'The Coming Judge' | Tyrone P Jones | We Believe

Now, you may be seated. Now, this is the 11th lesson, I believe, from... Basically, we're dealing with the Apostles' Creed and which are the tenets of our faith. And this message is the coming king, the coming judge and king. And in the creed, which will be on the screen there, there's a couple of things that will be highlighted. One is, he descended to the dead. I want to address that. And also, he will come again to judge the living and the dead. That second statement certainly refers to the second coming of Christ, which is very much a tenet of our faith. It's an essential doctrine, actually, that we as believers know, understand, and believe that Christ is coming back again. It's not an afterthought. As a matter of fact, if the Lord was not returning, we are some miserable people. We're miserable. Our hope is in the return of the Lord. It's at that return, it's when the Lord comes that he's going to bring justice. He's going to bring peace on earth. It's then that God will become all in all and fill all things. That only happens at the return of the Lord. And so, the biblical framework of what happens in redemptive history is that Christ has come the first time. He has come, he's come in humility. And as you know, he's come for redemption. That's why Christ came to earth. The second time he comes, he's coming in glory for the consummation. All of this stuff is being wrapped up when he comes. He finishes all things when he returns. And so, we...and there's so much more I can unpack on the second coming, but I can't do that in one message. But what we do know is that Jesus returns personally. You remember last week, I talked about the passage in Acts when it says, the same way that you saw him go up, that's the way he's returning. So, he's coming back in his body. He's coming back physically and visibly. In the meantime, we should be motivated to reach people. We should be motivated to spread the gospel. We should be motivated to help people come to understand that this thing does wrap up. History doesn't just keep going in a manner like it is now and life just keeps going on, on, and on, and on, and on. No, there's an end to this. The Bible is real clear about the end of it. In the meantime, in the interim time, the people of God are to continue to do the

mission work. We do that in anticipation of the Lord's returning where there will be a new heaven and a new earth. And it actually is the final judgment of mankind that we read in Revelation 20. That really ends redemptive history as we know it, as we read it in the Scripture. Now, this passage here, Hebrews 9, 27 through 28, this is on the screen. It says, and just as each person is destined to die once, and after that comes the judgment. So the Scriptures is letting us know that every person is moving toward death and every person will be judged. So also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. And so again, the writer is saying, listen, he is coming again. The Lord is coming again. But for us as believers, he's not coming to deal with our sins. And you know why he's not dealing with our sins, right? He's dealing with our sins because that was already dealt with on the cross of Christ. And we were justified by the resurrection. So he's coming to bring the final salvation for every one of us who are eagerly waiting for him, anxious and anticipating. Now, that begs the question, and with everything that I said last week, the one thing that just threw everybody off was the fact that I said you're not in heaven right now. And so I'm going to deal a little bit of what happens when we die and probably take more time to explain. I went to the end of the story last week because it was just in passing. I wasn't intending to say that, but that's how it goes with me. Stuff come out of my mouth, and then I realized I didn't say it. Now I need to deal with it. But what does happen when... we die. Well, here's what the scripture does, teaches that when a believer dies, they are in the presence of the Lord. When someone passes away, they are going to be with the Lord, but they're not in their physical body. There's a period of time where we are separated from our physical body, our soul is separated from our physical body. We're not yet in the place where we're going to end up, which is where I'm going to talk about later,

which is the heaven that you read about. You don't read much about what it means to be in the presence of the Lord. You don't read that in scripture. You read it in scripture, but it doesn't describe what that means, to be in the presence of the Lord. What is described in scripture is what heaven looks like when all things are final and wrapped up and there's a new heaven that we're going to be in physically and bodily. That's what we read about in scripture. But when a person dies, that's in the faith, sorry, that's in the faith, they spiritually or soulishly, however you want to define it, they're in the presence of the Lord, whatever that may mean. The Bible uses the term paradise often to describe that intermediate state. Without giving a description of it, it's just that that's where you are. So, for example, Luke 23, 43, when Jesus talked to the thief that was on the cross, remember he said to them, I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise. What he was telling that thief is, wherever I am, that's where you're going to be. You're going to be in my presence. But you know, and we talked about this last week, you're a good church, you remember things, you learn things, you didn't forget this, Jesus didn't ascend until 40 days later. So he wasn't talking about with him being in heaven. But he says, you will be with me. Today, you will be with me in paradise. So that clearly, again, and there's so many other verses that teach us the same, that we are in the presence of God in that intermediate state. Now, at the same time, so are those who pass away. Now, the best description of this is Luke 16, verse 19 through 28. It won't be on the screen, but it's a parable of Lazarus and dives. The scripture talks about the rich man who lived the life that he wanted to live, and there was a poor man, again, you could read this in Luke 16, who lived at the man's gate begging, and he was in such bad condition, even dogs would lick his sores, etc. Where the poor man died, and the scripture says, he was taken into the bosom of Abraham. He was in a place of comfort. He was in a place of peace. He was in the presence of the Lord, in Abraham's bosom, again,

