McIntee, Arnot: Week Of Meetings-N.Raleigh Chapel-03 ~ Week Of Meetings-N.Raleigh Chapel-03

Pleasure to be with you again tonight, and so glad that you've come. I certainly do not take your presence for granted. I realize that there are other activities in which you're likely engaged and deeply interested. So to see you here tonight is a real encouragement. Again, thank you for coming. Last evening, as I closed the message, I mentioned that we would be thinking either of the judgment seat of Christ or the tribulation. And as I thought about it through the evening and then through the day, I thought, well, we're all going to be at the judgment seat of Christ. And as I said last night, we will not be at the tribulation. So I think it best to direct our thoughts primarily to the judgment seat of Christ, and as well the marriage supper of the Lamb. Those are two unique, precious topics, both of which could be the topic for a message in themselves. But with the tribulation in mind, for that's, uh, really where we concluded last evening with the rapture. We believe that the tribulation will follow the rapture. We believe that, as we pointed out yesterday morning, there are signs all about us. We mentioned some that prove conclusively that we're on the road to the tribulation period. But before the tribulation takes place, the rapture must occur, and the saints of God, you and me, will be called into his glorious presence, and we thank our God for that. So let's just take a moment or two to summarize some of the events within the tribulation so we can hopefully put it all into context. The rapture, the tribulation, the Lord, the, uh, judgment seat of Christ, which will take place into glory, and the marriage supper of the Lamb. At the close of the great tribulation period, and what an awful period of time that will be, the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ will take place. He will come again. At the rapture, he comes to the air to summon the believers to himself. At his second advent, when he comes in glory, he comes to place his feet on this sin-weary planet to take up the reins of government and rule. Once they rejected him, disowned him, but in that day he will have full authority, and he will reign and rule from sea to sea and from shore to shore. Tribulation period, as you know, of course, is seven years in length, so we're taught from the word of God. During that period of time, a man who will appear on the scene very, very soon after the rapture is called in the word of God the Antichrist. His henchman, his, uh, supporter will be the, um, false prophet. And together, under Satan's leadership, they will rule in a terrible, terrible fashion. They will bring absolute control, not only of the world, but of individuals under their domain. And so there will be a trinity of evil. Satan has often been a f- indicated as a fraud, and in that day it will be no different. Presently there is a, the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. In that day it will be Satan, there will be the Antichrist, there will be the false prophet. And so this Trinity of evil will rule in that fashion. As the years progress, the hatred toward God and the people of God, the nation of Israel, will increase to the point where all the nations of the world will marshal their forces and their strength to remove forever the name of Israel and her God from off the planet. And in that awful day, and we can even see shades of this at the present time. The Russians in the north will set their eyes on Israel, while in the east, China will do the same. From the south, there will be Muslim muscle being evident, and the Arabs will begin their move toward Israel, while from the west, the European, uh, market or the European Union will do the same. And so you have one vice-like grip being applied to the tiny nation of Israel, its present land mass about the size of the state of New Jersey. And so they begin to move in. Two objectives, to remove Israel from off the planet, and as well to remove the name of Israel's God. And it seems that they are almost successful. When from the heavens above there is a brilliance and a brightness of glory, and riding on a white charger comes one who upon whose brow there rests many crowns or diadems. From his mouth there proceeds a sharp sword. On his vesture, on his thigh, is the name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And our Lord Jesus Christ comes triumphant. And would you believe it, we follow the saints redeemed by blood in white fine linen garments, follow him as he comes forward to accomplish his exploits here on planet Earth. He defeats his enemies and those of Israel, and does so with this sharp instrument, this sword that proceeds from his mouth. And then, when he has accomplished his purpose, he sets up his kingdom to reign and to rule. The millennium will begin, that blessed period of time, Israel's golden age, with her own Messiah upon the throne. And then there will be peace like the world has never known. The Prince of Peace they nailed to the cross. He will occupy the throne in that day, and he will reign as only he can. And for this, we thank our God and look forward to being a part of that wonderful event. But we must back up at this point, for while the tribulation is taking place on planet Earth, and while the saints of God have been summoned via the rapture into his presence, two things will take place in the glory. First, the judgment seat of Christ, and every believer will be there. Secondly, the marriage supper of the Lamb. Let's read about the former as we turn to Romans chapter fourteen and read in at verse ten. and fourteen of the Romans. But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is, as it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Second Corinthians, please, chapter five. Read in with me at verse ten. In fact, it will only be this verse. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Then to First Corinthians, please, three and verse eleven. First Corinthians three and eleven. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid. Aren't these precious words? Which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble. Every man's work shall be manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. And if any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer. He himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Finally, Revelation chapter twenty two and verse twelve. Revelation twenty two twelve. And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Let's pause and pray. Father, please shut us into thyself tonight. May the Spirit of God do his quickening work in our lives and hearts. And may Father, when this hour is history, something have been accomplished in each life. For thy glory, we pray in our Savior's precious name. Amen. We have read together of the judgment seat of Christ. Let me make it abundantly clear at this point. This is not a judgment at which your sin and mine will be judged. That was done on the cross almost two thousand years ago. We will be at the judgment seat of Christ to receive rewards or to suffer loss because of how we have lived from the point of conversion until our summons to the sky. And so it is not a judgment seat relative to sin. What a day that will be when all of us will stand there. This will not be a day of frivolous fellowship, of carnal comments, of trite trivia. It will not be a day when dress and deportment are of concern and interest, language or looks. Not going to be concerned with cars or with credit, energy or economics, interest or inflation, fashion or fad. Beloved, we will stand in the presence of the once crucified man who died for us. And we will be called upon to respond to him who bought us with his own precious blood as to how we have lived for him. The judgment seat of Christ. I repeat, is for believers only, not to determine our salvation. The very fact that we will be there proves that we are saved. There's no doubt about it. We're in Christ and in Christ alone. As the Apostle Paul speaks of the judgment seat, he does on occasion, I believe, draw from the imagery of the Grecian games, and he sees the umpire of the games on a bema, or a throne, elevated. And before this umpire of the games, there come those who have been victorious in their various events. And as a result, it is his privilege and responsibility to reward them, often with nothing more than branches from an olive tree woven into a crown-like structure that will be placed upon their brow. And they will treat it with the greatest of pride and respect. And so, with the Grecian games in mind, Paul writes about the Bema, or the judgment seat. You know, I can remember as a young Christian hearing brethren stand where I stand, and I must confess I trembled at the thought of the judgment seat of Christ. Would I suffer loss? Would there by any chance be reward? And I was fearful. And as I have looked at the subject now, I want to look at it with a positive light in view. And I want to encourage you, dear child of God, as I encourage myself in anticipation of the judgment seat, let's perform our activity for God and his son. Let's so live for Christ, so that in that day we will receive a reward. And if we live in that light, sold out to God, I believe our lives for Christ will be stronger, more vibrant, and worthwhile for our Savior. So, as we look at the judgment seat, let's remind ourselves that it is for all believers. Paul mentions in verse eleven that the foundation of this great structure, the church, is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. What a foundation. Now then, we are building into that church by the way we serve and please and honor him. May we then do it for his glory. I think that verse twelve would suggest in First Corinthians three, now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest or shall be conspicuous or made known in that day. I believe, beloved, that it should be your responsibility and mine to build into the church with the finest of material. Would seem to me that the use of gold as a building material in this most unique and precious structure should be that of doctrine, mined from the Holy Word of God, doctrine that is precious and vibrant, and the one who teaches it does so because of his knowledge of the Word of God. Let me encourage brethren and sisters alike to learn this book, to appreciate this book, to study its precious doctrines, to know them well. I remember a number of years ago being asked to speak to a group of elders at a retreat, and I did so on the person of Christ. When the service was over, a brother came to me, and he said, well, brother, I'm so glad you didn't give us a lot of doctrine. I spoke on the greatest doctrine of all, the doctrine of Christology, the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the more you and I