WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.900 Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. A special welcome if 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:09.359 you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.759 because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community, 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:20.660 and as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good that 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:25.600 they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:30.740 week after week to hear what God has to say in his word because he has something to say 00:00:30.740 --> 00:00:35.939 to everyone. This morning, we are continuing our series in the book of Proverbs. We're going to be 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:40.960 in Proverbs chapter 6, verses 6 through 11, and you'll remember that the book of Proverbs is a 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:49.299 book about wisdom, and wisdom is skill and the art of living. Remember, wisdom starts with the fear of 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:56.619 the Lord, and it continues with humility. We have to be people who want to learn. We realize we have 00:00:56.619 --> 00:01:02.879 something to learn to be able to grow in wisdom. Now, one of the fun things about the book of Proverbs 00:01:02.879 --> 00:01:09.060 is that we get to talk about all sorts of practical, everyday things. So last week, we got to talk about 00:01:09.060 --> 00:01:16.019 the very nitty-gritty topic of co-signing loans at the beginning of chapter 6, and now we're going to 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:21.519 proceed to talking about the issue of work and working hard, the challenge of work. Of course, all of us 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:26.599 who have been in this world for any amount of time know that sometimes work can be something we're very 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:32.579 passionate about. Sometimes it's something that's very discouraging and mundane. Something's, it's just 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:42.340 boring. And so the question then is for us, how can we be wise in our work? What does wisdom have to say 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:47.240 about our work? Of course, it has many things to say. And this morning, we're going to look at what 00:01:47.240 --> 00:01:53.000 it means, what it looks like to work hard. And so I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.359 chapter 6. It's printed also near the end of your worship guide, or you can find it in your phone. 00:01:57.820 --> 00:02:03.879 No matter where you find it, remember that this is God's Word. And Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5, tells us 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:11.740 that every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. And so that's why we read now 00:02:11.740 --> 00:02:21.680 starting at verse 6. Go to the aunt, O sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise. Without having any chief, 00:02:22.100 --> 00:02:30.920 officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you 00:02:30.920 --> 00:02:39.400 lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:46.879 folding of the hands to rest. And poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. 00:02:48.020 --> 00:02:51.620 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word. 00:02:53.800 --> 00:03:01.860 Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for the gift of your Word that you give to us, that it is life. 00:03:01.860 --> 00:03:08.760 We thank you that your Word is what brings dead things to life, brings things out of nothing. 00:03:09.940 --> 00:03:15.760 We saw you bring something out of nothing when you created the world, and we've seen you bring life 00:03:15.760 --> 00:03:23.100 out of death when you soften hard hearts and you turn them from stone into flesh. We ask that you would 00:03:23.099 --> 00:03:32.900 use this word this morning to give us life, that you would give us ears to hear and eyes to see, minds to 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:38.759 understand, and hearts to believe. We ask these things thankful that we can ask them with confidence 00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:42.079 because we ask them in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:52.480 Many of you may be familiar with a man named Jim Elliott who was famous for being a missionary to 00:03:52.480 --> 00:03:59.840 Ecuador, and he met an early death as a missionary. And his love story with Elizabeth Elliott became 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:05.220 famous in the evangelical world for many years. They wrote a book called Passion and Purity. 00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:11.660 And Elizabeth talks about what it was that caught her attention when it came to Jim, what she was 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:18.659 attracted to. Now, Jim was known for being handsome or being good-looking, but that was not what made her 00:04:18.659 --> 00:04:25.800 take note to notice him. Instead, what made her realize that this was a man that maybe she should 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:30.899 pay attention to and be interested in was she would see him. They were both undergraduate students at 00:04:30.899 --> 00:04:37.240 Wheaton College, and she would see him in the cafeteria line. And as he was waiting in line, he would have his 00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:42.259 flashcards with him, and he'd be going through reviewing things that he needed to know. 00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:48.960 And she thought, here's a man who's serious. Here's someone who works hard. It wasn't his looks 00:04:48.960 --> 00:04:56.920 that attracted her to him. It was his work ethic. And in fact, that's the kind of work ethic that we see 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:03.220 here in the book of Proverbs. We're told to work hard. There's a contrast that's drawn between the ant, 00:05:03.220 --> 00:05:09.300 which is wise, right? Verse 6, we're told we can be wise by learning from the ant and the sluggard. 