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just a minute but if you want to go back to Genesis chapter number 31 as I said during announcements I'm actually going to continue on in the book of Genesis or actually just look again at Genesis chapter 31 a couple things just to bring everybody up to speed again on the story of course in Genesis chapter 30 you had Jacob desiring to leave and to go back unto his kindred and he strikes this deal with Laban about the flocks and they separate the flocks and all the ring straight to the brown speckled and they're all going to be Laban's and then everything that is conceived and otherwise is going to be Jacob's and of course over the course of time over the course of years Jacob increases greatly and he ends up pretty much taking over all of Laban's wealth chapter 31 starts out it says there in verse 1 and he heard the words of Laban's son saying Jacob hath taken away all that was our fathers and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory so that's kind of bringing us up to speed of course then we know the Lord tells him a flee go unto go back to your people he steals away in the night with his flocks and his goods and his wives his children and then it's told unto Laban what's taken place and then he pursues him for seven days and he finally catches up with him and if we remember the story Laban is reminded or rather God comes to him in a dream and warns him to speak either neither good nor evil unto Jacob and so we see that there's a lot of hostility right taking place here the relationship is strained to say the least and really I kind of already preached about this Thursday night there's really no telling what exactly Laban would have done had God not intervened we spoke a lot about envy if you remember Thursday night the danger of envy the seriousness of envy and that's what was taking place there in verse 31 chapter 31 with Laban with his flock being taken by Jacob that of course caused him to become very envious of Jacob and really Jacob had done nothing wrong that was the warning we got Thursday night you know if you succeed in the Christian life and life in general if you work hard or diligent like he is you're gonna have people just be upset at you for just just for doing well you know that's just a strange thing about human nature but it is what it is and then of course in the story Laban catches up with Jacob and confronts him and they kind of have a little tiffed here and Jacob is or rather Laban accuses Jacob of having stolen his gods from his house turns out it was Rachel his daughter that did it of course she hid it amongst the stuff and as a result Laban was not able to find it and then so Jacob kind of in his ignorance here is is kind of saying see I told you so right and says in verse 36 and Jacob was Roth right meaning he was very mad he was very angry and he chowed with Laban and Jacob answered and said to Laban what is my trespass you know hey where's those things that were stolen what is my sin what that thou is so hotly pursued after me you know what have I done wrong whereas thou has searched all my stuff what has thought fond of thy household stuff right so he's kind of rebuking him you said that all these things were supposed to be missing with me well where are they let's see him right said it before here before my brethren and I brethren that they may judge betwixt us both okay and that's kind of where we are in the story all that's just to kind of give the background okay so these kind of these verses make sense but really what I want to focus on tonight is just verses 38 through 42 where we see some of the character of Jacob again and this is something that I've touched on previously in other sermons but it's something you know that the Bible speaks of at length and that's having a work ethic being somebody that has a strong work ethic somebody who is not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get something done and of course this applies to everybody but specifically you know we can apply this to men you know we as men need to be hard workers we need to be diligent in our work we need to be people who are industrious and work hard and earn a living and have integrity as Jacob you know Jacob is a great example of this you know when we got first got into the story of Jacob a few weeks ago you know I talked about the fact how some preachers want to paint Jacob as some some kind of a Nancy boy some kind of a sissy right but he's really not and we saw when you know he's able to roll the stone off the the mouth of the well and we're gonna see some other things about him tonight where he's kind of when he's you know having this argument with Laban where he kind of comes to his own defense and kind of explain some things about how hard-working he's been over these 20 years okay now again so to that point let's look at verse 38 he said this 20 years have I been with thee thy ooze and thy she goats have not cast their young and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten so the first thing I want to point out is he's been with Laban 20 years all right we know he labored for Rachel seven years and then he was supposed to labor another seven years for Leah when remember when Laban tricked him and gave him Leah instead so we know that's 14 years so you know this last six could have been the whole thing where he's got this deal worked out Laban regarding you know who's gonna get what of the flock but again he's saying I've been with you 20 years that which was torn of beasts I brought it unto thee I bear the loss of it you know when something went wrong and something didn't work out you know I didn't bring it to you I didn't charge it to you I bore the brunt of everything I took responsibility over things that went wrong of my hand didst thou require whether stolen by day or stolen by night thus I was in the day the drought consumed me meaning you know I was thirsty I was out in the heat the drought consumed me and the frost by night you know we know something about this down here in the desert in Tucson you know it can get really hot sometimes and then certain times of the years it can actually get pretty cold at night in fact it's even snowed here in Scottsdale never thought I'd see that again after having left Michigan but lo and behold and he says in verse 40 thus I was the day the drought consumed me in the frost by night and my sleep departed from mine eyes I mean I'm working long hours I'm up at all hours of the night I'm constantly available and I'm working hard and he did this for 20 years this was the case he's saying this is this 20 years I've been with thee and here's how it was these last 20 this is what it's been like it hasn't been easy it hasn't been a pleasure cruise it's been hard work it's been drought it's been frost it's been long days it's been sleepless nights it's been bearing the loss of things that that came up missing look at verse 41 thus have I been with thee 20 years on thy house I have served thee 14 years for thy two daughters and six years for thy cattle and thou has changed my way just ten times so on top of that he's not even knowing you know what he's getting often year by year or whatever it was right and we read the details earlier let you know last week where after that deal had been struck in chapter 30 you you learned in 31 that laban actually said okay now the ring straight will be yours and then they all bear ring straight and then he said all the speckled shall be yours and then they all bear it speckled so he kept trying to change his wages because laban was watching his wealth by the blessing and of course the diligence on hard work of Jacob literally just be transferred to Jacob so he's trying to change the wages constantly to kind of get back what he's losing over this deal that he's made with them and he's saying you've changed my wages ten times I don't even know what I'm gonna be making you know year to year sometimes I don't even know what my wages are gonna be for all this hard work that I'm doing you keep trying to cheat me out of what's rightfully my rightfully mine and then of course the coup de gras here verse 