May 25, 2008 Sermon Notes

May 25, 2008
Pastor Marty Grubbs – (9:30 & 11 Service)
Pastor Matt Anderson – (10:45 Service)
“The Ultimate Reward”
Life Strategies series, part eight

Jason’s path to the “Ultimate Gift”:

   •  He learned to work. (hands)

   •  He changed his thinking. (head)

   •  He gave himself away. (heart)

What is our “Ultimate Reward”?   Heaven

1. Crown

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord … will award … to all who have longed for His appearing.” -2 Timothy 4:7-8

2. Makeover

“But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him …” -John 3:2

3. Home

“There are many rooms in My Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you.” -John 14:2 (NLT)

Our path to the “Ultimate Reward”:     Follow Jesus

“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” -John 3:16

1.  Heart

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart …” -Matthew 22:37

2.  Head 

“... let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” -Romans 12:2 (NLT)

3.      Hands 

“Anyone who listens to My teaching and obeys Me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” -Matthew 7:24 (NLT)

 

 

A morning thought…

Throughout the ages, men and women have found or created spaces for spending time with God. It is interesting to read how in the early church, spiritual leaders lived in cells. “Cells, as the monks call their rooms, have nothing to do with prison cells. ‘Cell’ comes from the Latin word cella, related to the word coelum, heaven, the place where one enjoys God” (from A Place Apart by Basil Pennington).

These individuals found that in their private spaces, they could commune with God and live in a relationship with Him. This is one of the fundamental methods of living life in the kingdom of God. It is the start of heaven here on earth. A place where we can enjoy God, either alone or with others, is a gift we cannot ever take for granted. Sometimes just living life in our world is a small representation of what heaven will be like with its beauty, love, health, and relationship with God.

One day, we will forever be in heaven with God where we may, with all knowledge, speak with the apostle Paul these words: “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1). At that moment, we will recognize we are finally home and that God’s destination is every bit as grand as He has said it would be.

–George Skramstad, 2005