know that truth and that doctrine, the stronger we will be for Christ. But let us go in for learning all the doctrines and those truths that are used by the Spirit of God to strengthen, establish, edify the Church of Christ. If ever there was a day in the Church's history in which it needs to be strengthened, that day is today. There is so much wickedness out there, that when the saints gather, as we noted in the Hebrew epistle yesterday morning, that as they come, we might establish them and help them in their walk for God. And I believe with all my heart that that is the responsibility not only of the elders of the fellowship, but of every brother and every sister in the fellowship. We have that responsibility, regardless of age, to encourage one another in their walk for God. But I get off topic a little bit. I believe, I repeat, that it is important to build with the gold of good, solid doctrine based on the knowledge of the inspired word of God, but then silver is used, and silver in the word of God so often speaks of redemption. What a doctrine, the doctrine of everlasting redemption, and to know it, and to know it in such a fashion that you and I are able to point the concerned sinner to Christ. I remember on one occasion at the close of a gospel service, I was asked to join, uh, an inquiring sinner and a young man in the back room. Um, the latter attempting to point the young person to Christ. Now, all that young Christian could say to the other was this, it's so simple, it's so simple, it's so simple. The tragedy was, it was simple, but he didn't know how to explain it. And I believe, beloved child of God, each one of us should be skilled in using this book and the applications of the doctrine of redemption to point a sinner to the Savior. That kind of knowledge and its practice and its teaching leads to blessings and rewards at the judgment seat. And then there were precious stones. I would suggest that, you know, these weren't the precious stones of, um, diamonds or rubies or sapphires. No, I would like to suggest that these were the stones that are strong building blocks in themselves. Possibly that of marble, of granite, alabaster, stones that are mined and then placed in beautiful buildings. And there, what a sight they are. Now then, upon the foundation which is the Lord Jesus Christ, you and I, would you believe it, are privileged to build into the structure, the church, using these materials under the plan and the purposes of our God. Let me ask, how are you building? Did you do any building today? Did you do any building last week, the past month? We have a responsibility. We're builders for him. But then, those are the three endurable, strong building blocks. Those building blocks cannot be consumed by the flame. There are three other building materials, and they can be consumed by the flame. Wood, hay, stubble. They're big, they're bulky, and so often the things that you and I do, I say to my shame, might be big and bulky and worthless. Let us make certain, beloved, that when the consuming fire of the eye of Christ examines your works and mine, that the works endure because they're of gold, silver, and precious stone. And in the light of the judgment seat of Christ, then we will receive rewards from him. Our actions will be assessed, and it will be determined as to whether or not our actions were for him. It's important, isn't it? Ever so important. Says in Romans ten— pardon me, Rev- uh, Romans ah fourteen and in verse ten, if you wish to turn back to it just for a moment. Notice the last part of the verse. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Word stand has an interesting meaning. It simply means we will be drawn intimately close to. Will he call my name, Arnot McEntee, and I leave the vast assembled company of the blood bought and come up and have dialogue with a man who died for me and knows all about me? Stand intimately close to him at the judgment seat. Verse twelve, so then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Beloved, I believe with all of my heart, if there is anything that should move and motivate you and me for going in for pleasing the man who died for us, in addition to our love for him and for what he has done for us, it is this. I am accountable for every sixty seconds in every minute that I live, as to whether or not I live it for God. That's a serious thought, and should cause me some concern. And so we will all appear there, every one of us, to give an account to who? To God. To God. Isn't that solemn? And yet, in doing so, and as a result of that personal audience and accountability, when we eyeball it with a man who died for us, then by his grace, to receive a reward for that which was done for him and brought glory to that holy name. Beloved, I repeat, let's go in for serving him. Let's take advantage of every opportunity that we have to serve the Lord. I know that it's possible that you might be a young person here tonight, and you wonder, just what is my gift? I don't know what to do for God. When young people ask me that question, I simply say to them, never say no. If you're asked to pick up the hymn books or take out the garbage, you say yes. And then as you establish yourself, be it to give your testimony, to help in the Awana program or teach a Sunday school class, and your gift becomes evident, what does it do? It grows and it magnifies. And as a result, honor is brought to the Lord. Let's