"The Hour of Gods Judgement" - Pastor Stephen Bohr

let's pray father in heaven it is with reverence and with awe that we approach your holy throne today as we open your Holy Word we ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit I ask Lord that you will give us understanding for we're going to study a very important subject about the hour of your judgment and so father help us to understand not only theoretically but help us to understand the importance of what we're going to study and we thank you for hearing our prayer for we ask it in Jesus name Amen I want to begin our study today by reading the passage that we've been studying the last few sessions Revelation chapter 14 and verses 6 & 7 we've studied 10 great facts about the three angels messages we've studied about the everlasting gospel we've studied what it means to fear God and in our last session we discussed what it means to give glory to God now today we're going to study about the hour of God's judgment it says in Revelation 14 verse 6 then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation tribe tongue and people saying with a loud voice and now you have two imperatives fear God and give glory to him now the question is why should we fear God and give glory to him he continues saying fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come now that word for there is what is called in the Greek language a causal conjunction and it should be translated because in other words fear God and give glory to him because the hour of his judgment has come and then we're told the third imperative and worship Him who made heaven and earth the sea and springs of water so you see the reason why we're supposed to fear God and give glory to God and worship Him is because the hour of his judgment has come not when most people think about the judgment they think of the judgment as an event but really in the Bible the judgment is not an event the judgment is a process a rather extended process in fact the book of Revelation itself presents three different and distinct phases of the judgment I'm not going to go into all of these phases I'm just going to give you the references the first phase of the judgment takes place before the second coming of Jesus before the close of probation we find that in Revelation 14 and verses 6 & 7 the second phase of the judgment takes place during the thousand years during the Millennium and you can find that in Revelation chapter 20 and verses 4 through 6 the third phase of the judgment takes place after the Millennium after the thousand years and you can find a reference to that in revelation 20 verses 13 through 15 in other words the judgment is a process the judgment is not an event a punctual event now the stage that we especially want to take a look at today as we study this subject of the judgment is that first stage that I mentioned the stage that occurs before the second coming of Jesus before the close of probation now in order to understand this particular phase of the judgment the first one which is mentioned in Revelation 14 verse 7 we need to go back to the story of creation and you say well why do we need to go back to the story of creation very simply because the FIR dangerous message calls us to go back and talk about the creator you know that the first angels message says worship Him who made the heavens the earth the seas and the fountains of waters so in other words the first angels message itself sends us back to the story of creation in order to understand the judgment so we have to go back to Genesis and talk about the origin of man go with me to Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7 Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7 it's speaking here about the creation of man and I want you to notice the description there are several elements that we're going to underline here and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground now it's the physical nature of man that is composed of dust or of clay as Isaiah 64 verse 8 says says God is the Potter and we are the clay our physical nature is composed of clay but even after God made this perfect body originally without sin the body was without life I didn't say that it was dead it was lifeless because there was something lacking you see only having the body of matter perfect with all of its parts did not mean that the body was alive and so God had to do something to that body notice what he continues saying and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life another way of saying that is he breathed into his nostrils the energizing force the electrical force if you please and man became a living soul or a living being now there are several things that I want us to notice about this verse first of all man was created with a material body a body composed of matter and of course in the head of that body was the brain the center of operations of the body if you please the brain is that organ that processes every that comes in through our five senses in other words our eyesight our hearing our touch our smell or taste everything that comes in through the five senses is processed by the brain and the brain of course is a physical organism as well it's also composed of matter but I want you to notice that the body with this processor the brain did not function until God plugged the body in so to speak into the electrical source which was given giving the body and the brain the capacity to function and so when God created the body with the brain to process all of the functions and gave that body with the brain the electrical force the Bible says that man became a living being or other versions say a living soul now up till here you say okay that's fine we already knew this but now I want