wherever that may be. But it's more symbolism of being in a place of peace, a place of comfort. He knew then, and anybody who dies in the Lord, they know that they've made it, if you want to say it that way. They're not in this intermediate state saying, I don't know what's next. I don't know what's next. If you're in the presence of the Lord, experiencing his peace and comfort, you know that you got it well done. Well done, my good and faithful servant. But then he says, the other man died, but the other man was in torment, and they could see each other. And the man that was in torment, he said to Abraham, can you send this guy to at least relieve me of the pain, of the torment? He said, no, no, there's a great gulf between us. You lived your life the way that you lived it, and that's where you end up. This fella has lived his life, and now he's in a place of comfort and peace. And so the man goes on to say, can somebody at least go tell my brothers, because I don't want them to end up in this torment that I'm in. So we're in intermediate places, whether it be those who have died in the faith or those who have died rejecting the Lord. Now, Matthew 25, 41, and this will be on the screen, it tells us what happens in the end, and we'll deal more with it in Revelation as we just read. But the king will turn to those on the left and say, away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire, prepare for the devil and his angels, which is the lake of fire, which we'll address. And they will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. And so here, the Scripture lets us know that when the Lord returns, He will bring us from wherever we are, wherever we are, whether you're in the intermediate state, in paradise with the Lord, or if you're in eternal, He's going to bring us all together to judge us. And that's when people go to their final place. He brings these... So I better say this too, this body, maybe I said it already, so don't think your body doesn't mean anything, it does. It's just in the ground. waiting until the Lord brings us before Him.

And the truth of it is, the good news for those of us in the Lord, this body only gets better. That ought to have been an amen for some of you all right there. It only gets better. And so, he's able to do it. Sometimes people ask me, honestly, because it talks about our bodies. People often ask me, does the Bible, is there a concern about being cremated versus being buried? I hear that question so often. And I do tell people, the Bible does not say how people, what should happen with them or how you should be cared for after you die, whether it's cremation or burial. Now, I have my personal conviction. I do not want to be cremated. My family knows I don't want to be cremated. I know I don't have a say when I'm dead, but I will come back. I will haunt you. Ooh, I told you not to burn me. I'm coming back. Yeah, yeah. But, and this is why it's my personal conviction. The only people I see in the Scripture that actually burned their loved ones was heathens. And so, I don't want to be treated like that. But this is what I know, just not trying to convince you of what you're going to do. Whether you're in the ground or whether your ashes are spread out at the Pacific Ocean or up on a mountain, God knows how to bring your behind back. He'll get you back together and raise you up. So, you do whatever you want with it. I'm getting out of...

Okay, let me get to the sermon. So, here's the issue. The sermon is that there will be a final judgment. There will be a final judgment. Throughout Scripture, it affirms it over and over again that believers and unbelievers will be judged. Every one of us are going to stand before God and know what our destined place is. Whether people believe in God or not. I've talked to people like you and say, man, listen, you know, it's about eternal life. It's about judgment. It's about giving account to God. And their response would be, well, I don't even believe in God. It don't matter whether you believe or not. You still going to get judged. You don't have to believe Him to be judged. Everyone goes before judgment with the God who created us. Every one of us have to give an account for our life. That speaks much to us and it should speak much to you. Because none of us are people unto ourselves. None of us are people unto ourselves. Everyone has an authority. And the ultimate authority over all of our lives is a God who created us. And we will have to give account to Him on how we live this life. Am I talking to the right church? And so, Acts 17, 30 through 31, listen to this. God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times. But now, He commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to Him. So, you hear that, that God is saying this. He commands everyone everywhere to repent for He has set a day for judging the world

with justice by the man He has appointed. And He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead. And so, this verse is real clear to us, or these verses is real clear. God has set a day. There is a day when He's going to return. There is a day when He's going to return and judge the world. It's on God's calendar. It's not on ours. We don't know when He's going to come back. And I know people make all these predictions. If you lived when I lived, you probably lived through the 88 reasons why the Lord is coming back in 1988. And then when he didn't get that right, he wrote an addendum, 89 reasons on why He's coming in 1989. And then everything that goes on in the world, when people see wars going on and various things, oh, man, that means the Lord is coming back. Oh, we're getting sooner to the coming of the Lord. We've been getting closer to the coming of the Lord since Jesus ascended. Everything we see is only just leading to what we know is true. So, it's not on anybody's timetable. There's no king, no ruler, no president, nobody that's going to make a decision. Oh, man, what they just did is going to get us closer to the coming of the Lord. It ain't on their calendar. It's on God's calendar. He's the one, did you all hear that? For He has set a day for judging. So, it's fixed by Him. And so, we don't know when that is, which should be an encouragement. I'll get to that. The first time He came.

