Sound of Faith

Sharon Hardy Knotts: Greetings friends and new listeners and welcome to this program of the Archie Hardy Ministries. I'm Sharon Knotts, thanking you for joining us today because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The message we bring you today is timely and trustworthy. Jeopardy: Losing Your Rewards. I hope you will hear with your heart and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how you should respond to this inspired word. Jeopardy: Losing Your Rewards.

R. G. Hardy: All right, let's turn to Mark the tenth chapter, verse 17. And when he had gone forth into the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said unto him, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, and that is God. Now thou knowest the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy mother and father."

And he answered and said unto him, "Master, all these have I observed from my youth." Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him. I like that; I think that's so important that Mark inserted that. And said unto him, "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross and follow me." And he was sad at that saying and he went away grieved, for he had great possessions.

Now think that Jesus offered him treasure in heaven. Wow, what an exchange. Jesus said, "You have done all these you've kept," but Jesus knew the one he hadn't kept. Remember, it's not only what you do; it's what you fail to do that you're going to be judged by. And Jesus said, "Yes, you've kept all these things, but one thing: go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have reward or treasure in heaven."

But that young man, he made a choice. He decided to forfeit the treasures in heaven for what he had here on earth. Wow, what a rip-off. That he would forfeit the treasures in heaven. Now why did Jesus tell him to do that? Jesus didn't tell everybody that came to him to do that, but Jesus knew that this young man had a problem with this. And giving proves that you've got the victory over greed. You see?

It proves you've got the victory over that. And this young man did not have the victory over that. He might have had the victory in "I don't steal" and "I don't kill" and "I don't commit adultery," but he didn't have the victory over greed and covetousness. And in order for him to show that he had the victory, he had to give. And he wasn't willing to do that. And the sad thing is, he went away still rich, still had all his possessions, still had his bank account, still had his real estate, still had his stocks and bonds, but he had no reward in heaven.

Now you have to decide what you would rather have. That's your choice. Amen. Jesus said, "Lay up not for yourselves treasures on the earth," because the fact is the thief and the robber come in and steal. And even if the thief doesn't get it, the moth will get in. Rust will get in. The law of entropy—sooner or later, it will all turn into a rust bucket. Amen. So no matter what you amass, if your treasure is here, it's only temporary at best, when you could have the eternal rewards of heaven.

Then I'll refer you just to Luke 21. Jesus and the disciples had gone to the temple and they were watching as all of these people were coming in. The rich were coming in and they were dropping in these huge offerings and all of these great things of silver and gold. And in the midst of dropping in all of these offerings, here came a little poor widow. And she dropped in two mites. And Jesus said, "Do you see this little woman? Do you see what she's done? I say unto you that this woman hath cast in more than all of them put together."

Why? Because they gave out of their abundance and she gave out of her poverty. And her reward—when we get to heaven, they didn't give her name in the Bible, but when we get to heaven, we're going to find out who she is. And she's going to receive great reward because they gave out of their abundance. All right, Brother Murphy, if there's a reward given out for paying attention, he's going to get one.

And so because she gave out of her poverty, no one else saw what she did, but God saw what she did. Amen. Because she didn't give to be seen of men. In fact, she may have, in her own heart, she might have even felt ashamed. You know, I know when I used to count the offering, sometimes you get these bills that are knotted up like this—they've been folded so many times they can't get folded anymore. By the time you open them up, it might be a dollar.

But you know what that says to me? That dollar was important to that person. They were making a sacrifice and they might have thought, "Well, a dollar's not much. You shouldn't even give that dollar. What's a dollar going to do?" But they gave it. And the Lord sees that no matter how much it is. You know, another thing: when we get letters in the mail from our people that write in for the radio, sometimes you will get these letters. I'm not exaggerating; they will have so much tape on that envelope.

