TEXT: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
THESIS: To show that the believer should not fear death or the Judgment Seat of Christ if he is doing his duty in the here and now.
INTRO.:
A. I have a message titled: “AS NOW – SO THEN.”
💥The thesis is that “YOUR PRESENT DETERMINES YOUR FUTURE.”
💥It deals with our work habits, our reputation and our testimony, and
💥how what we do when we are young determines how people perceive us when we get older.
💥In this message the idea is that our present spiritual state and conduct will determine our eternal home and rewards. Heaven is “A DESTINATION W/A MOTIVATION.”
B. The scope of these verses includes the 3 stages of the believer: our present ministry, our death and our eternal rewards.
I. OUR CONFIDENCE: V.6 & 8
A. Present: “…at home in the body…absent from the Lord” (Life)
ILLUS.: Believers can be found in one of two places: either in heaven or on the earth. None are in the grave, in hell or any other place, e.g., purgatory or limbo! Believers on earth are “absent from the Lord” and believers in heaven are “present with the Lord.”
1. Our life in the body – a temporary existence – our “tabernacle.” Cf. v.1
2. Our life on the earth – a temporary dwelling place – our “home away from home.”
Hebrews 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
ILLUS.: Every Dr. office, hospital, ambulance, funeral home and cemetery is a graphic testimony to the temporal state of every human being on planet earth. Scripturally, even the earth itself is viewed as temporary.
a. For the believer it means that as long as we are “at home” in the body we cannot be “at home” with the Lord, i.e., to experience the most intimate fellowship with Him possible.
b. Though He indwells us in the Person of the Holy Spirit, we are “absent from the Lord” in the sense that we are not in our permanent dwelling place, i.e., the promised mansions of glory.
B. Future: “…absent from the body…present with the Lord” (Death)
ILLUS.: 🔸Death is spoken of as the “last enemy” of the believer. How many of us have walked away from a casket or a funeral home or a graveside with hot, wet tears streaming down our cheeks? It doesn’t mean we have no hope beyond the grave, it simply means that we feel the absence of the person till we meet them again in glory land.
🔸We need to place the emphasis on the “presence” not the “absence.” That person who is absent from us is now “present with the Lord!” Think of it: “…present with the Lord.” The fact that heaven is the home of our loved ones ought to motivate us with a desire to join them there!
🔸“HEAVEN IS BOTH A DESTINATION AND A MOTIVATION!” Not only should it cause us to desire to go there, but to work here!
II. OUR CONDUCT: V.7 & 9
TRANS.: Paul not only teaches doctrine, he always connects it with duty! What God has done for us should motivate us to do something for Him!
A. Walking: (2 choices: faith or sight) v.7
1. Faith manifests our trust in the Lord for daily provision as well as eternal life.
2. Walking denotes action.
ILLUS.: 🔹One of my greatest fears as I grow older is that I will no longer be mobile, i.e., that a I will be confined to a wheelchair, or become a shut-in. I know God is able to use those who are so confined, but I also do not naturally look forward to the day when I can’t get around. I don’t fear death as much as I fear no longer being useful and used by the Lord.
🔹As a believer I need to continue to “walk” as long as I can to please Him (“the night cometh when no man can work”). I do that by trusting Him. Sad is the day the believer becomes immobile concerning his faith-walk!
a. The stunted (carnal) Christian walks only by sight: how much money he has, the comforts he enjoys, the possessions he has, etc.
b. The spiritual Christian walks by faith: what God can do through him, for him and to him.
ILLUS.:
The believer can live a life of...
😥 Fear - (not trusting the Lord),
✅ Fact - (living by his senses),
🤷♀️ Feeling - (living by emotions), or
👆 Faith - (living by trusting the Lord daily, knowing He is trustworthy & never fails).
👉 To walk by faith means that we hear no audible voice from heaven or from the Spirit, but walk in all the gloom of this present evil world with the Word & the Spirit as our guides and friends, our treasure and our light.
👉 Now we walk and live by faith; then we will walk and live by sight – for we shall see Him as He is!
Let’s be careful not to confuse the two.
