Equipping Weekend | Heavenward - Motivated By Rewards | Sunday Weekend Service | Josiah Smith

Can you think of a time when you learned a biblical truth that made you uncomfortable?

Um what about hell?

When you learned about hell, was that the best day of your life?

Um that's uncomfortable.

Uh the the teaching of hell, it's very vivid, very real, of course, very permanent.

And that can be very uncomfortable to sit with the first time that you really learn about what it is and who it is that goes there.

And what about God's sovereignty?

Did that ever make you uncomfortable before?

God's sovereignty and salvation, God's sovereignty over your particular circumstance, maybe your suffering, your difficulty.

Seeing what the Bible says about how God has control and authority over all things and the implications that that might have for you, especially when perhaps you're first encountering that.

That can lead to uh maybe some great discomfort.

Perhaps if you are married, maybe the the truth that uh marriage will not really be a thing in heaven is uncomfortable for you.

Uh my wife McKenzie often asks me, Are we gonna still be friends in heaven?

I don't know.

I don't know what that's gonna be like.

I'm not sure.

Uh, but that can be uncomfortable.

There's so many things uh in the Bible that can make us uh uncomfortable.

The Bible teaches many things that of course might make you uncomfortable, but comfort isn't the test of truth, is it?

God's word is the test of truth.

And today we are going to talk about a topic that, frankly, in my experience, makes people uncomfortable.

We're gonna talk about rewards.

Now, of course, the title of this whole weekend, equipping weekend, is heaven word, implying we're headed in a particular direction.

We are going towards heaven.

Now, that's not just something that we want to know and sort of cognitively affirm.

That's something that we want to affect our lives right here and right now.

And one of the ways that we see that talked about in the Bible is biblical rewards, being motivated by biblical rewards.

There's this reality in the scriptures where the the New Testament authors speak often of where we are today, what we do today, that should be shaped and impacted and really modeled after the future reality, of course, that heaven is real and that Christ will be there with us.

And that's the hope of heaven, but also that there will be rewards on that day that perhaps are given or not given based off of what you did in this life.

Now, the word reward is not salvation.

That's not what we're talking about.

Salvation is never earned, it's always a grace, it's always a gift by the grace of God.

But biblically speaking, there are rewards that the Bible says much about that will be distributed by Christ Himself, the great judge of the universe, to those who are found faithful.

I want you to sit with that because I remember when I first started learning about this, and a lot of the conversations that I've had with people about biblical rewards, makes us uncomfortable.

Jesus is gonna reward us in heaven?

Well, yes, of course, that's what the scriptures say.

And I want to show you that.

Don't take my word for it.

I want to show you that today.

But point number one, let's start like this: get comfortable with biblical rewards.

If this is something, if this is a topic that you wrestle with, if if you're kind of of the mindset that no, there is no rewards, the only reward is Christ.

And I don't want to belittle that.

Of course, yesterday, uh, when we were at the equipping weekend conference, uh, we talked about how seeing God face to face is the hope of heaven.

That's what we are waiting for, that's what we are longing for.

So, of course, heaven is to be with Christ.

We long to be with Christ.

But the Bible goes further than that.

It's not either or, it's both in.

Yes, you will be with Christ, but there's also a sense in which rewards will be distributed to those who are found faithful.

So we need to get comfortable with biblical rewards.

If this is really what the scriptures say, regardless of how it makes us feel, regardless of how much sense it might make to us in the earthly categories that we think of, this is what the Bible says.

And so we need to affirm it.

Get comfortable with biblical rewards.

Now, just to illustrate this, I want you to understand that if biblical rewards are true, then it would imply that biblical rewards, and we'll get to this later on, but biblical rewards are distributed unequally, if I can say it that way.

Meaning there's not every single Christian, not every single follower of Christ will receive the same kind of rewards or the same degree of rewards or the same amount of rewards.

That's going to be hopefully evident as we go on today.

But did you know that the reverse is also true?

The reverse is said to be true in the book of Revelation, that the punishment that comes from that place we were talking about, hell, that the the people that go there will experience varying degrees of punishment.

It's not the same for every single person.

Person, let me just read you a couple verses here to kind of show you this.

Revelation 20, verse 12.

Revelation 20:12

If you got your Bibles, let's just go there.

Revelation 20.

We're going to kind of be all over the place because the New Testament says a lot about biblical rewards, but I want you to see that punishment in hell is not equal across the board.

And just to clarify and to accent that rewards in the same vein are not equal across the board.

Not everyone gets the same thing.

It's not a participation trophy.

There are varying degrees when it comes to this.

And I want you to see this.

Revelation 20, verse 12.

Revelation 20:12

We talked about this a little bit on Friday night, but it says, And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne.

This is called the great white throne judgment.

