Mars Hill Fellowship

MESSAGE |

In Pursuit, Understanding our Godly Reward

SERIES |

LIVING WISELY IN TURBULENT TIMES | A Study in James 1

SCRIPTURE |

Mark 10:29-30; Hebrews 10:35-36

SPEAKER |

Pastor Joseph Ardayfio

KEY THEME |

As disciples of Christ, we can live with  full assurance that God rewards those who are faithful in their calling, but the temporal rewards are not the main pursuit, they are signs of knowing that our confidence is properly placed. 

1)     We are all motivated by various things in life.  Our motivations help us to achieve feats that we would not be able to do without the motivation.

2)    A balanced Christian disciple is motivated by the recognition that divine rewards (earthly and heavenly) are not the objective but they are the means by which we can judge where we put our faith, trust and confidence.

Motivation of Sacrifice

1)    Ultimately, the sacrifices that we make are either for ourselves or for Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Only true sacrifice for Jesus Christ and the Gospel will be rewarded in the end.

Nature of Sacrifice/Reward

1)    God does provide earthly rewards to those who continue in faithfulness, but we must give those rewards their proper place. We do this by understanding the difference in the character, the sufficiency and the manner of achievement of earthly rewards.

2)    While we can enjoy earthly rewards, we cannot let earthly rewards possess us or it will rob us of our heavenly rewards.

Seasons of Reward

1)    God does not give us a formula for the proportion of rewards we will receive on earth vs. heaven, but He does promise that all of the seasons will come to culmination in an age to come.

2)    In the age to come, there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain, because the old order of things will have passed away. All things become new.

thoughts for further study

1)      What differentiates earthly rewards vs. heavenly rewards?

2)      How does our understanding of Godly rewards affect how we live our Christian Faith?

3)      What can you do to make sure that you do not throw away your confidence and trust in God?