-Transcript-
00:14 Our best work is for the Lord. Proverbs 16: 3. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. When we are committed to and do the Lord’s work, our minds are at ease.
00:19 Our thoughts are given purpose. We have a mission. This is why God made us.
00:24 What type of work? The ministry. James 1:27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
00:41 Well, that verse very much sums up ministry work. Maybe not all of the ministries out there. I made a list of ministries for another message I was doing some time ago.
00:58 And I think I filled up a list of 50 or more ministries before I just stopped. Because really, if you think about it, anywhere that life takes us, we need God there. And there was a ministry opportunity.
01:11 That’s why you can have a Spanish ministry, a teen ministry. You have a youth camp ministry. You can have a nursing home ministry.
01:22 You can have a prison ministry. You get the idea. It just goes on and on.
01:27 But really, in a nutshell, the ministry is summed up very well in James 1, 27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.
01:42 So what is that? Who is that? Who are the fatherless and the widows, the children that don’t have dads, those widows that have lost their husband, those that are going through the struggles in life, those that are in need, those that are bogged down in the cares of the world with the trials of life, to go to them, to visit them.
02:03 I imagine the word visit means to help them and to love on them and to be there for them and to be a blessing to them and to point them to Jesus. That is our job. And sometimes we can say, look, this is who Jesus is.
02:16 Here it is in the Bible. And sometimes we have to go to them and live out who Jesus is and do things that no one else is doing.
02:25 And they see it and they say, who is that person’s God? Because that person is not ordinary.
02:31 That person is extraordinary. That’s the ministry work. And that’s what we’re called to do.
02:36 We are to be a blessing to those in need and do it in Jesus name. And that is the most important type of work, friend. As I’ve gone through this message, we’ve talked about a lot of different types of work, but the most important type of work is not the job that you go to nine to five to punch a clock or to punch a keyboard or to do whatever you do.
03:05 The most important job you have in this life is to serve and live for the Lord. He created us, and he created us for a purpose, and that’s to glorify him.
03:19 And I imagine in heaven we’ll understand perfectly the balance, how much he would like us to work versus how much time we’ll spend serving him and praising him.
03:34 Or maybe it’s all intertwined in our work. I can’t wait to see it. But here on earth, you’ve got to think that things have gotten out of whack and people are working way too much and serving the Lord way too little, if at all.
03:52 And that is sad. And that is why the scripture says that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. And so we’re called to be laborers for the Lord, and we’re called to be the hands and feet of Jesus here in the world.
04:04 And that’s our most important work. And how do we get about that work? Well, number one, we should work on studying and expounding upon scripture.
04:16 2 Timothy 2:15, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
04:27 2 Timothy 3:16-17, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
04:46 So we see here in 2 Timothy chapters two and three, we see that we should study to show ourselves approved unto God.
04:59 So when we study the scripture and we get into God’s word, that’s allowing God to approve of what we’re doing.
05:05 And as we’re a called a workman, someone that’s about our Father’s business, we shouldn’t be ashamed to rightly divide the word of truth, to preach the scriptures, and to properly divide the word of truth that will allow people to understand what these scriptures mean.
05:24 Because gosh, how many times are they taken out of context? When Steph Curry slaps Philippians 4:13 on his $100 Under Armour shoe, that’s taken totally out of context, okay?
05:37 And I’m not saying he’s not Christian or whatever, but I can do all things through Christ. It’s not about winning NBA championships and being a millionaire and, you know, promoting maybe liberal causes or whatever it is.
05:53 That’s not what it’s about. It’s about serving God. It’s about showing people who God truly is and not perverting the scriptures.
06:01 And so studies show that self-approved unto God, that is all about understanding the context in which these scriptures appear. Like what are the verses before and after the scripture?
06:14 What book is it in? What is it relating to? And what, you know, going through the research, understanding what these scriptures mean.
06:25 And then secondly, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for a doctrine.
06:40 So it’s profitable for understanding how we should live, what we should live by, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So to be able to show people, hey, this is not right, like I just did with the Steph Curry shoe, or for correction, for correcting people. You know, they’ll say, God is love, I’m homosexual.