This is where those who are referred to in the scriptures as the unrighteous, those who are not followers of Christ, those who rejected the gospel, that did not have faith in Christ, they will stand before the throne.

They will stand before Christ as the great judge.

And it says books were opened.

Now, envision this.

In a earthly court of law, there's what's called exhibits.

There's evidence that's presented.

There's things, there's testimonies and witnesses, and all of this needs to be synthesized and corroborated to show what really happened, what really took place.

There's something similar.

Of course, it is without error.

There's no bias, there's no framing of different perspectives.

It is just is what it is.

But these books are being opened for a specific purpose.

If we keep reading in verse 12, it says, then another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged.

So we have these books that are opened, and the dead, the unrighteous, are being judged.

There's these books that have all these records and their exhibits and there's witness and there's testimony and there's the reality of their life on earth.

I think it's going to continue.

It says, and they were the dead were judged by what was written in the books.

Now, this is the key operative reality here that we're trying to get to, according to what they had done.

They were judged not simply for being unrighteous, not simply for rejecting Christ.

Ultimately, of course, people go to hell for that very reason.

But then they're going to stand, those who are unrighteous, one day before the great white throne.

And it says the books are going to be opened, the testimony and the evidence is going to be laid out, and they're going to be judged according to what they had done.

Where?

Well, in this life, that's what's going to happen.

If you're in Revelation, go to chapter 22.

This isn't the only time that this is talked about.

Revelation 22, which talks about Jesus himself saying, I'm coming back.

I'm going to dwell with you.

Revelation 22, verse 12 says, Behold, I am coming soon.

Revelation 22:12

The great hope of the Christian is that Jesus is coming soon.

And what is he bringing?

Bringing my recompense with me, bringing justice and judgment, bringing the justice that often we are longing for, and that creation groans with eager longing for for the restoration of all things.

So he says, Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done.

Do you see in both of these verses in Revelation 20, 12, according to what they had done?

Revelation 22, 12, each one is going to be repaid.

There's going to be recompense, there's going to be justice doled out by Christ, the King, the great judge, each one for what he has done.

Now, the point of our sermon today is not to talk about hell and not to talk about the varying degrees of punishment in hell.

I just want to show you that varying degrees in the afterlife is a normative thing talked about in the scripture, both in a positive way for rewards, which is what we're talking about today, and in a negative way for punishment.

It's not equal across the board.

It's not everything in heaven is the same for everyone in the same way.

That's not what we see in scripture.

It's according to what they had done.

There's these books with these records, with their actions, with their lives, how they lived, what they did, what they didn't do.

In verse 12 of Revelation 22, they are going to be repaid, each one for what he has done.

Now, if it's true that people are punished in varying degrees in hell, then of course it would be the logical conclusion that people are rewarded to varying degrees in heaven.

If heaven is a place that's better, of course, than hell in every single way.

And people are punished because of what they did on earth to varying degrees, it would make sense then that you would be rewarded to varying degrees based off what you did.

Again, salvation is not what we're talking about.

You don't earn salvation.

That's not something that we're trying to assess on the last day, whether or not you have it.

There's a sense in which your salvation is secure in Christ.

But on the day that you will stand before the Lord, not at the great white throne judgment, another judgment that we'll talk about.

But when you stand before the Lord, you're going to get a varying degree of assessment of your life as a Christian.

You need to get comfortable with that.

Get comfortable with biblical rewards.

And I want to prove this to you in scripture.

So if you got your Bibles, I want that you stretch your thumbs out because we're going to be flipping all throughout the New Testament specifically.

I want to prove to you that rewards are biblical.

And we're going to do this in two primary ways.

We're going to look at a lot of the writings of Paul and the way that he talks about specifically crowns.

And then I think it's going to get even clearer in the next point when we talk about Jesus and what he teaches to his disciples in several different parables.

So that's kind of how we'll go.

I'll say Paul perhaps is less direct, at least in the way that Jesus is.

And Jesus is going to be much more on the bullseye, at least in uh the when it comes to biblical rewards.

So let me let me just tell you that in the New Testament, Paul speaks often, even James speaks of these things called crowns.

You've you've heard of casting crowns, the the the band of casting crowns, which is based off of uh Revelation where we are kneeling before the throne, and what are we doing?

We're taking our crowns off and we're casting them at the feet of Jesus.

So that comes from somewhere.

Of course, it comes from Revelation, but it also comes from all over the New Testament.

And these crowns are indicative of rewards.

There's a kind of reward, there's there's something that Paul is seeking and striving after.

He's he's motivated by the reality that he's going to stand before the Lord, he's going to receive something or not based off of his faithfulness.

And I want you to see this.

There's several different crowns.

The first one is called the imperishable crown, or often as it's translated, the imperishable wreath.

Now, of course, a wreath in athletic, uh in the for athletes back in this time was something that they put on their head.

They wore it like a crown.

