Laboring for the Lord
Notes
Transcript
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday of September after labor activist pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. The first celebration of Labor Day was New York City in 1882, and it was signed into federal law in 1894.
Many Americans celebrate Labor Day with parades, picnics and parties – festivities very similar to those outlined by the first proposal for a holiday, which suggested that the day should be observed with – a street parade to exhibit "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day.
Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
American labor has raised the nation’s standard of living and contributed to the greatest production the world has ever known and the labor movement has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pays tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.
If we look at the generations of past to now, we can remember many in “The Greatest Generation”, those who would serve in WWII and were shaped by parents who endured the Great Depression. They were hard working, responsible, dedicated, disciplined individuals who respected authority, saw the importance of giving back to their community, and trusted in the government.
Their children, the “Baby Boomers” lived through the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. They were the generation of equal rights and were shaped by their environment; anti-war, anti-government, questioned everything, looked for personal gratification but sincerely wanted to make a difference.
Our generation, Generation X, are the recipients of the better life of our parents. We are well educated, have high job expectations, are technologically literate, lack loyalty to an individual organization or job, are more self-reliant, seek life balance, and are suspicious of the values held by the “Baby Boomers”.
And we find next, the “Millennial’s”. They are highly into digital media, have been through terrorist attacks and school shootings, but can be highly sheltered as their parents tried to shield them from the evils of this world, they are confident, feel civic duty, self-confident, socially adjusted, highly global, and the most educated generation to date.
Now, from a business perspective, we see hard work and loyalty being transformed into technologically reliant on a global perspective. This is where we find the United States and the way we have been able to grow in our wealth and global stature.
In the many generations before, nearly all households saw increases in income due to steady economic growth. In recent years, though, this trend has stopped and in many cases has started to reverse. A study done by the McKinsey Global Institute found between 2005 and 2014 the “real income” - not what is earned but what it was “worth” either flattened for fell for 81% of U.S. households resulting in less disposable income as prices of goods and commodities have risen.
Now, the newest generation, the “iGens or Gen Z” are transforming even differently. Saturated with mobile technology and social media, our teens are being uniquely influenced. Where the “Greatest and Boomers” were fiercely self reliant and confident, the iGens are in poorer emotional health because of media - they feel more lonely, anxious, depressed, and socially separated/awkward.
So, how does this fit into a sermon for churches today?
Maybe we have forgotten who we truly serve. Where the focus of our work should be. Maybe, just maybe, we have lost our secular and biblical work ethic?
Maybe, we have forgotten what scripture tells us about working.
A Song of Ascents.
1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!
This tells of a man who Labors for the Lord, and his blessings come from walking in the way of the Lord. It shows a good life, with hard work providing for others, their families, and what is earned is evidence of God’s blessings.
Instead, we have allowed society to lead us into a idealism of “work for nothing and let the government take care of you”. How many of you remember the song “Big Rock Candy Mountain” from O Brother Where Art Thou? It gives a comedic, but unfortunately sought after, idealism of trees that sprouted cigarettes, streams of alcohol beside a lake of stew, and a mountain made of rock candy. They didn’t want tools such as shovels, axes, saws, or picks, they just wanted to sleep all day and hang the jerk that invented work. Basically, this song goes in complete contrast with God’s idea of prosperity.
These two songs - “Big Rock Candy Mountain, and Psalm 128 both describe a good life - but come from very different motives and views of responsibility. Many church attenders today look at church as the “Big Rock Candy Mountain”, come, get all the goodies, and do none of the work. But then, we wonder why we are not seeing God’s blessings in our lives! Go back to the first verse we read this morning.
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
In the verse prior to that
22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
we are told as an employee, a workman, we are to follow the instructions of the person over him. Not just what we like, but in everything we are asked to do. There is no instruction that is not to be obeyed (unless they are contrary to the teachings of the Lord and damaging to Him, His people, or His creation). God has given us the opportunity to be employed so we can earn a living and provide for our families, can serve each other by providing some needed product or service, and help others as we proclaim the gospel to the world. We shouldn’t just give “eye service” - working only when the boss is looking but a Christian employee should be the best that they can be, going above and beyond their bosses expectations.
Now, I will say, this is hard to do - especially for a hard worker as we see expectations increase, but not financial compensation for the extra work. It gets even more frustrating when there are others around us who do little work and receive the same if not more compensation. But we see an example of this in this scripture. We are to work as to the Lord, and NOT for man. We are to Labor for the Lord.
