Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Look Up Pt.2

Hallelujah! Amen! It's a great day that's coming for us! I trust that you were looking up this afternoon and just allowing your hearts to be prepared for the coming of the Lord. It's really one of the main topics in all of the Scriptures. If you study the New Testament, it has a reference to the Second Coming of the Lord over 300 times. Every time you go through the New Testament, you can't miss the fact that the Lord is coming back, praise God! He said, "I've gone to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place, I shall doubtless come again to receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Jesus is coming back for us. He's coming back for a bride that's without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. He's coming for a chaste virgin, one that's purified herself and made herself ready, as the Scripture says. Have you been primping, getting ready for your Bridegroom? How many of you have been taking that time to make sure everything is exactly right? You brides know what I'm talking about. The grooms just kind of sloughed their way into the service, but the brides take pleasure in preparing themselves for their bridegroom. That's who we are--the bride of Christ. It's the big day, and every hair has to be in place. Have you ever noticed how just on those important days, you happen to have a bad hair day? Just when you need it the most--wild hair! That's the hour that we're living in, and we need to prepare ourselves. One out of every 25 verses speaks of the coming of the Lord. Are you making yourself ready? The Scripture is very clear on the imminence of the Lord's return, the fact that He is coming as a thief. No man knows the day or the hour, but today is the day of our salvation, the Scripture says.

So, we just want to encourage ourselves and continue to stir this up in each other's lives, looking for the blessed hope (Titus says in the second chapter), the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The blessed hope--that's the one thing that's the expectation of our hearts. That's what motivates us. I don't know about you, but in all of the different trials, in all of the different things that you face in this journey, we have the knowledge that He's coming, praise God! We have that blessed hope of His glorious appearing. It's going to be worth it. None of the trials, none of the adversity, can compare to that great and glorious appearing and the excitement of that day!

Some of you are missing your loved ones. Some of your children, some of your spouses, are in Africa, and they're gone for a couple of days. You think back to the great wars that we had, and the men were away for years at a time. Back in the days of the Civil War, loved ones were gone, and you had no idea where they were or what their fate was. There was a longing and an excitement for their return. Following the war, there was the knowledge of that ship coming in, and the loved ones rushing to the dock, and just standing there waiting. All of a sudden, there it is--a speck on the horizon! Then it gets a little bit larger, and a little big larger. Finally, the ship docks, and your eyes are running to and fro, up and down the ship, and you're looking, and all of a sudden, your eyes catch them, and there they are! What excitement, what anticipation, what preparation! I wonder if anybody just slept in late that day and missed the ship? I'm sure there were some; there are people who are that much into themselves. Do you anticipate the coming of the Lord that way, like that loved one who's returning? Is the preparation for that soon coming, the glorious appearing of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, a reality in your life?

What we need to come to this evening is an understanding of what this return is all about. We've said that the Scripture's clear that He's gone to prepare a place for us, that where He is, there we may be also. "In My Father's house, there are many dwelling places," Jesus said. There's that place that is especially set apart now for you to fellowship with Him. It would be interesting to know how this thing is laid out, wouldn't it? I don't have a clue; but we know that everything that's done is done justly, and it's done without respect of persons. I don't know the order. I don't know who gets to live next door to Jesus. (I've got some new neighbors moving in next door, and all I know is that they've got kids and dogs, and the fate of it all is yet to be determined.) The Lord has prepared that place, and the Scripture makes very clear that it's going to be prepared in light of our faithfulness here. The crowns that we receive are going to be cast at His feet, and we're going to cry, "Holy, holy, holy." But He also said that you're going to be with Him, that where He is, there you may be also. How we're going to relate to Him is going to be based upon the preparation of our lives for His return. It's going to be based upon what we've done in this life--not just in representing Him, not just in serving Him, but also in the quality of our representation of Him. I think that's very important. We need to understand that's a lot of what this day is really all about, this coming of the Lord.

Look over at Matthew, and let's take a few moments to look at this principle this evening. The coming of the Lord--what's it all about? It's the union with the bride; it's that great wedding day. It's the fulfillment of the blessed hope of the church, that expectation. It's His embracing of us and our going with Him, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. He's gone and prepared that place for us, but what causes this to be put into effect? Matthew 16:27, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." This is about a day of recognition. It's about a day of presentation. The Scripture says here that it's based upon our works, our preparation. The preparation that we're talking about here is the degree to which we've become daily dependent upon His presence, His indwelling, and His strength. The preparation is becoming weaker in ourselves, that we might be made strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, that we might decrease, and that He might increase. Every one of us is going to be rewarded according to that work--the work of diminishing of self and the edifying of Christ in us. That's what it means to love His appearing. That's what it means for the bride to make herself ready. It's not catching a free ride out of here; it's not just being taken up by the mercy of God.

