Five Seconds After You Die

Mike Connell, Shane Willard

Audio Transcripts of 5 Sermons

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Mike Connell Ministries

http://mikeconnellministries.com

Five Seconds After You Die (7 sermons)

Five Seconds After You Die (Mike Connell) We read in the paper of accidents, car accidents and young people dying, and there are questions, many questions people have in their hearts, about the reality of what happens after death, and what happens to a person when they die, what will happen in those first five seconds after you die. These are questions people often don't speak out but they wonder about them. There's a tremendous amount of nonsense in the movies to try and explain some of these things. If we want to find out about what happens in eternity, if we want to find out about life after death or what happens at death, the best place we can go is to the one who made it known.

Live with Purpose (Shane Willard) Ghenna was the town rubbish dump (a present reality), and Hades is an afterlife (a future reality), in English its Hell. When we think of Hell, we tend to think about: them (in the future); but in the vast majority of Jesus' teachings, Hell was: us (in the present). Heaven & Hell are both true, and both occupied, in the here/now. They are also both true of another place in the future, which is also occupied, by real people. Jesus' emphasis was far, far, far more on one, instead of the other. When you take care of the poor and the afflicted, that is what it means to know God.

Your intentions are just the starting point. Pure motives, and consistent obedience, mixed with focussed intentions, will lead you to a life that cannot be shaken. What are you rationalising today, that you'll regret tomorrow? One yes requires a thousand NO's. You can never beat sin by fighting sin. Instead you beat sin by empowering something else. The power that you give something else overcomes the sin. Have you ever lost your ability to enjoy what God's given you, because you've compared it to somebody else? Can you clearly define what you want?

Are You Worthy? Part I (Shane Willard) There are four verses in the Bible that say homosexuality's wrong. There are 2000 verses in the Bible that tell us to love each other, so maybe we've got our emphasis wrong? Who is worthy to break the seals, and open the scrolls? But no one in heaven - so there's people already in heaven, who aren't worthy - no one in heaven, or earth, or under the earth, could open the scroll, or even look inside of it.

Jesus' invitation was not to be a certain way, in order to go somewhere. Jesus' invitation was to allow what is somewhere else to be established in you right now. The "Flames of Heaven" is God's relentless pursuit, to make you the best you can be in His kingdom, without taking your free will away. Hell will let you stay greedy, heaven won't; Hell will let you stay racist, heaven won't - lots of fire in heaven.

Jesus' message for His followers is this: get in line with God's kingdom today, as fast as you can, urgently. I urge you to do this. The whole world's at stake.A disciple is someone actively participating with God, to establish His kingdom on the earth

Are You Worthy? Part II (Shane Willard) Grace, by definition, isn't fair. Heaven consumes in flames any ideas of rank. To avoid the flames of heaven, we have to die to the idea that God must be fair. If heaven invaded your life today, who would you have to accept, that you now see as unacceptable? Jesus described heaven as tormenting to those who don't forgive. Jesus is at the centre, and everybody's equidistant around Him, because no one was worthy to begin with. There's always someone that's done less than me, but Heaven includes us all in a circle.

Heaven is not created by the exclusion of imperfect people, but by the inclusion of imperfect people - by grace cleaning them up, purifying them with the flames of heaven. If heaven invaded our life today, we would be overwhelmed with how much it's not about us, and not care where we ranked; we would simply be overwhelmed with God's presence. Why not let that part of heaven be established in you right now?

Be the Salt and Light (Shane Willard) There are 6 mentions of fire in hell, but 229 mentions of fire in heaven! If you walked into heaven tomorrow, what parts of you would be burned up? 15 of 18 of Jesus mentions of hell, was about us, here, now. It's about: what are you bringing to the earth? How's your lust problem? How's your anger problem? Do you call people fools? How is fear of man instead of fear of God? What are you bringing to the earth?

Resurrection of the Dead (Mike Connell)  Exerpt from "First Principles" (6 of 7): Jesus was the first-fruits, the first-born to be resurrected from the dead, and appear to many in a resurrection body - immortal, incorruptible, able to vanish in and out, no longer constrained by the physical world. He was a pattern for all that is to follow. This teaching covers the first resurrection, 1000 year reign of Christ on earth, and the second resurrection. Which one will you be in?

Eternal Judgment (Mike Connell)  Exerpt from "First Principles" (7 of 7): Sometimes we focus a lot on the grace of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God we forget or overlook that there is another side, that God is also holy and He's just. His justice requires that He deal with how we've governed our life and what we've done in our life. All of you have an appointment to keep with this. There is no exception. Matt 16:27 I come and my reward is with me, to give to every man according to his work.

Audio

- Five Seconds After You Die.mp3

- Live with Purpose.mp3

- Are You Worthy (1 of 2).mp3

- Are You Worthy (2 of 2).mp3

- Be the Salt and Light.mp3

- Resurrection of the Dead (6 of 7).mp3

- Eternal Judgment (7 of 7).mp3

Video

- Be the Salt and Light (YouTube)

- Be the Salt and Light (Vimeo)

Five Seconds After You Die (Mike Connell)

Sun 14 Aug 2011 PM  « Back to Top

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We read in the paper of accidents, car accidents and young people dying, and there are questions, many questions people have in their hearts, about the reality of what happens after death, and what happens to a person when they die, what will happen in those first five seconds after you die. These are questions people often don't speak out but they wonder about them. There's a tremendous amount of nonsense in the movies to try and explain some of these things. If we want to find out about what happens in eternity, if we want to find out about life after death or what happens at death, the best place we can go is to the one who made it known.

This week I had a very sad task, to take a funeral of a young girl, a 20 year old girl. Very sad when you go into a funeral service, and there's someone who's only 20 years. We would expect most people to live these days beyond 70, and so to have 50 years or more of her life cut off is just nothing short of tragedy; very, very painful for the parents, very, very difficult. I know we had a number of young people there, and every one of those young people was deeply affected by the loss of a friend.

I think this kind of situation happens over and over and over. We read in the paper of accidents, car accidents, motor vehicle accidents, young people dying; and there are questions, many questions people have in their hearts, about the reality of what happens after death; and what happens to a person when they die, what happens in the first five seconds after you die.

These are questions people often don't speak about, but they wonder about them. There's a tremendous amount of nonsense in the movies to try and explain some of these things. If we want to find out about what happens in eternity, if we want to find out about life after death, or what happens at death; the best place we can go, is to the one who made it known.

The Bible says of Jesus Christ: He came from eternity. He came into the earth; and then knowing where He'd come from, and where He was going to, that He was going back to His Father, He served people, laid His life down as a sacrifice for people; then went into eternity again. So before He did, he appeared to many people; so if you want to know about eternity, then it's quite good to find directly from the person who's been there, lived there, experienced it, and has gone to be there now.

If we look through the gospels, the stories of Jesus, He taught many things, and many times He taught parables. A parable is just a story. It's not a true story, not a real story. It's just a story to get interest, but in it there's a spiritual principle.

What I'm going to read to you is not a story, and we know it's not a story for two reasons: one is, He doesn't tell us it's a story. Everywhere else, if it's a parable, they say it's a parable; so it doesn't say this is a parable, and Jesus is talking directly to His followers. He wants them to understand something.

The second thing is, there are two people who are mentioned in this story. They're mentioned by name. There's a third one who's not mentioned by name, and probably very well that we don't mention his name, but these are real people, who once lived on the same planet we do. They lived in another time, but these people are very real.

I want to just go through and read what Jesus had to say about these people. At times, Jesus, it's almost like He rolled back eternity, and gave people glimpses into it. There are a number of ways that He did that, sometimes with miracles; miracles are manifestation of the eternal power of the kingdom of heaven, coming into the earth. Sometimes He did it through miracles. Sometimes He did it through confrontation of demons, and suddenly for the first time, people become aware of an invisible spirit world.

So when you look at Jesus' ministry, He made the spiritual tangible and real. Not only that, He talked about it. He taught things about the eternal kingdom. He talked about things that would come. He made it very clear, that He would not return until the gospel of the kingdom had been preached through every nation of the earth, and we still have a lot to do.

Then He spoke one story, which gives you a window into eternity. It's not a very pleasant window. It's not a very happy window, but Jesus had seen this. Jesus knew this, and Jesus could teach it like no one else could teach it; so we're going to look in Luke, Chapter 16.

What I want to do, is for you to just open your heart to look for a moment, not just at something in the Bible, but to look, just glimpse into eternity, to discover something you may not have been aware of before. We want to ask the question: what happens in the first five seconds after a person dies? One, two, three, four, five. There's some things happen in those five seconds when a person dies.

I've been with people who've died. I've been with a number of people who died, and it's an unusual experience. I remember being with an older woman, it was John Steele's mother. She was part of our church. She had cancer, and people used to go to her because she was dying of cancer, and they would feel sorry for her; so they would go to the house feeling sorry for her, to visit her, and they'd come away changed, because in her heart was an absolutely confidence of a reality of eternity. She was totally at peace. When you'd go to her, she would talk, and fill you with joy, and fill you with peace. She was extremely positive about what was about to happen to her.

I remember I was called up to the hospital another time, and there was a particular family there, and I didn't know who they were. They weren't part of our church. They just asked - I don't know how they even got my number. They rang me, come up, so I go up there, and I go in. There's a family around, and this must have been a younger person, around about 30-ish I suppose.

The moment I looked at her in the bed, I knew immediately she was going to die. She was in a coma, but what stunned me was the contortions she was making. You could tell this was a person with no peace in their heart. You could tell this was a person who was tormented inside, who was troubled. It was all over the person's face, even though they were out to it, it was all over her face, it was all over her body. I looked at her, and I said to the family: I believe this is her last night on earth. You need to prepare to let go.

It was an incredible time; and then I was with another lady, and she was an older lady dying of cancer. She was in that particular room, which I don't like, and she was there. I went and sat with her, and talked with her, and she asked me this question: what is it like, when you die?

I shared with her a few things. I said: well, if you're a believer (and you are a believer), the Bible says: precious in the eyes of the Lord, is the death of a saint. So in other words, it's an incredibly precious moment of time, when someone who trusts Christ dies, because then they can see Him face to face. The veil is moved. Suddenly the one they've worshipped, and loved, and walked with, all the years of their life; suddenly the veil is removed, and they see Him.

So I talked with her about that, and suddenly - now you've got to realise, she was very weak. She was dying of cancer, and there was very little life left in her. Suddenly she sat up straight, bolt upright. I was quite astonished that she did this, because she looked so very, very weak and feeble. She stood up, and she looked, and I could tell she was seeing something I couldn't see.

I was quite interested of course. I said: what are you seeing? She said: that man over there, can you see that man over there? I said: no, I wish I could, but I can't see Him. I said: tell me about Him, what is he like? I asked first of all because I didn't know whether it's a devil, or what it is, you know; but I just asked - I said: is He smiling? She said: He's smiling! Then she began to talk about His countenance, and what He looked like. She described - now she was almost like she was transfixed, looking at something; and as she looked, she could see this person. I knew she could see the person. She could describe exactly where in the room He was standing.

She described Him, and I said: it has to be the Lord Jesus, has to be Jesus Christ, and He's welcoming you. He's giving you a glimpse into what is about to come for you. Sure enough, that very evening she died, and she died in tremendous peace; the Saviour she'd served, and walked with all her life, now she saw a glimpse of Him, before she went into eternity to meet Him.

So there are just some stories of people - but this is something different. This is actually something Jesus taught, and so this is also a very real story. These are real people, and two of them have names.

The other one doesn't have a name - so we found it in Luke 16:19 - and Jesus is talking to His disciples. He's in the presence of the Pharisees. So the Pharisees, very rich, they coveted money, they lusted after all kinds of things. They were people who were religious, but there was no heart change. There was no love for people.

So let's have a look at see what it is; and as we go through it, you will see for a moment a glimpse into eternity, and we'll be able to answer the question, exactly how it is, five seconds after a person dies. So here it is.

There was a certain rich man who died, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, and he fared or ate sumptuously every day. Now this is the man they don't tell you who he is. There's just a rich man, a man who was extremely wealthy, and there are three things that characterised him; one, he was very, very rich, very, very wealthy person. Second thing that characterised him was, he bought the best of clothes; so he was out shopping, fine linen, so very, very expensive to buy fine linen. He went out and shopped for all the best of clothes. He had a great life, because he had a lot of money. Not only that, he ate well. In other words, he had a great feast every day, drank wine and ate well; and had food laid out on the table, like you'd never seen before. He was very wealthy. Whatever he wanted, he could have; so that's the rich man.

Doesn't tell us who he is, but this is a real person, and we can tell not only from this story about this man living. We can actually tell you, in just a few moments, exactly what he's experiencing right now, 2000 years after Jesus spoke this. We can see it, and Jesus made it very clear...

but there was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores who was laid at his gate. So now Lazarus is described. Lazarus is a real person. He was as alive in his day, as you are alive today. He was a person who walked the earth. He had a name, he had a family background, he had a family.

He came from a family, but he was a very sick man. The Bible doesn't tell us anything much about his sickness, but what it does tell us, it tells us two things about this man, and that was: one, he had lots of sores on his body, so he was riddled with some kind of disease. Second thing is that he was laid at the rich man's house. If he was laid there, that means he couldn't walk, so this man was riddled with a disease, and the disease affected him so seriously he couldn't walk. He actually had to go and be carried to the rich man's house. He was carried to the rich man's house, because his only way of sustaining his life was by begging.

So here they are, two men, a very, very rich man, a very wealthy man, very rich, clothed well, eating well, has everything that money can buy; and another man who's a poor man. This man is sick with disease, and when people are very sick with disease, with sores, it's very easy for others to despise them - so he was very needy. So they laid him at the rich man's gate, so that hopefully the rich man would have some compassion.

Throughout the Bible, the Bible tells us, God is a God of compassion. That means He's moved by the plight of people. We see so much on television, we're not moved by much at all. Very little moves us, until we actually meet real people, with real problems.

So here are two people: one is Lazarus; and one is the rich man. Notice this: Lazarus desired to be fed with crumbs that fell from the rich man's table, and the dogs came over and licked his sores. So this guy is in a terrible state. His sores are obviously flowing, they're open sores. He's in a very, very terrible state. He's hoping to be fed, even just little crumbs from the rich man's table. He's hoping that someone will have mercy on him, and help him. This man who had so much, he's looking to him, and hoping that he will help him on the journey, that he'll provide him a little bit of food, a little bit of comfort, a little bit of help, something just a little to support him. He'd have even eaten the crumbs under the table, like one of the dogs would, but the man wouldn't give him anything.

So that's the story; two men, and the issue is not the wealth they had. The issue is not about being rich and about being poor. The issue is about the state of the people's heart, the condition of their inner life. It's never about what we look like outside.

God looks on the heart, and sees what we're really like; and it says the beggar died, and later on we'll find the rich man died. So he probably died of his disease, died of what was afflicting him. He died. Now notice this; he was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. Just notice that for a moment. There are many other references to this, but it says: the rich man also died, and was buried. Now you notice, it tells us the beggar - doesn't say anything about his burial. He was so poor, I guess a few people who knew him picked him up, and gathered him, and made some poor grave and put him in there, just did the best they could. But there was no big fuss, no big funeral, no big celebration of his life, or anything like that.

But the rich man died and was buried; so he also died, probably prematurely. He thought he would live a long time. That's one of the things that happen to us. We all think we're going to live a long time, and we don't really know. You have no idea how long you'll live. You have no idea how long you're on this earth. You only have the life you're living and breathing today, and today is the day you make decisions.

Today you live the life you have. You don't know what tomorrow holds. You don't know what the future holds. We all have our dreams, our hopes, our aspirations, but the reality is that many people, at a very young age, are cut off in their life by various kinds of tragedies. This is a reality. We see it in the paper all the time.

So this rich man assumed he would have a long life. He assumed his life would go on, and suddenly he was struck dead; so they had a big funeral for him, because he's a very important man. But notice the difference immediately after death.

It says for Lazarus - it names him - Lazarus had a relationship with God. We know he had a relationship with God, and a faith in God, because he ends up in the presence of God. You can't end up in the presence of God, if you haven't come to know Him while you're alive on earth.

Everyone is born separated from God; so Jesus is describing a real man, and where he is now, and He said that straight after he died, something happened. So what happened for him, in the five seconds after he died? One, two, three, four, five.

In those five seconds, this is what happened to him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, and immediately he become aware he's in the realm of the spirit.

You are a spirit being. You live in a body, and when you die, the Bible says when a person dies, their spirit leaves their body; and so he left his body, had a final out-of-body experience.

Notice it tells us, it said: angels gathered him, or took him; so immediately in the five seconds after he died, he suddenly was aware of his body being dead on the ground, and he is alive. Angels, real angels, have come to gather him into an eternal realm, where he's in the presence of God.

So in the five seconds after he died, he suddenly wakes, and is aware his body's on the ground, he is moving into eternity, and angels have come to gather him. In other words, he's a friend of God, and so God has brought angels, to bring him into His presence.

There are many scriptures in the Bible, which tell us when people of God die, they are 'gathered' into the presence of God. Gathered means someone meets and walks, or takes them on the journey into the presence of God; so you're a believer, in the moment, the first five seconds after you die, the person who trusts Christ, you'll suddenly become aware that your life, as you knew it, is over.

You may become aware of your body, and you're outside your body. But what you will become aware of is that there are angels waiting to greet you, and to take you and usher you into eternity, into the presence of an Almighty God who loves you. There you will face your creator. There you'll face Jesus Christ, and you will give account of your life, and your eternal destiny will be made very plain for you.

Now what about the rich man? So the rich man, it doesn't say anything about angels there. There's no mention of angels when the rich man died, so we can only conclude if Jesus did not mention angels for him, there were no angels met him. So what happened for him, in the five seconds after he died?

It says: and being in torments in Hell. There are a number of scriptures. There's an interesting one in Job 27:19-22, and it talks about the rich man coming before the king of terrors.

You've got to understand this. He assumed he was going to live a long life. It was a shock to him to die early. It's always a shock for people to die early, so this man died; and the moment he died, he suddenly become aware that he's now no longer in his body, but there are no angels waiting to meet him.

In fact actually the opposite; he is ushered immediately into an eternity separated by God. He doesn't tell us who took him there, but it says in other places in the Bible, he shall stand before the "king of terrors". It's not a very nice sounding name is it, the king of terrors?

So it says - notice about this man - it says: he, being in torments in Hades, lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. He cried, and he said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus - that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

Abraham said: son, remember in your lifetime, you received good things; and likewise Lazarus, evil things; now he is comforted, and you are tormented; and beside this, between us there is a great gulf, fixed so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot; nor can those from there, pass to us.

So let's have a look what the Bible tells us. Now Jesus is giving you a glimpse into what it's like. Now the reality is - that man is still there now. That man is still there now. The reality is, is that Lazarus is still in the presence of God.

Notice what it says of Lazarus, first of all. It says: he was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. Now Abraham is the father of people of faith, so people who were descendants of Abraham, or people who follow Abraham, or people who believe in Jesus Christ, are children of Abraham by faith.

Now to be in the person's bosom, they understood what that meant. In the Eastern times, they would lie down to eat their meal; and so to have a particularly close intimate relationship with someone, you put their head against your bosom, against your chest. John the Apostle leant his head on Jesus' bosom. He had a close relationship.

So what its saying, is that this man Lazarus was deeply loved by Abraham, recognised by Abraham, has a very close relationship with Abraham, the father of faith, and is wonderfully happy in eternity. That was what happened to him.

But what about the other man? Now there are two things that you can tell, and these are the interesting things. There'll be a lot of people who are your friends, they've got no idea. I've been to some funerals, and I've heard the weirdest things, weirdest songs, the weirdest kind of statements about how they've just become a star, and they're looking down on us now. This is total nonsense - or they're just floating around, and they're watching over us. Again, this is not true. It comes out of the mind and imagination of people, who don't know the reality. Here is the reality.

Now this is a reality for any person you know who doesn't know Christ. Jesus said: you must be born again if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must be born from above. It requires an encounter with God to change you on the inside.

Now young people, I want you to think about this. You live and walk every day in the presence of people who are spiritually dead - and this is their eternity, should they have an accident next weekend; should they go drinking to get rid of the pain that they feel in their heart, and a car goes out of control. Before you know it, there's two or three young people killed. This, which you're going to read now, is the reality for them. It's not just some sort of story.

You know the movies try to make these things, and portray them, and make them look in certain ways, but Jesus describes reality. So I want to show you two things about this.

Number one, I want to describe for you the person himself, because in case you wonder what it'll be like for me - all that happens is you lose your body, but you are still very alive.

Death does not mean you don't exist anymore. Death is just you're separated from your body, separated from the people, separated from this earth, separated from loved ones, so the ones who are grieving are the loved ones.

If you're a Christian, for you to go into eternity is great joy, and great release. In fact many people who have had experiences of going into eternity, and encountering Jesus, never wanted to come back; but they came back because Jesus assigned them to come back.

So what about this man here? Now it says, notice, these things. We're just going to look at it very carefully: He was in torments. He had eyes, he could see, he could recognise Abraham and Lazarus - he recognised him. Notice he cries out, he's got a voice. He's crying for mercy. He talks about Lazarus dipping the tip of his finger in water, and cooling his tongue for I'm tormented in this flame.

So here's the thing that you notice about the man himself. The man himself has eyes, he has a tongue, he has fingers, he has feelings, he has emotions, and he has memories. So in hell, this man is totally conscious.

He can recognise Abraham, who he's never met; so in the realm of eternity, you're able to recognise people you've never met – you just know them immediately. You notice he's got memories - he recognises immediately who Lazarus is; which tells us that in his lifetime, he knew exactly who Lazarus is, and what his condition was - but he ignored it completely. No heart, no compassion, no mercy, quite self-indulgent.

So what else does it tell us? It very clearly - there are fingers, there's tongue, and notice what it says: he was in torments, terrible, terrible, terrible torments. It was his tongue that was tormented, and it described that it was food, and lust for food, was his issue. So he says: I'm tormented in this flame, so notice now he's got these tremendous issues.

Here he is, he exists; so when you die, you won't just cease to exist. You'll just walk out of your body, and someone who could see you, will know exactly who you were, a person from eternity.

You'll walk immediately into eternity. You'll have fingers, and you'll have eyes, and you'll have a nose, and you'll have all the features that a human being would have; except not a physical body, just a spirit body, and your memories. Everything you remember, every experience you had, you'll take it with you.

Now notice also about the place. The people struggle with this thing of a real hell, but there is a real heaven, and there is a real hell. You could probably search out the internet, and you'd find stories, testimonies of people who went to heaven; also people who went to hell. Those who went to hell, it's extremely frightening, terrifying experience for them.

We had some CDs a little while ago, Mary K Baxter I think it was, and she had these visions where she was taken into hell, and she was almost in trauma for days afterwards. It took her a long time to come out of it, and then she's become a most powerful witness, and she described the scenes of the people she saw, who she saw, what she saw. It's a most gripping thing. I tell you it's one of the most motivating things, when you see it.

But let's have a look at this place called Hell. Firstly you notice he was in hell. He was in a real place - it is a real place. There is a spiritual place, a place in the spirit realm, that is called Hell. Notice it's a real place, and it's a place of torment, a place of tremendous pain. Notice it says: talking about the flame; so there's obviously flames of fire in that place. Notice in that place in hell, there's memory. You can remember your life on the earth. Notice also that you know a number of things; you notice that he's able to recognise.

There's an unquenchable fire, Jesus said in Mark 9. He said: in that place, there is a fire that burns, and it can never be put out. There's a corruption takes place, can never, never, never be stopped. In other words, it's a place of immense pain, and torment of all kinds. Part of the torment is flame. Part of the torment is some kinds of things that consume you, but you're never fully consumed. But part of the torment is you remember your life on earth, and you remember the opportunities you had.

You remember people on earth who've known Christ, and you're aware of them in eternity. You're also aware that there's no possibility that you can ever escape this place. This is the most horrendous thing. Most of us in a place of pain, or a place of difficulty, the thing that comforts us is it won't be too much longer. You go to the dentist, well it's very painful, but it's going to be over in an hour - but not so in this place. This man is still there. He's going to be there for all eternity.

So notice some other things. Abraham said: son, remember in your lifetime - so he's got memory. He remembered in his lifetime all the good things, and he said: now here's comfort, and you're tormented, and there's a justice in this.

When we go to heaven, we're comforted. We experience the comfort, the love of God. If a person goes to hell, they experience torment. They've left God out of their life, and now there's torment that goes on forever.

Notice he said: there's a great gulf, fixed between those who want to pass from here to you, that cannot; and those from here pass to us. So notice he's saying that it's impossible, once you're in that place, to shift from one to the other. He said: even if someone here saw a loved one, and wanted to go, they could not. Even if you wanted to come and change your realm, you cannot. He said: it's fixed. It's fixed by God, so one of the torments for people in hell is, they're aware of those who went ahead, who have actually died in faith. It's a horrendous thing.

Notice this, as we go down, he says: now I beg you. I beg you father, that you would send Lazarus to my father's house; for I have five brothers, and he may testify to them, lest they come to this place of torment.

So you notice now he calls it a place of torment, he actually describes it. This is Jesus telling us about a real person. This is not some story. This is actually a reality, an eternal reality. Well, tell me something motivational. Tell me something to get me excited. Tell me something to get me wound up. No, no, no, no. We're telling you about eternal reality.

There are two eternal realities; one is a reality in heaven, and the other is a reality in hell, and tormented; and that's why Jesus came. He never told us what the name of the man was, and I'm glad he never did. It's impossible for us to know who goes into that place. Only God can decide, because only God is the judge.

That's why it doesn't tell us at all who that person was, but we know he came from a big family, a family of six and they were probably a wealthy family, because he has great concern for his brothers. So isn't it interesting, in hell he remembers his family, and his only thing is: boy, they're in trouble if they come here.

He wants something to be done, and you notice what Abraham said to him: We'll have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. He said: no. If one goes to them from the dead, then they will repent.

Now notice this; he is aware that the reason he is in that place, is because of his self-centred life, and failure to repent. Jesus came and preached: if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, there must be a change in how you think, and how you run your life. There's a need to abandon a life without God, and embrace a life of relationship and faith in him; so this man knew the reason - he was there was lack of repentance.

There was no opportunity for him to repent, and his concern is this: he remembers his friends. He remembers his family. He remembers his brothers, and his memory of his brothers - I don't want them to come here. Can you tell them?

And Abraham says: well they've got the Bible. Oh no, no, no, no, send someone from the dead. He said: no, even if we send someone from the dead, they won't listen to the Bible, and the prophets of God. They won't listen to someone who came from the dead!

So what Jesus is saying, very, very clearly is this: is that the word of God is what we need to change our values, our thinking, and our heart attitudes. If we won't believe the word of God, and put our trust in what God says, then even if we saw a miracle, it won't change us.

When Jesus' friend Lazarus - it's a different guy Lazarus - when he raised him from the dead - the religious leaders, instead of celebrating and having faith, wanted to kill him, because he was inconvenient.

Jesus rose from the dead, and in spite of Him rising from the dead, there's still great contention worldwide; even though a man rose from the dead. People do get raised from the dead. In Pakistan, Dave was telling me just recently, one of his last meetings he took there, another girl was raised from the dead, so people do get raised from the dead, but what counts is: what we will do with Jesus Christ, and our response to the word of God.

So what happens in the five seconds after a person dies? Death can come very quickly. Death can come slowly, but there is just a moment when the person dies. When a person dies, their spirit leaves their body, so here's what happens.

They become aware, as they leave their body, they're leaving this realm. If a person has faith in Christ, they become immediately fixed upon the presence of angels, in white dazzling garments, with a great smile on their face, coming to greet them and welcome them as a person of faith, and bring them to where they belong, an eternity in the kingdom of heaven, forever and ever and ever. They're ushered into the presence of Jesus Christ. They're ushered into a realm of joy, of peace, of tremendous beauty, of beauty that you can't even possibly imagine, of colours and of life that is just beyond what we could know here.

That's why when people experience it, they're reluctant to come back; because it's so beautiful, so intense, and so fulfilling, they never want to leave it to come back to a war zone. So that's what a person experiences, the moment they die.

I have no doubt that David's daughter Jessie, in the moment alone at her bed, when she had an epileptic fit and then suddenly died, there was a moment suddenly she was aware she's stepping out of her body, and she's encountering angels, and coming into the presence of the Lord. In that presence, she'd have no desire to return, so intense, so wonderful, something that's hard to describe.

But for a person who doesn't know Christ, it's quite a different story. Maybe you know someone who doesn't know Christ. This is why they need to be saved, because of what will happen to them. That person that doesn't know Christ, we don't know how long they'll live. You don't know what can happen to that person's life. You don't know whether they'll have some kind of accident. We just do not know. Neither shall we be so confident that it's not going to happen. We just need to actually carry the heart Jesus had for them.

Now notice what it says: Straight away he opened his eyes, and found himself in hell. There were no angels to greet him. It's most likely demons dragged him into hell. He turned up in a place of torment, his life terrified, in absolute agony and pain, aware of his fingers, aware of his tongue, aware of his memories of earth, in a place of great torment, aware of other people in a different place - and there is no, no, no release forever. This is a 'window into eternity' story, and it's a story about real people.

Jesus told the story so we would have no doubt whatsoever. He knew that there would come a day when people would question whether there's an eternity, question whether there's life after death, and so He came to make it very, very plain. So people today have two eternal destinations: one in the presence of Almighty God; one in the presence of torment forever.

Only God can make the decision who is who, but what He has done is this. The Bible says in Matthew, Chapter 9, it says: Jesus looked on the harvest field. He looked on multitudes of people, and He felt deeply moved with compassion. Why? Because He saw into eternity, and He saw their condition, and His heart was moved.

Remember the problem with the rich man? The problem with the rich man was not his wealth. The problem with the rich man was his heart. He actually had no heart of compassion for people. His heart was not moved with love for people, concern for people, desire to reach out. He was actually self preoccupied. This was his problem.

Jesus looked out on the multitude, and He said: they're like sheep without a shepherd. He was moved with compassion. He said: the harvest is great, but what’s lacking are labourers - people with a passion for souls, people with a passion for the harvest. Eleven young men put their hands up, and said: I'll go. Eleven young men gave their lives for the gospel. This gospel of Jesus Christ is good news, that there's an eternity that begins now, with a relationship with God. There's an eternity that is true now, and just gets worse forever; and you and I have the words of life, to help people come into it.