They'll be taped this way, that way, the other way, and you've got to get this letter open. You're just pulling. You practically need Popeye muscles to get it open. And I'm not kidding: when most of the time you would expect when you open it up you're going to see probably a hundred-dollar bill or fifty, it'll be like a dollar or two dollars. And you might think to yourself, "Why would they tape all that up for two dollars?" Because that's precious to them.

To them, that was a sacrifice in their mind. They're thinking, "Wow, I want this two dollars to get there safe." And they're taping it all up. Somebody else might give a hundred-dollar bill in cash, which is a foolish thing to do these days, but there are some people that do that. There are still some people that give cash through the mail. And they'll just send it in. It won't be all taped up because that hundred dollars is neither here nor there to them.

If they lost it, it wouldn't really upset them that much. Do you see the point that I'm making? Maybe I'm belaboring it too much. But I just want you to see that. And Paul said in Second Corinthians 9:7, "Every man," again individual responsibility, "according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, nor of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." So we're going to be—one of the things that we're going to be judged on is not only what we gave but how we gave it.

You can give a small little gift numerically, but if you gave it with a cheerful heart and with all of your might, you're going to get a reward. There are other people that pay their tithes because they're afraid if they don't pay their tithes they might get a curse. They pay their tithes because they don't want to get under condemnation. But they really, in the back of it, they're kind of begrudging that tithe a little bit.

And you've probably heard the story before because it's gone around a lot, but there was one person and supposedly the original story was true, that this man made seventy dollars a week. And this was a long time ago, but even a long time ago seventy dollars a week would cause you to struggle some. But he faithfully paid his seven-dollar tithe even though he really needed that money for his family. And finally the Lord began to bless him and he began to increase and prosper.

Before you know it, he really got a great financial opportunity and he was then—had a business where he was making seven hundred dollars a week. And now his tithe was what? Seventy dollars. What he used to make in a week. And all of a sudden that seventy-dollar tithe back then, that looked like a lot of money and he was really getting like, "Man, I'm giving a lot of money here to the church." So he went to the pastor.

He said, "Pastor, I want you to pray for me. The devil's really fighting me about paying my tithes. Seventy dollars, that's a lot of money to be paying every week." And the pastor said, "All right, let's just pray right now. Let's just pray." And the pastor said, "Father, you see the struggle that this man is having. You see how that it's hard for him now to pay that seventy-dollar tithe and so, Lord, I just ask you, take him back down where he used to be so he only has to pay the—" and the man says, "No, that's all right, brother. You don't have to finish that prayer."

Amen. So it's not only what we give, but do we do it out of necessity: "God's word says I got to pay tithe so I will," or do we do it—we purposed in our heart. "I love to give, Lord. I love to give my tithes. I'm not only happy I have a job that I can pay tithes because some people don't, but I love to give. And if I get a raise, it means more I can give to you, Lord." We'll receive a reward in heaven.

So that brings us to number four and that's our motivations. Why do we do what we do, whatever it is, for the glory of God or the glory of men? In First Corinthians 3, where we started, but we'll back up just a couple verses, and Paul said, "I have planted, Apollos has watered, but God has given the increase. So then, neither is he that planteth is anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man," somebody say every man, "and every man shall receive his own, his own what? His own reward according to his own labor."

So what we've got to see here is, again, every man is going to give an account for the work that he has done in his own body. And Jesus said in John the fourth chapter, "Lift up your eyes and behold the fields, they're already white unto harvest." He said, "He that reapeth receives wages and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." So what we've got to understand is we are not in competition with one another.

And it's when people get in competition that all of a sudden, not only do we have a problem with division in the church and that was another message I've preached quite a bit in the past, but I want you to see it also affects our rewards. We've got to see that okay, though this one watered and this one reaped or this one planted and this one reaped, I'm not anything because I water. You're not anything because you sow. She's not anything because he reaped. It's God who gets the glory.

And when we understand we're not in competition with one another and in fact, I am responsible for what I do. When I stand before the Lord, I'm going to stand like somebody said, in my own shoes. And if I was so worried about what you were doing, "And I don't think you should be doing that, and I don't think he should be doing this," well, it really is none of your business. Your business is: are you doing what you should be doing?

