Building a Godly Business or Being a Godly Employee
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Christianity and the walk of faith does not stop after Sunday when we leave this building.
Christianity and our walk of faith extends into everyday of the week in all the places we go and in all the things we do.
Last week we looked at Building a Godly Home. This week, we are going to look at Building a Godly Business. or Being a Godly Employee, which ever it is for your case.
In our journey of faith, out text has brought us to a passage dealing with 2 schemers, Jacob and his uncle, Laban, who is also now his father-in-law, twice with the eldest daughter Leah and the youngest daughter Rachel.
They are both trying to out do each other and get the best of the other.
Last week, we saw Jacob serving 14 year for Rachel because of his love for her. They seemed but a very short time.
Having the promise from God that he would return to his home and land.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
and now after 11 boys and 1 daughter born to Jacob through Leah, Bilhah (Rachels handmaid) and Zilpah (Leah’s handmaid), God shows favor to Rachel and gives her a son
22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.
they named Joseph and the journey continues.
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
Jacob is now ready to return to the land of promise given to his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham.
26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
During these 14 years, Jacob worked hard for Laban and God blessed Jacob. However, all Jacob had to show for it was women and children. It is very hard to support women and children with more women and children and no income.
27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.
28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
Laban is looking for a way to keep Jacob around. Wouldn’t you want Jacob to stay around. He has produced 12 working young men, increased prosperity for Laban, all because of hard work and God’s blessings. He was building a Godly home in the nation of Israel, but he also had created quite the business and financial institute.
In order to keep Jacob around, Laban was now going to have to step up and really start paying Jacob.
So Jacob. Not wanting a full partnership with Laban that could easily become a permanent attachment to his uncle. Not wanting to be indebted no more to any man. Desiring to go back home in the very near future,
answers.
29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:
32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
Now, Jacob said, I don’t want you to give me anything. I have been working 14 years for Rachel.
That debt is now fully paid and you even recognize God has blessed you financially because of me. Therefore, here is how we will settle it.
You own all the existing flock!
Jacob would separate all the speckled or spotted sheep and goats and all the dark colored lambs from the pure or solid colored animals.
Jacob would only receive those born speckled or spotted thereafter, and only those born to the pure or solid colored animals.
You have to raise animals and understand a little about genetics for this to really make sense.
Understand first of all the Laban owns everything at this point.
Genetically, pure colored animals produce few speckled or spotted animals. Jacob, even though he was a home body, he knew this. He had lived on a ranch and was around sheep and goats his entire life.
However, once the speckled animals begin to come and they will begin to pop up, when bred, they would produce far more speckled and spotted animals than than the solid colored animals. The dominant color of sheep was solid white and the goats were dark brown or black. Spotted sheep and goats were the recessive color.
What you find here is 2 cheaters or trickster or guile individuals trying to outdo the other.
Jacob needed to make Laban seem to have the advantage. After all, Laban owned all the flock. Laban had taken advantage of Jacob by having him work 14 years for Rachel and never paying him a fair wage.
Therefore, Jacob knew Laban would never agree to a fair and equal agreement so he had to get sneaky to get Laban to agree.
So, reminder.
Jacob was starting with nothing.
Jacob would only take the spotted animals born from Laban’s solid colored animals, which genetically, would only produce 25% of the time spotted animals and only when both parents have the recessive spotted gene.
Jacob also trusted God, so he was going to trust God for the 25% chance to gain spotted animals. Jacob was going to have Faith that God would provide.
So the contract took place immediately, that day.
35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36 And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
So, Laban jumped on this deal and in short, Laban left him penniless compared to what He had gained over 14 years.
Laban took extreme caution to separate out out anything that was not absolutely the pure solid color.
Laban didn’t even trust Jacob to handle the matter of separating the animals.
So, not only did he separate them but he put 3 days journey between the herds and flocks.
So, not to be outdone by this situation, Jacob fights fire with fire. Instead of fully relying on God, by faith, Jacob did a very strange thing.
37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
Basically, this was the latest breeding science of that day. The belief was that when the animals were in heat and saw the striped branches and drank the water with the striped branches in them that when they mated, they were more likely to mate and bear spotted offsprings.
Now, I am not sure and even Biologists disagree over the power of such prenatal influence, but the result, I believe caused by God’s intervention, was spotted and speckled animals.
Step one: we are now getting spotted babies.
Let’s move to step two:
40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.
Basically, kind of like the first step, except now the solid animals are looking at the spotted animals from a separate pen. The thinking again was that an animal would tend to bear whatever color animal it was constantly looking upon.
Again, I don’t think this is very scientific. but never the less, God blessed with more spotted animals.
Now step 3:
41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
This becomes selective breeding. That is a scientifically proven method.
He mated strong with strong thus creating stronger offspring.
In just 6 years of doing this, Jacob had become the area’s most wealthiest man.
43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
Now, with enough wealth to support his family and Laban’s sons in their father’s ear about all that Jacob had taken from them, Jacob packs up and leaves to head back to the land of promise.
Long story made shorter, Rachel steals some of her father’s gods which infuriates Laban.
However, God steps in and warns Laban not to hurt him even with words.
