Would you say that you are a person of courage? You, as somebody that will face your fears, that you might take some risk that we admire as a culture, and understandably so, Courage is seen as a good thing. It's rewarded in the military. It's celebrated as our heroes in the movies we watch. Like, we want to see courage. It's a good thing. But what about when it comes to you as a Christian, as a follower of Christ? Would you say as a Christian, you have courage, or do you have unique courage of a Christian, that you're going to go against the flow, you're going to stand for truth even when it's not popular? You're going to be willing to live your life differently than everybody else around you. You're going to speak up for truth? Like, would you say that you're somebody that has courage as a Christian? Now, even if you're thinking to yourself, like, I don't know if I'm really good at that part, I would guess it's something you desire. Like, you would see it as a good thing of like, I wish I had more courage as a Christian. You would probably even admit that if we come collectively had more Christian courage, they would benefit our church. Would you agree with that? That we would want courage as a Christian? All right. And it might, if we continue to press into it, it might even be a big problem among Christians, particularly in our culture, where we don't want to stand out. We don't want to go against the grain. We want to just kind of hide and blend in and not be seen. And we don't speak up as we should. We don't live as we should. We're more passionate about fitting in than being set apart. That's what God calls us to. So the question is, how do we grow courage as a Christian? How do we become more courageous followers of Christ? How do we see that happen? And let me give you the answer to that right away. Like, what exactly is the key to Christian courage? I want to give you the answer to that because I think the answer to that raises another question that we really need to get to figure out. What's the answer to that? And here's the key to Christian courage. Faith. Faith is the key to Christian courage. I think we see this best in Hebrews chapter 11. So Hebrews chapter 11, a famous chapter in the Bible, sometimes referred to as the hall of Faith. You get all these examples of people who live their life by faith. And throughout the whole chapter, it's kind of by faith, and then they did this. Something courageous. By faith they did this, and by faith, they did this. Like, you see, faith is directing their life, and it's leading them to be courageous. And in our text that we're going to look at today, Paul says, I walk by faith, not by sight. So if you want to know how I live my life, and Paul is like. And like, maybe even the example of Christian courage. Like, he lived his life passionately into danger. You guys remember last week we read kind of in chapter 11, some of his credentials of suffering? Like, Paul showed courage. He's like, you want to know the secret sauce behind that faith? Like, that's what's directing my life. I live by faith. So, okay, then here's the question that that raises. What's faith? Like, what exactly is faith? And don't be too quick to assume you know the answer to that question, because we have taken what the Bible talks about as faith, and we've domesticated it so much. Like, we've broken it down to, like, if you agree to these kind of prepositional statements and you have faith, like, you believe in God, you believe Jesus is your savior, you believe you're a sinner. Check. Good. But is that what faith is in Scripture? Like, what exactly is faith? And we need to better understand that. And James, in fact, challenges this paradigm or that kind of reducing faith down to those things where he says, you believe in God. Good. Right? Here's a sticker. He didn't say that. I added the sticker part. He's like, even the demons believe that and shudder. He kind of presses into this faith. Like, faith without works is dead. Like, show me your faith apart from your works. And by my works, I will show you my faith. Like, faith impacts life. It gets flushed out and manifested in how we live and think and feel. Like faith is alive and active. But we can't just reduce it down to, like, I agree to these things. I check. Yes. On these questions. There's more to it than that. So what exactly is faith? And we gotta remember Paul's audience, like, this is a group of people that have been influenced more by the culture than they're influencing the culture. And Paul's pressing in. He's like, do you really believe this stuff? Because when I look at what you value and I look at how you live, maybe not. In fact, at the end of this book, he's really going to challenge them of saying, you need to examine yourself. You need to test yourself to see whether or not you are in the faith, whether or not you have this faith. And he says, don't you know that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test? So, like, what's the test like? What are the tests that's going to reveal authentic saving faith in us? Well, I think when we look into this text and Paul says, hey, I walk by faith, we also look around that and understand what he means by faith. So we want to have a better understanding of faith with the goal to increase our Christian courage. So even though we're going to try to better understand faith, the target that we're shooting at is that it would result in us being more courageous in living our lives for Christ. Sound good? All right, second Corinthians 5. Go ahead and turn there. In my opinion, this is the second best chapter in all of Scripture. We'll be here for a while. So we got one through 10. And I'm going to read it all, and then we'll go back and we'll take it a little bit slower. But get your pen out, because there's some things in this text I want us to see, and I'm going to ask you to underline some things to connect some points that I think Paul's making. So get your pen out. You guys ready? All right. For we know. Underline no. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on, we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know. Underline no, again, we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For. And this is kind of that statement that's the core of Paul's message here, that everything kind of builds around. For we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage. He says it again. I want you to circle courage both here and in verse six. He brings it up twice. So this is important. And we would rather. Underline rather. We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim. Underline, aim. This is great for the six people that are doing this. This is wonderful. Underline aim. We make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due, what he is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Now, there's a lot in this text, right? You're talking about like our temporary earthly body or eternal physical body. We get the Spirit as a guarantee in there. I know everybody picked up on the judgment seat of Christ, so there's a lot in there that we could talk about. And in fact, we want to cover some of it. But I don't want to. Amidst the overall point that Paul's making, I don't want us to stare at some trees and miss the forest here. So we want to look at, like, what's the big idea that Paul is getting at here? And we'll kind of try to address some of those things to give it some context as well. But what Paul is saying is, I walk by faith. Like, you look at my lifestyle and you get some problem with my lifestyle. You want to know why? Because why I do the things that I do, why I live the way that I live. I'm driven by faith. What I believe is shaped how I live. And everything around that statement of I walk by faith colors in what he means by faith or what real saving faith looks like, or how it impacts or manifests itself in our life. So you get to the end of the book in chapter 13, verse 5, where Paul is saying, hey, examine yourself, test yourself to see if you're in the faith. Okay, what are the tests or what are the indicators that I'm looking for that's going to point to that's faith. That's like the faith that I'm talking about. Well, I think those indicators really show themselves in this text. So let's go back to the beginning, verse one. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So right off the bat, it's like, I know this. I have this confidence. Like, I have this conviction, this assurance. I know that this life isn't all there is. I know that something better is waiting for us. I have this conviction of this is true. In fact, this kind of drifts into the definition of faith we get in Hebrews, chapter 11. So before he starts listing all these faith heroes, we get the very first verse of chapter 11. He says, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Paul's like, I can't see it, but I'm so confident in it. Like, I'm so convicted that this is true. Like, I'm so passionate and sure that this life isn't all there is. And I'm so confident that the next or what's to come is better. And then he uses this language of a tent. The word can also mean just like residence, like, it's my resident. But a tent is temporary. And he's talking about this body like he's referring to our earthly bodies. And he was refers to our earthly bodies as like a tent. It's temporary. You don't, like, decorate your tent. Is this going to be your house? Like, if you live in a tent, you're probably transit. You're moving around. Like, this is just a temporary structure. And he contrasts tent with building. Did you notice that? He's like, I'm going to talk about tent. I'm going to talk about building. And the tent is temporary. But a building, he says, not made with hands. The work of God, that's eternal. So Paul is saying, like, I know, I have this conviction. I'm assured that this life is temporary and it's not all there is. And something better and something permanent and something from God is coming. And then he goes on and he says this. Look at verse two. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on, we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but that we'd be further clothed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. So right off the bat, he's saying, in this tent that we have, we groan. And that word groan is a present tense verb. And what that means is it's an ongoing action. It's continuous. Like this experience of groaning in this body, that's a lifelong experience on this side of glory. So we just need to kind of let go of this idea of a life without groaning. This life is hard. And both us as a culture and the Corinthians, like, that's what they were after. I want a life free of troubles. I want an easy life. I want the good life. I want a life with no problems, where it's just. It's just good all the time. And Paul's like, yeah, that ain't. That ain't a reality. This life is full of groaning. It's hard. But he's talking about getting past, getting on the other side of this life of groaning. And he's saying, when we get past this life of groaning, we're not going to be left wanting. We're not going to be disappointed. Right? You're not going to