In this sermon, the speaker begins by expressing his appreciation for the freedom to preach and the importance of the word of God. He then focuses on Matthew chapter 25, specifically the first judgment of Jesus as King. The speaker emphasizes the significance of knowing and understanding this judgment, as it will have a profound impact on everything. He also highlights the role of the Jewish people in the end times, drawing parallels between their suffering and the suffering servant described in Isaiah 53. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the need for a priestly nation to bring righteousness to the world, suggesting that the Jewish people have not yet fulfilled this calling.

The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. Who can understand that? I don't myself. But I have enough understanding to realize that there is a significant conjunction between prophecy and Jesus. He doesn't lend his name to anything. But that he calls prophecy his testimony is something that deserves our deepest attention. I'm saying all that in order to say this. What you're going to hear is not a sermon. I'm not a sermon bringer. I'm a man of a prophetic call. And that has a special requirement. A special burden, a special urgency. That kind of word is often a warning rather than a sermon. Or it is to alert God's people of things that are shortly to come to pass. I wouldn't have to say these things if this was not unusual for you. I'm saying it that you will give special attention to the word. It's a word beyond sermon. It needs to go down into the foundations of your faith. It's not likely that you'll hear another word like it. So with that introduction, what would you say if I took my jacket off? Hallelujah! I've been a believer 35 years. But I can never understand that they give to the singers and musicians the freedom of a short-sleeved shirt and an open neck. But we who have to labor in the word, we are strangulated with something that Isaiah and Jeremiah and the prophets never had to suffer. So I appreciate the freedom that you've given me because this word is going to be a labor. And I have little faith that you can receive it. It may bewilder you. But I'm comforted by the word of God. Be assured that your labors are not in vain. So I didn't come with a prepared program. But seeking the Lord for this morning, He has impressed me with Matthew, chapter 25, the first judgment of Jesus as King. So I'll ask Richard to read from verse 31 until the end of the chapter. And he will disconnect one from the other, as a shepherd disconnects a sheep from a goat. And he will place the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to them on his right, Go, blessed of my Father, and divide the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. But I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was lame, and you took me. I was naked, and you dressed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him with these words, Lord, when did we see you hungry, and we fed you? Or thirsty, and we gave you drink? And when did we see you lame, and we took you? And when did we see you sick, or in prison, and we came to you? And the King, answering, will say to them, I tell you the truth, whatever you did to one of my youngest brothers, you did to me. Then he will say to them on his left, Go away from me, you curses, eternal fire, prepared by the devil and his angels. I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was lame, and you took me. I was naked, and you dressed me. I was sick, and in prison, and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or lame, or sick, or in prison, and we did not serve you? Then he will say to them, I tell you the truth, whatever you did to one of my youngest brothers, you did to me. Then they will go to eternal punishment, and the righteous to eternal life. This does not sound to me like a parable. It sounds like a quite literal description of a judgment. A really astonishing judgment that ought to mystify us. Because it is predicated on one thing only. What Gentiles have done at the end of the age with regard to one people. And on the basis of that, there is a judgment or reward that is eternal. It is irrevocable. It cannot be changed. It is sealed for all eternity. An ultimate reward for the righteous, and an unspeakable catastrophe for the wicked. And only one thing distinguishes the one group from the other. Their response to the least of these, his brethren. So here is what I want to tell you. With whatever measure of authority I have in Christ, the least of these, his brethren, are Jews. And they will be suffering a final judgment in the earth. A final tribulation and sifting through all nations. Most of them will not survive this trial. But the remnant of them will survive. And return to Zion as the redeemed of the Lord. And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. And mourning and sighing shall pass away. And weeping and lamenting shall disappear. Listen to me, dear children. This is very real. And it is very soon. The factors that are given by God to work this great tribulation are already in place. And this text is confirmed in many places in the prophets. I am not a man who has to scrounge to find one text that will substantiate my position. I am overwhelmed with the volume of prophetic testimony that speaks of the last day's sufferings of the Jewish people. Why must they go through this? And why must they go through it again? There is no way to