In Your Bible Read This
Out Loud: Luke 16:1-9
Memorise This Verse:
2 Corinthians 4:18 'So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what
is unseen.For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal'
Afterwards Talk About
This: What do you think Jesus is talking about when he speaks
of being welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Something To Do Before
Next Time: Write down a list of all the people you have
influenced for the gospel with your giving.
Written Diploma Work:
Write one side on how we can ensure as bigger welcome in heaven as
possible
Meditate Word By Word On
This Verse: Daniel 12:3
We have seen previously that
there are many benefits that we can experience during our time on earth
when we are givers however, this list of earthly benefits doesn't give
the full picture of the benefits of giving, as there are also heavenly
benefits as well. The bible constantly exhorts us as Christians to not
only consider our time on earth but also our ultimate destiny of heaven.
For example, Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3:11 'He
has also set eternity in the hearts of men' Paul says in 2
Corinthians 4:18, 'We fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is
unseen', and Philippians 3:20 says, 'But our
citizenship is in heaven'. Since we will spend much more time in
heaven than on earth we will do very well to concentrate on the
heavenly, as well as the earthly benefits of giving.
Perhaps the biggest
misunderstanding about heaven is that everyone will be on the same level
and experiencing the same level of blessings but the bible draws a much
different picture. The first aspect about judgment day is that it will
be the Lord Jesus himself who will do the judging in John 5:22 says, 'Moreover,
the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father.'
The second aspect is that
Jesus declares he will reward each individual person for the way they
have lived their lives on earth. For example, in Revelation 22:12 he
says, 'I will give to everyone according to what
he has done.'
Moreover, he confirms this
in Matthew 16:27 when he says, 'For the Son of Man
is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will
reward each person according to what he has done.'
The Apostle Paul also
confirms the teaching of Jesus regarding heavenly rewards as the 2
scriptures below show. Notice how he speaks of the fact that the
judgment seat belongs to Christ, and how both scriptures speak about
heavenly rewards.
1
Corinthians 3:12 'If any man builds on this foundation using gold,
silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for
what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed
with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If
what he has built survives, he will receive his reward'.
2
Corinthians 5:10 'For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done
while in the body, whether good or bad'.
In the parable of the Minas
in Luke 19:11-27 Jesus expands this idea of heavenly rewards and makes
the declaration that one of the basis of heavenly rewards will be our
financial giving. For example, to the two faithful servants who had
handled their master's money wisely, they were rewarded and told to take
charge of cities. This is a reference to the future eternal reign of the
Kingdom of God where those who have served faithfully on earth will have
places of leadership and pre-eminence. (This idea of heavenly rewards
being based in part on our financial dealings is also expanded in the
Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 where the faithful financial
stewards are told, 'I will put you in charge of many things' (verse
23)).
A second area that heavenly
rewards are based on is the area of winning precious souls into the
Kingdom of God - the more that we have used our time, prayers and money
to see people saved from hell the greater our reward will be. The Old
Testament basis for this can be
found in Daniel 12:3, 'Those who are wise will shine like the brightness
of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars
for ever and ever'. Therefore the more we give into the Kingdom of God
and the wiser we are about where we give our money, the greater our
heavenly rewards will be as our giving will have been a link in the
chain of seeing someone saved.
For example suppose you
regularly give to see missionary work and crusades in a country where
the gospel hasn't yet penetrated and as a result of their labours, the
missionary workers that you are financially supporting see a harvest of
souls. Due to the fact that the missionary workers couldn't be in that
country without your financial support your money has helped to see the
harvest of unsaved souls and you will have a share in the reward of
seeing the harvest. However, if you give to a church where missionaries
are not supported and very few people get saved week in and week out
then you will have few heavenly rewards on judgment day as you have
invested your money in an unfruitful organization.
Consequently it is vitally
important that you invest your money very wisely such that your money is
converted into souls and you don't give anywhere where you will see
little fruit for the money that you invest. Jesus spoke of the need to
use our money wisely to see people saved in Luke 16:9 when he says,
'I tell you, use your worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so
that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings'.
When you enter heaven all
the people that you have helped get saved through your financial giving
will greet and thank-you for faithfully giving such that the gospel was
given to them. What an awesome day that will be if you have spent your
life investing your money in foreign missionaries - you will have white
people, black people, brown people, yellow people from the ends of the
earth greeting you and blessing you for financially supporting the
missionary that brought the word of God to them.
This idea of being greeted
into heaven is further picked up in 2 Peter 1:11 where Peter says, 'And
you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ'. What would happen if you died tonight,
what sort of welcome would you receive into heaven? would there be many
people from many continents greeting you and thanking you for your
financial support of foreign missions or would but a handful of people
be there to welcome you home?. There is only a short time for all of us
on this earth and we are to use our time and money to make friends for
ourselves for eternity. You can invest in foreign missions and make many
friends for yourself that you probably will never meet in this life but
on judgment day you will finally be united with your brothers and
sisters.
Ultimately, you will spend
infinitely more time in heaven than you will in this earth in light of
this we should seek to attain the highest level we can get to in heaven
- even if this means foregoing pleasures on this earth. Sadly,
Christians are spending their money in order to increase their status
and pleasure in this life without a thought for the life to come - they
will only have a few short years to enjoy it!. The wise Christian will
seek to use their money to increase their level in heaven and earn as
much heavenly treasure as possible - it is simply the best investment in
the universe. The scripture below speaks of this and shows that as we
give, we lay up a firm foundation for ourselves in heaven.
1
Timothy 6:18 'Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to
be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure
for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age'.
A House of
Prayer for the Poorer Nations
Pray for Egypt
68,469,695 people, 86%
Muslim - 13% Christian.
The voice of extremist Islam is shouting
and threatening at the church.
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