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                               Judgment Day!

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By David Wilkerson
May 25, 1992
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          The apostle Paul was one of God's most faithful
          servants. And I believe there were three important
          motivations behind Paul's faithfulness: hope, love and
          fear.

          Paul had a blessed hope of eternal life that motivated
          him to faithfulness. He also had a great love for
          Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:14 he says, "The love of
          Christ constraineth us"- meaning, it constrained him to
          remain faithful to God.

          But Paul's faithfulness was also motivated by something
          else: the reverential fear of the hour he would stand
          before the Judge of the world on Judgment Day!

          Today, the vast majority of Christians possess only the
          first two motivations. Virtually every believer claims
          to have the hope of eternal life. And many say in all
          sincerity, "I know I love Jesus with all my heart."

          Yet the truth of a coming day of judgment is the very
          thing that produces serious, godly believers. Those who
          put it out of mind are usually cold, careless and
          indulgent. But the fact remains that, sometime very
          soon, every person who has ever lived will be gathered
          to the place of judgment - to be judged by Jesus
          Christ: "For we must all appear before the judgment
          seat of Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:10). "So then every
          one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans
          14:12).

          At this very moment, legions of angels stand ready for
          Jesus' command to gather from the corners of the earth
          both the wicked and the righteous: "The Son of man
          shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out
          of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which
          do iniquity" (Matthew 13:41).

          All the rich, famous and powerful of all ages will be
          brought to stand before Him: "and the kings of the
          earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the
          chief captains, and the mighty men... hid themselves in
          the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to
          the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, hide us from
          the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from
          the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath
          is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelations
          6:15-17).

          A famous actress is constantly talking about
          reincarnation. She claims she has lived many lives
          before, and that when she dies she'll come back to
          earth in another body.

          What terror awaits her and her followers! And angel of
          the Lord will be sent to their grave sites, uniting
          body and soul - and they will suddenly discover there
          is not another life! Instead, they will be summoned by
          the Judge to the last court - a court of no appeals.
          And the only after life will be eternal damnation for
          all who rejected Him.

          Indeed, the angels will gather together all the "tares"
          - the sinners and the ungodly - and drag them "in
          bundles to burn them" (Matthew 13:40, 30). These will
          not come willingly, but with weeping , wailing and
          gnashing of teeth.

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                       God Has Been Keeping Books on
                       Every Living Soul Since Adam!

                      -------------------------------

          God has recorded every passion and motive of every
          person - every single thought, word and deed. The
          motives of the Christian are entered in a "book of
          remembrance," which is the Book of Life. And on the day
          of judgment, Christ is going to remember all who are in
          this book:

          "Then they that feared the Lord spake often to one
          another: and the Lord... heard it, and a book of
          remembrance was written before him for them that feared
          the Lord... . And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of
          hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will
          spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth
          him" (Malachi 3:16-17).

          If you love Jesus with all your heart and you're
          cleansed by His blood, then your name is written in His
          book of remembrance. Such need not fear this message;
          in fact, it should bring great rejoicing to your heart
          as you see all that God has planned for those who love
          Him!

          But there is the Book - and there are books. The Bible
          says each life has its own book, a record of an entire
          lifetime on earth:

          "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on
          it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
          away... . And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
          before God; and the books were opened... and the dead
          were judged out of those things which were written in
          the books, according to their works. And the sea gave
          up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
          delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
          judged according to their works" (Revelation 20:11-13).

          The wicked and ungodly will be judged by everything
          written in those books - one by one, before the Judge
          of all!

          Scripture says every person will have a resurrection
          body at that time. The sinner will have a body "fitted
          to destruction" (Romans 9:22). But the godly will be
          given a new body, likened unto the Lord's! And when the
          judgment is over, the Lamb will rise up from His throne
          and lead His flock into eternal paradise.

          Yet before the Judge does this, He will beckon us by
          His side as He judges the wicked: "To him that
          overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
          even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father
          in his throne" (Revelations 3:21). Jesus is going to
          say to us, "Come - sit at My right hand as the
          judgments proceed!"

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                    Try to Imagine the Scene That Takes
                       Place as the Judgment Begins!

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          Hitler cringes in agony as the Judge tells His angels
          to read the roll-call of names of every Jew he
          murdered. Six million names - those of every man, woman
          and child he killed! Every scream will be replayed,
          every cry from the ovens heard again. All his henchmen
          will share his terror.

          Next comes the army of abortion doctors and nurses,
          huddled together before the Judge. They listen and
          shudder as the names of millions of babies are read.
          God has a name for every one - because according to the
          Scriptures they were named from eternity (see Jeremiah
          1:5)!

