Eternal Rewards (December 31st, 2017) - Brian Raby

Good morning.

I'm very excited to be here.

I was telling John just in the back this morning, last month I was in Romania preaching there, and it was such a joy to go to another part of the world and worship the Lord Jesus Christ with brothers and sisters there.

And I was thinking about that on my drive up here this morning.

That it's it's a privilege to be able to come to Newmarket, to a place uh full of faces of whom I do not know, and yet have a kindred heart.

Not just because we're part of the same fellowship, but because we have the same Lord, the same savior.

And so to come and so far just be able to sing praises to Jesus with you all has been uh just a warmth to my heart this morning, and I'm excited to be able to open up God's word together.

So I'm gonna invite you to open up to Luke chapter 19.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

And I understand that the kids are now uh welcome to go to Harvest Kids if they haven't gone already.

Um they can go ahead and do that.

But uh, Luke 19 is where we're gonna be spending some time this morning, and before we we get into God's word, I would like to just bow our heads together in a word of prayer.

Lord God, thank you for this morning.

Thank you that we can gather here in this place.

And that we could sing praises to you in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, whom you have sent to be our redemption.

He is our song, he is the glory of our hearts.

And we turn now to look to his word.

And it's our heart's desire, Lord, that this morning as we peer into the depths of your word, that you would change us, that you would speak to us, that you would open up our eyes and give us wisdom and understanding and the knowledge of Christ and your promises to us in Him.

And we know, Lord, that apart from your blessing us, apart from your opening our eyes and revealing your truth to us, we would be lost and in the darkness still.

And yet, in your grace and in your mercy, you choose, oh God, to speak to us, to give us wisdom and insight, to allow us to see the things that we would otherwise not see.

And so, God, we thank you for this and we ask for more of this this morning as we look to your word in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

All right, well, here we are again on another December 31st, 12 months again come and gone, and we are looking ahead to turning the page tonight and walking through that door into another new year.

And I don't know if if you are the resolution kind of person, but for many, this is an opportunity to look back at the year that was, and maybe give some evaluation, maybe uh some critical peering into your life and seeing where God has moved and where there's been successes and failures, where there's been victories and defeats, where there's been hardships and victories, where there's been encouragement and maybe where there's been discouragement.

And it's an opportunity to look to the days ahead and to maybe make some resolutions for how you want by the Lord's grace and the Lord's help in your life, things to be different this new year.

Maybe some healthy patterns that you want to establish, some things you want to put on and put off for the Lord's glory.

And yet, you know, even as we think about leaving one day or one year and walking into the next, even more important than that is thinking about leaving this life and walking into the next.

Leaving the time here on this earth and contemplating what it's going to be like when we enter into eternal life.

And what I want to see this morning is that these two things are not really as disconnected as sometimes we think.

What do you think about when you think about life beyond the one you're living here on this earth?

Maybe you think about relief from any presence of sin whatsoever.

I know I think about that.

You know, we we sang this morning in that song that prone to wander is our own hearts.

And we we look forward to that day when there will be relief from that and we will not be prone to wander any longer.

We we will not feel that tug of temptation to sin.

Maybe you think of rest from the burdens and the trials that you experience in this life, and I experience in this life the hardships, the times of great difficulty.

And you think of that promised rest when there will be no more tears, no more sorrow.

Maybe you think of reunion with loved ones who you have had to say goodbye to here on this earth, loved ones who are in Christ and now are in his presence, and you long for that day when you will be with them again because you miss them so much during your stay on this earth.

There's another one that we can look forward to in eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth that sometimes is often overlooked, even in even in the church, and that's the idea of rewards.

That's what I want to talk to you about this morning.

The idea of eternal rewards.

See, something that we sometimes feel guilty about thinking about in the next life is those rewards that are promised to us who have spent our lives serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, ultimately, when we think of the next life and the blessings that are to come and that are promised in God's word, there's one that stands far above the rest, and that is being in the presence of Jesus Christ.