06:54 Well, sorry, that’s a sin. And that’s a grievous sin, like all sins. And so God is love, yes, but God is also maker.
07:03 And God is also the creator of all, of all the universe. And God has his laws, and that is against it, and his laws of nature. And so we’ve got profitable for doctrine, profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, understanding what is right.
07:23 And then what this all leads to that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. So basically, what we’re doing, when we study scripture, we get into the word, we’re fueling our tanks up, we are preparing our engines, we’re getting ready to go out there and spread the gospel and do the work of the Lord.
07:35 And we need to do that, not in our own intuition, but through the work of the Holy Spirit, and through the scriptures, and through prayer, and through time with the Lord.
07:56 And that happens when we get into God’s word. Our work should be all about the Lord, with more fervency and effort than any other job. We should be proud to say that we are passionate about what we do as Christians, passionate about serving the Lord, and putting in that effort.
08:13 We say God’s number one in our lives, and then what do we do? We live like work is number one, or like vacation is number one, or like that Jeep Wrangler is number one.
08:19 Come on, guys, let’s live what we speak. Let’s not be found a hypocrite in the sight of the Lord.
08:29 We should work in all ways to glorify him, soul winning prayer, helping the afflicted, Bible study. We should be as serious about this as anything else in our lives. He’s our Father.
08:40 When we get tired, just keep on plowing the field for the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
08:58 Hear the scripture saying, look, get after it, and God knows what you’re doing. It’s not in vain. So much in this world is in vain.
09:11 So when we labor for the Lord, this is something that really is truly for him, that’s meaningful, that’s lasting. This is something that could follow us into eternity.
09:19 That other job you have, more than likely anything you do there that’s not for the ministry, that’s not going to follow you into eternity.
09:28 You win a soul that follows you into eternity. You do a good work that the Holy Spirit led, God’s going to give you a reward in eternity. So these are eternal things we’re dealing with.
09:43 These are spiritual things we’re dealing with. And the devil hates it. The devil doesn’t want you to hear this.
09:47 The devil’s hoping that you shut me off. Right when I started talking about Steph Curry and the homosexuals, he’s really hoping that because if you’re still listening to this and you get onto this
09:57 and you understand what God’s calling you to do, hallelujah, you really can make a difference for him. But you have to be about your father’s business.
10:05 The Bible says that a corrupt tree cannot bear any good fruit. So if you are a lukewarm Christian, if you’re half in and half out, if you’ve got a lot of sin in your life, God can’t use that.
10:20 You can’t be helpful or useful to God until you repent, until you come to the Lord and you have that change of heart, that change of mind where you say, I’m no longer going to do this.
10:37 I’m going to change my ways. And then the Lord forgives you because the Bible tells us he’s faithful and just to forgive us for our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10:46 So he’s faithful and just to cleanse us from that unrighteousness I’m speaking about.
10:51 And then you can be useful to the Lord. But we have to give it to God. We have to confess our sins.
10:58 What’s stopping you from confessing your sins if you’ve got them? Pride. You’re proud. You have pride in your heart.
11:09 You don’t want to confess to God what’s going on. And if you do, he is faithful. He’s loving and he wants you to come to him.
11:22 There’s nothing that you have to hide from him. There’s a newsflash I have for you. He already knows everything anyway.
11:29 So just go ahead and confess it to him and get right with God. Amen. When we get tired, keep plowing for the Lord.
11:50 Romans 12:11, not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit serving the Lord. So the Bible calls us to be fervent in spirit. We’ve spent a lot of time in the previous part here about being slothful.
11:57 We know what that means. So we’re supposed to be fervent in spirit serving the Lord. It’s very important to understand that fervency in spirit is part of our marathon race, not a sprint, not a hot flash of emotion followed by a retraction, followed by a distancing,
12:16 followed by a lack of patience, but being fervent in spirit, having that steady, that just steadiness about you that you’re excited for the Lord today, as you were yesterday,
12:26 as you will be tomorrow and the day after and the day after and the day after, because it is who you are.
