Standing Before Jesus at the Judgment Seat

Will Christians be judged? Just who is the judgment seat of Christ for? Therefore, the judgment seat of Christ is not designed to punish believers, but rather to reward them for their faithful service. All of us will give an account of what we have done after trusting Christ. Welcome to Understanding the Times Radio with Jan Markell, brought to you by Olive Tree Ministries.

Radio for the remnant. Today, we play a message given recently by Amir Sarfati on the Bema Seat, the judgment seat of Christ. Yes, the believer's sins are forgiven at the cross, but we still face a time of rewards and judgment. Amir gives a clear presentation of this experience that faces the Christian after the rapture of the church. Here is today's programming. And welcome to the program.

So glad you can join me today. Today, I'm taking a week off of recording and I chose to play a wonderful message given by Amir Sarfati, head of the organization Behold Israel. Amir has spoken at five of my Understanding the Times conferences starting in 2015, and the message is on the Bema Seat or the judgment seat of Christ. This is when the believer, right after the rapture, receives his or her crowns for our faithfulness, works and more, and also receives judgment. No, not eternal judgment that was dealt with at the cross. It says in Romans 14, verses 10 through 12, for we will all stand before God's judgment seat. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 2 Corinthians 5, 10 says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. In context, it is clear that both passages refer to Christians, not unbelievers. The judgment seat of Christ, therefore, involves believers giving an account of their lives to Jesus Christ.

It will be a sobering time and a joyful time of receiving crowns and rewards. Here's Amir presenting this message. The likelihood for you to get hurt in California or in America in general is way higher than being in Israel, just so you know. Plus, in Israel, if the rapture happens, it's much faster. And in Israel, when you pray, it's a local cult. That is a step of faith. I know because the media is always so much garbage.

I call them the media nights. And I totally understand why you probably have an image of Israel that is surely not the reality of what's going on there. A lot of people are asking me, why is it that you are so obsessed with teaching on end times, on the things that are going to happen in the future?

It's a legitimate question. Why should we be so interested in those type of topics, in topics such as the rapture of the church and the events that will follow that one? Why can't we just live the day, carpe diem, just do the things we need to do and care about the things on earth, and that's it? Well, the Bible says in Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, If then you were raised with Christ, it's a question, are you a true Christian? Are you born again spiritually? That means, have you been resurrected while you're still alive from your deadly sins? Because the Bible tells us in Colossians 2 that while we were dead in our trespasses and our sins, He resurrected us while we're still alive. This is not the resurrection from the dead that will happen in the future. So while, if the Bible says, if then you were raised with Christ.

In other words, if you are a true believer, then what? Seek those things which are above, where Christ is. Where is Christ right now? He's the right hand of the Father right now. And it says so, sitting at the right hand of God, hello? And then he says, set your mind on the things above and what?

Not on the things on this earth. In other words, a true believer is someone who is not always thinking about the things on earth. But he's someone who is rapture ready, as we just said.

Who is geared up to something that is way higher, much better, greatest calling of all, greatest future of all. This is all temporary here. Literally, it's all plastic.

It's not real. This thing right now that we go through, it is going to be such a dot in eternity. We have to seek those things which are above. We have to learn to look up. We have to learn to hope for the future things that the Lord graciously detailed to us through the apostles and the disciples. It's interesting because looking up is super biblical. In fact, the Bible says in Philippians 3, 14, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Even though you run, it's the prize of the upward call of God. Psalm 121, I lift up my eyes to the hills.

You can't just look all around all the time. Lift up your eyes because your help is not coming from the hills or from people, but from the Lord. The maker of heaven and earth. Isaiah 40, 26, lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things.

Who brings out their host by number? He calls them all by name, by the greatness of his might and the strength of his power. No one is missing. Daniel chapter 4, when King Nebuchadnezzar was speaking, the Bible says, And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, he said. And my understanding returned to me. And I blessed the Most High and praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation. When we lift up our eyes from the things that are all around us, we understand the greatness of God.

We understand the beauty of our future. John 11, when Lazarus was resurrected, they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Jesus himself looked up and said, Father, I thank you. He could have looked at people and said, Thank you, Father.

