and some of it may fall on the wayside, and the birds will come and eat it up, and it has no effect whatsoever. Some of it will fall in stony ground, you know, and it springs up, and some of it in thorny ground, but the cares of this world eventually will choke it out. But some of it is going to fall on good ground, made good by the grace of God. And our Lord and God likens the kingdom of heaven to a net, and they're gathered in, and speaking of his people, he said, I was a stranger, and you took me in. When you declare the gospel, beloved, it's like a net. and you don't know who they are, you're just preaching the gospel. And back in Matthew 25, our Lord said in verse 36, speaking of his people, he said, I was naked, naked, no righteousness before God, no righteousness. And he said, you clothed me. You declared through the good news of the gospel, me, the righteousness of the saints. He said, I was naked and you clothed me. You told my people of me. And back in verse 36, he said, I was sick. How sick? Well, in Isaiah chapter one, verse five and six, it says, the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint from the sole of the foot even unto the top of my head. There is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. And he said, you told me of the great physician He told me of the one who absolutely heals the sickness of the soul. I was sick, he said, and you visited me. You visited me with the truth. He said, I was in prison and you came unto me. You came unto me while I was in the prison of bondage, of trespasses, sins, and death. I was captive to the prince of this world. And he said, you came and declared deliverance unto my children. unto my brethren. Look there with me in Matthew 12. Our Lord declares there beginning in verse 29. Matthew 12, verse 29. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods except he first bind the strong man and then he will spoil his house? He said, I was in prison of sin, death, darkness, blindness, ignorance, and I didn't even know it. And you, he said, you preached unto me that by the blood of my cross, Satan's crushed head, that sure defeat of Satan, death, hell, and the grave, and the sure victory of Christ. And then the scripture says in Matthew 25, verse 37 now, Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you unhungered 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 came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, insomuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you've done it unto me. You preach the gospel to God's people, and again, we don't know who they are, and so we just preach the gospel to all men, and tell men there's life in Christ. Almighty God has a people, and beloved, the Lord's going to save all his people. And so we're going to preach the gospel to every creature, resting and knowing that the Lord shall save all his people, all those that are hungry and thirsty and naked and in prison and sick, those united to me, my body. And the scripture says 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. The Lord said, I was a hungered and you gave me no meat. Our Lord's going to tell all of these false, freewill, self-righteous preachers and those that support them, My people were hungry for the bread of heaven, and you didn't give it to them. I was thirsty, and you never told them about me, the fountain of life. I was a stranger in the world, and you never took me in. You never preached the gospel to them, not one time. I was naked, and you never told me about my righteousness imputed to my people. I was imprisoned, and you never visited me once with the gospel. Verse 44, then, shall they answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee unhungered, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you did not to one of these least of these, you did it not to me, and thee shall go away into everlasting punishment. but the righteous unto life eternal. My friend, do you know the weightier matter is Christ? It's Christ and him crucified. This is the weightier matter of things. There's one thing needful, the preaching and the support of the gospel of God's grace. This is going to be the issue in the day of judgment. When it comes right down to it, everything is about God's honor in this glorious finished work of his son. It's to do with the glorious person and finished saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to the words of our Lord and God, the gospel of God's free grace is going to be the outward evidence of those that knew him, of those that believed him, of those that preached him, of those that loved him, and those that didn't. And all of the so-called good intentions they had Well, it's going to be shown as nothing but an offensive pile of iniquity in God's sight. And they'll be cast out into everlasting darkness. But God's people, his sheep, they're going to be called out of darkness. And the Lord's going to do it. God's gonna have all his people, and he's going to do it through the preaching of the truth. For it pleased God by preaching of Christ, what the world calls foolishness, to save them that believe. I'll conclude with this remark. My friend, Scripture shows us only two testimonies. The damning testimony of the reprobate, and they testify, I'm worthy, I'm wonderful, look at all of my wonderful works. And the testimony of God's people. And what they confess is completely different. They confess Christ alone is worthy. He alone is wonderful. Let me show you the contrast. Look with me in Matthew chapter seven. This is the song of the condemned, the song of the reprobate, not the song of the redeemed, not the song of the saved. Our Lord tells us in Matthew chapter seven beginning in verse 21, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of my heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Now, what is the will of the Father? Let's keep our place there for a moment. Let me show you that in John chapter six. I'll begin reading there in verse 38. John 6, verse 38. What is the will of the Father? Our Lord tells us. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. Again, notice verse 40. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. And those religious Jews, what does it say? They murmured. They murmured at him. They murmured at him. Verse 43, Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves, no man can come unto me, No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me. Now in Matthew 7, this is a fearful portion because it doesn't say a few. It's not in reference just to a few people. There's many people who profess to be Christian. And on that day, Our Lord tells us that many of them will say to him, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? Have we not preached in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils and healed people? And in thy name have done many wonderful works. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. You can hear the individual making himself to differ. Didn't I do this? Didn't I do that? Didn't I do the other thing and stop the other thing? What a contrast there is between that multitude of reprobate and God's elect. We hear the redeemed singing in glory. This is in Revelation chapter five. God's people in glory, they rejoice in this time state and they continue rejoicing in glory. They know that by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, they've been truly pardoned of all their sins. And not only that, they've been made the very righteousness of God in Christ. They're not almost saved. They're saved to the uttermost. A full and complete salvation that lacks nothing. And listen to what they confess. In Revelation 5 verse 9, this is the testimony of God's people And they confess that Christ alone is worthy. They're not talking about their own worthiness. He alone is wonderful. And they sung a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof. For thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. And has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth. Amen. Tyler, would you dismiss us with a chorus?