00:05:09.400 --> 00:05:16.920 We learned, first of all, that wisdom is a self-starter. Wisdom doesn't need anyone to tell 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:23.980 her what to do. They're looking for opportunities to get to work, right? Verse 7, this ant doesn't have 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:29.800 any chief or officer or ruler. It doesn't make excuses. It doesn't wait around for someone to tell 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:35.199 it what to do. Instead, wisdom immediately gets to work. If no one's telling it something to do, 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:41.400 wisdom finds something to do. Wisdom does not say things like this. Maybe you've heard this. 00:05:42.180 --> 00:05:47.939 Well, you didn't tell me what to do. No one said that to me. No one mentioned that to me. 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:57.319 Instead, wisdom takes the initiative. General Stanley McChrystal became famous for instructing the 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:02.939 soldiers underneath him to, if, when they got on the ground, the order that we gave you is wrong, 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:09.659 execute the order that we should have given you. In other words, take initiative. Analyze the 00:06:09.659 --> 00:06:16.060 situation. Know what needs to be done, and then go and act. Now, sometimes you need direction, 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:20.639 right? It's not that you're never supposed to ask someone for advice or ask for direction, 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:28.339 but the sluggard is fundamentally passive. The foolish person is fundamentally passive. They look 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:37.060 for excuses. The sluggard looks for excuses. The wise person looks for opportunities, and so we see 00:06:37.060 --> 00:06:43.719 the sluggard here in verse 9. There's this question, how long are you going to lie there? When will you 00:06:43.719 --> 00:06:48.079 arise from your sleep? The sluggard here is sitting there probably thinking, well, no one told me what to 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:53.219 do, right? No one's giving me any instruction. I didn't set my alarm clock. No one else is waking 00:06:53.219 --> 00:07:01.979 me up, so I'm just going to sit here. There's nothing for me to do, and the principle here is that comfort 00:07:01.979 --> 00:07:08.839 is more important to the sluggard than anything else. Comfort is more important to the sluggard 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:17.399 than anything else. They may look hardworking, but only when it comes to easy and enjoyable things. 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:22.519 Now, many of you know I was a teacher before I was a pastor, and I taught many students who were 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:26.799 ants, many students who were hard workers, and I also taught many students who were sluggards. 00:07:27.679 --> 00:07:32.139 And every once in a while, when it came to a sluggard, you'd have conversations with their 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:38.039 parents about it, and it would go something like this. You know, we don't understand why this is so 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:46.640 hard for Johnny. He is so dedicated when it comes to baseball. He never misses a practice. He just works 00:07:46.640 --> 00:07:52.500 so hard at it. We just can't understand why that same work ethic hasn't transferred over to what he's 00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:58.700 studying in school. Well, I think the answer is, I wouldn't say this, but I think the answer is pretty 00:07:58.700 --> 00:08:04.300 clear. Johnny loves to do things that he enjoys, and he hates to do things that he doesn't enjoy. It's not 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:11.360 that he's diligent. It's just that he really likes baseball. It's easy sometimes for sluggards to look 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:17.420 like hard workers. The real test is when it comes to things they don't enjoy doing. The real test is 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:24.519 when it comes to things that matter. They don't do things they don't like. They don't do things they 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:31.759 don't like because it's hard. Remember, we talked in chapter one about the fact that there's something 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:37.319 that the simple person gets out of being simple. Solomon asks this question, how long, oh simple 00:08:37.319 --> 00:08:42.779 ones, will you love being simple? Why does the simple person love this? Well, because it's easy. 00:08:43.439 --> 00:08:48.120 They love not having to do things that are hard, and so the simple person looks like this. They're the 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:53.340 person who gives up easily. It's the kind of person, maybe you've met this person who just quits their job 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:59.439 because it's not their favorite. They don't have another job lined up, but this is not the most 