It's seeing our Lord and Savior face to face, spending all eternity praising Him.

That is the ultimate object of our hope of eternal life.

And yet we do well to look at some of these other aspects and think about how they come into play as well as we live our lives of anticipation here on this earth.

And that's what I want to look at rewards this morning.

See, our experience with Jesus for all eternity is directly influenced by the degree of our faithfulness to serve him here and now.

Let me say that again.

Our experience with Jesus Christ, praising him for all eternity, is directly influenced by our degree of faithfulness to serve him here and now.

When you hear the word investment, what comes to mind?

For most people, it's something monetary, right?

Like that man in 1984 who looked forward into the future and saw potential, and so he put uh a little over two million dollars of his money into an American burger chain, and and over 20 years later, at the time of his death, saw his investment grow to be worth more than$500 million.

That's what we think of often when we think of an investment, and many of you know that that man's name was Ronald McDonald.

No, I'm just kidding, it wasn't Ronald McDonald.

It's a man by the name of Ray Kroc, but um you know, Jesus calls each and every one of us to be an investor.

Did you know that?

He calls each and every one of us to be an investor, and yet what he has in mind is so much better than dollar signs and zeros.

Jesus has a future reward waiting for those who faithfully serve him with their lives here on this earth.

And we're gonna see that in a parable this morning in Luke chapter 19.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

Jesus, the master storyteller, often tells these parables where he takes a simple, you know, familiar scenario of the life of those around him, and he tells a story to illustrate a deeply profound truth for those who are willing to hear.

For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, he tells this parable of the ten Minas.

And I want you to look down and just consider first verse 11, which tells us the reason why Jesus told this parable.

Luke says, as they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

This gives us insight into the reason why Jesus told this particular parable at this particular time in his ministry.

As he's nearing his death, knowing that he will be scourged and crucified and then raised again, Jesus says, I want to tell you a story.

Because he knew that they thought that the kingdom was about to appear right then and there, and Jesus knew instead there was going to be a time lapse, there was going to be a delay, there was going to be a time when he was going to go away and then he was going to come back.

And what happened in that time was going to be very important for each and every person who walks on the face of this earth.

This is why Jesus told this parable.

Let's continue reading.

It says in verse 12, He said, Therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.

Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas and said to them, Engage in business until I come.

But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us.

When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

The first came to him saying, Lord, your minor has made ten minas more.

And he said to him, Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.

And the second came, saying, Lord, your mina has made five minas.

And he said to him, You are to be over five cities.

Then another came, saying, Lord, here is your minor, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief for you.

For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man.

You take what you did not deposit, and you reap what you did not sow.

He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant.

You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit, and reaping what I did not sow?

Why then did you not put my money in the bank?

And at my coming I might have collected it with interest.

And he said to those who stood by, Take the minor from him.

Give it to the one who has the ten minus.

And they said to him, Lord, he has the ten minus.

I tell you that to everyone who has more will be given.

But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.

We have in this parable some deeply profound truths about our lives here on this earth.

The king is gone away for a time.

And what we do while he is gone has a massive impact on what happens when we see him.

We can relate to those in this parable, can't we?

We understand that Jesus has gone away and he's coming back.

And there are some implications for that that each and every one of us needs to consider for our lives.

And so I want to show us this morning four reminders about eternal rewards to spur us on to faithful service.

Four reminders from Jesus about eternal rewards in order to spur us on to faithful service.

The first one is this while I'm gone, Jesus says, remember, you have a choice to make.

You have a choice to make.

And perhaps it would serve us well to make sure that we go over some of the different variables happening in this parable so that we're all starting from the same common ground, understanding what it is we're looking at here.

The nobleman in this story, of course, represents none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

And his going into a far country represents this period of time that we're living in now.

Well, the king is away.

He was here, and then he left, and he said, I'm coming back.

Be ready for when I return.

There's some citizens in this story who are different from the servants.

Did you notice that?

The citizens in this story did not want Jesus to reign over them.

And this represents the unbelievers in this world.

