My unexpected reward
I have been “guest preaching” for my church for a couple of years now. Usually four or five times a year, just enough to give our pastor an occasional break. However, this summer I did something new – I wrote and delivered an entire message series.
The three-week series was titled, “Don’t be a Cretan”. Each week, we walked through Paul’s letter to his protégé, Titus, and the directions he gave for the churches on the island of Crete. Cretan society was more than a little rough, so Titus had his hands full as he taught these new believers what it means to follow Jesus in a difficult culture. If you are interested in hearing these messages, you can find them on YouTube: Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3.
Handling an entire series was a new experience for me, and I now have even more empathy for pastors who shepherd a church while also holding down a full-time job to pay the bills. As I concluded the series, I was very happy to not have to be planning out, writing, and getting ready to deliver the next sermon series. Preaching is both a blessing and a burden, and I was ready for a break.
I received several heartfelt “thank yous” and had many great conversations based on the messages I delivered. However, I was not expecting the shout-out our pastor gave me this past week at the beginning of his message. He publicly said “Thank you” from the stage and led the church in a round of applause. That in itself was more than I would have expected, but he continued – telling our church how me teaching the series gave him the largest speaking break he’s had in 6 years and how he was freed up to be fully present for some significant moments within both his family and God’s family.
He didn’t have to do that. He had already expressed his gratitude to me privately several times, so I knew where his heart was. However, he still wanted to publicly reward my efforts.
I think a lot of Christians live their lives that way, too. We know the tasks God has given us to do, and we know His heart towards us when we make the wise choice or do the thing He has asked us to do. What we don’t expect is that God plans to publicly reward us for our efforts.
Does that sound odd to you? Then let me remind you of something Jesus said during His Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 6:19-21
Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
If we are told to store up…treasures in heaven, then that must mean (logically) that there are actual treasures in heaven. Jesus’ words make it clear that being in heaven isn’t “the treasure” we’re to be aiming for. Getting into heaven is guaranteed when we believe in Jesus for eternal life. These treasures in heaven must be something more…and if they can be stored up or not, then we all will have different amounts.
The topic of “Eternal rewards” is not talked about much in our modern-day churches. But Jesus talked about them quite a bit and so did the other New Testament writers.
You might have heard someone say, “I don’t need any rewards. I’ll just be happy to be in heaven”. While a statement like that sounds quite humble and spiritual…it’s actually pretty arrogant and selfish to think that way. Jesus wasn’t giving a suggestion or an optional side-quest in His Sermon on the Mount. He told us to store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. That’s a pretty clear direction.
Imagine getting to heaven, standing before Jesus, and realizing that all your treasures were stored on earth. I don’t think the “I’m just happy to be here” defense is going to feel all that comforting.
So what are the treasures in heaven and how do we store them up? We’ll take a look at those in the coming weeks. But for now, stop and ask Jesus to reveal where your heart is at, what do you find valuable? It’s just like He said: for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Is your heart focused on earthly things or heavenly things? Being honest with that question is the best place to start.
Keep Pressing,
Ken