2 Corinthians 5:1-10

[0:00] Our text this morning is 2 Corinthians chapter 5.! How does what will occur affect us now?

[0:40] Romans 8, we just got finished. Nathan just got finished preaching through Romans 8. And it ends with the love of God. It ends with God's love being played out.

[0:53] For we receive future glory. And that nothing can take that away from us. Not even our sin. The future glory of being perfected.

[1:05] The future glory of no longer dealing with sin and death and suffering. The future glory of being perfect. That's what we're going to talk about this morning.

[1:17] When we talk about this future glory, there are two typical responses or reactions to it. One is that people don't understand it, so they take that teaching and they just kind of shelf it.

[1:30] They just kind of put it up on the shelf and say, okay, I'm going to just leave that alone. I don't really understand it, so let's just... The other reaction is, it's so far out there in the future that they take it and they just shelf it.

[1:44] They just put it up on the shelf and say, let's not worry about it. It's not anything that affects us right now. Well, in both cases, it doesn't affect us now.

[1:56] In both cases, it has nothing to do with us now because we ignore it. We just let it sit there. I don't know if this is a curse or this is a good thing, but I'm wired to ask the question, so what?

[2:12] So if I read something in the Bible, if I read some commandment, or if I read some story, I always ask the question, so what now? So why is this important? How does this really affect me now?

[2:26] What's the purpose of reading this? And this morning, I want to answer that question for us concerning future glory, our future glory.

[2:39] Now here's the important thing to answer, to talk about for a second. Our future glory affects our ministry now. I've already said that, and I want to make it clear to you that you guys are all ministers, not just me or Nathan or any other ordained pastor or reverend in here.

[3:00] You guys are all ministers of the gospel. In fact, that's one of the criteria or requirements of being a member of Christ's family church is you to accept that responsibility of being a minister.

[3:12] So when we're out, when we're living life with people, when we're trying to live out this Christian life, we are ministers. We are communicating a truth.

[3:24] And I want you to see this morning through our text, and hopefully through my words, that our future glory affects how we live, how we act, how our day is played out.

[3:38] So let me pray, and then I'll read our text, and we'll dig in. Father, I thank you for this moment in time.

[3:49] I thank you that you have called us here this morning to hear your word. God, I pray that I will hear your word this morning through you speaking to me. Pray, God, that all of us will receive your word this morning through you speaking to us.

[4:06] God, use me this morning. Let what is spoken not be my opinions, but let it be your word, your truth to us. God, I ask for boldness and for clarity of mind.

[4:21] God, that I can make much of you and little of me this morning. Help us to hear, not only hear, but to obey, to follow through, to live out what we hear this morning.

[4:36] We love you because you first loved us through your son Jesus, and it's in his wonderful name I pray. Amen. I'm going to start reading in chapter 4, verse 1.

[4:49] Our text is chapter 5, but I think when I read it, you guys understand, it kind of gives us a little bit of context for our text this morning. So starting in chapter 4, verse 1.

[5:02] Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word.

[5:17] But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

[5:37] For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

[5:55] But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not driven to despair.

[6:07] Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

[6:19] For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

[6:32] Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke, we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence.

[6:48] For it is all for your sake that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart.

[7:00] Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

[7:16] As we look not to the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transit, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that at the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

[7:34] But in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. If indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened, not that we will be unclothed, but that we will be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

[7:53] He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.

[8:06] For we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him.

[8:20] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.

[8:35] But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.

[8:52] For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died.

[9:07] And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh.

[9:23] We regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

[9:38] That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

[9:51] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

[10:10] I don't know if you picked up on some of the language that Paul was using, but in chapter 4, verse 17, he says, for this light momentary affliction. I just kind of chuckled when I read that for the first time.

[10:25] What in the world is he talking about, this light momentary affliction? He's talking about all the suffering and everything that he's gone through. Not right now, but later on in your studies and you're reading, flip over and look at chapter 11 and see all the stuff that Paul has gone through.

[10:40] He gives you a giant list of his afflictions and he's calling those things light momentary afflictions. So, just incredible by itself.

