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| #Post#: 17-------------------------------------------------- | |
| sheep and goats | |
| By: alphaomega Date: July 8, 2012, 4:32 pm | |
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| The Parable of Sheeps and Goats | |
| Introduction: | |
| The definition of the word �parable� is to �lay next to or | |
| compare�. | |
| A parable is a story with a hidden message that only | |
| �spiritually opened� ears can hear. The parables are word | |
| pictures into what God is trying to teach us. | |
| The parables of Jesus are one of the times Jesus teaches lessons | |
| for future generations. These parables need to be meditated on | |
| and | |
| closely studied. Parables have a �layered� meaning, for example | |
| the parable of the Prodigal Son. The story is one of going | |
| astray | |
| and coming back. It seems to be the story of an actual son, with | |
| an older brother, and his father�like in any family. | |
| We have all read this before and it has given much comfort and | |
| hope to the families that have had a child gone astray. We must | |
| realize that the parables have layers...there is a surface layer | |
| and a deeper layer. For example, the surface layer would be | |
| relating to children going astray within your own family and the | |
| deeper meaning is what we are going to present to you in the | |
| following papers. | |
| Remember what the disciples asked Jesus: (Matthew 13:10-17) | |
| The Purpose of Parables | |
| 10 And the disciples came and said to Him, �Why do You speak to | |
| them in parables?� | |
| 11 He answered and said to them, �Because it has been given to | |
| you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to | |
| them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more | |
| will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does | |
| not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. | |
| 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they | |
| do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they | |
| understand. | |
| 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: | |
| �Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, | |
| And seeing you will see and not perceive; | |
| 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. | |
| Their ears are hard of hearing, | |
| And their eyes they have closed, | |
| Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their | |
| ears, | |
| Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, | |
| So that I should heal them.� But blessed are your eyes for | |
| they see, and your ears for they | |
| hear; | |
| 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous | |
| men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to | |
| hear what you hear, and did not hear it. | |
| The Lesson: Matthew 25:31-46 | |
| The Sheep and the Goats 31"When the Son of | |
| Man comes in his glory, and all the angels | |
| with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. | |
| 32All 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. 33He will put the sheep on his right | |
| and the goats on his left. 34"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. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and | |
| you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' | |
| 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see | |
| you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to | |
| drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or | |
| needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or | |
| in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell | |
| you the truth, whatever you did | |
| for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' | |
| 41"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. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, | |
| I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a | |
| stranger | |
| and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not | |
| clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after | |
| me.' | |
| 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or | |
| thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, | |
| and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, | |
| whatever you did not do | |
| for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46"Then | |
| they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous | |
| to eternal life." The Lesson: | |
| Scripture in BLACK, Comments in BLUE A) 31"When the Son of man | |
| comes in his glory, � | |
| See MT. OF TRANSFIGURATION Paper | |
| As shown in Jesus' transfigured glory state on the Mountain of | |
| Transfiguration to Peter, James, and John. | |
| B)And all the angels with him, | |
| As told in the Book of Jude: | |
| Jude 1:14-16 | |
| Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: | |
| "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his | |
| holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly | |
| of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, | |
| and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against | |
| him." | |
| 16These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their | |
