The Main Thing, Part 3, the Bema Judgement — Devern Fromke

I do want you to know how privileged I feel to be with you again. Even though all these years have gone by, I feel as though we've been very much a part of you. So thankful for those of you who've come from a distance to be here this week.

I'm really disappointed. I thought Hosea came to hear me. It's a real, real let down. The second part of that is I'm always intimidated when either Brother Kong or Hosea are in the audience because I know the richness of their life and ministry.

And while I've been on the way a long time, I know that we are short. I haven't forgotten what we started with. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And I'm fearful this morning that if I start explaining that, we won't get any further.

And I do have another burden. I need to say this. The main thing always has to be qualified. We're going to talk at the end. Mack has promised, after I'm exhausted and through, to remind me that I still haven't answered it.

Conforming to Christ and Preparing for Evaluation

The main thing in the universe is what we're going to get at. Last night we were talking about the main thing in really finishing the race triumphantly. And that we've been marked out or predestined for two things.

To be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus and to be placed or positioned as mature sons who can share something of the reign with Him. But this morning, my burden is to talk about another main thing.

One of these days, it might not be too far away, we're all going to stand for the evaluation. When we get to the end of the race, we realize that He's going to evaluate what we've done. The fact that we're with Him means that we've been saved by grace.

But I feel burdened because one of these days, when we all stand before the beam or the judgment seat of Christ, somebody's going to slip up to me and say, Vern, did you know this? Did you know what was going to take place here?

And you didn't tell me. I'm relieving myself this morning of that burden. I'll be able to say to everyone here, I told you so. I told you. Now, let me use the overhead again. I don't know how it comes through on the video.

Some places it doesn't, but you know that I need it. Let me begin what we're sharing this morning by suggesting that there are different judgments that are pictured in the Scripture. Very briefly, we can say that God's great judging work that is passed for us as His children is when on the cross He dealt a master blow against sin, the self and the old flesh and all that that represents, the world and the devil.

In one master stroke, He took care of all of that and judged once and for all all that needed to be taken care of. And the good news this morning is that if you have trusted the Lord Jesus, we say if you have been to the cross, you will never be at this judgment over here, the judgment of the great white throne.

People often confuse this, thinking you know at the very end of the great assize when all are gathered there to be judged that they will be there. No, good news this morning, if you've been here, you'll never come to this judgment.

That ought to cause you to say, thank you Lord. So I need to strip away this very quickly. There are many aspects to what we call the judgment at the cross, but the great white throne after the thousand years will be a time the whole world will come to realize.

The Bema Judgment and the Testing of Christian Work

But the judgment that I want to talk about this morning, you can turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians, is what is called the Bema judgment. This particular judgment seat of Christ, we will read about it first in, let us take 2 Corinthians first, shall we please?

2 Corinthians 5 .10. Apostle Paul says in 5 .10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive according to things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

I need to say to you this morning, that once sin has been dealt with, the flesh, all that is contrary to God, the world and the devil, once this has been dealt with in God's working at the cross, there is still a further evaluation for every one of us.

The Greek word here is Bema. It literally means the judgment seat where we will be evaluated for what we have done, our work. It's quite a thing to realize in the running of the race, fulfilling the purpose and all that God had.

But someday I'm going to give a count. I'd like to have you turn to 1 Corinthians. And we will read there in chapter 3. Paul says beginning with verse 9, For we are laborers together with God. He says then in chapter 3 and verse 11, For other foundation can no man lay, that is laid which is Jesus Christ.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. You see, this indicates to us then, that once we have come to really know the grace of God, and we have trusted Jesus Christ and the finished work, it's not a matter of our standing before Him to decide whether we can go into heaven.

That's not the issue. We're saved by grace. We have the privilege of eternal life, but this judgment we call the Bema, is for the evaluation of the work. Some, I believe, will stand in that day. They may have a lot, as it were, to offer Him, yet every bit of it will go up in smoke and flames.

