Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. Just ask yourself some questions today. Am I pleasing Christ with my life? How do we know that we're pleasing God? Faith pleases God.
Am I trusting God? Am I living in the will of God? Am I doing today what God has called me to do, what I was born again to do? On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about what you can expect at the judgment seat of Christ.
Now here's Dr. Graham with his message. Ring of Honor.
Now I want you to begin finding in your Bibles the books of Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and 1 Corinthians chapter 3. There's the master's green jacket. The Lombardy Trophy. A World Series ring, an Olympic.
Gold medal. an NBA World Championship trophy. These and others. Are the coveted trough trophies of the world of sports. They are emblems.
Of success in sports, the ultimate achievements in those particular arenas. And then There's the ring of honor. And if you are a Dallas Cowboys fan, as I have been, for many, many years. But if you've been a cowboy fan, you know about the ring of honor. established to Honor.
The greatest of the great in cowboy history.
Now believe it or not Something like that is not new to the world of sports. Because in the day of the Bible, in the day of the New Testament, the most popular figures of the day. We're sports figures. The sport of the day, of course, was primarily track and field. And if you traveled with Paul to the place called Corinth.
You would come to the place in Corinth which was known for the great games, the Isthmian Games, the Olympic Games, or the number one games, and then the Isthmian Games, held every two years at Corinth. Thousands and thousands of people would gather and cheer their famed and famous athletes. And at the track. Near the finish line. was a raised platform.
It was known As the BEMA seat, B-E-M-A, the BEMA. This platform near the finish line also contained a seat and on this seat sat the umpire of the games. And before each athlete would compete, and before each athlete would be awarded and rewarded. that athlete would appear at this BEMA seats. And pass by the judge to hear the rules.
You must appear before this umpire. If you won, you were given a laurel wreath. A crown. A garland crown to be placed upon your head. And then the crowds would cheer the victors.
and the winners.
Now, it is against this backdrop. That the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10. That we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We must all appear before the Bema. We make it our aim, he said, to please him.
That is our goal. in life. As believers in Jesus Christ, it is our goal to go for the gold in service of Christ. And we win. when we are honored and rewarded by Christ himself.
We will all, at the end of the race, at the end of the day, stand before the judgment seat. of Christ. And we will be evaluated. and it will be celebrated as to whether or not we lived and ran the race to please him. We're all in the race.
And Paul said, we run the race. to win. We are all to strive. for the prize. As Paul said in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 10.
And when we run, we run not just to compete, to be in the race. But we're told that we are to run. to win. The race. to break every barrier.
and to strive for our utmost in service to him. Mm-hmm. The idea that heaven is a destination is wonderful. We look forward to being in that place where Christ is. To enjoy heaven forever.
But you know, heaven is not only a destination. It is a motivation. For our lives. And the fact that we're going to stand in the presence of Christ and there be evaluated and rewarded accordingly is a great motivation for our lives.
Now I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 because we're going to dig a little deeper as to what this judgment seat of Christ is all about. About. 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, and we're going to begin reading. And verse 11. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold and silver and precious stones, wood, hay, and straw, each one's work will become clear. For the day will declare it. Because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. And if anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through.
Fire. When we are raptured and risen into the presence of Christ. The next major event on God's calendar. On the prophetic calendar, is This day of review. This day of rewards.
The judgment seat. of Christ. Notice that Paul mentions here The day. What day is he talking about? The day of Christ, the day when Christ comes for his own.
It is the day. Today. In a sense, is man's day. Satan is having his way on earth. And sometimes we wonder.
Why does it seem that Things are going in the wrong direction. Is it possible that Christ and Christians are losing the battle.
Well, remember, there's another day coming when everything is going to be set straight. I like what Woodrow Wilson said, the President of the United States. He said, I would rather temporarily fail. with a cause that will ultimately succeed. than to temporarily succeed with a cause that will ultimately Fail.
When you give your life to follow Christ, you are on... The winning team. That's already been settled. There may be setbacks along the way in life. But in Christ, we win.
Listen to 1 Timothy chapter 4. And verse 14, that you keep his commandments without spot, blameless, until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing, which he will be manifested in his own time, that is, his day. He who is the blessed and only potentate, the king of kings and lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. You see, there's coming a day.
When Christ shall reign and Christ will rule.
Now imagine this day in your mind. Imagine standing before Christ in glory. standing before this one who is the king of kings and lord of lords. Standing face to face with your Savior and Redeemer. And on that day, when we stand before him at the Bema, it will be.
A day of testing.
Now if you're taking notes, that's the first point of the message. This day at the judgment seat, will be a day of testing. I even thought of calling it a day of transparency. Because on that day, everything is going to be revealed. Our works are going to be tested.
And the fire A judgment will burn away. What was done for improper motives? What was done in a way that did not honor Christ. Paul calls it wood, hay, and stubble. And then that which we have built with gold and silver and precious stones will remain.
