This message originally delivered August 18, 1991.
Have you turned First Peter, chapter one, and look with me to verses six and forward. It says this. In this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief and all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold which parishes, even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine, and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. We're now in our eighth week in studying the Bema. We got sidetracked into study through Philippians on the Bema. And we've now been studying it for eight some weeks. And we can see now every time I think it's about to close, I can see about three more weeks on the horizon. But I will say to you that the Bema teaching teaching about the Bema that is the judgment for believers, the believers will be judged and teaching about the Bema cuts at the very heart of Pharisee ism. If you want to know something that a Pharisee can't stand, it's this teaching about the Bema. Why because the beam is the opposite of a Pharisee. For instance, a Pharisee wants to feel superior and be judgmental and look down on people and despise them. You can't do that because Romans 14 has written about the Bema You better not do that because you'll give account of yourself you've got enough to worry about in that aspect. Or the Pharisee wants to see results now whereas the Bema says you may not always see results until the future day the Pharisee wants to look good externally as long as he's looks right dresses right goes the right places says the right things. He's gonna be alright with God as long as he's alright with the people of God supposedly. Yet, the Beeman says no, God is going to judge the motives of our hearts. God is going to scrutinize the Aryan test the very thoughts of our hearts. So you see Bhima teaching cuts at the very heart of Pharisee ism, it also cuts at the very heart of our secular society. Do you know what secular means? secular means now. Now this means living in light of the present, you know, the beer commercial, you only go around once, right? That's the whole idea. So go for all that you can living as if there were no tomorrow one theologian said this. People today feel lost in astray. Modern art, poetry and novels or five minutes of conversation with any sensitive person will assure us of that. It may seem odd that this is so in an era when we have more control over the forces of nature than ever before. But it is really not. It is God's judgment which we have brought down on ourselves by trying to feel get this too much at home in this world. For that is what we have done. We refuse to believe that once you live for something more than this present life, that listen, we refuse to believe that once you live for something more than this present life, even if we suspect the materialists are wrong and denying that God and another world exists, we have not allowed our belief to stop us by living on materialistic principles. We have treated this world as if it were our only home we shall ever possess and we concentrate exclusively on arranging it for our comfort. We thought we could build heaven on earth. We just concentrate and focus now. Now now, well, what is the Bema some of you can groan because you're gonna see some of these again, but they're quickly and you gotta remember some people are here for the first time they need to learn about it that they have it. The Bema is talking about the great judgment. At physical death, there'll be a judgment for believers called the Bema. A judgment for unbelievers called the Great White Throne. The Bema is again for believers it has to do with reward or loss of reward. Again, I say this without trying to wear you out Heaven will not be the same for everyone. Make sure you understand that because this has been misunderstood in Christian circles. Hell will not be the same for everyone. Clearly the Bible teaches degrees of punishment in hell and degrees of reward or loss of reward in heaven. Something else here's a new one for you so you can learn something new when it comes to the Bema it's a matter of this is for believers and it's a matter of reward or loss of reward. Notice it says things like this gold, silver, costly stones or loss of reward wood, hay and stubble, which will be burned up as Christ eyes, try our lives. The Bema well done good and faithful servant That's what Jesus says where he says wicked lazy servant. You didn't use the talent that I gave you. Or this treasure and haver heaven no treasure rejoicing great rejoicing sadness, a rich welcome or lack thereof ruling Dominion or lack thereof crowds and honors or lack thereof repaid for doing good or repaid for doing evil. Scriptures teach there's gonna be a day when believers will be judged. Remember, though, very importantly, that we're not talking about salvation. Your salvation is dependent upon faith in Christ Jesus, the moment you receive Christ, you will be in heaven. It's by faith. It's a free gift. It's the doctrine of grace. It's God's work for man. It affects Your eternal position is based on a one event, you come into faith in Christ, and it brings entrance into heaven. However, the beam our heavenly roars is something quite different. It's works of service, compensation, man's work for God, such and such. And all through the ages of the church, different