Sermon Title: Working Hard 11.6.16

Working Hard (11.6.16) 1

First Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away fromevery believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a]you received from us.7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example.We were not idle when we were with you,8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we workednight and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help,but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.10For even when we were with you,we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to workshall not eat.”

11We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christto settle down and earn the food they eat.13And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.

Second Scripture: Deuteronomy 28:12-14

12TheLordwill open the heavens, the storehouseof his bounty,to send rainon your land in season and to blessall the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.13TheLordwill make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of theLordyour God that I give you this day and carefully followthem, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.14Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left,following other gods and serving them.

What would you do if you won the lottery? Go ahead, shout out some answers.
When I first heard this, I have to admit it, I thought, retire early, maybe even now! Anybody with me? Unfortunately, many in the West have an aversion to work. We can see this in phrases like TGIF, and the somewhat old but famous song that says, "Everybody is working for the weekend." A movie that epitomizes this is the 1999 hilarious classic "Office Space." During the movie the main character, Peter Gibbons, has an interview with 'The Bobs,' consultants his company hired to figure out who they could get rid of to increase profit. In this interview one of the Bobs says, "I see you have been missing a lot of work lately Peter." To which Peter says, "I wouldn't say I've been missing it Bob."
This is ironic because we spend so much of our time and energy at work. What if we didn't view work as a curse to endure, but a blessing that the Lord has given us? By work I defiantly mean paid employment but it is much more than that. God calls folks who are stay at home parents, retired, laid off, on disability, or any other circumstance, to be employed by working hard for Him. This is definitely true for stay at home parents. I'm reminded of the commercial that shows an adult opening a door and saying, "I'm feeling terrible Bob, I think I'll take the rest of the day off." It then pans to the inside of the room, it shows a toddler as the announcer says, "parents don't take days off!" God designed us not for idleness but for productivity, for work. We see this in creation. God worked six days and rested on the seventh. Warnings against idleness are all over the bible. For example, Proverbs 15:19 says "The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns, But the path of the upright is a highway."
This morning we are continuing our series entitled "Shiny gods." Last week we talked about naming our idols so we may be freed from their grip. This week we are continuing by considering that God frees us from those idols so that we might be working hard for Him. So this morning we are going through the 'ABC's' of working hard for the Lord. 'A' is that God wants us to work hard to activate our gifts and abilities, not to aggravate us. 'B' is that God has given us work so we might bless others and not be a burden to them. Finally, 'C' is that God gives us work to be co-creators with Him not so that we would burn out and crash.
So what do I mean when saying that God wants us to work hard so that He can activate the gifts and passions He has given us?
Let's take a look at the beginning of our reading out of Deuteronomy. Moses writes, "TheLordwill open the heavens, the storehouseof his bounty,to send rainon your land in season and to blessall the work of your hands." There are a few interesting features of this promise that help us understand what it means to allow the Lord to activate the gifts and talents He has given us through working hard.
First, the Hebrew word used here for 'bless' has the connotation of bestowing power upon someone. As we look through scripture we see that very often when God blesses someone, He blesses them with the ability to do some kind of work. In this we see that work is God's provision for us to provide sustenance for ourselves and family. Also, it provides an opportunity to activate His purposes in the world. What has God blessed us with so we can work? He has blessed us with gifts and talents, He has blessed us with opportunities, and He has blessed us with passions and a calling. As we consider these, talents, opportunities, and passions, How does God want to use these in working hard.
While working hard we also need to consider what it means for the Lord to open up the heavens and send rain in His season. First, it means that God gives us seed, and He is responsible for the growth. Farmers work very hard at cultivating, planting, and caring for the land, but they do not make it rain and they do not make the crops grow. In the same way, when working hard by allowing the Lord to activate the seeds of our talents, opportunities, and passions, we need to remember, He makes it grow, not us. When God calls us to start something at our place of employment, a new ministry here at church, or whatever, we need to be patient for the Lord to send rain in His time. This is so hard for me. I want fruitfulness from my work now, if not sooner! Instead, we, I, need to wait on the Lord. In His good timing He will bring about the fruitfulness He desires. After all, God does not give up on us, even if we don't make progress quickly, we should not give up on Him.
The second thing to consider when working hard for the Lord by allowing Him to activate those seeds He give us is what success and failure look like. Proverbs 14:23 says, "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." How is this possible when, so often our work seems frustrating and more frustrating? When it is the Lord activating those seeds, when working hard for Him, things may not turn out the way we think they should, but God will always be able to use them for His good purposes. I once heard someone say that working hard for the Lord changes our question from "Why is this happening" to "What is He teaching me?" That's hard to do, but I really believe that God can and will bless our work even in the midst of frustration and what we see as failure.
