Results Enduring For Ever
Sports fade. Kingdoms dissolve. One reward out-lasts them all.
The reward.
Even better, consider the Rewarder.
Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Hebrews 11:6 “… he that cometh to God must believe that 1) He is [who He says He is], and 2) [believe] that He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
The quality of reward reflects the resources of the Rewarder!
What sort of reward does God want to give?
God’s nature wants to bless.
“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” Psalm 103:10.
God does not want us to experience the full penalty or reward our sins have earned.
But what sort of reward should we expect?
1 Timothy 5:18 “For the scripture saith, …The labourer is worthy of his reward.” Only workers get rewards. :) The government would not agree. And they would be incorrect, yet again. :)
1 Corinthians 3:8 “… and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”
A reward for doing what labor though?
Luke 6:22,23 “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”
Reward for what labor? Presenting Truth. For the Son of man’s sake. Behaving in like-manner according to the pattern of the prophets going before. Proclaiming the exact opposite of what the world wants to hear. Namely, specifically, that salvation is singular, through the Son alone. There is no other Way through the gate into glory.
We’re talking about doing a work with guaranteed results, even rewards which endure throughout eternity. Talk about a trophy 🏆 display case with no dust and no rust!
What did I do today … of eternal, lasting value?
Delivering the package of the Gospel is eternally rewarding work. (Pays better than Amazon does their delivery drivers.)
Testifying of personally experiencing that Spirit-filling, calm assurance of solid salvation, in that moment of reception … the courage to convey the salvation story, is rewarded for ages.
Q: What is the longest lasting, highest paid job on this fixed earth?
A: Well, getting paid immeasurably, by God the Rewarder with long-lasting rewards for whole-heartedly participating in Gospel distribution efforts. The pay is based on purity of motive and passion of performance, with hustle + humble dependence on God as co-laborers.
So there’s a massive reward for simply distributing the best news 🗞 ever? Huh? “I’ll throw that paper route!”
1 Corinthians 3:8 “Now he that planteth [the gospel] and he that watereth [the gospel] are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”
I Corinthians 3:13 “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.”
“Sort” refers to quality of effort from the ROOT motive undergirding the action.
What is eternal?
What transcends this realm into the next? Everything physical burns. The Holy Ghost through Peter assures us that all tangible objects will melt with fervent heat. “… the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up … all these things shall be dissolved, … and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, [comma, pause to breathe in] … Nevertheless we, [we are not gunna burn] according to His promise, look for New Heavens and a New Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3.
Come on now!
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be for ever mine.My chains are gone! I’ve been set free! My God, my Saviour rescued me.
~ John Newton, Amazing Grace (+ some)
A full resurfacing is scheduled for the face of the earth. Talk about a fix and flip! Complete meltdown and restructure. Burn it to the basement.
Truth endures.
The single action that transcends today and goes on ahead into our Heavenly account is the interactions we had of a spiritual nature. Those conversations we had connecting with fellow humans today, matter tomorrow. Our attempt to point people toward a relationship with God is what makes today worth living.
There are two days that matter most. This day… and that day. This day matters because I’m living it. That day matters because that’s the day I get to meet God face-to-face and get rewarded, or give a reckoning for what I did not accomplish within the timeframe allowed.
A true friend ensures his friends receive maximum level rewards.
Investing energy into the gospel business is the most rewarding opportunity available.
We are all encouraged to exercise diligence … earning deposits in two accounts. Simultaneously… two accounts? Of course our earthly account. But God directs us to consider we also have in Heaven an account for some reason. God only knows that reason. How will we spend or use our account in Heaven? We will figure that out on the next level. Perhaps we can catch a glimpse of God‘s reasoning in the follow-up verse here in Matthew chapter 6:
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, … for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” There it is. God wants our heart. Put your treasure where you want your heart to end up. Do I want my heart to be white-hot passionate, pursuing after God and His priorities? Then I need to be depositing treasures therein. Let’s compare the balance of deposits in my earthly bucket versus the daily drips and drops into my Heavenly bucket. Did I make a deposit today?
We all wish employers would pay daily. We have to wait for payday biweekly. Meanwhile, we can get paid daily on Heaven’s pay-scale.
God pays on His timeline.
God pays significantly more.
God pays bonus for motive.
God offers wowzer promotions.
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” 1 Peter 5:6.
Let’s wrap it up. Put a bow on it.
We’re trying to get a glimpse of our Heavenly reward to motivate us to participate meaningfully today in the work of the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:17 “For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward …”
Colossians 3:24 “*Knowing* that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
1 Timothy 5:18 “For the scripture saith, … The labourer is worthy of his reward.”
2 John 1:8 “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought [aka worked hard for], but that we receive a full reward.”
Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”