Christ’s Rewards are Shared with Disciples

“⁴⁰Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ⁴¹The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” – Matthew 10:40-42 (ESV)

I am continuing my study of the word “disciple” and this morning I am still in Matthew 10 as Jesus is directly speaking to, instructing, and guiding His disciples. A disciple can only be like his teacher as Jesus indicates when speaking to them (Matthew 10:24-25a). And that carries forward in the rewards that are received as a result of being a disciple and doing the work of Christ.

In the above verses, we see that as we do the work of Christ, we are working on His behalf and we are received as Christ is received. We are treated as Christ is treated. And we are rewarded as Christ is rewarded.

The reward that we receive is as Christ would receive for the work. That reward could be persecution or consolation. Either way, we can expect a “shared” reward with Christ. The reward is shared as remember, we are like Jesus and as such we receive as He receives. We do not share our reward with Christ in the sense that we are allowing Him a portion of our reward, we receive a share of His reward for being disciples of Jesus.

I am embarking on a discipleship journey this week to be more like Christ every day. I had not really thought of being rewarded as a share of Christ’s reward until reading and studying this morning. I am proud to be a follower of Christ and have a better understanding of my reward as a result. My reward is not my own, but a share of the reward of Christ.

What is your thought on the reward you receive? Are you looking at things from the selfish side and the reward is all yours? What if you approached the work you do for Christ as being his disciple and knowing that the reward you receive is a share of the reward He receives?

The LORD Rewards According to the Heart

“²³…And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of your according to your works.” – Revelation 2:23b (ESV)

I have to remember that the LORD is looking in my heart. He is searching for the works that I have performed in this world, and where those works started from. It is up to me to ensure that all of the works that I am performing in this world are coming from my heart and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

“¹⁹I know your works, you love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.” – Revelation 2:19 (ESV)

Here we see the Revelation of Jesus Christ and is related to the Church in Thyatira. We see that He knows the works performed and the order of those works in the lives of the church. We should be looking for similar words from the LORD about us. We should seek to ensure that our works today are greater than our works of yesterday and that those works are driven from our heart which is filled by the LORD and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Whether we are guided from our heart by the world or by the Holy Spirit, we are rewarded in heaven for that work. When guided by the world, we are rewarded with the wrath of God. When guided by the Holy Spirit we are rewarded with treasures in heaven. But regardless, our reward is from the LORD and specific to each of us according to the works found to have come from our heart.

What works are guided from you heart? Are you proceeding to please the world? What if you were to proceed as guided by the Holy Spirit to the Glory of the LORD?

Righteousness Rewarded

“⁸Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4:8 (ESV)

Paul was the LORD’s great evangelist. He did not work of God without concern for himself as was evident by the amount of time he was imprisoned and also executed for that work. He only looked forward to His time in heaven and knew that God appreciated his work and would recognize him for it when he arrived in heaven.

I know, I have been saying that we are not given the right to declare ourselves righteous, and yet here is Paul indicating that he would receive the “crown of righteousness”. How can he declare it so? Well, he is not. Paul knows the work that he has done and the dedication to the LORD he has and therefore is declaring that as God sees it He will declare it so. Paul was not doing the work to get the reward, he was doing the work as he had already been rewarded.

Paul knew that the chains of persecution would be coming off. They were there due to his dedication to the LORD. He was well aware of the way to have them removed in this world, and yet he persisted with his love and dedication and work to God. Paul worked for the LORD all the way to his death and never gave in to the world.

I wonder if I have dedicated myself to the LORD as Paul did. I know that I have not endured the same type of persecution as Paul, although it does still exist. I wonder if I am and will be dedicated to the work to my death and never give in to the world.

I can only do the work that God gives to me. I may not be traveling the world to spread the gospel, but I can do so here where I am. Our church mission is to have “A gospel movement that reaches every person in the hill country and is carried to the ends of the earth.” And from this I get that my role is to reach everyone I can where I am. I will have the chance to reach the one to carry it forward, I am to be focused on the work here where I am.

Yes, because of this medium my evangelism may reach you where you are. I am grateful for the chance to share with each of you. I am focused on my study of God’s Word and declaring my thoughts. In this world today, that affords me the chance to get those thoughts to the world. This is me doing the work where I am. This is me reaching you who has the chance to carry the gospel where you are. I know that not everyone is next door to me and that some are being reached all over the globe. To you I say spread the gospel where you are.

My actions will be rewarded by the LORD. I will be awarded that which He declares. I can only do the work here and know that I have done that work and rely on God to see and recognize as He sees fit when I arrive in heaven.

What work are you doing? Are you giving in to the world? What if you were to just do the work, knowing that you will be recognized and awarded for that work when you arrive in heaven?

Accept the Father’s Discipline

I know, who wants to be disciplined. Who wants to be rebuked and corrected. Who wants to be pushed to be better and more effective. Well this guy does.

In the mornings, I get up early and get some exercise. Now mind you, I am not a super fit guy and frankly, I am sure that those who are would not really consider the exercise I get as doing much for them. But, each morning I push myself to be better than the day before, and am excited when I best things by even the smallest of margins. Sometimes just getting up and getting out is besting things so I am excited for those just as much. Now, how is it that I am able to get and do in the mornings, but through discipline. Thankfully I have some willpower to do them, yet if not, I would seek out someone to hold me to account at getting better, just as one does when they hire a personal trainer.

Well, the Father is my spiritual personal trainer. He holds me to account so that I get better, at least better than the day before. And yes, sometimes it is better by the smallest of margins, but it is better none the less. I have to seek out my personal trainer and the discipline to get better and where it may not be super fun in the moment, the results are great to behold.

“⁹Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” – Hebrews 12:9-11 (ESV)

Our Father in heaven is here to train us in the glory of the gospel. He wants us to be strong and courageous in our work for Him. The way we do that is with the discipline to continue, even when things get hard. He will not make things easy for you and me. We will struggle with getting through. We will endure pain and frankly will fall into the trap of avoiding things just because they are hard. But those are the times when we seek Him out to hold us to account and maintain our discipline to press forward for His glory and now our own.

Only the Father will hold us to account for His work, and only when we are in His arms. I have to ensure that I will have the Father on my side and be lifted by Him and the way I do that is to dive into His Word and work to understand where I stand as His son. I have to remember that regardless of how hard things might be in the moment, He is allowing the hard to toughen me in the moment to reward me in His time.

What are you working toward that is hard? Are you out there going it alone? What if you engaged with the Father to hold you to account and press you to completing so that you will be rewarded for your work?