The servants, on the other hand, are those who are the followers of Jesus Christ.

Those who are entrusted as stewards to serve the king while he's away.

And the minas in this story, which are our monetary figure representing about three months' wages, this is equal to those opportunities that you and I have to serve the king while he's away.

And often we refer to these opportunities using these helpful categories of time, treasure, and talents.

You know, the minutes, the hours, and the days and weeks that we have on this earth to serve Jesus with, the skills and the abilities that he's given to us to serve him and his people, the money, the possessions that belong ultimately to him, that he has entrusted to us to serve his kingdom purposes.

With this is the minors that we see in this story.

And the nobleman, he says to his servant, go and engage in business.

Go and be busy on my behalf until I return.

And this is a command.

And so, with as it is with every command, we have a choice to make.

Will we or will we not obey the king?

Will we do what he has told us to do?

Will we learn from this parable that life is a stewardship?

And each of us, every day, multiple times of day, have decisions and choices that we need to make of how we're going to spend our time, our talents, and our treasures serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is Jesus' point.

He puts forth a question to all of his hearers: will you use these opportunities I've given to work for me, to serve me, to serve my people?

Will you engage in in business until I come back?

Ultimately, he's saying this.

Will you be faithful with your time here on this earth?

When we think of faithfulness, we need to think of increasing degrees of alignment between my plans and God's plans.

We need to think of steadfastness, putting in the hard work and the perseverance to serve Jesus Christ.

We need to think of commitment.

We need to think of having unwavering resolve to do much for Jesus.

We need to think about acting in conformity to the revealed word of God in every area of our lives.

This is what it means to be faithful.

And you and I, we have a choice, even going into the new year.

Will I be faithful to what Jesus has called me to do?

Will I be faithful while the king is away?

Will I heed Jesus' instructions and engage in business until he comes?

Do you see your life as a stewardship?

Do you see your life as a continuous opportunity to engage in spiritual business for Jesus Christ until he returns?

Maybe it's your spiritual health, your time in the Word and in prayer.

Maybe it's your physical health, which also impacts your spiritual health.

Maybe it's the way you use your tongue.

Maybe it's the time you spend with your family and friends.

Maybe it's your school work or your vocational work.

Maybe it's serving your church family.

We all have many choices that we need to make.

And I would just want to encourage you this morning, and maybe if you are thinking of some New Year's resolutions, just to think of Jesus' command to go and engage in business until I return.

And think of how that might impact your life in the coming days and in the coming months.

We all have many choices to make.

Next, Jesus says, remember, you have an account to give.

You have an account to give.

Verse 15 says that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered his servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

You know what this means?

This means that the most significant event in your future isn't graduation, it's not promotion, it's not retirement, it's not that vacation you've been waiting for and dreaming of.

It's not a milestone birthday, it's not getting married, it's not having children.

The most significant event in your future is the day you will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and give an account for how you've lived your life here on this earth.

That far surpasses anything else that we might be looking forward to.

2 Corinthians 5.10 says that we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

And the we in that verse is referring to believers.

So we need to understand there are different kinds of judgment in the Bible.

There's judgment of unbelievers and there's judgment of believers.

The judgment of believers has nothing to do with sin.

All sin for believers has been paid for at the cross of Jesus Christ.

But in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul is talking about a different kind of judgment.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

He's talking about an athletic kind of judgment.

You know, the kind of judgment that takes place at the end of the race, where the athlete is called up on a podium, maybe like this one that I'm standing upon, and the outcome of the race is looked at, and awards are given, and it's based on what happened, right?

The run will be evaluated.

This is the judgment seat for believers.

And as the servants in this parable found out, there is a day coming when each and every person will be called to the Lord to give an account of their faithfulness while he was away.

And the Lord, he sees everything, of course.

He already knows what may or may not be noticed by other people in this world or even by ourselves.

And yet he says, I'm going to call you to myself and I'm going to evaluate your life.

And just as we know that it's important to take into account how a professor might grade our work, or how a boss or a manager might evaluate our work?