So it's an imperishable crown.

This is in 1 Corinthians 9.

Go there.

1 Corinthians 9, verses 24 and 25.

1 Corinthians 9:24

Now, Paul's, again, he's going to talk about crowns, and you might think, well, this is just him using maybe fanciful language, not fanciful, but illustrative language to describe salvation.

Okay, that could be the case.

But when you take what Paul says and you add it to what Jesus says, and then you overlay it with what is talked about in Revelation, there's no other conclusion that I believe that you can come to other than that you are rewarded.

You're given crowns of some sort what they are.

I'm not exactly sure, but you're given some crown, some reward that you are supposed to be motivated by, get comfortable with that reality.

So 1 Corinthians 9, 24 and 25, Paul says, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run?

But only one receives the prize.

So run that you may obtain it.

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.

They do it to receive a perishable wreath.

But we, an imperishable, a perishable wreath, a perishable crown, a reward of some kind.

But we are pursuing something that's imperishable, that cannot be taken away.

So Paul says, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Now is Paul saying that he's gonna be disqualified as then he's gonna lose out on heaven, that he's gonna lose his salvation somehow, and the hope that he's been hoping in and the gospel he's been preaching really meant nothing because he's gonna go, he's gonna go to hell and stand before the great white throne, and the book's gonna be open and the verdict's gonna be depart from me.

I never knew you.

No, that's not what he's saying.

So, what is he what is he being concerned about potentially being disqualified from?

Well, it's a kind of reward that he's desiring.

It's a it's a it's a trophy, if you will, that he wants, that Christ, he believes, is going to give him.

So he says, I discipline my body, I keep it under control.

I want this thing in the future, I want this crown, I want this reward, this imperishable wreath.

Now, of course, this is connected to salvation.

No one receives a crown apart from salvation, but he's not saying the crown itself is salvation with Christ.

Not fully.

He's wanting something in addition to that, not because salvation isn't enough, but because Christ gives rewards.

He gives those things on his own pleasure and goodwill.

He says, I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be qualified, disqualified.

He wants a kind of crown, he wants a reward.

That's one crown, an imperishable crown.

Here's the next one.

It's called the crown of righteousness.

Turn to 2 Timothy 4, verses 8 and 7, the crown of righteousness.

2 Timothy 4:8

This is a crown that's awarded to those who very specifically loved and looked forward to the appearing of Christ.

That's who receives this crown.

So again, it's not everyone, not everyone receives every crown, but this is a kind of crown, a reward, something tangible that is given to a particular kind of believer.

And Paul says it's those who loved his appearing, those who anticipated and eagerly ached for the second return of Christ.

Second Timothy 4, beginning in verse 7, I've fought the good fight.

I've finished the race.

Now you can see the parallel, of course, to 1 Corinthians 9, where he was talking about competing and he's disciplining himself.

He's doing these things, these athletic illustrations.

He says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.

Do you hear rewards and award?

And this is given to him by Jesus, the great judge, and not only to me, Paul says, but also to all who have loved his appearing, his second coming.

Now, of course, it's not just people that are really excited for Christ to come back, it's people that order their lives accordingly.

I mean, this is all throughout the gospels.

When Jesus says that I'm coming back, or he gives these illustrations of a master leaving and returning, there's this illustration again and again and again that Jesus is coming back.

And in the meantime, we ought to be busy.

We ought to be working, we ought to be doing things and being faithful and fruitful and seeking to be good stewards of the talents that God has given us.

So he says there's a crown of righteousness, which is awarded to those who are faithful, to those who are who love and have loved his appearing and have ordered their lives accordingly, who have worked and who have served and have been faithful, who have fought the good fight, they have finished the race, they have kept the faith, and there's a kind of reward that they receive.

That's another kind of crown.

So we have an imperishable crown, a crown of righteousness.

Now here's the next one.

Go over to James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

This is called the crown of life.

This crown is given, is said to be given to those who are steadfast under trial, those who keep the faith in the midst of trial, tribulation, persecution.

James chapter 1, verse 12 says, Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, who counts it all joy when they fall into trials of various kinds.

James 1:12

For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

So this crown is said to be given to those who are steadfast under trial.

And even Revelation chapter 2, verse 10 says, Do not fear what you are about to suffer.

Revelation 2:10

Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.

Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

So we have a crown, an imperishable crown, the crown of righteousness, the crown of life.

We also have the next crown.

It's called a crown of rejoicing.

This is how Paul describes the gospel relationships that he believes that he can take with him, so to speak.

Go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2.

1 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

Your thumbs hurting yet?

1 Thessalonians chapter 2.

1 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

I want you to see this.

These are rewards, they're crowns, there's something to look forward to, something to hope in.

Boasting, rejoicing, synonyms there.

What is our hope?

What is our joy?

What is our crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?

