Apostles' Creed - pt. 8

John Chapter 3 is where you can sit and park for a few minutes

John 3 · chapter mention

and we'll get there soon enough. Kayla's got Boxer going.

Thank you Kayla, Do we have any extra copies of the Apostles

Creed? I kept printing them.

I kept passing them out, I think.

You know, we're just saying that your dog was eating it at that

point, so I didn't print anymore.

Mom, you have an extra, OK, Who needs a copy of the Apostles

Creed? Pass it to the back row, please.

What we can also do is we can put it in Boxer.

If somebody can do a yeah, somebody wants to do a quick

Google search and just drop the Apostles Creed in our Boxer chat

and then everybody can have it there too.

That would help. So of course, our series, we've

been using the Apostles Creed to study the scriptures.

I can't do two things at once. If I try and talk to you and

look for the book of the Bible that I'm going to, I just flip

back and forth endlessly, like not knowing where I'm going,

what I'm doing. I have to stop and go.

Where am I going, John, Chapter 3, Get there.

John 3 · chapter mention

Now you can talk to the church again, OK.

So we're using the Apostles Creed to study the scriptures

and we've talked a lot about what the Apostles Creed is and

what it isn't. It's not the Bible, but it

teaches us the Bible. It summarizes doctrine.

It also helps us to preach the gospel.

It's a helpful wait, I don't know what to say.

I don't know what to do. Well, these are important

Christian staples to be able to say God created everything.

God Almighty is the creator of heaven and earth.

So as we go through and we look through the Creed, we see that

the Trinity is present. We see that the gospel

presentation is present. We see past.

Present and future. Everything's represented, so

it's a solid place. It's a solid piece to to fight

nonsensical doctrines to bring unity among the Church and

throughout the Body of Christ, throughout the world.

And throughout the past couple couple thousand years, 1500

years or so, the Church has used the Body of Christ.

There are congregations just like us all throughout the world

who every time they gather, they recite the Apostles Creed

together. So this is a joyful thing and

and we should do it joyfully. We should we should say it loud,

we should say it proud. I've definitely been a part of

churches where you know, we're reciting the Creed, but I don't

know if we're really thinking about it.

And that's the that's the risk you run when you do anything

over and over and over. The Lord's Prayer.

Like, I know it, so I'm saying it, but to make sure I'm praying

and connecting and not just being a parrot, you know, we can

teach birds to say stuff. But it doesn't do anything.

It's not moving anything. So we want to make sure that

we're actually engaging and that takes some deliberate effort and

that's an important work. So why we want to prepare

ourselves for worship? This is a quick sidebar.

This was totally free before you.

This is why a lot of times, even your Saturday night is a great

time to start. Lord, prepare my heart for

worship in the morning. And then Sunday morning, Lord

prepare me for worship. And then to show up to church

service early. And to have moments to to pray,

to have moments to sit and talk with the Saints, to have moments

to be together where you're able to just continue to marinate in

the presence of the Lord. We're not rushing in or rushing

out, but as we do that, we joyfully, we proudly, we loudly

recite the creed. What else do we see here?

What else do we say about the Creed?

Well, we see in the Creed where we where we come to today, we're

looking at from there. He will come to judge the living

in the dead. That's the phrase that we're at

in the Creed. We're looking at Jesus's

judgment of the living and the dead.

It's interesting though, everything else we've seen in

the Creed up until this point has been past tense.

Everything else has already happened.

I believe in God The Father Almighty is the creator of

heaven and earth. Jesus Christ is only Son, our

Lord. He was conceived by the Holy

Spirit. He was born of the Virgin Mary.

He did suffer under Pontius Pilate.

He was crucified. He died and was buried.

This is history. This happened.

It's significant. This is where history turned.

But it all happened. Now We come into something.

It hasn't happened yet. It's not even a present tense

moment. It's going to come.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe farther.

But he will come to judge the living and the dead.

So this is what we're giving our emphasis on today.

This isn't necessarily exciting news.

This is sobering news. We've had some good news,

exciting news to share throughout the creed, but now

we're saying this is sobering news.

And that's OK because Christians are supposed to be a sober

people. It's not the same thing as a

somber people, but we are to be a sober people.

We're also to be a joyful people.

So what are we joyful about, where we're joyful about the

entirety of who our God is? We're not ashamed of of one part

of him. We're not like God is good, but

we want to kind of keep that part secret from you.

We would rather you not know this about him yet.

Like there's 95% stuff about the Lord that we would love to tell

you. Don't worry about that 5%.

And that's what a lot of times we have made a mistake in doing.

That's why you'll often hear me use this quote.

