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*Mature Christians Are Passionate Christians*
Ecclesiastes 9:10
A professor, before handing out the final exam, stood before his class of biology students.
He said, “First, I want to say that it’s been a pleasure teaching you this semester.
I know you all have worked extremely hard and many of you are off to medical school at the end of the summer.
I know you are excited that the semester is over.
So that no one gets their GPA messed up because you might have been celebrating a bit too much this week, anyone who would like to opt out of the final exam will receive a “B” for the class.”
Many of the students clapped their hands and cheered and took the professor up on his offer.
Those who took his offer, he dismissed from class.
He looked at the handful that was left and said, “Anyone else?
This is your last chance.”
A couple of more took him up on his offer.
They were dismissed from class.
He looked at the few that were left and said, “I’m glad to see that you believe in yourself.
You all have “A’s.”
All too often we settle for “B’s” when we could have “A’s.”
We often settle for the good rather than the best.
As a Church or as a Christian, we should settle for nothing less than the best.
God wants us to enjoy and experience the best.
Now, if we are to have the best, there is a simple requirement.
To have the best, we must give our best.
Abraham Lincoln said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.”
He also said, “I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so till the end.”
Solomon put it this way:
· Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
(Ecclesiastes 9:10)
He is telling us that in whatever we are doing, we are to be our best, and do our best.
Let’s look at his words consider three lessons that speak to us about doing our best.
1.
The Purposeful Reward of Our Work
This whole verse reminds that our life has a purpose.
There is a in what we do in our life.
There is something that each of us has to do.
· I will praise You, for I am fearfully /and/ wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And /that/ my soul knows very well.
(Psalm 139:14)
The Psalmist recognized that he had a wonderful Creator.
He also realized that this Creator had created him with a wonderful purpose.
The word “wonderfully” speaks of that which is “set apart.”
God had set him apart, or to say it another way, had created him with a purpose in mind.
a. Finding God’s purpose for our life
Life’s greatest discovery is learning what God’s will for our life is.
· Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord /is./ (Ephesians 5:17)
The word “understanding” means “to put together.”
It is like a puzzle in which every piece is in place revealing fully the picture the puzzle reveals.
It is coming to a mental comprehension of God’s will for our life.
How can we know God’s will for our life?
When Solomon spoke of doing something, he was not speaking of just doing something, but finding what it is that a person is to do.
There is a specific thing a person is to do and we are to find what that is.
The word “finds” implies that one has looked or sought to know what it is that they are to do.
Do you desire to know God’s will for your life?
Are you seeking to know that will?
Have you ever asked God to show you His will?
The will of God is not a difficult thing to know.
We often act like God is reluctant to show us His will.
That is not the case.
God will never tell us to understand His will if we could not know His will.
I have found that there are basically two reasons why people do not know God’s will.
First, there is not a real desire to know what that will is.
Oh, we say we want to know God’s will, but deep down on the inside, there is not a real desire to find out what that will is.
Secondly, there is not a willingness to do the will of God.
God will never show His will to those whom He knows will not do what He asks them to do.
The great quest of life is to find God’s purpose for their life.
It is a purpose that is known by those who have sought to know that purpose.
b.
Following God’s purpose for our life
Solomon’s words speak of someone who has sought and found what they are to do and are doing it.
There is not only the matter of finding God’s will, but also following and fulfilling God’s will.
We are to find what it is that God wants us to do, and then do it.
Finding God’s will is not only one the greatest discoveries of life, it is also one of the great blessings of life.
· And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
(1 John 2:17)
There are both personal and eternal blessings that are enjoyed and experienced by the person who does God’s will.
Do you know God’s great purpose for your life?
Have you found that purpose, and if so, are you following that purpose.
It is the purpose that defines all that we do.
How we serve and where we serve is defined by God’s will for our life.
It is more than just having a job in the Church.
It is much more than just doing something.
It is doing what God wants you do.
2.
The Passionate Response in Our Work
“Do it with all your might.”
The Bible in Ephesians 6:6 speaks of “doing the will of God from the heart.”
What does it mean to do the will of God from the heart?
It means to do God’s will with passion.
It speaks of doing your best and giving your best.
Solomon tells us that when we find what it is that we are to do, we are to “do it with thy might.”
The word “might” speaks of “strength” or “vigor.”
We are to do what we do with all our strength.
We are do it with vigor.
Solomon is telling us that we should give our best and do our best in what we do for the Lord.
Why should we give our best?
a. God’s work deserves our best
In 2 Samuel 24:24 we find king David saying to Araunah,
· “No, but I will surely buy /it/ from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.”
(2 Samuel 24:24)
David was expressing the conviction that God deserved the best he had to offer.
Anything less than his best was being disrespectful to the God he served.
In whatever we do, we should give nothing but our best.
Why?
Our Lord deserves nothing less than our best.
If you are a deacon, you should be the best deacon you can be.
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