The sermon is the pattern of being a hard worker, the pattern of being a hard worker.
What I'm going to do is basically go through these 15 verses and we're going to see just a couple
points from Jacob in his life where he's working very hard and then we're going to make
applications with three points at the end of the sermon after I go through these verses.
But let's just start at verse number one and it says,
Then Jacob went on his journey and came into the land of the people of the east and he
looked behold a well in the field and lo there are three flocks of sheep lying by it.
For out of that well they watered the flocks and a great stone was upon the well's mouth.
And neither were all the flocks gathered and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth
and watered the sheep and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place.
So Jacob is traveling and then they come to this well with water which
obviously water is not as accessible back then as it is today.
So basically you would go to a specific location to basically water the animals,
get water for the people and things such as that.
Verse four and Jacob said unto them my brethren whence be?
They said of Haran are we?
And he said unto them know ye Laban the son of Nahor?
And they said we know him.
Now remember basically Jacob is sent away to basically find a wife, right?
And he's looking for Laban, he's looking for the relatives of his mom
and then basically trying to marry up of those people.
And so he asked about Laban and they said we know him.
And he said unto him is he well?
And they said he is well and behold Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.
And of course Rachel is the person that Jacob is going to basically fall in love with
and Rachel his daughter the daughter of Laban is coming.
Verse seven and he said Lord is yet high day and neither is it time that the cattle
should be gathered together.
Water ye the sheep and go and feed them.
And they said we cannot until all the flocks be gathered together
until they roll the stone from the wall's mouth then we water the sheep.
And what Jacob is basically saying in verse number seven is just like
why are we sitting here doing nothing, right?
Can't we do something?
Why are we just sitting here and just talking and wasting time?
I know in America there's always a joke about construction workers
where basically you know you have one person working
and then four people are basically holding a shovel.
If only you could create a shovel that just stood up on its own
and you wouldn't have to pay four people to just stand there doing nothing, right?
But basically this is what's going on.
They're just kind of sitting there doing nothing
and they have an excuse in verse eight.
They say well we can't do this until the flocks are gathered together.
And it says till they roll the stone from the wall's mouth.
What they're basically saying is it's somebody's job to roll this stone away, right?
And the question would be who cares?
Why don't you just do it yourself, right?
You're sitting there and waiting instead of waiting for somebody
who maybe is late to do their job or whatever to roll the stone away.
Why not just do it yourself, right?
I mean it's not like you have to wait for them to do it.
You can roll the stone away and he's asking them this
because he's just sitting here and he's like why are we doing nothing, right?
And some examples and applications you can make from this
is you know what, if you work at a company,
you know every once in a while you'll have basically the opportunity
where you can do somebody else's job for them
because you have dead time or whatever
or there's something that needs to be done
whether it's like you know print something for them or copy it
and they even if they don't ask.
And the thing is instead of just sitting there doing nothing
why not just help out?
You say well I'm not going to do that because it's not my job.
I'm not paid for it.
Who cares, right?
It's like why have the attitude well I'm not going to do it
because it's not my responsibility.
In this example there is no reason why they do not roll away the stone
because they're sitting there.
They're fully capable of doing it.
It is a bad attitude to say well it's not my job.
I'm not getting paid for it so I'm not going to do it.
That is a bad attitude to have.
And in marriage you can have this as well
where basically you know in general
there's going to be kind of defined roles of things that you do
but here's the thing.
As a husband if I have extra free time
it's not that big of a deal to me
to just kind of help out my wife with something
whether it be to help out with the dishes
help out with the kids.
It's just like to me I'm just like if I have extra free time
and I'm able to and it's going to help her
why not, right?
For me personally and you know not everybody
sees it exactly like I do in this way
but let me say that I believe that all men should know
how to change diapers and things such as that.
I mean it's just not that I'm going to be the one doing it all the time
and not that I enjoy doing it
but I do know how to do it.
I don't enjoy it.
I never like it when those moments come up
but let me just say this
especially once you have like three kids
it's pretty difficult because sometimes
there's multiple kids that need attention at the same time
and it's just like I'm not going to be like so old-fashioned
where it's like wow that's not my job to help
so I refuse to help.
It's like you know what?
I do believe that yes
undefined roles and old-fashioned roles
but I also believe we can go to too big of extremes to that.
And some of the examples you can look at is
and I think we're going to look at it later
but with the virtuous woman
some of the things she does in Proverbs 31
are men's work when you really look at it
and it's not that she's you know basically you know
becoming a man or whatever
but she has the opportunity to help her husband in some areas
and a godly wife is going to do that
and a godly guy would do the same thing as well.
So yes I do believe in traditional roles
but I do think we can go to too big of extremes with that.
Okay and so in marriage or in companies
there's these examples
or what about with children?
Sometimes you have multiple children
and one child makes a mess
and the other child doesn't.
You tell the kids clean up the mess
and here's the thing
what does one of the kids say?
I'm not the one who made the mess.
And as a dad it's kind of like
I really don't care who made the mess.
