Investment Tips for Growing Family Relationships

Warren Buffet is one of the richest men in America. In 1997, among the 70 or so people in this country who were worth 1 billion dollars or more, Buffet was the only one of only a few who acquired his wealth through investing. Many investors look to him for investment advice. His firm Berkshire Hathaway has one of the most widely read annual reports issued. And a book has been written about his investment strategies; it’s called The Warren Buffet Way.

If you could sit down with Warren Buffet for a while and get some investment tips would you?

Imagine for a moment that your family is your greatest capital. If you could get some investment tips on how to grow it in quality would you be interested?

We hold in our hands a treasure of investment strategies for growing our family relationships. The Bible, God’s Word in written form, contains countless pro-family principles and precepts. If we learn and practice them they will make our family’s relationally wealthy.

Today we will look at just a few of the tips.(1)

Tip #1: Understand each other

How many of you own a VCR? How many of you know how to program it? There is a big difference between owning something and understanding how it works. People who have a nodding acquaintance with a second language know the gap between hearing words and understanding the meaning of those words.

1 Peter 3:7 states You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (NASB)

Husbands we are directly instructed to understand our wives. Now I know some husbands who would say that it would be easier to understand quantum physics than to understand their wives. And guys, I know some wives who would say the same thing about us!

Now while the text is directly addressed to husbands it is not bad biblical interpretation to suggest that the principle of understanding one another can be applied to other relationships as well.

What does it mean to understand another person? It means to “make what is important to the other person as important to you as the other person is to you.” (2)

For instance, one father who was not much of a sports fan, had a son who developed an interest in hockey. So one year he took his son to as many hockey games as he could. It cost him some money and time, but proved to be a strong bonding experience for them. One of his friends asked him in the midst of the hockey season, “Do you like hockey that much?” He said, “No, but I like my son that much!” (2)
[At 11:00 service modify this story by using “husband” instead of dad and “wife” instead of son. And rather than hockey use “antiquing.”]

How do we develop an understanding spirit? By making the time to really get to know each other. And by making it a point to really listen to each other. I believe it was Yoggi Berra who said, “You can hear an awful lot by just listening.”

James 1:19 states that we should be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (NLT) Parents I don’t know of any child that would be repulsed by a parent who was quick to really listen to them.

Tip #2: Keep commitments

It has been said we should be “generous with praise, but cautious with promises.” Parents we need to do everything we can to keep promises we make to our children. Spouses we need to do everything we can to keep our promises to our one another. Children you need to do everything you can to keep your promises to your parents.

Why is keeping our commitments and honoring our promises so important? Because we all tend to construct our hopes around promises.

When a man promises to love a woman until death they do part, that gives the woman security to become all she was meant to be in the marriage relationship.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 says 4 So when you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. 5 It is better to say nothing than to promise something that you don’t follow through on. (NLT)

We can infer from this text that same holds true in our commitments to others. In other words, we are to be loyal. Proverbs 3:3-4 says 3 Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them down within your heart. 4 Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will gain a good reputation. (NLT)

When we keep our commitments it builds trust. And there is no such thing as a healthy relationship apart from trust. Trust is the firm foundation upon which a family is built.

But keeping commitments can be costly. I remember one time this past year I was invited to a dinner meeting where the pastor of the largest Protestant church in America was going to be speaking. I really wanted to go, but when I looked at my calendar I saw that I had made a previous commitment to some students in our church. That was tough for me, but I felt my previous commitment was more important. I know some parents in this church who travel as a part of their profession. They will drive all night long in order to make it to a child’s school program they promised they would be at. You can be assured when the child sees them not only are they happy, but that parent has instilled within the child the importance of keeping commitments.

Got any commitments needing to be kept? Husbands and wives, when was the last time we visited the vows (a.k.a., commitments) we made on our wedding day? When we married we made a commitment that next to God our spouse would be the most important relationship in our lives. Does our time and attention reflect that?

Tip #3: Give some respect

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is not just something Aretha Franklin wanted, it something all of us in any relationship want. In fact it is next to impossible to have a deep relationship with another person when there is no respect.

Could it be the reason some of us are not experiencing the kind of relationship God wants to have with us because we do not have respect for him? And could it be that the reason some family relationships are not secure is because God is not respected? Proverbs 14:26 states Those who fear (or respect) the Lord are secure; he will be a place of refuge for their children. (NLT)

Another word for respect is “honor.” Romans 12:10 states that as Christ followers we are to take delight in honoring each other. Did you catch that? We are to “delight” in honoring another person. It is not supposed to be a hassle or something to dread. When we delight in honoring another person it boosts their feeling of value.

How can we show that we are honoring the people in our family relationships?

· By respecting each other’s property
· By respecting each other’s privacy
· By respecting each other’s time

The people who have the most difficulty respecting others are those people with an inflated idea of their own importance; the sinfully proud. Philippians 2:3 tells us to be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. (NLT)

Tip #4: Offer encouragement

Perhaps the easiest way to grow a healthy relationship is to offer encouragement. A well known actress once said, “We live by encouragement, we die without it, slowly, sadly and angrily.” (3)

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.(NIV)

How can we encourage one another in our homes?

· By smiling

Job, a man acquainted with grief and sorrow, in the chapter 29 of the book that bears his name, was recalling the days before he was visited with calamity. He said that when people around him were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them. (NLT)

Never underestimate the power of a smile. A smile not only increases your face value, but it warms the heart of those you give it to.

· By our words

Someone noted, "Man doesn’t live by bread alone. He also needs buttering up." (4) Words are power in that they can do enormous harm and amazing good.

· By pointing out the positive.

A reporter once asked Andrew Carnegie the great entrepreneur of the previous generation why he hired 43 millionaires to work for him. Carnegie pointed out that those men were not millionaires when he hired them.

The reporter then asked, “How did you develop these men to become so valuable to you that you paid them so much money?”

Carnegie replied that people are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but you don’t go into the mine looking for dirt – you go in looking for gold!(5)

Start today to look for gold in your child, in your spouse and in your parents. Jesus certainly must have seen the gold in the disciples he chose.

· By giving gifts

Are their any Barnabas’ in your house? In Acts 4:36-37 we read there was a man named Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles for those in need. (NLT) Joseph, because of his behavior, was given the nickname “Son of Encouragement.” One of the ways he practiced encouragement by giving gifts.

I saved the best tip for last.

Tip #5: Ask for and offer forgiveness

Anyone who lives in a family of any kind knows that people will disappoint and hurt you. I asked my mom and dad, who’ve been married for 54 years, what were the secrets to their long and happy marriage. One gem of wisdom was “you overlook at lot of little things and you forgive each other.”

Colossians 3:13 states Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NLT)

Forgiveness is not natural. It seems to be more natural to carry a grudge; to record all wrongs in read on a legal pad in our minds; to think of ways of getting back at those who hurt us.

Yet the Bible is clear in its instruction. As we have experienced forgiveness from God we are to forgive others.

The Spanish have a story about a father and son who became estranged. The son left home, and the father later set out to find him. He searched for months with no success. Finally, in desperation, the father turned to the newspaper for help. His ad simply read, "Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your father." On Saturday, eight hundred young men named Paco showed up looking for forgiveness and love from their estranged fathers.

Families today are filled with people who desperately long for reconciliation.(6)

Some of you need to experience that kind of forgiveness from God. You can. God has sent out a letter of forgiveness – his name is Jesus. If you will receive him forgiveness will be yours.