It passed the fiery test. You see, all of us have a foundation in Christ. That's the only foundation for life. And while we have this foundation, we are then given the tools to build up our faith on this foundation. And whether we build with wood, hay, and stubble, or whether we build with gold, silver, precious stones, is our part.
It is our stewardship. And that's what's going to be judged. Our works, our actions, our words. Our decisions. Our service, all of this is going to be evaluated in the presence of Christ.
And so there we will be. Standing before the penetrating, piercing gaze of Christ, glorified. It's going to be an amazing moment. When the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos was allowed a peek into eternity, when he saw the glorified risen Christ, he passed out. That's how glorious it will be.
This is at the end of life. This is at the end of the race. At the finish line, when life is done. First, the rapture. The resurrection, and then the review, and the reward.
Now, what is the purpose of this judgment? Is not For salvation. If you haven't settled your salvation by this time, it will be too late. This is for the stewardship of our lives, the service of our lives.
Now works don't get us to heaven, but works do follow us to heaven. In fact, in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 13, we're told that blessed are they who die in the Lord. They will rest from their labors and their works. Follow them. Our works follow us to heaven.
And there at the judgment seat of Christ, we're going to see. what was real and what was not real. We're going to see what was lost and what really lasts. The purpose is to evaluate our lives and to celebrate our victories. The purpose of the judgment seat of Christ is to perfect us and prepare us for eternity.
And at that place, before the all-seeing gaze of our God, there will be no more mass, no more facades. No phoniness there. It's all going to be very, very rough. real. In 1 Corinthians chapter...
4, just a chapter over verse 5. Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes. Who will bring both who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God. You see in life We may fool ourselves and we might even fool others, but there's no Fooling.
Our Lord. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Ring of Honor. We're excited to share that we have a new way to connect you with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content.
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Now, let's get back to today's message: Ring of Honor. God sees things differently than we see them. God looks at the heart. And there will be there a Eternal reward for what was in our hearts, what truly was in our hearts, and what was truly in our lives, because the day will declare it. This is the day.
of revealing what is truly there and what's not there. That's why the scripture talks about building with wood, hay, and stubble. Or building with gold, silver, and precious stones. For example, we're going to be judged by our hearts, by our motives, not just what we did, but why we did what we did. our attitudes as well as our actions.
Not what size our work is, but what sort our work is. our work is, what kind it is. For example, if I give my money out of guilt, or to gain some reward, that's wood, hay, and stubble. It's going to be burned away at the judgment seat. But if I give out of my generosity and out of thanksgiving to God, out of joy, that's gold, silver, and precious stones.
If I serve Christ to be seen or to be noticed of men, like Jesus talked about when he spoke of those who prayed to be seen of men, that is would. Stubble and grass that will be burned away. But if I serve Christ out of the motivation of loving him and pleasing him and meeting the needs of people, not for personal gain or reward, but to honor Christ, that's gold, silver, and precious stone, you see. And it is the gold, the silver, the precious stone that will remain. We will see again what is lost, what is burned away, is dross, what is lost that day.
and what is left that day. And what lasts? that day.
Now when you think about the wood and hay and the stubble that is lost. This is not talking about our sins. But it's talking about the worthless things in our lives, the things that really didn't matter. The things that didn't count for anything, the stuff, the trivial pursuit that so many give their lives. to achieve.
There is a day of accountability coming. How you live now. impacts eternity.
So run faithfully, run fervently this race. How are we going to be judged? Our actions, our attitude, our ambitions, our aspirations. Just ask yourself some questions today. Am I pleasing Christ with my life?
That's going to be judged. How do we know that we're pleasing God? Faith pleases God. Am I trusting God? Am I living in the will of God?
Am I doing today what God has called me to do, what I was made for, what I was born again to do? I say that. real success in life. success in life. is the progressive realization of the will of God for your life.
That's what success is. And what's going to matter at the judgment seat is whether or not I pursued the will of God in my life. What's going to matter at the judgment seat of Christ is whether or not I have lived and obeyed the word of God. What's going to matter? I'll tell you what's going to matter.
people are going to matter because Jesus died for people. And have I given my life to bring others to Christ? Have I devoted my life and so lived my life that others are drawn to Christ? Or does my life somehow repel people from coming to Christ? That's what's going to be evaluated.
It will be a time. A testing. But not only that, it will be a time A day of tears. You say tears, how is that? Doesn't the Bible say there will be no tears in heaven?
Absolutely. The Bible says God is going to wipe away all tears. From our eyes. No more pain, no more suffering, no more heartache. No more sorrow.
God's going to wipe away all the tears. From our eyes. But you know at the judgment seat of Christ there will be tears of joy. Can you imagine? After all this, Afterlife, knowing that your faith is real, that the Bible is the Word of God, that Jesus is Lord, I promise you, those tears are going to flow, those tears of joy.
