Work while it is Day

[0:00] Work while it is day. Work while it is day. So we're going to look at John 9 to start with.

[0:12] ! We've been commissioned and sent on His Majesty's service.

[0:39] Each one. And I'm addressing Christian workers here tonight. Addressing Christian workers and with the message, work while it is day. Work at it.

[0:50] Work at it. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Work at it. And even as our Lord says in John 9 verse 4, He says, I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day.

[1:03] The night cometh when no man can work. Work the works of Him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. Our Lord says there is a time to work.

[1:16] To serve. Work while you can. Work while you can. Work at it. While it is day. In other words, while you have breath. While you have ability.

[1:28] Use it for the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 3 verse 9. It says for we are labourers together with God. Together with God. Ye are God's husbandry.

[1:40] Which is like to a farm or field. Ye are God's building. What it is saying there is work at it. With God. Work out your Christianity.

[1:51] Work out your service of the Lord. Serve the Lord as co-laborers. As labourers together with God. Arm in arm with Him. Together with God. Work at it with His enabling.

[2:03] With His enabling. We know if we want to do Christian service. If we are wanting to serve the Lord. And work the work of the Lord. We need His empowering. His enabling.

[2:13] And Paul says that in Colossians 1 verse 29. Colossians 1 verse 29. He says, Whereunto I labour. Striving according to His working. Which worketh in me mightily.

[2:25] Striving according to His enabling. His power. His empowerment. And I want to encourage you today. As God's people. Everyone here today.

[2:37] Is on His majesty's service. Every one of us has a work to do. We are labourers together with God. So work at it. Work at it. Work by His Spirit.

[2:48] Work with gladness too. With a glad heart. Our serving. Our service. Is a glad service. In Psalm 100 verse 2. It says, Serve the Lord with gladness.

[3:01] Come before His presence with singing. The great joy that we have. Is to serve the Lord. It's a great privilege that we have. For each one who knows Him.

[3:12] To serve Him. Work at it. Work at it with your whole heart. It says in Colossians 3 verse 23. And whatsoever you do. Which is wide open isn't it?

[3:25] Whatsoever you do. Do it heartily. Unto the Lord. And not unto men. It's got that application.

[3:36] That context there. Of the serving. The servant. The role of a servant. Is to do whatever you do. Do it heartily. As to the Lord. So even down at the workplace.

[3:47] The school place. Wherever we occupy ourselves. That whatever we do. We do it heartily. As our Lord is our ultimate master. And so be whole hearted.

[3:58] In your serving of God. Put your heart into it. Your soul into it. Work hard. Work hard. The Bible commands hard work. You know.

[4:10] Even a secular man. Such as Thomas Edison says. There is no substitute. For hard work. We know. All the inventions. And the creations. Of Thomas Edison.

[4:20] The light bulb. And all the things that he helped to invent. It was through hard work. Determination. And perspiration. And. It's a commendable characteristic.

[4:31] For Christians too. That we work hard. At what we do. We. We put our energy. Our zeal. Our effort into it. Our enthusiasm. That we work hard.

[4:42] We study hard. We pray hard. We work hard. As God's people. We want to. Put the. Effort in. It's like someone has had. Without. Without. Hard work.

[4:53] Nothing grows. But weeds. You know. In the garden. We know that's only so true. So work at it. Work at. Serving the Lord.

[5:04] Work at it. Fervently. And faithfully. In Romans 12. 11. It says. Not slothful. In spirit. Sorry. Not slothful. In business. Fervent in spirit.

[5:15] Serving the Lord. Not slothful. In other words. Not lazy. Not lounging around lazy. But fervent. The opposite. And serving the Lord.

[5:26] Because that's what we're ultimately doing. We're serving the master. The Lord of Lords. The King of Kings. And brothers and sisters. We all have an assignment. Every one of us has an assignment. From our Lord.

[5:37] A work to do for the glory of God. We've all got something. Some great objective. That we serve. And our serving is unto the Lord. Lord. And this is the prime motive.

