John Politan

Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal Rewards) (part 3) Hebrews 11:23 – 29, Selected Scriptures September 4, 2016

Reading from the Valley of Vision, “Covenant” (pp. 258 – 259)

I hope you have your Bibles open to Hebrews, chapter 11, because that was our jumping- off passage, if you will. What did it say? Just to bring it back to your eye one more time,

Heb. 11:24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s

daughter, 25choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy

the passing pleasures of sin, 26considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the

treasures of Egypt; for [because] he was looking to the reward.

There it is.

About thirty-five years ago, the First Baptist Church of Modesto, California, was what church people maybe refer to as a “maintenance” church. At one time it had over a thousand members, but its membership had dwindled to around two hundred (or a little less). Many aspects of the church property were in a state of disrepair. A man by the name of Al Broom was asked by the senior pastor to please come and be the executive pastor of the church and see if they couldn’t help turn some things around.

One of Al’s first jobs to get done was to do something about the carpeting in the church.

He found a great deal on some blue-green carpeting, so he ordered it and had it installed in the church. The next task was to do something about the front doors. They had these front doors that were old, had been varnished a thousand-plus times, and they had to do something about them. He called a carpenter, who took the doors back to his carpentry shop, and so forth, to try to get them repaired and fixed up. The carpenter called him back and said, “Hey, Al – these

1 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) doors have been varnished a gazillion times,” and this, and that, and the other. They had cracks all through them. “There is no way in the world we can restore these doors. The best thing I can do, if you want to keep them, is fill in the cracks and paint them, and that is it.” Al says, “Well, good grief, Man – it is Friday morning. We have church on Sunday. I have got to have doors back on the church. Fill in the cracks, and let’s paint them.” The carpenter asks, “What do you want me to paint them?” And Al, thinking of that blue-green new carpet, says, “Paint them blue.” So, the guy fills the cracks, paints them blue, and by late Saturday night gets them installed in time for church on Sunday morning.

The next day, Sunday morning, Al Broom is back somewhere in the offices of the church confines, working away, about 7:30. It is about an hour and a half before the first service is to start. All of a sudden, the maintenance man up in the front part of the church calls and says, “Al,

Al – we have a big problem. You have to get here real quick. So-and-So, you know, has been a member of the church for over forty years. He is hopping mad over these blue doors. Al, you have got to do something. Please come.” Al says, “I will be right there.” But, before he got up from his desk, he took a little 3x5 card, jotted down a few words, and put it in his pocket. He goes up toward the front area of the church, and sure enough, this church member comes at him, wagging his finger, crazy over these wood doors. Al doesn’t say a word while the guy is talking.

He reaches in his pocket, pulls out the 3x5 card, and holds it in front of his face. The guy is looking at it, reads the card, and just shrugs his shoulders and walks away in a huff.

Well, before the morning is over, before the service even starts, five or six more people come up to him about the blue doors, wagging their fingers, and so forth. Every time, Al reaches into his pocket, pulls out a little 3x5 card, holds it out in front of the person, the person stops and reads it, and walks away in a huff. Same way every time.

Well, the senior pastor had been observing all of this going on all morning. So, after the

2 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) service is over, he walks up to Al Broom and says, “Al, I don’t know what you wrote on that card, but I have got to read what is on that card.” Al says, “No problem!” He reaches into his pocket and hands it to the Senior Pastor. The Senior Pastor read it. What the card said was simply this: “You can always determine a person’s spirituality because it is directly proportional to their response to blue doors.”

The pastor loved it so much that he incorporated it into his sermon the next week, and before the next few weeks went by, every one of the persons who were irate with Al called him to apologize – one guy even called him after midnight by long-distance to apologize to him.

And, ultimately, the church passed a resolution which (at least, thirty years ago) still stood on a plaque beside the entrance way to the First Baptist Church of Modesto, California. The plaque basically says this: “May the blue doors on this church always serve as a tangible reminder to each one of us that we need to always follow the Word of God more than any traditions of men.”