to emphasize something that is extremely important as Adam and let's take Adam as our example as Adam lived after he was created from the moment that he was created he now begins to process the information that comes through his five senses and he begins to form his own self-identity you know there are not no two people in this world that have the same self-identity because everybody has different information coming through the five senses that it's processed by the brain so taking Adam as an example Adam lived to be 930 years let me ask you do you think that Adam had a much more complex self-identity when he died at 930 years than the day that he was created absolutely he had his own individuality he had his own self-identity if you please which was different from the self-identity that anyone else had in other words during those 930 years he formed his self-identity or we could also call it his character now we need to ask the question what happened when Adam died in fact what happens when all of us die notice Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 7 Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 7 this is a famous state of the Dead verse it says there when a person dies then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it so you'll notice that when a person dies it says that the body returns to the dust and the spirit returns to God who gave it but now I'm going to ask you a question that perhaps nobody has asked you before what happens with the self-identity or with the character that we formed during our lifespan for example what happened to the 930 years of self-identity that Adam form or the character that Adam formed during 930 years when he died you say well pastor that's kind of a strange question I'm asking that question for a very specific purpose as you're going to see as we study along the fact is folks that the self-identity of Adam was actually recorded by God in heaven as Adam lived his 930 year life in fact our self-identity is written by God in heavenly books as we live every moment of every day so when Adam died all of the record of his life was preserved in the heavenly records in other words God had exact perfect record of Adam in his heavenly books and you say does the Bible teach such a thing well let's read several verses that speak about what is contained in the books you see God keeps records in heaven he keeps an exact record of who I was during my life who Adam was during his life known as 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 10 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad let me ask you does God keep a record of the good and bad things that we perform while we were alive yes and we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ so our actions are recorded in God's heavenly books now what about our words notice Matthew chapter 12 and verses 36 and 37 Matthew 12 36 and 37 here Jesus is speaking and he says but I say to you that for every idle word men may speak they will give account of it in the day of judgment for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned is a record of our words kept in God's heavenly records absolutely because by our words we will be justified or by our words we will be condemned but I want you to notice that also our secret things are written there you see God has a record not only of the outside he has a record of the inside in other words notice Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verses 13 and 14 ecclesiastical and 14 fear God and keep his Commandments for this is man's all for God will bring every work into judgment if God is going to bring every work into judgment must have a record of every work of course it says God will bring every work into judgment and now notice this including everyone every secret thing whether good or evil so God keeps an exact record of everything concerning our life inside and out let's read also revelation 20 and verses 12 and 13 Revelation chapter 20 and verses 12 and 13 it says there and I saw the dead small and great standing before God and books opened notice this 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 which were written where in the books so I want you to notice that you have books plural now when the Bible speaks of books in the plural it's talking about the record of our lives you see every breathing moment God is taking a movie if you please or he's taking a picture of every single thing that we're doing everything single thing that we're thinking every single thing that we're feeling every intention and motive that we have God is recording a perfect record of every aspect of our lives let me illustrate what I mean Jesus today is personally in heaven isn't he he's in heaven in person but do you know where he is on earth on earth he is written in 66 books the Bible because the Bible is a written revelation of Christ that's why the Bible says that Jesus is the word in person but also the written word is the Word of God because the Bible is the transcript of the character of Jesus it's Jesus in written form if you please not with us it's just the opposite we are physically and personally on earth but in heaven we are written in books in other words we are written in books where we are not personally are you understanding what I'm saying what I'm explaining or I'm trying to explain is that the heavenly books contain a complete biography of each one of us every act every word every motive every thought every emotion even every opportunity to do good which we did not take advantage of is found written in the books there is a complete record of our lives inside and out in other words God has another Steve Bohr in written form in heaven and I walk personally here upon planet Earth now I believe that