42 except the God of my father the God of Abraham the fight and the fear of Isaac had been with me surely that I would send away sent me away empty now all right you probably would have just sent me home just like I showed up with no one and nothing to my name he said but he hath God has seen my affliction and the labor of mine hands and rebuke thee yesternight all right so God has come to the defense of Jacob and Jacob's drawing that to again to laban's attention and he's really making his case here he's saying you know this is why I'm leaving you don't think you know laban that you're just some great guy you're actually kind of a hard guy to work for you're actually not that good of a boss you've been conniving you've been tricky you've been changing my wages and I've been doing a lot of hard work I made you wealthy it's not my fault that you know God has blessed me in the latter end so I want to just look at a few statements that Jacob makes here in this chapter and make some application to us today and show us that you know we ought to have some of these same characteristics especially as men men need to be people who work hard okay the first thing I want to point out verse 38 is he says that this 20 years have I been with thee and I kind of already alluded to this right he's been suffering like this for 20 years going back and forth doing this hard work being a shepherd which is no easy task out there you know in all the exposed to the elements you know he's been working a hard job that quite frankly you know is not fun right it's work isn't supposed to be fun it's it's a hard job that probably not a lot of people would want to do today this isn't something you know you would sign up for right but he's been out there 20 years just plugging away just being diligent and being consistent and this is an important attribute to have especially as a man in the workplace to be diligent and consistent in your work you know we as men we need to kind of pick a career path and kind of stick to it don't be people that are constantly shifting around and I understand sometimes it takes a while for us to kind of maybe figure out sometimes where we want to land as far as our career and what kind of work we're going to do but you know you as the saying goes you know you can learn anything but you can't learn everything if you kind of think about that there's probably not anything you can't learn but you're gonna have to be picky about it because you can't learn everything you know we all kind of have to specialize at some point and look I'm not saying there might not be a time and a place to where it's you know we need to change jobs obviously after 20 years of putting up with this after Jacob finally succeeding and having the blessing of God on his life and getting and accumulating this great wealth you know he had to change locations like he had to go find another place to live but you know that was more because of the way Laban was taking it right but again I'm not saying there might not be times in your life as a man where maybe you know a career change is in order you know but it can't just be well I want to change jobs because you know I just don't like this you know that's not a good reason to change a job that's not a good reason to just change a whole career that you've been investing your time in okay because what you're gonna find out is if you go to another career is that you're not gonna like that one either because it's all work you know here's the thing about work none of its fun none of its fun it's that's why it's called work and fun is called fun and work is called work right if work was fun you know we would pay them to let us do it right it's not what we do when we go to the amusement parks and and everywhere else we go for entertainment you know they don't pay us to show up and enjoy that you know we pay them for the privilege of having fun using their services right it's the opposite with work you know we're not showing up to have a good time I'm not saying you can't enjoy your job or you know have maybe even have fun if you're fortunate enough to be able to do that at work great but here's the thing you know don't be somebody who just switches job you know from year to year and just is constantly you know trying this and trying that you know I get maybe kind of have to find where your skills are what your strengths are what you could you know excel at but you know once you kind of find that you got to kind of just settle in and do it and not let you know things like circumstances or you know bad employers or something that kind of shove you around right Jacob here stuck with this for 20 years okay and he's having his wages changed he is you know out there in the elements he's going you know through a lot of hard work doesn't sound like it's a fun job but you know what he was diligent and consistent and by the time you know you know he labors those 14 years for his two wives and it seems like you know the latter the latter six years is where this whole thing with Laban kind of takes place because he says I labored six years for that cattle you know by the time that six year period came around if you go back and read the story you know he's putting in the rods and piling the pilling the rods and he's using this rod and that tree and this rod you know and he's corralling these animals in a specific manner I don't know what all that means right I'm not in husbandry none of us probably really understands exactly what's going on there but obviously it's some kind of skill that he's picked up on he's learned how to you know manage these these animals after 14 years of doing this he's developed some some really good skills at how to raise these sheep and and you know what to do right and obviously the blessing of God was involved here that's what you know gave him his wealth but you know he also had to do his part as I preached previously and he was able to do his part because of the fact that he stuck with it for 14 years and didn't just say well you know this whole husbandry thing this whole you know pastoring thing this whole keeping sheep thing it's kind of for the birds you know I'm gonna go try you know something else you know I don't know what else you would have tried back then maybe in a gun Doug Wells or something I'm not sure there probably wasn't a whole lot of job options you know back then everyone was pretty much involved in agriculture back then right but you know the point is the application that we can get from this is that stick with it you know when you find something stick with it because skills are something that are developed over time okay skills are developed over time sometimes people this is especially true in the trades you know young guys get in the trades they're starting at the bottom rung and they're not making a whole lot of money you know and then they see some seasoned guy who's been around for decades who's been doing the job longer than they've been alive in some instances and they're like well why does he make so much money because he knows a whole lot more than you about that job he's got the skills he has the ability to you know get the job done he doesn't have to have somebody standing over him telling him how to do something unlike you know some entry-level person skills are developed over time that's why you got to stick with these things be diligent and be consistent because if we're somebody who just jumps around from job to job and just tries this thing and that thing and the other thing you know you're never going to develop any skills at any of it and you're actually just going to end up being an entry-level guy just repeatedly for you know for as long as you do that the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 10 I'll just read to you he become with poor that deal with with a slack hand but the hand of the diligent maketh rich the hand of the diligent maketh rich that's a great proverb because you know it doesn't really necessarily say who it makes rich right it just says that the hand of the diligent maketh rich and in Jacob's case he made laban very rich did he not that's why when he first wanted to go he's