#The bema judgment seat of christ cracker

Read Revelation 19:11-'Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. This is one I'd like you to look at because it answers the question, 'When and where will the judgment seat of Christ be?' The Apostle John tells us about that same event in Revelation 19.

He does it in several parables (Matthew 22:1-13 25:1-13). He likens that kingdom to a great wedding reception. With His church, His Bride, to establish His kingdom. He taught us that in Matthew 24 and 25 (Matthew 24:29-31 Matthew 25:31-34). Jesus called it that: 'the Great Tribulation.' And as Jesus Himself taught us, immediately after the tribulation of those days, He will return to the earth with His church. Horrible, horrible pain and suffering will be poured out on this earth. It could be today.Īfter the rapture, a time of great tribulation will break out on earth, the likes of which the world has never seen. We call it the rapture, from the Latin word that means 'caught up.' It's the next event on God's prophetic timetable.

And thus we shall always be with the Lord' (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 'For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. When and where does this great event take place? As you know, the next major event in God's prophetic timetable is the return of Jesus Christ for His own, which we call 'the rapture.' The word 'rapture' is not found in the Bible, but the doctrine is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. So let's see what we can discover about the Bema of Christ. It sounds like that's going to be a rather important event, and maybe we need to know a little more about it. We're going to receive according to what we've done in this body, in this life. This verse should be becoming familiar to you now: '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.' We're going to be here about six times this morning, so take one of the green slips from the pew in front of you and mark your place here. Now, just as those prizes in the Olympic games were given but at a place called the Bema-or judgment seat-by the president of the games, so prizes for Christians are going to be given out at the Bema of Christ. We're talking about wonderful, glorious, eternal rewards in heaven.

#The bema judgment seat of christ cracker

We're not talking about a balloon or a box of Cracker Jacks for the winning the pie eating contest at the Sunday School picnic. He says, 'Run the race in such a way as to win the prize.' And if almighty God uses the promise of prizes to motivate us, you can be sure He will make it worth the effort it takes to win them. He uses the promise of rewards to motivate us. My answer to that is that it can hardly be immature when God tells us to do it. Aim for the top! Go for the gold!' Some people think it's selfish and immature to serve the Lord for rewards.

God is saying to us here in 1 Corinthians 9:24, 'Run the race, live the Christian life, in such a way as to win the prize. In a group this size, there are without a doubt some winners and there are some losers. Some will receive rewards, and some will not. Some are going to have prizes, and some are not. We like to think that everybody in heaven will be equal and enjoy exactly the same benefits, but they won't. Every Christian can finish the race and win the prize if he wants to. The Christian race is different in that respect. There could only be one winner in each event, and that winner would likely be the athlete who was most faithful in self-discipline and in rigorous training. You see, he has transported us mentally into the stadium where the famous Greek games were in progress. The Apostle Paul writes about that in 1 Corinthians 9:24, when he says, 'Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.' And just as in any race, there are winners and there are losers. This is not a 100 yard dash this is a marathon. The gun sounded the day we trusted Christ as Savior, and we were off and running, and we will continue to run until the day God calls us home and we see Jesus face to face. Purpose: To encourage us to live our Christian lives in such a way as to win the rewards which God offers us.