Will The Reward Be Worth The Effort Time

Will The “Reward” Be Worth The Effort Time Will Tell ! 1

What is a reward? • Something offered in return for some service or benefit received. In the Bible, a reward can refer to something given for either a good or bad act. The psalmist, for example, speaks of "a reward for the righteous" (Ps 58: 11) and of "the reward of the wicked" (Ps 91: 8). When the Son of Man returns in glory, "He will reward each according to his works" (Matt 16: 27). 2

Reward for the righteous … • Ps 58: 10 -11 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. 3

Reward for the wicked … • Ps 91: 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 4

Reward for each person … • Matt 16: 27 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. 5

Rewards can be great to hear about. … • God To Abram • Gen 15: 1 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. • Boaz to Ruth • Ruth 2: 12 The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 6

Some rewards can be a great disappointment… • David talking about those - sought his life • Solomon about the wicked • Ps 40: 14 -15 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. 15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame • Prov 24: 19 -20 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; 20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out. 7

Rejoice and be exceeding glad. . Why ? • Matt 5: 11 -12 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. • 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. • We must be able to see the overall goal and not just day to day events with temporary happiness 8

Being God’s Children means… • Matt 5: 45 -46 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. • 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? • We have to exceed the righteousness of the masses and even those who profess religion 9

Our reward is conditional … • Matt 6: 1 -2 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. • 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. • Our reward is not always immediate 10

God knows when a recipient is worthy of a reward … • Matt 6: 3 -5 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: • 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. • 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 11

Lay up treasures in heaven … • Matt 6: 16 -17 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. • Matt 6: 19 -21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 12

It is not always easy to get to the point we are rewarded … • Luke 6: 22 -23 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 13

Good deeds and mercy has it’s rewards …. . • Luke 6: 35 -36 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 14

Our labor determines our reward ! • 1 Cor 3: 7 -9 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 15