He looked up. It's a very biblical thing. Acts 1, 10, when Jesus ascended to heaven. And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in wide apparel. You see, the disciples learned to look up from the moment Jesus ascended to heaven.

And he's now at the right hand of the Father. Looking up is biblical. Looking up is essential. Looking up is a sign of a true believer.

Hebrews 9, 27, 28, now comes the point. We look up and we understand our future and our future is containing some interesting things. But we cannot run away from one thing. No one can. No living creature can escape judgment. The Bible says, and it is appointed for men to die once. You can try to die twice, but it won't help you.

You have to look. Every born person, if you were born, if you're alive right now, there's two chances. One, that you will die while you're on earth right now. Or that you will stay alive when the rapture happens. You understand that? But if you die, it's not the end of the story. It's the beginning of the story for you.

You understand that? But whether you're a believer or a non-believer, there is judgment awaiting. The Bible says, but after this comes judgment. It's a given.

You cannot change it. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many to those who... What? He was offered once to bear the sins of many. That means those who accepted Him, their sins are washed away. I mean, He died on the cross.

You need to believe and that's when you have eternal life. But now comes your role, your active role of looking up, of expecting Him, of looking forward to what He's about to do. To those who eagerly wait for Him.

What? He will appear a second time, the Bible says, apart from sin, which was the first coming, but this time for salvation. If you want to understand which salvation He's talking about, go to Romans Chapter 8.

Because it's the salvation of our body from this evil world. So Christ came once to take care of sin issue. Those who believed in Him throughout the last 2000 years. These are the many that He bore their sins. I mean, I wish everyone believed that would mean He bore the sins of all.

But He died for all, that's a fact. It's interesting because He will appear a second time. By the way, the word appear is different from the word come.

It's a very big difference. He will come back. That's a different thing. It's a physical return of Christ with His feet standing on top of Mount of Olives when Mount of Olives is split. And all of that will happen in the second coming after the seven years tribulation. But the appearance, we will appear before Him. He will appear for us. This is the language and the lingo that the Bible talks about when it speaks of the rapture of the church. How we'll appear in heaven and we will appear before Him. And that is the appearance. And so to those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time apart from sin.

Because He's coming back in the clouds to what? For us to be saved, the salvation of the body. And so judgment is inevitable.

We already understand that. Not only the New Testament tells us that. Even Job of the oldest books in the Bible says, be afraid of the sword for yourself. For wrath brings the punishment of the sword that you may know there is a judgment. Judgment is there. Our deeds have consequences. Judgment, by the way, sounds like a very harsh word. And half of you right now are scared.

What is he talking about? I thought I'm saved. I thought this whole thing of judgment is no longer for me. What am I sitting here for?

Well, when it comes to you, it even more so becomes something that you're intrigued to know what judgment is he talking about? Well, I would like to answer this morning 8 different questions regarding that one. First of all, what is the Bema? Because we're going to talk about the Bema Judmancy.

Where is the Bema? How many future judgments are there anyway? Who is going to stand there before Jesus at the Bema Seat? How will they even get there?

How is this judgment different from the others? When will that be? What is the purpose of the Bema Seat of Christ? Why are we even talking about it today, if it's in the future?

First of all, what is a Bema? Before we start, let's pray. Father, I thank you for your Word. Your Word is truth. We ask that you will sanctify us by your truth this morning.

We don't want to hear anyone's opinion or his own interpretation or his own commentary. We want to hear you through your Word this morning. In Jesus' name, Amen. So what is a Bema? The Bema Seat of Christ.

First of all, you have to understand the Bema Seat is the judgment seat that is known, also translated as a court or tribunal. And it's a platform that could be either public or private. In other words, you could stand alone before the Lord.

Or you can actually have some sort of a public hearing. But we're talking about something that is promised in the Scriptures. The Bible says in John 19, 13, Why do you judge your brother? Why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all...

It's not maybe, not could be. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So we already know that is going to happen. Acts 25, 22 is when we have a private one. The Agrippa said to Festus, I also would like to hear the man myself.

Paul is standing in the theater of Caesarea Philippi. And he has to stand on a platform that we call Bema. Of course, tomorrow you shall hear. If you just join me, you're listening to Understanding the Times Radio.