if God was revealing his truth to the prophets today he would probably not talk about books as containing the records in biblical times you know it was common to preserve records and Scrolls or in books but if God was speaking to a prophet today I believe that God would be speaking about video cameras and he would speak speak about DVDs and mp3s and he would speak about computers because it's a much more sophisticated way of storing and retrieving information now the Bible then when it speaks about books is referring to the exact transcript of our lives which God keeps in the heavenly records but the Bible also uses the word book singular now let's take a look at the references in the Bible that use book singular going Mia Philippians chapter 4 and verse 3 Philippians chapter 4 in verse 3 here the Apostle Paul is speaking about some of his collaborators some of the individuals that were helping him in his ministry and he says there and I urge you also true companion help these women who labored with me in the gospel with Clement also he even mentions one by name Clement also and the rest of my fellow laborers whose names are in what book of life book singular what is it that the book contains the book contains names what do the books in plural contain the exact transcript of the person's character not as revelation 3 verse 5 still talking about the book singular revelation chapter 3 and verse 5 he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments and I will not blot out his name from the book of life but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels once again the book singular has what names notice Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8 there are many verses I'm only reading a sampling of them revelation 13 and verse 8 speaking about those who are gonna end up worshiping the Beast it says all who dwell on the earth will worship Him whose names those names have not been written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world and you remember when Moses was on Mount Sinai and God said I'm going to destroy Israel and I'm going to choose another people because these people are idolatrous notice in Exodus 32 verses 31 and 32 what Moses said to the Lord then Moses returned to the Lord and sent oh these people have committed a great sin and have made for themselves a God of gold yet now if you will forgive their sin but if not I pray block me out of your book which you have written and in Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1 where it speaks about the final deliverance of God's people at the end of the time of trouble such as never has been seen we find the following words Daniel 12 verse 1 at that time Michael shall stand up the Great Prince who stands watch over the sons of your people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time and at that time your people shall be delivered every one who is found written where in the book so are you understanding the difference between books and book the books contained the exact transcript of our lives in written form in heaven nothing is missing words thoughts emotions motives actions you name it everything is there inside and out in the books but the book singular contains names in the Bible emphasizes that the book contains the names of those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord now I want us in the light of what we've studied about the books and the book I'd like us to take a look at several interesting details about the judgment the first thing that I want us to notice is that everyone must appear before the judgment seat of Christ no exceptions not a second Corinthians chapter five and verse ten once again second Corinthians chapter five and verse 10 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad how many people are going to have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for what they did while they were in the body which means while they were in this life every single person is going to have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ but now there's another very interesting detail and that is that that judgment takes place in heaven what you're saying does that mean then that we have we have to go to NASA and we have to get in rocket in order to appear before the judgment seat of Christ well let's notice what the Bible says Daniel chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 Daniel 7 verses 9 and 10 I watched till Thrones were put in place Daniel has seen something in vision and the Ancient of Days who is the Ancient of Days God who God the Father where does the God the Father live our Father which art in heaven ok I watched till Thrones were put in place and the Ancient of Days was seated his garment was white as snow and the hair of his head was like pure wool his throne was a fiery flame its wheels a burning fire a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him a thousand thousands ministered to him ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him who are those angels and then notice the court was seated and the books were opened what do the books contain the record of the lives where does this judgment take place it takes place where the father lives where the angels are according to Scripture so everyone must appear and the judgment take play takes place where it takes place in heaven now let's notice another deep about the judgment go with me to Revelation 14 which we started our lecture with Revelation 14 verses 6 and 7 let me ask you does the judgment begin after Jesus comes or at the moment Jesus comes or does this judgment of God's people those who are written in the book of life does it take place before the close of probation and before the second coming of Jesus it takes place before