They'll stand with ashes, head bowed, enter into heaven, saved so as by fire. But that's all. I need to tell you this. I've hesitated, but I think I will. I guess the reason this has become so very real to me through the years is, back in my early ministry when we were still living in Missouri, God graciously gave a revival that moved through the area for weeks, actually a couple of years.

I explained the other night that it had been some ladies who had been praying, and God answered their prayer. Hundreds, probably thousands, were really touched in all the area. In the process of this, with youthful zeal and desire to serve the Lord, we built a boot camp, a training place, where we wouldn't qualify folk after the flesh, but would qualify them to be witnesses, to go out to the world, and to really touch people's lives.

In the midst of this, we built 13 buildings, very rough, like a boot camp would be. And to shorten the story, I need to tell you, you can't move into a community without, if you're doing something for God, without the enemy getting stirred up.

In the course of the years, there came much persecution, probably much misunderstanding because of our lack. And the day came, I was in the north in meetings, everyone was gone from the camp. Some folks slipped in and set a fire, 12 of the buildings.

Only one that remained was the meeting place at the center. Never forget, my mother sent a telegram to me and said, son, everything is in ashes, the main meeting place. I got home a few days afterwards, drove out to all that was there.

It was one of those times, as I was saying last night, when I got very close to being offended. Fact is, there were folk who had put sweat, blood, labor, and all of this into the building. I'm not sure they recovered.

The question was, God, it was yours. Why didn't you take care of your property? Well, it said all of that to say, as I drove out there, looked over the ashes, I can never forget that day because God spoke to my heart in such a personal and a real way that it has marked everything from that hour on.

Building According to God’s Pattern

I don't know that it was a vision or a dream or what it was, but as I looked at the ashes, I saw myself standing before the Bema. There He was, the Lord Jesus, sitting on His exalted throne. I looked and I saw all of those, one by one, who were coming before Him for the evaluation.

I'd been very active in Youth for Christ, traveling up and down the country, speaking to thousands and in revival. And I would honestly have said I felt like I had something to offer the Lord. I stood with my arms full.

I looked as individuals, some I knew, whose names I could give you. And when they came, I saw they had, like myself, arms full, a lot of activity. It was pretty much wood, hay, stubble. Each one, as they stood there, suddenly all went into flames.

I saw their head bow in ashes. They entered in, but it wasn't an abundant entrance. Saved, so it was by fire. I remember Aunt Anne, I saw her. She'd been the leader of this little prayer group for 23 years who had prayed.

When I looked, her arms were not full, but her hands had some gold and silver and precious stones. And when she stood before Him, there was such a smile of approval. And the glittering of all of it. She entered into an abundant entrance.

And then it came my turn. I took my step forward, and He dropped the curtain and said, Not yet. You better believe I sighed relief. You know why? Because I had my hands, my arms full. When I looked at it, it was as though the Lord said, Wood, hay.

Didn't mean that we hadn't been doing anything for God. But we hadn't been building according to God's ways. Didn't have a sense and a vision of what He really wanted. And I suppose pretty much of it would have been the siphoning off of satisfaction, interest, glory for myself.

But as the curtain dropped, and I heard Him, as it were, say, Not yet. This is the word that came. Let your building be in lights. Let your building be in lights. And I could look over the ashes that were there, and I believe I could honestly say, Lord, if this would be a hindrance, if this would be something that we are building just for our own work.

Not according to pattern, according to what you want. I say, Amen. Now, I give you this this morning on the basis of this because I've come to realize that there are two real gifts that we have to deal with if you're going to talk about the main giving.

God’s Gift in Christ and the Gift We Return

The first gift that we have to deal with is God's gracious gift to us. How many of you know what it is? He wraps up all His giving. All that could ever be given. All that God the Father has ever given.

He wraps it up in one package. And there it is in His Son. What a gift. The problem is it's going to take a long time for us to discover what's in the package. How many have been discovering that already?

All the tumbling ages coming to a new and a full appreciation of all that's in Jesus. But I need to tell you this. Generally, evangelical people and all of us have been so involved with thank God for what He's given.

