Rewarded - Part 2

I left you last time with the words from Jesus out of Revelation 22:12 - “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” While I was writing, I started to think: Are we left in the dark concerning what these rewards are for? Does the Bible show us what exactly will be rewarded at the judgement seat of Christ? I began to look through the different passages where the Bible promises a reward and began to discover some things.

To review, we’ve already found out that we will stand before Jesus one day to account for the things we’ve done. We learned that, for a believer, this isn’t about destination - it’s about rewards. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 makes this clear: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

What I’ve found in my study is that there are two types of rewards for godly behavior:

There are certain passages that speak of rewards in this life. For example, “Honor your father and mother...that it may go well with you and that you’ll live long on the earth.” This is clearly a reward for here on earth - not necessarily before the throne of Jesus. “Give and it will be given to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over; it will be poured into your lap.” Again, this is a reward that’s received in this life. This isn’t to say that honoring your parents and being generous won’t be rewarded in eternity, just that those specific rewards (i.e. life going well for you, people giving back to you) are given out on this side of eternity.

The other type of rewards are eternal. We’re not told what they are exactly, but we are told what kind of actions they will be given out for. This isn’t an exhaustive list  - there are probably others that you could find (if you do find some, please tell me in the comments!), but here are some of the things I’ve discovered that carry eternal rewards.

#1 - Clinging to, holding tightly, and treasuring God’s Word
Psalm 19:7-11 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.”
God’s law, testimony, statutes, commandments, and judgements are all contained in one place - His Word! Keeping God’s Word means so much more than obeying it! To keep it means to guard it, to treasure it, to give it a greater place in your life than anything else. There is a real reward that will be given to those who honor the Bible. I’m not talking about reading it once in awhile. I’m not talking about taking it to church with you. I’m not even talking about saying how much you honor it! There is a reward given to those who treasure every page of this book.

#2 - Living a righteous lifestyle
Proverbs 11:18 “The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.”
Psalm 58:11 “So that men will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely He is God who judges in the earth.’”
We know that we have been made righteous by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now we stand before God blameless - righteous in position. But that is only the beginning! The more a believer grows, the more they should become righteous in behavior. This is where the reward lies.
Being made righteous is its own reward - in this life and in eternity. But a righteous lifestyle will bring other rewards when you’re standing before Jesus’ throne.

#3 - Being persecuted for the name of Jesus
Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
You shouldn’t get so upset when people pick on you, lie about you, and treat you wrongfully because you’re a believer. They’re actually doing a good thing for you - you’re going to be rewarded in heaven for what they’re doing! No wonder Acts 5:41 says that the apostles were “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name”!

#4 - How you treat your enemies
Proverbs 25:21-22 “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”
Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
We no longer have the luxury of nursing grudges. When we see our enemy (those who hate us, those who make our lives harder) in need, our response can’t be, “they deserved it.” When we’re humble enough to repay good to those who are evil toward us, it brings a reward! Sadly, this is one reward that many don’t want to pay the price for...

#5 - Ministering to kids
Matthew 10:42 NIrV “Suppose someone gives even a cup of cold water to a little one who follows me. What I'm about to tell you is true. That one will certainly be rewarded.”
As a kids pastor, this one is near to my heart. Over the course of many years I’ve seen people come and go from the kids ministry - a few have been faithful to stay, you know who you are! One thing I’ve always heard through the years is, “I don’t want to miss what’s going on in the main service.” If they really thought about it, they would understand: there isn’t one service going on in the sanctuary and another going on in the classroom! Those kids are part of the church of Jesus Christ!
So...to all you who have been faithful and persevering in your class, even when you’re the only one
To everyone who feels forgotten in an ocean of dirty diapers and loud lungs
To every volunteer who prepares for class in their personal time
To every minister who has bought juice and cookies from their own wallet
Don’t give up! Keep being faithful! God’s Word promises you this - there is a special reward that’s given to someone who cares for a child in Jesus’ name!

I had six or seven more to go...but this post is getting too long! To be continued...

For All Of Us Who Were Raised In Church...

First of all, I want to make it clear that I am very grateful for the parents I have. I think we can all agree that all of the values and ethics that we have came from the way we were raised. All of us have had sort of a “head start” by learning right and wrong early in our life. However, what I want to relate to you now is the hidden danger that comes from being raised by godly parents and from spending your childhood years in church.