We live in an hour when God is calling the church to understand the realities of heaven and hell, to experience and encounter heaven, and to get in our heart a deep compassion for people that are lost; not to go and harangue them with words, but to understand the gospel is the power of God to salvation, to every person who believes.

I've had great joy to speak the gospel, and watch people weep as God touched their life, and they came to Christ, to feel and see the joy and the peace come into their life.

Young people, God has a mission for you. It's a mission to carry His life to this generation, to carry the life of God, the word of God, the power of God, and to find ways, creative ways of communicating these spiritual realities to people.

You're living among young people who - many are in pain, and they're trying to dull the pain through alcohol and drugs and relationships. They're actually lost, and don't understand. This is why a person needs to be saved. They're lost. They can't find the way. It's the nature of sheep. If a sheep is lost, it cannot find its way home. It needs someone to go and say: this is the way.

Jesus said: people are like sheep. If you've ever had anything to do with sheep - go and ask Barry. Barry knows about sheep - they just, once they're lost, they're lost. They can't find their way anywhere. They're just lost. They need someone to go - and you are the person to go. You are the person to carry the love of God. You're the person to bring a message of hope.

I remember when someone first reached out to me, and it wasn't what they said, because I was pretty resistant, but it was what I saw in their eyes, as they spoke their concern for me, and I knew, I knew I was in trouble. It wasn't the words they said. I can't even remember what they said, but the look in this person's eyes, of concern and compassion for me, made me aware something was deeply wrong inside me, and I needed help. I could see in the person's eyes, a compassion and love of Jesus Christ; and it deeply disturbed me, because I knew I had something wrong inside, and I think the very next time I went to a church meeting, I looked around. For the first time I saw, they had something that I was lacking, and I needed to be saved.

Just close our eyes right now. I really just feel tonight that God is wanting to awaken in our heart just a desire for the lost, a desire to reach to people. If you've got a Bible, go back into Luke 16, and just meditate on it. If you've got a computer, go look on the internet, you'll probably find some things in YouTube, a little bit about it. Get testimonies of people who were there, who've been to this place, have seen it's reality, and ask God to fill your heart with a deep love for people who are lost.

When you see the young people in your classroom, or the people around you in your neighbourhood, begin to look at them quite differently. As you look at them, this is what you look for. As you look at people - I did this for a little while when I first came to this city, just began to walk down the streets, and praying quietly in tongues ,and looking into the eyes of people, looking in to an eternal being, and my heart was moved for the city, as I saw how lost people were. It shows in the eyes, the deadness and dullness. You see the vacancy. There's no joy, no vibrancy, no life. They need a saviour.

What were you saved from? You were saved from the power of sin, with all its torments, the separation it brings, an eternity without Christ, an eternity in that place of torment, that the rich man is in right now.

He would wish that someone could come from the dead, and appear in front of you right now; but Abraham said: no, even that won't change things. They have the word of God - if they won't believe that, then even someone turning up and appearing to them won't make the difference.

So tonight you have had the word of God. You have heard the very words of Jesus. We put them on the screen and read them out. There is no mistaking there are two possible destinations, and one decision to make. What will I do with Jesus Christ? That is the decision. It's not about church; it's not about some big experience. It's actually: what will you do with Jesus Christ? What year are we living in? It's that many years since Jesus Christ came. What will you do with this person?

I just sense, God wants to put into people's hearts a fresh passion for souls, a fresh concern for the lost; and if that's you tonight, why don't you just come, just lift your hands to the Lord, or kneel down in front. Say: God, put a deep burden in my heart.

It's not something I can work up. It's nothing emotional I can do, but I just want you to start to awaken in me the compassion and love that you have for people around me. I walk around them and pass them, and I just overlook that they're in such desperate need. I've lost the passion to see them saved. Lord, tonight I'm asking you to reignite it.

Would you do that? Would you come tonight, that's your prayer, say: God, ignite that fire again in my heart. Why don't you just make your way out of your seat tonight and say: God, ignite a fresh passion, a fresh desire for lost people, ignite it in my heart.

Lord help me to see, and become aware of, the very fires of hell, of the very fires of torment. Help me become aware of it. Lord, I want the reality of these things to quicken inside me; so there's urgency, a desperation, there's a concern that can be seen and felt in my words, and my countenance. Lord, I'm asking you to awaken this in my life. Come on, don't be afraid to come if that's you. If you have no heart for the lost, and no concern for them, it'd be good to just say: God, I don't know why I feel no concern. Awaken in me concern, awaken it Lord.

We'll just lift our hands to the Lord right now, just begin to worship Him. Holy Spirit, I can't make this happen, but I'm asking for you to come. I'm asking Lord, that through vision, through revelation, you would awaken the hearts of people tonight, to the eternal realities of heaven and hell, whether it be by vision, whether it be by dream, whether it be by an encounter in this next few days or week or whenever.

I'm asking Lord, that the reality of eternity would come alive, for every person that's standing here today; Father, that they begin to see into the spirit, the reality of those flames, the reality of people in torment, the reality of the lost that's there, people trapped in dungeons, people who once walked the face of this earth, absolutely lost for eternity.

Oh God, write in our heart a deep passion, a deep concern, that Lord, tears would come, we'd begin to weep for the lost, weep for our own generation, weep for our family members, weep for those in the church, who think they're safe and really their condition is desperate.

Lord, we weep for the city that we live in, for its lost state. Lord, we pray tonight that you begin to pour your spirit upon people, that we begin to have a fresh fire, a fire for souls awakened in us.

Lord, open our eyes to see into eternity, to see that rich man, the horror in his eyes, in his countenance, lost forever, remembering his brothers, but now they're there with him. It's possible for the spirit of God to open your eyes, to see and begin to feel the pain. Begin to see and feel that place; but as you see it, feel the heart of Jesus.

Hell was never made for people, it was made for the devil and his angels. God never made that place of torment for people. It was made for the devil and his angels.

Tonight as you look into that place, begin to be aware of Jesus, His great compassion. It's not His heart that any should go to that place. Peter writes this: God's heart is that none should perish, but all should be saved. What is the will of God? None perish, all saved. None of your friends perish, all saved. None of your family perish, but all saved.

So who will pray? Who will stand in the gap of indecision, to break the yoke of sin, to break the yoke of Satan over people, so their eyes are no longer blinded? Who will rise in prayer, and begin to passionately intercede the souls? Who will arise and begin to equip, and get to know how to share the gospel, and begin to look for ways to reach out to their friends; with kindness, with love, and to share unashamedly the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Paul says: I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel message. I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed of what He said. I'm not ashamed of who He is. I'm not ashamed of what He did. I am not ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God, of salvation to all who will believe.

Father, awaken in us. Awaken in us as a church; awaken in us as individuals, your compassion for lost people. Let it begin to mobilise and drive us and empower us to reach our friends with passion, with purpose, with zeal and Lord, with a sense of urgency.

One of the challenges we find is, we live in a culture where people are passive, and there's nothing really urgent, except that I can answer my phone right now and see who's calling me. But we need to get the urgency of the gospel going out.

Lord Jesus, I thank you for people tonight who are standing. Awaken in each of us a passion and desire for the lost, a deep awareness of what we are saved from, and who saved us, and how much we love You.

We thank you tonight, Jesus Christ, that you came into this earth. We thank you that you left heaven, and came into this earth; we thank you Lord, that you demonstrated the kingdom, demonstrated the love of the Father, demonstrated for us the realities of the kingdom, taught on the realities of the kingdom; and then boldly gave up Your life, knowing that You would never stay in that place of death, but knowing that You would rise again from the dead.

Oh my God, fill us also with such confidence, with such absolute confidence in the gospel, that we're willing to pour out our lives to see lost people saved. Lord, we give You the honour and we give You the glory, in Jesus' mighty name.

Now Lord, just as we finish this service tonight write in the hearts of every person here pictures, faces, names of people you want us to pray for, and show kindness to, and reach out to, build bridges to, and share the gospel with. Lord, let the Holy Ghost come on us, to do this work in Jesus' mighty name.

Live with Purpose - Men's Breakfast (Shane Willard)

Sat 16 Mar 2013 AM  « Back to Top

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Ghenna was the town rubbish dump (a present reality), and Hades is an afterlife (a future reality), in English its Hell. When we think of Hell, we tend to think about: them (in the future); but in the vast majority of Jesus' teachings, Hell was: us (in the present). Heaven & Hell are both true, and both occupied, in the here/now. They are also both true of another place in the future, which is also occupied, by real people. Jesus' emphasis was far, far, far more on one, instead of the other. When you take care of the poor and the afflicted, that is what it means to know God.

Your intentions are just the starting point. Pure motives, and consistent obedience, mixed with focussed intentions, will lead you to a life that cannot be shaken. What are you rationalising today, that you'll regret tomorrow? One yes requires a thousand NO's. You can never beat sin by fighting sin. Instead you beat sin by empowering something else. The power that you give something else overcomes the sin. Have you ever lost your ability to enjoy what God's given you, because you've compared it to somebody else? Can you clearly define what you want?

If you want to know the things Jesus said would 'ruin your life', all you've got to do is do a simple study on Hell.

Because there's only one English word Hell, we tend to get confused that, when Jesus talked about hell, He was talking about two realities: one was called Gehenna, which is essentially hell now; and one was called Hades, which is essentially hell then (post-death).

Both are true, and ones not necessarily more important than the other, but Jesus' emphasis was far, far, far more on one, instead of the other. But when we tend to think about Hell, we tend to think about them/then; but the vast majority of Jesus' teachings on hell were us/now.

Heaven is true that way too. Heaven is true here, and it's occupied; heaven is true there, and it's occupied. Hell is true here, and it's occupied; hell is true there, and it's occupied.

The word for hell here was Gehenna, and essentially Gehenna was the town rubbish dump. It was a place where hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus, they used to burn children to the god Molech there, and so the land was essentially useless, so they used it as a town rubbish dump, because you couldn't use it for anything else.

The problem they found with that, when the wind shifted from that direction, the smell of that place went into the city, so they had to come up with a solution. Their solution was a sulphuric mixture of fire.

It's the same principle as a match; if you have a bowel motion, and it's particularly horrible, you can simply strike a match, let it light up for a second, and then you put the match out, let the smoke go through the room, and it will actually deodorise. If you didn't know that try it okay, I might have just saved your marriage.

So they kept this fire going all the time there. It was also a burial ground for poor people, so if you couldn't afford a tomb, they would throw your body on Gehenna. It was also where all the stray animals would scavenge for food and stuff. So in the First Century, if you went to Gehenna, you would smell sort of the fire and brimstone sort of mixture. You would also see poor people's families having funerals for them, and you would also hear the sounds of barking and biting and animals scavenging for food.

So Gehenna became known as the place where the fire doesn't die, and there's weeping and gnashing of teeth - and so that was hell HERE. Hell THERE was a place called Hades.

Jesus said the word hell 18 times; of the 18 times, 15 of the 18 was hell here; three of the 18 was hell there; so roughly 87.7 per cent of the time when Jesus talks about hell, He's not talking about a future reality. He's talking about a reality that's right here.

He said that six things will send your life to hell, six things, and these things are this: 1) Not controlling your lust issues. So He says: you don't get those things under control, it endangers your life (of the garbage dump). 2) Anger, holding anger in your heart. If you tend to not be able to let things go, and you hold bitterness in your heart because people have done you wrong - if you don't get that kind of thing under control, you run the risk of putting your life (on the garbage dump).

3) Calling people idiots. He says: if your pattern in life is calling someone a fool, you're endangering your life (of the garbage dump). Obviously that one's talking about hell here, otherwise we're serving a God who tortures people forever for calling someone an idiot, and we're all screwed okay, so you don't want to do that. Essentially He's saying: listen, you know, you don't want to make a pattern of doing that. So He says: your lust issues, your anger issues, and your tendency to think you're smarter than everybody else - those are the things you have to handle.

4) Fearing man instead of fearing God. He said: that'll hurt you. That will eventually endanger your life of the garbage dump. 5) Unforgiveness in your heart will eventually endanger your life of the garbage dump... 6) ...as well as greed.

So greed, unforgiveness, fear of man instead of fear of God, calling people fools, lust and anger; those six things are the things that destroy a man's life, to the point of putting you in the garbage dump.

When you think about it in those terms, what you think about is, you start looking at yourself; or if you're a narcissist, you start thinking about somebody else who needs to hear this.

So you go: well okay, I could see where this lust issue in my life has hurt me. I could see where my tendency to power over people has hurt me. So if I was going to talk to you about how to be an over-comer, what I would simply do is go through those six issues.

I want to even step back further from that, and give you a principle that actually is ubiquitous to the entire lot of it. If we don't master this, then we can't deal with anger, and fear, and lust, and calling people idiots. We can't deal with those things if we don't deal with this - and I think Jesus deals with it brilliantly in the end of the Sermon on the Mount. This is what it says, in Matthew 7:13.

Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the road, that leads to destruction, and many wander through it. But small is the gate, and narrow is the road, that leads to life, and only a few will find it.

Just to be clear, that has nothing to do with heaven and hell. That has everything to do with the fact that, in life, most people don't have what it takes to make a decision to make their life better. Most people just do what everybody else is doing, and find themselves completely unravelling.

When you see euphemisms in scripture like death, darkness, decrease, destruction, it's not necessarily talking about being literally dead, or literally dark. It has to do with a realm of life that is destroying you; light/life/increases, a realm of life that's leading you to life.

He says: watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you'll recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

In other words, if what they're doing is working, they're likely a good piece of tree. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut off and thrown in the fire. Thus, by their fruits, you will recognise them.

Not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who's in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out devils, and perform miracles? Then I will tell them plainly: I never knew you.

So this is very challenging to us, because to Jesus, calling Him Lord isn’t enough. If I ask someone: why are you saved; if their only answer is: I believe in Jesus; believing in Jesus, really, is that it? Honestly, believing in Jesus only qualifies you to be a demon with skin on. Demons believe in Jesus. What does that have to do with anything?

Wait a minute. Jesus says: people who've called Me Lord, and cast out devils, and prophesied, and performed miracles - it doesn't necessarily mean that they know me - and that is very scary, because then the question is: what does it mean to know God? I thought that's what it meant to know God. What does it mean to know God?

The only scripture in the whole Bible, that defines what it means to know God, is Jeremiah 22:16. It says: when you take care of the poor and the afflicted, that is what it means to know God.

In other words, when you do something for someone, who can't possibly do anything in return for you - that is when you get to know God, because that is exactly what God did for you. It's that sort of principle; and He keeps going. It says: it's all about how you treat others. This is where He keeps going:

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and puts them into practice (hearing/doing), is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine, and does not put them into practice, is like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. The rain come down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teachings, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the other teachers of the law.

Now let me read one more scripture to you. This is Deuteronomy 30:19, that has the same sort of principle that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This would have been the Bible in Jesus' day, maybe this was His key text, before He preached this.

It says: I call heaven and earth as a witness against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, that you and your children may live; and that you may love the Lord your God and listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him; for the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This thing that you keep seeing through scripture is, you have two choices: life, death; blessings, curses; darkness, light. Choose life, that you might live. Choose to be in the light, as He is in the light. Jesus is simply using the same principle, with a different example.

He says: there are many times in life where you're going to come to a fork in the road. If you ever in life are faced with a decision, where most people are going one way - chances are, you should be going the other. Some of this is just common-sense.

What percentage of people do their finances actually work? Very few! Statistically most of you are broke; and I don't know you, but statistically most of you are broke.

According to US News and World Report, 63 per cent of every single person over 60 does not have $1,000 in the bank. How is that even possible? That is totally trying to live on accident, with no plan at all, and waking up one day at 68 and going: oh no! The truth is that most people live like that, according to US News and Word Report. I find that statistic hard to believe, but they printed it, so may as well use it.

What percentage of people are living pay-cheque to pay-cheque? Most. What percentage of guys in this room - and don't answer me, I'm being rhetorical here - how many of you actually have financial peace - where you sit in your chair at night, and you're not wondering how you're going to pay your bills? My guess is: not very many. My guess is: most people don't experience that at all.

What percentage of marriages actually work? Somewhere around one in five! If you have a great marriage, hold onto it, because it's really, really rare - about one in five, one in five. Fifty per cent of marriages divorce, another 25 per cent of people are just holding. One in five are like: she's my best friend, he's my best friend, we're going through - this is awesome! Very few!

Jesus is saying something that's very obvious. He says: when you look at life, and you look at people winning, and you look at people losing, most people are losing; but the reason most people are losing, is because they don't have what it takes, to make the choice to stay on the high road. They don't have what it takes to stay over here.

So one principle about this that is very, very important - there are three images Jesus gives, and they all have a different message to speak to us.

The first image He gives is gates. He says: broad is the road, and narrow is the way, that leads to life. So there's a broad gate, and a narrow gate.

Now in Jewish literature, this is a metaphor for the city. This is a metaphor for the city. What they did in all of Jewish literature is, they used Jerusalem as the example of attaining your goal. So instead of saying: hey, have you met that goal; they might say: hey, have you made it into the city with that? It was a euphemism, it was a metaphor for doing that; and the problem with that is, is that as you got closer to the city, the road got narrower; so you had to, with full intention, try to make your way into the city.

You couldn't just accidentally make it to the city. You had to with full intention. That's why, even in the Bible, when it talks about Jesus going to Jerusalem, it always adds adjectives that don't seem necessary, like: and Jesus resolutely set out to Jerusalem. Why would you add that? Why not say: well, Jesus intended to go to Jerusalem? No, no, no. He resolutely set out to go to Jerusalem. Why?

Their idea, in all of their literature, was that if you're going to make it to where you want to go, you can't try to get there accidentally. You have to live with full intention!

In other words, if you don't know the road that you're on, and where it's taking you, it more than likely is leading you to destruction. If you're trying to live accidentally, it just doesn't work.

I'm not going to do this to you, but if I did, you should be prepared. If I just pointed you out, and said: quickly sir, tell me where you want to be, financially, in six months? If you can't do that, then you're losing financially.

People who are winning financially, understand that they have to have a goal, and a plan, and a strategy; and the only thing that gives them the power to say no to frivolous spending, is that they're saying yes to financial abundance.

If you can't tell me your goal in six months, for where you want to be financially, I can tell you you're losing; and so what I'd do is: go home today, and sit down at a table, and take 30 minutes, and write out a six-month goal. Write out a year goal. Write out a plan to make that goal.

I just hired a director of charity for my ministry, because the product sales were going so good, that we were giving so much to these orphanages, that my lawyer said: it's actually irresponsible for you not to have someone looking after this. So I went to the Board of Directors, they agreed, so we ended up hiring this girl.

Now the problem was, we knew who we wanted to hire from the get-go. The problem was when she was 19 years old, she made some really, really, really, really, really, really, really bad financial decisions, and so she was sitting there with a mound of debt.

So what happened to her, is when she was 24 years old, she'd had enough, and she said: I will end this now! She made a plan, and her plan was that by December of 2012 that she would be completely debt-free; and the power of that goal, the power of keeping that vision in front of her, the power of every day waking up saying: today I'm going to be more debt-free than I was yesterday, tomorrow I'll be more debt free than I am today.

Every single day was an effort to get the debt taken care of. You know what happened? The power of yes, gave her the power to say no to frivolous spending, to doing things that didn't meet that goal; and what happened was, by October 2012, she was completely debt free!

By December 2012, she had $6,000 in the bank, and now she's fully prepared to be a missionary in the world, without the financial pressure of paying debts off, to pay for drinks she bought six years ago on a credit card.

Now she's standing tall, and she's got a fully-funded emergency fund in case something happens; and that is the power of strategy, and intention, and fully intending to make a goal, and go for something.

Jesus, in one sense, is teaching us that - that most people fail, not because they're bad. Most people fail because they fail to plan, the fail to make a strategy, they fail to make a goal. They don't live with intention.

They wouldn't even know, if they got what they wanted, if they had it - because they're not even sure about what they want. Most people live willy-nilly, sort of like a fire. If a fire is broad, it can sort of burn down a lot of bush; but if you harness the same fire into an acetylene torch, it can cut through steel. That is the power of desire, and intention, and living with full goals, and full intention; instead of trying to live accidentally.

That's gates. Gates is a challenge to keep in mind our role in the world: to be light and darkness, and choose the higher road; but the only thing that gives you the power to choose the higher road, is to live with full intention to do it.

Nobody wakes up in the morning, and accidentally chooses the higher road. Nobody wakes up in the morning, and just accidentally forgives. No one wakes up in the morning, and just accidentally chooses to feed the poor. No one wakes up in the morning, and chooses to live for the betterment of others. No one does that.

That requires full-fledged intention. There are a lot of good people who are living selfishly, a lot of good people. Let me prove it too you. In the last 30 days, whose life is fundamentally better, because you're in it?

How many orphans have you fed in the last 30 days? How many blind kids in the Third World, are not blind now, because you went to Fred Hollows Foundation.com, and gave them $30 to take the cataracts off their eyes? What's the last thing you spent $30 on? Was it more important than a four year old girl seeing? How many of you would believe, with all your heart, that we should be engaging in things like that? Right - oh everybody? Wow, good! How many of you have actually done it? Oh good, half, good. So what's wrong with the other half of you? Are you bad? No, you're not bad.

It's just what happens is, that if we don't live with the full intention of doing something, the urgent things right in front of us take precedent, and we lose sight of bigger-picture things. It's not that you're bad.

You want to beat fear in your life; you got to make some intentions. You want to beat guilt in your life; you've got to make some intentions. You want to beat anger in your life; you've got to live with full intention to do it. You want to beat that tendency to call people idiots in your life? You've got to make full intention to do it. You want to quit fearing man, instead of fearing God, you've got to make full intention to do it. You want to beat that unforgiveness thing in you, you've got to make full intention to do it. None of these things handle themselves accidentally. It's a broad road, and a narrow way. It's a broad road and a narrow way, so the first image is gate.

The second image is fruit, which is a challenge to us, to be honest about the way we're living, and is it working? I love the Bob Newhart counselling thing on YouTube, where the person says their problem, and he says: is it working? No. Stop it! It amazes me the number of people who keep doing the same exact thing, and it hasn't worked yesterday, and it's not working today, and it for sure won't work tomorrow, but they just keep doing it.

Essentially Jesus is saying: it ain't working? Dump it! Change something! Change a plan. Shake things up. Do something with your life! Do something - at least be honest enough to say: is the way I'm thinking, actually producing what I want it to produce. At least be honest enough to do that.

I've always been taught that a marriage works this way: Okay, but is it working? If it's not working, you might want to change something. Is it just possible, that what you were taught your whole life, is wrong? Is that even possible? That maybe grand-pappy was wrong? Maybe your mother, as good hearted as she was, she was wrong. Jesus says: sometimes you've got to just step back, and be honest enough to evaluate these things.

So the first image is gates, which has to do with our intentions. The second imagery is fruit, which has to do with an honest introspection to see things for what they are.

As a counsellor, you do this all the time - that before you can help anybody, you have to step back and go: okay, listen, I need you to own the fact, that what you've been doing, is not working. You see Jillian Michaels do this all the time.

You ever watched The Biggest Loser? Does that come on over here, The Biggest Loser? It's a show dedicated to people losing weight, and she's just beaten the dog-stew out of somebody, and they're crying, and they're like: this isn't working; and she's like: this isn't working! Look at you! What YOU'VE been doing isn't working; and then she's just nailing them, and then they cry more. Then they get their second wind, and at the end of the show they hug. It's that.

The third image He gives us is foundations; so the first image is gates, second image is fruit, third image is foundation. The foundation was a challenge to us, to stay sensitive to God's voice, and be willing to submit.

Essentially what Jesus is saying is this: if you can hear God saying something, and you have the ability to walk away and do nothing about it, you're in real strife.

If you ever get to the point in your life, where you know, you just know, this is what God is saying; but you have the ability, even knowing this is what God's saying, to walk away and do absolutely nothing about it, then your life is getting shakier, and shakier, and shakier.

Essentially what He's saying, without any myth or illusion of being perfect, that the person who stays sensitive to the voice of God - and is willing to not just hear it, but to do it as well - those people's life get more and more solid.

I could sit here and talk about specifics all day long, but if you don't deal with that tendency in all of us, to be able to hear the word of God, and then walk away and still live the same, nothing I say will ever work.

Essentially He says your choice in life is this: do you want your life to be solidified on a rock; or do you want it to be shaky on sand. And by the way, in this sermon, it has nothing to do with what you believe.

People say: well my life's on the rock. How do you know that? Because I believe in Jesus. Really? Once again, believing in Jesus only qualifies you to be a demon with flesh on. Are you kidding me, you believe in Jesus? Oooh.

When Jesus talks about your life being on the rock, instead of the sand, it has nothing to do with what you believe, and everything to do with how you behave.

It has everything to do with your ability to keep adjusting, keep responding. I hear God saying this, and I'm going to respond.

He doesn't even end the sermon with an altar call. He's got thousands of people in front of Him, and He doesn't say: now who wants to go to heaven? Who'd like to pray a prayer, to ensure that you have a ticket punched to go to heaven when you die? He doesn't do that. He's got thousands of people in front of Him, He doesn't do that. That's very telling.

His invitation, at the end of the biggest sermon He ever preached on recorded record was: I'm asking you to do an internal stock take. When you hear the word of God, are you willing to respond with action; or are you just going to keep living how you've always lived? Because if you respond with action, it will solidify your life. If you do not, it will make your life very shaky.

So He has gates, which has to do with intentions; fruit, which has to do with being honest enough to ask ourselves: is the way we're living working; and three, foundations. If it's not working, and you hear a better way to live, are you willing to be courageous enough to change it?

I did not choose where I was born, and I could still be choosing to live that way, to this day. It would have been not that hard of a choice to choose that; but I realised that that was not me - I was challenged by God's word.

I know this is going to sound funny, but the day I realised Jesus wasn't white, was unbelievable to me. I thought to myself: flip! He's not white! I mean, we all pray to the Jesus we picture, so for me it was: dear blonde haired, blue eyed, cleanly shaven or lightly bearded Jesus, who smells of sweet lavender and dove soap. Like, it was that.

When I realised Jesus wasn't white, it was like: flip! I had a choice. I could either keep going my way, or I could make a choice to do something else. I was 14 years old when I realised, that God had called me to love all people, and to treat all people with the dignity afforded to them, because they're all made in the image of God; and all, every living soul, belongs to God.

I remember having to make that choice, but if I had the ability to hear that, and then walk away and still live a different way, it makes your life shaky. You think about it.

We could go around the room, if I said: what's your story? What's your story of when God rocked your world, and you were given a moment, a critical moment, to make a decision to change things? When is that story? Every one of you, who were winning in life in any direction, you have a story that you could tell. You have a story. You have something. You say: oh look, I was this, and now I was this.

I remember the day, I remember where I was sitting, the day I decided that I would live debt-free my whole life. It didn't matter if I drove a piece-of-crap car, I will live - I choose to drive a cheap car over having debt in car payments. I just choose to do it. I remember where I was sitting that day.

I remember all my friends making fun of me, because my car was so horrific, like the floorboard actually had holes in it. I had to put a two by four between the console and the door, to make sure that my feet didn't go through the bottom of the thing. The ceiling felt was coming down, and all my friends, they're like: Shane, what's wrong with you? Everybody has a car payment; and I'm like yeah: but if everybody has a car payment, and by statistics, everybody is broke, maybe this is the better way to do things.

While they were paying $400 a month, with interest, on something going down in value, I was paying the same $400 a month to a savings account that I'd created, called Shane's Car Fund. Within a year I had $4,800, and then I went and bought a $4,800 car, which was by far much better.

After that, I still put the same $400 in the same account. Two years later I traded in the $4,800 car; took the $9,600 I'd saved up, and bought a much nicer car. So five years later, their six year old Ford Focus was now paid off, and I was driving a much nicer car, because I had a plan.

Now I have a paid for Cadillac Escalade, and people look at me and go: you're so lucky! Lucky? No! I made a strategy, and a plan, and lived with full intention. I chose to live without debt. I can tell you, I never regretted it, never - but it took guts.

It takes guts, when you know God's challenging you to do something, and then you have the ability to walk away and not do anything. That's easy, and it will shake your life up; but when you have the guts to do something about it, it makes your life more and more solid.

What three key decisions have you made, in the last five years, that have changed your life; and it's because of a challenge God gave you. How many of you regret ever doing it? We never do. We never regret when we respond positively to God's voice, never ever ever.

Let's say it this way. Your intentions are just the starting point. Pure motives, and consistent obedience, mixed with focussed intentions, will lead your life to a life that cannot be shaken.

It's not just the attention of your heart that is the starting point. It's also making sure that your behaviour matches up with your intentions.

If you intend to be financially secure, yet you go to the mall every other day, and buy things you don't need, with money you don't have, to impress people you don't like - that is not a good plan. It's not a good plan!

If you're goal is to have a happy marriage, it's probably a good thing to, with focussed intention and strategy, sit down and talk to your wife, on a daily basis. It's probably good - probably.

If your goal is to be this; you have to say NO to that. Let's say it a couple of different ways: one, you cannot live on accident. At best, you'll be disappointed with life; at worst, your life will be destroyed.

When I was a counsellor, any time someone came to me and said: I'm just so discouraged with my life; and I go: oh, why? I just don't know. I don't know why. Can you help me explore the reasons why I'm so disappointed with life? One hundred per cent of the time, it's because they were trying to let life come to them on accident.

They wouldn't have known if they got what they wanted, if it was standing in front of them, because they had not clearly defined it. You have to clearly define your life. You cannot live on accident. Where do you want to be in six months? Where do you want to be financially, relationally, vocationally? I want to start a business. Great! Great, then let's go do that. Let's make a plan. What equipment do we need? What's our market? How are we going to market ourselves? What are we going to do?

Let's live with full intention. This is a whole lot better than watching the next episode of NCIS. This is great. We're living with purpose, and intention, and power. We can do it! You cannot live accidentally. At best, you'll be disappointed; at worst, you'll be destroyed.

Two, people do not fall suddenly. They were on the road for a long time, and didn't realise it. What seems like a sudden fall, is only a sudden fall because it's you. Anybody observing your life could tell, that the road you were on was taking you over the cliff the whole time.