How does God want us to work hard? He calls us to allow Him to activate seeds of talents, passions and opportunities. What does He want from us working hard? He wants us to work hard so that we might be a blessing to others and not a burden.
In Deuteronomy we learn that the Lord will bless the Israelites by lending to many nations but never having to borrow, by being the head not the tail, at the top not the bottom. These promises of being debt free, are dependent on us following all of God's commandments, we cannot pick and choose. So what are directives when it comes to the blessing of work. There are many but two are to have a strong work ethic and to live simply.
If you have your bibles on you, please open them to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. We are going to start in verse six Paul writes, "6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away fromevery believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example.We were not idle when we were with you,8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we workednight and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help,but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.10For even when we were with you,we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to workshall not eat.” I want to clarify two things. First, Paul says those who are unwilling to work, shall not eat, there are circumstances where we are unable to work. God understands and so should we. Second, this does not, in any way, release us from caring for the poor. Even if someone is unwilling to work, God still loves them, and so should we. It may change how we help them but we always need to consider how to encourage someone to take steps in that direction and love them well.
Having said that, an entitlement mentality, thinking that other people owe us, is dishonoring to others, God, and a terrible witness. It is dishonoring to others because it is self-centered. As followers of Jesus we need to reflect His character. He did not come to earth with an entitlement mentality. If anyone had the right to have an entitlement mentality, it is God, after all, He created, and sustains the universe! But instead He tells with His words and actions that He came to serve and not be served. It is dishonoring to God because it is rejecting the gift God has given us of work. Finally, it is a terrible witness because God's provision for us to not be a burden on others is work, and that is a blessing. Something that challenged me while preparing for this message was asking when was the last time I thanked God for the opportunity to work so that I may bless others and not be a burden to them? In our work, paid or unpaid, ask, how is this blessing others and removing burdens from them?
As we bless others and remove burdens, God wants us to live simply. When we begin to view our work, and the money earned from it, as a blessing to bless others we worry more about the outcome less about income. We begin to ask, do I really need that extra big flat screen TV, the car with all the bells and whistles, do I need to go out to eat again this week? Could God use the money I save to further His kingdom? The reality is that God's plan is not for us to go into irresponsible debt to feed the shiny idol of materialism. God's plan is for us to live below our means so that we can bless others. When we are working hard for the Lord, finding our identity in Him, we begin to live simply so others can simply live!
As we discern what God wants us to do with the blessing of work, we, often, begin to wonder why. Why has God given us work and why is working hard a blessing? It is a blessing because, in it, God enables us to be co-creators with Him not so we can burn out and crash.
In Genesis 2:15, God commands Adam to work the land, remember this is before the fall. Work is not a consequence of living in a broken and fallen world. We are created in God's image. One of the ways we reflect that is His enabling us to be co-creators with Him in our work. He has given us all abilities and opportunities that enable us to create a world reflecting His love, glory, and grace. That is why God wants us to work.
In working hard, we create an atmosphere of responsibility for our children. Whenever I say something about our children, I worry that folks without biological children tune out. Please don't. The truth is that we are all spiritual mothers and fathers to our children. Today is all saints day. Today remember the labor of the saints of the past. They are our biological and spiritual parents that created for us an atmosphere of responsibility where we learned the value of hard work, now it's our turn to teach that to the next generation.
Even as we understand that we are reflecting God's image and even when we know working hard to set a good example for the next generation, we can still get burnt out. We can become weary of creating and just crash and burn. What can we do in those situations? How can the creative energy of God enable us to have His kingdom to come to us and through us? First, we need to take our Sabbath. God did work for six days, but our Sabbath rest day is meant for us to rejuvenate, and revive ourselves.
Also, as followers of Christ you and I are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. When we work hard in the Lord we are participating in the in-breaking kingdom of God! While this should energize us there are some implications. First, if we are working hard for the Lord it should be our best effort and we ought to do our work with integrity. Second, as soldiers of the cross, there is not retirement, we die with our boots on. So long as there is breath in our lungs, God has work for us to do! Finally, God will supply us with the resources, energy and opportunities to live out His will in our work. This does not mean that we will be able to do what we want to do, but what He wants to do through us. I would encourage all of us to pray over our schedules and work for His will to be done.
His will being done through us such that, even if we won the lottery we will gladly work hard for the Lord. Working hard by allowing Him to activate those seeds of time, talents, and opportunities He has given us. Working hard by accepting the work He has given us as a blessing and not a burden. Working hard because we are soldiers of the cross. We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus and by His resurrection power He will use our work to bring His kingdom to us and through us!
Let us pray: By Your Holy Spirit Lord, keep us working Hard for your kingdom to come and will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven!
Receive this blessing and benediction: Let us go forth, hard workers in the kingdom of our loving Father, redeemed by His Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.