be naked, you're not going to be unclothed, you're not going to be just left wanting. You're going to be provided for. See, I think as Christians we have this ignorance of heaven or the afterlife or the new heavens and the new earth. Like, we're not quite sure what it'll be like. So it lessens our passion for it or lessens our desire for it. Like, I know this life, I'm not quite sure what the next is. Like, you see some cartoons, it's like, are we like a naked baby on a cloud playing a harp? And I don't even like the harp and how's that going to go? But I know this life and it's got us troubles. I know the troubles, but I know they're a good thing. So. So I tend to just hold on to this life and it lessens my passion for the next. You guys ever. I don't even know if it's on the air anymore, but there's an old game show on television called let's Make a Deal. Anybody ever see that? Right? So you're in this position where it's like, okay, behind door number one, you get a dishwasher and you're like, ah, I need a dishwasher. That's awesome, right? And it's like. Or you can trade in the dishwasher for whatever's behind door number two. But we're not going to show you what's behind door number two. So of course the audience is like, not my dishwasher. Like, risk it, go for it. And you're like, I don't know. I mean, behind door number two could be like a seven day cruise in the Caribbean. And you're just like, it's so much better than a dishwasher. But I know that's a dishwasher. I know I need a dishwasher. So it's like, do you take the risk or not? Because behind door number two could be like 100 cans of beans too. Like, you're not quite sure. And when it comes to this life, it's like, I know what this life is. I know what I have. I'm not quite sure behind door number two. So I tend to hold on to what I got. And Paul's saying, like, I know, I know what's waiting for me. I'm so convinced of it. I'm so assure of it. Like it's directing my life. He's passion for it. And the groans that he's talking about is we have for this tent. We groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. This groan is not just about the troubles we deal with. The groan also speaks to the angst. Like, I can't wait, I can't wait to get there. I'm so passionate about getting there. And he says, you're not going to be left wanting. You're not going to be left naked. This life doesn't go away and leave you with nothing. You're not going to be unclothed. Like, God's not going to take this tent away and then just leave you. He's like, no, you're going to be further clothed. You're going to put on life. You're going to put on your heavenly dwelling. You're going to have a house not made with hands. It's provided by God. And then he says this. That was good news if you were an amen or you missed it. He says this in verse 5, he who has prepared us for this very thing is God who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So when he says he who has prepared us for this, this very thing, what is the this that's referring to this heavenly dwelling, Not a building not made with hands. Or if you reach back in our context to the end of verse four, an eternal way to glory. In fact, it's the same word in verse 16 that shows up here that he prepared us or he's preparing us for this eternal way to glory. Like it's God that is getting us ready for what he has for us. And what he has for us is awesome. It's like, I'm pumped for this and I'm convinced that it's true. He's excited for it. And then he says he has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. Now, he didn't give us a spirit. Like, you're going to have a spirit of confidence. That should reassure you. He gives us the spirit. He gives us the Spirit. And this is amazing truth that we need to get. And I don't, I don't want to turn this message into a message on the Holy Spirit. Not because I don't want to talk about the Holy Spirit, because we need to. We should. We got to teach more on the Holy Spirit. I'm just saying it's not Paul's aim right here to unpack all what he means by the Holy Spirit. But he mentions him. So it's like, okay, what do you mean by that? Let's give some context to this, because I think there can be some confusions or misunderstandings when it comes to the Holy Spirit. First off, the Holy Spirit is not an It. It's not your conscience. It's not a force. Like, don't go Star wars on this. Like, the Spirit is all around us. And we can just kind of tap into that. The Holy Spirit is. He is a person, is the third person of the Trinity. And the Holy Spirit is given to every believer. When you become a new creation in Christ, you have been given the Holy Spirit, or you're baptized in the Spirit, you've been given life from the Spirit, and you have the Holy Spirit. And when you have the Holy Spirit, there are things the Spirit does to true believers. I'll go fast here if you want to write these down. But he guides to truth. That's in John 16:13. He comforts. That's John 14:16. He counsels. That's John 14:26. He gives wisdom. That's Ephesians 1:17. He prays for us. That's Romans 8:27. He gives power. Acts 1:8. He helps in our weakness. That's Romans 8:26. He gives gifts. First Corinthians 12:11. He gives gifts to believers. He produces fruit. That's Galatians 5. When people talk about the fruit of the Spirit, like, when you have the Spirit, it's going to produce love and joy and peace and all those good things that come through the Spirit. And every believer has the Spirit. You're baptized into the Spirit, you're given the Spirit. And we're also to pray, to be filled with the Spirit as