I have been sharing with you the past few weeks on the Vision of the House. I have shared with you that the glory of the latter house will exceed the glory of the former. I challenged you to get plugged into the vision, to go from your comfort zone and into the gift zone, and from there to the challenge zone and into the end zone where our victory is.
Today I want to talk to you about your voice. You do know that you have a voice. I am not talking about your say in matters, or any specific talent. I am talking about being a voice crying from the wilderness that is preparing the way of the Lord.
Church we are a voice to this city and it is our job to let the people know about the saving and redemptive power of Christ. The world needs to hear this message; they need to know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
The peace they seek is in Jesus the freedom they so desire is found only in Jesus. Church we need to become a voice and not an echo.
An epitaph read: EVERYTHING I SPENT IN LIFE I HAVE LOST, EVERYTHING I GAINED IN LIFE I NOW GIVE TO SOMEONE ELSE, THE ONLY THING I TAKE WITH ME IS WHAT I HAVE GIVEN AWAY!
What we do for the kingdom is not as important as how it was done. It is how we serve the Lord, church, and others that’s what matters, what were your motive and your purpose.
Do we share cause we care or is it just cause we have too.
I.God will judge our works and our motives.
Jesus said in Re 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. The word reward means “to pay for service”. The word work refers to “acts or deeds.” We must be rich in Good Works.
Mt 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Are you ready to meet Jesus? Most everyone would say, “Yes! And I can’t wait to see Him!” We are always ready to say we want to meet the Lord, but I never hear anyone say they are ready to be judged by the Lord.
Many fail to realize that before we enter into Heaven we have an appointment before the judgment seat of Christ, where we will give an account of our works and all we have done on earth. Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
2Co 5:10 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.
When we stand before the Lord to be judged we stand alone. There will be no witnesses; no one to stand up in your defense, everything we have done is recorded and all we can do is stand back, watch and listen. Our parents can’t save us, no slick lawyer can help, and no letter from your Pastor will help you. It will just be you and Jesus.
Re 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Re 2:23…and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Just like a job you put in 40 you get paid for 40; the only difference with God is we are always on the clock our pay day is at the end of days.
What we do on this earth for Jesus will determine our position in Heaven, it determines our reward. In Mt 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. In 1 Thess.2:19 it speaks of a “crown of rejoicing”, 2Tim.4:8 “crown of righteousness”, Jas.1:12 “crown of Life”, and in 1Pet.5:4 “crown of glory”.
Now some of you may be more saved than I am but I am looking forward to the end of my labors. The Bibles says they that die in Lord enter into their rest; I can’t wait to rest from all of this. It is important that my works do follow me.
So how is this reward system set up, I am glad you asked in 1 Cor 3:12-15 (KJV)12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
The fire used in these verses is the same word used in Rev. 1:14 where Christ had “His eyes like a flame of fire”. It will be through these eyes of fire that our works will pass through. We may see our works as something great but the true test will come when Christ judges them through His eyes. His eyes will determine the value of our works.
If we accomplish that which He asks, it will be as gold, silver, and precious stones, but if it were done in selfish gain, it will burn up before us and there will be no reward.
How Christ views things is much different then how we see them. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD”.
His eyes will try our works while His word judges our heart. Heb 4:12-13 (KJV)12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Our true motives can never be hid from God.
II. Why do you do what you do?
The Bible says in Matt 25:34-36,40 (KJV)34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
The old hymn says “when we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we will sing and shout the victory.” I can’t wait to see Jesus, but when it comes time to be judged I hope that I still can “sing and shout the victory”, I hope my works and all I did for the Kingdom were for the Kingdom.
When Jesus visited the seven churches in Rev. chp.2 and 3 He said to them “I know thy works”, He didn’t say “I know your faith”; He said “I know thy works”.
James said in Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Jesus is looking at our works. When He returns, I will stand before Him and He will ask me, “Sean, what did you do with the gifts and talents that I gave you on earth?” I will be judged as a steward over the works He gave me to do.
III. God has given us something to use.
We as Christians sometimes act like spoiled brats. We act as if God never gives us anything; that He is holding out on us, we think that if, “He is holding out on me I will hold out on Him.”
We forget that all He wants from us is to just believe in Him, and ask Him for what we want. The Bible tells us He provides for us but also for more than our needs.
Matt 7:11 (KJV) 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
James 4:2 (KJV)…ye have not, because ye ask not.
When my mom was a little girl my grandpa had a store, every day after school she would go in there and get whatever she wanted, rather it be candy or a doll she had access to anything in the store because her daddy owned the store.
Our Heavenly Father owns this planet we live on, and yet we walk around like we have nothing. Jesus’ blood paid the price and made us sons of God. As sons, it is our faith that reaches to God and receives what He has provided for us. The Bible says “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Our Father owns the store!
He is willing to give us His all so why then do we not. If He will give us His all should we not do the same?
When we go the extra mile for someone and we do it as unto the Lord, it is added to our account in Heaven.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of a man who gave talents to his 3 servants before leaving on a trip. In verse 19, the Bible says He returned to settle the accounts with them. We have Heavenly accounts that we make deposits into every day by our good works. When we are asked to help out in the church and we make up our mind to do our best job unto the Lord, we are laying up rewards in Heaven.
Whatever you do unto the Lord rather it is cooking a meal for a shut-in or the sick, being on time for your position, cleaning, witnessing, picking up trash in the parking lot and bathroom, buying a meal, whatever you do unto the Lord you are laying up treasurers in Heaven.
When it is done with a servant’s heart and not for the sake of others you have a reward.