came quietly. Jesus came humbly. He came as a baby in a manger. But the next time he comes, he's coming in authority. Everybody going to know who is coming. Ain't going to be no disguise in that. He is coming back. And so the nature of that judgment is the fact, of course, that it's universal. No one is exempt. Every person that's ever lived in every generation, every ethnicity, everyone will face judgment. Here's Romans Chapter 2, verses 5 through 11. But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. Hear this, he will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil, for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. He states this because in Romans, he's writing to the Jews to let them know, you ain't so elite that you ain't getting away with this. Jews will be judged, Gentiles will be judged, but there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good, for God does not show favoritism. So, this verse reminds us that every one of us have to give account for our lives. We can't just live with the mindset, I can do whatever I want to do. No, you can, meaning you have the faculty and the physical ability, but you're going to have to give account for it. Everyone has to give an answer for their lives. Ecclesiastes 12, 14, God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. So, everything we do comes of the judgment of God. That's why we as Christians don't keep secrets with the Lord. Some of y'all caught that, some of y'all didn't. We don't keep secrets. You better off just talking to the Lord and get forgiveness for it. Instead of carrying that mess, give it to Him. I ain't telling you you got to go to everybody and tell everybody everything, but there ought to be somebody

you can talk to and address that stuff, get your conscience clear, get your heart clear. I may have to look over my shoulder thinking somebody else is coming after me, but I don't want to be looking up thinking God is coming after me. You're going to have to give account. It's better, just do it. Just get it done. Get it done. All right, so Jesus will be the judge. Here it is, John 5, 22. This is good news to me that Christ is going to be the judge. In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, He's given the Son absolute authority to judge. And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed, it's here now, when the dead will hear my voice, the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in Himself, and He's granted the same life-giving power to His Son, and He's given Him the authority to judge everyone because He is the Son of Man. I actually love the fact that Jesus is the one that judges us because this is the Jesus who loves you. This is the Jesus that came and died for you. This is the Jesus who formed you and pursued you. This is the Jesus that you get to stand in front of who's got nails, scarred hands, and pierced thigh because He absolutely poured out His blood for you. He loves you. He wants you to know Him for the Lord and Savior that He is. And so 2 Corinthians 5.10 says, for we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. And that leads us back to what we read in Revelation Chapter 20. Because when the Lord does return, wherever people are in their intermediate states, whether it be presence of the Lord, out of body, or whether it be in torment, the Lord's going to bring us back together, bring those bodies back together. And Revelation 20 explains to us what happens. There's a great white throne. And I want you to understand this. This white throne, the scripture says that we're all there in the presence of the Lord, dead, small, and great, it says there in verse number 12. And the books were open, including the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they has done as recorded in the books He gave up his dead death and the grave gave up their dead the intermediate place for those who've rejected him They got it. They give it up. They they do not hold on to him

The Lord brings them before him and all are judged according to their deeds Then death and the grave those who have rejected him are now thrown into the lake of fire The lake of fire is the second death The first death was their physical death and rejection of the Lord. The second death is eternal death. It's eternal damnation There they are in the lake of fire Forever and anyone whose name was not found record in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire but then here's the preparation for us Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth Because the old earth had disappeared and you might remember and again There's so much I can unpack in this but second Peter tells us that when the Lord returns everything we see what our physical eyes Will burn up Everything gets burnt up Everything that we see comes to an end So the Lord prepares a new heaven and a new earth for those of us that are in Christ Jesus the sea was gone and I saw a holy city the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven like a bride Beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne saying look This is for the believers God's home is now among his people He will live with them. They will be his people now We're eternally with the Lord in bodies that we can see one another Know one another actually walk with Jesus look face to face with our Savior God himself will be with him He will wipe away every tear from their eyes There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever All these things are gone forever. That's at the second coming of the Lord and his judgment now This this ought to mean something To us all there's some things that it ought to speak about considering the fact we're talking about Christ being the righteous judge and the one who is returning for us Because honestly, it's this wrap-up of redemptive history where the rubber really meets the road for everyone for every one of us and Because Jesus is coming. We as the people of God ought to be on mission. Here's