Jan Markell here, playing a message given by Amir Tsarfati. On the judgment seat of Christ, also known as the Bema Seat. We're all going to face it if we're believers. So I wanted you to better understand what's up ahead. Where is exactly the Bema Seat of Christ?

Because Bemas are everywhere. In Romans 14, it says, But why do you judge your brother? We already talked about it. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But I do want you to know that Paul wrote to the Romans. But for the most part, most of Paul's writings regarding the Bema Seat was to the Corinthians. If you've ever been to ancient Corinth, you would find out that up until today, a Bema standing in the heart of the old city of Corinth.

Which was one of the most sinful, deprived cities on planet Earth. Probably only equal to Sodom and Gomorrah of the ancient times. 2nd Corinthians 5-10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. So that means that we became believers and our sins are forgiven.

But still, we have to give in some sort of accountability to the things that we do. And say and think as believers. 2nd Corinthians 5-10, in the Greek, looks like that. Can you read it? Well, I can tell you, you may not be able to read it, but you can see the highlighted part, which is, Bematos Tohristos. Bematos Tohristos means the judgment seat of Christ. And it is in the Greek, Bema. Bema or Bema is the Greek name for the high platform, elevated platform, that was used in the ancient times for 3 different things.

For award giving, for judgment, tribunal, and also in the theater world, it was used for shows and acts. The word in Bema in Hebrew, Greek and English would look like that. Bema in English, Bema in the Greek, and Bema in the Hebrew language.

We're using the same word even in the Hebrew. This is what the Bema looks like in ancient Corinth, if you wonder. In fact, I zoomed in all the way so you can see the word Bema.

You can see one more picture and you can see the Bema. You see right there, right there, people were judged in daylight in the middle of the city of Corinth. Paul understood that if there is a way for me to describe what is going to look like in heaven, that's probably it. You know, many times, in ancient times, I'm thinking about how would Ezekiel describe a war involved with rockets and tanks and aircrafts. Those things did not exist in those days.

So he would use vocabulary that was known to him. He would use, for example, a dark cloud coming from the north. Dark cloud, something is going to come flying darker than the sky, of course, all the way towards northern Israel. So in Paul's mind, what will the judgment seat of Christ is going to look like? It's going to be an elevated. It's going to be a platform. It's going to be a place, a tribunal.

But it's going to be very different. By the way, if you've been with us to Israel, you could see that in Caesarea there is a big theater. That by a mistake, you also call it amphitheater. The theater itself has a platform. In other words, when you see what you call amphitheater, it's actually a semi-circle shaped building. But it has a stage and that stage is called Bima.

I guess if you don't have that picture, you may not have also the other pictures. And the other pictures are of the Israeli National Theater today, which is called the Bima. The Bima, Habima, it is in Tel Aviv. It is a tribunal for not punishment, but for us, it's a tribunal for rewards. The Bima is a tribunal for rewards.

In the large Olympic arenas, there was an elevated seat on which the judge of the contest sat. And after the contest was over, the successful competitors would assemble before the Bima to receive the rewards or crowns. You have to remember, our life as believers is often described as something from the sport world. We're running the race. We're fighting the fight. And for such things, an award or reward is awaiting all of us. Now, how many future judgments are there anyway?

This is an interesting thing. There are 3 future judgments according to the Bible. There is the Bima Seat of Christ, number 1.

There is the Sheep and the Goats, number 2. And there is the Great White Throne Judgment Seat, which is number 3. You can clearly see on this diagram that the other 2, the first one is in heaven. We go up to stand before Christ. But the other 2 are on earth. And it's judgment that is not for us, the church.

It's for other people. So the first one, in order to go to be what Christ is. The first one, because we seek those things which are above. Because we have some business to do up above. And we have some great things to see up above. So the first one requires all of us to go all the way up and to stand before Jesus.

And that is a different thing. This is a place where you're going to stand and get your rewards. But the other 2 have to do with right after the 7 years tribulation.

And right after the 1000 years Millennial Kingdom. These are the 2 other judgments that the Bible is telling us that are going to be. My question for you this morning, which I'm probably going to ask at the very end as well.