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:04.760 fulfilling task they've ever had, and so they quit it. Now, I try to defend millennials when I can, but 00:09:04.760 --> 00:09:13.040 millennials are especially bad at this. The sluggard could also be someone who does work, but they only 00:09:13.040 --> 00:09:19.360 do work when someone's on top of them. So they will do work. I mean, if you have this experience 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:25.240 with your children, you ask them to do a task. They'll do it as long as you're there, right there in the 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:32.019 room. Maybe you're like that. Your boss asks you to do a task. You'll do it as long as they're there 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:41.720 on site, but your slogan is this, when the cat is away, the mice will play. That's the attitude of the 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:47.560 sluggard. The sluggard's the type of person who takes an unusual number of sick days. They look to 00:09:47.560 --> 00:09:55.039 figure out how little they can do and stay in the system. The sluggard figures out the path of least 00:09:55.039 --> 00:10:02.740 resistance in their work, but we're meant to be ant people, not sluggard people, and so Solomon's 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:08.719 telling us this. We stick with our work day after day, week after week, month after month. We do it 00:10:08.719 --> 00:10:17.159 in season and out of season, whether we enjoy it or not. Work is part of what we do as humans. Work 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:24.019 came before the fall. God created work for Adam and Eve before sin entered the world. God calls us, 00:10:24.019 --> 00:10:30.059 again, this gets back to the eighth commandment, to support ourselves, not to rely on others to 00:10:30.059 --> 00:10:35.899 support us. We ask, what is it that we don't enjoy, right? If we want to know if we're a sluggard, 00:10:36.199 --> 00:10:42.199 what is it that you hate doing, but you know that you need to do? The ant goes and does that. 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:49.340 The sluggard finds excuses. The ant gets to work. 00:10:49.340 --> 00:10:57.420 Whatever we're doing, we're thinking ahead, right? We're working whether someone is directing us or 00:10:57.420 --> 00:11:02.379 not. If someone hasn't told us the next project that we need to work on, we have time at work. We 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:05.620 figure out what that project is and we pursue it. 00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:18.879 Kids, the time to learn to be a hard worker is now. If you have great dreams for your future, 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:25.440 don't buy into the lie that you're suddenly going to start working hard one day when it's something 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:33.740 that you care about. That is a lie from the pit of hell. It's not how virtue formation works. 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:39.879 That's not how habit formation works. Hard work is something that you learn. It is a discipline. 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:48.060 It's a practice. The earlier you learn to work hard, the better off you will be. Learn to work hard now. 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:56.460 Be an aunt kind of son or daughter. Don't be the person who needs your parent to be there in the room 00:11:56.460 --> 00:12:03.000 to complete a task. Don't be the person who needs to be told multiple times to get something done. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:09.480 If you ask anyone who's older, you will have confirmed for you it is much harder to shape and 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:14.700 form character when you're older than when you're younger. There's a reason that the book of Proverbs 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:22.000 is written to a young son, an adolescent male, because it's young people especially. All of us 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:28.700 need to hear the admonition to work hard. But there's a special word for children here. 00:12:28.700 --> 00:12:38.360 Wisdom is a self-starter. It takes initiative. We also see that wisdom is forward-looking. It's 00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:45.060 constantly working. Remember that part of the characteristic of the simple person is a simple 00:12:45.060 --> 00:12:51.200 person has a hard time connecting present actions to future consequences. They do not know how to draw 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:57.879 the dots between those two. The wise person knows very well how to draw a straight line between present 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:03.259 actions and future consequences. That's one of the main characteristics that separates the wise from 00:13:03.259 --> 00:13:09.500 the foolish. And that's what we see here in verses 8 and then 10 and 11. It's not just that the ant works 00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:16.220 hard. The ant works for the future. Verse 8, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:23.759 in harvest. There's a future orientation to it. On the other hand, the sluggard has poverty waiting 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:29.220 for it in the future. Verses 10 and 11, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:35.420 hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. In other words, 00:13:35.460 --> 00:13:42.240 as we've talked about before, you can get away with foolishness for a time. The consequences of 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:49.240 foolishness will not catch up with you right away or immediately, and they will catch up with you. 