STRENGTH, SERVICE, REWARD

2 CHRONICLES 15:1

A. "BE YE STRONG THEREFORE, AND LET NOT YOUR HANDS BE WEAK: FOR YOUR WORK SHALL BE REWARDED."
  1. This is a most timely message to God's people:
    1. Israel had forsaken the true God, "Now for a long season Israel had been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law." - verse 3
    2. "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." - Jer. 2:12, 13
  2. This message was to bring the people back to the true God:
    1. Ancient Israel was accused of being a perpetual backsliding nation - Hos. 4:16, 17
    2. But God promised to heal their backslidings -- love them freely - Hos. 14:1-9
B. THIS MESSAGE IS VERY APPROPRIATE FOR OUR DAY
  1. Apostasy is indicated in many faces of those who hold membership in the church: 1 Tim. 4:1-6; Acts 20:29, 30
  2. We are living in a time of great strain and stress: Luke 21:25, 26
  3. This is the time when God's people need to be on guard against the sinister allurements of the world:
    1. The lust of the eye.
    2. The lust of the flesh.
    3. The pride of life. 1 John 2:15, 16
  4. We are to learn from the experience of God's ancient covenant people:
    1. "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." - Rom. 15:4
    2. Note what Paul writes in 1 Cor. 10:1-11
C. OUR OPENING TEXT OFFERS TO US A THREEFOLD ADMONITION WITH ITS ATTENDANT BLESSINGS
  1. Strength: "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak:" - 2 Chron. 15:7
    1. The Bible makes it very clear that God wants His people to be strong - Josh. 1:6, 7; Eph. 6:7
    2. Our strength comes from a fourfold source -
      1. Receiving our commission to witness from the Lord Jesus Christ - Matt. 28:18; Ps. 24:7, 8
      2. The Word of truth - Heb. 4:12, 13; Jer. 23:29
      3. The presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives strength - Zech. 4:6; Judg. 13:25; Acts 1:8
      4. Prevailing prayer is a must to be strong - Jer. 33:3; Jas. 5:16
  2. Service: "Let not your hands be weak" -
    1. Christ is our example of loving service - John 9:4; 17:4. The best text about our Lord's services is found in Acts 10:38
    2. Our services belong to Him who has called us out of darkness unto His marvelous light - 1 Pet. 2:9- 11
    3. This service is threefold -
      1. To witness for the Lord with our lives - Isa. 43:10; Acts 1:8
      2. To make our lives a shining light in this sin-darkened world - Matt. 5:14-16; Phil. 2:15
      3. To make converts for the truth - John 1:40- 42; Luke 5:10
  3. Reward: "for your work shall be rewarded" -
    1. Faithful service for God and humanity has its reward, whether one sees that in his day or not.
    2. Of God's people we read, ". . . blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." - Rev. 14:13
    3. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." - 1 Cor. 15:58


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