PREACHED: OL,
“…A WORKER FOR THE
LORD”
j A GREAT OLD SONG…
A. Theme
song of MNFM
1.
Writer…strange
name: Isaiah Baltzell
2. Written in 1880
3. “I
Want to Be a Worker”
4. First verse:
“I want to be a worker for the Lord;
I
want to love and trust His holy word;
I
want to sing and pray, and be busy every
day,
In the vineyard of the Lord.
(Chorus)
I will work and pray, I will work and pray,
In the vineyard, in the vineyard of the Lord.
I
will work, I will pray, I will labor
every day,
In the vineyard of the Lord.”
B. The
Greek word for work indicates action,
deeds, a task, an occupation, an undertaking, an expression…
k GENERATES SERIOUS QUESTIONS
A. “Do
I really want to be a worker for the Lord?”
“Do I really love and
trust His holy word?”
“Do I sing and pray?
Am I busy every day?”
“Do I work and pray?
Do I labor every day?”
1. The
song expresses an aspiration, but also a resolve!
a. But
for that aspiration and resolve to mean anything, it must be
followed by action!!
l KEEPING THE WORK GOING…AN ONGOING CHALLENGE
A. Even in
New Testament times, disciples needed to be reminded and exhorted:
1. Matt 26.41
Gal 6.9, 10
II Ths 3.13 “As for
you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good…”
Heb 12.3 “…so that
you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
2. Jesus
spoke of the importance of faithful, diligent service in preparation for his
second coming:
a. Luke
12.35-46
B. A lot
of churches have great and detailed plans gathering dust in filing cabinets.
1. But “Planning”
is hope, while “Doing” is reality!
a. II
Cor 8.10, 11 “And
in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started
not only to do the work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as
well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.”
“The
successful attainment of a dream
Is a cart
and a horse affair
Without a
team of horses,
A cart full
of dreams can go nowhere!”
2. The
only thing achieved without hard work is failure.
C. JOHN
GIPSON wrote:
1. “The very word ‘work’ often turns us off.
More disposed to sitting, wishing and dreaming, we content ourselves with
talking rather than doing.
And, if we are not careful, we will find ourselves
identifying with
Jerome K. Jerome who said, ‘I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look
at it for hours.’ Yet in more sober moments, we know that work is necessary for
any worthwhile accomplish-ment. It relieves boredom,
cures unhappiness and worry and bring pleasures as it
its reward. But more than this, it is not forgotten by God.”
a. “When all is said and done, more is said
than done.”
a. Let us
never forget the commendation of Jesus in the parable of the talents:
1) “Well done! Good and faithful servant! You
have been faithful over little, I will set you over
much.” (Matt 25.23)
m WHY SHOULD WE WORK FOR THE LORD?
A. Because
we have a second-mile mindset -
1. Matt
a. Jim
Sheerer points out, that since
1) He
said that the practice began in
2) Simon
of Cyrene was compelled
to carry the cross of Jesus.
3) “Jesus teaches that when a task is laid on
one, even if the task is
unreasonable and
hateful, do not do it grimly as a duty to be resented. Do it as a service to be
gladly rendered. If someone asks you to carry luggage for a mile, carry it two
miles, with a smile—one mile for Caesar and one mile for Christ.”
B. Because
we love and appreciation for what the Lord has done for us -
1.
Phil 2.12, 13
John 14.15 “If you love me…”
II Cor 5.14 “The love
of Christ controls us…”
I Ths 1.3 (Paul remembered
their) “labor of love…”
2. Sometimes
we are afraid of a task—almost terrified as the prospect of personal involvement:
a. I
John 4.10 “Perfect love casts out
fear…”
3. I Cor 15.10 “…by the grace of God I am what I am, and
his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder…though it
was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
C. As a
proof of our faith –
1. Obedience
demonstrates our trust in God, His word and His promises -
a. In the
ESV, the heading of Hebrews 11 is two simple words: “By Faith”
1) “By faith Abel offered a more acceptable
sacrifice…”
“By faith Noah…constructed an ark…”
“By faith Abraham obeyed…he went out…By faith he
went to live in the land of promise…”
“By faith Abraham…offered up Isaac…”
“By faith Moses…considered the reproach of Christ
greater wealth than the treasures of
2)
The summary:
a) 11:32-12.3
n ONE FINAL BUT VITAL THOUGHT…
A. A mechanical engineer observed that it
takes 6 times as much power to start a fly-wheel from a dead start as it does
to keep it going!!
1. Apathy
is a creeping infection that is often not diagnosed until it spread throughout
the church.
a. That’s why Paul told the Corinthians:
1) I Cor 15.58
“I ask no one to lift my load, no one my burdens bear;
I
ask that all along life’s road, I may my talents share.
The talents which have graced my life
were given from
above;
That in this world of sin and strife,
they’d shine like light
and love.
What right have
I to hide their power, while lives are
sorely stressed?
My chance to serve is every hour—Lord
help me do my
best!”