(bright upbeat music) Well, Good morning, everyone. Welcome to First Baptist today. We're so glad to see you. For those joining us online, we say welcome to you as well. Let's stand together. We're gonna sing this chorus of praise to the Lord and may it be our prayer today. God, open up the heavens, we wanna see You. (upbeat music) Let's sing together. (upbeat music) ♪ We've waited for this day ♪ ♪ We're gathered in Your name ♪ ♪ Calling out to You ♪ ♪ Your glory like a fire ♪ ♪ Awakening desire ♪ ♪ Will burn our hearts with truth ♪ ♪ You're the reason we're here ♪ ♪ You're the reason we're singing ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see you ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Your presence in this place ♪ ♪ Your glory on our face ♪ ♪ We're looking to the sky ♪ ♪ Descending like a cloud ♪ ♪ You're standing with us now ♪ ♪ Lord unveil our eyes ♪ ♪ You're the reason we're here ♪ ♪ You're the reason we're singing ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see you ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see you ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Show us show us your glory ♪ ♪ Show us show us your power ♪ ♪ Show us show us your glory Lord ♪ ♪ Show us show us your glory ♪ ♪ Show us show us your power ♪ ♪ Show us show us your glory Lord ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see you ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see you ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ (congregation applauding)
All praise the Lord. Let's continue to worship as we sing this great hymn of praise together, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Let's worship the Lord together. (bright music) ♪ Come Thou fount of every blessing ♪ ♪ Tune my heart to sing Thy grace ♪ ♪ Streams of mercy never ceasing ♪ ♪ Call for songs of loudest praise ♪ ♪ Teach me some melodious sonnet ♪ ♪ Sung by flaming tongues above ♪ ♪ Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it ♪ ♪ Mount of Thy redeeming love ♪ (bright music) ♪ Hither to Thy love has blest me ♪ ♪ Thou hast brought me to this place ♪ ♪ And I know Thy hand will bring me ♪ ♪ Safely home by Thy good grace ♪ ♪ Jesus sought me when a stranger ♪ ♪ Wandering from the fold of God ♪ ♪ He to rescue me from danger ♪ ♪ Bought me with His precious blood ♪ (bright music) ♪ Oh to grace how great a debtor ♪ ♪ Daily I'm constrained to be ♪ ♪ Let Thy goodness like a fetter ♪ ♪ Bind my wandering heart to Thee ♪ ♪ Prone to wander Lord I feel it ♪ ♪ Prone to leave the God I love ♪ ♪ Here's my heart O take and seal it ♪ ♪ Seal it for Thy courts above ♪ ♪ Here's my heart O take and seal it ♪ ♪ Seal it for Thy courts above ♪ (bright music) Oh. give Him praise this morning. Lord, that's our prayer, seal it for thy courts above. As we continue to worship, Katie's going to lead us on this first verse. We'll join her as we sing out the chorus, build our life, Lord, on Your love. (bright music) ♪ Worthy of every song we could ever sing ♪ ♪ Worthy of every praise we could ever bring ♪ ♪ Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe ♪ ♪ We live for you ♪ ♪ We live for you ♪ ♪ Jesus the Name ♪ ♪ Jesus the Name above every other name ♪ ♪ Jesus the only One who could ever save ♪ ♪ Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe ♪ ♪ We live for you ♪ ♪ We live for you ♪ ♪ Holy there is no one like You ♪ ♪ There is none beside You ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes in wonder ♪ ♪ And show me ♪ ♪ Who You are and fill me ♪ ♪ With Your heart and lead me ♪ ♪ In your love to those around me ♪ (bright music) Sing this with us now. (bright music) ♪ Jesus the Name above every other name ♪ ♪ Jesus the only One who could ever save ♪ ♪ Worthy of every breathe we could ever breathe ♪ ♪ We live for You ♪ ♪ We live for You ♪ ♪ Holy there is no one like You ♪ ♪ There is none beside You ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes in wonder ♪ ♪ And show me who You are and fill me ♪ ♪ With Your heart and lead me ♪ ♪ In your love to those around me ♪ (bright music) ♪ And I will build my life ♪ ♪ Upon Your love ♪ ♪ It is a firm foundation ♪ ♪ And I will put my trust ♪ ♪ In You alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ I will build my life ♪ ♪ Upon Your love ♪ ♪ It is a firm foundation ♪ ♪ And I will put my trust ♪ ♪ In You alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ Holy there is no one like You ♪ ♪ There is none beside You ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes in wonder ♪ ♪ And show me who You are ♪ ♪ And fill me with Your heart ♪ ♪ And lead me ♪ ♪ In your love to those around me ♪ ♪ I will build my life ♪ ♪ Upon Your love ♪ ♪ It is a firm foundation ♪ ♪ And I will put my trust ♪ ♪ In You alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ Oh, would you sing this with me one more time. ♪ He is Holy ♪ ♪ There is no one like You ♪ ♪ There is none beside You ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes in wonder ♪ ♪ And show me who You are ♪ ♪ And fill me with Your heart ♪ ♪ And lead me ♪ ♪ In your love to those around me ♪ (bright music) All, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. (congregation applauding)
