MIDWEEK MINUTE (8/28/19): Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

I was recently chatting with a group of fellow Christians and the subject of JUDGMENT came up. They kind of knew that God would ultimately judge the Saved from the Lost, but they didn’t realized that even the SAVED would face a special judgment.
 
I think this is something that few followers of Jesus think about today. We have a tendency to think that because we are saved by Jesus, that we’re going to heaven and life will be great. Period. And though that is true, there is more to eternal life than just getting there. Because the BEGINNING OF ETERNAL LIFE STARTS HERE!
 
Hebrews 9:27 says:
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
 
We know that when people die they’re going to go to either heaven or hell. But I don’t necessary like to refer to those two groups as the SAVED vs. the LOST, rather, the SAVED vs. the REJECTORS (those that REJECT Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior).
 
For those who REJECT Jesus, Romans 2:5 says,
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.”
 
However, for those who ACCEPT Jesus, Matthew 6:19-21 says,
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
 
See, as Christians, we’re supposed to ALREADY BE in the act of working toward our heavenly rewards. So we might say, “OK. But I still get into heaven…right?”
 
Yes, of course! But, Jesus Himself will still JUDGE US for ALL OUR ACTIONS. Sure, followers of Jesus get into heaven, but before we cross the threshold we have to pass by the “BEMA,” the judgment seat of Christ.
 
This is a special judgment reserved only for those who have given their lives to Jesus as their Savior. Paul reminded the early believers of this fact in 2 Corinthians 5:10:
“For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”
 
What we DO here Matters for Eternity. Let me say that again… what we do HERE matters for eternity. It is simply not “good enough” for a follower of Jesus Christ to run through life with reckless abandon and “eat, drink, and be merry, because tomorrow we’ll die anyway”!
 
Now, some people can certainly live that way, but they have to ask themselves, “How will me fulfilling my worldly desires impact my heavenly life?”
 
It all depends. I depends on whether you want to spend eternity riding the horses through the open fields with the wind in your hair or you’re the one left cleaning the stalls. You’ll do either activity with JOY, but let’s face it, one is clearly a better life than the other!
 
Let’s learn to live our ETERNAL LIFE TODAY, because IT MATTERS toward what we get to do FOREVER.
 
God bless you all, and we hope to see you Sunday!
— Pastor David McCall