What I care about is there's a mess
and it needs to be cleaned up
and dad ain't going to do it
because I'm teaching you kids
that basically when you make a mess
you got to clean it up right?
And look I get it
it can be frustrating if it's like somebody else did it
but it's just like you know I have to clean it up
but that's just the way it works.
The reality is we need to have the pattern
of being a hard worker.
We're basically
when we have the opportunity to step in and work hard
it's like we take that opportunity.
And see in this story
you've got these men that are basically saying
well we're sitting here and waiting
it's like it's not our fault
it's not our job to roll away the stones
so that's the reason why we're waiting Jacob.
Verse number nine
and while he had spake with them
Rachel came with her father's sheep
for she kept them.
And it came to pass when Jacob saw the daughter
the Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother
and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother
that Jacob went near and rolled the stone
from the world's mouth
and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
And there's a lot of things we can learn from this.
One thing on a side point
I do think there is something pretty specific
as when he saw Rachel he rolls away the stone
it's called impressing somebody that you find attractive.
Right?
And you know what?
Every guy when they're single
will go to great extremes to do foolish things
to try to impress women.
That's just the way it is
and we see it here
there's nothing new under the sun
we see it with Jacob here.
But I do believe he was planning to roll away that stone anyway.
I don't think it's
but I think there's kind of a dual application
because it's specific when he saw Rachel.
But you know I used to misunderstand this story
because I used to think of it as like
these other men were not able to move away the stone
and Jacob was able
but when you really think about it
I'm sure Jacob being a hard worker was strong
but he's not going to be stronger
than like three or four men put together.
Right?
It's not a matter of that they were not able to do it
it's that they chose not to do it.
If one man can roll away the stone
surely a group of men could roll it away
because it's not like any of these people
were like spending their time in a gym back then.
I mean they got strong from hard work
so three guys are going to be stronger than one guy
or however many guys it is.
Right?
It's just like you know
a group of guys are going to be able to roll away the stone.
It's not that they were unable to do it
it's that they were unwilling to do it
because they said it is not my job.
And then they basically get left it to somebody else
and Jacob is like why are we sitting here?
I don't want to sit here doing nothing
and he just rolled it away himself.
Verse number 11
and that's the first instance of Jacob working hard.
Verse 11 and Jacob kissed Rachel
and lifted up his voice and wept.
Now I think it goes without saying that when he kissed her
this is basically like a normal greeting in that society.
It's not like he grabbed her
and then he's like oh I find her attractive
let me just grab her and you know just
you know it's just like a greeting
and you know obviously in some societies
they greeted by kissing
and they do that today in some societies.
I'm glad I do not live in one of those societies
because to be honest
I would find it weird to greet a guy
and then just kiss on the cheek
kissing the cheek but some cultures do that.
To me the handshake or the fist bump
is perfectly okay with me right
but it goes without saying that in verse 11
when he kisses her it's just a normal greeting.
It's the same greeting he would have given to a guy.
Okay verse 12
and Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother
and that he was Rebecca's son
and she ran and told her father.
It came to pass when Laban heard the tidings
of Jacob his sister's son
that he ran to meet him and embraced him
and kissed him and brought and so once again
he's kissing Jacob
so obviously you're seeing it's a normal greeting
and brought him to his house
and he told Laban all these things.
And Laban said to him
surely thou are my bone and my flesh.
Now we're going to see later on with Laban
I believe Laban has some character flaws
when it comes to money
but I'm not saying he's a horrible person either
and you know he says that surely thou are my bone
my flesh and what he's saying is
that basically you know you're my relative.
Okay you've come all this way
you're in and in today's world
if you're going to go visit a location
you go to Expedia or TripAdvisor or whatever
it's like let me find an Airbnb
let me find a hotel
let me see where the restaurants are.
It's not like it was like that back then.
You're traveling by faith you know
largely you don't know what you're going to run into
and so once he sees his nephew
I mean he would have been a horrible person
if he doesn't warmly greet him.
If he's like oh that's cool I'll see you later
it's like well where's he going to go
you know what I mean
it's like of course he should embrace him
and he does you know
he does a respectful thing.
