The Judgement Seat of Christ, Part 2

Bible Reading:  II Corinthians 5:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 10 - “ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Key Words: we must all appear

 The letter begins something like this, “Dear Mr. Taxpayer, in processing your return, we need more information about certain items.”

If you have ever received a message like this, you are one of almost two million Americans chosen yearly for an income tax audit.  Such news would hardly be welcomed, even though the Internal Revenue Service says that the vast majority of taxpayers are honest and have nothing to fear.  But the fact of the matter is that in the previous year more than two-thirds of those examined by the IRS did owe more taxes.  Most people, however, do not expect to be called in to declare their earnings because only one out of every forty-six tax payers are ever audited.

The time is coming, though, when every believer will receive notice of another kind of audit; and no believer will be excluded from this process.  Being saved from the wrath to come (I Thessalonians 1:10) does not free us from accountability.

Today’s scripture reading tells us that we [believers] must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ.  This is not a threat; it is a simple statement of fact.  Our works here on earth - what we have done for Christ, and what we have not done for Christ - will be revealed.

Now, while we do not know everything about the Judgment Seat of Christ, we do know this one thing for sure—it will happen.

There is no random sampling or random selection process at the judgment seat.  One out of every forty-six will be judged, and so will the other forty-five.  So I remind you that living without accountability is an impossibility.

                                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Learn the five rewards given out at the judgment seat:

Ø  Crown of Rejoicing ~ soul-winner’s crown,

Ø  Crown of Glory ~ faithful pastor’s crown,

Ø  Crown of Life ~ crown for faithfulness under adversity,

Ø  Crown of Righteousness ~ live for and love God’s appearing (second coming), and

Ø  Incorruptible Crown ~ for having a Godly testimony.

✞Make the above things a priority in your life, not to gain a reward but for God’s glory through your life.

The Judgement Seat of Christ, Part 1

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 3:11-15            

Key Verse: Verse 13  – “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.”    

         

Key Words: Every man’s work shall be made manifest 

Four things become apparent about the Judgment Seat of Christ in these verses. 

First of all, we see the foundation (verse 11).  We build upon Jesus Christ.  Anything not done for His glory will not last.

Secondly, we see the fire (verse 13).  Jeremiah declared in chapter 23, verse 29 that God’s Word is like a fire.  All the judgments at the Judgment Seat of Christ will be based on God’s Word.

Thirdly, we see the fabric (verse 12). Only what is done for Christ will last.

Last of all, we know that we cannot escape the Judgment Seat.  We read in Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” 

I read the following from the Paul Harvey’s “What It’s Worth Department”: 

“Gary Tindle was in a California courtroom charged with robbery.  He asked and got from Judge Armando Rodriguez permission to go to the bathroom.  While the bathroom door was guarded—Mr. Tindle climbed up onto the plumbing and opened a panel in the ceiling.  Sure enough,  a dropped ceiling with space between.   He climbed up—and into the crawlspace—and headed south.  He’d gone thirty-some feet when the ceiling panels broke from under him and dropped him to the floor. . . Right back in Judge Rodriguez’s courtroom.”

Gary Tindle could not escape, and neither will we.  I trust today that, as a believer, you are living for God, because you cannot escape!

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Do what you do for God’s glory.

            ✞If you cannot do it for God’s glory, then do not do it.        

            ✞Live with the future in mind.

Please note: Remember the Judgment Seat of Christ is not for the unsaved, but the saved.  The Judgment Seat of Christ is where God will judge not our salvation, but our works.

 

Prophecy vs. Predictions

 Bible Reading: II Peter 1:10-21        

Key Verse: Verse 21  -  “ For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”        

Key Words: prophecy came not in old time by the will of man

There is a difference between prophecy and prediction.  Prediction is what man does of his own accord.  Prophecy is what God did through Godly men surrendered to His will.

Today there are atheists, skeptics, and agnostics that predict the second coming of Christ is a myth.  Now while they are certainly not correct, they are also not the first to be wrong in their predictions.  Note the following.

1.       “Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.”  --Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949.

2.      “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”  --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

3.      “I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.”  --The editor in charge of business books for Prentice-Hall, 1957.

4.      “But what…is it good for?  --Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

5.      “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”  --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

6.      “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.  The device is inherently of no value to us.”  --Western Union internal memo, 1876.

7.       “A cookie store is a bad idea.  Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make.”  --Response to Debbi Fields’ idea of starting Mrs. Fields’ Cookies.

8.      “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”  --Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

9.      “Drill for oil?  You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil?  You’re crazy.”  --Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

10.   “Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.”   --Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

11.    “Everything that can be invented has been invented.”  --Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

12.   “The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon.” --Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873.

