# An extra motivation to live for the Lord

Key Passage: 2 John 8
Date: June 7, 2024

Turn your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Second John, chapter number three. Second John, chapter number three, if you would please.

It is in the back part of the Bible, not St. John, but Second John. Chapter number three.

I am waiting for you to find that. Brother Marlin, Brother Anthony, he is looking up at me, and my wife just looked at me. So I think they are figuring out. Hopefully you are figuring out. Also, there are no chapters to the book of Second John. I have got to just check out and make sure you are listening out there. You know, I tell you what, I have got you, friend. In Second John, there is no chapter, just one chapter, if you will, in the book of Second John. And I am trying to keep you tuned in a little bit.

Maybe you can elbow your husband or wife or whatever if I got him a little bit, you know. But Second John, verse number eight. Just want to get one truth in. And sometimes just one truth, if we just hit that, maybe that will stick a little bit more in our hearts or minds. Second John, we are in verse number eight of the Bible. I want you to think about this as we will read it.

It is God, of course, but He is speaking through Apostle John, and He is speaking to these people, legislating their children. There is church here, but He is speaking to a group of people that He has invested in. Him and His missionary team, they have ministered; they have invested in these people.

And now God is using him to pin something to those people. And there is a great lesson we can learn from him. Second John, we are in verse number eight. Would you please stand if you are able? Wherever you are, if you are able to stand, would you please do so? And we would just like to show the Word of God respect. They did this in the book of Ezra, Nehemiah, where they were standing when they read it. We want to do the same thing.

Second John, verse number eight, the Bible says, “Look.”

Now notice this is God speaking through here, John: “Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.” Full reward is mentioned only in one other place in the Bible. It is in the book of Ruth. I believe it is chapter number two. This full reward.

Now, what you have to just grasp is, He said, “Now look, we’ve ministered to you and to your lives. And I want you,” He said, “I want you to look after yourself. Make sure you are not veering off so we don’t lose.” And He said, “Stay right. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we,” as John, the people that ministered, “but that we receive a full reward.”

Now, that thought—let us go to the Lord in a word of prayer and ask the Lord to speak to us tonight.

There are many things that can motivate us in the Christian life. I want to tonight just try to give you an extra thing to motivate you. That is the title of it tonight: An Extra Motivation to Live for the Lord.

Now, sometimes you will hear this, and I maybe have made this statement years gone by, I don’t know, but the real motive, the only motive you should have is out of love to God. Now, that is probably the best motive, probably the purest motive. But I think there are many motives you ought to have. It is a good one; it is the purest. And by the way, we ought to serve Him out of love. He has been so good to us, and so loving, and so kind, and so generous. We ought to serve Him out of love.

And can I say this? There are times—if you serve God long enough—nothing else is really going to get you by. I mean, you just feel like this is what God wants to be doing, so I am going to keep on doing it, just out of love for Him. That is probably the best and purest motive. But there are a lot of motives that can drive you.

The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the beginning of wisdom. I mean, sometimes, maybe when I am not in my A-game, if you will, I just want to serve God because I do not want Him to take me out back and whip me real good. I do not want a chastening hand. Is that a wrong motive? No, not at all. That is the beginning level, maybe. It is not maybe the best or superior, but there is nothing wrong with it. I mean, He does it for a reason. Hebrews 12 tells us that.

A lot of motives can motivate you and I to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. There are rewards in heaven. The Bible says, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” That is what the Bible says. Is that a wrong motive? No. Why do you think God gave it to us? He says He rewards you for your labor, not necessarily for results, but for your labor. I believe that is First Corinthians 3:8.

And so, part of the motivation is, man, I like to have some rewards. I think of some older people in our church, great people, and they have made comments along this line: “Well, Pastor, I didn’t serve God for years and years, and I probably only have so much time left, and I want to spend that time laying up treasures in heaven.” I think they are wise people for that. It is a great motivation.

A lot of motivations to live for the Lord. Maybe some better than others, but I believe all these I mentioned are good motivations to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. Just for your testimony’s sake, to be a good ambassador for Christ, I want to be a good testimony for my children. And what would my son, my daughter, think if Dad went off the deep end? Or, think about this: my daughter also, but think about it—or that grandson on the way, you know. And those are not bad motives.