I don't believe Leven's a great guy
he's going to show character flaws later
I don't think he's a horrible person either though
and it says there and he abode with him
the space of a month
and what the idea was is Leven said to Jacob
you're here on this journey
you're going out by faith doing this
you're allowed to stay with me for free
you'll have a place to stay
you'll have food to eat
basically Jacob is on a one month vacation
right I mean and you know it makes sense
you know he's seeing his uncle
who's never met him
and his uncle's like wow this is so exciting
probably wants to hear stories about Rebecca right
and he's like hey you know stay with me
you know just spend time and visit
and he's staying with him for a month
then it says this in verse 15
and Leven said unto Jacob
because thou are my brother
shouldest thou therefore serve me for not
now look he's there for a month
and he's basically got an all expenses paid vacation
for at least a time period right
and he's there for a month
and the next verse tells us
Leven says to Jacob
shouldest thou therefore serve me for not
should you serve me and get nothing out of it
what is Leven saying
he's saying I gave you a place to stay
you've been working for free for a month
I didn't ask you to work
you're serving me for not
you're serving me and I'm not paying you
and what you're seeing in that verse
is that although Jacob had a place to stay
and he didn't have to pay for anything
he had food provided
he didn't just sit there and do nothing
for that month he was serving Leven
he was working
he was acting like one of his workers
of course during this time period
you know what you're seeing
is that when you would work at a company or whatever
you would often live at their big lot or whatever
and then work for them full time
and their owner would pay for your food and your stay
and so Jacob is getting that anyway
without having to work
but he has the attitude
you know what
I don't want something for free
it's like I feel obligated
as I'm getting a place to stay
I want to chip in and help
and what you're seeing is Jacob is a hard worker
and he says shouldest thou therefore serve me for not
tell me what shall thy wages be
imagine you worked at a job for a month
and you did such a good job
that your boss is like you know what
I want to make sure that you stay at this company
what do I need to pay you to get you to stay
right
usually you don't have that bargaining power as an employee
because realize Jacob doesn't necessarily have a long-term plan
Leven doesn't know if he's going to stay or not
but Leven's seen over the course of the month
hey this is a good worker
I want Jacob to stay with me
and he's like what shall thy wages be
what do I have to pay you
I want you to be one of my employees
it's like you all have a place to stay
you all have food to eat
what do I have to pay you to get you to stay
right
what we're seeing is Jacob was a very hard worker
I want to give you three points here in this sermon
of basically being a hard worker
three points
now go to Ecclesiastes chapter 9
Ecclesiastes 9
I believe sermons like this are always helpful and edifying
because all of us can work harder
all of us can be reminded of things we know
and I would say that in today's world
people don't generally work that hard
we live in a culture where honestly we don't have to work
that many hours to provide our needs
we don't have to spend you know time going to a well
to get our water to make sure that we don't die
I mean it's like things are a lot easier
there's grocery stores and all these modern conveniences
there is a lot less time
we have a lot of leisure time
we have a lot of time to do games and have fun
and look there's nothing you know necessarily wrong with that
I mean I think it's good to have fun and games
I'm glad as a church we're able to have fun
you know doing fellowship and stuff like that
but we need to be reminded of the fact
that we're kind of blessed to have extra free time
and instead of getting this idea
that we're just going to sit here and do nothing all the time
realize that we could actually work and accomplish something
Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10
what's in point number one is this
we should work everywhere
we should have a habit of working everywhere
it says in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10
whatsoever thy hand findeth to do
do it with thy might
and basically whenever you find something to do
do it with all your strength
I mean Jacob went to the stone
and it's like I found something to do
literally with his hands
and it's like all right I'm going to roll that stone away
you say why?
because it was something needed to be done
and he just decided to do it himself
for there is no work nor device nor knowledge
nor wisdom in the grave whether thou goest
and the idea is that you know when we pass away
we're not going to be able to accomplish any work
we might as well do it now while we're alive
go to Proverbs 31
Proverbs 31
Proverbs chapter 31
you know I'm one of these people
and I don't know
I guess people might consider this weird or whatever
but sometimes I'm at public places
and I'll see like a trash can or whatever
and there's trash on the ground near the trash can
but it's not in the trash can
and you know sometimes I will just like
spend you know a couple minutes
and pick up the stuff right around it
I mean it drives me crazy
why don't you just throw it in the trash can
and you say why would you do that brother Stuckey?
well if I have a couple free minutes doing nothing
I might as well
right I mean why just sit there and do nothing
I mean if I for you know
you're waiting for somebody to come
you got five free minutes
I mean accomplish something if you can
look sometimes there might be nothing to do
we understand that
but if you find something to do
do it right
I mean you don't have to just sit here doing nothing
if there's something to accomplish
let's do it right
we should work everywhere that we go
it says in Proverbs 31 verse 12
referring to the virtuous woman
she will do him good and not evil
all the days of her life
she seeketh wool and flax
and worketh willingly with her hands
she is like the merchant ship
she bringeth her food from afar
and so here's the example
of the woman who's basically going to a distance
to make sure she gets the proper deals
and the best prices on food
she bringeth her food from afar
the bible says
she riseth also out as yet night
and giveth meat to her household
and a portion to her maidens
and so look the template for a godly woman
of what she should strive to be
is basically waking up early
in order to provide food for a household
it says in verse 16
she considerth a field and buyeth it
with the fruit of her hands
she planteth a vineyard
and it says she considerth a field
and she buyeth it
now I don't believe that she's buying this field
this is just obviously an example of a woman
I don't believe she's buying this field
and not telling her husband about it
I obviously believe that the husband
