JEHOVAH-GMOLAH
Jer. 51:56
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: NO CHOCOLATE
1. A man went into an ice cream parlor and said, “I’d like 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream please!” The girl behind the counter said, “I’m very sorry sir, but our delivery truck broke down this morning, we’re out of chocolate!”
2. He said, “In that case, I’ll have 2 scoops of chocolate, please!” “You don’t understand, sir! We have no chocolate!” “Just give me some chocolate,” he said.
3. The girl said, “Sir, will you spell ‘van,’ as in ‘vanilla’?” The man spelled, “V-A-N.” The girl continued, “Now spell ‘straw’ as in ‘strawberry.’” The man said, “S-T-R-A-W.”
4. “Now,” the girl said, “Spell ‘stink’ as in ‘chocolate.” The man replied, ‘There is no ‘stink’ in ‘chocolate!’”
5. The girl shouted, “THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO TELL YOU, THERE IS NO STINKIN’ CHOCOLATE!”
B. TEXT
“Because the plunderer comes against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken. Every one of their bows is broken; for the Lord God of recompenses will surely repay. Jer. 51:56 KJV/NKJV. (Other verses about God being a God of Recompenses: Deut. 32:35; Isa. 35:4; 59:18; 66:6; Jer. 51:6; Lam. 3:64).
C. THESIS
1. Most of us have seen a reward sign posted somewhere for the return of a lost item or a missing person or pet.
2. Sometimes the reward may be a small amount, in some cases there have been rewards of a million dollars for information leading to the arrest or capture of a terrorist. 3. Would it shock you tonight if I said, “God offers rewards?” You won’t see it on a tree, or at the front of a store, but the Word gives us many examples of God rewarding people.
4. To recompense means “to repay or to reward or to compensate.” The word Gmolah means to give payback. This name indicates that God will repay evil for evil and good for good.
5. So tonight, let’s look at one of the covenant names of
God that says that by His very nature, God is a God who repays. The title of this message is “Jehovah-Gmolah.”
I. COMPENSATION FOR OUR ACTIONS
A. ALL WILL BE JUDGED: LOST & CHRISTIANS
1. Rev. 20:11-13,15 says, “11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away….12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened…and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
2. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Cor. 5:10.
B. THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO OUR ACTIONS
1. “Consequences” are defined as “the effect, result, or outcome of something occurring earlier.”
2. God is a God of consequences. He says what we sow, we’ll reap, Gal. 6:7. Job 4:8, “those who sow trouble reap it.”
Prov. 22:8, “Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity….” Hosea 10:12, “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love…”
3. HUMOR. Some think they can redirect their wrongs to someone else.
a. Like the elementary boy doing poorly in school. One day he gravely approached his teacher’s desk and said, "I don’t want to scare you, but my daddy says if I don’t get better grades.... somebody is going to get a spanking."
b. We all tend to think that somebody might get a spanking, but nobody expects it to be them.
4. There’s a direct correlation between what we do now, and how God will treat us in eternity!
C. HOW WE’LL BE JUDGED
“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. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” 1 Cor. 3:13-15.
1. DEEDS, ACTIONS, WORKS.
2. MOTIVES. “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” 1 Cor. 4:5.
3. WORDS. “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Mt. 12:36.
4. THOUGHTS, ATTITUDES. “For the Word of God…judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb. 4:12.
5. STANDARD OF JUDGMENT? THE WORD OF GOD.
“There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” John 12:48.
D. WILL IT REALLY MATTER FOR CHRISTIANS?
1. Eddie Rasnake says that “Many Christians operate from an erroneous idea that the only thing that really matters about heaven is if you get to go there or not. In reality, we will not all hold an equal station in heaven. Some will go to heaven empty handed, while others will enter into eternity with [great] reward.” (Following God- Using Your Spiritual Gifts)
2. Jon Courson reminds us that “rewards will determine your capacity to enjoy eternity. They will determine what you do in the next zillion years. “Take my word for it,” Paul would say, “Your house, your car, your hobbies, trinkets and toys will all burn. What does matter is doing God’s work with the right attitudes and motives.”
II. 3 TYPES OF PAYBACK
A. TO WICKED: PUNISHMENT
1. Rom. 2:5-8, “…the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”
2. In this world there is much injustice; many crimes are committed for which the criminals are never caught. The victims never see justice done. The perpetrators think they got away with it. Is that true? No! There is a God of Justice who, even after their death, will haul the criminal before the divine tribunal and make them pay for their crimes!