The Do's And Don'ts Of Restoring Relationships

Genesis 45:1-15

INTRODUCTION:

If you think your family has problems, consider the marriage mayhem created when 76-year-old Bill Baker of London recently wed Edna Harvey. She happened to be his granddaughter’s husband’s mother. That’s where the confusion began, according to Baker’s granddaughter, Lynn. She said, “My mother-in-law is now my step-grandmother. My grandfather is now my step-father-in-law. My mom is my sister-in-law and by brother is my nephew. But even crazier is that I’m now married to my uncle and my own children are my cousins.” From this experience, Lynn should gain profound insight into the theory of relativity. (Campus Life, March, 1981, p. 31)
Unfortunately most stories of messed up relationships aren’t so funny. It is no laughing matter that half of all marriages in the church are ending in divorce. However, this message is not just about marriage relationships, but all relationships. We are going to take a look into an episode in the life of Joseph in order to learn the do’s and don’ts of restoring relationships. Learning and applying relational skills is vitally important because God made us to live in relationship with others. When Adam was alone in the garden God saw that it was not good for him to be alone. We can only live in relationships. We need each other.
A rather crude and cruel experiment was carried out by Emperor Frederick, who ruled the Roman Empire in the thirteenth century. He wanted to know what man’s original language was: Hebrew, Greek, or Latin? He decided to isolate a few infants from the sound of the human voice. He reasoned that they would eventually speak the natural tongue of man. Wet nurses who were sworn to absolute silence were obtained, and though it was difficult for them, they abided by the rule. The infants never heard a word -- not a sound from a human voice. Within several months they were all dead. (Joe E. Trull)
Studies have also shown that single men are jailed more often, earn less, have more illnesses and die at a younger age than married men. Married men with cancer live 20% longer than single men with the same cancer. Women, who often have more close friendships than men, survive longer with the same cancers. Married or not, relationships keep us alive. (Dr. Bernie Siegel, Homemade, May, 1989)
Clearly healthy relationships are vital to our very lives. So let’s look together at an encounter between Joseph and his brothers so we can learn the biblical principals for restoring relationships. Please follow along in your Bibles as I read Genesis 45:1-15 . . .

1. DON’T MAKE A PUBLIC SPECTACLE OF THE OTHER PERSON. (v. 1)

Years before Joseph’s jealous brothers sold him into slavery in order to get rid of him. He lived as a slave in Egypt for years and was then thrown in prison on trumped up charges. After years of life in prison he was set free because he was able, with God’s help, to interpret a disturbing dream that Pharaoh had. He was placed in charge of all Egypt and was second only to Pharaoh himself. In his new position Joseph prepared Egypt for the famine prophesied of in the dream. When the famine came Joseph’s brothers were forced to go to Egypt in search of food. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him and so he devised a little test to see if they would still sell out one of their brothers. They passed. When Joseph decided to reveal his true identity and confront his brothers he first cleared the room so that it could be done in private.
There was a great deal of wisdom in that move. If someone has wronged you in some way the last thing that you should do is broadcast that everywhere. Let me say right up front that there are some serious exceptions to that rule. For instance, in the case of rape or other violent abuse the appropriate authorities need to be notified for your own well being and for the safety of others. However, in most situations you need to confront the individual or individuals in private. If you confront them publicly or go around telling people what they did you will only make matters worse. The Bible says, “If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man’s confidence, or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation” (Proverbs 25:11). It has been said that “Gossip is the most deadly microbe. It has neither legs nor wings. It is composed entirely of tales, and most of them have stings.” (Morris Mandel in Bits & Pieces, June, 1990, p. 22) So the next time you are tempted to talk about someone T.H.I.N.K. before you speak.
T -- is it true?
H -- is it helpful?
I -- is it inspiring?
N -- is it necessary?
K -- is it kind?
If what you are about to say does not pass those tests, keep your mouth shut.

2. DON’T BOTTLE UP YOUR FEELINGS. (v. 2)

I guess Joseph didn’t buy into the philosophy that real men don’t cry because when he confronted his brothers he wept openly and loudly. He didn’t suppress or bottle up his feelings, but he let them out in a healthy manner. If our emotions are bottled up they’ll eventually blow up. God created us to be emotional people and we shouldn’t try to deny that. If you are trying to act one way while feeling another way, you are being emotionally dishonest. If we are going to restore relationships, we must start being emotionally honest with one another.
If we are going to be emotionally honest with one another, we must let our true feelings out. If someone did something that hurt you and made you angry there is nothing wrong with telling them how it made you feel. Being angry is not a sin. The Bible says, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26). The Bible says that it is ok to be angry, but it is not ok to stay angry. How to we avoid staying angry? By letting emotions out instead of bottling them up. When anger is bottled up it will build up until it blows up. The Bible says, “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control” (Proverbs 29:11). We can avoid giving “full vent” to our anger by letting of a little steam as necessary.
In 1948, Betz and Thomas classified 45 Johns Hopkins medical students in three personality groups on the basis of psychological tests and questionnaires. The group that was prone to losing control of their emotions was labeled “gammas”. Thirty years later, Betz and Thomas looked at the health records of the former students. They found that 77.3 percent of the gamma group suffered from major disorders, including cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and emotional disturbances. The incidence of disorders was only 25 percent among those who could control there emotions. The doctors repeated the study on another group of 127 male students from the classes of 1949 through 1964 with similar results. (Readers Digest, November, 1979)
Controlling our emotions is literally a matter of life and death. An emotional blow up will never make things better in bad relationship so we need to start being emotionally honest with one another.

3. DON’T PUSH AWAY THE OTHER PERSON. (v. 4)

During this very emotional time Joseph called his brothers to come close to him rather than pushing them away. Too often when people wrong us we respond by pushing them away. Surely you can see that we will never restore a relationship with someone we are pushing away. If we are to restore relationships, we must begin drawing close to those who have hurt us.
I will grant you that sometimes we need a break from the other person. Joseph spent years apart from his brothers before this day came. But if healing is going to take place we must eventually come together because restoration never occurs during separation. Its time to stop shutting them out and start letting them in.

4. DO COMFORT THE OTHER PERSON. (v. 5)

Joseph calmed is brother’s fears. When they realized that this powerful and important man was really their brother they also realized that he was in the perfect position to exact revenge. However, Joseph tells them that they do not need to be distressed. The greatest comfort that you can give to someone who has wronged you is forgiveness. William A. Ward said, “Forgiveness warms the heart and cools the sting.” The Bible says, “You ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (2 Corinthians 2:7). Karl Menniger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!” (Today in the Word, March 1989, p. 8)
The art of forgiving is a spiritual grace every Christian should develop. Here are some practical suggestions for putting forgiveness into practice.
1) Begin by assuring yourself that compared to Christ’s suffering you haven’t been seriously wronged at all.
2) Recall the many kind deeds that have been shown to you, perhaps even by the person who has harmed you.
3) List the benefits you have received from the Lord.
4) Thank Him for blessing you with His love and forgiveness each day.
5) Make an honest effort to pray for the one who has injured you.
6) Go even further by looking for an opportunity to help him.
7) If the offense is especially hard to forget, try to erase the memory by thinking gracious and generous thoughts.
8) Finally, before you fall asleep at night, repeat slowly and thoughtfully that phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Roy L. Smith)

5. DO MINISTER TO THE OTHER PERSON. (v. 7)

Joseph was in the perfect position to make his brothers pay for what they had done to him, but he does just the opposite. He declares his intention to minister to their needs brought on by the famine. Galatians 5:13 says, “Serve one another in love.”
In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles,it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. And despite the immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. “Perhaps most remarkable,” writes Jaroff, “those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.” The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible. So it is when we commit ourselves to serving the needs of those who harmed us in the strength God provides. God can work even through someone with only 8-watt abilities. The Bible says, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). When you are tempted to think that you don’t have the power to help those who have harmed you remember that God is your source of strength.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, we see that restoration results in celebration. In verse fourteen we see that Joseph and his brothers threw there arms around one another and kissed one another. It reminds me of the celebration that took place when the prodigal son was restored to his father or the celebration that takes place in heaven every time a sinner is restored to a right relationship with God. It is a biblical principal that restoration results in celebration. It is that celebration that makes the hard work of restoration worthwhile.
One day an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt’s famous painting “Nightwatch.” Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo’s beautiful sculpture, The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures. Surely our relationships are more worthy of restoration than mere pieces of art.
J. Stuart Holden tells of an old Scottish mansion close to where he had his little summer home. The walls of one room were filled with sketches made by distinguished artists. The practice began after pitcher of soda water was accidentally spilled on a freshly decorated wall and left an unsightly stain. At the time, a noted artist, Lord Landseer, was a guest in the house. One day when the family went out to the moors, he stayed behind. With a few masterful strokes of a piece of charcoal, that ugly spot became the outline of a beautiful waterfall, bordered by trees and wildlife. He turned that disfigured wall into one of his most successful depictions of life in the Scottish Highlands. (Swindoll, The Quest For Character, Multnomah, p. 49) No relationship is beyond the restoring power of our God if we will only cooperate by practicing these five steps.

