A Little Sleep and a Little Slumber
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
All of us are enjoying, (enduring), living a prolonged interruption of life. For some this is a financial calamity…for others it is a prolonged vacation…others feel more like house arrest. But this too shall pass.
Someday the world is going to reopen and get back to a new sense of normalcy. We may never be quite like we once were…things always change when things like this happen...but we will once again have the opportunity to work, live and do life in person, face to face.
Are you ready to get back into the swing of things? Ready to work? Ready to accomplish much and get things done?
The Bible teaches that we were created for work and that it was a significant way in which we would glorify God.
God created us for work. Genesis 2:15
The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.
This event in Genesis took place before the fall. Many have the wrong idea that work was a part of the curse of sin but it is not. We were always meant to work…the curse simply made that work difficult. Genesis 3:17-19
And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.
By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
Work was meant to be a way that we could worship and serve God. A way to cooperate with what He was doing to sustain and bless the creation. We were meant to be stewards or managers…creation would cooperate with us and the entire process of our work would be blessed, fruitful and to the glory of God.
After the fall the ground was cursed, weeds grew, the entire created order was out of sync and our work became difficult.
“Worship” if often translated in English “serve.” Service to God is an act of worship. In heaven we will once again have jobs to do…opportunities to serve and worship God. but there the created order will once again cooperate with us. All that we do will serve God’s purposes, be for His glory.
Revelation 22:3
No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.
For the believer in Christ, work is far more than a paycheck! It is a calling, service to God and worship of Him.
When we work hard, work joyfully and give our best to what we do...we glorify God…we make much of Him to a lost world…we become a living picture of how God has changed us…we show our employer and the people we work with that our life and work are about more than a paycheck.
Let’s take a look at a picture of what this kind of work looks like…Let’s look at how we can work in a way that brings glory to God — Makes much of Him to a lost world
How Work Can Bring Glory to God
How Work Can Bring Glory to God
Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”—
Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.
Go to the ant — Often in Proverbs we see Solomon relating a pearl of wisdom to something he had noticed in nature. At some point he had watched an ant hard at work…in that moment God spoke to his heart and taught him a lesson. This was a lesson about how to work well.
You sluggard — This is someone NOT doing things God’s way. So the story is addressed to those not doing things right so they might understand how to change their ways.
This is a story meant to be a wake up call to everyone struggling with laziness but also to encourage of us with what it means to be a good worker who glorifies God.
A Work that Brings Glory to God:
Sees Work as a Calling — As we saw in the passage we read moments ago in Genesis…work is a privilege, calling and opportunity. If you do not see your work in that light then you need to pray, reevaluate your calling and ask God to show you where are meant to work…you may just be in the wrong career!
Adam and Eve were called to tend the Garden of Eden…what is God calling you to do with your life? Refuse to settle for less than God’s purposes for your life!
Is Self-motivated — The ant has no taskmaster…no one watching over his shoulder to see if he is working or goofing off. Yet, he works diligently at his task and gets the job done. The ant does what needs to be done without fail in preparation for his future.
There is a sign at the entrance of a great manufacturing plant that reads: "If you are like a wheelbarrow—going no farther than you are pushed—you need not apply for work here."
Certainly we want to do well in order to provide a good living for our family and make enough money to have some nice things…but we have a deeper kind of motivation at work in our heart…we need not be pushed! Service and glory to God motivate us to go!
When we understand that a job well done can bring glory to our God and lead others to Him...we become motivated to do our best.
Keeps an Eye on Long Term Goals — The ant keeps an eye on the future…he realizes that his future self will thank him for the work he is doing today. He realizes His work is not just about today’s need.
How we work, save and prepare now will determine the kind of future we enjoy and even create new opportunities to serve Christ in the future.
Refuse to Be Lazy — A little sleep and a little slumber represent a life of sloth and laziness. This kind of life robs God of glory and sets us up for scarcity in later life. It is a guarantee that you will live on less than you were meant to have and be less than you were meant to be if you are lazy.
