MERCY SEAT vs JUDGMENT SEAT, PART 1

The seats refer to the two separate encounters man is going to have

with God, now and later. Each person has the option to appear at
one or both seats. It is important to note that the seats are available
at different times, under different circumstances and for different
reasons. Going to the Mercy Seat (MS) is strictly by choice, and
is for one reason only, to obtain mercy. Going to the judgment
Seat (JS), will be for one of two reasons. For the Christian, it will
be to give an account of himself to God, and to receive a reward
(see Romans 14:12). For the unbeliever, it will be to hear the verdict for not
accepting God’s offer of salvation. “No one can see the kingdom of
God unless he is born again” (John 3:3 NIV). It matters, very much, which
seat one goes to first.

The Mercy Seat is available to all, for as long as they have life,
and as long as they are capable of making decisions. The invitation
to the Mercy Seat is simple; it became available with the death of
Christ, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and
only Son that, whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have
eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). At the MS, there is forgiveness, cleansing,
new life now, and eternal life in the life to come. At the MS, all
who want to, may come!

The JS comes after this life, and is not so much by choice. It
is the way God has set things up. For those who never appeared
at the Mercy Seat, the JS is by default. They have indirectly and
gladly made a choice to accept without complaints, the verdict
that is pronounced at the JS. They’ve missed the opportunity to
receive pardon. There will be no second chances there, how sad, “Man
is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ
was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He
will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to
those who are waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV). As misused as the
word is, hell is really a place. It was prepared for the devil and his
angels, but “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” Revelation 20:15 NIV).

The book of Matthew puts it this way, “When the Son of man
comes in His glory, and all His angels with Him . . . all the nations
will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats . . . .
then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who
are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world.’ . . . Then He will
say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into
the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:31-41 NIV).

God is not interested in anyone going to hell, and that was
the reason He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins. He
wants people to stop in at the MS and be forgiven; the price for
sin is already paid. Christ died for sins, once! He is not going to
do that again. Of course He would, if it were necessary, but God
is completely satisfied with the one sacrifice, for all time. Don’t be
expecting any other way by which to escape hell. The ‘good works’
(kind deeds) route won’t work, because He has already said, “All
our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NIV), and please don’t
say, “There isn’t only one way to heaven.”, because there is only one
way to heaven, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV).

Choose life while you still have the opportunity. Tomorrow
might be too late. Disbelief won’t help; turning up your nose at
God won’t either. In humility, please go to the MS, believe in Jesus,
and find forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life. Refusing
to go to the MS means, one has elected to gladly live with the
pronouncement from the JS. Please go to the Mercy Seat, today.
This could be your last call to believe in Jesus!

AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS OF LIFE

Our journey through this life is like being on a highway, and taking
our cue from the diff erent color traffi c lights. We are always at one
of three lights. We are either at a stop (red), getting ready to stop
(yellow), or in motion (green). Th e color changes determine how
long we are supposed to stay at each light. In order to ensure our
safety and the safety of other travelers, we cannot ignore any of
the indicators for change.

If we stand still at a green light, travelling time is prolonged,
we arrive late at our destination, and we delay other travelers,
and can potentially be the cause of an accident. If we choose to
stay in motion when the light is red, we run the risk of accidents,
getting hurt and or hurting other travelers, be it pedestrians or
other drivers. If we try to avoid the red light by rushing through
the yellow light, we risk going through the red light, and possibly
causing an accident. We need to respond to each color traffi c light
appropriately and in a timely manner. In order to do that, we need
to be alert and watchful so we don’t miss any of the prompts.

When God gives the signal to move (green), we need to
move prayerfully and in faith trusting that He knows where He
is leading, even when we are not sure. Moses didn’t know the
solution to, “Tell the Israelites to move on.” Ex 14:15b, when he
and the Israelites were sandwiched between the Red sea in front
and the Egyptian soldiers behind. Have you taken matching orders
not knowing where you are headed? If your orders came from the
Father, you don’t have to worry; He has it all under control. Let us
be on our guard so that we don’t miss any orders for change when
He issues them.