Is it not you, Thessalonians?

For you are our glory and joy.

Why is Paul saying that?

Because Paul's ministry, his gospel ministry, was what God used to create the church that became the Thessalonian church at Thessalonica.

And so Paul says, You are my joy, you are my crown, because the gospel was effective, it was fruitful.

The gospel is the power of God into salvation to everyone that believes.

And so he says, You are evidence of that reality.

You are my crown of rejoicing, my crown of boasting, as he calls it.

He says something similar in Philippians 4, verse 1.

Philippians 4:1

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown.

Stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Now, this crown, you've heard someone, I'm sure, some preacher talk about this before, where you're in heaven and you're seeing the people that are there because of your gospel ministry, because of your willingness to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, your willingness to urge someone to be reconciled to God.

That's what this is talking about.

I would hope that you have this internal ache, this desire that heaven is filled with people, that you had some part in seeing them come to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

That's what this is talking about.

It's a crown of rejoicing, gospel relationships that you can take with you, that you'll see in eternity with Christ.

That's what Paul says.

You are my joy, you are my crown, for you are our glory, he says in 1 Thessalonians.

So that's the crown of boasting, the crown of rejoicing.

Of course, it would imply if you never share the gospel.

Of course, you can be a Christian and never share the gospel, though I would see that as an act of disobedience according to the scriptures.

You can be a Christian, you can never share the gospel.

That means this crown of rejoicing is not yours.

And Christ will not give it to you if there's no boast of uh these individuals that you've been ministering to with the gospel.

That's what Paul says.

You are our glory, you are our joy.

You are my joy and my crown, Paul says.

That's given to those who have these kind of gospel relationships that can be taken with them.

One final crown, one example of this: the crown of glory.

Go over to 1 Peter chapter 5.

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

It's called the crown of glory.

What's interesting about this crown is that it's awarded to a very specific kind of person that de facto is not every single person.

It's given to faithful shepherds, faithful pastors, if you will.

Faithful elders.

The crown of glory is faithful service awarded to shepherds.

This is what Peter is saying.

He's urging the elders to exercise oversight, to shepherd the flock of God that is among them.

This is what he says in verse 4.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

There's a specific kind of crown, a specific kind of recognition or a reward, however you want to think of it, that is said here in 1 Peter chapter 5 to be to faithful pastors that persevere to the end and that are faithful to do the work that God has called them to do.

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

It's the crown of glory.

And then again, that's not everyone's not a pastor.

Some people can't be pastors, and yet this is a crown that's given to those specific.

Kind of people.

It's not everyone, it's to faithful pastors.

And not every pastor receives the crown.

It's a faithful pastor.

It's a faithful shepherd.

He says, and when the chief shepherd appears, that's Jesus, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Now, I just give you all of those examples of crowns to just kind of start the process of showing you that being motivated by rewards is a biblical concept.

And we're going to continue to look at different passages, but I want you to get comfortable with that reality.

I want you to get comfortable with even the language of Paul, of these crowns.

And some people believe that they're physical crowns.

Some people believe that they're they just represent uh faithfulness or it's sort of illustrating the reality of your faithfulness to the Lord.

I don't know.

I don't know if it's physical.

I don't know if it's not, but I know there's something that motivated Paul, these crowns.

That he said, I want this.

I don't want to be disqualified.

I want to, I want to bear up under pressure.

I want to have gospel relationships that I can take with me.

I want to be a pastor that's awarded with this kind of unfading crown of glory, which requires a lifetime of faithfulness.

That's what I want.

And that's what we see Paul desiring in James and Peter, for that matter.

These kinds of crowns, something in the future that they believed they would receive because of their faithful service to the Lord.

Get comfortable with the idea of biblical crowns.

And don't just get comfortable with it.

We need to do something about it.

If we're going to have, as we've been talking about on Friday and Saturday this weekend, if we're going to have a life that's aimed at in a particular direction, a heavenward life, you ought to pursue a heavenward life motivated by rewards.

That's point number two.

Pursue a heavenward life motivated by rewards.

Now, this is where we can get uncomfortable.

This is the conversations that I often have.

I'll talk about Jesus himself, he says that he will reward in varying degrees, and there'll be different positions and different uh authorities and different even possessions that people have in heaven because of what they do or what they don't do.

And everyone's always like, no, no, no, no, no.

The award, the the reward is Christ Himself, which of course that's what we talked about on Saturday.

That the hope of heaven, the main hope of heaven, is that Christ is there and that our faith will be made sight.

It's the beatific vision, it's seeing God face to face.

But don't pit Christ against the war, the rewards that he chooses to give.

That's oftentimes the conversations that I have.

Don't pit Christ against the rewards that he gives.

This is a is a it's not a perfect analogy, no analogy ever is.

But I think of, I talked about this yesterday.

