Do you think the title sounds rather mercenary? Travel with me to the 19th chapter of the book of Matthew and listen to the apostle Peter make the following statement in verse 27: "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" If you had been in that room with Peter would you have braced yourself for the rebuke that Jesus would give? Can you hear the Lord saying, "shame on you Peter for having such selfish thoughts." Well, that is not what Jesus said. Rather we can read in Matthew and in Mark 10:29 He told Peter that many blessings in both this life and in the life to come would be the possession of not only Peter but for all who followed Him. Why should anyone follow Jesus? What will I receive if I surrender my life to Him? Space will allow us to look at only two blessings out of many that are received by the one who gives their life to our Lord.

1. Joy. Now, don't confuse joy with happiness. When you turn to the 16th chapter of the book of Acts you see that Paul and Silas have been arrested, severely beaten and placed in solitary confinement with their hands and feet in chains. What was their crime? There was a young girl who had the ability to predict the future and she was owned by several men. They earned money by charging people for the young girl to make the predictions. The spirit by which she was able to do this was an evil spirit so Paul cast the demon out of the girl. When the men saw that their means of income had been removed, they instigated the proceedings against Paul and Silas. Think about this for just a minute: Paul and Silas have been faithfully serving the Lord and yet they are now suffering for doing good. What would you do if you were in such a situation? In verse 25 we read that Paul and Silas were singing and praying. How could they do that? Simply because Christian joy is not based on outward circumstances but rather on the realization that no one can remove our relationship with Jesus. I want you to listen to one of the most glorious passages of Scripture in all of God's Word. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38,39. The faithful child of God has a joy that can never be taken away.