you say no wait a minute pastor where does the Bible say that revelation 14 verse 6 then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation tribe talking people let me ask you if the gospel is being preached mustard or probation still be open absolutely you wouldn't preach the gospel if the door probation and closed so you have this angel he's preaching the everlasting gospel to every nation tribe tongue and people and he says with a loud voice fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment shall come it doesn't say the hour of his judgment shall come it says the hour of his judgment has come let me ask you does the judgment take place while the gospel is being preached absolutely and listen to what I'm going to say only after the three angels proclaimed their messages do you have Jesus seated on a cloud with a sickle and in his hand to harvest the earth which means that the three angels messages are preached and then you have the coming of Jesus to harvest the righteous and to harvest the wicked in other words the judgment takes place before the close of probation it takes place before the second coming of Jesus Christ now let me ask you when will a person receive the reward that was determined in the judgment when their name was examined notice Matthew chapter 16 and verse 27 Matthew 16 verse 27 for the Son of Man will come in the glory of his father with his angels what event is that describing Second Coming yes for the Son of Man will come in the glory of his father with his angels he will reward each according to his words so when is the reward given when Jesus comes when are they judged before Jesus comes are you understanding me notice Revelation chapter 22 and verse 12 revelation 22 and verse 12 here Jesus is speaking and he says and behold I am coming quickly and my reward is with me so when Jesus comes he brings a reward and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his what according to his word now I know the question that you're asking if the judgment is in heaven before the second coming of Jesus how can everyone appear before the great judgment seat of Christ if we live on planet Earth well let's ask another question very important one where are the dead between the time when they died and the time when Jesus comes to reward them let's go to John chapter five verses 28 and 29 folks we're going to notice here that's a very close connection between the state of the Dead and the judgment if you misunderstand the state of the Dead you're not going to understand the judgment and if you misunderstand the judgment you're not going to understand how people are during the interim of death now notice John 5:28 and 29 do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in heaven or in hell will hear his voice yeah okay you say where is that well that's the revised board version doesn't count do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are where in the graves will hear his voice and come forth when is that they're going to come forth when Jesus comes when do they receive the reward when Jesus comes when were they judged before Jesus comes so did they go before God's judgment see before the second coming absolutely but how could they if they were dead in the grave ah we're gonna study something very important here and so it says do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in their grades will hear his voice and come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life and also have done evil to the resurrection of damnation now folks I believe that in order to explain how people can appear how dead people can appear before the judgment seat of Christ before the second coming you know most Christians think well what's going to happen is that the soul of those people are gonna appear before the judgment seat of Christ that's not what the Bible says the Bible says that the individual must appear before the judgment seat of Christ how can they appear if their they died in Christ or even if they're alive on planet Earth before Jesus comes before the close of probation the fact is that we must understand what we started our study with this evening you see when the Bible speaks about the spirit that returns to God it's more than just the capacity to breathe it's more than just the energizing force that returns to God you see as we live we develop our own self-identity do we not and God what does God do when we die he preserves that self-identity we're in the books in other words he writes in the book in the books the end and he closes the books in other words he's preserving the record of our lives he's not only he's not you know some people say well you say the spirit returns to God does that mean that God grabs every everybody's everybody's breathing no that's not what it's talking about it's talking about God preserving the record of our lives now I want to read several tests Luke ain't verse 52 this is a very interesting story and make sure that you follow along and tell me if I'm reading it wrongly Luke 852 256 speaking about the death of a little girl all wept and mourned for her but he said they're not weep she is not dead but sleeping and they ridiculed him knowing that she was dead but he put them all outside took her by the hand and called sane little girl arise and now notice then the spirit returned it does not say these spirit it says her spirit returned let me ask you what what was returned to her only the capacity to breathe no the capacity to breathe along with her self-identity are you with me that God preserved before she died notice when he continued saying then her spirit returned and she arose immediately and he commanded that she be given something to eat notice Acts chapter 7 and beginning with verse 57 this is