[10:52] Now, our text this morning is chapter 5, 1 through 10. And it's a big chunk and I understand that, but I wanted to read before and after for you so you can kind of see where it sits.

[11:03] What I want to do with 1 through 4 is kind of give you guys a quick summary. This is basically Romans chapter 8 again talking about our future glory.

[11:15] It relates very well, transfers very well. I want to go through that, give it the respect that it's due and then our points this morning are 5 through 10.

[11:25] So, 1 through 4, really quick. Verse 1, it says, For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

[11:40] Now, what Paul does here, Paul, the author of 2 Corinthians, what he does here is he compares tent and building. He compares mortal and immortal.

[11:50] He compares this life and the life to come. Our life here is like living in a tent or being in a tent. It's temporary. Storms come. It gets beaten down.

[12:00] You've got to put it back up. There's guys in here who love camping. I don't really enjoy camping. There's several reasons why. One of them, I hate laying on the floor or laying on the ground. I'm a tall guy so it's hard to find padding that fits my body.

[12:17] I hate trying to set up the tent and usually you're setting it up at night and you're trying to do it with a headlamp. I just don't enjoy any of that. But, you go camping, you have to set up the tent, you have to take it down and that's kind of the idea that Paul is getting at here.

[12:30] It's temporary. It's going to be taken down. It's going to be removed. And he's communicating here that our tent, our earthly home is going to be destroyed.

[12:42] We're going to leave this place. And what we're going to leave too is that earthly building, an earthly home that God is building for us, that God has built for us. One thing I want you to see is here it says, for we know, the first three words, for we know, and that is a certainty.

[13:00] That is a, you die as a Christian, as a believer, as a follower of Jesus Christ, you die, you're going to be in the building and the home that he is building for you. It's not a question.

[13:12] It is as certain as dying is. It is positive, definite, going to happen. And in Romans chapter 8, we learn about nothing is going to take us away from the love of God.

[13:26] In Romans chapter 8, we learn, we learn that we have this assurance in our salvation that Nathan said last week that even our sin can't take that away. Even our sin can't ruin that because of Christ.

[13:39] And, and that assurance, that certainty is the same certainty here that when we die, we are in the building that God is building. Well, in verse 2, we see another, a term here that is similar and found in Romans chapter 8 also.

[13:56] Verse 2, it says, for in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. This groaning, if you remember in chapter 8 of Romans, the creation groans to be finally perfected.

[14:11] This groaning here is not just a, it's not a sigh, it's not a, it's not a, mmm, that'd be great, you know, that'd be good, but I'm really looking forward to that.

[14:21] No, it's a, it's a deep down longing and desire that can't be curved. It's a, it's a hunger that can't be crushed. Can't be quenched.

[14:33] Do you long? Do you groan for future glory, for our heavenly dwelling, for that building, that time, that perfect body that God is, is getting ready for us?

[14:47] So, the suffering, the death, the pain, the mortality, all of that goes away. All of that disappears.

[14:59] Do you, do you long for that moment? Is that, is that a great desire in your life? In, in, in verse 4, we get the same text, the same language, for while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened, being burdened, just that weight, that longing here, that, that overwhelming power, overwhelming feeling that we want to be somewhere else.

[15:29] Do you have that? You know, it's cliche to say that, that death is the beginning. Death is only just the beginning. You know, it's just kind of, kind of a silly statement. And I, but Paul believed that.

[15:42] Paul, the writer of this text, the writer of this book, believed that. Philippians 1, 21, for to live is Christ and to die is what?

[15:53] Gain. He, he, he saw death as being the, the, the greatest thing because then he's with, with the Savior, he's with God, he's perfected.

[16:04] I wonder how many of us have that perspective. How many of us are groaning, are eagerly awaiting that moment, that moment when, when we no longer suffer with sin and death, mortality, from every, every fiber of our being.

[16:22] Do we, do we long for that? That's, that's the picture here of this future glory to be, as we, we desire, we long for it. In, in verse 3, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked, and the end of verse 4, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

[16:44] He makes another comparison saying the same thing. Clothed and unclothed. Here, we're unclothed. But in eternity, future glory, we're clothed.

