I read and come from Colossians 3, 23, and I'm really glad it's short and sweet. So whatever you do, work at it with all your heart that's working for the Lord, not for human masters. Thanks Peter God, the Word is true and can be trusted. Well let's get started with our message this morning.
So what we have is something that I told them in the back and said, I really don't want to preach today. I just don't. I don't like this message. And I believe as pastors we're given grace for one bad sermon every now and then.
So this is going to be my bad sermon. Y'all can forgive me and we'll move on and look forward to next week. Part of the reason I don't want to preach this sermon is because we're on the cusp of Labor Day tomorrow is Labor Day. Ironically Labor Day is acknowledging those in the workforce and it had to do something with some unions and just lining things up so that it was fair for others.
And it was all about work. Ironically we take the day off. I mean have you ever thought about that? It's Labor Day but we're not going to labor that day.
We've got to take a risk. So it's things like that would be a day where we would actually work our best and do our best but we're like no we need the day off. So that's what the scripture is. It's talking about working for the Lord.
And this morning's message is working rest. You see it up there. You must work and you must rest. Well the reason I don't like this is because I like to work and I'm not really good at resting.
I'm one of those that I am going to go and go and go until I absolutely collapse. That's just my nature. I don't know what it is. Maybe it was because I was raised by my grandparents and they had these amazing work ethics.
I mean my grandfather could outwork the youngest person in the room. I mean he would just was a workhorse. And not to be prideful not to be looking at me. It's just that's what he knew to do.
And so this past week Lindsey was here and myself. Jan now talking about a workhorse that Jan Nelson and she's a force. But Jan was here and we worked. Brianna came.
Hope was here. We had several that showed up on the William and y'all we worked and we cleaned out at the church of there. I mean we were working. And I don't know about that but I was beat.
I mean I was physically beat. Now Lindsey's a little video thing now. I mean like she's a little bitty. But I mean girl we were moving pews and things and I'm like holding down ten years older than you know I'm going home like all crippled up.
But we worked. We worked and we worked. But when I got home I felt like I just couldn't rest. I'm like I gotta do more.
I worked at the church but now I gotta work at home. And so do you ever feel that way? Do you feel like yes it's easy to read that scripture and say oh I'm gonna work for the Lord and I'm gonna work and I'm gonna do a good job. But we struggle with the rest part.
Does anybody have that problem? It's hard to truly rest. Even if you're retired. I know people that retire and they're like I need something to do.
I just don't know what to do with my time. And so here we have this passage and it tells us okay work but work is if you're doing this for the Lord. Now this could be very easily taking out of context because what this scripture is meant for it's talking about if you go a few verses back about your whole life you know wives and husbands and husbands and loves your wives and children obey your parents. Repeat that children obey your parents.
But it's also talking about slaves obey your masters and that's a thing we get hung up on because we don't like that that we're slaving more. But what it means is essentially when we think about it we should all be slaves to Christ. And that sounds harsh but it's not in a bad way of he rules over us and is demeaning and hard but it means that we should work because he is our master. Everything we do we should work to please God as the master not only of the universe of all creation but as the master of our lives.
So when we think about that when we think about work we have to remember that work is when we partner with God in his goals for creation. Do you catch that we're partnering with God. Our work allows us to partner with God and our rest allows us to be in communion with God. To rest in his presence to enjoy going to your job whatever that may be whether it's a teacher whether it's a politician whether it's a banker whether it's a lawyer whatever that is but your work is that it's usually defined as your occupation.
Work is defined as what you do your student you're this sometimes work because I'm going to stay at home sometimes your work is being a mom and keeping the house going and tending to the kids. Let me tell you that's one of the hardest jobs I've ever had because somebody said about that. Who's a man a man huh but really it is so our work is what often defines us but what if our work instead defines who God is. Exactly and she can say that she works for the Lord's chicken and that's a well old machine over there.
They are working for the Lord except for the closed on Sunday we get it but I like some chicken on Sunday too. But seriously what if instead of our work defining us our work defined who God is especially in our lives. What if we got up and we went to work and even if we had and sometimes my mother tells me some things about her work family people whatever and they're real busy right now she works at a law firm in California they're real busy right now and with that kind of a lot of chaos and a lot of animosity and I can say this because she's probably not going to watch this I haven't told her how to find it and none of them are watching but there's a lot of animosity there is a lot of dysfunction you know someday she just wants to walk out and when you're in those kind of places in that your work environment it's hard to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. It's hard to be the good guy you know what I mean but what if you were what if you were what if you were the one that got to go in and you knew that each day when your feet hit the ground that you were going to decide that everything you did if it meant going into that hostile work environment and bless our teachers because they go into something new every day they go into something new every other hour.
