Turns Out Rewards Are A Thing In The Bible; Here’s The Basic Tea.

First Things First.

Run, don’t walk especially if you’re Christian and buy this trilogy of books by Bruce Wilkinson that I only discovered fully a few months ago even though I’ve had them (more honestly, my Mother has had them all) for several years. When you get to Heaven, (this is how serious this is) find me and thank me for this. I am not even kidding.

Since I am now (thankfully) way past anger and have arrived at acceptance to the reality I’m about to rant on in this section, I feel no more animosity or even disgust over the issue. When i think about just how little I was actually taught by the Church about the true depth and totality of what scripture actually teaches, i shudder. However, (and this is how I finally healed myself from the anger) I’ve understood that it’s always been my responsibility to search and learn the bible for myself because when I tell you I knew nothing before I read the Bible in its totality, I knew next to nothing. To think that I went out into the world knowing so little and actually thought I could do something is shocking, shocking. Alas, we cannot blame anyone for illegally trying to outsource such a core activity to our living experience on earth as feeding one’s self with the word of GOD. It’s easy to blame today’s pastors who seam more focused on making you comfy in life than preparing you for what’s ahead. For the longest time I didn’t understand them but now and don’t know how or when it happened, I no longer have a need to understand these people. Why should I? Their judgment is coming and If they’re not worried about it why should I be? As for my own spiritual growth plan I now completely trust that I will be lead by the Holy Spirit to learn all the truth I need with or without a pastor. That’s not a wild statement or one of insubordination that was always the case and is the true reality for all of us. That is literally the Holy Spirit’s job description so I ain’t mad at this ridiculous reality with them pastors not pastoring as they should anymore.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (ie the word of GOD)

Jesus in His final conversation with His disciples – John 14:26

We all have the same invitation to search scripture for ourselves and do it so well that your pastor becomes almost irrelevant to your walk with GOD. I recognize that that’s a pearl clutch worthy statement right there but I mean it. Study the world of GOD under the tutorship of The Holy Spirit so much that your pastor forever remains your brother in Christ and never gets elevated in error to some untouchable position in your life or even subconsciously just because you assume that he has access to some special intel in the word of GOD and or access to GOD’s Throne or something that you don’t have. That has always been false and it remains so today. Not depending you your pastor for the revelation of GOD’s word is actually quite liberating for you and for him. Since ignorance is not a valid excuse I suggest you help yourself by enrolling in the “Bible school” of the Holy Spirit available to us all great and small. Of course it will also help to find sound bible teachers across the globe. Thanks to technology you can now even learn from excellent dead ones even after they are dead. Many of my favorite ones already are but social media has basically immortalized their teachings for us, praise GOD. Everyone one I have found has an expertise, like an area where they have received so much revelation on that they are simply excellent at teaching others. I suggest you prayerfully find these teachers and dedicate yourself to a lifetime of learning because perhaps the internet exists (at least in part) for such a time as this when pastors refuse to teach what believers should be taught as eternal beings with concerns centered on the business of eternal living which we should all be actively working to thrive at.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children”

Hosea 4:6

Isn’t it funny how we only ever quote the first line of that quote? conveniently (or intentionally) forgetting the “because you have rejected wisdom” part? I have found that worshipping people becomes very hard when you have access to GOD, which is fantastic because you save yourself, your family and the worshipped ones themselves from the wrath of God, now what can be more loving than that? Besides, unless your pastor is actually a witch he should have no problems whatsoever with remaining a “brother in the LORD” even if you do turn out to spiritually outrank him. Pastor is an office as well as an assigned positioning by GOD so if he were really serving GOD and not secretly trying to replace Him in people’s lives he should have no problems with pastoring spiritual giants. Of course the test for said giants would be ones of constantly checking your hearts to not be walking in pride but actually submit to the authority of the pastor’s office. There’s a fine line between honor and worship. Find it and never stray away from it because our Sovereign jealous Father will never play games with His glory and He already told you ahead so don’t be shocked about His response when you replace Him is idols (which can be people, yes including your pastor included).
Overall any attempt to serve Him only with your lips but actually live your life worshipping people instead is akin to playing yourself. Whoever you are “thou shalt not play thyself”, You can never deceive GOD. I’ve tried to find one but there simply is no justifiable reason why preachers in the church keep silent on and therefore keeps the Church ignorant on such truths like Rewards in the Bible. If you asked a typical Christian today how many judgements (like in the Revelation of Jesus Christ) there are in the Bible, I don’t care how old they are I can almost guarantee that they wouldn’t know. Why Honey? Well, ask their Pastors. These are the books.

