The Healing Word

Pastor Jack Morris: Give your heart to Jesus, ask him to come in, live for him. Build into your life gold and silver and costly stones. Come on, be Christlike, be victorious and you’ll know when you die you’ll not only get heaven in the mansions of heaven, but you’ll receive the crowns whereby to worship him and to lay at his feet into that day.

Guest (Male): The Christian life is not simply about getting to heaven. It’s also about living faithfully for Christ right now. Today, Pastor Jack Morris concludes the Life After Death series with Judgment and Reward Part 2. Exploring the crowns and eternal rewards God has prepared for those who serve him wholeheartedly.

Pastor Jack Morris: It will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. Now, here’s what I was saying a moment ago. If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

We’re not talking about salvation. There’s some people who are going to make it in by the skin of their teeth. They’re going to use heaven and salvation almost like a fire escape. They’re just going to make it, but there’s other people who are going to get into heaven and receive an abundance of reward.

Gold, that’s a precious stone. Think about it for just a moment. Building gold into your life, building real quality into your life. Gold, the most precious of metals. That speaks of purity and steadfastness. You’re no longer a wishy-washy Christian bouncing around. Everything that comes along you’re tempted to believe it and you follow it for a while and you swallow it for a while.

No, you’re steadfast. You can be counted upon. There’s a lot of Christians that can’t be counted upon. God said you’re building gold into your life and you’re going to get a gold reward one of these days for it, too. Look at the other building materials. What is the next one?

Silver. Say silver. Silver. There’s some people who are building silver into their life. Silver means sacrifice. You’re like that woman who went out and got that part-time job just so that she could pay her pledge because she believed in her church and she wanted to do her part. She built silver into her life.

Very few people knew about that woman. Very few, but I tell you, heaven kept a record. Heaven kept a record. Jesus one time stood at the treasury. The widow came by and dropped in her two mites. Other people came, they put in their abundance. The Lord said it’s this one. She’s the one, not because of the amount she gave, but she didn’t have any more. She gave her all. Silver.

The Lord is looking and he knows the people who really have their heart in it and they’re willing to pay any price or sacrifice because they know that they’re going to receive it again. They’re putting treasure in heaven. What is the next one? Costly stones. Say costly stones.

That means that you’re just giving in abundance. You don’t just do it one time. You’ve given your heart today, you continue to give your heart. You never stop giving your heart. You are all every hour. You somehow more keenly realize than other people that you belong to him, that you’ve been bought with the blood, that you have a master that he owns you.

Some people are so keenly aware of that and others are not. So much of what is going on is going on in secret. That gold, that sacrificing, those costly stones. I tell you heaven’s going to be revealed one of these days. It’s going to be made public.

God’s x-ray machine. The scripture says in Revelation chapter one, verse fourteen, that the eyes of Jesus Christ burn like a flaming fire. He’s going to look through you through and through. He sees right through us and our excuses and our shortcomings and our apathy and our holding back. He knows us. He sees us with a vision like no one else has ever envisioned before.

This is our God and he’s going to stand. Look at the other works. What are the other three building materials? Wood, hay, and straw. When the fiery eyes of Jesus are cast upon that Christian, when that Christian comes up, he’s next, he’s going to call your name. When you come up, you’ll be before everybody, the whole church.

When he looks at you with the eyes that burn like fire, like the flame, you’ll see a life go up in smoke. You’ll say I’ve been saved forty years. He’s going to say but you were worthless. You didn’t pray, you didn’t give, you didn’t teach, you didn’t witness. You were just almost apathetic and indifferent. You were really never turned on.

You’re going to go to heaven, you’re going to get heaven. But everything was showy and bulky like hay. Hay is fluffy and bulky. Whatever you did, you may have done some things, but you wanted to flaunt it. You wanted everybody to see it. You’re just puffed up like straw. You didn’t get any glory from the Lord. You didn’t do it for me to see it. You did it for people to see it.