I think of a loved one coming home after a long time away.

Let's just say a father.

A father goes off, maybe he's in the military.

He goes off and he's in a different country and he's not able to be with his kids and be with his family.

And so there's a day when he's coming home.

And where are they?

They're in the airport, they're at the bottom of the escalator, they're waiting, they're excited, they're anticipating.

I want to see dad.

I want to see I haven't seen him in so long.

And what do fathers often do when they leave?

They say, Hey, little Susie, little Johnny.

If you're good when I'm gone, if you are really helpful to your mom, if you are responsible with your choir chores, if you're diligent in your studies, when I get home, there's going to be a reward.

There's something that I'm going to bring you to reward you for that.

So they're at the airport and they've done all their homework and they've been really kind to mom.

And they're, of course, they're excited to see dad, but there's also this anticipation of what's he going to bring me?

What's my father going to bring me?

And you know the scene you've been there in the airport, I'm sure, when everyone's got the the poster boards and they're excited and they're all surrounded by family and friends.

And here comes dad, there he is.

There he is.

And of course, what do they do?

The kids, the kids and his wife, they run to him, they want to see him.

The point is not the reward, the the reward is seeing him.

I want to see dad.

But also, what often happens?

Dad kneels down, he hugs the kids, and he says, Look at what I brought you.

Look at what I've given.

Now, if we're going to be truly consistent with our dis our distrust or maybe our disagreement with rewards, we'd have to tell that kid, hey, that stuffed animal that your father brought you from Germany, you better take it and throw it in the trash because your dad is the prize, right?

Your dad is the one that you should really be waiting for.

We wouldn't say that.

It's not wrong for a father to delight in giving rewards and gifts to his child.

And that's what we see in the scriptures.

We are waiting for Christ's return.

We're at the bottom of the escalator and we're waiting and we're excited and we're anticipating.

There's even a crown talked about that, right?

Paul says uh there's a crown of righteousness for those who loved his appearing, those who are waiting faithfully at the bottom of the escalator, who are anticipating Jesus coming down to be with his people.

And of course, we want to run to him.

Of course, in this analogy, we want we want to hug him.

We want to say, Finally, it's been so long.

I've been waiting.

When he kneels down and starts giving us rewards, we won't, we don't want to be the Christians that are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Jesus, I thought you were the prize.

And of course, he is the prize.

So don't pit Christ against the rewards that he himself chooses to live, to give.

Christ will give rewards in this next life for how you live in this life.

So this is where we're going to spend some time looking at what Jesus actually says about rewards.

So there's different kinds of rewards, they vary in kind or in types, if you will.

Let's start with this first kind of category of rewards that Jesus might give: praise and commendation.

This is the most broad, perhaps the most obvious, but there's this praise and this commendation that we should be motivated by, a heavenward kind of life.

And we get this from a variety of different places, but perhaps the most obvious is the parable of the talents.

Got your Bibles, go to Matthew 25.

Want you to see the parable of the talents, which is again this whole idea of a master gives these talents to his servants and tells them to do something with them.

They are to work, they are to invest.

We know if you know the story, if you know the parable, some of them do things that are good, that are commendable, some of them don't.

Some of them bury the talents, they were afraid, whatever the case may be.

But here's what Jesus says specifically to someone that does something faithful, that stewards the talents well.

And verse 23 of Matthew 25, this teaching, Jesus himself is giving this teaching.

His master said to him, to this servant, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful over a little.

Enter into the joy of your master.

So there's a sense in which the servant who has multiplied the talents, he's he is commended, he is praised, he is acknowledged for his faithfulness.

And this is a kind of reward that you and I might receive.

And by the way, not every single Christian that stands before the Lord will hear, well done, good and faithful servant.

Do you recognize that in the parable of the talents, there are servants that do not hear well done?

In fact, they're kind of disciplined in a way.

What are you doing?

Why did you not multiply the talents?

Why did you not work?

Why did you not invest?

Why have you not been faithful?

Why have you not stewarded what I've given you?

Not every Christian is going to hear, well done, good and faithful servant.

This is a kind of reward that ought to motivate us.

I would hope that you have just this deep abiding hope that you will stand before the Lord and hear those words.

Well done.

Now imagine with me, you've got two different kinds of Christians.

You've got one Christian who is diligent and excited and hungry and striving, not in his own strength, not in flesh, but by God's grace, by the Spirit's help, by the word of God, to be faithful, to be a good steward, to work and to be found busy when Christ returns.

You've got one Christian that's doing that.

You've got another that perhaps is genuinely born again, but never, as the scriptures say, moves on from spiritual milk, is still a child in the faith, is not faithful nearly in the same ways.

It's not sacrificial, does not bear up under suffering or trial or persecution like the other Christian does.

Do you think when they get to heaven, they're both going to hear the exact same thing and receive the exact same thing?