understand historic Jewish suffering or that which is yet to come, which will be global, except in the light of Israel's millennial calling. It is something with which you should be acquainted. That's why everlasting joy will be upon their heads. They will be restored to the land of which the present Zionist Israel is not the fulfillment. Only the preliminary for the judgments to come. That will again disperse this people into all nations and bring about a ruin of Israel and the loss of their political state in order for one thing, that they might return as the redeemed of the Lord. This is not God dealing with an ethnic people. This is God dealing with a chosen people. A people who have not yet fulfilled their destiny, their gift and their calling. The evidence of that is to be seen in all nations that are sinking into a profane, vulgar and obscene lifestyle. I've never seen so many half-naked women as I've seen them in Poland where one doesn't even turn around. The mini skirt is normative and so is every other aspect of our contemporary culture. A direct offense against God which no one seems to notice and aspects of it even come into the church as the music and the beat. Why? Because there's not a nation that is priestly to call the nations to righteousness. The priest shall teach the people the difference between the sacred and the profane. But what if there are no priests? And what if there was a nation called to be a nation of priests and a light unto the world? Who have not yet fulfilled that calling. They've not yet fulfilled their calling. They've given to the world Jascha Heifetz a great violinist and Karl Marx and other aspects of Jewish genius but they've not given to the world the light of God for they themselves do not have it even in their orthodoxy. But Romans 11 says that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. That means that something must be fulfilled independent even of their own willingness. If God gives a calling a nation of priests and a light to the world that you will bless all the families of the earth that word has got to be fulfilled that covenant has got to be honored that calling has got to be realized or God is not God and His word and His promise is vain. The issue of Israel is the issue of God and it's an issue that is not finished yet. The fact that it does not occupy you as an issue the issue and the supreme issue by which the age is concluded and with which the Lord comes is the statement of the unhappy condition of the Church today. From which being Pentecostal or charismatic does not save us. I'm crying out for you people to wake you from your sleep and from your religious culture to understand the drama of the last days for which the Church is not merely an observer but the most critical participant. Your response to these Jews will determine their salvation will determine their redemption but it will also determine your eternal destiny. Notice that both groups say to the Lord Lord, when did we see you hungry? When did we see you thirsty? These are not just mere Gentiles who are being judged they are evidently Gentile Christians. Who else would say, Lord, Lord, when did we see you, Lord? This is not the language of the world it's the language of Christians but Christians of totally radically different kind they both were faced with the same challenge but only one was able to respond and that one is called righteous and the reward is to inherit the kingdom prepared for you Was their righteousness established in that moment? No, it was revealed in that moment It's a crisis of faith and the Jews have always done that to us Their relationship to us has always been a challenge and which we have never successfully met historically but here is a last days event Do you use that phrase? The last days? Is that part of your consciousness? Do you know that we are at the end of the age? We are moving toward a climax an apocalyptic end of history and the Lord is coming and the restoration of His people and the establishment of His kingdom If you knew that really knew that it would change everything it would affect everything but we don't know as we ought to know even when we say Lord, Lord Of course, who is to blame those who will turn away? He calls these the least of these, my brethren and that's exactly what they will be Some of the biggest Jewish hotshots in the world today The great film makers and bankers and men in commerce and industry will become the least They will become despised and rejected of all men You who have an affinity for Israel and you think that they are cute at that time they will have no beauty that you should desire They will be more marred than any man Brother, your words sound familiar You sound like you are quoting from Isaiah 53 The description of the suffering servant Jesus to be descriptive of what will come upon Jews at the end of the age And my answer is yes Exactly They must walk the road to Calvary Do you know why? Because they are also called to be servant sons And how shall they be that to you? And to the Ukrainians who volunteered to man the concentration camp at Treblinka and enjoyed Jewish suffering Jews are going to be priests to them and patient with them and forbearing with them as Paul himself was with Gentiles And he said, I am a man born out of time What you see in me as an apostle to the Gentiles for whom I have been their father and their mother in the faith and did not withhold to them anything of the counsel of God but gave