Soon after the great Edmund Burke had been making one of his powerful speeches in the British Parliament, his brother Richard was found sitting in silent thought; and when asked by a friend what he was thinking about, he replied:
"I have been wondering how Ed has contrived to monopolize all the talent in our family. But then I remember that when the rest of us were doing nothing, or were at play, he was always at work."
And the force of this anecdote is increased by the fact that Richard always was considered, by those who knew him best, to be superior in natural talents to his brother; yet the one rose to greatness, whereas the other lived and died in obscurity.
Many scratch their heads wondering why their life has lacked success…scratch their heads in retirement wondering why they have so little...but poor planning for the future alongside a poor work ethic is all the explanation they would ever need.
Conclusions
Conclusions
Some of you are still in school…what you are doing right now is your work…your act of worship as you prepare for God’s calling on your life.
Our working years are roughly between the ages of 20-70 years of age. That means if you are 50 years old you still have 40% of your working life left…if you are feeling discouraged by how you have spent your working life thus far…most of us have a significant amount of our working years left!
And to those who are retired…your productive years don’t cease the moment you put the finishing touches on your career...you have the chance to work hard and serve God well with new opportunities the golden years afford.
Illustration: The doctor Glynn Strauss — Eye surgeon…retired from his career here in the states to be a medical missionary with Mercy Ships off coast of Africa…removing cataracts
Parker and Beverly Spence…he left a great job as a CFO in order to serve in Afghanistan for 10 years leading people to Christ.
Steve Case and his work with Six Stones
Retirement from our first career is just the beginning of our second. There is no retirement from serving God. There is no opt-out clause in the book of Genesis which gives us permission to stop glorifying God through our work.
In many ways retirees have more freedom and greater opportunity to serve God through a second career than they had in the years of their first.
Whatever stage of life we find ourselves in…school, career or retirement…we are meant to worship God through our work…we must not miss the opportunity and privilege of doing so!
So what now...
What is God’s call on your life today? Are you excited about the opportunity to serve God through your 9-5, Monday through Friday job? Are you motivated to bring glory to God in your current situation?
Every person needs to know God’s call on their life…Adam and Eve were to tend the Garden…Moses was to lead the children of Israel…Paul was to preach...Then there was Bezalel and Oholiab
Exodus 35:30-35
Then Moses told the people of Israel, “The Lord has specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.
He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze.
He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft.
And the Lord has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others.
The Lord has given them special skills as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth, and weavers. They excel as craftsmen and as designers.
It is not only the preachers and evangelists who have a calling…nor are they the only ones who bring glory through their work…
God has given you gifts to use…passion to realize…and a calling to fulfill diligently to His glory while you live here on earth.
Three Things...
Find your passion — Pray to know God’s call on your life…think about your hot buttons…what excites you…what makes you tick and ask God to construct your life and career in such a way that you might bring glory to Him in your work.
See work as an opportunity to glorify God — Ask God to motivate you to work so others might see the difference He makes in your work and life
Set long term goals — Pray for God to bring your passion to bear upon your future life...and write these goals down…make these your career goals but also your retirement goals as well…goals for how you might continue to bring God glory in your life once your current career comes to an end.
Refuse to Waste Your Life — Don’t be lazy...Pray against the sin of sloth and ask God to keep you from it.
It is recorded of Dwight L Moody that, upon one of his journeys across the Atlantic there was a fire in the hold of the ship. The crew and some volunteers stood in line to pass buckets of water. A friend said to Moody, "Mr. Moody, let us go to the other end of the ship, and engage in prayer." The common-sense evangelist replied, "Not so, sir; we stand right here and pass buckets and pray hard all the time." How like Moody this was! He believed that prayer and work were the two hands of the one person: that they should never be separated.
Work and prayer go hand in hand just as does planning, goal setting and everything we put our hand to or set our mind to do! So do these four things and pray!
This current situation in which we find ourselves in a great time for a reset…a fantastic moment to reevaluate our working lives…to consider what we are doing and answer the question of calling, passion and purpose…
May Life 2.0 be a life living God’s purpose for our life to His God!