What About Rewards In Heaven?

Now you're going to find the
message today to be interesting, I hope informative, I know controversial. So if you'll take your Bible
and turn to the book of Matthew, chapter 19, I'm going to begin
reading with verse 27. Matthew 19, verse 27. And I want you to follow in the
script my subject What about rewards in heaven? Now that's
interesting, isn't it? What about rewards in heaven? I'm going to answer some questions
about rewards in heaven. And I want you to listen carefully
to this message now. We're going to cover a lot of
ground, and I hope provoke some thought, some study, some interest. I'd like for you to follow. Don't
leave me now in the middle of the broadcast. You stay all the
way through. Now, the Apostle Peter said to the Master, Now
this is important here, this is the background for this message. The Apostle Peter said to the
Master, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee. What shall
we have? Or what shall be our reward? The Master answered Peter this
way, There will be a special place for you who are my disciples,
talking about the twelve thrones and the twelve tribes, and everyone
that hath believed on me, there'll be a special place for you. And
all of you who have believed on me and suffered for my sake,
you shall receive a hundredfold, and you shall inherit eternal
life. But many that are first shall
be last, and the last shall be first, and then our Lord spake
this parable unto them. Now, as I've said to you before,
and I'd repeat it again, when you want to study a parable in
the scripture, you find out what was said, the occasion, the people
who said it, what was said before our Lord spake the parable. It
usually always was something was said to him always, and then
he spake a parable or a story to cover that subject, to illustrate
that subject. Peter, what is the occasion?
Well, the Apostle Peter and the disciples had said to the Master
Lord, we've left everything and we've followed you. Now, what's
going to be our reward? And the Lord Jesus said, well,
you have a special place, you're going to inherit eternal life
and all who believe on me and all who suffer for my sake, for
my glory are going to have a special place, going to have eternal
life. Many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be
first. And then our Lord spake this
parable unto them, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like
unto a man, like unto a man who went out early in the morning,
six a.m., to hire laborers to work in his vineyard. He went
down to the marketplace, six o'clock in the morning, the sun
was just up, and he found some men standing about idle in the
marketplace, and he said, I've got a big vineyard up here, I
need some laborers, will you work for me? They said, what
do you pay? He said, I'll pay you a Roman penny a day. Well,
that's fine, all right. He took them up to his vineyard
and put them to work. Well, he came back to the marketplace
at 9 a.m., three hours later. He found some more folks standing
around there idle. without jobs. He said, you want
to work? They said, we do. Nobody's hired
us. He said, want to work for me? Yes, we want to work for
you. We'll go to my vineyard, and I'll pay you what's right.
And then he came back, this picture says here, at 12 noon, did the
same thing at 3 in the afternoon, did the same thing, and then
one hour before sunset, 5 o'clock, One hour before the work day
was over, he came down to the marketplace, and he found some
men there standing about, the scripture says idle, and he said,
why aren't you working? They said, nobody's hired us.
We've been here all day. Well, he said, I'll hire you.
You go work in my vineyard, and whatever's right, that's what
I'll pay you. And they went up there and worked
for an hour. Now, the day was over. All the men came in from
the field. Some of them had been there 12
hours. Some of them had been there nine hours, some of them
had been there six hours, some of them had been there three
hours, some of them had just gotten into the field. And he
called them all in, and he told his stewards, he says, pay them.
Start with the last man hired, and pay them all the same thing.
Give them everyone the same thing. Start with them. This is the
Master speaking now. Now Peter would ask him. Peter
said, Lord, we have left all and followed you. We've gone
out into the highways and the hedges and we've suffered and
been mocked and scorned and ridiculed and cast off and cast out and
despised. And we've followed you and we've
left everything. We've given up everything. We've
sacrificed everything. Now what's going to be our reward?
