ETERNAL REWARDS? YES! "REALLY!"
Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven.
Matt 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Matt 19:21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Luke 14:13-14 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."
There are two keys that determine everything about your eternity, BELIEF AND BEHAVIOR.
The six main events of your forever life are:
1. LIFE You are created in the image of God for a life of purpose. Between
birth and death, you live on earth as a body, soul and spirit.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 4:23-25 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such
to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth."
1 Thess 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely;
and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. DEATH You die physically but not spiritually.
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today
you will be with Me in Paradise."
2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from
the body and to be present with the Lord.
3. DESTINATION You reach your destination after death,
which is determined by what you believe on earth. Do you believe in Jesus
as your savior?
John 3:16-19 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but
he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 14:2-3 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am,
there you may be also.
Matt 23:33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation
of hell?
4. RESURRECTION You receive a resurrected body.
John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all
who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done
good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection
of condemnation.
New bodies are immortal.
1 Cor 15:50-52 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold,
I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Phil 3:19-21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly
wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which
He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
5. REPAYMENT You receive your reward on your retribution
for eternity based on what you did on earth.
John 5:22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment
to the Son,
2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according
to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Rev 20:11-21:1 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found
no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,
and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.
And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which
were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death
and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each
one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake
of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book
of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
THE OUTCOME WILL DETERMINE YOUR DEGREE OF REWARD.
Matt 11:20-22 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For
if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you,
it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for
you.
Matt 23:14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore
you will receive greater condemnation.
6. ETERNITY You will live forever in the presence or
the absence of Jesus, reaping the consequences of your beliefs and actions on
earth.
Matt 25:45-46 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to
you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not
do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life."
YOUR CHOICES ON EARTH HAVE DIRECT CONSEQUENCES ON YOUR LIFE IN ETERNITY.
Matt 20:7-10 They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to
them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'
So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call
the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'
And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received
a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive
more; and they likewise received each a denarius.
Mark 9:41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
John 15:8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
WE WILL RECEIVE REWARDS FOR:
1. Seeking Him
Matt 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have
shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father
who sees in secret will reward you openly.
2. Submitting to your superior.
Matt 24:45-47 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom
his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will
find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over
all his goods.
Eph 6:6-8 ".....as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of
God from the heart, with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not
to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the
same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
Col 3:22-25 Bond servants, obey in all things your masters according
to the flesh, not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of
heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord
and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of
the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong
will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
3. Self-denial.
Matt 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires
to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains
the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange
for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father
with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
4. Serving those in need.
Mark 9:41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because
you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his
reward.
5. Suffering for His name.
Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude
you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in
heaven,
6. Sacrifices you make for Him.
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.
Matt 19:21-22 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell
what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and
come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
What should you do with your treasure?-------"lay it up"
Who should you lay it up for?----"Yourself" (Lk 12:13-21)
Where should you lay them up?----"in heaven"
Matt 19:27-30 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left
all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"
So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration,
when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me
will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And
everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife
or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and
inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last
first.
7. Sharing of your time talent and treasure to further His
Kingdom.
Matt 6:2-4 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Dan 12:2-3 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
Rom 14:10&12 For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
1 Cor 3:13-15 "....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.
Mark 10:44-45 And whoever of you desires to be first shall
be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
Luke 6:43-44 "For a good tree (man) does not bear bad fruit, nor does a
bad tree (man) bear good fruit. For every tree (man) is known by its own fruit.
Luke 17:9-10 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "
Luke 19:13-17 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.......................when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained..........'Master, your mina has earned ten minas............And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.
Heb 11:5 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Heb 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises.
Rev 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
YOUR TREASURE IN HEAVEN Think of it as God's moving plan.
1. To move your treasure to heaven, you have to send it ahead.
Luke 12:33
Sell what you have
Give alms
Provide yourself with moneybags that do not grow old.
Store up good works.
A good foundation.
Answer two questions!!
1. What treasure has Jesus given me?
2. What is Jesus asking me to do with my treasure?
If we don't serve Jesus with all our money, we will serve our money.
We can not serve God and money!!
Where our treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Can we be good enough?
Totally Evil---------------------------------------------------------------Totally
Good
(0%) (100%)
Where would put a "X" on this line that would represent your life?
UNDERSTAND THIS, YOU MUST BE 100% GOOD ALL THE TIME TO GO TO HEAVEN.
No one can be 100% without Jesus Christ. For those that do not have Jesus: Rev 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The penalty for just one sin is death and the fires of hell.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
With Jesus we are new creations: 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Now we have eternal life: John 3:16-17
Now we are children of Jesus and heirs of salvation: Gal 4:3-7 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Eph 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Finally, on the last page of the Bible, Jesus says; "Rev 22:12-14 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
