Post by Betty on Mar 2, 2008 6:35:50 GMT -5
Standing Before Jesus
If you really think about life long enough you realize that all that matters is one thing--what happens when you stand before the Judge Himself, Jesus Christ.
There are two groups that meet Him--the saved and the lost. If you know the Lord, this message may be the most important you will ever hear!
Please open to I Peter 3:10-11 as we learn what God says really matters in life. Listen to the voice of that wizened old fisherman, with a glowing heart of hope and joy--named Peter. He is speaking to us by the power of God's Spirit.
2 Peter 3:10-11 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
In the not too distant future, God is going to invade His world. Last time He did it disguised as a baby, and He died a sacrificial death for the sin of the world. This time He is not going to hide. That invasion is called Christ's Second Coming. At Christ's return everyone will be seen for what they really were.
"When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks onto the stage the play is over.
God is going to invade, all right, but what is the good of saying you're on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else--something it never entered your head to conceive--comes crashing in; something so beautiful to us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left?
For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love, or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side.
There is no use saying you choose to lie down, when it's become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realize it or not.
Now, today, in this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever; we must take it or leave it ."
For believers that exposure to that revelation of what we really were takes place earlier.
It is called Christ's Judgment Seat or Bema Seat. Are you ready? Our future is all about little choices we make that reveal what we really are in the sight of God.
Open with me to Romans 14:10b-12
". . . For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."
What will matter when you stand alone right in front of Jesus? What do you wish to have in your hands to give to the One who loved you and gave Himself for you? What ever that is -- that is what we need to live for TODAY!
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