The Lord is looking at our heart today. He is looking at our very inmost being and you can’t argue with God, nor with the word of God. It’s there forever. Are you still with me? Okay. Now here are the rewards that are going to be given out.

You think about when I go through this list. You think about which crown you’re going to have and that you’re working on. I see several of them that I’m working on. One of them I’m not too happy looking forward to getting. I hope I don’t get it. But there’s one crown. The very first one, the crown of life. That’s enduring trial or suffering unto death. The crown of life.

The apostles are going to get that. The martyrs are going to get that. People who have been on the mission field and who have given their life for the gospel of Jesus Christ, who died a martyr’s death, are going to receive the crown of life. There’s about five crowns here that are spoken of in the scripture.

These are the rewards. There’s the crown of glory. That again, that’s faithful and sacrificial ministry of the word. Those people who minister the word of God are going to receive a crown of glory. I hope I get that one. I hope every Sunday school teacher gets that one. I hope every choir member gets that one. Choir members, you’ve got to sing for Jesus. Sing for Jesus.

Don’t ask for time off so I can sit with my husband. Sing for Jesus. He’s keeping a record. Is he not? Let’s get real, right? Sing for Jesus. Teach for Jesus. I want to preach for Jesus. I want you to witness for Jesus to your loved ones and family members and where you work. It’s for Jesus. You’ve got to do it for him, not for your own comfort, for him. For him.

A crown of glory. Someone says, "Didn't I do this for you?" No, you didn't do it for me. You did it for you. Wood, hay, and stubble. It’s gone. A whole life. You never have a chance to repeat it again. It’s not going to come back again.

There’s the crown incorruptible. That’s obeying the word of God and self-control. The scripture says the spirit of God will give us self-control. He will take control and we will then be like Jesus in our behavior and interactions.

There is the crown of righteousness. That’s the person who is looking for the appearing of Jesus Christ. There’s a lot of Christians who aren’t very excited about death, dying, and the glory of heaven. But there are some, and now you are, who are looking for the coming of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he came this afternoon? He could come between now and next Sunday. This could be our very last worship service.

Jesus may come and those people who are living and behaving and working and sacrificing and walking in the will of God, all because they said any moment, he could come. Wouldn’t it be wonderful? They go through a trial, a temptation. They don’t back down. They could walk through that trial and say, "One of these days Jesus is going to just lift me out of this trial." I can walk through it now. I don’t have to be concerned and deterred by it because I’m looking for his appearing. You live looking for his appearing. Those people are going to receive a crown of righteousness.

The last crown I want to mention is the crown of rejoicing. That’s a soul winner’s crown. Has anybody won a soul to the Lord? That’s what we need to do. If we win souls to the Lord, we’re going to receive a soul winner’s crown. As the angels rejoice at the time of conversion, so will they rejoice when the crown is placed upon your head.

Those gifts, those crowns will be given out. So there’s one, two, three, there’s four of them I’m working for. Crown of glory, the incorruptible crown, the crown of righteousness, and the crown of rejoicing. I want those four. I’m really now trying to send up material to get those four. Which ones are you after? You’re going to get it or not, depending on what we do now in this life right here.

The scripture says in Revelation chapter four that the believers are going to take their crowns once they are given out. Once that great judgment time is done, they’re going to take their crowns and place them at the feet of Jesus. They’re going to say, "All because of you. All because of you," in adoration and worship.

There are going to be some Christians there that they will not have any crowns to place at his feet. They’re going to stand off to the sidelines because they don’t have anything to bring. They didn’t bring him anything now. They’re not going to have anything to bring him then. You can get me Lord, when it’s convenient to get me. You can get my time and service when it’s convenient. You can get my money if I have any left over.

Those people that have crowns, Revelation chapter four. Say Revelation chapter four. That’s where it is. You read it. There will be those with crowns and those without crowns, and I’ve already named five of the crowns. Heaven is going to reveal it by fire.