Please let’s not speed up when God says, “Slow down” (yellow
light). Speeding up to escape or shorten pain and suffering
won’t accomplish God’s purposes for us. God through Joshua,
commanded the Israelites to match around Jericho once a day for
six days, then seven times on the seventh day (Jos 6:3-5). Th ey
could have decided to speed up things by walking two or more
times per day or marched thirteen times the fi rst day to get the
job completed sooner than later, but they didn’t. God had a good
reason for this seemingly strange military strategy; the Israelites
didn’t have to know the reason why, all they needed to do was obey.
Had they not followed His orders to the later, the outcome could
have been very diff erent, most likely not in their favor.

Then, there comes the most dreaded time when God says,
“Wait!” Waiting is not easy, especially when we don’t know what’s
supposed to happen next; we can get restless, tired, inpatient,
and whinny. But charging ahead of God always messes things
up. Let us wait! During that waiting period, we need to exercise
patience, faith, and be prayerful, and expectant. Sometime after
Jesus’ resurrection, before His ascension, He gave the apostles
this command, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my
Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” Acts 1:4
That gift was the Holy Spirit! When He came, He filled them
with power to be His witnesses. They were no longer afraid of the
authorities; they preached with boldness in His name and healed
the sick in His name. Had they not waited expectantly, patiently,
and prayerfully, the outcome might have been different.

Th e toughest part of knowing which light we’ve come to is the
ability to hear God’s voice distinctly. We definitely cannot heed
God’s direction, if we cannot hear Him, and we don’t hear Him
because we don’t wait on Him enough to hear Him speak to us.
We are always on a move, in a rush, and our minds wonder, and our
enemy, the devil likes it that way. In Revelation 1:10, John who had
been banished to the Island of Patmos because of his faith says,
“On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard . . .” In order
to hear the Lord’s voice we need to be prayerful.

ETERNITY

Quite often when people die, you hear their loved ones say, “he or
she is in a better place” Th is is a comforting thought, and I am sure
everybody will like to think that about their deceased loved one.
Before we go any further, we need to ask ourselves, “Where is this
better place, and how do people get there?”

The Bible talks about eternity, either in heaven or in hell.
There are no neutral places, so when people talk about a better
place they most likely are referring to heaven. However, heaven is
not an automatic destination for the deceased. When people die,
their loved ones can comfort themselves any way they want, but
that does not guarantee their loved one is in heaven. The biblical
truth is, only those who believe on the name of Jesus will go to
heaven; only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book
of life.

People who do not believe on the name of Jesus Christ before
they die cannot be wished or prayed into heaven by loved ones, not
even by the church.

Eligibility into heaven is not based on gender, age, social or
political standing. It is also not based on good works or anything
else people do. It is based solely on the sacrifice Christ made on
the cross, making Himself a bridge between God and man. Christ
died to pay the penalty for sin, making the way for sinners to come
to God by faith in Him (Jesus).

This is your opportunity. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins now.
He will forgive you, take away the guilt of your sins, fi ll you with
His Spirit and give you peace and the assurance of salvation. He

will also write your name in His book of life. Don’t count on your
loved ones or your priests to wish or pray you into heaven after
your death. It just does not work that way.

If you refuse Christ’s off er for salvation, you have automatically
and personally decided to go to hell after you die. Remember
nothing can be changed about that decision once you are on the
other side of dirt. So while you are on this side of dirt make the
decision that guarantees you will spend eternity in heaven. Your
loved ones can then say confi dently, at your passing, “he or she is in
a better place.” Please make this decision soon, hopefully today.

