From His Heart

Speaker 1

Think about an inheritance. An inheritance always goes unless something is really haywire. It always goes to the children.

Now, the Bible says that we're going to inherit the kingdom that the father prepared for his children, the sheep. They inherit the kingdom because they're children of God.

So King Jesus will take his throne and set up his kingdom. He will separate the people like sheep from goats, and the sheep will be blessed.

And what happens to the goats?

Speaker 2

Today on From His Heart, Pastor Jeff Shreve examines a parable from Jesus that so many people misunderstand. They interpret it in ways that were never intended. So what is the truth and the real truth about this end times parable of the sheep and the goats? We'll find out today on From His Heart with a lesson called "The Most Misunderstood Parable."

It's the last message in Pastor Jeff's new Not Message series, "When the Son of Man," a study of Matthew 24 and 25. It's a powerful series we've been in all this month, and we hope you've enjoyed this extensive resource.

As our gift of thanks to you for your support from His Heart this month of any amount, you can get yours when you go to fromhishheart.org today.

But first, open your Bible to Matthew, chapter 25, to discover the truth about the sheep and the goats, the most misunderstood parable.

Speaker 1

Matthew is the only gospel writer that records this parable, that records this judgment of the sheep and the goats. Now, what determines who's a sheep and who's a goat? Well, if you don't read this correctly, you would get the idea that it has everything to do with your works. Well, you have to do good works. I mean, you got to feed the sick and you got to do all these things and clothe the naked and feed the hungry and visit those in prison. And if you do those things, then you get to come on his right side, then you get to come into the kingdom. But that's not what this is teaching.

See, the sheep are not saved by works of compassion, but by grace, through faith. They're saved the way everyone is saved. For by grace, you've been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest anyone should boast. Nobody's ever saved by works. Well, Jesus is saying to these sheep, this is what you did. You did good things and you were compassionate and showed love and care to these brothers of mine. Who were the brothers? Well, the brothers were the Jewish believers during the Tribulation.

See, the sheep are revealed to be sheep by their fruits. They're not saved by their good works; they're saved by faith in Christ. But what does real faith always show itself to be? Works. Good works. Jesus said, you shall know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles. Are they? Of course not. So you shall know them by their fruits. And these people had good fruits. Why? Because they had genuine faith.

And how did that show up in the way they treated the Jewish believers during the tribulation period? Now, we have seen a rise of anti-Semitism in our world today. We've seen on college campuses, they chant, "globalize the intifada." And they say, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." What does that mean? Wipe out the Jews. That's what that means. And you say, why is there so much anti-Semitism? It's almost like we're reliving Nazi Germany today with this hatred toward the Jews.

Speaker 2

Well, the.

Speaker 1

The devil is obviously stirring that up in the hearts of people because the devil hates the Jews, as I've told you before. Why does the devil hate the Jews? Because God has chosen the Jews and he's chosen to reveal himself through the Jews. Our Savior is a Jewish rabbi, the Lord Jesus Christ. The devil hates everything about God's choice of a people to be his touchstone, to share the good news with the world. God has made promises to Israel. The church is not Israel, as some would want you to think and want you to believe. There's the church and there is Israel. God has turned and he's working through the church, but he hasn't forgotten Israel. You can read Romans, chapter 11, and it clearly says the Lord has not forgotten Israel. He's going to work again in the nation of Israel.

That happens during the tribulation period. It happens in Revelation, chapter seven, when he seals 12,000 from every one of the 12 tribes. There are 144,000 Jewish evangelists that are going to cover the globe and preach the gospel. They are going to lead many Gentiles to faith in Christ. But the sheep and this is a judgment of Gentiles. This isn't a judgment of Jews. The nations that are going to come before the Lord speak of ethnos, that speaks of the Gentile nations. These Gentiles are going to be judged, and their hearts are revealed by how they treated the brothers of the Lord, how they treated the 144,000, namely, along with others.