How many of us have heard the old saying “You got what you deserved”. In theory, this means you might receive punishment for your evil deeds, or rewards for good deeds. But this is not biblical. When we look at Matthew 20,
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’
5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’
9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.
10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.
11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house,
12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’
13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.
15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’
16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
While it seems to be unfair, what we read here is an awesome example of GRACE. As Christians, we should be worried more about “working out OUR OWN salvation” than how much others are doing for the Lord. We all, regardless of our years in salvation or in sin, receive the same reward of eternal life if we have accepted Christ as our personal Savior! Here, we see a dialogue of the gift of ETERNAL LIFE! Yet there are those who have slacked in their Labor for the Lord, and find themselves outworked even by those who are “new” or “young” Christians. And what is our reaction? We become defensive. Why? Maybe it’s because we feel like we have already done our duty, maybe its because we feel the new direction doesn’t fit into what we have always done as a church, maybe its because someone is doing the ministry we used to do…gasp…better than us. All I know to tell you is, if you’re worried about what someone else is doing for the Lord, it probably means we are not doing enough to keep our minds occupied.
Oh, if only we had the heart of Paul:
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. To remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. I will remain and continue with you all… Paul was writing to the church of Philippi, probably near the end of his Roman imprisonment, and is contemplating his finality. He knew death would soon be approaching for him. He knew death meant his heavenly reward. But he also knew God had him here on earth for a heavenly purpose. He was still Laboring for the Lord, even knowing his time could soon come to an end. He had not given up. He had not transferred all his obligations onto Timothy or another one of his students. He was concerned more about what God had for him to do.
In Matthew 6 we are told:
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We should be like Paul, more focused on our heavenly reward that our earthly treasures. Now, earthly treasures do not have to just be money. There are many today who feel socially rich, but are spiritually poor. Their priorities are in the wrong places!
But have we also thought that our motives and attitudes can affect not only OUR heavenly rewards, but the rewards of those around us? Just like the vineyard workers, we want to grumble, complain, and be preferential even when it comes to working for the Lord. How many people have been run off from churches for simply trying to be obedient to the Lord because they either challenged or flat out ran over some sacred cow they were unaware existed? And because of that, they were ridiculed, talked about, heard grumbling and complaints, and felt completely out of place simply for their Labor for the Lord? Just because we have been in the church longer than some others, just because we may have professed and served Christ for years longer; we may still…
• fail to worship Christ day by day consistently
• fail to grow in the knowledge of Christ eagerly
• fail to study the Scriptures and pray as much
• fail to use our gifts as faithfully
• fail to witness as boldly as the later workers
• fail to willingly and sacrificially give all that we are and have
• fail to love as deeply
• fail to respond as kindly
• fail to live as unselfishly
• fail to relate as lovingly
• fail to endure as patiently
as the ones we are grumbling and complaining about.
We more “experienced” Christians are reminded again by Paul in Galatians 6:14a “14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have become too focused on “churchy” things, on “traditions”, and on “sacred cows”, and have forgotten the last of Galatians 6:14b “by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” What would be different in churches today if we were boasting in the cross of Christ, instead of the order of service? What would be different if we were boasting in the cross of Christ instead of worrying about our position, maintaining power, being recognized, or gaining authority? If we were truly laboring for the Lord, how rich would we be spiritually - individually and corporately?
What I fear is NOT that we are leaving the next generation in a less financially stable world than in the past. What I worry about whether we are leaving the next generation spiritually bankrupt and destitute? You see, this upcoming generation has some unique qualities about them. They are highly analytical - they want scientific proof and facts. They are self-driven, willing to do research themselves, but because of their raising (more single parents, both parents working, less parental interaction) they are not as close to their church, their church family, or God. It is going to take a different approach to engage them in conversation about the Lord. It is going to take authentic relationship-building based on trust and empathy, because this generation hungers for real relationships. Will they find it in our churches today?
We can either say “we have never done it that way before”, and lose the next generation or we can refocus our attention and work on reaching this next generation. We must continue to Labor for the Lord. Why? Because there are lost in our communities who are waiting for someone to tell them of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Any one of us, regardless of age, have been chosen to do that.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Our work for the Lord is never complete until we take our last breath.
17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Laboring for the Lord is expected of us.
35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
But we know it isn’t going to be easy.
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
We are called to a life of Christian work. We are reminded that Laboring for the Lord will be rewarded by Christ. But for those lazy workers, those who are trying to please only themselves, there will be a time of account and judgment for exactly what you have (or haven’t) done for the Lord. Church, until Christ returns again, our work isn’t done.