believers. But what Paul's getting at here is a unique ministry of the Spirit, of the sealing of the Spirit. In fact, he talks about this in Ephesians, Chapter one, says in him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, you were what, sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the what guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Now, he used that word, sealed. And sometimes it's referred to the sealing of the Spirit. If you think of a. A king back in the day that was going to send a mail, and they rolled up the scroll and then put some wax, and he had his ring and he sealed it. It's like, this is from the king. It's me. It represents my word. Like, we're getting the Spirit. Given to us as a seal that this we are from God and we belong to God. In fact, if you just go back to chapter one of Second Corinthians, the book we're in, Paul talks about it in this very same letter, Second Corinthians 1. He says, and it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, and who has also put his what, seal on us and given us his spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. That's a big word, guarantee. It's a guarantee, right? Or however you want to say it. It's guaranteed. Now, that word is a financial word or a legal term that speaks of, like, a down payment. Like, it's this way of saying, like, hey, you can't sell this to anybody else. It's mine. Like, I already purchased it. I already own it. It belongs to me, and it locks that purchase in. So you take that word back to what Paul's saying here. It's like, I know. I know that this life isn't all there is. I know that something better is waiting. Like, I have this conviction, this assurance, this confidence. It's been guaranteed by the work of Christ on the cross and the giving of the Holy Spirit. And we should have that kind of confidence. It's what faith looks like. And then he says this. I'm sorry, I'm going fast. I just. There's a lot of good stuff. Then he says this in verse 6. So we are always of good courage. Let's stop there. Because I know this because I'm convicted about it, because I'm assured of this glorious news that has led to me being of good courage. That's the reason behind my courage. Basically, what we know shapes how we feel. Like, I know this to be true, and you can see that I know it and how I conduct myself. You can see it in my emotions. You can see it in my courage. You could translate courage, cheer to could say of good courage or of good cheer. Like, my demeanor speaks to it. Like, I know it to be true. And you can see that in my own demeanor. Like, I know my wife loves me and it makes me feel happy, right? I know God has provided me, and it makes me feel courageous. It makes me full of cheer. And guys, the opposite is true, too. These positive emotions are connected to something Paul believes, and negative emotions are connected to a belief. So you're saying I'm full of courage and it's connected to the. Because I know this, I believe this. But also, if you're full of fear, that's connected to something you're believing. If you're full of anxiety, that's connected to something you're believing. If you're full of insecurities, that's connected to something you're believing. Like, there's a connection between your faith and your feelings. Now, we can't always trust our feelings. That's not what I'm saying. But it's also often an indicator of what you believe. Faith is evident in our emotions. So when Paul's like, hey, I'm of good courage, or I'm of good cheer, he's talking about a demeanor that speaks to or an attitude of optimistic action. Like, let's do this. Let's go. I'm following Christ. I'm in. Like, that's what he's talking about. So when God commands Joshua when they're gonna take the promised land, he says, be strong and courageous, right? He's like, go in and take the promised land. And you remember who's in the promised land. Giants. Scary people. Now, what he was calling them to do is not just be obedient and scared. He was calling them to be obedient and courageous, to have courage. So their attitude or their demeanor wasn't, go, take the promised land with this. Like, well, we may die. Here we go. It's like, no, go take it, thinking you're going to get it and thinking that because I promised it to you, it's the promised land. Show courage in my promises. You see this in King David when they're getting ready to fight Goliath, Goliath is calling them all out. And the Israelites are scared. He's big. He's a giant. We're no match to him. But David steps up and they start talking trash. And you can tell in the trash talking. Goliath has a lot of confidence in himself. But David is not talking trash because he's confident in himself. He's talking trash because he's confident in God. Because Goliath is like, this is what I'm going to do to you. But David is like, this is what God is going to do to you. So that's courage. And Paul's like, I'm full of that. Like, I know what's waiting for me. So I'm always of good courage. I always have this demeanor of, let's do this. I'm with you, God, in whatever you called me to do. So then he goes on verse six, so we're always of good courage. We know there's that word again, that while we're at home, in the body, we are away from the Lord. So he's facing reality with future optimism. Like, I know when we're, when we're here in this body, we're going to groan. It's tough. I'm not like putting rose colored glasses on it. Life is hard, but I also know it's coming and I also know it's waiting for me. And then he says this line, yes, we are of good courage. Or I'm sorry for this