not sit on the sidelines. Christianity is not a spectator sport. We're involved. Let's be so for his glory. There are the rewards, and there are, it seems to me, at least five crowns that he will give in that coming day. You could win one or five or any number in between. What are they? There's the incorruptible crown of First Corinthians nine twenty five to seven. The incorruptible crown is the crown that will be given for mastery over the flesh. What's that? That's when Satan comes along to you and to me, and he says, just take a look at that. How's that grab you? Before we realize it, we've sinned in thought, maybe in word, and further on in deed. To keep our flesh under control, that the passions and the lusts that are so appealed to in our dirty, rotten sex-driven society might be kept under control as we seek to live for God. Years ago, I used to preach this to young people. But the longer I live, the more I realize it's for those who are, who are older as well. I know of men, twenty five years in Christ and more, and they've succumbed to the lust of the flesh, and they have ruined their lives. And it's not limited to the men. Dear sisters are subject to as well. But the Lord says, look, if you live for me faithfully and are victorious over the flesh, I'll give you an incorruptible crown. Those crowns that were awarded in the Grecian games, they corrupted and died within a matter of a couple of days. Not this crown. Then there's the crown of rejoicing in First Thessalonians two and nineteen. What is it? It's the soul winner's crown. Tell me, are you working on your soul winner's crown? Do you have a son, a daughter, a dear one, a family member, a business associate, a member of the community? You've had the joy of pointing to Christ. Beloved, that's winning the soul winner's crown. What a joy to see the glow of salvation in Christ light up the face of one who has just placed his or her faith in the Savior. I love it. He says, you do that. I'll give you the soul winner's crown. It's the crown of rejoicing. Quickly, there's the crown of life. James one twelve. It's the crown that's given for those who've endured the tests of life. I'm sure we know some, seems they go from one physical crisis, financial crisis or problem to another. Yet, there's a glow of the Redeemer on their face. They live for the Lord who died for them. And God says, I'll give you a crown, a crown of life, because you've endured the tests of life. Then there's the crown of glory in First Peter five one to four. It's the crown that's given for the feeding of the flock. Is this crown reserved for elders and preachers exclusively? I don't think so. I think it's for anyone who knows enough about this book to pass on the truth to someone that doesn't know them as well. And just as a boy with a sheep given him of his father can be a shepherd, I believe that a teenager can be a shepherd too and be used of God to win this crown of glory feeding the flock, albeit elders and teachers have the added and greater responsibility. Finally, there's the crown of righteousness. Second Timothy four verse eight. This one always blows me away. You know what this one is? This is for those who love his appearing. Now put it in context. The Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself unto death, died on Calvary's cross, experiencing the wrath of God against sin. He died for you and for me, and he made possible our salvation. We trusted him. And then this passage teaches me that if I'm looking for him who loved me so much, he's going to give me a crown. Isn't that fantastic? Doesn't that blow you away? Boy, if it doesn't, something's wrong, dear child of God. The excitement of knowing. He says, you look for me, love my appearing. Now, of course, it doesn't mean to look for him in this sense. Lord, the mortgage is due today. Please come. Take me out of this situation. No, I believe the thought is this, Lord, more than anything else in this crazy world, I want you to come because I want to be with you. And you're loving his appearing, loving it so much you can hardly stand it. He says, you love me like that, and I'll reward you. But then, hurriedly move over to Revelation chapter nineteen. The re- the judgment seat of Christ has taken place. The saints of God have been reviewed. They're clothed now in the righteousness of the saints, in all of their finery given them of the Lord himself. And in Revelation nineteen and six, we read. Boy, I wish I could read this passage for the first time too. Get the excitement of it. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him. For the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready, and to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. The marriage supper of the Lamb. I needn't tell you that there has always been a love relationship between our beloved Lord and his blood-bought church, his bride. He's the bridegroom. You and I, beloved, comprise the bride. We're part of that vast, innumerable company that has placed their faith and confidence in the Savior, and we're referred to as the bride of Christ. How exciting, how thrilling. And so, the Lord Jesus Christ, my Bible tells me, Ephesians five— Christ loved the church. Hey, that's you and me. And he gave himself not for it, poor word, he gave himself for her. Isn't that precious? That excites me. He gave himself for her. But then, that's his love for the church, and then there is our love