Because you're going to stand before the Lord and give an account for what you've done. And accordingly for your motivation on what you did, you will receive a reward or not receive a reward, have it go up as wood and stubble and hay. God has given every person a gift or an ability or an assignment. You at least have an assignment of some kind that God has given you. You are responsible for yours; I'm responsible for mine.

And the Lord has given me the gift or the assignment to preach and to teach to the body of Christ. There's others he's given the assignment to evangelize, to go into the prisons, to go on the streets, to be a witness on their job or to go in the—pray for people or whatever. I am going to have to make sure that I'm doing what God has called me to do. And if I do what God has called me to do, I will be successful in that now and I will receive a reward then.

Furthermore, if I do it for the right reason. I've got to do it for the right reason. There are a lot of successful people. If you look at it on the outside, they're successful. They either—they got a singing talent, man, they're out there, they're making CDs and they're on all the shows and all. Now that doesn't mean they're going to get a reward in heaven. See, we don't know and only God knows when they stand before him.

There are a lot of successful preachers. There's some people that they can—you just sit there like, you hang on their words. They're silver-tongued. But that doesn't mean they're going to get a reward. How many see what I'm saying? So you've got to make sure what your motivations are. Let's flip over to the ninth chapter here in First Corinthians. Okay, verse 16. "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel."

"For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me." So let's see what Paul is saying. He's saying if I preach the gospel—and Paul preached the gospel successfully, how many will agree to that? He says, "I don't have any reason to glory because I preached the gospel and people are being won. I have nothing to glory of. In fact, woe unto me if I don't preach the gospel."

Because of necessity is laid upon me. Remember Paul said in Philippians, "I have been apprehended for that which I've been apprehended." Another word on the road of Damascus, the Holy Ghost apprehended him, knocked him down, said, "Hey you, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Well, who art thou, Lord?" He says, "I'm Jesus whom you persecuted." And then of course he got his assignment: to go preach the gospel and he would go to kings and stand before great men.

Paul said, "I don't have a choice. If I don't preach the gospel, woe am I. But if I preach the gospel and I do it willingly, I will have a reward. If I do it of necessity because this is my assignment and I've got to do this, I will have no reward." How many follow the logic here? So what Paul is saying is, "I'm going to preach the gospel. I'm smart enough to know if I don't, I'm under a woe. I must by necessity preach it. I have been called for that purpose."

"Now I have a choice: will I do it willingly or unwillingly? Well, if I do it willingly, I'll get a reward. And if I do it unwillingly, I'm still going to do it, but I'll stand before the Lord and give an account and I'll lose my reward." Now it doesn't take much to figure that one out, does it? So you see, we're going to be judged by our motivations. All right, let's go to Ephesians the sixth chapter. We're still on motivations. Ephesians 6:5 and 8.

Verse 5: "Servants," and whenever you see the word servants here, we're just going to insert anything that will fit. If you're an employee or whatever, if you're in a position where you're under authority is basically all we want to say here. "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service to the Lord, and not to men."

"Knowing that whatsoever good any thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free." Now here Paul just keeps repeating himself. At least three times he says: do it unto the Lord, do it unto the Lord, do it unto Christ. Don't do it unto men. Do it from the heart with singleness of heart. Singleness just means a focus. I'm focused on this. I'm not divided. I'm not murmuring about it over here, complaining about it over here.

"I'm doing it, but the whole time I'm doing it, I don't like it." Well, that's not singleness of heart. When you've got your mind made up and your heart fixed, you're doing it unto the Lord. And you're doing it as unto the Lord with joy. And you know what? If men never applaud you, never credit you, never pat you on the back, never say anything good about it, guess what? It doesn't matter. You're not doing it to them; you're doing it unto the Lord.