They're both gonna get salvation.

They're both gonna have incredible, overflowing, overwhelming joy being in the presence of their God, but they will not hear the same thing and they will not receive the same thing.

And one of the reasons why that's difficult for us is because we can only think of rewards or uh this kind of these categories in human fleshly categories.

We think of the the the response that you would have right now, if there was someone in this room that you're close to, that their mountain of reward, so to speak, was much taller than yours, they had way more shiny rewards.

They were recognized to a greater degree than you were in your heart.

What are you feeling if you're responding in a sinful kind of way?

I want that.

That's what I deserve.

But I can guarantee you this if you're in heaven and the Christian next to you has got a mountain of rewards that they can barely carry in the kingdom, and you've got one, you're not bothered one bit by that reality.

You're rejoicing to be with your Savior.

There's no sinful responses in heaven, there's no envy, there's no jealousy, there's no strife, there's no arguing.

We're not, we're not saying, well, whoa, whoa, whoa, God, let's go back to the books, let's go back to the scrolls.

I mean, did you did you miss anything here?

No, that's not what's happening.

But that's why it's difficult for us because we we think in those categories.

Often, even our best intentions in this life are twisted with pride and selfishness in the next life.

That will not be the case.

And so, if you are standing next to someone that receives more reward, more recognition, a greater commendation for Christ, you will rejoice with them.

You will not feel a sense of jealousy and envy.

And not everyone's gonna hear, well done, good and faithful servant.

And so I would hope, as a Christian, that that reality that I may or may not, by my savior, by my king, by my master, hear well done.

I want to hear that.

I want to be faithful in this life.

Uh, and and it's not bad to be motivated by that.

That's that's the point of the parable.

Jesus is saying, be faithful, be good stewards, don't just sit, don't bury the talent.

Do something, be busy, because one day you'll be rewarded.

It may not be in this life, it certainly will not be in this life.

In this life, you'll face tribulation, but take heart.

Christ has overcome the world, and the reward is coming.

Payday is coming, and it's gonna be big, Jesus says.

So we have this kind of reward, praise and this commendation.

Well done, good and faithful servants.

But it's just more than that.

It's not just praise, it's not just recommendation, though that is something that should motivate us and stir in us a sense of I want to be faithful, I want to hear well done.

There's another kind of reward.

We could say this reward is rule and authority in the new earth, in the new heavens, in the new earth.

There's different levels of authority that you can have.

Now, what exactly that looks like, I don't know.

I don't know all the specifics of it, but I can tell you that this is what Jesus Himself says.

That there are people who have authority, they have a they have a rule, they have a reach, they have recognition, if you will, in the kingdom that's greater, far more reaching than other people.

This is what Jesus says.

If you got your Bibles, go to Luke chapter 19.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

This is where Jesus teaches.

This is the parable of the 10 minus.

The minus is a kind of currency.

A lot of these parables often focused on currency or something to that effect of what we are investing, how we are using the money, the resources that God has given us.

The parable of the 10 minus.

So these servants are given minus cur currency, and they are expected to work, to invest, to do something with them.

So in Luke 19, beginning in verse 17, this is the evaluation portion, right?

The master left, he came back, he's evaluating, he's assessing, he's judging.

What does it say in verse 17?

And he said to them, Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have, here's the word, authority over ten cities.

Now, in our world, anyone have authority, uh having authority over ten cities is a nightmare, right?

Because local government, I mean, all of it, right?

What are we doing?

But in this world, that's a good thing.

This is something that he says, you will have authority over ten cities.

Okay, what what do you do with it?

I don't know.

You're gonna use it for the glory of God.

I know that it's gonna be a great joy-inducing reality for you and for those in those cities, but you shall have authority over ten cities.

And the second came, here's another servant, saying, Lord, your minor has made five minas.

And he said to him, So that's less than ten, of course.

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

Do you see how they both are not over ten cities?

One is tinned, one is five.

They're rewarded according to their service, according to their faithfulness.

This is the teaching of Jesus.

The parable is a master leaves, he gives them the minus.

He says, I want you to work, I want you to invest.

He leaves, they're in the process of investing while he's gone.

He comes back.

It's time to assess, it's time for an evaluation, and it's time for rewards based off of faithfulness.

That's what Jesus says, Luke 19.

So we have commendation, we have praise, we have some sense of rule and authority.

We even talked about that in Hebrews, co-ruling, reigning with Christ is what scripture says of Christians.

But here it's it's based off of even faithfulness, the stewardship, the reality of it of the things that you invested in, the sacrifices that you made.

So we have praise and combination, rule and authority.

The third category of rewards, you could just say broadly, is treasure in heaven.

What the treasure is, I don't know.

But it's something that you are supposed to lay up for yourself.

Now, in the the context of what we are reading, the the treasures are most connected to money in the context.