like no no let's work something out here you know let's let's strike a deal I've learned that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake you know I've increased a lot you've made me rich because you're diligent right well how did he become diligent how was how was he able to make him rich like that because of the fact that he was diligent he was consistent he didn't just you know after a couple years you know to say well you know it's not worth it and quit he stuck with it the Bible says the hand of the diligent shall bear rule right you stick at something you you get good at it you know eventually you're gonna be the guy that's leading you know the new guy that comes in you start out the bottom you work your way up the ladder you stick it stick with it year by year you develop the skills you get the extra training that you need you know you get the promotions you move up the ladder eventually you're gonna be that guy that's you know telling other people how to do it you're going to bear rule if you're diligent if you're consistent and part of being diligent yes it's doing a good job but it's also sticking with something you know picking something and sticking with it when it's hard when it's difficult when it's not you know a good time when it's when it's you know costing you something maybe in some instances the hand of the diligent beareth rule the slothful shall be under tribute the guy that doesn't want to stick with something is always just looking for an easier way out you know he's not gonna bear rule he's gonna be under tribute right he's gonna be paying somebody else he's gonna be not making the money that somebody else is skills are developed over time so stick with it and this is a really good important point because of the fact there's this philosophy out there to follow your passion right who's ever heard that just just find what you're passionate about you'll never work a day in your life yeah that's called a hobby okay what we're passionate often is does not translate to what we're gonna do for a living and I'm sure if we went around the room and start talking to some of the guys in here you know that have been holding down a job for any length of time you know they probably expressed to us that this isn't their passion you know like what caused you to go into that oh it's I just so passionate about it you know just you know I was staying up late just watching videos on YouTube about plumbing and electrical work who does that right no one okay I mean look I'm sure there's the oddball out there that does that okay there's and they're probably plumbers already they're probably guys that already enjoy that stuff and probably watch it I'll admit you know sometimes I get caught you know on YouTube just watching a guy like run a saw or something like that or I'll watch a guy brazing pipe and like you know why am I doing that's total waste of time right but you know that it goes against this philosophy and just follow your passion right look it's great if you can work at what you're passionate about but if that's kind of a bad approach to finding a career and because here's the thing what what you're passionate about is what you're good at right if you stick with something and you get good at it you become efficient you earn a good living at it people respect you because of what you can do as a result you'll be passionate about it believe me you'll be passionate about the fact that you you have a job whatever it is that you're good at and the only way you're gonna get it good at something is by doing it over and over and over repeatedly for years you know I don't know all that Jake you know the Bible says that Jacob you know dwelled in tents you know before he left his father and father and went to Laban now it might be that he was he was probably a herdsman of some sort but he was a younger man he was unmarried you know I don't imagine that he came to Laban maybe with a lot of skill you know maybe he learned a lot of things along the way obviously he had some ability and obviously had some diligence some hard characteristics as a hard worker because Laban wanted to keep mine he said after a month of being there he's like name thy hire right that's where he works out the deal for Rachel the labor for her for seven years you know but he got good at what he's doing because he stuck with it for years he stuck with it time and time and time again he didn't just go around switching jobs he became was diligent at it and as a result you know he profited greatly you know you'll be passionate about that job when it can start to afford you things that you couldn't afford before you'll get really passionate about that job or moving up the ladder in that company when it starts paying you things and the only reason anyone's ever gonna pay you is if you profitable to them the only reason anyone's gonna give you a bump is if they find value in you right so stick with it find something stick with it and you will succeed and you will bear rule as the Bible says but you know it has you have to have some stick to it at this you can't just change jobs every time it stinks you know and again I and don't take this the wrong way I really don't I wish I could you know call on other examples but you know I know me better than I know anybody else right and I know my own life better than I know anybody else's so often I have to draw illustrations for my own life to make these points okay I don't it's not like I'm trying to get up and talk about myself and please I hope this doesn't come across as me boasting or something like that but you know I have a job now besides this one right a full-time job where you know I have the lead position and I and I moved into that lead position you know after the guy retired I interviewed got it you know I got hired seven months ago right and I got hired for that job and they brought me in and then I got the lead position seven months later but it's not because I walked into that job not knowing anything you know there's years of you know acquiring the skills that I have to do that job and it's not like I'm building rockets or anything like that okay it's not it's not the most difficult complex work but if you don't know it you know it can be a little intimidating just like any job you know if you were to start me out as an electrician or an HVAC guy or plumbing you know what I'd have to pretty much start from scratch and start all over again right it would be intimidating but you know I got to where I am in that job because of the fact that you know I started out on the bottom rung I started out working you know for let you know single-digit numbers like 8.50 an hour as an apprentice as a 30 year old you know with a wife and a kid and one on the way you know and having to work two jobs but you know I said I'm gonna stick with this because I know if I learn this trade eventually it's gonna pay off and it has you know but they took years to get there and I'm just again and using that as a point and to help make my point that you need to stick with something in your life and if you just can't see yourself sticking with what you're doing you know don't waste any time trying to find something else because that's how you succeed in the workplace that's how you get to the next level is by being diligent that and I got all of that out of the verse 38 20 years have I been with thee and it wasn't because Laban was a great guy and it probably wasn't because Jacob was just so passionate about keeping sheep it was probably because that's what you had to do to make a living and he got really good at it because he did it diligently day in and day out you know that's what we need to do we need to be diligent and we need to have consistency and then if you notice a verse 39 he says that which was torn of beast I brought not under thee I bear the loss meaning he had integrity and honesty this is another thing you have to have in the workplace don't be one of these guys that you know robs their company but you know as far as when it comes to stealing time from them when you're on the clock you're on the clock you have to have to have that kind of integrity