at the end of the day is the head of the home
so he's going to be aware of this
but the idea would be
if the husband's out working all day
and basically you're trying to
you know get a lot or get something
it's like she might have the time
to basically look at the field
consider prices
talk to him about it or whatever
and she can put in that time and effort
okay and I do believe this kind of
crosses over with roles
where she's helping out her husband
with the fruit of her hand
she planteth a vineyard
now technically you might consider that
you know man's work
but once again I think we can go
a little bit overboard saying
man's work and woman's work
or husband's work and wife's work
because basically if she has extra time
why not plant a vineyard right
I mean if you got a backyard
and you got you know grass
and an area to do it
it's like why not if you have the extra time
why not do that right
you know you're accomplishing something
you're going to get food from it
she girdeth her loins with strength
and strengtheneth her arms
and what you're seeing is
if you define this woman
you would say she's a hard worker
masipak right
and everywhere she's going in all areas
she is working hard
go to verse 27
verse 27
she looketh well to the ways of her household
and eateth not the bread of idleness
so basically what she's doing is
she's working hard to provide for her family
and take care of them
and eateth not the bread of idleness
and what that's symbolically stating is
she's not sitting around doing nothing right
in our modern day
it's an epidemic of it's it's the social media generation
and any one of us can get sucked into this thing
but there will be people that will literally be on their cell phones
for like five hours a day
and just be on Facebook for hours
and social media for hours
and hours
accomplishing nothing
now here's the thing
obviously people are in different situations
but let me just say this
that in Proverbs 31 you have very traditional roles
that are being linked
especially during that time period
and you're seeing a stay-at-home mom
here's the thing
if you're a stay-at-home mom
that does not mean you just stay at home and do nothing
it's not like well you know what
I'm going to be godly
so I'm not going to go out and work
so I'm just going to sit at home
and just do nothing and be on my phone all day
well that kind of defeats the purpose
the purpose is there's a lot of work to accomplish
and you can be a great help to getting that stuff done
but whether you're a husband or a wife
you should work hard
husbands go out
they work their jobs
work hard at that job
wives you know what
work hard whether it's a secular job
or at home raising the kids
whatever your hand finds to do
do it with your mics
whatever it is
you know work hard or whatever you do
don't develop this attitude
it's like oh man I got to do more stuff
you know it's just like life is about hard work
you accomplish nothing unless you work hard
that's just the way it is
look at verse 31
give her the fruit of her hands
and let her own works praise her in the gates
let her own works praise her
basically when you work hard
there's going to be accomplishments
people are going to see it
and she's going to get praised
why?
not because she's the most beautiful woman in the world
not because you know she's the smartest
but she works hard
and you can see the proof is in the pudding
as they say right?
and look whether you're a husband
a wife
your parents children
you know wherever you go
work hard
how about a church?
you know church sometimes there's stuff to do
right we get done with the services
and you know we don't have a whole lot to do at our church
but there's still some basic stuff
basically setting up the tables
bringing them down
cleaning up basic stuff
you don't want to have this attitude
well it's not my job
I mean why would you have that attitude?
right it's like who cares whose job it is
it's like all of us can chip in
and make things a lot easier
it's just like why not?
and you know the reality is
when we do events you know
because we do like to do events here from time to time
the events are great
but the one bad thing about them is they cause a mess
right?
and look I get it
you know I'm not saying everyone has to stick around
so everything's perfect or whatever
but I'm just saying you know
we can all be willing to try to help out
and at the very least I believe there should be this attitude
that you know what I'll clean up my own mess
you know what I mean?
I've always had the attitude that basically
or I was taught this as a kid
that basically if you make a mess you clean it up
and the idea leave a place better than when you came
right?
so if you make a mess you clean it up
so for example you know if your kids make a mess
it's like Zeph makes a mess
if Christabel makes a mess
if Ezra makes a mess or whatever
it's like I should strive to have the ability to clean that up
me and my wife
and basically take care of our own kids
because you don't want to just leave all the responsibility on one person
that's not fair to people
as a church we should be willing to chip in
and here's the thing
as our church grows
if we don't have a volunteering mentality
it's going to be a disaster
you know we're not going to be doing as many activities
and we won't be able to
because there'll be so much stress just cleaning up basic stuff
we want to develop a volunteer mentality
while our church is small
so when we get bigger
that will basically just pass on to future people
because look if you're new to a church
you don't really know what to do
you don't want to step on anyone's toes or whatever
but if you see other people working
and you're a hard worker
your natural thing is
hey is there anything that I can do to help?
right?
now sometimes the answer to that is going to be no
but sometimes the answer is yeah you know what
can you help me do this?
and then basically as we get new people here
people can just develop that volunteer mentality
whether it's in your personal life or whatever it is
it's like we should strive to work hard
soul winning
I mean that's something that we work hard
right?
go to malachi one
malachi one
number one we should strive to work everywhere
wherever you are
you know basically just be in this mindset
is there something I can do to help?
right?
you know work everywhere
right?
but also number two
be willing to work without getting credit towards
be willing to work without getting credit
don't have this attitude
well what's in it for me?
it's a bad attitude to have
be willing to work without getting credit
now malachi one
last book of the old testament
we're going to see the example which we can tie to church
which I was just talking about
it says in verse 10
malachi one verse 10
who is there even among you
that would shut the doors for naught
neither do you kindle fire on my altar for naught
and what the lord's rebuking them about is
there's no one even willing to shut the doors
unless they get credit for it
for naught for no reason
right?