It's a true statement, but it's incomplete, and I think it's

deliberately incomplete. God loves you.

God has a wonderful plan for your life.

So just come on in. Come on into the Kingdom that

was true. That wasn't the whole truth.

And the whole truth is important.

And we got nothing to be ashamed of.

We got nothing to hide. Everything about God is good and

right and holy. And it's not fair to even invite

someone if we're not even giving them the opportunity to count

the cost, which is what Jesus commands that everyone does

before they begin to build this house.

So if we're going to come to Christ, we have to actually know

who Christ is. You know, if we're going to if,

if Natalie's going to marry me, which thankfully she did, then

we got married again yesterday, right?

Every anniversary I'm like today we get married, we get married

it again. So if we're going to get

married, it's not right for me to just say, hey, I love you.

Like, well, that's great. That's an important

prerequisite. But there's more to it.

She wants to know who this person is.

So in the same way we want to give people the entirety of who

God is, let them know. Who he is in his fullness, and

the Creed helps to do that. The Creed doesn't just say Jesus

died for your sins. The end.

There's more tooth than that. He's coming to judge the living

and the dead. So we're joyful even about God's

judgment. Why?

Because like his mercy and his grace, his judgment also reveals

his goodness. Goodness is not to be confused

with softness. Goodness is not to be confused

with niceness. We don't proclaim the niceness

of God. We don't proclaim the the

softness of God. We proclaim the goodness of God.

God is good. Why?

Because God is a judge and because he does judge all things

rightly. So you're in John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

I'm there with you. John chapter 3, verse 16, again

John 3:16

another the the most. Famous verse in the Bible and I

think it should be. I think it's great.

I think it's an important summary.

But 17/18/1920 and 21 are also here and sometimes they get

forgotten for God so love the world that he gave his only son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish but have

eternal life. Praise God.

We give it a hearty yes and Amen.

And we continue though because Jesus wasn't finished talking.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the

world. Yes, also good news.

But in order that the world might be saved through him,

whoever believes in him is not condemned.

So far so good. But whoever does not believe in

him is condemned already. Hey, still so far so good,

because he is not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the judgment. The light has come into the

world. And people love the darkness

rather than the light because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does

not come to the light, lest his work should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light so that it

may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in

God. So when I say that we are joyful

even about the judgment of God because it reveals his goodness,

what does that mean? Why is judgment good?

Well, we've said before, if a judge just dismisses everything.

And every wicked thing that happens, we don't consider him

to be a good judge. We say, well, you're not

bringing justice. Goodness has a sense of justice.

So This is why we can answer the the question.

Sometimes it's a good faith question, sometimes it's just an

ignorant question. Well, if God is God and He is,

why can't he just say, hey, y'all it's okay?

Well, fair enough. It's because He's perfectly holy

and he can have no fellowship with darkness or sin.

So if you want restoration, if you want salvation, if you want

to be in fellowship with him, you have to be change, transform

and redeem. Well, how can that happen?

Well, because justice exists. Because God exists.

And He's perfectly just. There's a system where that has

to happen. So you either have to suffer.

The problem is, you'll never suffer enough eternity and you

won't pay back your debt. So now what I'm doing right?

Yes. Except you're going to love this

part. God is so good that he became a

man. A sinless, perfect man and he

took the punishment for your sin.

It's ridiculous. It's love, it's grace, and you

can receive it through faith. That's how it works.

And it's and it's just crazy good.

You're already condemned. We're already standing

condemned. Why?

Well, because we haven't responded to the sun.

We were born as sinners. The Scripture plainly teaches

us. And this is what Jesus is

confirming. Again, whoever believes in him

and verse 18 is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is

condemned already. It's not even something that's

going to happen. It's default setting is

condemned. But by faith in the grace of

God, we get to opt out and we get to step into his mercy for

us. So remember, he is merciful, he

is kind, and he wants everyone to be saved through his son.

But because of the holiness of God and the sacrifice that the

Lord Jesus made, God would not be good if he said you didn't

believe in my son. That's okay.

Why? Because if he did that, then

Jesus died for nothing. Chris needed to respond to the

grace of God through Jesus, but I didn't.

Well then why did Jesus have to die?

If anybody can make it without Christ, then everybody should be

able to make it without Christ. So Christ's sacrifice is

worthless. We know that's not true.

We know that's not the case. So the judge is going to say no,

you've got to come through the innocent one.

There is no other way. Jesus also confirmed this.

No one gets to the Father except through me.

So why is there judgment? There's judgment because God is

good. Turn to the right in your Bible.

Go to Second Timothy. Second Timothy.

This is a letter that Paul wrote to Timothy.

Probably the the final letter that Paul wrote.