be honest in your dealings at work and some people and look this is why you know inner you know most theft in a company happens from within most theft that takes place in businesses it's the employees that are doing the vast majority of the theft I don't have the exact numbers but I've heard this many times over the years that most staff that takes place in a retail or any business is it's people from within the people that are working there that steal right and it's because and you say why is that well one they kind of know the inner workings they know how to get away with it but two just because you know how to get away with something doesn't necessarily mean you're gonna do it right you have to because stealing is wrong everybody knows that I think I don't know let me say it again stealing is wrong okay all right I thought we're gonna go through the Ten Commandments here all right thou shalt not steal okay but you know the stealing is wrong whether you believe that or not I don't know I'm starting to worry about some of you here but it is wrong and the reason you know people might be able to get away with it but they don't because they understand that it's wrong so how is it that you have people that work for a company do the vast majority of the stealing it's because they of their attitude right they have to have some kind of a change in you know how they're perceiving their relationship with their employer and what I'm getting at is that they justify it right they say well you know they're not paying me enough at this job so it's okay if I take this no it's not okay that's still stealing maybe you know and honestly maybe they're not paying you what you're worth maybe you should be paid more that does not justify you stealing it right I think everyone here would agree that Laban was a pretty crummy boss okay you know Laban is literally tracking down Jacob and God has to intervene to keep him from doing him great bodily harm right and taking back everything that was rightfully his he strikes a deal with him and then when it doesn't go his way you know he throws a pity party gets all pouty about it and decides to go and and do something about it right God has to intervene because he's so envious at Jacob he's a crummy boss but yet Jacob all those years that he's laboring for Laban you know in his first clue would have been seven years in when he labored for Rachel right and then on their wedding night you know he slips a lay in there instead remember that and then Jacob realizes what happened in the morning so we understand like right out of the gate that Laban's crooked in his dealings he's not straightforward you know he's kind of underhanded he's not a great guy in the scripture okay I feel safe saying that Laban is kind of crooked right and yet Jacob worked for him for 20 years and at all that time that Jacob labored for him for 20 years like we I labored for him 20 years but you know I was taking a little off the top too you know I got made sure I got reimbursed for having to work for this jerk no he said I bear the loss of it if something was torn if something came up missing if the Beast tore it up if it was lost by day or by night I bear the loss you know you required of it at my hand and I didn't object you know he didn't steal from Laban all those 20 years and we can't work just because you work for somebody that you don't like just because you work a job that you don't enjoy just because you think you're not getting what you're worth does not justify stealing on the job and look this could manifest and either through literally just taking items you know skimming off the top of the drawer taking things homes you know taking scrap off the job I don't know how many times I've heard that one you guys would just come there come to the job site after hours to just help themselves to the scrap or something that was from it it's like well hey that belongs to the company but people have to justify these things right it could show up taking literal physical goods that they're gonna cash in stealing tools whatever it is but a lot of times it could just be stealing time a lot of times can be well I'm gonna show up 15 minutes late I'm gonna leave 15 minutes early and I'm gonna get my half-hour back out of these guys you know taking longer breaks than they're given and that's another one that's a huge pet peeve of mine you know if you're giving a 15-minute break it means you get 15 minutes to take a break and I remember working around guys and thankfully I didn't have to work closely with them I was able to do my own thing but I would observe this and other guys like you'd get a 15-minute break they'd be on one part of the campus working somewhere one part of the job site let's say well it's time for a 15-minute break and then they'd walk 15 minute back 15 minutes back to their locker get their lunchbox out and now the 15 minute starts well now that's just turned into 30 minutes and then it's 15 minutes back so you're 15 minute break just took 45 minutes how is that not stealing you're in you're getting paid for a half hour and you're only doing 15 minutes you're not even giving them that you know you're getting they're getting paid for the half hour but they're taking a 45 minute break that's stealing look when you're stealing time you're from the company you're stealing period fudging the time card you know saying you work this many hours you didn't you know that is stealing and here's what people do they justify it in their minds they say well you know my boss is a jerk well maybe he is but that doesn't mean you get to steal from him because that's wrong and it's a bad testimony for Christ to steal from your employer and look I have a whole page of notes about being an employee what it means and how we ought to conduct ourselves and employees just passage after passage after passage in the New Testament so if you think I'm just up here rattling my cage or what I'm preaching isn't that important you need to wake up and pay attention because the Bible talks about this at length okay you're there in Colossians right yeah you keep something there you know just because you have a bad employer doesn't give you the right to steal from them or treat them poorly look at Colossians chapter 3 verse 22 servants obey your masters and boy excuse me obey in all things your masters according to the flesh you know your masters according to flesh the earthly masters that you have here on earth you know and obviously the Bible isn't using verses like employer employee boss right it's it's masters and servants servants you know we could translate that today to employees that's how we could read that masters would be our employers they would be our bosses so employees obeying all things your masters according to flesh you know if they say hey you're gonna show up at this time you're gonna do this work you're gonna have this much of a break here's when you punch in you punch out the answer should be yes sir that's what I'm gonna do and not you know you know fudge your time lie about it not you know saying you're doing something you're not doing it or how about this one you know you know checking out on your phone staring at your phone when you're at work you know checking you know your Facebook the the the book of faces I know I just revealed my age to all you all you cool kids out there you know like Facebook who uses that I must be for old people right your your insta tweet or your tick tweet or whatever it is I don't know what it is you know all those things that are so popular out there your reels and your shorts you know that go ahead and check those things out on your break on your lunch break if you got it after work but now when you're on the clock when you show up to work work you know and this is important because people are not taught this today this is just something that's not being taught to people today people need to understand that this is what God expects of us you say well you know all the other guys in the job site they're not like that all the other guys at work they're not like that you know even my boss maybe maybe you have a supervisor who's kind of slack in this area