 So do not let the doubters get you down.  They will not be the first ones to be wrong about predictions.

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

  ✞Base your beliefs on God’s Word, not people.

✞Learn God’s Word and apply it daily.

✞As always, occupy until the Lord returns.

Coming Crowns

Bible Reading:  I Peter 5
      

Key Verse: Verse  4 – “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
          

Key Words:  a crown of glory that fadeth not away

All of us like to be remembered!  Some men, like Pharoahs of old, built pyramids to perpetrate their memory. Nebuchadnezzar designed hanging gardens; while others did exploits of historical renown, like Alexander the Great- conquering the known world, simply to call attention to their names.

But all earthly glory will sooner or later fade away into oblivion, for “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof” (I John 2:17).  The Bible tells us that the wonders which men have made to create a name for themselves will soon be gone.  Truly only what is done for Christ will last.  We are told that “he that doeth the will of God abideth forever” and shall “shine as the stars” (I John 2:17, Daniel 12:3).   But we are also told that “the name of the wicked shall rot” (Proverbs 10:7). 

Dr. Alexander Whyte asked a friend who had undergone great persecution how he was able to endure it.  “Oh,” he replied, “I always live with the Judgment Seat of Christ and eternity in mind; and that makes all things much easier to bear.”

A veteran pastor was scoffed at one day by a scorner who sought to question his motives for serving the Lord.  “Well, pastor,” said the scoffer, “I suppose you are going to minister today so you can earn part of a crown.” 

“No, no,” replied the pastor, “I’m going to minister today so God can be glorified.  The crowns will all work themselves out in the sweet by-and-by.”

Faithful servants of God go unnoticed here, but someday they will receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away.  To God be the glory!  Do what you do today for God’s glory, and one day the crowns will come.

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Serve not for man, but serve for God’s glory.

            ✞Serve with heaven in mind.

            ✞Always serve with a right Godly attitude.

It's Really Near

Bible Reading: Isaiah 11:1-11

Key Verse: Verse 11 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.”

Key Words: to recover the remnant of his people

(As prophesied by Isaiah, Jeremiah (16:14-16), Ezekiel (34:11-24), and Jesus Himself (Matthew 24:32-33), the Jewish people are returning to their homeland in mass numbers.)

The Jews have defied thousands of years of persecution, bloodbaths, and holocaust.  Also they have defied the trend toward absorption into other nations.  They have retained their racial purity and are returning to the Promised Land, as promised, before the Lord returns.

Two kinds of Jews are again populating Israel.  From the west come the “enlightened” Jews – those who are educators, doctors, lawyers, and industrialists.  From the east come the deeply religious orthodox Jews – those who are passionately devoted to rebuilding Zion into an exclusively religious state.  Both kinds of Jews will see a promised Messiah in the anti-Christ.  The western Jews will hail him because he offers them a peace treaty that assures them security and freedom from war.  The eastern Jews will embrace him because he will permit them to rebuild their temple.

Many times in the past people have thought that the return of Christ was at hand.  When the Christian era reached its one-thousandth year, many thought that Christ would return.  When Islam swept across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, it seemed as though the Lord must return.  When the French Revolution steeped a nation in blood and elevated Napoleon to the throne, many cried out that the Lord’s return was imminent.  When Hitler came on the scene and the Jews were being massacred by the thousands, again people cried out, “The Lord is coming!”

But one vital factor was missing in each of these situations: Israel had not been re-birthed as a nation.  That is no longer the case, and the fact that Israel is back in her homeland adds more urgency to our message.  End-time events can now take their ultimate shape, and the Lord’s return is really near.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Make your salvation sure.

✞Put your priorities in order: God, family, job, etc.

✞Pray for Israel.

 

Conquering the World

Bible Reading:  Revelation 6             
          

Key Verse: Verses 1 & 2  - “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. (verse 1) “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” (verse 2)  
         

Key Words: he went forth conquering, and to conquer

Have you ever considered how the anti-Christ will conquer a society and basically cause the entire world to follow him?

Well, the groundwork has already been laid for the world to be conquered, and the weapon Satan has used to lay that groundwork is called humanism.  The humanism of…

§  Evolution – The teaching that there is no real evidence that God exists.  (The anti-Christ will be their god.)

§  Situation Ethics – Man is the final authority for his every action.  There are no absolute rules.

§  Moral Freedom – Everyone, including children, should be exposed to all viewpoints, including profanity, immorality, and perversion – all seen as acceptable methods of “self-expression.”

§  Self-Sufficiency – Man is not accountable to any higher authority.

§  Sexual Permissiveness – How do you know your sexual preference unless you try all types of sex?

§  Socialism – The government will provide for you.

