We were just reminiscing about being in the hospital a number of months ago.  I still remember so clearly coming home from the hospital that day with the instructions for oxygen, everything, and I sat in my chair to pray and flipped the Bible open, I was just going to refresh myself some in the Word, and the Holy Spirit spoke and He said, “I’m the breath of life!”  And it had pertained to that oxygen that I was on; they said we’d be on it for a couple of weeks at least, and He said, “I’m the breath of life,” and I just took that oxygen hose and flipped it off and never put it back on again, praise God!  We need to do the same thing spiritually.  We need to hear God, and know He is that refreshing.  He will come upon us in a moment and life will never be the same, praise God!  Things that you used to wrestle with will no longer be an influence in your life.  We’ve been given power and authority over all the power of the enemy, praise God!

And I’m saying that just to say there’s a judgment coming, but we need to judge ourselves right now.  I know Paul said, “I don’t judge myself,” but in the context that’s not what he was talking about.  Paul was making reference to that aspect of not standing up under the judgments of other men, criticism of other men, works and other people’s consciences and letter of the law.  He said, “I don’t even judge myself.  There is a judgment coming,” Paul said.  In Romans 14, we’ve spent a lot of time in this area over the years and dealing with disputable matters and different aspects, but it’s talking about things that are offered up in sacrifice to the enemy, it’s talking about meats and whether or not we have liberty to partake thereof.  And he says in this fourteenth chapter, “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.”  Don’t bring them in for the purpose of bringing about criticisms, and don’t try to bring them in to where you can train them and instruct them to be strong and to be able to partake of meat like yourselves.   But let each one work out his own salvation.  He goes on to say, “For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.”  It’s ironic to me that the people that always want to put laws upon us and ask us to abstain, they feel they’re so strong, these people are pure and holy.  Paul said you’re the weak one.  If you’re lacking liberty in your life, you’re weak.  So, let’s remember who the weak is and who the strong is.  Now, let’s remember also that he says don’t go beyond your conscience because you have to be persuaded between you and God as to whether a certain thing is lawful or not.

And this is the context of one of the great passages on the judgment seat of Christ, and it puts it into perspective because what we want to accomplish is for you to be able to walk into the judgment seat of Christ with a great expectation of the rewards, the benefits of sonship.  The bringing to light all of the things that you’ve ever done in your life that brought glory to God.  Hallelujah!  Look at it as a test; amen?  It’s just a test, and if you’re prepared, those students that are prepared for tests love them; those of us that were never prepared for tests, we always were kind of anxious about it.  So, when you look at the judgment seat of Christ, are you anxious to get there or is there a little bit of trepidation?  That, in and of itself, will let you know and understand how you’re relating to your Father, whether it’s in love or performance.