There is available to
you a great reward, above and beyond all you could ever ask or
think. It will never fade, grow old, or break.
This enduring reward
is for the enduring.
32 But recall
the former days in which, after you were illuminated (born again), you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33 partly
while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and
partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; 34 for
you had compassion on (the
prisoners) me in
my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of
your goods, knowing that you have a better
and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. 35 Therefore
do not cast away (blind Bart, Mark 10:46-52) your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For
you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of
God, you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet
a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
(vs 37-38 quote from Habakkuk 2:3-4)
39 But we
are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those
who believe to the saving of the soul.
Recall
the former days. Can you remember back when you were first illuminated, first born again? You may
remember the day and hour the Lord came in and changed your life.
And then some may
say, “I don't even remember when I became a Christian.” I was raised in a
Christian home. I was brought up believing in Jesus and I simply grew into
knowing and loving and serving Him.
Like that question we
often ask couples: “So, how did you two meet?”
How you came to know
Christ is your story. You should intentionally remember it. It’s your and His,
HIStory.
Remember
the former days.
Remember the things that we've been through. Good and bad. Smooth and bumpy.
Better or worse. Richer or poorer. Before Christ and after.
Remember
the former days. Revelation
2:4- 5. The first letter to the seven Churches, Jesus tells us to do the same
thing.
“I know
your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those
who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and
are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have
persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and
have not become weary.
So far so good,
you’re doing a good job, I appreciate it, thank you. But something’s missing.
You’re going through the motions, but your heart is no longer in it. The spring
in your step, the gleam in your eye, the smile on your face, the joy on your
face, is gone.
This is not good. We
need to talk.
4 Nevertheless I have this against
you, that you have left your first love.
Jesus didn’t go
anywhere. He’s still committed to the relationship. He still loves you more
than you could ever imagine.
But you left.
For whatever reason you let your heart grow cold, apathetic, distant.
He’s still waiting,
reaching, knocking, calling...
But you no longer
remember the former days.
So He says:
5 Remember
therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first
works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from
its place—unless you repent.
Lampstand represents the Church. (Revelation 1:20).
If you’ve left
your First Love (Jesus), and don’t repent, one day He will come quickly and
remove the Church... and you’ll be left behind.
Remember
your former days,
Psalm 103:1-5.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with
good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Forget not. Remember
the former days in which after you were illuminated. Jesus said at the last
supper, do this in remembrance of me. Do you remember what you've come
through? Do you remember what He’s done for you?
My sister, journals.
It's a great way to help us remember. On this date, God did that. On this date,
the Lord said this. On this day, I prayed this, and lo and behold, the Lord
answered.
Remember
the former days after you were illuminated. You endured a great struggle, a
great fight of affliction. What
they went through is an example for us.
We have struggles in
our country, persecution against Christians, it’s going to get worse, but
currently nothing compared to what our Church founding fathers went through.
They had to
acknowledge Caesar is God to be allowed into the marketplace. In other words,
they were unable to buy and sell unless they became politically correct.
One day that will
mean taking the mark of the beast, selling your soul, so you can eat.
Revelation 13:16-17. (Pray you escape this Great Tribulation).
They became
impoverished outcasts and martyrs. Our word “martyr” comes from the Greek word
martus, which means, witness. So many witnesses for Christ were killed, the
word for witness came to be akin to martyr.
How did they handle
it? (remember they are our examples).
They joyfully
accepted the plundering of their goods. (Hebrews 10:34).
If someone breaks
your car window because of your Jesus bumper sticker, how would you handle it?
Joyfully? Prayerfully. Or curse the person and damn them to hell?
For being a disciple of Christ. For preaching the
gospel...
Matthew was martyred by
the sword in Ethiopia
Mark was dragged to
death by horses through the streets of Alexandria, Egypt.
Luke was hanged in
Greece.
John was boiled in
oil, but miraculously survived, so he was exiled to the prison Island of
Patmos, where he penned the prophetic Book of Revelation, and was the only
apostle to die of old age.
Peter was crucified
upside down, feeling unworthy to die as Jesus.
James, leader of the
church in Jerusalem, was beaten to death after he survived being thrown from
the pinnacle of the Temple.
James the Son of Zebedee
was beheaded by Herod in Jerusalem. His faith convicted his executioner to
convert and accept the same fate.
Andrew was crucified in
Greece, and preached Jesus to his tormentors until his last breath.
Bartholomew
was a missionary to Armenia where he was flayed alive.
Thomas preached all the
way to India until stabbed to death with a spear.
Matthias was stoned and
then beheaded.
Paul was beheaded by
Nero in Rome. His writings, from prison, continue to change the world.