who's kind of you know not that straight-laced about it maybe they're not maybe they're a little loose themselves with when they show up and when they leave right well here's the thing you know ultimately God sees us the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the you know search to and fro about the old seeking you know seeking those that do good guys the Lord are in every place the Bible says so when God is commanding us something in Scripture you know we our standard is what God expects okay and we are to obey in all things your masters according the flesh not with eye service right oh here comes the boss look busy right that's you know all of a sudden your feet come off the desk and you're you know changing the browser you know well let me get on that that you know on the spreadsheet I'm supposed to be working on the YouTube gets shut down right what are you doing oh just just working really hard it's like no and this is why a lot of employees not even employers on it they have to have cameras because this is what people do that if they weren't constantly being watched they would they would start to do this you know just kind of lean in just not working you know I'm so grateful that I had a job at 15 year old at 15 years old at McDonald's that's why I learned this great phrase maybe you've heard it you got time to lean you got time to who someone said it go ahead pipe up you got time to lean you got time to clean all right that's that's why I learned that one oh there's no orders coming in we got everything prepped ready to go I'm just gonna sit here and chitchat for a minute my manager walked up said you got time to lean you got time to clean here's a broom and it was you know sweeping and mopping go clean the bathroom go down I mean don't you wish more people did that when you're out there eating I wish they I you know so you walk into some restaurants it's like I obviously don't believe that here you walk in it's like that that rule has not been taught to these young people in this restaurant because I walk in and all the tabletops are dirty who likes eating in a dirty tabletop don't raise your hand if that's you it's weird you know that's not free food that's not extra food like oh man someone left a little something for me that's disgusting what's wrong with you right I'm just kidding all right lighten up a little bit good night but the reason why that food is theirs because you know you know the kids in the back whoever they're back there you know on their phone leaning chit-chatting talking about this they're not working and you could you can sit here and call the old fashioned whatever you want that's stealing when there's work to be done and an employee or an employer rather is paying you to do it and you're not doing it you're just kind of being idle that's stealing and I know I'm sounding like the old guy just complaining about the kids these days but everyone knows it's true the service industry has gone downhill you know you end up you go to eg's and you wait 20 minutes for your order at the window and the bags been sitting there the whole time yeah yeah I could tell a story right now that's why that eg's got boycotted for entire year because I vote with my dollars right sat there for 20 minutes at the window then they handed me the wrong order I said I didn't order this and then the gal at the window is like chewing her gum whatever she looks down the bags been sitting she goes oh there you go 20 minutes sitting there finally got it off my chest right but you know that's you think that's who here has experienced bad customer service within the last year everybody right because people go to work they they're not diligent they don't want to because oh it's just eg's oh it's just fast food yeah well it's just your job and the Bible says that we have to obey in all things our masters accord in the flesh and yet you know if the owner of that franchise showed up you watch how quickly those people would start working every tabletop would get cleaned why because so many people today they want to work with eye service as men pleasers you know that's not what we're how we're supposed to be as God's people we're supposed to work in singleness of heart fearing God why the fearing God I mean are you on Colossians 3 read it with me servants obey in all things your master court in the flesh not with eye service as men pleasers but it's singleness of heart fearing God does it sound like God cares about how you work does it sound like God makes exception if it's some low-paying job if it's just some entry-level minimum wage style job does it sound like you know unless of course you know the bosses mean God understands then you know just be a lazy jerk at work God's cool at that is that is that what that sounds like to you know it says fearing God and look if you take this attitude to work you will stand out for better or worse you know I I you know I could think of times where I just you know I had other guys in the job site come to me and say knock it off you're making us look bad right and now I wasn't doing anything stellar it wasn't like cuz I was like some superstar it's just because you know I wasn't smoking pot on the job you know I wasn't you know when the foreman left the job site and you know just like go not do my job it's like no I'm actually gonna work even when he's not here you know and people won't like that but you know who will like it your employer the foreman potentially you know and that's why I got you know the 50 cent raise and they didn't you know employers there it doesn't end that's the thing it doesn't take a lot to shine out there these days unfortunately you know you show up to work on time early perhaps even you know get there five ten minutes earlier maybe even 15 who knows get out you know get your coffee get your drinks get it you know get everything ready situated so you can start your day whatever you got to do don't do that on the company time do that on your time you show up and you're diligent you work hard yeah you know what there might be some lazy jerks there that don't like it but you know what there's gonna be somebody who actually matters somebody who actually knows higher up the chain that it can actually you know do things and reward you for your diligence that is going to notice and you will stand out when you don't you know turn your 15 minute break into a 45 minute break you know when you're first one in or excuse me last one in and first one out you know people will notice and here's the thing even if nobody else notices God notices and that should be enough right there because you know there might be places where things like that will go and notice I mean Jacob kind of went unnoticed didn't he 20 years it didn't sound like Laban took it easy on him it's not like Laban you know was putting him through the ringer but who ended up noticing in the end God right and that's what the Bible tells us look at verse 24 Colossians 3 why are we supposed to do these things not excuse me we ended in verse 22 fearing the singleness of fearing God look at verse 23 and whatsoever you do do it heartily do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men don't be someone who's just trying to please a man knowing that of the Lord you shall receive ward of the inheritance for he served the Lord Christ this is the context of work of your employment he said that you know the Bible saying you're even when you go to your secular job you are serving the Lord you know I'm kind of glad for that I'm glad that the way I work at work matters to God it's not like I have to get through my 40 hours on my job so I can actually do something of eternal significance for God you know if God even pays you follow what I'm saying God even cares about how you work at work your secular job God will reward that it's like oh I can get a paycheck I might even get promoted I might get the raise I might be blessed here just through my diligence and hard work and on top of that God's gonna notice too and bless me for it it's great if you do the work heartily but he that doeth wrong shall receive the wrong which he hath done you know you go be the lazy