[5:48] Behind whatever we do. Is that. It's to the glory of God. To his glory. You know. In the prayer time earlier. There was prayers for. Those unknown workers.

[5:59] We know. There's missionary workers. In far away lands. I know of one. Pastor in the. In the snow fields. He's got a church. Which is just a handful of people.

[6:10] Just largely his own family. And he's been laboring there. Over a decade. Faithfully. In that small town. As a faithful Bible teacher. And preacher. And seeing very little.

[6:21] And he would be very. Little known. Outside of that little town. But he's faithfully serving. Faithfully plotting. Faithfully preaching. And delivering. In that remote place.

[6:33] Without. Really much recognition. Or much to. See for it. That the world would see. But he's faithfully serving the Lord. He's doing it as unto the Lord. And in Matthew 5.16. It says.

[6:44] Let your light. So shine before men. That they may see. Your good works. And glorify. Your father. Which is in heaven. So. Shine.

[6:57] That they may. See. Your good works. And glorify. Your father. Which is in heaven. So that's. A prime motive. Behind what we do. Is that God gets the glory.

[7:08] For it all. And our work is motivated. By the right spirit. It's a labour of love. It's a. Our love for the Lord. Drives us. And motivates us. And consumes us.

[7:19] And sends us. It's a labour of love. In 1 Thessalonians 1. Verse 3. Paul writes to the Thessalonians. He says. Remembering. Without ceasing. Your work of faith. And labour of love.

[7:30] And patience of hope. In our Lord. Jesus Christ. In the sight of God. And our Father. Your work of faith. And labour of love. There's. A love for our Lord.

[7:40] There's a love. That he gives us. For souls. For others. And a patience of hope. That perseverance. That expectation. Of our Lord. And that. Trust.

[7:51] In his promises. What is the right. Motive. And method. Again. Along the lines of. That.

[8:02] That I've said. Earlier. To serve God. Even in the secret place. Even in those. Unknown. Unrecognised ways. Serve when you're. Hidden away.

[8:12] From the spotlight. When there's those. Things that need to be doing. That you just get on. And do them. Without. Needing a pat. On the back. Or some. Recognition. You may not get.

[8:24] Your. Medals. Or rewards. Or crowns. Down here. But far better. To have them then. Amen. We don't need. Recognition. And rewards. From men.

[8:35] Or applause. Or credit. Or acknowledgement. We don't get the medals. Down here. You might just get the scars. But then. We'll have the stars. Amen.

[8:46] So. We serve God faithfully. In the secret place. In those unknown. And small. Little things. Those. Small hidden ways. And we just get on with it. See the need.

[8:57] Meet the need. We've got that attitude. Yes. I'm going to serve the Lord. Even in those secret ways. In those hidden ways. And serve freely. Serve without expectation.

[9:07] Of reward. Or acknowledgement. Serve when you don't feel like it. We don't have to feel like it. We don't have to feel. We don't have to get some. Warm and fuzzy feeling.

[9:18] Or some. Little buzzy. Goosebumps. And know that God's. Telling us to do something. We just get on with it. And even when we don't feel like it. Even when it goes against the grain.

[9:30] Even when we're not feeling well. Even when it hurts. And it's hard. We just get on with it. Because that's what we're here for. We're servants. You know. We think of.

[9:41] The. Reality. Of years ago. When there were. Big mansions. You know. There was. Noblemen. And women. And they had.

[9:53] A band of. Servants. Of butlers. And maids. That would come and go. And serve. And have different responsibilities. And when the master.

[10:04] Or mistress of the house. Rang the bell. They'd come running. Yes ma'am. Yes sir. What can I do? How can I serve? What can I do for you? And. They were there.

[10:15] Ready. And waiting. Willing. And. Active. To serve the master. Of the home. And that's the picture for us. That we should be ready. And willing. Servants.

[10:25] Such as that. And we've got the right spirit. When we serve. That our motive is right. That we keep a sweet spirit. That we serve with sensitivity. In Galatians 5.13.

[10:37] It tells us how. Paul writes. You've been called. Unto liberty. And he says. By love. Serve one another. Love drives us.

