The First Resurrection and the Judgment Seat of Christ
The sermon discusses the first resurrection, the judgment seat of Christ, and the day of revelation, emphasizing the importance of faithfulness and the value of what God values.
Zac Poonen preaches about the transformation that will occur when Christ comes again, where believers will receive new bodies that are immortal and similar to Jesus' resurrected body. Those who died in Christ will rise from their graves to meet the Lord along with living disciples. A judgment seat will be set up for individual assessment and rewards based on faithfulness in earthly lives, with crowns awarded to the faithful. The sermon emphasizes that earthly values like money and fame hold no weight before God, while virtues like purity, humility, and mercy are highly valued.
Text
When Christ comes, all who belong to Him will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye. We will receive new bodies that can never age or die (1 Cor. 15:51-53). Our new bodies will be just like the body that Jesus Himself had after His resurrection (Phil. 3:20,21). Those who died in Christ will also arise from their graves in their new bodies and along with the living disciples of Jesus at that time, will rise into the air to meet the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-17).
Then Christ will set up His judgment seat, at which we will be judged (assessed) and rewarded individually for our faithfulness in our earthly lives.
The Bible speaks of crowns being awarded in that day for those who have been faithful. You could read 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 and 4:5; 2 Timothy 4:8 and 1 Peter 5:4 for more details of the rewards that will be given by the Lord to His disciples at that time.
In that day, we will see that "many who are first will be last and the last, first " (Matt. 19:30). Many who appeared to us to be very spiritual on earth, will then be seen as not having been so faithful in God's eyes. Others whom we may not have thought too highly of, will then be seen as having been faithful in God's eyes. In that day, the unknown but faithful widow will take precedence over the world-famous but unfaithful preacher.
In that day, we will discover that many things such as money and fame, that men considered valuable on earth have no value before God; and that many virtues that men did not value, such as purity, humility, unselfishness, mercy and goodness are valued greatly by God.
Then will take place what the Bible calls `the marriage of the Lamb of God' - the spiritual marriage of Jesus Christ with His Bride - the ones who were faithful in denying themselves and taking up the cross daily and following Him as His disciples on earth (Rev. 19:8-10). In that day we will see that it was worth it all to have suffered misunderstanding, shame, persecution and even death itself for the sake of our Lord and His gospel.
Sermon Outline
- I. The First Resurrection
- A. Transformation in the twinkling of an eye
- B. Receiving new bodies that can never age or die
- C. Resurrection of the dead in Christ
- II. The Judgment Seat of Christ
- A. Assessment and reward for faithfulness
- B. Crowns awarded for faithfulness
- III. The Day of Revelation
- A. Reversal of earthly values
- B. Valuing what God values
- IV. The Marriage of the Lamb
- A. Spiritual marriage of Jesus Christ with His Bride
- B. Worthiness of suffering for the Lord
Key Quotes
“many who are first will be last and the last, first” — Zac Poonen
“many things such as money and fame, that men considered valuable on earth have no value before God” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- Faithfulness in our earthly lives will be rewarded by God, and we should strive to be faithful in all that we do.
- The things that we value on earth, such as money and fame, have no value before God, and we should prioritize what He values, such as purity and humility.
- Suffering for the Lord and His gospel is worth it, and we should be willing to deny ourselves and take up the cross daily in order to follow Him.