talking about the martyrdom of Stephen acts 7 verse 57 then they cried out with a loud voice stopped their ears and rap ran at him with one Accord and they cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul I want you to remember these two individuals were coming back to them at the end of the presentation today and they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying Lord Jesus received the spirit it doesn't say receive the spirit he say receive my spirit are you understanding what I'm saying receive my spirit then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice Lord do not do not charge them with this sin and when he had said this he fell asleep I love that he fell asleep doesn't say he died although he did die we know but it says he fell asleep notice one further example Luke 23 and verse 46 it's talking about the death of Jesus Christ Luke 23 and verse 46 it says and when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice he said father into your hands I commend the spirit no that's not what it says into your hands I commend what my spirit having said this he breathed his last now let me ask you this do you think that when Jesus resurrected he remembered everything that had happened while he was alive before his death do you think he remembered the names of his disciples do you think you remember when he was arrested do you think he remembered when he calmed the storm do you think that he remembered when Peter denied him of course he did why did Jesus remember all of those things when he resurrected because folks when God returned to Jesus his spirit he not only returned the capacity to breathe or the energizing force he also returned to him the record of his life which God had preserved are you understanding what I'm saying critically important now I want to read you an interesting statement this statement is in the devotional book Maranatha page 301 you see the author caught this nuance that I'm sharing with you today this is what the author says in the book Maranatha which is a devotional book our personal identity is preserved in the resurrection is that biblical of course it is let me ask you am I gonna resurrect gene hobbes am i early gene hobbes when i resurrect am i gonna be Rick Perez no I'm gonna be Steve Bohr because God is going to return to me the record of my life with the capacity to breathe so she says our personal identity is preserved in the resurrection though not the same particles of matter or material substance as went into the grave the wondrous works of God are a mystery to man and then she says this the spirit the character of man is returned to God there to be preserved what is it that's preserved the spirit or the character our self-identity who we were in life in other words she says in the resurrection every and will have his own character in others your own life record God in his own time will call forth the dead giving again the breath of life and bidding the dry bones live the same form will come forth but it will be free from disease and every defect it lives again bearing the same individuality of features so that friend will recognize friend isn't that a beautiful statement now there was a there's a statement in the book of Job that used to puzzle me it sounded pretty selfish son like job was the only one that was going to see the second coming of Jesus notice job 19 25 to 27 and I'm gonna read from the New International Version where the translation is more forceful job 19 verse 25 here job is saying in the midst of his suffering I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth it's talking about the second coming in the end he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been destroyed yet in my flesh I shall see God I myself will see him with my own eyes how my heart yearns within me so nobody else is gonna see the second coming of Jesus except job he says I another what is he what is he saying what is job saying here he's saying that when I resurrect I'm going to be whom I'm gonna be job job is gonna see the Lord Rick Perez is gonna see the Lord dr. task he's gonna see the Lord all of us are gonna see the Lord as individuals that we were during our life now let me ask you applying this after the millennium after the millennia have the resurrection of the wicked right let me ask you to do the wicked resurrect righteous of course not how do they resurrect just as wicked as they were let me ask you do they begin at the same spot where they left off absolutely they surround the holy city they're just as wicked as ever why because God is returning to them the identity they were saved in the books are you following me allow me to read you another statement from favorite book on Bible prophecy this is a classic it's the book that has the clearest perspective of Bible prophecy anywhere in the world it's called the great controversy notice about after the Millennium what the author has to say speaking about outside the city there are kings and generals who conquered nations valiant men who never lost the battle proud ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble now notice this in death these experienced no change as they come up from the grave they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased in other words if somebody if somebody would you know open their mouth and half a word came out and somebody shot them when they resurrect they complete the word because they resume the current of the thoughts just where it's East they are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fail let me ask you why is it that they resurrect in this way it's because God is not only returning to them the capacity to breathe God is returning also their own self-identity he's returning to their own