Rewards from God
& 'Deposits into Eternity'
Jesus said:
"Not every one that says unto Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter
into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the will of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
your name? and in your name have cast out devils?
and in your name done many wonderful works?' And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from Me,
you that work iniquity."
Matthew 7: 21-23
It
is more important to know God (in fellowship, communion, intimacy with
Him) than to do 'good works' apart from what He instructs us to do,
trying to appease Him and 'earn' His approval.
'Good works' for God
should be motivated by LOVE, not by a sense of duty or by selfish promotion!
Now here is how to make deposits into eternity and also get rewards in
this life:
"But
without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him." Hebrews
11:6
Diligently seek God. You will store riches in Heaven and also receive
rewards in this life. Seek Him for who He is. Friendship, fellowship, and intimacy is what He is after
from you. Do it in secret. When you spend time with God in secret,
He
will reward you openly.
"But
you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your
door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which
sees in secret will reward you openly."
Matthew 6:6
"And
Jesus answered and said, 'Truly I say to you, there is no man that
has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for My sake, and the gospel's, but
he shall receive a hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brothers,
and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions;
and in the world to come eternal life.'" Mark
10:29-30
What God is saying here is to put Him first in your heart and in your life; above family, friends, and possessions. God should be your FIRST LOVE.
It
is very essential and vital that we daily seek the Lord for direction
from Him, to do exactly what He instructs us to do, nothing more and
nothing less. God knows exactly how this universe runs, so we need to
flow in harmony with Him. We should not jump ahead of Him or fall back
behind. Do exactly what He tells you to do when He tells you to do it. Every day we should take some time out to worship and
love Him, and get to know Him in a personal and intimate way.
Your time with God and
getting to know Him is more important than doing any kind of works
where we try to appease God or try to impress or prove something to others.
When we spend time with
the Lord, He cleanses us from within, and at the same time we bear good
fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faith, etc.). He will
also transform our motives to be made pure and right in His eyes.
Jesus said:
"Now
you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in
Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me. I
am
the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the
same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do
nothing."
John 15: 3-5
Notice!
Without Him you really can't do anything! When you do an act
of
charity, you need to be truly moved with compassion. This love must be
the love coming from God. It is
not just any love that we can produce on our own!
God basically desires for us to be yielded vessels for Him, to bring about restoration and reconciliation to humanity and display to the world His love and His goodness.
"And hope makes us not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us." Romans 5:5
"For the kingdom of
God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the
Holy Spirit." Romans 14:17
"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he (Jesus) answered them and said, "The kingdom of God comes not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
Luke 17:20-21
Remember also that the Pharisees (the religious leaders of Jesus' time) did
their 'good deeds' in public, but Jesus pointed out that the motives
behind the good deeds were also important. The Pharisees were
seeking to impress other people, but their hearts were far from
God. This is why Jesus was rebuking them! The only reward they received was the honor and admiration they desired from other people. God will not reward 'vain glory' in heaven or on earth! You must put away egotism.
The more a person neglects to spend time with God and learn to understand and sense HIS LOVE, the more likely he/she will try to find love and admiration from others and fall into PRIDE. Our need for love and acceptance must be sought first in God. He placed that need in us, so we must trust Him first to fulfill it.
Our motives should be rooted in LOVE. Read 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.
God
is looking for each one of us to do His will. But
before
we can, we need to draw our hearts closer to Him and let Him clean our hearts
so we can flow with Him. He will instruct us what to do by His Spirit.
Jesus did exactly the will of the Father:
"If
you keep my commandments, you shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10
"For
I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, he gave Me a
commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." John
12:49
It's true, there is a long list of 'good works' a Christian can do. But
what does the Lord consider to be most important?
Remember the story of Mary and Martha:
"Now
it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village:
and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.
And
she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard
His word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him,
and said, 'Lord, do you not not care that my sister has left me
to
serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.' And Jesus
answered and said unto her, 'Martha, Martha, you are careful and
troubled about many things: But
one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part,
which shall not be taken away from her.'" Luke
10: 38-42
Notice: 'ONE THING IS NEEDFUL' Spend time at Jesus' feet!
God will basically reward you according to how 'yielded' and obedient you are to Him.
Will we choose OUR will or GOD'S will?
To summarize everything:
Seek
the Lord (abide in Him).... bear fruit
from within (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faith, goodness, etc.)........ move with
God's true Love and Compassion and His timing!
The real 'good works' are the works we carry out after obeying God's
instructions and DONE IN LOVE.
These works will be rewarded by God in this life and in the life to come.
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