there's no one willing to kindle fire on my altar
now of course we don't have an altar to kindle fire
so you got to be realized it's not the direct thing
but basically
is there anyone among you that would be willing to set up chairs
or basically stack them for naught
where you're not getting credit
you're not getting paid
and the idea is you should be willing to volunteer
even if you're not getting paid for it
I mean this idea was just like
you know what I'm not going to do it unless I get paid
and I will say this that
one thing I was told early on out here in the Philippines
is in baptist churches specifically
there can be this sort of mentality where basically
if you volunteer for something
you automatically get paid for it
where basically you know you get paid a certain amount
and people have this attitude where
oh I'll do this because I'm going to get paid
that's a bad attitude
that's not how we operate
and here's the thing
we do a lot of activities we charge nothing
we do activities we have fun
we get food
we get games
we do a lot of things for free
but here's the thing
I believe in volunteering
and being willing to do that
without getting paid for it
you say why
because that's what we see in Malachi 1 verse 10
and just inside of your heart
you shouldn't be have this attitude
I will do something if I get something for it
if not I'm not going to
right and you know
shutting the doors is the idea of just like
kind of like closing up the church
so opening the church
closing the church
basic stuff like that
if we had a baptistry
you could think of maybe
setting up the baptistry
putting water in it or whatever
we have a big event with visitors or whatever
just doing something simple
and it's just like the idea
and the problem in Malachi 1
is people wanting to get paid
they wanted to get something out of it
they said we're not going to do it
unless we get something
I have no pleasure in you say it the Lord of hosts
neither will I accept an offering at your hand
go to Matthew 9
Matthew chapter 9
Matthew 9
and look I'm not saying we have a problem
with this at our church
we're just going through Genesis 29
we're seeing hard work
and how we can apply it
and something for us to be reminded about
with soul winning
and we're working without getting any credit
you know we don't get anything for going soul winning
right we don't go soul winning to benefit ourselves
we go soul winning to benefit other people
it says in Matthew 9 verse 35
and Jesus went about all the cities and villages
teaching their synagogues
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom
and healing every sickness
and every disease among the people
when he saw the multitudes
he was moved with compassion on them
because they were fainting
were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd
then saved he unto his disciples
the harvest truly is plenteous
but the labors are few
pray therefore the Lord of the harvest
that he will send forth labors into his harvest
now why is it that there's few laborers
willing to do the work
I'm going to turn this off
we got to because of the echo
but why is it there's few people
willing to do the work okay
well because they don't get anything for it
when we go soul winning
and try to get people saved
and give the gospel
we don't get paid for it
we don't get any credit
and look it's like that at most churches
where basically few people go soul winning
now at our church it's not really like that
we have the majority of people
our church go regularly soul winning
but at most baptist churches
most people do not go soul winning
but let's say at those baptist churches
they set up a system where they said
you know what we'll pay you
100 pesos per hour for soul winning
there's probably a lot of people
don't go soul winning
why because they're getting something for it
but what a bad attitude to say
I'm not going to go soul winning
because I get nothing out of it
right
it's like we should be willing to do it
volunteering
and saying I'm doing it without getting paid
I mean you should look at and say
hey you know what
I was able to lead someone to the Lord
that's a big enough reward to me
right
I'm excited when I get people saved
and here's the thing
that does not benefit me in my life
right
because it benefits them
but here's the thing
I'm already going to heaven
I've done soul winning before
and I've had people ask me this question like
why do you do this
like why are you out here
talking to people about this
and they basically say it in a way
where it's like they feel like I'm doing it
to help myself earn my way to heaven
I say I'm going to heaven no matter what I do
I'm not doing this for myself
I'm doing it for other people
and I said the reason why is
I don't want people to burn in hell
that's the reason why
I don't want to see anybody go to hell
that's why I go and talk to people about it
I'm not doing it for something for myself
I'm doing it for other people
go to Matthew 20
Matthew 20
Matthew chapter 20
and Matthew 20
look at verse number 20
and mother of Zebedee's children with her sons
and desiring a certain thing of them
and he said unto her
but it said on my right hand on my left
to give but it should be given to them for whom it is prepared to my father and when the ten heard
that they were moved with indignation against the two brethren but jesus called them onto him and
said he knows that the princes of the gentiles exercise dominion over them and they that are
great exercise authority upon them but it shall not be so among you and what jesus is saying
in verse 25 is in this world those that are powerful flaunt their power but he said it's
not so among you those that are great amongst us they don't basically just live this life of luxury
where they're basically being served by everybody else he said it's the opposite in this world the
powerful people are served by others but he says in verse 26 but it shall not be so among you
but whosoever will be great among you let him be your minister and whosoever will be chief
among you let him be your servant even as the son of man came not to be ministered onto but
to minister and to give his life a ransom for many and what jesus says is you know what i came
here and i didn't come as a conquering king i came and i'm serving other people
did that benefit jesus no it didn't i mean does it benefit to spend hours and hours and
hours go without food go without sleep do fasting and all these things die for the sins of the
world it didn't benefit him at all but it benefited other people and see our lives are
meant not to be about us the question is how can we benefit other people and i'll tell you
what when we develop this attitude to think that our lives are about us and we're meant to make
ourselves happy and we're meant to be happy in our lives what takes place is we end up being
miserable that's what takes place if you look at depressed and miserable people those are people
