The Great Payday Here

Text: Matthew 16:24-27- " Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come

after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever

will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find

it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall

come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man

according to his works."(KJV)

Introduction:

1. I am going to talk about, "The Great Payday" that is received by every individual

who is wise enough to become a follower of Jesus Christ. The activity involved in

earning a payday may not be so exciting, but receiving the payday is always a

joyous occasion for everyone. I remember as a child my Dad received his pay twice a month. And every pay day was a joyous occasion for me and all of my

brothers and sisters because we would each be given a bag of candy! Yes, there

is something exciting about being rewarded. The Christian life is an exciting

life. It really pays to be a Christian!

2. Our text was written around 80 or 90 A.D. A time of severe persecution for

the early Christians. Therefore Jesus warned his disciples of the foolishness of

pursuing a life of comfort, safety, and ease. He told them that to do so would

result in the end, their losing a new dimension in life here and eternal life in the

world to come.

3. Jesus came to give us abundant life.(John 10:10) In our text He gives us the

formula for living it and promises great rewards to those who follow Him. He is

presenting us with the greatest challenge in the world. A challenge, if accepted,

will not only yield many wonderful compensations in this life, but an abundance

of wonderful compensations in the next life.

4. It is because of the tremendous rewards that are to be gained, that I submit

to you, it is by far better to be an obedient follower of Jesus Christ, than to be

the richest person on earth without Him.

I. WHAT IS GAINED

Permit me to invert the two words; 'Lose' and ' Gain' in verse 26 of our text and

attempt to answer the question thus posed. "For what is a man profited, if he

shall lose the whole world and gain his soul?" At the top of the list of rewards we

receive when we turn from a life of sin to a life of following Christ is the fact of

our;

1. Redemption

What does redeemed mean? It simply means to be set free.

From what has a Christian been redeemed from? First; Christian's have been

redeemed/released from that heavy load of guilt brought on by living a sinful

life.

(Illustration): One day someone asked an old colored fellow what he was so

happy about. The old man replied, "I has had a heavy load of guilt lifted from

my soul since da good Laud done forgive me of alls my terrible sins!" "How do

you know that the Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven you?", they asked. He -

explained; "When I's carry a hundred pound sack of potatoes on my back

and sets it down, I's know I'm not carrying it any mo." "So, I knows that da good

Laud done forgive my sins cause I's not carrying dat load no mo!"

Secondly, the follower of Christ has:

2. Power to Conquer Bad Habits

Scripture says that, "He that is in Us (Christ Jesus) is greater than he that is in

the world".(Satan)

Isn't it wonderful to know that there is available, supernatural deliverance from

those health robbing, peace stealing, sorrow giving, tear producing habits that

bind us as a poor slave is bound in shackles and chains!

Thirdly, There is the awesome:

3. Assurance That We Are Members Of God's Family

Our assurance is based wholly upon the Word of God. There is one thing the

heavenly Father cannot do, that is, tell a lie. Many times throughout Scripture,

God promises that if we trust Christ as our savior, and make him the Lord of

our life, we will become one of His very precious children!

* John 6:37, John 1: 12, Romans 10:9, 10, & 13, 1 John 5:13 ,etc.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus said, " Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine

with him." (Rev. 3: 20) Jesus is waiting for your invitation. If you will only open