GOD’S MEASURE FOR ETERNITY
Please open your Bible to 2 Corinthians 5:9 as we begin a new series of sermons, “God’s Measure of Your Life,” with today’s message, ‘God’s Measure for Eternity.’ Everything God measures is for eternity. When God measures your life, it will be for eternity. When God measures your life, He will measure how you lived for Him; He will measure how much you sought His kingdom; He will measure your heart and your desire to reach the destinations of greatness for eternity that He has personally designed for you to reach.
For example, God will measure our lives by our words, our thoughts, our prayers, our fear of God, our obedience to His word, our readiness for His return, and how well we run our race and many others. These are the things God will use to measure your life for great rewards and the immense treasures of heaven. It is my prayer that you will take to heart what you hear in this series, and apply these dynamic truths to your life, so that you are ready for that day when God measures your life for eternity. Let’s stand together and read from…
2 Corinthians 5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. NKJV
GOD DESIRES TO REWARD YOU
Let’s begin with this powerful thought. It is God’s deepest desire to reward you with the great treasures of heaven. Not only does God love you unconditionally, not only is He building you an eternal home, but God also greatly desires to reward you. I want you to hear that in your heart. God wants to open the treasure vault of heaven and completely empty it out for you. God wants your life in eternity to be full of joy, and full of delight, and full of never-ending surprises. What God has in store for you in His kingdom is so amazing that it cannot be calculated or measured by any earthly standard. Which is why
Paul wrote… 1 Corinthians 2:9… “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” NKJV
The incredible glory and wonder of eternity, is that God wants to reward you with His indescribable treasures for all eternity. We must never forget… that when God measures your life, and He will measure your life… it will be for eternity and eternal rewards of heaven.
One of the great truths about how God measures our lives for eternity is that we must not allow the trials and disappointments of this world to keep us from reaching our divine destination. We must not allow persecution and the suffering we encounter in this world to keep us from holding onto Jesus Christ and His kingdom of glory. Consider this…
Our greatest trials on earth can never be compared to the glory of what God has in store for you in His eternal kingdom. When God measures your life for eternity, He will measure the strength of your faith to overcome the world and its trials and troubles to stay focused on Jesus Christ and His kingdom. That’s why Paul wrote…
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory… NKJV
God will one day measure your faithfulness to overcome trials. He will reward you with rewards so amazing, so fulfilling and so satisfying, they will far surpass our afflictions of suffering and cause us to forget all the trials and disappointments of this life. And when God measures our faithfulness, may
He find us faithful in holding onto Him and His kingdom.
THE MEASURES OF GOD
Hear this very clearly… God will one day measure your life… God is a God who measures. He is a God who is exact and perfect in all He does. He knows the exact number of stars that are scattered across the heavens and calls each of them by name. His measure is so perfect and so extensive that He knows the exact dimensions of eternity that stretches from one end to the other. His measure is so precise that He knows the exact number of every grain of sand that stretches from shore to shore across the vast oceans of the world.
The measure of God’s personal love for you is so great, that He has numbered the hairs on your head. In Revelation 21, God has recorded the exact dimensions of the New Jerusalem which will soon be our new home.
Whether we realize it or not, God will measure every single life for eternity. For some, God will measure for judgment of those who reject Him and hate Him. But for those who love Him, God will measure for great and unimaginable rewards. That’s why our suffering and what you do in your love for God is far more important than you can imagine. That’s why Paul said…
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. NKJV
The work you do for the Lord no matter how small, is never lost or forgotten. Nothing you do in your love for the Lord is ever done in vain. God never forgets what we have done for Him…
Why? Because God will never be in debt to anyone for the work we have done in His name.
GOD’S RECORDS OF HEAVEN
Consider… that God’s ability to measure is so vast that the Bible says God has a record of every thought, every word and every deed of every person who has ever lived. Consider also that His records are absolutely perfect. He has a complete and total record of your entire life from beginning to end. God’s record of your life is more extensive than you can ever dream. Have you ever thought about the kinds of things God has recorded about you that He will use to measure your life? As the judge of all the earth…
He knows every aspect of our lives… Romans 14:10-12; I Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10
He knows our every word… Matthew 12:36-37
He knows our deepest thoughts and secrets… Hebrews 4:12
He knows our every prayer of faith… Revelation 5:8
He knows the depth of your love for Him… 2 Corinthians 2:9
He knows every moment when you reached out to help others… Matthew 25:34-40
These are just a few of the many things God has included in His heavenly records.
We must never forget that our God is an all-knowing, and all-seeing God.
For the sinner that is a terrifying thought because God knows and has recorded every sinful act, every evil word, and every moment of wickedness for a day of judgment. The only way to escape this terrible judgment is to give your life to Jesus Christ and repent of your sins…
But for the Christian this is a wonderful thought, because God is keeping an accurate record of your
entire life. Why? Because He plans to reward you for every prayer, and for every act of faith and for
every kind deed you ever thought, spoke or did. God is keeping a record because He is absolutely thrilled to reward you with the unspeakable treasures of heaven.