character now let me give you an illustration of what I mean how many of you have ever seen that little clip of the assassination of John F Kennedy this approver film you've seen that right now let me ask you you see the limousine turning onto Elm Street right and you see John F Kennedy and Jacqueline with her you know pink dress and they're grading the people let me ask you when you look at that clip of video is John F Kennedy alive or is he dead you know I asked that question in a confusing manner on purpose because some people say well he's alive other people say his dead well the fact is this folks the movie was taken while he was alive but we are looking at the movie after he did after he died are you with me in other words on tape he's alive but the review of the tape takes place after he died so let me ask you is there a certain sense when you watch that event of the life of John F Kennedy and when you see him still alive before he was shot let me ask you are you really watching him alive just like it was yeah absolutely you're watching him alive and so let me share this when the righteous appear before the judgment bar of Christ there's a certain sense in which they appear they're alive now don't misunderstand me how do they appear alive because God took a movie of their lives while they were alive so when the judgment comes what does God bring the record in the books or whatever way that God reserves or preserves the record and God shows the heavenly tribunal all of the life of that person inside and out while that person was alive so let me ask you in a certain sense our people seen the life of that person would that person was alive absolutely but we know that it's being brave it's being reviewed when after they died are you understanding what I'm saying so when scripture says that all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ how can the Dead appear before the judgment seat of Christ they appear through the record of their lives they do not appear there personally they appear there through the record of their lives are you understanding what I'm saying so all must appear the judgments in heaven it's before the second coming what about the Dead will their decomposed on planet Earth they can't go to heaven in a rocket to appear before the judgment seat of Christ the fact is that beer through the movie of their lives now let's read revelation 20 so we understand how this process takes place revelation 20 verses 11 and 12 then I saw a great white throne by the way this is after the Millennium but the principle applies also to the pre-advent judgment the judgment before the second coming then 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 now lawlessness and I saw the dead small and great standing before God how can dead people stand before God in the light of what we've studied when it says the dead were standing before God what does that mean it means that those who are on earth did are standing before God how through the record of their self-identity or the record of their character which is contained in the books and so it says and I saw the dead small and great standing before God and books were open if they're standing there in person why would you need to open books 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 which were written in the books are you understanding what we're studying now we have some things that we still need to cover let's talk a little bit about the process of the judgment when our name appears before the judgment seat of Christ let me ask you what is it that our life is going to be compared with with the law of God right notice James chapter 2 and verse 12 now we're talking about what happens when our record appears in the heavenly Court before the second coming of Jesus James chapter 2 and verse 12 it says this so speak and so do as those who will be judged by what by the law of Liberty in other words our lives are going to be compared with what with the law now let me ask you when our lives are compared with the law how many are not guilty well let's go to Roman's 3 and verse 10 and we'll reverse 20 and also verse 23 verse 10 of chapter 3 as it is written there is none righteous no not one verse 20 now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God and then verse 23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God so what does the law say to everybody who comes before the judgment seat of Christ through their records the law says you are all what you are all sinners and therefore you deserve what you deserve death notice Romans 6 verse 23 for the wages of sin is what the wages of sin is death do you see how difficult this situation is you see there's no one who never sinned so when we appear before the judgment seat of Christ through our records in heaven whether we're dead or whether we alive the records are what I looked at in heaven when we appear there our life is compared with the law and our lives are full of sin so the law says the wages of sin is death you must die and who's there standing to accuse us the devil is not as Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 1 Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 1 then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to do what to oppose him so in other words in God's great tribunal when our life is examined everybody is guilty so you say how in the world could the judgment be good news now let's go to the good news you see the Bible tells us that Jesus came to this world and we studied this when we note when he analyzed the everlasting gospel we notice that Jesus came to this world and he lived the perfect life that we should live and Jesus died the death that we should die and we when we repent and confess our sins and trust in Jesus