This is what he's telling him. Here's the parable. He's telling
Peter. And we're on the subject of rewards, and Christ, the man
who owned the field, began with the last one hired, who'd worked
one hour, and gave them all the same thing. Now, when the men
who'd worked all day found this out, they were upset. They were upset. If they objected
to that arrangement, they didn't like it a bit. that the men who
had worked only one hour or three hours or six hours got the same
thing they got. And the master asked them three
questions. He said, Did I not pay you what
you agreed upon? Isn't that what I gave you? Did
you agree to work for a rolling penny? Well, yes, we did. But
I paid you what I agreed. Secondly, he said, Can I not
do with my own what I will? This is my money. This is my
vineyard. It's not your money. It's not
your vineyard. Can I not do with my own what I will? Well, that's
true, he can, can't he? All right, the third thing he
said to them was this. Why are you jealous and envious
because I'm gracious? Huh? Why are you jealous and
envious over the grace of God? Is it not grace? Is it not grace
to those who work twelve and to those who work one, to those
who work nine, to those who work three? It's all grace, the grace
of God. Why should you be angry? Why
should you be envious? Why should you be upset if God
chooses to be gracious? God's not a man. God doesn't
think like a man. God doesn't deal with us like
a man. I'm glad he doesn't. God is merciful. Men are unmerciful. God is forgiving. Men are unforgiving. God is generous. Men are greedy.
Are you envious, God says, because I am generous? Now this parable
What is? Now you listen. This parable
is a rebuke to those who fall into a legal spirit of works
and merit and reward. This parable is a rebuke to people
who begin to calculate what their reward ought to be in heaven
in exchange for their works here on this earth. And it's a rebuke to those who
fall into this legal spirit regarding a kingdom of mercy, a kingdom
in which a legal spirit is entirely out of place. Salvation is a
gift and not debt. Now, I'm going to state the whole
case right now. You listen to it. Here's the
whole case. The Bible teaches that Jew and Gentile, sons of
Abraham by nature and sons of Abraham by faith, Old Testament
believers, New Testament believers, The Bible teaches that all men,
those who are saved early in life and those who are saved
late in life, those who die as martyrs and those who live out
their whole existence and die quietly in bed, those who are
missionaries to a foreign field who work and labor and suffer
and toil, and those unknown natives who are converted by their efforts,
those who give fortunes to the kingdom of God and those who
give pennies All of them, without exception, are loved of God with
the same love. The same everlasting, infinite,
gracious love. That's right. They're all chosen
in Christ before the world began. They're all loved with an everlasting
love. They're all redeemed by the same cross, the same blood,
the same Savior. They're all objects of the same
grace. Every one of them, whether it's a missionary or a martyr,
whether it's a preacher or a pauper, they're all loved with the same
love. with the same love. And they're all redeemed with
the same blood. They're all saved and justified by the same righteousness,
and they're all called by the same Spirit. And they're all
equally the sons of God. That's right. They're all sons
of God. They're all heirs of God. They're all joint heirs
of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. They're all going to
be conformed to the image of the Son of God. My friends, all
of them are going to enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with the Son of God.
Christ is our reward, and we're complete in him, and he that
hath Christ hath all things. Now I know, I know that believers
do not have the same offices and the same gifts. There were
prophets and apostles. There are no more apostles. There
were twelve apostles, and that's it. There aren't any apostles
today, there are pastors and teachers and evangelists and
missionaries, bishops, called in the scriptures, elders, deacons,
those who serve, but there are no apostles. But there were apostles,
they were given that gift by the Lord Jesus. There were prophets,
there are evangelists, pastors and teachers, there are diversities
of gifts in the church. The body of Christ is made up
of many members. A man may have the gift of preaching,
another man may have the gift of prayer, Another man or woman
may have the gift of teaching. Another person may have the gift
of giving. Another may have the gift of
healing. Another may have the gift of
faith. These are gifts of the Holy Spirit. They're mentioned
there in the scriptures. They're different gifts. They're
diversities of gifts. All given as the Holy Spirit
will. All for the glory of Christ.