Why would I start out today’s sermon with that true story? The reason I started out is because, while the doctrine of eternal rewards is a blessing, I hope, to all of you, I have received a little feedback from some of you that to some of you it is a huge “blue door.” Some of you are struggling with it still. You are thinking, “Oh, no – to serve God because He promises to give me a reward just seems dirty. It just seems less spiritual. It doesn’t seem to be the right type of motivation,” and stuff like that. All I want you to do is keep an open mind. And, remember: minds are like parachutes: they only work when they are open. However, we also want to remember A. W. Tozer’s admonition: the purpose of opening your mind is the same as opening your mouth: it is to close it again on something solid and nutritious. I want to give you solid spiritual food. Hopefully I have done that for a couple of Sundays. I want to try to do it again in tying down this topic of eternal rewards today. My point being what?

If the Word of God says it, then you and I – whatever our hang-up is – need to get over it

3 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) and start accepting it, and believing it, and living by it, and quit getting wrapped up in the traditions of men.

“Well, why is it, John, that I have not been taught this before?” I don’t know. I hadn’t been taught it very much my first thirty years of my Christian existence, either. The point is, does the Word of God teach it? If it does, we need to learn it, observe it, apply it, and follow it.

Now, just to orient you a little bit, so you know that I am not totally out on some tangent in regard to this, I did grab a few quotes from some individuals so that you could be, hopefully, a little bit more encouraged with this doctrine, to know that I am not out in the deep end somewhere. Quote:

“We long to see Him and to be with Him, and such desires are the work of the Holy Spirit

and are the first fruits of Heaven. But remember that just inside the door there is Christ’s

judgment seat, where He will adjudge our life and our portion, our rewards. Prepare, my

soul, to give an account of all my talents.” – S. B. Meyer (1847 – 1900), Bible scholar.

Here is another one from Alexander MacLaren, a Scottish pastor. MacLaren’s outlines and sermons on the Scriptures are classics of both devotional and assistance to pastors around the world. MacLaren said this:

“The judgment seat is meant for us professing Christians, real and imperfect Christians,

and tells us that there are degrees, and that the future blessedness is proportioned to

present faithfulness.”

Did you hear that? Future blessedness is proportioned to present faithfulness. “You have been faithful with ten minas? Enter into ruling over ten cities. You have been faithful with five?

Rule over five cities.” It is proportionate to present faithfulness.

“It is true: God loves His people, but, yet, He loves not their sin, nor anything they do,

though with the greatest zeal for Him, if it be contrary to His Word. Therefore, as truly

4 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) as God will give a reward to His saints and children for all they have indeed well done, so

truly will He at this day, the judgment seat of Christ, distinguish their good and bad

works. When both are manifest by the righteous judgment of Christ, He will burn up

their bad with all their labor, pain, and travail in it, forever.” – John Bunyan (author of

Pilgrim’s Progress)

You may have heard of Matthew Henry, the writer of a wonderful commentary. He said,

“There is a day coming that will cure all our mistakes and show us ourselves, and show us our actions in the true light: the judgment seat of Christ.”

Daniel Webster (where are the politicians like Daniel Webster?), the political figure in the early years of our nation’s history, said this. Quote: “The most important thought I ever had as a believer in Jesus Christ was my individual responsibility before God.”

Let me give you one more:

“It is Christians only who are in view here [speaking of the bema, the judgment seat, of

Christ]. All that we have hidden shall be revealed. The things we have done in the body

will come back to us, whether good or bad: every pious thought, every thought of sin,

every secret prayer, every secret curse, every unknown deed of charity, and every hidden

deed of selfishness. We will see them all again, and though we have not remembered

them for years and perhaps have forgotten them altogether, we shall have to acknowledge

that they are our own. Is not that,” he says, “A solemn thing to stand at the end of our

life?” – Bible scholar James Denney.

It goes on, and on, and on. But, again, that is what man says. What does the Word of

God say?