Thankful for His love, it is a firm foundation today. You may be seated. (bright music) ♪ There is no fear ♪ ♪ 'Cause I believe ♪ ♪ There is no doubt ♪ ♪ 'Cause I have seen ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ My fortress ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪ ♪ I have a hope ♪ ♪ Found in Your name ♪ ♪ I have a strength ♪ ♪ Found in Your grace ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ My fortress ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪ ♪ Make way through the waters ♪ ♪ Walk me through the fire ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Shut the mouths of lions ♪ ♪ Bring dry bones to life and ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ God I believe in You ♪ ♪ Release Your love ♪ ♪ Inside of me ♪ ♪ Unleash Your power ♪ ♪ Unleash Your power ♪ ♪ For all to see ♪ ♪ Spirit come ♪ ♪ Spirit come ♪ ♪ And fall on us ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪ ♪ Make way through the waters ♪ ♪ Walk me through the fire ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Shut the mouths of lions ♪ ♪ Bring dry bones to life and ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Make way through the waters ♪ ♪ Walk me through the fire ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Shut the mouths of lions ♪ ♪ Bring dry bones to life and ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ God of exceedingly ♪ ♪ God of abundantly ♪ ♪ More than we ask or think ♪ ♪ Lord You will never fail ♪ ♪ Your name is powerful ♪ ♪ Your word's unstoppable ♪ ♪ All things are possible in You ♪ ♪ God of exceedingly ♪ ♪ God of abundantly ♪ ♪ More than we ask or think ♪ ♪ Lord You will never fail ♪ ♪ Your name is powerful ♪ ♪ Your word's unstoppable ♪ ♪ All things are possible in You ♪ ♪ Make way through the waters ♪ ♪ Walk me through the fire ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Shut the mouths of lions ♪ ♪ Bring dry bones to life and ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Make way through the waters ♪ ♪ Walk me through the fire ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Shut the mouths of lions ♪ ♪ Bring dry bones to life and ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ God I believe ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ Oh God I believe ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ God I believe ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ There is no fear ♪ ♪ Cause I believe ♪ ♪ There is no doubt ♪ ♪ 'Cause I have seen ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ My fortress ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪ (congregation applauding) ♪ God of exceedingly ♪ ♪ God of abundantly ♪ ♪ More than we ask or think ♪ ♪ Lord You will never ♪ ♪ Your name is powerful ♪ ♪ Your word's unstoppable ♪ ♪ All things are possible in You ♪ ♪ God of exceedingly ♪ ♪ God of abundantly ♪ ♪ More than we ask or think ♪ ♪ Lord You will never fail ♪ ♪ Your name is powerful ♪ ♪ Your word's unstoppable ♪ ♪ All things are possible in You ♪ Stand and sing with us. ♪ Make way through the waters ♪ ♪ Walk me through the fire ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Shut the mouths of lions ♪ ♪ Bring dry bones to life and ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Make way through the waters ♪ ♪ Walk me through the fire ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ Shut the mouths of lions ♪ ♪ Bring dry bones to life and ♪ ♪ Do what You are famous for ♪ ♪ What You are famous for ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ God I believe ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ God I believe ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ Lord we believe ♪ ♪ I believe in You ♪ ♪ There is no fear ♪ ♪ 'Cause I believe ♪ ♪ There is no doubt ♪ ♪ 'Cause I have seen ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ My fortress ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪ (bright music) (congregation applauding) (bright music) Labor day is a conflicted holiday. You think about it, we celebrate labor by taking off from labor. (congregation laughing) But we celebrate it anyway and we're glad to see it come because the next one that comes around will be Thanksgiving. So let's enjoy it for all it's worth. And I thought I would start today's message with a little bit of Labor Day humor. There's not a lot out there about it. One comedian said he had a lot of labor day jokes, but none of them work. (congregation laughing) I did find however, some humor about work in general and sometimes having fun on the job is the way you survive at the job. And the one-liners you come up with that help you get through what is often, your contribution that goes unnoticed or under appreciated and many times under compensated. There are a lot of funny things about the workplace. And I found a few I thought I would share with you just to kind of warm us up today. One person wrote, my boss asked me to start my presentation with a joke, so I made a copy of my pay stub the first slide. (all laughing) Another one said, my boss told me to have a good day, so I went home. (congregation laughing) Someone else said, I can't believe I work this hard to be this poor. Now, is there a witness out there? Anybody feel that way? And then this person said, I lost my job at the bank on my very first day. A woman asked me to check her balance, so I pushed her over. (all laughing) And this person said, I'll keep pretending to work if you'll keep pretending to pay me. (congregation laughing) This was kind of funny here. Cleaning mirrors is a job I could really see myself doing. (congregation laughing)