Secrets to God’s Blessings

Haggai 1:1-3:23

Many people needlessly spend too much effort worrying, working and wrestling with things without the blessings of God. Haggai’s message to the people taught them how to get their priorities straight. He gave them a word from God that reversed their demorilizing ways and motivated them to engage in God’s work. Like these people we often place too much emphasis on our own concerns forgetting to put God’s work, will and worship first. When God is pleased with our priorities He promises to empower, guide and enable us to enjoy His supernatural blessings. Let us learn key principles of participating in God’s bountiful blessings.

Illustration: As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black mark.” “Right,” the preacher replied. “What else do you see?” Complete silence prevailed. “Don’t you see anything other than the dot?” he asked. A chorus of noes came from the audience. “I’m really surprised,” the speaker commented. “You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all—the sheet of paper.” Then he made the application. He said that in life we are often distracted by small, dot-like disappointments or painful experiences, and we are prone to forget the innumerable blessings we receive from the hand of the Lord. But like the sheet of paper, the good things are far more important than the adversities that monopolize our attention.

This reminds me of a bit of verse which, though I admit is somewhat trite, does express good practical advice. Someone has written: “As you travel down life’s pathway, may this ever be your goal:/ Keep your eye upon the doughnut, and not upon the hole!”

Yes, rather than concentrating on the trials of life, we should fix our attention upon is blessings. Let us say with the psalmist, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits” (Psalm 68:19). - R. W. D.

Our Daily Bread, March 10


1. Blessings are missed because we fail to put God’s purpose, priorities and plans first. Haggai spoke to the people calling them back to God’s values. "Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?" (Hag. 1:4) Many people fail to realize they are living displeasing lives and so fail to repent of their sins of omission. Whatever is not done out of faith is sin. James writes, "If anyone knows the right thing to do but fails to do it for him it is sin." (James 4:7)

Illustration: Be Encouraged
Author Unknown

The next time you feel like God can’t use you, just remember...
Noah was a drunk.
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer.
Jacob was a liar.
Leah was ugly.
Joseph was abused.
Moses had a stuttering problem.
Gideon was afraid.
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young.
David had an affair and was a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Isaiah preached naked.
Jonah ran from God.
Naomi was a widow.
Job went bankrupt.
John the Baptist ate locusts.
Peter denied Christ.
The Disciples fell asleep while praying.
Martha worried about everything.
Mary Magdalene was, well you know.
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once.
Zaccheus was too small.
Paul was too religious.
Timothy had an ulcer...
Lazarus was dead!

And God isn’t finished with you yet. You are a vessel He will and can use, if you make yourself available as each of the above did.


2. Blessings are missed because people fail to remember God’s will, word and ways. Haggai urged the people in Jerusalem that the work of God was neglected, overlooked and considered as a lower priority their own concerns. Haggai spoke, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: Consider how things are going for you!... You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. That is why the heavens have withheld the dew and the earth has withheld its crops. I have called for a drought to starve both you and your cattle and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get." (Haggai 1:7-11)
God has the ability to withhold His blessings to the disobedient. Fear the Lord you His saints for to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. (Psa 37)

3. God’s blessings are missed because people procrastinate. The people began building the Temple 23 days after they arrived back from being in exile. Too many people hear excellent sermons on TV, the radio and church but fail to respond due to a bad case of procrastination. Forgetting to act is a recipe for disaster in God’s plans. James wrote, "Be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves." (James 1:22) When you hear a message from God be sure that you put it into action. Ask God what He wants you to do when you read His word and make plans to put it into practice immediately. 92% of the world is yet to make a decision about Christ as Savior and soon it will be too late. Many people have delayed too long and so have settle for mediocrity bereft of God’s blessings because they failed to act on God’s will when they were young.

4. God’s blessings are often missed when people wallow in their discouragements. Haggai helped the people overcome their intertia with a strong authoritative word from the Lord. It often takes listening to a person of God who inspires us to act and break out of our ruts. Haggai was a task oriented leader but God used him in a complementary fashion with Zerubbabel, a religious priestly authority. Haggai’s major influence came not through a political position but through God’s giftedness. He overcame excuses that were given about building the temple as there had been a delay for 16 years.

5. God’s blessings are often missed unless people gain supernatural perspective. Haggai gave the people divine perspective on what was happening to them economically, politically and agriculturally. When people are able to see their circumstances from the eyes of God they are apt to reverse their course. People began to fear God more than anything else and started to obey Him. "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord who greatly delights in His commands. He will not fear when the evil day comes because his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. I have never seen the righteous go hungry or his seed begging for bread." (Psa 112) Learn to use God’s word to head off excuses, discouragements and detours that people may throw in your face.

6. God’s blessings are often missed when people think the size of the work is too great. Haggai fired up the people to not wax and wane in their enthusiasm. He strongly promised God’s strength, provision and enablement as they trusted and obeyed His will. Haggai did not give complicated answers but simple solutions from above. Often times it is much better to just give God’s wisdom than intellectually complicated answers to peoples’ problems. This will often come from our own communion with God’s Spirit. Just begin where you can and gradually the provisions, guidance and resources will be heaped upon you. As your days, your strength will be in measure. This the promise He has made.

7. God’s blessings are often missed when people lack patience. The writer of Hebrews penned these words, "You have need of patience so that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise." Haggai taught the people that in order to see the full blessings of God they needed to not immediately look for blessings, but wait upon the Lord and He would eventually come through. Keep on asking, seeking and knocking and the doors will be opened to you. (Matt 7:7) Persistence, importunity and faithfulness in prayer, devotion and obedience always yields God’s great blessings.

8. God’s blessings are often missed when people look to other means for protection, progress and persuasions. Haggai gets a special word from God assuring the people that He would provide protection, progress and persuasions against their enemies as long as they sought first His kingdom and His righteousness. (Matt 6:33,34) The people started to worry that they needed to put aside the building of the temple to attend to other necessary things,but God cautioned them against getting side-tracked. We need to listen to our spiritual authorities when the going gets tough and we start to veer off course. The Lord will give complementary leadership functions to show us that we are to look to a plurality of godly leaders and not necessarily to one individual. Haggai headed off the objections before they came into full bloom. Godly leaders have a way of pre-emptively avoiding conflicts before they get blown out of proportion.

9. People miss out on God’s blessings when they think that some work is too small. No work of God is too small when it is done with His timing, His teaching and His treasures. Let us rely on the Lord’s power, people and priorities as evidence that we are walking in the presence of God.

May the mind of Christ our Savior live in us in everyway. By His love and power controlling, all that we do and say. And may His promise be sufficient for everything pertaining to life and godliness so that we do not start to rely on our own insights. (2 Pet 1:3,4) (Prov 3:5,6) It is enough to know, do and believe the will of God as we live and move and have our greatest blessings in allowing the life of Christ to flow out of us like a river of living water.

A Different Walk

Galatians 5:16-18

How do you live the Christian life? What means are given to the believer to press on in walking faithfully before the Lord? Can the Christian really live differently from the unbelievers of the world?

When true conversion takes place, the believer has a different nature and different desires than his unbelieving counterpart. This produces a different walk, that is, a totally different sort of conduct or lifestyle. Without this new nature a person can only slide deeper into bondage in attempting to conform to divine standards by the power of the flesh. Those who are in Christ are to live by the provisions of the Holy Spirit.

This is not to say that the believer never sins. For indeed he does as long as he is in his fleshly body. But there is a completely different attitude toward sin and even a different attitude toward the Law. He sins, but he does not desire to go on in sin. He sins, but he is not under the Law's condemnation, rather it serves to convict him and lead him in walking rightly before God.

How can we really live like Christians? Let us see how our text gives us instructions and assurance of genuine Christian living.

