Sermon Notes; a Daily Devotional

Malachi 3:7 "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?" We are studying the acrostic GRACED. We are on the “D,” “Dedicate yourself to the tithe and beyond.” This can be a challenging subject. We get wrapped up in our wealth or lack thereof. For some perspective, we turn to the last book of the Old Testament. The prophet Malachi was writing to God’s chosen people thousands of years ago. His words can sound as if he is writing to you and me today. Yesterday’s verse is one of the clearest Old Testament declarations of divine immutability, the unchanging nature of God. While God’s chosen people have not been loyal, God has remained faithful to His covenant. Verse 7 identifies where the failure actually lies. The Charge: “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.” The or...

Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." We are studying the acrostic GRACED : G o to God in prayer daily. R ead God’s Word daily. A ttend worship regularly. C onnect in a study group. E ngage in service. D edicate yourself to the tithe and beyond. Last week we focused on “Engage in service.” We learned that Christ is personally present in the suffering of His people, and that how we respond to the vulnerable is, in the most literal sense, how we respond to Him. The point is not to do good works to earn salvation. God’s plan for your salvation was “prepared from the foundation of the world.” Rather, genuine faith necessarily produces compassion, and the absence of such compassion is evidence of a heart that does not belong to Christ. The works are the fruit, not the root. Today we begin studying “Dedicate yourself to the tithe and beyond.” This can be a challenging subject. We get wrapped up in our wealth or lack thereof. For...

Matthew 25:40 "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." Today’s verse is the climax of the entire parable and the most widely quoted line in the passage. It resolves the mystery the sheep raised: their ordinary acts of mercy were, unbeknownst to them, acts done to Christ Himself. "Truly I tell you" the solemn oath formula Jesus uses for His most weighty declarations. This is not a metaphor or a suggestion; it is a direct identification. "Whatever you did" the scope is total. It is not a checklist of qualifying acts; any genuine mercy shown to the vulnerable counts. "One of the least of these my brothers and sisters" this is the crux of the interpretive debate. The two main readings: 1. Narrow / exclusive: "my brothers" = fellow believers, especially persecuted or suffering Christians (itinerant missionaries, marty...

Matthew 25:38&39 "38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?" In today’s verses the sheep are expressing surprise and humility. They did not perform acts of mercy with the expectation of recognition or reward; they simply cared for people in need out of love. They have no memory of ever serving Jesus directly in these ways. Their question is sincere: they genuinely don’t understand how their everyday acts of compassion counted as ministry to Christ Himself. The list narrows from the six categories in verses 35–36 (hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, in prison) down to four here (stranger, naked, sick, in prison), but the point is the same: they are listing the kinds of needs they served, not keeping an exact score. The surprise is the theological point. The righteous never “saw” Jesus in these people. They helped the hungry, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, visit...

Matthew 25:37 "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?" Today’s verse is the sheep's response to the King's declaration in verse 36. They ask a genuine, bewildered question, not a challenge or a rhetorical rebuke, but real surprise. Genuine astonishment. They never recognized they were serving Christ. They were feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, ordinary acts of compassion toward suffering people. The idea that those acts were somehow to Christ is news to them. As one commentary puts it, they "acted from what seemed merely human affection towards merely human objects." Humble tone. They address Him as "Lord" and don't dispute or defend. They don't say, "But we were good people!" They simply can't place when this happened. This humility signals that they had no confidence in their own works, they didn't think of themselves a...

Matthew 25:36 "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." This section of the Gospel of Matthew vividly explains the difference between the sheep and the goats. Jesus praises the sheep for helping Him. He identifies Himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and those in prison. This is not merely a metaphor; it is a claim that to serve the vulnerable is, in a real sense, to serve Him. Serve Him out of gratitude for the salvation He has given you. Today’s verse continues the list of six desperate needs. Each follows the same pattern: “I was [in need] and you [responded].” The list is not exhaustive. It illustrates the principle of compassion toward the vulnerable, not a checklist of required works. These are ordinary, practical acts, not grand spiritual deeds. They are the kinds of things any person can do in daily life. This is what makes the passage so striking: the sheep did these things wit...