Well, as quick overview, we said that in order to understand this doctrine you have to understand the three tenses of salvation. When the word “salvation” is used (salvation, rescue,

5 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) deliverance, unsoundness to soundness, unwholeness to wholeness), the first question when you see that word in Scripture needs to be, “Is he talking about physical rescue, physical salvation, or spiritual?” If he is talking about spiritual salvation, rescue, or deliverance, it always is tied to some facet of sin – either the penalty of sin, the power of sin, or the very presence of sin. So, then you say, “Okay. He is talking spiritually when he says ‘salvation, deliver, rescue, not perish,’ and so forth. Okay, it is spiritual. It must have something to do with sin.” Is it salvation past? Does it have to do with my coming to Christ as Lord and Savior (justification)? “Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” In that context, he is talking about salvation-justification: getting in a right relationship with God through Christ.

Or, is it, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”? Well, what is that? I don’t know a word for that salvation. Yes, you do: not salvation-justification, but you work out your salvation-sanctification. That is not the penalty of sin; that was settled when you came to Christ.

It is the power of sin in the life, and that is something that is settled moment, by moment, by moment as you yield yourself to the prompting of the Spirit of God, to the instruction of the

Word of God by the enablement of the Spirit of God, by the grace of God, just trying to live a holy life.

Or, is it Peter talking in I Peter, when he refers to a salvation, a rescue, a deliverance, ready to be revealed? Wait a minute: it can’t be justification. I already know about that. That has been revealed. It can’t be my ongoing sanctification. I already know about that. That is happening in my life now. That has been revealed. What does he mean, a rescue, a deliverance, a salvation “ready to be revealed at the last time”? He is talking about salvation-glorification.

He is talking about being freed from the very presence of sin. He is talking about the next life, the eternal life in Glory with the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, you must understand that. And, you must understand this concept that we talked

6 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) about of the bema, the judgment seat, of Christ. We went to II Corinthians 5:9 – 10. It says,

“Know ye not, therefore, brethren, that we must all appear before the bema, the judgment seat, of

Christ?” I want you to flip in your Bibles to Proverbs, chapter 24, then you are going to go to

Romans 14. I have just found that in dealing with this subject in particular it is better to just see it with the eye before we go anywhere else. Proverbs 24, verse 12:

Prov. 24:12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,” does He [meaning God] not consider it

who weighs the hearts [I love that phrase, “He weighs the hearts”]? And does He [God]

not know it who keeps your soul [think about that: the perseverance and the preservation

in Christ of Almighty God]? And [here we go] will He [God] not render to man

according to his work?

Believers are in view there, even though it is an Old Testament passage. He is talking about weighing the hearts. He is talking about the one who keeps your soul. He is talking about rendering to man according to his work. I said believers are in view there; believers and non- believers both are in view there. So, there are two judgments: there is a great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20) for people who never come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. They are going to give an account of their deeds done in the body.

I threw a phrase out a couple of weeks ago. A couple of you challenged me on it last week, said, “John, you didn’t explain it, you didn’t explain it.” Hopefully, by the grace of God, I will get there today. There are degrees of Hell. There are degrees of Heaven. Well, wait a minute: that is a problem. Degrees of Hell? I have never heard a sermon preached on it. I have never heard a pastor even do what I have done just now. I have never heard a pastor ever stand up (I am sure they have, I just haven’t heard them) and talk about degrees of Heaven and degrees of Hell. And, I think I know why: they are always trying to get God off the hook. We make a mistake when we do that. Just teach the Word of God. They say that if people think there are

7 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) degrees of Hell, then they are going to be, maybe, like some of my relatives who say, “Well!

Hell is not going to be so bad. After all, I will be there with all my drinking and card-playing buddies!” It is almost like if there are degrees of Hell (you know, if Hitler gets a worse Hell than somebody else does), well then, maybe Hell is not that bad. Trust me: Hell is as bad as it gets. It is eternal torment, punishment, for those outside of Christ, forever, and ever, and ever. I don’t want to lose sight of that.

You say, “Well, then, how could there be degrees of Hell?” Hold that thought. There are also degrees of Heaven. I am going to show you the Scriptures on this. Well, wait a minute:

Heaven is Heaven. You mean to tell me that somebody is going to enjoy Heaven more than me?

Heaven is going to be perfect bliss, perfect happiness, perfect blessedness, for everybody there.