He's in prison. When he's writing all this.

He's, you know, getting ready to face Nero at some point going

all the way up appealed. You know he appeals to the the

emperor of Rome and he's writing his letters.

He's encouraging the church and he's giving this charge.

He's writing to Timothy, Second Timothy, Chapter 4.

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

This is a a passage that I read most, most times before I get

into the pulpit. I read this to scare myself, to

wait myself, to make me more afraid of God than I'm afraid of

you. That might surprise you, but

that is a temptation for for every pastor I've ever talked to

is fearing the people. And I say man, some some pastors

seem bold or Jim uncle, you seem really bold well.

I have flesh. I'm just a man and I have

temptations and I have fears. I go, will she take this the

wrong way? Is he going to think that this

is, you know, so all those kinds of things are very human and

very normal, but this is a very healthy place for a pastor to

come to and go. This is a good thing to to scare

me back into obedience to the Lord and love for you rather

than fear of you. Chapter 4, verse one, I charge

you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge

the living and the dead. And by His appearing and His

Kingdom, preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of

season, Reprove rebuke and exhort with complete patience in

teaching. We won't continue the passage

there. It's all very good.

But what is the charge that he's giving?

The charge is to preach the word.

But how does he wait it on the front end?

I charge you. What is the weight that he's

putting on it? For Timothy, I charge you in the

presence of God and of Christ Jesus.

He's like, OK, and the presence of God knows Christ Jesus.

It sounds weighty, sounds impressive.

Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, Which is

exactly where the Creed takes the quote from from Scripture.

This is the exact verse where the Creed says Jesus is coming

to judge the living and the dead.

We get it right here from First Timothy.

From Second Timothy, chapter 4, verse one, he is to judge the

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

living and the dead. And by his appearing and by his

Kingdom he's saying let me dump, let me dump 15 tons on top of

you, Timothy. Because of this you better do

this. Because of this you should this

and he's giving him the correction.

Be faithful no matter what you face, no matter what it costs.

What's happening here, What do we see is really going to happen

And we'll and I'll continue to show this to you and prove it to

you in other verses as well. But we see that Jesus is

actually going to come and judge.

Jesus is going to judge. What does that mean?

He's going to consider. That means he is going to

determine. He's going to determine and he's

going to assess and he's going to do it for apparently for

Timothy. So if, if that, if Timothy's

included, should I be excluded it was this something unique for

Timothy? No.

No we don't just we don't just take first and second Timothy

and go, well that wasn't written to me.

We don't do that with any book of the Bible.

We said yes it was written to a people and a place and a time

and that would include us. Did it have a context?

It did. And does it apply to me?

Oh it does. So he is coming to judge

everybody. He will assess all of us.

We will all be assessed Christians and non Christians

alike will be assessed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Earth and sky, the scripture tells us we'll try to flee from

the face of God, but there will be nowhere found for them during

the judgment. So this is, this is the

impression of, like, you got a million people running that way,

and you're going this way, and they all seem to be running in

terror and panic. You like it.

It should give you pause. Like maybe I should.

I don't know why they're running, but I'm convinced, you

know, like I'm persuaded I ought to just turn and go with them.

It seems like whatever is in that direction.

Is not anything I want a part of right now.

Earth and Sky will seek to flee from his face, but nowhere will

be found for them. I don't know how Earth and Sky

are going to go. Where do we?

Where could you go to escape his presence?

And this is the isolating moment that every human being who has

ever lived will have before the judge, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God has a wonderful plan for your life.

He does. He loves you.

And you can be safe in the sun. And yet even Christians saved

and secured by the blood of Jesus will be assessed by the

Lord Jesus Christ. I'll keep clarifying.

Some of you are already going. Are you talking about the OR

what about? We'll get into some of that.

I'm not going to in this message.

I'm not going to get into the timeline of the judgment or even

the how of all of it. I'm going to give you in this

message more of the what and the why with the time that we have

left. So heaven or earth and sky are

going to try and flee away. But we'll be standing there with

the judge. And in that moment, all of our

excuses that we use in life on earth, they won't feel as strong

as they used to when earth and sky are panicking behind us and

trying to run away from His presence and all the other

billions of people who have ever been created or somewhere set

aside and we're having our moment in the court.

All those excuses that I used. I don't think I'll be reaching

in my pockets for him. I don't think I'll be like,

well, I've got something for you.

I don't. I don't suspect that I'll feel

any of that. I think this is one of those

moments of the scripture. Decide describes where the

temptation will be. That you will say to the

mountains cover us and you'll say to the earth.

Let me hide under you. And the earth says I'm out of

here. I, I I don't want to be a part

of this moment. I don't want to be judged.