| own evil desires;they boast about themselves and flatter others | |
| for their own advantage. | |
| C)Then he will sit on his glorious throne. | |
| The throne Jesus sits on as King of kings and is seated at the | |
| right hand of The Father. | |
| D)32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, | |
| JEW, GENTILE, & HEATHEN | |
| All nations can be divided into three groups: | |
| Jew, Gentile and Heathen. | |
| Isaiah 19:25 The LORD Almighty will bless them, | |
| saying, | |
| "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, | |
| and Israel my inheritance. | |
| E) And he will separate them one from another | |
| CHOSEN & UNCHOSEN | |
| Wheat and tares, sheep and goats, those of Christ and those not | |
| of Christ. | |
| F) As a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats | |
| The Shepherd is Jesus and all people are sheep and goats.Jesus | |
| died for both the sheeps and the goats; for the goats | |
| as a scapegpat and for the sheep as the sacraficial lamb. | |
| Even though the goats are the ones who did not choose Him, the | |
| price for their sin has been paid for. He is the Kinsman | |
| Redeemer for both the sheeps and the goats. | |
| The sacraficial lamb and scapegoat are a foreshadowing from | |
| the Old Testament rituals described in Leviticus: | |
| Leviticus 4:24 | |
| He is to lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it | |
| at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before | |
| the LORD. It is a sin offering. | |
| Leviticus 16:8 | |
| 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats�one lot for the LORD | |
| and the other for the scapegoat | |
| 2 Chronicles 35:6 | |
| Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare | |
| the lambs for your fellow countrymen,doing what the LORD | |
| commanded | |
| through Moses." | |
| Those who choose Jesus, live and become sheep. Those that do | |
| not choose Jesus become goats and die. Everybody is going | |
| to live life one way or another. If you live like a sheep you | |
| will die like a sheep and go through the "narrow gate". If | |
| you live as a goat you will die as a scapegoat and be sent off | |
| and never seen from again. | |
| G) 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, | |
| Right is good... | |
| H) But the goats to the left. | |
| Left is sinister... | |
| I) 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, | |
| Those who choose the King who is Jesus, are His sheep and they | |
| are | |
| on Jesus' RIGHT side . | |
| J)`Come, O blessed of my Father, | |
| ENTER INTO THE NARROW GATE FOR MY SHEEP KNOW MY VOICE! | |
| Matthew 7:13 | |
| "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad | |
| is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it | |
| K) Inherit the kingdom prepared for you | |
| This is the �new heaven and new earth �. | |
| Revelation 21:1 | |
| Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven | |
| and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer | |
| any sea. | |
| 2Peter 3:13 | |
| But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new | |
| heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness | |
| L) From the foundation of the world; | |
| GOD knew/knows who would choose him and who would not; | |
| "Many are invited and few are chosen." God did not predestine | |
| the | |
| choice wheteher you would choose Him or not. However, God knows | |
| who | |
| would choose Him or not. Those who would choose Him have | |
| predestined Good Works to do in His name. | |
| M)35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, | |
| This is a predestined Good Work. | |
| Those who did/do not choose Jesus would never have fed Jesus. | |
| N) I was thirsty and you gave me drink, | |
| PREDESTINED GOOD WORK. | |
| O) I was a stranger and you welcomed me, | |
| PREDESTINED GOOD WORK. | |
| P) 36 I was naked and you clothed me, | |
| PREDESTINED GOOD WORK. | |
| Q) I was sick and you visited me, | |
| PREDESTINED GOOD WORK. | |
| R) I was in prison and you came to me.� | |
| PREDESTINED GOOD WORK. | |
| S) 37 Then the righteous will answer him, | |
| The righteous are the sheep. | |
| T) Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty | |
| and give thee drink? | |
| These people do not realize that God set them up to be used in | |
| these situations for God�s own purpose. | |
| U) 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, | |
| or naked and clothe thee? THE ACTS OF KINDNESS THAT NO ONE | |
| SEES,{ BUT GOD DOES } THAT | |
| CAN ONLY BE DONE �RIGHTEOUSLY� BY THE ONE WHO KNOW�S OF WHAT | |
| GOD HAS DONE FOR HIM ~NEVER EVEN THINKING OF REWARD~ | |
| IN FACT ALMOST CRYING OVER THE PAIN OF THE OTHER PERSON | |
| V) 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit | |
| thee?' | |
| THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND HIS WORDS BECAUSE JESUS IS TELLING THOSE | |
| WHO CHOOSE HIM THAT THEY WERE PREDESTINED FOR GOOD WORKS SET UP | |
| BY GOD BEFORE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WORLD! | |
| W) 40 And the King will answer them, | |
| The King is Jesus...an He provides answers for His sheep... | |
| X) `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of | |
| these my brethren, | |
| YOU DID THE PREDESTINED GOOD WORK FOR THE SHEEP WHO ARE YOUR | |
