Eternal Rewards

By Mike Connell

One of the major themes of Jesus teachings was the theme of Eternal Rewards. This topic is seldom taught in churches, but it provides major motivation for holiness, personal transformation and faithful service. We shall all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ to give account for our stewardship as followers of Christ. At stake are position, honour and reward in the coming Kingdom of Christ.

Eternal Rewards are an important part of Jesus teachings, both in the Gospels and also in the Book of Revelation. Eternal Rewards are Jesus generosity to us in the coming Millennium and beyond that acknowledge our love for Him, our transformation to become like Him and the service we have done on His behalf during our life on earth. This series brings understanding of the significance and importance of Eternal Rewards. This teaching continue to explain what those rewards are and it’s focus is Eternal Glory

Jesus frequently taught about Eternal rewards in the Coming Millennial Kingdom and for the need for His disciples to pursue them and live in preparation for His Second coming. In this series we examine what are the Eternal rewards that Jesus has reserved for those who love Him.

A Crown is given to the Victor who has won the race or the fight. It is given in recognition and honour to a person because of what they have achieved or overcome. In this message we discover five different Crowns that are promised to believers who meet the conditions. These are the Incorruptible Crown, The Crown of Rejoicing, The Crown of Righteousness, The Crown of Life and the Crown of Glory.

Eternal Rewards are expressions of the value and honour that Jesus places upon those who love and serve Him in this life. The rewards are eternal and will be recognised and valued in the Millennial Kingdom and ages to come.

Every believer must appear before the Judgment seat of Christ to give account of our life and stewardship service. Our life and works will be examined to establish what rewards we will qualify for. For some believers this will be a time of celebration, joy and eternal honour. For other believers it will come as a shock as they discover they have wasted the life and opportunities entrusted to them, and that their life and works fail to qualify and they are excluded from the rewards that Jesus had prepared for them. Such believers are saved, but forfeit rewards in the coming Kingdom of Jesus.

The First Resurrection is presented as the great hope and the prize to be won by the believer. Believers and unbelievers will both arise together in the General resurrection at the end of the 1000-year Millennial Kingdom of Christ. However, the First resurrection is for those believers who qualify to participate. It is possible for a believer not to qualify for this First resurrection.

In 2 Peter 1, Peter describes the necessity of personal transformation and fruit-bearing in the life of the believer. Peter shares his revelation of Christ coming in majesty to rule and reign, and the necessity of the believer to be diligent in adding to their foundational faith the character qualities of Christ. Believers who neglect to commit to personal growth, Peter describes as barren, unfruitful, blind, shortsighted, and forgetful of the work and calling of Christ. Personal growth, heart and character transformation ensure we will never fall, will be fruitful and stable, and will have an abundant entrance into the Coming Kingdom of God.

Contents:
1. Introduction to Eternal Rewards
2. Key Principles Related to Eternal Rewards
3. Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 1
4. Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 2
5. Garments of Glory & Beauty
6. Victor's Crowns
7. Honour, Treasures & Vindication
8. The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 1
9. The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 2
10. The First Resurrection
11. Abundant Entrance to the Kingdom

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Connell
• Release date: Jul 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005803780

Mike Connell

Mike and Joy Connell are the Senior Pastors at Bay City Outreach Centre, Hastings, New Zealand.They moved to Hastings from Dannevirke in 1985 to pioneer their first church and have been in ministry now for over 34 years and pioneered 5 other churches.An internationally recognized teacher of the Word, Pastor Mike moves powerfully in prophetic, deliverance and inner healing gifts. His strong love and sensitivity for God and His people have enabled him to minister and bring great healing to the hurt and broken. A man full of the Spirit and faith, Pastor Mike will open and take you to another level of spiritual encounters with God.He is sought after all over the world to bring teaching and great moves of God. He has standing yearly appointments teaching in international Bible Schools and impacting many of the worlds leaders in conventions and business conferences.Mike has a heart for people and is able to bring a wonderful balance of humour, compassion and truth to his teaching messages. Mike's annointed messages are ones that have affected the hearts of people worldwide.Mike & Joy have seven children and are also very proud grandparents. They both believe in strong family values and this is obvious when you meet them.Mike & Joy have a unique commitment to pursuing what God would have for their lives and continue to travel the globe ministering to broken hearted people and showing them God's love. Their love of laughter and positive attitudes to life make them dynamic people.

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Eternal Rewards

Mike Connell

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Eternal Rewards

Introduction to Eternal Rewards (1 of 12)

One of the major themes of Jesus teachings was the theme of Eternal Rewards. This topic is seldom taught in churches, but it provides major motivation for holiness, personal transformation and faithful service. This message is an introduction to the theme of eternal rewards and the need to build our heart and character on Jesus teachings on the Sermon on the Mount.

Key Principles Related to Eternal Rewards (2 of 12)

One of the major themes of Jesus teachings was the theme of Eternal Rewards. This topic is seldom taught in churches, but it provides major motivation for holiness, personal transformation and faithful service.

We shall all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ to give account for our stewardship as followers of Christ. At stake are position, honour and reward in the coming Kingdom of Christ. This message is an introduction to the Bible Foundations of Eternal Rewards.

Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 1 (3 of 12)

One of the major themes of Jesus teachings was the theme of Eternal Rewards. This topic is seldom taught in churches, but it provides major motivation for holiness, personal transformation and faithful service.

We shall all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ to give account for our stewardship as followers of Christ. At stake are position, honour and reward in the coming Kingdom of Christ.