We may forget the deeds we have done for God, but God never forgets our smallest deed of faith and obedience and He will ultimately reward us for our service of love to Him.
Over 100 years ago, while in prayer Stephen Grellet was strongly led by the Spirit of God to go into the high country of Washington State to a logging camp and preach. He felt such a compelling power of the Holy Spirit upon him to do this, that he immediately obeyed. Now that sounds simple, doesn’t it? Just go out to the camp and get a crowd together and preach.
When he arrived at the logging camp, he found no one there, and only one building was still standing. However, he was so sure God had sent him to this specific place that he went into one the empty building and preached with all of his heart to the bare walls the sermon God had placed on his heart. As he preached, he felt the fire of God upon him. When he finished, he had a closing prayer, then he left and returned home. In the eyes of the world this appears to be one of the stupidest things you have ever heard.
Stephen Grellet never understood why God wanted him to preach in that empty building. Many years later as he walked across London Bridge in England, a man ran up to him and grasped his arm and said, “After all these years I have finally found you.”
Stephen looked at the man and said, “Sir, I think you have me confused with someone else.” The man said, “No, I’m don’t. I would know your face anywhere. Didn’t you once preach many years ago in an empty shack at a logging camp in the backwoods of America?”
Stephen said, “Yes I did, but no one was there.” The man said, “I was the foreman in charge of the loggers and when we moved to a new location, I realized that I had left my tools behind. When I returned to get them, I heard a voice from one of the buildings. I looked through a crack between the logs and saw you preaching. You never saw me, because I was too ashamed to come forward, but God so touched my heart that day that I repented of my sins, became a Christian and began reading the Bible. Then I began to lead my men to Christ. Your sermon has led at least a thousand people to Christ and three of them have become pastors!”
Stephen Grellet did not know what God had done that day. He simply obeyed God, and to this day, he is still reaping the rewards of his obedience. One day, God will measure how we used our prayers, our finances and our obedience to further His kingdom. And then He will reward you with great rewards that are beyond all earthly measure.
PLANNING FOR ETERNITY
And that brings us to this powerful point… It is imperative that you plan for eternity. Your life on earth is the tiniest part of your existence. Even if you live to be 100, life is still very short. No matter the length of your life, you are destined for eternity. From the moment you were born you will never cease to exist. You will spend eternity somewhere.
My point is… For each day you spend on earth, you will reap billions and billions of future years. That’s why Peter words are so powerful when he said…
2 Peter 3:8 beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. NKJV
The value of one single day in your life is so great that it can only be measured by eternity. Just one single day of your life has the power to affect a thousand years in eternity and beyond, that will reap great eternal rewards.
Again, Peter said… 2 Peter 3:8 …do not forget this one thing…
Do not forget that your life is more than days, weeks, months and years. Do not forget that God’s perspective on how you live is very different from the world’s perspective. Do not forget that God will measure your life, not by the years you lived, but by what you did in those years for His kingdom and glory. The greatest life as measured by God is not the one who has lived the longest or was the busiest or the most famous, but was the most faithful to honor God with their daily life.
Again… God sees things very differently than what the world sees. God does not measure by riches, popularity or fame or achievements. Some of the world’s richest and most famous people have never lived one day for God’s kingdom.
When God told Samuel to anoint the new king of Israel, he had no idea who it would be. Samuel obeyed God and went to the home of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as the new king. If you remember, Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, stood before Samuel, and when Samuel saw his size and strength, he said to himself, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him." That’s when God spoke to Samuel and said…
1 Samuel 16:7… “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." NKJV
God’s standard of measure is far different than the world, which is why Jesus said…
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. NKJV
When God measures your life for eternity, He will begin by measuring what is in your heart. Whatever is in your heart will determine the true measure of your life. That’s why I challenge you to live wisely and to invest your life in the things of God.
IN CLOSING…
In closing, the best way to prepare for eternity is to follow Paul’s advice in Philippians 1:21.
Philippians 1:21 For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. NKJV
We must understand that God will one day measure our life for eternity and right now is the best time to start living that life.
Jesus said… Revelation 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. NKJV
Don’t let anyone or anything take away your crowns and rewards.
Don’t lose your eternal rewards over trivial matters that have no eternal value.
Very soon, the rapture of the church will take place, and in that instant, we will be in the eternal presence of Jesus. I am telling you that time is very short, and now is the time to prepare for that day. Now is the time to be ready for His coming… for He is coming…
Listen… Can you hear Jesus? He is saying…
Revelation 22:12 "behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one
according to his work. NKJV
Eternity is very near, and now is the time to live for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom so that you are
prepared for the day when God will measure your life.