people have believed that and it just seems like it's been sort of slack in recent years in the Christian church. How does God motivate fear of punishment, hope of reward love of God, how does Christ motivate fear of punishment, hope of reward love of God, how did the apostles motivate fear of punishment, hope of reward love of God, but I bet you that most of your life you've even been motivated, you've either been motivated by fear of punishment, or love of God, but you've never also seen hope of reward, which was one of the great things. Remember, Paul said, they do it to get a corruptible crown, we do it to get an incorruptible crown. It's one of his great motivations. In case you're wondering. Even more, I want you to see this famous quote that I found this week. As CS Lewis points out that listen what Lewis said, if you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next, the apostles themselves who set foot on the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English evangelicals, who abolish the slave trade, all left their mark on Earth precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world, that they have become so ineffective in this. Many Christians, however, do not read history, and so are unaware how wrong the Marxists are and how right Louis is now now we're going to jail packers quote. At this point, they again, those who live then again, those who live in the post Christian West breathe every day the poison gas. So we may call it a materialistic secularism in both the popular form of the media and its sophisticated form the arts of higher education. This damages our spiritual eyes, lungs and heart, destroying both the vision of and the passion for realities beyond the present world, order of space and time. The combined force of these factors have made Western Christianity this worldly in a way that can only be described as a radical distortion. That is powerful. Do you understand that? The great men of God, the great women of God down through the ages that have affected this life the most had been those who've had their minds on the next life. Paul said in Romans three, if you've then been with it, risen with Christ, seek those things which are above Jesus Christ said, Woe unto you that are comfortable now. groby words, the day in which we live, important, very important to consider one last one I want you to see, these are long quotes, but they're important. I put them up here, you can get copies of these if you want. Does the world around us seek pleasure, profit and privilege? So do we, we have no readiness or strength to renounce these objectives for we have recast, get this, we have recast Christianity into a mold that stresses happiness above holiness, blessings here above blessedness. Hereafter health and wealth is God's best gifts and death, especially early death, not as a thank worthy deliverance from the miseries of a sinful world, the view that the old Anglican prayer book expressed, but as the supreme disaster and a constant challenge to our faith in God's goodness, is our Christianity now out of shape? Yes, it is. And the basic reason is that we have lost the new testament to the world perspective that views the next life as more important than this one and understands life here as essentially preparation and training for life hereafter, and we shall continue out of shape till this proper other worldliness is recovered. We can read on but that's powerful enough, as you see it, so thick with me now. Think with me, concerning how important the beam is to affect our lives, we are supposed to be thinking Bhima we are supposed to have Bhima mines, we are supposed to remember that every single day even the most mundane task will be evaluated in light of the beam and it is not listen, it is not just to discourage us. I want to say last week's message if you remember, I was going to preach to you on the Bema in light of tough times. And all we got through was the introduction. And the reason for that is we started I started realizing again how even the men who knew Christ the best John who walked with Him who loved him whom we trust, trusted his mother tubes while he was on the cross. All of this the one who laid his head on Jesus wasn't even he considering and facing the judging Christ fell at his feet, though dead in horror. And some people asked me afterwards will kill I'm a little confused. Does that mean we're going to be killed but held accountable for our sins? No. Christ paid for our sins, we will not be held accountable for our sins. But what you need to understand very clearly is this. It is not the sin that John fell at his feet because he felt he was such a sinner. He knew he had been forgiven. It was the awesome present So the Holy God. And the reason we cannot really understand that is our view of God is he's some little buddy out there to sort of help us through some dark our. And basically, when we're doing good, we don't need them. And so it's a view of God that causes the men to fall at their face before God. And so we have considered things concerning the Bema, such as a criterion for judgment of the beam as such as this, how you treat other people will be criterion for how you're evaluated the Bema. How you deny self, will be some criterion for how your handle will be now this week trying to catch up the last week, how