ETERNAL REWARD

Jn.4:36 – And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

This passage is about harvest, the end of the age, eternity, and our eternal rewards. Reading this passage makes me think about Beyond the Grave and the huge numbers of people that have been impacted by the ministry of BTG. After thinking, its though I would have to say BTG has impacted me more than anyone else. Why would I say that? Of course, I didn’t become converted at BTG, but I have been privileged to preach and cast out the nets for souls at BTG hundreds of times. The reason I say I have been affected the most is because this production has caused me to think hard about harvest, the end of the age, eternity, and eternal rewards. In today’s passage, Jesus is telling the disciples about the shocking harvest of Samaritans in front of their eyes which marked the beginning of the harvest of all nations that Jesus initiated. We are in that age of world harvest, the consequences could not be more important. Here is what the Fire Bible said about this passage.

“Those who introduce others to Jesus and lead them to a point of accepting Christ and yielding their lives to him are doing something of eternal significance. They will one day rejoice in heaven over those who were saved because of their prayers, their example and their witness. At the same time, they must remain humble and never lose sight of the fact that any “success” they see in this service for Jesus is the result of the sacrificial work of Christ and the prayers and ‘spiritual seed planting’ of others. In the same way, we will seldom see or experience the full results of our own spiritual labors because other faithful Christians will come behind us and reap a spiritual harvest where we have previously planted and invested in lives. But whether we plant the spiritual seeds of love and kindness that later cause someone to turn to God, or whether we pray with someone to actually receive Christ, we are all part of the same process. There should be no competition among God’s people. When individuals come to Jesus, it is a reason for all Christians to rejoice.”

This weekend marks forty seven years since the Lord birthed Victory Church in New Orleans. I think the reason we exist as a congregation is connected to this verse. He has called us to participate in the great harvest of this city. Each one of us has a role, some plant and others reap. The good news is that we all get to rejoice together. Happy anniversary to Victory Church.