I haven't done anything wrong. Says the earth in the sky.

All those times where you know I tried to convince Natalie that

she was wrong when really it was my sin.

You know, or I've done that. I've made excuses for somebody

else's, Well, they or I was tired, or I had had a bad well,

like, I've got these reasons, OK?

Like, I won't be doing that with Jesus.

He will assess and I will give an account for every word that

I've ever spoken. Man, this is weighty.

Am I saved? Am I saved?

Well, I don't know. Are you?

If you are, then you are. And yet the church will still be

assessed and judged. There will be obedience.

That will be judged and assessed.

So a lot of times the thought is well, I I don't care about that

as long as I'm in. And that is a foolish and

immature and unloving approach to take to the Lord.

I don't care about that. As long as I'm in I I'm not

going to have any fear of the Lord.

As long as like I don't have to go to hell.

Well, the best way to prepare for eternal fellowship with the

Lord would be fellowship with the Lord now.

So the more that I can actually live with him and for him now,

like, why do you think if you don't want to live in holiness

now, why do you think you would want to?

Then what? What is this persuasion that we

have where it's like, man, how can I get in by the skin of my

teeth as long as I'm in? Like, do you believe that that's

a heart that would actually even enjoy the presence of the Lord?

Does that seem, do those things seem to come together?

Like, how do I I want to marry you, Natalie, but like, I don't

want to, like, live with you or spend time with you or any of

that stuff. As long as we're, like, married.

Why then? Well, I'm.

I'm really just trying to use you for some particular

advantage. Lord, I really just want, like,

I know eternity's a long time. I know hell is super hot.

It's super uncomfy. So I really like to just be in

with you. And the Lord's going, I don't

know that you would. I don't know that you would want

to be with me, actually. Do you want to be with me now?

Not so much, but later for sure. Like, let me in.

I don't know that that that's the kind of heart that actually

would even enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Because that heart doesn't enjoy the presence of the Lord now.

So Jesus is going to judge the living and the dead, all of our

old excuses. They will not feel strong, they

will not satisfy, and they certainly won't matter.

So if I'm the kind of person who's never guilty, and if it's

always somebody else's fault, it most definitely won't be that

way that day. And I want to look at something

else here because I told you that the Apostle's Creed is

practical. It's not just I need to know

stuff. It's these things lead to

something. What is this lead for?

What is Paul making the argument for?

Get to Timothy. Hey, hey, because of all this,

what do we do? We preach the word Because of

his appearance? Because of his Kingdom.

Preach the word of God. Timothy.

Preach. Be ready in season and out of

season. That means at all times, I'm

always ready to tell the truth about God's good news, about his

word. I will reprove, I'll rebuke and

I'll exhort with complete patience in teaching.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound

teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for

themselves teachers to suit their own passions.

I like that. I like the way they said that.

I bet you did. It suits your passions.

I just like the way that they put it.

Well, did they put it biblically well?

I don't know about that, but I like their it's a new take.

Well, you should run away. That's super scary.

You want old takes, old takes, or good takes.

Typically, people having itching ears they'll accumulate for

themselves, teachers to suit their own passions.

They will all and will turn away from listening to the truth and

wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober

minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, and

fulfill your ministry. So we are charged because of the

judgment that's coming. We are charged.

We're commanded. We are waited, We are

authorized, and we are sent in view of something because of

something, because of his coming, because of his Kingdom.

Christian doctrine is practical. This is logical.

It leads to the action of preaching the Word of God and

making disciples. The coming judgment should

encourage, it should embolden, and it should move you to act.

If we really believed in heaven and hell, if we really believed

that Jesus was even going to judge and assess the church,

would it lead us to new action? Would it cause me to live

differently? I've been deeply convicted, even

in the preparation of this sermon.

Even as I'm being reminded, I'm like, I feel like I forgot this

stuff. I knew this stuff, but I wasn't

believing this stuff. I knew about the judgment, but I

wasn't believing in the judgment.

And when I'm believing again, I'm going, what does it do?

It makes me humble. It makes me humble again.

Even yesterday, even this morning, on the way to service,

I was telling Nadler, I was like, hey, you know, yesterday

we were driving. I was getting ready to make fun

of this situation. There was something happening on

the side of the road and I was getting ready to point it out.

And just like, Nope, just, it was we were going to have a

laugh at somebody else's expense.

And I was like, I don't want to answer for that.

I don't want to. I don't want Jesus to go, So

tell me, you know. So here, let's reassess this day

where this happened. Can we stop the tape, please?

It's one moment that I got spared of.