Brother Aaron texted me this week. He is in Bible College of North Dakota. And I did not know, but he has been watching on YouTube and something. And those things, people that they are watching—that motivates me. Nothing wrong with that. It is a right motive. I have been shocked since all this, the YouTube, but you are using it more on Facebook—the people that are watching, and they are watching YouTube. People you never know of, they are watching. And for your testimony’s sake, that is a right motivation.

A lot of things can motivate you to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. These are not bad; these are right motivations.

Sometimes this is a good motive for me: I like to keep living for the Lord because maybe somewhere down the road somebody is going to get saved and I am going to get to have a part in it, and I like to see him get saved. If I fall off by the wayside and I fell out of living for it, they might not ever get saved, and I do not want to go to hell. That is a good motive.

And sometimes I think about some of our people that I love; they went out into sin and maybe they have strayed a little bit. And I hope years down the road, they say, “Well, Pastor Paul is still over there, Rutherford County Baptist Church is still there. I think I can get back in there and start living there.” And that is a good motivation. And I love it if they do. I love it. And those are good motivations, and there are a lot of motivations. Probably things, particularly in your life, I have never even dreamed of that are motivations.

But I want to try to give you just an extra motivation to live for the Lord tonight. It is found there. Can I just word it this way: For those that have invested in your life to receive a full reward?

Now, they are going to receive rewards if they have been laboring for the Lord Jesus Christ; they will receive rewards. The Bible tells us that. But the Bible here mentions this term of full reward.

My wife and I, a couple weeks ago, had gone to Florida. Sarah met us at the airport in Orlando. We drove her back up here in her vehicle and made sure she could get around and, you know, plane flights were getting canceled, whatnot. So on the way back up from Florida to Tennessee, we rode up north Florida in Lake City, Florida. And I said, “Oh, we ought to stop by the old church I used to go to.” We went there for about a year and a half, Lake City Baptist Temple. I had not been there in years and years and years. I did not know if it was still there, to be honest.

We had a hard time finding it. I went there when I was 12 years old, and we went to the church there faithfully, and Mom and Dad had us in a Christian school. They were just a small Christian school. I do not know if the Christian school ever had over 20. I am sure it never ever had a 25. In fact, we went in the room where the Christian school used to be, and it was just so small. But we went there and just rode by. We were just going to ride by the church. It is a little bit off of 75 there, just ride back and look at it.

And we rode by there. The preacher, Brother Heston—I did not know if he is still there. He is 78, almost 79. And sure enough, we rode by there, and he was walking out of a vehicle into the church building. I saw him! Oh, my goodness. And I—we have a long drive. We flew down there and drove back that day; it is all the same day and night, you know. And I said, “Man, well, let us—let us not stop, Sarah.”

Sarah, can you believe these daughters, you know? Sarah starts saying, “Dad, we ought to stop. You ought to be a blessing to them.” And, you know, my wife did not even stand up for me either. She did not say a word. She did not help me at all, you know. And is not it just a bad thing when your kids are right? I mean, I tell you what, I cannot stand that. But sure enough, all right, all right. And we stopped. As long as Sarah is not watching, I will admit it, I am glad we did stop, you know.

But sure enough, Brother Heston—I always remember him as short. I could remember him as very, very short, shorter than I remember. Him and his wife, both, I believe, if I remember, I have been there 51 years. Just a small church. Oh, I should say the numbers are small. There is no small church, as long as it is preaching the gospel. No small church. The numbers are small. The building is small. I mean, I was still there, though—51 years they have been serving God. They still had energy. You can tell they still want to do something for God, and they still want to serve God to make a difference. They had a missionary there they were trying to help out when we were there. Precious people.

Their names will never be in a newspaper. This whole world will never know about them. I am sure there are some who say, “Well, I do not know why they have been there all these years. They do not have a whole lot of big numbers and all that.” Oh, friend, they have been faithful.

When I was there, when I was 12, went to the Christian school, and that is when the teacher, Mrs. Old—she, I do not think she got paid a dime. I do not know, but I do not think so. Just very, very small. Her husband worked at General Electric, faithful. Man, he was a youth director of the church, just good, godly people. And I believe she just did it as a ministry. But she looked at me. I was 12, shy. I did not—I was a loner kind of a guy, very quiet. And she looked at me, and she said, “Paul, you will make a good preacher one day.” I do not know why she said it.