But you know for some There will be tears of regret. Tears of remorse, tears of loss. You say, what loss?
Well, Jesus talks about this loss. Listen to some of these scriptures. You may want to write them down and look them up later. 1 John 2, 28. And now, little children, abide in him that when he appears, you may have confidence and not be ashamed at his coming.
Or listen to Matthew 5, 19. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does not and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus himself said, some will be called great and some not so great, the least in the kingdom of heaven. And then 2 John verse 8.
Look to yourselves that We do not lose things we've worked for, but that we may receive a Full reward. A full reward. Or listen to Revelation 3 and verse 11. Behold, I come quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
Colossians 2:18 says, Let no man rob you of your prize. What does all this mean? It means when the fire Christ's judgment passes by. That some people are going to have nothing left but the charred embers of a wasted life to place in the nail-pierced hands of Jesus. And that is loss.
It's the loss of purpose in life. and it is the loss of reward. in heaven. That's not the way to go to heaven. And there will be tears of regret.
People who have never led a soul to Christ. People who've never lifted a finger for the body of Christ in service of Christ. What a waste.
Some of you will see loved ones perish in hell because you have not lived for Christ and led them to faith in Christ. And there will be tears. Yes, God will wipe away those tears. And prepare you and perfect you for eternity. And I don't know all the consequences of this, and I don't know all the ramifications of this.
This is one of those mysteries, but I do know that Christ's reward is with him, and some will suffer the loss of reward. That's why we need to begin. every day at the judgment seat of Christ, that we make decisions and choices, that we have attitudes and actions that please him, that fulfill his purpose and plan for our lives. Let the tears be tears of rejoicing, not tears of remorse and regret, when you stand before the glorified Savior.
Well, finally, this day will not only be a day. transparency a day. of testing a day. of tears. But it will be a day of triumph.
A day of triumph. Because we are told in the scriptures that faithful followers of Christ will be rewarded. What did Jesus say in Matthew 6 and verse 20? Lay up for yourselves treasures not on earth. But lay up for yourselves treasures.
in heaven. Revelation 22, 12 says that The Lord is coming and he said, my reward is with me. Just think about this moment for just a moment. We're standing before Christ. Our name is called.
Our lives are evaluated. And then comes the moment. And if you have lived faithfully for Christ, the words.
Well done.
Well done.
and faithful. Servant. And at that moment, an incredible sense of inadequacy and unworthiness will grip our hearts. We are going to be in such awe. of that moment when God Himself and the worship and the praise to Jesus will flow.
We will celebrate His grace. Then, just as in the day of Paul, the laurel wreath was placed upon the head of the winners, We're told that there will be crowns given. Crowns to those who love his appearing, who live for his appearing, long for his appearing, the incorruptible crown. The shepherd's crowd. The crown of gold.
And then I can't help but imagine that at that moment we're going to take off our crown. And we're going to lay them. at Jesus' feet. Because we'll say, Lord, all the glory. All the praise, all the honor.
goes to you. I want one of those crowns. to lay at his feet. Lord, you alone gave me life and breath. Lord, you alone gave me salvation.
You chose me out of all the people of the world, God. I had the privilege of knowing you and loving you and serving you. I'm telling you it will be the happiest day. of your life. You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Ring of Honor.
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You'll receive a reply back, and we'll add you to our text group. Just text Connect to 59-789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Followers of Jesus Christ will be evaluated. There will be a day of accounting when Christ comes for us.
And while many Christians may not want to think about this, we do need to understand the judgment seat of Christ. For the believer, the judgment seat of Christ will be a time of evaluation and celebration. It will be a time of rejoicing for some, but frankly, regret for others. The fact is that we are accountable for our lives, what we do with the life we've been given in Christ. We are accountable for our service to Christ and to His church.
That's why it's so important not to build your life with materials that don't last. Things like money, material possessions, worldly success. Instead, build your life on the solid foundation of Christ and then give that life to things that will ultimately stand the test of time. Things like. telling people about Jesus and salvation, serving others selflessly, working in the ministry of your church.
If you fill your life with the things of eternal consequence, then on that day you will hear Jesus say to you, Well done good and faithful servant.
Now, let me make it clear that we're not saved by what we do or don't do, but by grace through faith in Christ and Christ alone. But there will be an eternal reward waiting for you if you've been faithful to serve and sacrifice for Christ. Remember what Jesus said in Revelation 22, 12. Behold, I'm coming soon and bringing my reward with me to repay everyone for what he has done. And then in Matthew 6, 19 to 20, Jesus said, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
So, let me encourage you to run the race with perseverance and passion and live your life. in complete devotion, maxed out. For the Lord Jesus. And if you do, Your eternal reward will be magnificent when you join God's ring of honor. And that is today's PowerPoint.
Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you a copy of Dr. Graham's book, The Jesus Book, as our thanks. Text the word book to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about what will happen when God's wrath is finally poured out on earth.
That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