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:55.820 It will feel like it's a robber and an armed man. In other words, it will seem like poverty just came 00:13:55.820 --> 00:14:02.759 upon you in a moment. Actually, it's going to be the consequence of days and weeks and months and years 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:10.659 of laziness. The sluggard here is able to sleep in bed for a while, right? At some point, he's going to 00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:17.439 lose his bed. It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next week, but when it happens, it's going to happen 00:14:17.439 --> 00:14:24.519 fast. It's going to be hard to protect against, hard to reverse. The aunt, on the other hand, is 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:30.000 constantly looking at what's ahead. She's looking at what's to come. She's planning. She's thinking. 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:35.159 There are seasons involved. There are seasons involved in our work, right? So there's a season 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:43.279 to get education. There's a season to get more job training. When those seasons come, we take them. 00:14:44.019 --> 00:14:49.959 We know the future is coming, and so we prepare for it. There's a season for building relationships, 00:14:50.199 --> 00:14:56.139 knowing we will need that network to move forward in our jobs. Those are things we're doing now, 00:14:56.139 --> 00:15:01.459 knowing that we'll need them in the future, and when the time comes, it will be too late to form them. 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:08.440 There's a season for working hard. We know there's going to come a time, right, when we need certain 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:14.060 types of savings for certain things. We know there are certain expenses that might be coming up 5, 10, 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:20.700 15, 20 years in the future. The aunt thinks about those things, right? The aunt is able to connect 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:27.940 present actions to future consequences. There is a constant rhythm of future orientation to the life of 00:15:27.940 --> 00:15:34.320 the aunt. It shows itself in consistent work, season after season, week after week. 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:42.800 The sluggard, on the other hand, is doing something that will work for a time, but will not work forever. 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:48.140 It might be five years. It might be 10 years. It might be one year, but it will catch up with them. 00:15:48.140 --> 00:15:54.900 It might catch up with them in this way. Maybe they don't get the promotion that they want, that they need. 00:15:54.899 --> 00:16:00.319 The sluggard hasn't been working hard, and so they stay at the same level. They're not able to increase 00:16:00.319 --> 00:16:04.819 their income to the place they need it to be to support themselves and their family. Maybe even worse, 00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:10.899 the sluggard is able to get away with it for a time, and then the sluggard loses his job. 00:16:12.199 --> 00:16:14.340 The aunt, on the other hand, is asking, 00:16:15.079 --> 00:16:21.720 what do I need to do today to prepare for tomorrow, especially when it comes to my work? 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:27.259 Now, it may not look like a promotion. It may just look like staying on top. What's the next project? 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:32.240 What's the next thing that we need to be working on so that we can be where we need to be? 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:40.500 Now, just like last week, I asked you this question, why in the world are we talking about 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:42.759 co-signing loans when it's Sunday morning in a church? 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:51.019 And you might be asking, what in the world does this have to do with the Bible and our faith as Christians? 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:56.379 Everything that I've just told you, basically, maybe take out the reference to Jim and Elizabeth Elliot, 00:16:56.939 --> 00:17:02.779 everything I've just told you, you could find in a blog or a book or a resource 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:05.140 written by someone who's not a Christian. 00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:11.360 In fact, many of you probably know non-Christians that are great aunts. 00:17:12.340 --> 00:17:14.980 They are good at working hard and preparing for the future. 00:17:15.620 --> 00:17:18.540 Some of you probably know Christians who are sluggards. They don't work hard. 00:17:18.620 --> 00:17:20.280 They're not good at preparing for the future. 00:17:21.080 --> 00:17:23.420 And so what are we to do with this as Christians? 00:17:23.580 --> 00:17:26.480 What is Christian about work and wisdom and work? 00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:28.300 Well, I'll give you a couple things. 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:32.680 Remember that this is in the context of a book about wisdom. 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:36.480 And so it's in the context of embracing wisdom, of loving wisdom. 00:17:36.580 --> 00:17:42.360 And the first principle, the first rule of wisdom is that it begins with the fear of the Lord, 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:44.700 which just to review, as one man has put it, 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:50.000 the fear of the Lord is an attitude of submission, respect, dependence, and worship. 