How much more so do we need to consider how the Lord of glory, the King of Kings, will evaluate our lives, our time spent here in this world?

It really matters.

We have an account to give and we need to live like it.

Let me ask you, are you ready to talk to Jesus about how you've served him with your life?

That's a sobering reality, isn't it?

That's something to think about.

Are you ready to stand before the king and give an account of how you've served him with your time, your talent, your treasures while he was away?

This ought to spur us on to greater and greater desires and degrees of faithfulness to love God and to love other people.

There's coming a day when Jesus is gonna say, Let's see, let's have a look and see what you did for me.

We need to live according to that reality.

An account must be given.

Maybe mark mark your Bibles there in Luke 19 and turn to 1 Corinthians with me.

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 3.

He has some more to say.

God has more to say in his word about this idea of rewards.

1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 10 says, according to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

And someone else is building upon it.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one will become manifest for the day, the day.

You see that there?

Maybe if you underline or highlight in your Bibles, you just want to or circle the day.

The day.

What is that day?

The day of account.

The day will disclose it.

Because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

Flip one more chapter ahead to chapter four in 1 Corinthians.

And verse 5, Paul says this therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of the heart.

An account will be given.

But look look how he ends the verse.

And then each one will receive his commendation from God.

We have a choice to make.

Revelation chapter 11, where the elders talking about Jesus' return to earth, they say it's time for rewarding your servants.

Revelation 11 · chapter mention

That is characteristic of Jesus' return, that it's time for him to reward his faithful servants.

In Luke chapter 14, Jesus says to those who are merciful, to the outcast, he says, You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

In Matthew 5, Jesus tells those in the Beatitudes who are persecuted on account of following Him, He says, Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

And we see in this parable back in Luke 19, that this reward that Jesus promises to his faithful servants, it's so entirely disproportionate to our faithfulness.

It's so much greater.

One writer said this a mina could scarcely purchase a barn, and yet for each minor gained a city is given.

Here, have authority over ten cities in my kingdom.

Jesus abundantly rewards those who faithfully serve him.

The reward that is promised is so great.

And he tells us this ahead of time because he wants us to live accordingly.

Now, this, again, as I said at the beginning, this idea of rewards for believers in eternity, I have found over and over, is has been mistaken and misunderstood.

And so I just want to ask a few questions here to help us think biblically about eternal rewards.

And the first question is this is the reward not just general entrance into heaven?

You know, when the Bible talks about eternal rewards, is it not talking about going to heaven?

And the answer is no.

That's not what the Bible's talking about when it talks about eternal rewards.

Rather, the rewards that Jesus is talking about here, even in this parable and in the other verses that we've read, are those rewards that each believer specifically receives according to what he or she has done.

This is not talking about salvation.

This is something different from being in the presence of Jesus in heavenly glory.

That we know is a free gift of God.

By grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

None of us could could ever, in our own merit, achieve as a reward the gift of salvation, because it is just that, a gift.

That is not what we're talking about here.

2 Corinthians 5.10, we read just a few moments ago, says we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

Why?

So that each one of us may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

We know believers are not judged for moral evil, so this is not talking about moral evil.

This is talking about works that were useful for Jesus versus those that will be burned up by fire because they were useless.

They were of no value.

This is not talking about salvation.

This is talking about that specific reward that each believer will receive based on what he has done after the point of salvation.

In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus says, the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

Ephesians 6.8, this is a good one.

Mark this down.

Ephesians 6.8, Paul says, Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.

This sheds light on our thinking about eternal rewards and what is to come when the king evaluates our lives and then gives a specific reward according to how we've lived our lives in faithfulness for Him.

Randy Alcorn, some of you might know this author, he's written on eternal rewards some very helpful things.

He said this: he said, salvation is about God's work on behalf of humanity.

Conversely, rewards are a matter of our work for God.

When it comes to salvation, our work for God could never substitute for God's work for us.

All right, I hope that's crystal clear here.