and bury our sins in the waters of Baptism and we confess our sins the Bible says that God takes the life and death of Jesus and he credits it to our account now is that good news notice 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 18 through 20 first Peter chapter 1 verses 18 through 20 knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your father's notice we weren't redeemed by silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in these last times for you so what happens when we confess our sins when we repent of sin when we claim the righteousness of Christ when our heart is right with the Lord what does Jesus do he records the sin in the heavenly books but next to the sin he writes the word forgiven through the blood of the Lamb is that good news so when our name comes up in the judgment our sins in the record yes everything is in the record so some people says say wow if the sins are in the record well that's that is is that's bad you know because how can I be secure about salvation if my sins are written there listen folks if your sins are not there covered with the blood they're here see we need to have Jesus as our advocate in other words if we sin as it says in 1st John chapter 2 verse 1 my little children these things I write to you so that you may not sin and if anyone sins we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous see our our judge and our lawyer is Jesus and he's righteous and he appears before the Father and when I repent and confess my sin Jesus says father pastor Bohr has repented of that sin he's confessed that sin I claim my blood in his behalf and the father says I your death in place of his death and I accept your life in place of his life is that good news but if we don't place our sins in the sanctuary through repentance and confession then those sins are we're there upon us you know some people say oh the seventh-day evidence they don't have any assurance of salvation because they believe that all these sins are written in the heavenly sanctuary praise the Lord that they're written in the heavenly sanctuary because if they're not in the heavenly sanctuary covered with the blood they are where they're upon us notice first John chapter 1 and verse 9 first John chapter 1 and verse 9 it says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to what and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness now listen to what I'm going to say in the sanctuary there were two services there was the daily service and there was the yearly service you can read it in Leviticus chapter 16 do you know what happened in the daily service in the daily service you have forgiveness for sin notice that first John 1:9 says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse the sanctuary from sin no to cleanse us from all unrighteousness the daily service cleanse the sinner from his sin but then the sin was transferred where it was transferred to the sanctuary Sula but let me ask you did the Israelite have to be afraid because it was transferred to the sanctuary through the blood absolutely not he could have the assurance that his sin was covered by the blood it was very safe to have it in there it was unsafe not to have it in there are you following what I'm saying but all of the sins were placed in the sanctuary so there came at the end of the year what is known as the Day of Atonement when all of a sin that had entered needed to what to come out and that's what the judgment is you know what the purpose of the judgment is it's not to inform God God knows everything let me ask you are there many Christians who appear to be good Christians but really they're hypocrites Jesus spoke about those didn't he so if you look on the outside you say oh these are exact Christiane's well you see when the books are open it will be shown who truly repented of sin who truly confessed sin who truly claimed the righteousness of Jesus who truly buried the old man in Baptist and baptism and truly resurrected to newness of life the purpose of the judgement is to reveal if repentance and claiming the blood was genuine or not for the good of the inhabitants of the universe that don't know everything like God knows everything and so you have the daily service which cleanses the sinner from the sin and you have the yearly service which cleanses the sanctuary from the sin now this is the marvelous news if our name comes up in the judgment and when my name is is looked at and all of my records are looked at if it's revealed that I repented of sin and I confess my sins and that I claimed the righteousness of Jesus and that my old man was buried in the waters of Baptism and that I truly resurrected to a new life and that I hated sin and I love it love the Savior then what's going to happen is my name is going to be retained in the book of life and I will be found in Christ because when I receive Jesus Christ I am in him see I no longer appear there on my own I appear through him and that's the reason why in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and verses 15 through 18 we find this very interesting passage about the resurrection it says in 1st Thessalonians 4 15 through 18 for this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first let me ask you where are the dead when Jesus comes in heaven no they're in the grave not if they're in heaven when they died what are they doing in the grave it says that they're in the gray and Jesus comes now do you notice here that it says the dead in Christ will rise first let me ask you one was it revealed that they were in Christ in the judgement it was revealed that they truly repented of sin they confess their sins they claim the righteousness of Christ they buried the old man resurrected to newness of life