Sermon - October 15-16, 2011

WELCOME & acknowledge other campuses.

Reminder of why we are doing the series.

Do a short review of the sermons in the series.

PRAYER

Heaven matters now…

Because what we do in life echoes in eternity.

The first time I really came to grips with this idea was in June of 1994. Two things happened that June. First, OJ Simpson… a beloved football player turned comedic actor… was accused of murder & a former sports hero was suddenly and very publicly judged in the court of public opinion.

Second, I was walking in a corn-field east of Lincoln, IL… angry and frustrated at the world. Disappointed with my life and my situation. Consumed with me and not focused on the stuff of Jesus. In a final act of desperation, I yelled at the sky “God, what the heck is going on!” …I’d never yelled at God before. I’d probably go as far as to say that I hadn’t had a conversation with him in about 7 years at this point …he answered by telling me “I love you.” And in that moment dozens of scriptures that I’d heard all those times my parents had drug me to church as a kid came flooding into my heart. About how God’s love for me was huge, and forgiving and perfect and life-giving… and most importantly that it “kept no record of wrongs” …I felt the weight of every sin that I had born on my own to that point fill my heart & mind …and then it was removed as I gave my life to Jesus.

I was judged, but judged not guilty. The decision I made that day will echo through eternity for me.

Judgment is the ability to judge wisely and make a decision with authority. Can a judge really be fair? With so many bad examples of courtroom decisions in the world, it can be hard to believe that we will get a good, fair, judgment at the end of time. It’s hard to believe that Jesus will judge perfectly for many of us… will he make the right decision? Does he really know what’s best for us… not just for today… but know what’s best for every soul for all of eternity? Most of us are not excited about “judgment day.”

(Pause)

But, we who are in Christ have already been judged… not guilty.

Our trust in the GOOD JUDGE echoes in eternity.

You see, God is ONLY good! And he is the judge of all creation… but most of creation isn’t wrestling like us human beings about whether God gets the authority to judge or whether He will do a good job or not. Creation knows their trust in the Good Judge will echo through eternity:

·      Psalm 96:11 “Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! 12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise 13 before the Lord, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.”

It sounds like creation actually is looking forward to God’s Judgment. Anybody here ever look forward to being evaluated for anything?! Most of us run from hard tests. Most of us worry and dread our annual review at work. No one likes to be called into account for our actions. And almost all of us walk away from those kinds of conversations thinking “what do they know?” “They should try and do my job for day!” But judgment from the hand of the Almighty becomes something we can long for when we trust who He is and that he cares for and wants to save us. We can come to Him without fear! And, we begin to understand that our GOOD God wants not to give just a death sentence but rewards. Look at how Paul celebrates his coming judgment day:

·      2 Timothy 4:8  “And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me, but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”

Paul knew his choice to trust Jesus would have eternal effect. Why?

Because what Jesus did echoes through all eternity.

Jesus took on all judgment for our sins at the CROSS.

·      Isaiah predicted universal judgment with the coming of the kingdom. This is also the expectation of the New Testament. When Jesus went to the cross, he understood the cross to be the Day of Judgment. This explains why the heavens were darkened and the earth was shaken as Christ was crucified. Such events are sign of the end times. In Jesus, the end has occurred.

·      All men will be judged at the end, but in his death, Jesus has already been judged by God for our sin and he has borne our future judgment. Someone who chooses to identify with the cross “has eternal life and will not be condemned” (John 5). You cannot be tried, found guilty, and executed for your crime twice. In Jesus, we were tried, found guilty, and executed. We no longer have to look forward to the moment when our lives will be judged. We look back to what Christ has already done for us. That is why it is absolutely essential for us to acknowledge our sin and accept that God dealt with it on the cross. The Christian who has been judged in the cross can face eternity with confidence.

If what happened at the cross is really true, then what happens before the Throne of Judgment at the end of time should lose all of the fear that has gripped humans throughout history… God’s perfect love casts out fear! Jesus is given all authority to judge and he will open up the books of our lives for evaluation. And open up the Book of Life to claim those who are HIS. Let’s hear the hope of Revelation 3:5…

·      “All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.”

Do you hear the heart of our GOOD Judge in all of this?

He loves us and wants all of us to find life in Him. He wants to include everyone into His family. He wants it so much that He was willing to come and be judged for all of the sins that everyone has ever committed! He was willing to leave the judge’s bench and become the accused so that we might be found in the Book of Life… and all we have to do is say “Yes” to believing in our amazing Good Judge! Your belief in Jesus echoes through all eternity that you are HIS.

Just as Jesus’ life echoes in our eternity…

         …so, also, do our actions echo in our eternity.

I long to hear the voice of Jesus tell me, “well done good and faithful servant.” I long to hear him say, “enter your reward.” I long to see Jesus face to face and receive the fullness of everything he has promised us. I long (as Paul said in Philippians) to “depart and be with Jesus.”

But while I am here, I must be obedient and work hard to “continue the ministry of Jesus” every chance I get. If I do, my reward will be great!

TWO PARABLES give us insight into this.

First, is the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 19) à In this story Jesus explains that those who worked all day in the vineyard and those who worked only an hour received the same reward. (Last will be first)… so everyone’s reward will be the same. We will all receive GOOD things (forgiveness & eternal life) from the hand of the GOOD judge.

Second, is the parable of the 10 workers who each received a mina from the King (Luke 19) à In this story Jesus explains, that one servant earned him 10 more and he was put in charge of 10 cities in the Kingdom of Heaven. Another servant earned him 5 more and he was put in charge of 5 cities in the Kingdom. Another servant did NOTHING with what God had gifted him… and his mina was taken from him and given to the one with 10.

“What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

·      If we have faith in Jesus, then eternity will be a reward and not judgment no matter how long ago we accepted Jesus.

·      Second, we will live a life in heaven! It’s not all clouds and harps. Do you remember the story about the servants?

·      They were put in charge of cities.

·      To some that may sound like a ton of responsibility, right? But just imagine that work will be something that is blessed by God. No more anxiety or frustration or difficult people.

·      The key is to be faithful stewards of the awesome gifts that God has given us.

·      But we all have one common gift and focus if we are followers of Jesus that I think will give us insight into…

What should we do in life?

We all have relationships. We all know people. Some may know 100s, but we all know someone. We all have the ability to take the Mina from the hand of the Good Judge and do something with it. We all have a call to be “rescuers.”

Jude 22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.”

Sure we need to be good stewards by building each other up. Of course, we need to show mercy to others. But the call to be a “rescuer” is an amazing thing to think about. What we do in life echoes in eternity. And we can tend to get caught up in our own eternity, but what about other’s eternity… shouldn’t we care about those whom God cares about? If we truly want to be good stewards of the gifts that Jesus has asked us to multiply, then I believe nothing could be more rewarding than sharing Jesus with others. Nothing could be more rewarding than leading them into the family of God. Nothing could be more rewarding than “snatching” them from the flames of judgment so that their eternity could be just as amazing as ours.

Jesus came to seek and save what was lost. That’s why he brought the Kingdom of Heaven early to earth, so that he could rescue. And he’s enlisted us to be “rescuers” in His kingdom.

Talk about the weekly challenge to ask: CAN I PRAY FOR YOU RIGHT NOW? If 1,000 people took that challenge, we could impact the lives of 52,000 in the next year. What you do with your life would echo into eternity… and it might echo for someone else too.

Prayer & Introduce Offering

MINISTRY:

Introduce the words on the screens (remind people of pre-service prayer teams).

Specific words for this message:

·      Fear that we aren’t good enough.

·      Fear of judgment.

·      Take up the call to be a “rescuer.”