ALL LEADERS MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT FOR THEIR USE OF AUTHORITY

Proclamation:

“God presides in the great assembly; He renders judgment among the ‘gods’… The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.  They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”  Psalm 82:1 and 5 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Asaph, the director of music during the time of King David, who was also a seer who was said to prophesy. (2 Chronicles 29:30)  This psalm is thought to be written by the psalmist, under a prophetic spirit, who foresaw the great corruption of the judges, rulers, kings, princes, and civil magistrates who abused their power.  They are called ‘gods’ because they see themselves as such.  Their perversion of justice causes the cities, states, countries, and kingdoms to be thrown into disorder and confusion.  The Lord God will preside over “the great assembly”, a gathering of all of the leaders and rulers who will have to give an account for the way they used or abused their authority. (Psalm 82:1)  They will pay for their corruption, they will fall from power and die like the mere mortals that they are. (Psalm 82:6)

Application:

All too often we find ourselves under the leadership of individuals who do not understand that they were put in positions of authority by The Lord God, and they will have to give an account to Him.  The wicked and corrupt leaders, civil and religious, will be cut down like grass and wither away. (Psalm 37:2)  Believers need not worry about them.  They will be judged, and punished for their abuse and misuse of their authority.  There is a righteous God to whom we have recourse, and on whom we may depend, when we have been mistreated by unjust leaders.  When we pray for relief from corrupt and abusive leaders, our prayers are heard and will be answered.  By the wrath of God He will avenge us and repay those who abuse us or cause us harm or suffering. (Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30)

WHO CAN WITHSTAND THE WRATH OF GOD

Proclamation:

“It is You alone who are to be feared.  Who can stand before You when You are angry?  From heaven You pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet; when You, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.”  Psalm 76:7-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of the psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Asaph, a Levite who was an outstanding musician in the days of King David, who was also appointed minister of music or choir leader.  This psalm depicts the awesome power and the wrath of God, and why He is to be feared.  He rose up, judged, and destroyed the Assyrian army to protect Jerusalem for King David’s sake from Sennacherib, King of Assyria. (Psalm 76:5)  The Angel of The Lord destroyed the entire Assyrian army in one night while they slept. (2 Kings 19:34-36 and Isaiah 37:35-37)

Application:

The fear of the wrath of God should be enough to cause all men to praise The Lord. (Psalm 76:10)  However, there will come a day when all mankind will recognize and respect Him for who He is, and everyone will bow down to Him. (Isaiah 45:23 and Romans 14:11)  Some of us will see Him as Lord and Savior and will blessed to be with Him in glory, while others will see Him as judge and will be condemned to spend eternity in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12-15)

BRING TO AN END THE VIOLENCE OF THE WICKED

Proclamation:

“Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure; You, the righteous God who probes the minds and hearts.”  Psalm 7:9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  In this psalm David sang to The Lord asking Him to save him from his enemies and to destroy them.  He tells The Lord that if he has done any wrong to his enemies then let them persecute him. (Psalm 7:4-5)  If not, then he wants The Lord to let the wickedness and mischief of his enemies return unto them. (Psalm 7:12-16)  David knows that he is a sinner, but his sins were against God and not his enemies. (Psalm 51:3-4)  He begins this psalm stating that he will put his trust in The Lord, (Psalm 7:1) and he ends it by saying that he will praise The Lord. (Psalm 7:17)

Application:

There is apparently a lot of needless violence and wickedness in the world today.  People are destroying one another for no good reason.  People are killing innocent people who have done them no harm.  Here David prays to The Lord to bring an end to the violence of the wicked people to make this world a more secure place for the righteous people.  However, God did not promise us a peaceful world.  In fact The Bible teaches us that every man born of a woman will live but a few days and those days would be full of trouble. (Job 14:1)  Jesus said that His followers would be hated because the world hated Him. (John 15:19)  It would be nice if the world were free from violence, but that is not likely to happen.  It would be better for us to pray for God’s protection during the storms of life than to pray that there were no storms.  But, there will come a day when the wicked shall cease from troubling God’s people and the weary believers shall be at rest. (Job 3:17)  The Lord will deal with the wicked individuals. (Romans 12:19)  The wicked people and the evil doers will soon be no more. (Psalm 37:1-2)  One day, there will be a new heaven and a new earth where only the righteous will dwell. (2 Peter 3:13)  So, for the time being, let us keep our trust in The Lord and continue to praise His holy and righteous name.