    The danger here is the lack of personalization – when you never internalize the faith of your parents. This condition can manifest itself in one of two ways. The best example of this is Isaac’s family. His two boys, Jacob and Esau, illustrate both sides of what I like to call “the second generation syndrome.” These two boys had an incredible family. Their grandpa was the Abraham. Their dad was the Isaac; the miracle baby of Abraham and Sarah. They were miracle kids themselves! So if anyone should’ve had a head start in their relationship with God, it was these guys. But this advantage didn’t mean anything to them, did it? Why is that?

    They both had problems. Neither of them  adopted their father’s faith as their own. Jacob sums it up in Genesis 27:20 where he told his dad that God was “the Lord your God.” That says it all...not my God, but your God. He and his brother were second generation. They were raised by righteous parents, even adopted it as their culture, but never personally knew God!

Still, these guys were as different as night and day. They show us the two sides of the second generation. Another story about the second generation is the story of the prodigal son and his older brother. This story almost parallels Jacob and Esau’s. Who knows - maybe Jesus was thinking about Jacob and Esau when He told it! Jacob and the older brother were on the same path, Esau and the prodigal were on the other.

Jacob was a homebody. He preferred to stay at home with his parents. He usually did what his parents told him (I know he tricked his dad, but he did it because his mom told him to), and worked hard to make them happy.  Esau was always gone. He was a rebellious guy who loved the party lifestyle.  Jacob was smart and a little tricky, Esau was more of a brute and very gullible. Jacob didn’t really hang out with girls very much, Esau was definitely a womanizer! This sounds a lot like the prodigal and the older brother, doesn’t it?

    The problem was, they were both stuck in the same trap! Neither of them knew the God of their parents. Both sides of this second generation need to realize something - being raised in by godly parents doesn’t make them godly! They needed their own encounter with God! It wasn’t until Jacob was on the run, with nothing except the clothes on his back, that he came to realize that something was wrong. He had an encounter with God at Bethel, (since you were raised in church, you remember the story about Jacob’s ladder) and right there made a promise that God was going to be his God.

    Sadly, Esau never had this encounter. But in the story of the prodigal son, it was the older brother that never got it. The prodigal realized that he didn’t really know his father like he should. The older brother didn’t really know his dad either, but he never realized that! Both of these boys only saw their father as someone to be obeyed; all they saw was rules! The prodigal rebelled, the older brother stayed and submitted - but neither of them had a relationship with their dad.

    There are thousands of young men and women who are in the same situation today. They were raised by Christian parents, raised in church, taught all the Bible stories; but they’ve never known God except as Someone to be obeyed. All they see is a list of dos and don’ts. The second generation in church still follows one of two paths

Some of them are like Esau – running, rebellious, turning their back on the way they were raised. Some of them are like Jacob – staying home, seemingly doing everything right, but never bridging the gap between their parents’ faith and their faith. What they both need to realize is, everyone “must be born again” - even if they’re raised in church! God has zero grandkids! The way to get out of the second generation is to know God for yourself!

Prodigal/Esau - is this is where you’re at? Are you running away from what you were raised in? Are you tired of all the rules, so you’re turning your back on everything you were taught? have you found yourself in a pigpen? Then it’s time for you to realize Who you’re running from. Your Father loves you and He wants you to come home!

Older brother/Jacob - are you still trying to earn God’s love? Are you doing all the right things and still wondering why something feels wrong? Do you go to church every week, maybe even volunteer there, but still feel alienated from your Father? You’re on the more dangerous path, my friend! You need to wake up now! You need to realize that going to church your whole life, working hard, and being a good person doesn’t make you a Christian!

We can’t do this anymore! We need to find our Bethel! We must come to the place where we encounter God for ourselves! I know you remember hearing how much the “unchurched” need a revival. What I’m proposing to you is that there needs to be a revival in us first – the ones who were born here, who were raised here, who know all the right things.

    This is where we’re at. Are you going to keep sitting in church, working hard, volunteering there - only because it’s how you were raised? Or are you like Esau? Are you going to keep doing your own thing, pretending like you have all the time in the world? Listen to this verse and hear what it is saying to you:

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

Isn’t time you found your Bethel?