The Sheep and the Goats

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matthew 25:31-46

A couple of days ago, I was reading a note that one of my friends wrote on his facebook page about investing. He quoted the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. He made some good points. However, he said that investing in people was not wise (this was not the main point of his note, but it was the one part that spoke to me the most).

But if we read the rest of Matthew 25, we see that investing in people is not only a wise investment that is worth the risk, but it is also a commandment.

God has invested a lot in us. He lovingly created each of us, investing His time and creativity into each of our lives. He sent us His only Son to die for us so that we could be saved. He has definitely made a hefty investment in us.

My friend's main point was that we should work to give God a good return on His investment. I agree. After we accept Jesus into our hearts, every day of our lives should be lived for Him. We should chase after His Spirit and use the talents and abilities that He has blessed us with to work for Him and further His kingdom. (Just like the parable in Matthew 25:14-30.) We will never be able to repay Jesus for what He has done for us, but when we live a Spirit-filled life that honors and glorifies Him, that pleases Him.

And part of living a Spirit-filled life for Christ is investing in people.

Matthew 25:31-46 talks mainly about supplying the physical needs of people out of love and compassion. We are commanded in 1 John 4:7-8 and John 13:34-35 to "love one another." You can't love someone without investing your time and heart into them.

I understand that people are a risky investment. They mess up. They hurt our feelings. They don't always return our love. But the risk is worth the reward.

In Matthew 25:31-46, we see 4 things:

1. The Judge Will Come: (Matt 25:31) Jesus is coming back. He never said "if the Son of man returns," but always said "when the Son of man shall come." He is coming back. Are you ready for His return?
2. All Will Be Judged: (Matt 25:32-33) No one escapes judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Matthew 12:36 says " But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." We will all be judged. And how we treat people will be part of that judgment.
3. The Righteous Will Be Blessed: (Matt 25:34-40) Those that invest in people and sharing the love of Christ will be blessed. Matthew 5:12a "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven!"
4. The Wicked Will Be Cursed: (Matt 25:41-46) It is so sad to me that people miss out on all the blessings of this lifetime because of fear. We fear the unknown, we fear rejection, and we are so often too afraid to do what God is leading us to do. We cannot let fear - or the risks of investing in an imperfect people - keep us from doing God's work. We will be judged for what we do - and those that don't show love and compassion will be cursed.

The Savior will come again. He will separate us into two groups: the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left.

Do you know why a shepherd separated sheep and goats? It was because sheep could stand the cold weather better, and the goats had to be kept near the fire.

If we are sheep, and weather the cold, hard times of this life (like sacrificing to serve others, investing in people and risking getting hurt or rejected, for the glory of the Lord), the Shepherd will bless us.

If we are like the goats, we will get burned.

What about you? Are you one of the sheep or one of the goats?

*This outline was taken from Fusion Devotional Magazine, March - May 2009, Randall House Publishing.

"A May that Matters" Part Five

Freedom Matters (Based on a sermon by Bro. Rick Taylor 5/31/09)

Romans 8:1-3 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak thorough the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh."

What do you think of when you hear the word freedom? Do you think of an American flag flying proudly? Do you think of cute little houses with white picket fences and kids playing in the yard? Do you think of yellow ribbons tied around trees and the soldiers that sacrifice for us daily?

In America, we have so much to be thankful for. We are free to worship. We are free to share our faith. We are free to pursue happiness.

But we have an enemy that is attacking our freedom everyday. Satan tells us that we can find freedom in sin. He wants us to believe that when we follow our sinful desires and do whatever we please, that we will be free. And too many Christians have chosen to live their lives in bondage to sin.

But take heart - because we can be FREE:

Who is free?

1. "Them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) We are free when we accept Jesus and become a part of Him. How do you know if you're living in Christ? Think about how much you let Him be a part of your decisions. Do you go to Him with ever question and every care? Do you seek Him daily?
2. "Who walk not after the flesh" (Romans 8:1) There is a daily battle waging within us between our flesh and the Spirit. (Imagine those old cartoons where the angel and the devil would pop up on the character's shoulder and argue out what he or she should do.) Galatians 5:16-17 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
3. Who walk "after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1) Walking in the Spirit begins with PRAYER. We cannot get closer to God or be more like Him without prayer. Prayer is followed by PURGING. As we get closer to God and follow the Spirit, He will purge things from our lives that are holding us back. This is a constant process of sanctification. Purging is followed by PROGRESS!

What are we free from?

1. The law of sin (Romans 8:2) We are all bound by our sins. We try to manage our sin, but our sins always end up controlling us. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
2. The law of death (Romans 8:2) Hebrews 9:27 "And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." We will all face death and judgment, but if we accept Jesus we can be saved from the punishment and eternity of death and have eternal life!