You say, “Well, then, how could it possibly be different?” I love what this one scholar shared in that regard:

“We must guard against misunderstanding here. Even though there will be degrees of

reward in Heaven, the joy of each person will be full and complete in eternity. If we ask,

‘How can this be if there are different degrees of reward?’ it simply shows that our

perception of happiness is based on the wrong assumptions. It assumes that happiness

depends on what we possess, or the status or power that we have. In actuality, however,

our true happiness consists in delighting in God and rejoicing in the status and the

recognition that He has given us. The foolishness of thinking that only those who have

been highly rewarded and given great status will be fully happy in Heaven is seen when

we realize that no matter how great a reward we are given, there will always be those

with greater rewards, or who have a higher status and authority – including the apostles,

and heavenly creatures, and Jesus Christ, and God Himself. Therefore, if the highest

status were essential for people to be fully happy, no one but God would ever be fully

8 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) happy in Heaven, which is certainly an incorrect idea. Moreover, those with greater

reward and honor in Heaven, those nearest the throne of God, delight not in their status,

but only in the privilege of falling down before God’s throne to worship Him (Revelation

4:10 – 11).”

What is he point?

The point is, once again, that there is a tension here. Degrees of Hell: how can that be?

If it is horrible for everybody, how could one have more horribleness than another for all eternity? Degrees of Heaven: how could that be? If it is bliss for everybody, how could one have more bliss than somebody else? Again, I am going to show you some Scriptures so you don’t have to just take my word for this. The answer is simply this: it is another one of those tensions in Scripture. How can my name be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world so that if I die tonight and go to Heaven (you have heard me say this a billion times), it is because all the grace of God and nothing good in me? And, however, if I die tonight and I go to Hell forever, it is because I willfully rejected God and the Person of Christ.

How can Jesus say in John 6, “No man can come to Me – no man can come to Me – unless the

Father draws him,” and in the same chapter turn around to the Pharisees and say, “You don’t come to Me for eternal life because you will not.” Those don’t jive. There is a tension there.

How can Jesus be a hundred percent God and a hundred percent man? That is two hundred percent. You can’t have two hundred percent of anything. There is a tension there. Who wrote the Bible? Well, men moved by the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible. I thought it was God’s Word?

Well, it is God’s Word. But, I have news for you: God must have been schizophrenic, because if you read Peter’s Greek and you read Luke’s Greek, you have got a whole different world in front of you because you have an illiterate fisherman on one hand and an educated doctor using very educated Greek on the other. So, did Peter, Luke, Matthew, Mark, and those guys write the

9 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) Scripture, or did God? Or, did they write a verse and hand the pen to God and He wrote a verse?

Who wrote it? It is God’s Word, but the men wrote it. There is a tension there. Are you with me?

Well, what is the answer to that? Here is the answer: “In the beginning, God.” In the beginning, God. When you can explain to me the first four words of the Bible, “In the beginning

God,” we will talk about all this other stuff. The answer is that you can’t. Finite minds can’t.

We can’t even contemplate the fact that there is an eternal Being Who always existed, always was, always will be, Who created everything. Everything we know has a beginning and an end, from our perspective. We can’t even comprehend that. Finite minds cannot understand it, but it is the truth of the Word of God. If the Word of God teaches it, if it is what the Word of God says, we believe it, we follow it, we stake our lives on it, and He honors it.

II Corinthians 5:9 – 10: the judgment seat of Christ. We have seen Proverbs, 24:12. Go to Romans, chapter 14. These are passages that, for some reason, are just glossed over and we don’t think about them. Romans 14, verse 10:

Rom. 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your

brother with contempt? For we will all stand before [here it is, bema in Greek] the

judgment seat –

That raised platform at the Olympian games when they would put a crown, a wreath, a garland on whoever won the race or the discus throw (or whatever it was). It was where they gave those rewards. The judgment seat was the place in the city market, the agora, the public area, where law court cases were decided and the judge or the mayor, or whoever, would render their verdict, render their judgment. That is the judgment seat, the bema. The first century Christians reading this knew immediately what Paul was talking about in Romans when he said, “bema,” “judgment seat.” He says, he is writing to believers in Rome,

10 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) Rom. 14:10b For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11For it is written, “As I

live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to

God.” [Here we go] 12So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Believer in Christ, you and you alone are going to give an account of your life to Almighty God at a real place called the bema, the judgment seat, of Christ. Is it going to determine Heaven or

Hell? No. That is salvation past: you can’t work for eternal life. That is salvation-justification.