But God's been turning our heart through the years to an adjustment and a rectifying. What does God get? What is the gift that I can give back to Him? Are you there? What would really satisfy God? What could satisfy the God of the universe whose determined design?

What would be the main thing that could satisfy His heart? Only one thing. We were speaking of it last night in the predestining and the marking out. The only thing that could really satisfy God is His Son fully conformed into us.

The image of Christ. I mean, He only finds delight in Him. And so if He's going to find further delight, it will be in what? Christ formed in us. And so I need to say to us this morning, it's not so much the things that we do that are important, but probably in the end, it will be what we become.

Now, don't miss the point. It's in our doing we become. But in becoming, God gets the doing done. He does through the reality that there is. So, with that in mind this morning, I'd like for us to just consider now, here's the gift that we have, all that's been given to us.

What am I going to really give to Him when I stand before the Bema, before the Lord Jesus? I need to take you to one more portion now. That's over in the book of Revelation. You will turn there, please.

The Seven Churches and What Believers Must Buy

I'd like to build this frame of reference for our thinking. Revelation, please. Chapter 3. I guess you know that in the second and third chapters of Revelation, we have seven churches and God is speaking to them, saying in each letter that He writes the same thing.

He says to Ephesus, chapter 2, verse 2, I know thy works. And He goes on to each, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, and to every one of them He says, I know thy works.

The reason for this is because we're all going to give an account, whether as individuals or as the representation of the church, we're going to give account for what has been done. And then He says that there is a special word that the Spirit would say to the church, I believe, to each of us.

But I want us to look into chapter 3 now. And we're going to look at verse 15. He's speaking to the Laodicean, but He says this, I know thy works. And then He tells us something. What I want us to see in this, this morning, is that it is possible when individuals stand before the Bema that some may stand naked in that day, some very poor, and some very blind.

You don't know what I'm saying in this, but let me go on further to explain. One of the things that's most critical in the Scripture and in our understanding of God's way is to know that there are certain things that are free, and there are certain things that you must buy.

I think the great emphasis in the church is what's free. How many can say, thank God. Alright. Thank God for what is free. But so often, we fail to recognize that there are some things that we must buy.

And I believe as we unfold this this morning, you'll recognize what He's saying when John writes, look at it again, I know thy works, verse 16, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth, because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked.

Here's the key. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayst be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayst be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. And anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayst see.

Let me illustrate this now in explaining that when we first come to the cross and meet the Lord, one of the things that we receive freely is the robe of righteousness. It's a robe of our salvation. How many of you know that God is perfect and He requires perfection?

Now that's wonderful, but it's also terrible for all of us. Righteous, holy, perfect, and He can be satisfied with nothing less. The good news is that when we come to the cross and we really trust what Jesus Christ has done, God gives to us the perfect righteousness of His Son.

The Robe of Righteousness and Acceptance in Christ

Let me illustrate it this way. I used to know Dr. Walter Wilson back in Kansas City before he went to be with the Lord. And he tells a story one day of going out in the countryside, a place where he was having ministry.

He was one of the greatest soul winners I've ever known. Had a unique ability to turn every situation for the Lord. In these days, they were traveling along the country road. He saw a farmer standing by the fence with a flock of sheep in the background.

And he said to the driver, let's stop and visit with this man for a little bit. They stopped in the course of talking with him. Dr. Wilson noticed, he was an MD, noticed out in the pasture a little lamb that looked so strange.

And he said to the farmer, what's with that lamb? What's wrong with it? It looks so different. The farmer said, oh, that's very interesting. A couple of months ago when that lamb was born, its mother died.

I had an orphan, which I usually have to bottle feed. And he said, it was about the same time that I had another mother who in lambing, her little lamb died. And he said, I thought I would try something.

So I took this little lamb, orphan lamb, and put it in with this mother whose lamb had died. And I thought maybe she'd nurse it. Maybe she would care for it. And he said, the mother went up and took a couple of sniffs and said that's not mine and began to bunt it all over the pen.