[10:48] It constrains us. The love of Christ. Constrains us. To get the job done. We love our master. And it says. By love. Serve one another. We love.

[10:58] The brethren. God's people. And the Bible tells us. Many times. Of this privilege. That we have. Of service. Of serving the Lord. Of being servants. Of the Lord. We are his servants.

[11:10] That's a great privilege. I put to you tonight. It's a great privilege. It's the greatest. Privilege. That anybody could have. To be known. As a servant.

[11:20] Of the Lord. And you are such. And more so. You are sons. And daughters. Of the living God. What a blessing. What a joy it is. To be his children. As well as his servants.

[11:32] So serve. Serve. Work at it. Work at it. Serve. Without recognition. Don't expect it. Rather get the opposite.

[11:44] You get the opposite. Of recognition. And serve without. Men's praise. We don't need it. We don't want it. If we get the praise here. We lack it there. Better not to get it here.

[11:55] Better to just get on with it. Amen. Amen. Don't worry about getting any acknowledgement down here. You might just get criticism. You might just get attacks.

[12:06] More likely you will. So. I like the spirit of the servants in Luke 17 verse 10. Luke 17 verse 10. Our Lord tells a parable. And. These servants are here.

[12:19] And. Our Lord says. Of their service. He says. So likewise ye. When ye shall have done. All those things. Which are commanded of you. Say.

[12:31] We are unprofitable servants. We have done that. Which was. Our duty to do. You know. When you serve the Lord. Don't expect to get any pats on the back for it.

[12:42] Don't expect to get any. Praise. Or. Well done down here. You might get the occasional one. But rather. To get the one from his voice.

[12:52] Amen. To get the one from his lips. That. For the meantime. We are unprofitable servants. We have done that. Which was. Our duty. To do. We are just doing our duty.

[13:03] It's the least that we can do. It's the least that we can do. To do something for him. For his praise. And so serve despite the criticism. Despite the heartache. Despite the toughness at times that you will face.

[13:17] Let nothing deter you from serving God. Because it's the greatest privilege anyone can know. And. Serving the lowly task too. Sometimes there's things that we think.

[13:27] Oh. You know. We might think. Oh that's beneath me. You know. That's the janitor's job. That's. That's what somebody else does. Or somebody else will do it. Trouble is.

[13:39] There's nobody with the name somebody else. It means you and me. We've got to step up. And. To illustrate that. Back in World War II. There was a time where England. Obviously in a time of war.

[13:51] In World War II. They had to increase the production of coal. And Winston Churchill called together. The. People of the day. The. The. Leaders. Of the time.

[14:02] To enlist their support. And he gave a presentation. About the need to. Mine the coal. Obviously to then. Fuel. The. The nation.

[14:12] And the war effort. And at the end of this presentation. He asked them to. Picture. In their minds. A parade. Which he knew would be held. In Piccadilly Circus.

[14:23] After the war. So in. In. In London streets. There would be a parade. And Winston Churchill. Said. Imagine this. Picture this. He said. First he said.

[14:33] Would come the sailors. Who had kept the vital sea lanes open. Then would come the soldiers. Who had gone home from Dunkirk. And then gone on to defeat Rommel. In Africa. And then would come the pilots.

[14:45] Who had driven the Luftwaffe. From the sky. Last of all. He said. Would come a long line. Of sweat stained. Soot streak men. In miners caps. And someone would cry.

[14:57] From the crowd. And where were you. During the critical days. Of our struggle. And from 10,000 throats. Would come. The answer. We were deep in the earth. With our faces.

[15:08] To the coal. They laboured. Unknown. Out of sight. Unrecognised. In a dirty. Hard job.

[15:19] At the coal face. And Winston said. These men. Are just as important. Because they're doing. Work that is needed. They're doing what's needful. And so.

[15:29] It's likewise. Not church. Are prominent. Or glamorous. Or in the eye of the people. So much. But we must keep our faces. To the coal. And get the job done.

[15:40] Get the jobs done. That need to be done. So the church can accomplish. Its mission. So. We do. What is our duty to do. All of us. We don't have to feel like it.