24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Laban finally catches up with Jacob, searches for his idols, but could not find them because Rachael was sitting on them.
Because of their mutual distrust they made an agreement (covenant) not to hurt each other. They set up a boundary line in the hill country of Gilead (which is just north of the Sea of Galilee), over which neither of them would cross. They named the place Mitzpah (which means watchcare), which meant God would see them if either of them crossed the line.
Now, you say what does this have to do with working or owning a business. Well, I am glad you asked.
Even though everything was Not the way a child of God should perform. Understand, Jacob worked very hard for Laban.
40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
He endured Laban’s treachery and cruelty.
7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
However, Jacob ended up on Laban’s level when instead of trusting God by Faith to handle the situation, He began strategically producing strong spotted animals leaving Laban with a very weakened and sick herd.
Let’s grab some principles from this story that are also back up in the Word of God about our work ethic and dealing with others in business.
Number 1: This one seems simple.
Work is to Be Expected:
Work is to Be Expected:
From the very beginning work is stressed in the Bible. God worked constructing the universe. Adam and Eve was placed in a Garden and were expected to work.
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
In the law that God gave Moses to give to His people, Israel, God said to work.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
The children while heading for the Promised Land and wandering in the wilderness were provided manna from heaven but were required to get up and work at gathering for what they needed that day.
You say, well that is the old testament. Well, lets go to the Apostle Paul’s words in the New Testament.
11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
Again, in
10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
That is simple enough:
Work is to be Expected.
Number 2.
Work is to be Valued:
Work is to be Valued:
Work should be appreciated. You may not like your job and maybe need to pray about changing it, but a life without work is a living hell. Why? because it against the will of God. Remember the phrase, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
Solomon who was so wise was also the greatest pessimist. He hated everything, especially work.
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
He wound up losing the kingdom, sad and bitter as an old man.
Jacob did not complain about work.
Jacob valued work because he understood that work enabled him to reach his goals.
He worked for his wife, He worked to provide for his children.
26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; For his mouth craveth it of him.
You need to value work. You need to have a good attitude about work.
“Parade Magazine” did a study of people who lived into their 90’s. They all had a common characteristic - they all loved to work.
An object in motion tends to stay in motion.
An object at rest tends to stay at rest.
Hating work imposing a very unnecessary emotional strain of anxiety and stress that quickly takes a toll on our bodies.
Work is to be Expected.
Work is to be Valued.
and Third:
Work is to be Honorable:
Work is to be Honorable:
This actually the focus of the text this morning. Jacob and Laban by example of contrast handled work in a very humiliating and unholy way. Each were trying to outwit and outdo each other.
God doesn’t just want us to work, but He wants us to work the right way, doing the right kind of work.
Listen very carefully.
“How you earn your money is just as important as the way you give your money or how much you give.
When I speak of Honorable work, I mean
Honorable in its Method:
Honorable in its Method:
When we talk of work, we tend to think in levels of achievement.
God is not interested as much in what we do (if the job itself is honorable) but how we do it.
Honorable in it Motive:
Honorable in it Motive:
Why we work is important also?
Most of us work for a paycheck. Working enables us to reach our goals and enjoy our chosen lifestyle.
However, money can’t be the driving force behind work.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Money becomes evil when it causes us to neglect our families and other responsibilities.
Money becomes evil when it causes us to be driven toward dishonesty and deceit.
1 A false balance is abomination to the Lord: But a just weight is his delight.
This was the sin of Jacob when he left Laban with all the weak animals.
42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
If you work the right way, God will take care of you.
6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: But transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
Why you work and How you work are very important but we have one more.
Honorable in its Mission:
Honorable in its Mission:
What does your job produce?
Does it add to the holiness and happiness of the world? or does it add unholiness and misery?
What do you mean? I will give you the easy ones first. Pornography, alcohol, gambling, overwork and excessive Sunday work.
Never be satisfied in the Mission of your work if it can not be offered to God in prayer and praise.
God will provide and take care of you when your work is honorable in its Method, Motives, and Mission.
Work is to be Expected.
Work is to be Valued.
Work is to be Honorable.
and lastly,
Work is to Be Limited:
Work is to Be Limited:
Work should never take the place of faith and reliance upon God to meet our needs.
Jacob was a hard worker, Jacob was a shrewed businessman, but every time God spoke to Jacob, He reminded him that He was Jacob’s Provider and Protector.
God gave Jacob the large herds.
12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
God protected Jacob from Laban.
24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Limit Work to Daily Needs.
Limit Work to Daily Needs.
The model prayer.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
The Israelites gathered manna every morning for their daily needs.
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; And thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, And satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
This is not a call to laziness, but is a call to recognize that life and health and strength and opportunity to work all come from God.
Therefore, limit work to Daily needs.
and
Limit work in Life’s Great Crises.
Limit work in Life’s Great Crises.
There are times in our life in crisis’s like disease, death, depression where we just need to “let Go and let God.”
Sometimes we just need to let God intercede for His own.
Without God we can do nothing. but without Us, God will not do anything.
God is our Master and Lord. He is your boss, in your home and in your business into every area of your life.
We will work till Jesus Comes.
Are you working?
Are you making a difference?
Is it God approved?
Are you trusting God for His part?