But how they treated those people during the tribulation period is significant. It's kind of like Corrie Ten Boom. Remember how you read about "The Hiding Place" or you saw the movie "The Hiding Place"? Corrie Ten Boom and her family, what did they do during the reign of Hitler in Nazi Germany? They hid the Jews in their house. Why did they do that? Were they trying to work their way to earn salvation? No, they had salvation and they knew that this was wrong. They needed to protect these people and do good by them.

Well, that's what happens at the judgment of the sheep and the goats. The sheep are revealed to be sheep by their fruits. The fruit that you see is the treatment of Jewish believers during the tribulation. It's not that he's saying, "Hey, every time you drive down the street and you see somebody at the stop sign or at the stoplight and he's got a sign that says hungry," and you know, if you do that, you say, "Well, that's going to win me points with God. That's going to get me into heaven." Because that's one of the least of things. That's one of the brothers of the Lord, and I'm giving to them. I'm not saying it's bad to give to them, although listen, Second Thessalonians, chapter three says, "If a man will not work, neither shall he eat."

Don't give to people who will not work. Give to people who cannot work. There's a big difference. You don't support or enable somebody in their laziness and in their refusal to work. Hunger is a good motivator to work. If people keep propping up those who refuse to work for whatever reason, then you just allow them to be delinquents. But if you say, "Hey, we're going to take our money, we're going to help people who are really in need, people who cannot do for themselves," that's what the Bible says to do.

Well, these people, it's a different deal. These are people during the tribulation period, people that didn't get the mark of the beast. If you don't get the mark of the beast, you can't buy or sell. It's going to be very hard to live, and you have the Antichrist trying to kill you. Very hard to live. The sheep will inherit the kingdom as children of God. So when he says, "Hey, come on my right, because you did all these things for these brothers of mine, even the least of them," then they will say, "Well, Lord, when did we see you sick and visit you, or imprisoned and came to you?"

In verse 37, then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you like that?" The righteous. Now, how does a person get to be righteous? The Bible says in Romans, chapter three, verse nine, "There is none righteous, not even one." Not you, not me, not anybody. Nobody's righteous. But he calls those people righteous. He calls those people righteous because they put their faith and trust in Jesus. And that's how you need to understand this. This isn't about good works getting you to heaven. This is about good works revealing the fact that you've had a change in your heart and you've been declared righteous, and you inherit the kingdom prepared for you from my Father, as Jesus said.

Now think about an inheritance. An inheritance always goes, unless something is really haywire, it always goes to the children. You know, if Debbie and I were killed in an automobile accident or something like that, and we didn't have a will, well, it's just set up. You die intestate. Where does all your stuff go? Whatever you have left behind goes to your kids, goes to your children. If we died without a will, all our assets would be divided by three. Each one of my girls would get a third because they're my children.

Now the Bible says that we're going to inherit the kingdom that the Father prepared for his children. The sheep inherit the kingdom because they're children of God. So King Jesus will take his throne and set up his kingdom. He will separate the people like sheep from goats, and the sheep will be blessed. What happens to the goats? King Jesus, Revelation number three, will deal justly with the goats.

In verse 41, then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." Then he goes through the same thing: "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, naked, and you did not clothe me, sick and imprisoned, and you did not visit me." Then they themselves also will answer, "Well, when did we see that, Lord?" They say, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

Now the unsaved heart of the goats is revealed by their fruits, just like the saved heart is revealed. They did, and how they treated Israel during the tribulation period, how they treated believers during the tribulation period, but primarily the Jews. For the goats, well, how did you treat Israel during the tribulation period? Well, you didn't feed them. They didn't get the mark of the beast on their hand or on their forehead, so they couldn't buy or sell. They're rummaging through garbage cans trying to find something to eat. They're hungry, they're thirsty, they're on the run, they're getting arrested. What did you do for those people? Nothing. You were with the Antichrist saying, "Kill him."