[15:51] It doesn't have to. Make us feel. Important. Or valued. Or recognised. We do the hidden. Secret things. At the coal face. At the coal face.

[16:03] And. Our work should be marked by. A couple of things. Reverence. And godly fear. Reverence. And godly fear. In Hebrews 12. 28. The writer says.

[16:14] Therefore we receiving a kingdom. Which cannot be moved. Let us have grace. Whereby. We may serve God. With reverence. And godly fear. There is a reverence for our God.

[16:25] He is holy. Holy. Holy. We should serve him with that mindset. That our God is absolutely. Pure. And holy. And worthy.

[16:36] And serve him with godly fear. In the recognition of how awesome. And mighty our God is. And how we need. To give him that reverent worship. And that godliness.

[16:47] That reverent fear of God. That makes us. Tremble. At the serious nature. Of this service. That he calls us to.

[16:58] So we say firstly. Work at it. Work at it. You're serving of God. How are we then. To enter into. The work of the Lord. I put to you my second point.

[17:11] Is. Jump at it. Jump at it. It's very. Uh. Technical terminology. Here tonight. Jump at it. It's what I put to you. A big thing about working for God.

[17:22] Is. Availability. Availability. As. In Isaiah's day. Isaiah the prophet. He says.

[17:34] Also. I heard the voice of the Lord. Saying. Whom shall I send. And who will go for us. Then said. Here am I. Send me.

[17:46] Availability. Isaiah. Was available. Be a volunteer. Jump at it. When there's an opportunity. Jump at it. Be at the head of the queue.

[17:58] Jump at the opportunities. That present. You know. I loved. Brother. Mastaki. When it's. Offering time. He'd just jump up. And say. I didn't have to ask him.

[18:09] He was just. Jumping out of his shoes. To go and do something for God. Just to pick up the offering. He wanted to serve. He was a volunteer. Availability. Is very important.

[18:20] And our master. Is looking for people. Just like that. People who have the heart. Attitude. Of a servant. He'll jump. At the opportunities. To serve. And serve in the small ways.

[18:31] Because it will lead then. To bigger things. As we know. Luke 19. 17. Our Lord gives a story. Of how. If you serve in those little things. In faithful ways. In small ways.

[18:43] It will lead to bigger. Responsibilities. Luke 19. 17. There's a principle there. That we can learn from. Do the little things. And God will give you more to do.

[18:55] More things. Bigger things to do. Another way to serve. Is serve with humility. Serve with humility. As Paul. In Acts 20. Verse 19. He says.

[19:05] Serving the Lord. With all humility. And with many tears. And temptations. Which befell me. By the waiting. Lying in wait.

[19:16] Of the Jews. Serving the Lord. With all humility. Of mind. And notice too. Many tears. And tests. Trials. Serve the Lord.

[19:27] With humility. It's important. Isn't it? That we must keep humble. You know. Pride is. A big obstacle. For us. When we want to serve the Lord.

[19:38] Pride is a big obstacle. We've got to crucify the flesh. You know. Nail it. Regularly. Die to self.

[19:49] Daily. Crucify the flesh. Edge. Keep humble. Keep humble. Don't get proud. Don't get prideful. Pride is a big obstacle. For being an effective servant.

[20:01] Of God. Now. There's a story told. Just to illustrate this. In the American Revolution. There were some. Soldiers. Repairing a small defensive barrier.

[20:13] And a man. Was riding past. On a horse. And he was in civilian dress. And as he was driving past. These. Soldiers. Working away.

[20:24] The leader was there. Shouting instructions. You know. Lift this. Move that. Do this. Do that. And the rider was driving past.

[20:34] And he saw this man. Shouting instructions. But he wasn't lending a hand. He wasn't getting his hands dirty. He wasn't lending his own. Willingness to help. He wasn't.

[20:44] Attempting to help them. And the rider. Asked him. Why? What's. What's happening here? And. Why aren't you helping these guys. These men here? And he retorted with great dignity.

