Work for Heaven's Rewards

Earlier, I shared about the futility of working to get to Heaven.

If you have not read it, click below for this month's entry titled,

'Ticket to Heaven'

to find out how you can get your FREE ticket to Heaven, if you haven't received one yet.

We don't work to enter Heaven!

We must work for Heaven's rewards! We work for them only AFTER we have received the ticket to Heaven, but never before that. Otherwise, everything you've ever worked for will be disqualified (i.e., burned even before it reaches Heaven!)

> But why work for Heaven's rewards?
*Jesus invited us to:

"Don't lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up treasures for yourself in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume and where thieves don't break in and steal. For where your heart is, that's where your heart is also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

*And if the Maker of Heaven and earth said so, who are we to say otherwise?
*That is not selfishness, it is true wisdom or insight indeed! (Daniel 12:3a)


>How to work for Heaven's reward?
*Love God and love others as yourself (the two greatest of all commandments)
*Pray constantly --seek Him (Hebrews 11:1; Matthew 6:6)
*Win lost souls for the Kingdom of God (Daniel 12:2-3b)
*Do God's will (generally speaking)


We must first have the right motive. The most important thing is, we must love because He first loved us. We do it out of gratefulness to God for what He has done for us--in sending the greatest gift of all times (His Son, Jesus Christ) to us in order to make it possible for the whole human race to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. (1 John 4:19)

So don't be ashamed of actively sending up deposits to your heavenly account. You are not ashamed when you have money to deposit in your own bank account(s) here on earth, are you? Yet your money on earth will not last forever. But the deposits you send to heaven will endure forever.

Why not start today?

Ask God fervently and believingly and expectantly what He wants you to do for your life. He will show you the way (Matthew 7:7, Psalm 37:3-4).

Are you ashamed of encouraging other fellow believers to invest in Heaven? If not, please do it. You will be rewarded for that too.

Saved to Stand Up, Not Sit Down

You have been saved NOT to sit in the church pews Sunday after Sunday, but to stand up for Jesus day after day.

You are to stand up for Him at home, in the workplace, and in society in general.

You have been saved to witness for Jesus Christ, your King and Master, by life and by words till you see Him up there. (Matthews 4:19, 2 Peter 3:15) "We cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard," said Jesus' disciples. (Acts 4:20)

One day, everyone shall bow to Him, and every tongue confess that He is LORD.

Bow to the Lord Jesus Christ right now--willingly. Commit your life to Him. Confess Him before others. Allow Him to be the Ruler and Master of your life from today onward.

Stand up for Jesus!

Ticket To Heaven -- Bought? or Free?

ARE YOU DECEIVED?
A great many people have been deceived into thinking that they can make it to heaven based on their own efforts.

No! No one can ever buy or earn a ticket to heaven. Religious people have been trying all their lives to do that. But they will be utterly disappointed.


Get the simple-to-understand facts below right:



ALL HAVE SINNED
1. All of humankind has sinned against God (Romans 3:9-18, 23).



SIN'S PENALTY
2. People are condemned already because of unbelief (or belief in the wrong thing) (John 3:17-18).

Hell is a horrible place where God is not present (Hebrews 9:27, 2Thessalonians 1:8-9). Hell was made for the Devil and his demons, and not man. But unless we choose to grab hold of the life-line that saves us from it, we will end up going to Hell. What is this life-line? Read on.

We will all die one day! Irrefutable fact. Yes? I know of no one in his sound mind who denies this. So most people believe the first part of Heb 9:27: "It is appointed for man to die once..." However terrible it may be, physical death is not so frightening, to some. Have you considered what happens after that?

The second and more terrible death, which lasts forever, is awaiting the unwary and unbelieving! (Revelations 20:11-15) This is the fiery furnace that will never be put off. That's the bad news.



YOU ARE SAVED NOT BY WORKS
3. We can never pay our way or earn enough credits--in whatever way that we may deem fit--to satisfy the requirements of the just and holy God. As such no ordinary mortal who is dead in trespasses can ever pay for the ticket to heaven; you are saved (justified) by God's GRACE as a gift to you, not by your good deeds or by living a good, well-behaved life (Romans 3:20,24; Titus 3:5a).

How can sinful man ever be good enough or have done enough good deeds to go back to the holy God? Or for that matter, to go to heaven when he dies? No way!

Another reason why we canNOT pay for or earn everlasting life is so that nobody can ever boast about having bought it with money or achieved it himself or herself (Ephesians 2:9).

CHRIST PAID FOR SIN'S PENALTY
4. Before He became a man, Jesus Christ pre-existed from eternity (John 1:1,14; 8:58, 10:30). Through Christ and Christ alone can we now have the gift of eternal life (ticket to heaven) (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).