Likewise, he says, when it comes to rewards, God's work for us cannot substitute for our work for God.

God rewards us for our work.

And I'll just add this caveat to that.

Our work for him is all to the praise of his glory.

And we're only able to serve him in faithfulness because of his spirit working in power through us.

Okay, so you all heard me say that.

We have to depend greatly on the Lord in order to serve him in any capacity whatsoever.

And yet there's a mystery involved in how that comes together with our willing choices for how we're going to spend our time, our talents, our treasures serving him, and then in the end, he rewards us proportionately.

Alright, so that distinguishes between the salvation that grants us entrance into the presence of our Savior for all eternity in heaven, and the idea of rewards.

The next question, maybe you're thinking about well, what do these rewards specifically look like then?

And uh I hate to disappoint you, but there's mystery here.

There's not a lot of specifics that we see in God's word that describe exactly what these rewards look like.

We see things like positions, uh, possessions, pleasures, in varying capacities for different believers in eternity, reigning with Christ, having authority over a certain amount of cities, these kinds of things.

But beyond that, we we trust by faith that there are rewards that the Lord has for us, even when we don't quite understand exactly what it's going to look like.

Maybe the wheels are turning in your head and you're just saying, okay, so wait, are you saying believers do not all receive the same rewards?

That's what I'm saying.

That's what the word of God says.

Another passage or a quotation from Randy Elkorn, he said, Scripture does not teach what most of us often seem to assume, that heaven will transform each of us into equal beings with equal possessions and equal responsibilities and capacities.

The scriptures do not say that our previous lives will have no eternal significance.

In fact, it says exactly the opposite.

As much as the reward is disproportional in that it's so much greater than our acts of faithful service, in another sense, the rewards that each and every one of us can hope for are proportional as well.

We see in this parable, ten minas gets ten cities, five minas gets five cities, and so there's a correlation based on each person's degree of faithfulness.

What they were able to do for Christ during their time of stay on earth while he was away has a direct correlation to the reward that they receive when they see the king again.

Not everyone's eternal experience with Jesus will be the same.

Not everybody's eternal experience in heaven with Jesus will be the same.

When we understand that, it makes us think of our lives here and now in a different way, doesn't it?

I hope this stirs your heart up to go and live for Christ in other ways that maybe you haven't been living for him up until now.

And as I say that, maybe you're wondering, is it really okay to be motivated by my own personal eternal rewards?

Isn't that kind of selfish of me?

And if I could just continue to influence your thinking in this area of eternal rewards, I'll just say this.

Rewards are his idea.

Rewards are the king's idea.

By his grace, he has ordained this.

We didn't come up with this.

This is God's idea to reward proportionally those according to their faithful service here on this earth.

Jesus says, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

Jesus motivates us to spend our money and our time and our and our talents with a view to how that might impact our eternal future in heaven with him.

Motivations for our own personal rewards, therefore, is not in conflict with other motivations for doing good for God.

So you might be thinking about, well, ultimately, am I not supposed to serve the king because it brings glory to him?

Yes.

But at the same time, you can look forward to a greater experience with him in glory based on your faithfulness.

Aren't I just supposed to be trying to please him?

Aren't I supposed to be serving him out of thankfulness?

Yes, yes, yes.

All of it is yes.

And along with that, along with that, we want to be like Christ.

We want to have an impact on others for his kingdom.

And at the same time, we can hold together with these truths that there is a great reward for those who faithfully serve him based on their faithful service.

So, how does this change your life and my life?

John Bunyan, the writer who brought us a pilgrim's progress so many centuries ago, he said, he said these words consider to provoke you to good works that you shall have from God when you come to glory a reward for everything you do for Him on earth.

So as you walk through that door into 2018, hear these words.

Let these words ring in your heart.

There's a reward for how I serve my King.

Our eternal experiences are presently being forged in the crucible of this life.

What we do here and now will significantly affect our eternal experience with Jesus.

And when we understand that, it causes us to live differently.