This message looks at the Two of the glorious Eternal Rewards that the Bible reveals are prepared for those who love Jesus, overcome in life and serving faithfully.... Eternal Intimacy and Eternal Authority.

Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 2 (4 of 12)

Eternal Rewards are an important part of Jesus teachings, both in the Gospels and in the Book of Revelation.

Eternal Rewards are Jesus generosity to us in the coming Millennium and beyond that acknowledge our love for Him, our transformation to become like Him and the service we have done on His behalf during our life on earth.

This series brings understanding of the significance and importance of Eternal Rewards. This teaching continues to explain what those rewards are, and its focus is Eternal Glory.

Garments of Glory & Beauty (5 of 12)

Jesus frequently taught about Eternal rewards in the Coming Millennial Kingdom and for the need for His disciples to pursue them and live in preparation for His Second coming.

In this series we examine what are the Eternal rewards that Jesus has reserved for those who love Him. The focus of this study are Eternal Garments of Glory and Beauty.

Victor's Crowns (6 of 12)

A Crown is given to the Victor who has won the race or the fight. It is given in recognition and honour to a person because of what they have achieved or overcome.

In this message we discover five different Crowns that are promised to believers who meet the conditions. These are the Incorruptible Crown, The Crown of Rejoicing, The Crown of Righteousness, The Crown of Life and the Crown of Glory.

Honour, Treasures and Vindication (7 of 12)

The Bible has much to say about eternal rewards. Eternal Rewards are expressions of the value and honour that Jesus places upon those who love and serve Him in this life. The rewards are eternal and will be recognised and valued in the Millennial Kingdom and ages to come.

In this study we examine the rewards Eternal Honour, Eternal Treasure and Riches, and vindication by Jesus before those who have ridiculed or persecuted us.

The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 1 (8 of 12)

Every believer must appear before the Judgment seat of Christ to give account of our life and stewardship service. Our life and works will be examined to establish what rewards we will qualify for.

For some believers this will be a time of celebration, joy and eternal honour. For other believers it will come as a shock as they discover they have wasted the life and opportunities entrusted to them, and that their life and works fail to qualify and they are excluded from the rewards that Jesus had prepared for them. Such believers are saved, but forfeit rewards in the coming Kingdom of Jesus.

The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 2 (9 of 12)

Every believer shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give account of how we have served the Lord and what our lives have become.

What will Jesus take into account when He evaluates our life and service? This study examines key heart qualities that Jesus is looking for that reflect His image has been formed in us, and which overflow into works that honour Him and advance His Kingdom.

The First Resurrection (10 of 12)

The First Resurrection is presented as the great hope and the prize to be won by the believer.

Believers and unbelievers will both arise together in the General resurrection at the end of the 1000-year Millennial Kingdom of Christ.

However, the First resurrection is for those believers who qualify to participate. It is possible for a believer not to qualify for this First resurrection. Some principles of selection are shared in this important study.

Abundant Entrance to the Kingdom (11 of 12)

In 2 Peter 1, Peter describes the necessity of personal transformation and fruit-bearing in the life of the believer.

Peter shares his revelation of Christ coming in majesty to rule and reign, and the necessity of the believer to be diligent in adding to their foundational faith the character qualities of Christ.

Believers who neglect to commit to personal growth, Peter describes as barren, unfruitful, blind, short-sighted, and forgetful of the work and calling of Christ.

Personal growth, heart and character transformation ensure we will never fall, will be fruitful and stable, and will have an abundant entrance into the Coming Kingdom of God.

The Need for Faithfulness - The Parables of the Talents and the Minas (12 of 12)

Two important parables, concerning the end-times and coming Kingdom, are the parables of the Talents and the Minas.

Jesus has entrusted believers with His goods, and calls every believer to be faithful in stewarding what has been entrusted to them. He has devised a plan to discover who he can entrust with great authority to rule with Him in His coming kingdom.

There is no limit to the faithfulness that any person can cultivate and develop over the course of our life. At stake is reward and joyful participation in Jesus coming reign on earth.

Audio

Audio: Introduction to Eternal Rewards (1 of 12).mp3

Audio: Key Principles Related to Eternal Rewards (2 of 12).mp3

Audio: Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 1 (3 of 12).mp3

Audio: Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 2 (4 of 12).mp3

Audio: Garments of Glory & Beauty (5 of 12).mp3

Audio: Victor's Crowns (6 of 12).mp3

Audio: Honour, Treasures and Vindication (7 of 12).mp3

Audio: The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 1 (8 of 12).mp3

Audio: The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 2 (9 of 12).mp3

Audio: The First Resurrection (10 of 12).mp3

Audio: Abundant Entrance to the Kingdom (11 of 12).mp3

Audio: The Need for Faithfulness - The Parables of the Talents and the Minas (12 of 12).mp3

Notes

Notes: Introduction to Eternal Rewards (1 of 12)

Notes: Key Principles Related to Eternal Rewards (2 of 12)

Notes: Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 1 (3 of 12)

Notes: Overview of Eternal Rewards - Part 2 (4 of 12)

Notes: Garments of Glory & Beauty (5 of 12)

Notes: Victor's Crowns (6 of 12)

Notes: Honour, Treasures and Vindication (7 of 12)

Notes: The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 1 (8 of 12)

Notes: The Judgment Seat of Christ - Part 2 (9 of 12)

Notes: The First Resurrection (10 of 12)

Notes: Abundant Entrance to the Kingdom (11 of 12)

Notes: The Need for Faithfulness - The Parables of the Talents and the Minas (12 of 12)

Introduction to Eternal Rewards (1 of 12)

Sun 7 Jun 2020 AM « Back to Top

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One of the major themes of Jesus teachings was the theme of Eternal Rewards. This topic is seldom taught in churches, but it provides major motivation for holiness, personal transformation and faithful service. This message is an introduction to the theme of eternal rewards and the need to build our heart and character on Jesus teachings on the Sermon on the Mount.