Matt 25:14 (KJV)14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
The talents we possess are not ours; they have been entrusted to us. These talents are on loan to us and how we use them is our responsibility. God sows the gifts to us, but we are responsible to grow our gifts.
In the parable the servant that had received 5 talents traded and used his wisely, gaining 5 more to equal 10. He received his reward from the master. Matt 25:21 (KJV)…Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
Notice that Jesus judged the character of the man and not the production of the man. It is not the amount that God looks for in us, but the character of the work and our faithfulness to Him.
When we are faithful to use what God has given us He will bless us. The key is to start with what we have and be faithful with it. Don’t worry about what everyone else has focus on what has been given to you.
You don’t need a degree in good works, just start doing something for Jesus!
You may ask yourself, “where do I start”, just open your eyes and ears and you will see and hear where to apply your talents.
Wherever someone is that needs food, clothing, water, prayer, an invitation to our homes or church. You can be there to meet the need. God doesn’t expect use to give a hungry man a million dollars only food. God expects you to only give out of what you have.
When we have done it for others we have done it for Him. This is how we lay up treasures in Heavens.
A few years ago a friend and I were hanging out in Gastonia, as we were leaving the Christian book store to go get something to eat; we noticed a homeless man outside the door. We asked this man if he wants to join us for something to eat. We buy this man a meal and talk to Him. We made sure he had plenty to eat and prayed for him and after we got done went on our way.
This act may one day be brought back up when the Lord says “Thank you for the meal.”
IV. The voice of one.
As the return of the Lord is near, we must be about the “Father’s Business”, we must be rich in good works and we must be people of prayer.
Now is the time to awake from our sleep and begin to continually prayer for our nation and this city.
We are at war with the enemy, and the only way we can combat these attacks are to Stand and walk in the full power of the Holy Ghost.
It is time for us to stretch forth our hands and take hold of God like the woman with the issue of blood did and receive what is ours. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
We are to be a voice of one.
Are you pulling on God? God loves us all, but those that pull on Him get His attention. How bad do you want it?
The woman with the issue of blood was willing to risk it all, are you?
In the first book of Samuel, Hannah cried out to God for a child, it was a cry of faith that moved God and her prayer was answered.
Church we got to make a cry of faith in these last days to reach into the harvest and use our talents to gather it in.
John the Baptist said in Joh 1:23 I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
There are 3 kinds of wildernesses that we can cry from.
The first is a wilderness that you have created yourself through making wrong decisions. These could be financial decisions you have made or a decision in your marriage or family that should have never been made.
The second is an attack from the enemy that suddenly comes on you. It could be any physical, mental, or spiritual attack that has come to destroy you.
The third wilderness; and this is the one I want to focus on and it is aroused by what is happening around you. Your eyes become opened to things you have never seen before. It usually involves someone else. It is a situation that prompts you to say, “Someone has got to do something about this.”
Now be prepared because the Holy Ghost will probably point to you. John the Baptist was moved by the religious society that he faced; he began to cry out against it and became a voice in the wilderness.
God often places us here so that we can become a voice leading others out of the wilderness and into the presence of the Lord.
God is looking for a voice. He needs voices that are willing to move the earth the way He desires.
Intercession is like building a highway. It takes time to see it completed. Our voice of intercession takes down the mountains and builds up the valleys. God is waiting for us. All He needs is someone to say, “I will be that voice in the wilderness calling upon the Lord for my city!”James 5:16 (KJV)The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Ac 2:1 ¶ And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. When the 120 assembled together in one accord there became unity in the heart, mind, and spirit; they became the “voice of one”. When that happened the power of God fell on them and the NT Church was born.
In order for our voice to become a unified corporate voice we must come together and lay aside all of weights and ism’s that divide us and come together for the Glory of the Lord.
We cannot be distracted we must be focused on the task at hand.
Ten years after the Day of Pentecost, God began to move forward in His plan of unity and began to pour out His Spirit on the Gentiles.
In Acts 10:1-2 a man by the name of Cornelius a centurion who was called a devout man and one that feared God would be one of the first Gentiles to receive power from on high.
Peter would receive visions confirming that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all flesh rather they be Jew or Gentile.
The religious system didn’t like what was happening they felt they being keepers of the Law were entitled to this power and those that were different should not be.
In Acts 11 this story unfolds and it says in verse 2 that they “contended with Peter”. People were rising up against this move of God because it rubbed them the wrong way.
Church we must be careful not to allow contention divide us and keep us from the Harvest. Satan wants to breakup any unity in the Church.
When we start letting our personal issues keep us from the task at hand we lose that “one Voice” status.
The enemy will divide a church over foolish things. What the color of the carpet should be, where furniture should be placed, how loud the music should be and the style that is played. Satan will say whatever He can to divide the church.
We must be focused on the Kingdom and what matters to the Kingdom not what matters to us. If we want to see the Power of God in this House we must be untied.
Too many churches see no moves of God because they are fighting over the color of the church walls.
What matters is rather the Blood is on these walls, if we make sure this temple is pure and that we come together as brothers and sisters, we can become “one Voice” and not just a voice.
A voice that shouts out from the roof tops the good news of the Gospel to this city.
The Holy Spirit is calling for us to be “ONE VOICE” will you join in?
Let me read Isaiah 40 again but let me make a few changes.
The voice of him that crieth in Greensboro, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in Greensboro a highway for our God. 4 Every valley in Greensboro shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill in Greensboro shall be made low: and the crooked in Greensboro shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed in Greensboro and all of Greensboro shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