Why? Because I was remembering that

the judgment is coming. That's what kept me from sin.

I was tempted and I remembered and believed.

And I said no thanks. Yeah, not worth it.

What? Because I believe.

I actually believe that this is going to happen.

And I actually believe I'm going to give an account for my words.

That's scary for somebody who talks for a living.

Lots of words. The scripture says where where

words are many, sin is not absent.

Like great. And I have to preach.

Yes. Oh OK.

So the coming judgment causes us to act differently.

It causes us to behave differently, and it fills us

with compassion. It fills us with mercy.

It doesn't make us eager to tell people you'll be judged.

It makes us humble. To go.

I'll be judged. And then yes, it also leads us

to boldness to say, hey guys, FYI, same team here in one

sense, like we're all going to face the king.

Same team, I'm with you. I'm for you.

But whether I'm a believer or not, whether you're whether

you're a believer and I'm an unbeliever, whatever the case

may be, we're all going to be assessed.

The, the judgment and the outcomes are different, most

definitely. But everyone will face the Lord

Jesus Christ. Go to Acts Chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Turn to your left in your Bible. Still in the New Testament.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Give us accounts of the Gospel

of Jesus's life. And then the book of Acts really

gives us a Hey, here's what happened from the Ascension all

the way for multiple years as churches are planted and the

gospel is spreading. We're in Acts, chapter 17, verse

Acts 17:30

30. So here in Acts 1730, what you

have going on, If you want to take a quick glance up at verse

22, this is Paul. He's addressing the men of the

Iropagus. Is that the how to pronounce

that? Just generally, just stay with

confidence and people believe you.

But Paul's standing in the midst of the all right, So what Verse

22, it is you convinced me, Verse 22, Men of Athens.

I perceive that in every way you're very religious.

So he's talking to this, this gathering of the thinkers.

These are the smart guys of the city.

These are the philosophers. They're they're always

entertaining new ideas, other religions, other perspectives.

And Paul's saying, hey guys, here's how I'm coming to talk to

you, and this is their first hearing of the gospel.

They've never heard anything Paul's saying, hey, I see you've

got all kinds of statues to different gods.

And so Paul's being wise, he's flanking them a bit and and he's

coming in, he's saying, I see you have a statue to the unknown

God. I'm here to speak on behalf of

the unknown God, the one that you're not familiar with, and

then he gets into it. Let's see the gospel

presentation that Paul brings to these guys.

And we're looking in verse 30 now.

The times of ignorance God overlooked.

But now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because he

has fixed, He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in

righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.

That man's name is Jesus everybody, and of this He has

given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

So. Paul, he he makes a few quick

points here, but I mean he's moments into his presentation

and he's saying, hey, here's the deal and God is going to judge

everybody and everything through his man who he actually raised

from the dead. There's a lot going on there.

One of the first things I want you to see though is Paul didn't

say God has a wonderful plan for your life.

Please come follow me. Come on, I'll teach you more.

That's not what happened. He the the the message about the

judgment is coming out right away in his presentation of the

gospel. Why?

Well, because the gospel isn't really good news if you don't

already know that. There's bad news if you already

think that everything's amazing and wonderful.

My life is just a bowl of ice cream and the gospel's a little

cherry on top. You.

You've misunderstood. Your life is toxic poison and

waste, and it has to be totally annihilated and replaced with a

new life and a new creation. That's the gospel.

Guy's not coming in to put a new put in some paint and carpet and

try and flip the house. He's saying this whole thing's

got to be torn down, but I'll rebuild it.

And I will somehow save you through it.

OK. And it's going to hurt.

OK, I'm in. I'm in because it's all better

than what I've got now. So he's addressing the men of

Athens for the first time ever. And he includes in his gospel

presentation, Repent, just like Jesus did when he began

preaching. Repent for the Kingdom of God is

at hand. Paul's also going out and

preaching. Repent.

Judgment is coming through Jesus.

This is just. Part of the message Nothing to

be ashamed of. Nothing that we have to back up

from the man. That part really stinks.

No, that part's really obvious. That part's really necessary.

And that part really makes the whole thing complete.

Without it, our story is illogical.

Without it, our story is dumb. Without it, the objections, the

nonsensical objections actually do make sense.

Because then when they go, why do I need it?

That reveals that we left something out.

Because I've seen it said many times, Jesus died for your sin.

I've seen people mock and say like, I wish he had asked me

first. You know, thinking that they're

clever, thinking they're funny. Well, what?

Something's been missed. They haven't heard the whole

story. Hey, bad news first.

You're doomed. Good news.

God loves you and you can be rescued and saved and

transformed entirely. But when we just come in, God

loves you. They're like, I know who doesn't

like? Well, HM What?