is verse seven, kind of the center of his argument for we walk by faith, not by sight. Basically, Paul's describing the fuel behind his lifestyle. You want to know why I live the way that I live? It's faith. I'm driven by faith. So if that's what's shaping my lifestyle. What's shaping your lifestyle? Like that's the question he poses. Because remember, Paul's lifestyle is critiqued by these people. Because in Corinth it's like you value prestige and status and wealth and power. And you look at Paul and it's like you suffer, you're not put together. Like we're not too drawn to you. He's like, okay, you can critique my lifestyle, but let me explain my lifestyle to you. Know what drives my lifestyle? Faith. What drives your lifestyle? Because I'll tell you the beliefs behind my lifestyle. What are the beliefs behind your lifestyle? What are your beliefs that make you so passionate to climb the corporate ladder? What are the beliefs behind you just spending so much energy on how you look even though it's a tent? What are your beliefs behind trying to store up as much money as possible? Because I got my beliefs that defend my lifestyle. What are your beliefs that defend your lifestyle? I walk by faith. What's driving your life? Then he says this, verse 8. Yes, we are of good courage. Like I'll say it again and we would. What's that word? Rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So Paul's saying what we know shapes what we prefer. Like you can see my faith in my preferences, in my desires, in my passions. I would rather like. If you're giving me the choice. I know your culture loves this and values this and wants to be the best looking and the richest and the most popular. But I'm not drawn to that. I'm drawn to this. If you're giving me the choice, I know those are your values. They're not my values. I would rather be with King Jesus. Faith is evident in our Preferences. And we can't. Listen to me church. We can't claim Jesus is our treasure, Jesus is our passion, when we actually value something else. Like, we can't just, like, speak in such a way where it's like, I love Christ with all my heart. But then when our life is examined, it looks like. But it looks like you love that more. It looks like you're more passionate to that. We can't do that. Or we can. That's just not the kind of faith that passes any test. That's not what Paul's talking about. In fact, you see this get flushed out in John. This is John. Chapter 12 says this. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities, what was that next word? Believed in him. And the him is Jesus. But. That's some big buts in the Bible. That's one of them. But for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. For they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. So it's right. You look at these people, they believed in Jesus. You believe in Jesus. I believe in Jesus. Check. Believe in Jesus. But I want this more. I care more about the glory of man than the glory of God. I fear men more than I fear God. Like, I believe in Jesus. But don't tell anybody at the office, right? Because I don't want to lose my synagogue card. I don't want to be left out. And you get the first part of that verse. They believed in him. You're like, that's great. But the rest of the passage is not flattering. It's saying, like, you had greater passions than King Jesus. Nick, you love the glory that came from man more than the glory that came from God. That's not the kind of faith that Paul's talking about. That's not the kind of faith that John is talking about. That's not the kind of faith the Bible talks about about. Now, this is an affront to the Corinthians and to us. Because remember, their culture they're writing to is. They love that stuff. They love the glory that came from man. Their whole culture is built upon the glory that came from man. He's saying, if you're going to choose that over Christ, we're talking two different languages here. What he's saying is, yeah, you're after value from culture. You're after prestige. You're after wealth. You're after power. But I prefer Christ. That's my preference. And you want to know why? It's my preference, faith. I know something better is waiting for us. I'm so convinced of it. That's what's driving this. Then he says this in verse nine. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our. What's that word? Aim. To please him, to please Christ. Now, that word aim could be translated ambition. And again, this is confronting their culture and ours. Because, I mean, that's the land of opportunity, right? If you want to make something of yourself, you go to America. I'm going to say, you go to Corinth. You go, like, try to. I'm going to make my money there. Like, land of opportunity, markets big. You want to start a business, go to Corinth. If you want to have fun, go to Corinth. Like, this is the place that you want to be at. And he's saying, you're ambitious for this. Like, you've moved there to make something of yourself. This is your driving ambition. Now, Paul doesn't say that ambition is bad. What he says is Christians have heavenly ambition. He didn't say ambition is bad, but he says Christians, a mark of true faith, a true Christian is they have heavenly ambition. Like, they're passionate about the things of heaven most. He speaks to this even in another letter. I think it's First Corinthians. But the example of athletes, like, if you look at somebody in our culture like, that is so devoted, that puts so much time and energy that has such ambition to pursue their goals. It's athletes. I mean, the training that they put