WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.400 Hi, so we're reading again from Matthew chapter 25 verses 31 to 46. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:17.120 ! When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:23.839 ! Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another, 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:31.519 as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:37.120 but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:45.519 Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:51.920 For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. 00:00:51.920 --> 00:01:00.320 I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:04.640 and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:11.920 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:16.879 or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:23.759 or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you? And the King will 00:01:23.759 --> 00:01:30.159 answer them, Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:39.679 you did it to me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:47.200 fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:54.400 and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me. Naked, and you did not clothe me. 00:01:54.960 --> 00:02:02.640 Sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:08.319 you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you? 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:16.240 Then he will answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to the least of these, 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:25.120 you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:40.640 It's quite impressive to be in the High Court of Australia in Canberra, and I understand even 00:02:40.640 --> 00:02:47.840 more significant to be in the Supreme Court of the United States. They're both impressive places. But 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:58.000 no courtroom has ever been even close in being impressive to the court that's described by Jesus 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:09.680 in Matthew 25. In this court, the judge sitting in the court is not a human being only like us, 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:17.759 but the one who is the Lord Jesus himself, who is more than a man. He's presented here in Matthew 25, 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:26.879 as the king of heaven and earth. And in this courtroom, we're told, or he tells us that, 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:38.879 all the nations of the earth come before him. Verse 32, every Afghan, every American, every Argentinian, 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:43.439 every Australian, all the nations of the world come before this judge. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:53.120 And in the courtroom, there's a verdict, and there's a sentence. And every man and woman, 00:03:53.680 --> 00:04:00.879 and every boy and girl who has ever lived, hears the sentence and receives the verdict. 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:10.479 And having separated all those who are in front of him, all the nations, we're told in verse 34, 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:14.719 that Jesus says to those on the right hand, on his right hand, 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:22.959 come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:31.279 world. And then for those on his left side, those described as like goats that are separated from 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:42.560 sheep. He says, verse 41, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:59.120 Just two verdicts and two sentences. Come with me. Go away from me. The whole of the human race divided into those two groups. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:08.639 Now, Jesus' words there are so clear that even the youngest child can understand that. 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:16.319 That's clearly what he's saying is so clearly evident, we don't have to guess about the meaning of his words. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:24.800 A courtroom, a judge, a verdict, two sentences, everybody's in one category or the other. 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:33.439 And although it's so clear and simple, these words are not popular today. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.720 In fact, people get pretty hostile if you tell them, a lot of people do, if you tell them these things. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:47.759 I think there are a couple of reasons for that. And the first reason I think that the idea of judging 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:57.439 anybody is unpopular is unpopular. It used to be that those of us who are old enough will know that the most quoted 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:05.920 verse in the Bible used to be John 3, 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Most people knew it. 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:13.599 But now I'm told that the most quoted verse in the Bible is the verse from Matthew 7, which you've been in Matthew's 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:18.879 Gospel for some time. You can remember back that far, judge not so that you're not judged. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:25.760 It's the first quoted verse as if nobody should pass judgment or assessment on anybody else. 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:34.720 You're free to have your opinions, but don't you dare say other people are wrong in their opinions. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:48.400 Don't presume to assess Roman Catholics or Muslims or Hindus. They're sincere. Don't you judge them, we're told. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:53.360 Be more like Jesus, who was so loving that he accepted everybody. 00:06:55.760 --> 00:07:01.280 Well, you think about it for a minute. We don't take that view in any other part of life. