"Motives of the Heart"

Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

Every man's work shall be made manifest:
for the day shall declare it, because it shall
be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try
every man's work of what sort it is.

If any man's work abide which he hath
built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

If any man's work shall be burned,
he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

I Corinthians 3:12-15

Today, we are going to look at our motives and the rewards
we will receive accordingly in heaven. While our motives
(works/actions) will be judged as Christians, and wrong
motives will reap no rewards, there will be rewards for those
things done from a pure/right heart (see II Corinthians 5:10).

I want to make it clear that this judgment of our motives will
NOT affect our salvation or entrance into heaven, but is an
evaluation of our heart motives and rewards accordingly.

We should know that when we stand before God, before
Jesus Christ, that our works/actions do not need to be
wood, hay, and stubble, those things which merely come
down to what we did in our strength, for our own glory,
what we did to be recognized and to get the approval of
man. It is those things, that when they are tried by the
fire of God - wood, hay, and stubble - will burn up.

Those things that are of gold, silver, and precious stones
are the things that we did out of a right motive and pure heart,
the things we did in obedience to the Lord and for God's
glory. If we have that which is of gold, silver, and precious
stones, that, too, will be tried by the fire of God; but those
are the things that will last into eternity.

This is my prayer, this is my heart cry, that we would be
able to stand before God with not wood, hay, and stubble,
but gold, silver, and precious stones.

Saints, may we be careful, may we guard our hearts,
and our motives so all that we do, may be for one
purpose and that is for the glory of God.

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