It's never the intention of your heart that leads you where you want to go; it's the road that you're on. If you get on the highway, wherever the highway is around here, if you get on the highway going north, with full intention of getting to Wellington, you're never going to make it. Even though every intention of your heart is I - where are you going? I'm going to Wellington. By faith, I speak that out; oh yes, by faith we call it into being. Oh yes! We're going to Wellington.

Yeah, but the road you're on is taking you to Auckland. Yeah, but we're going to Wellington; by God, yes we are, yes we are! So you get to Auckland; it feels like suddenly Auckland has appeared. No! Auckland was at the end of the road all along, you just didn't realise it.

Your intentions aren't enough to lead you where you want to go - which leads me to this question: What are you rationalising today, that you'll regret tomorrow?

When you're travelling, if your goal is to make it through today - if that's your whole goal in life - I want to make it through one day, do whatever you want to do. If every day starts over new, just do whatever you want to do, who cares?

But if you have any wisdom at all, you're thinking down the track; and when you're thinking down the track, however far out you're thinking, is how important your decisions are here.

One degree - I played golf at Cape Kidnappers yesterday. It was awesome by the way, pretty awesome. Had a guy here from Brisbane who treated me to it. He said: I just want to bless you, you blessed me. I want to take you up to Cape Kidnappers, it's my treat. I was like: this so fantastic!

So if you're aiming 250 metres down a fairway right, how important is one-degree off-centre here? It's pretty big. One degree, that's not very much, one degree. It would take a high-speed, frame-by-frame camera to see the error, one degree off centre here, is 20 metres off-centre at the target. At Cape Kidnappers, it's the difference between the centre of the fairway, and off the cliff. One degree! Now a 20-foot putt is different. On a 20 foot putt, one degree - one degree here is four inches, which still misses the hole, but it's a tap-in later.

So the shorter out your goal is, the less important it is your decisions here; but if your goal is long-range, then little things here make huge differences there.

If there's a builder in the room, maybe you could tell me the answer to this: if you're 1/32 of an inch off square at the bottom, how important is that? Well, if it's a one-storey house, not very important; but what if you're building a 60-storey building, and you're 1/32 of an inch off-square at the bottom. By the time you get to the top, it's just leaning. See, little things here, make big differences there.

What are you rationalising today, that you'll regret tomorrow? I know in a room this size, full of men, I need to say this: stop calling her! You're rationalising it today, but tomorrow it's a disaster! But Shane, it's just a phone call - today. Tomorrow it'll be coffee, the next day it'll be lunch, the next day it'll be supper, and the next day my husband's out of town, come over. Stop calling her! If you're sitting in your seat right now, hoping that I'm not fixing to go prophetic on you - it's you! If your heart's beating right now, fast - it's you! What are you rationalising today, that you'll regret tomorrow?

Three, you do not have to fall on purpose, you just have to live without one, and destruction is imminent.

I could tell you that statistically, most of you would report in an anonymous survey, that you're dissatisfied with your life; and the issue normally isn't that you're bad, or evil, or in sin, or anything like that. For most people, it's simply: I haven't clearly defined what I intend to do, and so no matter what you're doing, it's not satisfying, because it's not meeting what you're intending. You don't have to fall on purpose, you just simply have to live without one, and destruction is just going to be a part of your life.

How about let's say it this way: When we do not have intention towards life, destruction is just an inevitable part of our experience. When we don't live with full intention, full focus; what do I intend to do with my life today? Tomorrow? In six months? In a year? Where am I intending to go?

If you don't live your life that way, I'm telling you, five years goes by, and those five years just pass by, and you're still in the exact same spot going: what's wrong with my life? It's a challenge to us.

Let's say it this way. One YES, always requires 1,000 NO's. One YES, requires 1,000 NOs.

The only being that gives you the power to say no to destructive things, is that you're saying yes. You can never beat sin, by fighting sin, ever. You only empower what you resist. You can never beat sin by fighting sin; you beat sin by empowering something else; and the power you give something else, actually overcomes the sin.

Let's say it this way: one yes requires 1,000 no's; so here's some examples: To be a yes-person on forgiveness, means no to grudges. You don't beat grudges by fighting grudges, you beat grudges by fully intending to live as a person of forgiveness. When you fully intend to live as a person of forgiveness, the grudge loses its hold. You can't possibly say yes to this, and yes to that. The power of yes is so much better than the power of no, so much easier than fighting it.

How about this: to be a yes-person on edification, means no to gossip. To be a yes-person on giving, means no to hoarding. To be a yes-person on humility, means no to powering-up. To be a yes-person on rest, means no to urgency. To be a yes-person on our profession, means no to laziness.

If you say: I fully intend to start a grass-cutting lawn-care business, great! What's your plan? Well I'm going to buy the equipment, I'm going to do this, I'm going to that, I'm going to market, I'm going to do this. If you intend to start a grass-cutting business, then that means saying no to sleeping in. If you're starting a grass-cutting business, and I call you at 9.30 and wake you up, you are not going to win. There's only so much daylight, and you've got to cut so many yards to break even. To say yes to this, means no to that.

Let's say it this way: to say yes to being a person of purity, means no to temporary pleasure; but the way to fight temporary pleasure is not to fight it. The way to fight temporary pleasure is to say yes to purity, with all your focussed intention. One yes, requires 1,000 no's.

To say yes to financial abundance, means no to frivolous spending, and $6 coffee. There's no way you can win financially, paying $6 for something that costs 30 cents - there's just no way. These guys are masters. They've figured out how to market a drink, that costs 30 cents to make, including the labour - and they sell it to you for $6. This is genius! This liquid is so amazing, if you drink it, it will give you a slightly more alert feeling, for roughly 12 minutes; and then 15 minutes later, it will turn into urine. I just drank something, and it's coming out the other end - this is so cool!

Let me just give you some math okay. It doesn't affect my life, but I can tell you this: if you were 25 years old, and you plan to retire at 67 - if you drank one $6 coffee a day, that sounds like $180 a month. The average stock market rate of return from 1919 until now, including ups and downs is 11.7 per cent. If you invest $6 a day, at 11.7 per cent, from 25 to 67, you're worth $1.1 million. I hope you liked the coffee! .

If your goal in life is to drink good coffee - then do it. You've gotten what you want, but you can't drink $6 coffee, and then go: I have no money. Well of course you have no money. I had these young people in Australia go: we have no money; and I said: how many coffees do you drink a day? Two. That's $12 a day, times 30 days a month. You're spending $360 a month in urine, and you wonder why you have no money?

Is it Satan? Is he attacking your finances? Well look, if your goal is to drink good coffee, have at it; but if your goal is to live with financial abundance, then you have to make a decision to build a distaste for $6 coffee, and drink coffee at home! Hello!

You can't say: I want this; and then act in a way that does that. Jesus says: that's very shaky. If you know what you want, and then you don't behave that way, that's very shaky, and it's going to feel like you fell suddenly - but you did not fall suddenly. You've been on that road the whole time. That road was leading off the cliff the whole time.

How about let's say it this way: to be a yes person on our dream, means no to spending time on things other than our dream - even if those things are good.

People who win are focussed, and intense, and they're living on purpose - fully intending to meet their dream and their goal. To be a yes-person on purpose, means no to anything that moves us away from it. It's not that what you're saying no to is bad; it's just it's not leading you where you want to go. But people who have no clear definition of where they want to go, they have no power to say no, because who knows?

Why would I say no to that, I have no goal, I have no dream, I have no vision. The Bible says it this way: where there's no vision, people perish. Was that literal, like if you don't have a dream for your life, you're going to die? No. It's a euphemism. It leads you to disrepair. Actually, in the original language, it says this: where there's no vision, people cast off restraint. In other words, the only thing that gives you the power to say no to something is that you're saying yes to something else at a greater level - which leads me to this question.

What are you saying yes to? You want to be an overcomer? Here's my first question: What are you living with full intention to accomplish? What are you giving your life to?

I only slept in my own bed 38 days last year. What gives me the power to do that? What gives me the power to do that is I have a dream, and I have a vision, and I have a mission, that I want to spread the gospel throughout the nations; and even more so than that, I want to feed the poor.

I want to restore dignity to those who don't have it, and for me to do that requires me to speak a lot. It requires me to do that. The Lord put it on my heart, He challenged me. He said: I want you to work one month a year for the poor; so from June 15 to July 15 this year, everything I'm going to do is for them.

So it's a dream in my heart, it's a vision. It's a passion, it's an energy, that drives me here, so that I could say no there. I have to. I have to.

Let's say it this way: some patterns of life are obviously destructive, leading to darkness and disrepair and death. Things like: hoarding riches and chasing after it; things like comparison; these things are obviously destructive, yet - and we know that right? Is that even controversial, that chasing after riches will destroy your life? It sounds pretty much like Jesus, correct? So then if we know that, why do we spend millions of dollars doing it?

There's a website called uglypeople.com. It's a website that is dedicated to random - some of it is people doing it themselves - but it's dedicated to random photographs, of picking on people who are ugly. Now as soon as I say that, how many of you, you're sort of like: that's nauseating right? That's as bad as that drink right? If we all believe that, then how is it that the owners of uglypeople.com are multi-millionaires?

We know it's destructive, yet we engage in it. We know chasing after riches is destructive, yet the top reality TV show on Network Cable is: Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Listen to the title, Keeping Up with them - that's our goal in life. Really? Have you ever seen the show? Anybody want Bruce Jenner's life? Are you kidding me - and a house surrounded by high maintenance women, oh my God! Who would want that? No. No.

See when we engage in things like this, it's just evidence. It's not that you're bad; it's just that you're not yes to something more important. The way to do it is not to beat that. It's to say yes to this.

Jesus has said that there are times in life where everyone's going left, and you just know you need to go right. That's what it takes to be a kingdom person.

Everybody holds grudges, true; but everybody is leading their life to disrepair. That's a broad road. If everybody holds grudges, chances are, a kingdom person is choosing to forgive. Everybody has a car payment. Everybody's making payments on something going down in value. Everybody's doing that. Is that true? Yeah, pretty much true, but if everybody's going right, it's probably pretty good evidence that we should go left, left.

Everybody does business dodgy. Everybody cheats on their taxes. Is that true? Pretty much, but if everybody's going right, chances are a kingdom person is going left, yeah. Everybody does this, everybody, everybody, everybody - I know, yeah, you're right.

I had a teenager one time tell me: everybody sleeps around. Is that true? Statistically yes, 87 per cent of teenagers are sleeping together, sleeping around. 87%, 9/10 - is that true? Yeah, sure - but if everybody's going right, chances are that the kingdom and the best life is found by going left. Are you going to be a crowd-follower, or are you going to be a Jesus person? That's a massive decision we have to make.

Now this has huge implications alright. One, when we live intentionally pursuing the narrow gate, we are more grounded, and less anxious. There's something about living with a clear intended purpose and dream that keeps you from worrying about other things.

My friend Kyla Alexander, she's a 39 year old lady, who's my hero. She's given up her dream to be married and have children, because God has called her to restore dignity to mentally-handicapped orphans in China, and she's given her life to that instead.

Kyla doesn't sit around worrying about: oh, where's the next man going to come from? No, she's given her life to 140 children; and the power of yes has helped her beat this.

When we live intentionally, it takes away anxiety. The cure for anxiety is not prayer, although it might help. I'm not against prayer. The cure for anxiety, long-term, is living with intention toward something else; and when you put all your energy into something that is focussed and intentioned, that when you live for your dream, it actually takes care of the anxiety on its own.

It's the same with anger. People with an anger problem, they don't have an anger problem, they have an energy problem. People with an anger problem, they have too much spare energy. They're not giving their life to something beyond themselves, so they're all just stoked up with all this energy, and have to do something with it. People who are living with full intention and purpose, they don't have anger problems.

Can you imagine if I had Kyla here today, and you started telling her the things that stress you? She works with mentally handicapped children, hoping to have enough money to feed them, every single month; and what's stressing you? You were born in New Zealand? I know. Your road system still sucks? I know. I know. I've been coming here seven years, they're still fixing the same road. I don't understand. Kingdoms have risen and fallen; you guys are still fixing one road. I know! You drive to a store, that pre-packages food for you, and you have a hard time finding a park? I know. That is so stressful. You get your trolley full of food, that was pre-packaged for you, and you wouldn't believe how slow the cashier in the store is. I know.

Kyla would be like: what? You have roads? You have a car? So you get into a motorised vehicle, that takes you to a store, that pre-packages food for you, and you live in one of the top five greatest nations in the world, and you're stressed? What is wrong with you! Is it that you're bad? No. It's just that we don't live with full intention. Full intention cures that.

Number two, because we're intentionally pursuing our purpose, we're not concerned about, or in prison to: worry, discontentment, and most importantly comparison.

When you're living on full purpose for what God's called you to do, you will not be concerned with what other people have. It doesn't matter what they have, because you're pursuing what God has YOU to do.

Comparison's a killer man, it's a killer! We get so wrapped up in 'er', how can I be rich-er, smart-er, thinn-er, pretty-er, talented-er, more important-er. We spend money, and energy, and time, and resources, doing nothing but trying to be better than the other person.

We fail to see the flip-side of that: that if I'm smarter, that means I think someone else is dumber. If I'm prettier, that means I think someone else is uglier; and at the end of the day, all that does is make me feel superior, which doesn't work. Listen, comparison never works. If you're better, it doesn't help you. If you're not better, it doesn't help you. Either way, it's a horrible exercise to go through. Have you ever been stuck in the land of 'er'?

Let me say it this way: have you ever lost your ability to enjoy what God's given you, because you've compared it to somebody else?

Have you ever lost the joy of your own children, because they're not achieving as much as the other person? Have you ever been convinced that your six year old is the smartest six year old in the world, only to go a first grade function, and realise that wasn't true?

Have you ever been convinced that your six year old's the smartest six year old in the world, then you go to their six year old party, and there's some Asian kid there doing the Pythagorean theorem? Then you look around for your kid, and your kids got a bucket on his head, beating it against a wall? Someone says: whose kid is that? I don't know, and before you know it you're disowning your own kid, because he's not as high achieving as this.

Do you realise that for a lot of couples in the world, your kid is their miracle? They would do anything to have a child, and they can't; and so what you're now discontented with, because he's not as high achieving as the Asian kid doing the Pythagorean Theorem; what you're discontented with is, someone else's goal in life.

Have you ever lost sight - have you ever done this to your wife (sideways glance)? Have you ever become discontented with her, because someone else was prettier?

Do you realise that there are some people, who your wife would be like the best thing that's ever happened to them; and you're losing sight that your wife is the best thing that ever happened to you, because you're comparing her to somebody else? You go get the other person, and you realise that she's pretty on the outside, but behind a closed door, she is horrible, and cantankerous, and just a terrible person. Then you're just calling the other one, it's a comparison. If you're called to be married to the woman you're with, it doesn't matter what someone else has. Have you lost the ability to enjoy what God gave you, because you're comparing them to something else?

How about your car? Have you ever been perfectly content with your car, until you get into someone else's car, and their car is so much nicer than your car; then you get back in your car, and you're like: this stinks? Do you realise that if you own a car, you're in the richest eight per cent of the whole world? That means 92% of people in the world would love to have what you have.

What about your house: have you ever been perfectly content with your nine-foot ceilings, until you visit the home of someone who has a 12-foot ceiling? You're like: wow, this is amazing! Then you back to your house, and you're like ducking, because you're all cramped.

When you're living on purpose, it doesn't matter what other people have, because you're pursuing what God has for you. There's nothing more imprisoning that comparison. I'm telling you, if you don't beat this, you'll never be an over-comer. If you don't beat your tendency to judge yourself by looking left and right; if you don't get your worth from pursuing what God has for you; if you don't beat that sense to get stuck in 'er' - the problem with 'er' is that there's always an 'est'.

If you make a million dollars this year, are you richer? Yup. Are you richest? Nope. You know that there's a guy in the world worth $68 billion - and he still goes to work every day trying to make $69 billion. It's amazing. Do you know the difference between $68 billion, and $69 billion is? It's more money than all of us will ever see in our whole life, and this guy's trying to make one more - it's 'er'. It's in prison. It's not living at all. It's not living at all.

How about this: no one forgives; gives and feeds the poor; or serves others; on accident. You have to live with full intention, so let me close this out with questions, because I want you to take what I'm saying, and I want you to be able think through it in your small groups, and apply this; because if you hear it and don't do it, it just makes your life sandy.

How about this: if you live accidentally, it will lead to destruction; so here's my questions for you. What do you desire? Can you clearly define what you want? Can you clearly define what you want; and if you can't, I would urge you, over the next seven days, to spend some time alone in a room with the Holy Spirit, and ask God: God can you reveal to me what I even want out of life? Do you know what you want?

Let me say it another way, I'll ask it this way. How would you know, if you got what you were looking for? If you got what you were looking, for how would you know? What does that look like?

Let's say it this way: starting on a daily level, what are you willing to purpose in your heart to do today? What's your plan today, what's your goal? Are you going to go home and watch TV or something - what's your goal? Is your goal today, to get the yard taken care of? Is your goal today, to grow in relationship with your family? Is your goal today - and there's no bad goal.

If your goal's to watch TV go in - I make that goal sometimes. Some days I put aside and I just watch movies all day, because my brain needs a reset button. All I do is study and write. I love to lose myself in a movie, nothing wrong with that - but at least I'll know if I attain it.

What's your goal today? Starting on a daily level, what are you going to accomplish today? If you didn't wake up this morning with full intention of doing something, the day will end, and you won't even know what you did! What do you intend to do today?

How about this: is there anything in your life that's not leading you to wholeness? Is there anything you're rationalising, that's actually slowly but surely leading your life to disrepair? Is there anything you're rationalising?

Next one: is your life working? Why not? What obviously needs to change for you to have life, light, and increase - and why not make that change now? What are you going to do, just wait another year? If you need to lose weight, I could tell you this: it's much easier to lose five kilos, than to wait until you need to lose 50. Why not go and lose the five? What are you waiting on?

Everybody has their alarm bell day, you know, with weight. It's like they step on the scale and go: okay that's it, I'm losing weight now. What is that for you? You watch the biggest loser, and here's what I can't believe about the biggest loser. You have people who are on a show dedicated to obese people losing weight, and then they're all surprised they're obese? Like, I don't care what you weigh, as long as you're happy with yourself, it doesn't matter to me. Weigh whatever you'd like, as long as you're happy with yourself - but don't go on a show dedicated to obese people losing weight, and then be surprised you're obese.

They all stand in their underwear on a scale, and it goes beep-beep-beep-beep-beep and then it comes up however many kilos they weigh, and they all respond the same. It's amazing to me, 24 out 24 they all respond the same. [Boo hoo] Then the host has to do a good TV show. The host says: can you tell me what's going on in your heart right now? They all say the same thing: I can't believe this happened to me.

It happened to you - what are you talking about? Your blood type is chicken gravy, what do you mean? I mean like, are you serious? Look, nothing bothers me about how much people weigh, as long as you're happy with yourself. I think that's great, but don't have a blood type of chicken gravy, and then be surprised. This didn't happen to you!

Like one contestant I saw was 5' 1" and 180 kilos, and you're going: where's your alarm button there? Like what were you thinking at 140? I had a guy come see me once, and he said: this is a disaster, I'm in an emergency. I said: what happened? He said: I'm $60,000 in debt. I was like: today?! What did you buy?

The truth is, he had been accumulating debt all along, but $60,000 was his button. Where's your panic button financially? Everybody has an internal-angst point. Everybody has an imaginary number, and you know it, yours is different than mine. Everybody has a number, that if your bank account gets below that number, it feels like zero to you. What is that for you, and does it need to be adjusted?

I met a guy whose panic button wasn't until negative $60,000. I couldn't live with that guy. The guy's a maniac! That's crazy stuff to me. My zero point's way, way higher than that. What do you need to change? What obviously needs to change, and what are you waiting on? Are you waiting to need to lose another two kilos before you start? I mean what are you doing? What are you doing?

Let's say it this way. Are you willing to be a do-er, or are you okay just being a hear-er? Are you willing to be a doer; or are you okay just being a hearer?

My last question to you is this: rock or sand? Do you want to land on your feet, or do you prefer landing on your face? Rock or sand - the choice is yours.

I urge you to be guys who overcome; but you cannot overcome unless you live with full intention to overcome. This thing will never happen accidentally, ever. I urge you to be men of the kingdom, who seek God, and seek His purposes with full intention, full focus, full dream, live with full clear desires. I urge you to be people like that. Lord bless us and help us, give us the bravery to see things differently, and the irresistible urge to respond to what we see. May be we be doers and not just hearers. May we respond today. Amen.

Are You Worthy? Part I (Shane Willard)

Sat 16 Mar 2013 AM  « Back to Top

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There are four verses in the Bible that say homosexuality's wrong. There are 2000 verses in the Bible that tell us to love each other, so maybe we've got our emphasis wrong? Who is worthy to break the seals, and open the scrolls? But no one in heaven - so there's people already in heaven, who aren't worthy - no one in heaven, or earth, or under the earth, could open the scroll, or even look inside of it.

Jesus' invitation was not to be a certain way, in order to go somewhere. Jesus' invitation was to allow what is somewhere else to be established in you right now. The "Flames of Heaven" is God's relentless pursuit, to make you the best you can be in His kingdom, without taking your free will away. Hell will let you stay greedy, heaven won't; Hell will let you stay racist, heaven won't - lots of fire in heaven.

Jesus' message for His followers is this: get in line with God's kingdom today, as fast as you can, urgently. I urge you to do this. The whole world's at stake.A disciple is someone actively participating with God, to establish His kingdom on the earth

Everybody here is mature enough to hear something they might not have thought of before, right? Oh good, so we're all open, and flexible and non-argumentative.

It's important, for a learning environment, that all of us are springs and not bricks; because if you come into a learning environment as a brick, you're going to leave the same, and that would be tragic.

It's very important too, to understand the difference between a sermon and a declaration. A sermon asks a question, and should get you to be introspective. It's not meant to be agreed with, or disagreed with. A sermon is meant to get you to think, and change, and challenge modes of thought. A declaration tells you what you already believe to be true; and you ought to say: amen; so today I'm coming in the spirit of a sermon.

Some of what we're going to talk about today has insinuations for what happens after we die, and let me be clear: anyone who tells you they know exactly what happens after you die, is full of crapolla okay? They don't know, they've never done it, and so we're guessing; and really the insinuations about what happens after you die are not important at all.

If I read Jesus correctly, the main focus of Jesus was: why are you waiting for what happens after you die? Why not allow heaven to be established in you right now? I want to talk to you about heaven in that notion okay? I'm going to just ask a few questions about it.

Was Jesus' main message: how to go to heaven? [No.] Would everybody agree with that? Then why is our main message that? It's a sermon, not a declaration, I'm just asking. Why is the number one question I get, when I travel the world: who's going to heaven, and who's going to hell? As if that's in my pay-grade, or yours; or was anywhere even close to Jesus' primary focus? Jesus is preaching to thousands of people, in what's called the Sermon on the Mount. He doesn't even give an altar call - hmm.

At the beginning of the Bible, what is God doing? He's making a new creation (where?) on the Earth. So in the beginning God, is making a new creation on the earth, and everything is submitted to that. At the end of the Bible, what is God doing? Revelation 21:5 - behold the lamb shouts from the throne, I make all things brand new, and there's a new city.

Heaven is coming down from God, out of heaven and invading earth. So at the end of the Bible, who's going to heaven? No one. Whatever is in heaven is coming down. This is not a denial of heaven. Heaven is a wonderful truth - because if heaven's not true then death wins, and that would be terrible.

But the goal isn't to get to heaven; the goal is: whatever is in heaven is coming down. So when Jesus framed thoughts on heaven, His thoughts on heaven were: hey, what I'm describing to you is coming to earth at some point, and that is a blessed hope; and My invitation is that you establish that in your heart now, so that if it happened tomorrow you'd be ready.

There was this urgency in Jesus' teaching. He told stories about virgins not being ready, and there was this urgency; and the point of the virgins not being ready is not: well some are in, or some are out. No, there are certain people who take establishing the kingdom seriously and urgently, and then there are other people who always say: oh, I'll get to it later, and they never do. Then they find themselves 'on the outs' in the kingdom, and it's not because they weren't in - it's just because they weren't ready.

So at the beginning of the Bible, God's talking about making a new creation on the earth. At the end of the Bible, God's talking about making a new creation on the earth; and everything in the middle of the Bible is about... God making a bunch of new creations on the earth, to prepare the earth for the new creation coming to the earth. Yet somehow our message became: how do you go somewhere else? How did that happen!

The point of Christianity was never: hey, let's get a bunch of people to be like us, so one day they'll go to heaven. The point of Christianity was to establish the kingdom of heaven in every place we see hell right now; that God wanted to multiply Himself through a body, to establish a kingdom on this earth, to prepare the earth for the kingdom coming to the earth.

The best question may not be: will you go to heaven when you die. The best question might be: if heaven invaded your life tomorrow, what parts of you would survive, and what parts of you would be burned up?

I started getting fascinated by this from one question. An older friend of mine, he's a pastor, and he asked me if I reckoned I would enjoy heaven. I said well of course I'm going to enjoy heaven, you can't stuff heaven up right? He said: I'm not so sure for myself. He said: the Holy Spirit's challenged me to do something that's changed my life forever. He said: I'd like to challenge you to do it. I said: sure. He said: go back and re-read everything Jesus said about heaven, and ask yourself if you would enjoy it - and be honest. Be honest! Read Jesus' descriptions of heaven, and then ask yourself if you would enjoy it. For instance, Jesus said: in heaven all the secret conversations of your heart will be revealed for all to see. Are you ready for that?

Jesus said: heaven is a table with every tribe, tongue and race; so if you're a racist, are you ready for that? Jesus said: in heaven, what God gave you that you used to change this world will be celebrated and multiplied; but what you buried, will be uprooted and given to someone else. Are you ready for that? What are you doing with what God gave you? If that happened tomorrow, what would be buried, and what would be celebrated?

Jesus said that in heaven, whether you started working at 6am or at 5pm, you get the same wage. Are you okay with that? I realised I wasn't. I started looking at these descriptions of heaven, and I asked myself the question: if this happened to me tomorrow, would I be okay?

Jesus' invitation was not: be a certain way, in order to go somewhere. Jesus' invitation was: allow what is somewhere else to be established in you right now. So if there's something He's describing that's going on in heaven, that I'm not okay with, then there's a problem in my heart today.

I realized that central to discipleship, and becoming a follower of Jesus, is not just believing the right things, and doing the right motions. It's actually participating with Him to establish the kingdom on the earth, to prepare the earth for the new kingdom coming to the earth.

Let me ask you this. How many mentions are there of fire and hell in the whole Bible? Depending on your translation it's somewhere between zero and six. Okay, let's go with the mean one, let's go six okay? So there are six mentions of fire and hell in the Bible.

How many mentions are there of fire in heaven? 229 - so how many sermons have you ever heard on fire in hell? Lots, grrr! How many sermons have you heard on fire in heaven? None. How did we do that? How did we pull off something that's emphasised 229 times, versus six? How did we emphasise the six, over the 229? How did we do that?

Of course we do it with a lot of things - there are four verses in the Bible that say homosexuality is wrong. There are 2000 verses in the Bible that tell us to love each other! So it’s okay for me to hate, because they're different, and it's wrong, and it's a sin! Wait a minute! Hate? God doesn't love them? What? Wait a minute, wait a minute. Maybe we've got our emphasis wrong.

229 mentions of fire in heaven, six mentions of fire in hell; so if your main goal in eternity is to avoid fire, then maybe hell's your better choice?

Hell will let you stay greedy, heaven won't. Hell will let you stay racist, heaven won't. Lots of fire in heaven!

If this group was smaller today, I would do this rabbinically, and I would say: somebody tell me of a scripture that talks about fire in heaven. Because there's so many of them, stuff would start going off; but the main one that come to my mind immediately is 1 Corinthians 3, where it talks about: if any person builds their foundation on the Lord Jesus Christ - right, that's a saved person, correct?

If any person builds their foundation on the Lord Jesus Christ, whether they use wood, hay and stubble, or gold, silver, costly stones, they're still on the foundation of Jesus. I like that.

In other words, whether you're rich or whether you're poor, if your foundation is Jesus, it's the same alright?

Then it says: no matter what you use to build your house, in that day it will be revealed with fire. Hang on a second - are we talking about saved people here? Yes. Are we talking about fire? Yes. Fire and saved people - does that go together? Yes.

It says: that day will reveal it with fire; and what the builder built that can remain in God's kingdom will be celebrated; but what he built that cannot remain in God's kingdom - it will be burned up. The builder himself will be saved, yet only as one escaping through the flames of heaven. Hmm…

So here's my question: if you entered into heaven today, what parts of you would survive, and what parts of you would be burned up?

I'm talking to people who've given their Saturday to study God's word right? I don't need to lead you to the Lord right? So now that you're like forgiven and "in", my question is: now that you're in, what on your life will last?

The question isn't: are you going to go to heaven; it's obvious the builder's saved, and he's saved to the end. It's not that the builder's not saved. He himself is saved, yet as only one escaping through the... flames of heaven.

Dallas Willard, the great Christian philosopher, calls that passage the Flames of Heaven. One rabbi says it this way: that the flames of heaven is God's relentless pursuit, to make you the best you can be in His kingdom, without taking your free will away.

The invitation of Jesus, and at the epistle writers, is this: whatever's on your life right now, that cannot exist in heaven, I urge you to go ahead and get it off your life now.

It might help you to understand, that in the New Testament, the word translated "judgement". When I say judgement, what images come to your mind immediately? A guy, normally a white guy, in a black robe with a wig, correct? And he's got a gavel, and he's pronouncing people guilty or not guilty. Is that not the image we get, when I say: the judgement is passed?

Any time you're reading a piece of literature, you have to ask yourself three questions: who wrote it; who was it written to; how would they have taken it, at the time?

Was that the image of judgement in the ancient Hebrew culture? The word translated judgement in the New Testament is actually an apple-farming term that means "to prune an apple tree, in order to increase fruitfulness". The word is Colossus.

In December you've got three times as many apples. You've got all these small apples, and you might think: well, if you leave them all there, you've got three times as many apples; but if you do that, there are not enough nutrients in the tree to make proper sized apples; so you would have three times as many apples, but no one would buy them. They'd be small, and they'd be soft; so what you do is you cut the excess apples off, and it drives the nutrients in the tree to the rest of the apples, which gives us proper-sized apples that we eat. That is the word colossus.

