Cornerstone Church September 9, 2012
“LIVE WITH THE ENDGAME IN MIND”
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
For those of you who play chess or who have mastered games of strategy you know that you must play with the Endgame in Mind.
Understanding the “Endgame” I’m sure shows up in business and sports.
How you want to finish is related to how you begin and what you will do along the way to get to the end.
If the “Endgame” is not known you will either allow your opponent to chase you around as in Chess until checkmate or you will allow circumstances in life to set the agenda for you.
“The Time to Prepare for Tomorrow is Today.”
Keith Krell
The LORD Jesus Christ is coming!
Do you believe that?
If that is your “Endgame” it will show up in how you live today!
It will show up in how you worship and serve the LORD!
“For many of us the return of Jesus often seems theoretical, far off, and quite irrelevant to our daily existence. We think that prophecy is a scheme to be understood by mature Christians – but recent converts (we believe) need other kinds of doctrine. After all, Christ has not returned in the last two thousand years and He might not return before the next two thousand years expired. So, we surmise, let the return of Christ be the last topic to be studied and grasped. Looking for Christ’s return is a wonderful ideal, but practical people have other matters to worry about.
But the Apostle Paul strongly disagreed with the notion that the study of prophecy should be left for the curious-minded folk who are so ‘heavenly minded’ that they lack the practicality to live on earth.”
Erwin Lutzer: The King is Coming: Preparing to Meet Jesus, pg 22
Is the desire to understand the return of Christ just for Prophecy Geeks?
I believe that the references in the scriptures related to the return of Christ were placed there by God to encourage us along the way and give us hope in this world.
We can spend all sorts of time on different views and interpretations and miss the hope that it was meant to give to us!
* It is true that He hasn’t returned in the last 2,000 years.
* It might also be true that He might not return for the next 100 to 1,000 years.
* I do not have that knowledge or date and neither do you!
But I do know that today we are one more day closer to His future return!
“The Time to Prepare for Tomorrow is Today.”
Keith Krell
We need to ponder more about the return of Christ!
We need to think specifically about the day when we as Christians will need to stand before Him to be judged for what we have done in this life for Him.
Rev. 22:12 NIV “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
* Not judged for salvation.
* Our works for Him judged.
Let me make this point very clear:
We are saved by Grace alone, through Faith alone
in Christ alone for God’s Glory alone!
Rom. 8:1-2 ESV There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Verdict: Not Guilty!
Justified in Christ! Christ Imputed (gave) to us His Righteousness
We get so involved and entrenched in this world that we are no longer are living as God’s called out community of believers who are distinct from the world system as citizens of heaven.
Our citizenship is in Heaven but currently our zip code might be California, USA!
Instead of living as Aliens in this world we have begun to live like tourists and natives!
The Context:
The Corinthian Church (Church in Corinth) was facing a similar time as we are today.
The world system from the culture surrounding the church was influencing the church. In many ways they had it worse because they were the minority.
Christians have always been called to swim upstream, against the current, which is forever pushing us backwards.
* This is why we need to be people of prayer!
* Reading His word!
* Relying on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Without reliance on God we can easily grow weary like a salmon or trout and give up and let the current drag us back to the ocean!
Paul wanted to give the Corinthian Believers solid food!
It was time! He had labored there for Eighteen Months (Acts 18:1-18)
* Paul Lacked Friends
* Paul Lacked Fruit
* Paul Lacked Funds
A strong foundation was established! Deep footings sunk right into the bedrock (Christ)
1 Cor. 2:2 ESV For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Paul now says to his brothers and sisters in Christ:
1 Cor 3:1 ESV “I could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it”
Ouch! It wasn’t what he wanted to teach them, but it was all they could handle.
The flesh was showing up in:
* Jealousy
* Strife
* Divisions
Not a great picture! Paul isn’t writing about the world.
This is the state he finds Christians in!
Paul tries to make it this point very clear!
* Who is Apollos?
* Who is Paul?
Paul planted the seed! Apollos watered the seed! But GOD gave the increase!
* Each had to be faithful!
* Each was called to do their part!
But GOD alone gives the growth!
Basic farming 101!
* Till the soil
* Plant the seed
* Fertilize the crop
* Water it
Only God gives the growth!
Paul then moves from Farming (You are God’s Field) to building (You are God’s Building). As Paul shifts the metaphor he pulls into the discussion the need for an Endgame!
An Endgame is needed for when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema Seat)!
He wanted the Corinthians to know then, and us to know now, that what we are doing today and how we are living will matter someday.
“The Time to Prepare for Tomorrow is Today.”
