He Will Separate Them One From Another

11-26-23

Hoonah-Hadley

Matthew 25:31-46

Call to Worship Psalm 95:1-7

Daily Verse Matt. 25:32

Matthew 25:32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another…” It is often difficult to distinguish between fact and truth. When you break your arm and go to the hospital, those good folks take x-rays, and the x-ray shows the break. That’s a fact. Somebody there is educated in setting that bone back in order and securing it, their certificate on the wall, fact. The healing, truth. God puts within creation, nature, plants and animals, humanity, the ability to mend itself. With some assistance healing may take place quicker and look better, but healing is part of God’s plan. The young sapling, depending on the species and the damage done, will heal itself after the whitetail buck has beaten it up and broken it down. It will carry the scar, but most species will survive and thrive. Unless it is completely uprooted and left to dry out, it will survive. The beat-up sapling by the whitetail buck, fact. New life in that sapling in the spring, truth. “All nations will be gathered before Him”, fact. “He will separate them one from another”, truth.

The 1994 smash hit by the Offspring: “Come Out and Play”, otherwise known as “Keep Em Separated”, may not be an appropriate church song, but, in fact, there may be some truth to it. How long, how long must we sing this song? “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.” Fact, the Son of Man is coming. Truth, He will sit on the throne of His glory. Either way, or both, fact, or truth, “He will separate them one from another.“It’s a promise.

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Separate (verb): To keep apart, scatter, sort…not alike, not shared. Synonyms or words having the same or similar meaning, include divide, part, sever, split, divorce. Separate (adjective): Distinctive, peculiar. You will never influence the world by trying to be like it. Deut. 14:2 “You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God and He has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be His own special treasure.” Psalm 4:3 “Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself.” 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people…God’s very own possession. 1 John 2:15-16 “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Galatians 1:15 “But when God, who set me apart…” To be separated, divided, set apart for God, by God is to be consecrated. Consecrate is to set apart or declare as holy.

The adjective is dedicated to a sacred purpose or sanctified. Do you see where this rabbit trail is leading us? We are often asked, or personally faced with the question, “Can’t we all get along?” Or “Why can’t we all get along?” Well, if you want to go back to the beginning and the first family, mom, dad and 2 boys, Cain and Abel. Genesis 4:4-8 “And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry…rose up against his brother and killed him.” Can’t we all get along? Apparently not. Vs. 1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Herein two distinct and separate entities. Vs. 3-5 “Then God said, ‘Let there be light…and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.” Once again, division, separation. Our daily verse, Matt. 25:32 “…and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” Why can’t we all get along? Because God separated us one from another.

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There is an unbridgeable separation between two things. Luke 16:26 “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.” There is no middle ground, sheep, or goats. Matt. 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory…” This is the end of the age, Christ’s second coming, the final judgment, all that Christ preached, proclaimed, and promised, truth. All the nations, all of humanity will be gathered up before the judgment seat. We don’t know when this will take place but there will be signs and wonders. Lately folks have been asking me, “is this the end?” Maybe. I’m not going to waste my day trying to figure out something the Lord would not have me know. Matt. 24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Folks also ask, “what can I do to prepare myself?” Pray, meditate on His word, give thanks, rejoice, worship, tell others the Good News. You don’t need to store up water and cat food. If you are among the sheep, He’ll make you to lie down in green pasture with an eternal well to drink from, you’ll never thirst. If you are among the goats, not a drop of water, no rest, and no light.

Luke 16:19-31 There was a certain rich man that ended up in hell, asked Abraham to petition Lazarus for a drop of water, he was denied. The more we read our bibles, the more we find it reading us. Matt. 10:34-39 “…I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother…and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” It’s a red-letter day, praise God, it’s a red-letter day! And at the end of the day, the truth will be told. Can’t we all get along? No, we cannot. Sheep follow, goats butt heads. Light and darkness, night and day. Sheep on His right hand, goats on His left. Separation.

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It was written before the foundation of the world. It is undeniable. It is of old. Herein the red letters the Son of Man reminds us of the old, old story. Thousands of years later we see it play out in our lives. We can go back through the bible and see who’s who, those elected and those denied entry. Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, Rahab, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, Joshua, Caleb. Numbers 14:24 “Because my servant Caleb has a different spirit.” Romans 9:13 “As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I have hated.’” Sheep and goats. You got to keep them separated. We have the parable of the 10 virgins, 5 got in and 5 found the door shut when they arrived late. We have the wide and narrow gate. The wise and foolish builders. The rich man and Lazarus.

The more we read, the more we see, the more we understand, the bible, in fact, humanity is a tale of two sides, a story of division, a song of separation. (see Psalm 1) God’s word teaches us today, who we are, where we are going and why we cannot get along. You tell me, are there not people you just love, that are a joy, a real blessing? And those, try as we may, pray, forgive, we just can’t seem to get along. I can give you my testimony, tell you about my father and mother, my brother and sister, it’s blatantly obvious, light and darkness, sheep, and goats. I can tell you about one of my best friends and the division in his family. I just had a conversation the other day. You have your story. Example after example after example, it’s all about us. Should we mention North and South Korea, Israel and Palestine. There is a great chasm fixed, a wide and narrow gate, heaven and hell, light, and darkness. We wrestle with it, want to fix it, get along. “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, come…inherit the kingdom prepared for you…Then He will say to those on His left hand, ‘Depart from Me you cursed.’ He Will Separate Them One From Another. Truth.

Amen!