But what if you choose to say I'm going to work hard as if I'm working for the Lord today because not only will this define who I am as a believer but it's going to define who God is for others and I'm going to work as an image bearer of Christ. I'm going to work because in the beginning our father worked and he worked and he created and he called these things good so how do we begin to work so that we can look at our environments and begin to call them good well that's because we've got to work as if we're working for the Lord. We've got to love those unlovable people there as God would love them. We've got to learn sometimes as my nanny says to turn the other cheek when people hurt us.
We've got to choose to be the better person. We've got to choose to be the one that looks more like Christ because ultimately we work and we are image bearers of the Father who first worked. So we work we do these things we're mindful that it's all necessary. We don't work we don't get paid we don't get lights.
I mean you know work is here it's permanent. But let me tell you something else about work sometimes work looks like volunteering. It's like giving yourself in ways that you may not have imagined. And sometimes we think I don't want to do that because it makes me uncomfortable and I don't like those people and I don't want to do that because it's somebody else's job.
But when we begin to say I will do that I will step out because I want to work for the Lord with a joyous heart with a happy heart looking like Jesus. So do you ever think of those things do you really struggle to work some days? I mean come on y'all yes it's called work for a reason. But when we begin to change that inward heart attitude to think I'm not doing this for me and for my accolades it's been easier for me to go to bed and say sleep this morning I'm not allowed but I work because I work for the Lord as cliche that sounds literally but I work because I work for the Lord and if we get up each and every day and we decide to put that attitude on I'm going to work today it may not be my favorite place to go but I'm going because I'm going to work for the Lord and I'm going to look forward to the things the Lord reveals to me and I'm going to look forward to the people that God puts in my path who I can minister to who I can just simply say good job or you know what I get it I understand I'm struggling to you see the Lord doesn't want us to have these extravagant ways of doing things he really just wants it to be simple.
Log the people that you're around be with the people that you're around you don't have to go to the ends of the earth you don't have to bring your Bible under your arm and say okay folks let's work for the Lord today it's a lot of our actions and how we approach things that they'll begin to take notice. So when it says work as you are working for the Lord it really means something change your attitude change the pace in which you're doing things sometimes we are working ourselves to death look at this little guy here anybody relate to him this was me the other day I was like I go home now I'm so tired but you have a feeling like you have worked and worked and you have nothing left to give and so that's how we end up not reflecting the image of Christ because we've given so much we're just done everybody's taking everything we have would change your pace change your priorities who are you working for the approval of all the people and I'm preaching to the choir I have a hard time saying no but you got to change your priorities so that you can work joyfully and faithfully if you're giving everything to everyone and your attitude stinks and your energy is that let's reevaluate because that doesn't look like working for the Lord that looks like working for the world and you're given all the things in all the wrong ways and those are hard things to hear sometimes the other side of that we work and we evaluate but then you want us to rest how much has to rest I got so much to do the world demands so much even on the seventh day after God had created and after he called everything good on the seventh day God rested and when he after he had worked he rested and he called that day holy you catch that the others were good but this was holy this day of rest this Sabbath it was holy he didn't call a person or a thing holy he called this day of rest holy and so we have work and we have rest it's not both I mean it's not either or it's both and we don't get to choose to work work work and never rest we get to work and we get to rest while oftentimes it feels like a roller coaster up and down up and down it's actually a beautiful cycle it's a cycle created by God it's a reminder of so many things I want you to work and I want you to work and do well and I want you to bear the image of my son but I also want you to rest when this was also a covenantal reminder between God and the people of Israel because God had led them out of captivity and there were times when they needed to be reminded that I am the God who is with you and in my present you will find rest so I don't want you to just keep on going and moving and complaining and working and doing but I also want you to enter into a time of being in my presence and in my present you will find rest and so when we talk about rest it's not just a rest from the world and all of our responsibilities but it's a time where we enter into this relationship this sacred space with the God who created all things I want you to rest in my presence I want you to come and to be in a relationship with me do you know that the reason that we could say that God rested is not because he needed to I mean God he could just have ongoing going going going going but it was a time in which God could be refreshed to remind us that this is a time that we could come and be refreshed in his presence God wanted to be with his people he was refreshed by them and they were refreshed by him it's a rest it's more than the rat race relief it's more than just trying to get through the week earlier Patrick and I were choking we're like we're just here it's been a week we're tired anybody else feel that way yes thank you I'm sorry God my kids are the only one that they're honest thank you Lord for children they brutally honest sometimes let me ask you again or some of you just here yes it's been a week it's been a month for some of us it's been a year it's funny that Labor Day and Memorial Day they're the bookends of summer have you ever noticed that like you you got Memorial Day woohoo summer's here let's go it's good times it's fun it's