As I was just worshipping and praying here, I heard these words coming out of my mouth. "Lord, I need mercy, but I want grace to be like You." I need mercy; there's nothing in me that's acceptable. Everything in me falls short of God's glory. There's not anything that I've ever done, there's not sufficient production in my life, there's not sufficient worth, there's not a righteousness. Everything that is "good" in me is as filthy rags. Only that which initiates itself in Him is truly good. I need the mercy of God. I can't stand under justice; I need mercy. But I don't want to be found as someone who's squandering that mercy, and living for myself, and falling short constantly, and then just saying, "Lord, be merciful." I want grace. I want the enabling of God that can make me like Him, that He might be glorified. I don't want to just be snatched out. I want to represent Him properly. I want to do something for God that lasts.

So, when He comes, and this return of the Lord is upon us, it says that He's going to reward every man according to his works--not the works of the flesh, but the working of His grace in us, the ability to present ourselves to Him and say, "Not my will, Father, but Your will be done."

We're looking toward this trip next week to Africa. It's an exciting time for the kids that are already there, but I've been there and done that. I don't want to go. I hate traveling. I have no natural desire to go or any natural expectation. I've already done this. I know what it means to walk into an auditorium and teach thousands of people who don't want to do anything but destroy you when you're through sharing the truth of God's Word. All they want to do is fight, debate, and argue. I know what it means to sit down with man after man who comes up to flatter you, and try to use you for their own personal gain, and try to get money out of you, and get literature handed to them for free so that they can go and sell it. They tell you stories about what they want to do with these Bibles, but what they want to do is put them on the black market. You look at all of the natural tendencies of man, and we're vile! Some of them have turned it into an art. Then the presence of God that lives in you begins to well up, and that still small voice reminds you that, "They hate you because they hated Me." You catch a vision and a glimpse of the remnant, the small remnant that has an ear to hear. You hear the thunder of the truth of the principle, "Freely you have received; freely give." Then you take delight in going the exact opposite way that you want to go. And it's done with an expectation of His glory, because it's birthed in Him and not in yourself. The fruit that comes is the fruit of God's presence, and His anointing, and His will and not yours. And every man shall be rewarded according to his work. What work? The work of choosing against your own will, the work of dying to your own worth. To walk in the Spirit is not something that you want to do in the natural. Your flesh doesn't say, "Oh boy! Praise God! Today we get to carry the cross and die!" There's nothing exciting about that. What's exciting is the obedience and the grace that enables you to choose against what the masses would normally do. It is the grace of God, and it is the gift of God, because it has nothing to do with ourselves. He's coming to reward us in proportion to our ability to allow that grace to work in us.

Go over to the 25th chapter of Matthew. We were looking at this passage this morning. The Scripture says, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory [His exaltation, the showing forth of who He is]: And before him shall be gathered all nations [peoples, not governments]: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd dividing his sheep from the goats" (verses 31-32). This separation has to do, not with anything natural, but with spiritual. It's not nations; it's not geography. It's not based on sociology or economics. It's just sheep and goats--the passive sheep and the self-willed goat that just wants to butt against everything. "I know that's what the Word says, but..." Billy-goat obedience. "Yeah, I know God wants me to, but... I know that's what the Word says, but... I know that's what I should do, but..." You're a goat, a ram, trying to ram your own will through. Or you can just be a dumb old sheep, and just follow the Shepherd. Somebody said, "Sheep are so dumb that they'd just follow one another right off a cliff!" Well, that's cool if that's where the Shepherd went, because He's standing at the bottom to catch you! He's gone before you. We must have the passive dependence of the sheep, depending on the great Shepherd Who causes us to lie down in the green pastures and drink from the cool, still waters, the One that restores our souls, the One that protects us, for His rod and His staff, they comfort us.

The day of reckoning, this day of reward, is going to be based upon your ability to follow Him in that passivity, to be used up for His glory, to stand dumb before the shearers, and just let everything that is of worth to you be taken from you, removed, and used for His own purposes. Sheep aren't good for a whole bunch of stuff except to be sheared. Even that which is taken from them has to be refined. Sheep are nasty! Have you ever been around sheep? They're nasty, dirty, smelly, itchy things. I've shared with you the limitation of my natural shepherding with Alvis' sheep that time when he had gotten sick. I had to take them down to auction them off, those old nasty things. What an experience! We got to milk his cows and tend his sheep. I told you the story about my uncle with his cow. I thought that was hilarious! To me, it just speaks volumes of how to motivate people. My uncle was left to tend to the cow, and when Alvis got back home, he asked Jack, "Did you have any trouble getting the cows into the barn?" He said, "No." Alvis said, "Really? Usually it's a real task." He said, "No, I didn't have any trouble at all." Alvis said, "Good! I'm glad it all worked out for you." Uncle Jack said, "Yeah; when I drove in every night at about five o'clock, they made a beeline for the barn." He said, "What about the seven o'clock milking?" He said, "Oh, you're supposed to milk them in the morning?" They were ready to be relieved by five o'clock, man! There was no hesitation. When life's too easy and you're tended to, you're not motivated. Put a little pressure on, and you'll get there!