So in the ancient world, when the word colossus was used, they didn't think of a black-robe-wearing judge with a white wig and a gavel; they thought of a farmer with pruning shears. What's on you that is hurting you, and I'm going to cut that off. Think about how Jesus talks about judgment. He says: in that day I will sit as a vine dresser, and you're the vine; and whatever branches on you are not bearing good fruit - I'll cut them off. In other words, I'm going to look at your life and whatever's on your life that's hurting you - I'm going to prune it.

So think about the scripture Jesus said. In English it says: judge yourself here, so you won't be judged there. A better way to say it would be: prune yourself here, so you can avoid pruning there.

In other words, whatever's on your life that can't exist in God's good world - go ahead and get it off now - that way you avoid God pruning it off of you anyway.

That for followers of Jesus, our end goal should not be: to be forgiven. It's sort of like: phew, I'm forgiven, I'll just sit around and wait to go to heaven. That is the exact opposite of Jesus' message.

Jesus' message for His followers is this: get in line with God's kingdom today, as fast as you can, urgently. I urge you to do this. The whole world's at stake. Come on people, come on! We need to establish the kingdom of God on this earth.

Jesus died, and rose from the dead, and He came back from the dead, and how much did He talk about heaven? None! How much did He talk about hell? None! That is amazing, considering He just preached there. I find that amazing. What I find more amazing is: no one asked Him. Jesus comes back from the dead, and no one asked Him.

You guys know me. If I died today, and you came to my funeral on Wednesday, and then I showed up here next Sunday and ruined your service, how many questions would we get through before someone asks: what actually happened? No one did that, though. Jesus comes back from the dead, and no one says: hey, what's heaven like? What's hell like? I heard You preached there, how was Your altar call? How did that go? When you rose from the dead, it says: tombs emptied up everywhere - was that Your altar call? Are You going to write a book about Your 23 minutes there, and make a billion dollars? That would be awesome if You did that. NO! No one did that.

Jesus comes back from the dead, and this is their response: oh great, You're back. Are we going to take over Rome now? That's an odd response, unless they thought He was about establishing the kingdom on the earth. Jesus is not about getting a whole group of people somewhere else. Jesus is about taking what is somewhere else, and getting it to the earth, and He's entrusting us to do that.

So here's my question: if that happened tomorrow, where would you fit? You say: well I'm forgiven. Good. Good! Yes, amen - but then what? Then what? How would you go with the flames of heaven?

If you're the builder, what part of your life would suffer loss, and what part of you would be celebrated? By the way - that's a question, not a statement. I'm not looking for you to agree with me. I'm just asking the question.

There are all these images. Ever read Malachi, Chapter 2? It says: and who can stand the day of His coming? Who can stand the day of the Lord, for He will purify His people with a refiner's fire, or a launderer's soap?

By the way, these are metaphors. God is not literally setting people on fire. As a matter of fact, in Leviticus, He commands His people not to do it. So if He commands His people not to set people on fire, does it stand to reason He would keep His own rules? God is not a 10 year old boy with a lighter, a magnifying glass, and daddy-issues.

Because white people are weird - you start talking about flames and heaven, people go: whoa! Well I don't want to go there! I don't want to be set on fire - that would hurt. No, come on. The word translated fire is the word pure, p-u-r-e, pure. All forms of the word purity come from this word.

Essentially it's what the rabbi said: that the Flames of Heaven is God's relentless pursuit to make you the best you could be in God's kingdom, without taking your free will away.

In other words, there's all these images; Malachi, Chapter 2, the refiners fire. In Jeremiah he says: he will complete you, like a potter does a clay pot. Hang on, how does a potter finish a clay pot? Fires it up! Obviously a metaphor - none of you look like a pot.

Isaiah 42, he says: I will consume them with my fire, yet they will not understand it. Once again, obviously a metaphor - if you douse someone with gasoline and set them on fire, the main concern should never be: do they get what you're saying? These are metaphors! Euphemisms! Analogies!

So I started looking at this, and I wanted to be brave enough in my own life to be a disciple. I knew that if I was going to be a disciple, I had to be willing to allow heaven to be established in me today.

If you're not willing to ask this question – its okay, I don't think any less of you. I just have found that this has really changed my life, so I want to share it with you, and that is this:

Where are you allowing heaven to be established in you today; and where are you resisting it?

Only you know the answer to that, but I'm going to share the one I had the biggest problem with. I looked at the situation, and I was actually honest enough to ask myself this question, and then I asked my four closest friends: was this true about me - because they'll be honest.

I asked my four closest friends: would I sit down at a table with every tribe, tongue, and race, without having racist thoughts? They all told me: yeah, oh yeah, yeah, you could do that. I felt like I could.

I said: if I entered into an environment where I had to be honest and genuine, would I be okay? They said: Shane, we feel like you would be okay, and I felt like I'd be okay. I've got things to work out there, but I feel like I'd be okay; and then I said: well what about if account was taken on how I was using what God gave me, what do you reckon? I feel like my ratio could get better, but I feel like I'm on the right track. How do you feel? And they said: oh yeah, yeah, yeah, you'd be okay.

But when I got to this one, I didn't even have to ask them. So I want to share that one with you, because if it bothered me this bad, I'm sure it would bother you, and let's just see where we stand with this. This is Revelation, Chapter 1, then we're going to look at something Jesus said okay? This is what it says:

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a scroll with writing on both sides, and sealed with seven seals, and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice: who is worthy?

Now if you're taking notes, you want to note that phrase: who is worthy. The question I want to ask in this session is: are you worthy? Are you worthy?

Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scrolls? But no one in heaven - so there's people already in heaven who aren't worthy - no one on earth, nor under the earth. That pretty much covers it right? No one in heaven, or earth, or under the earth, could open the scroll, or even look inside of it.

Now let me walk you through some history here, okay. Somebody with some confidence, tell me who wrote the Book of Revelation? [John.] John. Who was ruling the world, when John wrote the Book of Revelation? Romans, the Roman Empire was ruling the world. Now look at this first verse:

Then I saw in the right of him who sat on the throne - hang on, who was sitting on the throne, when John wrote the Book of Revelation? Domitian (in real life). Domitian was the emperor who put John on the island of Patmos.

Domitian was famous for something in the Roman Empire. He said he was the son of God, which was nothing new, because all the Caesars said they were the son of God.

But the centre of the Roman Empire at his time, was a place in Ephesus called the Agora. The Agora was the centre of mercantilism for the entire empire. Anybody who was coming from the East, from India, they could come to the Agora and meet with people from Spain, and they would come together, buy and sell, and then go back to their home town - so this was the centre of mercantilism.

So the advisors to Domitian said: you ought to take advantage of this, and you ought to put a special tax on the Agora. Domitian resisted this idea, and he said: no, I'll lose my popularity with the people; but here's what I'll do.

I'll make them give an offering to me, as the son of God, for the divine privilege of having me be their leader; and he proved his son-of-God-ness by entering into Ephesus. In Ephesus, there was this huge place where all the gods were, with big columns and stuff, and what he did was he put a ceiling on top of the gods; and then on top of the ceiling, he built a statue of himself over the top of the gods.

He said: this is obvious that I'm God, because the gods didn't stop me from doing this; and I'm not only God, I'm the greatest God. He put himself over all the gods, and so in Ephesus in the Agora, whether you were coming by land from the east, or by sea from the west, the first person you saw was the statue of Domitian.

So the Jews called him: the beast who comes from land and sea. In one sect in Jerusalem, they called him the dragon; but in most places, they called him: the beast who comes from land and sea.

So he set up Ecclesias - churches. He set up Ecclesias, and he's poking fun at the Jews. What he did was, he had his mighty deeds inscribed on stone tablets, and hung in the churches. Well hang on, if you're a Jew, what was written on stone tablets, that's very important to you? The Ten Commandments. In other words he's like: you've got your stone tablets, I've got mine - and mine are more visible than yours. Yours is in a crate buried somewhere, no one can find it. How about this! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, right?

And so he put his mighty deeds on these stone tablets, and he had his underlings there; and the rule was that: before you could buy and sell in the Agora, you had to come make an offering to Domitian as the Son of God, just for the divine privilege of having the Son of God rule over you.

The problem was: how did you enforce it? How did you know who had given their offering, and who didn't? So he had his underlings there, and if you gave your offering to Domitian, you were given a mark on your forehead or your forehand, and that told the people in the Agora that you could now buy and sell.

So in 85AD, in Ephesus in the Agora, what did you have to have on your forehead or your forehand in order to buy and sell? You had to have the mark of the beast, the mark of the beast.

So Domitian was a narcissist, and obviously he built a statue of himself over the top of the Gods. So every year he had something called the Domitian Games - which is very creatively-titled to honor him - so the Domitian Games took place in the Roman coliseum; and the Roman Empire was divided into 12 regions.

Have you guys ever seen the Hunger Games? If you've seen it, it's exactly that okay; where you had 12 regions sitting in a big coliseum, and he would stand - think about the language of Revelation. He would stand before the Roman Coliseum, and he would make region one stand up, and he would say: this I have for you, but this I have against you; and this I have for you, and this I have against you.

When you walked into the coliseum, you were given a white robe and golden crowns, in order to make a giant, massive choir, to sing the praises of Domitian. They would sing the same hymn every year at the Domitian Games: Worthy are you oh Domitian, oh son of God. Worthy are you to receive honour and glory and riches and blessing. Worthy are you, oh Domitian, oh son of God. Worthy are you, to receive honor and glory and riches and blessing. They would stand and they would sing this song to honor Domitian, and they would cast down their golden crows around the feet of Domitian. Think about any movie you've ever seen about Roman Empires. When the Caesar is standing in the coliseum - what's happening? People are throwing gifts at his feet.

Then the Domitian Games would happen, and there was all this death and carnage, and hatred and terror.

The way the Domitian Games ended was the people would stand, and they would sing another song: Worthy are you oh Domitian, oh son of God - you who are worthy of honour and glory and riches and thanks.

And the final character of the Domitian Games would come out, and his job was to clean up all the dead bodies, and his name was Hell, Hades.

Hades - so think about Revelation, Chapter 4 - and I saw the new kingdom and Jesus is sitting on the throne - not Domitian. Jesus is sitting on the throne, and we're all wearing white robes, and we're casting down our golden crowns around the glassy sea, and we will sing to Him a new song.

In other words, the revelation that John has of heaven, is that Domitian's not in charge - Jesus is. It was hope for the oppressed. It was: there's a new day coming.

So Domitian, think about when you see ancient pictures of Caesars. What are they always holding in their hands? Scrolls.

Here was the rule: they would have scribes follow them around, and they would write their mighty deeds in these scrolls, and they would seal the scrolls. In order to read about the mighty deeds of Caesar, you had to be deemed worthy by Caesar to open the seal.

So John's taking a jab at Caesar here, he's saying: then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a scroll with writing on both sides, and sealed with seven seals.

In other words, your guy's good enough to fill up one side of a scroll; our guy is so awesome it takes both sides. Ha ha! It was sealed with seven seals!

Then he does something that's very common to the Roman Empire, he says: who is worthy to break the seals, and open the scroll? Who is worthy to get close to this king, in other words. Who is close enough to know him? Watch what the answer is:

But no one in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth could open the scroll, or even look inside of it.

So in John's initial revelation of heaven, who makes it? Nobody! In his initial revelation of heaven, he doesn't think anybody's going to make it, and watch his response:

So I wept, and I wept, because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll and look inside of it.

So hang on, so John's initial response, to knowing that no one was going to make it, was that he wept? Let me speak frankly to you. As Christians and followers of Jesus, if we ever think about someone not making it, and we lose our ability to weep over it, we've missed the point. If we ever come across like: oh yeah, they're not going to make it, and good on them, God can get them - that is not the point.

When John thought no one was going to make it, he wept, and he wept. Here's my question: have you lost your weep? Have you lost your passion for the lost? Have you taken sort of aah-whatever, and then underneath all that there's this elitism that makes this nauseating? Let's keep reading.

Then one of the elders said to me: do not weep! See, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed!

Any presentation of the gospel that does not end with God getting what He wants is not the gospel. Jesus gets what He wants. He wins. The root of David has triumphed! He is able to open the scroll, and its seven seals. Questions that we need to ask ourselves:

1) If the kingdom of heaven invaded your life today, what part of you would survive, and what part would be burned up?

2) If you walked into heaven today, would you recognise it as heaven, or would you think it was hell?

3) Are Jesus' descriptions of the kingdom of heaven congruent with your life? Where would your life struggle to live in that environment today?

This is all what it means to be a disciple. Discipleship has nothing to do with: I believe in Jesus. Believing in Jesus only qualifies you to be a demon with flesh on. No, no. It's: are you LIVING it? Are you establishing that? That's a disciple - a disciple is someone actively participating with God to establish His kingdom on the earth.

Maybe the better question is this:

4) What pruning needs to take place in your life now, so that the kingdom can be established in you today?

In other words, what's holding you back? Where is heaven not already established in your heart? Now with that as the backdrop, this is the one that bothered me the most. I looked at everything Jesus said about heaven, and I realised that I had darkness in my heart on this topic. I realised there was a black spot in there as big as Australia, that I could not get away from it; and once I was brave enough to look at it with the Holy Spirit, I realised how sick I was making myself. This was nauseating to me.

Now when we look at Jesus' descriptions of heaven, all sense of worthiness will be burned up. In other words, if there's anything in you, that thinks you deserve heaven more than the other person, then that's going to get burned off of you. That's going to get burned off of you! This is how he describes heaven.

This is how he describes heaven: For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day, and sent them into his vineyard.

Okay, so it's early in the morning - let's say sunrise, 6am and he agrees to pay this group of people one denarius to work in his vineyard for today. In those days, one denarius was considered a fair day's pay, so he's being fair.

He says: at about nine in the morning, he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing; and he said: you also go work in my vineyard, and I'll pay you whatever's right.

So they went out; and he went out again at noon; and about three in the afternoon; and did the same thing at about five in the afternoon. He went out, and still found others standing around, and he asked them: why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?

Because no one has hired us they answered; and he said to them: you also go work in my vineyard - so are you following the story? 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 5pm he is hiring people.

The first people he said: I'll give you a denarius; then as he hired more people, he doesn't tell them what their pay is. He just says: I'll pay you whatever's right; and so the assumption is that: if a denarius is a whole day's pay, then there would be a sliding scale alright. Watch what happens.

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foremen: call the workers and pay them their wages - beginning with the last ones hired, and going on to the first.

Hang on, if you were the first one hired, how do you feel about that? He's paying the people who only worked an hour, before he pays you. You would hate that right? I mean, can I get an amen on that, like we're all in the same boat there, alright? But then you'd rationalise it, and you'd say: well that makes sense, because he's going to pay them less, so it's easier to work out their pay - because he's going to pay them less.

Watch what happens - and the workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came, and each one received a denarius. Whoa! Wait a minute! A denarius is what the people who agreed to work all day are going to be paid right, so if you'd worked from six in the morning until night, and you saw someone who only worked an hour get paid a denarius, what is your assumption? You're assumption is: you're going to get more. Well, if they got a denarius, and I worked 12 times more, there must be 12 denarius coming my way right? Watch, it doesn't work that way. Watch what happens.

So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more, but each one of them also received a denarius. Whoa! Oh - and when they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner - as you do.

These who were hired last, worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us. You have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden, and the work of the heat of the day.

So in this story, followers of the landowner are angry with the landowner, because he pays people who do less work the same wages he paid them - ooh! And I knew I wasn't okay with this.

I was just like these people, like I feel like I've worked hard for God, travelled 170,000 miles last year, spoke in 13 countries. Last year they had to do surgery on my legs, because the blood was pooling in my feet, because I was sitting in economy class too much without proper hosing, so the blood - my feet were turning colors. They had to do a $12,000 surgery on my feet, in order to reroute the blood in my feet, to get back up to my heart properly - and you taught Sunday School, ooh!

Oh, you work in the parking lot - ooh! You come to church twice a month, ooh! And I realised that there was something in me that really believed that I deserved more of heaven than you - because I was working harder than you. That is a horrifically dark spot that I knew I had to deal with. I knew that I was the same as these guys. How about you?

Is there anybody that you can think of right now, that you believe you deserve heaven more than them? What if they're not like you? Is there any group of people, that you think you deserve heaven more than them?

See in heaven, no one's worthy, so everybody's there by grace; so if we start comparing who's better, we're just comparing levels of unworthiness, and that's just silly. Is this getting to anybody yet? Are we dealing with something here?

Check this out: but he answered one of them; and said: am I not being fair to you friend? Like, Jesus isn't mad at him; He's like: you're my friend. I don't understand your complaint though. Didn't you agree to work for denarius? It's like, he's confused. He's like: look, I don't understand. You said you'd work for a denarius, and I gave you a denarius, and now you're upset? What's the matter?

And what's the obvious answer? Well you paid them more, and Jesus is like - watch what happens - He says: take your pay and go. I love this - I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. In other words, why are you paying them more than us? Just 'coz I want to. Why are you paying the same as us? We've borne all the work in the head of the day, why are you doing that? I just feel like it.

In other words sometimes God doesn't have to explain Himself. We love for God to explain Himself, but we have to own the fact that sometimes He just won't.

God, why did you give someone with that much character flaw, so much gifting? Oh, I just wanted to. Why are you paying them the same as us? Just felt like it. Watch what He does - and in true rabbinical style, He ends this story with two questions that are so relevant to us:

1) Don't I have the right to do what I want to do with my own money?

2) Or, are you envious because I'm generous?

In other words, Jesus says: I can only see two conclusions here; you have a problem, that I paid someone that you think works less than you. I'm giving them the same wages I'm giving you - and you have a problem with that; and the only possible reason that you have a problem with that, is that you really don't believe I can do what I want to do. If that's not your problem, then you're envious, because I'm generous. Need I remind you, that none of you were worthy to work for me to begin with; so whatever you got was by grace anyhow?

So let's deal with these two questions: 1) Can God do what He likes; or does He have to run it by you first? Could I get an amen, that He could do what He likes at least? [Amen!]

Alright, so your problem isn't that God can't do what He wants - although I think you might have a problem with lots of what Jesus did. I'm convinced no Christian today would have followed Jesus back in His day - He was too radical. I'll give you a couple of examples, like there was this one time, where there's this prostitute, and Jesus is speaking to her - problem one.

Jesus is talking to this prostitute, and this prostitute is so moved by the compassion of Jesus, that she kneels down and washes His feet with her hair. Remember the story? And what does Jesus say to her? You're sins are forgiven! Is Jesus allowed to do that? She didn't pray the prayer. She didn't ask Jesus in her heart. She didn't believe in her heart and confess with her mouth - and Jesus forgives her sin. Is He allowed?

What if you had been there, and He asked your advice, what would you have said? What if He'd have turned to you, and this lady's washing His feet, and He would have said: man, what do you reckon I do with her? I don't know Jesus, what do you reckon? I think I'm going to forgive all of her sins. Would you have said: well Jesus, it's your world, do what you like; or would you be the person giving Jesus all the scriptures as to why He can't forgive her without a sacrifice, or a sinner's prayer, or something else?

Because if you're number two - you're annoying, right? Can Jesus not do what He likes? Is He allowed to forgive someone's sin, because she washed His feet with her hair? Is He allowed - because He did. Or is He a heretic?

Aren't you glad that's not the rule, right; like can you imagine meeting her one day sir; her saying: how did you meet the risen Christ? You say: I came to Bay City Outreach Centre, and God moved on my heart, and at the end of the service the pastor gave me an opportunity to respond to Jesus, and I prayed a prayer and asked Jesus in my heart, and it changed my life forever. It's the greatest thing I ever did - ever. How would you feel if she looked at you and went: what? You didn't wash His feet with your hair? Oh no, I'm in, you're out; I'm right, you're wrong. I mean with all respect to all of you - for you to wash his feet with your hair, you'd have to be turned upside down and used like a buffer. Is Jesus allowed?

Hey, like there's this one time Jesus has this encounter with this guy in a tree, and he says: Zacchaeus, I think I want to eat with you. Zacchaeus is so moved with the compassion of Jesus, that he says: look, I'll give half of what I have to the poor, and Jesus says: that's it, salvation has come to your house! Whoa! Is Jesus allowed? Oooh! He hadn't done anything, except for to express that he was going to give half what he had to the poor. Can you get saved that way? Are you allowed? Is Jesus allowed?

And what if you could have been there and He asked your advice. What if there was this guy up a tree and this happened, and He turned to you and said: hey, what do you reckon I do with this guy? I don't know Jesus, what do you reckon? I think I'm going to call him saved, but I'm not just going to call him saved, I'm going to call everybody in his house saved. Would you have said: um, oh, well that doesn't make sense to me, but it's your world Jesus, and You could do what You like; or would you be the person giving all the verses as to why Jesus can't do something?

Can I not do what I want to do, with my own money? There was this one time - is Jesus allowed to do what He wants? Do I still get an amen on that? [Amen.] Or are we questioning ourselves now? Oh good.

There's this one time Jesus is having a particularly bad day, and He ended up nailed to a cross right - pretty bad day right? I know, you think your day is stressful, but not much compared to that. Jesus finds Himself nailed to a cross, it's a pretty stressful day, and He still finds Himself thinking about other people. He's still up on the cross going: oh, forgive them. Yes, forgive them - and then there's this guy on a cross next to Him, that's having an equally bad day; and I don't know what you know about crucifixion, but it's very difficult to breathe. He looks at Jesus, and he says: um, ah, please remember me? And what does Jesus say? Well Bo, you better hurry up and say the sinner's prayer, or they're not going to think your saved in 2013. No! What does Jesus say? He says: today you will be with me - in paradise. Hold on, where did Jesus go that day? Hell - so is heaven and hell in the same room? Umm, is Jesus allowed? What if you had been there?

What if Jesus was hanging on the cross, and this guy says: please remember me? Jesus says: hey, what do you reckon I do with that? You go: I don't know Jesus, what do you reckon? I reckon we're going to call him in, how about that? Would you have said: well Jesus, this is Your world, do what You want; or would you be the person giving Him all the scriptures as to why He can't let the guy in - because Romans 10, 9 and 10 clearly says: you have to believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth! Is Jesus allowed to call that guy in, just on a request: please remember me? Is Jesus allowed? Don't I have the right to do what I want to do, with my own money? Could Jesus do what He likes? Everybody instantly says: yes; but hang on, would you be okay with that?

My personal favorite, there's this one time Jesus was preaching, and it says: the house was full, and there was a paralysed guy outside and couldn't get in, so his friends took him to the roof of the house, and took the roof off.

Now I was wrong about this: I used to picture like a straw roof, and they would cut a hole in it - that's actually not true. I had a history expert from Israel correct me on this. He said: in that region, because of the climate, they had to have stone roofs; and so to remove the roof of the house would have required moving an entire slab of stone. That's why it would have taken all four of them, and so they removed this entire slab of stone, and they lower the guy in. It's one of the most chaotic scenes in Jesus' whole ministry. They lower him in from the roof of the house; and it says this: and Jesus saw the faith of his friends, and proclaimed his sins forgiven. Is Jesus allowed? And what if you were there? What if He asked your advice: hey, what do you reckon I do with this? I don't know Jesus, what do You reckon? I think I'm going to forgive his sins. But Jesus, he has no faith! I know, but his friends have faith, we'll count that.

Would you be saved today if you lived back then; or would you have ran from Jesus - because He's not allowed? Is Jesus allowed to do what He likes?

You say: Shane, what do you do with that scripture? I don't know, but I do know this: if you're a mum, and you're believing for your unbelieving children - you keep doing that. Jesus sees that stuff somehow. A later writer said it this way: The faith of a saved wife, can save her unbelieving husband. Do we believe that? Was Paul allowed to write that? Would Paul be allowed to preach in churches, if he said that? What do you do with that? I don't know.

Somebody asked me: so Shane are you saying you can go to heaven if you marry the right woman? My answer is this: I have no idea. Who goes to heaven, and who goes to hell, is outside my pay grade. What I do know, is that if you marry the wrong one, you will live in hell today! Like really past the far depths of it!

Is Jesus allowed? Can I not do what I want to do with my own money? We have to deal with this belief system. Any belief system in us that says: God has to conform to the way we see things, has to die, for heaven to be established. Can Jesus not do what He wants to do?

Hey, my personal favourite: there's a rich guy. Any time a story in the Bible starts there's a certain rich guy, with no name - it ends poorly right. There's a rich guy, and this rich guy came to Jesus and said: what must I do to inherit eternal life? Remember? What does Jesus tell him?

Well buddy, you've got to ask me in your heart - everybody knows that. There's this prayer you've got to pray, and you've got to ask me into your heart, to be your Lord and savior - that's where eternal life comes from. Is that what Jesus says to him? No. Somebody tell me loud with confidence, what does Jesus say to the guy?

Sell what you have, give it the poor, and eternal life will be yours! Woo-hoo! Is Jesus allowed to say that; or is Jesus a heretic too? And what would happen if someone preached that?

What would happen if, on a big enough stage, someone said: it's possible to inherit eternal life, by selling what you have, and giving it to the poor? What would happen to that guy? What would he be called? Heretic! There'd be websites dedicated to his honor!

So how far has Christianity come from Christ, that a direct quote from Christ is now heresy? Is Jesus allowed? Is someone responding to Jesus by being generous - is that not appropriate? Is someone responding to Jesus by washing His feet with their hair - is that not appropriate? Is someone responding to Jesus by going: please remember me; is that not appropriate? They all respond to Jesus, but they respond to Jesus their way.

See people like to say: Jesus is the ONLY way, Shane, Jesus is the ONLY way. Is that true? Is that okay to say that? Yes, that's okay to say that. I'm not tricking you people, like I don't know; like yes, of course that's okay to say that - probably not with that face... but - yeah, don't say it with that face. It's ugly, don't do that, but Jesus is the only way. But there's a big difference between saying: Jesus is the only way; and saying: my way to Jesus, is the only way to Jesus. That's two very different things. Does everybody have to get saved like you?

What if there was a 17 year old Mongolian kid, who was taking a nature walk, and that day he sees a river flowing into a stream. He looks at it, and something goes off in his heart; and he looks at the sky, and he says: whoever made this - I can't wait to meet you one day. I think You're amazing, and anything I can do to meet You - I would love to; because I'm assuming You're the same guy made the stars and the trees, and I just find You fascinating.

What if that 17 year old Mongolian kid dies early, and he meets Jesus, and Jesus says: hi, I'm the way. The Mongolian kid says: are You the guy that made the river? Yeah, that was Me. You're amazing! I am so glad to meet You, let's have dinner, let's have some coffee, I've got tons of questions to ask You. I find You fascinating! The stars too? Yep. Trees? Yepper, that was Me. Oh great! When do we get to have coffee? This is going to be fantastic!

What is Jesus' response to him? Is it: yeah, but did you pray the prayer? Prayer, what prayer? Oh, I know, I sent Baptist missionaries to your village, but unfortunately their car broke down on the way there, and you didn't - please tell me you said the prayer before you died? Oh no, I didn't know, whatever, I'll do whatever You want me to do now.

Oh unfortunately, it's just too late - there's this torture chamber I've built for most people, and you're just going to have to go in there, because you have to. Really? Really? Really?

Is the Mongolian kid's response to God just as valid as yours? He's doing it with the light he's been given, are you kidding me? Is God allowed to do what He likes?

What they believed in Jesus' day was: one sacrifice, per family, per year. That's what gave you forgiveness. Jesus shows up and says: one sacrifice, for the whole world, for all time. How many of you were here last year when I preached a message called The Goat Has Left the Building? Yeah, okay, that was the one sacrifice, per family, per year; so Jesus comes in and goes: ah no, don't worry about that, we'll just do one sacrifice for the whole world for all time. That'll do it, that'll be good. Would you have followed Him, or would you have run from Him?

Jesus is amazing. I find Jesus so amazing, and to be a disciple of just Jesus requires us to have views of God that are bigger than what we thought. Maybe, just maybe God is nicer than what you think.

So two questions: one, does God have the right to do what He wants to do? Can I get an amen on that? [Amen!] Alright, so if we've established God can do what he likes, then our problem must be number two: are we envious because He's generous?

N if you don't believe God can do anything He wants, then keep working on number one; but if you believe God can do anything He wants, and you have a problem with God giving others the same wages He gives you, even though they've done less work, then the problem is that we are envious because He's generous.

What about - and this is where I had to stop, because I firmly believe God can do what He likes; like I have no trouble with God saving a Mongolian kid through a vision in a star. I have no problem with that at all, and here's why: I just think God does that, number one.

Number two, there's this passage in 1 Corinthians, it's either 1 or 2 Corinthians, Chapter 10; Paul is telling the story of the Exodus to Corinthian people, and he says: there's this one time where Moses got water out of a rock, and the rock was Jesus Christ. So is there ever a moment where Jesus can take the form of a rock in the desert? And if He can take the form of a rock in a desert, what else could He take the form of?

I have no trouble with God appearing to people. I have no trouble with God working in the hearts of people. I have no trouble with Him doing it outside the Bible. In some ways, I think that might be easier. I'm serious, there's no bias, there's no - you have a vision of a heavenly being, it's a bit more compelling than an intellectual argument. I have no trouble with that at all.

Oh, you want to hear something cool that I experienced recently? I don't have my iPhone but trust me, I have it on a picture. I went to the Smithsonian Institute, and in the Museum of Natural History they have a mummy exhibit.

What they explained to us, was that in those days in Egypt, that they believed that if you died for instance - and let's say that we were your pastors - that we were supposed to write what kind of life you lived, on the inside of your coffin; and on the other side God would open your sarcophagus - we'll just say coffin, because sarcophagus is just ridiculously long to say.

So God would open your coffin, and He would read what your life was like, and go: okay, you're alright; or okay, you're not; and so it was based on what we wrote about you, right? And so then we were held accountable by God to being honest, because if He lets a jerk into heaven - that would just be terrible right?

This is how primitive their view of God was right; and so they have a preserved mummy's tomb there from 2200BC, from a town called Giza. Of course they write it all - on the inside of the sarcophagus, there's all these hieroglyphics about what his life was like. So they had a hieroglyphics expert translate it, and this is what it says.