These people that get upset and get bent out of shape, it's because they were doing it for men. These people that get mad and want to quit, it's because they were doing it for men. They weren't doing it for the Lord. If they were doing it for the Lord, even though they got their feelings hurt, they would say, "Well, Lord, I know you know I'm doing it for you." And you know what? The Lord would bless them right there and oh, they would have just added to their rewards.

This is one of the things you want to know how to get rewards: start checking on up on what are you doing it for, and are you doing it unto the Lord? Maybe sometimes you're mistreated. And some people only do good when the boss is watching. Is the boss looking? Oh, if he's not looking... You know what? The boss is looking. You know why? The boss is Christ. So he's always looking. Amen. So you need to be realizing he's the one that's looking and he's the one that's got the rewards.

So let's do it unto the Lord and have it with our heart that we're doing it unto Christ. Now let's move on to the fifth thing that we'll be judged by because sometimes it's hard to do good when you're under pressure. This is James 1:12 and I know everyone knows this verse by heart. The fifth thing that we will be judged by whether we get a reward is how we respond when we're under trials. James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

The word tried, as I brought it out once before, means to be tested and found to be worthy, reliable, and then it's approved. They don't put the Good Housekeeping seal on something until they've approved it and tried it. They don't put the UL Underwriters Laboratory thing on an electrical appliance until they've tried it. And then they say, "Up, that passed the test," and they put their stamp on there. This is what it's talking about: being approved after you've passed the test.

That's the kind of approval we're talking about. So he says that man who endures temptation, and that means doing it patiently without murmuring and without disputing, that person is going to receive an eternal reward. Amen. So when you're under trials and tests, it's so easy when we're under pressure that we want to vent and we want to get things off our chest. But you might do that and you may feel better for a little while, but just remember: you had your reward.

When you got the chance to vent and blow your top and say what you had to say and throw your little fit and have your little tantrum, there goes your rewards. But when you were patient under fire, when you took it and you didn't retaliate and you kept the good attitude and you said, "Well, they didn't do me right, but that's okay. This isn't fair, but that's all right," then you are just causing your rewards to mount up. Isn't that something to look forward to?

Amen. All right, let's turn to Second Corinthians the sixth chapter, verse 3. "Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God." Now I'm going to really rush through this. I'm going to tell you that in the next two verses he gives ten things that we're to hold up under, and we're to do it in such a way that we are approved and we don't cause the ministry to bear reproach.

And these ten things are very quickly: patience, afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watchings, and fastings. So if you can hold up in any of those ten or all of those ten as you face them, then you're on your way to getting a reward. But don't get too happy because we got to look and see how we're supposed to do this in verse 6. How do we hold up under these ten things? By pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, and by love unfeigned.

It's getting a little harder, isn't it? Don't get shook up. You're not left to your own resources; you've got resources. And they're in verse 7. By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. So there you've got God's word, the truth. And go in Ephesians the sixth chapter and find out what the whole armor is. So your job is getting easier. You can do this all things through Christ who strengthens you.

And don't turn the page yet because we're going to find out in the next verses there are nine sets of two each in each set of things and circumstances that will come our way that we must get through and be patient and have all of these characteristics that we just read. And they would be: by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and behold we live, as chastened and not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, having nothing and yet possessing all things.

Oh, Faith Tabernacle, our heart is enlarged. So very quickly, I went through all of those things and you can go home and study them on your own. If you can get through all those things and you can because he gives you the resource right along there, you're going to have reward. All right, Matthew the fifth chapter. We got to read this one real quick. You know it already. It's the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus is giving the Beatitudes.

And at the very end of the Beatitudes he says in verses 11 and 12, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you," here's the key, "falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." You want to know how to get great rewards? Hallelujah. When you're persecuted, when you're talked about, when you're lied on, when you're rebuked and scorned as they say.

And you take it with a good attitude. Not only because you got reviled, not only because you got persecuted, not only because you got lied on, because the Bible says, "All they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." You don't get the reward just because you suffered persecution. You get the reward because you were glad and you rejoiced when you suffered persecution. If you got rewards for suffering persecution, we wouldn't be able to fit in the pearly gates.

