For Heaven’s Sake!!!
(Eternal Rewards)
Sermon Series: Driven By Eternity
Sunday September 23rd 2007
Intro: Last week I did my best to describe and excite you about what Heaven is like. How many here are really looking forward to Heaven? Do you want to know how you can make Heaven even more wonderful? God has more in store for you than just entrance into heaven.
He actually WANTS to ADD to blessing for Eternity. He will Reward you for every sacrifice, good work, faithfulness and prayer. Everything you have given up for His Name’s Sake will be multiplied back to you in Heaven.
A major theme in Scripture: God will reward or punish according to a person’s good or evil deeds.
In the final few verses of the Bible, Jesus again reminds us:
Revelation 22:12-13 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
BEHOLD: I want you to consider carefully what I am about to tell you, if you grasp this concept, it will revolutionize your life.
Let’s assume we will all live to be 100 years old, we will spend 25 years growing, learning and training for the next 50 years of work. During those 50 years we work, buy and save for retirement. Let’s say that we retire at the age of 75 and spend the last 25 years of life in the blissful retirement years. Right? That means for 50% of our lives worked and prepared for the last 25% of our lives. That’s considered wise investing: Sacrificing now in order to invest so that you can provide for a better life later.
That’s earth math; but what about Heaven math? Is it any different?
Any finite number divided by, or compared to, infinity equals zero.
• 80 years / infinity (eternity) = 0
• 100 years / infinity (eternity) = 0
• Even if you lived to 150 before dying; your life on earth is zero compared to eternity.
Your life span on earth isn’t even a blip on the screen eternity.
However,
I. Your NOW determines your FOREVER
a. Your Salvation depends on your reaction to Jesus Christ.
You have heard this hundreds of times.
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
b. Your Rewards in Heaven depend on your works on Earth.
Milburn Cockrell, “Salvation depends upon Christ’s work for us, while rewards depend upon our works for Christ.”
c. God will separate all of humanity into two (and only two) distinct groups: Those who have accepted Jesus Christ and those who haven’t.
d. Everyone in those two groups will stand before God to be judged.
1 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
i. Those who rejected Christ will be judged to determine the severity of their punishment (We’ll cover this subject in detail next week)
ii. Those who accepted Christ will be judged as to their eternal rewards.
This is the reason as you read Jesus’ parables; sometimes they seem to contradict each other:
• Like in Matthew 20 / The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard / He paid each of them the same regardless of how long they worked.
• However, in Matthew 25 / The Parable of the Talents / They are given various rewards.
The Vineyard workers all accepted the job but performed various amounts of work, yet receiving the same pay. (This teaches about Salvation / The amount of work isn’t a factor / Only that they accepted the job)
The Parable of the Talents shows how three men are given various amounts of money, they each produce various results and they receive various outcomes. (One man disregards the Master and receives eternal punishment / the two others receive eternal life – but various rewards)
John Bevere writes, “There are numerous individuals in church unaware that they will give an account of what they’ve done in their short stay on earth. Many have the erroneous idea that all future judgment is eradicated by their salvation. Indeed, Jesus’ blood cleanses us from the sins that would have kept us from the Kingdom; however, it does not exempt us from the judgment of how we conducted ourselves as believers, whether good of bad.
e. Since God expects results from us, we can expect help from Him.
i. Since God is going to call me into account for my attitudes, then He must be willing to help me with my attitude now.
ii. Since God is going to review my every action, surely he will provide the grace I need to actually accomplish something great!
iii. God will never call you into account for something you have not power to change. But too few realize the power they actually do have.
It’s been said, ‘This life is but the dressing room for eternity.” This time is so short AND so Important.
He want’s you to know about rewards in Heaven so that,
II. Your Forever Drives your Now
If we are not driven by eternity, we will live and communicate more to benefit this life, instead of seeing life from an eternal perspective. We will teach people to live for the day rather than eternity.
When eternity drives your now, you will have an unwavering conviction that:
a. No Cost too great
Pastor Chip Ingram tells the story of sitting with a Pastor of an underground house church in China. The man told what was going on in his life and how his ministry had been going recently. He had come to Hong Kong for a Walk Thru the Bible training seminar Chip was leading, and after one of the sessions they went out for dinner. His congregation had to move frequently because government officials in his province were particularly hard on house churches. He told about his evangelistic trips and how he missed his wife and children whenever he traveled.