[16:58] He compares the two for us. He wants to make a, he wants to make a point that we understand that, that when we die here, immediately, we're in heaven.

[17:11] Immediately, we're perfected. Immediately, there's not this waiting, there's not this, time of, of purgatory, or whatever these other, literary, creations, have come up with.

[17:27] We, we die, we are in eternity. We are future glory. There's no moment of unclothed time. And that's important because, because it, it kind of, kind of fuels us.

[17:42] It fuels living even now. We know that, that when we die, we are with Him. And that's, that should be encouraging to us.

[17:54] So, that kind of sets us up, that kind of gives us one through four. That's the future glory related to Romans chapter 8, kind of bringing us and keep carrying that through.

[18:06] Now, five points this morning, and we're going to see them in five through ten. Five points of how does our future glory affect our ministry now.

[18:18] Now, the first point is found in verse five. Verse five reads, He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

[18:30] Now, this may not sound like something that affects us, but the truth is that God is right now preparing us for our future glory. God is preparing us and making us ready for that, that time.

[18:43] God, who, who put the stars by His word where they are and told them to stay, who raised the mountains to a certain point and told them to stay right there.

[18:54] The God who gave us, who planned eternity past, that on, what was yesterday, May 5th, we would have a super moon. This God, through His word, decided that was going to happen.

[19:09] The God whose word is redeeming a people of every tribe and tongue. This God is preparing us for future glory. Now, I had the privilege, I'll say privilege, to go to the outlet mall yesterday.

[19:25] I had to make a return and had to make a purchase. And as I'm driving down 400, headed that way, I am formulating a plan of where I'm going to go, how I'm going to get there, and what's going to be my most efficient way of getting in and out.

[19:40] So if I go to this store, return this, and I go down there, come there, so where do I need to park within that area so that I can just get out of there as fast as possible because Saturday at the outlet mall, this is crazy.

[19:55] Well, my plan didn't work. I failed. But I tried to come up with a plan. God is coming up with a plan. God is working His plan out for you and for me and permitting and allowing things to happen that is perfecting us and getting us and preparing us for future glory.

[20:16] He's preparing us for that moment in time. In chapter 4, verse 17, I kind of touched on it.

[20:27] It says, for this light, momentary affliction, so everything that Paul has suffered through, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

[20:42] Beyond all comparison. So if God is preparing us for future glory and it is beyond comparison, that should lighten our step and make our voices bold and live a certain way.

[20:58] God is preparing us. This light, momentary affliction, the suffering, the sickness that we deal with, the sin that we struggle with, death, the fight and the stride that we have for holiness.

[21:17] Those moments where we just say we can't make it. I can't live sinless. I can't fight this sin any longer. The desires to be somewhere else.

[21:30] Those Southwest Airlines commercials want to get away. Desire to be somewhere else because we just can't make it anymore. All of that goes away.

[21:41] All of that disappears when we reach our future glory. All of that will be no more.

[21:52] And what's going to be left is pure worship and euphoria and thanksgiving to the suffering that we go through now.

[22:04] The struggle and the fight and the harsh, the hard struggles that we have, all of that is going to make our Savior that much better.

[22:14] Our Savior that much sweeter to our eyes. That much greater because He's going to get us through those times and He's going to take all of that away. God is preparing us even now.

[22:31] Even now for future glory. And that should, and I think does, affect our ministry here. Knowing that what we're going through, God is using to prepare us for something greater.

[22:45] So if we know that God is preparing us, then in verse 6, first part of verse 6, we have courage then. Look at verse 6. So we are always of good courage.

[22:59] So we are always of good courage. We know from the story of Paul that Paul abandoned his life. Like he just said, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

[23:13] So I'm just going to go full bore and I'm going to preach the Gospel no matter what. If it puts me in jail, great. If it kills me, great. If it makes me shipwrecked on a boat, great.

[23:25] I'm going to put everything aside for the Gospel. That was what Paul did for the mission that God had called him. I remember in 2006 at the Summer X Games, I remember watching Travis Pastrana, I don't know if you guys know, motocross guy.

[23:45] And they had built up this hype that he was going to attempt to do a double back flip on the big air motocross trick or whatever. I don't even know what it's called anymore. I'm too old. They built it up and so you had to watch.

[24:00] It was just this moment and he's up at the top of the ramp to get speed and there's a moment where he's sitting up there before he goes down that he needs to decide whether or not he's going to do this or not.

[24:12] Now, it's never been done before. He's done it in pools filled with padding. I mean, that's about all he's done it in. So now he's trying to do it on a motorcycle, double back flip, big, big deal.

[24:27] And there's this moment where he's got to decide, am I going to abandon my life and attempt this or am I just going to stay safe and just kind of ride down real slow and just do some silly trick that everybody does.

[24:42] And he, you know, went forward and did it. Of course, they made it way more dramatic and his mom's crying and, you know, really scared for him and, you know, he gets off and everybody's jumping up and down and he ends up doing it.

[24:57] Well, we may not do double back flips. I'm pretty sure none of us in here will do double back flips on a motocross bike. But we will abandon and we can abandon our lives.

[25:09] We can say the gospel is more important. We can say that building the kingdom and extending the kingdom is far more important than our comfort or than this life here.

[25:21] We can certainly, certainly say that. And in fact, you and I abandon everything good when we choose to sin. And that's the reality.

[25:32] So, it's not really that hard of a thought. So, we can abandon our lives. We can live courageously, live boldly because we know, Romans chapter 8, that God will not abandon us no matter what.

[25:52] If we are His child, we are His child forever. God is preparing us for glorious destiny. And we can be courageous, courageous.

[26:02] We can be bold in how we act and how we live. We can also be bold through the suffering and through the hardships and through the troubled times. Here are some examples of being courageous and being bold.

[26:20] Move to a place that doesn't make sense. Maybe it's dangerous. Maybe it's dangerous. Maybe it's just culturally not even your culture at all.

[26:31] But maybe God is calling you there. Maybe to be courageous and live boldly, you run a business just so that you can give your profit to building a kingdom.

[26:48] Maybe you, you know, some of the hardest moments of being a Christian and trying to share the Gospel that I find are those moments where you're having a conversation with somebody and you're trying to turn it towards the Gospel.

[27:03] You guys know those moments, right? You're trying to just, I wish you'd just say something about Jesus. Then I could just turn it. Those are like the hardest moments to try to turn those conversations.

[27:17] They're hard because you've got to be bold. You've got to just say, look, let me tell you about Jesus. Let me tell you about what Christ has done in my life. So, can you be bold in speaking and turning those conversations, turning those conversations to the Gospel?

[27:39] How about, a lot of you guys are college students and you don't have kids right now and this relates to me and a few others in here, but what if, what if you had kids and God called you to an inner city where crime is rampant, where it's uncomfortable and culture is totally different and totally unrelatable to you, but God is calling you there?

[28:04] Would you do it? Would you be bold? Would you be courageous to do just that? So we know God is preparing us. We have courage.

[28:15] We're bold. But also, in verse 7, we find that our faith is secure or sure. Our faith is secure or sure.

[28:29] Verse 7, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Now, what this verse is, there's far more to it than just these seven or eight words.

[28:41] words. What it's saying is that our footing or the root of our faith is sure. It's going to happen. It's almost like a synonym for hope here.

[28:54] We know that it's going to occur. Related to verse 18 in chapter 4 where it says, as we look, not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

[29:06] For the things that are seen are transit, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Things that are unseen are eternal. They're going to happen. They're in play. They're sure to occur.

[29:22] We have a certainty that it's going to happen. It reminds me of Romans chapter 4 where it talks about Abraham. In verse 21 it says, Abraham was fully convinced that God was going to do what He promised.

[29:37] Now, our faith the root of our faith is sure. It's going to happen. But here, people like to illustrate faith by saying that if I sit down in a chair, I have faith in that chair that's not going to break under me.

