COMPLETE THE TASK WHICH THE LORD GOD HAS GIVEN US

PROCLAMATION

“And now, compelled by The Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.  I only know that in every city The Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task The Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”  Acts 20:22-24 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Luke records that the apostle Paul, after travelling through Macedonia and Greece, (Acts 20:1-6) raising the dead boy in Troas, (Acts 20:7-12) and after arriving in Miletus, sent for the elders of the church. (Acts 20:17)  He told them that he had been compelled by The Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem.  He also said that The Holy Spirit had warned him that prison and hardships lay ahead of him, (Acts 20:23) and that they would not see him again. (Acts 20:25)  He advised them to keep watch over themselves and the people of God.  He said that wolves would rise up to devour the sheep. (Acts 20:28-31)

 

APPLICATION

None of us are going to live forever.  Our physical death is a part of living, the end of it.  Some people know or can feel when the end of life is near.  Paul knew that the end of his life was near.  He told them that his life was worth nothing to him. (Acts 20:24)  What was important was finishing the task which The Lord Jesus had given to him.  Some of the apostles and the early disciples considered it an honor to suffer in the name of The Lord or for doing His work.  The Bible says blessed are you when men shall persecute you for His sake. (Exodus 20:11)  We need to get to that point where doing the work of The Lord is more important than anything else, even more important than life itself.  The Lord said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  Our primary goal is, or should be, to finish the race and complete the task which The Lord God has given to us.  If it be His will that we die while doing His work, then so be it.  In the end, we want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant …” (Matthew 25:21)

 

LABORERS FOR THE LORD GOD

PROCLAMATION

“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask The Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”  Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, according to the Apostle Matthew.  After He had calmed the storm and the boat had crossed over the lake, Jesus continued to heal the sick. (Matthew 9:1-8)  He raised the synagogue leader’s dead daughter (Matthew 9:18-26) and He healed the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. (Matthew 9:20-22)  He gave sight to two blind men. (Matthew 9:27-31)  He also cast out the demon from a demon-possessed man who could not talk and the man spoke. (Matthew 9:32-33)  After this, Jesus, The Christ, went through all the towns and villages, teaching in the synagogues, and healing every disease and sickness.  When he saw the multitudes that needed help, He had compassion on them and He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.  Pray ye therefore The Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38 KJV)

APPLICATION

There is plenty of work to be done while working for The Lord.  The question is, are we willing to work for God?  Jesus, The Christ, told His disciples to pray that God would send workers to help harvest the lost souls, then He sent them out to help the people. (Matthew 10:1)  Today, we are the disciples, the students of The Lord God.  We need to pray for the lost, but then we also need to be willing to help them and to tell them about Christ and salvation.  While preachers are to do this, there is also work for the lay men and women to use their time, talents, and treasures in service for The Lord God.  There is something for everyone in the church to do.  No one can tell your story, about what The Lord has done for you, better than you can.  Tell It!  We talk to a number of people daily, tell them about The Lord God.

DO YOUR BEST AS IF YOU WERE WORKING FOR THE LORD

Proclamation:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for The Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from The Lord as a reward.  It is The Lord Christ you are serving.”  Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Colossae.  Paul began this third chapter by telling them to set their minds and hearts on things above and not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-4)  He encouraged them to “put to death” their earthly nature.  They were not to lie to each other. (Colossians 3:5-10)  He told them that they were God’s chosen people and that they should exhibit the fruit of The Holy Spirit. (Colossians 3:12)  They should let the peace of Christ rule their hearts, and let the message of Christ live within them as they go about helping one another. (Colossians 3:15-16)  Paul told them that whatever they do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of The Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, The Father, through Him. (Colossians 3:17)  He repeated this thought and added to it that they should do their best at whatever they do, as if they were working for The Lord because it is Christ they are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Application:

We are encouraged to do our very best at whatever it is that we do. (Ecclesiastes 9:10 and Colossians 3:23)  We are to work as if we were working for The Lord God for ultimately it is Christ that we are serving.  This is the standard by which we should judge all that we say and do.  In all things give God glory.  If what we are doing in not for The Lord, then there is a good chance that we should not be doing it.

WHEN TROUBLE STRIKES

Proclamation:

“Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.”  Acts 28:3 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Luke, the physician and traveling companion of the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After Paul was arrested by the Roman commander, (Acts 21:33) and ordered taken to the barracks, (Acts 22:24) he underwent a series of trials.  Paul testified in his defense before the Sanhedrin council, (Acts 23:1-10) before Governor Felix, (Acts 24:10-21) before Governor Festus, (Acts 25:6-11) and before King Agrippa. (Acts 26:1-31)  As a Roman citizen, Paul requested an appeal before Caesar and it was granted. (Acts 26:32)  As they sailed to Rome, the winds were not in their favor. (Acts 27:4)  Paul warned them not to continue sailing but they did not listen to him. (Acts 27:9-11)  The winds turned into a violent storm. (Acts 27:13-20)  After two weeks at sea in the storm, they struck a sandbar and the ship was broken into pieces. (Acts 27:27-41)  The crew and the prisoners all made it safely to shore. (Acts 27:44)  Altogether there were 276 people on board the ship. (Acts 27:37)  The people on the island of Malta welcomed them and helped them to build a fire because it was raining and cold. (Acts 28:1-3)  That was when Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake.  However, he did not die; he just shook the snake off and kept on working. (Acts 28:5-6)  Eventually, Paul healed every sick person on the island before continuing on to Rome. (Acts 28:7-9)

