Chapter
Thirteen:
WORSHIPPING
WITH JOY IN ETERNITY: UNITED WITH CHRIST
IN HIS GLORY
'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 has done, whether it be good or bad', (2 Corinthians 5:10).
All believers will one day stand
before the judgment seat of Christ. This
is not the Great White Throne judgment where those outside of Christ will be
judged (Revelation
Only the love of Christ can hold
ministry together in the body of Christ.
Worship is always motivated by
love. Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
'the love of Christ constrains us' (2 Corinthians
Peter loved the Lord and was
willing to die for Christ in
The worshipper will endure hardship
for the joy of harvest.
Jesus
went to the cross worshipping the Father.
He counted it all joy to suffer the cross and its shame. He looked beyond the suffering, and rejoiced
in the harvest of souls who would be gathered together in Him. The worshipper looks with joy to an eternal
inheritance by 'Looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith'. (Hebrews 12:2). The
word 'looking' is translated from the Greek word aphoran which comes from two
Greek words apo
meaning 'away from' and horan meaning 'to look'. If we are 'looking unto Jesus' then we must
also be looking away from something else.
Looking unto Jesus means we are looking away from the things of the world
and looking unto the beauty of Jesus. A
worshipper will see that the only riches worth having are in Christ.
The great chapter of faith,
Hebrews chapter 11, is all about a company of people who worshipped. They looked away from the world because they
looked to a greater inheritance. Moses
held the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than all the riches of
When we compare the ministry of
Paul with the 'heroes of faith' in Hebrews 11, it is easy to understand what
motivated Paul. He looked away from the
pleasures of life, and held no regard to his own reputation. He looked away from the suffering that he
endured, because he looked to the joy of worshipping Jesus with the fruit of
that suffering. Paul was concerned about the spiritual well being of
every believer. He desired to build up
the believers in Christ because he looked to the day when he would present them
to the Lord. Paul was a worshipper and
everything he did was with the thought that one day he would be with Jesus. 'Whom we preach, warning every man, and
teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus:' (Colossians 1:28)
When my wife and I were first
married, I taught at a Bible school in
The worshipper seeks to approach the
judgment seat of Christ with joy.
Salvation is often regarded as a
passport to heaven, but every Christian should be seeking to be a worshipper
with the goal of entering eternity worshipping.
Peter spoke of being zealous to have an abundant entrance into eternity,
he wrote: 'Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do
these things, you shall never fall: For
so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.'
(2 Peter 1:10-11)
I worked for one and a half years
at a baker's in the
But how we approach the judgment
seat of Christ will be determined by how we answer the higher call to
worship. How we approach this judgment
is entirely dependent upon our love for Christ.
Paul wanted to enter eternity worshipping, and his ministry can only be understood in
the knowledge that Paul was a worshipper.
Why did Paul and Silas allow themselves to be beaten by rods in
Paul loved the Philippians because
they were his joy and crown.
Paul's love for the believers was
linked directly with his desire to worship in heaven. He called the Philippians his joy and crown because he saw them as
treasures that he would present to the Lord.
This is how we should regard other believers in Christ because the body
of Christ is His eternal treasure. Our
joy and crown in heaven will be the reward of our love for Christ that we have
expressed through ministering to the body of Christ. Every believer is called to ministry, and one
day we will present what we have invested in the body of Christ to the Lord. 'Therefore,
my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in
the Lord, my dearly beloved.'
(Philippians 4:1)
The desire of Paul was to enter
heaven worshipping on the highest level.
He was willing to face any trial in order to enter heaven with joy. He longed for the day when he would present
to the Lord the believers that he had won for Christ and built up in the
Lord. This was the fruit of his worship
on earth. He had suffered shame to win
them; he had gloried in God's eternal purpose and died to all his own ambitions
to win them. His love for Christ was
revealed in them. Only worshippers can truly understand
Paul's words, 'For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us', (Romans 8:18).
The difference between men and
women who have lived their lives for Christ, and the men and women
who have reached great heights in the world, is most clearly seen at the end of
their lives. Those who reach great
heights in politics will one day have to step down and allow others to take
their place. It is pitiful to watch
films of some of the great leaders as they stepped down, and to see the pain on
their faces as they leave the offices of power for the last time. It is not like this for the worshipper who
seeks to know Christ through his or her life.
He or she just carries on worshipping into eternity.
The worshipper is assured of a great
reward.
Saul
of Tarsus had been the persecutor of the church. He consented to the death of Stephen. He was filled with hate for the
believers. But this was the man who
became a worshipper of the Lord. One
encounter with Jesus on the
The desire to build a big
ministry can be motivated by carnal reasoning.
We must always desire Christ more than a successful ministry. Even in missions we must learn to die to our
own ambitions. It is the Lord who leads
and we are to follow Him. Some people
are well known in ministry, but the majority are not well known. It does not matter, everyone is important and
no one should be seeking his or her own glory.
We are called to worship and to let the Lord do His work through
us. We must learn to enter into His
rest. Our greatest joy should be found
in using our lives and ministries to please the Lord.
Worshipping with joy in heaven is
a continuation of our worship on earth.
The worshipper just carries on worshipping from time into eternity. How
we enter into heaven depends upon our love for the Lord Jesus Christ. If we desire to worship like Paul in heaven
then we must worship the Lord to the highest levels on earth. We must seek to enter heaven with the joy of
having loved the Lord above all things, and with the crown of service. This joy and crown is given to those who love
the Lord, love His word, love His people and are willing to serve the Lord with
joy.