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:54.580 So there's a type of work that's based on the fear of the Lord and a type of work that's not. 00:17:54.940 --> 00:17:57.799 Remember when I talked at the very beginning about the book of Proverbs, 00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:00.160 about what it means to have the fear of the Lord, 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.540 what it means for wisdom's foundation to be the fear of the Lord. 00:18:03.620 --> 00:18:04.779 I talked to you about a house. 00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:09.040 Now, this house might have a wonderful paint job on the inside, right? 00:18:09.060 --> 00:18:10.560 It might have granite countertops. 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:13.560 It might have many things that are beautiful and wonderful. 00:18:14.300 --> 00:18:18.759 But if the foundation is falling apart, that's not a wonderful house. 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:20.300 It's a dangerous house. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:25.580 In other words, it doesn't matter how wise externally things are if they're on the wrong foundation. 00:18:26.300 --> 00:18:27.840 Same is true of our work. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:29.599 I'll give you a different illustration, though, now. 00:18:29.679 --> 00:18:31.759 Instead of foundation, I want you to think about direction. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.179 I want you to think that you get on a plane, and you've bought a ticket, 00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:39.339 and that ticket entitles you to a trip to Paris. 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:44.399 You get on the plane, and you're hoping to go to Paris, 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:47.859 but you land in the Sahara Desert. 00:18:49.059 --> 00:18:50.720 Is that pilot a good pilot? 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:55.620 No, it does not matter how smooth the flight was. 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.600 It does not matter how wonderful the food was that was served. 00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:05.180 It does not matter how excellent the stewards and stewardesses were on the plane. 00:19:05.600 --> 00:19:10.019 It does not matter whether the lights and the air conditioning worked for you to read on the trip. 00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:15.839 If the destination is wrong, that pilot is not a good pilot. 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:25.579 No matter how hard we work, if our destination is wrong, our work is in vain. 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:33.960 No matter how hard we work, if our destination is wrong, our work is in vain. 00:19:34.179 --> 00:19:37.779 Jesus is coming back to this world in person. 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:42.779 He is restoring everything in this world. 00:19:42.899 --> 00:19:48.539 He has promised that because of his death, he is going to make this world new again. 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:55.720 Romans chapter 8 tells us that that newness does not just apply to us and our relationship with God, 00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:58.259 but it applies to the entire creation. 00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:02.039 God is making this world right again. 00:20:03.639 --> 00:20:13.099 And in our work, we are either looking forward to that and working with God in that, or we are not. 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:20.959 And so wise work, true work, the kind of work that Solomon is telling us about here, 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:23.859 is work that is based in the fear of the Lord. 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:29.259 It is work that is headed towards Paris, not towards the Sahara Desert. 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:35.379 That is why being Christian in our work matters. 00:20:35.539 --> 00:20:38.719 It gives a hope and a purpose to our work. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:44.500 It tells us, it reminds us that if we do not have faith in Jesus Christ, 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:47.960 we may have many comfortable things in this life. 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:51.900 That plane might have wonderful food on it, right? 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:55.799 But we're still headed for a collision. 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:03.759 We are still headed for God's judgment and his wrath for our sin in this world, 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:07.740 unless we can have the confidence that we talked about from Hebrews 4, 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:10.359 that we look to Jesus as our great high priest, 00:21:10.879 --> 00:21:13.420 unless we're people that have repented of our sins 00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:16.839 and are following Jesus in faith and obedience. 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:21.779 And so what does being Christian have to do with our work? 00:21:21.879 --> 00:21:26.099 Well, our work is work that comes from the fear of the Lord. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.519 Second, remember, Jesus is our great wisdom teacher. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:37.139 Solomon here gives us negative reasons that we should work hard. 00:21:37.740 --> 00:21:39.279 He gives us a threat, right? 