it to them with tears day and night He says, this is the picture of the nation Israel when it shall come into its own apostolate and be to the Gentile nations what Paul was to the Gentile church It will be nothing less than life from the dead But it will not happen independent of you It will happen because of you That's why Paul says in Romans 11 By your mercy they may obtain mercy And I tell you children they are going to need it And if they don't receive it they'll perish And they're going to need it in Warsaw And in Poland Because the prophet Amos says I will sift you through all nations And you will not be an exception And what will you do in that day when so much as to acknowledge them or to identify with them might be your own death If they are so hated that they have to flee through all nations When all of human society and government is opposed to them What will your fate be as a Jew lover If you extend to them food or water or clothing And get caught doing it That's why Jesus calls them the righteous Righteousness is not cheap It's not convenient It wasn't convenient for God And it will not be convenient for you True righteousness requires sacrifice That's what the cross demonstrated That while we were yet sinners, He died for us And do you know what He's saying to the church at the end of the age While they are yet sinners Will you die for them As He died for you But Lord, they don't deserve it Paul says they are the enemies of the gospel But what is mercy if it has to be deserved Mercy is only mercy without qualification I hope you'll not think I'm boasting when I share with you an episode out of my atheistic life I hope you'll not think I'm boasting when I share with you an episode out of my atheistic life I was an American soldier returning from Germany to the United States Do you know what it means to be a Jew in Germany No small thing And will soon enter into a tragic marriage with her These were my thoughts in the military train on the way to the seaport I wanted to reflect on my experience Why was I sent to Germany and not to Korea Why was I so affected Why was Germany more home to me than Brooklyn, New York But I couldn't think those thoughts The train compartment was too noisy The other soldiers were drinking and shouting and carrying on Their noise was intolerable It was a condition that could not be tolerated Because it contradicted humanity It contradicted human values It contradicted decency So I got up out of my seat And I went to the man with a bottle of whiskey in his hand Passing it around to all the other soldiers I took it out of his hand To his astonishment And I walked to the window and I opened it and I threw it out I closed the window and turned around And there we were face to face As we Jews say, nose to nose And I was ready to have my nose smashed I was ready to have my face smashed I was ready to be killed If that's what it took Because there are certain things that are more important than life itself And if we will not die for those things Then what is our living Merely to preserve our protoplasmic life A life without value Without humanity I knew that as an atheist How much more as a believer That man never laid a finger on me And he was big enough to do so But the issue was not who's bigger or stronger Righteousness required a response Whatever the cost That's what it will be for you You will not learn righteousness in that moment It will rather reveal what all your moments have been Till that moment It will be the statement of the sum of all your moments If your righteousness is only a principle It will fail Because the fear for your own self-preservation Will become the most important factor But you know what it means to be righteous And the righteousness which is of God Death is not so terribly to be feared The righteous will have their reward And righteousness requires suffering Or it's not righteousness at all You righteous inherit the kingdom prepared for you The issue of the Jews in the last days will reveal our righteousness And how are you feeling right now toward them Well brother I have to confess I'm not Jewish like you I don't have this feeling for them Frankly I'm even a little irritated by them They seem so bold and arrogant As if Auschwitz is their exclusive territory Didn't Poles die there also And Jews are forbidding even the sight of a cross This rubs me the wrong way As well it should Humanly speaking But from the point of view of a saint Of the righteous saints of God They are not irritated Their love is unconditional They understand what the cross means to an unbelieving Jew A symbol of persecution Of which their graves are all around us What will you be to them in that day When they are the least of all men The righteous will not be able to withhold themselves I can't imagine that people should be thirsty or hungry or naked and pass by And I should not do something No matter what the cost is to myself For a Jew What did they ever do for you But the same spirituality that is authentic That same righteousness which is godly Sees in this yet unbelieving people Still in their sins The brethren of the Lord And he says, whatever you have done for them, you have done for me When did we see you thirsty, you hungry, you naked What you have done for the least of these, you have done for me Such is his identification with his own brethren That he says, it's me What is your identification This is a spiritual matter Beyond culture, beyond history, beyond nationality