It is what you did here in step two, salvation-sanctification, with what you got (the Spirit of God) at step one that determines what you will be and do in step three: glorification forever, and ever, and ever. This is a powerful, life-changing, life-altering truth.

Flip over to Revelation, the last book of the Bible, chapter 22. Revelation 22, verse 12.

This is Jesus speaking:

Rev. 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and [here we go] My [what is the next word?]

reward is with Me [what are You going to do with it, Lord?], to render to every man

[equally? No] according to what he has done.”

Then He goes on and says, “I am the Alpha, and the Omega.” What is the point?

Hey: from Proverbs to Revelation, from the first to the last, the doctrine of rewards is constantly, constantly talked about. What does Jesus say? It is a command: don’t lay up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal, but,

I will tell you what: it is a command, an absolute command in Matthew 6: but you lay up – for

Me, God? No, what does it say? You, lay up for yourself – for yourself, treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust don’t corrupt and thieves can’t break through and steal.

What is He saying there? You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. I still remember my father-in-law flying somewhere on an airplane when he was a young pastor. He was talking to a young man next to him. He said, “What do you do?” The young man replied, “I

11 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) go to Columbia University,” or whatever it was.

“What are you majoring in?” He was majoring in finance. “What are you going to do when you graduate?”

“Well, I hope to get a good job.”

“What are you going to do after that?”

“Well, I hope to work hard and make money.”

“Well, then what are you going to do?”

“Well, I hope to meet the right girl and marry her.”

“Well, then what are you going to do?”

“Well, I guess we will have some children, I hope.”

“Well, then what are you going to do?”

“I guess we will raise our kids and enjoy life together.”

“Well, then what are you going to do?”

“I guess around sixty or sixty-five, I guess I will retire.”

“Well, then what are you going to do?” This is my father-in-law. You should have known him. The young man said, “Well, I guess you just get old and die.” And then Dad says,

“And then what you going to do?”

And, that is the issue. It is so hard for you young people. It is so hard, because it is all out in front of you. You think thirty sounds like you are ready for retirement. Sixty-seven sounds like I am ready to be mummified, put away in a coffin somewhere. I know. I get it. I have been there. It will go like that [snaps fingers]. And, by what you do right now, you are investing in eternal investment portfolios (spiritually) that will pay dividends forever, and ever, and ever. Why nobody tells you this is beyond me. And, rewards are absolutely critical, and it should absolutely motivate us. What does it say in Matthew 10:42? “Even a cup of cold water

12 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) given in the name of Christ, I tell you, will have its reward.” We motivate people, like I said last week, with rewards constantly: corner office, bigger salary, “employee of the week” parking space, paid vacation, and so on and so forth. But, it comes to the spiritual life and somehow we go, “Oh, this is dirty. This isn’t quite spiritual enough.”

Well, first of all, remember my example from last week with my report card, the A’s and

B’s. My dad says, “If you get A’s and B’s, I will take you to St. Louis to the baseball weekend series,” and so forth. Why, it would have been foolish of him to say, “Oh, John – why didn’t you just do this because you love me? Why didn’t you just do this because I am going to spank you if you don’t get A’s and B’s? Why would you dare want the reward?” Well, “Because, Dad, you promised it.” God set the rules. God has laid this down. And, like I think I said last week (I can’t remember), ultimately, it all gives glory to God: it is a testimony to His grace, it is a testimony to His mercy, it is a testimony to His love. The God who Himself saved you, through no goodness in and of ourselves, gives us the ability and the desire to even want to strive for holiness, enables us to do so, and when we die literally gives us rewards for all eternity for our faithfully doing so. It is just mind blowing, and it is all to the glory of God. It is not selfishness, it is not legalistic, it is not unscriptural, and it is not less spiritual to obey the Word of God because He promises to give you a reward. As a matter of fact, I will submit to you it is the essence of faith. What did we say faith was, again? Faith is the God-given ability to entrust your life to the Person and character of God as revealed in the Scripture, and the God-given ability to commit your life to the promises, proscriptions, principles, as set forth in the

Scriptures.