But when she said it, it just kind of stuck. And I would walk home—we lived very close to the church. I would walk home through a little pine thicket. And walking home through that pine thicket, the Lord confirmed in my heart. I knew it. I mean, just as sure as the sun rises in the east, sets in the west, as sure as Baptists like fried chicken, you know, I knew it was going to be a preacher. And I am saying, God did a work in my heart when I was in that little church.

Little numbers. And I would love for Brother and Mrs. Heston, sweet people, I would love for them to receive a full reward. I would like to get to heaven one day and maybe they get a little bit full—a little bit extra, if you will—saying, “Well, you invested in that little 12-year-old boy, and he took it, and he has been living for God all those years.” That is what I am saying. Somebody—somebody has invested in your life.

There are no self-made men. It is just—it is just, Miss Norman, there is no such thing. Someone has invested in you. Are they going to receive a full reward?

I have been a little bit just pleasantly surprised how much I have heard here recently of people. It was a neighbor that took them to the church, and they got in church. And some Sunday school teacher, some children’s church worker, some preacher—somebody loved Donald and told them, “My Jesus,” they got saved, and they are an adult and they are living for the Lord. Now, friend, I am saying somebody—I do not know who it was—but somebody invested in your life.

I mean, and that person, whether it be your parents, for sure, but your dad, your mom, your grandparents—I mean, whoever it may be—somewhere they have invested in your life. Are they going to receive a full reward? Oh, yes, oh yes, they will receive rewards for the labor. Yes, you are right. But a full reward the Bible speaks of.

I am so glad my parents—their family tree, for the most part, nobody was saved in it. And just Mom got saved and Dad got saved, and I am so thankful they sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ.

My dad had a good job. It was a coveted job, and people wanted it. And he had kind of landed that job, and he was kind of set back in the day. You know, you get a good job; you stay in that company for years and years. You take care of them; they take care of you. A little different nowadays, but that is what it was back in the day. And yet, Dad said, “I am going to quit my job, move to Tennessee, go to Bible College.” Didn’t know anybody up here. Had two children—two and a half, I should say, because I was in my mom’s womb, you know, I was coming along.

But they left all that. Someone came to my mom and said, “Hey, you need to stop him from doing that. He is going to a house. He got a good job and all this, and you are just going to sell it and quit your—and move. You have to stop him from doing that.” And Mom said, “I want to serve God too, and I want to sell that to the Lord too. That is what God wants. That is what we want to do. We are just going to do that.”

Now, friend, I like for them—I would like for them to go to heaven one day and get a full reward. I am simply saying somebody, somewhere—it is a different story for you. And someone may have invested in your life that most people don’t know of, but somebody has invested.

It may be a bus worker. I think about Brother Richard often mentioning his bus worker. I believe it is Brother Ron, if you remember the name, and Brother Ron has invested in his life, and somebody has invested in your life. That ought to be a motivation.

God here is speaking to Apostle John is telling these people, “Hey, look to yourselves. Make sure you keep yourself right. Live for the royal life because we would like to receive a full reward.”

Hey, who is it that invested in you? Who is it? You know, it is a shame we are not thankful for those that invested in us.

Look, if you will, over in Hebrews chapter number 11. I think this is a principle found in other places in the Bible. I think it is found over here. Just look over in Hebrews chapter number 11, if you would. Most of you will know this. Hebrews 11 is known as a Hall of Fame of Faith. It is a lot of Old Testament great Christians that lived for the Lord, and some are more known than others. But just by faith, God used them in great ways. And it will talk about them. We will not read the whole thing, but it talks about Enoch, and it talks about Noah, and it talks about Abraham. It will talk about Joseph and Moses and all these people, Joshua and Rahab and all that.

It is very interesting. I like to just very quickly note something before we get to the truth. I am just kind of bypassing. It is very interesting. Verse number 36, it takes a turn. These great Christians have accomplished so much for the Lord before. And then He says, verse number 36, “And others…”

Now let me just give you a little brief. This is an extra. This is a part of the message. These others—there are those that stayed faithful to the Lord, but it didn’t turn out like they thought. These aren’t the ones that had the great crowds, if you will, and led a lot of people to the Lord. But they stayed faithful, many of them until they were martyred.