Now you guys know Matthew 25 right - for when I was hungry you get - okay, right. This is what it said. By the way, 2200BC, this is before the Torah, this is before Abraham, or any of them came to Egypt. This is before all that. This is what it said:

I said, and repeated good things; I said what was just, I did what was just. I gave food to the hungry, and clothing to the naked, and I sought to restore dignity to all those who don't have it. I was kind to my mother, and respectful to my father. I did not speak with a malicious tone to anyone, because I desired to be a person of good character, so that I would be noticed by the one true God, and by people, forever.

What! Where'd he get that? Oh wait, there's more. Check this out:

I said and repeated good things. I said what was just, I did what was just. I gave food to the hungry, clothing to the naked. I restored dignity to the broken. I was kind to my mother, I was respectful to my father. I never said anything with malice intent towards anyone, because I desired to be a person of good character, so that I would be noticed by the one true God and by people forever.

How did ancient Egyptians write? Hieroglyphics. Do you know what the picture to “say and repeat good things” is in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics? It's a head under a cross!

It means: to say and repeat good things; so I asked the hieroglyphics person, I said: what is this? He said: oh, the symbol to say and repeat good things, is: to submit your thinking to a higher authority of the cross!

It was before the Roman Empire, there was no cross! Where did he get that? Where did they get that? So I asked the guy there, I said: where did they get this? There's no Roman Empire! He said: maybe God meant what He said, when He said He was writing His ways on the hearts of men. Maybe God doesn't need your help?

So in 2200BC, there's this guy that died, and on the inside of his coffin he had written, that he submitted his thinking to the authority of the cross. Does anybody want to make a case that he's burning in hell today? Is God allowed? Maybe God's been at work in the hearts of people for a long, long time. Can God do what He likes? Yes!

I had no problem with God doing what He liked; so if I have a problem with God giving the same pay to people who've done less work, my problem must be number two: are you envious because I'm generous? What, about the generosity of God, threatens me?

I always find it amazing when I talk to groups of Christians who're convinced they're in; so I've got a group of people, all of you would think you're in right - like when you die, you're going to heaven, correct? Everybody will think they're in? Okay, good. So I agree. I'm with you. Amen right. But I'm always intrigued when I preach in front of a group of people, who all think they're in, that if I make God nicer than they think, they're threatened by that.

If you already think you're in, and I make God nicer than you thought, does that not just further solidify you're in-ness? Why would you be mad about that? There must be something in you, that doesn't like the thought that God's going to treat other people just as nice as He's treating you, because something inside of you thinks you deserve it more.

Are you envious because God is generous? See there's two flip-sides to this; heaven is beautiful, and here's why. Here's one of the things about heaven that's so beautiful:

Heaven delivers me from the notion that I have to outdo Mother Theresa to make it.

Right? Like heaven, the environment Jesus describes of heaven is: it frees me from the notion, that I have to outdo Mother Therese to make it; but it also forces me to give grace to people who haven't done as much as me.

If you get your worth by looking left and right, you're going to always find that there's someone who's done more than you, and that there's someone who's done less than you.

Jesus says: that's not heaven. In heaven, heaven is an environment where everybody realises they're not worthy, and they get all their worth from the one in the centre.

I realised - this part of heaven is not established in my heart. I still was on a hierarchy, so are you envious because God's generous?

Are You Worthy? Part II (Shane Willard)

Sat 16 Mar 2013 PM  « Back to Top

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Grace, by definition, isn't fair. Heaven consumes in flames any ideas of rank. To avoid the flames of heaven, we have to die to the idea that God must be fair. If heaven invaded your life today, who would you have to accept, that you now see as unacceptable? Jesus described heaven as tormenting to those who don't forgive. Jesus is at the centre, and everybody's equidistant around Him, because no one was worthy to begin with. There's always someone that's done less than me, but Heaven includes us all in a circle.

Heaven is not created by the exclusion of imperfect people, but by the inclusion of imperfect people - by grace cleaning them up, purifying them with the flames of heaven. If heaven invaded our life today, we would be overwhelmed with how much it's not about us, and not care where we ranked; we would simply be overwhelmed with God's presence. Why not let that part of heaven be established in you right now?

I want to give you stuff that is much more deeper food-for-thought okay? On the way out today, if you'll stop by the table, you can get this full discussion in my series: The Flames of Heaven. You can also - the follow up to this is in my series called Winning at Life, where I talk about how to develop a sense of worth. Once again all that goes to our main mission in the world, which is to take care of the poor, so just check all that stuff out.

Alright, so let's ask ourselves these questions: Are you envious because God is generous? If you have a problem with God giving someone the same wage as you, even though you don't think they deserve it as much as you, then there's two options: 1) you don't believe God can do what He wants to do; or 2) you have an envy problem. Who was the famous fellow, he said that all atrocities in the world are birthed out of human envy? Or you have an envy problem.

Let's ask it a few ways: if you hear someone talk about the generosity of God - do you get angry? Would you rather hear a message on God judging people? Of course any message I've ever heard on judgement includes the imagery of a white guy with a black robe and a white wig - not a farmer with pruning shears, so what is that? If you hear someone talk about the generosity of God - do you get angry? To avoid the flames of heaven, we have to die to the idea that God must be fair. Grace, by definition, isn't fair. Let's say it this way: heaven consumes in flames any ideas of rank. Heaven consumes in flames any idea around rank.

We're going to get to that in a second okay, but let me just ask you simply this question: how much money, energy, resources, and time have you spent trying to be 'er? Richer, smarter, thinner, faster? How much time, energy, resources have you spent trying to keep up, trying to rank better? Is the motive of your Christian service to rank better in heaven? You know what we used to be taught, is that in heaven, God pays people different; and we're going to talk about that tomorrow by the way. I'm going to handle the other side of this, about what you bury and what you use, and how it's important to do that.

I'm not talking about method - you should be doing things to establish the kingdom; but if the motive of your heart is for God to like you better, now you're entering into witchcraft, this subtle sort of thing. Heaven consumes rank, it frees you. Do you know that last year, Europeans spent $11 billion on cosmetics? $11 billion trying to be prettier - did it work? Do you feel better about yourself? Of the $11 billion, $3 billion were spent by men - what are you doing? That surely isn't working! There are now whole sections in department stores for men's cosmetics. What is wrong with us? You know $11 billion would put clean water and sewer in the whole world? What are we doing? What are we doing? Are you trying to rank better? Heaven, if heaven invaded your life tomorrow, it wouldn't matter how well you rank. You would just be overwhelmed with God's presence - but there's something about no one being worthy, and all of a sudden you're consumed with the presence of this ultra loving God who lets you in anyway. It doesn't matter who's righter, it just matters that you're there.

Can you imagine standing around Jesus in heaven and someone having the gall to go hey this is all great and all but I can't wait to ask Him who was right and who was wrong between me and you? [Laughter] No, it just won't matter - which leads me to this question. Is there any place in your life where you've lost the privilege of being overwhelmed with God's presence at the expense of being right? Is there anywhere in your life that you've lost the privilege of being overwhelmed with God at the altar of [unclear 00.04.55]? Let me ask it this way. Would you rather see someone healed or would you rather understand healing? I'd rather see someone healed, I don't really care how He does it really. Remember there was this story in Luke, Chapter 9, where the disciples say Jesus, we saw a man casting devils out of people and we tried to stop him because he wasn't doing like we do. Now hang on a second, in my experience the less devils the better right? So if you're getting devils out of people do whatever you want to do, I mean that's fantastic. That's fantastic.

Would you rather see someone delivered of a devil; or would you rather understand all the ways that deliverance works? Would you rather see deliverance, or would you rather understand it? Both would be nice, but you'd rather see it. Sometimes we lose our privilege of being overwhelmed, because we have to figure it all out. A great example of this, is a great magician. I was in Las Vegas, and I went and saw Penn and Teller. Penn and Teller are ridiculous! Here was their first trick. This is how they warmed the crowd up okay. I just thought it was icebreaker for the crowd. They come out on the stage, they throw ping pong balls into the thing. Obviously one is marked. Somebody gets the marked ping pong ball, some random person. They said: sir, do you have a cell phone? Yes, I do. Would you come up? Have you ever met us before? No. So you testify to all these people you've never met us before? Yes, absolutely. Alright, so you have a cell phone? Yes, I do. Can we see it? Yes. Alright, put it back in your pocket.

Then what they do is, they talk to him, and in the course of talking to him, they pick his pocket; and I thought that was the whole thing, because people were still walking in. I just thought it was like, we're having a laugh at this guy's expense, and they're doing it in a hilarious way right - like they are making a fool of this guy in just a hilarious way. Like it's less than a minute. Forty seconds later, they say: where's your phone? He said: oh, and so he can't find his phone, and so they say your whole job in life was to bring your phone, and you've lost your phone right? Of course he's going: well I - and so I thought that was the whole joke. I thought that was the whole thing. They said: my goodness, do you have a friend? Yes, I have a friend. Where's your friend? Sir, would you - do you have a phone? Yes. Would you call the guy please? Yes. So the guy picks up his phone, rings the guy's number. A box underneath a seat in the 25th row starts ringing. They say: oh, there's a box ringing, bring it up here, because they're not going to go get it, so they pass the box up. So everyone in the audience handles this box, so you could see it's a real box right.

They handle it all the way up. It's a Styrofoam box that's taped shut. They take a camera, and put it on the box, and put it on the big screen. They take a knife and cut open the box. Inside that box was a block of ice, with a fish frozen solid inside the block of ice. They took a hammer and broke the ice. They had the guy call the phone again, the fish was ringing. They took a knife, they cut the head off the fish, and pulled the guy's phone out of the frozen fish. All this took place in two minutes - so I sat there and went YEAH! That's awesome! But there were people around me, who lost the privilege of being overwhelmed at a skill very well-practised, because they had to know how that happened. How did that happen? Who cares how that happened, that was - did you see - that was brilliant. That was unbelievable! That was awesome!

And Penn Jillette is the most vocal about: there's no such thing as spiritual power; like he says: anybody in Vegas claiming to have true spiritual power is a criminal.He said: these are well-contrived, well-practiced illusions, that we have practiced hours and hours and hours on, over 38 years, so we don't get caught. If we showed you how we did it, you wouldn't be that amazed. The amazing part is not how we did it; it's that we don't get caught doing it.

So I thought yeah, yes; but there were people around me who kept saying: how did they do that fish thing? I'm like, I don't know how they did the fish thing, but I'm not going to lose my privilege of being overwhelmed with what they just did, at the expense of needing to know how they did it. And all night long they did stuff like that; and the people around me were like: how did they do that? I'm like who cares! Did you see? That's amazing! I think we need to be more like that with God. We see someone delivered of demons, and instead of having a theological discussion on how that happened, why can't we just go: oh, thank God they're delivered of seven demons! That is awesome!

You see someone healed miraculously, and instead of sitting around having theological discussions on how did that happen; why can't we just go: that guy was sick, and now he's made whole - that's amazing! That's amazing! Have we ever lost our privilege of being overwhelmed with God, at the expense of having to be right, and figure it all out? If He's God - anybody know what the second commandment is? The second commandment, what is it? Go ahead. Don't have idols. Is that all it says? No. It does say: don't bow down to idols, very good; but it also says: and don't make any image of Me. In other words: don't bow down to them, and don't make any image of Me. Essentially, the way the rabbis teach it is this: if you can think it up, it's not God. If you can conceive it, it's not God - it's not.

If I drew a circle on the whiteboard, and that circle represented everything that can be known about God, and I handed you a pen and I said: what percentage of the circle do you know, how much would it be? A dot? Right, can I get an amen on that? So how is it possible, that a group of people who would readily admit that all we know is a dot, would get adamant about anything? You've just admitted, all you know is a dot, and you're adamant? About what, your dot? God's infinitely bigger than your concept of Him, and if we ever lose the privilege of being overwhelmed with what He is, at the expense of being right about who He is, then that is bad - that's flames of heaven stuff - it's worthiness.

Let's ask a couple more practical questions, here we go. Are you at risk of walking out of heaven, because those people can't be there? Is there anybody, if you saw them in heaven, you would be convinced you were in hell, and you would walk away? I could tell you, when my granddad got to heaven, and saw black people at the table - he struggled. He probably thought he was in hell! He probably thought: the preacher was a liar man, he told me I'd avoid places like this. In my granddad's concept of hell and heaven - heaven's full of white people. There's like a white people section. Let's ask it this way: if heaven invaded your life today, who would you have to accept, that you now see as unacceptable? Maybe there's someone in the church that you just always have problems with, and Jesus is inviting you to go ahead and accept him now, flaws and all, because heaven - they're going to be there. You're going to have to eat a meal with them at some point, so why not now? If you're going to have to do it some day, why not now?

Here's one of John's revelations in heaven, and don't forget Domitian when I read this okay? Don't forget all that stuff I did on Domitian. Surrounding the throne were 4 and 20 other thrones, and seated on them were 4 and 20 elders. They were dressed in white, and had crows of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumbles and peals of thunder. And in front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing (a menorah). In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing - these are the seven spirits of God. Remember what the seven spirits of God are? Wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, fear of the Lord - it's the menorah. The middle candle is the servant. No anointing lights, without the heart of a servant. Wisdom, and the anointings of God, have to be tempered: wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, fear of the Lord. If you have wisdom without the fear of the Lord - you're a jerk. If you have knowledge without understanding - you're useless. If you have power without counsel - you're mean. They're tempered with the heart of a servant; and also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. So in this vision of heaven, where is Jesus? He's in the centre, and everyone is sitting around Him. So then we can say it this way, that heaven challenges this notion of God: that Jesus is at the top of a pyramid, and everyone's fighting to rank the best, so that they get the closest to Him.

Heaven challenges this notion of God. Embrace this notion of God: that Jesus is at the centre, and everybody's equidistant around Him, because no one was worthy to begin with. Heaven forces us to start with the starting point that says: no one's worthy anyway, and so if I think I'm more worthy than you, I'm just simply comparing levels of unworthiness, and that's just silly. Heaven is so full of grace, that a bunch of unworthy people - see in Jesus' notion of heaven, heaven is not created by the exclusion of imperfect people. Heaven is created by the inclusion of imperfect people and by grace cleaning them up and purifying them with the flames of heaven. The flames of heaven is not judgement, not in the way we see it. The flames of heaven is grace. The flames of heaven is pruning. The flames of heaven is God's relentless pursuit, to make you the best you can be in God's kingdom, without taking your free will away.

Maybe we could say it this way. Look at this, Mark, Chapter 10. It says: then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. Teacher, they said, we want You to do for us whatever we ask - which is a very loaded question - it's like they were 10 years old. What do you want Me to do for you, He asked, and they replied: let one of us sit at Your right, and the other sit at Your left. In other words, in their concept, they were still struggling with the fact that God wasn't at the top of the heap, to get there. They were struggling with that thought. Now where in human history do you see this concept of government? Everywhere; Caesars. You wanted to get the closest to them, because the closest to them had the power. They knew Jesus was going to establish a kingdom; where? In heaven? No. On the earth; and they say: if you take over Rome, can we be the guys sitting closest to You? Jesus is like: no, no, no, that's not what My kingdom looks like. My kingdom looks like this, and you're just going to have to deal with that. We're going to do away with rank - and if you're honest, all attempts in your life to rank better have caused you pain anyway. Why not do away with it? What are you trying to do? You want to keep the pressure of being prettier, thinner, smarter, richer? You want to keep all that? No, let's do away with that.

See, heaven delivers me from the notion that I have to outdo anyone, to be okay with God, but it also makes me treat someone who hasn't outdone me with grace because there's always somebody that's done more than me. There's always someone that's done less than me. Heaven includes us all in a circle. They replied: let one of us sit at Your right, and the other at Your left, in Your glory. Have you ever had someone ask you a question, and then make it about something that it wasn't? What about this question has anything to do with the glory of God? Nothing, this is about the glory of James and John. You don't know what you're asking! Can you drink of the cup I drink, or be baptised with the baptism I'm baptised with? I love the fact that Jesus' disciples, who walked and talked with Him - they struggled with this too. It makes me feel a little better. As a matter of fact, particularly Peter and John, they had this competition going, as to who could expose the other ones faults better. I'll give you an example.

Who cut off the servant of the high priest's ear, when they came to arrest Jesus? Who did that? How do you know that? Matthew, Mark and Luke say a certain companion of Jesus - John. Matthew, Mark and Luke say: oh, one of Jesus' friends cut off the servant of the high priest's ear; John's like: it was Peter man! Throw that mug under the bus. It was Peter - and then if you think about it, in John 21, John throws in this stab at Peter that's very subtle. It says: so Jesus cooked Peter breakfast over a fire of burning coals. When was the last time Peter stood over a fire of burning coals? When he denied him, so at Peter's restoration, John subtly recreates the denial - like John's grrr.

Maybe we could ask ourselves a few questions: if heaven invaded our life today, we would be overwhelmed with how much it's not about us. Is there any place we're sitting in the wrong chair? Is there any place you're sitting in the centre? Is there any place you're obsessed with how well you rank? How much energy do we spend trying to rank properly? How much energy do we spend trying to rank properly? We ask ourselves: am I thin enough, smart enough, tall enough, rich enough, fast enough, social enough? Do I own enough? How much energy do we spend comparing rank? How much energy do we spend trying to be richer, smarter, skinnier, happier, hipper, prettier, taller, shorter, thinner, bigger, important-er, talented-er? Are we stuck in the land of 'er? Heaven delivers us from that. Heaven delivers - the problem with 'er, is that there's always an 'est. There's always someone who has more. You'll never get to the end, ever. Heaven delivers us from that.

How does this notion translate into how we see God? If heaven invaded us today, we would not care where we ranked; we would be overwhelmed with God's presence. And Jesus' calling is to allow heaven to be established where? In you, right now. So if you were in heaven you wouldn't care how you rank, you'd be overwhelmed with God's presence. Why aren't we just being overwhelmed with God's presence, and ceasing to care with how we rank today? What's stopping us? Why not let that part of heaven be established in you right now? What has it done for you lately anyway? It causes a lot of strife and division, and agony and arguing.

16,900 children are going to die today of starvation, and Christians are arguing about verses. What!

How about this: how easily are we offended? Jesus described heaven as: tormenting to those who don't forgive. That makes a lot of sense. If you're forced to eat at the same table, and watch someone get the same wage you did, and you won't forgive them - that's going to be tormenting. Oh by the way, the word translated torment there, is the word basanizo. It just simply means "to test the purity of something". It's a touchstone - if you were selling me gold in the First Century, and I wasn't sure if you were being honest, then I would take the gold, and I would rub it against a touchstone to see if it was pure. So when the word - I don't know where they got torment from. It just simply means: they'll be purified - they'll be rubbed up against the touchstone, until they come up pure. In other words: there's things, until you deal with it, it's going to keep coming back on you. That's so true, so true.

Five, where have we abandoned the dignity of others, in the central nature of the throne, in the name of ego? Where's Jesus not in the centre? Where's Jesus not in the centre? Maybe we could say it this way: if heaven invaded our lives, we would not be impressed with any of our righteousness - no one would be worthy. We would simply be overwhelmed with God.

We're talking about discipleship today - as a disciple of Jesus Christ, your biggest calling and opportunity is to allow heaven to be established in you right now. In heaven, you will not care who was righter; you will only care about being overwhelmed with the presence of God. My invitation to you today, is to allow that to be true now. Why not? Jesus' invitation was allow heaven to be established in you now. If that's the way it's going to be in heaven, why not make it true now, and let this world reflect what heaven is? Can I get an amen on that?

Be the Salt and Light (Shane Willard)

Sun 17 Mar 2013 AM  « Back to Top

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There are 6 mentions of fire in hell, but 229 mentions of fire in heaven! If you walked into heaven tomorrow, what parts of you would be burned up? 15 of 18 of Jesus mentions of hell, was about us, here, now. It's about: what are you bringing to the earth? How's your lust problem? How's your anger problem? Do you call people fools? How is fear of man instead of fear of God? What are you bringing to the earth?

Revelation 21:1, this is the end of the Bible. It always helps, if you want to get a good picture as to what the whole book is about, it always helps to read the beginning and the end, so here's the end.

This is what it says: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And the sea no longer is. The sea, in ancient Jewish literature, is a euphemism for unbelief; so essentially its saying: finally everybody's on the same page. Nobody's sitting around arguing about who's right and who's wrong. This is finally, finally everybody's come together here, the sea no longer is. And I, John, saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.

So at the end of the Bible, who's going up to heaven? No one, no one! I get so concerned with everybody, we just can't wait to get to heaven, we just can't wait to get there, and the idea is we're going up; oh we can't wait to go up! God's idea is: He's coming down; and I'm scared that people are going to pass in the middle you know?

Let me be very clear about this okay? I'm going to say this very slow, because I want to be very clear. When Jesus talked about heaven, He talked about heaven as a present reality, as well as a future reality. Let's say it this way; heaven is true here, and it is occupied with people. Heaven is true there, and it is occupied with people.

Hell, when Jesus talked about hell, Jesus only said the word hell 18 times; 15 of the 18 was talking about hell being a present reality today, three of the 18 was about hell being a future reality later, okay? So let's be clear about this: Heaven is true here, and it is occupied. Heaven is true there, and it is occupied. Hell is true here, and it is most certainly occupied. Hell is true there, and it is occupied as well; but the primary emphasis of Jesus' teachings was not how to go to heaven someday. His teachings were primary the emphasis was: hey, how can we take whatever's in heaven, and bring it right here to the earth?

The issue is, why would you wait to go to heaven, when there is a clear opportunity to allow heaven to be established right here, now, today? The end of the story is that heaven is coming down, and God is going to be people's God, and they will be His people. Everyone's going to be on the same page, and we hold to that blessed hope. In Revelation 21, the picture you get is: everything in heaven is coming to the earth.

Here's my question. If that happened tomorrow, would you be okay? Do reckon you'd like heaven? Be very careful before you answer that; before you answer that, at least go back and read everything Jesus said about heaven, and ask yourself: would you enjoy it?

Like for instance, Jesus said that: in heaven, all the secret conversations of your heart will be revealed for all to see. Ho ho! You want to go there? So if, right now you're thinking: what an idiot, it would be on a billboard over your head! So if your lifestyle is dodgy, and manipulative, and secretive, you're going to find heaven very challenging.

What if you're a racist? What if you know a racist, because there wouldn't be any racism in New Zealand right? So what if you know a racist, and let's say this racist has two minutes to live, and he's in the hospital; and so we send a white person to go lead him to the Lord right, because you can't send Sargin for goodness sake, the guy's a racist right? So as Sargin walks in he's like: get OUT! You know, so we send Mike or myself or Ian, we're all the right colour you know.

So we walk in there, we say look, you've got two minutes to live mate, seriously. I urge you please, I urge you to sort things out with Jesus, right now; and the racist goes: I think you're right, will you please help me? Please help me. This guy with all sincerity prays some sort of prayer, which says something like: Lord Jesus, I have stuffed my life up. Please be the Lord of my life for the rest of it, all 20 seconds, right?

And so he looks at you, and he's never been to church, he doesn't know anything about the Bible, he doesn't know anything. He says: I've only got 20 seconds to live, why - what does that even matter? Why did I do that? And you've got one sentence - you can't open your Bible, he's dying in 10 seconds. You've got one sentence so you say: umm, aah, ah you did that, because when you die here in a few seconds, you're going to wake up in heaven, instead of hell. The guy goes: that is fantastic! Four seconds later, he dies. Where does he wake up? Heaven, right? I'm not trying to trick you! People: I don't know, I don't know. Where does the guy wake up? [Heaven.] Heaven!

So this racist wakes up at a table with every tribe, tongue and race. Is he in heaven, or hell? To the racist, heaven IS hell. The question isn't so much: will you go to heaven when you die? What if a better question is: if heaven invaded your life tomorrow, what parts of you would survive, and what parts of you would be burned up?

Why would you wait - if Christianity ever became a group of people who were waiting to go to heaven one day, they would be horrible, elitist, societal, tribal people, who thought they were better than everybody else. Aren't you glad we escaped that!

Christianity was never called to be a group of people who got as many people as possible into heaven. Rather, they were called to be a group of people who partnered with God, to establish the kingdom right here on the earth.

None of Jesus' followers ever took Him that way. You never see Jesus showing up, and people going: oh great, you're here! We get to go to heaven now! No.

Jesus died, and rose from the dead. You've got to admit that's pretty impressive, considering He called His shots, right? He dies, rises from the dead. He comes back from the dead, and how much does He talk about heaven? None! How much does He talk about hell? None! I find that amazing. What I find more amazing, is that no one asked Him!

If I died today, and you came to my funeral on Wednesday, and then I showed up here next Sunday, and ruined your service and they gave me a mic. They said: Shane is back from the dead! We need to ask questions. How many questions would we get through, before someone said: hey, what actually happens? Of course it would be like, the first question right? But no one asked Him!

No one asked Him: Jesus, You're back from the dead - that's amazing - what was heaven like? What was hell like? I heard you preached there - how was your altar call, did you clean out heaven? You know, when you rose from the dead, it says: tombs everywhere emptied. Was that your altar call? Are You going to write a book called 'Three Days in Hell', and make a billion dollars, because people are scared of it? That would be amazing!

No one even asked Him! Jesus comes back from the dead, and here's His follower's response: oh great, You're back! Are we going to take over Rome now? Why would they? Why would they think that? Because that was His message all along, that we are going to establish the kingdom right here on the earth; and in their mind, to establish the kingdom on the earth, we're going to take over Rome? They were misguided, because that wasn't God's goal.

God's goal was to establish His kingdom through a body of Christ; not through taking up of arms, but through a body of Christ, who would duplicate God throughout the world, by establishing heaven right here; never to be a group of people waiting to go to heaven someday.

Although we hold to the hope that heaven is true someday, and it absolutely is, that is not the main goal of Christianity. Your goal is not to get to heaven someday, your goal is to reach into heaven, and bring everything in heaven right down here! That's what it means to be a disciple. To be a disciple of Jesus means to be actively participating in establishing heaven on the earth.

So I went through, and I looked at everything Jesus said about heaven. I found it so challenging. Let's talk through some of these things. When we think of images of judgement, which by the way, the word judgement - the word translated judgement in the New Testament is the word colossus, which means to prune an apple tree.

If there are apple farmers here, they could tell you that half way through season, there's a lot of little apples; and so you have to go around, and you've got to knock off a lot of the little apples, so that the nutrients of the tree will go to the rest, so it makes big apples. It's that - its cutting excess off. It's cutting what's not going to bear fruit off, so that things that do bear fruit have the nutrients to do it, okay?

So the word judgement in the Bible, is not a guy wearing a black robe, with a white wig and a hammer. It's more a farmer with pruning shears. Think about how Jesus taught about judgement. He said: I'm the vine dresser, you're the vine. Whatever parts of you are not bearing good fruit, I'm going to cut it off, because it's not helping you. It's called pruning; so when Jesus said things like: judge yourself here, so you will not be judged there; essentially it is pruning. Whatever's on your life that can't exist in God's kingdom, go ahead and get it off of you now! Why would you wait? Don't do that. It's ruing your life.

He said it this way, in one place: it's better to throw yourself on a stone, than to have a stone hurled upon you; which essentially is a First Century parental euphemism. It just means this. Boy, you sort this out, or I'm going to sort this out; and you would much rather sort this out yourself - it's that.

So here's my question: If you walked into heaven tomorrow, what parts of you would survive, and what parts of you would be burned up? That is a better question.

The problem with having hell, fire, and brimstone being our issues and judgement, is that those words tend to, always in our mind, be about other people. When we talk about hell, we talk about ‘them’ and ‘then’, but that's only three of Jesus' mentions of hell.

15 of 18 mentions of hell, was about us, now. It's about: what are you bringing to the earth? How's your lust problem? How's your anger problem? Do you call people fools? How is fear of man instead of fear of God? It's not so much about them then; it's more about us today, what are you bringing to the earth now?

The problem with that, is that in the Bible there are 6 mentions of fire in hell - six! Six times it talks about fire in hell. There are 229 mentions of fire in heaven - 6 mentions of fire in hell versus 229 mentions of fire in heaven. Aaargh! How many sermons in your life have you ever heard on fire in hell? Lots. How many of you heard of fire in heaven? None. How did that happen?

229 mentions of fire in heaven, 6 mentions of fire in hell; so actually if your goal in eternity is to avoid fire, hell might be your better choice. Hell will let you stay a racist, heaven will not. Heaven will not. Lots of fire in heaven.

Now because we're westerners, I have to say this, because white people tend to take things very literally; and so: God is not setting people on fire. As a matter of fact there are several commands in the Bible where He commands people never to set people on fire, so it's like a pretty good idea, right? God is against setting people on fire alright? I know that comes as like a shock, but it's all over Leviticus, Deuteronomy, it's all over the Prophets, that you should not set people on fire right, it's a pretty good idea. These are metaphors!

The word translated 'fire' is 'pure', all forms of the word purity come from that word. They translate it fire, because in their world they used fire to purify things; so one rabbi said it this way: that the fire of heaven is God's relentless pursuit, to make you the best you can be in His kingdom, without taking your free will away.

God is relentlessly going to purify us. That is the deal. Now let's look at some questions then. Here's a question we want to ask ourselves today:

1) If the kingdom of heaven invaded your life today, what part of you would survive, and what parts of you would be burned up?

In other words, be brave enough to take note inside: is there anything on my life that could not exist, if heaven happened today? Whatever that is, go ahead and get it off your life. Why would you wait? It's hurting you! Why would you do that?

2) If you walked in heaven today, would you recognise it as heaven, or would you think it was hell? Is there any part of Jesus' descriptions of heaven that you go: oh, I hope not?

3) Are Jesus' descriptions of heaven congruent with your life? Where would your life struggle to live in that environment today?

4) What pruning needs to take place in our life now, so that the kingdom can be established in you today? Today, why would you wait?

Now let me just quickly read a couple of scriptures to you, which sort of exacerbate this. First Corinthians 3:11 says this: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw - I love that.

In other words, if your foundation is Jesus; whether you're rich, whether you're poor, it's all the same foundation.

That is great - their work will be shown for what it is, because that day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. Now is this talking about fire in hell, or fire in heaven? It's fire in heaven obviously.

If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; and yet will be saved, even though only as one escaping through the flames of heaven.

The idea is, it's an invitation from God, to do stock take of our life and say: if I walked into heaven tomorrow, what parts of me could thrive in God's kingdom, and what parts of me would have to be burned off? That's the flames of heaven.