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:11.439 If I'm in court on a charge of speeding or arson or tax fraud or something else, 00:07:12.559 --> 00:07:20.879 whether I was sincere or not is irrelevant. Did I break the law? Our whole law system is based on the 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:27.599 fact that some people keep the law and some people break the law. It's not a case of feeling or opinion 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:40.160 or preference or conscience. If I'm doing the HSC science exam this week, the fact is some answers 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:46.720 are going to be right and some are going to be wrong. It's not a case of, well, did the majority think 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:56.320 something was right. Things are factually right or factually wrong. If I go to the doctor and he says, 00:07:56.320 --> 00:08:03.600 well, we've got the results of your test and the tumour is malignant and if we don't operate, 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:10.000 you might have a month to live. Now, I don't want him to be guessing at that point. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:17.120 I don't want him to say, well, I don't feel it's right. I want to know what is right. What are the facts? 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:24.720 And when you go to the doctor, you want the facts. You want them to, you want to know it like it is. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:32.559 If you jump off your roof, you may believe that you're free from the law of gravity, 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:37.279 but when you hit the ground, you'll say, well, that was a stupid belief. And it was. 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:44.879 In so many parts of life, we don't work on the basis of sincerity is what determines something 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:50.079 or majority opinion determines something. Things are factually right or factually wrong. 00:08:50.959 --> 00:08:56.639 It's how our law courts work. It's how our exam system works. It's what the doctor operates on the 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:06.639 basis of is in the laws of nature. And we judge people every day by whether they observe this 00:09:07.439 --> 00:09:14.000 or fail to observe it or say this or say that. Things are just right and wrong 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:19.279 in a hundred times a day. More than that, that's how we live. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:28.720 Twice in these verses, Jesus calls himself a king. That's how he describes himself. 00:09:30.079 --> 00:09:34.559 Well, if I said to you, what kind of king would he be if he just said, well, 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:40.559 I've told you this and this and this, but you make up your own mind and we're all equally valid. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:49.279 He wouldn't be a king of any consequence if people sidelined him or spat on him or 00:09:50.079 --> 00:09:55.759 mocked his views on something. Well, he might be a king in name, but he wouldn't be a king in fact. 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:01.919 We can't live on the basis of how we feel. We're free to have our own feelings, 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:08.959 but we're not free to have our own facts. And Jesus said, I'm the king and I'm the judge. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:19.039 And Jesus isn't king. Whatever, he just allows people to spit on him and get away with it. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:24.959 If he were not to judge, he'd be a liar and a fraud. 00:10:27.119 --> 00:10:32.079 Now, people who want to say the idea of judging is unpopular, we don't want to go there, thank you. 00:10:32.079 --> 00:10:38.079 I think again, that's not how we live life. And it's certainly not what's true about the Lord Jesus himself. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:46.560 I think the second reason why people don't like this picture of sheep and goats is the idea of hell is 00:10:46.560 --> 00:10:52.560 unreasonable. It may have been okay in the Middle Ages when people painted pictures of sort of fire 00:10:52.560 --> 00:11:00.240 and brimstone and devils with pitchforks and tails and all the rest of it. But, I mean, who really 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:10.799 believes in an eternal hell in 2025? And if we have to have a hell, let's at least water it down a bit. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:19.120 So it's a bit more palatable, acceptable. Let's say, well, maybe people only do a year in hell. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:25.200 And then they find out, you know, it's not the place to be and then they get out. Let's give people 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:32.879 a second chance at least. Or maybe, let's not think of hell as going on and on and on and on and on forever. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:40.799 Let's say, well, people are sent to hell and then they're wiped out. They're destroyed, annihilated. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:50.799 That sounds more reasonable to 2025 people than the idea of an eternal hell. 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.639 Well, friends, that won't work if Jesus is right. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:08.879 In verse 46, he said, these, those that he's left, will go away into eternal punishment, 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:17.679 but the righteous on the right into eternal life. Well, if it's not eternal there, then it's not 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:25.919 eternal there. It's the same word. If heaven is forever, then hell is forever. And it won't do to 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:33.679 say, well, we don't like the idea of hell. We may not like it. But the question is, the issue there is 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:42.399 that we're then opposing our views against the views of the Lord Jesus. We're so quick to give up 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:47.839 the, well, why do you suppose we don't like the idea of an eternal hell? I'll tell you, I think the 00:12:47.839 --> 00:12:55.839 reason is because we think we're too good for it. It'd be all right for the Hamas murderers on October 00:12:55.840 --> 00:13:02.960 7th who raped women and put children's bodies in oven and killed them. Hell would be okay for them. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:09.360 Hell would be okay for the pedophiles who've just been the most wicked of people. It'd be all right for 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:20.399 them. But 95% of Australians, we're pretty nice people. Surely, surely not hell for them. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:31.200 Well, let me ask you, friends, how bad do you think it is that even once you might have said to the living 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:42.800 God, I don't like you? Or said to the living God, my opinions are better than yours? Or said to the living 00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:51.680 God, you're not worthy of the love of my heart and mind and will and strength? I'm not going to give it to you. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:14:01.199 If we did that just once, against the holy God of the whole world, how long do you think you'd have to 00:14:01.199 --> 00:14:09.199 be in hell to pay off that once? Against an infinitely holy God and you've spat on him? 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:17.279 The reason we don't like the idea of hell and we think it maybe can just be abbreviated in some way 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:24.319 because we don't think God's really very big. That's our problem. But I tell you, friends, there are no 00:14:24.319 --> 00:14:35.199 little sins against a big God. Every sin is significant. And if you thought a day in hell could pay off 00:14:35.839 --> 00:14:43.199 just one sin, which it couldn't, against a holy God, it would take an eternity for that. How much more? All your sins. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:55.600 That when God is big, no sin against him is ever small. And if we think the idea of hell is 00:14:55.600 --> 00:15:03.840 unreasonable, it's only because we've got unreasonable views about God and inflated views about ourselves 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:14.320 and ridiculous views about sin. That's where the problem lies. Not in hell, but in these other ways. 00:15:15.920 --> 00:15:22.560 Yes, it's true. No one has ever loved like Jesus has loved. And no one has ever been more passionate for 00:15:22.560 --> 00:15:28.480 his father's honour than Jesus. And no one has ever spoken more about hell than Jesus in the Bible. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:34.560 No one has ever spoken to him. And he's way ahead of everybody else, combined. Because he loves. 00:15:36.560 --> 00:15:42.879 And friends, I want to be honest with you and say this. I personally don't find hell very easy to 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:56.320 hold as a fact. But when someone I love, someone in my family, a parent dies, a brother, they die, 00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:03.680 they're not a Christian. I find myself thinking now, can hell really be that? Can hell really be real? 00:16:04.640 --> 00:16:10.800 Can it be eternal? There's a sense in which I have to work through it all over again because 00:16:10.800 --> 00:16:17.440 the idea of hell is horrendous. It's an awful prospect. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:24.640 I don't think we should ever speak with it. I hope I'm not doing it this morning. We should never speak 00:16:24.640 --> 00:16:32.400 about hell casually or flippantly or make jokes about it. But we should speak, as Jim Packer said, 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:41.440 whenever we speak about hell, it should be with what he called traumatic awe. It's an awful prospect. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:50.560 So please forgive me if I've sounded glib. I haven't wanted it to be like that. But I do want to say it's real. 00:16:52.160 --> 00:16:55.280 And it's awful. And it's forever. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:13.039 Well, if judgment is reasonable and if judgment makes hell necessary, then on what basis are the 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:19.200 sheep and the goats separated? What makes the difference? We know their destiny is different. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:22.880 What is it that makes the difference in the choice, in the verdict? 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:31.440 Well, there are two answers to that question. One is really big and it's back there. 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:40.000 And one flows from that and is here. And so Jesus says in verse 34, 00:17:40.000 --> 00:18:02.640 Now, who are blessed? Who are truly and deeply and blessed to the maximum? 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:09.040 God. Those whom, in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4, Paul says, 00:18:09.600 --> 00:18:14.080 God the Father has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:20.800 The blessing, the best blessing of God that leads to the other best blessings of God 00:18:21.360 --> 00:18:27.120 is that he's elected those who are the sheep. He's chosen them before the foundation of the world. 00:18:27.120 --> 00:18:31.280 He prepared the kingdom for them before he put a blade of grass on this earth. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:37.279 He prepared heaven for them and guaranteed that they would be with him, every last one of them, 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:45.440 with the Lord Jesus in heaven. When you became a Christian, things didn't start then. 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:51.200 It's not as if, or the person who told you about the gospel, it didn't start then. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:54.879 Or the grandparent who prayed for you before you were born, it didn't start then. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:19:03.040 It started back before the foundation of the world, when the Father chose those who would be in his kingdom. 00:19:03.040 --> 00:19:06.240 And he prepared the kingdom and he prepared salvation for them. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:10.240 Christ was crucified, says the book of Revelation, before the foundation of the world. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:16.240 It's in the plans of God, it all happened there. It's a really, really big deal. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:26.160 There are so many things, friends, that are bigger than your 20 years or 40 years or 60 years or 80 years, 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:31.599 whatever they are. So many bigger things than what's happened in your little lifespan. 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:38.319 And this is one of them. Those on the right hand of Jesus are those whom the Father prepared a kingdom for 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:48.399 before he did anything else in this world. And it's because of that choice that some other choices follow. 00:19:48.399 --> 00:19:52.639 That's the second part of the answer. On what basis is this verdict made? 00:19:52.639 --> 00:19:59.039 It's made on the basis of God's sovereign, electing, predestinating grace before time. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:04.079 And in time, something happens to those whom the Father has chosen. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:09.439 And so we read what it is here in verse 35. Let me just recap a bit for you. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:15.919 In 35, Jesus says, I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. 00:20:15.919 --> 00:20:21.119 I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:26.960 I was in prison and you came to me. And the righteous will answer him, when did we do that? 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:32.079 We didn't see you hungry. We didn't see you naked. We didn't see you thirsty. 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:36.639 When did all this happen? Or when did it happen? 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:45.919 Now, you might think that's saying it's the nice people who get to heaven. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:52.480 It's the people who are kind. It's the people who are generous. It's the people who donate to UNESCO 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:58.720 for kids who are sort of in difficult situations around the world. It's the people who give the red shield appeal. 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:05.600 It's the people who go out of their way. That's not what Jesus is saying. That's not it. That's not it. 00:21:05.600 --> 00:21:11.759 It's just somehow that the basis on which you go to heaven is your niceness, your generosity. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:14.000 It's never been like that. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.920 It's a while since, I guess, since you've been in Matthew chapter 10. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:31.360 Matthew 10, so you might want to just turn back there for a tick, because Jesus says some things in Matthew 10 that explain what he's meaning here, what he's saying here in Matthew 25. 00:21:34.320 --> 00:21:37.120 Matthew 10, verse 40. 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:47.279 Whoever receives you, receives me. Whoever receives me, receives him who sent me. 00:21:48.479 --> 00:21:52.979 The one who receives a prophet, because he is a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward. 00:21:53.439 --> 00:21:58.219 And the one who receives a righteous person, because he's a righteous person, will receive a righteous person's reward. 00:21:58.220 --> 00:22:02.640 And whoever gives one of these little ones, even a cup of cold water. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:05.779 That sounds like Matthew 25, doesn't it? 00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:08.539 Giving the drink to the person who's thirsty. 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:12.960 Because he is a disciple, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:19.680 When Jesus says whoever receives you, receives me. 00:22:20.019 --> 00:22:20.680 Who's the you? 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:27.600 Well, let me tell you, it's not you. 00:22:28.220 --> 00:22:34.559 The word why are you in the Bible doesn't always mean you, you, you, you, you. 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:37.240 It sometimes has another meaning. 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:45.579 So when Jesus is speaking in Matthew 10, whoever receives you, he's talking of his disciples, the apostles. 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:52.680 Whoever receives the apostles, because he's a prophet, because he's been sent with a word from God. 00:22:53.860 --> 00:22:56.839 Whoever receives the prophet, the apostle, 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:03.399 And you receive the apostle because you received what he says. 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:05.139 You say, this guy's got the goods. 00:23:05.899 --> 00:23:07.799 We're going to take what he says to heart. 00:23:08.159 --> 00:23:09.179 Let's look after him. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:10.699 This guy's a messenger from God. 00:23:11.379 --> 00:23:14.519 And Jesus said, if you receive the apostle, you receive me. 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:17.279 And if you receive me, you receive the father who sent me. 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:20.399 The test on the day of judgment is not whether you've been nice. 00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:23.940 That's really important to be nice and to be generous. 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:25.680 But that's not what he's saying. 