in and their critique is like, they put in all this work to gain a crown that perishes. And then he says, but we work for a crown that lasts forever. So how much more ambition should Christians have than non Christians? Like, he's not critiquing ambition. He's saying, it's not that your ambition is too much, it's just wrongly directed and not passionate enough. Like, I get ambition. Like, I'm so ambitious. Paul's probably like, I'm more ambitious than you are. It's just your ambition is for earthly success, and my ambition is for heavenly success. So I have ambition. Like, I'm working for a crown that doesn't fade, doesn't go away. Like, you're working for things that won't last. In fact, my mom, finally, they're cleaning out their house. So then we clean out. This was a long time ago. She gave me, like, a keepsake chest. And like, oh, great, we'll shove that in our storage room. And now we finally got to Open it up. And it's like so many medals and plaques and awards. It's like, how was second place in a second grade wrestling tournament? Woohoo. You know, it's like, what am I going to do with all this? Just throw it away. And Mark's like, let's just throw it away. It's like, wait, no, let's save them and I'll give them out to our staff every week for some lame award or something, then they can throw it away. But it's like, why do you, like, you put so much energy into, like, things. It's like it's gone. It's not gonna last any. Paul's saying, I'm ambitious. I'm just ambitious for the things of heaven. So more than wanting the promotion and more than wanting the retirement and more than wanting the status, Christians want Christ and the things of the next life. Is that true for you? Is that true for you? And if you're kind of pushing back on this a little bit, like, I understand the tension, it's not wrong to work hard to get a promotion. It's not wrong to be wise with your money and get a lake house. Just have me over, right? It's not wrong to like, plan for retirement. It's not wrong to do those things. That's what I'm saying. That's not what he's saying. But it's wrong to make that the ambition of your life more than Christ. It's wrong for that to be your aim. That's where it gets out of balance. And here's why a Christian would feel that way. Because they know they have this assurance and conviction of what's waiting for me is better. It's better. It's like, I know it. Guys, hear me now. Faith is not a way that you diversify your options. Do you know what I mean by that? I think sometimes Christians take this approach of, like, I said the prayer, I raised my hand, I went down front, I go to church, serve in the nursery, like, check. But I'm not quite sure that's how it's going to play out. So I'm also going to just try to have my best life. Now I'm going to try to live for retirement. Now I'm going to try to, like, have all my comfort. Now I'm going to try because that's door number one and it's wide open and I know it. I'm not quite sure what's behind door number two, I think, but I'm not sure. So I'm going to Diversify. I'm going to put some chips in the God basket and some chips in the world basket. And then I got both options. Paul said, I'm not doing that. I know it's behind door number two. I'm all in on door number two. I am passionate about door number two and it's directing his life. So what, you know, shapes your purpose, Your purpose. Faith is evident in our ambitions, what we're after. And ambition speaks to something we think is going to deliver or that we desire. And Paul tells them what he's after. He's like, I'm after pleasing Christ. And here's some incentive for that, because not only am I after, not only is it my aim, I think it should be your aim too. So let me give you some incentive why it should be your aim as well. Look at verse 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is do for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. So you got your aims and I got my aims like you got your ambitions in life. I got my ambitions in life. And someday we're all going to have to stand before Christ and you got to give an account of your ambitions in life and I got to give account of my ambitions in life. And I get it right now. You look at my life and it does not look that appealing, like you don't want it, but I bet someday you will. I bet someday when you're being judged for how you live your life and I'm being judged for how I live my life, you're gonna look at me with greater envy than what you're looking at me now. So I get it like you got your aims in life and I got my aims in life. But all of us are gonna stand before the judgment seat of Christ and all of us are gonna give account for how we lived. And that day, for non Christians or people with unsaving faith, it's going to be a day of exposure because nobody comes to the Father except through Christ. But you also got Matthew 7 where it's like some people that say to Jesus, Lord, Lord, he's going to say, depart from me. I never knew you. So there's judgment coming. Now this text can be really troubling or cause some, some tension for the Christian because it's talking about all of us, Christians included, standing in judgment. What's that about? Because I thought, you know, Romans 8:1, there's now no more condemnation for those who are in Christ. Now this judgment stuff and it seems to be a judgment based on works like what you did. So what is he talking about here? What kind of judgments or judgment will Christians face? And here's what's clear about this in the text that we can gather. 