Seek the Greater Reward: The Heavenly City

Introduction

On June 7, 2026, Pastor Rutz preached on Hebrews 11 through 13 under a title that reads like a direct invitation: "Let us seek the better reward, the heavenly city." The central text is verses 13 through 16 of chapter 11. These few lines describe the heroes of faith who died without having received everything that had been promised to them, but who lived as strangers on this earth, their eyes fixed on a better homeland.

Pastor Rutz didn't want to tell distant, heroic tales. He wanted you to recognize yourself in these lives. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab: their situations have nothing in common with each other, and yet the same thread runs through their stories. They believed God would keep his word, even without seeing it fulfilled. And they sought a city that is not of this world.

Sermon Outline

1. Very different lives, the same faith

Hebrews 11 lines up portraits that have almost nothing in common on a human level. Abel is a shepherd who offers God the best he has. Enoch walks with God. Noah builds an ark for 120 years amid mockery, on the announcement of a flood no one could imagine. Abraham leaves his country without knowing where he's going and lives in a tent until his death, even though he's wealthy. Sarah gives birth to a son well past the age for it. Joseph, Moses, Rahab, each one moves forward in a unique context.

Pastor Rutz insists: it's not their abilities that explain their story. What God accomplished through them, none of them could have achieved on their own. They simply said, "I can't, but you can. Take me and use me." They submitted their will to God's, they walked at his side, and God acted.

2. What God expects from you is no smaller

The pastor then asks a direct question: if God told you today, "I have planned for you a life like Joseph's, like Abraham's, like Moses'," how would you react? Many people's honest reaction would be, "No, Lord, I can't do that."

Pastor Rutz answers that this response betrays a lack of faith. Not because you're supposed to be capable. You're not, no one is. But because faith consists precisely in believing that the one who calls is also the one who accomplishes. Moses repeated several times that he couldn't speak well. God didn't withdraw the mission from him, he gave him Aaron to walk alongside him and guided him step by step. The true believer answers, "I can't, but you can. Use me."

3. This world is not your true home

Verse 13 says these believers "acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." Pastor Rutz spends a long time on this point. Many people live as though this life were all there is. "You only live once, so let's enjoy it." That's false. This life is a passage. It exists to prepare you for eternal life with God in his kingdom.

Whether or not you understand this changes the way you live. And not just the way you live: your destination changes too. Eternity with God or eternity apart from him is decided during the few years you spend here. Not a single day is to be wasted.

4. Fixing your eyes on the heavenly city

Pastor Rutz lingers on verses 15 and 16: these believers could have gone back to their former life, but they didn't. They kept their eyes on the city God had prepared for them. That's what kept them standing through their trials.

When you look at the heavenly city, the difficulties of this life lose their crushing weight. This isn't pious invention, it's a reality. Without this hope, you get swept away by the waves at the first big storm. With it, you walk step by step, with patience.

5. A better reward, reserved for you too

In Hebrews 11:39-40, it says that these men and women did not receive during their lifetime everything God had promised. They were waiting for a better reward. And this reward, Pastor Rutz says, is also the one God is keeping in store for you.

God, of course, gives you day by day what you need to live. But the true reward isn't what you obtain here below. It's up above. A Christian who chases material blessings as though they were the final goal is mistaking the treasure. The real goal is the kingdom and what the Lord will hand you there.

6. The path is difficult and easy at the same time

Hebrews 12:1-3 speaks of a race. We must lay aside the weight, run with endurance, and keep our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of faith.

Pastor Rutz acknowledges that this path is difficult. Walking according to God's will is not comfortable. At the same time, he says, this path is easier than any other, because it isn't you who carries the load. God acts. You trust, you listen, you obey. Jesus himself said it: "My yoke is easy to bear."

7. The battles to fight along the way

Pastor Rutz lists several points where many believers stumble: that person you can't manage to forgive, that person you can't manage to love; a bad temper, gossip that keeps coming back; the addictions of our time, shows, games, gambling, pornography, tobacco, alcohol; the need to be recognized, admired, loved by people, which pushes us to do good for the wrong reasons; the desire to dominate, to show off, the obsession with appearance.

He accuses no one. He says these battles exist, that they're different for each person, and that God wants to free us from them one by one. Don't hide before him what weighs on you. He already knows what's deep in your heart.

Key Takeaways

Your situation is not an obstacle. The heroes of faith were all different. What matters is that you answer the call with confidence.
Faith means saying "yes" to what you cannot do on your own. God isn't looking for your ability, he's looking for your availability.
You are a traveler here. This life is short and exists to prepare you for the heavenly city.
Look at the heavenly city. Without this perspective, trials overwhelm you.
The true reward is still to come. Don't mistake passing blessings for the final goal.

Personal Application

If God entrusted you today with a mission the size of Moses', what would your first reaction be? Refusal or availability?
In your everyday life, where do you live as though this earth were your true home?
When you go through a trial, where do you fix your gaze? On the problem or on the promise?
What is the "thing" or the person you can't manage to forgive, to love, or to let go of? Are you ready to name it before God today?
Do you first seek people's recognition or God's in your actions?

Scriptures Cited

FAQ

What is the "better reward" Hebrews 11 speaks of?

It's the heavenly city, eternal life with God in his kingdom. The heroes of faith did not receive its full reality during their lives on earth. This reward is also the one God reserves for everyone who, today, walks with him in faith.

Why does Pastor Rutz say that "this world is not our true home"?

Because the biblical text says it plainly: believers acknowledge themselves to be strangers and exiles on the earth. Our true citizenship is in heaven. Understanding this changes the way you use your days, your energy, and your choices, and it puts trials in their proper place.

How do you hold on when the Christian life becomes difficult?

Pastor Rutz recalls Hebrews 12:1-3: run with endurance, lay aside what weighs you down, keep your eyes on Jesus. The strength doesn't come from you. It comes from the one who has already run this race all the way to the cross. Entrust him with your burden, he is faithful.

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