[20:56] No. You see. Sir. I am a corporal. Had the two. Chefrons here. Yeah. I'm a corporal. And the stranger apologised. Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realise that.

[21:07] And he dismounted from the horse. And he proceeded then. To help the exhausted soldiers. To shift whatever needed moving. And getting the job done. Then he turned to the corporal. And he said.

[21:17] Mr. Corporal. Next time you have a job like this. And not enough men to do it. Go to your commander in chief. And I will come and help you again. It was none other than George Washington.

[21:30] So he was willing. To step down. The commander in chief. And help these soldiers. Move this. Whatever it was. That was needing shifting. And so.

[21:41] What a picture for us. He wasn't. So proud. And high and mighty. That he didn't. Get down. And get his hands dirty. And get the job done. And that's what we need to do people.

[21:51] There's jobs that need to be done. There's things we need to do. There's work of the Lord. The work of the Lord. That's what it is. And it's our privilege to. Be a part of that. And one preacher described.

[22:03] How Christians should be. F. A. T. F. A. T. Stands for faithful. Available. Teachable. It's a good acronym isn't it.

[22:14] We should all be F. A. T. Faithful. Available. Teachable. Are we teachable? Are we willing to listen. And learn. To take the lowest place.

[22:24] As our Lord. That he took upon the form of a servant. Philippians 2. Are we willing. To be faithful. Available. Teachable. So work at it.

[22:34] Number one. Secondly. Jump at it. When opportunity presents. Say I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm here. Pick me. Also thirdly.

[22:45] Excel at it. Excel at it. Work with excellence. Do the hard yards. Aim high. As Daniel did. In Daniel 6 verse 3. It tells us then.

[22:56] This Daniel. Was preferred above the presidents. And princes. Because an excellent spirit. Was in him. And the king thought to set him. Over the whole realm.

[23:07] Daniel had an excellent spirit. There was something. There was excellence. There was excellence. There was excellence. There was excellence about what he did. And so likewise for us. As we serve our Lord. We should honour the Lord. Give him your utmost. Give him your highest.

[23:20] Our servants. We're called to render. Service as to the Lord. And not to men. Ephesians 6. 6 through 7. We're called to deliver our best. Unto him.

[23:30] To give of our best. Unto the master. To be willing. To be teachable. To learn. And as a good servant. We're willing to follow instruction. And be obedient.

[23:41] You know. If there's certain roles. With a dress code. Then we submit to that dress code. Because it's about having the right spirit. It's not about what you're wearing. It's about having the right spirit. About having a servant's heart.

[23:54] These things are important. Because it's the heart attitude. That matters. So I've had instances where. People have balked at that. It's a simple instruction.

[24:06] We want to excel. At what we do. That's why we want to give our best. And honour our Lord. And that. At times it can relate to how we dress. Especially when we're serving.

[24:17] In serving roles. We want to aspire. To that which is excellent. And that which is the highest. The best that we can do. Why should the Mormons look better than we do. Why should the Jehovah's Witnesses.

[24:28] Dress better than we do. Dress is just one example. But it's about excellence. The Lord's ordained us. For this important ministry. For this important service. To work for him.

[24:39] And he commends. That we give of our best. Give of our best. Don't be sloppy. And scruffy. Give of your best for God. We should make the effort.

[24:50] In all of these ways. The Bible commends diligence. Diligence. Diligence. A preacher said. Let's be diligent. In our giving. Careful in our living. And faithful in our praying.

[25:02] Let's not settle for sloppy. Church of God. We are the church of God. That should aspire us. It should inspire us. To commit to excellence. And to be addicted to this serving.

[25:14] This ministry. Like the household of Stephanas. In 1 Corinthians 16.15. It says they addicted themselves. To the ministry of the saints. They were sold out. To this cause.

[25:26] And we all have a part to play. In the service of our Lord. To excel at it. With zeal. We have a duty. To serve one another.

[25:38] So work at it. Jump at it. Excel at it. Fourthly. Keep at it. Keep at it. Now when you're serving God. It's easy sometimes. To get weary.