I don't know why they don't get it.

Well, give it to him. Faith comes by hearing the word.

That's their opportunity. Hearing the word.

It's not your persuasion. It's not you making assumptions

about what they will like and what they won't like.

It's not you thinking her past and his, his, his church hurt,

or all these other scenarios that you build up in your mind.

That's your own unbelief. That's not their unbelief.

That's your unbelief because you don't believe that the that the

gospel is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe.

So you actually believe the word of God enough to let people deal

with the word of God, and let the Holy Spirit deal with people

through it. And you say this is the truth,

and let them laugh at the foolishness of the preaching.

Let them say this is dumb or let them go.

Huh. I'll have to hear you again.

Which is what the the men of Athens do when they heard verse

32, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead.

Some mocked. Of course they did.

Some mocked. They they wouldn't believe, but

others said. We'll hear you again about this.

So some said what you had me tell the resurrection of the

dead. Some dead guys come back to

life. Get out of here.

Others said I'm listening. We'll come back tomorrow.

We'll keep talking. So Paul went out from their

midst. But some, a third group, but

some men joined him and believed.

Among whom were that guy and that guy that from that place

and a woman named Demaryius and others with them.

You got the mockers. Get out of here.

You got the huh? I'll keep thinking about it.

And then you got the I believe. I believe.

Why? Because the word of God is the

power. It's not that Paul was super

perfect in anything that he did. It's that the Holy Spirit is

actually alive and active through the Word of God, which

is alive and active, which is sharper than any two edges sword

able to divide between my soul and my spirit.

And clarify and separate and show me my sin, show me God's

goodness and actually gift me, gift me.

Even the faith that I needed to believe, I couldn't believe

before until you, Christian came up and shared the word of God

with me. And when you did that, you

didn't just put something in my brain when you shared the word

of God with me, The Holy Spirit, through your words, which were

the word of God, put in my faith, put in my heart this the

seed of faith, and said this is a gift from God.

What are you going to do with it?

And I can go get that out of here, or I can go, I believe.

And then a root come sprouts out of that seed.

I've got a lot of growing to do. But in that moment, faith comes.

Faith comes from hearing the word of God.

This is why it's our responsibility to actually do

something with what we with what we believe, with what we say we

believe. It will actually lead to action.

Another thing I want you to see here is notice how the

resurrection isn't something that Paul is seeking to prove.

He's seeking to prove the future judgment by the fact that the

resurrection has already happened.

You don't need to prove the resurrection to anybody either.

You need to talk about the resurrection as an established

past tense event, because it is Jesus was raised from the dead

and that proves everything else that's coming.

How do you know? Well, because I believe that's

not how it works. Except that it is.

And except that it did happen. And it is real.

And the judge is coming. So Paul doesn't, he doesn't

spend his time like, hey guys, trust me on this resurrection

thing. And here's 14 points to prove

it. He's like, the resurrection is

is that's just finished. And now I need you to trust me

on the coming judgment. I need you to trust me on the

later thing because the resurrection has proven it.

And that's his argument. He's coming to judge the whole

world. How do you know?

Because he raised that man from the dead, and that man's going

to judge everybody. The man who was raised in the

dead, he's the one who will give an account.

The innocent one. The one who's innocent.

The one who paid for all my sins.

Joe Michael, I saved you. I saved you.

And after I saved you, this happened.

I paid for all those sins I've got to face that I will face the

Lord Jesus Christ, and I will give an account for my life even

after he saved me. Perhaps This is why the

scripture says he's also going to wipe away all tears.

He won't condemn me. He won't reject me if I'm in

Christ, but I will be assessed. Second Corinthians, turn to your

right again. Second Corinthians, chapter 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Verse 10 and 11 is where I'm reading to you from verse sin.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so

that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in

the body, whether good or evil. The Corinthians.

Was Paul writing this letter to the Corinthian city at large, or

was he writing this to the Corinthian church?

It's not a trick question. Who is he writing to?

He was writing to the Corinthian church.

So Paul, a Christian writing to Corinthian Christians.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so

that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in

the body, whether good or evil. Some have made the emphasis that

this is called the reward seat of Christ, and they have

overemphasized the fact that, well, this is just where rewards

are handed out. But the scripture plainly says

each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the

body. Whether good or evil, what are

you saying? Well, there's still plenty of

mystery and still plenty of question mark, but there's still

plenty for me to go. I have pause, and I have fear of

the Lord because of it, not rejection of the Saints.

The Saints can't be rejected. They're the Saints.

They've been rescued and redeemed.

They're secure, settled. The end.