[29:56] That is going to hold me. I agree that that's a description of faith, but I think it loses something because that chair could break. That chair could be faulty. That chair could mess up somehow, some way.

[30:09] This type of faith, this surety here, is that chair will never, ever, ever break. The illustration kind of falls short a little bit there.

[30:21] Abraham was fully convinced that God would do what He promised. Can you be fully convinced that what God has called you to, He's going to enable you to do it?

[30:34] He's going to empower you to do it? He's going to walk you through it. Here's a trouble that we have. Faith is internal.

[30:45] It's something that's hard to measure. It's hard. I can't tell you how faithful I am. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm an 8 right now. It just doesn't work.

[30:55] I can't look at Josh or look at anybody else in here and say, faithful. I see your faith level. It's high. Well done. It doesn't work.

[31:08] What I can measure and what we can measure is the actions. It's the play out of that faith. So how do we react to the suffering?

[31:23] How do we react when things don't go our way? How do we deal with certain people?

[31:34] How do we deal with our struggles? Do we hide them? Or are we faithful to confess them? Are we faithful to communicate them and to say, I need your help?

[31:46] Those are how we measure our faith. And what we put our faith in is sure. It's never going to fail. What we put our faith in is certain.

[31:58] And knowing that we can and will be courageous. Knowing that God is going to do fully convinced that he's going to do what he promised.

[32:13] Look what Abraham did. Fully convinced. What can you and I do fully convinced that God will never leave us nor forsake us?

[32:24] That nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans chapter 8. Our faith, what our faith is in, is sure. But not only that, not only that, but out of our faith that is sure and living courageously and knowing that God is preparing us for future glory, we please him.

[32:52] We strive to please him. Verse 8 and 9. It says, yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

[33:05] So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. Here or there, here on earth, mortal or immortal, perfect or imperfect.

[33:22] Baseball season is going. The Atlanta Braves, they play 162 games a year, 81 games at home, 81 games away. And I'm pretty sure the manager of the Braves doesn't say, guys, we're just going to throw in the towel on the away games.

[33:40] Don't worry about it. We'll just, we'll work really hard for our home games. We'll work really hard when we're home. When we're away, we'll just forget about it. No big deal. Pretty sure that doesn't happen.

[33:53] For us, here, living here, living away from the Lord, away from his presence, and this body, imperfect and sinful a lot of the time, we strive to please him.

[34:10] We strive. It is a fight to please him. him. And him alone. Not our parents, not others, not our teachers, not our significant others, our wives, our husbands, our boyfriends, our girlfriends, or our pastors.

[34:31] We seek and aim to please him and him alone. Every decision, every action, every word that comes from our mouth, does it please him?

[34:43] Does it, is it acceptable to him? Remember those WWJD bracelets? What would Jesus do? You guys remember those? Shake your head, you do. You guys all had them, didn't you?

[34:54] Everybody did. I had one. WWJD, what would Jesus do? The better question is, does this please God?

[35:06] Would this be acceptable acceptable to God? Without Jesus, without the Spirit as our guarantee, without being a Christian, it's pointless to even ask that question.

[35:20] It's pointless to ask, would this be acceptable to God? Because it's impossible to please God without Jesus. It's impossible to please him because of the sin.

[35:37] The gospel reminds us of our sin. It reminds us of who we are, of our need of a Savior, that we can't do anything, can do nothing about our sin, that we need God.

[35:54] The gospel also enables us to please God. Through the gospel, through Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection, through what he has done on the cross, we can be acceptable to God.

[36:08] Because, as I read in 2 Corinthians 5.21, for our sake, he made him, being Jesus, to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

[36:26] It is impossible to please God without Jesus. it is only by the power of God in your life that you can please him for your glory, for his glory, and your good.

[36:43] So the question is, Paul says that we please him, we aim to please him, but he doesn't tell us how. He doesn't give us three steps, five steps, to pleasing him, so here I thought I'd help you out just a little bit.

[36:58] We've got to look at some other verses in this letter, but I think we'll all agree that these are here.

