I Will Look After Myself So That I Receive My Reward

From: February 24 – March 2, 2009

Pastor: Edith Cruz

Study #580

TOPIC: “I WILL LOOK AFTER MYSELF SO THAT I RECEIVE MY REWARD” 2 John 8-12 Let’s look out for ourselves. Each person should look out after himself. We, the ones who congregate, are the ones who keep the church clean. If we have decided to be a part of the church, it is our duty and responsibility to keep it clean because the church is the place where we receive our blessings. The more we keep the church clean, the more God defends us and the more wellbeing we will have. We have a long life so that we can always struggle, support the church and work for God. The church is the place that belongs to God. In the same way that it is not pleasing to go to a dirty house it is not pleasing to have a church that is dirty. We congregate out of love; we help, protect, and pray for our brothers out of love. In prayer we watch over because prayer takes us beyond the limitations of human nature. It is not good to hide things because we fear that others will see what is wrong. The House of God is to clean our life to reach sanctity. 2 Chronicles 33:7 Not taking measures leads us to endure a lot of suffering. Manasseh did everything wrong in the eyes of Jehovah. We easily forget that the God of Heaven is looking at us. Manasseh began to practice abominations in the presence of Jehovah; he forgot about the history of Israel. David conquered, not by having a powerful army with human strength but, with the strength of Jehovah God. In life not everything is accomplished, and that is why we need God today, tomorrow, and always. Sometimes, because God has given us salvation, we lean back and do nothing, but tomorrow is uncertain. That is why we must live a life for our God. This king led all the people to sin. He took all the evil from those nations. If there is something we have to be conscious of, it is of the fact that Jehovah is the one who calls and if He calls, He will respond and come out on our behalf. We have to make an effort, not in our human nature, but by resting in God who provides our strength and sustenance. The greater He becomes in our bad day, the more faithful we become. Jeremiah 7:30 Jeremiah clearly knew that when evil is done God is watching. It is not what we say, but the many hidden intentions in our heart. We cannot hide from God who observes us and sees our steps and our intentions. That is why we have to keep ourselves clean and look after our own selves. We have to know ourselves and be vigilant because God weighs and judges our steps. According to what God sees in our lives shall be our rewards and blessings. God sees things clearly and precisely; in Him there is no deceit and He never gets disturbed. Ezekiel 8:17 For this king practicing abominations was easy, light, and unimportant. For the one that God had chosen sin was trivial. The problem about sin is that we become accustomed to it and think that it is alright, we take sin lightly, and God sees that we had let things pass by with little importance. We sanctify the place where we are even if this place is worldly. When we decide to take evil lightly we get contaminated. We owe ourselves to a powerful God. When we sin we irritate God and make Him angry, and that is not good for anyone. God had called Israel to be His nation. It bothered God when they were in sin. What is inside a person gets transmitted from one person to the other. A church has to take care of itself because falls are all the same. What excuse is there for evil, for doing abomination? We have no reason to accept teachings from anyone with a double intention to do evil to someone else. We should open our mouth and tell about it, but it satisfies us sometimes to know and not tell.

Psalm 72: 1-2 If a righteous person falls, he knows that the wrath of God comes over him only, but the wicked contaminate others. When the town sins and have not looked after what belongs to God, tragedy comes. We need for God to support us, protect us, and pass over our heads His judgments. Let’s look after ourselves, let’s not be so calm. We have seen and known our mood that is variable, because today we have a lot of faith and tomorrow we do not. Our position is that Christ came to our lives, and that we must struggle with our state of mind. When we are sensible, we are equilibrated, of good judgment, sane, we know what we are talking about. Let’s keep ourselves firm in the truth concerning our Lord Jesus Christ so that our work will not be in vain. If we do not watch, then our work could have been in vain, and we cannot blame anyone. We must look after ourselves so that we can receive full reward. Let’s make sure no one steals from us, but instead let’s be capable of watching over ourselves day after day. We belong to the Sovereign God, the Almighty who delivers us, heals us, and loves us like no man on this Earth. The one who loses his way is the one who goes too far, not in accordance with the sound doctrine of Christ. This person does not have God. They think that their knowledge, their teachings, is greater than that of the humble and faithful of Christ. Meekness is necessary, but also intransigence in our principles. Not giving in to something does not take away our meekness. How could we give in to what has been conserved over centuries! We have to go after the truth we have known, even with our own life. We are either jointly liable or we are accomplices. When we welcome the enemies of Christ, we turn into their accomplices. It would be disloyal to Christ to become friends with them. Let’s be loyal to the gospel of Christ. Amen.