Our gifts are given to us. Whatever we have, God gave it
to us. It's not of ourselves, it is
of God. But in heaven, there's no need
for these things because we're all going to be like Christ.
In heaven, there's no need for personal instruction and help
from someone else and personal edification by someone else.
We're all going to be like Christ. All believers do not have the
same measure of grace and faith. That's right. Some have more
faith than others. There's great faith and little
faith. Some have more love than others. That's right. There are
degrees of love. There are degrees of grace. There are degrees of humility.
There are degrees of faith. There are elders in the church.
There are young men. There are infants. There are
babes in Christ in the church. It must be fed on the milk of
the word. All of us do not have the same degree of grace and
faith. There's great faith and there's
little faith. But in heaven, there's no faith. It's reality. Faith gives way
to reality. You see that? Faith gives way
to personal knowledge and what? Faith gives way to sight. Hope
gives way to reality in heaven. We all are with him. So we don't
need these gifts and different degrees of graces. And then all
believers do not have the same capacity for knowledge, for service,
and work. Now the capacity for knowledge
of the scripture, knowledge of the doctrines and service and
work has to do with a lot of things. It differs according
to personality, temperament, education, age, opportunity,
location, generation, of course the gift of God. has the most
to do with it. But these different capacities
for knowledge and service and work are according to God's grace. But in heaven, in glory, why
every vessel of mercy prepared for glory will be equally capable
of enjoying Christ. There's going to be no difference
there. There's going to be no difference in offices, no difference
in gifts, no difference in faith, and no difference in capacity
for understanding, because now I know in part, then I shall
know as I am known. You see that? There may be, now
listen to me, there may be degrees of punishment in hell. The scripture
seems to indicate that there are degrees of punishment in
hell. In other words, it depends on
light. Depends on light. It depends
on opportunity. It depends on revelation. Our
Lord said that one servant knew his master's will and did it
not, shall be beaten with many stripes. The one who knew not
the master's will and did it not, shall be beaten with few
stripes. But these degrees of punishment and hell are based
upon opportunity, are based upon works, are based upon life, are
based upon sin. But my friend, there can be no
degrees of glory For glory does not depend upon opportunity,
or works, or sin. It depends on the grace of God.
Totally on the grace of God. Repentance is the gift of God.
Faith is the gift of God. Love is the gift of God. He shed
abroad his love in our hearts for the Holy Spirit. All graces
are freely given us of God. So degrees of glory can't be
based upon opportunity or works or revelation or light because
it's all the grace of God. It's not what I did. It's what
God did. Hell is what I did. If I go to
hell, it's because of what I did. So there can be degrees of punishment.
But if I go to heaven, it's not based on what I did. It's based
on what he did. told me on what he did. Now you
can't have degrees of glory and degrees of reward if it's based
not on what I did, but what somebody else did. His will be the rewards,
the crowns will be at his feet, the crowns will be on his head.
You see what I'm saying? There may be degrees of punishment
in hell based upon what I did, but there can be no degrees of
reward in heaven because heaven's not based on what I did. It's
because of what he did. Not by works of righteousness
which we've done, but according to his mercy hath he saved us. His mercy. For by grace are you
saved, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. So how
can you distribute rewards out to people, all of whom receive
the gift? Now then, there are those who
do not like this. I know that. And the laborers who were hired
first didn't like it either. Now, did they? They didn't like
it either. And evidently the disciples had
a different idea about this too. You know, James and John, one
of them wanted to sit on the right hand of the Lord, and the other
on the left hand when he came in glory. And Peter here said,
I've followed you all my days, now what are you going to pay
me? What's going to be my reward? This is human nature. That's
the reason our Lord said this. That's the reason he said to
them, I give you what we agreed on, and are you jealous because
I'm gracious? What's wrong with your spirit?
