Revelation 11:15-19

The Rewards of Service

I. INTRODUCTION

A. This morning's service will be somewhat unique!

1. We are going to start where we left off last week in Revelation 12:15 and finish the chapter, but then we are going to "key" into verse 18 and study something very specific!

a) And that study is going to be about what it means to be a servant of the Lord, and the rewards that come from that service!

II. TEXT VR. 15-19

A. Who are the saints?

1. They are not just a select few that a church has named as saints, but they are all of those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus.

2. It is the church! The saints are you and I!

3. Notice there is promise of "REWARD"!

a) But, before we take a look at the rewards, we must first see what they are for!

b) Verse 18 tells us the rewards are for "service", as the prophets and the saints are called "servants".

B. 1 Peter 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NKJV)

1. I would like for you to consider this: Jesus could have come to the earth in any form and with any "personality" that He wanted!

a) In other words, His ministry could have taken any shape!

2. But will all the resources of heaven at His disposal, He chose being a servant!

a) John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. (NKJV)

b) That means HE felt being a servant would be the best way to represent heaven and glorify His Father!!

c) Do you think you or I, if we are looking for a way to glorify the Lord could find a better choice?

(1) Jesus didn't think so: Matthew 12:48-50 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"

49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!

50 "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." (NKJV)

d) With this in mind, it seems as Christians we should make the study, and even more importantly, the practice of servanthhood our life's work!

III. WHAT IS A SERVANT?

A. Many of you already know that the Greek word for servant is doulos doo'-los and it means a slave, or person of servile condition.

1. Metaphorically, it means one who gives himself up to do the will of another ;

a) Slaves were bought and sold.

b) They were given as dowry.

c) They were owned by the priests.

d) Even some slaves owned slaves.

(1) In other words, it was their entire mission in life to do the will of their master!

2. There were good slaves and there were bad ones!

a) Joseph was a good servant in the house of Pontifar!

(1) He was a faithful steward of all his master's weath.

b) Elisha was a faithful servant to Elijah!

(1) When the Lord translated him, he was by his side.

c) Ruth was a faithful and selfless servant to her mother-in law!!

(1) Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.

17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me." (NKJV)

d) And Onesimus, the runaway slave became faithful to Phileman after he found Jesus as his Savior!

(1) All of these had at least one characteristic in common.

(2) Their desire to please those whom they served!

3. As we said, there were also bad servants!

a) Gehazi the servant of Elisha decided to use his master's healing of Naaman for financial gain!

b) Absalom, David's son turned against his own father for selfish reasons.

c) And even Judas, let money get in the way of his service!

(1) In the parables of the talents and pounds, Jesus praised those who took what they had and multiplied it for His glory!

(2) Likewise he condemned the unfaithful servants who made untrue excuses for not using their talents.

(a) Like the men in Luke 9:59-62 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."

60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."

61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."

62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (NKJV)

B. Every 7 years, slaves were to be set free!

1. Many of them had kind and loving masters who treated them as sons and daughters and they did not want to be set free.

a) In that case they would put their ear against a door post and an awl would be thrust through the ear and from that time on they would be known as a "bond slave".

(1) A bond slave was "slave by choice", not simply a "hired hand" any longer, but a servant of love!

(2) It is this word, "bond slave" that Paul uses in Philippians to describe Jesus!

(3) It is also the word used throughout the book of Revelation to describe the saints standing before the Lord for eternity!

(a) So then, In the context of Christianity, bond slaves or servants can be described as those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among men; devoted to Him and to others to the disregard of his/her own interests.

(b) 1 Peter 2:3-4 gives us a description of the only way servant hood is possible!

3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (NKJV)

(i) To be a "servant", one must serve!!

(ii) To be a good servant, it must be motivated out of love for the Lord, His plan on earth, and for His people!

(iii) AND, be more concerned for for His purposes, than even their own!

(4) It is through You and I as "servants of love" for the Lord that the great commission is accomplished!

(a) Lest we might have forgotten the Great Commission lets take a look: Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (NKJV)

(i) It is "going", it is "baptizing", and it is "teaching", it is the work of the church!!

(ii) How will it get done if we, God's servants, don't do it?

(iii) Which brings us back to our text :

C. Revelation 11:18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,...

1. At this 7th trumpet, Jesus is coming back to the earth!

a) Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. (NKJV)

b) Salvation and eternity was not given to us to simply keep to ourselves! There is much to be done!

(1) There is "going" to be done. There is "baptizing" to be done, and there is "teaching" to be done!

(2) The Lord is not so much concerned with which of us do which job, only that we do them. 1 Corinthians 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. (NKJV)

(a) There's that promise of "reward" again!

(b) There seems to be a "condition" for this reward. It is not just automatic!

(i) 1 Corinthians 9:17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship (a "job"). (NKJV)

(ii) Once again we see the difference between a "hired-hand" servant, and a "bond slave" servant of love!

IV. CONCLUSION

A. The Bible also calls these rewards for serving the Lord and His people, "crowns"!

1. There is the "crown of Glory" spoken of in 1 Peter 5:4, that we will receive when the Lord appears.

2. There is the "crown of life" in James 1:12 for resisting temptation!

3. 2 Timothy 4:8 speaks of the "crown of righteousness" for those who look forward to the 2nd coming of the Lord.

4. 1Cor. tell us that we will receive an "imperishable crown" for running the race!

5. And there is the "soul winner's crown" for sowing and reaping in the lives of those who come to the Savior!

a) I want to extend a personal "thank you" Reta, and to Dennis, and to Steve and those who have plowed the ground befor her.

And, I want to thank all of those who have served, and continue to serve in any capacity here at Calvary Chapel Central!

b) To the "bond slaves" of love," I want to say I appreciate your devotion to the Lord, and your service to His people!

c) May we continue to "go and make disciples". May we continue to "baptize" in His name. And may we always be committed to "teach" adults and little children to observe the things written in this book!!!