Keith Krell
I. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHURCH’S FOUNDATION
1 Cor. 3:10-11
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
II. IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH’S CONSTRUCTION
1 Cor. 3:12-15
THE QUALITY OF MATERIALS (1 Cor. 3:12)
“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw…”
COMPARISON OF MATERIALS
ENDURING MATERIALS
Gold, Silver, Precious Stones
Valuable, Permanent, Expensive,
Hard to Obtain
House on the Rock
Fireproof
TEMPORAL MATERIALS
Wood, Hay, Straw
Temporary, Trendy, Cheap,
Easy to Obtain
House on the Sand
Highly flammable
In the ancient world temples were made out of that which was precious and enduring. Homes were made out of the temporary perishable materials.
The Foundation is Christ Alone. It is a precious foundation. It is like a large piece of solid granite. It is not a foundation built upon the shifting sands of human opinion:
* Not moral teaching
* Not Human Opinion
* Not Church Traditions
* Not your Personal Preferences
* Not cleaver gimmicks
Is. 28:16 ESV “…therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
The foundation is so precious because The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, died, buried and rose again from the dead that the materials used must be of first-rate quality.
Jesus wants us to live authentic Christian lives! Hearts wholly-Devoted to Him!
Our service and worship needs to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
We need to be people of:
* Passion - in our love for Him, one another and our serving and giving
* Compassion – toward the hurting and suffering
* Compulsion - compelled to share our faith
We are not to live as a poser! Okay – hypocrite!
Paul’s Example:
* Paul’s Ambition was to please Christ – 2 Cor. 5:9
* The Love for Christ Constrained Paul to please Christ – 2 Cor. 5:14
* The Finished work of Christ spurred Paul on to please Christ – 2 Cor. 5:15
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
WHAT TYPE OF WORK ARE YOU CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROJECT?
Motive, conduct, attitude and action in our service for Him
all determine the quality of the materials.
Example of Building Materials:
* It’s Saturday night I suppose I ought to prepare a lesson for the children in my Sunday School class tomorrow. Perhaps that is building with wood or hay.
* Lord, please help me by your grace to be able to teach the children you have entrusted to me the best lesson that I possibly can for Your glory. Now you are building with Silver and Gold.
* The church is asking for money again, I suppose I ought to give because that is what Christians are supposed to do. I sure wish they found more ways to save. It sounds like straw is being used.
* The church has a need, Lord I love you and I am thankful for what you have given to me, here is a gift out of my love for you to further Your work here in Yuba City. Praise the Lord! You are building with Gold now!
* You signed up for a ministry because others were doing it. Stubble and straw.
* Lord I see students at my school who need Jesus. They are hurting. I am praying and asking you to help me find a way to get to know them. Perhaps then I will be able to share with them my love for you. Once again, precious stones are being used.
You get the point!
“The Time to Prepare for Tomorrow is Today.”
Keith Krell
INSPECTION OF THE WORK (1 Cor. 3:13)
“…each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”
“…will become: Manifest / Evident / Visible / Shown / Seen”
As with any building project sooner or later the building inspector checks out the structure. They scrutinize the structure for defects and safety.
It is appropriate for someone not working directly on the project to test it.
Building Inspector – Code Enforcement
The Inspection Date is set and established!
* No asking for a continuance!
* No seeking a postponement!
* No filing for a mistrial!
2 Cor. 5:10 ESV 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.
Rom. 14:10 ESV Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…”
In our world people often get away with a lot of things for a while.
* It has happened in the ministry (Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, Bakker)
* It has happened in politics (John Edwards / The Governator – Schwarzenegger)
* It has happened in business (Dennis Kozlowski / Bernard Madoff)
* It has happened in sports (Alex Rodriguez / Ben Johnson / Roger Clemens)
“Man sees your actions, but God your motives”
Thomas A Kempis
Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema)
This word was taken from Isthmian games where the contestants would compete for the prize under the careful scrutiny of judges who would make sure that every rule of the contest was obeyed (cf. 2 Tim. 2:5). The victor of a given event who participated according to the rules was led by the judge to the platform called the Bema. There the laurel wreath was placed on his head as a symbol of victory (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-25).
In all of these passages, “Paul was picturing the believer as a competitor in a spiritual contest. As the victorious Grecian athlete appeared before the Bema to receive his perishable award, so the Christian will appear before Christ’s Bema to receive his imperishable award. The judge at the Bema bestowed rewards to the victors. He did not whip the losers.”2 We might add, neither did he sentence them to hard labor.
J. Hampton Keathley III, THE DOCTRINE OF REWARDS: THE JUDGMENT SEAT (BEMA) OF CHRIST – BIBLE.ORG
Will there be “Tears in Heaven?” Erik Clapton wrote “there’ll be no more tears in heaven.”
Rev. 21:4 ESV He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
This will be true ultimately! But probably after the Judgment Seat of Christ!
There is the strong possibility,
“We will weep when we are awash with regret for the selfish lives we lived on earth. We may well weep because of how badly we fare as we stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ.”