12:32 Hebrews 6:12, that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The promises of what?
12:45 The promises of God, that you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Remember all the scripture on slothfulness.
12:55 This is what we should not be in serving God. We should be working very hard to win others to the Lord, to show others who Christ is, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to do all of these things.
13:12 We should be working very hard, and that means that we should not in any way feel like, okay, well, if we just take a month off or a year off or whatever, we’ll get back to it.
13:25 No, we should be about our Father’s business from now until He calls us home. We shouldn’t let fear move us from working for our Heavenly Father. So usually you have a few things that’ll happen here, and I’m speaking anecdotally.
13:43 I don’t know everyone’s walk with the Lord, what happens, but from my own experience, you may have a time where you’re on fire for God, and then things may get complicated, or you may be stressed out, or maybe life throws you a curveball.
13:57 And then what could creep in? There’s a number of things that could creep in, but one thing that could creep in that the devil likes to do is bring fear into the equation.
14:10 1 Peter 3:13,and who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good? So if we’re followers of Christ, who can harm us truly? Especially speaking in terms of eternity, who can do anything to us?
14:22 You know, when the Lord has us, He’s never going to let us go, but yet the devil wants to make us afraid, wants to make us anxious, wants to push us into quote-unquote comfort zones that are anything but comfortable because we’re going away from the Lord.
14:37 So we shouldn’t let fear move us from working for our Heavenly Father. God will remember what we do down here for Him.
14:41 Hebrews 6:10, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister.
15:09 So when we’re in the ministry, God knows what we’re dealing with. God knows our form. He knows we’re having to take up the cross every day, that we’re having to crucify those fleshly desires, and we’re having to repent of sins.
15:16 We’re having to work hard for Him in very deep spiritual ways, not just what people see us putting pen to paper or going out handing out a gospel track.
15:24 There’s a lot more to it, and God sees every layer, and God knows our effort, and God will reward us. Hallelujah, He will reward us.
15:33 And you know a great reward, just being honest here, which is to be close to Him would be a great reward. To be close to our Maker, to spend time with Him, and to be close to Him would be about the best reward that anyone could ever ask for, and we’re going to have that. Amen, we’re going to have that.
15:50 Of course, we have close fellowship with Him through the Holy Spirit here on earth, and we’ll be close to Him in paradise one day. So moving on, Proverbs 10:22, the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
16:13 So what’s your definition of rich? True wealth is being close to God now, and stepping into eternal life when you pass on from this mortal body to be with the Father.
16:30 Here in Proverbs 10:22, the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich,and he addeth no sorrow to it, with it, excuse me, no sorrow with it. So we are in a world that really values this idea of being rich. Gosh, how important it is to the world to be rich.
16:46 I said to a young man that I know, I bet you if you were rich, you really could do anything, get away with it, and they laughed and said, totally.
16:57 Because really, in this world, in this day and age, if you have money, you can buy your way out of crimes. And again, I mentioned earlier in the series, the messages about the shifting morality of the country, where people are looking at things so much differently now.
17:12 Hey, I mean, you want to kill a baby when it’s born? Sure, yeah. You want to, you know, oh, you murdered somebody, but you got a lot of money?
17:21 Yeah. Oh, you stole a bunch of money, but you’ve got enough money to escape the prison you’re in? Go for it.
17:27 You know, it’s a shifting morality, relative morality. And here we’re shown the true riches is not in this wicked world with material wealth that can buy you, you know, whatever in this world. True riches is not having man’s acclimation, man’s reward.
17:37 You know, I think of like, I know it’s kind of, you know, corny or simple, but you think of an award ceremony, like one man giving another man some made up award somebody, some committee made many years ago, or whatever.
17:54 I mean, you can think of them, the Academy Awards, the Grammys, the Emmys. What a joke, you know, you can keep it, what are you going to do with it?
18:15 You know, you put it on your bookshelf, look at me, other men approve of me, a group of men approve of me, a group of important quote, unquote, people approve of me.