that life is all about them they end up being miserable but if you do what the bible says and
serve other people and work hard and say hey i'm not doing it to get paid i'm not doing it
for a great reward i'm doing it just because i want to work hard and help other people
what happens is you're happy people look at our lives as soul winners people serving god
this is what 99 of the world thinks you guys live a pretty depressing life
what do you do for fun we knock on people's doors and ask them about jesus
it's like why would you do that it sounds depressing doesn't sound like a lot of fun
and they don't get it that when you make your life about other people it's like it's the greatest
joy that you can have because what takes place is if you focus too much on yourself the problem
is none of us are really all that special we think we are but we make our lives about
ourselves and then all of a sudden you get this solomon sort of feeling where it's like
man i'm miserable because your whole life i i hated life because it's all about me
now here's the thing serving other people while you're doing it and it's difficult
and it's hard in that moment sometimes you feel like man i just want to rest or relax
but when you get done you're like man i'm really thankful i did that isn't that true
i mean i'll be honest with you sometimes while i'm going so winning i'm not always enjoying it
you're tired you're exhausted we do these so many marathons and it's a challenge to get to
the end and keep going faithfully but here's the thing whenever you get done and you can walk
back at the end of the day and say hey i gave eight people the gospel and three got saved
it's like you're excited it's like praise the lord i was able to give the gospel and get people
saved and you know what you end up being very happy because you worked hard and your life was
about other people instead of yourself and this is why so many people get frustrated in life
whether it be you know husbands wives moms dads or whatever they make their lives about them
and they see all the things that they don't get to do and everything and they feel
miserable but if they would pour their heart and soul into other people then they would realize
actually you know what this is what life's all about about benefiting other people and not myself
go to ephesians chapter six ephesians six
there are a lot of religions that basically teach this either directly or basically
indirectly where basically life is about being happy and the biggest religion i can think of
that is like that is buddhism buddhism is all about being happy now they don't do it in a
way of like a sinful happy where just basically do drugs and everything like but
basically they say let's get rid of all suffering let's get rid of all fear let's get
rid of all these things and that way we can be happy you say what's the problem with that
the problem with it is it's a false philosophy as i preached earlier this idea that your life
is about being happy i do believe that if you serve god you'll be happy but if you make your
life about being happy you will be miserable if the only thing you ever do is just say
whatsoever mine eyes desire i kept not from them you will be a miserable miserable person
just like solomon and you're going to realize one day i hated life and solomon was wise enough
to realize why but i think a lot of people they hate their lives they're miserable and
they don't know why and it's like you know what it's because you're making your life about
you what's funny about that religion buddhism it's the religion that basically wants to be
happy and get rid of suffering and all these things it's the religion that focuses completely
on yourself you you can't find a more miserable religion you're going to make yourself miserable
i mean the buddha the famous buddha leaves his wife and his son and just lose the family
you know what you call that a derelict father you call that a loser
a father who willingly became a homeless vagabond
in order to basically search for his own enlightenment what do you call that you call
it making your whole life about yourself you know what's going to happen you're going to be
miserable why when you focus on yourself it makes you miserable
and yet jesus taught that if you focus on other people and help them out i mean the
bible says if you know these things happier you if you do them but the direct context context is
about serving other people in that chapter and basically when you serve other people and live
for them it is going to result in happiness but if you search after happiness and just worry
about yourself you're going to be miserable the exact opposite will end up happening which
is why that's probably the most depressing religion in the world and yet they're searching
after happiness why because you're focusing on yourself you're doing the exact opposite of
what you need to do if you want to be happy go to your bible to ephesians 6
ephesians 6. Ephesians 6 verse 5
servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to flesh with
fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto christ not with i service as men
pleasers but as the servants of christ doing the will of god from the heart
not with i service it's it's not really a common expression or way we would phrase it today
but the idea is basically you don't just work when eyes are upon you
but basically you realize my boss is the lord
his eyes are always upon me right and most people in a secular job what they'll do is
they'll work hard if they're being watched or they'll work hard if they have to accomplish
something where basically they're going to get credit or be checked at the end
but if they can get away with doing nothing and nobody sees and nobody knows
what are they going to do they're going to be lazy and what the bible says is as servants
even if you're not getting paid not with i service but you're the servants of christ
and from the heart you want to obey what god says and do rights you'll just naturally want
to work hard you say but i'm not getting credit well not with i service you should be
willing to work without getting any credits you should be willing to work everywhere you
should be willing to work without getting any credits turn your bible
well to ephesians 6 verse 7 you say brother stuckey
why would i want to do that though work everywhere work without getting credit
number one because god commands you that's what the bible says number two it's going to
make you happy but number three if that's not if those are not good enough reasons
which they should be because you get wages you get paid for the work you do you say brother
stuckey i thought that you said you work without getting credit no no here's what i mean
you work without the mentality where i'm only going to do this if i get paid for it
but your boss is not your secular boss your boss is the lord and at the end of the day