Speaker 2

Well, Pastor Jeff Shreve will elaborate a bit more on this in just a moment as he continues his lesson. The most misunderstood parable, the last message out of nine in the new series "When the Son of Man Comes," is a study of Matthew 24:25. This series comes from that section of scripture called the Olivet Discourse. It was delivered on the Mount of Olives and is a prophecy Jesus gave concerning the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, future persecution, and the signs of his second coming.

A key part of this discourse involves Jesus answering the disciples' questions about the end times, including when these events would occur and what signs would precede them. Today's lesson, the most misunderstood parable about the sheep and the goats, is powerful enough. But other lessons include the prophetic signs of the end times, "If You Missed the Rapture," "The Power and Glory of His Return," "The Wise and The Foolish," and four more.

You can get the entire nine-message series on a USB flash drive, on CDs, DVDs, or as an immediate MP3 digital download when you make a gift of any amount to Promise Heart this month. Pastor Jeff receives no income from this ministry because he volunteers all of his messages, writings, and time to the production of this program. He wants to get this message into your hearts and to the hearts and homes of people around the world.

Call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to promiseheart.org to get your copy of "When the Son of Man Comes." Together, we're helping people to get the truth so they will prepare their hearts and the hearts of their loved ones for Jesus' return. God bless you. Now here again is Pastor Jeff to conclude our series and the message, "The Most Misunderstood Parable."

Speaker 1

The unsaved are revealed. Their hearts are revealed by their fruits. Listen to it again: Matthew chapter 7. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then you will know them by their fruits." It's not a secret. John says this in First John chapter three: "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother."

It's going to be made obvious, especially during the tribulation period. You know, you have people today; they can be atheists and they can give money to humanitarian organizations. You know, Feed the Children was started by Larry Jones in 1979. By the 90s, Feed the Children was bringing in a billion dollars a year for humanitarian aid for feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, and all those things that humanitarian aid entails. I have a friend of mine who has a ministry like that, and he said, "Yeah, I had this guy from Scotland call in and give us $350,000 one day. He said he just saw us on TV and we were drilling water wells in world countries. He said, 'I want to support that. I want to provide clean water for these people.'"

You don't have to have a relationship with Jesus to want to do that. That doesn't mean you're a Christian. You know, you can buy a tree, and it's an apple tree. How do you know it's an apple tree? Because it produces apples. That's how you know. If I never produce apples, you would say, "Well, you know, somebody sold me a pig in a poke. This isn't an apple tree because there are no apples on it." Now, if you buy a tree that doesn't have apples and I go to the store and buy a bunch of apples and tape them to your tree, you're still not an apple tree. You're a tree that has apples taped to it.

And so you will notice that if someone can look the part, but you spend enough time with them, as Jesus said in Matthew 7, you'll see what really is there. You'll know them by their fruits. During the tribulation period, anti-Semitism will be off the chain. I mean, it's going to be so full-blown; everyone is going to hate the Jews. Jesus said in John chapter 16, "There is coming a time when men will deliver you over to death thinking they're serving God." And so the goats, those who have never been saved, those who have 666 on their right hand or on their forehead, they're all in with the Antichrist. Do you think they're going to help the Jews? Of course not. They want those people to die, to be taken off the face of the earth.

Now they say to Jesus, "When did we see you like that? We were persecuting the Jews. We would never do that to you, Lord." Well, you did it to one of these brothers of mine. You did it to me. You did it to one of my own. Just like Saul of Tarsus. He didn't come after Jesus directly, but he did indirectly. Jesus said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" The Lord will put those on his left: "You're goats. You never had faith in me." It is very obvious in the end times; you're going to see who is true and who is not.

The Bible makes it clear: Listen, if you get the mark of the beast, Revelation chapter 13 and Revelation chapter 14 talks about it. You get the mark of the beast, and you have made your decision, and it's final. You will drink of the wine of the wrath of God mixed in full strength because you are saying, "I declare my allegiance to the Antichrist." What did it say about those who are beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus? Revelation chapter 20 states they didn't receive the mark of the beast on their right hand or on their forehead. You can't do that and be a Christian. But there are going to be many who claim to be Christian, and during the tribulation period, boy, they're going to get the mark.

