Sheep VS Goats

This Tuesday in the United States of America, many people will be “casting their vote” for which political candidate they believe should become president for the next four years. Some already have. But PLEASE NOTE:

This is not a political post, it is a spiritual one.

Jesus said in John 18: 36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

So it is clear from His statement of truth that all servants of Jesus belong to a kingdom foreign to this world. Therefore we do not need to fight concerning worldly governments. The kingdom of Jesus is governed in direct contradiction to this world's.

In worldly government systems, we often see a person being elected or chosen into power and position. Even now in America, the country is deeply divided between the two people running for president. In this worldly government, “the people” have the right and some would say the obligation to judge who they believe is best for the job of president. During this campaign, we have witnessed some of America’s ugliest heart postures. People fighting, insulting, and mocking not only the two candidates but also one another.

It is very sad in the eyes of The Father Yahuah. His word condemns this behavior in Galatians 5: 13-15 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”

This chapter goes on to say in verses 20-21 that hostility, quarreling, outburts of anger, dissensions, and division are all sins and that those who practice these will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

If you found yourself engaging in these behaviors for the sake of this US election, I encourage you with the love of Christ to repent so that your heart can be cleaned.

As King of Yah’s kingdom, Jesus is very mindful of our heart’s conditions. It is something that He judges and evaluates us by. In the Kingdom of Yah, it is not people who get to judge and vote, but Christ Jesus. In His kingdom, He does the choosing. His word has outlined the criteria in which we will be judged by Him, but today He wants to highlight how we are being judged based on our treatment of others.

This teaching comes from Matthew 25: 31-46 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

There isn’t much commentary to add to His teaching, however, I will emphasize that the message in this parable is that Jesus will judge all of the nations according to their deeds towards the “least of these” or what the word might call “the less fortunate”. Whatever we do for and unto those who are in need, Jesus takes it personally and likens it to our treatment towards Him. We will be judged by this behavior, we will be separated based on this behavior, and it will determine where we spend eternity.

THAT’S A BIG DEAL!

People of Yah and servants of Jesus please hear what the Spirit of Yah is saying to the churches. Check your hearts and take inventory of your actions and behavior towards those who can’t do for themselves. We are being charged to treat all people as we would treat Jesus. There is a demographic of people who Jesus would consider the very least and that is unborn children. They are the most helpless, vulnerable, and most in need of all. Sadly in America’s current political climate, abortion (the killing of unborn children) is one of the biggest issues influencing the elections. I have seen campaign ads communicating that either candidate should not be elected due to their stance on abortion. I never imagined I would witness the country so divided regarding the killing of babies.

Jesus is greatly grieved because of His stance on children and whatever we do unto them, Jesus will judge as if it were done unto Him. Again, we aren’t permitted to use our liberty as an opportunity for the flesh but to love and serve one another. That includes unborn children. I won’t use this post to further explain the sin that is abortion, I will simply encourage us all to treat all people as we would choose to treat Jesus Himself. Stop spending time and energy judging politicians and celebrities and instead let’s shift our focus and energy to ensuring that we will be considered a sheep in the sight of Jesus rather than a goat.