Introduction

Welcome to the first series, and this series is called Eternal Rewards and this message is number one in the series and it's called: Introduction to Eternal Rewards.

Probably when you hear it, you'll think I've taught all there is to be taught about it, but I certainly haven't and today we're going to just give you a big, a broad picture and then within that, there'll be many questions arise and there'll be things that you'll want to know more about.

But in our journey, we get revelation right at the very beginning of the teachings around eternal rewards, and they become a motivator for your life. They cause you to set a course for your life that, regardless of what anyone else does, you remain focussed on eternity.

Main Message

Perhaps if I could put it like this: if I were to offer you: $2 now; or $1000 in a weeks' time - what would you take? Children will take the $2 now, because they can't conceive of $1000 in a weeks' time. But anyone who understands the value of things would say: oh man, I'll put off getting my $2 now, because I have in mind something much bigger ahead - and this is what all this teaching is about.

It's being able to lay aside some things now, because there's something much bigger that God has for you. It brings about an adjustment of what's important, so you place less and less importance on temporary things, and more importance on eternal things.

The first thing then is: God is a rewarder! God is a rewarder, and the first thing is that the hope of a reward is a motivator to pursue God. Hope of a reward is a motivator - it’s what motivates us to pursue God.

In Hebrews 11:6, it says: without faith, it's impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Notice that two things are required: 1) that we must believe that: God is present; God is real; God is interested in us; God wants to access us; God wants a relationship with us; and 2) that God rewards. He is a rewarder.

That says that's something about who He is. He's a rewarder. He rewards those who diligently pursue Him. To be a rewarder is one who pays wages generously, so God is generous in rewarding us for the activities we undertake on His behalf to represent Him. The first thing then is: God is a rewarder; and the hope is that He will reward us.

When we look at inheritance, we'll see that God's promise to Abraham was: I am your shield, I am your exceeding great reward. So not only is God a rewarder, but it's accessing more of Him that comes as one of the key aspects of our reward.

Secondly, Moses was motivated by the hope of a reward. Hope causes you to look forward to something. Hope causes you to anticipate something. Hope causes you to have an expectation. Hope keeps you looking forward; you know, we're hoping for this holiday, we're hoping for this raise, we're hoping for this new thing.

Moses was motivated by the hope of reward. When you look at Moses, you see his life, and how it was in the Pharaoh's Palace - he had everything possible available to him: education, a significant role, riches and wealth - anything he wanted was his. He was a valiant warrior, and he was a great man. However, he forsook it all! He gave it all up - which people would have thought was crazy, but we understand it when we read in Hebrews 11:24-26.

Hebrews 11 is the book of men who responded to God, who pleased Him. Without faith, without trusting Him, and committing our life to following Him, we can't bring pleasure to Him. Our goal is to bring pleasure to Him, but it requires that we exercise faith that: not only that He is; but if I will give my life to His pursuit, He will reward it.

In Hebrews 11:24 - by faith, Moses when he became of age, refused to be called son of Pharaoh's daughter, and he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures or temporary pleasures of sin - esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches, than the treasure of Egypt... for he looked to the reward.

We see very clearly that Moses was motivated by hope of reward, and we see several things...

The first thing is about him, is that he refused to identify with Egypt. Now Egypt is a prophetic picture of the world, with its values, its rewards, its incentives... all the things in it which are very temporary in nature. Whenever the Bible refers to Egypt, it always refers to the world dominated by Satan - its values, its culture, all that's in the world - the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh. All those things are enemies in the relationship with God.

Firstly, it says that he refused to identify with Egypt - even though he had access to privilege and position.

Secondly, he refused the convenient, comfortable life - just cruising along in sin, with the temporary pleasure; and he chose instead that he would identify with Jesus Christ, identify with His purpose, and identify with the people of God.

It was a big choice for him. It was the decision to let go a life of privilege, of position, of power; and instead to identify with God, to identify with the people of God, and with the purpose of God... and he totally embraced it! He chose to accept reproach, ridicule, and misunderstanding of his peers. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God.

When you choose to follow Jesus, the people who knew you - they think you've gone crazy, that you've gone weird! You don't do the things you used to do, because you've chosen a different path; and that path has with it, some hardship. It usually has the hardship of misunderstandings and ridicule by people; esteeming the reproach of Christ, for a greater rich, than the treasures of Egypt - he looked for the reward.

That word ‘looked’ means ‘to have respect for’ - so he valued, or had great respect for, what God offered. He must have had a revelation of it. God must have shown it to him.

It means: to turn the eyes away from everything else and fix them on one thing.

So Moses, even though he's surrounded by everything you could buy... he had money, he had position, power, the opportunity to sin, opportunity to have anything - he turned his eyes away from it all, and fixed his eyes on something that God had shown him - an eternal reward! Something that was not temporary, something that would go on into eternity - forever, and ever, and ever, and ever! he chose the eternal over the temporal.