god promises that in all work there is profit so here's the thing you're not technically working
without getting anything out of it i mean if you have five free minutes and you pick up some
trash and throw it in the garbage can why would i do that what's the benefit for me
well actually actually you will get benefit from it actually you will because in all labor
there's profits now that does not always mean a financial profit i do believe many times god
can bless you financially but there's many things that are far more important than money
far more important than money but the bottom line is in all labor there's profit what it says
in verse 7 is this with good will doing service as the lord and not to men knowing
that whatsoever good thing any man doeth the same shall i receive of the lord whether he be
monder free it's like why would i work if the the eyes of the boss are not upon me
because of the fact you're going to receive of the lord the bible says
you're going to receive of the lord if you do it without doing it to get credit but just
working hard god sees what you do even if you spend an extra hour that you didn't get paid for
at your job you will get paid for that eventually you're going to get it it might not
be in in a week it might be six months down the road you might never know because it's not
in your paycheck god's going to make sure that you get what you deserve or he's going to
give you something more valuable than money but make no mistake about it you're going to
get something you're going to get a reward from god as a result go to genesis 47 genesis 47
i mean sometimes we see things and we just we just we just don't fully see the whole
picture of how god can bless us and everything and i think back to the job i had in maryland
for several years where you know based on the exact work i did i was extremely underpaid
because pretty much anywhere else in the united states i would have made a lot more money some
places twice as much money as i was making but i one of my requirements for where i was working
or what company i work for is i got to be near a good church and you know what a lot of you
can relate to that when you make that sort of and you know could be the fact that hey i want
to be with a job where i can actually work and be a part of church sometimes you make
financial sacrifices when you do that but i think back in my life and i can see the ways that god
blessed me one of the ways is the surgery i had on my knee i ran into this stipulation
where basically i didn't have surgery immediately and then i was worried it would not be covered
because it would be listed under a pre-existing condition and depending on what company you have
and what their insurance is it might not be covered and the new company i went to because
basically i transitioned to a different job it's like i was in a difficult situation like great
i have a torn acl but it's i'm at a different job now but in in most situations that's not
going to be paid but even though i didn't get paid a ton of money compared to other and look
my needs were provided i'm not complaining or whatever i mean i made money to provide my needs
i'm just saying in other locations i would have made more but even though i didn't make as
much money under the insurance plan every cent was covered for my surgery whereas in other
companies it would have cost me out of pocket fifty thousand dollars i just wouldn't have had
the surgery i would like i'll have to live with this because i'm not going to pay that much
money i can't pay that much money and so even though i didn't get paid as much as it would
at other companies for the work i was doing well i got saved fifty thousand dollars right so
it's like what a blessing that is and i can think back to where basically you know i made
sacrifices to decide to go in the ministry where basically said i'm throwing my career away
because i got to get trained for the ministry i want to go to a church where i can be trained
to be a pastor and you know those are financial sacrifices and yet i look at the timing of when
we bought and sold our house and things such as that and god just worked things out where it's
like we have very much been taken care of and it's just like there's just something about
when you serve god god takes care of you you know what i mean i'm not saying and look my
family we're not rich and i'm not saying you're going to be rich but you know what god
provides the needs of those that work hard and love him it's just the way it works out things
just happen to work out and you know you can't always put your finger on it but if you really
stop and think about it and realize what the bible says what you'll see is people that love
god and work hard god will provide for them genesis 47 verse 5 and pharaoh spake unto joseph
saying thy father and thy brethren are coming to thee the land of egypt is before thee and
the best of the land make thy father and brethren dwell in the land of goshen let them dwell
and if they'll notice any men of activity among them then make them rulers over my cattle
you know what pharaoh says is you know what joseph here are the people i want to be the rulers
those that work hard those that are men of activity this is something i've i've learned
in the ministry and it was something i was told ahead of time but something i relearned
as it went into the ministry and what i was told is that when you pick people for assignments
this is especially as the church grows people to volunteer and stuff you don't necessarily
pick the most talented person for the job you pick the most faithful our natural inclination
is to pick the most talented it's not actually the right thing to do and sometimes you regret
it and what i was told is basically that you know specifically with song leaders is what i was
told because that's specifically something where you can see a sort of skill where basically
certain people are very skilled at being song leaders but it's like many of the people that
can be picked they don't end up being the most faithful the people that you can really trust the
most more important than being the most talented is actually being faithful actually that you do
what is asked of you and look of course you know what if people are leading the music you
want people that know what they're doing and you can grow and and and develop in that ability
but the idea is you know you don't want to pick someone who's basically very talented but they
don't actually go with the program and just kind of do their own thing you pick those that
are faithful and here it's not about ability it's picking those that are men of activity
those that work hard go to hebrews 11 we'll look at two more places hebrews 11 hebrews 11
verse 6 brother stucky what's the point of being a hard worker well i mean
it's going to benefit you you're going to actually accomplish something