Now, you are doing life and you have a choice, and this lady here has a choice, and it is presented to her. She goes, “I can gossip. I can commit sinful gossip and talk about my friend

Stella behind her back. Or, I can say, ‘Lord, I know what your Word says about that.’ I know it

13 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) is reprehensible to You. I know that we are going to give an account of every idle word [you talk about one that shakes up me]. We are going to give an account of every word we ever thought, let alone spoke. I know, God, Your Word says that if I forgo sharing this little tidbit of gossip about my friend because it titillates me and excites me so much, if I forgo the pleasure of that sin right now, Your Word says that someday You will reward me openly with some sort of eternal reward.” Now, think about the decision she just made right there: she can enjoy the pleasures of sin in Egypt for a season, or she says, “No: I believe God’s Word when God’s Word says He is going to bless me for obeying His Word and doing the right thing.” Or, “I have this opportunity to look at this pornography on my computer screen. I can engage in that and feed my lustful passions, or I can click this thing off, ask God to erase the memory tape of even the split second that I saw and get that out of my mind forever because I know, God, by not following that sinful desire You will reward me someday.” What I am saying is this: in my conduct today, I am willing to conform to the Word of God because I believe in faith in the truth of what His Word says: that He will reward me for doing what is right today.

That is the essence of faith. That is the essence of godliness. That is the essence of holiness. It is not legalistic, it is not undisciplined, and it is not unspiritual. We have bought into the lie of Satan that somehow that is not a proper motivation for godly conduct, and we have jettisoned two hundred and fifty years of the faith in this country alone as a result of it, let alone two thousand years of proper teaching of the Word of God. And, guess what? Giving you a reward at the end of your life, at the end of the age, for your obedience to the Word of God gives

God pleasure. It gives God pleasure, in addition to everything else.

I remember in Indianapolis I volunteered to be involved in the Special Olympics program. I remember they paired us up with different children that had physical handicaps (I don’t know what the politically correct term is today); they struggled in someway physically,

14 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) mentally, or emotionally, and had the Special Olympics. The little boy I was working with was entered in the 100-yard dash. You have to understand that the “100-yard dash” for them was from about here to about where Mike is (not even ten yards, hardly), but that was what we called the “100-yard dash.” We would practice, and practice, and practice so that Danny could make the 100-yard dash. If he could complete the 100-yard dash, he got the blue ribbon – the prize.

We worked, and worked, and worked. I wasn’t even a Christian at the time. The day came when we had the Special Olympics at this little school grounds near where I lived at the time. Little Danny, that seven-year-old kid, with everything he was facing and struggling with, he struggled and fought, and struggled and fought, and he ultimately crossed that finish line with those other children. I stood there about an hour later at the little awards ceremony and got to put a blue ribbon on Danny’s chest. I had tears running through my eyes, tears of joy. He was saying, “John, John, John, John, John, John, I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it!” Do you think I was joyous in my heart, looking at that little seven-year-old kid when I put that blue ribbon on him? I am a fallen, depraved sinner (who didn’t set up the rules, by the way; the Special

Olympics people did), and it gave me one of the greatest thrills of my young life up to that point in time. What do you think Almighty God, who enables us by His grace and lays it all down, how do you think the heart of God feels toward His children when He turns to you someday and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Well done, Dave. Well done. Enter into the joy of your reward!” Unbelievable.