1. All Christians will face judgment right off in verse 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. All Christians will face judgment. Our judge is Jesus. It's the judgment seat of who? Christ. Our judge is Jesus. Judgment happens after we die, that we're going to give an account for what we've done in the body, in this tent, our time on earth. And we're going to be judged by our deeds in this life. And he says, what you have done in the body, whether good or evil, maybe it's helpful to think of it like this. For Christians, there will be a judgment of evaluation, but not condemnation. For Christians, there will be a judgment of evaluation, but not condemnation. In fact, Paul's picking up on something he's already laid down before them in his first letter in First Corinthians 3. He says this starting in verse 12. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, so he's given, like, different building materials, not a different foundation. So track with me. The foundation is Jesus. But how you live your life, you can bring different building materials to that foundation to build your life. He says, each one's work will become manifested for the day or the day of judgment. We'll disclose it because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. So if you see the same language, whether good or evil, if the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. So you get reward and loss. But then it says, though he himself will be saved, but only through fire. So again now in his second Letter, he's kind of putting some more flesh on this idea of judgment when he says, the judgment seat of Christ. You see this play out in the parable in Luke 19. It's the parable of the Minas. It's a menas was, like a form of money. And the parable is, a man goes away on a trip to acquire a kingdom, like he's going to get a kingdom. And he gives 10 minas to his three servants, same amount to everybody. And on return, he checks in, and the first verse, he's like, I took your 10 Minas and I made 10 more. And here's what is said to that person in the parable, well done. You're going to be in charge of 10 cities in my kingdom. So he goes to the next person, ten minas the same. He's like, what'd you do? He's like, well, I took your 10minas and I made five more. And he doesn't scold him for not being as good as the first one. He says, well done. But then he says this, I'm going to put you in charge of five cities. Now that guy's like, that's not fair. He got 10 cities. Like, yeah, because he made 10 more. You got five more, you get five cities. So there's different proportions of rewards that are being given out. And you see this in Jesus teachings as well. But here in our text, when he says good and evil, you're going to be judged for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Evil is not a punishment for our sins. Although he's using weighty language on purpose. Like, our sins are paid for on the cross, but it is the loss of reward that we would have had and a life more devoted to him. But it got burned up. Like, what did you put on that foundation? Did you just build a Christian house of straw and it got burned up. You would have had it. So listen to me. Every tear will be wiped away. I'm not saying there's, like, discontentment in heaven, but there are rewards in heaven. And there's different proportions of rewards in heaven. And there's loss heaven at judgment. Regret is a real reality for Christians. Like, there's a moment of like, oh, I made my life about that. If I could go back, I'd do it differently. I put so much passion and energy in that, and it's gone. It means nothing. It's over. And I made that my life about like, that was my aim in life. That was my ambition in life. And it's over. It's like, there's regret at judgment. And rewards are a motivator for the Christian. Like, it's being put before. Like, yes, you should be motivated, run into the race in such a way to win the crown, win the prize. In fact, the person that teaches most about rewards is Christ himself. When he's interacting with the rich young ruler, he's like, sell all you have, give it to the poor. Come, follow me, and you will have treasure in heaven. Here's a reward path. Or in the Sermon on the Mount, the first. The first part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus references rewards nine times. Like my Father, who Sees in secret, will reward you. Like rewards is a motivator for the Christian life. And then you get into Hebrews 11 that we referenced before, and you get all these examples of people living by faith. By faith they did this, and by faith they did this, and by faith they this. Like all these heroes of the faith. You get to the beginning of chapter 12. Now you get to the real hero, Jesus Christ, because he says, look to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, this reward set before him, endured the cross like it was a motivator. Reward should be a motivator for us. Don't listen to me, Church. Don't make grace a demotivator. Don't have this posture of like, well, I'm saved by grace, so it doesn't really matter. Like, that's the argument Paul was pressing back on Romans, where it's like, well, I'm saved by grace, so can sin abound? No, by no means. Don't have that disposition. Don't have. It's like, well, I'm in by grace, so now it just really doesn't matter how I live. That's not the kind of faith that Paul's talking about. That's not the kind of faith that groans for something better and lives towards something better to win a prize. That's just a faith that's like, happy to get an entrance ticket, treating Jesus like fire insurance. So listen to