We got a little glimpse of this during COVID and what people would do during COVID. If you didn't get vaccinated, I mean, they wanted to string you up. They wanted to take away your job. "You're not social distancing. You're not wearing a mask. You're not doing this, you're not doing that." Now, we had in Minnesota, Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, set up a COVID hotline that allowed Minnesotans to report violations of the stay-at-home order and other COVID restrictions. If they saw people not socially distancing, not wearing their masks, going to church, playing basketball, or walking the dog, they would call into the hotline and turn in their neighbors.

He said, "Oh, that didn't happen." It happened by the thousands. Minnesota arrested 88 people that were found to be violating their stay-at-home order. That's just a glimpse; that's just a little inkling. You take that and multiply it by millions. That's what it's going to be like during the tribulation period. And so it's a big deal that these Gentiles would befriend the Jews and do things for the Jews. What did that reveal? It revealed a heart that had been changed. That's why they're called righteous now.

Jesus said to these folks, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." It wasn't prepared for them; it was prepared for the devil and his angels. But they can't go into the kingdom because the only people that go into the kingdom when the Lord sets up his kingdom are believers—those who have been washed, those who have been changed, those who have been justified. They're the ones that go in. No unbelievers come into the kingdom at the beginning of the kingdom.

Now, at the end of the kingdom, you have, because you have all these children born, you have lots of unbelievers, and they're going to be exposed. At the end of the thousand years, when the Lord releases Satan from his prison and he gathers to himself rebels like himself, like the sand on the seashore, to go up against the Lord one last time, fire comes down from heaven and destroys them all. And then that is the end. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire. And then you have the great white throne judgment, Revelation chapter 20, verses 11 through 15. That's the end of time as we know it. And then we enter into the eternal state.

But here is the thing you need to remember: The Lord takes no pleasure in sentencing anyone to hell. He doesn't want to do that. He doesn't want anyone to go to hell. He desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. He's not slow about his promises, as some men count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Not prepared for you, goats. Prepared for the devil and his angels. That's why I made hell.

God says, "Now when you align yourself with the original rebel, Satan, well, you're going to go where he goes." It doesn't have to be like that for you. You have an opportunity right now to quit saying the way of the Lord is not right. I'm going to do my own thing. You can humble yourself, turn from your ways, turn to him, receive his forgiveness, receive his love, and receive salvation. He'll wrap you in a robe of righteousness. He'll clothe you with the garments of salvation, as it says in Isaiah 61. He'll change your whole life. He'll change your whole eternity.

And here's the thing that doesn't make sense: Some of you, and you know who you are. I don't know who you are; God knows who you are, and you know who you are. You haven't done that, and you could do it right now. You could do it today. If you'll take one step toward the Savior, my friend, you'll find his arms open wide. And the question is, why? Why have you not done that? What are you waiting on? If you keep waiting and you keep resisting, you're going to hear, "Depart from me." But why don't you respond to the other word from Jesus, which says, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my load is light."

Speaker 2

What will you do with Jesus today? Will you come to him in repentance and faith? If you do, when you die, you will be with the Lord forever and ever. And that's the invitation to every single person. Come to me, Jesus said, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. We pray that you'll come to him today.

If you haven't, just go to fromisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link for more information about what this means and how you can begin your Christian journey. If you are a Christian now and you know it, but you're having some incredible problems in your life with your personal sinful desires, with your friends or neighbors or family, work, health, and so much more, we invite you to visit our prayer link online to leave your heartfelt prayer there and allow people from all over the world to read it and pray for you.

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I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to be right back here on Wednesday as we begin to close out our month revealing another secret. At least it is for many. It's the secret to answered prayer, when Pastor Jeff Shreve opens God's word and shares real truth, real love, and real hope from God's heart, here on From His Heart.