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:41.819 If you don't work hard, you'll end up in poverty. 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:46.819 Well, Jesus, our great wisdom teacher, gives us something even better. 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:49.420 He doesn't just give us negative motivation. 00:21:50.220 --> 00:21:52.559 Jesus gives us positive motivation. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:57.379 He gives us a better motivation and a better destination for our work. 00:21:57.380 --> 00:22:01.720 In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:03.900 In the parable of the talents, there's a master. 00:22:04.800 --> 00:22:07.980 This master leaves his servants behind because he needs to go on a trip. 00:22:08.580 --> 00:22:11.180 And remember, he gives them talents, which is a type of money, 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:13.900 although it could be a wonderful play on words in our day 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:17.160 because talents also for us now means gifts or abilities, right? 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:19.280 And he gives them different types of talents. 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:21.200 One man he gives five talents to. 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:23.820 Another man he gives two talents to. 00:22:24.340 --> 00:22:26.280 And then one man he gives one talent to. 00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:27.639 And they're all supposed to use this. 00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:30.899 So the man with five talents, he goes and invests his talents. 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:34.579 The man with two talents goes and invests his talents. 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:38.839 The man with one talent buries his talent in the ground. 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:43.460 Now, if you know the story, you know the master eventually comes back 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:47.059 and he speaks to the five-talent man and the two-talent man, 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:48.000 and they've doubled it. 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:50.139 So the five-talent man now has ten talents. 00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:53.039 The two-talent man now has four talents. 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.579 The one-talent man, however, has produced nothing. 00:22:57.420 --> 00:23:01.200 He receives Jesus' condemnation or the master's condemnation, 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:04.240 who's meant to represent Jesus or God here. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:10.039 But the two servants who've invested their talents receive a commendation, a praise. 00:23:10.159 --> 00:23:10.980 He tells them this, 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:24.360 In other words, there is a reward. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:30.339 Jesus offers a reward for those who use the talents that he's given them wisely, 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:31.799 who invest it. 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:35.200 And there's two beautiful things that Jesus gives us in that story. 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:37.740 One, their work is for the master. 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:42.899 Everything they're doing is for this master who's left them behind. 00:23:43.379 --> 00:23:47.960 Everything that we do is to serve and honor God and bring glory to him. 00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:50.859 1 Corinthians 10, verse 41 tells us, 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:53.519 Whatever we do, do it to the glory of God. 00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:57.440 So we're working for our Father God, no matter what we're doing in this world. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:24:02.700 The second thing that that story tells us from Jesus that's beautiful and freeing 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:05.039 is it doesn't matter how much talent we have. 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:08.799 One person has five, one person has two. 00:24:09.380 --> 00:24:11.460 Both of them are faithful and diligent. 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:14.799 Both of them receive the exact same words from Jesus. 00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:20.960 It's the diligence, it's the faithfulness that Jesus comes back and praises them for. 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:30.519 Some of us are five talent people, diligent in our work for the sake of Jesus. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:34.579 Some of us are two talent people, diligent in our work for the sake of Jesus. 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:38.920 Some of us are one talent people, it's probably most of us, 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:42.460 diligent in our work for the sake of Jesus. 00:24:42.600 --> 00:24:46.160 And he promises a reward and a commendation. 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:51.360 Jesus promises something for those who work diligently for him in this world. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:57.019 He gives a positive motivation in addition to the negative motivation of Proverbs. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:24:59.980 Colossians chapter 3 tells us this, 00:25:00.080 --> 00:25:03.720 Whatever you do, work heartily as the Lord and not for men, 00:25:03.820 --> 00:25:07.700 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:09.779 You are serving the Lord Christ. 