I. A Command

The one imperative of this text is "But I say, walk by the Spirit," which is followed by an inevitable result, "and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Jesus Christ has saved us to deliver us not only from the penalty of sin but also from its power in our daily lives. He has saved us that we might live holy lives before Him. For example, Titus 2:11-12 declares, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age." It is not a matter of 'signing on with the Lord' then living anyway we desire until He takes us to heaven. So many have the mistaken notion that Christianity is just a decision. It is not. It is a total lifestyle under the dominion of Jesus Christ. It means that you have a new nature and you live in a new way because you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

It seems that the Apostle captures the whole essence of the Christian's daily life within this verse. First he looks at it positively, then views it negatively. Let us see this for ourselves.

1. Stated positively

A number of matters confront us at first glance in the words, "Walk by the Spirit." First, Paul explains that this is the very antithesis of "bit[ing] and devour[ing] one another" as he had warned about in the previous verse (5:15). "But I say," i.e., 'Instead of biting and devouring one another because you have given the flesh an opportunity, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh." Christians must not be presumptuous about the way they live in relation to others. They must not be careless with sin. There is one way we are to live and that is by 'walking in the Spirit'.

A second issue involves the meaning of "walk." The word is commonly used in the New Testament to refer to the whole of one's conduct or behavior. It carries ethical connotations. It involves the way you and I live, how we treat others, what we think about, the sort of things in which we invest our time and resources, the way we talk, the people with whom we are involved. Walking implies progress, especially with the use of the present tense showing that this is continual action. It is not as fast as running, but it is steadily progressing. He does not tell us to go at breakneck pace in the Spirit, but to walk, to pace ourselves by the Spirit's direction and power.

Everything you do involves your walk with Christ if you are a believer. You are never to compartmentalize your life so that in this area you live like a Christian, but over here you live according to the ways of the world. I would go so far as to say, that if you are comfortable doing that you need to consider whether or not you have ever been born of God. All of us have been on the receiving end of unethical or rude behavior by those who profess to be Christians on Sunday but give no evidence of being a Christian during the week. If you have slipped into such a dichotomy then I urge you to repent!

Third, Paul qualifies what he means by commanding the believer to walk. He says to "walk by the Spirit." This brings into focus the great emphasis we see in the Upper Room Discourse in John's Gospel (chaps. 14-16) and the writing of the Apostle Paul. We are to live daily by the influence, direction and power of the Holy Spirit. We are to live in the sphere of relationship to the Holy Spirit. We are to live as those under the control of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

This reminds us that we can only live by the Spirit if we have been justified by faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit is not a force for men to use to gain some personal mastery in life. He is God dwelling within the believer! He is 'the life of God in the soul of man' as Henry Scougal expressed it. Keep in mind what has transpired in the previous four chapters of Galatians. Paul has explained justification by faith. Now he is speaking to those who have been truly justified by Christ so that they might go on in the faith. and they can due to the Spirit's indwelling power.

Finally, to walk by the Spirit implies that the Spirit is heading somewhere and you are following. It demonstrates for us that the indwelling Spirit of God is actively involved in the life of the Christian in pointing him toward those things that are honoring to God. The Holy Spirit always leads us in concert with the revealed will of God in the Bible. He will never lead us to sin. He will never lead us to violate the written Word of God.

So whenever we seem to have an interest in heading in a questionable area of lifestyle, we can be sure the Holy Spirit is not leading us. Whenever we come to the Scripture and see what God commands us to do, we can be certain that the Holy Spirit, the Divine Author of the Word, will not guide us into disobeying what God has spoken.

To walk by the Spirit implies that we are maintaining an ongoing communion with God. We are exercising those spiritual disciplines that keep our hearts focused upon the Lord, that turns our feet away from sin, that warms our love for Christ. How are you going to walk by the Spirit if you are not in any sort of communion with Him? Our text calls upon us to be serious minded about our spiritual walks, to live in dependence upon the Holy Spirit granting to us the strength and power to obey, and to trust that He will always lead us rightly. We are to be sensitive to His promptings in our lives which may lead us in acts of service, witness, or love. We see what God commands and find the Spirit's strength to obey. We hear the voice of the Spirit directing us and again find His strength to obey.

Do not forget about the Holy Spirit's indwelling strength. Too often we lean upon our own abilities when facing the demands of God before us. But in simple language we are reminded to "walk by the Spirit." Do not trust in your strength for it will surely fail. Do not rest in your gifts and abilities for they are weak at best. Plead for the strength of the Holy Spirit to fill your life and enable you to live before the Lord in ways that honor Him.

2. Stated negatively

Paul says, in essence, do you want to know how to keep from going on in sin? Then "walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." I believe it is important to see how Paul has used this term, "flesh," throughout this epistle. In 2:16 he speaks of "no flesh being justified" by the law. So by this he means no human being, no one subject to sin. In 2:20 he states that the life he lives in the flesh he lives by faith in the Son of God as one who has been crucified with Christ. Here he implies his humanity that is subject to sin. He is not using "flesh" as another term for 'sin nature' rather for the human body with its propensity for sin.

In Galatians 3:3, Paul asks the question, "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" This verse offers an important insight on how flesh is used in our text. The idea of being perfected by the flesh meant the labor which the Galatians were exerting in trying to conform to the law. It was their energies, their strength, their wisdom struggling to obey the law in order to be sanctified. Paul makes it clear that our sanctification does not occur because we conform to the law. The law has no power to sanctify just as it has no power to justify.

Akin to this same use of flesh is the passage in Galatians 4:21-31, in which Paul contrasts the children of promise with the children of flesh. By flesh, he again refers to the self-effort of fallen men trying to conform to the law of God in order to gain merit with God. Paul explains that such effort only leads to more slavery. Here he uses 'flesh' to describe man apart from God's grace, man left to himself and his own abilities. Rather than finding refuge in Christ, he trusts in himself as he seeks to conform to the demands of the law for justification.

Now, back to our text in 5:16. When Paul says that if you walk by the Spirit you will not carry out the desires of the flesh, he points back to the statement he has already made in Galatians 3:3, that the flesh cannot perfect us or sanctify us. The only way of progress is by the Spirit's work in us. The flesh represents the unrenewed mind that still has all the properties of fallen humanity. Though the flesh might seek to do some good and clean up from time to time in order to impress others, at its root the flesh does one thing: it sins. The desire of the flesh is sin. You can dress it up, call it by another term but the propensity of our humanity apart from the grace of God is to go deeper and deeper into sin.

II. An Explanation

Perhaps this is easier understood if we take a closer look at what is meant by flesh and Spirit.

1. Nature of flesh and Spirit

Paul explains, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." Here we find the basic problem of why we must have a new nature controlled by the Holy Spirit. For all of us are still in the flesh, that is, we all still reside in human bodies that have the propensity for sin. We are capable in our humanity of committing any number of sins which might produce a moral outrage on the part of our neighbors.

There is another reprehensible thing about the flesh. It refuses to trust the cross of Christ. The flesh would rather trust its own strength for moral improvement and for standing with God. To turn away from self-trust to abandon all claims to merit and cling only to Christ sends the flesh into a frenzy! If something is of grace, of the Spirit, of the glory of God, the flesh will seek to do just the opposite. Its longings (Gk. 'desire') run completely counter to the Holy Spirit.

But the Spirit represents all that God is and all that God has done for sinners through Christ. The Holy Spirit, the third Person in the Godhead, applies the redemptive work of Jesus Christ to the sinner. It is the Spirit who renews and regenerates the fallen nature of the sinner so that he has a desire to repent of his sins and believe the gospel of Christ. It is the Spirit who continually renews and fills the believer, exercising control over his life so that he might be sanctified before God. It is the Holy Spirit who 'comes alongside to help' as the Divine Paraclete, comforting, strengthening, urging, motivating the believer in his walk with Christ. It is the Spirit who bears witness with our spirits that we belong to Christ.

2. Conflict of flesh and Spirit

It is natural that the flesh and Spirit are in conflict with one another! "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." You cannot please the flesh and at the same time please the Holy Spirit. Nor can you please the Holy Spirit and at the same time please the flesh. They work in opposition to one another. They are the exact opposite at every turn.