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:33.960 He's actually saying something like those, the sheep on the last day, are those who have passed the Jesus test. 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:35.680 Not the nice test. 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:39.039 The people who've received Jesus from the apostles. 00:23:39.779 --> 00:23:45.039 And they've proved that they've received the apostles because they've looked after the apostles who brought the message. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.519 It's a Jesus test. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:49.159 It's a test about belief. 00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:52.460 It's a test that's based in the Lord Jesus himself. 00:23:54.200 --> 00:23:57.200 He's really saying, if you've received me. 00:23:57.619 --> 00:23:59.240 Now, why do I receive the Lord Jesus? 00:23:59.359 --> 00:23:59.740 Why did I? 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:05.619 For me, age 10, non-Christian home, somebody told me about Jesus. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:06.500 I embraced him. 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:08.119 Why did that happen? 00:24:08.899 --> 00:24:12.740 Because I was part of the kingdom that Jesus had prepared for before the foundation of the world. 00:24:12.980 --> 00:24:13.879 That's where it started. 00:24:13.880 --> 00:24:18.620 And it flowed over to my decision to take hold of Jesus at age 10. 00:24:20.120 --> 00:24:20.660 They're linked. 00:24:21.620 --> 00:24:23.780 And this is true because this is first true. 00:24:26.360 --> 00:24:33.860 Look, I tell you, friends, in the courtroom of Jesus, no one is going to ask you, were you a good person or were you a bad person? 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:38.900 Did you receive the apostles' message about Jesus? 00:24:40.340 --> 00:24:41.460 Did you receive them? 00:24:42.100 --> 00:24:42.800 Receiving them? 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:43.740 Receiving their message? 00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:45.240 Receive Jesus, who is the message? 00:24:45.580 --> 00:24:46.880 Receive the Father who sent him? 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:49.260 It's a Jesus test. 00:24:49.259 --> 00:24:55.640 Now, friends, we're at Grace Church. 00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:57.319 You're good Protestants. 00:24:57.460 --> 00:24:58.099 I know that. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:03.420 And as good Protestants, we don't make much about people. 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:05.599 We say it's really all about Jesus. 00:25:06.339 --> 00:25:11.039 We don't have saints and saints' days and all the rest of it. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:12.039 We don't have a place for people. 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:13.920 We don't have a place for special people. 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:20.299 Well, if that's what we say, we're being more correct than Jesus. 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:20.779 It's called the apostles. 00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:20.779 00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:20.779 00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:33.960 It's called the apostles to be the apostles and the foundation of the church of Jesus. 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:36.240 It says, you take the message. 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.859 It entrusted the message to them. 00:25:38.859 --> 00:25:46.259 but the apostles do matter and you can't sideline them and say I'm being a biblical Christian 00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:51.119 because it's all about Jesus and that's where it stops no it isn't if it's all about Jesus 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:58.519 it's therefore about also about the apostles whom he sends in his name that's not you and me no 00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:06.099 apostles here today but those whom he selected 2,000 years ago so I want to urge you I want to 00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:13.439 urge you dear friends to continue to make sure that you're an apostolic church this is what it 00:26:13.439 --> 00:26:19.359 means when we talk about the apostolic church we are based we are built upon the foundation of the 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:30.619 apostles and prophets I don't know whether anybody here has what's called a red letter Bible 00:26:30.619 --> 00:26:38.299 that's where you read the gospels and the words of Jesus are all printed in red and all the other 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:45.479 words are printed in black that's okay it's still the Bible but there's a sense of which all the words 00:26:45.479 --> 00:26:52.039 are red letter because they're all the words from Jesus so if Paul is saying it or John is saying it 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:59.799 or Matthew is saying it it's because Jesus has told them what to say and so we're an apostolic church 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:07.139 based upon the teaching of the apostles who point us only ever to Jesus some of some of us are 00:27:07.139 --> 00:27:13.500 embarrassed by the apostles I'll bet you I'll bet you've heard or been involved in conversations 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:18.980 probably even in the last few months where somebody has said oh all that all that this stuff in the 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:25.460 Bible that that that Paul wrote or John wrote or somebody else wrote and they made they just made life 00:27:25.460 --> 00:27:33.420 difficult for us if we just got back to Jesus it'd be so much simpler and better and the words of the 00:27:33.420 --> 00:27:38.799 apostles are somehow regarded as being irrelevant so if you're if you're involved in a discussion about 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:46.600 