He said, I rescued the little lamb out. And just as I was doing that, I thought, she doesn't recognize this as her own. And I remembered that that little lamb, her lamb had died, was still in the pasture.

I hadn't had time to dispose. He said, I took my knife, I skinned the fleece from that little lamb and brought it in and tied it around this little lamb you see out here. Put the lamb back in the pen.

And what do you think happened? Now you've been so quiet, I need your response. What do you think happened? How many of you can tell me what happened? Well, that mother went up and she sniffed and said that's mine.

And he said, she has been nursing it for a couple months. Accepted into the family. Why? Because? Do I need to illustrate it anymore? How many have your fleece on this morning? Are you there? How many say, thank God, I'm accepted in the Beloved.

The gift of righteousness. The robe of my salvation. What did I do to get it? By grace. Nothing. There may be somebody who slipped in this morning. It often happens on Sunday mornings. God has brought you here.

I'd like for the Holy Spirit to make this so clear to you. A perfect God who requires perfect righteousness can never accept us. The good news is He never sees us apart from His lovely Son. If you don't have that robe this morning, never been to the cross and accepted, fully trusted what He has done, I just say to you, you can.

It's free. What did you pay for? Nothing. Trusted Him. What a privilege. Well, it's one thing to have the robe and be accepted because it's freely given. I have the robe of righteousness. But I need to tell you that when you stand before the Bema, you're standing before who?

Jesus. And you don't put on Jesus to stand before Jesus. Are you following me? Well, what does John mean now when he says in our context here, he says, I want you to buy something. I believe, as we're going to see, that there is a white raiment that He wants us to buy.

I counsel thee to buy of me white raiment. I'm going to like to buy some this morning. Would you like to really be sure that when you stand before the Bema, the evaluation, you won't be there naked? Well, the Scripture, I believe, always explains itself.

And you can turn, if you want, back to Revelation 19. Let's peek there for a moment. Speaking of those who are gathered before the Lamb, chapter 19 and verse 7 it says, Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife hath made herself ready.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the... I don't know what your translation says. Middle margin probably. The righteous acts of the saints.

I guess what I want to say to you this morning is this. We say, Lord, I want my life poured out. I want my labor, my work. I want what I do to be Your way of developing white raiment. I can see the Holy Spirit working in lives.

Here's the woof and the warp by the Spirit of grace that God works. And white raiment, the righteous acts of the saints. Oh, I can look back through the years. I didn't understand it. But I know now that the lives that I have seen God working in, a very special way in which there was the weaving of white raiment.

I don't think it frustrates the purpose of the grace of God if we're very clear in the fact that some things are free and they're holy by His grace. This that we're referring to this morning is the enabling grace that I spoke to last night.

The desire and the power that God gives the enabling grace in order that my life might be poured out for others. Thinking of a sister this morning, remember her testimony. About two blocks from her, her family had been in great difficulty.

Poured-Out Service and the Cost of Reward

Husband was gone. The mother became sick. And so this sister decided she'd go in and do the ironing and the washing and clean up the house and all the things that a sister could do for one who was indisposed.

A couple days later, she heard by the grapevine that they had said in the home we couldn't find anything after she got through fixing up. You know what happened in her spirit? She said, well, if that's the way they appreciate it, I won't do it again.

Until the Lord said, who did you do it for? Are you there? Who did you do it for? For them? Well, yes. Or for me? She said, as I wept before the Lord, God said, what a privilege to give and be poured out.

What a privilege to share. Did you want your reward now or then? Make your choice. Lots of times we get our rewarding and our now. There's a lot of God's children who I believe in their poured out life, their service, their love and giving.

God's developing some white payment. Only He really sees it. I don't need to go on. Are you with me so far? Let me say, Lord, I'm ready to buy. I don't want to stand naked. You don't need to. That's good news.

Gold Tried in the Fire and the Growth of Faith

Well, it's also interesting that when we come to the cross and trust what He has done, God gives us a new nature. Peter says we become partakers of the divine nature. And in that, God, you know, the divinity or that which is divine is always represented by gold.