Here's the issue Life is short Eternity is real and people matter When you read passages like this You may you may have a great sense that you belong to the Lord and You know the peace that you got coming and the comfort that you got coming and the hope that you got coming But there's people that you also know it ought to bring emotion to you knowing this is what they're facing This is where they're headed if they don't come to the Lord Jesus Christ if they don't hear the preached word of the gospel and Come to the saving knowledge of the Lord It is an absolute fact and I know Sometimes it's posed wrong at a funeral. Not everybody is going to heaven people There are people who will absolutely face eternal damnation Absolutely life is short Eternity is real People matter and we exist to help people that are far from God find life in Christ We want them, of course, we're looking forward. I'm actually looking forward to standing before the Lord Absolutely looking forward to it. Don't have no fear of it Don't have no concern about it because I know who my Lord and Savior is. I know that my sins have been forgiven I know that I got eternal life. I'm just waiting to finish this thing off At the same time your heart ought to hurt for people Who don't have that same hope? and and there's there's some other things here that I just want to wrap up with because of that and and one of them is this if if since we have a righteous judge coming and Every one of us in life have experienced injustice Since the righteous judge is coming leave the justice and judgment to him

Leave it to him Every one of us have experienced injustice Might have lost your job Unjustly might have been part of a people group where people treated you in certain ways That was unjust you can go right on down the line. Every one of us have experienced some injustice But it's not for us to handle It's for him He's the one that will do the right thing with those who've done unjust things against you That's his job That's his place of authority, and he's the only one that truly knows what is right and what is wrong. We can sometimes judge people and respond to people in a gray area, not because it truly, truly was the way we think it was, but because it made us feel a certain way. We want to act upon and take justice in our own hands. He's the righteous judge. You see it here, everything that people do, it's going to be judged. If he's going to do it, then I don't need to. You don't need to. God don't need your help. Lord, hey, I know you're going to judge him, but don't worry about it, God. I got this one. No, no, no. He don't need you. He is the righteous judge. He will make things right. He will vindicate every one of us that was unjustly served in any kind of manner. He'll do it. He will settle it and make it right. Colossians 3.25 says, but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he's done, and there is no partiality. Nobody's going to be missed. Now, here's the second thing with that. Because we got a righteous judge who will do justice, we can forgive freely. We can forgive. We can let things go. We have to take on the mindset that vengeance and revenge does not belong to me. It belongs to the righteous judge. And again, I know everybody in here has had some things happen to them. Some things was evil. Some things was done out of hatred. Whatever people's lives was, whatever grotesque things they've done to you, evil things they've done to you, I get it. Every one of us have experienced those things, but it's not for us to take on. It belongs to him. And I know sometimes that's not easy. Believe me, I know it's not easy. You know, you can renumerate in your mind things that have done, even when you think you've let it

go, and then something comes back on your mind, or you see them, and then something comes up. And all of those thoughts and emotions, I share with the first service. I think it's okay to share with this service, because I know the first service, they'll keep confidentiality. So I'm assuming you'll do the same. But you know, every morning, every morning I pray the Lord's prayer. And you know that in there, part of that is, Lord, forgive me for my sins. And ask the Lord, is there something, Lord, that I've done that I haven't done, even got my right, got right, talked to you about it. But also, it also says, and to forgive those who've done sin against you. Most of the time, most of the time, I can pray on through that, and nobody comes to mind, most of the time. There are times when there may be a person or two that does, and I have to spend the time to really go before the Lord and be real honest about it, before the Lord, of what my thoughts are, feelings are. And it's not like he doesn't know. Because he does. So I might as well be honest about it. But I tell you, about a week and a half ago, I think it was, maybe not even a week and a half ago, but I hadn't heard from a person in four years. And the last conversations we had were absolutely horrible. And I, you know, I'm not going to go into all the details. Hadn't heard from the person in this manner, I would say, in four years. And I get a text message, him picking up where I thought we left off four years ago. The threatening, the bullying, the accusations. I'm reading these text messages. I'm your pastor being transparent. You all right for a minute? Being honest. I read these text messages, and I'm telling you right now, I went from zero to 103 seconds. Everything about all the other stuff rose up in me. When I say zero to 103 seconds, I'm absolutely livid. I finish what I'm doing. I rush to get myself together, to get my vehicle, because I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm driving to do it. I got it all figured out. He will never be able to text again by the time I'm done with him, ever. I'm overwhelmed with emotion. My heart, I'm so angry. My heart feel like it's beaten out of my chest. I'm crying. Thank God I heard one word of obedience, call your wife. I called Lady V. She could hear it in my voice. She heard me crying. She heard, she said, are you breathing? I could hardly breathe. so upset. And thank God, Lady V does what Lady V does. She talked. She prayed. She talked. I had to pull over till I was able to breathe again. And she said these words, You know, that is not for you. That belongs to the Lord. That belongs to him. You might have thought you forgiven, but evidently you didn't