Now after that time, 1,000 years will pass. That great judgment will be over. It’ll be a time of great rejoicing. We will enjoy the marriage supper of the lamb. We will take holy communion where Jesus Christ himself will step down to the table like I do on the first Sundays. He will take the bread just as he did before his disciples. He’ll do it again. He’ll break the bread and then he’ll show you his scars. "I’m the lamb of God. This was my body. This was my blood."

He will give it and the scripture says he will drink it with you at that time. When he gave it to the disciples on earth, when he established the Lord’s Supper, he gave them his cup. Then he goes into Gethsemane and drinks their cup. He never partook of the Lord’s Supper when he first instituted it because he was not drinking the cup of salvation, he was drinking the cup of our sins.

But in that day, he will institute it. I’ll be out there in the pews with you. We’ll all be there together and Jesus Christ will officiate. It’ll be a wonderful 1,000 years. Last week somebody said, "Boy, I thought church would never get over." Did you know that? It was an hour and a half service. It was 15 minutes longer than the other services. But that’s okay. For 1,000 years in the presence of the Lord, receiving judgment, receiving rewards, and partaking of the Lord’s Supper together with him.

When that is all done, what a happy shindig that’s going to be. When that’s all over Jesus says, "Now we have to deal with the rest of the population." Those people who never confessed. Their bodies are still in the grave. After 1,000 years, he then will call those people out of the grave and they will come. Some of them will say, "Well, we did these things in your name. We preached in your name, we taught in your name, we did this in your name." They did it in church in his name, but they lived like the devil outside the church. Jesus is going to say, "No, I never knew you. I never knew you." He’ll silence them. They’ll be gone forever.

Now you and I have a choice. We can decide. Based on our decision, we’re going to go to heaven or we’re not going to go to heaven. I wish I had time this morning. Maybe I’m going to take just a moment more. I don’t want anybody complaining the service went too long.

I’m going to take just a moment more and I’m going to tell you what happens to those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m not sure that I can really tell you that, but I’m going to tell you three isolated, disjointed theories that I have. What’s going to happen to those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? Now you have heard. That does not include anybody in this building today. You have heard and you are without excuse. There is no excusing of you whatsoever.

Revelation chapter 20 about that second resurrection. Revelation chapter 20 beginning at verse 11. This is a resurrection that happens 1,000 years after the first resurrection. This is the resurrection of the unbeliever.

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and hell or Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

God’s going to open the books. He’s going to run down the alphabet and see if your name’s there. If your name’s there, it’s because you accepted Jesus, repented of your sins, and asked him to come into your heart. If your name isn’t there, he’s going to close the book and say, "I never knew you." It’s all going to be done.

So we have a choice. But what happens to those persons who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? The first thing, listen to me. First thing, I have to ask myself, have I done and am I doing everything within my power so that they may or might hear? We are always wondering what’s going to happen to those who haven’t heard. Am I praying? Am I giving? Am I going? Or am I sending somebody else in my place? Am I doing something so that they can hear?

Their eternal loss might be on my head someday. I need to stop asking myself what happens to those who don’t hear. Someone said, "There you have to take that missionary offering every month." I want them to hear. Faith cometh by hearing, or the born-again Christian experience cometh by hearing the word of God.

Jesus mandated the church. He said in Mark 16, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." That’s it. In Matthew chapter 28, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that I’ve commanded you, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

I have to ask myself, when I start wondering what happens to those who have not heard, I have to ask myself, have I done my part or am I doing my part so that they can hear? Am I obeying the mandate or the command of the Lord?

The second thing I need to know is that God is a righteous and just God and he judges everybody according to the light that they presently have. Now God has given to every individual a certain amount of light, even those who have not heard. Everybody has a certain degree of light. The scripture says the law of God is already written in everybody’s heart. Meaning they know right from wrong.

