Greater Inheritance (Part 3)
Forfeiting Our Reward
In God’s plan, everything in life works together for our benefit. As we have looked at
beforehand, it is our eternal benefit God has in mind. Sometimes what benefits today also
has eternal rewards as well. However, many times what seems to be a loss today is
actually the greater benefit in our lives. The greater benefit frequently comes through
hardship. Would it really be for our good if God gave us what we wanted even if it is
contrary to the kingdom of God? What would be a gain would in the end be a loss. If we
miss out or suffer in this life, but the reward is eternal, can we truly call it a loss? If losing
something or missing out means inheriting God’s best, it is not a loss, but it is a gain. Yet
today this is a foreign concept to God’s people. We abhor suffering, sacrifice and trials.
Because we don’t see the goal of heaven, the church gladly forfeits eternal rewards for
immediate benefits. There are three primary ways that we forfeit our reward that we will
study in this final section.
1. Choosing the World
Begin by looking at 1 John 2
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of
God abides forever.
Things are not bad. The things of the world become ungodly when they are taken outside
of God’s intended design or become the objects of our affection. The world is the culture
around us that lives contrary to the principles of God. The world puts high value on
worthless things. Lust is an unhealthy desire that turns our allegiance away from God.
We can lust after anything. Lust can be sexual, or lust can be a desire for goods or
pleasures. We can lust after the lifestyles of the rich and famous or we can lust after a
doll collection. The lust of the flesh is a desire for sexual gratification outside of God’s
design. The lust of the eyes is a want for material things. The pride of life is to stand in
our own wisdom and understanding. By pride, we disobey God because we believe we
know better. By pride we justify our sins. By pride we neglect prayer because we don’t
feel a need God. Pride is doing it `my way’.
We can even choose the world with spirituality or religion. Look at James 4:
2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight
and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on
your pleasures.
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is
enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God.
We are commanded to ask. The Bible says that we don’t have because we don’t ask. But
then it follows up with an emphasis on having the right perspective. We are not to be
drawn away from God because we lust after the world, and we are also not to use God as
a means to fulfill our lusts or selfish desires. The perspective is always the same - either
our heart is in the world, or our heart is in the things of God. If we try to marry religion
with the world, we still have the world - even if we call it a blessing of God. Verse 3
makes it clear that you can ask, but you will not receive it the motivation is to gratify
your desire for the world. The reason is in verse 4: to be friends with the world is to be an
enemy of God. Can we ask God to give us what is in direct opposition to Him? 1 John 5
confirms this passage as well:
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we have asked of Him.
We have confidence that God hears and grants our requests because we are not asking for
selfish motives, but we have the eternal perspective and are seeking God’s will.
Sometimes we call it God’s will when we are really seeking our own. Seeking God’s will
is looking beyond this life and taking joy in God’s will and what He is doing to reach
others through us.
2. Lacking in Faith
Because people don’t really believe God, we often forfeit the `promise’ for the
`temporal’. When we struggle, we see if we truly have faith. Look at Hebrews 3:
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in
departing from the living God;
13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast to the end,
15 while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts
as in the rebellion."
16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of
Egypt, led by Moses?
17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned,
whose corpses fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those
who did not obey?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
God’s own people did not inherit the promise because of unbelief. This passage points
back to the exodus from Egypt and the time Israel was at the point of inheriting the
promise God set apart for them. God gave them everything they needed to inherit the
promise. He delivered them from bondage, led them, protected them, provided for them,
and showed them His power. The only thing the people of God had to do is trust God and
follow Him by faith. When they would have inherited the promise, they rejected it. The
reason was that they didn’t believe God could or would do what He promised. In His
anger, God swore that none would inherit the promise. They forfeited the promise
because they had no faith. There was nothing to name or claim. God had already named it
and provided it. God put them to the test to show whether they truly believed.
It was no different then than it is today. God puts us to the test to reveal our faith. Can we
lay aside gratification for the moment because we believe God will provide? Are we
willing to take a wrong because God promised He would repay us beyond measure? Are
we willing to suffer persecution or exclusion because our reward will be great? In all
honesty, usually the answer is no. The Bible calls this an evil heart of unbelief. It is sin to
disbelieve what God has said. This applies to both commands and the promises. A heart
of unbelief is a forfeit of the promise that God set aside for us. People who have no depth
to their faith will fall away when they are tested. Look at Mark 4:
16 "These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the
word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 "and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.
Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately
they stumble.
18 "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the
word,
19 "and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for
other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Both of these examples of failure that Jesus gave are based on unbelief. Those who have
no root in faith are only looking at circumstances. They only endure while they are
getting what they expect and their desires are being fulfilled. When trouble arises, they
blow away and turn back. They can’t trust God enough to look beyond the problem to see
that God is working for their good.
The second example is similar. These people are not struggling outwardly but are dead
inwardly. They look at the riches of the world and can’t see the true riches of God’s grace
and His plan for their life. They will only go where the `blessing’ is, therefore they are
choked and will not grow to maturity. This type of Christian will never see that the true
blessing is conforming to the image of Christ so that God can fulfill His plan in their life.
They are deceived by wealth and a desire for the things of the world. The Bible calls this
person an unfruitful person. In other words, they never accomplish anything for God’s
purpose and nothing in their life will endure for eternal benefits.
3. Laboring for Praise
Another way we forfeit our reward is to work for the praise of men and not for God. The
Bible says that when God sees our faithfulness in secret, He will reward us openly.
However, the Bible also warns of the opposite. Look at this example Jesus gave in
Matthew 6:
1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by
them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory
from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3 "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your
right hand is doing,
4 "that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret
will Himself reward you openly.
5 " And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen
by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your
door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you openly.
How many times to we see Christians jockeying for positions of status? When people
don’t get the credit they feel they deserve, they become angry. Most divisions within a
church will be over issues of pride and selfish fulfillment. When someone works to
obtain a position of status, this is the reward for their labors. Just like an investment in the
world, this will pass when our life passes. Nothing eternal has been accomplished. The
person who prays to be heard, gives to be seen, serves to be praised or sounds their own
trumpet has already inherited what they are due. They are not serving God, they are
serving themselves. It may be good deeds and valuable service, but if the motivation is
for self, then it is not for God.
Everyone needs encouragement and everyone needs a sense of value and belonging.
However, when the motives behind our actions are our benefit, we are not seeking to
build the kingdom of God. We are seeking our own domain. It is good to praise others
and honor those who labor. If someone feels like they have been taken for granted, they
can become discouraged. It is our role to lift others higher than ourselves. When someone
is rising up, we should give them a boost rather than feeling threatened and standing in
their way. God lifts up and God casts down. The last thing we want is to be in a position
of fighting against what God is doing in someone’s life or ministry.
Our inheritance was not intended to be the praise of men or the status of the world. If
God chooses to exalt us, we should take that honor with fear. If we fall in love with praise
and honor, we are forfeiting the greater praise of God. One day God will openly reward
us and honor those who lay down their lives and exalt the name of Jesus Christ. No honor
can be lost when we humble ourselves for the sake of Christ. Everything we lay down
will be returned to us beyond measure. God may bless us in this life, but the blessing we
look for lies beyond this life. The longing of every believer should be the day when we
all stand before Christ and give an account. If we live this life in belief, we will live for
an eternal perspective and this life will have its rightful perspective. When we live for
heaven, we will always be satisfied on earth - even if we don’t own a dime.
I’m not saying that God doesn’t want us to have good things in this life. I am saying that
it does not matter one way or the other on an eternal scale. Whether someone rich or poor
financially does not affect their spiritual life. According to scripture, the advantage is to
the poor unless a poor man submits himself to envy. God gives to each person according
to His plan and their abilities. Wealth and resources should be looked upon in light of
God’s plan. What God provides is for a purpose greater than ourselves. If we look at
materialism as the end result, we will miss the purpose behind God’s provision. God
blesses us so that we can be conduits of His grace, not so we can be hoarders of His
grace. God sees the end from the beginning; therefore, we too should be looking at the
end. Our goal is to fulfill the plan God has for our lives. The fruit of our labors is to
reproduce godliness and leadership in those around us. All of God’s blessings and
provisions in this life are to equip us to fulfill that calling.
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