Friday, June 27, 2014

Suffering Loss or Securing Rewards



‘Suffering Loss or Securing Rewards’

     The Judgment Seat of Christ might not be what we presently expect it to be when we get there, for it is the place where we will find out how much we have lost, for all of eternity, in the way of rewards. There will be those of us whose spiritual vision will be totally cleared to see just how we were actually hindrances to the Gospel and the winning of souls by our erratic conduct in the presence of those who are lost.

     And, there will be those who will learn that much of their physical suffering was caused by their refusal to be moved by the Word of God to obey God’s efforts to conform His children to the image of Christ. Let’s face it now, all of us, that is God’s goal…if you are truly born-again according to the Scriptures, God has taken the position in your life of a loving Father who is working through His Word, by His Spirit and the authorities He has placed over us to make us just like Jesus!

     Why?, because,  being just like Jesus will not only give us real love, joy and peace, but it will also make us the most effective tool for bringing others into the kingdom to enjoy the same benefits of becoming just like Jesus! Did your father, mother, grandmother get saved before they entered eternity? Are you effective in seeing those God has put in your pathway come to Him through your praying and witnessing to them?

     Does God give you the privilege of ministering to those He has divinely appointed for you to reap the blessings of His working? Just how is your life structured anyway? Is it based on praying/communing with Christ and looking for opportunities to share His Gospel Message, or is it mainly based on I, Me, My and …you know the rest.

     YOU see, YOU are becoming more like YOU or more like Jesus! Which is it for YOU, where do you fit on the scale of 1-10 when it comes to Christlikeness? What is God doing to get your attention today? Are you being easily molded into the image of Christ through digesting His Word, the feeding and leading of the Holy Spirit?

     Are you listening for His voice to direct your thoughts? Do you take your calling as a priest unto God serious? Or, does God have to get your attention by bringing catastrophes to pass in your way, sickness, pain, suffering, tragedy, trauma, tribulations, etc. in order to get your attention?

     We as children of God have a choice, yes, we can be disciples of the Savior or disciples of Self or disciples of Satan! What? Satan??? Yes, he is able to have his way in the life of any Christian that is willing to refuse to do the revealed will of God! Just ask Peter what the Lord meant when He said ‘Get thee behind me Satan’.

     Peter made the choice to go directly against what the Lord had just revealed concerning His suffering and resurrection. The Lord continued telling Peter that he was ‘An offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’ (Matthew 16:21-23)

     Satan himself, the adversary, the deceiver, the accuser of the brethen, the one who continually opposes the Truth and is against all God-ordained authority can in fact control the child of God to ‘savor the things that be of men.’ Jesus Himself pointed to the source in this case, it was not simply a selfish impulse, no, it was a Satanically induced comment, he the father of lies was at the root of it all, causing Peter to literally ‘set his mind on’, which is the literal meaning of  ‘savourest’, on the opposite of the Lord’s Word! He was opposing the Truth and the Lord immediately put His finger on the source!

     And, by this we can observe that where the Lord is most powerful in presence so is Satan. He is striking with great intensity those whose desire is to serve the Lord, and have been put into positions of leadership thereby having great opportunity for good, but also having great vulnerability for Satan’s opposition and interference!

     He will use whatever he can to bring down the ministry of the one who has decided to follow Jesus! It might be your best friend, it might be your son, your daughter, your wife…whatever it takes the devil will be exerting the maximum force on the servant of God who has chosen to be like Christ!

     Therefore preachers, elders, deacons, all ministers of the Word and witnesses for Christ, anyone who has made a conscious decision to follow Christ and be like Him will be the target of the devils schemes. His focus will be on the weakest link in the person’s family and usually the children of the man of God are first in line. How many rebellious children of godly leaders have been the cause for a good man and wife to be taken out of the firing line for Christ? 


     A preacher friend of mine, who pastored for seventeen years, recently left the ministry when his rebellious daughter married a Catholic. In another case a son of a Pastor was thrown out of a Christian school when he was caught drinking…and the horror stories are multiplied…the devil is on the loose…and it’s going to get worse!

     The closer we come to the end of the age and the Coming of Christ, his power will be increased until he eventually is ‘cast out into the earth’ (Revelation 12:9)…but, praise God ‘where sin abounded, grace did much more abound’ (Romans 5:20). Yes, Christ has won the victory, He has given us the ability through His Spirit by His Word to ‘stand against the wiles of the devil’.

     However, this ability to stand only comes through submission to His will…but, the rebellious child of God will suffer, not only physically and spiritually while here on earth but, there will also be suffering loss instead of securing eternal reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ!


Chaplain LEWolfe  www.btmi.org  I-85 Exit 35 SC   McPilot    Stop in, and please pray for our ministry!


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