To live in the Spirit implies that the believer is living contrary to the normal human existence. He has trusted in the one work, that of Christ, which has brought him into relationship to the Holy Spirit. The flesh, on the other hand, trusts in a multitude of little works, adding them up as supposed merit before God. Thus, it denies the efficacy of the work of Christ on the cross [TDNT on 'sarx'].

Rather than setting up a dichotomy which we must choose on a regular basis for living, Paul is saying just the opposite. We do not choose to live in the flesh or choose to live in the Spirit, as though we can turn off one and turn on the other at the drop of a hat. Instead, we are either in the flesh or in the Spirit. We are either seeking to please God in the Spirit or seeking to please ourselves and the world in the flesh. The conflict abounds, for you cannot do the things which are pleasing to God as long as you are lost, i.e., in the flesh. Nor can you live the life which is displeasing to God as long as you are saved, i.e., in the Spirit.

Can Christians sin? Is Paul teaching perfectionism? Certainly we can sin, but the overriding message of Galatians is that those sins are not imputed to the believer as far as divine judgment. Christ has availed for the believer, so that his sins have been taken out of the way, judged in the Person of Christ on the cross. So, is he perfect? Not at all. He still sins because he still lives in a fleshly body. Until he is liberated from this "body of death" he will still battle with sin. But as a Christian, he has a new nature controlling his life. He is not the same person anymore. The union of his soul with the Spirit of God means that he is going to live in a new fashion. The pattern and practice of his life is to live in the Spirit, not according to the ways of the flesh.

So what is Paul doing in this passage? He is reminding the Galatians that if they are in Christ, then their lives will be lived in conformity to the Spirit of God and not to the flesh. It is not a matter of reverting back and forth between flesh and Spirit. Yes, we do struggle with sin. That is part of our sanctification. And yes, the Christian can fall into grievous sin, impairing his walk with Christ and damaging his testimony before the world. But because he is in the Spirit he cannot persist in such behavior or lifestyle. He cannot find satisfaction in sin or the ways of the world.

III. A Delight

Paul adds yet another dimension to this whole matter. "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Law." The Greek translation puts this in the present tense, so it is better rendered, 'If you are being led by the Spirit Himself, you are not under Law." The emphasis is upon the condition of the believer, he is being led by the Spirit, and the fact that he is no longer subject to the futility of the Law for his sanctification.

1. Assurance given

The assurance that a person is a Christian is the very fact that he is led by the Holy Spirit. As Paul wrote to the Romans, "All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14). If the Holy Spirit is not leading you to love God or to follow after Him or to desire Him, then what are you led to believe? You must assume that if there is no leading of the Spirit in your life then you have never been born of God. Why make such a statement at this point? Remember that Paul had been dealing with the matter of legalism as a means to being justified. He had explained that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (2:16). But some may have persisted in depending upon the works of the law to put them into a right standing with God. They had followed the deadness of legalism. They had trusted in the flesh. They were still under the Law.

But look at the reality of this assurance. If the Spirit of God persists in working in your life to lead you into holiness, then the evidence that you are being sanctified is present. God is at work in you! You are being led from one degree of grace to another. You are being brought through the trials of life, even with all of its temptations, into the liberty of an ongoing relationship to Jesus Christ. You are being assured by the witness of the Spirit that you are truly born of God.

You find yourself repulsed by the flesh. That becomes normal to you because the flesh and the Spirit "are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." By this Paul did not mean that you cannot follow after the Lord, but he meant that if you are in the Spirit then you cannot follow after the flesh to please the flesh, just as if you are in the flesh you cannot follow after the Spirit, regardless of how hard you try.

2. Affirmation repeated

For Paul, to be in the flesh meant that you would strive to justify yourself before God by means of the Law. This is where his argument has the most practical application. He is telling us that just as we are not justified by the Law neither are we sanctified by the Law. "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." By this, Paul does not mean that we become lawless, for our Lord declared, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Surely that is law! But the whole attitude toward law is different. As Samuel Bolton wrote, "He that loves God solely because God commands it does not love God at all" [The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, 138]. We love Christ and demonstrate that love by our desire to obey Him.

Is this just a slavish duty? Does the Lord put us in the position that we feel compelled to follow a drudgery of obedience, even though our desire is to do otherwise? By no means, for "you are not under the Law." It is not the Law that compels you to obey but the reality that you belong to Christ and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. It is the reality that you have a new nature in Christ, one that is bent on loving and obeying Him. You do not obey because you have to but because you want to. The Spirit of God has accomplished the change within you so that you might love and obey the Lord.

What is the difference between the person who obeys out of duty and the other who obeys out of delight? I return to the old Puritan work by Samuel Bolton for some most helpful material. Bolton compares what he calls "the legal spirit" with "the evangelical" spirit. So what we are addressing are those who are not truly born of God but who are attempting nonetheless to sanctify themselves by adherence to slavish duty. And we are seeing those who due to the new birth and ongoing work of the Spirit are walking in obedience as a delight.

(1) The principle that moves the one spirit to duty is slavish, the other childlike....

(2) The one man does these things as his delight, and the other as his burden....

(3) The one type of man performs duty from the convictions of conscience, the other from the necessity of his nature. With many, obedience is their precept, not their principle; holiness their law, not their nature. Many men have convictions who are not converted; many are convinced they ought to do this and that, for example, that they ought to pray, but they have not got the heart which desires and lays hold of the things they have convictions of, and know they ought to do. Conviction, without conversion, is a tyrant rather than a king....Conscience tells a man that he ought to do certain things, but gives him no strength to do them. It can show him the right way and tell him what he ought to do, but it does not enable the soul to do it....One the other hand, where there is the principle of the Gospel, where there is grace, it is in the soul as a pilot in a ship who not only points the way but steers the vessel in the way which he appoints.

(4) The one kind of man looks for his satisfaction in the duty by the performance of the duty, the other looks for satisfaction in the duty as he finds Christ thereby; it is not in the duty, but above the duty, that he finds his satisfaction.

(5) The one kind of man contents himself with the shell, the other is not content without the substance. The godly man goes to duty as the means of communion with God, to see God, to enjoy God, and to talk with God; the other goes to duty merely to satisfy the grumblings and quarrels of his conscience.

(6) The one type of man performs duty in order to live by it....But the believer prays and performs duty, yet he looks beyond them, and looks to live by Christ alone. He lives in the duty, but not by the duty; he lives in obedience, but yet looks a higher than obedience: 'I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me'....

(7) The one type of man does things coldly and formally, the other fervently....A natural man may pray earnestly at times when in fear or horror, or under pangs of conscience, but he does not cry believingly....

(8) The formal man does duty with a view to it serving other ends, and especially when he finds himself in extreme difficulties....But it is not so with the godly man. He closes with these duties as his heaven, as a part of his happiness, a piece of his glory....

(9) The one kind of man does duty as a sick man eats his food, not out of desire for it and delight in it, but because he knows that he will die if he does not eat; yet he has no desire or stomach for it. But the godly man does duty after the manner in which a healthy man feeds, not merely because he needs food, but because he desires it and delights in it.

Conclusion

It is only those who have been justified by faith alone in Christ alone who are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This one walks by the Spirit and is led by the Spirit. he has not by-passed the cross for a legalistic life of holiness. But from the cross, he presses on through the trials and temptations of life with a new Master, a new nature, and a new strength. Does this describe you?
Have you been laboring out of frustration to please God but failed to see that Jesus Christ has pleased God on our behalf? Are you clinging to your strength for obedience when as a true believer you have the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you?

Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Discover The Real Worth Of Your Work

Ephesians 6:5-9

Unless we see the worth of our work, we will never find fulfillment in doing it. Unless we see why we are doing what we are doing, we will never be happy with our jobs.

Let me clarify that our worth as persons is not dependent on our work. Even if our work vanishes, our worth does not vanish with it. Your company may have fired, retired, downsized, transferred, demoted or even promoted you. But, in God’s eyes, your worth as a person remains.