18:25 What does that mean? Shouldn’t we be after God’s approval? Is that not true riches? To have your Lord and Savior say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. I just, you know, when we work for the Lord, he blesses us.
18:43 And he makes us rich in ways that are so much valuable, more valuable than that trophy on the bookshelf, than that pay raise, than that laugh in the crowd.
18:53 You know, these are the people that are screaming, we want Barabbas, we want Barabbas. These are the people that crucified Christ. These are the people that would step on your neck to get ahead.
19:03 These are the people that will lie, cheat and steal and say it’s okay. This is the sinful world we live in. This is not riches to have material things.
19:15 You know, we need material things to live, of course. But to be rich here is pales in comparison. It’s not even in the same universe, literally and figuratively as being rich in heaven.
19:27 So secular work, going back to that for a minute, can and does advance the ministry. So some of us work in secular jobs because we can propagate the gospel more effectively that way. The work and the ministry go together to create a good result.
19:48 So number one, I won’t harp on this a long time, but if you’re constantly having to solicit for donations or for financial support, it may affect the way that you run a ministry or the effectiveness.
20:03 Think of a radio station that needed donations to stay on air. And so every time that they could be playing, preaching, or preaching a message or southern gospel music or whatever, they are having to do a fund drive, fundraising.
20:22 Now they’re counting on the Lord and they’re praising God as they receive donations. And I’m sure it’s part of God’s plan. But at the same time, if you’re working a secular job and you have money and you can use that money to help propagate the gospel and help build a mission work and so forth, then that also is very effective.
20:46 So number one, secular work can and does advance the ministry just through it being a partner in the ministry, coming alongside financially and supporting it.
20:56 You see it with Paul, the one that taught us so much, our teacher. He forwent what he was doing in the ministry to ensure the gospel was not compromised.
21:05 And he could effectively spread it without impair by being a tent maker, even though he and his partner Barnabas could have asked for money, 1 Corinthians 9:6.
21:18 Or I only and Barnabas have not we power to forbear working. I mean, they were very involved in the ministry. They were very involved, obviously, in the things of the Lord and doing the Lord’s calling.
21:36 And the apostle Paul is the reason I’m able to preach this sermon today. And he clearly could have asked the churches for money or required money of them, but he didn’t.
21:56 And so secular work, I don’t think we think about that that much, but it actually can just be a vehicle to support a ministry that then becomes fully independent of donations.
21:59 All right, another form of ministry could be at your secular job. Remember, God gave you your job, your specific boss, your co-workers, your commute, and so on. God gave you those things.
22:14 And clearly, there could be a reason for that. The ministry goes beyond just the church house. The mission field is your job.
22:20 And that is something that’s very important to think about. Because if you view your job as a mission field, then all of a sudden, it becomes a very ripe mission field.
22:30 And one reason I say that is because people are one to you before they’re one to the Lord a lot of times.
22:40 And you have to build that rapport. And if I go knock on a stranger’s door in this day and age, they are, rightfully so, very reluctant to talk to me.
22:49 And again, if someone knocks on my door, gosh, I’m probably pretty reluctant to talk to them just because I don’t get that many people knocking on my door.
22:55 It’s just, it’s the day and age we live in. And at work, you spend all day, sometimes eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve hours a day, every day, Monday through Friday, with the same people. You develop relationships.
23:13 You get close. You know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And you have all these interactions.
23:20 And people can truly come to know the Lord through the workplace. They can come to know who you are. And if you’re all about the Lord, they can come to know the Lord through you.
23:28 So the secular workplace is actually a fantastic ministry opportunity. You know, I think about Paul being in Rome, being on house arrest. And the praetorian guard watched him around the clock for two years.
23:49 And they took shifts. And this is not an original thought. I heard this in preaching some time ago.
24:14 And I’m just kind of repeating it. But there were many hundreds of soldiers, maybe even thousands, that Paul interacted with in the praetorian guard when he was in house arrest in Rome. And those soldiers had to be chained to his arm.