How are we set free? (Romans 8:3)

1. We were condemned by sin, but Jesus came and condemned sin to set us free.
2. We have a choice to live a life of sin, or to accept Jesus and live a Spirit-filled life for Him.

Romans 8:30-32 "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

Romans 8:37 "Nay, in all these things WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS through him that loved us."

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

Let Us Love One Another

Have you ever noticed that God will send you the same message over and over again until you finally get it? For example, you might do your devotion for the day and read a scripture that really speaks to you. Then, later in the week, you run across the same scripture in your Sunday school class, then again in your Bible Study group, then again in your favorite online devotional blog, then you hear it on your favorite radio program...it just goes on and on.

Some people call it a coincidence, but I don't believe that it happens by chance. I know that it's God's perfect plan and that He puts these scriptures and messages in our lives and makes them unavoidable. He is so patient that He continues to feed us the same message over and over again until we finally say, "Okay, God, I get it. What do You want me to learn from this?" and let Him show us His perfect truth.

That's been happening to me lately. Last Wednesday night, the lesson that I taught was a familiar one - we studied about Pharaoh forcing the Israelites into slavery and learned that even when bad things happen we can still trust God because He sees what we go through and He has a plan. The lesson also pointed out that we should love one another and always treat people with kindness and love instead of being mean like Pharaoh. (I know this is kind of elementary, but I teach toddlers through fifth grade, so hang with me for a few minutes.)

Our memory verse (which I hope all the kids learned, because it's a really important one) was 1 John 4:7-8 - "Beloved, let us love one another: For love is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love."

I typed that verse up to give out to my classes on Wednesday night, put it on our Mission Kids blog (check it out at http://www.ssfwbmissionkids.blogspot.com/) and even taught the kids a little song to help them remember the verse. Every week, when I give the kids a memory verse, I try my best to learn it and memorize it as well, but I had learned this verse when I was younger, so I just put it on the fridge for my brother to learn and didn't really look at it anymore.

Well, apparently, I hadn't learned my lesson to God's satisfaction, because He kept putting that verse in front of me all week. It popped up on my friends' facebook profiles, in the online devotions that I read, in my personal devotion, in a book that I was reading and on the radio show that I listen to every day.

But what lesson did I need to learn? Loving people is hard, but I already knew that I was supposed to treat people with love (and I try - I really do! My sarcastic streak makes it really hard sometimes, but I try nonetheless), so what was God trying to teach me?

When I finally said, "Okay, God. I get it. What do You want me to learn from this?", He started showing me.

I've been studying the Samaritan woman at the well (check out her story in John 4) and have been reading Paperdoll by Natalie Lloyd. One of the lessons in the book is about love. The Samaritan woman knew about love. She had been married five times and was living with a man that was not her husband. She had plenty of experience in love. She knew exactly what it was. Right?

Wrong. She thought she knew what love was. To her, it was just an emotion. Something that she used to fill the void in her life. She was so desperate for real love that she filled her longing with an artificial, pop-culture, made up version of love. She looked for love in all the wrong places, and all the wrong faces (sounds like a country song, right?). But that day at the well, she learned what LOVE really was.

She learned that she was worthy of love -

How many of you know a Samaritan woman? I'm not talking about a person that was born in Samaria, I'm talking about an outcast. An outsider. Someone that is living on the edge and desperately longing to be on the inside. Someone that has no self-esteem. Someone that had been beat up and defeated by the cruelties of this world. She avoids your gaze, she walks down the hallway alone, she carries around her broken heart and searches every face for any semblance of acceptance and love.

Guess what? She is worthy of love. So are you. So am I. God lovingly created each of us. He placed a longing in our hearts to love and be loved. The Samaritan woman had been passing out her heart to every person that would take it, hoping that someone would finally take care of her and her heart and love her the way she so desperately wanted and needed to be loved.

That modern day Samaritan woman that you know? She's the same way. She needs to be loved. And since Jesus isn't walking around on the earth in human form anymore to meet her at her modern day well and show her what love is, it's up to us to do it. He told us in John 15:15-17, "Henceforth, I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, that ye love one another."

Jesus came to earth and suffered and died to save us. Now, He wants us to go tell the world what He did. It's up to us to show them what His love looks like. The Samaritan woman was worthy of love. Jesus showed her love. We should do the same for those modern-day Samaritans.