3. HUMOR
a. Calvin & Hobbes have been one of my favorite cartoon characters - Calvin, the hyper-active little boy with a wild & vivid imagination, & his companion, Hobbes, a tiger.
b. Well, in one cartoon Calvin & Hobbes were lying in the shade of a tree on a summer afternoon discussing the important things of life. Calvin says, "What if there is no heaven? What if this is all we get?"
c. Hobbes answers, "Well, if this is all we get I guess we’ll just have to accept it." Calvin replies, "Yeah, but if I’m not going to be rewarded for my good deeds, I want to know it now."
B. TO THE RIGHTEOUS: REWARDS
We don’t work for rewards, but because we LOVE JESUS; but God still says that all our good deeds for Jesus will be rewarded!
1. After the Rapture all Christians will stand at the glorious Bema Seat of Christ, similar to an Olympic judge’s stand, where we’ll receive our crowns and rewards.
2. One of our rewards will be our resurrected bodies, 1 Cor. 15:42-43. Another is to be to be in God’s presence, Ps. 16:11.
3. PROMISES FROM GOD:
Eternal Life, Matthew 19:29; Romans 2:7
Glory, Honor, and Peace, Romans 2:10
Future Authority, Luke 19:17; Rev. 2:26
Joy of Your Lord, Matthew 25:21
5 Crowns; Incorruptible; of Life, of Glory, of Righteousness, of Rejoicing.
4. THE 7 PROMISES TO THE OVERCOMERS: "To him who overcomes..."
a. "to eat from the tree of life in paradise of God” (2:7).
b. "not be hurt at all by the second death" (2:11).
c. "hidden manna…a white stone w/ a new name(2:17).
d. "I will give authority over the nations” (2:26-28).
e. "... will be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life” (3:5).
f. "... I will make a pillar in the Temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and...my new name" (3:12).
g. "the right to sit with me on my throne” (3:21).
5. SPECIAL REWARDS MENTIONED FOR:
a. THOSE PERSECUTED. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12.
b. THOSE WHO GIVE IN SECRET. "So when you give to the needy….do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”, Matthew 6:2-4.
c. PRAYER IN SECRET. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites ….6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6.
d. SERVING IN MINISTRY. “Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:41-42
e. LIVING PURE BEFORE THE LORD. “The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.” Psalms 18:20
God rewards a holy life.
f. SEEKERS AFTER GOD. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”. Hebrews 11:6
C. EARTHLY DEPRIVATION BALANCED IN HEAVEN
The Lord Jesus clearly spelled out the possibility of reversals of earthly life in heaven; “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.’” Lk. 16:25. Specifics named are:
1. Poverty on Earth, Rich in heaven; Lk. 6:20.
2. Hunger on Earth, satisfied in heaven; Lk. 6:21.
3. Weep on Earth, rejoice in heaven; Lk. 6:21.
4. Persecuted, great reward; Lk. 6:22.
5. Exalted on Earth, humbled in heaven; Lk. 1:52.
6. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” Mk. 10:31.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. The USS Astoria (C-34) was the first U.S. cruiser to engage the Japanese during the Battle of Savo Island, a night action fought 8-9 August 1942. Although she scored two hits on the Imperial flagship Chokai, the Astoria was badly damaged and sank shortly after noon, 9 August.
2. About 0200 hours a young midwesterner, Signalman 3rd Class Elgin Staples, was swept overboard by the blast when the Astoria’s number one eight-inch gun turret exploded.
3. Wounded in both legs by shrapnel and in semi-shock, he was kept afloat by a narrow life belt that he managed to activate with a simple trigger mechanism.
4. At around 0600 hours, Staples was rescued by a passing destroyer and returned to the Astoria, whose captain was attempting to save the cruiser by beaching her. The effort failed, and Staples, still wearing the same life belt, found himself back in the water. It was lunchtime.
5. Picked up again, this time by the USS President Jackson (AP-37), he was one of 500 survivors of the battle who were evacuated to Noumea.
6. On board the transport Staples, for the first time, closely examined the life belt that had served him so well. It had been manufactured by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, and bore a registration number.
7. Given home leave Staples told his story and asked his mother, who worked for Firestone, about the purpose of the number on the belt.
8. She replied that the company insisted on personal responsibility for the war effort, and that the number was unique and assigned to only one inspector.
9. Staples remembered everything about the lifebelt, and quoted the number. It was his mother’s personal code and affixed to every item she was responsible for approving! His own mother had saved her son’s life!
B. THE CALL
1. The fact that God is a God of payback for what we’ve done should sober us to the realization that whatever we sow, we will reap!
2. Have you been sowing anything good? Have you been sacrificing for the kingdom of God? Or are you sowing bad seed you’ll have to reap? Whatever we do to others, we’ve done it to Christ!
3. It’s time to repent of our selfishness and to determine to work for the Kingdom so when we stand before the God of Recompense, our rewards will be sweet and our welcome to heaven joyous.
4. Prayer.
