Getting Ready to Meet God

(1 Corinthians 3:10-15) Soon we will see Jesus. There are two main events that believers in heaven will experience, after the rapture of the church, while the tribulation is taking place on earth. Each of us should be getting ready to meet God! (0971250321) ----more----

 What Is Heaven?

Do you ever think about what's going on in heaven? There's so many things we do know about heaven and there are many things frankly we don't know about heaven. 

Heaven During the Tribulation

One of the things that is very intriguing to me is what's going to go on in heaven while the tribulation is going on earth.

The Lord is going to spare His church from that great tribulation. He has special things in store for us, great things planned. When we began our study most recently about the tribulation, we saw, really from an earthly perspective, what's going on with the Antichrist, here on this planet, but let's look at the same period of time, from Heaven's perspective. Basically there are two big things going on that you have to look forward to and should be thinking about. When it comes to the Lord Jesus returning for us, we're called away. We meet Him in the clouds, and then what, during that seven year period, what's going on? 

The Judgment Seat of Christ

The first thing that's gonna happen is you're going to stand before the Lord. It's commonly referred to in scripture as the judgment seat. Of Christ immediately after the rapture, we're going to be standing before the Lord, or should I say we're gonna be bowing before the Lord. As a matter of fact, in Revelation 4:1, the door opens in heaven and the voice says, "Come up hither." And in that very same chapter in (chapter four verse four and verse ten) the believers are seen casting their crowns at the feet of Jesus, kneeling before the throne. So we know that one of the first things that's going to  happen, though we don't know all the details of it, is we're going to stand before the Lord at what is called the judgment seat of Christ.

Paul's Teachings on the Judgment Seat

It's very interesting to me that the Apostle Paul seemed to talk more about this to the church at Corinth, than any other church. Let me share what I'm talking about. First Corinthians chapter three, beginning in verse number ten, says this, "10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." He said, we're in a spiritual building program. Be careful how you build. And then he says this in verse 12, "12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." He says that there's coming a day that is going to declare the truth about your life.I don't know about you, but that's thought-provoking to me. The day shall declare it. It's not about your salvation in this passage. You don't go into the fire, but your works do. You are spared the fire. Praise God. I'm not going to hell because I've trusted Christ as my personal Savior, but though my soul cannot be lost, I can lose rewards.

On that day, anything that was not of eternal value was gonna be burned up. I wonder, when we stand before God someday, what will we have? I'm thinking now of the old hymn: must I go empty-handed? Must I meet my savior so? Not one soul, with which to greet Him? Must I empty-handed go?" I wonder if we'll have anything when we stand before the Lord on that day. He goes on in 1 Corinthians, listen to these words in chapter nine. He's speaking personally as far as a testimony and he says this in chapter 9 in verse number 25, "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

He borrows from the Olympics of the day, the Greek games where the rewards were given, and the people would come before, before what was referred to as a bema seat, they were thrown like platforms where judges sat and there they were rewarded.

He uses the same language, the same terminology for the judgment seat of Christ, the bema. Seat on that day. We're standing before the Lord for rewards. He continues to the church at Corinth and second Corinthians, his second letter to them, chapter five, listen to the words beginning in verse number nine. He says,"9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Basically, the judgment seat of Christ is a time of reward and loss of reward. Only believers will be there first. Are you going to be there? If you're not sure you're saved, you need to settle that first. Get that matter settled because if you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, there's an awful judgment awaiting you called the Great White Throne Judgment. We'll talk about that soon in our study of what the Bible says about the end of time.

Settle the matter of your soul's salvation. And then if you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, determined by the grace of God that you're gonna live every day in light of the day, you're going to stand before Jesus Christ. Because I wanna submit to you on the authority of the Word of God. That could be any moment, any day Christ could come.

Any day, we could be caught away, and any day, we could stand face to face with Almighty God to give an account of our lives. And I want to ask you, what if that were today? What if you knew that in the next four minutes, you were going to stand before the Lord in the next four minutes?

Not that this study would end, that your life would end that time, as it would end. And in the next four minutes, you were gonna stand face to face with the Lord. What would you do differently then? Do that now. Because any moment Jesus could come, and this is a second thing that takes place during that seven-year period here on Earth. I'll remind you that there's no time in heaven. So it's hard to say seven years in heaven because there's no time there. 

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

But during the period where the tribulation is expiring here on Earth, not only are we going, coming to the judgment seat of Christ to answer to the Lord, but then there's gonna be a great celebration it's referred to in scripture as the marriage supper of the lamb.

Let me read to you from Revelation 19:6 says, "6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."

We know in Ephesians chapter five that the church is represented as the bride and Christ as the bridegroom. Let me tell you, there's a wedding coming, and not only are we going to be presented to our bridegroom, but then we're going to celebrate together prior to returning with him to this earth.

There's a wonderful supper, a marriage, supper. You've never attended a supper like that. And we're going to be there. We are the bride, and Christ is the groom. In Western culture, the wedding day really is all about the bride, but in eastern culture it was about the groom. Might I say to you that the day we're looking forward to is the day that the groom comes for us.

Here comes the Groom. Can you see Him ready in all of His glory to catch us away? Yes, we're going to answer to Him, but then we're gonna celebrate with Him, and we're going to be with Him for all eternity. 

Are You Ready to Go to Heaven?

I hope you're getting ready to meet God, because I'm telling you, you're getting ready to meet God Soon we're gonna see Jesus Christ, face to face. What a time we're going to have. Whatever it is you need to do to get ready for that day, do it today. May the Lord help all of us to live in light of the soon return of Jesus Christ. 

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