Your rewards depend on your faithfulness
This message is going to be a liberating message to many people. Especially to ministers of Gospel.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, the Bible states:
“ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”
The above passage shows that by the time of His resurrection, Jesus had about 500 followers.
500 followers only. I want this number to stick in your mind because we are going to learn something very good.
In Philipians 2:5-11, the Bible says this about Jesus:
'In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
After His resurrection, He ascended to Heaven and God exalted him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. That was the reward of Jesus for His obedience to God'.
Have you noticed that Jesus had only 500 followers and he had 11 disciples? If we have to measure His achievements in terms of human acquisitions and through human loops, then many of us would think that Jesus achieved little.
However, when it comes to giving rewards, God does not measure achievements in the same way that humans do. Many people think that God only rewards us based on the number of people we influence.
No. Nope. God’s rewards to us have not much to do with the number of people we influence or the number of people we have under our ministries.
God’s rewards system is solely based on our personal faithfulness. Let me explain it:
Jesus was faithful to the point where He ever sinned (that is something that no human has ever done). He did the will of God right to the end. He never forced anyone to follow Him. His followership was a result of His faithfulness to God. In the end, He had his reward.
It’s important to discuss this because there are many Christians and ministers who are so obsessed with numbers. And of course, we have to reach the entire world with the good news, whether we are in the five-fold ministries or not.
However, due to the free will element, many will reject us when we reach them.Many will walk away while others will show resistance.
Your rewards and blessings are not dependent on the number of people you influence. Your rewards and blessings will be a result of your faithfulness.
Your faithfulness is manifest by playing your part. What other people decide to do falls within the realm of their own decision.
If God sends to a specific place or a sector in order to have an impact. It could happen that only 2 people out of 100 would be impacted. It could also happen that 90 people out of 100 would be impacted. Your rewards will depend on the faithfulness you would have shown by applying all the steps that God wanted you to apply.
Jesus was rejected by the Jews. Yet, He is seated at the right hand of God. Because He was faithful regardless of what people said.
I say this because there are Christians who are obsessed with numbers to the point where they are willing to do anything to reach certain numbers.
You should be concerned with being ‘faithful to the Will of God’. That’s where your reward is.
Play your part faithfully.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, the Bible states:
“ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”
The above passage shows that by the time of His resurrection, Jesus had about 500 followers.
500 followers only. I want this number to stick in your mind because we are going to learn something very good.
In Philipians 2:5-11, the Bible says this about Jesus:
'In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
After His resurrection, He ascended to Heaven and God exalted him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. That was the reward of Jesus for His obedience to God'.
Have you noticed that Jesus had only 500 followers and he had 11 disciples? If we have to measure His achievements in terms of human acquisitions and through human loops, then many of us would think that Jesus achieved little.
However, when it comes to giving rewards, God does not measure achievements in the same way that humans do. Many people think that God only rewards us based on the number of people we influence.
No. Nope. God’s rewards to us have not much to do with the number of people we influence or the number of people we have under our ministries.
God’s rewards system is solely based on our personal faithfulness. Let me explain it:
Jesus was faithful to the point where He ever sinned (that is something that no human has ever done). He did the will of God right to the end. He never forced anyone to follow Him. His followership was a result of His faithfulness to God. In the end, He had his reward.
It’s important to discuss this because there are many Christians and ministers who are so obsessed with numbers. And of course, we have to reach the entire world with the good news, whether we are in the five-fold ministries or not.
However, due to the free will element, many will reject us when we reach them.Many will walk away while others will show resistance.
Your rewards and blessings are not dependent on the number of people you influence. Your rewards and blessings will be a result of your faithfulness.
Your faithfulness is manifest by playing your part. What other people decide to do falls within the realm of their own decision.
If God sends to a specific place or a sector in order to have an impact. It could happen that only 2 people out of 100 would be impacted. It could also happen that 90 people out of 100 would be impacted. Your rewards will depend on the faithfulness you would have shown by applying all the steps that God wanted you to apply.
Jesus was rejected by the Jews. Yet, He is seated at the right hand of God. Because He was faithful regardless of what people said.
I say this because there are Christians who are obsessed with numbers to the point where they are willing to do anything to reach certain numbers.
You should be concerned with being ‘faithful to the Will of God’. That’s where your reward is.
Play your part faithfully.