(mimicking and tapping) To err is human, to blame it on someone else shows that you have management potential. (congregation laughing) And then this is so true. The first five days after the weekend are the hardest. (all laughing) All five of them. And this person says, I've always heard that money can't make you happy. All I'm asking for is a chance to prove that. (congregation laughing) And this question. What do you call a person who's happy on a Monday morning? You call that person retired. (all laughing) Now, there are a lot more jokes I could share with you about work. And we find humor in work, but the condition of the workforce in our country right now is no laughing matter. And I want to talk to you about it for a moment. We're living in a society in which businesses cannot find employees. And they're posting signs taped inside the retail windows saying, now hiring, or help wanted apply within. We see the letters on the marquees that flank the streets, need help. And we even see businesses that pay minimum wage now offering signing bonuses of a thousand dollars or up to $5,000, just for someone to come in and flip a hamburger. Recruiters and head hunting firms are being hired and paid premium, dues and fees simply to help companies fill open, well-paying positions that they cannot fill on their own. And whereas we might be tempted to blame this crisis in the workforce on the pandemic, I believe it is much bigger than just the pandemic or Coronavirus. I believe this crisis in the workforce goes to the very root of the character of our culture. And as I'll tell you later in the message, I think it is attributable in large part to a very sick and dysfunctional government that has caused much of this problem. So I have come to remind you today that work matters. And I want you to open to Proverbs chapter six. Proverbs chapter six, as we talk about this idea that work matters. And God has called us to look at this passage of Scripture, where we focus on this little creature that crawls on the ground unnoticed by the masses of the world's population, and she is called the ant. And the writer says here in Proverbs chapter six, beginning in verse six. Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise. Which having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, oh sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man or like a bandit. One translation says, scarcity is going to come upon you suddenly. And I want us to draw from this passage and we'll take into our discussion, a good number of verses today. As we talk about the importance of work and what people ought to believe about work, and especially those of us who are God fearing and Christ following believers. So here are several things, several reasons as to why work matters. And the first is that because we can glorify God through our work. We glorify God through our work. When we read the verses there about the ant, there is no doubt that the writer is condemning the sin of laziness. And to make his case, he points to the industrious ant. He says, the ant is wise. She has no captain. She has no boss, no supervisor. No clock that she punches when she comes to the office, when she leaves. She has no king, she has no government on which she can rely. She is a self-starter. She is motivated. She works because survival depends upon it. She is always busy and productive. And just as God programmed the ant to be industrious and hardworking, so God created men and women to be industrious and hardworking. It is what He made us to do and it is how we glorify Him. Now, work can be a relative term, depending on what kind of work you're talking about. It's not just manual labor, although manual labor is a respectable form of work for sure. It's not just a set number of hours that you have to keep. That's kind of a modern invention. Or showing up somewhere to report for your duties. Work is actually the investment of your time and your energy and your intellect and your skills into a productive activity. And often the best of work is not compensated work. Just ask any mother. Work can be a staff meeting in an office, but work can also be a loving spouse being a caregiver for her loved one as the spouse deteriorates. Work can be a CEO casting vision in a boardroom, but work can also be a child doing chores around the house as his or her way of contributing. Work is whenever someone invest their life into something meaningful and productive. Starting with the basic premise that everyone who is able should devote themselves to some kind of meaningful work. And that's where an amen would have been in order. (congregation laughing) And we glorify God by working because the Bible teaches us, and I'm still just basic and simple enough to believe that what the Bible says in Genesis is how we came into the world. We all owe our existence to the same father and mother named Adam and Eve. And when God commented on His creation of the man and the woman, together He referred to them as mankind and He created man in His image. This is mentioned in Genesis chapter one verse 26. In His image means in His likeness. It means that He gave us