However, I agree with Zig Ziglar when he said, “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it.” You are not your work. But you show who you are through your work. In short, we express our worth through our work.

That is the real worth of our work. Ephesians 6:5-9...

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him."[1]

In the book of Ephesians, we see that God called us to live significant lives. And a significant life leads to significant relationships. One of those relationships is our work. You may think that these verses do not apply today because it talks about slave-master relationship. But “Paul talked to the slaves of that day the same way he would talk to the employees of our day. And what he said, essentially, was that the way we conduct ourselves at work speaks volumes more than all the hours we spend at church.”[2]

Yet it seems believers have lost by default when it comes to the workplace. It affects our witness to those who have not accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. Someone lamented, “How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of his life?”[3]

So, how do we express our significance or worth through our work? We have the acronym W-O-R-K.

“W” stands for “WORK hard.” Verse 6 says, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” Obey means obey. We are to do what we are supposed to do and even beyond our job description. The word “sincerity” has not only the idea of a good intention but also an all-out devotion. “It suggests that the employee should not hold back from his best but should actually pour himself out liberally in honest service.”[4] In verse 7 it says, “Serve wholeheartedly...” The word “wholeheartedly” means there’s no need to force you to do your job. You take the initiative. The NET Bible goes like this: “Obey with enthusiasm...” Just imagine. Paul was talking to slaves, either sold or captured in a war or born to slave parents. No one really wanted to be a slave. Thus they have to be compelled to serve. But still Paul commanded, “Serve eagerly and willingly.” I like how the Message translated it: “work with a smile on your face...” That is, serve cheerfully.

Ephesians gave us another reason why we work: “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.” We work not only to provide for the needs of our families. God blessed us with our work so that we “can help others who can’t work.”[5] I said help those who can’t, not those who won’t work. Work enables us to serve others.

“O” stands for “OBEY with the right motives.” Someone said, “People do what is inspected, not what is expected.” So, when the boss is away, the employees play. Verse 6 says that is wrong: “Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you...” We are to work hard “not only when [our superiors] are watching [us], because [we] want to gain their approval...”[6] We are not to work hard for the sake of appearance. Of course, we need to impress our boss with our work. People tell me that a good impression is important for their promotion. I agree. But to impress our manager with our output is one thing, to pretend that we are working hard is another. You are not only fooling your supervisor. You are actually fooling yourself if you just pretend to work. That is actually hypocrisy.

There was a retired person who became interested in watching the activities in a construction site near his house. He noticed a worker who was digging with so much energy. He watched the guy for some days. He was so impressed that he decided to approach and compliment the worker. He said, “I enjoyed watching you work. I should tell your foreman so that you would be rewarded.” The construction worker was so surprised. “You mean you are not my supervisor?” Seriously, we need to ask at the end of a working day, “Do I deserve my pay for the day? Is my labor equal to my salary? Am I doing what I’m told to do even if I’m not supervised?”

Of course, if employers fail to give what is due, that is another story. Working hard is the responsibility of the employee. Paying the right wages is the responsibility of the employer. Verse 9 commands employers, “Masters, it’s the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats.”[7] Colossians 4:1 says, “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair...” So God says employers are abusing their employees when they fail to give what is right and fair. Well, until we find another company, we are to work hard in our present job even if it fails to provide well. Why? Verse 8 assures us “that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” This brings me to my next point. “R” stands for “REMEMBER the rewards.” The Lord may reward us here on earth. He may bless us with a better job in another company or a promotion in our present job. It’s all up to Him. He may choose not to reward us here at all. But definitely He will reward us there in heaven. The Message goes like this: “Good work will get you good pay from the Master...” A salary is a reward by itself. Just imagine. Slaves at that time don’t even receive any salary. But we receive wages. Now, isn’t it amazing that we can expect a double pay? We receive a salary here on earth and we will receive a salary there in heaven. Your employer may not give you what you think is due you. But God will make sure you will receive what is rightfully yours.

Lastly, “K” stands for “KNOW the real Master.” Paul wrote that we must “obey [our] earthly masters with respect and fear...” It means we give our boss great respect. If your boss is not respectable, still give him respect. We have to respect the office even if the person seating on it is not deserving of our respect. Why? Note what Paul said: “just as you would obey Christ.” We respect our employer here on earth because our real Employer is there in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. We obey Christ by obeying our boss. All of us have the same Boss. That is why verse 7 commands us to “work with a smile on [our] face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, [we’re] really serving God.”[8] That is why managers should also respect their subordinates because verse 9 says, “Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” God holds both the employer and the employee accountable to Him. The clause “there is no favoritism with him” means He “judges everyone by the same standard.”[9] The Message translates it this way: “He makes no distinction between you and them.” No matter what our position is in the corporate ladder, we have the same Boss, the real Owner of the business. We are just His caretakers. We will explain to Him the way we did our work or the way we handled our subordinates or the way we related to our superiors.

So, we express our worth through our W.O.R.K.

WORK hard.
OBEY with the right motives.
REMEMBER the rewards.
KNOW the real Master.

I close with this interesting quote from Harvey Firestone, the founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company: “I have never found that pay and pay alone would neither bring together nor hold good people. I think it was the game itself.” In other words, people work not only because of the pay but because they find work fulfilling. People who follow the Bible have a higher purpose. It’s not really self-fulfillment. It’s “God-fulfillment.” We actually work for God. You don’t have to be a pastor to work for Him. Work is our worship to God. That’s the true worth of our work.

No Better Than We Are

Job 4:1-5:1

When you get caught in some sort of blunder, how do you get out of it? How do you take care of your guilt when you are weighed in the balances and found wanting?

Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that you’ve shaded the truth. I will not suggest that you have lied; you have shaded the truth. You have exaggerated. Doesn’t that feel better? You have not lied, you put a spin on the truth. But they found you out. Somebody who knew more facts than you thought they did called you on your little trick. How did you deal with that? What explanations did you offer?

Here’s one I read in the newspapers this week. “Nobody’s perfect. We’ve all made mistakes. But I’m no monster.” That was a church leader in response to charges that he had embezzled thousands of dollars to support some very unsavory stuff. What was the answer? “Nobody’s perfect. We’ve all made mistakes.” What do you think of that? Have you ever used it? “I’m no better than we all are.” I may be bad, but you are just as bad. I may be a crook, but so is everybody else. Faultfinding, in order to show that your own faults are not any worse than theirs.

Am I a liar? Am I a cheat? Aren’t we all thieves? Then because I have found this fault in you, that means I don’t have to deal with my own, right? Because they are no better than we are, we have no real problems, right? Right?!

Wrong. Wrong. Because the issue is not how we measure up against one another. The issue is how we measure against God’s expectations. The issue is not whether we are no better than anyone else. The issue is how we test against what God wants from us. The measure is not how you stack up or how I do what I do; the measure is nothing less than the stature of the fullness of Christ. Not whether somebody else is no better than we are.

I’m announcing a new club today. It’s for chronic faultfinders. Along the lines of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymouse, it’s time to stand up and say, “My name is Smith, and I’m a faultfinder. I’m a faultfinder because I keep on thinking that you are no better than I and I am no better than you.” And that’s a dangerous illusion. We need to sign up for Faultfinders Anonymous.
I
Some of us find fault with others because we think they set themselves up so high and mighty and righteous. We love finding faults in those who have told us that they are beyond reproach. Something in us loves to find flaws in people who look too perfect.

Job’s first friend, Eliphaz, found fault with Job because to him it looked as though Job thought himself better than the rest of us. Eliphaz felt that Job had that air of superiority, just a little more spiritual, a little more righteous, a shade more correct, than ordinary mortals. To Eliphaz, Job had just always looked a little too good to be true. And now that Job was having problems, now that Job had lost all the props that made him look so good, Eliphaz gloated a little. Eliphaz enjoyed Job’s plight. You are just getting what you deserve, Job! Eliphaz found fault with Job; Job, you are no better than we are. You are getting what you deserve at last.

“See, you have instructed many, you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words supported those who were stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.”