[25:48] In well doing. Paul told the Thessalonians. Don't be weary in well doing. 2 Thessalonians 3. Verse 13. Keep at it. In faithfulness.

[25:59] You know. Our Lord says. Go into all the world. There's one preacher that says. Go. Until you go. Amen. That's what we should do. Isn't it? Go.

[26:10] Go into all the world. Until you go. Until you leave this world. There's no retirement plan. There's no. There's no pension plan.

[26:20] As it were. There's no. Time when you have to stop. Serving God. Because you're too old. There's no such thing as too old. Amen. No such thing as too old.

[26:30] No such thing as too young. Go. Until you go. Go for God. Go for the long haul. And serve with your spiritual gifts too. 1 Peter 4. Verse 10. We see that Peter writes.

[26:42] As every man. Every man. Hath received the gift. Even so minister the same. One to another. As good servants of the manifold. Grace of God. It says that every man.

[26:54] Hath received a gift. And then it goes on. If any man speak. Let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister. Let him do it as of the ability. Which God giveth.

[27:04] That God in all things. May be glorified. Through Jesus Christ. To whom be praise. And dominion. Forever and ever. Amen. So we all have one or more gifts.

[27:15] And serve with your spiritual gifts. We know there's various passages that speak of spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12. Romans 12. We see these gifts.

[27:26] God has given to us. Ephesians 4. Gifts of men. To the church. Employ your God given gifts. And talents. And keep at it. Keep working at it. Don't get static or stagnant.

[27:39] Keep growing. Exercise your gifts. You know. Paul tells Timothy. Fan it into flame. Set it ablaze. Get it going. And keep going and going and growing and growing.

[27:53] Developing your gifts. Be thriving. Be abounding in the work of the Lord. Be learning. Be training. Be studying. You know. We've all got opportunity. Especially in the access we've got to information in the times that we live.

[28:07] The access to information. A Bible study information. Mind you. Watch who you're tapping into for your information. But study. Learn. Grow.

[28:18] As Christians. Thrive. In your faith. In your service. Now let's get down to 10 tacks. 10 tacks. To make it practical now. How can we apply this?

[28:28] What can I put in my kit bag and take home with me tonight? And think about. How can I serve? What can we do? Here are a few ways that we can serve the Lord.

[28:40] And there's many more. You could think of your own examples. You could make your own list. And your list might be different from my list. And you might think of things that are specifically how you feel the Lord has called you.

[28:53] And sent you. And established you. And equipped you. But here's some ways. How can we serve? Here's a few ways we can serve the Lord. Serve in worship. Serve in worship.

[29:04] When we get together we can all offer the sacrifice of praise from our lips. Serve as you edify one another. After the meeting. Before the meeting. Encourage one another.

[29:15] Exalt one another. Edify one another. Serve in administration. The Bible talks about a ruling. There's a sense where there's administrative things that need doing. There's decisions to make.

[29:26] There's how the thing runs. How it operates. There's an operation. There's a serving in ushering. A serving in greeting. We constantly need people to help with the greeting.

[29:38] The people that notice there's no one there. I'm going to go there. Try to dress nice. Please. But serve. Serve at the door. Welcome people. Greet people. Give one another a holy hug.

[29:50] Greet one another with a holy kiss as it were. Maybe not literally for some of you. I mean just be nice. Be nice and greet one another. We need that. Receive one another.

[30:02] Let's be a church that welcomes one another. You know. There's a sense where we should serve in that ministry. That important ministry of greeting one another. Serve in prayer. I know some of you are faithful in praying.

[30:14] Someone came this morning early at 9.30 specifically to be there for the prayer meeting. Because they counted it important to be at the prayer meeting. They came specifically for that.

[30:26] That's a service isn't it? Prayer. Serve in your giving. Serve in your singing. You know nearly a third of our church time, our gathering time is spent in singing.

[30:38] What about serve in your witnessing? I know there's people who are faithfully witnessing. That's a service. That's a ministry unto the Lord. Serve in the area of maintenance. There's work to be done.