And yet there's still an assessment and an

accountability. So This is why, again, we don't

want to make excuses for our sins.

This leads us to live differently now.

It makes me assess. It makes me want to walk in more

holiness. Well, love is what motivates me.

Not fear of judgment. You know, because perfect love

casts out fear, because fear has to do with judgment, right?

So we're we're afraid of something, and that's the wrong

kind of motivation. And yet.

The scriptures also tell us This is why we don't just live our

lives off of 1 verse that we stuck on the refrigerator.

We take the whole of scripture and we say yes and also yes and

also yes. All of God's word is true.

All of God's word is relevant. All of God's word is helpful.

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

So this is where those with their names written in the Lambs

book of life will give an account.

And the question still for the Saints is usually wait.

Am I going to go to hell at that moment?

Well, the question still remains.

Do you love the Lord Jesus? Do you believe in Him?

Is he in your heart? And you know he's in your heart

not because you repeated something like a bird could do,

like I said, but if he's in your mind, if you have a desire to

obey him, are there fruits of the Lord in your life?

Well, if you're born again, you're born again.

So of course you don't go to hell.

You're a new creation. You're redeemed.

The Saints will not be judged like the unbelievers are.

Because the sins of the Saints are under the blood of Jesus,

but Christians will give an account for their obedience in

life. If you are actually in Christ,

then he's not going to damn you, but you are still accountable to

him, Christian. And this shouldn't be a foreign

concept. My sons, they know.

At no point are they at risk of being kicked out of my family.

They know that. And yet do they still honor and

fear their father? Do they still respect their

father? Do they still know that they

face accountability to me? Of course, both and yes, also,

but they're they don't expect it any day.

I'm going to go. That's it.

That's it. You're out of here.

Go to the woods like this isn't your home anymore.

Like, Natalie's tempted, but I'm not.

I'm holier than her, so I won't let it happen.

Boys, you're safe with Daddy. You're welcome.

So in the same way, this is where sometimes we have this

thinking we're like, wait. If there's any kind of

assessment is it if there's any kind of accountability, of

course we're accountable to our king.

He sends us on mission, he gives, he has expectations.

He has put his entire Kingdom in our hands and he says go and do

something with it and we expect that there will be no follow up.

We're not going to have any kind of debrief after when the

meeting when the when the whole project was finished.

We just get to have to go, Come on in, We're partying for

attorney Woohoo. So I don't have to answer for

like my total life of obedience on the earth.

This is awesome. This is kind of cool, is it?

Does that seem like an orderly way to run things even?

Like, it's not even a follow up. Like everybody does that.

Hey, here's how we're following up.

At the end of the work day, the sports team finishes up and says

what went well, what didn't go well.

But we're serving the almighty God.

We just getting and goes. Whatever's happened, happened,

man. Just come on in.

There's an assessment, there's a clarifying and yes, there is

reward that goes along with it. Saints are rewarded.

But things will be given, and things will be removed.

But that's not heaven and hell. What are those things?

We don't exactly know, but we know they're going to matter.

We know we're going to care. And I know my love for Jesus

motivates me beyond even the rewards of the things that could

be given or taken away. The thing I care about most is

displeasing Jesus because he loves me and because he loves

you. And I don't want to displease

him. And I don't want to have to face

these things again. Sin that I already lived through

once. Disobedience.

Lukewarmness. Whatever it may be, living it

once was enough. So Saints will not be judged

like the unbelievers. Christians are secure, but

Christians are also accountable to Christ.

Duh. Final verse, go to Revelation

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20, very back of your Bible.

So I told you I wouldn't get too much into the how.

I'll give you just a little bit. It seems as though they're there

are two separate judgments. Jesus is going to judge the

living and the dead. And at the same time there is

what the scripture calls the great White throne judgment.

And again, like you guys hear me say with a lot of things, I

think sometimes people. Give themselves way too much

credit for how accurate they are.

Maybe they're maybe they're totally right.

But I've I've got to just tell you what I see and what I'm

comfortable there's. I'll pound the pulpit on Jesus

going to judge the living and the dead.

I'll pound the pulpit on that. But all the details there's

there's definitely some questions for me on how it's

going to look and how it's going to work.

But it's a great white throne judgment.

Some say that the Saints won't be a part of it.

Some say that they will. The point is even if the Saints

are part of it, the Saints make it through it because they're

the Saints. So if your name's written in the

lands book of life, you make it through.

So is this the one judgment where it's all happening?

Is it 2 separate judgments? Is it that everybody's judgment

in the great white during judgment?

I don't know. I'm just again, Team Jesus is

always the safe place to be. Humble, loving, obedient.

Like that's always the right, that's always the right move.