some characteristics that resemble Him. And in making us with His likeness, He set an example for us to follow. And I wanna ask you a question. When it comes to how God created the world and the universe to which our world belongs and us as human beings, Scripture says He did it in six days. And I believe those were 24 hour days. But be that as it may, do you believe that it had to take God six days to do it all? Or do you think God could have just spoken it and it all would have come into being at the same time? I believe it could have taken less than a split second. Why did God stretch it out across a calendar week? Well, we were given an answer in Genesis two and verse two. It says on the seventh day, God ended His what? His work, which He had done. He rested on the seventh day from all His work, which He had done. And twice there is this description of what God had done in the six days of creation as work. Now, you and I know it really didn't require much effort on God's part because He spoke things into existence. But He is speaking of this in ways that we can understand, because God Himself modeled a six day workweek. And it says He rested on the seventh, as though God can be depleted and needs recovery time. God doesn't need a day of rest. He modeled this so that you and I would know the importance of taking a day of rest. It was all because He was setting an example. And yes, as virtuous as work is, rest is equally as virtuous as long as it follows industriousness and productivity. God never calls us to a lifestyle of perpetual rest. You know, some people have asked, how they can glorify God in their workplace when their boss is who she is or who he is. If you had to go to work where I go to work, Pastor AG, you would not be glorifying God, you would be questioning God. How is it that you can glorify God working for the company you work for, serving under the conditions that you serve, and answering to the supervisor to whom you answer? Well, there must have been people who were facing those kinds of challenges in the first century, because the Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Colossians chapter three. And I want you to look on the screens where it says, Work willingly at whatever you do. Say, whatever you do. Whatever you do. Whatever you do. He says, work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Oh, can somebody read this or am I making this up? It says, consider your boss, Jesus, work for your boss, your supervisor, as though that person were Jesus Himself. And remember this, the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward and that the master you are serving is not the guy down there in the corner office. The master you're serving on your job is really who? Christ.
Is really Jesus Christ. And you know these verses really erode the wall of distinction between sacred vocations and secular vocations. 'Cause there a lot of people if they were here, you're up there in the ministry and you glorify God because you work at a church. But according to this verse, we glorify God by working wherever we work and using our energy, our time, our intellect and our skills to contribute towards a productive outcome. There is no distinction between God's reward of the secular or the sacred. God simply is glorified when we work hard and we're productive with our lives. So we do what we do for Jesus. No matter to whom it is we answer in our vocation, we glorify God. Here's the second thing I wanna talk about. Work matters because God is glorified. We glorify Him through our work, but work matters because we prove our dignity through work. We prove our dignity through work. What is dignity? Well, I'll tell you this. It's something you can throw away if you're not careful. Can you not? Dignity is a sense of personal honor and self-respect. And it's also the honor and the respectability that we have from others who see us and know us. And this ant in Proverbs six, she is dignified. Is she not? There's a dignity she has in that through her hard work and her sacrifice, she is insulated from the dangers that are associated with being lazy. She may face other dangers like being squashed under someone's foot. But the risks associated with idleness will not be among the danger she faces. She gathers her food supply in the summer, and she burrows through the earth and builds caverns under the ground and stores the food supply underground to live off of, and for her colony to live off of, through the winter months. She has dignity because she works tirelessly. And I want to refute a mistaken notion that circulated out there for some years, that work is somehow part of the curse of sin. If you know your Bible history of creation in the first three chapters of Genesis, you know that chapters one and two summarize and restate the creation week. And it was only in chapter three that they partook of the forbidden fruit. And we call that, chapters one and two, we call the creation, chapter three is called the fall. And many people believe that work is one of the judgments of the fall that God pronounced upon mankind. But if you know the chronology and the sequence, work preceded the fall. Because in Genesis chapter two, God created this wonderful lush garden. And in chapter two in verse 15, the Bible says, God took the man. Say the man.