Which judgment here is yours? Is it the judgment where you go up because you're a true believer? And you will be rewarded for the things you did? Or rewards will be taken from you for the things you probably did in the wrong way?

With the wrong heart? Or are you going to be those who go through the tribulation? How many volunteer? There's a lot of teachers that teach that you will go through the tribulation. Well, be my guest. I can tell you one thing.

This whole debate over pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib. It's just like going to a restaurant. And how do you want your steak? Rare, medium, well done. How do you want to get to heaven?

Rare, medium, well, or well done? All I know is one thing. If we need to spend time in front of the Bema Seat of Jesus. And if we need to stay and have the marriage ceremony up there.

And if we want to look at those mansions that he's been faithfully working on for the last 2,000 years. We're not described as going with crutches and on wheelchairs because we made it through halfway of the tribulation. Or completely dead without heads because we are at the end of the tribulation.

No, that's not the case. We're standing there. The only thing that has to happen to all of us prior to us going to be with him. Is that all of those lowly bodies, sorry for my compliment this morning. All of our lowly bodies will have to change.

That's it. So who's going to stand before the Bema Seat of Christ? Only the church. Only the church. The participants in that judgment are members of the New Testament church. It's not even the Old Testament saints. It's the church. We're going to stand before Christ. And the Bible says, the people who have trusted Christ as Savior from the day of Pentecost.

From the time the Holy Spirit came because he said, unless I go, I cannot send you the comforter. Then, of course, he said, but if I send it to you, I will also come back and receive you. I have to go, he said, to prepare a place for you. You want me to go to prepare a place for you. Then he says, I will come back and receive you. I will receive you.

I'm not going to come back to be with you down here. I will receive you to myself so where I am, you will also be, he said. Now, how will we go to be with Jesus in order to stand before him at that Bema seat, Bema judgment seat? How are we going to do that?

It's very simple. It's called the rapture of the church. It's not a word that you'll find in the Bible because your Bible is in English. But if your Bible was in Greek, you would have found that word in the Greek. Which is harpazo, and if your Bible was in Latin, you would have found that word in Latin, which means rapturo. So, we call it rapture based on the Latin version. But the word rapture is not in your Bible, but the action.

Who cares how they call it? Look what the Bible says that is going to happen to us as Paul describes to the people of Thessaloniki. Those people were holding on to every word, Paul. It's the only city that Paul was writing a letter without quoting a single word from the Old Testament. They were only Gentiles over there. They had zero knowledge of the Old Testament. So he couldn't quote, you know, so many people come to Israelis and try to evangelize to them. John 3, 16 says, well, we don't believe in John. The Israelis don't take the New Testament as the word of God. So don't quote from the New Testament. Jesus never let anyone to believe in him through the New Testament. You know that, only the Old Testament because there was no New Testament at that time.

Paul could not convince the Thessalonians of anything using the Old Testament because none of them knew it. But they were holding on to every word he had to say regarding their future. What happens after I die?

Will I even die? They were so worried about that. They were so worried that people took advantage of that and told them, you have missed the Day of the Lord.

That's it. They wrote him a letter with one word, what? Paul says, don't be afraid. You have not missed the Day of the Lord. You read 2 Thessalonians, which normally comes after 1st. You read the 2nd chapter and it begins with Paul telling them, no, there are certain things that must happen first. It's interesting because he described to the Thessalonians an amazing event where the church, the Bible says, the Lord himself with a shout, with an archangel call, and with a sound of God's trumpet, he will descend from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. And we who are alive and remain, we will be caught up in the Greek, harpazo, in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. So first, we have to be translated into our glorified bodies in order to make it to be able to even stand before him. And in my poor attempt to draw something to explain how it's going to look like.

First of all, you see that you're not standing. Christians should not stand. He should always run the race.

He should always fight the fight. He shouldn't sit at home and say, well, I'm waiting for the rapture. No, we have a lot to do. We have to do our Father's business. We have to spread the Word, teach the Word in season and out of season. We have to be everywhere all about God's Word. So we have to be active.