Every moment matters, every day counts, every choice has an eternal impact.

How dare we say that just going to heaven is all that matters to us when so much else matters to God?

What we do in this life has eternal implications.

This changes the way we live our lives.

This changes, among other things, the way we come to church.

Not coming to get something, but coming to serve our brothers and sisters in our church family.

Not needing to wait to be asked, but eager to faithfully serve our King by serving his people.

Not resentful over the hard work, but delighted to do something for Christ.

Not living for my own comfort, but sacrificing myself for others, knowing that none of this goes unnoticed by our Lord.

Another question you might be asking is we've read this parable, what about the unfaithful servant?

What about the unfaithful servant?

Jesus spends many verses here talking about this third servant who came and said, Here, here, I didn't do anything for you.

I'm called your servant, but I have nothing to give, nothing to offer from my life to show for what I did for you while you were away.

What about him?

Well, there's two possibilities, and just so you know, uh, Bible commentators and scholars who have studied this text are um holding these two different views.

On one hand, we could see this as a genuine believer in Jesus Christ, who maybe could identify with that person in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, whose work was not gold, but instead was wood or hay and was burned up.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

And Paul says that you will enter into heaven if this is you, and yet there will be nothing to show of your faithfulness.

There will be really no significant rewards for you because you didn't serve me.

Maybe that's what's going on here.

Or maybe it's somebody who's identified as a servant of Jesus Christ, but really by his actions, by his carelessness, his laziness, his thoughtlessness, no desire to honor and serve the king, shows himself that he really was never a servant to begin with.

He didn't really care about the king.

He just wanted to blame him and call him an exacting taskmaster.

And maybe at the end, when he stands before the Lord, it comes to light that really he wasn't a servant all along.

I'm not sure which this is really, but I'll tell you this: there is something I'm sure of.

I don't want to be either of this, right?

I don't want to be this person either way.

I want to be the one who gives an account at the end of my life, and I'm able to say, Here, Jesus, this is what I've done for you.

I worked hard to serve you, to be faithful, to spend my life for you.

I want to be the one who receives a reward.

Finally, Jesus says, You have a choice to make.

I just want to bring this full circle back around.

Jesus ends this parable on a very sobering note.

He says in verse 27, as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.

This is talking about the citizens back in verse 14 who hated him and said, We don't want you to be our king.

And it's my prayer that there wouldn't be anyone in this room this morning who would fit into this category of people.

But maybe you're here this morning and you're not a follower of Jesus Christ.

I just want to appeal to you this morning.

You too have a choice to make.

Before you can choose to be faithful to serve the king, you must choose to bow the knee to the king.

And he is a great and glorious king.

He is a king who has come to die for his people.

He is a king who is reigning in glory and is coming back again to judge the living and the dead.

And you have a choice to make this morning.

Will you follow this king?

I pray that you will if you're hearing this from me and you know that's you this morning.

I pray that you would be done sitting on your throne, that you would get off your throne and you would acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord and the Master.

And that you would follow Him and then join with God's people.

And anticipate the day when you can stand before Jesus and saying, Jesus, I lived the rest of my life after you rescued me.

I lived my life to serve you.

And you will stand on that day and you will hear from Jesus, well done, good servant.

Well done, good servant.

Enter into the joy of your master.

Receive the rewards for your faithfulness.

A king one day walked among his people.

He didn't look like a king.

He looked weak.

He looked like a dead man slain.

He looked like he was defeated.

And yet, all of this was part of his plan to save sinners, to pay the debt that we could never pay.

He came to give his life, to take upon himself the holy wrath of God the Father.

And when all this was accomplished, he rose in victory.

He ascended to his heavenly throne and he said, I'll come back again one day and receive you to myself.

Until then, go and live for me.

Until I return, go and be faithful with the opportunities I've given to you to serve me.

And remember, there's a reward waiting for you on that day.

Go and serve the king faithfully.

Go and live.

As his servant, that one day you will stand in his presence, and you too will hear, Well done, good servant.