          Every scream from the womb will be replayed - and the
          doctors who performed those murderous acts will have to
          stand and endure each cry. Every mother who allowed her
          baby to be killed will be shown the life God planned
          for her child - and how her baby was robbed of that
          life. The Judge will expose it all!

          Then there are those who neglected their salvation"
          (see Hebrews 2:3). They stand in great shock, not
          believing they are numbered with the transgressors.
          Listen to their cries:

          "We went to church, we tithed. We were called by Your
          name. We were not wicked!" But the Judge will say: "All
          (your) righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah
          64:6). Others will say, "We can cast out devils, we
          healed the sick. We did mighty works in Your name!" But
          the Judge will answer, "I don't even know you. Depart
          from Me, you workers of iniquity!" (see Luke 13:27).

          An angel will stand among them, repeating to them the
          Scriptures they heard during their lifetime: "you gave
          no earnest heed to the things which you heard" (see
          Hebrews 2:1). "How do you hope to escape, seeing you
          have neglected so great a salvation, which was so
          clearly revealed and confirmed to you?" (see Hebrews
          2:3).

          Also before the throne are many other faces I remember.
          I don't know their names; I only remember the hate I
          saw in their faces - and the awful blasphemies that
          poured from their lips:

          There are the faces of three lesbians staring at me in
          front of an office building in Manhattan. Operation
          Rescue was demonstrating in front of an abortion
          chamber. And those three girls stood by, cursing and
          screaming. "Get your Christ-garbage off the streets.
          Take your Jesus and crawl back into your holes!"

          There is the face of the abortion doctor - the man who
          made a fortune killing the unborn. He shook his fist at
          the demonstrators, the veins in his neck protruding,
          hate filling his eyes. He was screaming, "I'll get you
          - I'll sue you! You'll pay for this!"

          There are the faces of flaunted homosexual lust,
          parading past Columbus Circle during New York's "Gay
          Pride" march two years ago. I watched as some 250,000
          homosexual activists marched past. And just the sight
          of one carrying a Bible brought a chorus of jeers:
          "Jesus was gay! God is gay! We're here, we're queer,
          and we're after your children!"

          It wasn't the blasphemous signs or the unbelievable
          arrogance that got to me. It was the hate for Christ -
          the look that said if Jesus were there that day, they
          gladly would have nailed Him to the nearest tree in
          Central Park!

          Yet here they all are before the judgment seat, bundled
          together in one group - paralyzed with agony and fear!
          It is the day of God's wrath and vengeance. And now, as
          each book is opened and every vile deed voiced aloud,
          what has become of their bluster! Where now are the
          bold blasphemies, the mockery of sacred things? Where
          is their cry?

          I spoke at Yale University not long ago, and a group of
          gay activists came in carrying signs, trying to
          interrupt the meeting. My sermon was on hell - and as I
          spoke, a Holy Ghost hush fell over the place. The
          silence was so deafening that one reporter said, "My
          pencil seemed to make noise."

          Those demonstrators couldn't move - they were
          paralyzed! And at that moment, I got an idea of what it
          is going to be like for them to stand before Jesus on
          Judgment Day.

          Scripture declares, "The ungodly shall not stand in the
          judgment" (Psalm 1:5). Look now at the others trembling
          before the judgment seat: Judges who allowed unborn
          babies to be murdered. Atheistic college professors who
          filled a whole generation full of apostasy and hate for
          Christ. Lying politicians who removed prayer and God
          from our society. Godless presidents, dictators and mob
          leaders. Actors and filmmakers who blasphemed Christ.
          Artists who depicted His Cross in a vat of urine.
          Bankers, business people, the rich, the once proud and
          powerful who had no time for Him. Now what will they
          do?

          There they stand, listening and awaiting their turn.
          And the angel of the Lord cries out among them, "Be
          sure your sin will find you out!" (Numbers 32:23).

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                   The Judge Will Call Forth Witnesses!

                      -------------------------------

          The Judge, Jesus Christ, is faithful - and He will call
          forth His witnesses. These will testify either for you
          or against you:

          1. The first witness is the Word of God itself: "He
          that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one
          that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same
          shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48).

          For every sermon or gospel song ever heard, every Bible
          verse or tract ever read, account must be given. Jesus
          says, "Every word I have spoken to you will judge you
          on that day. My Word will be the witness!"

          2. Witnesses shall arise such as the men of Nineveh,
          the men of Sodom and the queen of Sheba.

          Jesus says, "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment
          with this generation, and shall condemn it: because
          they repented at the preaching of Jonah: and, behold, a
          greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south
          shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and
          shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts
          of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and,
          behold, a greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew
          12:41-42).