And I believe there's a sense in which there's the imparting in the nature, the life all that's put within as new creation, as believers. We receive this, something of the gold of divine nature. But John goes on to say, I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire.

Here is faith that's imparted, the measure of faith that's given initially. Then as God begins to take us through the race course, the tribulations, the trials, the circumstances of life, I believe He's working out something of His own character and nature in our lives.

How many have sensed God beating away on the gold? Do you wonder why in the tabernacle they talk about beaten gold? I always wondered. Now I know. Are you there? How many of you know what beaten gold is?

I need to pick on somebody this morning. I won't do it back this time. How many have sensed some beating on your gold, sister? I haven't seen you for a long time, but I sense God's been beaten away. Why?

Something of the glory of the Lord shows up. You're going to go home and say, oh, God, thank You for the beating. Keep on. Thank You for putting me through the trials. The things that we go through in order that in the midst of it, faith can reach out and can say, Lord, if this is Your way of developing more of the character and the qualities of the Lord Jesus, I want to buy some gold fried in the fire.

What kind of a testimony do you think you're going to have as you finally pass the evaluation and you start to talk about what you've been through down here? And you meet Noah and he doesn't say a word.

All those long years he obeyed God. Tested and tried. What kind of a testimony will you give when you stand with Noah? He probably doesn't say much. All he has is beaten gold. Are you following? I just believe that something in my own heart says, Oh God, I never cease to thank You for what You freely give.

But more and more I'm beginning to realize the things that You counsel us to buy. Let me ask you a question. How many of you can remember when your first day of your new life, you had new eyes? Old things passed away.

Everything looked different. I'm always amazed at the testimony of folks who say, I just saw things so differently. New eyes. Jesus touched the fellow and he had new eyes. He saw trees. He touched him again and he saw more clearly.

You remember your new eyes? I remember what God did. I remember a sister. I was speaking in a church. God had been working for days. I closed the meeting that night and just as I was stepping down from the pulpit, she walked down the aisle.

I could see as she came, she had a war in her eyes. It was a long day and I said, Oh God, help. Never forget it. The closer she got, you could just see that she was under terrible conviction. God had been working all week.

I knew it. When she got about three feet from me, she said, I've got a thousand questions I want to ask you. And in just that way, again my flag went up. Oh, help Lord. You know, God gives a word of wisdom every now and then in your desperate need.

And I felt led to say to her, Good, but before we take up your questions, let me ask you a question. And it was this. When are you going to put up the white flag of surrender and say, yes, Lord Jesus, and let him have your life?

Very straightforward. She said, right now. And she knelt at the front pew. Guess who was surprised? Never forget it. You know why? She weighed about 300 pounds. Tremendous. Didn't take long. God met the need.

She came with a face that was so changed. When she stood up, I'll never forget. Max, she reached out and with those big eyes, she grabbed me. I knew she didn't come down loving me. But she had new eyes.

How many of you can remember when you got some new eyes? And some people you didn't love, you didn't really care for, suddenly they didn't look so bad. That's right. New eyes. That's wonderful. We had her funeral.

Forty years have gone by. Never forget. Not too long ago, she went on to be with the Lord. All the change and transformation in Data's life. We'd drop in occasionally to see her and she'd open up her Bible and say, I want to show you some new things I've been seeing.

And I began to realize through the years, she not only had new eyes, but she'd been buying eye salve. She'd been buying some eye salve. And with this eye salve, the Spirit of God was making things real and precious to her.

The Main Thing: Pleasing God Through Consecrated Living

What am I going to become that will please God? What can I offer Him? I don't know. Maybe Hosea or Brother Kong will help me in this. I just wonder if I'm going to be fixed for eternity with the garment I'm weaving now.

Do you think after, during the thousand years, I'll get to add more white raiment or more beaten gold or more eye salve? Or am I going to be fixed once I'm there? Let's take a vote this morning. How many of you hope that you can go on buying?