jerk at work you'd be like just the rest of the guys there you know take advantage you just complain take advantage of the company complain about your boss complain about your supervisors get an attitude you know what and you start doing wrong you'll receive the wrong just as much as anybody else you'll get fired just like anybody else because there as it says there there is no respecter of persons there is no respect of persons with God God's not just gonna make an exception because you're his child the Bible says to him you know that know to do good and do with not to him it is sin you know if we know what we ought to be doing and not and we're not doing it that's sin you know if we're you know we're gonna be held more accountable if we know our Lord's will and do it not you know God actually holds us to a higher standard it is his people as his representatives at the workplace people are watching gets out that you're a Christian you know and and I'm so glad I got out as soon as where I work now it's like I wasn't in the door 15 minutes and they were like oh you're a Baptist preacher everyone knew it because the guy that would that hired me the lead locksmith that was working there at the time you know he he was a Christian or is a Christian he's still alive and he you know he saw my I cuz I told him in the interview I'm like well you know I'm a Baptist minister I've got this other thing going on with the church here because I had to make sure it's gonna work with the hours and everything and you know I was in there with my supervisor the first day I probably wasn't even there 10 minutes where all three of us are in there he's like man I was listening to some of your sermons online I'm just like oh boy like oh man here we go and he listened to one where I ripped on on smoking pot like I ripped on one how marijuana is a sin or something like that he's like it was really good I like that I was just kind of like you know at first I was like great here we go and then he you know I had to like shadow him for like the first several weeks to kind of get the lay of the land and everything everyone we ran into oh he's a Baptist minister they're like oh really what church I'm like faith we're Baptist Church yeah and then like I could see because on our website like every time someone would visit the site I'd get a notification like when I you know like what page they visited and where they're from and it was just like and I you know I would get a notification every so often and it would be like all over the world you get someone from Africa someone from you know United States someone from Germany someone from Russia Amy just people from all over the world but then after I started a job it was like Tucson Tucson Tucson Tucson it was just like all these people at work were like checking it out and figuring out what I was about you know what it made me a little nervous because I thought I'm gonna get canned because they're gonna hear some of my preaching well and let me just go on record you know I may or may not fight that if that ever happened with a lawsuit but anyway because that would be discrimination by the way but what I do outside of work is my business as much as anybody else's but so be it but what I was starting to say was that you know it made me a little nervous at first like great here we go but you know I was really glad because it's like not that I needed it anyway but I was like but now I'm being now I know I'm being held accountable like I have to not that I didn't have to before but I was just like I was kind of grateful to God like you know I'm glad that that's out there because now I I'm gonna be all the more diligent to make sure that I have a good testimony there you know so I put everything back that I was planning on stealing I just kidding right but you know but you know should I have the attitude well you know I'm God's child so God you know he's gonna take it's okay if I cut corners and stuff like that if I get the same bad attitude that some people have at work no God there is no respect of persons you should go to work do it heartily with the fear of God be diligent and bear the loss have integrity have honesty I don't care what kind of boss you're working for good bad ugly it doesn't matter we as God's people ought to do everything heartily and look this is just that's just one chapter and I've got a I know I've got it over it man the time goes so fast but there's just so many passages on this if you would you're right there in Colossians go to Ephesians go to Ephesians chapter number six it's kind of a parallel passage it almost says the exact same thing I'll read to you from 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 18 the Bible says servants and already explained what that means employees be subject to your masters with all fear so there it is again the Bible when it's talking about our jobs our secular work it says there should be an element of fear involved we should be careful we should be diligent and we should do serve our masters be subject to all fear not only to the good and gentle but also to the forward not to the oh yeah I'll be good at this job we'll do right because I really like this boss that's the wrong attitude to the good and to the forward you know they're they're nasty boss they're a hothead they treat you poorly you know they they ask a lot you know so what be you know we are supposed to serve them with all fear for this is thank-worthy if a man for conscience towards God and doer grief suffering wrongfully right I mean God will give you a reward for that you go to work and you're suffering long wrongfully God will reward that he will I believe that it might not be overnight but case in point look at Jacob Jacob was suffering wrongfully for a long time look when your wages are I get to marry your daughter Rachel and then when the day comes the wedding day you know you've been wavering seven years for that you've been waiting seven years for that wedding night with this particular person Rachel and then you wake up the next morning and find out it's her sister and it's her older sister I mean that you've been done wrongfully that's pretty extreme wouldn't you agree I mean that's talk about changing your wages right this isn't they you know he didn't just like forget to recoup him for you know some some something on his paycheck he literally gave him an entirely different person to marry right well you know he bore the brunt he went through that and of course we know the story he got Rachel to right or wrong but eventually I mean he's suffering under laban the forward laban the crooked laban and you know what he's I believe doing it with all fear not with eye service not as a man pleaser but in the fear of God and he suffered for conscious grief towards God and it was it was right and obviously in the end God blessed and look at Ephesians chapter 6 verse 5 servants be obedient to them that your masters according to the flesh we have to fear our bosses we have to obey them not be one of these people that argues and look I can understand you know sometimes our bosses would probably appreciate some dialogue they would probably appreciate feedback hey what are your thoughts on this you know what do you you know try to troubleshoot have some discussion about how you're gonna go about getting this work done but to just be flat out like no I just don't want to do it or whatever just being stubborn for stepping because you don't like it or whatever you know that's not right you need to be obedient to them that are your masters you know that'll go a long way at work when your boss finds out you're one of these people that doesn't argue but it just says yes sir and does what you're told that's probably gonna go a long way with fear and trembling and sin and singleness of heart as unto Christ I mean you're like are you reading Colossians again nope so it sounds like God you know it takes this series now with I service as men pleasers but as a service of Christ doing the will of God from the heart with goodwill doing service as to the Lord and not to men knowing that whatsoever good thing any man do it the same shall receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free you know God if we suffer wrongfully if we have poor employers and look I can attest to this when I started out in the trade that I have now I worked for a boss that was a drug addict the guy years later ended up going to jail for selling meth I mean he would show he would bring the company vehicle with like having drinking and driving he's pouring beer on that you find pot in the thing you know it was it was the place was a mess and they're paying you peanuts you know to work there that's basically it was like indentured servitude their apprenticeship program you know but you stick with it you be diligent you don't complain you do what you're told and in time you know God will reward you with a better job with a better employer in the same field you know because you stuck with something you were diligent you got good you didn't just pursue a passion you actually pursued something that has value that is marketable you know God will reward that but you know you have to stick it out even with bad employers sometimes and doing the will of God from the heart that's what we need to do let's go over to two you know I got so much there's just so much here on this topic like it almost feel like I need a part part three here but I got to get through this let's just move on to the next point you know we need to have work ethic we need to have character because if you notice in Genesis 31 if you're still there you can look at it otherwise I'll just read to you the statement he says thus I was in the day the drought consumed me in the frost by night and my sleep departed from mine eyes you know we can't just look for some unicorn job out there that's gonna just meet our every expectation you can't you know there's especially as men you know look this applies to ladies especially you know mothers especially with young children sleeps gonna depart from your eyes you know all the moms are saying Amen in their hearts right now that's because they know that's true you know that there's that obviously motherhood and all that that's hard work too and it's a whole nother sermon right there but even us as men you know we might find ourselves in a situation where perhaps we have to go through a season where like Paul we labor with travail night and day right and I'm not saying 24 hours that's not feasible you end up falling asleep at stoplights you know you're trying to work the third and first shift trust me I know that's no fun at all that won't last you last about a month but you know maybe it's time to work the 12-hour day maybe it's time to work the 15-hour day you know maybe it's time to start your day at seven and when you get out at five go go get some part-time job you know maybe you maybe sleep has to depart from your eyes maybe you need to be in the drought by day and the frost by night to make ends meet and to provide for your family and and to you know get what you want out of this life you know I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to better yourself financially you know I think the Bible is actually for that so that we can walk as Paul told the Thessalonians in all honesty towards them that are without right that we ought to labor and do our own work be quiet and doing our own work so that you know we can have honesty integrity and also be able to provide for others in due season but you know sometimes maybe we have to dig ourselves out of some financial hole maybe we have some ambition we want to just do better for our family you know as men you might have to just pull you know a Jacob and just start working really long hours and look that doesn't mean always that not necessarily have to be the rest of your life I think that's why so many guys don't want to do it because they just think oh it's gonna be the rest of my life not necessarily there might be a season you know Jacob eventually he worked like that 20 years is a long time to do that obviously but that was the nature of the beast back then and but now look at him he's got all this wealth he's got all this abundance he's going back to his he's got now he's got sons that he's gonna be sending out in the field like he's prospered God has blessed him but you know what there's a lot of hard work that went into it that's why it takes work ethic and character the guy that's gonna put in the long day do what it takes to get the bills paid because look you know we believe what the Bible says here that you know the man is supposed to be the breadwinner that women as the Bible says are to be keepers at home they're to love their children to love their husbands and to guide the house that's what the Bible says I will therefore that the younger woman marry bear children and guide the house first Timothy you know and it says repeatedly elsewhere that that's the role for women and that's that's a whole nother sermon right there but that puts a lot of you know and don't and the men are like yeah haha that's right haha you know we want to thump our chests that's right you tell her haha you know that puts a lot of responsibility on the man doesn't it especially this day and age look you want to do things the Bible way you want to do things God's way as men you better be ready to roll up your sleeves and work and to enter you know maybe let's sleep depart from your eyes for a season if need be because you know having children and having a wife and home is expensive in the day and age we're living in you know and an elections not going to fix that okay it might might alleviate it but you know just like well I'm just gonna vote for Trump and they know all my problems are gonna be over and I don't care who is in office this economy is not set up for a single income it's not they figured out a long time ago if we can get you know men and women in the workplace we can tax them both and double our income okay that's that's the truth behind it it's not about empowering women it's about getting them in the workplace so they can so that the federal government can take in more tax money okay so you know that's how our economy is set up to income houses drop your kids that off it don't care drop your kids off at the public fool system you know drop them off and you go work another job and and and let somebody else raise your kids that's what the world teaches that's their philosophy you know we here you know and people can are welcome to come here and and live however they want outside these doors I'm just getting up reproving if you can go all along suffering a doctor because that's my job as a preacher to tell you what the Bible actually says that's what the Bible says and if you're gonna do it men it's gonna take that's a lot of responsibility on you there might be times where you know you have to leave that job at five o'clock in the afternoon and go work some crummy job at you know some Pete delivering pizza it's a one o'clock in the morning and get up the next day and do it all again five days a week so what it's not like it's gonna be that way forever you know but that takes character doesn't it that takes work ethic that takes you know some determination to go through seasons of difficulty but you know what those same seasons that's what leads to success in the long run when you stick to it and you go through that stuff do what it takes you know I was gonna have us go to Proverbs chapter 6 but we got I'm going along here I know tonight so I'm just gonna try and wrap this up look again at Genesis chapter number 31 look at verse 42 he says except the God of my father and the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac had been with me surely thou had set me away now empty God had seen my affliction and the labor of my hands that's the phrase I want to focus in on my affliction and the labor of my hands that's how he's describing his experience working for laban affliction right you know does that sound like a dream job oh my passion you know this I pursued my passion with leaving no it was affliction that does not sound fun I don't know about you but I'm not sigh I didn't sign up for affliction but you know what and sometimes that's exactly what we get when we go