§  Death Education – There is no life beyond the grave. 

§  Euthanasia – An acceptable way to end life.  (The anti-Christ will use this teaching to justify the mass murder he commits.)

After the rapture, the anti-Christ will come on the scene and promise the human race their freedom: freedom from religion and freedom from moral restraints, plus the government will take care of you.

Thus, he deceives the world into following him by promising them their freedoms; but the freedoms will be short-lived. For after three and one-half years, the anti-Christ will reveal his true nature.

My prayer is that many will open their spiritual mind’s eye to see the truth before it is eternally too late

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Train your children Biblically, not humanistically.

      ✞Evaluate your own beliefs, and ask yourself if your beliefs are Biblical or worldly

The Music At The Marraige

 Bible Reading:  Revelation 19:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:”

Key Words: Alleluia

The theme of Revelation 19 is “Hallelujah Chorus.”  Did you know that Revelation 19 is the basis of Handel’s great composition that is known around the world?  The word hallelujah is used four times in the first six verses.  The word hallelujah comes from two Hebrew words: halal meaning “praise,” and Yahweh meaning “Jehovah.”  So hallelujah literally means “praise the LORD!”  Just a side note -- this word hallelujah is not used in any other place in the entire Bible.

In Revelation 19, we also find the word Amen, which means “let it be.”  It is true, “Praise the LORD; let it be!”  Did you know that the words hallelujah and amen are the same in every language?  I have preached a number of places around the world, and those two words are the same everywhere.  I may not understand a word the people are singing or saying until they say “hallelujah,” and I say “amen.”

Two Christian men from two different countries were traveling on the same ship and decided that they needed to get away from the crowd to meditate awhile.  Each man took his Bible and walked on the deck.  They saw each other and then saw the Word of God each held.  At that moment, they knew they were comrades in Christ.  They did not know how to communicate until one of them said “hallelujah,” and the other said “amen.”  They embraced and knew that in the Lord Jesus Christ they were brothers.

There is nothing that can lift one’s spirit like good, hearty, vocal Godly music.  Well, at the marriage supper of the Lamb we will have that music; and for the first time everyone in the assembly will actually be singing.

Dr. B. R. Lakin used to say, “I believe everybody who can sing but won’t sing ought to be sent to Sing-Sing and made to sing.”  But on this day, we will all want to sing!  What a day that will be!!

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Do not wait for heaven to sing.  Start today.  Take part in every song service.

✞Do not be afraid to sing.  Lift your voice up to God.

✞Did you know that singing Godly songs prepares you for worshipping God?  Don’t believe it?  Try it.

 

A Fierce Countenance

 Bible Reading:  Daniel 8:13-27
         

Key Verse: Verse 23 – “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.”
          

Key Words:  a king of fierce countenance 

Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for twenty-five terror-filled years.  It is said that Genghis Khan and Ivan the Terrible were novices compared to the terror of Stalin.  He was probably the greatest tyrant the world has ever seen.  He exterminated more people in wars, and planned more famines, purges, mass deportations, and campaigns of terror than any other leader who ever lived.  He was anti-Europe, anti-America, and anti-Semitic.

It is estimated that Stalin killed ten million peasants in his drive to collect the farms of Russia.  An additional ten million Ukranians vanished, and another five million died of famine.  Stalin’s secret police shot and hung whole villages.  Millions were forced into slave labor camps to build roads and canals, cut down forests, open mines, and gather harvests.

Stalin killed at least a million of his own Communist Party, and he purged the leading generals and thirty thousand officers from the leadership of the Russian Army.  All Red Army officers who had gained experience in the Spanish Civil War were brought home and shot.

Stalin banished his wife’s sister to a concentration camp for writing her memoirs.  During and after World War II he supervised the disappearance of some three million Jews in Russia, the Baltic States, and Soviet-controlled Poland.  At the time of Stalin’s death, he was planning the systematic extermination of every Jew in the Soviet Union.

But Stalin’s terror will pale in comparison to that of the anti-Christ.

The anti-Christ is known as the desolator (Daniel 9:27), that man of sin (II Thessalonians 2:2-3), the vile person (Daniel 11:21), the Assyrian [ruthless one] (Isaiah 10:5-12), the bloody and deceitful man (Psalm 5:6)…just to name a few of his personality traits.

But, glory be to God, before the anti-Christ comes on the scene, we as believers will be raptured into glory.  Rather than be in the presence of the anti-Christ, we will be in the presence of the true and living Christ! Indeed, it is wonderful to be a Christian

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Pray daily for God’s power to witness to others.

      ✞Stay lovingly strong in these last days.