And then, of course, as we run the race, our eyes are not fixed on an earthly target, but on that which is in heaven where Christ is. We're going to take a short break, but let me just remind you that many ministries are having issues with big tech. And just a heads up here that you can find us on a couple of alternative platforms, including Rumble and Gab. For now, we remain on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

But just how long we will be on the big platforms is uncertain. We remain on YouTube, though the program has been taken down frequently and censored. The video version of our programming is on his channel, television, as well as on our website, OliveTreeViews.org, OliveTreeViews.org, and on OnePlace.com. Those are ways to stay in touch with us, and I hope you will.

More in a moment. Olive Tree Ministries, Box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311. That's Box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311.

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We'll get through this new year together as we await His return. Knowing today what the Bema Seat in heaven is all about causes us to live faithful lives today as believers here on earth. When you understand that Christ will judge you for the things you do as a believer, then you have to ask yourself now, maybe starting from today, am I doing those things with the right attitude? We appreciate our ministry partners so much. Olive Tree Ministries and Behold Israel have worked together for several years. Amir Tsarfati is an Israeli Bible teacher and has spoken at several Understanding the Times conferences. Here is Amir to wrap up today's program. Let's conclude Amir Tsarfati's message on the Bema Seat or the Judgment Seat of Christ. And Christ is not only the Lamb of God on the left, but He's also the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He already won.

He already has the victory. And when we get up there, it's not about hell or heaven because we're already in heaven. It's about receiving rewards. Now, what's the difference between this judgment and all the other judgments?

It's very simple. The Bible says that God will reward the actions of the believers. Psalm 62, you can see, says, And that you, O Lord, are loving, surely You will reward each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16, 27, For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels. And then He will reward each person according to what He has done. Ephesians 6, 8, Knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord.

Whether we are slaves or free. Your status on earth means nothing regarding your rewards in heaven. And it's not going to be judgment for sin.

Make no mistake. The people on earth will be judged for their sins because their sins are not being covered by the blood of Christ. They simply did not believe in Him. Faith is what required from all people in order to have eternal life. That's what John 3, 16 says. So we're not going to be judged for our sins.

This thing is already something that has already been forgiven. The Bible says in Psalm 103, verses 10 to 12, He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy towards those who fear Him. As far as the east from the west, so far He has removed our transgressions from us. Our sins have been removed.

And you better understand that. Even Micah says in chapter 7, He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea. So the destiny of the Christian has been settled already.

We will make it to heaven. And if sin is there, we couldn't. But we are no longer going to be judged for our sins. Our sin issue has been dealt with past, present, and future. But now we're going to stand before the Lord. And there is something else that we have to deal with. There's definitely no condemnation. As Romans 8 says, the devil wants you to feel that you are not worthy.

That you will never make it. Well, this is from the devil, obviously. But I want you to know that we do have certain things that the Bible says that are part of every promise to every believer. We have eternal life, the Bible says. John 5, 24, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. And he will not be condemned. He has crossed over from death to life. Look, when we are born, we're already condemned.

I don't know if you know that. We're born sinners. We're already condemned. The Bible says, he who believes is not condemned. And he who does not believe, he's condemned already. So all of us were born in the camp of the condemned.

Whenever we place our trust in Jesus, we then are moved to the camp of the not condemned. The curse has been removed. That curse of sin. It's a curse because, look, a baby is being born.

He did nothing yet. He's already a sinner. Believe it or not, but babies can use their fists.

And babies can defend what they want, not what you want. That curse against believers has been removed. The Bible says in Galatians 3.13, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming cursed for us.

For it is written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. The Bible says that the price for our sins has been fully paid. 1 Peter 2.24, He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. So that free from sins we might live for righteousness. Now you see, we're free from sin. But our life now should be for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed. Of course, the sin offering of Christ in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin.

So that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The believer's judgment with respect to sin is long past. The Bible says in Hebrews 12, 1, run the race. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6, 12, fight the good fight. So what we are going to deal with in heaven has nothing to do with our sinful past.

It has to do with the fruits of that race and that fight. Those rewards. Therefore, the judgment seat of Christ is not designed to punish believers. But rather to reward them for their faithful service. All of us will give an account of what we have done after trusting Christ as Savior. Therefore, the judgment seat of Christ is a judgment of believers' works. Works cannot save you. But once you're saved, works count. Again, you'll be in heaven regardless.