And this last day's episode will find it out It's not a heroism that we're going to find in the last moment We will have to be living consistently in the righteousness of God Or we will not find it in that moment And the issue is eternity Where are you going to spend it Will there be a place of reward and rejoicing Or of shame and of disappointment That you fell short of the glory of God And lived a predictable Christian life Totally undistinguished And non-sacrificial Where you were the object of your own concern And could only respond to those who are like you And even there, your response was often lacking Well, I know you're anxious to go home So I won't talk to you about Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 10 Of which I suspect you have no more familiarity and understanding than you do with the issue of Israel Because the two subjects are profoundly apostolic So very briefly Paul tells us in Ephesians 3.10 God's reason for the creation of the Church God has created all things in order that through the Church That the Church is so important in God's sight That He did not think it extravagant to frame an entire world that would support it And this is the eternal purpose of God in Christ Jesus Are you occupied with God's eternal purpose Or only your own purpose Or your own agenda Or your own program That's only religious To be apostolic And priestly And righteous Is to be occupied with God's purpose His eternal purpose As being your first purpose That would change everything And what is that purpose? I'll say it but you may not understand it To demonstrate to the principalities and the powers of the air The manifold wisdom of God What a mouthful What a mouthful to say that Who can understand that? Who can fulfill that? And it's only given to the Church? To make that demonstration As important to God Before the invisible powers of the air A demonstration of God A demonstration that can only be made by the whole Church? What wisdom? The wisdom that will lay its life down for another The wisdom that thinks that righteousness is more important than physical preservation The wisdom that sees in the least of these Jews The brethren of God Who while yet in their sin Are called to be a nation of priests and a light unto the world Through the mercy that you will extend That they might obtain mercy This is the mystery of God And what is that Church that is not occupied with it? That has not taken it into its deepest consciousness That is not seeking God as to how to fulfill it Such a Church might be a candidate for the judgment of God For it has forsaken its eternal purpose As it has forsaken its ancient people And God is speaking now To save us from that eternal loss This is what you call a prophetic message It's not a sermon It's an appeal It's a warning It's a call And something is required of you who hear it Something more than an Amen Did you like the message, brother? This kind of message requires a certain kind of response Ultimate response Yes, Lord I heard your word And if this Christ I'm so short of your righteousness But impute it to me In proportion to my brokenness To the degree that I'm aware of my need For which mere religion is not enough Even with our intense Pentecostal praying Lord, change me Lord, fit me Lord, prepare me Give me an understanding He'll hear that prayer Let's bow before him So precious God I know what these people don't know That when the prophetic word comes Our response is critical It's expensive to hear and not to hear It will not allow us to go on as we were before We will not remain what we were We will be worse For the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus And if we discount that word We're discounting the Lord And inviting his judgment So I appeal to you, Lord Speak to their hearts Break through their categories Fixed religious understanding Touch them in the deeps of their being Give them a sense of the last days And of the requirement of it So beyond any ability in ourselves to fulfill Hear our cry Be merciful to us In our great need So that we can have a mercy that we can extend For we have not needed it till now Till now we were quite able to continue by ourselves Quite able to conduct our own services But this requirement This crisis To this people Is beyond any ability in ourselves You must be all in all And when they will see that through us They will believe For this will be the undeniable evidence That the God of Jacob lives And is full of mercy Even through his Gentile people Especially in Poland Who will stand for this Who will welcome the Lord's dealings Who will welcome the Lord's disciplines To fit us and form us As the sons and daughters of God To remove what is false And establish what is authentic The righteousness of God himself Who will stand for that And welcome those dealings That you will not be ashamed on that day I invite you to stand And make a statement to God Don't stand because you are tired of sitting Or that you would be embarrassed to be found seated God is righteous God is present And he will not be mocked Better to remain seated in your uncertainty Than to stand mindlessly But for those who are standing in truth For what authority that I have in Christ I bless you I seal you For this precious call of God And I ask the Lord to put a seal on it And to call for it on that day And that Jews will be saved out of death And called to redemption Because of what is being transacted right now In the Spirit, in Jesus' name Amen