We realize that as Jesus is coming, He's gathering the nations, and there's going to be a separating of the sheep from the goats. The Scripture talks about goats. You can get a little bit of use out of them. You can use their milk for peripheral expenses if you want to quote the wise man in Scriptures. Tend to the sheep; milk the goats. There is a distinction, and we have to be aware of that. The question is: what are we doing for the kingdom? Are we providing just that which is superficial, or are we laying ourselves at the Master's feet to be used up for His glory? Each of us has to make the decision as to how much effort we want to put out, how much we want to yield ourselves to the glory of God. It's like the story of the barnyard animals that got together, and they wanted to do something for their lord. They were discussing what could be done. Finally, the chicken came up with a great idea. He said, "I have a great idea!" They said, "What's that?" He said, "Let's just give him the best ham and egg breakfast that he's ever had." The pig speaks up and says, "Wait a minute! Let's reconsider this. For you, that's involvement; for me, it's commitment!" Are you a chicken or a pig? How much are you willing to offer up to serve the Master? For the pig, it was sacrifice, it was everything. You have to give your life. It's pretty easy just to pass on a couple of eggs and go around thinking that you've really done something for the kingdom. Fruit that remains--that's what this day is all about. It's the revealing of each of our hearts. Think about it. That day's coming when we're going to stand before Him and be rewarded, the Scripture says, according to our works.

2 Corinthians says it this way over in the 5th chapter, verse 10. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." That day is coming when we're going to stand. It's an exciting time! We're going to stand before Him, and the rewards of our lives are going to be meted out. They're going to be handed out. Those things that were done for His glory are going to be seen--the recognition of the glory of the Lord. The Lord is speaking to us in Revelation 22:12, and He says, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Are you excited about that? Are you looking forward to that day of the Lord, when these rewards are going to be handed out, when every man's works are going to be recognized, and you're going to get exactly proportionately to what you've produced for the kingdom of God and to the glory of God? How much effort is being put into glorifying God? It's not about your reward; it's about the glory of God. The reward is going to be in direct correlation to how much your life is glorifying the Lord, how much He's worked in you. It's not how much you've worked for Him, but how much He's worked in you. For it's He Who works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. There are a lot of people working for God, but there are not a lot of people doing the work of God.

The natural tendency of man is to do something to prove himself faithful, to prove himself worthy, to prove himself better than others around him. Christianity (holiness) becomes a competition in the carnal man--comparing ourselves by ourselves, grading ourselves by the fact that we might spend more time in prayer than anybody else, we've read more verses this week than anybody else. "I've abstained from more natural things than anybody else!" What's motivating you? Is it the glory of the Lord? Or is it your own self-worth, your own spiritual image? Maybe you're not doing it for others to see. Maybe you're just doing it for your own fulfillment, just to feel good about yourself. Or is it God working in you? That's what this day is going to sort out--sheep and goats, motives. He's coming. The day of the Lord is at hand. He comes quickly, and His reward is with Him, the Scripture says. Are our hearts ready? Is it something that we've been consumed with--the awareness of that day that will reveal what our life was really spent on? Each of us has been given certain tools, certain gifts (the parable says "talents"). What are we doing with those things that God has entrusted into our hands? How wisely are these things being invested for the glory of the Lord? The foolish man took that and hid it, and he said, "I knew that You were an austere man, so here's that which You've given me." He said, "You've missed the whole point. Freely you've received; freely give. I didn't give you that talent, or save you, for yourself. I saved you for My glory, for My purposes."