We find also that the Bible tells of other men and women of faith, who were also motivated by the hope of reward. In Hebrews 11:35, it says: women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

It's saying here that people, by faith, got miracles to happen! By faith, they endured suffering and even death; and what they saw was that there was a better resurrection available for them.

This opens a whole lot of questions about resurrection. The word ‘better’ resurrection implies that there's the better one, and there's a lesser one; one is better than the other! If you're going to have that opportunity to have something; or something better - you want something better! I always want a bit better for me, I want better for my children, and so on.

In this case, ‘better’, means stronger, more noble, more excellent, greater in strength or power… so clearly there are two resurrections, and one of them is a better one! One of them is stronger. One of them is more powerful. One of them has better outcomes for us.

There is the first resurrection; and we may touch on scriptures around the first resurrection, found in Revelations 20. We read on, but back in 8:52 (and we're just looking at people being motivated by reward), here is another one who was motivated by reward: Paul was motivated by the hope of reward.

Reward offers us something to look forward to, that causes us to go through hardship. If you think about saving up for a house, you first have the vision of the house. You pay a price - you sacrifice. Your eyes are focussed to something you're looking forward to, and that causes you to discipline your life, and bring it into alignment, to get the goal - and that's what Paul has in mind here.

Philippians 3:8-12 - "Indeed, I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and I count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained it or am already perfected; but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of me.

Brothers, I don't count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting the things that are behind and reaching forward to the things that are ahead, I press towards the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, if any of us are mature, have this mind - let us, as many as are mature, think this way, have this mind; and if in anything you think differently, God will even reveal this."

There's a lot in there and that's a passage, so I'll have to go through on its own and open it all up, but I want to just focus on this thought: that he very clearly indicates that there is a prize to attain to - and that he hasn't already attained it.

Notice he uses the words that I might gain Christ. He was motivated strongly by the promise of a reward. He said: everything I've succeeded in, all my position, my status, my record, everything I've done... in the light of the prize, I consider it to be just rubbish! Little value! It just... is nothing!

Often when you set out to do a degree, it's a kind of... if I just get that degree, then I've got everything. And then you realise when you've got it... you don't know anything! It's like, it's the other side of it - when you don't have it, it seems like it's everything; but when you have it, you suddenly realise, it's not such a big thing at all!

Paul was motivated by the promise of a reward. Notice he said, that I might gain Jesus Christ. Now you think, wait a minute... haven't you already received Christ? Yes, he had. He was born again, so he had received salvation. He was saved. He was joined to Jesus, and the prospect of heaven was certain. But he's talking now about gaining a prize, which is a much deeper intimacy, a much deeper relationship, much deeper connection with Jesus Christ!

He says... if by any means I might do this. In other words, there's a possibility I might not make it, so I'm going to do everything I can, to make sure I get it. If by any means there's a possibility I may not win the prize... and so he goes on... not that I've already attained it, or am already perfect, but I press on to lay hold of this!

He said: now Christ has taken hold of me, because he has this in mind for me. Now I need to take hold of Jesus, that I might be ready, and prepared, and qualify for it. He says: I press towards the goal, for the prize of this high calling. If there's a high calling, then there's also a low calling!

He said this is a very high calling! It's the calling of God, to every believer - and it has to do with eternal rewards; and he said: it requires that I ‘press on’ towards that. I make a determined effort; and that I forget the things that have happened, or the successes of the past, or the issues of the past... and I press on towards that goal.

What is the prize? He implies the prize is winning Christ; and he implies also that the prize is by any means, I might attain to the resurrection from the dead.

This resurrection that he's referring to here, is not the second resurrection. In the general resurrection, everyone will rise from the dead. The word used here is different to the word normally used for resurrection; it's the word ek, meaning: out from; and astasis - resurrection. That I might attain, or reach out and gain, the out from resurrection - the resurrection that will lift me up, and out from everyone else.

He's referring to the first resurrection; and it's a prize that he considers to be won. Every person will rise from the dead. He's saying this: the first resurrection... and even after all he's done, he has no guarantee he will qualify!

In Revelations, it tells us a little bit about the first resurrection…

Revelations 20:5 - The rest of the dead did not live again until the 1000 years (or millennium) in Christ was finished. This is the first resurrection; and how blessed, and how holy, is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power; they shall be priests of God, and of Christ - they shall reign with Him on earth for 1000 years.

There are two resurrections. The first resurrection is a resurrection of reward. It's a prize to contend for, to qualify for; and the outcome of winning that, is that you are resurrected ahead of everyone else! You have a life on earth; and a resurrection body, in which you act as a representative of Christ, bringing order and change to the whole of the earth. I'll talk more about that in another teaching, where we talk about the millennial reign of Christ.

It is a great honour, it's a great blessing, it's a great privilege, it is a prize to be won - the first resurrection. Now regarding this first resurrection, I'll just make one more statement...

Much of the church does not understand that, it's a prize to be won! If you ask them, they don't even know there's two resurrections. They just consider everyone gets raised from the dead... and that's it! However, as we'll see in another teaching, the first resurrection is a prize to be contended with.

He says about the first resurrection: they shall be priests of God, and Christ and will reign with Him 1000 years. Now the promises, all the promises connected to reigning, sharing authority, bringing transformation to this world... always belong to overcomers! This is a promise given only to people who overcome - and that's another series I'll have to do - on the overcomers, what they overcome, and what's involved in all of that.

The next thing is, number four: Paul describes our life as a race, for a prize or reward.