The man. And put him in the garden of Eden to tend and to keep it. You know what tending it and keeping it means? Those are words that talk about work. Now think about how generous God was. God planted the garden. God grew the fruits and the vegetables. Everything was hanging off the branches and the limbs. God gift-wrapped it for the man and He said, all you gotta do is tend it and keep it. But that in itself is an act of labor on a daily basis. It was not sinful that he had to work. It was part of God's assignment that he had to work. And I just want to tell you, when He says He put the man in the garden, that does not mean that the woman did not have to be industrious or productive, but I'll tell you what it does mean. It means that there is a special requirement upon an able-bodied man to work. There's a special place that God gives to men working. And God has no place for a lazy male, a lazy man. (congregation applauding) (pastor laughing) Now, whereas work is not a curse of the fall, the difficulties of working are a result of the curse. Now, do you remember after the forbidden fruit was partaken of, God came down and He confronted the serpent and spoke a curse over the serpent. Said, you're gonna slither on your sorry belly all the days of your life. Then He spoke to the woman and said, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame. But then He spoke to the man and He said, you blew it. (all laughing) And this is what He said, you know what? Before you sinned, your work was going to be always enjoyable. But He says, because you sinned, in Genesis three 17, God said to Adam, "The ground is now cursed because of you. All your life you're gonna struggle to scratch a living from it. It's going to yield thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. But by the sweat of your brow, will you have food to eat." And if you've ever wondered why work is so stinking hard, Genesis three is your answer. Because God put a curse upon the work that He had blessed us with before sin came into our lives. Now I want to say to everyone listening to me today, we all know there are situations that render people unable or incapable of working. And surely in a sermon like this, we don't need to issue such a caveat. It goes without saying, that there are health limitations and other circumstances that prevent certain people from being able to work and we are not talking about those exceptions. Everybody agree, we're on the same page. We sympathize with people who are unable to, and who are incapable of working. But we today are talking about able-minded and able-bodied human beings. Let's say amen to that. Amen. Just as there is dignity in work, we glorify God when we work hard, we prove our dignity when we work hard. I want to tell you some things that we do when we refuse to work. Refusal to work, number one, dishonors the God who created you. He said, I've made you in My likeness. I worked for six days and took the seventh off. If you are going to live up to the image in which I've made you, you will work. To fail to do so, dishonors the God who gave you life. Not only that, but refusal to work diminishes the dignity that God has given you. Do you see why? If dignity is about honor and respectability, refusing to work forfeits that. It diminishes your dignity. In fact, where I was growing up, I can remember the grownups talking about someone who refused to work and they'd say, he just sorry. You ever heard that expression? He's just plain old sorry. Why would you say that about another human being? You would say that because that human being is capable of doing work but chooses not to work. It's called sorry. Refusal to work also reveals weak character. It reveals a very deficient, moral and ethical character. You know something else refusing to work places a burden on others. Oh, can I get a witness on that one? Because when someone refuses to work, someone else has to pick up the slack. Someone's got to pay the bills. Someone's got to have food brought in to sustain us. And finally refusal to work, if you're a Christian don't miss this. If you are a God-fearing, Jesus following Christian, refusing to work tarnishes your witness. Because what you're saying is I'm a Christian, I've been bought by the blood of the Lamb but I am not going to show up for work. I am not going to get a job. You've tarnished your witness. Now, this is not just a problem that we would confront in 2021. Do you realize that this was a problem that the church dealt with in the first century of its existence? And the reason we know this is because the Apostle Paul and other places in Scripture, had to confront laziness among Christians. Now, just case in point. When Paul was writing to Timothy, who was like a young protege of his. Timothy was a Pastor. And he was instructing Timothy on how to put widows on the list of people the church would take care of. And he said, but here are the widows who are not to be cared for by the church. Any widow who has able-bodied children or grandchildren, her family is to take care of her so that the church is not burdened with her care. This is 1 Timothy chapter five. Anybody ever read this? So you could not put someone on the widow's list at church if they had family members who could take care of them. And speaking of that, Paul paints with a broad stroke of the brush and says in 1 Timothy chapter five and verse eight, if anyone does not provide for his own, especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is what? Worse than an unbeliever. Does not say they're an unbeliever says they're what? They're worse than an unbeliever because they fail to provide for their own family. This is strong language. I'm glad I didn't write it. I can just say, hey, you