do you handle tough times? Now, the Bible emphatically links, trials, tough times suffering persecution with the Bema and with glory of heaven. Jesus said this, or Paul said this, all that live godly in Christ, Jesus shall suffer persecution. Now listen, without a doubt, trials difficulty suffering, the problems come into the life of the believer, all sunshine makes the desert, there they come for a purpose. However, I want us to make sure we stay balanced, because this has to be a heavy message talking about how trials will be part of the criteria for judgment, the Bema how you handle tough times. But one of the things that I think is essential is that you also understand that there is to be the other side. And that is, just because I'm going to speak so much about trials and how they shape us. It doesn't mean that we are not also to enjoy the wonderful times of relaxation that we have now in this life. One man said certainly a rhythm of life, that includes relaxation is right. The fourth commandment shows that alternating hard labor with fun times is right. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, you get this. Jesus so often went to banquets, the fun times of the ancient world. And he got called a glutton and a drunkard for doing so. You were around Jesus, man, he had good times. Do you think children like to run up and be with somebody that's walking around like this? No. Why did the children love Jesus so much? Because he was in the life he loved it. I bet you he loved looking out upon the Sea of Galilee. I bet you love to see the fish that were caught the sunrise, the sunset, enjoying the breeze, all of that it had to be absolutely wonderful for him. It is part of discipline of gratitude to our Creator, that we praise Him and thank Him for the experiences of life, the good vacations, the wonderful events that we get to go on and have. And for us to miss this is to completely miss it. Otherwise, we'll have our minds so much over on all the Christian life's trials. Oh, it's bad. Listen, do enjoy a good conversation with a friend over a hot cup of coffee. sitting out in the sunshine in the back patio somewhere does your heart leaf and prays to God? You should it's from him? Do you enjoy that? First, I am so pumped that when you first get in the car to take off on that vacation, and you just go on down the road and you realize two weeks or you got 10 days or I got 48 hours or whatever you've got, you know, I'm so glad for this. Yes, we need to praise God we need to be thankful to him. Listen, unbelief makes us fear that God is hard and unfriendly taskmaster, who will be grudge us pleasure and require us to do things that we do not want to do and cannot enjoy. Unbelief does that of you have got the reason in so many fundamental churches that the young people are so sick of what goes on in the church is because everyone in the church has made it seem like if you're a good Christian, you won't do anything that's fun. You'll never enjoy anything. What a bunch of baloney. Listen to this famous him for some of the verses that you don't know come we that love the Lord and let our joys be known. Join in a song with sweet accord and thus around the throne. Get this the sorrows of the mind be banished from the place. Religion never was designed to make our pleasures less. So many people out of bad testimony because they don't enjoy life. I remember after I first became a Christian, one of my old buddies who was unsaved invited me over to his house for a weekend he was one of my best friends before it was a Christian. I had moved away and I went back to see him. He says, Hey, you want to do this? No, you want to do this? No. Because I had about two months of telling me all the things that you're not supposed to do. If you're a Christian, I'll tell you something. I never invited me back and he wasn't interested to hear about Christ. Why? Because there wasn't anything I can do. Isaac Watts said, concerning Christianity, some people believe it breeds gloom. Actually, it drives gloom out sin is what brings sorrow but piety produces pleasure. We ought to be thankful to God and enjoy God for the blessings of the good times. I'll tell you, I had a struggle with this the first few years of the ministry. I'll tell you why. I got tuned in and turned on by the doctrine of man's depravity you all know that they actually nicknamed me the depravity pastor back in worry when I was over there. Okay, Mr. depravity. I got so tuned on to the Bible teaches about the helplessness of man apart from God's good Raise, there's nothing man can do. It came as a revelation from God that literally knocked me off my feet. Nothing filled my heart with more excitement than to consider the truth of man's depravity. At the same time, I then started to see about justification. I stood righteous before God, but you know what? I was reading certain writers and I was listening to certain preachers, and everything was so sober and so serious. And I started thinking, you know, I must be a terrible preacher, because I get excited about preaching. I really love it. And I'm sort of happy about it. I love to laugh, you know. Then I would listen to Chuck Swindoll. And I'd hear him laugh. You ever hear him preach right in the middle of one of his sermons? Like that. I thought that guy does not know what I know, you