The Sheep and the Goats

The Sheep and the Goats: Pastor Richard Lee

This Sunday at CDC, we were privileged to have Pastor Richard Lee share on the passage “The Sheep and the Goats” from Matthew 25:31-46. With dramatic pictures taken in the course of his ministry with Kenosis home, it was a very real message that opened our eyes to the incredible needs out there in the world.

Pastor Richard began by pointing us to the life of Jesus. Throughout the course of his life, our Lord spent most of His time among the poor, the sick, the lowly, and the despised. He freely mingled with beggars, lepers, paralytics, tax collectors and prostitutes. He availed Himself to all, regardless of their physical conditions or status in society. Being God Himself exemplified, our Lord Jesus showed the great heart of compassion God has for the poor and needy especially.

The parable tells us of a time when the whole world will be judged by the Great King. He will separate the people to two sides, as a shepherd separates sheep and goats. The sheep are characterized as those who have been kind to the poor – the hungry, the thirsty, those without clothes, the sick and those in prison. The goats are simply characterized as those who did not help them….

The sheep will receive their reward of eternal life while the goats will go away to eternal punishment….

In the book of 1^st John, the apostle candidly tells us “The man who says I know Him but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4. In another part of Scripture, Jesus warns that many will say to Him on the last day “Lord, Lord, did we not do this and that in Your name?” And Jesus will reply “I never knew you, you evildoers”. Only we who do God’s will can enter the kingdom of Heaven, and being kind to the poor is certainly a very important aspect of God’s will. 

For much of the sermon, Pastor Richard showed us the terrible suffering that drug addicts are going through in the streets. They inject their bodies until there are no more places to inject. Sores cover their bodies as many die agonizingly from full-blown AIDS. The leg of one man was so badly mutilated by drug abuse that a pencil could go through as easily as going through tofu. It is hard to think of suffering worse than these people go through.

Yet, amazingly, our great God miraculously rescued Pastor Richard from such a terrible life and continues to use him mightily to save many from the jaws of death.

In closing, Pastor Richard exhorted us to open our eyes and try to look at the world around us differently and act to make a difference. Behind every poor beggar and dying drug addict, our Lord Jesus is there….. Whenever we are kind to someone because of Jesus, we do it for our Lord Himself.

May the Lord  indeed help us obey His will in our care for the poor – and learn to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give clothes to the needy, take care of the sick and strangers, and encourage those in prison. God bless, Jason