me, church. I believe in eternal security, okay? I believe in eternal security. I'm going to say it again because I don't want anybody like Jake. You don't believe in eternal security? I believe in eternal security. But hear me now. Don't be so confident in your salvation that you are complacent in your godliness. Don't think that you prayed a prayer at camp or you raised your hand at a service that you're just good and you display no ambition for Christ and his glory, no preference for him. And equate that to saving faith. Don't be so confident in your salvation that you are complacent in your godliness. Paul's saying, I make it my aim to please the Lord. It is the ambition of my life because I'm more excited about the next life than this life. Now, how could he be more excited about the next life than this life? Because he's not looking at what is seen. Chapter four, he's looking at what is unseen. Or in chapter five, the way he puts it, I'm walking by faith. I know what's Waiting for me and it's better. Are you walking by faith? Like, has your faith really shaped your whole life? Here's what we see here. What Paul knows. Like, I just. He knows it. What he knows has affected his emotions. I'm always of good courage. What he knows has affected his preferences. Oh, I would rather be with Christ in anything this world has to offer. And what he knows has affected his ambition. I make it my aim to please Christ. So as your acknowledgement of Christ as king, a savior, as yourself as a sinner, if you're just like, yep, I know that. I know God is real. I know I'm a sinner. I know Jesus is my savior. If you're like, yeah, I know that. Has what you know affected your emotions? Like, are you always of good courage and cheer? Do you have the joy of your salvation? Has it affected your preferences? Like, do you look at all the things this world kind of throws in front of your face and be like, oh, I'd rather have Christ all the time? Has it affected your ambition? Like, do you make it your aim to please Christ? Like, do your emotions and your preferences and your ambitions say that you have faith? Like, if we just tested those things, would you pass the test of faith? So, church, here's what we need to understand. Faith is the assurance of what's waiting for us, the preference for what's waiting for us, and the pursuit to please who's waiting for us. So you want to test yourself. You figure out, do I have faith? That's what it is. Faith is the assurance of what's waiting for us. Like, I am. I'm so assured, I'm so confident that this life is not all there is and something better is waiting. It's the preference for what's waiting for us. Like, I would rather have that. I would rather have Christ than anything this world could give me. And it's the aim or the pursuit to please who's waiting for us. Like, I make it the ambition of my life to make Christ happy in all that I do. And guys, that's the fuel behind Christian courage. Like, if that's the way you feel, that leads to Christian courage for Paul. Like, you want to kill me, fine. What's waiting for me is better. You want to try to, like, say that I'm not that important because I don't drive that car, have that income, or have that lifestyle. I'm good. Because I prefer something different than that. Like, you don't think I'm being successful in this world. You can make that conclusion I'm not trying to be successful in this world. I'm trying to be successful in the next world. So that's driving his lifestyle. So church, I could wrap it up here and we could just say, man, can you imagine a church full of people with Christian courage that just don't back down, that are just brave no matter what, that just follow Christ? That would be awesome. But let's go deeper than that. What's behind that? Can you imagine a church full of people who are absolutely convinced that the life to come is real? I just know that this life isn't all there is. Can you imagine a church full of people who would genuinely rather have Christ than anything this world has to offer? They just prefer Christ. And can you imagine a church full of people that their ambition in life was just to make Christ happy, to please him in all they do? Paul's writing to this Corinthian culture that is in love with this world, that cares about status and wealth and power and position, and he's telling them, this is what faith is. I'm not calling you to be a super Christian. I'm calling you to be a Christian. This is what faith looks like. So I want to invite you this morning to be a Christian. I want to invite you to put your faith in Jesus Christ, but not by raising your hand or coming forward or signing a card. I'm not inviting you to just kind of dodge judgment and get into heaven. When I say I want to invite you to put your faith in Jesus, this is what I mean. I want to invite you to know and have a conviction that this life isn't all there is and something better through Jesus Christ is waiting. I want to invite you to prefer what's waiting for you more than anything this world can offer you. And I want you to make it your life's ambition, your aim to please Jesus Christ, your Savior. That's what faith looks like. And if we've had that, we would have Christian courage. Amen. Let's pray. Father, I pray that you would just break this love affair with this world. You would give us faith, real biblical faith, that has an assurance that this isn't all there is and you've prepared something better for us. You would put in our heart a preference for you over all things, and you would make it our aim to please you. We pray this in your name. Amen.