Isn't your spirit like my spirit? You see? Can I not do with my
own what I will? So here, now let's look at the
beginning of verse 1. Turn to verse 1, if you will,
and look at this man, and we'll get right into it. Now, this
man who owned the vineyard went out to seek laborers. They didn't
seek him, he sought them. Even so, the Lord Jesus came
into this world to seek and to save the lost. That's you and
me, guilty sinners. We didn't seek him. Here in his
love, not that we loved God, he loved us. There's none that
seeketh after God. He seeks us. He came to seek
us. It's his kingdom. It's his vineyard.
We have no claim to it at all. These laborers had no claim.
He didn't owe them anything. This man didn't have to hire
them. He didn't owe them a thing. God doesn't owe you and I anything.
He called them. God calls us. He made them willing
to come. God makes us willing to come.
And he agreed to pay them a good wage. That's right. He said to
them, I'll give you a Roman penny every day. So our Lord who came
has promised to us. He's promised to recompense. He's promised to bless us. He
said, I'll give you eternal life. Eternal life, this is the record
God has given us, eternal life, and this life's in his Son, he
that hath the Son hath life. He's given us pardon from all
sin, he's given us the gift of his Holy Spirit, he's given us
sufficient grace for every trial, he's given us eternal glory as
the sons of God. That's what he's given us. He
says, come to me, come to my vineyard, come to my kingdom,
this is what I'll give you. Now then the man went out at
different times of the day. Now you listen carefully to this.
and he found more men. Nine o'clock, twelve o'clock,
three o'clock, even as the shadows of the day lengthened, at five
o'clock he went out and found some men. What does this mean?
Here's what it means. Those, some are brought to Christ
as children, early in life. That's like Timothy. Paul said,
from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures that are
able to make thee wise unto salvation. Timothy was in the kingdom of
God, he was in the vineyard of Christ, all his life, from the
time he sat at his grandmother and his mother's knee and learned
of God, and learned of Christ, and learned of the gospel. Thou
hast known the Holy Scripture. He learned the types, he learned
the shadows, and then he saw the Savior fulfilling. Then there's
some who say that the third hour, that's somewhere between 15 years
and 30 years of age, 9 o'clock, one quarter of life. Then some
are saying in middle life, God calls them, not when they're
children, not when they're 30, but sometime between 30 and 45,
somewhere around that age, 40 and 45, that's noon. Apostle
Paul was saved when he was 40 years of age, you're a little
older. That's right, he came in Timothy as a child. John the
Baptist as an infant, child, just a little fella. He was filled
with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb. But Paul at middle life,
and then at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the 9th hour, that
represents to me people from 45 to 60. Life's about three-fourths
gone. And then there would be 11th
hour, 5 o'clock, one more hour of life left. The thief on the
cross? Perhaps some of you listening
to me, there's a man who listens to this television and God saved
him, he's almost 80 years of age. A man was converted in our
church a few months ago, eighty-eight years of age. I baptized him.
Eighty-eight years of age. That's five o'clock in the evening. He found them all in the same
place. All these people who were hired early at six o'clock, nine
o'clock, twelve o'clock, three, were all hired in the marketplace.
God finds his people in the same place in sin. He found them all
doing the same thing. Nothing. Idle. In rags. He found them, they didn't find
him. Nobody was knocking his door
down trying to go to work. He went out and found them. He
found you. He agreed to give them what was
right. Not according to justice, what was right, according to
grace. Now, when the day was over, and
the sun was set, he calls them all in, beginning at the last
one, and then going to the first one, and they all receive the
same thing. So here's what I'm saying. When
life is over, and the redeemed of all ages, all saved at different
times in life, some early, some middle, some afternoon, some
late. When they are brought before the Redeemer, those who have
labored long and those who haven't labored at all, they shall all
be gathered unto their Lord, and they shall all enter the
joys of the Lord, the same joys, the same pleasures, the same
life. They will all be trophies of
his grace, not their They'll all be trophies of His love.
They'll all be like Christ. That man who's saying that 88
years of age is going to be like Christ, I'm going to be like
Christ. I've been preaching 31 years.