Job, you were all right as long as you were playing Lady Charity, helping other people. As long as it was other people who hurt, Job, you could be understanding and compassionate and helpful. You enjoyed having it all together and doing things for others, the poor slobs. But now the troubles have come on you, Job, and you can’t take it. You aren’t man enough to deal with it. The things you’ve given other people you don’t really have in yourself, Job. You are no better than we are.

Faulfinders find fault with people who have been succesful and whose lives look together. They find fault because out of their own insecurities they need to believe that others are no bwetter than they are. There are some folks who lead charmed lives. The rest of us can be down and out, and they will mysteriously have enough to eat, clothes to wear, the rent bill paid, and they want to know if you are going to Cancun this year or whether you like the latest fashions at Saks. When you hear all that, you get jealous. Here I am, sweating and straining just to get by, and this guy seems to have everything.

So Eliphaz thought that Job had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and now that it was all gone, Eliphaz was glad of it. One of the reasons we find fault with others is that we are jealous of them. We think they do not really deserve all the good things they have, and so we pick at them. We jab and poke and see if we cannot find some fault in them. It makes us feel better about ourselves if we can find the flaws in others. It makes us deal with our own self-esteem problems if we can find somebody else and put down his success. Aha, you are no better than we are!

That’s part of the way racism works. If I am a racist, I look at my own failures and I have to have some explanation. I cannot just admit that I’ve messed up. And so I go out to look for somebody else to blame. That black woman over there, she got the job I should have had. That Hispanic guy, they hired him just for show. Those Asians, they support each other until Kingdom come and shut the rest of us out. Do you see? Racism wants to explain things by suggesting that other folks who seem to be doing so well, they are no better than we are. And so it’s all right to find fault with them. It’s all right to put them down.

Faultfinders, like Eliphaz, find fault with others because, in our own deficits, in our own shortcomings, we think that we will come off all right if we believe that others are no better than we are. It’s time, however, for you and I and Eliphaz to sign up for Faultfinders Anonymous, for there is another measurement. There is another standard. It is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And against that standard all of us have deficits, all have sinned and come short. All. We cannot repair our own insecxurities by finding fault with others.
II
However, there is another kind of candidate for Faultfinders Anonymous. There is another person in this marvelous Biblical narrative who is good at finding faults. And that is Job himself. Job too is a faultfinder. It is not only that Eliphaz finds fault with Job; Job also finds plenty of faults with Eliphaz. Job too falls into the trap of finding fault because his friend is no better than he is.

Job finds fault with Eliphaz because Eliphaz does not deliver the goods when Job wants him to. Eliphaz does not fix Job’s problem. Eliphaz does not come up with the right advice, he does not speak the magic words, he does not conjure up the right formula. Job is there in all this misery; his friends come to sit with him, and they are struggling to find something to say. I know what that feels like, don’t you? Struggling to find something, anything, to fill up the silence. And Eliphaz, the first to speak, bless his orthodox, pious heart, he says what he knows to say. It’s not very profound, it’s not especially original, it’s not too good. But it’s all he has, poor Eliphaz. And he gives it. Well, don’t you know, Job turns on him and finds fault big-time:

“Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone wrong. How forceful are honest words. But your reproof, what does it reprove? ... You would even cast lots over the orphan, and bargain over your friend .. miserable comforters are you all. Have windy words no limit? Or what provokes you that you keep on talking?”

Job is telling his friend Eliphaz that all these windy words have brought no comfort; that, Eliphaz, for all his piety, for all his standing as a scholar, Eliphaz is an empty, wheezy windbag, no better than we are! Job finds fault with Eliphaz because Eliphaz cannot be his savior. Eliphaz is not his mommy who can kiss it and make it all better. Eliphaz does not have the right words to say, he does not have exactly the soothing whispers that reach the right place. And so, to Job’s tormented mind, that means that Eliphaz is no better than he is, no better than we all are. Job calls Eliphaz a miserable comforter.

You see, when we get desperately unhappy; when we are in a life-and-death struggle, we will believe that somebody out there should fix us, and, if they can’t they are worthless. We believe that somebody ought to scratch us where we itch, and if they cannot, well, we find fault. We put them down. They are no better than we are. We are constantly looking for somebody to take care of our problems for us, and we’ll never really find that person.

Folks stop by here sometimes and tell me about their problems: their rent is not paid, their car note is past due, they haven’t eaten in a week, and they are about to be evicted, and can they please have about three thousand dollars, just for a couple of months! When I tell them I can’t do all of that, but there are some things I can do .. some spiritual things as well as physical things .. they don’t want to hear that. Not only do they not want to hear it; they tell me that I am no pastor and this is no church if we won’t bail them out, right now! Fault-finding. They say that we are no better than they are, because we can’t fix their problem.

A minister friend told me this week of an encounter she had last Sunday in the church where she is a staff member. She had planned a youth activity, and only two teenagers showed up, one of them with his mother. This was a rebellious young man, who had been on the borderline of trouble for quite a while. His mother wanted the church to fix him. And so she dragged him, to this youth program. But it was a bust. Hardly anybody came. Nothing going on. So, says my friend, the anger came tumbling out. “You NEVER do anything for these youth. I’ll bet you didn’t even plan this activity. You wanted this evening to fail. You don’t care about these kids. You don’t care about my son. He could just disappear for all you care.” Wow! On the attack! This mother was hurting, and the only thing she could do was to find fault with someone she wanted to be her savior.

Hurting people become faultfinders because they need so much for somebody to fix them. Hurting people build up unrealistic expectations for their doctors, their counselors, their spouses, their friends, their pastors. And when all none of these folks have the magic answers, hurting people, like Job, act out of their pain and their anger, they turn like wolves and tear. They find fault, because their friends are no better than they are. Their helpers are no better than they are. And, worst of all, they begin to feel that God Himself is no better than they are, that God has no answers, and is the biggest windbag of them all.

When you get to that point, it’s time to join Faultfinders Anonymous. When you get to the point that your anxiety makes you turn on those who have tried to help you, then it’s time to admit that you have a problem. It’s time to join Faultfinders Anonymous.
III
This morning every faultfinder can echo Job’s cry. Every one of us can identify with his shout,

“Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me.”

“Oh, that I knew where I might find him.” This morning I want to point us, the members of Faultfinders Anonymous, elsewhere. I want to point you to a place where you can put your faults and deposit your deficits. I want to point you to Jesus Christ. Jesus, whom even the hostile Roman governor Pilate examined and said, “I find no fault in him at all.” Jesus, against whom the torrents of hostility were leashed, but instead of retaliating, He offered a prayer, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus Christ, on whom all the sin and shame of humanity was poured; Jesus Christ, about whom it was said that God has made him to BE sin who knew no sin; Jesus Christ, who loves us to the end. I want to point us, Faultfinders Anonymous as we are, to Him.

For He is better than we are. The best of men, suffering the worse of fates. Like Job, out on the town garbage heap, there to end his life in shame and spitting. Like Job, stripped of everything he owned save one garment, and then that taken and gambled over by rude soldiers. He is better than we are, for there, where all of us would complain, all of us would find fault, all of us would point to the scum of the earth and lash our tongues to remind them that they are no better than we, there he spoke to a criminal and offered salvation, hope. He is better than we are. And we need that. Desperately we need that.

And He is a great savior, wounded as He is. He does have the words of eternal life, even in His dying. His is no empty rhetoric, his no pious drivel worn out by constant windy repeating. He has the words of life. In His pain crying out, “God my father, why have you forsaken me?”, wondering with us whether God matters, whether God will do anything; but then in faith and peace, “It is finished, Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” He is a great savior, wounded as He is. And He is what we need, we faultfinders.

My minister friend says that after that young man and his mother left, she looked in the bag he had given her, and in it this young man, troubled as he was, had put a picture of himself, and with it a short note. The note said, “You’ve helped me more than you know just by listening to me. Please put this picture on your shelf so you will remember me every day.” Somebody was helped, even by the wounded pastor. And Jesus is a great savior, wounded as He is. He is what we need, we faultfinders.

“Tempted and tried, I need a great savior; one who can help my burdens to bear; I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus; He all my cares and sorrows will share.”