But because it's when you rejoice, you not only get reward, you get what kind of reward? Great reward. So that's our second great reward. All right, that brings us to number six. Let's go to Second Corinthians 4:16-18. "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

So our attitude, our outlook, how do we look at things? If we're in the test and we say, "Wow, you know what? I know this seems like a really heavy trial. Man, this is a hard trial." But all of a sudden we begin to look at the eternal weight of glory. And then we say, "Light affliction! Eternal weight of glory! Temporary! Eternal! Fades away! Endures forever!" See, that's what you got to do. When you're in that place, you got to get an up-look.

Because when you get an up-look, you stop focusing on your trial and you begin to see the glory and the reward. Paul said, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us. For if we suffer with him, we also shall reign with him." So this is what we've got to look at: the light affliction, it's but for a moment, but oh, the rewards are silver and gold and precious stones.

Just visualize Jesus scooping up that gold and making your crown. Because if you will have the up-look, if you're looking up, then the Bible says you will realize, "Hey, I'm not a citizen of this world. My citizenship is not in this world. My citizenship is in heaven, from whence I'm looking for the Savior, who will come and change my vile body of humiliation and fashion it like unto his glorious body." And that brings me to number seven.

The seventh thing for which we're going to get a reward is Second Timothy 4:8. "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing." I believe that there's going to be rewards given to people who love the coming of the Lord. Because there's people that's going around saying, "He's not coming. I've heard that my entire life."

Didn't Jesus say that he would say, "You wicked servant? You said the Lord's not coming," and you went out and you drank and you just got careless and lived any old kind of way? But Paul said, "I'm getting a crown because I right now have finished my course and run my race. But I'm not the only one that's going to get this crown. Everyone that loves his appearing." The judge. Who's the judge? The Lord. And when's he going to give it? That day.

Remember we talked about up front: that particular day, that day known unto him. On that day, crowns are going to be given out to people who loved and looked for, anticipated the coming of the Lord. The Bible said that there was the church, the early church in Corinth, they went around saying "Maranatha." Maranatha. Maranatha. Which means: our Lord cometh. That was their greeting. I've been using Maranatha for at least ten years now.

And when I read this and I realized this is one of the criteria for a crown, I said, "Wow, I'm going to get a Maranatha reward!" I'm serious. I am serious. I mean, when I say Maranatha, it picks me up. I cannot write the word Maranatha without getting somewhere. I have never gotten tired of writing Maranatha. I write it on the back of all my envelopes. When I pay the church bills for the radio and all, I write it on the back of them.

I know that some people come to me and say, "What does that mean?" And it's in the Bible. It's First Corinthians 16:22. But I'm going to get a Maranatha reward. And if you love the coming of the Lord and you're always spreading the good news—our Lord cometh, our Lord cometh! Look up! You're not a citizen of this world. You're a pilgrim, you're on a journey, you're an alien, a stranger here. This world's not your home.

You're looking up. The Bible said if you're risen with Christ, set your affection on things above and seek things above. Because your life is hid with Christ in God. And when Christ who is your life shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. Hallelujah! There's the reward for being excited about the coming of the Lord. Listen, if you want to be heaven-bound, you've got to be heaven-born. And if you're heaven-born, then you are not earth-bound. It's that simple.

And if you're looking up and you've got an attitude to look up, you'll make your way a lot easier. We used to sing that song, "I'm walking up the King's highway, it's a highway to heaven, and I'm on my way to Canaan land." And when I get there, I want my rewards to be waiting for me. My words, my works, my attitudes, my motivations, my giving, how I hold up under trials and tests, and my rejoicing in the appearing of the Lord.

Those are at least seven—maybe not exhaustive, but at least seven things that we'll be judged by whether or not we'll receive our reward. And then in closing, I'll just mention to you that there's one additional thing. Now I didn't count it in the seven because it's not specific, but Paul also said that the day is coming when it will be manifest the hidden things and the hidden secrets of the heart. In that day, he says, they will be manifest.