What you do with your money, because even talks about you cannot serve two masters, you cannot serve money, God and money, you can't do that.

So, in the immediate context, that's what it's talking about: your resources, your generosity, what you do with those kinds of things.

So Jesus says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

Don't build bigger barns, don't get consumed with the things of this world, but you are to lay up for yourselves treasures, plural, in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroyers destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

You are supposed to be laying up for yourself some kind of treasure in heaven by the way that you are serving the Lord, by the way that you are generous with your money, recognizing that everything that we have comes from the Lord.

Treasures in heaven.

How are we supposed to lay up treasures in heaven if rewards are not really a thing?

It's just being with Christ.

I mean, that wouldn't make sense, right?

If if we were just with Christ, of course, I'm not belittling that, I'm just saying, in terms of just with Christ or with Christ in rewards, if we were just with Christ, there'd be no sense in laying up.

We can't lay up Christ in heaven.

He's already there.

He's at the right hand of the Father.

He's right now living to make intercession for you.

You you are laying up some kind of reward for yourself, not by what you invest in this life, but what you invest in the next.

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

Right?

They're incorruptible, neither moth nor rust destroys.

Thieves cannot break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And of course, our treasure, if it's in heaven, it is with Christ, being with him, treasures in heaven.

So we have praise and commendation.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Rule and authority, whatever that'll look like, treasures in heaven, whatever that means.

We're told you you are to pursue these, pursue a heavenward life motivated by rewards.

And don't fall into the false dichotomy of pitting Christ against the rewards that he gives.

He chooses to give them.

It's his delight to give gifts to his children.

And that's what we see.

Christ gives rewards.

Now, when does this happen?

When do we receive or not receive our rewards?

Well, it happens when you and I, as Christians, will stand before the Lord on a kind of judgment day.

Point number three, anticipate the day that you will stand before Christ.

Now, there's two primary judgments.

We've talked about them before.

We have the great white throne judgment, which we read in Revelation, that's reserved for unbelievers, where their degree of punishment is assessed based off what they did in this life.

But there's another kind of judgment.

It's called the bhima seat judgment.

Bhima is a Greek word.

It basically just means platform.

Think of Christ, or even if you have a competition, you've got first place, which is the highest, and you've got other place.

There's an elevated platform that Jesus is standing on, so to speak, and he's assessing.

He's the master that's come home, he's returned, and he's evaluating.

What did we do?

What what do we invest in?

How do we spend our time, our resources, our money, our energy?

What do we do?

Were we faithful?

Did we endure persecution?

Well, time ends.

Your life on this earth ends with a kind of judgment and an evaluation and a weighing of what you did.

2 Corinthians 5 10.

I'll just read this for you.

Paul says, For we we must all appear, all of us, before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body.

The rewards, the judgment, even, is connected to what you did.

Paul says, for each one, for what we have done in the body, whether good or evil.

Paul says also in Romans 14, 12, so then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Now here's the main passage for this.

Go to 1 Corinthians 3, 11 through 15.

I want to show you that this reality that Christians will be judged by Jesus, not in a sense of condemnation, not because you're worried about not having salvation.

That's all secured, that's all settled, that's not on the table.

But something else is rewards, faithfulness, an assessment of what you did with the talents, with the minus, with what you've been given in this life.

First Corinthians chapter 3, beginning in verse 12.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

Paul says, Now, if anyone builds on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, he said that earlier, with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw.

Each one's work will become manifest.

It's going to be clear.

What you built on, the materials that you use, will be clear.

It'll be made manifest, as he says.

Each one's work will become clear.

For the day will disclose it.

This is the Bemisat judgment.

This is you standing before the Lord, you and the Lord, because it will be revealed by fire.

And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

Do you see the reward there?

It's a biblical reality.

He will receive a reward.

If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

So by the way, fire here is not talking about purgatory.

This is not, this is not fire that condemns.

This is fire that reveals.

So it's going to reveal if the things that you did in this life were for eternal purposes, that were actually honoring the Lord, that you were building on the foundation that's been laid, or you were investing in things, you were laying up treasures on earth.

That's going to be revealed.

So think of the fire as either the reality of your faithfulness is being exposed, or the reality of your unfaithfulness.

You're building with the wrong materials is going to be exposed.

So the loss that you suffer is not your salvation.

The loss that you suffer is the loss of rewards, which is why he says he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved.

The salvation is secure, but only as through fire.

Now, again, there's not going to be any Eeyores in heaven going, whoa is me.

I had, I thought I was going to have more rewards than I did.

And it's Susie over there.

Look at her mountain.

She can't even bid him in her house.

And Joe's got 10 cities.

I've only got one.

You're not going to.

That right that those are those are earthly, fleshly categories, but nevertheless, you will stand before the Lord.