Tell Jesus. He is better than we are. Tell Jesus. He does have the words of life. Tell Jesus and come see His cross. Stand there a while, and see. Taste and see. Feel and see. All of us belong in Faultfinders Anonymous. But in Him there is no accusation, no faultfinding, no hostility. Only love. All love. For every fault and every faultfinder. Come and see. I find no fault in Him at all.

A Heart That Is Completely God’s!

2 Chronicles 16:7-9

A “perfect” heart means a heart that is entirely dedicated to God. A heart that desired, above all else, to serve and please God.

God can give you a perfect heart. If you have believed in Jesus Christ, this is already happening in you. Paul wrote that God works within us “both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

“My son, give me thine heart…” (Proverbs 23:26a) God wants our hearts! He wants FULL CONTROL OF OUR HEARTS. God requires WHOLE-HEARTED OBEDIENCE.


I. The NECESSITY To Maintain A HEART FOR GOD.

“The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers: let Him not leave us, nor forsake us: that He may INCLINE OUR HEARTS UNTO HIM, TO WALK IN ALL HIS WAYS, AND TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, AND HIS JUDGMENTS, which He commanded for our fathers. Let your HEART therefore be PERFECT with the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commandments, as at this day.” (1 Kings 8:57,58,61)

(Illustration) 2 Kings 20:1-6

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.”

Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, “I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have WALKED BEFORE THEE in truth and WITH A PERFECT HEART, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
“Now SET YOUR HEART and your soul to SEEK THE LORD your God…”(1 Chronicles 22:19)

“SERVE HIM with a PERFECT HEART and with a WILLING MIND: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

Our prayer should be like this, “Give unto us, O Lord, a PERFECT HEART, to keep Thy commandments, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes.” (1 Chronicles 29:19)

A. WE NEED TO SET OUR HEARTS ON GOD.

Be warned: “And he did evil, because he PREPARED NOT HIS HEART TO SEEK THE LORD.” (2 Chronicles 12:14)

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed.” (Psalm 57:7)

“Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; TAKE HEED and DO IT: Thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a PERFECT HEART.” (2 Chronicles 19:7a;9b)

B. There are some things we need to do TO SET OUR HEARTS FOR GOD: (Psalm 101:2-4)

§ “I WILL BEHAVE myself wisely in a PERFECT WAY. O when wilt Thou come unto me?
§ I WILL WALK within my house with a PERFECT HEART.
§ I WILL SET no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
§ A froward heart shall depart from me: I WILL NOT KNOW a wicked person.”

“O God, MY HEART IS FIXED: I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
§ I myself will awake early. (definite quiet time with God; meditation)
§ I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people: (declaration) and,
§ I will sing praises unto Thee among the nations.” (deportation)
(Psalm 108:1-3)

This was David’s song of victory in God’s strength. With God’s help, we can do more than we think. God guards the minds and actions of those who follow His commands out of a perfect heart. “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:HIS HEART IS FIXED, trusting in the Lord. HIS HEART IS ESTABLISHED, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.” (Psalm 112:7,8)


II. WE NEED TO ASK FOR HEART THAT IS COMPLETELY GOD’s.

“AND I WILL GIVE THEM AN HEART to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their WHOLE HEART.” (Jeremiah 24:7)


A. God needs men and women with a heart for God TO DO HIS WORK!

“And EVERY WISE HEARTED among you SHALL COME, and make all that the Lord hath commanded. AND THEY CAME, every one WHOSE HEART stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing. And every WISE HEARTED man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded. And every WISE HEARTED man, IN WHOSE HEART the Lord had put wisdom, even every one WHOSE HEART stirred him up TO COME UNTO THE WORK TO DO IT. And every WISE HEARTED among them that WROUGHT THE WORK of the tabernacle.”
(Exodus 35:10; 21a; 36:1,2,8a)


B. God wants to bless us but not until we give our hearts completely to Him.

The Lord wants us to have a HEART FOR HIM – to want to obey Him. He wants our hearts and lives completely dedicated to Him.

“O that there were such an HEART IN THEM, that they would fear Me, and keep all my commandments ALWAYS, THAT IT MIGHT BE WELL WITH THEM, AND WITH THEIR CHILDREN FOR EVER!” (Deuteronomy 5:29)

“The HEART IS DECEITFUL above all things, and DESPERATELY WICKED: who can know it? I the Lord SEARCH THE HEART, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9,10)

“Take heed to yourselves, THAT YOUR HEART BE NOT DECEIVED. Behold, I set before you this day a BLESSING and a CURSE: a BLESSING, if ye OBEY and a CURSE, if ye will NOT OBEY. (Deuteronomy 11:16,26,27a,28a)

(Illustration) Isaiah 38:1-6

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, “Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.”

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have WALKED BEFORE THEE IN TRUTH and WITH A PERFECT HEART, and HAVE DONE THAT WHICH IS GOOD IN THY SIGHT. And Hezekiah wept sore.

Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, “Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I HAVE HEARD THY PRAYER, I HAVE SEEN THY TEARS: behold, I WILL ADD UNTO THY DAYS FIFTEEN YEARS. AND I WILL DELIVER THEE and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I WILL DEFEND this city.”


III. We need not NEGLECT to realize the IMPORTANCE of having a HEART THAT IS COMPLETELY GOD’S.

“Let your HEART therefore be PERFECT with the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commandments, as at this day.” (1 Kings 8:61)

(Illustration) “For it came to pass, when SOLOMON was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. And Solomon DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, AND WENT NOT FULLY AFTER THE LORD, as did David his father.” (1 Kings 11:4,6)

We like Solomon know the right WAY TO LIVE, but do not always have the WILL TO DO IT. Many people have enough wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong, but they don’t always do right. We need to develop not only the WISDOM to do right, but the WILL to do right.


Conclusion:

Let us go back to our story. ASA came very close to being good. He traveled a long way with God before getting off track. His sin was not so much deliberate disobedience as choosing the EASY WAY rather than the RIGHT WAY.

(Illustration) (1) When the odds seemed impossible in the battle with the Ethiopians, Asa recognized his NEED TO DEPEND ON GOD. Following that victory, God’s promise of peace based on OBEDIENCE spurred the king and people to many years of RIGHT LIVING. But Asa was to face a TOUGHER TEST.

(2) Years of animosity between Asa and Israel’s king Baasha took an ugly turn. Baasha, king of the rival Northern Kingdom, was building a fort that threatened both the peace and the economy of Judah. Asa thought he saw a way out – HE BRIBED KING BENHADAD OF SYRIA TO BREAK HIS ALLIANCE WITH KING BAASHA. The plan worked brilliantly, but it wasn’t God’s way.
(3) And when Asa was confronted by the prophet Hanani, he threw him in jail, REVEALING THE TRUE CONDITION OF HIS HEART!

Application:

It is not sin to use human means to solve our problems, BUT IT IS SIN:
§ to trust them more than God,
§ to think they are better than God’s ways, or
§ to leave God completely out of the problem-solving process.

We are to obey the Lord because He is God – that is reason enough. If you don’t think the benefits are not worth it, CONSIDER WHO GOD IS – the ONLY ONE with the POWER and ABILITY to meet your EVERY NEED.

“I Am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” (Genesis 17:1b)

Let us change our perspectives and begin to know God for “Who He says He is” and believe in “What He says He will do.” “I Am the Lord, I change not!” (Malachi 3:6) “I AM THAT I AM: thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14)

God describes His ETERNAL POWER and UNCHANGEABLE CHARACTER. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus said unto them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)

“Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God! THEREFORE the children of men PUT THEIR TRUST UNDER THE SHADOW OF THY WINGS. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light. O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the UPRIGHT IN HEART.” (Psalm 36:5-10)

“Hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with ALL YOUR HEART and with ALL YOUR SOUL…Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside…” (Deuteronomy 11:13,16) But be thou “MEN OF MIGHT, and MEN OF WAR FIT FOR THE BATTLE…MIGHTY MEN OF VALOUR…MIGHTY MEN OF VALOUR FOR THE WAR…MEN OF WAR, that could keep rank…men “with a PERFECT HEART!” (1 Chronicles 12:8b, 21b, 25b, 38a)