God Gives Rewards to His People According to His Judgment

Sermon on Matthew 19:27-30

God gives rewards to His people according to His judgment.

Obedience often brings rewards in this life; but obedience and immediate reward are not always linked.

If that were the case, than good people would always be rich, and suffering would always be a result of sin. As believers, our true reward is God’s presence and power through the Holy Spirit.

Our reward comes in eternity; we are rewarded for our faith and service in this world.

If we received material rewards for every faithful deed in this world, we would be tempted to boast about our achievements and act out of wrong motivations.

We would fail to give glory to God for our success.

Jesus assured His disciples that anyone who gives up something valuable for His sake will be repaid many times over in this life, although not necessarily in the same way.

A person may face rejection by family for accepting Christ, but will gain the larger family of believers.

We may even discover that others who see our transformation may themselves be lead to Christ.

Jesus turned the world’s values upside down when he began His ministry.

If we look at the most powerful or well-known people in our world, how many of them got to where they are by being mild-tempered, self-effacing and gentle? Not many!

But the message of today’s Gospel says that in the world to come, the last will be first, if they were last because they followed Jesus.

We cannot afford to forfeit eternal rewards for the temporary benefits of today.

We must be willing to make sacrifices now for the greater rewards of tomorrow.

Are you willing to accept disapproval by man for the approval of God?

We must all consider our answer wisely.

My brothers and sisters we are all getting older, each of us is getting closer to facing our own mortality. We all have some ailments.

In our last years, with growing infirmities, pain, and discomfort, let us paraphrase JFK and say "Ask not what Jesus and our loved ones can do for us; ask what we can do for Jesus and our loved ones".

Let us be an example of cheerfulness in the face of adversity.

Let us singwith the Angels as we endeavor to be more like Jesus in the years we have left.

Let others marvel at the beauty of His Songs and not dwell on all the negativity, doubts, and fears of our approaching mortality.

In the beginning we lived in the eternity of the Garden of Eden, until we gave in to Satan’s temptation.

We then became mortal, experiencing death and the wages of sin.

The early humans were not obedient to the Creator God.

Our disobedience and mortalityrequired Jesus to come down from Heaven.

He become God in man, and perfectly died for us, to show us that when we cantruly repent and believe in Him.

We can pass through death to salvation, to eternal life in Heaven.

Let our forgiven hearts Sing with the Angels for all to hear.

LetGod bless the lives of our loved ones, as they willingly care for us.

Let ussingwith the Angels to Jesus, in Heaven.

Let us pray,

ALMIGHTY God, who alone gave us the breath of life, and alone can keep alive in us the holy desires that you impart; We ask you, for your compassion’s sake, to sanctify all out thoughts and endeavors; that we may neither begin an action without a pure intention nor continue it without your blessing. Grant that, having the eyes of the mind opened to behold things invisible and unseen, we may in heart be inspired by your wisdom, and in work be upheld by your strength, and in the end be accepted by you as your faithful servants; through Jesus Christ our Savoir. Amen