vacation we get to have these breaks from from live the school teachers they're peeling out the parking lot whoop whoop labor days coming but then I mean Memorial Day but Labor Day is that reality of that's all and you get it that's what Labor Day feels like it's like the end of all the goodness and now we've got to just battle everything again work in school and activities and football games and and Saturdays I know let me just say when people think preachers work one day a week make the Lord be with you because y'all are so confused so confused but I get it and yet we're told the rest and so rest is more than getting through the week it's more than just saying I'm here but it is a privilege extended by God who desires his creation to delight in the refreshment that he enjoys it's called holy because it belongs to God rest is holy belonging to God it is him willing to share himself with us so when we rest we're not resting from the world but we're trying to pause to take a breath a deep spiritual breath that allows us to be renewed and refreshed in the presence of God the same God is this company all of you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest I'm gonna be the source of your rest I'm gonna be the source of your peace but first you must be willing to come to me to pause to slow from your work and rest with me in the Old Testament the Israelites were commanded to observe patterns of rest they would go long periods of time of work and long periods of time to rest and it was to give the land that they worked and themselves a break so it was it was a rhythm but it wasn't a break from their physical bodies that worked and toiled and worked and toiled but it was spiritual rest lay everything aside rest from the craziness things oddies the stresses of this world come into my presence earlier whenever we're in here worship renews me in ways that I can't really explain when we rest we also worship let me repeat that when we rest we also worship and when we worship we rest when Mallory was singing were you worried about what you had to do next or were you fully present resting in God's holy presence here with us that's how we're renewed that's how we're refreshed when we lay it all aside we enter into a place of worship and we rest in the arms of the holy one but why do we struggle to rest why do we make it so hard part of that is because we have these complexes that make us think that we have to do it all and be it all and our minds aren't here to slow down anymore we're constantly thinking also we talked about that earlier constantly thinking about work I'm constantly thinking I've got to do this but we have the bulletin do we have the community ready we have our minds are never geared to slow we live in a world that is fast paced rat race go go go so that's why it's so important for us to understand that the true source of rest is in the presence of God slinging off those weights do you remember a few weeks ago lay aside all of those things that are heavy and coming into the presence of God to truly rest in a minute we're going to observe holy communion and this is another way that we're refreshed and renewed we come into the presence of God and we remember all that was given for us the sacrifice of his son but not only was the son sacrifice for our sins but it opened the door because when Jesus says that I'm going to leave I'm going to leave an advocate for you the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is the one who's going to comfort you the Holy Spirit is the one who's going to guide you and so when we enter into communion we're reminded of the sacrifice that God made through the Son Jesus Christ but also the gift of the Holy Spirit who comes and says rest in me I don't care if it's in your car I don't care if it's in your office but the door closed the other day I came into the office and and Lindsey had some instrumental I guess that's a good word instrumental old hands play in y'all it was the most peaceful I'm like okay Lord okay Lord it's not about the to-do list and it was just something so good and right we rest in his presence and the choices we make the way we react and act but God never wanted us to be these work horses he also never mentions retirement somebody said yes you work all through actual life whatever you do I always told my kid I don't care if you're the janitor or you're at McDonald's well whatever you do you do it with all your heart I don't care if you're the garbage man because I love the garbage man I'm really not I want to keep their own trash I love garbage man but whatever you do work with all your heart and that's what the Lord says whatever you do work with all your heart but also no one to rest but one day we're going to receive rest and our rest will be eternal Hebrews 4 11 reminds us of that there will be an eternal rest that we receive so I encourage you church to work work as those who love the Lord work as those who are image bearers of Christ work as those who understand the privilege it is to have a job I've always said if you don't like your job somebody else is praying for that job but work hardly as if you're doing it for the Lord but also give yourself grace and know when the Lord is calling you to rest we have a list and our bulletin some of you may have looked at that bad boy so who I'm gonna put it under my chair we have a list of what we call chores Lindsay and I made this list because we're the body of the church and the church is the family and the family has to work together because what did I say alone we can do so little it's a little it's a gather we can do so much but we can't wear ourselves out working ourselves to death trying to get everything done so we made this chore list and we're body if you want to work and you want to give of yourself to the Lord please come see us waiting somebody to help fix the mailbox because the melody is mad at us right now because our mailbox needs to be 16 inches up I get it I wouldn't want to bend out of the car and try to reach down there but little things our mailbox is messed up there's so many things that we can do to work together and work for the Lord literally here so pray about those things don't work yourself to death in the world that you don't have time to work for the Lord he will honor your sacrifice of volunteering to fix that said mailbox just as much as he's going to honor your desire to work in a job that pays your salary that widows mind she brought all she had if all you have is a hammer and a willing attitude the Lord says come on so let us work together and let us rest together