1 Corinthians 9:24 - Do you not know that those who run in a race - all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way you may obtain it. Everyone who competes for a prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Thus, I run not with uncertainty; and I fight, not like one who beats the air. I discipline my body, and bring it into subjection, lest having preached to others, I might be disqualified.

Notice what he's saying. He's saying: our current life is like a race you run, with a prize in mind. Everyone is running this race, and there's an eternal prize to be won.

2 Timothy 4:7 - I have run my race, I have finished my course, henceforth is laid up for me a crown.

He was aware that, at the end of race, at the end of his life, that the prize had been won, and that it was for him! Of course, we have no guarantee that it’s for us until we've finished our course. He must have got revelation on it.

He was aware he could be disqualified. The word disqualified means: to be inspected, and not improved - considered unfit to win the prize. Think about that for a moment. If God is Just, then clearly, He must distinguish between people who passionately serve Him, who walk through His process of change and testing... and He must treat them in some way differently, to those who are casual, careless, where there's no prayer life. They're just casual Christians, who turn up at church, but have no commitment to serve... They're inconsistent in their walk. Clearly there's a distinction between those two kinds of people and, to be just, God must address that difference. Paul motivated people who served with the hope of eternal rewards.

Number five, Paul motivated people by pointing them to the reward. Here's a scripture: Colossians 3:22. He's talking to people who are in slavery - they've been captured, and now they're slaves. He doesn't say: rise up, and throw it off, and rebel. He says this…

Colossians 3:22 – Bondservants, obey in all things your masters, according to the flesh... (notice this) ...not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do - do it heartily, as if you were doing it to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you really are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

That’s an amazing scripture there, with a lot in it. I'll just drop a few thoughts out there. He says: servants… now obey, or yield, or submit to those who are over you. He's talking about their natural serving. They were forced to serve people - and those people were quite brutal, and quite harsh.

He says: in your serving, don't do your serving with eyeservice. What does that mean? Eyeservice means that you show off, when the boss is around. It means that you act in a certain way, when you know people are watching. Eyeservice means that I look out to see if anyone's watching, and then I up my game.

He says that when you're doing eyeservice, you're not genuine, you're pretending. Basically, you're doing it as a man-pleaser. You're trying to get the approval of men; and he says: in our service, whatever it happens to be, whether it's a big job, a little job, a tedious job, an insignificant job, an unseen job... whatever you do, in all things, don't operate trying to impress people.

Rather, have a sincere heart. Do it from the heart, out of a reverence that God is watching. Whatever you do, whatever task you have, do it full-heartedly, not negatively, not reluctantly, not half-heartedly, not with a bad attitude. Do it as if you're doing it to the Lord Himself, not to people.

The reason you can do that, is because you know God is watching you, and you know that you are in the process of qualifying for the reward of inheritance.

He starts to now talk about the reward being an ‘inheritance’ that you must qualify for. It's a reward. The key thing is, there is a reward. God is watching everything you do; but more than that, He's watching how you do it.

All of us have had an experience of people who are just slack - they're inconsistent. Their heart is not in things, they don't do things well. They have no revelation that all the behaviour is noticed by God, and that its disqualifying them for eternity.

Whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men - knowing of the Lord you receive the reward of inheritance - now that changes the way you look at every task. Whether people acknowledge it, or don't acknowledge it; whether they are happy with me, or unhappy with me; whether they see it, or don't see it - is irrelevant! God sees it all; and I am in my process of qualifying.

As we'll see in another session, our life now is not our main ministry. Our life now is our preparatory ministry. In the millennium, and in the ages to come, we enter our primary ministry. All that you do now is your apprenticeship, it’s preparing you. No one can decide how you will respond to the preparation process.

God's got lots of things in His preparation process, including being ignored, overlooked, treated unjustly, people carrying on like you've done nothing, others getting the reward for things you've done... all that kind of stuff! It's all about the development of your heart - that your longing, and desire, is to please the Lord.

The last one then, on this theme here, on that point is that Jesus motivated His disciples by the promise of eternal reward. In Matthew 19:27, Peter answered and said: we've left everything, and followed You - so what shall we get? That's a good question isn't it? We've sacrificed. We've given up a lot. We're serving You. We're whole-heartedly following You. We've given up our business, we've given up our lives to follow You. What are we going to get?

And I said I assuredly... (In other words, you can guarantee, you can write this on your shorts, you can guarantee it) ...I say to you that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on His throne of glory... (that when Jesus, that's the Son of Man, when He comes in His kingdom, and in His glory) ...you who have followed Me shall sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.

He's saying that in the coming kingdom, you will be with Me. You'll sit with Me. There will be 12 thrones, 12 realms of authority and rulership that I will give you; that you will rule over, and govern, on My behalf - the 12 tribes of Israel.

We know that Israel had 12 tribes; and although they've been scattered, they will be gathered; and those in charge of them, who will rule them, guide them, direct them, govern them... will be the 12 apostles.

When are these rewards to come? The rewards that God has in mind are eternal rewards. That means they're not temporary.

God does give temporary rewards. We are blessed with temporary rewards. We have a house, we have cars, friends, we have blessings, and favour - these are all temporary things. In the end, they all pass away, you leave them all behind. Everything you can see; if you can see it, and touch it, then it can be left behind; but there are also eternal rewards.

Eternal rewards are given to us at the second coming of Christ, when He comes again - and that's a whole teaching of its own, what that looks like, and what that will involve. Jesus taught this directly…

Matthew 16:27 - For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father and the angels, and He will reward each, according to his works.

