The Ultimate Awards Ceremony

by Greg Laurie

We have watched the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys over the years. If you're like me, you usually don't agree with many of the choices and the shows usually drag on way too long, but that's entertainment. And when it's all said and done, that greatly coveted award will sit on a shelf and gather dust.

But there is a bigger awards ceremony that is yet to come. In fact, it is the biggest of all, and it will be in heaven. And these awards, or rewards, will be dispersed by God Himself!

Jesus spoke of this in Luke 14:14 when He said, "And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Also in Revelation 22:12, Jesus said, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." This coming event for which we should be preparing ourselves is called the "Judgment Seat of Christ."

By the way, this ceremony, like the Oscars and other ceremonies, is by invitation only. In other words, only those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will be present at this big event.

The Apostle Paul gives us this description of the future judgment for Christians. "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 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." (II Corinthians 5:9-10)

This is a very important statement: "We must all stand before Christ to be judged." Understand that there is a difference between the Great White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20:11-15 and the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Great White Throne Judgment is the final judgment for unbelievers. Revelation 20:15 says, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." If you are a Christian, you won't be there, and neither will I. But if you are an unbeliever, you will stand at that Great White Throne Judgment, and then it will be too late.

So we see that the Judgment Seat of Christ does not determine whether you will go to heaven. The Judgment Seat of Christ takes place in heaven, and as a Christian, you already will be there! This judgment is about rewards.

II Corinthians 5:9-10 (NLT) tell us, "Everything will be made clear and open, according to what we have done, whether it be good or bad." The word used here for "bad" doesn't speak of something that is necessarily ethically or morally evil. The immoral and sinful things that we have done have been forgiven, because of the death of Jesus on the cross. The word here for "bad" means "good for nothingness." It speaks of wasting our lives and the time, talent and resources God has given us. All of these things are to be used for His glory.

We were placed on the earth not to chase after personal fulfillment, but to glorify God. As we read of the elders in heaven saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11), it is a reminder from heaven as to why we are on earth. We are here to bring glory and pleasure to God. Every day, we should get up and say, "Lord, I am giving my life to You. I am giving this day to You. I am giving my talents to You. How can You use me for Your glory?"

One day, we will be held accountable as Christians for what we did with the opportunities that God gave us. The sad thing is that there will be people in heaven who forever will be in the presence of God, but they will have nothing to show for their lives. Sure, they have been saved. They have been forgiven. They made it to heaven. The problem is that they wasted their opportunities to glorify God on earth.

In I Corinthians 3:13,15, Paul, speaking of this same event regarding the Judgment Seat of Christ, says, "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 burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." In other words, some people will make it to heaven, but they will have squandered their lives.

Have you ever seen a sweep at the Oscars where one movie wins all of the awards? I think sometimes we envision heaven as being sort of like the Academy Awards. We expect to hear the name "Billy Graham" and other well-known Christians called frequently. We picture these individuals sweeping up all of the rewards in heaven.

I have no doubt that Billy Graham will receive many rewards for his years of faithful service to God. But I think we will also be in for some surprises in heaven. Imagine, if you will, that you are there in heaven at this awards ceremony when you hear, "And the winner of this award is ... Maude Firkenbinder!"

Maude Firkenbinder? Who was she? She never preached in a crusade. She never recorded a Christian CD. She never wrote a book. But here is the deal: While Billy Graham was out preaching, Maude was praying. While he was doing his part, Maude was doing hers.

Every one of us is called to do something. Some are called to preach. Others are called to work quietly behind the scenes. Some may reach millions. Others may reach three or four. But in that final day, we will not be held accountable for what God called Billy Graham to do. We will not be held accountable for what God has called our favorite Christian artist to do. We will not be held accountable for what God has called our pastor to do. We will be held accountable for what God has called us to do. Our objective is to be faithful with what God has set before us and to do the best possible job with that. We may not receive many rewards on earth for our efforts, but we can look forward to them in heaven. So, get busy and remember – you are here to glorify God!

[EL has taken the liberty to replace Mr. Laurie's NLT quotes with the KJV accept in one place where his point would be muddied by replacement. His point is nonetheless an accurate statement.]
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Personal Note: I have no comment of my own to add here. It is posted for edification-- for myself, and for anyone else who might happen by. This is something we should all look forward to.


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