THE REWARDS OF SERVING
This morning I am going to conclude my series of sermons that I have been preaching during this past month on the topic of "being a servant".
I pray that this series has been beneficial to your Christian growth, and that it has stimulated you to improve your service to the Lord. In this series, we have concentrated most of our attention on what Matthew 5:1-16 says in relationship to serving the Lord. In that passage we examined the eight Characteristics Jesus outlined of a servant and the kind of influence we, as servants, can have on the world.
This morning the title of my sermon is, "The Rewards Of Serving", and our text is found in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.
Serving Jesus Christ is the most rewarding thing you can do. It not only has its temporal rewards here on earth, but also its eternal rewards in heaven.
Here in our text we find Paul speaking to the church in Corinth on the topic of eternal rewards. I would like us to notice four biblical facts about rewards that Paul mentions in this passage.
First, we are told that rewards are given on the basis of an individual's work - (vs 13a) "each man's work".
Second, he says that rewards are given in heaven, not on earth - (vs 13b) "will become evident" (vs 14b) "he shall receive a reward".
Third, rewards are given on the basis of the quality of an individual's work, and not on the quantity. - (vs 13d) "the quality of each man's work".
Today, we as human beings, are impressed with how much a person does, but God looks at the quality and motive behind a person's work. That means that every servant of Christ has an equal opportunity to receive a reward. The elderly in our church who pray for the lost will be rewarded, just as those who actively do door-to-door evangelism or witness to their friends at work or school. The person who simply gives a cup of water to someone will be rewarded, just as that person who sacrifices all they have for the cause of Christ.
And fourth we are told that rewards can be lost - (vs 15). Since rewards are earned on the basis of a person's work, it only stands to reason that they can also be lost if a person does not serve Christ properly.
Revelation 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. (NIV)
2 John 1:7-8 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. (NIV)
OUT OF THIS LIFE
Out of this life I shall never take
Things of silver and gold I make.
All that I cherish and hoard away
After I leave, on the earth must stay.
Though I have toiled for a painting rare
To hang on my wall, I must leave it there.
Though I call it mine and I boast its worth
I must give it up when I quit the earth.
All that I gather and all that I keep,
I must leave behind when I fall asleep.
And I wonder often what I shall own
In that other life, when I pass alone.
What shall they find and what shall they see
In the soul that answers the call for me?
Shall the great Judge learn, when my task is through
That the spirit had gathered some riches, too?
Or shall at the last it be mine to find
That all I had worked for I'd left behind?
This morning, I would like us to examine five eternal rewards that we as children of God can receive if we serve the Lord properly. These rewards are described as crowns within the Bible.