So, it's very important that we understand what this day is about. It's not just a day of bringing reward and benefit to those of us who have been obedient, have submitted ourselves, and have been purified. It's also the hour of wrath that's going to come. It's the justice of God that's going to be meted out. Every one of us needs mercy. We've talked about this so many times. Isn't it interesting how we look for mercy, and we want everybody else to experience justice? "I want what's right. People are taking advantage of me. I want to be treated justly!" No, you don't. You don't ever want justice. You don't want what you deserve. Rest in the sovereignty of God. Realize that when advantage has been taken of you, people aren't getting away with that. There is a day of reckoning. Everything that is happening to you is for the purpose of causing you to be humbled, to be thankful, to be prepared, and to be purified. It's causing you to become a servant and to learn and trust in the sovereignty of God. Be careful when you need to make everything right and make sure you're getting treated fairly in every decision and in everything that's happening. If that's the way you live your life, you're missing this whole day of the Lord; you're not ready for this day. This is the day that rewards humility, weakness, service, and not self will.

So, as we look at the Scriptures, we'll begin to wind down with this for this evening. Look over to Jude. Let me just show you something out of Jude that's a powerful awareness of this day that we're living in. We're going to be judged by our works--good or bad. As you're turning to Jude (we'll be in the first chapter!) stop at 1 Peter (they're real close!). 1 Peter 1:17 says, "And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." Check that out: "...call upon the Father, who without respect of persons." (emphasis added). God is not showing favoritism to people. In the distribution of talents, there is no favoritism. God is not a respecter of persons. God is just. To respect persons has a motive of what the individual can receive back--either what they're going to receive in return, or whatever it is that they're gratified by, and being able to recognize one above another. It's always indicative of a weakness in the character of the person showing the respect, the injustice. The Scripture says that God, without respect of persons, will judge according to every man's work, so pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.

So many of us seem to think that we deserve, or that we're going to receive, preferential treatment. Because we haven't been held up to justice in this life, we don't expect it in the last judgment. There's a day of judgment coming. There's a day of justice that's coming concerning all of those things that you think, "That isn't right, and that doesn't seem right, and this isn't fair." As you humble yourself (like those sheep that we were talking about) and let God bring about the justice in that last day, it's going to work a character in you that will allow you to stand in that last day instead of being consumed by His righteousness. Live in fear. Live in a humility. Understand that everything that you have received, you've received from the Lord, and He allows all of these things in your life. If you keep getting taken advantage of, maybe there is a character trait in you that God's trying to reveal to you so that you can recognize what your real worth is and what you really deserve. There may be a humility that needs to be worked in you or a trust in the sovereignty of God may be lacking. You need to cast the care upon Him and say, "Do you know what? God cares for me, so I don't have to take care of myself." In fear, allow your heart to be prepared for this day of reckoning.

Look over at Jude; I want to look at this before we close down for this evening. "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (verses 14-15). We've read this before, but the strength of this comment is so obvious, and I just want you to see it with your eyes. It's powerful! He's coming to execute justice; that's what this is talking about. The day of justice is coming. The words "judgment" and "justice" are working synonymously here. This is the justice of God--the meting forth of what's right, every man receiving what he deserves, good or bad. That word "convince" is interesting. Some people aren't going to be convinced until this moment when they're going to be held accountable. They just don't believe it. More and more in this day that you and I are living in, young people especially are being groomed to think that they can do whatever they want, that they're not accountable to any authority. The supernatural insanity of the anarchy that's being bred in our society is amazing! It shows the hour that we're living in. It says that He's going to convince all of them that are ungodly "...of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Then it goes on and emphasizes this spirit of separation, rebellion, and independence. But I want you to look at this one word, "ungodly."

What's going to be differentiated in this day of judgment? What was done that was godly, and what was ungodly. What's the difference? What was of God, by God, and for God, and what was by man and for man, even though God was named in it. "We're building this cathedral for God. We're doing these humanitarian efforts for God; it's called The Christian Humanitarian Fund." Where in this effort is the lordship of Jesus being emphasized? Where in this effort is the blood of Jesus being emphasized? Where in this endeavor is the depravity of man being revealed to him so that he could know the disease of sin that makes him insane and a rebel and a hater of God? Where in this effort is God being glorified and emphasized and not man and the natural? It's not what we're doing. It's by whom and for whom it's being done. Those are the deeds, those are the works, that are going to stand. Everything is else is burning up. Everything that you've done for the neighbor--the pie that you carried across the road to that individual. It may have been prepared just right that time, but it's burning up this time! You put forth all of that effort to have the temperature just right, so that they could say how good a baker you are and how sweet you were to bring them that pie. All of the glory went to your name when your number was called at the Calvary Temple pie-baking contest. (I'm not telling you to not make those pies; keep it up, praise God!) But the second time around, the Scripture makes it very clear that it's going to be judged in a different manner. What was the motive? Who was it for? Where did even the gifts or the talents to prepare that pie come from? Not everyone has those same abilities. Not everybody is a good cook. Not everybody is a good carpenter or electrician. There are different talents.