you say well what am i getting for it i do something but what does it do for me
well i mean at the end of the day you're actually going to get wages for it
but here's the thing if you do it with the mentality well i'm going to do this because i
want god to give me something you might not get anything for it you got to do things with
the right attitude you say brother stucky i don't know about that does it really matter no the
attitude matters because the bible also talks about him making manifest the counsels of the
heart and if people say i'm only going to go so many because i want to basically proclaim i get
the most people saved the church you probably lost your reward because you're just doing it
to get credit for man the attitude matters and so here's the thing you got to fix this on
the heart and say hey i just want to work hard because there's something that needs to be done
it's like i got the time i might as well do something i'm going to do what the bible says
whatsoever thy hand find it to do do it with the might and look this is something that
desperately needs to be taught to young kids because you just see it with young kids
they don't naturally want to work hard this is something that kids do not naturally do
i mean you tell your kids clean up the room how much do they really clean it up if you're
not watching what they do they pick up like one thing or two things they don't pick up
everything they don't make it spotless and you got to keep telling them you got to keep
training them and telling them no no every single piece you want them to get to the point where
basically if they're told to clean up the room they look around is there anything else that needs
to be cleaned rather than having the attitude what's the least i have to do where basically dad
doesn't complain doesn't get mad at me right kids just naturally do not work hard it's just
the way it is and of course i think kids should be able to play and have fun but we also
need to have a proper balance i don't think that we should just train our kids to act like
kids till they're 18 and then say okay now get a real job we need to get them to that point
where they're working hard ahead of time it says in hebrews 11 verse 6 without faith it
is impossible to please him for he that cometh to god must believe that he is and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him and if you want to please god you're going to
believe on him but you're going to diligently seek him now you don't have to please god to be
saved that's not synonymous in fact god is not pleased with everybody who is saved
if you want to if you want to please god you must believe that he is you must believe on him
but you also must diligently seek him and i'll tell you what most christians that are doing
nothing for god god's not pleased with him he's not happy i mean think about it if you had
kids that did nothing and didn't listen to you didn't listen to anything you said
they disobeyed every single thing you said would you be pleased with them no now they'd still be
your children but you're not pleased with them you still love them but you're not pleased with
them it's the same thing with god if you believe on jesus and you don't seek him and
obey him and do what he says god is not pleased with you you say well why would i do
this so what's in it for me he's a rewarder that's what the bible says you get rewarded
for the hard work you do another verse number 24 verse 24 verse 24
by faith moses when he was come to years refused to be called the son of pharaoh's daughter
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of god than to enjoy the pleasure of
sin for a season esteeming the reproach of christ greater riches in the treasure in egypt
for he had respect under the recompense of the reward moses said i'm willing to suffer
in my life because there's a reward on the other side for my hard work here's the thing did moses
live an easy life no he did not you know what would have been a lot easier staying in egypt
being in royalty i mean i don't know if it is exactly like this but this is what you always
see in these old you know films or documentaries of egypt it's like they got these giant feathers
and somebody you know to the rich people they're basically just what is it pomade pie is what
you say like a giant pomade pie and and just basically fanning you and everything and you're
sitting there they're bringing you a pineapple and you're just sitting there in your chair
doing absolutely nothing i don't know if it's exactly like that but i'm just saying moses
being basically brought up by royalty he could have had a nice life and not had to work too hard
and yet he's in the wilderness and he's working himself ragged i mean it comes to the point
where his father-in-law says hey what are you doing it's like you're working day and night
you got to do things a little bit wiser because you're going to run yourself into the ground
and moses was running himself from the ground for nothing for other people why would he do that
because he had respect and the recompense of the reward that he would get one day
because he understood that you know what my hard work will benefit me even if i never see
it in this lifetime even if i never have that fancy car fancy house even if i don't have
all the things that other people have i realize i'm going to at the very least if not be rewarded
here get the rewards in heaven where it's going to be worth it and you know i had this on my
notes we're not going to turn there i think everyone's probably familiar with first
corinthians 3 where basically you stand before the judgment seat of christ and the works that
you do you're going to get rewarded but the idea is there that god is going to make manifest
things that people are not aware of
where basically you can do things and get no credit for it nobody knows about it and yet
god says you know what i'm going to reward the openly i'm going to show the world all
the great things that you did so look when it comes to working hard you're never doing it for
nothing we should have the attitude and we should teach our kids the attitude we should be willing
to work everywhere we go if our hand finds something to do we do it with i might even if
it's not your responsibility so to speak we should be willing to work without getting credit
it's like i'm not going to get paid for this who cares be willing to work without getting
credit but here's the thing if you are willing to be a hard worker even if you don't
get credit and nobody knows about it at the end of the day god sees everything you do and he
is a rewarder to them that diligently seek him you seek him with your heart you dedicate your
life to the lord you work hard dedicate your life to other people god is going to reward you
one day for your efforts let's close in a word of prayer your heavenly father thank you for