24:20 And he’s conversing with the soldiers. And they’re learning about the things of Christ. He’s sharing the gospel.
24:25 And how many of them got saved from that experience? The Bible says much of Caesar’s household then heard the gospel. And so even from the ruler’s household, people were being saved. And people were being told the truth about Christ.
24:38 And the ministry was at work. And all of these people, the guard, the soldiers, they were all doing their job. They were at their place of work.
24:48 And I’ve come to understand that Paul wrote much of the New Testament while being under house arrest. So not only was he propagating the gospel to those at work, but he was actually using that situation to write some of our Bible. It’s unbelievable to think about, but it’s true.
25:04 And this is all dealing with what some would view being at work. Again, if you were a prison guard, and you happen to be watching this individual that had been arrested for preaching Christ, and you’re chained to him, and you’re there for 12 hours, you might say, hey, why are you here?
25:19 Or tell me about this Christ, this God of yours. Or tell me about the miracles that he performed, and the healing, and tell me about the resurrection, and all these things.
25:31 And you learn about it. And that’s all essentially a workplace. And so it’s really fascinating to think about that, to understand that God is present in all places at all times.
25:48 That’s why he’s called omnipresent. He’s everywhere, and he knows everything. So we think about all this, and we remember the text verse from the very first part of this series, Jeremiah 18:4.
26:13 And this was referring to God’s desire to change the nation of Israel into a if they’d return to him.
26:18 But the same desire God had for Israel, and has for Israel, he has for you here today. God loves you, and will mold and sculpt you into the best possible version of you here on earth, if you let him.
26:29 Will you let him? Will you be sold out to the Lord at work, at school, at home, wherever you are? The amazing things Jesus can do with a soul that’s given his or her life to him.
26:43 If only we choose to do that sincerely today. And my question is, do you? Do you choose? If you’re not saved, then do you choose to accept him as Lord and Savior of your life?
26:57 Do you choose to accept him today? And if you are saved, do you choose to accept new life in him? To accept your new responsibilities as a Christian?
27:12 And those are crucifying the old person, because the old person is dead. Crucifying the desires of the old person.
27:21 The things that have come about that make you who you are in your previous life before accepting Christ.
27:33 Are you willing to get rid of those things, the sinful behaviors, the things that were not of God, and turn to him fully, and be sold out to Christ in the workplace through your actual work product, what you do for a living?
27:44 Are you willing to do it to your utmost as if you were working for God? And are you willing to work for God in the workplace by being a witness to others, and being a joyful witness,
27:59 and sharing the things of Christ, and then also not affecting your testimony negatively by being a curmudgeon, or by being the Pharisee and the scribe, and saying, I follow all the law, and who are you, and what are you doing?
28:18 But being true to the Lord and his calling on your life. Are you willing to do that? I hope and pray that you are.
28:25 And I’m just going to end this series with a short prayer. We’ll be done. I appreciate your attentiveness to this message, and God bless you for that.
28:34 I hope it’s been a help and a blessing to you. And let’s pray here. Dear Lord, I just thank you for whoever’s listening to this, Lord.
28:44 If this affects them positively and draws them closer to you in any way, then I’ve done my job, Lord. And I’m just calling you, God, to help those that are listening to this, that have that true and sincere desire to serve you, to live for you in all places, including and especially at work, Lord.
29:02 And to spend that massive amount of time that we spend in our lives at work, serving you, and living for you, and giving people the full knowledge and experience of who you are through their behavior, and through just being a loving and kind person,
29:21 and showing people the truths that are in your word, and leading them to you, and always not taking credit for who you are, not trying to be self-righteous, but in all ways, humbly pointing them to you, pointing them to Jesus.
29:41 Lord, that’s our goal. Lord, that’s my prayer. And I just pray for all those to be listening to this today, Lord.
29:46 I pray that they serve you with all their hearts, Lord. And I just thank you, God. I thank you for allowing me another day here, and I thank you for allowing those that are listening another day on this earth.
30:00 To serve and live for you. In Jesus Name. Amen