B. Laboring: ( 1 opportunity) v.9
1. Paul wants to be accepted by the Lord whether in this temporary body or standing before the Lord.
2. If our doctrine is straight, we will not have a problem with duty!
3. If our eyes are on the Lord and not on this world, our labor will be for Him, laying up
treasures in heaven (our destination), now for our motivation…
III. OUR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION: v.10
A. Appearing: “…for we must all appear”
1. Now the believer appears “incognito” in this world; i.e., the world doesn’t recognize just who he is; then we will be seen in our imputed righteousness and glory.
2. We will soon receive a summons to appear before the “Judge of all the earth” – the Lord Jesus - at the Judgment Seat for believers.
a. The word “appear” literally means “manifested, disclosed, examined” i.e., we will be seen as we really are!
b. Praise the Lord the Examiner is our Redeemer Who has revealed His love for us on Calvary.
ILLUS.: Someone suggested that this is not a judicial judgment as much as it is a family gathering for the purpose of discipline and rewards for children in the family.
B. Receiving: “…may receive…good or bad”
1. Since our sins have all been paid for – in full – there is no way we will have to pay for them again.
2. It is obvious that the quality of our works after salvation are in view (cf. 1 Cor.3).
3. It appears that the discipline for the “bad” will be limited involvement in the Kingdom Govt. of our Savior in the Millennium (& beyond?).
4. The rewards will be based on the quality of the service we have performed: “gold, silver…”
5. What we will receive will be assignments of service in the future Kingdom as well as crowns for past service here on earth.
ILLUS.: Exam times are never entirely pleasant – unless you are sure of a positive outcome! If you have mastered the required material, you can rest easy. If not, it can be a time of great anxiety. The fact is we all really KNOW in our hearts if we are prepared or not. In THIS examination we also know that there will be no partiality shown nor any unjust decisions made. All will be 100% fair! No one will receive anything they do not deserve nor lack anything they have earned.
CONCL.:
✨“YOUR PRESENT DETERMINES YOUR FUTURE” in a very vital and real sense!
✨We will soon be “MOVING UP TO GLORY LAND!”
✨Which is “A DESTINATION WITH A MOTIVATION.”
✨The issue is what will we have when we get there?
✨The future of every believer is being determined in the present.
✨✨How are YOU doing?
THESIS: To show that the believer should not fear death or the Judgment Seat of Christ if he is doing his duty in the here and now.
INTRO.:
A. I have a message titled: “AS NOW – SO THEN.”
💥The thesis is that “YOUR PRESENT DETERMINES YOUR FUTURE.”
💥It deals with our work habits, our reputation and our testimony, and
💥how what we do when we are young determines how people perceive us when we get older.
💥In this message the idea is that our present spiritual state and conduct will determine our eternal home and rewards. Heaven is “A DESTINATION W/A MOTIVATION.”
B. The scope of these verses includes the 3 stages of the believer: our present ministry, our death and our eternal rewards.
I. OUR CONFIDENCE: V.6 & 8
A. Present: “…at home in the body…absent from the Lord” (Life)
ILLUS.: Believers can be found in one of two places: either in heaven or on the earth. None are in the grave, in hell or any other place, e.g., purgatory or limbo! Believers on earth are “absent from the Lord” and believers in heaven are “present with the Lord.”
1. Our life in the body – a temporary existence – our “tabernacle.” Cf. v.1
2. Our life on the earth – a temporary dwelling place – our “home away from home.”
Hebrews 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
ILLUS.: Every Dr. office, hospital, ambulance, funeral home and cemetery is a graphic testimony to the temporal state of every human being on planet earth. Scripturally, even the earth itself is viewed as temporary.
a. For the believer it means that as long as we are “at home” in the body we cannot be “at home” with the Lord, i.e., to experience the most intimate fellowship with Him possible.
b. Though He indwells us in the Person of the Holy Spirit, we are “absent from the Lord” in the sense that we are not in our permanent dwelling place, i.e., the promised mansions of glory.
B. Future: “…absent from the body…present with the Lord” (Death)
- The unbeliever sees death as the end.
- The believer sees death as a “moving” experience (!), i.e., “MOVING UP TO GLORY LAND!”
- All the unsaved see is the empty shell of a body in a casket at death.
- The believer sees the same empty shell, but realizes that the person who formerly lived at that address has changed locations.
ILLUS.: 🔸Death is spoken of as the “last enemy” of the believer. How many of us have walked away from a casket or a funeral home or a graveside with hot, wet tears streaming down our cheeks? It doesn’t mean we have no hope beyond the grave, it simply means that we feel the absence of the person till we meet them again in glory land.