So don't judge things before their time, because in that day they will be judged and then every man will have praise of God. And that's First Corinthians 4:2 if you want to read it later when you go home. So every time that you feel like you're gritting your teeth, grit them! Because it will be worth it all. How many say amen? And great will be your reward in heaven. Thank you.

So jump up and say Maranatha, our Lord cometh! Our Lord cometh! And it won't be very long. And it won't be very long. Amen. Thank you. And even if the Lord doesn't come for another ten years, you don't know when he could call you. I don't know when he could call me. So I want to be ready. What about you? Father, we just thank you tonight that we can make our calling and election sure.

So that an abundant entrance into the kingdom of God will be ministered unto us. That that day, we want to be laughing, and if we're doing any crying, we want it to be tears of joy. That they that go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. That we will rejoice, not only will we receive rewards, but we'll see our brothers and our sisters.

And when they get their rewards, we'll rejoice with them. We'll remember when they were faithful. We'll remember, Lord, when they sacrificed. And what a day that will be when we receive our eternal reward. Lord, I just ask you to make this message real to your people. I pray, Lord, that they would meditate upon it and you would allow it to even become an image in their spirit. That it would change their attitude.

Because, Lord, if we leave this service just blessed but we don't have a change of heart or outlook, then I have failed tonight to bring to them the truth of this word. But I pray that you will water it and illuminate it and cause it to become real in their spirit. And that it will put a watchman at the door of their mouth, a gatekeeper at the gate of their lips, a gatekeeper to guard their heart where is the issues of all our lives.

It will change the way we give, the way we treat one another, the way that we act and talk and everything that we do. Because we know that one day we're going to stand before you. And if it's true, you will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Hallelujah, hallelujah! Oh, thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord! Bless these people, keep your hand upon them. Watch over them, Lord, those who have a long journey to go home. Take them safely I pray, until we meet again in your house. Keep us, preserve us, and Lord, just give the angels charge over us in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. God bless you. Maranatha!

Sharon Hardy Knotts: Amen. What an eye-opening, heart-transforming word of the Lord. Jeopardy: Losing Your Rewards. Saints, I must tell you truthfully, when God revealed to my spirit how much everything I do, and how I do it, and why I do it for his kingdom will determine what eternal rewards I will receive or forfeit, it revolutionized my Christian walk. My whole life, all my life has been serving God, but I didn't always do it with the best attitudes.

I had tendencies to pride and self-righteousness and even pouting that I did not see as problems. And we're not talking about one's salvation or going to heaven. We're talking about our works being tried once we're in heaven. Paul said that every man's work shall be made manifest and revealed by fire to see what sort, not what size, what quality, not what quantity it is. Paul said that we all individually will stand before the Bema, the judgment seat of Christ, to give an account for the deeds done in our bodies whether good or bad.

He referred to Christians, not sinners, and he said that if our works survive the fire, we shall receive a reward. They will come forth as gold, silver, and precious stones. But if they do not survive the fire, they will be burned as wood, stubble, and hay, and he shall suffer the loss of his rewards. For me, this is a sobering reality. I don't only want to go to heaven; I want all the rewards I'm eligible to receive, and I believe you do too.

Find out seven things the scripture says that will be tried: from our words to our works, our giving, how we act and endure in trials, our motivations. You know, there's even a reward for those who love and look for the Lord's coming in the Rapture. I call it the Maranatha reward. Today's message, Jeopardy: Losing Your Rewards, is available as a two-CD set for your love gift of $15 or more for the radio ministry.

Request SK104. Mail to R. G. Hardy Ministries, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Or go online to rghardy.org. That's rghardy.org where you may also order on MP3. But to order Jeopardy: Losing Your Rewards by mail, offer SK104. Send your minimum love gift of $15 to P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Until next time, this is Sharon Knotts saying Maranatha!