Now, Back To The Subject Of Rewards.

To keep this cute, I’m just going to list somethings I’ve learned about it. Who knows, any one of them might peek your interest and actually make you to search out truth about this subject. It’s one of those things that you can’t unsee. Like once you learn about it it’s forever embedded in you psyche and it WILL transform your life as it has mine, I guarantee it. Here’s the basic gist and then you can go on to research and hunt down all the information you can find to equip yourself with this valuable intel about you inevitable future in GOD that stretches beyond the rapture. There is so much I never learned in the church like for instance the Bible says there is life for us on earth beyond our time in Heaven and your rewards have something to do with your ranking and access to Jesus in that age. Now with a show I’d hands, did your pastor tell you that? Do you even know if he knows these things for himself? Sir/Ma’am, I suggest you stop playing and educate yourself ASAP on these things.

• Jesus said it Himself over and over and over. Do you know what I think the problem is, many Christians listen too much to what people say about Jesus and don’t pay enough attention to the things He actually said about Himself. Here are just 3 examples Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done”. Luke 14:14 “and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” and Mark 9:41 “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. 41 If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded”.
• His disciple wrote about it. Mathew 16:27 “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works”.
• There are things GOD refers to as WORKS that are pretty vital in all of this. The second book “Secrets of the Vine” explains this bit in excellent detail.
  
• Paul likings our Christian walk to a race for this very reason.
  
• There is an award ceremony in Heaven. Every work you’ve done will be vetted by fire during it and ONLY the things done for Christ will last.
• There are 5 categories of Rewards in Heaven.
• The now infamous scriptures about Jesus telling a category of people “well done good and faithful servant” and to another “get away from me, I don’t know you” are both referring to judgments but the first one refers specifically to this subject of rewards.
• You can make it into Heaven and escape GOD’s wrath and still be considered a total looser at the award ceremony because your works tested and found to be worthless. So basically, your sins which would have impeded you from Heaven are forgiven yes, but your works for GOD are judged.
• Your performance at this crowning Ceremony determines your ranking is all of life after Heaven. Like, forever and ever, so joke with this at your own peril.
• Good works are not determined by you, obeying GOD’s will for you is your best bet. What does that mean? Well its like it might nice of you to build boreholes for the less privileged communities but if GOD actually wants and instructs you to teach them tech skills and make them financially viable on their own by tapping into the digital economy for instance and you didn’t do that because on your own you decided to build the boreholes (maybe because it low key was easier and looked better for your political career) thennn as far as rewards go, surely you can see why your “borehole work” might just be burnt up.
• The rewards mainly concern the heaven bound individual. If your obvious life ambition is to sin to your heart’s content and reject Christ every chance you get then this topic really doesn’t concern you at all. The BEMA is only for the saved. In fact, you can skip this article all together if you don’t have Christ. (His standard, not mine so direct all complaints to Him)
• GOD actually expects and actively invests in His children “doing good works” and “bearing much fruit”. The last thing you want is to disappoint your Vinedresser. For those who don’t understand me saying GOD is their Vinedresser, the founding scripture of this website explains it simply. Jesus said in John 15:15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful”. His words not mine. In fact scripture tells us us that our works outside of Him are “filthy rags”.
• Good works are almost the point of your salvation. I often say that the difference between Christianity and other Faiths is that they pitch “good works” as your way to be accepted and considered worthy by GOD whilst Christ saves and qualifies us first and then the “good works” are expected to follow. For us they are the natural results born out of our love and gratitude to Him not to path to Him. There’s more to say but I’ll stop here. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. No amount of good works done can save you. Sorry, but better a harsh truth than a comfy lie right? Wouldn’t you rather know? Don’t believe me? Here’s proof “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10. Glad that’s cleared up.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize”.

paul in 1 corinthians 9:24

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad”.

2 corinthians 5:18

Happy running. I pray you finish well.