for him in First John chapter four and verse nineteen, We love him because he first loved us. How wonderful. We look back to the cross, and with wonder and deepest gratitude, we thank him for his death on our behalf. There's a beautiful picture of the bridegroom and the bride. It's seen in the Palestinian wedding of two thousand years ago. In that day, the bridegroom or prospective bridegroom made a trip to where? To the home of the bride. Often, he would be accompanied by his father. He came to where the one he loved lived. Picture? Our bridegroom left the glory, came right down to where the objects of his love lived, you and me, to the planet Earth. And then there's that bridegroom of the first century, prospective bridegroom of the first century, visited with his bride and her parents. A price would be agreed upon that would be paid by the bridegroom to claim the bride. Our bridegroom came from heaven. He came to where we lived. He paid an awful price. You have been bought with the precious blood of Christ. Think of it. And that's what he did. And then something very interesting happened. After the agreement has been made, then they drank a covenant cup of wine. Father, bridegroom, with the parents of the bride, they drank a covenant cup of wine together. Beloved, we did so yesterday morning, and on this table was a cup, and we as the bride were privileged to take our portion. What did our, the Word of God say, First Corinthians eleven twenty five. This cup is the New Testament, better word, covenant. This is the new covenant in my blood. This do ye as often as ye drink it in remembrance of me. And we remember him. And when they had drunk that cup, the bridegroom, prospective bridegroom, left the woman that he loved, and he went back to his home to prepare a place for her. The Mount of Olives. John fourteen: I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also. The bridegroom went back to his home. He would come back and claim his bride in that first century experience at a time unknown by the bride. And in the meantime, she was to prepare herself for that coming day when her bridegroom would come for her. Beloved, our bridegroom has left us here for what? To prepare for that coming day, to live pure, clean, holy lives, so that when he comes back for us, he'll not be ashamed. Matthew chapter twenty five, we read of that experience of the ten virgins. And at midnight, in the darkness of the night, when they were least expecting him, the cry went forth, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Some weren't ready. Beloved child of God, our bridegroom is coming, and he's going to return for us all unannounced. We talked about the seasons yesterday, the signs of the sky. We know it must be near. Let us be ready then for when he does come, be taken to be forever with the Lord. And so, in that first century experience, there would be a marriage supper that would follow in the home of the bridegroom. And it wasn't like some of ours with, uh, wedding cake and, uh, peanuts and punch. In those days, the wedding feast lasted for days. Remember, back in the Gospel according to John, Lord Jesus Christ was there at a wedding, and the third day, why, they'd run out of the wine. It will be a prolonged period of time. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb taking place, I believe, in heaven, and it will be followed, I repeat, by the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes to the earth to reign and to rule. The marriage feast, how wonderful. Verse seven, let me read it for you again, and I like the rendering of the Amplified New Testament here. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him. Now get this, for the marriage of the Lamb is come at last. I like to believe, my friend, that the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting too for you and me to be with him, that finally you and I will be given to him in marriage at the marriage supper of the Lamb. It will commence, and it will be a time of unparalleled joy and blessing. The wonder, the thrill of being united to him for all of eternity. What a thrilling day it will be when you and I are part of that vast, spotless, eternally pure, redeemed bride of Christ, and we stand at the side of our nail-pierced lover. We're united to him at the marriage supper of the Lamb. You know, if this is the case, if he is coming soon for his bride, and we will be united to him, don't we want to live in such a manner then that will bring honor and glory to his name? Paul could speak of the Corinthians. He wanted to present them to Christ. How? As a chaste virgin, a pure virgin to Christ. No sin, no spot, no wrinkle, no defilement of the world, but to be there together with the family of God. Beloved, he's coming soon, and we don't know when. When Eisenhower was president of your country, he was visiting in Dallas over the weekend, and word came to a little fellow about ten years of age, stricken with leukemia, with life running out, and he heard that the president was coming to Dallas. He said, I sure wish he'd come to see me. Somehow, that wish was conveyed to Eisenhower. After the church service on that Lord's Day morning, he ordered the presidential limousine and cavalcade to drive to that home. When the Secret Service men had done their work, they come back and informed him he could go in. And he went to the door and knocked on the door. And the father of the little fellow