00:25:09.900 --> 00:25:12.779 In other words, Paul in Colossians is confirming the same thing. 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:18.019 God promises a reward to his people, and he tells them that they're working for him. 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:22.639 No matter what we're doing, we're working for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:28.139 And so it's not just another set of math problems or homework. 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:35.279 We are preparing to do work in the future that will help other people in this world flourish. 00:25:36.619 --> 00:25:39.079 We're stewarding God's creation. 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:42.460 We're preparing to do that when we do our schoolwork well now. 00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:47.059 It's not just another swept floor or mowed lawn. 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:52.399 We are working to create a home that's a place of welcome and hospitality, 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:56.319 a place where people feel the safety and security of the gospel, 00:25:56.819 --> 00:25:59.700 that they would know Jesus' love in those things. 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:02.899 It is not just another engineering problem. 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:08.120 We are helping people to live well in God's world. 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:12.960 It is not just another dental exam. 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:20.200 We are helping people take care and steward the bodies that God has given them because God's creation matters. 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:23.460 It is not just teaching another lesson. 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:28.900 We're bringing honor and glory to God as we're developing young minds that God has given. 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:34.160 It is not just another taking of inventory in a military installation. 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:40.759 We are taking care of the resources that God has given us so that we can do the work of protecting the innocent 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:42.400 and keeping them far away from the wicked. 00:26:44.380 --> 00:26:47.240 Whatever we do is we are working like the ant. 00:26:47.380 --> 00:26:52.660 We are working for our Lord Jesus Christ in his work in this world, 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:56.900 knowing that he's coming back, promising a reward for his people. 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:06.340 John F. Kennedy, when he was casting vision for the space program, 00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:08.259 that we were going to put a man on the moon, 00:27:08.940 --> 00:27:15.720 was praised for his ability to clearly present what it was that we were trying to accomplish. 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:18.800 And he did such a good job of that, 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:22.659 that everyone knew no matter what their task was, 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:25.019 that was what they were helping to accomplish. 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:27.379 That was the mission that they were pushing forward. 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:30.720 That was the goal that everyone was working for. 00:27:30.779 --> 00:27:36.220 In fact, he did this so well that there's a famous quote from a janitor 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:40.399 who had a place within that effort. 00:27:40.399 --> 00:27:41.339 And he said this, 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:44.299 I am not mopping floors. 00:27:44.299 --> 00:27:54.500 Brothers and sisters, we are not just learning from the ant. 00:27:54.659 --> 00:27:56.759 We are not just working hard. 00:27:57.339 --> 00:28:01.599 We are working for our King and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:08.680 working and praying that his kingdom would be here on earth just as it is in heaven. 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:14.900 And so we can take this promise that Jesus, when he returns, will say this, 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:17.420 well done, good and faithful servant. 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.640 You have been faithful over a little. 00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:21.580 I will set you over much. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:24.920 Enter into the joy of your master. 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:27.560 Please pray with me. 00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:34.759 Our Father in heaven, we thank you again that you give us instruction 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:40.859 on lofty things, on things that are hard for us to understand. 00:28:41.059 --> 00:28:43.079 And you give us instruction in simple things. 00:28:44.139 --> 00:28:48.259 You give us instruction in working faithfully and diligently day by day. 00:28:48.339 --> 00:28:49.619 We ask that you would help us, 00:28:50.500 --> 00:28:53.799 that we would work hard not for man, but for you. 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:58.279 And we would do it because of our faith and our hope in you. 00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:02.339 We ask these things, grateful that we don't have to earn them, 00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:04.359 but that we can ask them in Jesus' name. 00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:04.940 Amen.