hated sin and loved the Savior and then you will find the book of life in Christ and therefore when Jesus comes he's going to resurrect them from the dead because they are not in themselves they are in Jesus is this good news or what now I want to share with you a very interesting experience you remember the experience of Saul of Tarsus he was a nasty character notice what we find in acts 26 9 through 11 here Saul is describing his life he says indeed I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth this I also did in Jerusalem and many of the Saints I shut up in prison having received authority from the chief priests and when they were put to death I cast my vote against them and I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly enraged against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities was he a nasty character he sure was did he have a record of blood in his heavenly records he most certainly did but then he had his Damascus Road experience and do you know what he did he got baptized notice acts Acts chapter 22 and verse 16 notice what happened when he was baptized obviously he must have repented and confessed his sin before notice acts 22 and verse 16 here Ananias is saying to him arise and be what and be baptized he's saying to Saul of Tarsus be baptized and wash away your what wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord let me ask you what happens when the record of Saul of Tarsus appears in the heavenly court does God look at all of the sins does God hold all of his sins against him all of those murders all the people he put in prison all the people that were whipped as a result of him does God look at any of that no that all was forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ and the judgment reveals that even though solid Texas was a nasty character he deserves to be saved because he's accepted in the beloved he is looked at through the life of Jesus and clue the death of Jesus Christ you know it's gonna be wonderful in that great day when saul of tarsus meet Stephen oh I want to be there just to see that it's amazing the last thing that Stephen saw was so film the people Paulo stones kill him kill him and so now you can imagine Stephen doesn't know that Saul of Tarsus is going to be saved so you can imagine now you know when we get to heaven here Saul of Tarsus walking down the street of the city and here comes Stephen walking from the other direction and Stephen I know I got I got resurrected eyes but are you so sometimes you're here yes the grace of Jesus redeemed me to listen folks there is no record of sins so terrible that cannot be forgiven if we truly repent and confess our sin and claim the righteousness of Jesus Christ and are buried in the waters of baptism there is no sin so great that God cannot forget it now and then eventually erase it from the sanctuary because it has been cleansed by the blood now I want to give you an illustration we only have a very short period an illustration that will help you remember this forever I want you to imagine a computer a computer is a material object right does a computer have a brain of course it does what is it what is it that operates all the functions of the computer okay memory in order to have a memory what you need a brain I'm using I'm speaking figuratively I know it doesn't have a brain like we have a brain but it has to have a central center of operations doesn't it now let me ask you does the computer need a power source in order to function yeah so you have the material computer it has this central processor that allows you to perform all of the functions and then you plug it in and it has the power source now let me ask you what happens if someday the roof of your house Falls while you're gone and it smashes your computer to smithereens you say wow what a problem but it's not necessarily a problem because if you've backed up the information on a disk you can get another computer and you can transfer the identity of the first computer to the second computer can you make the second computer the same as the first computer you most certainly can can you get one with greater memory oh with greater capacities yeah absolutely you can get a much better computer and all you do is take what's on the disk and you transpose it to the new computer do you know that's exactly what's going to happen with those who died in Christ they died and their bodies and their brains disintegrated in the grave they were unplugged so to speak no power but when Jesus comes he's going to give them a new body a new computer then he's going to take what's on the disk and by the way it's gonna be what's on your disk in heaven - all of the sins that were blotted out in the day of atonement he's not gonna give you back all of your bad record he's gonna give you back your record all the good things without the back and he's gonna take that on this he's gonna input it into you and then you're gonna resurrect you're gonna be the same person that you were but perfect without any record of sin in your life in other words the computer of God when he examines your record has a delete key and as he goes through the record of your life he's going to delete all of those things then you repent enough then you compare to confess and when you claim the righteousness of Christ and buried your life in the waters of Baptism to resurrect a newness of life you are accepted in Jesus the beloved let me ask you then is the hour of God's judgment good news it's wonderful news as long as we have repented and confessed our sins [Music]

Channel: Aaron

Views: 12,993

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Id: ExYJHL_1yVU

Length: 57min 10sec (3430 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 13 2019