[30:49] There's odd jobs. And who's going to do it? Serve in the upkeep of the property and grounds. Serve in the music department. You know.

[31:00] I was talking to someone lately about a church that didn't have any musicians. But I thought, no that's not true. There are musicians there. They're just not saying, I will help.

[31:12] I will help. You know. If you've got an ability, use it for God's glory. Serve in the song leading. Serve in the singing. Why not use what you can do?

[31:23] You know. Serve in the technical side. Serve in the church website. The social media. Serve in the kitchen. Serve in the nursery. The creche. And look forward.

[31:34] Look for ways that you can serve God. We've all got different capacities. Ways we can serve. As someone put it, serving in the church can take many forms. Babysitting for a young couple so they can have a night out.

[31:47] Preparing a meal for a family struck by illness. Visiting an elderly housebound widow. Or just picking up a phone and saying, I was thinking about you today. Serving and exhorting one another.

[32:00] Serving in Bible classes. Serving in Sunday school. Serving in the youth group. That list is boundless really. The many opportunities to serve God.

[32:11] And so look for those opportunities. Work at it. Jump at it. Excel at it. And keep at it. And lastly, stick at it. Stick at it.

[32:23] Stick at it is sort of like keep at it really. But that's just another way of saying it. Stick at it means you stick at it through thick and thin. You're steadfast.

[32:35] I love 1 Corinthians 15, 58. Therefore my brethren. Beloved brethren. Be steadfast. Unmovable. Always abounding. In the work of the Lord.

[32:45] For as much as you know that. Your labour is not in vain in the Lord. We know that whatever we do for God is not in vain. If it's done with the right heart. The right spirit.

[32:56] The right motive. The right end result. The glory of God. That it is not in vain in the Lord. We might see little fruit here below. We might see little response. We might just suffer rejection.

[33:08] And criticism. And attacks. The people you might try to reach out to. Might hate you. And reject you. You know I've had occasion where I've sent text messages to people.

[33:20] Thinking that. Well we're going to be a church that cares enough to send messages to people. To encourage them. To bless them. To say we're thinking of them. And I've had people say don't concept me anymore.

[33:31] You know. That they got offended. For some reason. And they were quite. Quite cold. Quite harsh how they put it. I mean. Okay I've got the message.

[33:43] But. What can you do? You might do what you think is the right thing to do. And just get pushed out. And. And pushed away. So friends.

[33:54] Don't let it put you off. We've just got to stick at it. Amen. That's what we have to do. Till glory. And then. Hopefully there'll be some.

[34:05] Something left for it. And we know that. None of our labour. Is in vain. In the Lord. Let nothing deter you from this one goal. You know there was a. A time where the.

[34:20] There was the founder. Of the Salvation Army. William Booth. He'd lost his eyesight. And his son Bramwell. Was given the difficult task. Of telling his father. That there'd be no recovery.

[34:31] No recovery for him. And so the general asked. Do you mean that I'm blind? The son said. I hear we must contemplate that. The father continued.

[34:42] I shall never see your face again. No probably not. In this world. Bramwell. Said General Booth. To his son.

[34:53] I have done what I could for God. And for his people. With my eyes. Now I shall do. What I can for God. Without my eyes. Keep at it. Amen.

[35:03] Keep at it. You might lose your eyes. You might lose your legs. You might lose your hearing. You might lose. All kinds of abilities. As we get older. There's less ability.

[35:14] We know. But do for God. What you can do. For God. Amen. Do for God. What you can do. And so. How is our service. For the Lord. Are we willing to be poured out.

[35:25] Like a drink offering. To die to self. To be used of God. No matter what. To close. May our motive be. To have a burden. For souls.

[35:35] A burden. For others. That leads us to give. And to be given. Let me close with this. Thought. About how we are to be poured out. For others.

[35:47] To gain. And to be blessed. From our lives. You know. It can be quite hard yakker. In the children's ministry. I know. Julie and I. Have laboured. 18 years. We've seen. Many young.