Let me tell you something: a holy God uses nothing but good and holy methods to determine good and holy ends. If your obedience and my obedience to the Word of God is a holy, good, just result (and we know it is; He says, “You don’t even love Me if you don’t obey

Me”), if that is a holy, just result, then any means that that holy God who can stand no evil in His sight would use is a perfect, holy motivator. God’s Word says, “I will give you a reward for

15 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) doing it My way,” and it is okay to pick up your paycheck at the end of your life. And, it gives

God great, great joy. So, why don’t people do it? Why are so many Christians (nine out of ten

Christian lives, sad to say, that you look at) – and remember that survey of those kids who took that George Barna survey: out of five thousand kids who all described themselves as “Bible- believing Christians,” ninety-nine point nine percent of them said that “If Jesus came back right now, He wouldn’t be pleased with the way I am living my life.” Why is it that we don’t strive for greater holiness? What is that? I will tell you exactly what it is: we have bought into the lie of Satan. We don’t think it is worth it. You think you are going to miss something. I think I am missing out on something if I don’t engage in this. That was the first lie ever told: “Eve, did God really say that? He said, ‘Don’t eat that fruit?’ You know what? You can’t trust God. God is a liar. God is keeping you from something good, Eve. Eat it. Come on, eat it!” She ate it, and all hell (literally) broke loose as a result. And, it is still going on today.

There is a person we love who has been a regular member (hasn’t been too recently) of this congregation who has basically has chosen an ungodly lifestyle with another person. I am being sensitive to delicate ears, but you know exactly what I am talking about. This person has been confronted by their friends, life-long friends, repeatedly, numerous times: “Stop this conduct. Don’t do this. It violates God’s Word,” but won’t stop. “Children are observing what you are doing.” What does the Word of God say? It is better that a millstone be hung around your neck and you be thrown into the sea than you cause one of these little ones to stumble into sin because of what you are doing. But, this individual won’t listen, won’t listen, won’t listen.

Why is that? Is it because of the pleasure? In part, but wait a minute: Moses got over it. He got past the pleasure. What, really, is it?

They think it is not worth it, that they are going to miss out on something in this life.

You know what the incredible irony is? The irony is that, by engaging in the sinful conduct, they

16 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) are losing infinitely more – not just the complications that are going to flow from it, not just the possible chastisement in this life, and all of that, that could flow from it. You know what they are losing? Eternal rewards. And, let me tell you something: there are people in this congregation (and others) who are paying a price for confronting this individual. And, you know what? The most loving thing a person can do is to bring their sin up, bring it up every time you see them, every time you meet them, every time you talk to them: “I love you, So-and-so. I love you. Have you stopped this relationship? We can’t have fellowship. I love you too much to not drive the point home.” Let me tell you something: what usually happens in that context is the person who confronts (and now the elders of our church, who are ramping up more to do it, as well) will take a hit for it. The preaching elder and his wife are already taking a hit for it. The person who has confronted this individual is taking a hit for it. You get thrown under the bus.

All sorts of misdirection, all sorts of things are shared with your friends and your acquaintances, and so forth. And, you know what? It is okay. It is okay.

Turn to Matthew, chapter 5. I am going to tell you why it is okay (in terms of it is okay for the person that confronts, it is okay for the elder board who confronts). It is okay. Why is it okay? Matthew 5, verse 11:

Matt. 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you [when people cast insults at you] and

[and/or] persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you [falsely] because of

Me.”

Not because you are a jerk, and you really are a jerk. No, because of Christ, for taking a stand for Christ, for wanting to stand in truth and righteousness, for wanting to tell your friends and others, “This is wrong, and we are taking a stand against it because we love this individual.”

You are blessed. How so? How could I possibly be blessed? Look at verse 12:

Matt. 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad –”

17 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) Because everything is going to be set straight in this life? The person is going to repent and come back to you? You friendship is going to be great again? All your friends are going to understand what you did, and everything is going to be wonderful again?” No, not necessarily so.

Matt. 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward [right here on this earth? No, it doesn’t

say that. Your reward] in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the

prophets who were before you.”

You pay a price. We are going to keep paying the price. And, hopefully, by God’s grace, individuals will be encouraged to live godly lives.

I was privileged to do a wedding in the state of Minnesota Friday night, and was talking to Ben Lynch, the young boy I was marrying. His parents used to live here in the Valley, and I have known him all his life. My wife was in the room when Ben was born. We have known him forever. He says to me, “Uncle [he calls me “uncle”], I really missed the boat.” I said, “What is that?”

“You know what I should have gotten for all the groomsmen?”

“What is that, Ben?”