🔸We need to place the emphasis on the “presence” not the “absence.” That person who is absent from us is now “present with the Lord!” Think of it: “…present with the Lord.” The fact that heaven is the home of our loved ones ought to motivate us with a desire to join them there!
🔸“HEAVEN IS BOTH A DESTINATION AND A MOTIVATION!” Not only should it cause us to desire to go there, but to work here!
II. OUR CONDUCT: V.7 & 9
TRANS.: Paul not only teaches doctrine, he always connects it with duty! What God has done for us should motivate us to do something for Him!
A. Walking: (2 choices: faith or sight) v.7
1. Faith manifests our trust in the Lord for daily provision as well as eternal life.
2. Walking denotes action.
ILLUS.: 🔹One of my greatest fears as I grow older is that I will no longer be mobile, i.e., that a I will be confined to a wheelchair, or become a shut-in. I know God is able to use those who are so confined, but I also do not naturally look forward to the day when I can’t get around. I don’t fear death as much as I fear no longer being useful and used by the Lord.
🔹As a believer I need to continue to “walk” as long as I can to please Him (“the night cometh when no man can work”). I do that by trusting Him. Sad is the day the believer becomes immobile concerning his faith-walk!
a. The stunted (carnal) Christian walks only by sight: how much money he has, the comforts he enjoys, the possessions he has, etc.
b. The spiritual Christian walks by faith: what God can do through him, for him and to him.
ILLUS.:
The believer can live a life of...
😥 Fear - (not trusting the Lord),
✅ Fact - (living by his senses),
🤷♀️ Feeling - (living by emotions), or
👆 Faith - (living by trusting the Lord daily, knowing He is trustworthy & never fails).
👉 To walk by faith means that we hear no audible voice from heaven or from the Spirit, but walk in all the gloom of this present evil world with the Word & the Spirit as our guides and friends, our treasure and our light.
👉 Now we walk and live by faith; then we will walk and live by sight – for we shall see Him as He is!
Let’s be careful not to confuse the two.
B. Laboring: ( 1 opportunity) v.9
1. Paul wants to be accepted by the Lord whether in this temporary body or standing before the Lord.
2. If our doctrine is straight, we will not have a problem with duty!
3. If our eyes are on the Lord and not on this world, our labor will be for Him, laying up
treasures in heaven (our destination), now for our motivation…
III. OUR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION: v.10
A. Appearing: “…for we must all appear”
1. Now the believer appears “incognito” in this world; i.e., the world doesn’t recognize just who he is; then we will be seen in our imputed righteousness and glory.
2. We will soon receive a summons to appear before the “Judge of all the earth” – the Lord Jesus - at the Judgment Seat for believers.
a. The word “appear” literally means “manifested, disclosed, examined” i.e., we will be seen as we really are!
b. Praise the Lord the Examiner is our Redeemer Who has revealed His love for us on Calvary.
ILLUS.: Someone suggested that this is not a judicial judgment as much as it is a family gathering for the purpose of discipline and rewards for children in the family.
B. Receiving: “…may receive…good or bad”
1. Since our sins have all been paid for – in full – there is no way we will have to pay for them again.
2. It is obvious that the quality of our works after salvation are in view (cf. 1 Cor.3).
3. It appears that the discipline for the “bad” will be limited involvement in the Kingdom Govt. of our Savior in the Millennium (& beyond?).
4. The rewards will be based on the quality of the service we have performed: “gold, silver…”
5. What we will receive will be assignments of service in the future Kingdom as well as crowns for past service here on earth.
ILLUS.: Exam times are never entirely pleasant – unless you are sure of a positive outcome! If you have mastered the required material, you can rest easy. If not, it can be a time of great anxiety. The fact is we all really KNOW in our hearts if we are prepared or not. In THIS examination we also know that there will be no partiality shown nor any unjust decisions made. All will be 100% fair! No one will receive anything they do not deserve nor lack anything they have earned.
CONCL.:
✨“YOUR PRESENT DETERMINES YOUR FUTURE” in a very vital and real sense!
✨We will soon be “MOVING UP TO GLORY LAND!”
✨Which is “A DESTINATION WITH A MOTIVATION.”
✨The issue is what will we have when we get there?
✨The future of every believer is being determined in the present.
✨✨How are YOU doing?