You don't have to worry about it.

But in Revelation chapter 20, we have a picture now of this

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

judgment. Verse 11.

That's where I'm going to read to you from.

Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it

from his presence, earth and sky, fled away, and no place was

found for them. And I saw the dead, great and

small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Then another book was opened, which is the book of life, and

the dead were judged by what was written in the books according

to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead so

that everybody who's ever died and gone into the ocean, he's

just clarifying, like all these dead bodies, they gave up the

dead who were in it, death. And Hades gave up the dead who

were in them. So everyone is being drawn to

the throne. Everyone, wherever they've been,

however long they've been dead. This is a final judgment that's

taking place that Jesus is making.

So they've already been receiving the appropriate

punishment. It's not like he.

It's not like wait. Were they suffering?

They weren't supposed to. And now we're about to find out.

No. Remember who's running

everything. God.

He keeps perfect record and perfect books.

But this is the official trial. Death and Hades gave up the the

dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them,

according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown

into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the

lake of fire, and if anyone's name was not found, written in

the book of life. He was thrown into the lake of

fire. This reality should do a few

things. This should make us full of

humility. Do the Saints survive judgment?

Of course. The Saints are covered.

The Saints are children. The Saints are the sons.

But don't sons get assessed by their father?

Yes, they do get assessed. Do they get rewarded according

to their obedience? Yes, they do.

But this reality makes us full of humility.

It makes us full of repentance. It also makes us full of mercy

and it makes us full of grace and it also makes us full of

boldness and full of zeal. All of those things true at the

same time. I'm humbled before the Lord, so

now I go out with the right spirit as I share the word of

God. It's not with a finger pointing

anger saying I can't wait for you to get judged.

It's saying hey fear, the Lord respond to the Lord, He loves

you. But there is a judgment coming.

You can know that. There is, because there was a

resurrection that happened. The man who suffered for your

sins, he will hold you accountable for your sins.

That's right, isn't it? Isn't that perfect justice?

All that God does is good and right.

The one who is innocent, He carried everybody's sins.

Like it's not necessarily the end of the story.

He's still going to assess. Did you not receive my son?

Did you not believe in the name of Jesus?

No. OK, well if your sins haven't

been covered, then now they all have to be exposed and and you

will be judged according to all of them.

That's for the unbeliever. For the believer, there is an

assessment. There's an accountability.

Again, the details, I don't know how they look, but I know that

the scripture puts weight on the Saints.

The scripture puts weight and says because this is coming, you

should live differently. Now this is an encouragement to

us. This is a comfort to us.

Our God is good. Our God is perfect.

Our God secures those who love Him and those who love Him will

look like people who love Him. They will desire holiness now

because they'll want holiness later.

We're not going to suddenly become new, new again.

When we get to heaven. New creation happens right now.

New creation leads to fruit right now, and ultimately we

keep crucifying the flesh and we will mercifully be spared

because of the blood of Jesus. That's it.

We will be assessed and judged by obedience.

We'll be rewarded appropriately. But we will be rescued

ultimately, because we already have been through the work of

Jesus on the cross. This isn't workspace salvation,

but this is workspace reward system.

There are crowns to be gained, there is pleasure to be enjoyed,

and that's enough for us to trust and rest and act.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you

for your son Jesus. We know you're coming to judge

the living and the dead. All the details aren't the most

important thing. The most important thing to us

is we want to be pleasing to you.

We want to grow. We want to be more holy.

Not so that we can pat ourselves on the back, but because it's

what pleases you and it's what's right.

And the only thing you want to take from us anyway are the

things that are damaging and destroying us.

There's no good thing that you would withhold from us.

And everything we think that we're holding, that you're

asking us to lay down isn't good anyway.

Lord, continue to prune our hearts.

Help us to crucify our flesh. Guide our desires in the right

places. We look forward to Your return.

We look forward to the Eternal Kingdom.

Continue to set us apart for Your work.

Make us humble. Make repentance the daily marker

in our lives. Make boldness a daily marker in

our lives because we really love this world.

We love the people of this world and we want to see them rescued.

Like Paul, boldly declaring the truth because he cared for those

people that day. Help us to do the same thing in

view of your appearance and in your Kingdom.

We will preach the word, make us ready to do it at all times.

People have itching ears and they want to hear what they want

to hear. That's not our responsibility.

Our responsibility is to be faithful, to give them a chance.

By giving them the word of God. That's powerful.

Holy Spirit, you will do the work from there.

Keep working in us and we thank you for it all in Jesus name.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine down upon you and be gracious to

you. The Lord lift up his countenance

upon you and give you great peace in Jesus name.

Amen.