let it go. She prayed with me. I let it go, set my phone down. It wasn't five minutes later that person called. I saw it. I had to have it. You know, there's a minute. I mean, Lady V, it was a good prayer, but she ain't Jesus. You know, so it's a it's a minute. It took me a minute when I saw the name, picked it up. And before I could say a word out of my mouth, the person said, Tyrone, I'm sorry. I should have never did that. I was so wrong. Out of line, out of order. Please forgive me. God knows how to handle these things. He knows how to handle them. Was it all right for me to tell you that story? It's either that or you can't visit me at jail, so I needed to... Yeah, so here we are. Romans 12, 19, friends do not avenge yourselves. Instead, leave room for God's wrath. Because it's written, vengeance belongs to me, I will repay, says the Lord. Because there's a righteous judge coming, we can forgive freely. Here's the last thing, we just need to stay on task. People are making decisions every day that determines their destiny in life, every day. People are dying and going into eternity, some into eternal life, some into eternal damnation. We got a responsibility to help people turn back to the Lord. Ezekiel said it this way, turn back, turn back from your evil ways for you will die. We have a responsibility to let people know that there is a Christ, there is a Savior, there is a God, that they do not have to die in their sins. They don't have to stay in that place that they're living. Matter of fact, 2 Peter tells us real clearly that the reason the Lord is forbearing, pouring out his wrath upon people, and the reason the Lord has established his time of return is because he doesn't want anybody to perish. He wants everybody to repent. So we got a job to do. Matthew 24, 14 says this, and the good news about the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world so that all nations will hear it, and watch this, and then the end will come. I'm telling you, I'm anxious for the end, man. So what does that mean? I need to keep preaching that more and more people come to Jesus. The more gospel we spread, the more mission we get on, the more that we can help people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ,

the end will come. And also, we want to encourage people, because this world, it's jacked up. Life can be pretty doggone tough. I don't care where you live, whether you live in Afghanistan or America. It's some jacked up people making some stupid decisions, Lord, almost stupid decisions that's affecting all of us. People's minds get messed up, feelings get hurt, decisions get made that can set every one of us off course in life, and lose hope in the good of mankind, and in the good of people, and in the good of the system. But listen, we got to be encouraged. We got to help encourage people through this and keep reminding them that what you're going through is not the end of it. This ain't the end. Don't drift now, don't fall back now, don't give up now, don't lose hope now. We encourage people into the end. Here's Hebrews 10, 24, 25. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works, and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. So we got to spread this word that people come to Jesus, and we got to encourage people in their walk. And that's where I'll bring this home. Every single one of us will stand before the Lord, will stand before the king, will stand before the righteous judge. And every one of us long for justice in our heart. We all know that there's going to be a reckoning. And the gospel says there will be, there will be a reckoning. But here's the grace, the same God that brings justice is the same God that's yet pouring out his mercy. And that's what every one of us need, and that's what you got to ask yourself. Are you ready? Are you ready to meet the Lord? I'm not asking, do you go to church? Are you ready to meet the Lord? Our God our King our Lord our Savior he's returning and he's coming he's coming to judge us But if you're in Christ It's peace It's comfort. It's what we all have been desire

But if you but if you're not I'm telling you today is the day that you want to make that decision To prepare yourself to meet the king and the judge that's coming everybody stand if you would prayer team you can come It's on you now to determine You know whether you're ready It's only one preparation You put on the wedding garments to go into the great feast of the Lord by doing one thing That's trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior Trust in him father. I want to thank you now for this opportunity to go Before your people with your word You are an amazing God Throughout the scriptures we see What your work is in us what your work is in the world and what your desire is for all of us And we're so grateful Lord God that we can trust all of redemptive history in your hands you sent your son Jesus Christ to reveal your will in your way to us and You're sending that same son of God To bring judgment to the world. Let us be a people that hear his voice That hear the voice of the Savior calling us that we may surrender our life and Embrace the life that you have given us that every one of us when we stand before you It's eternal life that we receive in Christ's name. We pray. Amen. God bless you. Have a