This week our study is from Ephesians 6:7-8:

This is a continuation from our verses for last week. We must do everything unto the Lord, not men. This is the source of the greatest liberty that we can ever know—if we are true slaves of Christ there is no yoke that man can ever put on us.

If we have given our lives to the Lord, trusting Him to accomplish all things for our good, we must accept that our job was provided by Him. For this reason we must do every job as unto the Lord, doing it with all of our hearts as all service to the King deserves. If we do this we are promised that we will receive back from the Lord, which is to say that we also look to the Lord as the One who rewards us, not the paymaster.

Many people live from payday to payday. They have a mentality that if they could just get a big enough raise all of their troubles would be over. The truth is that most of us do not need more money. If we made more money we would soon be in the same situation because we would spend more. Others just need to have “the devourer rebuked,” the one who causes the constant problems, breakdowns, and therefore extra expenses. Regardless of which it is, or whether it is both, it is faith that releases the hand of God in our life. When we go to work every day with the mentality that we work for the Lord, not just the company, it begins releasing the faith that will move God on our behalf.

The Scriptures are full of promises that are rewards from God.
Some we will receive in eternity, but many we are promised in this life. In eternity we will experience joy that is beyond our present ability to comprehend. One of the great promises that we receive for obedience is to begin experiencing the joy of the Lord now, as we are told in Psalm 16:11:

The rewards received from serving the Lord in this life are more than worth it. We will never receive better wages for anything than that which we do for the Lord. Even so, what we receive here is only the small down payment for rewards that are much greater and will last forever. There is no better employer in the universe than our God. However, the greatest joy of all is not what we get, but beholding the joy that He receives from us. Think about that. You can bring joy to God Almighty!

Your devotion to the Lord in the midst of such darkness and hardship can touch Him deeply. It is even a witness to principalities and powers. There will be no greater joy for us than when we see His face on that great day—the joy He has taken in our obedience and devotion.

The first two modern missionaries were sent out from the Moravian community at Herrnhut, Germany on the estate of Count Zinzendorf. To pay their passage to the West Indies so that they would be able to preach to the slaves, they had to sell themselves as indentured servants, which were in truth slaves. They became slaves to reach the slaves. One of them had been betrothed to be married. When the ship pulled away from the dock, his fiancée, who knew she would never see him alive again cried out, “Why, why would you do this?” His answer was simply, “So that the Savior can receive the reward of His sacrifice.” He was not even thinking of his own rewards, which certainly must be great, but he was only thinking of how the Savior deserves His reward—the souls for which He gave His life.

Certainly our rewards for service to Him will be beyond our present ability to comprehend, but what will be greater than seeing Him receive His reward? It is not wrong to work for our rewards. In fact, the Lord Himself received His reward as it says Hebrews 12:2, “...who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” However, without question, the greatest reward of all will be to see the joy that our obedience, faith, and worship have brought to Him. The greatest joy of all of creation will be seeing the Savior receive the reward of His sacrifice.