How about this one: but who can stand in the day of His coming? Who could stand when He appears, for He will be like a refiner's fire, or launderers soap - once again a metaphor.

A fire, and a soap, are not the same thing, unless you're using it metaphorically. This is a cleaning agent. He will sit as the refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the Levites, and refine them with gold. Hang on, how do you purify silver and gold? Yeah, you heat it up.

How about this one: for the Lord, your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. How about Jeremiah 23:29: Is not My word like fire? Obviously a metaphor. Have you ever picked up your Bible and then when OW! That's hot! No, no. Come on, it's a metaphor.

It's saying that the word of God has a purifying agent in it. When you submit yourself to it, it purifies you; and like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces; in other words, there is something about the word of God that breaks us up, so we can be put back together more whole, more complete. These are metaphors.

Jeremiah also talks later about God finishing His people, like a potter does a clay pot. How do you finish a clay pot? You heat it up. You heat it up. There it is there, Jeremiah 18. It says: the word of the Lord came to me. He said: can I not do with you, Israel, as the potter does, like clay in the hands of a potter, so are you in My hands - once again a metaphor.

Here's another one, Isaiah 42: So He poured out on them His burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they didn't understand it - obviously a metaphor. If you set someone on fire, you're concern is hardly: do they get what you're saying? In other words, they didn't understand that God was trying to purify them. It's the flames of heaven.

Now as I was looking through all Jesus said about heaven, and being so challenged, this is one of the most challenging things I saw, and that is this. All when Jesus talked about heaven:

Everything that's buried will be unearthed. Now I want to unpackage this with you, and leave you with a big challenge. Revelation 22:12 - and behold, I'm coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each, according as his work is. Revelation 22, that's the end of the Bible.

Now let's go back to Matthew 25. Jesus is talking about heaven. He's closing out His ministry, and He's leading up to this incredible sermon about sheep and goats; and right and left; and people who are in, and people who are out. He defines it all by being defined as generosity, but this is part of the lead up to that. He's talking about heaven.

It says this: for it is as if a man was going abroad, and his servants he gave them his goods. To one he gave 5 talents, and to another 2, and to another 1, to each according to his own ability. And he went out abroad at once; and the one who received the 5 talents traded with them, and they made another 5 talents; and likewise he that received 2, also gained another 2. But he who'd received the 1 talent, went and dug in the earth and buried it, and hid his Lord's silver. And after a long time, the Lord of those servants came and took account with them; and he who'd received the 5 talents had come and brought another 5 talents, saying: Lord, you delivered us 5 talents to me. Behold, I've gained another 5 above them.

And he said to him: well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler now over many things. Enter the joy of the Lord.

So in this passage he's talking about how your faithfulness, with what you've been given on the earth, determines your role there.

It's not that everybody doesn't get the same wage, because earlier he said that in heaven, whether you started work at 6am or 5pm, you get the same wage.

There's a big difference between wage and reward; but in the beginning of the Bible it was in a garden, and even in perfection Adam had work to do, a job to do. At the end of the Bible it centres around a tree, and its imperfection, and we will have work to do.

I can't stand these images of heaven, that were actually invented in the late 1700s, of all of us wearing white robes, sitting on clouds, playing harps, and singing in perfect pitch to 1780s hymns. That sounds like hell to me, right?

When I was a kid, I asked my pastor: what's heaven going to be like? He said: heaven is like an eternal church service; and I thought: flip, that is horrible! Who would want that! How terrible is that?

Of course, people have the same image of heaven today. They picture a singing 'Jesus culture' in heaven, and of course if we got in a time machine, and went back to 1780 and said: look, this is actually the rock music we're going to be singing in heaven, those people would be like: OH NO! Like nooo.

This is about God establishing something, and our role in it, so essentially Jesus is saying: how you're living here is just going to continue. If you're faithful here, you're going to be faithful there; if you're not faithful here, chances are you're not automatically going to be faithful there; and so there's this correlation that's going on.

Let's keep going. And he who had got the two talents did the same, and he said to him: well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, now I'll make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord.

And he, who'd received the one talent, came and said: Lord, I knew that you were a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the earth. Now you have it back.

His lord answered him, and said to him: you evil and slothful servant - you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gathered where I didn't scatter. Then you should have at least put my money to the exchangers, and coming I would have received my own, with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has 10 talents; for to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will abound. But from him who has not, even that which he has, will be taken away from him.

Now that is Jesus' teaching on heaven - that's one of them. Are you okay with that? What if that happened tomorrow? Does that even sound like Jesus - to take from people who do not have; and give it to people who have more? Sounds like the exact opposite of what He spent His whole life giving Himself to. Why?

Because it's a metaphor! This isn't talking about money. This is talking about: in heaven, account will be taken for what you did with what you were given. If you were faithful with what you'd been given, then you'll be trusted with more things. But if you were not faithful, then whatever you were not faithful with, will be given to someone else.

Let me explain it this way. On the surface, it's just saying this: God's a good businessman. Let’s say I'm a contractor, and you're a subcontractor, and I give you eight jobs. So today I give you eight jobs, and at the end of the day I say: hey, how did the eight jobs go?

You say: well I got to six, I didn't get to two. Alright, so tomorrow I give you eight jobs, and at the end of the day you get to six, you don't get to two; what if I give you eight jobs on the third day, and you get to six and you don't get to two? Then on the fourth day I give you eight jobs, you get to six, you don't get to two? What if on the fifth day I give you eight jobs, you do six, you don't get to two?

How long is it going to take me to start giving you six jobs, and then taking the two you're not getting to, and giving them to someone who actually has the capacity to do it?

Jesus says: heaven's like that - that God's going to establish His kingdom, whether you like it or not; and if you're not going to participate in it, then the grace that He gave you to accomplish, He's just going to give it to someone who will accomplish it, because God's kingdom is going to be established.

Now let’s make a couple of observations: 1) the one who buried his talent has a skewed view of the master.

The view that God is a hard and vengeful God only holds us back. Who really wants to work for a crazy maniac, who you don't know whether you're coming or going, you don't know if he's going to like you today or yesterday? Who really wants to do that? It only holds you back. So many people don't try anything with God, because they're so afraid of God, that they're scared of giving it a go. That is dreadful.

The question is this: are we using what God gave us to bring heaven to earth; or are we burying our talent?

Maybe we can say it this way: if heaven invaded your life today, you would find out if you used what God gave you for the common good; or if you buried it.

What have you done with your talent? Have any of you ever been at work, and one of your co-workers says: how could your God be real, with all the suffering in the world? Anybody ever heard that argument, like: how could your God be real? There's all this suffering. Is your God not powerful enough to do something? Your God's a failure. Even if your God is God, He's a failure.

Has anybody ever heard that, and you're sort of like: man, don't talk about my God like that, right? Like you're all just jacked up and - right? But then you walk away, and you're like well: man, that makes sense actually, he's got a point. Have you ever thought like that? You want an answer to that? Okay, here's the answer. The answer is actually not in the Bible. The answer is in Forbes Magazine. Let me explain.

In October Forbes Magazine, every October they put out a celebration of the 400 richest people in the world. It's called the Forbes 400 okay? The 400 richest people in the world combined have $1.27 trillion dollars. 400 people, have $1.27 trillion dollars. Roughly the same numbers of people in this room right now, have $1.27 trillion dollars.

Let me tell you how much money that is. That's enough money to put clean water and sewerage in the whole world; that's enough money to vaccinate the whole world against disease. That's enough money to set up perpetual education for the whole world; and enough money to start the perpetual production of food to end world hunger; and still leave them all billionaires! And God's the failure? Really?

Or it's enough money to run the US Government for five days! I can't believe how much people trust their government to take care of them. It never works. Even with Joseph, Joseph was a righteous man, and when he tried to set up the government to take care of the Egyptians, by Genesis 47 it says, that he reduced the entirety of Egypt to slavery; because he took their grain and stored it up, and then instead of giving it back, he sold it back. It has a price!

Your healthcare's not free! I'm telling you, I don't know about your government. Everything the US Government touches goes broke. It took over the Post Office, it's broke. They took over Amtrak, which is our train system, it's broke.

They took over the Mustang Ranch. The Mustang Ranch was a brothel on I40 in New Mexico, halfway between Dallas and LA, which was meant to provide prostitutes and liquor for truck drivers in the desert.

They got done-in for tax evasion, and the government looked at it and said: they're making millions. We're not going to shut it down, we're going to take it over to provide revenue for the government. They took over the Mustang Ranch, and it went broke. When you can't give away prostitutes and liquor to truck drivers in the desert, your business plan sucks! And God's the failure?

Let me ask you this: has God withheld the resource necessary to fix the world? It's within the power of 400 people to put a huge dent in it, a huge dent. You mean to tell me there's not a lot of government waste in New Zealand? Really? And God's the failure? No, someone buried something, that's the problem.

When I tell you stories like that, if I say: there's 400 people that have $1.27 trillion dollars, what is your immediate gut response? It's like flip, they should do something, right! Are you right? Yes? Are you wrong? Yes? It's none of your business what they do!

Here's my question: if 400 people could accomplish that, what could the top 400,000 do? What could the top 4 million do? What could the top 400 million do?

If you drove a car here today, I don't care what kind of car it is, you're in the richest 700 million people in the world. What are you doing about it? What would happen if all of these people pooled their resources; they said: we are going to unbury our talent, and use it for something? God is calling us to establish heaven on the earth, and part of doing that is being willing to unbury our talent.

According to the World Health Organisation, 16,900 children are going to die today of starvation - today! They're going to die today. There's another 16,900 that are starting to feel the final hunger pangs, and fixing to die tomorrow. And that's true the next day, and the next, and the next. 16,900 children are going to die today; what does your refrigerator look like? Could you not feed one?

Considering the New Zealand dollar is very powerful over the Chinese Yuan, or the South African rand, or - do you know what one New Zealand dollar can do when you send it overseas? Somebody buried something, and I think that someone is us.

Why couldn't, just because of this room, why couldn't that figure be 16,500 children by next year? I mean there's, I don't know, if you count everybody in the building there's probably 400 or 500 people here. Why can't we feed one a piece? What are we doing? Somebody buried something.

I was down in a place called Gore right, Gore! What a great name for a town; where do you live? I live in Gore. From my understanding - you guys live here, but my understanding, Gore is the richest city in New Zealand per capita; so per capita, they're the richest people in the whole place. The problem is it's the town next door to Gore, which I can't think of, is the poorest; so in New Zealand you have this situation where the richest people are living next door to the poorest people.

There is a friend of mine down there, who has become one of my heroes. Her name is Pam Highsted, and she looked at one of my teachings, and she got moved in her heart. She said: you know this is not okay; so she started an after school program for underprivileged children in the town next door. She said: please, you were the inspiration for this. Would you come and speak to these kids, which I'm horrible at speaking to kids. I don't even know what to say. I look at them, and I like tell them Hebrew words. I don't know what to do, so I said: yes, I'll do it, right.

Now let me paint the picture for you. It was in July, and it was one degree, it was blowing rain sideways, so I don't even know where to go. So I'm looking for the room, and its blowing rain, and its freezing, and a seven year old comes running by with no shoes on. I said: I'm going to follow him right, because he obviously knew where the room was, so I sort of followed him.

Once we got in the room, I figured someone needed to be an adult, and I said: hey look buddy, it's freezing outside, and you need to put your shoes on. We don't want you to get sick; and he went: shoes? Who has shoes? I thought to myself: does he not have any shoes? So I asked Pam. I said: does he not have shoes because they choose not to wear them, or can his family really not afford shoes? She said: likely his family can't afford shoes; and it was at that moment she said: look around the room. I looked around at this room full of kids, and only half of them even had shoes on their feet. I thought: we're in New Zealand, flip! Somebody buried something. Somebody buried something, they absolutely did.

God's not the failure by the way - we are. God has entrusted all of us with a certain amount of talent. What are you using, that God gave you; or what have you buried?

Every year we hear stories of people freezing to death, homeless people; there's a homeless shelter in my home town, I went down there to see them, because they feed a lot of people.

I said: hey, how can I help? I said: I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll go around to restaurants, and I'll try to get them to donate more food. The guy went: NO! No, no. We don't need more food, and I thought: dude, you're homeless shelter, you're feeding people, you need more food. He said: no, no, no, we have more than enough food that comes in every day, because food will spoil, like we have more than enough food that comes in every day. What we need is more hands to feed the people.

Our limitation isn't food, our limitation is hands to feed it. So I said: you mean to tell me, that you have more than enough food; your problem is, you don't have enough people to serve the food to the people coming in? He said: yes, that's right.

I thought to myself: when you're serving lunch in the middle of the week, you mean to tell me there's not 12 people watching the end of The Price is Right, waiting for The Young and the Restless to start? Are you kidding me? Somebody buried something. You mean to tell me there's not 12 people choosing to watch TV, instead of feed someone who can't eat? Come on, somebody has buried something.

God is not the failure. We are the failure. You know what the leading cause of blindness in the world is? Dirty water! Kids drink the dirty water, their gut adjusts to the parasite, but the parasite in the dirty water causes cataracts over their eyes, and they're blind by four. There's a guy in Australia, he's an eye surgeon (Fred Hollows). He said: this is not okay. This is just not okay, and so he decided to give the rest of his life to restoring sight to blinded kids.

Do you know what it costs to restore sight to a blind kid? $30! Thirty bucks! Do you know what it costs to have cataract surgery in America? $15,000!

Somebody's burying something. Somebody's getting rich, and profiteering on people's health, and that is not okay. $30 will restore sight to a blind kid. Let me ask you this: what's the last thing you spent $30 on? How does it compare to the sight of a blind kid? Somebody buried something.

See, when we hear stories of burying, there's something inside of us - if you're not moved right now, I'm questioning whether you have a soul. 16,900 children are going to die today. If you have the ability to walk out and go: what are we eating for lunch; what is wrong with us! I mean go enjoy your lunch, but not at the expense of not helping someone else. That is not what we're called to be.

We're called to be Salt and Light, and establish the kingdom of heaven on the earth. When we hear stories of people who unbury their talent, it moves us.

One of my heroes is a girl named Kyla Alexander. Kyla is 39 years old, and she's given up her dream of being married and having a family, because she chose, she went to China. In China they have a one child policy, so that leaves a lot of problems when a child is born mentally handicapped; so she went to the Government Welfare Office...

These were not bad people at all. They were not. They were just understaffed, and you had 2 people looking after 40 mentally handicapped children, and they just couldn't do it. So for their own safety, there was children shackled to - like they had to leash them, to make sure they didn't run off. It wasn't that they were being mean, they just could not possibly keep up.

Kyla said: this is not okay, and she's given her life to restoring dignity to mentally handicapped children in China. I was just there, are you ready to get mad? Ready to get mad, here we go, I'm going to make you mad. It made me mad. I was just there, and I said: Kyla, what can I do for you? Anything within my power to do, I'm going to do it.

She said well, we've recently had to cut everything back, because we lost our biggest supporter. I said: what? She said: yeah, there was a church, they were our biggest supporter, and they cut us off. I went: oh, I'm sorry, you know, economic downturn, churches go through hard times, they have to make tough decisions. I'm sorry that happened. She said: no, that's not the reason. That wasn't the reason at all actually.

She said they sent a missions team here, and I told them that they could not force the children to say the sinner's prayer, because we were in Communist China; and so when they left, they cut our support off, because they said: what good is what you're doing anyway, if all of them are going to burn in hell. So that's our story? God is torturing mentally-handicapped children now? We're sticking by that?

I said: what's his name? What? What's the pastor's name? I haven't opened up a can on somebody in a very long time. I said: Kyla, that's not okay, and Shane Willard Ministries will do everything they can to make up the downfall, that you just suffered. We are not going to let these children suffer, because somebody else thinks that people are going to burn in hell, because they're too mentally handicapped to say a specific prayer.

He just summed up the whole problem with Christianity, right there in one sentence. No, it's not okay. We're going to help kids. You hear Kyla's story, you go YES! Go Kyla! Stick with it! Come on girl, you're doing a great job. Something inside of you does that.

There's a friend of mine in South Africa named Brandon Eckert. He's one of my heroes. Brandon was a 26 gang member, bad dudes, and he got saved. He came to the Lord listening to my message, the Authority of the Rabbi. Now there's a revival in Pollsmoor Prison, because he'd been allowed to take the DVD of the Authority of the Rabbi in there and show it to them, that the head of the 26s wrote me a letter. The guy, the head guy of the 26s wrote me a letter to say that he'd given his heart to the ways of Jesus.

It was really cool, because he started out: hi Mr Willard, my name is Bones. I was like: hi Bones; and so Bones, he said: I don't even know what it looks like to give my heart to Jesus as the head of a gang, but I'm willing to give it a go. He went and led his number two guy to the Lord, and so I got to meet him. His name was Colin, and so there's thing going on in Pollsmoor Prison.

So Brandon gets out, and Brandon says: this is not okay, this is not okay. I'm going to do something to change the cycle of poverty in my city. So he started a ministry that gets drug addicts and prostitutes and gang members off the street, and what he does is he gets them high school educated. First he gets them off drugs; second he gets them high school educated; third he gets them in job training, so he can break the cycle of poverty.

The last time I was in Cape Town, the District Attorney of Cape Town asked to meet with me - which made me nervous. Why is the District Attorney calling me to Court right? It's an odd feeling, so I go into Court, and this District Attorney says to me, she says: I just want you to know, because I know you're pouring in tens of thousands of dollars into this from America, and I want you to know that it is working.

He is now recognised by the South African Department of Justice as a viable option to Pollsmoor Prison, so that if people commit crimes, and we're going to send them to Pollsmoor Prison, instead of sending them to prison, they can have the option of going with him. If they complete his program, it counts as their prison time; but if they do not, they go to prison - so far 100 percent success rate!

When you hear that, don't you go: YES! Go Brandon! When people unbury their talent, it's so moving.

All of us know the famous ones like Heidi Baker, and taking care of orphans in Mozambique. You look at these stories, these incredible stories: Mother Theresa, what she did for lepers. This lady, she's going to shave her head for lepers. If a woman's willing to shave her head for lepers, give her $10 - flip! There are several hundred of us here. Why couldn't she raise $3,000 for lepers today? She's shaving her head, for lepers, and we're going to go: oh, well good you. I mean what! No! Come on. Unbury - you mean you'll miss $10? Come on, no!

We hear stories like this, and something in us goes: YES! And my question to you is: why not you? What does your refrigerator look like? What could you do? Where have you sat on your laurels; and the truth is, there are a lot of great people who don't do anything for anybody else, and it's not because they're not good people. It's because they don't intentionally set out to do it.

You're not going to wake up in the morning, and accidentally do this. You have to wake up in the morning with full intention to make someone else's life better.

Here's my question: whose life is better, in the last 30 days, because you were in it? If you can't think of anybody - and right now, if you're a narcissist, you're thinking: well my wife's life is better, because I'm in it! No, that's not what I'm talking about. She would likely disagree with that. I'm talking about outside of your family, outside of your four walls - whose life is better because you're in it?

All of us would know that Jesus honours this sort of behaviour, but how many of us are actually doing it; and it's not because we're bad people, it's because we think it's going to happen accidentally.

It will not happen accidentally. You have to, with intention and focus, unbury your talent. Bay City Outreach Centre is one of the greatest churches I go to in the whole world, and I've travelled the lot of it, okay. You have an incredible opportunity, but Bay City Outreach Centre cannot keep on existing, with people burying their talent.

There's so much talent in this room that God has given this place. God has entrusted this place to be a part of the redemption process of the whole city. What are you doing sitting on the fence? What are your options?

Well, I need - I can't miss NCIS. Are you kidding me? Get a DVR, watch it without commercials later. It's better that way anyway, plus it comes out in America first. Let me ruin it for you. Gibbs gets the bad guy! He's amazing!

Bay City Outreach Centre is going through transition as an organisation. Now, more than ever, it needs its people to stand up and unite, and unbury their talent, and say: let's go do what God asked us to do in this city!

Let's establish: may we never be people waiting to go to heaven someday; but may we be people determined to bring heaven to every place we see hell on this earth!

The quality of what you're living for is only determined by what you're willing to die for.

What does your life revolve around - temporary pleasure; or God's redemptive will for all of creation?

What's the last thing that made you angry enough to get your shovel out, and unbury your talent? Or maybe a better question would be: what's the last thing that just made you angry, period?

You know what I find, is that Kyla Alexander doesn't get angry over road works. I know, I know, that they're still fixing the same road. I know. I've been coming here seven years; they're still fixing the same exact road. Kingdoms have risen and fallen, Nigeria has changed empires seven times; New Zealand is still fixing the same flippin' road. I know, I know, it's so annoying. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable.

You know what made me mad? I went to a grocery store the other day, and the cashier was really slow. Grrr, man. What makes you mad? You know, if I told Kyla that; Kyla would be like: so you have the luxury of living in a country where you can drive a motor vehicle to a store, that pre-packages food for you, and you still find a reason to be upset - over the slowness of the cashier? Ooh, I know, that must be so tough!

What makes you angry? Shane, you don't understand. My husband left his underwear on the floor for the 17,000th time. I know. You know that guy that you would expect to die for you, if an intruder came in, that guy? Yeah, must be tough. It must be tough living with someone who would die for you. I know. Shane, my wife falls asleep too early. I know. I know; that's annoying.

What makes you angry, and how does that compare to what God's doing in the world? Sometimes we just need some perspective.

What I find is that people with anger problems, they don't really have an anger problem. They have an energy problem. They're not giving enough of their energy away, so they have too much of it.

The cure for anger's not prayer. The cure for anger is giving your life away to something so much, that you don't have any energy to be angry about stupid stuff.

So you might be saying: well what could I do? What could I do? If you can't think of anything to do, go to FredHollowsFoundation.com, just Google them and give them $30, and at least give sight to one blind kid. By the way, I get no royalties from them, I just believe in them. On your way out today, you can purchase a set of CDs or a USB, and you can know that when my Director of Charity goes to China in a few months, that it's going to be given to mentally handicapped children in China. You can do something.

You could call your pastor this week, and go: hey, I've been sitting on the fence. I've been burying my talent. Where can I get involved in this place? What can I do to help you bring the kingdom of heaven to the earth right here in Hastings? What can I do? You could do that, but you have to set full intention of doing it. It's not going to happen by accident.

I've got a friend who left church; and I asked him: why did you leave church? They said: well, we're just tired of the church being so selfish and self-centred. I said: well I get that, but leaving's not going to fix it; but they left. You know what their life looks like today? They get up in the morning, they eat breakfast together. They each go to their different jobs, they come home, they have some sort of afternoon tea, they eat supper, they watch two episodes of Modern Family and one episode of NCIS, they go to bed. Then they wake up the next day and they repeat it. What a life.

So she left the church because it was selfish, but now her life has become what she hated in the first place. Is she a bad person? Absolutely not, she's one of the best people I know, but the truth of it is is that when you don't intentionally set forth to be salt and light in this world, it will not happen by accident.

In the kingdom - this is so important - it's not the summation of what I've done, like addition; it's the measure of what I've done, based on what I was given. How's your ratio look? How's your ratio?

Your reward in heaven is not determined by what you've done; it's determined on the ratio, of what you've done versus what you've been given. What's your ratio? What have you done with what you've been given?

When heaven hits earth, it will reveal whether your life was built on something that matters, or something that will be burned up. Do you have an intense sense now, that your life is about something bigger? If not, why not?

Listen, no matter what decision you make today, God loves you the same. It's not about God loving you. It's not about being forgiven. If your goal's to be forgiven, just, I don't know, go ahead and die, whatever, you're forgiven. But if your goal is to live the fullest life, and bring heaven to every place we see hell on this earth, then there is so much opportunity for us to unbury our talent. I'm urging you not to be people who just sit on the fence, and don't do anything at all.

I'm urging to be people who reach into your pockets, who look at your hands, who do something to unbury what God's given you, in order to make this world a better place. I'm asking you right now, to make a 30 day commitment to do that, once a day. It might be something small. It might be a quick encouraging email; it might be you go to Fred Hollows, give them $30; it might be buying something there. It might be finding an orphanage or you know of something; it might be helping this lady that's going to shave her head for leprosy. It might be something, but why not once a day, I'm not going to make it undoable.

All I'm asking you for, is a commitment for 30 straight days, to do one thing a day to make someone else's life better outside of your family, just one; just once a day, for 30 days. Once a day for 30 days; and I promise you, if you live 30 days like that, at the end of 30 days, you will not be able to imagine living any other way - so much good that can be done. You will find it will help your worry problem. You will find it will help your anger problem, you will find it will help your anxiety, it will help your grief. It will help the pain of whatever you've been through in the past.

When you give your life to something else, it solves all those other things. I'm urging you, and I'm challenging you, for the next 30 days. Thirty days, will you do something once a day, for someone else outside your family, just 30 days? After 30 days, ask yourself: do I want to do another 30? All I'm asking you for is 30 days, 30 days.

Now if you will do that, I want you to make a commitment before the Lord right now, simply by bearing witness and raising your hand, I will do this for the next 30 days. Okay, now I want you to look around - keep your hands up - look around. I want everybody to know that you're able to hold these - just have fun with it. Don't be judgemental, have fun. Just ask each other: hey, what did you do this week?

Maybe someone who knows what they're doing with Facebook- because I don't - maybe you could start a Facebook blog on Bay City Outreach thing called Salt and Light, or whatever you want to call it, and just have it there for people to put their stories: hey, I was here, and this is what happened. You won't believe what God did. Hey, I was here and this is what happened, you won't believe what I saw God do, and then when we start telling stories like that, it creates energy; and I promise you, I promise you, this is what God has called Bay City to be. Regardless of who's standing up here, this is what Bay City is: a group of people bringing heaven to every place they see hell on this earth. I urge you to be that. Let's pray together.

Lord, You're wonderful, we love You, and we honour You. Lord, forgive me for the places I've buried my talent. I want to be someone who uses what You've given me, to establish Your kingdom here. I'm going to pray a prayer with you, if you mean it. I'll tell you the prayer first, and then we'll pray it together. If you mean it, I want you to get in on it, and the prayer goes like this:

Lord Jesus, give me the courage to see things differently, and the irresistible urge to respond to what I see. So if you mean that, right now under your breath, say: Lord Jesus, give me the courage to see things differently, and the irresistible urge to respond to what I see. If you're here today, and you've never received what Jesus did for you before the foundation of the world, and you just want to get onboard, you want to start your journey with God, you could say something like this: Lord Jesus, I have no hope of saving myself, so I ask You to be the Lord of my life. I choose to trust Your version of my story, instead of my own. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Resurrection of the Dead (Mike Connell)

Sun 3rd Apr 2011 AM  « Back to Top

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Exerpt from "First Principles" (6 of 7): Jesus was the first-fruits, the first-born to be resurrected from the dead, and appear to many in a resurrection body - immortal, incorruptible, able to vanish in and out, no longer constrained by the physical world. He was a pattern for all that is to follow. This teaching covers the first resurrection, 1000 year reign of Christ on earth, and the second resurrection. Which one will you be in?

Introduction

Welcome to this series: the First Principles in Christ. We're now on the next principle called ‘The Resurrection of the Dead’. We trust you really listen, and let God speak to your heart, and that you are established and changed because of this.

Hebrews 6:1 - “Now leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation: Repentance from dead works; Faith toward God; the Doctrine (or teaching) of Baptisms (Baptism into Christ, into Water, in the Holy Ghost, Baptism of Fire); of the Laying on of Hands (last session); of Resurrection of the Dead; and of Eternal Judgment. And this we will do if God permits.”

Review

Last week, we looked at the Laying on of Hands. When you touch someone, you make connection with them; and the Laying on of Hands always implies there's relationship. We saw that the Laying on of Hands enabled us to receive from anointed men and women of God, to receive for our needs, to receive impartations; but also that we could lay hands on others, and we can give.

So we're in a position where, if we are connected to the body of Christ, and we are known - we're in a place where we can receive someone laying hands and imparting to us - activating, imparting gifts; but also God wants you to reach out and be part of His mission, and to lay hands on the sick, to lay hands on people, and see them recover.

Main Message

Today we want to look at: Resurrection from the Dead. Now the first four principles dealt mostly with this present world; and what happens in this present world - this realm called Time - the physical realm.

The next two go together: Resurrection from the Dead; and Eternal Judgment. Resurrection from the Dead deals with the next realm, the realm of eternity, the realm where God is. We live in a realm called Time - it's only a small thing compared to the realm of eternity where God lives.

In the Bible, there are quite a number of people who were raised from the dead. Let's have a look at one of them in Mark 5. Jesus ministers to a small girl. Her father had called Him to come and visit, because the girl was very sick; and we read in verse 39 Jesus came in and said to them, "Why are you making all this noise and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping," - but they ridiculed Him.

When He put everyone outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said: "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, arise." And this girl here, who had been dead - immediately she rose and walked; she was 12 years old, and they were overcome with great amazement. He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given to her to eat.

Let's have a look at another resurrection from the dead, in John 11. There's a whole number of examples; but this is not what the teaching of Resurrection from the Dead is about. John 11:38 (Lazarus, Jesus' friend, is dead) Then Jesus, again groaning within His spirit, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Roll away stone," and Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said "Lord, by this time there'll be a stench. He's been dead four days."

His body has actually started the process of decay. He said: "Did not I say to you, that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?" They took away the stone from the place where the dead man was. Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said: "Father, I thank You that You've heard me. I know You always hear me; but because of the people standing by, I said this, that they may believe You sent me." When He said these things, He cried: "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had died come out, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said them, "Loose him, and let him go."

So there are stories of people being raised from the dead. In the Old Testament there were Elijah's bones, which were so full of resurrection power, that when a body was dropped on him, immediately the man came back to life again.

In the New Testament, Jesus healed and raised from the dead, a young boy that was dead; this young girl raised-up Lazarus from the dead. We also see in the New Testament, that Peter raised a young girl from the dead; and also Paul raised a young man from the dead. In fact in Matthew 10:7-8, Jesus specifically says - now get this: “raising people from the dead goes with preaching the gospel”. See?

It goes with preaching the gospel; so He told: wherever you go, preach the gospel of the kingdom, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and so on. So the ministry of raising people from the dead was entrusted to the church. How far we've slipped from that! How far we've slipped; yet I've heard stories, in the last two or three years, of people that were prayed for here in New Zealand, that rose again from the dead - so God, in these latter days, is restoring great power to the church.