Because works are not that which saves you or else you can boast. But once you get to heaven, there's accountability for the things you did. Now, you may say, I did so many things.

Yeah, but did you do those things with the right heart? You see, the judgment seat of Christ is a judgment of believers' works after salvation. The analogy that Paul gave to the Corinthians is, According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another one builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. Now, if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest.

For the day will declare it. There is a day we're going to stand before Christ. The things we supposedly did for him are going to be exposed. Because it will be revealed by fire. It's interesting because the word, revealed by fire or probably refined by fire, is also a word that the prophet, Zachariah chapter 13, talks about the nation of Israel. All Israel will be saved, according to Romans 11. But the Bible says that 2 thirds of Israel will perish and only the last third he will bring through the fire.

The intention matters even then. But you have to understand that fire will try each one's work and some of us will suffer a loss. You see, it's not about life or death, hell or heaven. It's about standing before Jesus after supposedly we lived for him for the last few years.

And you can either be glad or you can be ashamed. Suffering loss. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3.15, if anyone's work is burned, they will suffer loss. But they themselves will be saved. Look, it's not about not making it to heaven. You are in heaven.

But you're going to stand there looking at everyone else receiving their rewards. And the ones that you thought you had was taken from you. Because that which you thought you did in a great way. Oh, I filled stadiums. Oh, I filled churches.

Oh, I had tons of followers here. Everything is going to be tested through fire. And if it's not really the right heart, that which you thought is yours is taken from you. You'll be saved. But as through fire. It's like, you know, the cartoons when they go through fire, they're still standing but smoke comes out of them.

That's not a picture you want to see yourself like. Fire, the judgment will be by fire. Fire is used in Scripture as a symbol of judgment and holiness of God. You can see in Genesis, the Lord rains down burnt sulfur and Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens. You see that fire of judgment. You see in Deuteronomy 4.24, for the Lord your God is a consuming fire, jealous God. But in Revelation 1.14, one of the ways to describe the holiness of Jesus. His head and His hair were white as white wool, white as snow.

And His eyes were like a flame of fire. Now, we really want to stand before Jesus. We already understand the minute the rapture takes place, whether you're dead or alive, we will be changed. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 15, 51.

Behold, I tell you a mystery. Not all of us are going to sleep to die. But all of us are going to change. In a minute, in a twinkling of an eye, the last trumpet, we will wear incorruption.

You can go to the gym as many times as you want. That body is dying. And you will need a new body if you want to enter into heaven.

Your body, I'm not encouraging you not to live a healthy lifestyle. I'm encouraging you not to trust that this body will get you to heaven. 1 John 2.28, And now little children abide in Him. He needs to be the thing you draw your life from. Abide in Him that when He appears, appears? Remember that word? Pretends to what?

Talks about what? The rapture. The time He appears before us. When He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

Wow! So there is a possibility of being ashamed at His coming. We want to receive the full reward. Believers will receive that full reward for their deeds of faith.

But the question is, what is it going to look like? 2 John 8, Look to yourselves that we do not lose those things we have worked for. But that we may receive a full reward.

Be careful not to lose them. It's not about losing your salvation, it's losing your reward. Revelation 3.11, Behold, I come quickly. Hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown. That means whatever you do, however you live, the way you believe should be genuine and not phony. If you join me late, this week I'm playing a message given by Amir Tsarfati on the Bema Seat, also known as the Judgment Seat of Christ. We all face it. It happens after the rapture.

It's something we can all look forward to and be in awe about. Now I'm very bad in illustrations. In fact, I don't even have a clue how to use illustrations.

So I found it online. We can illustrate the loss of reward in the following manner. Let us say that you've recently built a new two-story house. While on the second floor, you smell smoke. Looking downstairs, you see that the first floor is on fire. You jump out of the second story window to save your life. But then you watch your new house burn to the ground. Obviously, you will have mixed emotions.