Everybody has a conscience. I can go to any tribe, any people, in the darkest jungles of India or Africa, the Philippines or anywhere in the world, and that person will have a sense of justice. Let another person from another tribe come over and try to steal his goods or harm him. He will know immediately that it’s wrong. He’ll know that it’s wrong for him to go and do that. There’s something written in the conscience of all mankind. They know to that degree the light that is given them. It says in Romans 2:15, "The requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness."

The second portion of light they have is creation. Everybody can see creation. If there’s a creation, then there must logically be a creator. You don’t have to be too bright to know that. No. The scripture says we see the evidence of God everywhere and that means somebody must have made it. If we drove back in here and we look and say, "Oh, that church, look at that beautiful Largo Community Church. It just puffed up like a mushroom." No, there’s a building here. There must be a builder, right?

The scripture says in Romans 1, "For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood so that men are without excuse." The evidence of God is everywhere. Now, the evidence of God in two places, in the heart and in creation.

But still, that’s not enough to bring them to Jesus, is it? They still don’t know about the cross and the blood and the broken body. Well, I read in Acts chapter 10 of a man who was named Cornelius. He was a Gentile. He was not a believer. He was not of the seed of Abraham. He didn’t know about Jesus, but he walked in the light that he had. He walked in the light that he had. He worshipped God with the ability that he had.

When he walked in the light that he had, God sent Peter to bring him all the way up to knowledge, up to speed, who told him about Jesus. More and more I have heard through the years of the missionaries, of Wycliffe Bible Translators, who have gone into the jungle areas to a tribe. In that area, they found a people who believed in a great God, in a great creator, in the great beyond. And they worshipped in some fashion. The missionary goes in and says, "Let me tell you now about that God." And he begins to write their language down and puts the Bible there and gives them the Bible.

I believe with all my heart those persons who walk in the light that they have, just like Cornelius, they know the law of God in their heart and in their conscience, they see God in creation. C.S. Lewis said one time, a man was walking through a cornfield. He used this as an illustration. See my wristwatch? He found a wristwatch in a cornfield. And he looked at that watch and he picked that watch up. He said, "Look what grew in this cornfield." "This must be the result of the Big Bang Theory."

The man kicked a clod of dirt and when he kicked the dirt, the dirt fell over and there was that watch. He picked it up and he listened and it was ticking. "Well, look at this accident by nature." What does this mean? This means if there’s a watch, there must be a watchmaker, right? You don’t have to be too smart to know that, do you?

Creation. And here I set my watch according to the movements of the big watch in the sky that is so predictable. And I think all of that perfection and orderliness of the heavenly planets that I set this watch to just happened? That’s an accident? This is an accident? I’m an accident? No. Do I need to belabor that anymore? No.

The last thing I need to say about the person who has not heard is I just don’t know. Abraham prayed to God, but Job prayed to God before Abraham, and this is what was said in that prayer. In Job chapter 34 and in Genesis chapter 18, both of these saints of the old time knelt before God and said, "You are the judge of all the earth. Surely you will do right."

Give your heart to Jesus, ask him to come in, live for him. Build into your life gold and silver and costly stones. Come on, be Christlike, be victorious and you’ll know when you die you’ll not only get heaven in the mansions of heaven, but you’ll receive the crowns whereby to worship him and to lay at his feet into that day.

Let’s be very serious about getting the word out to our neighbors and our family and our friends and to the ends of the earth that everybody will have the same opportunity that we have to hear of a gracious savior who saves, who loves abundantly.

Guest (Male): One day believers will lay their crowns at the feet of Jesus in worship and gratitude, realizing that every blessing and every reward came through him alone. If you would like to revisit this entire Life After Death series, visit thehealingword.com where these messages and many additional resources are available to encourage your faith and strengthen your walk with God. Your prayers and financial support help make this ministry possible. If the Lord leads you, we invite you to partner with us as we continue sharing the hope of Christ with listeners around the world. And join us again next time for more biblical encouragement here on The Healing Word.