It is amazing what God says about it. I want you just to kind of see it, and then we will get back to the message here. Let us read down through verse number 36. These may be the—I believe these will be those that will be in the front of the line. We do not know their names. We will know them one day.

Verse 36: “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings; yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonments: they were stoned; they were sawn asunder”—who was the believer, Isaiah? We believe they put him in a tree and cut the tree in two—“were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented.”

Here is what God says about these folk here. You do not know their name. I do not know their name. They did not turn out like, “Oh, those great Christians.” Oh, but they were great Christians. Look what the Bible says about them: “Of whom the world was not worthy.” They wandered in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. They are great Christians. This old world never knows anything about them. Can I say this about those Christians that laid down their lives for Jesus? They have left us a great heritage. I am talking about faithful, no matter what adversity, no matter what they are facing. They just stayed faithful to God. What a heritage they have left for us. I am ashamed sometimes at my Christianity in 2020 in America in comparison.

Now, God lumps all of them together in the next verse. We are getting back to our message now, all right? That was a little extra. You will have to put an extra offering plate for that extra sermon there. No, here, getting back to our message, verse number 39: “These all,” He is including all, both categories, “these all, having obtained a good report through faith, well, look at this—received not the promise.”

Why? They haven’t received? What is going on? Verse number 40: “God having provided some better thing for us.” Notice, “us.” “That they without us should not be made perfect,” that is, complete, mature.

Then, by the way, man put in the chapter divisions and all that. Look at the next verse. “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

Now, here is my thing for him. God is saying, look, all these Old Testament saints, great Christians, they have laid such a great foundation for us. And they passed down truths, and they showed us what Christianity ought to be about and what it ought to be like. And God said, but they have not gotten their promise yet. They cannot obtain it fully, if you will, perfectly mature. They are not going to get the full reward, if you will, without you and I taking what they have handed to us, without us living for God off of that and saying, “This is what ought to be, and this is our heritage, and we are not going to run from it. We are not going to change everything. We are going to serve God, and we want to take their investment and live for God.” Without investment, many reasons, but one reason: so they will receive a full reward.

Sometimes at funerals, we will say, “Well, they went home to be with their Lord,” and I probably have said that before, but technically that is not true. They went home to heaven, oh yes, absent from the body, present with the Lord, oh yes, yes, yes. But Jesus, Revelation 22, I believe it is verse number 10—Jesus says, let me make sure I got that right. Jesus says, verse number 12, Revelation 22:12, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be.”

You see, we do not get our rewards until Jesus comes back. That is when we have the Bema Seat, the Judgment Seat of Christ, when Jesus comes back. Many reasons for it. I do not know them all, but I believe one of those is because it is still being tallied. See, because those people that invested in you, they are already in heaven; they are watching—a great cloud of witnesses.

And it is not all tallied. It is almost, if you will, when the rapture happens, boy, it is a great reset. And God says, “I give out rewards.” By the way, we are raptured out of here. Remember those that have heard a clear presentation of the gospel—two thousand people—they do not get saved. Those that have it, they can get saved, and many do: the two witnesses and 144,000 Jews and all that. But, friend, so I am saying is those people, they are watching; they are a great cloud of witnesses, and you can affect them. You can make sure they have a full reward.

A lot of things can motivate you. But maybe you need to think back tonight about a dear old grandma, dear old grandpa that invested in you. Maybe you need to think back to a dear old Sunday school teacher that loved you and prayed for you and tried to teach you God’s Word and was patient. Maybe you need to think back for all those people that invested in you.

Maybe it is a dear lady that lived next door, and she, when you were a young girl, she ministered to you and she loved it, and she taught you how to live for the Lord. I do not know who it is, but somebody has invested in you. Will they receive a full reward?

I think about my youth director when I was a teenager. My cousin—she wasn’t in church. And I do not know if she was saved at the time. And she was with someone probably shouldn’t have been. And they were on a motorcycle, and they had a motorcycle wreck, and she was in the hospital. And I wanted to go see her. I was just a teenager. I did not know how to do all that. I was nervous and scared. I mean, honestly, I really was not close to her. And we were not close in a lot of ways because we were just going different directions. And yet I wanted to go visit her.