[35:57] Young children. We've tried to minister the gospel to. But. You don't always see the fruit. We don't know. Where they are now. Many of these. Hundreds of children. Hundreds of people. That we've ministered to.

[36:08] But we must give. And be given. For others. It's about others. And this is the. This is the goal of ministry. Is that. We're ministering unto the Lord. And we're ministering to others.

[36:21] People. Living. Breathing. Human beings. Ever. Living. Souls. That will spend eternity. Somewhere. Heaven.

[36:34] Or hell. And souls matter. People count. People. It's like. I saw. I saw. This campaign. About.

[36:44] White lives matter. Or black lives matter. But God says. All souls matter. All lives matter. Amen. Every life. Even those people. That we might.

[36:55] Discount. Or look down on. And think. Ill of. People. With disabilities. People. With. All kinds of. Things. That we might.

[37:05] Not. Like. About them. You know. It's about others. And that must move us. To serve God. As we give to others. So let me read this.

[37:16] Poem. This hymn. That speaks about. Being poured out. For others. You might have heard it before. It really speaks to me. This one. Let me read it to you.

[37:28] Lord. Let me live. From day to day. In such a self. Forgetful way. That even when. I kneel. To pray. My prayer shall be.

[37:40] For others. Yes. Others. Lord. Yes. Others. Let this. My motto be. Help me to live for others. That I may live.

[37:50] Like thee. Help me. In all the work I do. To ever be sincere. And true. And know that. All I do. For you. Must needs be done.

[38:02] To others. For others. Yes. Others. Lord. Yes. Others. Let this. My motto be. Help me to live. For others. That I may live.

[38:13] Like thee. Let self. Be crucified. And slain. And buried deep. Nor rise again. And may all efforts. Be in vain. Unless they be.

[38:23] For others. Yes. Others. Lord. Others. Let this. My motto be. Help me to live. For others. That I may live. Like thee.

[38:33] So when my work. On earth. Is done. And my new work. In heaven. Is begun. May I forget. The crown. I've won.

[38:44] While thinking still. Of others. Yes. Others. Lord. Yes. Others. Let this. My motto be. Help me to live. For others. That I may live. Like thee.

[38:55] You know. Let me live. From day to day. In such a self forgetful way. That even when I kneel. To pray. My prayer. Will be for others. Sometimes we get so selfish.

[39:07] Don't we. About praying for me. Me. Me. In this selfie world. And we forget about others. God's planted us here. To be. His servant.

[39:19] Reaching. Our planet. Our. Generation. For his glory. While we can. So let's serve God. As we think. And live.

[39:29] And give of ourselves. And of our best. For the master. With a heart to serve. Not ourselves. But to bless and serve. Others. Others. Be encouraged today.

[39:42] We've talked about. Work at it. Work at it. The service of the Lord. What a privilege. That you are a servant. Of God.

[39:53] Each one here. Who knows him. His son. His daughter. His servant. Work at that service of God. Jump at it. When there's opportunity to serve. Say.

[40:03] I want to be there. I want to do. What needs doing. Use me. Send me. Send me. Jump at it.

[40:14] Excel at it. Don't be. Half hearted. Be whole hearted. In. All in. Excel. At it.

[40:25] Keep at it. Through thick and thin. Don't stop. Don't stop. Serving God. And let.

[40:36] Let. Your heart. Be for others. That he's planted you here. To reach your world. There's people you can reach. That I can't. And vice versa.

[40:46] We've all got. A mission field. All around us. A circle of people. That we can reach. Let's have that burden. And serve our Lord. Let's pray. Lord God.

[40:56] We thank you. That you are. Our great master. And Lord. Lord. We are. That. I can say of myself. I am an unprofitable servant. I have done that which is my duty to do.

[41:08] And Lord. Help us have a heart. That is humble. And ready to serve. Help us to find. The gifts and callings. The. Opportunities. That we can jump at. And serve.

[41:19] With gladness. Serve. With humility. Serve Lord. With a. Heart. That's. Given. Given. And giving. Pour it out.

[41:29] Like a drink offering. Lord. Pour it out. For your glory. All to you. Lord. All for you. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.