THE ROAD MAP

A map is a great tool for getting to unfamiliar places
If you were trying to get from point A to point B
And had no idea how to get there,
Most likely, you will ask another who knew,
Or get a map and follow it closely

As long as you are in this world, you are on a journey, you are going
somewhere.
It doesn’t matter how long it takes, you will get there, eventually
But where are you going, and do you know how to get there?
I suggest to you, it will be one of two places, heaven or hell
You can’t go to both places, it has to be one or the other.
Where you go is your choice.

To get to heaven, the road map you need is the Bible
It is God’s word, written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit.
In it, you learn that you are a sinner, deserving to die
But you also learn that God’s Son, Jesus Christ died in your
place.
What you need to do then, is acknowledge your sins before God;
ask for forgiveness, and
Place your faith in His Son, Jesus.
He will wash your sins away and send his Spirit to dwell within
you.
He will help you through his Spirit and the Bible to travel this
life,
And most assuredly, at the end, bring you safe into heaven
Where mansions have been prepared for you
And for ever you will be in His presence.

To get to hell, you just have to ignore the map that directs to
heaven.
Live as you please, have no regard for God, your creator and His
Son Jesus Christ,
And you will undoubtedly end up in hell

But why would you want to end up there?
It is a place of torment and sorrow, with weeping and gnashing
of teeth.
The torment never ends.

You most likely don’t want to go to hell, you’d rather go to
heaven,
But you are trusting your good works (the acts of kindness and the
like) to take you there.
The Bible says you are saved by grace, not by works lest any man
should boast.
Your good works are simply not good enough,
God has made only one provision for salvation, the blood of Jesus
Christ.
Choose the road map that leads to life eternal by believing in
Jesus.

On the other hand, you probably don’t even know you are
traveling,
Let alone have a destination in mind
But as long as you are in this world, you are traveling
And will end up somewhere, sooner or later.
Make sure you are following the right road map!

SAFE PASTURE IN THE NEW YEAR

The first day of January is always the start of a new year. As many
of them as we have seen, we still have no idea what the year will
bring when it rolls around. At the beginning of each year, we can
look forward with anticipation or with fear of what might or might
not be. The only assurance we have is, God is in control and at the
right time He will come to rapture the Church. All other issues
in our world have uncertainty attached to them. For example, is
the recession over or not? Is your job secured? After exercise, good
nutrition etc. are you guaranteed good health? Th e answer to these
questions and many others is, “Who knows?”

The Word of God teaches us how to live life until He comes.
He says, “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and
enjoy safe pasture” (Psalm 37:3 NIV).

Can we enjoy safety in a chaotic world? Where in this chaotic
world can we find this safety? In the land, the Church! That’s
where! That’s where we have the word of God expounded to us.
We find support and comfort from each other based on the Word
of God. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward
love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24 NIV).

I’m sure there are other pastures outside the church, but they
cannot be described as safe. In the world’s pasture, individuals
are climbing on top of each other and back-stabbing each other
to get ahead. Nobody is protecting anyone. There is no shepherd
and no under-shepherd. The sheep is destroyed both from within
and without.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 23:2, “He makes me lie down in
green pastures.” As we see, the Shepherd doesn’t provide just
pastures, but ‘green pastures,’ luscious pastures to ensure good
nourishment.

What the world provides is not nourishment, but rather
stress, pain, discouragement, fear, etc. and in the end, death.
Shepherds don’t take the pasture to the sheep, but rather
the sheep to the pasture, therefore, “Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage
one another-and all the more as you see the day approaching”
(Hebrews 10:25 NIV).

We need to be with other believers as much as possible, so
even when Church is officially not in session we can have informal
meetings. When we get together, regardless of time and place it
is still Church because the Church is ‘US’ the body of Christ, the
bride of Christ. Amen!

Our safe pasture therefore is with each other with Christ
as our Shepherd. May the Lord help us to make every effort to
remain with the fold, encouraging and being encouraged. Let’s be
faithful in praying for one another, for prayer is one of the safety
gears in the family of God (pasture). (see Ephesians 6:18).