          When you stand before the Judge and your book is
          opened, the vast multitudes of Ninevites will step
          forward. Those who died in the holocaust of Sodom and
          Gomorrah will come forth, as will those of Tyre and
          Sidon. These wicked ones will gather round, incredulous
          as they hear the list of all the opportunities you had
          to receive the Word of God: Bibles, radio, TV teachers,
          witnesses, friends, family.

          They will cry out, "This man's judgment ought to be
          worse than ours! How could he reject so many
          opportunities and deny such powerful light? We had no
          Bible, no constant reminders, no second opportunity.
          But he had all this!"

          Jesus says Sodom would have repented if they had heard
          what you've heard: "For if the mighty works, which have
          been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would
          have remained until this day" (Matthew 11:23). The men
          of Sodom would have put on sackcloth and ashes if
          they'd heard even a fraction of the gospel preaching
          you have heard!

          3. Preachers and pastors will be called forth as
          witnesses. "This gospel of the kingdom shall be
          preached in all the world for a witness unto all
          nations" (Matthew 24:14).

          We shepherds will have to stand and bear witness that
          you were in attendance in the house of God. You heard
          the witness of the gospel preached. And we must affirm
          before the Judge of all people every truth you heard -
          either for you or against you.

                     ---------------------------

                    Perhaps the Most Tragic Souls
                      Standing Before the Judge
                       Will Be Those the Bible
                    Calls "Unprofitable Servants."

                     ---------------------------

          These were the servants - meaning, they called
          themselves by the name of the Lord.

          As I prepared this message, this was the one group that
          burdened my soul the most. You see, the "unprofitable
          servant" is the one who "hid" his talent. He was too
          lazy to invest his life and time in God's interests,
          and he became "slothful" in the things of God. This was
          the busy man or woman who came to God's house once a
          week to keep a semblance of religion.

          Yet here is what the Lord will say of haphazard,
          halfhearted service to Him:

          "Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I
          reap where I sowed not... Thou oughtest therefore to
          have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my
          coming I should have received mine own with
          (interest)... . Cast ye the unprofitable servant into
          outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
          teeth: (Matthew 25:26-27, 30).

          What weeping and wailing there will be when the
          unprofitable servant's book is opened! The Judge will
          show the world how much time and effort he spent in
          making money, seeking personal security, building up
          bank accounts, fretting, ignoring family, forgetting
          God and forsaking the assembly of believers.

          On that day God will bring forth the record of every
          neglected church meeting, every lazy and self-centered
          activity. Then, right before this servant's eyes will
          appear everything he spent his lifetime accumulating:
          houses, cars, furnishings, boats, clothes, jewelry,
          stocks and bonds.

          Suddenly, a spark leaps from the Judge's eye - the
          spark of a Lover who has been shunned - and it ignites
          everything like a hydrogen meltdown! Standing before
          the Judge is an angel, and in the angel's hands is a
          mound of dust. The Lord will turn to the unprofitable
          one and say, "This is what your lifetime of business
          amounted to! I needed you and called you, but you
          neglected Me. You gave Me so little of your time, until
          finally you pushed Me out of your life completely. You
          wasted your life for a handful of dust - yet you were
          warned it would all burn as grass in an oven!"

          Oh, the regret there will be on that day for a man who
          has no time for God now! He attends the obligatory
          Sunday morning service with his wife and children,
          because it's "the American way." But he has no heart
          for God! You never see him in a prayer meeting or
          enjoying the true fellowship of the saints, encouraging
          and being encouraged in the Lord, as the Word commands.

          Yet on Judgment Day, the Judge will say, "Take that
          unprofitable servant and cast him out of My presence!
          His heart is not with Me; it never has been. He left
          his first love long ago. He has not made Me the Lover
          of his soul. Otherwise, in every waking hour I would
          have been on his mind - in his business, his family,
          all his doings. He would have put My interests first in
          everything!"

          Oh, who will not be afraid on that great day of
          judgment?

                    ------------------------------------

                    What does Judgment Day Mean for the
                        Overcoming Children of God?

                    ------------------------------------

          The first thing on the Judge's agenda will be to
          separate His sheep from among the goats. He will not
          allow His righteous ones to be numbered with the
          transgressors. Instead, He will call on His angels to
          gather His flock at His right hand:

          "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he
          shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
          divideth his sheep form the goats: and he shall set the
          sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
          Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
          Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
          prepared for you from the foundation of the world"
          (Matthew 25:32-34).

          The Bible is very clear that those who have been
          abiding in Christ and looking for His appearing will
          have boldness and confidence on that day:

          "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he
          shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be
          ashamed before him at his coming" (I John 2:28).
          "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have
          boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so
          are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).

