October 09, 2014
Revealing
Sermons about
the great white throne of judgment often reference how surprised
people will be when they stand before the Lord and the books are opened to
reveal what is recorded about the things they have done in life. During a recent
sermon the pastor put forth an interesting suggestion that potentially puts
people before the Lord now. He suggested we pray asking God, “To show you your
standing before Him.” I know that my name is written in the book of life, but I
think maybe I’d just rather be surprised on that Day to see which of my works
will be burned up in the fire. “If any man builds on this foundation using
gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work
will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will
be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s
work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his
reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself
will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Cor 3:12-15
NIV).
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Gail;
-----The pastor has an interesting concept. Since God is not bounded by time, we are now standing before Him at the judgment throne. Of course, in another sense, He is everywhere observing all things. So He is also the star witness of every case. Being both the witness and the judge, He’s judging which way we’re stacking the bricks as we stack them.
-----But we are bounded by time locked into space. We try to project these conditions onto God. They are not for Him. They contain us. And God has left most things in this container to progress by the natural laws of this container. That includes what we know and perceive. I think the Holy Spirit is available and active in us, producing the behaviors, thoughts, feelings and such He needs for history to proceed on to His plans. But I don’t think even that work is by fantastic miracles as much as it is subtle influences. We still must read and listen and watch and search and think ourselves to know what we know.
-----And I believe God was jealously interested in our knowing the right stuff, not only about Him but about ourselves. So He gave us His Word. In it He lays out a set of attitudes the soul living in Christ will portray. You can see your standing before Him by observing those attitudes in action. The more are there and the more they grow (a sign of life,) the more is the probability you have standing before Him.
-----But all possibility and probability are set aside for certainty if you are calling on Jesus Christ for reconciliation with God, His Father. Indeed, if you’re longing for the righteousness to which we will be restored so much that you are trying to do it now, if you are humbly sorting rights from wrongs in that quest, rejoicing at the good things in life, sympathizing about the difficulties, giving thanks for everything, you most likely have good standing on top of that certain standing. God gives assurances. The standing of those who will survive the fire is one. All we need to do to know that standing is observe and discern what we’ve been doing and abide in Him as we continue doing.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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