sexuality or gender homosexuality abortion whatever and you say but Paul says oh just Paul that's Paul 00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:53.399 and we get embarrassed and we sort of feel we've got to retreat to Jesus somehow no we don't 00:27:53.399 --> 00:28:05.339 Paul is one of his spokesmen the apostle that came late to Jesus and sent by Jesus and friends look 00:28:05.339 --> 00:28:11.779 it doesn't matter where you're reading it doesn't matter whether it's red or black 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:18.980 Jesus has said these are my words for all generations 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:24.980 oh but people say well look you don't really expect us in 19 in 2025 00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:31.359 to uh believe what you what you say about heaven and hell do you yes 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:40.399 Jesus said it and the apostles taught it no embarrassment it may be difficult to explain 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:46.000 it may be emotionally difficult to accept but there's no doubt about the truthfulness of it 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:55.640 people say you don't uh you don't expect us to believe that Jesus is the only way to the father 00:28:55.640 --> 00:29:01.480 do you there's only one road up the mountain and not several with with lots of other sincere people 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:07.000 going up the other ways and we're all going to meet at the top well yes yes Jesus that's exactly 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:12.839 the way it is that i'm the only way you'll get to the top and i alone will be there i won't be 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:20.920 there with muhammad or buddha or the pope or somebody else i alone will be there you mean you 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:29.559 you actually believe in the exclusiveness of Jesus i do i believe that our future destiny 00:29:29.559 --> 00:29:34.519 heaven or hell is determined by what we do with his words 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:45.160 sexuality other hot issues of the day oh just paul friend don't don't shrink from that 00:29:45.160 --> 00:29:52.440 don't be embarrassed yes paul speaking by the authority of the lord jesus himself 00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:56.599 these are important things and we take them to heart 00:29:56.599 --> 00:30:03.000 so i want to i want to urge you to keep being an apostolic church a good protestant church 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:09.720 i wish that's what protestants believe and then one last question which is a bit more personal 00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:17.799 you know when you read the bible i think you can say really there are only two days 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:29.480 two days there's that day when jesus will sit on his throne that day of judgment that day when we're all 00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:36.279 separated into one of two groups there's that day that jesus so lovingly warned us about here 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:43.720 and there's today i think the bible speaks just really about those two days 00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:49.880 today and that day and other days really don't matter so much 00:30:49.880 --> 00:31:06.200 and if you say today jesus i love you and i trust you and i follow you i love you i serve you then that day 00:31:08.520 --> 00:31:08.040 ! 00:31:08.600 --> 00:31:11.640 it won't have the slightest threat for you 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:15.080 that's nothing to fear 00:31:17.320 --> 00:31:23.960 it's knowing that on that day what you will hear will be the sweetest word you've ever heard in your 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:33.560 whole life jesus has come blessed by my father inherit the kingdom kingdom prepared for you 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:40.279 nothing to be afraid of nothing to be afraid of on that day when today you can say jesus is my lord 00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:53.319 but if while it's still today you say not for me thanks i prefer my own way i prefer to find my own way to 00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:58.359 the top of the mountain i don't want to get too serious about these things that jesus says 00:31:58.359 --> 00:32:06.039 that i can tell you you've got everything to fear about that day 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:11.639 whatever that view today is the view that you hold to 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:22.359 and what you'll hear on that day is not come come come come with me says jesus the most magnificent 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:30.839 person who's ever walked on this earth be with me but no what you'll hear is go go away depart 00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:34.599 not come depart 00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:41.319 a man once a man i know 00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:47.000 once asked a friend who told him about jesus he's not a christian 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:56.359 he said when should i really when should i turn to jesus as you've told me to when should i embrace him 00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:03.640 as you keep telling me i should do and his friend said you'd better do it the day before you die 00:33:06.279 --> 00:33:08.359 you'd better do it the day before you die 00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:14.119 but i said but i don't know when i'm going to do it when i'm going to die 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:15.559 he said then you better do it today 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:26.919 wouldn't it be wonderful if sunday october the 26th 2025 00:33:28.359 --> 00:33:38.119 was the day you turned from hell to heaven