Erwin Lutzer goes on to say:
“’What is this? We are believers and thought that Calvary covered it all.” Well, yes if they were believers, they are legally forgiven for their sins and their place in heaven is assured. But we need to distinguish our arrival in heaven from God’s discipline and assessment of how we served Him. At the judgment seat, the disobedient Christian will not receive the same rewards as a Christian who spent his (their) life selflessly in the service of Christ. Today is preparation for tomorrow.”
Dr. Erwin Lutzer, “The King is Coming: Preparing to Meet Jesus”, pgs 35-37
Works: Purified or Fried?
Keith Krell – bible.org
The following points come from Dr. Erwin Lutzer from his book, “The King is Coming: Preparing to Meet Jesus.”
THREE WAYS JESUS WILL JUDGE US:
1) We will be judged fairly
Positive – He has witnessed and remembered every act of kindness, giving and service we have done to serve Him.
Even if no one else saw it or knew how great a sacrifice it was – Jesus knows it all!
He began watching after we came to Christ.
Negative – He knows when He wanted us to doing something for Him and we didn’t listen or obey Him and the opportunity was missed!
He knows our real motive behind why we did what we did for Him.
2) We will be judged individually
Imagine being face-to-face with Jesus! Yes He loves you. But remember this is a time of inspection. It is a time for evaluation.
Rev. 1:14 ESV The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
I know this a metaphor!
Does it make you feel any safer knowing He is Holy, Just, and Righteous?
“…each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” (3:13)
3) We will be judged thoroughly
This is the time when questions might come up from the Lord!
I have some questions about the discord you were spreading in the Body of Christ. It did great harm to MY Church. It is MY CHURCH! When anyone criticizes a Christ-Honoring, Bible Believing Church they are criticizing Christ’s Church!
Why didn’t you work things out with your spouse and left her for a younger woman? You believed the lie of happiness promoted by the world. You were thinking just about my grace and your liberty but not about your allegiance to me and the commitment you made to your spouse and later your family.
Why were you so tightfisted and self-centered when it came to giving to help supply the needs of my work in the world when I gave you so much?
You get the idea!
I’ll have my own moment of wailing before Him!
By the way, in this world there is still time to make wrongs – right! Still time to be reconciled to others and bring healing.
WHAT JESUS WILL BE LOOKING FOR:
1) Our joyous acceptance of injustice and false accusation
Matt. 5:11-12 ESV “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
2) Jesus will evaluate our financial generosity
The widow’s mite was glorious to Jesus! Remember, she gave what she could!
“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help
Straighten out almost every other area in his life.”
Billy Graham
Matt. 6:19-21 ESV “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
3) Jesus will appraise our hospitality (love for strangers)
4) Jesus will review our faithfulness in our vocation
5) Jesus will disclose our love for the unlovely
THE QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP (1 Cor. 3:14-15)
“If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
“If” reveals two conditional clauses
* If the work survives
* If the work is burned up
What survives will receive reward
Some of the rewards handed out will be the giving of Crowns. A whole message could be taught about this subject.
* Crown of Righteousness – 2 Tim. 4:7-8: Persevering faithfully until Christ returns and loving His appearing
* Crown of Rejoicing – 1 Thess. 2:19-20: Faithful Soul-winner
* Crown of Glory – 1 Peter 5:4: Those who faithfully shepherd the flock of God
* Crown of Life – James 1:12: Those who love the Lord / endure temptation
* Incorruptible Crown – 1 Cor. 9:25 This describes the faithful behind running our race faithfully for Christ to get these crowns.
You might think it I’m not interested in receiving a crown.
I’m saved and I’m content with that knowledge.
Crowns will be related to positions of service in the Kingdom of God.
Several parables speak on the issue of not taking your talent and burying it in the ground!
“One day a man told me, ‘I am a Christian but I’m backslidden. I’m just doing my own thing. When I get to heaven, as long as I get a backseat somewhere I’ll be happy.’ I answered him, ‘That sounds so humble. But what if Jesus intended you to be in a front row, to use your analogy, but the reason you are in a backseat is because you displeased him? One Christian said to me, ‘I’ll be satisfied if I just have a little shack in heaven!’ Interestingly, however, I observed that he was by no means satisfied with a little shack on earth. Our excuses for not living heartily for Christ simply do not wash.”
Dr. Erwin Lutzer, “The King is Coming: Preparing to Meet Jesus”, pg 37
Some people are like those who have experienced the tragedy of a fire. They escape but all of their possessions are left in the house. Their pictures, their trophies, all that they held dear are suddenly gone.
* They have been rescued but they smell like smoke!
* They are like a smoldering stick that has been removed from the fire.
Casting Crowns
Rev. 4:10 – 11 ESV the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
We are now back to the beginning looking forward to the future!
“The Time to Prepare for Tomorrow is Today.”
Keith Krell
Jesus is coming again! In the last chapter of The Book of Revelation He says:
Rev. 22:7 ESV “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Rev. 22:12 ESV “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Rev. 22:20 ESV He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”
C.T Studd
“LIVE WITH THE ENDGAME IN MIND”