He said: when the Son of Man comes, in the glory of His Father with His angels... (he's talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ, which is the great hope of the church) ...then He will reward each one. He's talking to His disciples, so every disciple, every follower of Christ, will face an encounter with the Lord; and at stake, will not be whether you go to heaven on earth, or heaven, or not. What's at stake will be: what level of reward (or not).

Revelations 22:12 - Behold, I am coming quickly, My reward is with Me, to give every one according to his works.

Notice there that it's our work, it's what we did; and we'll have to explore that a bit more, what's required of us, in another session. But notice the thing we're bringing out here, is that eternal rewards are connected to the coming of Jesus Christ. Both of those scriptures indicate that, and Jesus also taught the same thing in His parables.

When He taught in the parables, particularly Matthew 24 and 25, He taught about the second coming. They asked Him: when are You coming again; what are the signs of the End of the Age; what are the signs of You coming - and He gave several parables. Each one of the parables has to do with the issue of reward or loss at His coming.

The first one is the Parable of the Wise and Faithful Servant, Matthew 24:45-51. The issue there was how he handled himself in the house of God; and the issue is reward or loss. The reward is authority and responsibility in the coming kingdom.

Then from Matthew 24, it goes on to Matthew 25:1-13, the Wise and Foolish Virgins; and again, the issue of reward - some were rewarded, some lost the reward. What was the reward? Entrance to the celebration of the Marriage Supper of Jesus Christ.

The third one He mentioned is in Matthew 25:14-30, and it's about the faithful servant, or the productive servants. Again, the issue is reward or loss; and the reward offered there is authority and responsibility in the coming kingdom.

There are more like this. There's another one in Luke 19:11-27, also about the faithful servant, and the issue again is reward or loss; and the reward at stake is: authority over cities, to rule over groups of people in the coming kingdom, and establish God's order, and peace, and prosperity… in governance.

You understand then, that in being faithful over little, God responds with much. It's just like the: $2 now; or $1000 in a week. It's like, you just can hardly compare the two! All these parables are stories with a lesson, and all of them are parables about the kingdom, about the coming of the Lord, and the need to prepare. In every one of the parables there's reward. Some are rewarded; some lose their reward, and some suffer loss; but in every one of the stories, there are some actions people did, which others didn't do, that resulted in reward. All of these have in common: reward and loss; and the timing of it is to do with the coming of the Lord, the return of the Lord.

John saw it in End Times, in the Book of Revelation. In Revelations 11:15-16, he talks about the seventh angel sounding... and there were loud voices in heaven, saying: the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ - He shall reign forever.

It says... We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who was, and is, and is to come - you've taken Your great power, and reigned. The nations were angry. Your wrath has come, the time of the dead, they should be judged. And that You should reward Your servants, the prophets, the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great.

Notice, he connects: the seventh angel sounding, the coming of the Lord, and then... reward for the servants of the Lord. So those who have served the Lord faithfully will be rewarded. That brings us then to the next heading…

All our works will be Judged. God will evaluate the works of every believer!

The first thing is: everyone gives account of their works to the Lord - everyone! There's one appointment we will all keep, and it doesn't matter who we are. Our position is irrelevant; our title is irrelevant; our wealth is irrelevant. Every one of us must give an account of oneself to the Lord.

Romans 14:12 - So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:9 - We make it our aim, or our goal, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

This is motivating!

I want to bring pleasure to Him, for we must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the Body, according to what he's done - good or bad. Knowing the Fear of the Lord, we persuade men.

Again, there are not only two Resurrections; there are also two Judgements. The final judgement is the Great White Throne Judgement, found in Revelations 20:11-15; but this judgement, referred to here, is called the Judgement Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9). The Judgement Seat of Christ comes at the beginning of Christ's reign on the earth, and it is where believers are evaluated as to whether they qualify to enter that kingdom, that realm, and to be rewarded.

The second thing then is that all our works will be evaluated by Jesus. He's interested in our stewardship. After we got saved... What did you do with what was entrusted to you? In 1 Corinthians 3:10, and Paul is writing. He said:

According to the grace of God, which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I laid the foundation, and another builds on it.

Here's the warning: Let everyone take heed how he builds on it. No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear, or manifest, for the Day - that's the Day of the Lord - will declare it or it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test everyone's work (what sort it is).

That's a whole passage for me to go into more detail, but if I can pick up some key things in it…

The first is, his warning: everyone should take heed how you build - what you do. ‘Take heed’ means to carefully think about what you're doing, how your life is progressing, how you're building. He says: take heed how you build - in other words, the motivation, the principles that you're using to build your life - what lies in behind it.

He warns people; you can build on wood, hay, stubble. These are temporary things. The response of people, the claim of people, temporary reward - things that are just short term; and he says: these are things which are consumed by the fire, because they're all about what I can get. Gold, silver, precious stones... these will survive the fire - they are eternal.

For example, if I serve you in order to get something back - that is wood, hay, stubble; but if I serve you with no agenda but to bless you, and to honour Jesus in doing so - that is gold, silver, precious stones. You understand? The same work may have been done, but the motivation was different.

You think of people you know - they have all kinds of agendas for what they do. God sees all of that, and it's not all the things you do, but what motivates what you do - what is being manifested in what you do. Is selfishness, and self-centredness, and ambition being manifest? Or is there just a genuine love for people and love for Jesus? He can tell the difference. Usually people can too!

