True! You Don’t Have to Honor God…
But, If You Do, He Will Reward You
(NKJV) 1 Sa 2:30 Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the LORD says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed
You don’t have to do anything for God…you don’t have to do what he says.
Adam and Eve were told…you must not eat, yet he did not try to stop them.
He tells us many things to do, but he will never make us do anything! No one HAS to serve him…you can live your life the way you want, doing whatever you want. You can, like most people ignore his bible… He has given us a choice!
Life and death! Blessing and curses! It is up to us.
BUT IF YOU DO! If you make the sacrifices…to travel the road less traveled, forsaking the things of the world that can be yours now and choose to follow a God you cannot see.
You will experience in this life his direct attention and protection and then in the world hereafter…eternal joy and happiness!
Life is choice driven…You don’t have to serve him…But if you do! He will reward you!
I want to encourage you to put forth the effort to serve and honor our God. Serving the Lord will pay off after while. Serving God will pay off in ways far greater than what you can imagine.
The more you serve him the more he reveals himself to you. The more you know him the greater the power to overcome the adversary. Satan does not want you to come to know the Lord better. He will encourage you not to serve knowing that God is a rewarder to those who honor and serve him.
God has the expectation that you will present your body to him for his glory. He has the expectation that you will participate in this great work of salvation of mankind that he sent his son into the world that the world might have life by faith in him.
Jesus has said that we must bear fruit. He has said that it is God's will that we produce much fruit. We were not just saved so we can go to heaven. We were saved so that we might be his workmanship in the earth, glorifying his name as bearers of his image producing works to his glory.
If we honor and serve him he will reward us mightily! If we fail to serve and honor him and produce fruit to his glory, we run the risk of suffering uncertain loss.
Jn 15:1; Jn 15:5; Jn 15:7
Faith is required to honor and serve a God that we do not see! Our works of faith reveal that we are truly saved.
Heb 11:6 But without faith (faith to serve him who is unseen but seen) it is 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.
THE GREATER YOUR WORKS OF FAITH FOR GOD THE GREATER YOUR REWARD FROM GOD
God has given exceedingly great and precious promises to his servants. He has promised that he will reward those who serve him and punish those who ignore him.
Heb 6:7-12
I stand before you today pleading with you to choose to serve the Lord with all your heart and with all your might! Your works of love and service to his kingdom are not forgotten by God.
1 Co 15:57-58
Now, some will say that because of Christ you no longer have to be obedient to the Lord. That we are saved by faith and not by works. This is true. There is nothing we can do that will give us salvation. It is the gift of God. However, obedience to the commandments of God is still required. We must remember that obedience always means increase. Our obedience reveals our commitment and our love of God.
OBEDIENCE ALWAYS MEANS INCREASE!
IT REVEALS OUR LOVE OF GOD
God rewards our works of faith!
James now explains what so many Christians fail to understand by not having a full understanding of the complete word of God. They believe nothing is needed because of the work of Christ. They believe and we can ignore the rest of the Word of God. How can you be obedient and not do something?
Jas 2:18-26
We go to extremes. Some say no works. Some say only works. God said not to the right or to the left but rightly divide the Word of God!
Why did he give us bodies if we are not to use them for his glory? Paul the one who spoke of faith said….
Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Jesus Said:
Mt 5:16 -20
In many of today’s modern churches there is a false doctrine that we do not have to serve Christ. It builds churches and causes many people to flock to them. But they are ignoring the current blessings and future rewards of serving.
Current for here and now
Is 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
And our future eternity
Re 20:12
1 Co 3:9-15
I am trying to get you to see God rewards those that diligently seek/serve him. He is looking for faithfulness in serving, not just having faith and no works to show it.
The works we are set free from are the works of the Levitical law which has been fulfilled by Christ. We still have a moral obligation to the eternal moral teachings of God to love and to reveal it by obedience to those teachings. He said
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
But we must always honor God and serve him remembering his commandments and our responsibility to him and our fellow man
1 Jn 2:3-6 We must remain diligent and committed to always honor and serve God. We may not truly understand why we are asked to do what God tells us to do but we must understand that it is for our good even if we don't understand.
It is time now to make a commitment to serve him who gave his only begotten son so that you might have life and have it eternally. He did not just save you for your good, he saved you for his glory!
There is a great reward awaiting you! Make the commitment to go out of your way to serve him. Remember he went out of his way to save you!
Do not let anyone rob you of your faith!
(NKJV) Heb 11:6 But without faith it is 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.