5. Only the Son of God, Jesus Christ can pay the penalty for your sins and my sins. Why? Because Jesus Christ of Nazareth was miraculously born of a virgin and lived a sinless life; only He can be the perfect lamb sacrifice for our sins. The Lamb of God must come and be the ultimate sacrifice (once and for all!) for the forgiveness of man's sin. Only when we accept God's only sacrifice or answer to man's sin problem can we have peace with God, our Creator (Romans 5:1) . God's only answer is Christ!

6. Christ died so that we who are dead in sin can be made alive. His death on the cross was the final and only price which God can accept in order to free us from sin's penalty, which is death (or spiritual separation from God) (Romans 6:23a).

The immeasurably precious blood of Jesus had to be shed on the cross, a slow and painful death for the Righteous One. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22--as required by the universal Law of God which governs, for example, spiritual forgiveness and cleansing, just like there are international laws that governs the nations). Why did God pay such a huge price for our sins? Because He is merciful and He still loves us--despite our unrighteousness! (John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Titus 3:5b) All this was the grace of God--the undeserved, unmerited and unearned favour of God has been GRANTED TO US. Question is: Will you accept it?

7. Christ not only died for our sins; He was buried and raised on the third day(1Corinthians 15:3-6). He conquered death itself that He might give us life (John 10:10). He is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25-26). No one can do what He did. Jesus Christ is indeed the one and only life-line that will save us from our Hell-bound journey. He is indeed the Savior of the world. He is the way to obtaining the ticket to Heaven. Will you take Him? The choice is yours! Take it or leave it. Unlike some religious leaders (or religions), Jesus Christ is a real gentleman; He never forces anyone.



TICKET TO HEAVEN IS FREE
8. Eternal life is a free GIFT (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23a) !

This is the GOSPEL (good news) indeed.

There is no gospel if we have to slave all our lives, or perform various religious duties (whatever these may be) or even earn something to get the ticket.



HOW TO GET YOUR FREE TICKET?

9. "How do I get my ticket to heaven?" you ask. Make sure that you do that BEFORE you die or BEFORE Christ comes again a second time, whichever comes first? It will be too late if either event happens before you receive eternal life! Don't wait. Tomorrow might be too late. Do it NOW!

It is as simple as A-B-C:

a. Admit your sins, and


b. Believe (receive) in the Lord Jesus (John 1:12).

*True belief always involves repentance (i.e., turning from your sins to follow Jesus, Acts 2:38, 2 Corinthians 5:17).

*You can receive Jesus now by simply talking to Him, whose body was broken for you (John 3:1-8). You just have to ask for the free ticket, and it SHALL be given to you (Matthews 7:7-8).

*Jesus, the Saviour of the world, is waiting for you to open your mouth, and the door of your life, to Him (Revelations 3:20).

*Tell Him that by faith you receive Him now as Saviour and Lord. Thank Him for eternal life (this expresses your faith).

*That's it! Eternal life (ticket to Heaven) is received by faith by receiving Jesus into your life (1John5:11-13).

c. Confess Christ before others. (Romans 10:9-10, Mark 8:38)




YOU CAN BE SURE OF HEAVEN
10. Having followed the above steps, God's promise to you is: You will be saved! (Acts 2:38, John 1:12, John 3:16, 1John 5:11-15) God never lies. His Word is absolutely reliable.



WHEN TO GET TICKET TO HEAVEN?
11. Eternal life is only a breath away! Do it NOW before it is too late.

Do not boast about tomorrow (that you will live long enough to see it), for you do not know what tomorrow will bring to you. (Proverbs 27:1)

Tomorrow may bring death?? No one knows! Only God knows.

Do NOT wait to accept for your own self this wonderful gift of everlasting life. We are living in the end times. There might not be another chance!!

The decision is yours and yours alone.

The Bible, God's Word, says (Hebrews 3:15),

TODAY is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time. Decide NOW!!

YOU ARE SAVED TO WORK
12. If you are truly a believer and are in Christ, Christ by His Spirit has come into your life and heart, and He will not leave you nor forsake you. You have no need to fear anymore, since there is no more condemnation (Romans 8:1); you have been justified by faith (Romans 5:1).

You are now no longer Hell-bound, but Heaven-bound.

Show that you are real by your life and your works. (2 Corinthians 5:7,17; John 14:21; Hebrews 3:12-19, 10:26-39; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 3:8; James 2:14-26; Matthews 5:16) This is not to earn points to get eternal life by doing good; your good works AFTER you are saved from eternal damnation will count toward your rewards in heaven. (Matthews 6:19-21, 1Corinthians 3:10b-15)

Most people get it all wrong. But please get this right: You HAVE been saved as a gift of God (God's grace and mercy toward you). You have been saved not by good works but by faith (in Jesus Christ) alone. You have been saved to do good deeds to others.

Continue to trust, follow and obey Jesus Christ. All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons (or children) of God. (Mark 13:13; John 1:12, 14:21; Romans 8:14)

If your faith is genuine, live like it truly is!

Note: You may wish to look up the above Bible verses in parentheses:

To look up verses.