Focusing on the Future - Lesson 8 - Rewards I

Rewards at, Bestowed upon Believers

Honor from the King

Luke 12:37, ‘Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.’

This is not according to the manner of men,
for what master will wait upon his servants?
Yet the love of Jesus promises to us this high honor.
Who would not cheerfully obey such a Lord?

Four things to consider here…

1. The Son of man will certainly come at one hour or other.
2. At what hour the Son of man will come cannot be certainly known.
3. That there is no hour wherein we can promise ourselves that the Son of man will not come.
4. Very joyful will the coming of the Son of man be, if we be found upon our watch, and ready for his coming:

Luke 12:40, ‘Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.’

Where do you want to be at the moment the Lord returns?





Fellowship with the King

John 14:3, ‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’

Christ did not go away from us with the intent of forsaking us,
but rather that he might eventually take us up with him into heaven.


Likeness to the King

Philippians 3:20, ‘For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:’

Our conversation; more exactly, our citizenship:
we are citizens of heaven; our King is there;
our hearts and thoughts are there;
we obey its laws,
and look to it as our everlasting home.

As Christians are citizens of heaven,
and only pilgrims and sojourners here,
we should not be greatly influenced by things of earth,
or chiefly occupied with its concerns.

Our treasure is, and our hearts should be in heaven;
where we look for Christ perfectly to change us into his own glorious image,
and raise us for ever to reign with him in the kingdom of our Father.


Philippians 3:21, ‘Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.’

We try to change our vile bodies.
Vile as it does things we don’t want it to do.
Or vile thoughts torment us.
Our vile past comes up again in out thoughts.

It’s hard to imagine not being in sinful fleshly bodies isn’t it?





Glory with the King

Colossians 3:4, ‘When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.’

Then the glory and the blessedness of the life in us shall be shown forth.
Like the tree in the winter,
not dead,
but the life hidden.
When the spring comes,
its life shows itself in glory.

So completely are we to be and so dead to the old life,
and only live in Jesus.
We cannot love the things of earth;
our hearts are in heaven,
our very life is there, where Jesus is,

And until He comes we live a hidden life
which the unsaved cannot perceive or comprehend.

How can we explain it to them?





1 Thessalonians 3:13, ‘To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. ‘


Love shed abroad in our hearts would have this effect,
and fit us for every duty and trial.
If we love supremely, we fulfill the whole law.

Isn’t your day easier when you aren’t fault finding and loving people?





1 Thessalonians 4:16, ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:’

The dead in Christ shall raise first… I think that’s fair, don’t you?

The Fadeless Crown

1 Peter 5:4, ‘And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.’


And when the chief Shepherd… Christ,
to whom all the under-shepherds shall give account.
Shall receive the crown of glory.
The eternal reward of faithful duty.

So let me get this straight… I’m a sinner and I’m getting a crown for being faithful?





The Beatific Vision

Some synonyms for the word beatific…
innocent, good, pure, saintly, adorable, virtuous.

The opposite of beatific is wicked.

1 John 3:2, ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.’


This dignity is not fully revealed to us ourselves,
much less to strangers,
but we are sure of the accomplishment of it,
in as much as we shall be like the Son of God himself
and shall enjoy His sight indeed,
such as He is now,
but yet this is deferred until His next coming.


In Conclusion

We are not worthy of the rewards we now get
or the rewards we will receive in glory.
We know we are sinners and don’t have to rest in that knowledge.
We should walk worthy.
Sin less tomorrow than we did today.

Help our children to learn from our mistakes.
Love them and encourage them, as they are not ours.

Encourage and love our spouse and not fault find.
Pray and work together as we strive to understand the Lord’s plan for our lives.

Edify and uplift fellow Christians,
Be happy when they have victory
And love them when they stumble.

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