You're thankful that you were able to jump and save your life. But you're sad because your new house is destroyed. This is similar to those believers who are saved but have nothing to show for it. They squandered their opportunities to live for Christ. Yet they are enjoying the benefits of heaven with Jesus. Wow, how sad that instead of rejoicing in the presence of God. Instead of standing before Christ, making it to heaven. That's the happiest place in the world. Instead of rejoicing, you're standing there. Your whole life is passing right in front of you.

You find out that one thing after the other. That you thought you'd do it for the Lord. But he actually did it because you wanted other people to see you doing it.

Or you actually did it because there was some sort of a gain. Well, the Bible says, All who experience the judgment seat of Christ will possess the privilege and honors as children of God. But Jesus said, He will acknowledge those who have believed in him before his father and before the angels. As Matthew 10 32 says, There will be gifts to be received. As Paul said to the Corinthians, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who loved him. But God has revealed them to us through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things.

Yes, the deep things of God. Now we have to understand that our rewards will be proportionate to the way we live. And to the things we did with that which God gave us. The reward of the believers is proportionate to the faithfulness they show in this life. The key is faithfulness to the gifts God has given you. The Bible is clearly indicating that. 1 Corinthians 4, 2, Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

There's different degrees of rewards. Jesus said that in several of his parables. In Luke 19 17, he says, Well done, my good servant, his master replied, Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of 10 cities.

Yet to someone else, he said in verse 19, you take charge of five cities. In other words, that which God gave you is enough to give you everything you need. But if you don't do with it anything, then you will not be blessed and be rewarded the way you could have.

If you were trustworthy, if you were faithful. Because God gave every one of you either time, talent, or resources. He's going to ask you, what have you done with the time, talent, and resources that I gave you? Those crowns, 2 Timothy says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. Paul is at the end of his life. He understands, okay, I guess I am going to die. But look what he says, that I'm going to die with a huge smile.

Why? Because I know I fought the good fight. I didn't stay at home. I didn't do nothing. I fought the good fight. I ran that race and I finished it. I have kept the faith.

I'm faithful because I've done everything God gave me. Whatever He gave me, I did something with it. Look what he says, now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness. Paul understands the sequence of which things are going to take place. He's not saying, I'm about to appear before Christ today and I will receive the crown of righteousness right now.

No. He knows there is a day set. There is a day reserved.

Not only for him. So he said, that crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me when? On that day, he said. Not only to me, but he says, but also to all who have longed for his what? Appearing. What does appearing mean?

Exactly. Him appearing in the sky, in the cloud, for us who are taken to be with him. To those, the crown of righteousness is reserved. There's the book of life that the Bible says that is part of that judgment seat. Because we're going to look at what we did in our life. Death no longer has dominion over the believers. Believers will be clothed in white garments, having their names written in the book.

Now, just so you understand. Every person on planet Earth that has ever been born. His name was written automatically in the book of life. Because life means he's alive. However, when you die and you do not have faith in Christ. And your name is not written now in the Lamb's book of life. With the blood of Jesus that can never be raised. Then you're blotted out of the book of life because you're no longer alive. You understand?

It's very simple. The book of life is for those who are alive. And then your name is now in the Lamb's book of life.

And it cannot be blotted out. That's why the Bible says in Revelation 3, 4, and 5. Those who overcome will have their names written in the book of life.

That's the Lamb's book of life. Then he said, you have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments. And they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garment. And I will not blot out his name from the book of life.

Because they have eternal life. And I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. And when will that be?

Of course. First, we have to be with the hymns of the rapture. Then we have to stand right after the rapture. Because first comes judgment. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews, it is appointed upon men to die once and then comes the judgment. It's not going to be, okay, you sit here, watch this movie, get this popcorn.

I'll come back in two years and judge you. No, first thing, right after the rapture. The judging of believers will occur right after the rapture. We're going to stand before him. Revelation 19, 7 and 8, Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come. And his wife has made herself ready.

Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. That represents the righteous acts of the saints. That means that you've been already after the Lamb's throne of judgment. So the judgment seat of Christ is a time of examination and reward from Scripture. We can conclude the following concerning the judgment seat of Christ. First of all, the Lord will resurrect the bodies of the saints who have died during the church age.

As well as change the bodies of those who are still alive, us, I believe. Two, they will meet the Lord in the air and proceed to the judgment seat of Christ. Three, this judgment will consist of rewards for faithful service.