Now here's something you need to understand. All of those people, who were raised from the dead, that we just read about - all died; so when we're teaching the doctrine of Resurrection from the Dead, we're teaching about something that goes much beyond that, and I want us to go there now.

Let's have a look in Matthew 27. We’ll just look at when Jesus rose from the dead. I want you just to stick with me, as we're going to go through a few scriptures, and I want you to understand what this is about, because you'll understand this is the great hope of a Christian believer. In fact it's a foundation to become Christian.

Matthew 27:62 – On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered to Pilate saying, "Sir, while He was alive, the deceiver said 'After three days I will rise from the dead.' So command the tomb be secured until the third day, lest the disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He's risen from the dead.' And the last deception will be worse than the first." Pilate said "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how." So they went, and made the tomb where Jesus was buried secure, sealing the stone and setting a guard - which is probably four Roman soldiers.

After the Sabbath on the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. Behold, there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord descended from heaven; and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightening, his clothing was white as snow; and the guards shook for fear, and became like dead men. But the angel answered, and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He is risen, as He said. Come and see the place where he lay." They walked in - in another version it tells: they walked in, and they saw the grave clothes. Now they were wrapped around Him, and they had not been unravelled - they were just empty. He had risen - literally risen, completely out of the grave.

So Jesus was the first to rise from the dead. The Bible calls Him the first born. He is the first man truly resurrected. Acts 26:23. It says "that Christ would suffer, and that He would be the first to rise from the dead". So when we're talking about Resurrection from the Dead, we're talking about a total change of a person's body - going along with their spirit being rejoined to them, so they come alive. We'll show you a little more about this in a moment.

1 Corinthians 15:20 – “Now Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of those who have risen from the dead”. There was something about Jesus' resurrection that distinguished it from all other people who were returned to life. They were returned to life, but ultimately they died again. Jesus' resurrection was completely different; and so from the Bible point of view: He is the first fruits; the first born; the first one to be resurrected from the dead - and a pattern for all that is to follow. So Jesus was the first one.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 tells us that Jesus was seen by Peter. He was seen by the 12 apostles. He was seen by upward of 500 people. He was seen by James; then He was seen by the apostles again. In fact the Bible makes it very clear, that Jesus, after He rose from the dead, was seen by hundreds of people. Hundreds of people were eye witnesses. They saw Him die on the cross; they saw the Roman soldier put the spear into His side - they knew He was a dead man. They took Him down from the cross, and now here He was - He appeared to them.

Now it's very easy not to understand what that meant - to have someone, that you saw die; and you know that is a dead man; and where they buried Him in the ground; and then suddenly He's there, standing full of life in front of you. That is very, very scary!

So what was His body like? What was He like? In all the other cases of people who rose from the dead, they had been like dead on a slab, and then their spirit came back into them. They woke up, and they were restored to health, and away they went with their life again; but there was something about Jesus' resurrection that was completely different. The Resurrection of the Dead, the Resurrection of Jesus - His whole body, His original body that He had lived in, that He had died on the cross in - was totally changed. The power of God changed that body; so no longer was it a physical body, limited to the physical realm. The body He had was reconstructed, and had unusual capacity. Let's just read a few verses...

Mark 16:12 - After that, Jesus appeared in another form, to two of the disciples - and they didn't recognise Him. So Jesus, in His resurrection body, had the capacity to change into a different shape. He wasn't recognised - think about that. His body was immortal, incorruptible. That meant there was part of it ‘not old’ anymore - no teeth fell out; no hair fell out; there was nothing old anymore. Everything was renewed, and could never corrupt. He would never die, He's absolutely immortal - so He could not be killed or shot.

Luke 24 offers another example, or a situation, of Jesus after He rose from the dead. Luke 24:16 – “and Jesus has been walking with them, and their eyes were restrained, they didn't recognise Him”. Have a think about that - here's someone they have lived with for three years - now He's walking with them, and they can't recognise who He is. He has the capacity to change Himself.

When Mary, who knew Jesus very well, met Him in the garden, she thought He was a gardener - she did not recognise Him. So in the resurrection, the body of a person is able to change shape, able to change form - the word there is ‘morph’.

Notice in Luke 24:30-31, “It came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him - now notice this - and He vanished from their sight”.

So when a person has been resurrected, their body can never be corrupted again. They can never die. There's no way they can be killed. They are beyond that happening to them. Their body can change shape; their body can vanish in and out of the physical realm, and into the realm of heaven; and their body is able to suddenly appear, come through walls and turn up.

Can you image that? Can you imagine how scary that is, to have someone do something like that? How it just defies all thinking? You're talking to someone, and you've touched their hand, they've shared food with you; and then suddenly, in front of your very eyes, they're gone - just like that!

The mind can't comprehend it. You read it, and you've seen it in the scriptures before, but often we don't take time to think about what that must have been like - to be talking with a man; walking with a man; sitting and eating with a man - and suddenly you recognise it's the Lord; and then right there - His dish still there in place, cup of coffee still there in place - He just vanishes in front of your eyes.

In other words, He was no longer constrained by the physical world. He was able to enter into the realm of eternity, and back into the physical world, at ease. That's what it means to have a resurrection body - incorruptible, totally.

Further down, in Luke 24:36 – “Now the disciples were in the upper room and they shut the door. As they said these things, and were talking, Jesus Himself stood in the midst and said ‘Peace’; but they were terrified, frightened, and thought they were seeing a ghost”.

Imagine if you've got the doors locked, and there are just 12 of you in the room, and suddenly - boof! Someone turns up there! They were freaked out. They were scared. They were terrified. This is beyond human reasoning.

In Luke 24:39, they said to Him – “Look, behold My hands and Feet, it's Me”. It's Myself, it's Me. Hey, come and touch Me, handle Me. A spirit doesn't have flesh and bones, like you see I have, and He showed them His hands and His feet.

So you notice it looked just like a human body, but it had unusual power and qualities - no wonder they were terrified. Do you think you'd be any different? Because it's supernatural, the supernatural tends to frighten people. It's indescribable.

So He rose from the dead, and I want you to understand that He wasn't the only one who rose. Have a look back in Matthew 27:51 - This is straight after Jesus died on the cross. “The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom; the earth quaked, the rocks were split, the graves were opened”.

Notice this: when Jesus died on the cross, the graves broke open. Now for a Jew to have the grave break open, it's very serious. They had to go and guard the grave. They couldn't do anything about it - it was the Sabbath. They had to sit there, and wait, and guard these places; so they would have been waiting outside those graves.

Now this is what happened - it says: “many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the graves after His resurrection. They went into the holy city and appeared to many”. So Jesus was the first to rise from the dead; and notice it says: many - not all. Many were raised from the dead after Jesus' resurrection; and not only that, they went into the holy city, and they appeared to many.

So who were some of those people? Well, probably Joseph; was because Joseph knew this was going to happen, and that's why he commanded His bones to be taken from Egypt and buried there near Jerusalem. Probably Abraham knew, because that's why he bought a cave; and his descendants were all buried in the cave with him.

They wanted to be near what they knew would happen one day - Jesus Christ the Messiah would come, He'd come into the earth, die on the cross and rise gloriously from the dead! And at that time, they also would rise with Him - they had a great hope that stretched for centuries.

They looked and saw Jesus day. Jesus said: “Abraham saw my day and rejoiced”. Abraham saw the day of the messiah, saw His resurrection from the dead. He got it by revelation, and it become a great hope. The only thing he purchased in his life, that I'm aware of, was a cave - to be buried near where this was going to happen. His hope was of the resurrection.

So the Bible tells us many - not all - at that time, rose from the dead. They had a resurrection body. They could walk in and out of rooms; walk in and out of heavenly realm; just walk in and out - they were immortal. Just imagine that.

What would you do, be part of that? Imagine if that was to happen today - what wouldn't you give to be part of that? If some were resurrected, and others weren't - what wouldn't you give, to be part of that? Think about that. You'll see that that's the great hope that we have. It's a great hope. That's what motivates us to move forward with God and to grow – it’s very, very important.

So belief in the Resurrection is totally foundational to the Christian faith. Because of this, it tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:13-16 - If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then: 1) your sins can't have been forgiven; 2) it's a waste of time believing in Him, because He's dead like everyone else.

So Jesus Christ, being raised from the dead - God proved this was the Son of God. You see, the political leaders, the religious leaders came together saying that He's not the Son of God. They put Him to death; and God raised Him up, and proved He's the Son of God by resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:19 tells us: “and so if there's no resurrection, the Christian faith has no hope for anyone” - but there is a resurrection. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He will come again, and there is a great hope.

In Romans 10:9-10 tells us “If you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth, if you believe God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.” Foundational to becoming a Christian is belief in the dead and resurrection of Jesus Christ - the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Many other religions have founders. All of them are dead; none rose again from the dead. There's only Jesus Christ, only in Christianity has our founder died on our behalf, and then rose from the dead, seen by hundreds, and will one day come again. You and I need to recognise this is unique to the Christian faith.

The Bible tells us: all will experience resurrection. In Hebrews 9:27, we ask the question: what happens when people die? It's very, very simple, I can't develop it - I'd like to, but just in brief. In Hebrews 9:27 – “It's appointed under man once to die, and after that judgement”. The judgement - final judgement comes, after the resurrection.

“But its appointed a man once to die”. You don't get a second round; so if you think you're coming back again well, you're not coming back again - once to die. Every person has an appointment with death. None of us can shake it - unless the Lord comes, and we are changed, then we will die, and we will have an appointment with God. That appointment with God is going to determine then our destiny; so death is just a separation of your body, and your soul, and spirit.

The Bible says we're a three-part being: spirit, soul, body. We live in a body, but we are a spirit being; so when a person dies, their body just returns, and disintegrates, and just becomes dust in the earth again. God, by His power, is able to reconstitute the entire DNA - every part of who you were, when you were alive on the earth - put it back together again, and resurrect that body that you lived in. So the body you're in now - God is going to resurrect it. Thank God for that! You get more teeth! God will resurrect that body.

So what happens after you die? Well, immediately after you die, if you're a believer, the angels “gather you”. Luke 16 – “the angels gather you into the presence of the Lord”. You're welcomed into heaven, and you're there until the day of resurrection. If you're a person who's rejected Christ, walked anti-God, then the spirit of death takes hold of you, and you can never be in the presence of God. You will always be separated from Him for eternity.

In Luke 16, it describes it, that place of suffering; where people that we know, are now there. They have their memory. They remember who they were when they were on the earth. They remember their loved ones. They have memory of people that they had relationship with on the earth. They remember experiences when they were on the earth.

They also suffer terribly. A rich man, who was in hell, suffered immensely. While he was there, he had memory of his brothers, his family, his experiences in life - he had all of that memory with him. It doesn't tell us if he was aware of what was happening on the earth, so I don't think people in that place are aware what is going on, but they remember their family members.

He saw into the realm where Lazarus was. He saw into the other realm; the realm where people are in rest with God; that realm called Paradise; that realm of heaven now where people go. He saw into that realm, and he was distressed, because he could see there was a great divide, and no one could cross it. After you die, there's no coming back. After you die, there is no chance to have a second chance. After you die, there's a decision made of where you'll spend eternity; and you make that decision on the earth. If you receive Jesus Christ, then it sets the course of our life; now we must walk with Him, and stay in Him, and not abandon Him.

So what happens then, at the moment after you die? Within a split second, immediately your spirit and soul leaves your body, goes into eternity; and your decision of how you responded to Christ will determine what happens to you in that place.

Now the Bible says: “all will rise from the dead”. In John 5:28-29, this is what Jesus said - He taught this: “The time will come when all, all who are in the graves will hear His voice, the voice of Jesus Christ and will come forth; some to a great resurrection, some not to a great resurrection”.

Revelations 20:11 - I want to stick with this, and then we'll come to the end. “Now I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things that were written in the books. The seat gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hell delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Death and Hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. Anyone not written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.”

So the Bible teaches then, that all will be resurrected from the dead. Jesus said: “all will come forth to be resurrected from the dead” - so every person that's ever lived in history, there will come a day when they will rise from the dead; their body will be changed, their spirit will be reunited with their body. They'll be there again, that person there again. At that time, the books are opened, and then eternal judgement takes place - and there's no one exempt, no one exempt.

Mark 12:24 – “God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living”. So people do not vanish, they do not cease to exist when they die. They go into eternity, and they're either in the presence of God - Paul said to “be absent from the body; present with the Lord” - they're present with the Lord.

Stephen, when he died said: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. So the Bible's very clear - when you die, you're either: in the presence of the Lord; or in your place of torment. There comes a point where there'll be a resurrection of all people; and following that resurrection, a determination is made of your destiny forever – forever- based on what you did.

Revelations 20:4 says: “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who'd been beheaded for their witness to Jesus, and for the word of God, and had not worshipped the beast or his image, not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived - notice this - they lived, and they reigned with, Jesus Christ for a thousand years”.

In the beginning of Revelations 20, there will come a point in time when the devil will be bound and imprisoned; so the spiritual powers which have deceived the nations for generations will be bound - their influence will no longer be there. They'll no longer be able to cast their influence upon the nations of the earth; so there will be a period of a thousand years, and in that period of a thousand years, all demonic activity will cease. The devil and his cohorts will be bound for one thousand years. That 1000 years will be a period in earth's history, that has never been seen ever before, but which is prophesied from one end of the Bible to the other.

There will be an unprecedented season of prosperity and peace in the earth - it's a great hope to look forward to. There's no political solution to the dilemmas that we face in the world. The only solution, really, ultimately is the coming of Christ; when what He will do will bind spiritual powers.

Revelations 20:1 – “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having a key to the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years; he cast him in the bottomless pit, shut him up, set a seal on him, so he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished.” But then he's released for a little while.

So there will be a period where there's no demonic activity. Can you imagine no demonic activity? A lot of people can't understand the extent to which demonic activity creates the problems in the nations. Much of the church in the West won't even acknowledge it, and deal with it; but for us who understand things of the spirit, we understand there is a very real spirit world. Spiritual powers influence people, and they run, and control, and manipulate the courses of nations. They control what goes on in the earth, through deception, through spiritual power. Can you imagine when they are bound for a thousand years, what it will be like on the earth, without all of that there? An unprecedented season of peace and prosperity in earth history - until the devil is released again.

“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgement was committed to them”. So now he sees in the spirit - and he sees thrones. A throne is a position of governance, a position of authority and power - authority that the devil has had to give up. A body of believers has taken possession of those; and now have the power and authority representing the Lord, to bring about amazing and substantial changes in the earth.

It says: “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness for Jesus” - clearly they come up. They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, but the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Now notice this - that some people enter the first resurrection; some people do not. The assumption everyone has, is that they would be; that all in the first resurrection would be Christians. It's an assumption, rather than a reality.

Notice what it says: “the rest of the dead”. That's all other dead people - apart from those who the Bible refers to, enter into the first resurrection. Now among those who come into the first resurrection, are people who gave up their life for Christ. Imagine that, this is the kind of people it's talking about - people who live their life for Christ, passionately, fervently; and some of them laid their life down for Christ. They are counted worthy to be in that first resurrection. I don't think someone who's a lukewarm believer, and lives in compromise, and doesn't represent Christ - it's hard to imagine how they could be in that.

Not only that, it says: “I saw thrones, and they sat on them”. You notice, if you read right through the Book of Revelation (first four chapters), that only those who overcame were ever given that kind of authority. So the first resurrection - it says: “blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

I don't think we should assume that we will reign with Christ, if we don't: walk with Him; fellowship with Him; and endure suffering for His sake, in this life. Think about that. The assumption automatically is: everyone just makes it in; but actually, notice what the Bible talks about. The Bible talks about those who live a life that honours God - a life that overcomes the difficulties that are in the current church age, the current age we live in.

Jesus spoke to the Lukewarm Church of Laodicea. He said: “Blessed is the man who overcomes luke-warmness, apathy, and indifference. He shall sit with me in my throne”. So God has reserved rewards for those who walk with Him; so we can all access and come into heaven, but when we're resurrected, and how we're resurrected, and the realm we live in, in resurrection - now that varies; and that depends on what you have done with your life, as a steward of Christ while on the earth. Think about that.

Notice we just already read: “the books were open”; and Jesus said in another part, in Revelation 22 – “I come, and My reward is with Me, to give each man according to his works”. So very clearly what it's talking about here is a resurrection of reward, a resurrection of privilege.

It's spoken of in other parts in the Bible. I'll just give you two references to it; one is found in Hebrews 11:35, and it says: “some had great victories with their life. Some did great things to change nations. Others were put to death - now notice what it says - they were put to death; and what they were believing for was a more powerful, or a stronger, resurrection”. You see they went to death because they believed there was something - a prize to be won.

Paul spoke of the same prize, we'll just look at that, and then finish for today. Philippians 3 - Paul was aware of this too. He begins to talk about his own journey; now Paul was a great apostle - he did amazing things.

Philippians 3:10 – “oh, that I might know Christ, the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death - notice this - if by any means I might attain to the resurrection from the dead”.

So he's saying: I'm doing these things - IF I might get to here. When there's always a word 'if', you know there's a possibility that you may not get there. You will catch the bus - 'if' you're on time. If you're not on time - you don't catch the bus.

He's saying: I do these things - I seek to know Him; I seek to discover the power of His resurrection. I seek to walk in the fellowship and friendship, connecting with Him over the rejection that often comes for being a Christian – “being conformed to His death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection from the dead” - and the word resurrection here is a word used no other place in the Bible.

It's the word ‘Anastasis’ - resurrection is Anastasis, meaning ‘out from resurrection’ - the resurrection that causes people to stand up, stand out from everyone else that is dead. He's talking about the first resurrection; and notice what he goes on to say, in Philippians 3:13:

“Brethren. I press on, I do not count myself to apprehend, one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, reaching forward to the things which are ahead, I press to the goal for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let any of us who be mature, having that same mind, and if you're thinking differently, God will reveal it to you.”

Notice what he's saying: My whole life is motivated because of what I see is coming in the future. There is a day when there will be a first resurrection. I want to be in that resurrection. I want to be with Christ. I want to be part of that great resurrection.

Can you imagine what it'd be like to be living on the earth for a thousand years? You can never die, never suffer, never be put to death, never be corruptible; and you can now fulfil a mission for God - bringing the earth into the order that He intended it to be brought into.

What this is called is: the Hope of the Believer. This is called: the High Calling of God, in Jesus Christ.

Paul writes in Colossians 1:27 - “It's Christ in you, the hope one day you'll be filled with the glory of God” - your body will be resurrected, and you will walk this earth representing Him, just as He did after He was raised from the dead. What an amazing thing!

Notice what he says in Philippians’ 3:20 – “Our citizenship is in heaven, from where we eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus who will transform our lowly body, that it might be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working whereby He can subdue everything”.

It is not too difficult for God to do this thing. It is very clear, in that first resurrection, not all will rise, but there will be some who have died, who will rise from the dead; there will be some who are alive, who will be changed; and Christ will be seen in His people. What an amazing motivation for you and me to serve Him passionately, and to come into such a wonderful destiny that He has for us.

The Bible tells us that this resurrection life has already begun in you. Romans 8:11 says this: The same spirit, the Holy Spirit, who resurrected Jesus Christ, changed His body, joined Him back together, raised Him from the dead; when you became a Christian, that same spirit of God was put in you, that same Holy Ghost is in you.

Notice what he says: the same spirit, that was able to raise Jesus from the dead, can: quicken, energise, activate, and restore your mortal body. You can be filled with the life of God, because He's put His Holy Spirit in you. It's a resurrection spirit!

That spirit that you've got in you, that Holy Spirit of God, raised Jesus from the dead. It can energise you with life. That's why we encourage you to build a spirit life; because if you don't, you won't have life resurrection power inside, filling you, making you healthy and full of life, energy, vitality, able to release the power of God to people.

It's not just for a handful. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, the resurrection power of God has already started in you. It's your responsibility to cultivate your relationship with God, so you live energised in the Holy Ghost, full of the power of God, flowing in the gifts of the spirit, releasing the life of God to others.

This is the privilege of every believer. Resurrection took place when I received Christ. I come alive, my spirit is joined to the one who's risen from the dead. Now you and I can walk in a new life. When you got baptised in the Holy Ghost, it's the entrance into that realm of life.

It's not so difficult, not so hard - it's a life serving God. It's a life where you meditate. It's a life where you let the word get into you; you learn how to praise strongly, and the life of God begins to fill you. It's for every believer! It's for every believer!

One day, there is a hope, that if I serve God, walk with Him, fellowship with Him, and endure things for His sake - that I will qualify for that great resurrection, the first resurrection. What an amazing challenge we have!

Closing Prayer

Father, God, we thank you for such a great hope that is set before us. If you are reading or listening online, then the best thing you could do, would be to open your life to Jesus Christ. If you're not a Christian today, then you're not walking with God. You have a destiny separated from God, and that destiny will start the moment your heart stops. When your heart stops, time will stop. You'll enter eternity, and you know what I say is true. What a great thing, if we were to just receive Christ right now.

I want us just to pray this prayer together; and then we're going to stand, and just honour Jesus; and clap to Him who rose from the dead.

Father in heaven, I open my heart to you. I thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. I thank you that you raised Him from the dead. Jesus, I believe in you. I receive you as my saviour. I turn from all sin. I turn from all false gods. I receive you as my Saviour, and give you my life today. Before heaven and earth I declare Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and friend forever. Amen! Amen!

Let's give the Lord a clap shall we? [Applause] Halleluiah! We believe in you Jesus, your power rests within us today.

Why don't we stand together, and let's begin to pray in tongues. Let that life of that spirit, that raised Christ from the dead, begin to express inside us right now.

I want you to do this for 15 seconds, pray in tongues as strongly, as loudly as you can and see the difference. [Prays in tongues]

Father, let the resurrection life of Jesus grow and increase in us, manifest through us, touching the people around us; and Lord - to you we give all the honour and all the glory. Jesus - thank you for dying on the cross. Thank you for going into the deepest parts, thank you for rising from the dead. You're our saviour and you've set us FREE! You've set us FREE! Come on, let's celebrate! Free. I'm free!

Summary Notes

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1. Introduction

Heb. 6:1-3 “Let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundations …”

· The first four of the foundational principles deal with this present world – realm of time; physical realm. The last two of the foundational principles take us into the realm of eternity, realm of God.

2. People Raised from the Dead

· Old Testament:

2 Kings 13:21 A dead man arose from the dead when his body touched Elisha’s bones.

· New Testament:

Lk. 7:14 Jesus raises a boy from the dead.

Mk. 5:35-42 Jesus raises a girl from the dead.

Jn. 11:39-44 Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead – healed restored and raised.

Acts 9:40 Peter raises Dorcas from the dead.

Acts 20:9-12 Paul raises a young man from the dead.

· Mt. 10:7-8 “As you go, preach, saying the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received, freely give.”

Raising the dead is part of the commission that Jesus gave his followers. This demonstrates the power of God and the reality of life after death. All these people died – None of this is the resurrection referred to in Heb. 6.

3. The Resurrection of Jesus

(a) What happened?

· Mt. 27:62 – Mt. 28:7 “I know you seek Jesus who was crucified, He is not here; for He is Risen!”

· The Romans sealed his tomb and posted a guard to ensure no-one stole his body.

· When the women entered the tomb they found empty grave clothes – He had vanished.

(b) Jesus was the first to experience resurrection

Act 26:23 “that Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead..”

1 Cor. 15:20 “But now Christ is risen from the dead and become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

1 Cor. 15:3-8 Jesus seen by Peter, the twelve, over 500, James, all apostles, Paul. They were all eye witnesses to seeing Jesus after His resurrection.

(c) Jesus Body had Changed

Mk. 16:12 After that He appeared in another form to two of them.

Lk. 24:31 He vanished out of their sight.

He stood in their midst – touch my hands and feet!

His body incorruptible, immortal, transformed by the power of God.

He was able to change form, trans-locate, enter in and out of heaven.

(d) Others Rose from the Dead with Jesus

Mt. 27:50 -53 “…the graves were opened, and many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the graves after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

This is why Joseph wanted his bones buried near Jerusalem.

This is why Abraham purchased a cave near Jerusalem – Abraham, Sarah, Isaac buried there.

4. Belief in the Resurrection is Foundational to Christian faith

Rom. 1:3-4 God declared Jesus Christ to be the Son of God by resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:13-16 Resurrection proves our sins are forgiven at the Cross. Without resurrection our faith is empty and without hope.

Rom. 10:9-10 Belief in the resurrection is foundational to being saved.

5. All then will experience Resurrection

(a) What happens when you die?

Heb. 9:27 “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgement.”

Death = separation of spirit/soul from body – your body returns to the earth and decomposes.

Your spirit and soul go into eternity to face Creator God to be judged.

Angels of God gather godly who trust Christ to heaven.

Angel of Death gathers ungodly to place of torment (Lk 16:19-31).

(b) All will rise from the dead to face Eternal Judgement

Jn. 5:28-29 “..all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth …”

Rev. 20:12-15 “..and anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

God is able to re-assemble every part of our body again by His great power.

All will be raised from the dead and enter eternity of judgement/ suffering or of joy.

Mk. 12:24-27 “God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living.”

6. The First Resurrection

Rev. 20:1-6 “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the First Resurrection”

There are two resurrections – and there are different realms of existence in the Kingdom.

The first Resurrection - Precedes the 1000 year rule of Christ on the earth

- Precedes the general resurrection of all dead

- Brings people into a realm of authority and rulership (thrones).

- Is for those who overcome in this life. (Rev. 3:21)

Mt. 25:1-13 10x virgins.

Heb. 11:35 - stronger, more powerful resurrection.

Phil 3:15 – Paul saw this as something to attain to – a great hope.

Resurrection = exanastasis = the ‘out from’ resurrection = to stand out from the dead.

Phil. 3:20-21 – transform our lowly body that is might be conformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.

7. Resurrection Life Now

Rom. 8:11 “If the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you, He that rised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you”

- Jesus now dwells in heaven.

- We who have received Jesus are joined spirit to spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17).

- The Holy Spirit within you can quicken and energise spirit, soul and body.

- Quicken = to make you alive with the life of another!

This life of the Spirit begins when you receive Christ as Saviour.

This life of the Spirit is empowered when you are baptised in Holy Ghost.

This life of the Spirit can be developed and expressed through you.

- Prayer – Mediation – Word of God – Serving – Obedience.

This life of the Spirit that dwells within will resurrect our mortal body.

Eternal Judgment (Mike Connell)

Sun 10 Apr 2011 AM  « Back to Top

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Exerpt from "First Principles" (7 of 7): Sometimes we focus a lot on the grace of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God we forget or overlook that there is another side, that God is also holy and He's just. His justice requires that He deal with how we've governed our life and what we've done in our life. All of you have an appointment to keep with this. There is no exception. Matt 16:27 I come and my reward is with me, to give to every man according to his work.

Introduction

Welcome the last in our series, in Hebrews 6 - First Principles; we're going to look today at Eternal Judgement. We trust you'll just open your heart, to just hear the word of God; and may the spirit of God move where you are, and touch you, and change your life today.

Review

Hebrews 6:1-3, “Therefore leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of: Repentance from Dead Works; and of Faith towards God; of the Doctrine of Baptisms; of Laying on of Hands; of Resurrection of the Dead; and of Eternal Judgement. And this we will do if God permits.

So we see a number of truths, which are foundational to being established in Christ. Every one of these truths is a foundation, so it's not all that we learn. It is the part which has to be laid upon, which everything else builds.

We saw at the beginning, the need for us to turn away from activities and works to try and gain the approval of God - religious activities; to repent of those things which are dead and lifeless, motivated by wrong motives; and to turn towards and have faith in the living God, faith in what Christ has done for us. As we do that, we are immediately born again - the spirit brings us into the realm of the kingdom of God.

Next was the Doctrine of Baptisms; and we discussed being baptised into Christ - being placed by the Holy Spirit into Christ Himself, and into a body of people.

We looked at Water Baptism - the public declaration that our life as we knew it is over; and we're now entering a new life of following Christ.

We talked about Baptism in the Holy Spirit - an experience that opens the door. It's a door experience to the supernatural.

We saw the teaching concerning Laying on of Hands - that God wants to impart into us; so therefore we need to be in a body of people where we're known, where people can lay hands, impart, release, activate gifts into our lives; and we ourselves are authorised by the Lord to lay hands on the sick, and to minister to them.

Then we saw the doctrine and the teaching about Resurrection. We saw that the difference between: a person being raised from the dead; and the teaching of resurrection - the one day when all will be raised from the dead. We shared about the first resurrection and the second resurrection.

Main Message

This last one we want to do is a very, very important teaching, on Eternal Judgement. The word ‘judge’ means ‘to look’, or ‘to distinguish’, or ‘look right through to the source’ of something, the motivation behind it, to see clearly through to what lies behind it; and to evaluate.

So the Bible talks about a foundational principle called Eternal Judgement. There are judgements that God does in history; or in other words, judgements in the present time; and one of the principles is: God's mercy always rejoices over judgement, but God does judge sin. At the cross He judged sin; but also made way for mercy for those who repent.

So there are some ways that God judges and deals with sin now. The most common one is just the principle of sowing and reaping - what you sow, you reap. If you sow sinful actions, sow hate and bitterness; then you will reap a harvest of that, the Bible tells us. Not only that, but demonic spirits use our violations of the law of God as a doorway through, to cause destruction in our lives.

There are some times in history where God has intervened. We can see, as we read the Bible, God directly intervened in histories, in a number of areas, bringing judgements into the earth. We see in the New Testament how Ananias and Sapphira, when they sinned, then they were judged right on the spot - they died on the spot, in church; so there are some judgements that take place in the course of life. However, the primary way that God operates with us, is according to how we respond to His word.

We're going to look now at Eternal judgement - Eternal judgement which is different. Eternal judgement has to do with the judgement that will take place. All of you have an appointment to keep with this; there is no exception.

Hebrews 9:27 says: “It's appointed unto man, once to die. You don't die twice, you don't come back again - once to die; and then after that – judgement; so this is a very important truth.

Because people don't experience judgement, and because justice is often perverted in a nation, people don't have a fear of God; nor understand: we will all have to give account for our life.