[37:09] So how do we please God? Well, first of all, we speak boldly the gospel. We speak boldly the gospel. In chapter five, later on, in verse 20, it says, therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.

[37:26] We are his representatives. God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

[37:37] Paul communicating to the church at Corinth. Chapter three, verse 12, it says, since we have such a hope, such a surety that what is going to be promised will happen, we are very bold.

[37:56] Speak boldly the gospel. Secondly, how do we please God? Living courageous lives, this life in suffering and pain.

[38:10] This is found in our text, verse 6. So we are always of good courage, always of good courage, living courageously through this life. Third thing to please God is living by faith.

[38:26] Found in our text, verse 7, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We walk knowing that God is faithful. God is what He promised is sure to occur.

[38:40] Fourth, bringing glory to God, not to ourselves, glory to God. Found in chapter 4, verse 15, for it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

[39:02] And then fifthly, living out the message of Christ reconciling death. End of chapter 5. In Christ, verse 19, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

[39:23] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

[39:39] Living the message of Christ reconciling death out for people to see. So finally, the last point, this doesn't sound like a point, but I promise it is.

[39:53] We are going to be judged for what we do here on earth. We are going to be judged for what we do here on earth. Chapter 5, verse 10.

[40:05] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

[40:17] there is no chance of avoiding this. There is no chance of melting into the crowd, of just kind of disappearing and not being held accountable.

[40:33] There is no chance that you or I can fool God. There is no ability for us to be able to say, God, I am not that person.

[40:43] we will be judged and held responsible for how we live as Christians. This judgment is not to determine whether we're saved or not, whether we are a Christian or not.

[41:00] It's nothing like that. It's to show us that what we do here has eternal implications.

[41:13] To remind us that we have been saved not for aimlessness or indifference, but to live for the Lord.

[41:25] We read in verse 15, chapter 5. To remind all believers that we are righteous by faith alone, in Christ alone, and the faith that justifies is to be expressed by love and obedience.

[41:44] Meaning, that we're saved by faith alone and Christ alone. We all shake our head to that. But it's to be played out in our love and obedience to others.

[41:57] Our love and obedience to those who need Jesus. Our love and obedience to God. God, how we live here has eternal implications.

[42:12] Listen to one of the commentators wrote, and this is how he explained it, and I couldn't put it in any better terms. He says, you can be certain of this. When the day of judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done.

[42:30] Not how well we have spoken, but how well we have lived. We will not be judged, or not be asked what we have read, but what we have done.

[42:43] Not how well we have spoken, but how well we have lived. Whoa. That gets me. We don't do good deeds, we don't love our neighbor, we don't love and obey God, we don't leave this place and live a different life for the kingdom because we're trying to earn God's favor.

[43:07] We live that way because He's already shown us that favor. He's already shown us that love and that grace. when you diet, I have no experience in dieting, I'm this big for a reason, when you diet, you don't think about the food that you can't eat.

[43:34] You don't think about the cakes and the snacks and the cookies and the sodas and all of that that you can't eat. You also don't think about the horrible, how horrible the food is that you are eating.

[43:50] The no flavor, the vegetables, whatever. You do either of those, you're going to fail at dieting. It's going to last a week, maybe, depending on how strong you are.

[44:06] You're not going to last. When you do diet, though, you think about what's going to happen. You think about how you're going to look. You think about the clothes that you're going to be able to wear.

[44:19] You think about how long you're going to be able to run or what sport you're going to be able to play or how good you're going to look in a bathing suit. Likewise, our future glory should have that same impact on us.

[44:36] What's going to happen, what's going to occur should fuel how we live here, how we love people, how bold we are, how courageous we are. God is preparing us for future glory.

[44:51] He is working and permitting things to happen in our lives so that we can cherish even more that moment. Our faith and what we put our faith in is secure.

[45:06] It does not move. It does not change. It's going to happen. we strive to please him. We live courageous lives.

[45:19] We're going to be held accountable for how we live. Our future glory affects our ministry now. It affects how we live now, how we love now, others and God.

[45:36] Let's pray together. Let's pray Let's pray together. Let's pray