She learned that she should love herself -

Do you have a healthy self-esteem? As women, we all struggle with body image. We all struggle with loving ourselves. The Samaritan woman was no different. She definitely struggled with her own self-worth. This is evident from her past. She had been married five times and when she met Jesus at the well, she was living with a man that was not her husband. She used men and their empty promises of love and affection to feel like she was special and worthy of being loved.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and you are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

The Samaritan woman was trapped in sin because she didn't understand how special she was. She didn't love herself, and she allowed people to use her and mistreat her. When she met Jesus and He told her all the things she had ever done and showed her what love really was, she finally got it. She was not only worthy of love, she was allowed to love herself. She was Created by God and was loved by Him, and she was His temple.

Do you love yourself? Do you treat yourself like a temple of the Lord, or do you allow your body to be used and abused by yourself and others?

She learned that she should love others -

After the Samaritan woman spoke with Jesus at the well, the first thing she did was run throughout the streets and tell others about Him and all the wonderful things He had done for her. She was so excited about sharing His love and His message with others that she left her water pot at the well and ran through the streets. The men in the village thought she was crazy!

How excited do we get about sharing God's love today? I'm afraid we've lost that excitement that the Samaritan woman had. After she learned that she was worthy of love and that she could love herself, she couldn't wait to share that love with others.

She wasn't instantly a Bible scholar. She didn't instantly gain all knowledge and understanding of what had just happened to her at the well, but she did know this: she had finally filled that void in her life and there was a fountain of living water springing up in her soul and it was overflowing and she HAD to share it!

"As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." Proverbs 25:25 She had good news - she had been thirsty and now she was filled. And she knew the Man that could fill others that were thirsting.

So, "Beloved, let us love one another." We are all worthy of love, we are all loved by the Father, and we all have love to share.

Prayer Request Update

Hey, everyone! Thanks so much for praying for Mrs. Geraldine. She came through her surgery well and is at home. Please continue to keep her in your prayers as she heals from this surgery and considers treatment options. Your prayers matter so much! Thank you! :)

Prayer Request

Please be in prayer for Mrs. Geraldine Strickland today. She will be having surgery in Birmingham today to treat her cancer. Please pray for her and her family, as well as the doctors and nurses that will be working with her today.

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

Upcoming Fundraisers for Nationals

As most of you know, we have been so blessed to have so many students participate in this year's National Youth Conference at the Free Will Baptist Convention! Because we have so many students participating this year, we are taking a very large group to the National Convention in Cincinnatti, Ohio in July. In the next two months, we will be hosting many fundraisers to help cover the costs of travel and our hotel rooms during the convention.



On Sunday, May 30, we will have a Spaghetti Lunch after church. Plates will be available for dine-in and carry out at the Family Life Center. Each plate is $6.00 and includes spaghetti, a side salad, a roll and tea.



During the month of June, we will be selling PartyLite Candles. You can purchase a set of 12 votives for $20, a set of 2 jar candles for $20, or a tin candle for $15. Contact me at cmhopper.warrior@gmail.com for more information or to find out how to order.



On Friday, June 19th we will have BBQ plates for sale at the Family Life Center. Each plate is $7.00 and includes BBQ, baked beans, cole slaw and bread. All plates will be carry-out and we will be serving from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m.



Thanks for all your support as we prepare to go to Nationals. We are so proud of our kids and all the hard work they have put into preparing for their Bible and music competitions this year. Please be in prayer for all of our kids that are competing this summer.

"A May that Matters" Part Four

Looking Forward to the Future - Remembering the Past (Sermon by Bro. Rick Taylor 5/24/09)

Our future depends on the faith we have had in the past and the things that we have gone through.

"Choices, no matter how small, do matter. Your day-to-day decisions have a way of determining your destiny. The person you are becoming - situation by situation, decision by decision, choice by choice - is ther person you will be forever." David Ausburger

2 Timothy 1:3-7 "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembreance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Remembrance in Prayer

1. Paul had been taught how to pray. As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children how to pray. Do they see and hear you pray to God on a regualr basis? Is prayer something that you do together? Do they know that you pray for them? Do they know how to pray?
2. Paul prayed without ceasing. "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2

Remembrance of Faith

1. Timothy had been shown what it meant to have faith by his mother and grandmother. *Women that have to be the spiritual leaders in your homes - do not give up! Keep the faith, and God will bless your homes for your faithfulness!
2. Timothy had a pure and uninhibited faith. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Remembrance of the Gift of God

1. The Gift of God is our salvation and the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." 2 Corinthians 9:15
2. The Gift of God is personal. You can't receive His gift unless you know Him. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21
3. The Gift of God should stir us up! Don't be afraid to get stirred up! "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of POWER, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

God wants us to always remember what He saved us from and what He saved us to do. We can't move on to the future without remembering the past.