take it up with God if this offends you. I'm reading right out of the Holy Word of God. But I wanna tell you something. If we wanna press this a little further let's consider this. The refusal to work not only indicates and reveals that list of things I just showed you, but I believe the refusal to work should mean the inability to eat. Amen. It should mean that. (congregation applauding) You say, well, on what are you basing that? But I'm gonna tell you. There was a church in the New Testament era, in the first century, that Paul actually started on one of his missionary trips. And he had taught them enough Bible prophecy for them to really fixate on the return of Jesus, the return of Jesus. And they said, oh, Jesus is gonna come back in any time. Jesus is gonna come back in any time. And some of these Christians in the church at Thessalonica, they believed so strongly that Jesus could come back at any time. They quit their jobs and started hanging out with people who had extra in their pantry. It's true, this is what he was confronting. And Paul had to write this letter, 2 Thessalonians, to confront the idleness and laziness of these Christians who were so much into prophecy, they believed, well since Jesus could come back in any time, there's no need for me to go back to work. I'd hate to be working when the rapture takes place. (congregation laughing) And he says in 2 Thessalonians chapter three in verse 10. I wonder if we could just display this on the screen so we could read it all out loud together how about it. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. Now, did you read that or did you read that? This is in the Bible. This is just as inspired as John 3:16. That if someone will not work, neither shall they eat. Now, it is this kind of biblical teaching, that you're hearing today that builds into us what should be known as a Christian work ethic. In fact, you know what? All of these head hunters, these companies that hire head hunters to go find people to work for them, what they ought to be saying instead of all this silly madness of wokeness. They ought to be saying, please find me a born again, blood-bought, Spirit-filled, Bible-believing child of God Christian. Please, because the Christians that work for me, they're the best employees I've ever had. They show up early for work. They're never late. They don't call in sick and abuse their privileges. Please, find me some Christians. But sadly, that's not always the case. Because there are a lot of Christians, who've got all their little Bible stuff on their desk, but they're tardy for work. And they chime in on break room gossip and complaining about management. And they're stirring up dissension in the workplace. And the boss looks at them and says, if that's a Christian, no, thank you. I'd rather find someone who's grateful to have a paycheck. Oh, come on now. You know this isn't in my notes. And somebody says, why don't you get rid of those notes? We like it better when you get off the page. (congregation laughing) But when I was a kid, my dad made me get a job when I was 14 years old. He said, "You're not going to sit around and be lazy all summer playing Atari." Anybody know what Atari is? (all laughing) You're not going to be my boy and play Atari all summer. You're going to get out here and hit a lick. And he got me a job with his friend who had a little landscaping company. I was 14 years old and driving a single axle dump truck. I mean, it'd be illegal today what I did. And it probably should have been illegal what I heard from all the people I was working with. But I learned a lot, right? Character. And then when we moved to Florida, my mother made me get a job. She said, "You're not just going to go through school and be in the band, be in the clubs. You're going to work and earn some money." And I got a job at the grocery store and I started bagging groceries, started then promoted up to a checker and a scanner, you know, and got my little blue vest, but they coached us. This was at Winn-Dixie. They coached us on customer service. They coached us on looking people in the eye. They coached us on asking people, did you find everything you were looking for? And they said, always give the receipt and say, thank you for shopping at Winn-Dixie. Because if they weren't shopping at Winn-Dixie, you wouldn't have a job and you wouldn't have a paycheck. They are the reason that you have money. And so they said, we're going to send secret shoppers through the line. Man, I'm telling you everybody would go, hey, welcome to Winn Dixie. Did you find everything you needed? And then I'd give them their receipt and say, thank you, and please come again. We love having you here. And I was like, wonder if that was the secret shopper. (congregation laughing) And now when you go through a checkout line, you're lucky in many instances that they'll even make eye contact with you. Many times they're talking, (mimicking) they're talking to other workers. Or they'd say, I can't believe I had to come in and work today. I wanna say, hello, I'm the reason you have a job. I was taught that when I was taught to do what you're doing. But it's like, people don't get it that you're the reason they have a job. How about a thank you. Come on, now. (congregation laughing) And I wanna tell you something else. This is why that was instilled in me, this is why I work as hard as I possibly can to be a minister and someone who works in the church. But I always recognize, you are the people who give. And when people bring their tithe or send it online, these are people who work minimum wage jobs. These are widows on social security. These are people who work in factories. Yes, we've got a bunch of wealthy people, but we've got a lot of blue collar, hourly wage people, who bring their gifts and I do not take it for granted. (congregation applauding)