to work look work work is hard why do you think so many people don't want to do it why do you think there's millions of employable men today that have just checked out of the out of the economy that are just collecting a welfare check living in their mom and dad's basement or whatever and look I'm not against anyone that's living for home you know as long as they're not just mooching off mom and dad all right if they're contributing the household they got a job great you understand I mean by that but we all know there's a whole generation of people out there they don't want to work they just want to play video games all day they just want to you know hang out in mom's basement the proverbial basement dweller and just do whatever it is that they do I quite frankly I don't want to go into it you know they don't want to go out and work why because it's affliction because it's hard because it takes work ethic it takes character you know and we're living I heard in the in the most fatherless nation of all the nations on earth I you know I need a fact check it but you know I just heard that recently that this country has more fatherlessness than any other country when I heard that I was just shocked like I knew it was bad but that's like that's just like dumbfounding to think that and and no wonder that we have so many people today so many young men that are afraid of hard work they don't want to work hard they don't want to do what it takes you know and they just struggle through their whole lives maybe it's because dad wasn't around to you know put a size nine where it counts as you know it's not exactly how the saying goes you know my dad wasn't around a lot but the little bit my dad was around I tell you what when he got a hold of me at 18 years old the first thing he did is like I'm gonna turn you into a lean mean working machine his words now he didn't I don't know how much the lean part worked out okay I got the mean part now pretty good at least I've been told you know and the working I think was there a little bit where I went and lived with him and this is when he's lived you know he was living at st. Croix in the tropics in the Caribbean imagine being 18 and going to live in the Caribbean just like Oh beaches white sands party time right no he's like we're gonna build a wall he was like before Trump even thought it was cool you know he's like we're we literally I don't like this giant iron spud bar we went through his whole he had his massive yard his yard probably would take up this whole property out in the middle of the rainforest and he would mow and like it would take hours to mow it and it's in the tropics where everything just rains constantly do you know how much grass I know what nobody here knows about the growth rate of grass because you live in the desert but when it gets a lot of water man it just shoots up constantly I mean mowing is just a full-time but then you got to go and cut down all the tan tan trees and the palms and everything if you want to manicure that lawn and he did and we went around that mowed yard and dug literal rocks out of the earth he'd say take this spud bar and we were I remember he'd have me out there so we'd be out there at dark and I'd be hitting that rock and sparks would be coming off the end of it and we'd pry these rocks out of the art and then we piled all these rocks up by the patio until we just had like dozens of these big rocks that you had to like call on a cart and then I had to go down this little washout where he had me digging all the silt out of the where this washout was to pack behind the rocks and we ended up you know just spending hours he'd go off to work he'd say six wheelbarrows carted up here uphill you need that that's what I did when he was at work just hauling dirt by hand you know at the end of it we had a really nice rock wall it's probably still there today on that property I haven't seen it last time when I left it was still there and it made the place look really nice and we built out a plateau and could put some furniture up there right and all I'm saying is you know at least I had a dad that taught me how to you know sweat a little bit wasn't afraid you know to get some calluses on my hand you know but today I don't know if that's just gone or what and maybe that's why we need more sermons like this to be reminded that we as men need to work even when it's not fun when it's not easy when it's when it's hard because you know and I'll wrap this up let me just say this men were made to work so you're made to do you know what there's all this talk today about you know men's mental health and men's you know all the trouble a minute and I you know I'm not trying to downplay that or disregard it I'm sure there's a lot to that that's valid you know probably a big part of the reason that men have so many struggles with feeling of any worth is because they don't want to work you know they don't want to be just go out and work hard you know as a man it feels good to put in a hard day's work it feels good to be useful even if you know it's not like I'm sending rockets into space or something like that and like I'm launching set I know I'm making some great contribution to the world if I'm just contributing anything to anybody if anybody sees any merit anything that I do at work you know I feel pretty good about that we as men need to feel useful it's just it's just ingrained in us go here if you're still in Genesis go to Genesis 13 I know I preach us when we went through Genesis but I'm gonna make this point again that men are made to work it's in our DNA and and work is not something to be afraid of work is labor and it's affliction it's not fun it's but it's something we're supposed to do Genesis 13 verse 17 and unto Adam he said because thou was harken of the voice of thy wife and has eaten of the tree of which I have commanded thee saying thou shalt not eat of it cursed is the ground for thy sake and sorrow shall eat of all the days of the life thorns and thistles shall bring forth to thee and thou shall eat the herb of the field it's a curse just the ground and you're just knocking it so don't even bother no he said you're gonna still work but it's gonna be really hard it's gonna be really hard work is not a curse man was already working in Genesis 2 the Bible says that the Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden and there he put the man whom he informed and the Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it that's before the fall that's before they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that's before sin comes into the world working as a man or a woman is not the curse when the fall happened it's that our work was cursed the work of being a mother was made you know it's you know even ten times more difficult than already is the work that we have to do as men and the you know eating and the sweat of our face was made more difficult that's the curse but you know today it just seems like some people think that work in and of itself is a curse it's not you know working is something that will actually make feel like we're contributing something and you know it'll help us take care of our families and it'll put bread on the table and it will help you know the cogs of this economy keep moving and not coming to a standstill you know so that's that's the message now I wanted to take the time to preach that tonight because I think it's an important message and look I'm telling you we didn't even I didn't even go to all the verses in the New Testament to talk about that are similar to Colossians Ephesians that we touched on 1st Peter 1st Timothy Titus I mean the Bible talks about us being employees type of employees we ought to be take a tip from Jacob tonight be somebody who is diligent who has work ethic somebody who sticks to it not when it's easy not when everything's going just the way they want it but somebody who sticks with things even when they're working for bad people crooked people people take advantage of them develop a skill stick with it it will pay off in the long run and God will bless you in the end let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer