Dear Friends,
It is written:
“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Messiah (Christ); that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. KNOWING THEREFORE THE TERROR OF THE LORD, we persuade men…And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5: 9-11a, 15)
There is no escaping this judgment seat of the Lord as believers in Yeshua our Messiah. What will it be like when we stand before the Lord at His judgment seat?
We all know that God loves us unconditionally and in spite of all our sins. We know about God’s mercy and grace, His free love and pardon of us through the shed blood of our Messiah, Yeshua on the cross. We have been taught about the benefits of the New Covenant in that blood. Yes, indeed, our generation has perhaps received more revelation knowledge concerning what JESUS HAS DONE FOR US than any other. We are saved! We are healed! We are redeemed from the curse of the law! We are blessed with the blessing of Abraham! We have authority in Yeshua’s name over all the power of darkness! Praise the Lord! Yeshua came to give us life and that more abundantly. We receive the benefits of our redemption through faith in His Word of promise to us in the Bible. We have been saturated with great teachings in this area during the last 30 years or so in the Charismatic/Faith realm of the Body of Messiah.
Then, what is Paul talking about here? It seems so strange that he would write about something that terrified him when he sees the Lord. Well, like I always do when I don’t know something in the Word of God, I ask our Teacher, the precious Holy Spirit. As I waited upon the Lord the past several days, I received a revelation that I want to share with you, my precious brothers and sisters:
All of us will one day appear before God. Every detail of our lives will be panoramically presented before us. We will live every moment of our lives over again in the Light of God’s eyes upon us. We will see when we have done GOOD and we will see when we have done BAD. There is another passage where Paul speaks about this time in 1 Corinthians 3:9-18a, as it is written:
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But LET EVERY MAN TAKE HEED HOW HE BUILDETH THEREUPON. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man BUILD UPON THIS FOUNDATION GOLD, SILVER, PRECIOUS STONES, WOOD, HAY, STUBBLE; 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. If any man’s work shall be burnt, HE SHALL SUFFER LOSS: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God HIM SHALL GOD DESTROY; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself…”
When we came to Jesus and were born again spiritually, we received a new nature on the inside. That part of us is the real “us”. We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body, as we have been correctly taught. But, God had to leave us in these bodies that have the law of sin and death operating in them. We got these bodies from Adam. When he fell into sin, we also inherited the same capacity to sin. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, as it is written. Even though we are dead with Messiah, and risen to new life in Messiah in our spirits, God had to leave us in these bodies of flesh and blood until the fullness of our redemption is consummated and we receive brand new resurrection bodies. They will never lead us into sin again. We will never break God’s heart again by sinning against Him. Until that time, however, we are a hybrid creation, if you will. There is a constant inner warfare between our new creation spirit man on the inside, and our flesh which only wants to go its’ own selfish way. That is why God had to send Himself to live in our spirits in the Person of the Holy Spirit. It is only by His power that we are able to put to death the deeds of the flesh and to live, holy, overcoming lives of faith and obedience to God.
BUT THIS IS NOT AUTOMATIC! If you want to please God, you must deny yourself daily, take up your cross and follow Yeshua. You must spend much time in prayer and in God’s Word so that you have the inner strength to overcome temptation. You must learn to instantly obey every prompting of the Holy Spirit. You must put your flesh under and be led by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, you will be in a spiritually bankrupt state when you appear before the Lord. The Lord has called me to help prepare the Bride of Messiah for His soon appearing. For only the overcomers will be ready for Him when he comes in the midnight hour. I pray that you and I will be ready. I pray that you and I will not have to be ashamed on That Day. If you do not forsake all and follow Jesus NOW, you will mourn and weep before the Lord for your wasted, selfish, life. Sadly, many millions of “believers” will have nothing to give to the Lord. The fire of the judgment seat will burn all of it away. I AM comforted by what Paul says here that they shall still be saved eternal damnation, but by fire. But, what a way to enter into eternity, with no reward!
Did you know that the Lord wants to make you rich? Now, before you take out your prophet rocks to stone me, let’s define what true riches are. This is what the Holy Spirit shared with me:
“True riches in eternity are different entirely from the temporary “riches” of this present life on earth that you are living. True riches are:
1. The honor of the Lamb of God before His throne.
2. The souls of those that have been won to the Lord by your life of sacrifice, love, obedience, and service in your earthly life – they shall be jewels in your crown(s).