By the way, this whole reality makes everything that we do, every day that we live, actually matter.

It gives us this reality of, yeah, there's an assessment coming, and that's not an occasion for fear.

It's not any more than the child who's waiting for her father to come down the escalator from war.

There's not fear, there's joy, there's anticipation.

Dad's coming home.

That's what we're waiting for.

Or we're not.

This isn't an occasion for fear.

It's not an occasion for anxiety.

This isn't something to be distraught over.

This is something to look forward to and to be motivated by.

I'm going to stand before the Lord.

I want to be found faithful.

I'm going to stand before the Lord.

I'd like a reward.

And by the way, it's not holy and pious for you to say, my reward is Christ.

Like, we get it, right?

You want to have some kind of reward.

You also, of course, Christ is the primary reward.

That's what it means to be in heaven.

But Paul's motivated again and again for the reality of there's a reward.

If anyone is built on the foundation, if it survives, he will receive reward.

That's what I want.

And you ought to be motivated by that and anticipate the day that that will come.

Now, the good news in all this is that the one who's doing the judging is Jesus himself.

Jesus is a fair judge.

He's not partial, he's not petty.

He's not going to overlook the details.

He's not going to be swayed or bribed or bought.

Jesus is a fair judge.

So on that day, it'll be completely fair.

It'll also be thorough.

Jesus doesn't miss details.

It'll be thorough.

That's what Paul says in Romans 14:12.

Romans 14:12

So then each of us will give an account.

It'll be you and the Lord.

This is not something that is, this is not a group reality.

You're not standing before the judges, right?

This isn't the voice where you're performing before four or five judges.

This is you and the Lord.

Each one will give an account of himself to God.

So it's going to be fair.

Jesus is not partial.

He's not petty.

It's going to be thorough.

He doesn't miss details.

It's going to be you and the Lord.

You will stand alone before Jesus.

But here's the important thing: it's going to be gracious.

This judgment is not about being condemned.

This is not about assessing whether you're a son or a daughter or a brother of Christ or a sister of Christ.

This is just an assessment of your life on this earth.

And it'll happen and anticipate that day.

Don't be fearful of it.

Don't be frightened by it, but be motivated by the reality that there are different kinds of rewards to different varying degrees that you can receive in heaven.

As weird as it sounds, because again, in our sinful minds, we think competition, we think trash talking, right?

We think envy, we think jealousy.

We think that's not going to happen.

And it's not wrong.

In fact, it's biblical for you to look forward to the day where that you will stand before Christ and to want a reward from him.

What's better than if you think about this analogy of the father coming down the escalator?

What's sweeter than a father and the joy that he has taking out the gift that he's really thoughtfully prepared for his child?

That's that's the image, the analogy.

Christ is coming down the escalator.

He's returning.

We're hoping, we're waiting, we're anticipating.

And he's gonna kneel down, he's gonna say, Here you go.

Well done.

Good and faithful servant.

That's what we ought to be motivated by.

We ought to live a life heavenward.

Everything that we do in this life should be ordered after eternity, the reality that we will be assessed by every careless word, in fact, it says.

There's so many other passages that we didn't even touch on.

But rewards are biblical.

Rewards ought to motivate us.

And ultimately, that will all be assessed and will all be made clear when you stand before the Lord.

And I hope that's something that stirs you towards greater faithfulness, towards greater obedience.

It gives a little bit of bite, a little bit of excitement every day.

I want to invest, I want to, I want to do something that actually matters, both in this life and in eternity.

Because when I stand before you, I want a reward, whatever it might be.

I want to be filled with the joy that comes from knowing that I was faithful by your grace, by your spirits.

And all of it, by the way, is an act of grace.

Anything that you do, a life of faithfulness is sustained by the grace of God.

There's no reason to boast, but you boast in the Lord and you anticipate the day that you will stand before Christ.

And I hope that you're motivated to receive a reward and to hear, well done, good and faithful servant.

Let's pray.

God, thank you for your word.

Thank you.

That even topics like this that are uncomfortable, we don't quite know what to do with categories like rewards and why you would motivate us in this kind of way.

But God, you you say it so clearly.

It's all over your Bible.

So, God, I pray that we would have the right frame of mind when it comes to biblical rewards, that we would be motivated in the right way towards greater holiness, towards greater obedience, towards greater faithfulness.

God, you give in each of us, like the parable suggests, talents, things to steward, to resource, to be intentional, to invest.

God, I pray that we would be found faithful.

Help us to be a church that is spurred on by the reality that we will stand before you and we want to be found faithful.

God, I long for the day to hear well done, good and faithful servant.

And it's only by your grace and by your spirit that I'll ever get there, or will any of us will ever get there?

So we thank you for the opportunity.

We thank you for the motivation that this provides.

Help us to live a heavenward life as a result.

I pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

You are dismissed.