And I called my youth director. He was sick; he had a fever. And he knew I was burdened about the matter. And he said, “Fever or not, let us go to the hospital.” And we went to his house, and we left his house and went to the hospital in Plant City, Florida, and witnessed to my cousin. I am saying that to say my youth director, he has ministered, he has invested in my life. Even when he was sick, he was investing in my life. Now I would like my youth director to receive a full reward.

And I am just saying, who has invested in your life? I think about my old preacher when I was a teenager at that church, Dr. J.B. Buffett, and he is in heaven now. And boy, he would get going. He would always kind of—when he got going real good, he would bounce on the balls of his seat, just bounce, as he was preaching, you know. Boy, Dr. Buffett, and he invested in my life.

I think about Mr. Sampson. He was a deacon in that church, and he had owned a factory, and he hired me as a teenager. And just for some reason he saw something in me, and he reached out to me in several different ways and times, and let me work with him from time to time, and some things he told me stuck with me all these years, and he believed in me. And I would like for him—he is in heaven now—I do not know why he believed in me, even to think about the end of his—toward the end of his life, he wanted them to contact me and see what I thought whether he should take chemo or not. I was a nobody, but he believed in me. I needed that. And I would like for that man to receive a full reward.

Now, who is it in your life? I do not know who is in your life. But they have invested in your life. Will they receive a full reward?

Maybe next time Satan tries to belittle you and Satan tries to say, “Well, y’all just throw in the towel, and you’re not making a difference, and just give it all up”—maybe you ought to think back to all those people that invested in you. I sure would like—maybe just—I sure would like for them to receive a full reward.

Many things can motivate a child of God to live for the Lord. So many good things. But this is an extra. God puts it in there: “Hey, so receive a full reward.”

I think about America. We are such a—oh, we have so much. A society that we have been handed the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Can I say our generations that are living right now, for the most part, we didn’t earn it. It was given to us. But somebody way back there has paid the cost.

I was talking to a lady yesterday. Her brother is a preacher. I met him at the funeral preacher originally. And she said, “You know, he came back from Vietnam, and he was so messed up, just so messed up. But through all that, he got saved.” And I say that to say, I wonder how many went off to war for America and came back messed up, if you will. I wonder the thousands that have shed their blood on the battlefield. I wonder those that have been through tragedy for our country. I wonder those that have prayed and wept over America, “God, we’ve got to have a revival in our country.” And we have been blessed and handed such a great nation. And wouldn’t it be a pity for us to fold it away just for our greed and what we want? Somebody ought to say, “We’ve been handed this investment,” and I would like for those past generations to receive a full reward.

You know, America can finance so much of the visions of the world. And though we’re not what we used to be—no, we’re not what we ought to be—bless God, there’s still some Christians in America that can shine around the globe. It will be a blessing for those people to have a full reward—that God, thousands that God has used to give us such a great nation.

Hey, who has provided for your material things? Who put a roof over your head when you were young? What about the lady that changed your diapers when you were a little child? What about the thing—what about the person that took that spoon and said, “Oh, it’s an airplane, open up, here it comes”? Who fed you when you were little? Somebody has invested in you, friend.

Who is the one that went up to work and got up early in the morning and went off to work and came home late? When he left when it was dark, came home when it was dark sometimes, and they didn’t buy this and they didn’t do this, and they said, “No, why?” They wanted to provide for you. Will they receive a full reward?

What about that spouse that has loved you all those years and forgiven you and worked for you and put food on your table, cooked for you, and did your laundry? All they have invested in you. Are they going to receive a full reward?

Oh, friend, there are so many, so many that have invested in your life. I thought about those that have invested in Rutherford County Baptist Church all these years. I spoke with someone last night, I believe it was, and we were talking about Brother Duane Delfth. And we were just saying what a gifted man and a special man.

I remember toward the end of his life, he was their youth director, and he was a deacon and very involved, and yet he had a heart problem. And I remember that he had taken the teens on a youth activity, and he had hurt for the next couple days. And I went to him. I said, “Brother Duane, look, man, it might be good for you just to, you know, just not do so much with the teens.”

And he said, “Pastor,” he said, “if I only have a couple years left”—that is what they were talking about these things—“he said, if I only have a couple years left, this is the way I want to spend them.” Oh, man, people have invested in this church. And all those people, all these years that have invested in Rutherford County Baptist Church, oh, why don’t we take the baton that has been handed to us and say, “Hey, we would like to work for the Lord. We would like for those people to have a full reward.”