“I should have gotten red trucker hats that said, ‘Make Marriage Great Again.’”

I laughed, too. I was thinking about that and I thought, oh, no: you know what we need to do?

We need to get red trucker hats that say, “Make Eternity Great Again. Be Bema-Minded.” We need to be bema-minded, constantly, constantly so.

This place where they got married was on the campus of Northwestern University. Not the Northwestern University in Evanston, , not the Big Ten school; it is a Christian college in . It is beautiful, just absolutely beautiful. There is a Maranatha Chapel (it used to be an old Catholic boys school), a beautiful chapel. As a matter of fact, Billy Graham

18 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) was, at one point in time, the president of the school years ago. But, we were walking around this building, actually trying to find Terri and the dressing room. We got to the third floor and were walking around. The secretary said, “Well, go over here and go down there, and you will see this.” So, I am following her instructions along with the father of the groom, Ben’s dad, and

I look up and above the doorway to this one sort of lecture hall, and it said, “The Youderian

Memorial Room.” I went back and I asked the secretary, “Is that named after Roger

Youderian?” and she said, “Oh, yes, it is.”

Now, most of you sitting here are saying, “Who is Roger Youderian?” Well, in 1951 there were five martyred by the Auca Indians in . A couple of them have become household names, primarily because of the ministry of their wives and other family members years later: and . There were three other men, and one of them was Roger Youderian. It was such a delight to see some of the things that they had in that room.

I thought to myself that Roger Youderian dies at the age of thirty, but it is his friend, Jim Elliot, who has the famous statement that all of them lived by. It ties in so beautifully to the doctrine of eternal rewards. What does it say? “He is no fool who gives up that which he can never keep to obtain that which he can never lose.” You know what that is? That is being bema, judgment seat of Christ, minded. That is having a red trucker hat on, rhetorically speaking, on your heart that says, “Make Eternity Great Again,” meaning, make eternity a great thing in our hearts, meaning, understand the truth of the Word of God and the significance of the Word of God. It is an awesome thing to contemplate that this preacher and these listeners, all of us, on our own, are going to stand someday before God. As a non-believer or as a believer in Christ, you will stand before God and will give an account of every word, every thought, every everything, to determine the receipt for believers (or the loss) of eternal rewards.

One thing to clarify before I close. I gave the example last week of the Electrolux

19 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3) salesman. Remember, I came home, and I said I felt like I was in the middle of an I Love Lucy rerun? Terri had this gigantic, six-foot-six guy sweating like a wildman, standing on our brand new carpets in our home in Awhatukee, throwing mud and dirt everywhere because he was selling Electrolux shampooers. Remember? He was saying, “Now, after today you don’t get the twenty percent off, and if you don’t buy this shampooer, these beautiful carpets are going to go bad.” He was using the fear of loss as a motivating factor.

Well, instead of asking me about the Biblical principles, nine out of the ten people that came up to me afterwards asked, “Did you buy the shampooer?” The answer is, yes. We bought the shampooer (by the way, it was a great shampooer, a wonderful product). But, let me tell you why we bought it. It was not because I was going to lose the twenty percent discount, not because I was fearful that our carpets would go bad if we did not shampoo them regularly: it was because Terri took me aside in the kitchen and said, “John, this guy has been going door-to-door all day long. He hasn’t had one sale. You know it is a hundred and ten degrees out there. We have got to buy a shampooer from this guy!”

All I can say is, if you people are selling things, stay away from my wife.

I don’t want to take a glorious truth and end it so much on a laugh, other than to say that laughter can’t hold a candle to the laughter, the joy that is going to burst forth from your soul, the joy that is going to be on the countenance of your Savior, when He says, “You forwent, moment, by moment, by moment the pleasures of sin in order to do it My way, believing by faith that My

Word was true, that I would reward you. Well, well done. Enter into the joy of your reward.”

By God’s grace, we will talk about degrees of Heaven and Hell, we will talk about a couple of other things related to this topic, and maybe even move on a little bit further in

Hebrews 11 next week. Let me close us in prayer.

20 Moses: Looking to His Reward (The Doctrine of Eternal rewards) (part 3)