know. But you see, there's that balance. And finally, I've understood there's a time to mourn, there's a time to rejoice. There's a time and there's a balance for both. And I want to say that what has often happened in fundamentalist Christians accepted, especially Baptist fundamentalism, I want to tell you, there has been this put down of worldliness as if the things of the world are not to be enjoyed. Listen, sin is to be hated. But the world is to be enjoyed by God's people, you must understand that there's a big difference. And one of the reasons that we have so turned off our young people and so turned off so many Christians is we've made it seem as if the world has nothing to enjoy. Because all you can do is listen, if you're really going to be happy, just read your Bible read biographies of people that live the missionary life, and, and pray. And then you know, I guess you could go bowling and rollerskating you know, something like that. And we've we've ruined the outlook of life instead of enjoying and praising God. Now listen, there's also a very balance here. Some people will only want to emphasize this best aspect of Christianity. Some people, all they want to do is joins happy mama, you know, Jesus has never recorded his laughing, but he's often recorded his crying. So there's always this balance. We've got to keep this in mind. In fact, so much so do we need to keep this in mind that it's not just this because we're talking about trials today, at least we're supposed to get there and talk about trials. But anyway, Tim massengill, our new intern, we wrote a song and I want us maybe to consider singing that right now. You know, the tune to give me that old time religion, you know that song? Okay. You know, it says, give me that old time religion. You know how it goes. You know how it goes. Alright, well, listen, I want you to consider singing this with me. I don't really expect you to, but I'll sing it for you. This is the first verse we're gonna have more verses. But then we started realizing that people that only want pleasure and only want that one side of Christianity would never say more than one verse anyway. All right. So here's how it goes. I don't want to hear about self denial. I just want to relax for a while don't want to go the extra mile that's not good enough for me you like it? Want to try with me? Don't want to hear about self denial. Just want to relax for a while. Don't want to go that extra mile. That's not good enough for me. Here's the course I think you're gonna like it. Give me that hot tub religion. Give me that hot tub religion. Give me that hot tub religion for it's good enough for me, Kevin. Tim, we think we may go famous on this. All right. Look, that's the balance. I want to make sure you see it. But what we're talking about is the Bema. In regard to handling tough times, you're in first Peter to look what it says. Did you see the beam here? I'm wondering if you did. First Peter chapter one, verse six says this. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief and all kinds of trials get this now, two parts two parts as to why trials come. Number one, these have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold which parishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine, and may result here's the Bema and praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed to aspects which you must see concerning how to handle tough times in regard to the Bema. And that is this, your faith may be proved genuine. That's the here and now you understand in the here and now. A faith that can't be tested, can't be trusted. One man said it's important to know that trials come into our life, so that our faith may be proved genuine. Hebrews 12 says no trial or no such discipline for the present is joyous, but grievous. Later on, however, is not talking about the beam that he's talking about later on in this life. It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. You see, now God brings trials into your life. Have you had trials come into your life? One of the reasons there's so many bitter old people that don't know the Lord and no one ever talks about them, because through the trials of life, they have not handled them with submission and love and stayed under them. Who will men Oh, we may not have them, but they fought them off. Chuck Swindoll says this, many of you have second hand relationship with God using someone else's hymns. You say other people prayers, you follow others people's faith, you live on others heritage. And all those are empty and bankrupt if they're not personal and intimate trials make them personal and intimate. What helps us to know God now what strengthens our faith now trial, listen to a testimony service next time is not. I'm thankful for this. None of this, because of all these wonderful things is because of the trials that have come into our life. In fact, if you don't have trials, you may want to see if you're really a child of God, that's how far it can go trials in the here and now. Listen 32 year old man that I pastored I had the privilege of leading him to Christ. He died two years later of leukemia, left his wife and three kids terrible suffering death, horrible. His name was Ron. And he was a close friend. And this was again in Ohio and afterwards, Rose, his wife wrote this letter. Listen