He says: people may get away with lots of stuff today, but at the coming of the Lord, it'll be tried by fire, and the fire will reveal what was concealed, or covered, or that you didn't see.

People may look like they have a great ministry. They may look important. They might look successful. They may look like they've done very well… but God looks on the heart, and sees what motivated them, what's going on - and whether this is built on the foundation of love for God and people; or whether it's built on an ambition, selfish ambition and desire to get themselves ahead. He sees the very core of our motivation and judges the works accordingly. He sees each work, what sort it is, its quality.

Then of course, he goes on to say: rewards and loss are possible. If anyone's work that is built endures, he will receive a reward. In other words, if you let God test your work, if you let Him access what you do, and He views it, then what He has in mind is: His desire is to reward you.

So basically, if you were to look at perhaps, a chain that's producing something, they do what they call quality testing. They take one out, and test the quality of it; and what they're looking for is: does it meet the maker's standard, or does it fall short? If it falls short, it's disapproved; and then you must adjust the process. If it passes, then it goes on.

He said: if anyone's work endures, He'll reward it. Anyone's work is burnt, he suffers loss, but he will be saved, yet even by fire.

Notice that the issue here is not being saved - both people are saved. The issue here is reward or loss. If the work is burnt, he suffers loss, but he's saved. He's saved, but he's done nothing of great value that would qualify him for the things God had in mind in eternity.

In other words, he failed his apprenticeship. He didn't put in the required labour to prepare himself, that he could be qualified. Take the example of a doctor or surgeon. What if a guy goes through medical school, but he fails all his exams, and doesn't turn up for the practicals - he's away for half of the classes? When he gets to the end of the year - he won't qualify.

Not qualifying means you didn't meet what was required, to put you into a position where you can be permitted to operate on people. Even when they come to be operating on people, there's still a process of internship around that area as well - same as with a dentist, or anyone doing an important job like that. You're not going to let someone operate on you who failed, who didn't pass - that makes sense.

Neither will God put into positions of authority and responsibility, and bring into intimacy, people who, throughout all their Christian walk, were self-centred, and ambitious, and had no heart for God and for His people. Make sense? It's about our stewardship, and how we've handled it.

What are the rewards? If I can just share with you what He has in mind, what are the rewards at stake, what is it He's offering. Each one of these is very big, and it will require me taking some time to show you what it will all be about.

I note firstly, that in the coming kingdom, not everyone is the same. We like to think everyone's the same. We like to think we're all equal. We even try to equalise one another out, try to get ahead of one another; but in the kingdom of heaven, in the kingdom of God, in the coming millennial kingdom, and all through eternity - people will occupy different realms of intimacy, or closeness and companionship, with Jesus. Now that's quite stunning!

If you've got no love for His presence now, then this is not something you'd want. But the more you are intimate with Him, the more you want of Him, the greater the hunger. In the coming kingdom, in eternity, people will have different realms of level of access to Jesus. Some will be very near to Him; some will be further away; some will be far away.

A simple way of looking at that would be: you have a prime minister, who runs the country. As a normal citizen, you don't get close access to them. You get access to their representatives - it's just practical. In the coming kingdom, it will be the same.

Secondly, there will be in that kingdom, different realms of service and authority and responsibility. God has in mind that, in the coming millennial kingdom, His people will occupy positions of authority and power and influence and will guide the courses of the nations. Cities, nations, communities - someone must guide it all.

Once you start to think about that, you realise - now I see why I'm just on an apprenticeship. Right now, if I can't handle what I've got, I'm in no way going to be qualified to do anything great in the coming kingdom. If you see yourself as being in an apprenticeship, then it doesn't matter what your assignment is.

Your assignment could be just your one child at school, and that's it - and you've got very little time for anything else, so that's where your assignment is. God watches that, and that's your qualifier. He watches what you do. He watches how you do it, and why you're doing it. He watches what you do in adversity. He watches the way you manage, and handle, and bring His life into it - as simple as that!

I don't need to compete with anyone for their position, or their assignment. Everyone has their own unique assignment and, even on this earth, as you are faithful and productive in your assignment, you get your assignment enlarged.

I had a season where I gave up a career, gave up security, gave up finances, gave up reputation, in order to start a school, which had a few, just a handful of kids in it - and that was my preparation process, qualifying for a larger, global ministry. People look at the global ministry, and they think: oh, I want that! How do I get that? What can I do to get there? They don't see that there were lots of little decisions, over the little things. You know, the managing of the tea, the cleaning the building - all the little stuff, cleaning the toilets, all the stuff I did. You understand, that's all part of it.

Then the third area is that there will be different realms of resurrection glory. People tend to think of just being raised from the dead; but when we're raised, each of us will be displayed in different levels of glory, in a way that everyone can see what kind of life we've lived.

No one knows what you're doing in secret; your secret pain, your secret struggles, your secret temptations, your secret fears, the pressures you've gone through, the loneliness you've walked through… but God sees it all; and in eternity, we will be surprised that He will ascribe to people that we would never have thought of, immense glory, because of the kind of life they lived before Him.

As you understand this teaching then, suddenly you've set your eyes on eternity. Eternity is real, the rewards are real; and everything I'm doing now is either: preparing me for it; or disqualifying me from it. It's got nothing to do with what anyone else is doing; it's got totally to do with my decision to live a life with Jesus at the centre, and to honour Him.