While he was away on a recent trip, the police came into his home and questioned his wife. She convinced them that she, not her husband, was the pastor (not an uncommon situation in China) and that the church had dispersed. She was the only one left, she told them. So to make an example of her, they took her to the police station and beat her until she was bloody and bruised.
"How did you deal with it?" Chip asked.
"As we talked about it later, my wife said, ‘Isn’t it amazing that Jesus gave us the privilege to suffer for his sake and that we can make that kind of sacrifice to thank him for suffering for us?’"
When eternity drives your now, you will have an unwavering conviction that:
b. Blessings now are just perks / the real reward is yet to come.
Tina is working at a Racquet Club. A high-end caterer leases the Kitchen at the club and during the summer months. They take care of the snack bar. As a part of Tina’s benefits is a daily allowance for food at the snack bar; which she says is great food. It’s usually very fancy and delicious, but that isn’t why she works there. She works for the pay check. She didn’t put on her resume, “Will work for food.” Lunch is just a bonus.
The same is true for us. Repeatedly Jesus used illustrations to show one aspect of our relationship with God. Laborers, stewards, workers and managers. Our real payday doesn’t come until heaven. Do you trust that God is good for it? We’re not “Working for food.” Everything we may gain from living for God now is only a bonus. The real rewards are coming in Heaven.
When eternity drives your now, you will have an unwavering conviction that:
c. How you live DOES Matter
1 Corinthians 3:6-15 “6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
• Your personal impact for the Kingdom of God DOES matter
o How you spend you time does matter.
o What you do with your abilities and skills matter.
o What you do with your money does matter.
• Reaching the Lost now is the highest priority
John Bevere – “When you understand eternal judgments, you will be motivated to tell those you know the plan of salvation.”
III. Your forever starts NOW
a. All you have is NOW.
i. Today is all you have to work with.
ii. Stop the “When…Then…”
1. When I get a raise, then I’ll start tithing
2. When I get a some free time, then I’ll start volunteering
3. When I know more then I’ll start witnessing
4. When…then…
iii. Don’t wait for perfect conditions
Ramsey’s upside down budget illustration
b. All you need is what you have.
i. You will not be rewarded because of someone else’s wealth, schedule or good works.
- Tithing is not legalism
- Tithing is not extortion (Protection money)
- Tithing is not like paying taxes to Uncle Sam.
- Tithing is not like paying your gas bill
- It is not paying a tip at the end of your diner out (“Thanks God for another great church service.”
- Tithing is not your dues into heaven or membership into the Church
- It is not God’s fund raising machine
Tithing is God’s door to greater blessing.
ii. Although we are called to work with and combine our efforts with others for the spread of the Gospel and Christ Jesus’ Glory.
c. Don’t settle for barely making it.
i. “I’m just happy to be here.” Sounds Spiritual, but the Bible encourages us to live much more directed lives.
ii. We are to be “Driven by Eternity” but many Christians are just limping into eternity.
iii. The Apostle Paul tells us to “RUN the Race to WIN.”
iv. Jesus promises that those who sacrifice on earth will receive “a hundred times as much” in Heaven.
1. That’s 10,000 percent – an impressive return
2. No stock or bond could ever produce that.
3. Heaven is your smartest investment AND it will last FOREVER!
Daniel Webster was one our top American Statesmen. Once at a banquet in his honor, surrounded by Presidents and heads of states from around the world, he was asked the question, “Mr. Webster, what is the most profound thought that ever entered your mind?” His reply was, “The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God.” In fact, when he made that statement, he became so emotionally involved that he had to excuse himself and went out and came back. And then for 30 minutes he talked to those great men and women of that day about the responsibility he felt of managing the resources that God has given to him.
Living a Driven by Eternity life, changes you, changes the way you view and spend time, money, it changes your attitude toward people, work, and daily life.
It changes how you look at God too. When we finally are in Heaven, all greed and envy is removed from our hearts, we will truly know how our work has brought Glory to Jesus and led others to Him.
Conclusion: Bottom Line: Live to Win!!!
