Great Is Your Reward

     Only the Overcomer will be rewarded like this. It is more than unfortunate, it is regretfully grievous that a percentage of humanity will not receive this reward. Their reward for their unbelief is hell and the second death: thrown into the lake of fire. I do not want to see anyone there, whether I know them or not. I have a great love for my family and friends and wish only the best for them

     But I cannot make you a Christian. I cannot make you love Jesus. I cannot make you a believer. I have seen 'inspirational' posters which claim that "God believes in you". Pits of hell lie. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God believes in you and that everything is going to be okay. Everything is not going to be okay. God knows our heart, that doesn't mean He believes in you. Why did the prophet Samuel bypass all of David's elder brothers? They were intelligent, handsome, strong men. Their heart was in the wrong place: their hearts were not right with God.

     God rewards the faithful, the souls who overcome the temptation to be like everybody else. They who overcome great trials and tribulations to remain faithful to God in every aspect of their lives. It is not easy to be a Christian. We sacrifice our pleasures for what is pleasing to God. This is not to say that we don't have fun. We just don't disobey God to do it.

     The wages of sin is death. The wages of righteousness is  eternal life. The only righteousness that God cares about is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. When that righteousness is on us, covering us completely, God sees His Son on us. His righteousness far outshines ours. You may think you are 'good enough' to enter heaven; that perhaps God will pat you on the back and say, "You tried your best, come on in." You are wrong. You will never be good enough to enter heaven on your righteousness:

Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

     Without Jesus in your life now, the lake of fires is your destination later. There are no second chances after death. Noone can pray your soul out of hell after you die (Luke 16:26). There is no waiting place, no purgatory, no limbo. Your body will die once; your soul will die twice. You will know and be aware at all times of the qualities of the fire. We read in Luke 16:19-31 that the dead man in hell had all his senses and awareness: vs 23, he could see. vs 24, he can talk, he knows thirst, his soul is tormented in the flame and therefore his touch sensors are in overdrive, he begs for mercy. vs 25, he can hear. vs 26, he is made aware that it is impossible for any person to enter hell from heaven and vice versa. vs 27-31, nor will a person leave the comforts of heaven to warn others of  the coming disaster on unrighteous living. And there will be no relief. Ever.

     I hear your disbelief that I would say such things. I feel your anger and your fear. But you know in your heart, that what I say is true, because the Word of God is Truth and Faithful. God keeps His promises. Every blessing, every reward, for faithfulness God gives to His children. Every curse, every punishment, for unfaithfulness God gives to those who refuse to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord of All, who refuse to believe on the Name of Jesus.

     Only One Person would leave heaven willingly, and that Person is Jesus. He is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). He is God (John 1:1). He took on the form of a person, and lived among us (John 1:14). This Person, Jesus Christ, came first to the Jews, to deliver the message of repentance and belief on His Name, but was rejected by many of them (Matthew 8:34; 11:20; 12:14; 13:54-58; 22:15-16, 23; 26:3,4, 14-16, 59, 67-68; 27; 28:11-15) There are many more references throughout the other three gospels of Christ being rejected by God's chosen people. Feel free to search the Bible for yourselves.

     Acts 3:12-19 relates Peter's description of how the man he had just healed was healed. (vs12)"And when Peter saw it (how the crowds marvelled), he answered them, 'You men of Israel, why do you wonder at this (healing)? or why do you stare so intensely at us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? (vs13)The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus; whom you delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. (vs14) But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; (vs15) And killed the Prince of life, whom God has raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

      (vs16) And His Name through faith in His Name has made this man strong, whom you see and know: yes, the faith which is by Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. (vs17) And now, brethren, I know that through ignorance you did it (denied the Christ), as did also your rulers. (vs18) But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He has so fulfilled. (vs19) Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."

     Isn't this awesome stuff! we are reading? But see verse 23? Great is your reward if you do not believe on the Name of Jesus Christ. "And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people."

     You see how the few have rule over the many in life. The leaders of that time wanted nothing to do with Jesus and they enforced their decision to deny Him by having Him beaten and viciously crucified.  The people's response then? Matthew 25:27 "His blood be on us, and on our children."

     This blood, the blood which flowed from the beaten, broken, mutilated body of Christ was purchased for thirty pieces of silver. The blood of the Lamb of God, which God provided as an eternal atonement for the sins of the world (John 1:29). Though Satan thought to destroy Jesus through death, it is through life that the works of the devil are destroyed.

     By overcoming temptation in the wilderness through the spoken Word of God, Jesus Christ showed us how to overcome temptation. By overcoming death and the grave, Jesus Christ became The Way for us to have eternal life through Him; thereby enabling the believers to overcome death and the grave. The overcomers will share in the rewards that Jesus Christ will render unto them. Why? Because the blood of Jesus Christ not only covers us so God can see us, but it washes away our sins and makes us clean and whole. We are a new person in Christ.

     Which are you? Overcomer? Or unbeliever? On what do you base your stance for what you believe to be true? Are you willing to bet your life on it? Remember, the unbeliever will always ridicule, torture, imprison and/or kill the believer. I would rather go to jail for my faith in the Name of Jesus Christ, than have no faith and go to hell.

     I am an overcomer. I am a believer. And, though I am anticipating the rewards I will be given, I am greatly anticipating seeing the Reward-Giver even more! I can't hardly wait to see Jesus face to face.

Great is my Reward