It will not be a condemnation for anyone. Four, rewards will consist of crowns given to believers based upon our faithful service to him. The rewards will be proportionate to our faithfulness. Now comes the last question. Why in the world do we have to study about that?

What is the purpose of the judgment seat? Look, I always have to ask myself, what's the purpose of things? I struggled. When I studied for the Millennial Kingdom message, I struggled. I said to the Lord, I'm sorry, but I don't agree with you.

I said, you took me all the way up there to taste heaven. You're going to throw me back for another 1,000 years on earth? Then I had to get all my assurances from the Scriptures to understand that, A, for us who are like him now, 1,000 years are like what?

One day, so don't worry. Second, I understood that that was a display of his righteousness. Because after 1,000 years, when Christ is in Jerusalem, physically reigning, no sin, no satanic influence.

Because he's locked down in that bottom. If still people at the end of the 1,000 years Millennial Kingdom are ganging up against Christ and his people. That means that they do deserve the judgment seat of the white judgment throne at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. So he is displaying his righteousness for 1,000 years. Here, knowing today what the bema seat in heaven is all about, causes us to live faithful lives today as believers here on earth. When you understand that Christ will judge you for the things you do as a believer, then you have to ask yourself now, maybe starting from today, am I doing those things with the right attitude? The greatest consequence of unfaithfulness here on earth is that it disappoints Christ. 1 John 2.28, And now little children abide in him, that when he appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. It's a sobering thought that we could be ashamed as we stand before the Lord. At the same time, it should encourage us with the prospect of receiving his lavish rewards.

If we serve him faithfully during our time on earth. Sin and indifference in this life rob us of our present desire for serving the Lord. That in turn means loss of rewards. As in Ephesians 5, 15 to 16, See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Sin and indifference result in a loss of power in our lives. Because sin grieves the Holy Spirit. Sin and indifference causes also us to pass up opportunities for service, which we would otherwise perform and be rewarded for.

I would conclude with this. We are to run the race in order to win. You don't show up to the stadium. And then you start walking like that. You have to run. Don't even just run like that. Run, the Bible says that those who run, run the race. They all run, but only one receives the prize. So run in such a way that you may obtain it.

Run as a winner. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. But now they do it to obtain a perishable crown. But we for an imperishable crown. And whatever you do, Colossians 3, 23 and 24, do it hardly as to the Lord and not to men. Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance. For you serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I will conclude with Romans 12, 1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Father, we thank you so much for your Word. It's not only giving us comfort knowing that sin has been dealt with.

And there is no condemnation. But it also encourages us to use the talents we have received. To be as faithful as we can. To flee from temptation. And to run the race.

Fight the fight. And do it in such manner. In excellence and in great anticipation. For that day that we will stand before you in heaven. Father, you said through Jesus that he will come back a second time. To those who eagerly wait for his appearance.

Obviously, if we're not ready, we're not eagerly awaiting. So, Father, we ask that you will work in our lives. To show faithfulness in our service to you. So, we will be ready and eagerly await your return. If there's anyone here this morning that is life, even as a believer, is not reflecting the sincerity of service to you.

Maybe he's not even aware of the consequences of how he does things and why he does things. Father, this morning we ask that you, through your Holy Spirit, convict, change, renew, redeem and restore. We bless your name this morning. And we do that in the name of the Holy One of Israel. In the name of Yeshua, our salvation. And all of God's people say, Amen.

So, there you have it. We will all receive rewards, but we may also be chastised at this Bema Seat. James 1-12 says, referring to the Bema, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

The purpose of the Bema is an exhaustive evaluation of our lives. May that be an exhortation to you for how you live the remaining days of your life, that you may receive more rewards. I want to thank you for listening. We'll talk to you next week. We get our mail when you write to Jan Markell and Olive Tree Ministries, Box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311.

That's Box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311. All gifts are tax deductible. Press support is just as essential to us as is financial support. We hope today's program has been helpful and encouraging, particularly when it appears dark clouds are forming on the horizon. Remember, God never makes a mistake. He has you in the palm of His hand and everything is falling into place.