Do you think we'll get through all during the thousand years? I hope so. I hope so. I hope I'm not fixed. I hope to have some white raiment. I know I've got a little beaten gold and I think I've had a little eye salve, but I don't want to have it fixed and stop.

But I don't want to give you too much hope. I know one day, I know one day, we're going to stand before the Bema and we're going to be evaluated. And I want to be ready when that time comes. Right? Now it's interesting in the Scripture that God's careful to always explain.

You say, I want to buy. What is the principle of buying? What is the principle of buying? Well, turn over to Matthew. Matthew 13. Anytime the Lord does something twice, it's real testimony. And in chapter 13, we get the principle of buying.

Verse 44. It says, Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth. And for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

How many of you know that isn't an eternal life that you're buying? In spite of all the sermons you may have heard, you don't buy eternal life. This treasure is not eternal life. I'm sorry. If I'm wrong, I just need to be adjusted.

But here is treasure that one's buying. What's the principle of buying? Don't miss it now. He sold all that he had. All that he had. To get to heaven, to buy what? Treasure. Read on. To verify it. 45.

Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. What's the pearl? Is it eternal life?

Can't buy it, can you? We keep the consistency of things. What is the treasure? What is the pearl? What's the principle of buy? Found something that was sold. Far more valuable. Ready to sell all. Bartered.

Ready to give up all this for this. We're trying to figure out how I could simplify what we have to barter with. What do we have this morning as a company of people that every one of us, every one of us can barter?

Strength, Time, and Possessions as Offerings

What is an inclusive way? Well, you may know what STP is, or you ought to. It's an oil additive, but that's not what I'm talking about. But I want you to think of STP because there are three things you can barter with.

Everyone this morning has strength. The energy. Every one of us has time, 24 hours a day. And every one of us have at least some possessions. I can't think of anything that doesn't fall into those three things that I can barter with.

That little sister who went down to the neighbor gave her strength, some time, and even bought some groceries. I need to be honest with you this morning. Affluent America. I wonder when we stand before the Beamer.

Those from other nations who in a very simple way have given themselves lives that have been poured out. They bartered what they had. Not what we have, but what they had. God on the basis of this is going to see either naked or poor or blind or clothed or rich or seen.

Something in my heart says this morning, Oh God, give me a new kind of eye salve. Give me a new kind of eye salve that I can really see the things that are eternal. The things that really count. What's the main thing now as we stand before the Beamer?

You talk back. What's the main thing when we get there? The reward I'm going to get? If I got a crown, it'd only be, somebody said this morning, something I could lay at His feet. The thing that I'm concerned about, the main thing, is that He will be pleased.

He will be satisfied that if He sees anything that we've become, clothed, rich in the experiences, the reality of the character of the Lord, and an eye that sees, eye salve, somebody who's been willing, there's a cost.

There's a cost. I hate to tell you this because the more you know this morning, the more accountable we're going to be. But I have to do it. I'm talking to some people whom God wants to move in with a new measure of consecration, a new measure of dedication in your life, a new measure of being poured out, not for what you can get, but for what He can get.

And in the process, which should become for His pleasure, His delight, His glory. Do I hear you say in the quiet of your heart, O God? I hear John as he's speaking. The Spirit says to the church and to each of us, I counsel you to buy.

I counsel you to buy. I counsel you to buy. A runaway clock up there. I need to finish, don't I? What is the main thing in the universe? Some of you weren't here. You'll have to forgive us. I don't usually.

I don't just try to keep things, but never was that we could get to it. First night we started out by saying the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And you all know what the main thing is according to you.

The Father’s Purpose, Christ’s Centrality, and the Spirit’s Work

Now let me give you the main thing according to what the Bible says. I'd like to say, this is, you know, open for all your evaluation, but if you're going to start with God and what's really relevant and important to Him, the main thing is the ultimacy of the Father, His purpose in Himself and for Himself.

I mean, if the One who starts it all, begins it all, everything in the universe has been made and created and planned by Him, where do you start with? The Father and His ultimacy. What did He purpose?