ONLY WHAT WE DO FOR CHRIST WILL COUNT

Proclamation:

“Every man's work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.  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 loss; but he himself shall be saved …” 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 (NKJ)

Explanation:

Under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God the Apostle Paul wrote these words to the believers in Corinth.  Paul told them that all that he had taught them was based upon the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That was the foundation upon which they should base their philosophy and behavior. (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)  All of their life’s activities would be like gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble.  He said that on judgement day, every man’s work would be tested by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11-12)  The believer would be saved but all of his work which was wood, stubble, and hay would be consumed by the fire, only the work which was gold, silver, and precious stones will pass through the fire. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

Application:

Wherever we go and whatever situation we find ourselves in, we should spread The Word of God.  If there is anyone there to talk to, we should speak about the gospel and spread the good news about salvation in Jesus, The Christ.  This is not something that we only to share with those in our local church on Sunday mornings.  The Apostle Paul was under house arrest in Rome but he preached the gospel to all who came to visit him. (Acts 28:16-31)  Some of them who heard him "... believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not ..." (Acts 28:24)  Every one that we tell about the good news will not believe it.  And some people just will not understand it, no matter how we explain it. (Acts 28:26-27)  But our assignment is to tell them, not to make them believe it.  Of all of the people that we talked to this past week, to how many of them did we mention Jesus Christ and salvation in Him?  Think about all of the words that we spoke, how many of them gave God glory?  "For I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgement.  For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)  We can't say that our good deeds out number our bad deeds so we are okay.  We don't really know what our good deeds are, and some things that we think of as neutral are actually bad (sinful) like our idle words.  "All unrighteousness is sin ..." (1 John 5:17)  If what we say or do does not give God glory, then it is a sin.  Only our works which are “gold, silver, and precious stones”, things that give God glory, will pass the test of fire on judgement day.  For those things we will receive a reward.  Remember, as the song says, "... only what you do for Christ will last ... only what you what you do for Him will be counted at the end ..."

DON'T JUDGE OTHERS FORGIVE THEM

Proclamation:

“Do not judge or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7:1 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke to His disciples and to the surrounding crowd during His Sermon on the Mount as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  Only Jesus has the authority to judge anyone and He will judge everyone. (John 5:22 and 1 Peter 4:5)  Those who judge others will be judged in the same way that they judged others. (Matthew 7:2)

Application:

Human beings are sinful by nature.  We will frequently do, say, or think the wrong things. However, all too often we are quick to condemn others for their wrongdoings.  None of us is perfect. (Romans 3:10)  All of us have sinned. (Romans 3:23)  To those who wish to condemn others, Jesus said, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone ..." (John 8:7)  It would be better for us if we would forgive those who have sinned against us and pray for those who have done wrong.  For if we forgive others who have sinned against us God will forgive us of our sins.  If we do not forgive others then we ourselves will not be forgiven. (Matthew 6:14-15)  So, let us not be quick to condemn and judge, let us be quick to forgive.

OUR DEEDS WILL FOLLOW US EVEN AFTER DEATH

Proclamation:

“Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in The Lord from now on.’  Yes, says The Spirit, ‘They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.’” Revelation 14:13 (NIV)

Explanation:

The apostle John, who referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, recounted an out of body experience that he had in which things beyond earth were revealed to him.  He was told by angels and by The Holy Spirit of God to write what he saw and heard.  He was told that those who die believing in Jesus, The Christ, will be blessed.  They will be given rest from their earthly labor, and they will be rewarded for their works which were obedient to God’s Word.

Application:

The good and the bad that we do will live on after we die.  There is a record being kept in heaven of all that we think, say and do in this life. (1 John 5:7)  Both the saved saints and unsaved sinners will be judged after death but they will be judged differently.  The unsaved sinner’s life will be recounted to show that they had the opportunity to accept Christ but refused.  Then they will be condemned to spend eternity in hell and damnation. (Revelation 20:15)  The saved saint’s life will be recounted to give an account of their stewardship. (Romans 14:12)   Jesus, The Christ, will judge (John 5:22) each of our thoughts (Romans 2:16 and Hebrews 4:12) words (Matthew 12:36) and actions. (Revelations 20:12-13)  We will be given a reward for all that gives God glory and that passes through the test of fire. (1 Corinthians 3:13-14)  The rewards which we will receive in heaven will be based upon what we did in life to give God glory.  All who believe and love Him will receive a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) but everyone in heaven will not have the same rewards. (Matthew 10:41-42)  Some will have great rewards in heaven. (Matthew 5:11-12)  There will be many mansions in heaven but they may not all be equal. (John 14:2)  Let us do more for the glory of God, for in the end that is all that will matter.

Judgment Begins With The Family Of God

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"  1 Peter 4:17 (NIV)

After presenting a description of how believers should live in his discourse on living for God, (1 Peter 4:7-11), the Apostle Peter told them that it was time them to suffer for being a Christian.  He said that the world would judge them now, but The Lord God would judge them and the world soon. (1 Peter 4:7)  He said judgment would begin with the people of God.  

The unsaved worldly people cannot understand why we believers have stopped doing some of the sinful things that they used to do. (1 Peter 4:2-3)  Because they do not understand, they think that we are strange and they speak evil of us. (1 Peter 4:4)  They are judging us now, but they will have to give an account for their behavior and their unbelief to The Lord Jesus at The Great White Throne Judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15, Romans 3:19, and 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10)  We will also be judged, in fact, we will be judged first.  On Judgment Day we will meet up with the dead in Christ, all of those believers who died beforehand, and join with then and Him in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)  Those who do not have their name written in The Lamb's book of life, (Revelation 21:27), shall not be in that number for they are not worthy and will be left behind.  The Church should purify itself and clean up its act before The Lord comes to judge it and to judge the world.