These rewards that He promises - they begin in the millennial reign of Christ

(the 1000 years when He rules on the earth, literally), and they go on for eternity. When you come to the point where that kingdom starts, whatever He decides, regarding you, is irreversible, and unchangeable. You are what you are, and you have qualified or disqualified; or qualified to a certain level, or whatever. That gives an incentive for all of us to be faithful, and productive, and do the very best with what we have.

Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do, do it from the heart unto the Lord, not with eye services pleasing men, knowing this: that God is preparing you for a reward.

The last section that I want to look at, is the Wise and the Foolish Builders. Jesus' conclusion in the Sermon of the Mount - His famous Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:6-7, in the context of this. Jesus concluded at the end of it…

Matthew 7:21-27 - "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father. Many will say to Me, in that day: Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name? We cast out demons in Your name. We did many wonders in Your name, and I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.

Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I liken him to a wise man who builds his house on the rock: the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on the house. It didn't fall, it was founded on a rock.

Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and doesn't do them, is like the foolish man built his house on sand; the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, beat the house and it fell down. It was a great fall."

Firstly, the context of the teaching… this is the Sermon on the Mount. He's teaching the heart required to operate in the kingdom. He's teaching the core heart values, and lifestyle, of the kingdom. He's teaching about the heart of the kingdom.

All His teaching there, in the beatitudes, are about the kind of heart you cultivate: a hungry heart, a humble heart, a meek heart, a pure heart… Then at the end of the sermon, He finishes it off, and He starts to talk about the coming millennial kingdom.

Part of God's kingdom is present with us now. In the millennium all of it will come in its fullness, and in great power, that will be irresistible. So now, He's talking about the entrance. Notice what He said, He uses these words:

On that day, many will say. When the Bible uses the term ‘that day’, it's referring to the second coming of the Lord to establish His kingdom. It's also called ‘the Day of the Lord’. It's also called ‘the Great and Terrible Day’ - it's great for some; and terrible for others.

The Day of the Lord is a period of time, not just a 24-hour day. When it says ‘that day’, it's talking about the coming of the Lord; and it refers to the period of time just before the millennial reign of Christ, when He'll shake the nations, and then His kingdom will manifest. Notice what Jesus warned His disciples: He said ‘many’!

Not everyone who says: Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom, he who does the will of my Father.

What He's saying is: there's something required of you; and not everyone who does things in the church is going to qualify. He said: many will say, in that day... many, many... "Whoa! We did miracles! We prophesied, cast out demons! He's saying: no, you don't qualify. I'll tell you why they didn't qualify, in a moment.

Notice then, that we're all builders, of some kind of house. Every one of us is a builder. The word ‘son’, and the word ‘daughter’, both come from the root ‘to build the Father's house’. Whenever God calls us ‘sons and daughters’, He's saying: we are builders.

The first house you build is your own life - your character, your heart. You are responsible for your heart attitudes, your heart values, for your character, and the development of your life. No one can do it for you.

We are builders of marriage. Marriages must be built, families must be built, finances must be built, business must be built, churches built... Nothing just happens. Ministries are built.

Jesus says then, the wise man and the foolish man - which are you? Both were building; and both, on the exterior, looked similar. They had similar materials, but it was the foundation was different. The exterior is what you can see; and the foundation is what you can't see - it's only seen by God. God looks at your heart. You may look successful, but He sees what it really is all made of.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, Jesus (the Lord) said to Samuel: don't look at the appearance, or the physical stature, for I have refused him. The Lord doesn't see like man sees - Man looks on the outward appearance; but God looks on the heart. God always looks on the heart.

No matter what you've built with your life, it's your heart God is interested in. Your exterior success is not nearly as important to God as what motivated it; or what was in your heart, as you did it.

Notice He says then: the storms come upon the wise man, and the foolish man - so no one is exempt from the storms. He said: the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on the house. Rain refers to divinely initiated storms. Rain comes from heaven. The rain that comes means that God initiates a storm, that uncovers what's going on in your life. Some storms come from God, and they expose what our life is like.

Now He says: floods came. Floods often refer to the actions of ungodly people. Some things that come against us - unkind, unloving, and often very hurtful mistreatment by people - they're the floods.

The winds refer to spirits - the pressure of demonic spirits. We can have storms come into our life that can come from God. They can come from people's behaviour towards us, bad treatment of us; or they can come from demonic spirits directly. But the storms will reveal what the foundation of your life is like, what you're built on.

Storms will come now, currently in life, and they're to grow you. But at the end, every storm is to expose the condition of your heart, to give you opportunity to change. At the end, He's saying that in the coming of the Lord, God's going to uncover the whole deal - what you really built.

Who is the wise man? The wise man built his house on the rock; but the foolish man built his house on the sand - what does that mean? Fortunately, Jesus explained exactly what it means to build your house on the rock. Now the Bible tells us in more than one place, that God is a rock.

Psalm 18:31 - Who is a God, except the Lord? Who is a rock, except our God?

In 1 Corinthians 10:4, it says: the rock is Christ.

When it's using rock - it's something that's stable, that can stand up to storms, because it's eternal in value. But Jesus in the passage says exactly what it means.

Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I'll liken them to the wise man who built his house on the rock.

We're not talking about everything Jesus is saying, although it can apply to that. He's saying: whoever hears these sayings of Mine. He's just concluding His Sermon on the Mount, so when He says: these sayings of Mine, it's referring to what He's just taught, which is about the heart values of the kingdom.

He said: whoever hears these heart values of the kingdom - what I require, to establish and build My kingdom - whoever hears, and puts those into his life, and applies them - that man is the stable man. That's the man who'll stand the test