Every Knee Shall Bow

Bible Reading:  Romans 14:1-12
          

Key Verse: Verse 11 – “ For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
         

Key Words:  every knee shall bow to me

Paul was pointing out to these Roman Christians that everyone must give an account to God.  Even those who were judging others would one day bow and be judged.  For me, just to think of standing before Jesus is a humbling thing.  It reminds me of an illustration I read taken from The King’s Business.

“A number of prominent literary men were assembled in a room in London.  The conversation veered to a discussion of some of the great men of the past.  One man asked, ‘Gentlemen, what would we do if suddenly Milton entered the room?’

‘Ah,’ replied another, ‘we would give him a standing ovation.’ 

‘And,’ said another, ‘if Shakespeare entered?’

‘We would rise and crown him master of the literary world.’ 

“And another said, ‘If Jesus entered, what would we do?’ 

‘I think,’ said Charles Lamb amid an intense silence, ‘we would fall on our faces!’”

Certainly you must agree with me that, to stand before Jesus will be a humbling experience; for certainly He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Friend, have you ever humbled yourself before Jesus and asked Him to be your Savior?  Would you do so today?

He who bows before Jesus as his Savior need not worry about bowing before Him as his judge at the Great White Throne.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Have you ever thought about…I mean, really thought about, standing before Jesus?  Think about it.  One day we all will.

✞If you are not saved, accept Christ today.

Are You Ready?

 
Bible Reading:  I Thessalonians 4
      

Key Verse: Verse 16  – “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
      

Key Words:  the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 

The promise of the Lord’s return can be found throughout the Word of God.  John 14:1-3 says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”  Acts 1:11 promises, “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”  Revelation 1:7 tells us, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so, Amen.”  Many other verses also teach us that the Lord is coming again. 

The question is, are we ready if the Lord should return today?

A tourist was exploring the sights of Lake Como in Northern Italy and came upon a beautiful castle called the “Villi Asconiti.”  Feeling brave, he pushed open the gate and went inside.  To his delight everything was beautiful.  Flowers were blooming in rainbow colors.  The shrubbery was luxuriously green and magnificently pruned to precision.  Over to the side, the man noticed a gardener on his hands and knees clipping nearly every blade of grass.  The man asked, “May I look at the garden?” 

“You’re welcome to come in, and I’m glad to have you as a guest.”

The man began to tour the grounds and asked the gardener, “Is the owner here today?”

The gardener replied, “Oh no, he’s away.”

“When was the last time you saw him?” he asked.

“Oh, I’ve never really seen him,” said the gardener, “but he promised he would come back.” 

The tourist could not believe his ears. “But you have everything so beautiful. It looks as if he’s coming tomorrow.” 

“Could be today,” replied the gardener. “That’s the reason I keep his garden so beautiful.” 

Every child of God should live that way -- as if Christ is coming back today.

Someone has said, “We should be living as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back this afternoon.”  He is coming again, and I believe soon.  Are you ready?

                                                                                   Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Live everyday as if it were the day the Lord is returning.

✞Always be doing what you want to be doing when the Lord returns.

✞Never be where you would not want to be if the Lord were to return today.

Stability

Bible Reading:  Revelation 1:1-7

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

Key Words: Blessed

There is a promise found inside the book of Revelation.  To the one who reads the Book, hears the Book, and keeps the Book, the Word of God says that man will be blessed (verse 3).  The blessing, I believe, is the joy and stability of knowing and understanding that God is still in control, even in these last days.

The day in which we are living is challenging to us as believers, and yet the Lord said in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

It does not take a college degree to understand that knowing God brings stability in chaotic times.  The simple can understand it.  The learned can understand it.  All it takes is for the Almighty God to give us that understanding.

One day, a man who loved the book of Revelation, and had no theological training, was criticized and ridiculed by a much wiser theologian who said, “You don’t understand that book.  It’s an enigma, a puzzle -- nobody can understand it.” 

The lover of the book of Revelation responded, “I understand it.” 

“Oh yeah,” came the reply.  “What does it mean?” 

The man thought for a second and then responded proudly, “Why, it means we win.”

Jean Francois Gravelet was a great tightrope walker.  In fact, on June 30, 1859, he was the first man to cross the Niagara River on a tightrope.  Someone asked him how he managed to cross without falling.  He said, “Look on the other side in the direction to which you are walking.  Do you see that silver star?  I placed it there, and I never take my eyes off of it.  I put my eyes on that star, and I walk toward it.  That gives me stability.”

Jesus Christ is our bright and morning star. Keep your eyes on Him during these last days, and He will give you that stability as well.

                                                                              Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Focus on the Lord and His work.

✞Occupy until He comes.

✞Pray for your lost loved ones.