I do not take it for granted. (congregation applauding) And it is this work ethic that should be a vital part of Christian DNA. Amen. Back in the early days of American history, it was referred to as the Puritan work ethic. Because the Colonial Puritans modeled hard work and they believed, that second only to personal piety, prayer and worship, hard work was the greatest way to glorify God and avoid temptation. Because when you are idle and lazy, it is the devil's playground to lure you into temptation. And they saw work as an insulation against Satan. And it's called the Puritan ethic. And I want you to know we saw it begins in Genesis chapter two, where He put the man in the garden and said, tend it and keep it. There is the work ethic in the Bible. Do you know the work ethic is found all the way through the very last book of the Bible? In Revelation, chapter 14 and 13, John writes, I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write this, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." Yes, says the Spirit that they may rest from their what? Labors and their works follow them. Their labors, their works. It's in the very last book of the Bible. God values work. And you know what the Bible says about a lazy person? A lazy person is akin to someone who destroys things. Proverbs 18 in verse nine says, a lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things. It's right there in black and white. That's an incriminating condemnation against lazy people. Isn't it? And that's why even to this day, no matter how hard you've worked, how long you've worked, there should always be something in every human being that learns to hate laziness. Leisure is different than laziness. You know what laziness is. And I want to submit to you today that our government, our government, instead of discouraging laziness, our government rewards laziness. Our government encourages people to be irresponsible. And by cheapening the value of work, by giving people a substitute source of income, instead of investing their efforts and their skills and their energy, they are eroding human dignity. Because our dignity is proven through our work and when work is disincentivized, dignity is cheapened. Our government through all of the handouts and entitlements is destroying small businesses. Just ask a small business owner how difficult it is to find people and keep people. And then I wanna tell you through stimulus payments and entitlement programs, the government is creating perpetual dependence. And if you wanna know the truth, they're really just buying votes. You say, are you talking about Democrats? I'm talking about Republicans because no stimulus package could be passed without bipartisan support. It's all across the board.
(congregation applauding) I call it electoral prostitution. (congregation laughing) You're paying them out to come and cast the vote. Buying votes is what it is. And let me tell you what it is doing through the history from LBJ into the present. These federal entitlements are destroying the family unit by enabling men to be lazy. That's what they're doing. (congregation applauding) You got a baby mama? Don't worry about the baby mama. Uncle Sam will take care of the baby mama. You wanna father multiple children? Don't worry about it. The government will take care of them. And this is irrespective of a situation, region of the country. Our government is saying, if you don't want to work, that's just fine. And let me tell you what ultimately this is doing, this entitlement welfare state is replacing our reliance on God with our relying on the government. (congregation applauding) And the idolatry of it all is that when you rely more on your government than you do on your God, your government has become your God. And you know what the politicians say, mission accomplished. We want the government to be your God. And it's all through issuing checks. But here's the final thing I want to say today. And that is that we find purpose through our work. We find purpose through our work. Work is one of the ways that God blesses us with a sense of purpose. And I want you to know whether you are a school-aged child, or you are living your second childhood as a senior citizen, it does not matter. Every one of us needs a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Every one of us needs to know there's a purpose for my existence. That there's a reason I'm still on this planet. Oh, come on, can I get a witness here today? (congregation applauding) But that purpose will never be found through laziness. There is no purpose in idleness. Our meaning and our purpose in life are found in the contribution we make through our work. Using what God has given us as we give of ourselves to someone or something else in a productive and beneficial way. And you know, I think about the way that work builds a sense of purpose in all of our lives. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls. And, you know, he did it in amazing time. And he tells us when they got those walls around Jerusalem built up about halfway, they stopped and celebrated. Look, we're halfway there, we're halfway there. How could we get this done in such rapid fashion? And in Nehemiah chapter four in verse six, he says, we built the wall, the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. And why did they get it done so quickly? Read it out loud. For the people had a mind to work. That's why they got it built so fast because the people had a mind to work. And the question is, where is the mind to work? That's what God needs to give us today. You know something else, work helps you earn money. Imagine that concept. (congregation laughing) And the more money that you earn, the more you can bless somebody else. There's no joy like taking hard-earned money and being able to share it and bless someone else. 2 Corinthians nine, Paul writes, God is the one who provides seed for the farmer. Well, what does the farmer do? Just sit there and look at his stimulus bag of seed? No, God gives the farmer the seed, and then the farmer puts it in the ground and works hard, right. And the seed turns into bread to eat, and in the same way, He will provide and increase your resources and produce a great harvest of generosity in you. And the Bible says, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be what? You can always be generous. So God gives us seed to work it in the ground, to cultivate it, fertilize it, water it, harvest, so we can be generous people. That's a blessing about working hard and being increased and walking in prosperity, is that you have the joy to bless and to give and to find purpose in life through sharing and giving. And then you know something work just allows us to make the most of our lives. How much life you got left anyway, do you know? You know, you may think you got a long way but they're dropping like flies right now. I say that tragically. We've lost several in the church this week just to the virus. People are dying and we are never guaranteed another day. We are not guaranteed another sunrise. And what we got to determine is with what life I've got left, if it's 24 hours or 24 years, I want to make it count. And here's how you make it count. Ecclesiastes nine and verse 10 says, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. For there's no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you're going. You know what that's saying? The clock's ticking work, (laughs) work. And then it's through work that we build a legacy. That same problem Paul was having with the Thessalonians who were giving up their jobs because of the rapture happening at any moment. He says, you know, when I was among you, I believed in the rapture. And many of you tried to feed me and give me things. I was the preacher, y'all tried to take up love offerings, but I was committed to keep working at my trade instead of relying on handouts. And he reminds them in 2 Thessalonians, three, six, he says, brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, stay away from all believers who live idle lives. And don't follow the tradition. They're not following the tradition they received from us because you know what we taught you and you ought to imitate us. We weren't idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. And we certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, after all we were there to get your soul saved. But we wanted to give you a what? An example. We wanted to give you a what? An example. We wanted to give you an example. And you see, that's what working does. It sets an example. And how many people can say, I've been inspired to be a hard worker because my papa worked so hard? Or because I saw my grandma work so hard. Or because my mom or my dad, or the person who raised me. I've been inspired to be a hard worker because they set a... They set what they set? They set an example. That's right. And we're building a legacy through hard work. This really hit home because, when I pastored my first little church out in the country, when I was in seminary. Boy, I was enamored with greatness. I was enamored with celebrity. And even in the ministry, big TV preachers and people with worldwide acclaim. And great missionaries that everybody talked about, like sister Lottie Moon. Anybody remember sister Lottie Moon? And all these people whose names were spoken of in households of Christians. And I can remember doing funerals for some of those old farmers. That every year they would go run up a line of credit, put everything they had in the dirt. And they pray like crazy. God, let it rain but not too much. Let it rain just enough. And then they pray when the harvest would come in and they'd hope that their yield would be enough to pay off the line of credit and put a little in the bank until they could do next year's crop. And nobody ever knew their name that man. All he ever knew was waking up at sunrise and saying his prayers and getting out on a John Deere tractor and putting his life into the dirt. And yet his sons and daughters and grandchildren would rise up and call him, blessed because he provided for his family. They never got rich, but he was a faithful provider. And I've learned that whether anybody ever knows the names of people like that matters not. God knows the names of those who glorify Him simply by working hard. And so whether you're a young person or you're retired, I wanna challenge you to find meaningful ways to avoid laziness and idleness, and to give the best of what you've got to something productive even if you never get paid a dime. Amen. (congregation applauding) Lord, thank you for giving us work. It's not always easy and many times it's excruciatingly difficult. Help us to see it as a gift and help us to respond to it, by seeing you as the One we're working for. Help us, dear God, to recognize the dignity that You've assigned to hard work. And I wanna thank you for a room full of people in front of me, people that I know, many of whom have worked tirelessly their entire lives from when they were little children out on a farm somewhere or throwing newspapers from a bicycle. All of their lives, they've exhibited the value of hard work. And Lord to the next generation coming along, help us to lovingly instill in them the value of productivity and hard work. In Jesus name, amen. (bright music)