3. Many crowns shall be given to the overcomers – for soulwinning, pastoring (and ministering) faithfully, righteousness for completing your course in the will of God in this life, and glory for suffering and martyrdom shall be given to those that shall be found worthy – among other crowns that we do not know about at this time.
4. Authority and dominion to rule and reign with Yeshua the Messiah in His Messianic Kingdom as well as in the ages to come of eternity.
5. There are thrones of GLORY waiting for those that shall be faithful and obedient to our Lord.
6. We shall be given the privilege to judge with the Lord concerning the works of angels, Israel, and the saints in the government of King Messiah to come.
7. Realms of ecstasy in worship and union that are only reserved for the Bride of Messiah.
Beloved, it is going to be worth it all one day soon! This is your future and destiny! If only you could see from heaven’s perspective! I am coming soon, says the Lord, AND MY REWARD FOR EACH OF YOU IS WITH ME!”
The reason that Paul was afraid to the point of terror of this judgment seat of Messiah was that he knew that nothing could be hidden from the Lord on that Day. Every thought, word, and deed will come under the microscope of the Holy eyes of the Master. Paul said this also, as it is written:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: BUT I KEEP UNDER MY BODY, AND BRING IT INTO SUBJECTION: LEST THAT BY ANY MEANS, WHEN I HAVE PREACHED TO OTHERS, I MYSELF SHOULD BE A CASTAWAY.”
If the Apostle Paul feared of being disqualified and castaway from the prize awaiting Him, how much more should we be diligent in the Fear of the Lord to stay faithful to God?!
God wants us to overcome and rejoice with Him on that Day when we appear before His judgment seat. Beloved, there IS a way for YOU to be able to rejoice on that Day too!
I want to reveal this to you now, beloved Bride of Messiah – so, here it is:
You can choose to go before the Lord NOW in this life…as the Bible promises:
“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31)
The Lord allowed me, by His grace and mercy, to go before Him and submit to His holy fire. There is a refining fire that God has burning before His throne. It is indeed painful! It is indeed terrifying in the sense that you will clearly see how depraved and sinful you really are. It is a horrible thing to look upon the depths of our sin and depravity. But, GOD CAN BURN IT OUT OF YOU – even in this life. YOU CAN ENTER INTO THE SECRET PLACE WHERE SIN IS PUT AWAY BY HIS HOLY REFINING FIRE. This doesn’t mean that you won’t sin ever again in this life, but it means that you heart can be so cleansed that your motives, attitudes, emotions, and thoughts will become daily more and more like Yeshua’s.
CHOOSE YOUR PAIN. Now or later. You must die daily so that Yeshua can live fully through you. Only then will you and I live above sin. Remember this: every step out of love and into selfishness is sin. The most painful thing is to not be pleasing to our Lord who loves us so much.
If you choose to go into this refining fire daily NOW, you will have nothing to be ashamed of THEN. If you refuse and choose to keep away from the fire in this life as a believer, your selfishness and depravity will be shown THEN, and you shall surely SUFFER GREAT LOSS on that Day. God wants to burn out all the wood, hay, and stubble in your life. He wants you to bear much fruit as holy disciples of Yeshua and inherit the true riches: this is the GOLD, SILVER, AND PRECIOUS STONES at His ‘Bema’ – Messiah’s Judgment Seat.
Beloved, let God burn out of you everything He hates – and burn into you everything He loves! Cry out to Him now! Decide to enter into the fellowship of Yeshua’s sufferings by taking up your cross daily, denying yourself in the interior life, and following Him in holiness and instant obedience. Then, on that Day, what joy shall be yours and mine! As it is written:
“If we suffer (with Him in this life), we shall also reign with Him”. (1 Timothy 2:12a)
May the Lord pour out His holy fire upon you NOW as you are reading this message. Get on your knees and cry out to Him with all of your heart to have mercy on your soul and to prepare you to be a part of His Holy Bride. Humble yourself before Him in contrite repentance and He will surely lift you up!
This is the message of the Lord for you today.
Beloved, He is coming soon! Keep yourselves from idols.
Love in our Messiah,
Maurice Sklar