to what the trial of the death of her husband brought into her life, dear family and Christ, due to each and every one of you helped me out in one way or another. I've written this letter instead of sending individual cards. We wish to express our sincere thanks for the your constant prayers, cards and letters, phone calls, visits ins concerns and helping grandma with the girls. I also wish to express our gratitude for the food flowers love offering. So it would be possible for me to be with Ron, as well as the love offerings afterwards. We thank all of those who gave blood donations in Ron's name and blood platelets, also those who were checked. I know this trial, we went through that each of every one of you sacrificed and went through it in some way with us. I just hope that all of you truly understand how grateful I was just knowing we were in your constant prayers. I know each of your concerns are true, God cause God causes all things to work together for good for those who love him. I know this is true, because all I went through with Ron, the Lord has molded me in new ways for the better. He has taught me to be more patient to endure. And through Ron's suffering to get this, this struck me so strongly. And through Ron's suffering, he truly opened my eyes wider to how horrible it was for Jesus to take his wrath for me and for all of us. The Lord through His written Word has given me so much comfort. And I always knew I wasn't alone, he promised he'd never leave or forsake us. And just as that song footprint says, The Lord will carry us when needed. I know that I have a lot of peaks and valleys to travel through. But I also know I won't be alone, and that your prayers will be with me. And the girls Lord never told us, it would be easy. I've learned to value so many things I once took for granted. I now ask that each of you think of your blessings when things go wrong. And I guarantee you you will outweigh your problems. I hope that just as God completed comforted me that I can in some way comfort someone else. We just want to say again, thank you for each and everything. All of you have done to us and help us in this very difficult time your sisters in Christ rose Jeannie Katie in April Jo, name one seven, the Lord is good a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who take refuge in Him. You know, it's one thing to talk about trials. It's another thing to see how trials worked in this lady's life. You know, even to this day, she's still growing as a result of what took place in 1984. And I'm gonna tell you how God brings these things into our life. In order that right now our faith may be proved genuine but notice the Bema it says then later and may result in glory, praise and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed the word reveal there's actually Apocalypse when Jesus Christ returns just like it says in Matthew 16, he'll return with his reward with him. So trials bring response to the beam and notice proof of faith is our response. And notice praise glory and honor when Jesus Christ revealed Luke with me to Luke six, I want you to see something else flip over to Luke six quickly. And I want you to see the next aspect of this Luke chapter six. Notice what Jesus says here. Verse 22, of Luke six, Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you, and insult you and reject your name as evil. Let's go back again. Verse 22 Blessing are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. They get this look at the response you're supposed to have. Rejoice in that day. leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. But that is how they treated the prophets. What are response? There's trouble this persecution is this this people hate you. Do people insult you. Do people overlook you for promotions? Do people to mistreat you, what is your response supposed to be? Look at this, verse 23, rejoice in that day, the leap for joy, strong words, for great is your reward in heaven. If you get persecuted something we know very little love in this world, in this society we live. But to be persecuted for Christ means that in the next there is going to be a great reward. And the only response is this. The next life's reward in comparison to the persecutions now are such that you will leap for joy, jump and leap. Remember the disciples that went into the town they got thrown out, and it says, they left praising the Lord because they've been counted worthy to suffer for his name. Remember that, in the book of Acts, have over and over this is the truth, difficulties and problems are looked on by the world as this Oh, keep them away. That's hedonism. stoics has all just endure it. But the Bible says this, this persecution come your way jump and leap for joy, be happy, because isn't gonna mean a great reward at the Bema think of Noah he was called a fool. Think of Daniel gets thrown into the furnace or into the den, excuse me, the three men in the furnace John the Baptist lost his head Stephen was stone Jesus caused his very life. Why? Because of his stance in obedience to the Word of God and to be like Jesus Christ, persecution, and trouble is going to come. So in regards to that it says, great is your reward in heaven, something we're just going to skip over because we've gone over it so many times. It's tough decisions. Moses had one but he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season because he looked ahead to his reward that's talking about the Bema. And then the last one I want you to see is this second Corinthians chapter four. And look with me, this is an extremely important passage. Look with the Second Corinthians in the Fourth Chapter concerning suffering, and trials and difficulties. synchrony is chapter four. And starting with verse seven, look what it says. But we have this treasure in Georgia jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. I get what he says. Look at verse eight, talking about trials and difficulties. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry about in our body, the death of Jesus or the life of Jesus may be revealed, he goes on to develop it. But now please get this. Look at verse 16. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away. yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day, for our light, and momentary troubles, are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. This passage is amazing passage to consider. He says in verse 16, through all of his troubles, through all of his trials through all of his sufferings through all of his difficulties. Look at verse 16. Friends, listen, some of you I know are beaten down and discouraged because of the difficulties that come into your life. One thing that Paul says he went through all that and please look at it in light of the Bema it says this, Therefore we do not lose heart, though. Outwardly, we're wasting away. He had some terrible troubles. Do you want to know I don't want you to turn there, but I'm just gonna turn over about seven chapters and read you some of them it's pretty popular. You've heard about this a lot. It says this, I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently been flogged more severely been exposed to death again and again Five times I received from the Jews 40 lashes minus one three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I had been constantly on the move I had been danger from rivers and dangers from bandits and dangerous for my own countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles and dangers of the city and danger in the country and dangerous sea in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toil and have gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I have been cold and naked besides everything else I face daily, the pressure my concern for the churches, that is some of the outward perishing that he's talking about. And look what he says though out we don't lose heart even though outwardly we're wasting away. yet inwardly we're being renewed day by day. What is it? What is it? What kind of power what kind of truth what kind of knowledge caused this? What took a man like Paul, we all think oh, he was just automatically energized. There was a Holy Spirit pack on his back and it just energized his heart. He never had trouble with this. No. What is it that energize them as though he was being beaten down on the outside inwardly he was getting stronger here comes The harder the trials, the strength of the inner man became greater. The harder the trials, the stronger the inner man. What was it the did it? Well, let's see, look at verse 17. For our light and momentary troubles, listen, that is hilarious. If you really understand all that I just read and if you would just take one of those and go through them for a period of time, you know what you would be doing? Worse than anybody else has ever had. Hey, Paul calls, being beaten, almost dying, going hungry, going without sleep, be thrown in jail, almost drowning at sea, you know what he calls them? light and momentary troubles? Why? Why did you call them white momentary troubles? One reason friends because of the Bema liquid it says, For our light, and momentary troubles are achieving for us and eternal glory that far outweighs the mall, do you think he's talking about all this suffer is going to earn him salvation? You know, that's not the case. He's the one that taught salvation by faith. He's talking about the Bema. Suffering now means glory, there are light and momentary troubles are achieving and eternal glory, a very strong word, I mean, a strong word, as you can imagine, in the Greek, but guess what, it's not just one, it's to an eternal weight of glory. Awesome. It's doubled up for the sake of emphasis in the Greek. And the point here is this. It's not just that we have some troubles now that is just nothing compared to how great Heaven is. So look at verse 18. And the NIV does a great job here, get this. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, what is the things you could see, well, trouble sorrow, suffering problems, but we don't fix our eyes, it actually means to concentrate, we don't concentrate on the troubles, we concentrate on what is eternal, what's eternal, the Bina. And one of the things that can turn you around, if you're in the midst of difficult times, is to understand the emphasis that the afflictions will pass, the night of sorrow will end while the glory of heaven and the rewards are eternal. The Bema ought to turn us around, we can't sit around and go, Oh, poor me. I'm in these terrible troubles. Do you know what you're doing? And I'm telling you, I am so guilty of this myself, and it almost makes me sick. I feel unworthy to preach on this. Because we get our eyes fixed upon the problems, we get our eyes fixed upon the trouble, we get our eyes fixed upon the worries or the difficulties or the whatever it is, and guess what we do, we ache, we get sick, we feel terrible, we're all upset. Why? Because we've got our eyes fixed on the troubles. Instead of understanding those troubles have come from a loving God for a purpose, that we may in the Bema have a greater reward because how you handle troubles will be part of the criterion for judgment. At the Bema get this, we don't lose heart. It's like momentary, they're achieving for us eternal glory that far outweighs them all friends, if we can understand for just a second, how wonderful heaven is the wonder the joy that will be the receiver reward at the Bema to be honored by God for faithful service and for sacrifice. If we could understand that just for a second, it would change our life, to live by faith. Remember, without faith, it's impossible to please Him, then to come to God must believe that He is and that He is a what a rewarder of them that diligently seek and what does that mean, at the Bema? There will be rewards for those who faithfully go through hard times, and don't go straight. How many times I've heard people say this, while I was what I'm telling you, if people in this church, I was once preparing for the ministry. This minister did me wrong. You don't know how judgmental these people were? Or you don't know how bad it was? And I'm talking about Christians. They did this to me. Do you know what if that is your attitude, I plead with you as your pastor here today to get on your knees and repent? Because that's rotten. You've had your eyes fixed on people. You get your I don't know how long I was been in the ministry, about 10 months. I had about 10 months with no problems. Everybody loved me. All of a sudden, the honeymoon were off and there's some trouble in the ministry and people are critical. People don't like if I would have told you and go into stories of things people said the criticisms, the lies the deceit that's been said just about me. I want to tell you something I had to quit long ago. What is it? It's got to be an understanding that there is a God that will give an answer to and we just don't throw off. We just don't throw in the towel every time there's a little bit of trouble that has to do with the way your your marriage goes. someone criticizes you get married, someone's being selfish. I'm with Hey, consider in light of the Bema you cannot divorce anything from the Bema it all has to be that the suffering now remember what Romans 818 says? I reckon I'm quoting the King James I reckon that the present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glories that you'll follow. You understand that? Do you understand that? All we need to do is focus on faithful obedience now. Say today I will live for you. I will obey you, Lord, the best I know how I feel weak I feel frail strengthen me, I can't do it myself, help me but I'm not going to turn aside from loving you I will see that that day it will bring some glory that day it'll be worthwhile at the Bema brands we need to be reminded it's going to change our life. I am convinced that God has directed us into this because it's it's powerfully impacting my own life, the way we think. One more thing. Look at this. Back basic New Testament ethics is the belief that Christians should live on Earth in light of heaven, should make decisions in the present where their eye on the future should avoid behaving here in a way that would jeopardize their hope of glory. Hereafter store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy where thieves do not break in and steal says Jesus, a man reaps what he sews says Paul, the one who sews to reap the sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who says to please the spirit from the Spirit will reap reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time. We will reap a harvest if we do not give up all the promises that the glorified Christ in His all the promises the glorify Christ has led us to the seven churches holds out to those who overcome the world, the flesh, the devil, other Christians I may add, okay, which are sometimes as bad as the devil relate to the future state. The many passage of this kind of New Testament make it obvious that once you live in such a way that the ledgers of eternity will declare one rich before God this is something no old time Christian whatever doubt friends I I say to you, let's be biblical. And let's be Bhima in our outlook on life, let's think about the fact that we're gonna give an answer to God and let that change the way we live. Let us pray. Father inscribe this into our hearts. It's so easy. The easiest thing is to preach this. The hardest thing is to live by faith, remembering the Bema do a work, father in people's hearts here that have had their eyes and fix their attention on others. Do a work in people's eyes, your father that have focused upon how everybody else has hurt them, instead of why is this happened from the your hand to help them grow? Help us Father to handle tough times so that we could be mature now our faith would be proved genuine now. And so that at the Bema it would result in praise, glory and honor. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.