          How can you have such boldness on the day of judgment -
          such joy and confidence? It comes only through knowing
          the Judge - as your friend, brother, redeemer-kinsman,
          Lord, high priest, propitiation, advocate, intercessor,
          the love of your heart - your very life!

          There is a test that will show whether or not you are
          prepared to go to the judgment as a sheep - with joy,
          confidence and boldness. The Bible says, "for if we
          would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" (1
          Corinthians 11:31). Are you willing to take the test -
          and to judge yourself?

          If you are willing, ask yourself these three questions:

            1. Have you been longing and yearning for the coming
               of the Lord? Do you look forward to His coming? Do
               you yearn for the day when He will appear?

               "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
               appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
               Christ" (Titus 2:13). "Henceforth there is laid up
               for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
               the righteous judge, shall give me at that day:
               and not to me only, but unto all them also that
               love his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

               This world is not our home. But I ask you: Are you
               putting down roots? Or are you pulling up roots,
               praying, "Jesus, keep my heart awake!"

               "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the
               day of the God.... Wherefore, beloved, seeing that
               ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may
               be found of him in peace, without spot, and
               blameless" (2 Peter 3:12, 14).

               Jesus said, "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). We
               all must go ahead with our daily lives and work.
               But in every waking hour, our hearts should cry,
               "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelations 22:20).

            2. Have God's enemies become your enemies? Are you
               engaged in the battle against those who oppose
               God? Have you taken up His fight against the
               flesh, the world and the devil? Or have you left
               the battle in the hands of other members of
               Christ's body?

               If you're going to stand before the world and
               judge God's enemies on Judgment Day, you have to
               make them your enemies now. David said, "do not I
               hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And an not I
               grieved with those that rise up against thee? I
               hate them with a perfect hatred: I count them mine
               enemies" (Psalm 139:21-22).

               Yes, Jesus said we are to love our enemies. But
               what about His enemies - those who hate Him,
               refuse His grace and mercy, and defame His name
               and drag it through filth? We are not to hate men
               - but we are to hate the sin that is in their
               hearts and the demonic powers that rule them. We
               are to hate the wickedness that is in the world!

               Yet do you say in your heart, "This world has been
               wicked all along, and it's only going to get
               worse. But what concern is that to me? I'll just
               keep my garment clean before God." No - you can't!
               We are all in a battle, in warfare! The gates of
               hell are coming against the church of Jesus Christ
               in these last days like never before - and you
               cannot remain neutral!

               God issues a call: "Who will rise up for me
               against the evil doers? (Psalm 94:16). And when
               Judgment Day comes, I want to say with Paul, "I
               fought a good fight!" I want to go out fighting -
               to be on my knees, full of holy hatred toward sin
               in my life and in the world.

            3. Have you not made a habit of forsaking the house
               of God? "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
               together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting
               one another: and so much the more, as ye see the
               day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).

               It is no accident that the very next verse in this
               passage refers to "willful sinning" after the
               truth has been revealed. Indeed, it is a proven
               historical fact: People become most careless and
               neglectful just prior to judgment and calamity!

               Always before any society spun completely out of
               control, people turned to security, money-making,
               pleasures - everything but God. And at the last
               moment, things got worse: Believers began
               neglecting the house of god. Paul warns us: "Now
               that the day is approaching so soon, make sure you
               do not forsake the assembling of yourselves
               together, as so many have done! This is no time to
               drift or to stay away from God's house. It is time
               to assemble with true overcomers!"

               If your church on Sundays is nothing more than a
               TV program, then beloved, you are not assembling
               with believers. You are not getting or giving
               encouragement, as God commands!

               What is the judgment, but the final assembling
               together of His flock? Will you be there -
               faithful, expectant, willing and joyful? The Lord
               knows those who love Him so much they can't stand
               to be away from His body. I tell you, the books
               will be opened on that day - and the Judge is
               keeping an account right now!

                        ----------------------------

                          Did You Pass the Test?

                        ----------------------------

          If you know in your heart you're not ready to stand
          before Jesus - and that time is coming very soon - then
          you have to answer for what I have written here. This
          one message is enough to damn you to eternal hell if
          you reject it. It will stand as a witness on Judgment
          Day!

          Have your interests - your work, your possessions or
          even your ministry - become more important to you than
          the Lord's interests? Have you neglected your family?
          Are you satisfied because you go to church on Sunday
          and say, "I've done my part for God"? God's Word to you
          is clear: It is not enough!

          If you have judged yourself and come up short, then
          pray this from your heart:

          "Jesus, I need You. I need to be forgiven and to be
          loved by You. I confess all my sin and stubbornness.
          I've neglected You Lord - I've not put You first. And
          from this day on, I make You my life - my everything.

          "Consume me, Jesus. Amen."

          - -
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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