Others had trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they
were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about
in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they
wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Of
whom the world was not worthy.) Hebrews 11:36-38
None of them, not even one, renounced their faith.
Light shines brightest in the darkest night.
If that’s the price
of being a disciple, would you still be in?
Could you joyfully accept these things knowing
you have a better and an enduring possession. Hebrews 10:34.
Is your relationship
with Jesus better than everything else?
If you lost
everything, would you still hold fast to Jesus and feel like you've lost
nothing?
Is there an earthly
possession or relational possession, that would be a deal breaker? If God takes
my spouse or my child or my loved one or my job or my money or my health, then
that’s it, I'm through.
Is that the case?
We must examine our
hearts.
Is there something or
is He the better, the best, the enduring possession? He must be number one
priority and they are our example. They went through all these things, became
martyrs, became impoverished, and they held fast.
Even though, they
were sorely tried and tempted to give up. That’s why Hebrews was given. To tell
them to hold fast, to The Anchor that holds and endures, forever.
Proper perspective is
powerfully important. You see, this life is but a vapor. We're here today, gone
tomorrow.
So, if it's not so
great on this earth, so what, we can endure.
Jesus said (John
16:33), “In this world you will have tribulation—” We will have a great
fight of affliction. “—but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
We're in a wrestling
match. We're in a race. So don’t be surprised if they’re trying to outrun you.
Don’t freak out if they’re trying to pin you. They’re supposed to. It’s a race.
It’s a fight. Opponents are inevitable.
Fight the Good fight
for the prize. Run the race to win.
If you
don’t quit, you win.
Weary not
in well doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not. Galatians 6:9
We will struggle.
It's not a lack of
God's ability.
It’s for our
accountability. We are in the battle we put ourselves in when we rejected Him
way back in the Garden. And every single day since then.
We were doomed for
destruction.
God is Love. He sent
His Son. Jesus came and fought and won. Now we simply need to pick up our cross
and follow Him off the battlefield.
Don’t drop the cross,
even though it gets heavy, keep your eyes on the Prize, and keep putting one
foot in front of the other.
Hebrews
10:35, Therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great
reward.
Hebrews
11:6, Without faith, it's impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God
must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently
seek Him."
Do not
cast away. There’s a great
fight of affliction to get you to cast off Christ. Just take a break,
indulge just a little, you deserve it, no need to be so diligent, relax, cast away...
That’s the door for
leaving your First Love, to lukewarm, apathy.
Do not go
there!
No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62.
If anyone
wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and
follow Me. Matthew 16:24.
There is
available to you a great reward, above and beyond all you
could ever ask or think. It will never fade, grow old, or break.
However, this
enduring reward is only for the enduring.
He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6).
Moses understood the
riches of Egypt couldn’t compare to God’s Great Reward.
By
faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach
of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to
the reward. Hebrews 11:24-26.
Moses is our example.
The disciples are our
example.
God is in the middle
of it all cheering us on, toward the reward waiting for those who endure to the
end.
Cast away is one word in the original
text and only used one other time in Scripture, in Mark 10:50. Blind Bartimaeus
was on the roadside begging when he heard Jesus was passing by. So, he shouted,
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” They told him to shut up. But Jesus
told them to tell him to come to Him. So, blind Bart immediately cast
away his garment and went to Jesus. Before you can blink, Blind Bart
was blind no more and following Jesus.
That garment he cast
away was his government issued welfare cloak that said, “I’m blind, I’m a
victim, all I can do is beg.” But Something told him he had a better,
enduring, eternal reward awaiting. All he had to do was cast away
that old victim identity and follow the Victor.
The Lord told the
Hebrews not to cast away the cloak of Christ and return to
the blindness of Judaism.
Dear Church, the Lord
calls, to put on the Lord Jesus and never cast away, for the blindness of
religion or the bondage of pleasure for a season.
For after you
have done the will of God, you will receive the enduring promise.
After.
After you win the fight, you get the prize.
After you finish the job, you get paid.
After the labor pains, you receive the baby.
After enduring, you receive the enduring reward.
“For yet
a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
Hebrews
10:37-38.
Take one step into
eternity, and look back, you’ll see our time here is but a blip, a breath, a vapor.
So what if the chair
is uncomfortable. So what if pictures are ugly. This is just the dressing room
to prepare to meet the Groom.
In a little
while He will come.
Then, we enter Life.
Are you ready?
Let’s pray,
Lord
Jesus, we pray we’re ready. If not, please let us know. Give us strength to
endure and not draw back so we and all those You’ve given us, will hear You
say, “Well done”
We love
You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
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Reward, Hebrews 10:32-39
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