Application:

We will all go through various trials and tribulations along this journey called life.  At times bad things will happen to good people.  We just need to keep on telling people the truth and keep on doing the right thing.  When trouble strikes, don’t panic because that will only make things worse.  Just shake it off, count it all as joy, (James 1:2) and keep on working for The Lord.  He did not say that we would not have any troubles.  He said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  There will be storms in our life but He will be with us during the storms and He has the power to control the storms. (Mark 4:39)  So, when trouble strikes, keep the faith and keep on doing what thus says The Lord.

AIM TO PLEASE GOD IN ALL THAT YOU DO

Proclamation:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for The Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from The Lord as a reward.  It is The Lord Christ you are serving.  Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism."  Colossians 3:23-25 (NIV)

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom ... The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.  Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come … " Ecclesiastes 9:10-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

These two passages of scripture basically make the same point.  Both passages were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The first was written by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Colossae.  The second was written by King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, (2 Chronicles 1:11-12) to all of the people of God who would listen.  Both passages of scripture encourage believers to do their best when they work whatever the task, "... do it with all your might ..." and "... work at it with all your heart ..." as if they were working for The Lord.

Application:

Everyone who is old enough to have even a vague understanding of life knows that they will die, they just don't know how, when, or where it will happen.  There is a purpose for our life, and a purpose for everything that we say and do.  However, if that purpose was not to give God glory, then it was a wasted effort.  We should do our best at everything that we do, because ultimately we are doing it to please God.  Man's abilities do not guarantee good results or a positive outcome during life, or at life's end.  In the end, God will judge our efforts, and the reward for our labor will come from God, not from man.

WE SHOULD GIVE GOD OUR BEST EFFORT

Proclamation:

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."  Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)

Explanation:

The wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, the son of King David, wrote these words under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to warn the young people, and all of the other people of God, to avoid just going through life relying on human wisdom and doing just enough to get by.  He encouraged them to do their best at whatever they do.

Application:

I was taught that a person should do their very best to be the best at whatever they do.  The Bible teaches us that we should do our best at whatever we do and that we should work as if what we are doing is for The Lord. (Colossians 3:23)  We are also taught that we should get busy and not procrastinate because this life is short and it will soon be over. (John 9:4)  Whatever we do, and in all that we do, we should do our best to do it to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)  Nothing that we do should be done in a half-hearted manner.  Everything that we do should be done to the best of our ability.  Anything that is worth doing, is worth doing right, and it is worthy of our best effort.  We are working for The Lord God and He deserves our best effort.

WE SHOULD ALWAYS DO OUR BEST

Proclamation:

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."  Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)

Explanation:

These Holy Spirit inspired words of wisdom were written by King Solomon.  He was urging the people of God to do their very best whenever they work and in everything that they do, while they have the opportunity because death is coming.  After they die, they will not be able to do anything, or plan anything, or think anything, or know anything. 

Application:
Jesus, The Christ, said "I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work." (John 9:4)  Jesus knew that He had to be serious about doing His Father's work while He was here on earth, because He knew that His days were numbered.  The same is true for each one of us, our time on earth is limited.  Jesus was all about doing His Father's work even as a child. (Luke 2:49)  We need to work as if all that we are doing is for Him. (Colossians 3:17 and 3:23)  We should do our very best when we work, at whatever we do, because we are, in fact, working for The Lord. (Romans 12:11)  This life is not a dress rehearsal, we need to get it right while we are alive, because there will not be a second chance to get it right after we die.  For after death, then comes the judgment.  That is when we all want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21 and 23)  

REWARDED ACCORDING TO OUR LABOR

Proclamation:

"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.  For we are God's fellow workers ..."  1 Corinthians 3:7-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are The Holy Spirit inspired words which the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth after a disagreement occurred between those who followed Paul and those who followed Apollos. (1 Corinthians 3:1-5)  Paul said that he had planted the seed, The Word of God, and that Apollos had watered it. (1 Corinthians 3:6)  He also said that neither he nor Apollos was important, they were only fellow workers for The Lord.  The only important one was The Lord God, and the only important thing was that The Word of God was being given to those who had not heard it.  God will reward each of His workers according to their labor.

Application:

We must believe and have faith in God.  Without faith it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6)  However, faith alone, without any supporting work to demonstrate it, is useless. (James 2:26)  All believers are fellow coworkers and we are all working for The Lord.  We are to share The Word of God with others, to tell our personal testimony of the things which The Lord has done for us, (Luke 21:12-13), and to live our lives in such a way so that others can see the light of The Lord shining within us. (Matthew 5:14-16)  We each have different talents and abilities, (Matthew 25:15, Acts 11:29, and 1 Peter 4:11), we have experienced different trials and tribulations, we travel in different social circles, we influence different people, and no one can tell our story like we can tell it.  We are all workers for The Lord and He has a plan for each of us.  When judgment day comes, we will each be judged and rewarded according to our labor.