We were taking the girls over to the Heglund's this afternoon, and as we were driving over there, I said, "Are you ready to eat some good lunch at Grandma's and Granddad's?" "Yeah." I said, "What are you going to eat?" Hailey said, "I don't know--some kind of chicken, or pork, or something." And I said, "It's always good food over there, isn't it?" She said, "Yeah." I said, "Grandma cooks good." She said, "Actually, Granddad cooks all the meat." So I said, "Does Granddad [Heglund] cook as good as Grandpa [Scott]?" She said, "About the same." I said that to say I know Granddad's a good cook, and he likes to cook. (By the way, Bill is a very good gourmet cook, and you're all invited over... No, we'd better not do that!) The only time Grandpa [Scott] makes anything is out on the grill. There's a very limited menu: filet mignon and chicken breasts. That's it, man! If you don't like it, go to Bill's house!

The talents differ, but what's the motive? Why are we doing what we're doing? Do we give God the glory? Are we truly diminishing self in preparation for this hour of the coming of the Lord? The rewards are not going to be by how much we've done, but how much remains, how much is pure, how much was done in humility and simplicity of faith. The day of the Lord is at hand. As we look for that blessed hope, it's about justice to the ungodly. It's about one more expression of the glory of God through the humility of His bride, His lover, His sons, His children, a people who are allowing Him to work and will His good pleasure in us. The day of the Lord is at hand. Walk in fear, that this day does not come upon you unawares. When everyone around is being destroyed through drunkenness and surfeiting, do not let that day take you unawares. Let's look at Luke 21 (and we'll finish with this one) and see the power of that statement. "And take heed to yourselves [survey your own hearts], lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting [partying], and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare [that which is hidden; it's covered; you don't see it. In a moment, you're caught in its strength] shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (verses 34-36). To make it to that Bema, just to be able to stand before Him. Beloved, if you're in that line, you've made it!

I don't know what our response is going to be as we learn the positions that we'll hold, or when we see how much of what we've done remains. That's not an issue. Those are carnal and temporal thoughts. "How great am I going to be in the kingdom?" Well, if that's your thinking, probably not real great.

I wonder if anything that I've done really got done without any of this filth in me getting on it, so that God could be purely glorified in my life? Just one privilege of serving you in that way, Lord, would satisfy for a lifetime.

Watch and pray, that you might be worthy of that escape.

Father, that's our hearts' desire tonight, and we just ask that somehow every heart and every mind in here would be turned to that watching, that praying, and that preparation. We live in a day when men are being blinded and overtaken. The snares of surfeiting, drunkenness, and the cares of this life dilute our thinking, blind our eyes, and invade our thoughts; they bring temporary insanity. So, we ask You again, work in us to will and to do Your good pleasure. It's our hearts' desire, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord tonight. As Gary plays for us, we'll take a moment and recognize that day, that hour that's upon us, when every man's work is going to be discovered. Are you excited about that day of being able to be poured out for the Lord? I don't know how this is going to work, but all that we've done in Him will go on for eternity, not momentarily. We get gratified, and then we have to go on for something else. All of these things will glorify Him and bring Him pleasure without ceasing, forever. Think about it. We bring joy to His heart, eternal pleasure, and eternal exultation by the things that are done through Him, and He gets all the glory! The crowns are cast at His feet, and He is all in all. Every one of us that walk His streets of gold brings Him pleasure. Every one is a victory, an expression of the worth of His blood and the goodness of His being. As we walk down those streets, it's not for our benefit; it's for His glory. For every moment (if you can even use that term) of eternity He's glorified, because we let Him work in us, because we chose to lay down our demands for momentary justice, for what's right, and we humbled ourselves, and He was glorified. We tore down the stronghold of pride, of wanting to vaunt ourselves, and we humbled ourselves, and He was glorified. In that day of judgment, it's not about you getting a crown, or a robe, or a ring, or a mansion. It's about all of those things pointing to His victory, and His worth, and His love. Be glorified in us, Lord. Let's sing it. "Lord, You are so beautiful to me..." It's not about us going to heaven; it's about Him being glorified because we made it.

For that, we give you the praise and the glory, Father. Make us ready. As Your bride, make us ready. Bring about an anticipation. Place in us a love for Yourself that is not there in the natural. We can't love You as You deserve to be loved unless You give us the grace. Help us to love You. Help us in our worship, in our obedience, that You might be more glorified, for You are worthy of praise. Come quickly, that You might receive Your final reward. You're not anxious; You're eternal. It's timeless, but we are anxious to see You glorified. From our perspective of time and space, we say we want You to have it quickly, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "Look up; your redemption's drawing nigh!"

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