I thought about Brother Calvin Douthon. I remember we had a preacher’s fellowship. We wanted to be a blessing to the preachers, and we were trying to serve them a good meal, and we were not able to. We did not have all the means to fix—I wanted to have pork chops or steak or something like that for those preachers. And Brother Calvin Douthon—never forget—he came to me, said, “Preacher, got you back. Got you covered.”

Now, I thought, “Might I have stepped out a little bit too far on the limb? We can’t supply what I said we would supply.” And he said, “I got you covered.” And he spent an old day or maybe the day before and that morning cooking on his grill, and he had pork chops and just everything ready to go for all those preachers. He is just a steady man.

The handrails around our banister here in the cross and the bulletin, the board in the back, in the map in the hallway—all these things. Brother Calvin Douthon, he was glad to do it. He made them all. Track racks, all these things. I am saying people have invested.

I thought about Brother Bobby Garvin. He was a worker—he is a worker, always. The sidewalk that goes to my office, he formed it up. I remember we had a workday here, and I put a teenage young man working with Brother Bobby. Now, Brother Bobby had had a stroke, and sometimes he kind of stumbled around. Some of you remember, Brother Bobby, just—it wasn’t—you always think, “Man, is he going to fall?” But he is a worker. I tell you what, that old Brother Bobby had a stroke; he worked that teenager into the ground. I tell you what, that teenager said, “Man, I need a break.” He—him. He was working at a house, had a sanding block in his hand where he had a massive heart attack and died—died with a sanding block. And he said, “You’re still in his hand when he hit the ground.” I am talking about people have invested in this thing.

I thought about Brother Dylan was here—not Rutherford County Baptist, but by the way, Baptist Church in this location for 20 years, I believe, here in this location before we ever came here. And sometimes I will tell Brother Dylan, “Brother Dylan, everything goes on around here, you have a part in it.” I am saying people have invested to make Rutherford County Baptist Church. It has been the Lord, but the Lord uses people.

Linda McCutcheon passed—went home to be with the Lord this morning, 7th or this morning. Friends, she is in heaven. She is part of that great cloud of witnesses. And how many times she would come clean the church. And we weren’t able to—at the time—to pay her. She just came clean, glad to do it, glad to do it.

I am saying people have invested. I thought about this afternoon when we—I am not sure if we are trying to pay off the mortgage or maybe enlarge the parking lot—but I think of a good couple. They do not live in a big fancy house. You would be shocked where they live, and they do not have all the different means, and they do not have the luxury of the world, but they say, “We want to invest in the ministry here.” If I remember right, they gave $30,000. $30,000. Good people, not wealthy.

Now, I am saying people have invested. And we can take that and say, “Well, look at us.” We can say, “No, no, somebody has invested in this thing.” And we do not want to just get all about us. We want to go out and reach somebody and love a bus kid and make a difference in a life and get somebody saved. And we want to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. Many things motivate you, but I would like for those people to have a full reward.

Yeah. John is saying, “Oh, look to yourselves. We don’t want to lose. We would like to receive a full reward.” I am almost done, but friend, can I just say the Lord has invested so much in you? It was His hands that formed you.

It was His breath that breathed in you, made you become a living soul. He is the one that has given you life all these years. It was He that came down from heaven and lived in this sin-cursed world, lived in poverty. And people mocked Him and made fun of Him. And He had—family issues, like all families. He had all these things going. He was tempted in every point, just like you and I, probably much, much more, though. And He was investing in you.

And then He went to that old rugged cross and He put His hands out. He said, “Go ahead and drive.” They didn’t push His hand, make His hand get down there. He could have called 10,000 angels, 12 legions of angels. He laid His hands out and He said, “Go ahead, put the nail there.” Why was He doing that? He was allowing them to do it. Why? Because He was investing in you. That is why. He shed His blood. He laid down His life. Why? He was investing in you.

Will He receive a full reward? One day we will stand before Him. Oh, friend, we can be ashamed because He has invested so much in us. All the grace that we have ever had—we have so much grace available. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” All that grace you have been given all these years. He is investing in you.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if He could say, “Hey, well done, thou good and faithful servant”? If you will, maybe it would be a little bit like Him saying, “Hey, I got a full reward.” Will He receive a full reward?