He's 88 years of age. But he's going to be like Christ.
And so am I. And that's the ultimate. That's the infinite. There's
nothing better. If I'm going to be like Christ,
why would I want a yo-yo to play with? I'm going to be like Christ.
I've put away childish things. What will these material things
mean to me in glory when I'm like Christ? There'll be no high
and low seats in heaven. There'll be no great saints and
small saints. There'll be no mansions and cabins.
There'll be no class systems such as kings and paupers. We're
all kings. We're all saints. We're all sons
of God. We're all like Christ in glory.
There can be no greater reward than to be like the Master. And
this reward business was born of legalism. It was born of a
false interpretation of scripture and a false understanding of
grace. It's all of grace. All of grace. We don't deserve anything. We
don't even deserve to be like Christ. Now let me offer some
observations in bringing this message to a close. I want to
offer some observations for your consideration. I want you to
consider these things, and you especially who have been taken
up with the idea, and I don't know where we get it, but the
idea of degrees of glory and special rewards for our works
and our service to God. Will you consider these things?
You say, I've been in the kingdom of God since I was a child, and
here this man is just 80 years of age, just now come in. You
mean he's going to have the same thing I have? That's right. Not
fair. What's not fair? Actually, who
got the greater blessing? Now listen to me. You who were
converted early in life and lived in fellowship with God all your
life, you've had the privilege of knowing his grace and knowing
his love and knowing his peace. You consider yourself deprived
because you've been in the kingdom of God longer than that? I consider
myself to be blessed that God's let me know him thirty years
longer than that fellow's known him. My, what a blessing, what
grace, what love, what grace it has been to walk with God. Do you not thank God for it? Have you considered walking with
the Savior to be a sacrifice or a blessing? Have you considered
knowing Christ all the days of your life to be, you to be deprived
of something? Or has that been the mercy of
God? That's a reward. And then let's, secondly, suppose
we do preach. Who gave us the grace to preach?
Who enabled us to preach? Who gave us the gift? It's not
ours. Who maketh thee to differ? What
do you have that you didn't receive? Suppose you sing in the choir,
and you've been singing there 20 years. Who gave you the voice?
God could have made you croak like a frog. He gave you that
voice. Why do you take any credit for
it? Why do you want a crown in heaven? Because God gave you
a good voice. Do you thank him for it? Do you
thank him for letting you use it for his glory? Suppose you
give. Suppose you have been giving
all your life. You've been giving thousands
and thousands and thousands of dollars to missionary programs,
to the preaching of the gospel. Who blessed you with the knowledge
to earn your living? Who blessed you with making you
prosperous and giving you a good job and a good income? Huh? Where
did that come from? You could have been a pauper,
you could have been an imbecile, you could have been a ward of
the state. God gave you a brain, he gave
you talent, he gave you a job. And then you talk about serving
the Lord, what, all his grace? Not unto us, not unto us, but
unto thine angel glory. How could I accept a reward for
something that God did? And then I'll give you this,
and you listen to me. I'll shoot this right at any
person who believes that he deserves something in heaven that somebody
else doesn't deserve, who's saved by the blood of Christ. It's
disturbing to me that any believer would want a higher seat than
somebody else. I really can't connect that with
humility or grace or love. It's disturbing to me that any
believer, any child of God who says, I'm the chief of sinners,
I'm less than the least of all the saints, would want a brighter
crown than somebody else, or a greater reward, or a bigger
house. This is a denial of everything we preach. And when we render
the best we can, you just say this, I'm still an unprofitable
servant, an unprofitable servant. The last shall be first, and
the first shall be last. And he that would be greatest
among you Let him be your servant. If you want this message on tape,
cassette tape, there's a charge for it. There's three dollars
for two messages. You write to me and we'll send
it to you. The address will be given to
you in a moment. Until next week, Henry Mahan bidding you a very
pleasant good day.

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