Sermon Tone Analysis

*What are we going to feel when we finally stand before Him face to face?*

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*What are we going to feel when we finally stand before Him face to face?

Whether it's due to the rapture or death, all of us who are born again will experience life in heaven.

We know some of what that life will be like from what scripture says, but I'd like to take a look at what our first immediate experience might be like.

I think we're all familiar with the verse that tells us that there will be no more pain, death, sorrow etc. and many apply that to their entire "life to be".

In fact, until recently, I did too.

Lately however I've come to understand that this isn't necessarily true for the first part of our experience.

* \\ \\ *Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”*

\\ \\ *For one thing, what the Lord says in Rev 21:4 happens after the millennium not the second we all arrive in heaven.

* \\ \\ *The more I study the more I realize that what we do here will affect our lives there a LOT and that what we won't be able to "make up" for what we didn't do here once we get there, like so many think they'll be able to.

Let's first take a look at the parable of the talents in Matthew: \\ \\ Matthew 25:14-30 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.

Then he went on his journey.The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.“After

a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.The man who had received the five talents brought the other five.

‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents.

See, I have gained five more.’“His

master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!

You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.

Come and share your master’s happiness!’“The

man with the two talents also came.

‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’“His

master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!

You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.

Come and share your master’s happiness!’“Then the man who had received the one talent came.

‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.

See, here is what belongs to you.’“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!

So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.“

‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.

Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

\\ \\ First Jesus gives us His gift of salvation, and has given us each of us abilities and talents.

\\ \\ Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

\\ \\ Then Jesus left for a long time.

Isn’t it interesting how He has warned us in several places in His Word that once He ascended that He would be gone a long time in our way of thinking before he returned again?

\\ \\ Notice in the parable what the first man did when the Master left?

Does it remind you of what happened when Jesus called his disciples?

(Remember how when Jesus called each of them, it says in the bible that they /“immediately”/ got up and followed Him? Like that, the first man goes /“at once”/ and put his money to work and earned more, as did the next man.

Jesus is showing us here that when we are saved, He expects us to immediately live up to what we have already attained, just as Paul said in Phil 3:16.

\\ \\ Philippians 3:16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

\\ \\ The only way we can do that is through spending time with God in prayer and studying God’s Word.

The only way we can “invest” what Christ has given us is also through studying His Word, so that we can then share that knowledge with others.

Therefore when we receive this wonderful gift of salvation, our very first requirement is to study! * \\ \\ *2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

\\ \\ When we study and spend time in prayer, we begin on the path to spiritual maturity.

The closer we become to the Lord through prayer and study, the less likely we are to be fooled by false teachers, and the more grateful we’ll be for our own salvation because we’ll actually understand it better!

Because we are more grateful and more knowledgeable, our testimonies will be all the more powerful too!* \\ \\ *Matthew 13:12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.

Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.*

\\ * \\ In the parable of the talents we see first how two different believers are rewarded.

Then we discover that the final person was never saved to begin with.

That person claims to be born again, but isn't.

* \\ \\ *Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.*

\\ \\ *He did nothing at all with what the Lord had given him!

Jesus, instead of rewarding him as he expected in his arrogance, took back what He had given him and cast him into hell.

This man is an example of a false follower of Christ.

He is a picture of what a “goat” would look like.

We'll have to look at other verses to determine what happens to those who are born again but who choose to do nothing or practically nothing for the Lord.*

*First let me share another verse that shows that we may very well experience shame at first if we're not careful:* \\ \\ *1 John 2:28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

\\ \\ John is telling us that as long as we continue in our close fellowship (relationship) with the Lord that we will be able to be confident and unashamed when He comes for us at the rapture.

Of course this means then that those who do not maintain that close personal relationship with the Lord and wind up wandering off into false teachings, those who do not take the time to become mature in Christ through studying His Word and spending time in prayer, etc, will not be confident, and will instead be ashamed of themselves when they are finally face to face with their Lord.

This does NOT say they will lose their salvation, it simply says that when they face our Lord, and finally see the “real truth”, that they will be ashamed of themselves.*

*When I say they'll see the* *“real truth” I mean that when we are finally with Him, we will know Him just as He knows us: \\ \\ 1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

\\ \\ So to me the question is, what are we going to feel when we finally stand before Him face to face?

Will we feel confidence as John says because we have spent time growing that personal relationship with Him and our Father, because we've spent time getting to know Him through His Word which He gave us, because we've used the discernment of mature believers to avoid false teaching and stayed on the narrow path of faith, or will be we ashamed of ourselves because we haven't done these things?

Let's look at 1 Cor.

first.

\\ \\ 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 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.

\\ \\ This passage makes it quite clear that some who are born again will only miss hell by a hair's breadth!

It shows in fact that they will suffer loss!

That doesn't sound at all like the description of our lives in heaven that we tend to focus on to me.

So what does this mean?

This takes place at the Bema judgment and is not about our eternal destiny because that is already taken care of.

We already know that we are destined to live in heaven with the Lord.

This is strictly to determine what rewards or our loss, and what we will be doing throughout eternity.

Long ago pastors preached about the fact that there can be loss, but today we rarely hear about this.

People joke about this all the time but Paul was dead serious when he wrote this.

Let's see what else we can find about this: \\ \\ Philippians 1:20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

\\ \\ Here again Paul indicates that he doesn't want to feel ashamed when he is finally face to face with his Savior.

He wants to be confident instead that he is doing all he can to please the Lord.

\\ \\ 1 Timothy 3:13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

\\ \\ Prior to this statement, Paul is discussing how a deacon should serve.

I think this last verse applies to us all though.

When we are truly servants of Christ we gain an excellent standing here among other believers, but more importantly we gain that great assurance, that great confidence for when we come face to face with Jesus.

So we will face Him with assurance, or confidence instead of being ashamed.

\\ \\ 1 Corinthians 3:8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

\\ \\ Here it is only talking about rewards, but I wanted to point it out because where there are rewards there is also the possibility of losing those rewards.

Plus I wanted to point out that the rewards we earn here are not like getting a new big screen TV for ourselves.

These rewards we've heard so much about are all things that will glorify the Lord, that will please Him, not us.

We need to remember that it's really not about us, it's all about Him.

That's why those works which honor Him will remain and those that don't will be burned away.

\\ \\ Our world has become so selfish though that whenever we hear the word "reward" we do automatically think it's something for us.

We may not literally think of a great big TV, but we generally think of a reward as though it would be something like we'd get as a birthday present from someone.

In heaven however that's not how it works.

Like so many other things, this too is the opposite of what the world teaches.

Our "rewards" in heaven will be things that give honor and glory to the Lord, not ourselves!

Hence the more rewards we earn, the more He is glorified.

\\ \\ About the only kind of reward that we might think of as being more for us, would be the various crowns we are promised.

Such as the one in this verse: \\ \\ 2 Timothy 4:8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

\\ \\ If we think it through though we will see that this too honors the Lord, not us!