Sometimes when we focus a lot on the grace of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God; and we forget or overlook that there is another side - that God is also holy, and He's just. His justice requires that He deal with how we've governed our life, and what we've done in our life.

Ephesians 2:10 says: You are His workmanship. “We are His workmanship, and we are created in Christ Jesus” - notice what we're created for, for what? “For good works, which God has prepared...” When? “...before the foundation of the earth”.

I want you to just note that, because everything we say after this is going to lever off that particular scripture.

God created you - He had you in mind, before you were even thought of, by your family; and He designed you to be born into the earth - whatever situation, circumstance, nation or background - He designed for you to be born into the earth, and He set out a destiny for you. He designed and created you with giftings to accomplish something with your life; to accomplish something not trivial; but purposeful, meaningful, which would impact people.

He has “created you for good works”. In other words, you are designed to do things that extend the Kingdom of God; so having come to Christ - not by any work we did, but solely on what Jesus Christ did on Calvary; having been made right with God, just because we trusted - now we are to spend our life on the earth serving God, and accomplishing something with our life.

What we accomplish, is different for every person. These works, that we're to accomplish, were written by God for you to accomplish - something only you can do. There's something that every believer in the body of Christ is called to accomplish. It's not done in a Sunday meeting. It's not done in any church meeting. It's primarily done when you live your life. You and I are called to accomplish things for God.

You and I are agents of God in the earth. We are an ambassador for the kingdom. We are a gateway for the life of God to flow and express in the earth; and you and I are mandated by God to do good works - to actually accomplish something with your life.

Hebrews 9:27 – “It is appointed for men once to die, and then the judgement". Accountability for our actions is foundational to the Kingdom of God; accountability for our actions is foundational.

Romans 14:10-12 says – “Why do you judge your brother? Why do you look at the person next to you and criticise them and find fault with them? Why do you despise your brother?” Why do you look at other Christians, other believers and criticise them, despise them, find fault with them? Why do you do that?

“For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ”. All - that means everyone - no exceptions.

“We all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee... (every knee => no person, who has ever lived, shall not fulfil this) ...shall bow to Me, every tongue confess to God, so each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

So people may get away with stuff in life. I don't think they really do, because they reap what they sow; but eventually, all must give account - so we see that it's a principle of the kingdom that no person is exempt. Every one of us, are going to give account; not for the person next to us, but for ourselves.

Think about that moment. This is an appointment you will keep. There'll be a day when you will keep this appointment, and you'll stand before the judgement seat of Christ; and what will be on view is how you've run your life - that's a very sobering thought. It's something to cause us to think about our life, not live week to week, day to day; but to think of the course of our life, and begin to consider how we can be productive with our life - because it will come to an end, and we'll give account.

So you notice there, it's the ‘Judgement Seat of Christ’. That word ‘judgement seat’, is a word in the Greek called ‘Bema’; it means literally, a rostrum. This referred to a rostrum that Caesar stood on, and he would give a verdict about someone. If they were judged to be guilty, they were given a black stone; if they were judged to be innocent, they were given a white stone; but it was a place of judgement, where a person's life was assessed; and the judgement was final, no appeals. You don't get a lawyer, and appeal, and have a second go. The judgement is final - absolutely final; so it's a place of calling to account.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10. “We therefore make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be pleasing to God.” This is our goal - we want our life to be pleasing to God. It doesn't matter what people think in that sense, it's whether our life pleases God.

He says then: for here's why we endeavour to please God, this is why you live your life to please God: because one day you're going to have to stand before Him. “We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Same truth: Everyone is going to appear before the judgement seat of Christ. The judgement seat of Christ is a place that believers go; this is where believers are judged. People who have not received Christ are judged differently, at a different place in time; so this is a judgement for believers.

Here is the deal: it's according to how you've behaved, or conducted, your life. What we have done, whether it be good or bad; so every action in your life has some value, good or bad; and every action in your life will come before the Lord, without exception.

The purpose of this judgement is reward. What God has in mind is reward - “that we may receive”.

God's purpose is (at this judgement): it's for believers; it's to look at your life - what did you accomplish with the life; the opportunities, giftings, talents, and resources you were entrusted to? How did the world benefit because, and how did the kingdom advance, because of what you did?

On the basis of what you did that's worthwhile, there is reward - it is acknowledged by God. Now this is justice! People, who pour out of their lives in the service of God, will receive from God, a reward that goes on for eternity. People who waste their life doing their own thing will obviously not receive such a reward.

There is a problem in our culture called Egalitarianism - where everyone wants to be just equal. In eternity, we will not be equal at all; in hell, people will not be equal. There are different degrees of punishment in hell; different degrees of reward in heaven - you have to understand that.

When you understand and hold this in your heart - that I've only got a temporary assignment on the earth, which is preparing me for eternity - you begin to look at your life differently, and operate your life differently, because you have an eternal perspective.

The judgement is to receive something. If you are a believer in Christ, you will not be judged, condemned and sent to hell. John 3:18 – “He that believes in Me shall not be condemned”.

So if you're a believer, the purpose of this judgement (at this particular judgement seat), is not to judge whether you go to heaven or not; it's about what you receive in eternity.

Again Jesus tells us in, John 5:24 – “He that hears and believes in Me shall not come into judgement, for he has eternal life”.

So if you are a believer in Christ, this is not about your salvation. It has nothing to do with your salvation; it has to do with your service - what you did with the life God gave you.

So the next thing we see is that believers will either: experience reward for the life that they lived; or they will suffer loss. 1 Corinthians 3:8. “Now he that plants, and he that waters, are one; and each one will receive his own reward, according to his own labour”.

So every person will receive a reward, according to what they did. What are you doing with your life, to follow the Lord, to honour God, and to walk out His destiny for you? That's what is in mind here. It's not the person next to you - it's you, and how you live your life. This is what God has in mind.

So the Bible says Matthew 16:27 “everyone will be rewarded according to what they've done”. In other places, for example in Rev 22:12m Jesus said: “I come, and My reward is with Me, to give to every man according to his work”.

So we are saved without any works; but for eternity, our position, our stewardship in eternity, is governed by what you do with your life now. Our life is just a training ground. It's a preparation for eternity, so we keep that in mind. So salvation is free; but we walk with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 3:11 – “No other foundation can anyone lay, which is laid, which is Jesus Christ”. So the foundation in our life is Faith in Christ.

Now you begin to build: “so if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver and precious stones; wood, hay and straw, each one's work will become clear”. You notice it's talking about a foundation being laid in your life; and then you're building on that foundation. It describes two kinds of materials you can use: gold, silver and precious stones; and wood, hay, straw.

“Each one's work will be made clear or manifest, for the Day will reveal it (that's the day the Lord returns), for it will be revealed by fire”. The fire will test everyone's work, what sort it is. “If the work he has built on it endures, he will receive reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved.”

So you notice now, the people that He's talking to and writing to, are believers. He's saying that every believer is a builder. You build your life; you build and extend the Kingdom of God; and how we build will be examined.

What you build like will be examined, and it says that if God examines what you've built, and discovers it's wood, hay and straw, then there is nothing of value taken with you into eternity. There's no reward for what you have laboured - but you are saved. The image or picture is like someone who escaped out of a smoking house and it was burning down, but they got free and they've escaped. They didn't bring anything with them - but they're saved. So they have an eternal life, a wonderful, joyful life in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the Bible also describes that there are rewards for those who serve faithfully, and we need to understand the nature of those things, and the seriousness of the issue that's at hand for every one of us. Notice that the works that they have done is: their service for Christ, how we've lived our life.

Eternal judgement is a key foundation in the life of a believer, because of this: we understand that one day, every aspect of our life will be scrutinised, with a view to being rewarded. God is not there to judge us; He's there to reward us. All He's going to do is evaluate whether there's anything worth rewarding.

He's not going to condemn us. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we've passed from condemnation to life. That's not the issue any more. The issue for us will be: have you accomplished anything with your life that God could celebrate, and acknowledge, and reward for all eternity? That's the issue. Important issue, isn't it?

If every one of us is a builder; every one of us has come to Christ, is building and extending the Kingdom of God, we're an agent for the Kingdom of God; and we work with people, we impact people, we influence people, we run our life, and fulfil the course God gives us (it's our responsibility to discover that); then there comes a point when our life will be evaluated, and what we've done will be evaluated.

You won't be evaluated on whether you were a preacher or not, or whether you went to the mission field or anything like that. You'll be evaluated as to whether you fulfilled the course God had ordained for you.

It's a terrible thing to put a ladder against a building, and climb to the top of the ladder, and find it's against the wrong building - not very good. In other words, you were busy, but you actually were busy doing all the wrong things, that you were never called to do. This is an issue of discovering what God designed me, and called me, to do - and then doing it, very simple.

God is not going to approach us with anger. He approaches us with love, that we're His children. What He's looking for is, He's saying: is there something I can find and discover, in how you've run your life, that I could highlight, and reward, and acknowledge for eternity? That's what the spirit of this is like.

Let's have a look then, at what kind of principles would God use, to evaluate our life. Many of us would think: I haven't got many talents, and I haven't had much opportunity, and so on. So Jesus, in the Parables of the Kingdom, explains exactly how evaluation will take place. There's no doubt left, if you read the parables Jesus taught. Most of Jesus' teaching was to His disciples, and the issue is the issue of the kingdom, and our entrance into the kingdom, then being stewards of kingdom truth and life to others; so in many places He has recorded exactly the basis.

Number one is: the Quality of what you've built - what sort it is. Notice it says there in 1 Corinthians 3:13 – “Each one's work will be clear, for the Day will declare it. It will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work, what sort it is” - what quality, or character, is around what you have done.

So what God will look for is this: what Motivated you in doing what you did? Were you just trying to get ahead, look good, impress people; or was there genuine love motivating your work? Without love, no matter what you've done, it doesn't count for anything. Prophesying without love is “clashing cymbals”.

Giving your life to be burned, and not having love is quite a waste of time; so what He'll be looking for is the motivation of the heart - have I grown in love; has it been motivated by love? Has it been motivated by obedience?

Have I listened to what God wanted me to do; or I just went and did what I wanted to do, and then asked God to bless it? Come on, a lot of people do that. They just do whatever they want to do, ask God to bless it, and think they've done a great thing for God. Listen, God will evaluate all of these things.

What He's interested in, is your stewardship of His plan for your life. He's already written out the plan. The question is: whether you discover it, and walk with Him in the outworking of it.

In Matthew 7, Jesus spoke over a number of people who had worked miracles, cast out demons, done all these kinds of things. He said: “I didn't know you”. Your work is of inequity. You just basically did your own thing, using my name. The Bible is full of these stories.

So the first thing then is: what is the motivation behind the works we have done? Did we listen and respond to the Lord; and do we depend on Him for His strength in helping us day by day? So clearly prayer and listening to God undergird the kinds of things that He calls us to do.

Here's another one, in Matthew 25. So firstly God looks at the underlying motivation, He looks at what lies under the work, what kind of work it really is. If it's just selfish, advancing yourself, doing your own thing, and feathering your own nest, then it won't last, because it's got no kingdom nature in it. The nature of the kingdom is love.

Now these are Parables of the Kingdom. They all come in response to Jesus being asked: “Tell us about your coming"; and He told them a number of parables. I don't have the time to go into each one of them in depth. I want to just highlight some things. I encourage you to study them, because these are parables that you will one day fulfil in your own life.

Matthew 25:14-30 “There is a day coming, the kingdom of heaven...” - notice it's about the kingdom. So the issue here in hand is not salvation, the issue is your stewardship of the resources God gave. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man went to a far country, who called his servants, delivered his goods to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability”.

You have a king, going to a far country, that's Jesus Christ. The servants of the king, are the servants of God, and everyone is given an entrustment. They have different ability, so one of the principles is our potential. Did you fulfil your potential? One of them had more ability than another; so he was given more talents than the other one was given: one was given five; one given two; one given one - each according to their own ability. So here's the thing.

When making evaluation of your life service, God will take into account your potential. So you don't need to look at someone who's highly gifted, and say: well I wish I was like them. Actually, you're you; and God knows your potential. He's given you an entrustment - just take what you’ve got, and put it to work. So He will evaluate on the potential.

Now you notice the one that had five talents, he went away and got another five, so that's 100 per cent increase. The other who had two, went away and got two talents - he also got 100 per cent increase. So both of them, although they have different ability, have got different results, but they both realised their potential.

They both did the very best they could with what they had, and the commendation to both are identical. The fact one had five, and got another five, and had more ability - that's not taken into account. What's taken into account is: he actually fulfilled his potential; so the commendation to that one there, in Matt 25: 19 - “A long time after, the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them”. He that received five came and said: Lord, you delivered to me five talents; I've gained another five. He said: good and faithful servant, well done.

He gets commended - and he's called ‘good’; and he's called ‘faithful’. Faithful means productive, and fulfilling what God has given us. “You were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of the Lord. The one who had received two talents came: Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents beside them; and the Lord said: to him well done you good and faithful servant; you've been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of the Lord.”

Notice just a couple of things in there. The first thing you notice is, they had different ability - but they both fulfilled their potential. Second thing you notice is: they both got the same commendation - well done good and faithful servant.

Now notice what happens - this is in eternity now. “You were entrusted with things in time, now I call you to be a ruler over things in eternity” - and so what's at stake is our inheritance in the Kingdom of God, for eternity. So we see there, in that particular story, that both of them received joy, and they entered into what? [Authority; Eternity].

It delights God, when we fulfil our potential. It delights Him when we're productive. He loves it. He says: I'm really joyful, really happy about this.

But the one who had one talent, he said: oh, you're a hard man. You reap where you didn't sow; and gather where you haven't scattered. “I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground”. So that is a believer, it's a servant of the Lord, who has opportunity, has talent, has gifting, has ability; but refuses to be productive.

Why is he refusing to be productive? Number one: wrong concepts of God. He didn't really take the time to find, and get to know, what God is really like. Secondly: he looked after himself – “I was afraid”, and so I just looked after myself, making sure that I get by.

What the master says to him is this: “You wicked and lazy servant”.

The word wicked means: you have a negative influence in the kingdom. You actually demoralise, and discourage other people, because of your slackness - that's what the word wicked means. It doesn't mean its evil; it just means it's a destructive influence, or harmful influence, or demoralising influence in the kingdom.

And he called him lazy. He said: “you knew that I reaped where I haven't sown, and gather where I haven't scattered. You should have deposited the money in the bank at my coming, and I would have received interest. So he took from him, for everyone who has more will be given, he will have abundance. He who does not have, he will take away what he has, so he cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

Principle #1 is Quality. What is the kind of motivation in our work?

Principle #2 is Potential.

Now there's another parable that looks the same; but it is not – there’s a vital difference. It's the Parable of the Pounds (Minas), in Luke 19:11 – “Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return”. That’s: Jesus has gone to heaven, has received His kingdom, and will return.

“He called 10 of His servants, delivered to them 10 pounds, and He said to them: do business (or trade), until I come.”Here that there are 10 servants, and 10 pounds, so everyone gets one each. So this time, all have an equal opportunity. One of them, with his one pound - he has 10 - he produced 10 from the one; and another one produces five from the one; and another one doesn't do anything - like in the first parable - he just buries it, and hides it.

So notice what the master says, when He comes back, in Luke 19:15 – “wanting to find out how much everyone had gained by trading, he came and said: well Lord, Your pound...” - notice he said: Your pound. It belongs to You, it's an entrustment - it's earned 10. Wow! And He says: “well done, you good servant. Because you were faithful over little, have authority over 10 cities”. The second came and said: “master, your pound has earned five”. Wow! Likewise, be over five cities.

Now notice the difference here: they both had an equal start, but one was far more productive than the other. The one who was more productive received a greater reward. Notice the nature of the reward - it isn't clear, all we know is that it has to do with the responsibility of governance in the kingdom; and it's in proportion to how productive he was - in this life. Think about that - How productive are you?

So he was faithful. To be faithful is to be productive. An opportunity in the eternal kingdom was given to each of the two that were productive - the other one lost the opportunity.

So we get down to the last one; and you think: well man, I didn't get to be a Christian until I was very old - sort of been around a few years, you know, and wasted a lot of my life. You feel: man, I've wasted my opportunities; or: my circumstances have not enabled me to do what I really wanted to do. Many people find themselves in that, and they feel a lot of grief over that.

This will help you then, in Matthew, 20:1, there's another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner, who went out in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. When he agreed with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them to his vineyard. When he went out the third hour he saw some others, and he said you go out into the vineyard and whatever is right I will give you. Again he went the sixth and ninth hour, and about the eleventh hour he found some still standing idle. He said why are you standing idle here, and they said no one's hired us. He said okay, go to the vineyard and whatever's right, you will receive it.”

“So when the evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said the steward: call the labourers and bring them their wages, beginning from the last to the first. And those who were hired about the eleventh hour, they got one denarius”. Then the others came - the first came, and they thought: I should get more.

What happened was, they got the same - so they complained against the landowner, saying: “these last have only worked one hour, but you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day”. He answered and said: “Friend, I'm not doing you wrong. Didn't you agree for one? I'm giving you what's just”.

First of all, it's a Parable of the Kingdom; and it's a parable of labourers being put into service in the kingdom, to be productive. Notice the vineyard, which always speaks of people in the kingdom of God; so it's talking about being productive for the Lord in His kingdom.

That one guy, who got in at the beginning of the day, got one denarius for the whole day. Then through the day he employed others; until finally get the last one. It was a 12 hour day, the last one in the eleventh hour just got in, only did one hours' work, but he got rewarded exactly the same. Of course it got them a bit upset, because that's ‘not fair’. God is fair, God is just – “shall not the judge of all the earth do right?”, so the issue here is one of opportunity. What kind of opportunity did you have?

They were all employed to serve. Some had more opportunity than others; and some had less opportunity. God took into account, in dealing with them, how much opportunity they had. So you may serve the Lord all your life - saved at 16, served faithfully all your life; and then someone else, at the age of 40 gets saved, and they look back and think: well I didn't get a chance. They've come in later on in life. They still get the chance, and they still can be completely productive with the opportunity they have.

Some may come in, and they're in the last decade of their life - they can still be completely productive, and completely fruitful, in the last season of their life. God takes into account these four things.

1) Quality, the nature of what you've done; what motivation what was in it; and whether you heard from God, and did what He wanted you to do.

2) Potential - did we fulfil the potential in our life? Did we actually labour, and come to the best that we could accomplish with our life?

3) Productivity - did we actually produce anything? If a person has produced more, they're rewarded more.

4) Opportunity - how much opportunity do we have?

All of those, of course, you could study in detail. I encourage you to do it, encourage you to look at it, read it; and begin to think then, and reflect back to your own life: what am I doing with my life while I'm on the earth?

Many Christians are not established in this truth. Because they're not established in their truth, they just do whatever they want to do - live their life the way they want to live. Their life is very similar to the world; their values are very similar to the world. However, what they're doing is, losing an opportunity to invest in eternity. They're losing an opportunity in life to actually, not only benefit now, but to gain for all eternity.

So we'll just finish with the last scripture. In Revelations 20, there is another judgement called: the Great White Throne Judgement. This is an eternal judgement too.

So after the Judgement Seat of Christ, comes the beginning of a thousand years. The Great White Throne Judgement, as far as I see it, comes at the end of the thousand years.

Revelations 20:11 - “I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things written in the books. And the sea gave up the dead that were delivered in them. Death and hell gave up the dead that were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works.”

Now I want you to see these two statements; the Book of Life; and ‘books’. They're two different things. The Book of Life, is a book in heaven, a literal book, where is written the name of every person who has come to trust in Jesus Christ to be their saviour.

Their name is written in the Book of Life. They are born again; the Spirit of God has come into them. They are acknowledged; they belong in the Kingdom of God; they're children of the kingdom.

Revelations 20:15 – “Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire”.

Anyone; everyone; so what is crucial? Number one - crucial thing - is that you and I come to Jesus Christ, come to faith in Jesus Christ, come to trust Him as our Saviour and as our God, to give our life to Him. Why? Because at that time, your name is written in heaven, your name is written in the Book of Life; and when the final day of judgement comes, that will be the only basis upon which you'll be judged - is your name in the Book?

If your name is in the Book, then that judgement's not for you. If your name is not in the Book, then you're in deep trouble, for eternity.

The next one: notice it talks about ‘books’. It says: “the books are opened”; and it says: “everyone is judged according to their works”, by the things written in the books".

Remember I said at the beginning, in Ephesians 2:10, that: “God has prepared works for you to accomplish”? So they're written somewhere. God has a scroll written in heaven; and a scroll is different to a normal book. A book has got pages in it, you just open the pages. A scroll, you have to unwind it; and as you walk into and fulfil what God is giving you now, the scroll unwinds - He gives you a bit more.

He doesn't give you the whole thing. He's written the whole thing; but He's actually gives you opportunity to choose whether you: walk with Him; obey Him; walk and open that scroll; and begin to walk out your life and your destiny.

Now you notice that there are books (plural) - so every person, for every person - there is a book in heaven with your name on it. There must be a room where all the books are kept. It must be a big room; so right now, you know that there is a scroll, or a book, that has a destiny in heaven - God's plan for what you could accomplish with your life on the earth; and there is also a record written, of everything you've ever done.

If you've sinned, then your sins were blotted out of that - no record, it's taken away, it's erased. “Your sins, I'll remember no more” - but what you have done as a servant of God is recorded. It will play back like a video; and in that video, you'll not only see what you did - you'll see the thinking that was behind it; the motivation that was behind it; the actions that you did; and the effect of your actions on others.

It always disturbs me when Christians act and do things, without considering how it will affect others. There is a ripple effect, when you throw a stone in a pool. Whatever we do affects others; so part of the evaluation of our life will be like a video - and I don't know how God does it, like a great hologram, or a video.

You'll just see your life played out very, very quickly; and you'll become aware of your thoughts, of your fears, of your motives, of your intentions, of your feelings, of the actions - and the effect it had on people. You become aware of it, in a very short space of time - and God will evaluate it completely.

What He evaluates will determine what level of reward He'll give you for eternity. So this is an amazing, wonderful, hope that we have. The Bible tells us in Titus – “Every believer should be careful to ensure they're doing good works”. We should be careful to maintain a life where we're actively doing good; and every one of us needs to take into account that one day. We may have fooled people - we can't fool God.

One day, there's an eternity at stake. Can you imagine that great day, when you stand before the Lord, and all those things that nobody noticed, those sacrifices you made, that secret giving, that praying that you did, when your heart was broken but you stood firm before God. No one saw what you were doing, but you stood firm in the midst of difficulty. Others left you, but you remained firm, you remained steadfast. Things went wrong. It seemed like God had let you down, people hurt you in various ways, but you stood firm with the Lord, and you walked out your destiny.

I tell you, on that day - you will rejoice! There is a crown for you! There are opportunities for you in eternity; and He will say: “well done, good and faithful servant”. That's what you and I should have as a motivation (or could have as a motivation), in our life.

It's not what people say: “You have your 15 minutes of fame, it's all over” - there is an eternity! The one person that you want to be saying: oh, I'm so glad to see you, well done you good and faithful servant! Come and enter into the joy! I want you to rule over, I want you extend my kingdom; I want you to be responsible for these things in eternity! What a tremendous hope, what a tremendous joy.

So how will it work out in your life? Well, don't copy me - I've got my own scroll to walk out; but neither hinder me in doing it. Every person has their own distinct and unique call. Together as a family, we build and encourage and strengthen one another.

The ‘giftings’ of ministries are to equip you to do things God called you to do. They're not what I was called to do. They're what you're called to do, and it's our responsibility to discover how God has wired us, and what He has gifted and called us to do; and wherever that is, however that is, whatever form it takes; and then passionately, wholeheartedly just get about doing it. Amen!

Closing Prayer

Father, we just thank you today, for the great and mighty truths of the foundational doctrines of Christ. We thank you Lord for all that you have taught us, as we've done this series. Those of you who are listening or reading this online - you're just looking at: maybe you don't know Jesus Christ, but you've already been struck by what I've said. I'd love you just to follow me in a very simple prayer...

“Father in heaven, I come to you in Jesus' name. I confess Jesus Christ is my saviour and Lord. I turn away from all sin. I turn to you, the living God. Jesus, I give you my life today. I declare before heaven and earth, you are my saviour and my Lord, and my friend forever. Amen.”

May the Spirit of God just touch you where you're watching, minister His love and peace into your life right now; and may your life become productive in serving God.

Father, we just thank you for this great church. Thank you Lord for the opportunities you've given us over many years, to touch the nations of the earth, to be productive, so productive in so many ways.

Father, I pray that from this people many will rise up, be productive in their homes, their families, their schools and the community, in business - wherever God, you have designed and directed them to serve. Let them be incredibly productive, incredibly fruitful.

Father, I just pray that you'll continue to bless us as a church in every way, that we would be fruitful in extending your kingdom. Lord, we just give you the honour today.

It is incredibly sobering to us, to know: not only do you love us deeply; but that we will also give account for our lives. So Lord, we live our life, and choose today, to turn to you with a humble heart, and ask you to forgive us where we've fallen short, and to empower us to hear, see and do all you've called us to do. And everyone said: Amen. God bless you.

It's been a great series - trust you go over the scriptures I gave you today and have a good think about them. God bless you. Have a fantastic day.

Summary Notes

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1. Introduction

Heb.6:1-3 “Let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation …”

Eternal Judgement is a key foundation in the life of believer.

Judge = to separate, to distinguish, to see through.

Current Judgements – these occur in time:

(i) Principle of Sowing and Reaping – Gal.6:7-9

(ii) God brings discipline to our life – Heb.:2:5-11

(iii) God’s direct intervention in History e.g.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Noah

Anananas and Sophirra

Eternal Judgement – judgement awaiting every person in eternity.

- Heb:9:27 It is appointed for men to die once and after this the judgement.

- Eph.2:10 created in Christ unto good works.

2. Accountability for our Actions is Foundational to the Kingdom of God

(i) All of us shall give account of our Lives

Rom.14:10 “We shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ … each of us shall

give account of himself to God”.

No person is exempt - all of us shall give account.

Judgement Seat = “Bema” = rostrum, place a person was sent for trial and called to account.

Place of judgement used by Roman Empire – Acts 25:10

(ii) What will be judged in our works

2 Cor.5:9-10 “We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad”.

The issue to be judged is how we have behaved.

Every act good and bad is brought to the light.

Every act has some value or influence.

Bad = 5337 = phantos = worthless, no value.

(iii) The Purpose of this Judgement is Reward

2 Cor 5:10 “…each one may receive the things done”

The Judgement Seat is to determine what we receive.

The believer in Christ will not be condemned.

- Jn3:18 “He that believe in my …not condemned”

- Jn 5:24 “He that hears and believes – shall not come into judgement”

The believer in Christ is judged for purpose of Reward.

(iv) Believers will be Rewarded or Suffer Loss

1 Cor.3:8 Each one will receive his own reward according to his own labour”

v14 work endures judgement – receive reward.

v15 Work not endure judgement – suffer loss but saved.

The Bible repeatedly teaches that salvation is free but that Servants of God are rewarded for the works they have done – their service for Christ.

(v) Eternal Judgement is a Key Foundation

Since all of us will give an account of our lives we are motivated to:

- Centre our life on eternal values.

- Be productive and fruitful in serving Christ

- Remember our life on earth is a preparation for eternity.

- Continue to grow in our relationship with Christ.

- Love people in every situation.

3. How Will we be Judged?

There are several principles that God will use to evaluate our lives. Jesus message was about the Kingdom of God and entering that Kingdom.

(i) Quality – What sort of work?

1 Cor.3:9-15 “…test each ones work, what sort it is”

2 categories of works described.

Our works are tested by fire to discover the nature of them.

To discover the value of our works

- What was the motivation behind actions - Motives

- Did we listen to and obey the Word of God - Obedience

- Were they done in our own strength and ability - Power

(ii) Potential – did we fulfil our potential?

Mt.25:14-30 Parable of the talents – 1 talent – 15 years wages

Each was given according to ability – potential.

Each had opportunity to serve and be productive.

The 2x talent and 5x talent servant both were 100% productive.

They received the same commendation and reward.

Faithfulness is not assessed by what we have but how we use it – how productive.

(iii) Productivity – what quantity did we produce?

Lk.19:11-27 Parable of the Pounds – 3x months wages

Each was given the same amount to work with.

Each had opportunity to serve and be productive.

The King wanted to know how much every man gained by trade.

Each possessed equal ability.

Each was different in their faithfulness.

Faithful = productive.

The more productive servant received greater reward.

Rewards for serving Christ = extended opportunity in Kingdom.

Failure to make active use of talent/pound entrusted is considered : wicked.

Wicked = 4190 = having a negative, hurtful influence.

By God’s standard of wickedness is not just doing evil but failure to do good.

Mal.3:18 “He will discern between righteous and wicked, the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him”

Outer Darkness = outside, outside the door

= Shade, shadow

Placed for a season of time outside the door in a shadow e.g.

- Mt.22:11-14 Wedding Feast

- Mt.25:1-13 Parable of Virgins – 5 wise entered supper.

(iv) Opportunity – How much opportunity did you have?

Mt.20-1-16 Labourers in the vineyard.

Labourers were employed to serve in the vineyard.

Each agreed to a reward for their labour.

The ones employed later in the day had less opportunity (time).

They received the same reward as the others.

God takes into account how much opportunity.

4. The Great White Throne Judgement

Rev.20:11-15 “They were judged, each one according to works”

A record of our life is recorded in a book – a scroll. It is written in detail; thoughts, motives, actions. Not just your actions but everything concerned with them:

- emotions, thoughts, motives, all displayed.

- The impact or ripple effect of your actions on others.

Book of Life – those who have received Christ.

- Not in book = eternal punishment

Books – your personal life story in detail.

- every sin repented of is blotted out, erased.

- Every aspect of a believers life is judged.

Kingdom – Levels of reward and levels of punishment.

Ps.139:23 “Search me oh God and know my heart today”

Titus 3:8-14.

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Table of Contents

Five Seconds After You Die (7 sermons)

Five Seconds After You Die (Mike Connell)

Live with Purpose - Men's Breakfast (Shane Willard)

Are You Worthy? Part I (Shane Willard)

Are You Worthy? Part II (Shane Willard)

Be the Salt and Light (Shane Willard)

Resurrection of the Dead (Mike Connell)

Summary Notes

Eternal Judgment (Mike Connell)

Summary Notes