| TRUE BRETHERN BECAUSE OF WHAT "I" (The "I" is Jesus), DID FOR | |
| YOU... | |
| Y) You did it to me. ' | |
| YOU DID PREDESTINED GOOD WORKS FOR "ME" (JESUS) AND BY "ME" | |
| (JESUS). | |
| Z) 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, | |
| THOSE WHO DO NOT CHOOSE JESUS ~ THE GOATS ~ THOSE ON THE LEFT... | |
| A1)`Depart from me, You cursed, | |
| Cursed are the goats...who are on the left hand of Jesus... | |
| B2) Into the eternal fire | |
| The goats chose to go to hell by not following Jesus. The goats | |
| made this choice, not Jesus. God knows who chooses and who | |
| doesn't. | |
| C3) Prepared for the devil and his angels ; | |
| Hell was prepared for them and they are waiting for the goats. | |
| D4) 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, | |
| YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS GOOD WORK~ if you don't need | |
| Jesus...then | |
| be perfect. | |
| (As a goat, you cannot do a predestined Good Work for My | |
| brethern' | |
| who are the sheep.) | |
| E5) I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, | |
| YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS GOOD WORK~ if you don't need | |
| Jesus...then | |
| be perfect. | |
| F6) 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, | |
| YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS GOOD WORK~ if you don't need | |
| Jesus...then | |
| be perfect. | |
| G7) Naked and you did not clothe me, | |
| YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS GOOD WORK~ if you don't need | |
| Jesus...then | |
| be perfect. | |
| H8) Sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' | |
| YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS GOOD WORK~ if you don't need | |
| Jesus...then | |
| be perfect. | |
| I9) 44 Then they also will answer,`Lord, when did we see thee | |
| hungry | |
| or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, | |
| IN OTHER WORDS, THESE PEOPLE ANSWERED:"If we knew you (Jesus) | |
| were the actual Son of God and you wanted something, or wanted | |
| us | |
| to do something that would save us, then we would have stopped | |
| and given you what you demanded...if we really knew who You | |
| (Jesus) really were!" | |
| J10) And did not minister to thee?' | |
| They could not see that if they chose not to accept Jesus and | |
| what | |
| He did for them, then they must live perfectly and never miss | |
| doing | |
| predestined good works...they cannot miss even one opportunity | |
| or | |
| they will no longer be perfect. Those who believe in Jesus may | |
| miss the opportunity, but they are seen as perfect through Jesus | |
| in | |
| God's eyes. Those who do not believe in Jesus have the | |
| opportunity | |
| to do predestined good works, but if they fail at any of them, | |
| they | |
| are not perfect in the eyes of God. The "good works" that are | |
| seen | |
| in the world of mankind as "good", lay outside of the | |
| predestined | |
| Good Works of God, and are only works of man. In God's eyes the | |
| good works of man should have been done anyway. | |
| There is a "big" difference between what mankind thinks are good | |
| works and the predestined Good Works of God... | |
| they are two different things and two different acts. | |
| K11) 45 then he will answer them,`Truly, I say to you, as you | |
| did | |
| it (predestined Good Works) not to one of the least of | |
| these, | |
| Then you are not doing any Good Works by or through Me (Jesus). | |
| L12) You did it not to me. | |
| THEN YOU DON�T KNOW ME & I (Jesus) DON�T KNOW YOU and you can't | |
| do ANY Good Works in the "eyes" of God! | |
| M13) 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, | |
| AS WITH THE GOATS WHO ARE NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. | |
| N14) But the righteous into eternal life." | |
| The sheep shall pass through the narrow gate into eternal life. | |
| END. | |
| Before we end this parable lesson, one of the writers was | |
| inspired | |
| to write a poem about this parable. We felt it was appropriate | |
| and | |
| humorous to include it at the bottom of this lesson... | |
| The Poem of Sheep and Goats | |
| When the Man walked into the field, | |
| he saw goats and sheep playing. | |
| He said, "It is about to rain for the first time, | |
| come into My boat and you will be safe". The sheep had talked | |
| with the man before, | |
| and liked him very much. So upon hearing his request they ran | |
| into the boat. | |
| The goats however liked to play in the field, | |
| and never before talked with the Man | |
| so they all ran away. | |
| As the rain came crashing down | |
| the boat begain to rise | |
| and float away The sheep had to stay in the boat | |
| for 370 days | |
| with the Man. Finally the water receeded | |
| and the boat came to rest. | |
| The Man opened the doors | |
| and the sheep ran out to play. As they ran throughout the field | |
| they found the moral to this story... | |
| It is better to be a sheep in a boat | |
| then to run away like a goat because when it was said and done | |
| those that wanted only fun | |
| did not know that goats, | |
| don�t float! | |
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