A lot of things ought to motivate you, a lot of things. Don’t let Satan get you so narrow that you don’t see the big picture, friend. There are so many, probably hundreds of reasons to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. But one of those: I would like for those that invested in us to have a full reward.

Will you bow your heads wherever you are? Would you bow your heads and close your eyes wherever you are? Just kind of make an altar right there where you are. And you say, “You know, I’d like to use this motive. I need it. And at times I want this thing just to stir me and cause me to continue living for the Lord and live for Him strongly.” God spoke my heart about this thing. I would like for those that invested in my life to receive a full reward. God spoke my heart about that. If that is you, wherever you are, wherever you are, will you slip your hand up now? Maybe you are where you are, you can’t do it physically, and your heart lifted up. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Be too.

Maybe you are there. Let me just throw this in here. And you say, “I want to be busy investing in others. I want to spend my life living for the Lord Jesus Christ and investing in others.” God spoke to my heart about this angle. I would like to spend my life investing in others. God spoke to my heart about that. If that is you right wherever you are, would you just lift your hand? “Preacher, I would like to invest. I would like to spend my life investing in others.” God spoke to my heart about that. God bless you. That is what God wants—that is to follow in His shoes, investing in others.

Maybe you are there. One last question. You say, “I’ve never been saved.” Can I say this? I’m not trying to be mean or hateful to you, but can you imagine the waste of the investment Jesus has made in your life? He shed His blood for you. He has purchased your ticket to heaven. He wants you to have it. Wouldn’t it be sad? Wouldn’t it be sad for Him not to have that full reward? He has already paid for it; He shed His blood for you.

If you are there and you have never received Jesus as your way to heaven, your Savior, right there where you are, right where you are alone in a room or a car, if you are there, would you bow your heads there? Would you go to the Lord Jesus? Would you say it from your heart: “Oh, Lord Jesus, be merciful to me, a sinner. Thank you for investing in me. I don’t deserve it, but I know You have. You shed Your blood for me on the cross. You paid my sin debt. And I want You to have a full reward. Would You be my Savior? Would You save me right now? Make me Your child. Thank you, Jesus, for investing in my life.”

Friends, if you were watching on YouTube, would you let us know below the video there? There is a description. Would you check that off and let us know? I would like to send you a Bible and so on.

Hey, God’s people, hey, let’s make sure those people are receiving a full reward. I’m going to have a word of prayer. We won’t be long. And when I finish this prayer, would you just make an altar where you are? Just spend some time—it is key that you should seal some decisions—spend some time with the Lord over them. You are saying, “Would you do that?” I will pray. And would you get along with the Lord right wherever you are? Just spend some time. Make an altar wherever you are, and you and God, you would get along with Him. Would you do that?

Father, thank you so much for Your investment in my life. Lord, all those people are a great host. I’m amazed how many people are there to look back—my parents and so many others that invested in me. Thank you for them, Lord. Father, would You help me to stay true to You, stay right? Lord, I would like for those to receive a full reward. Bless our people wherever they are, Father, please. We thank You for what You do, Lord. Said, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Maybe tonight, just you take some time wherever you are. Maybe you just need to get along a little bit and think about those people that have invested in your life. And just spend some time being grateful and remembering. It is important we remember. And let’s just say, “I would like for them to receive a full reward.”

Would you do that? You contemplate that truth tonight. Thank you so much for being in the House of the Lord on Sunday night. I appreciate it. Let’s stay faithful. Let’s not drop out. Let’s stay faithful. Keep the same times. We will be live. You will be live.

And we will keep after this saying for the Lord until He comes back, and it might not be long. Brother Marlon, can I get you to come up here and dismiss us in a word of prayer? And I’m just thrilled you are here with us. I love you and excited about shining with you for the Lord Jesus Christ until the end. These are great days to shine for Him. I’m excited when everything clears up and the Lord is plowing those fields. And let’s be ready to go for Him when all is said and done. We’ll be ready to harvest in those fields. Would you do that? Brother Martin, dismiss us tonight. We’ll see you Wednesday night, 7 o’clock. Brother Bud Martin will be with us. It will be a blessing for you. Love you, my friend.

Original File: An Extra motivation to live for the Lord - Pastor Chisgar