MID SOUTH REHAB GATHER 11.2.22
Work Heartily and Live Zealously
Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
Romans 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Titus 2:11-14 11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Jeremiah 20:9 If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Team I am very thankful to get to come together this Wednesday. What a blessing it is that at the mid-point of every week our company takes time to encourage us to hit the reset button and remember where our help comes from. This is a beautiful time to pause, meditate on truth, learn, and be strengthened by God for the good He has left for us to do today and every day.
Last week brother Dan lead us out to consider Colossians 3:23 and how we can work as for the Lord and not for men. This is such a profound and vital truth that elevates all that we do to a task that has eternal import, and without that fact being first and foremost, this message today can easily miss the mark. BUT, when we couple faith filled action, with what these verses above point us to, we have the potential to have even greater impact on this world and the next.
How many of us find ourselves being bogged down with the day to day tasks that we have to do? We wake up, drag ourselves out of bed, drudgingly get ready and get our kids to school or whatever our morning routine is, sleep walk to work, make it through our day, and get back home to do it all over again. It is no wonder that with common mindsets like that many people are miserable at work and live for the weekend. But I want to submit to us that there is another way, a way that leads to joy even Monday through Friday, and a way that can have great impact on our lives.
Colossians 3:23 and Romans 12:11 both point us to serve the Lord, but they do not say serve Him any which way you want. It does not say drudgingly get through your day and do nothing wrong. No, it says serve the Lord by working HEARTILY, full of ZEAL, and with a FIERY SPIRIT that is ZEALOUS for good works! I want to lean into this and call us to remember today that we are not put on this world to coast. We are put on this world to be zealous, intense, passionate, on fire for the Kingdom of God and any task that our Lord Jesus Christ gives us to do today. Whatever the Lord gives us today let us do it with the strength God provides. When I ask my son to do a task, if he looks at me, mopes about, is slow to obey, and drags his feet while half way performing what I asked him to do, I am not happy. But, if I ask him to do a task and he stops what he is doing with a happy heart and obeys quickly and performs his task to the best of his ability, I am delighted! He could do the task well with a sour heart and I would be less pleased than him doing the task as good as he possibly can with his limited frame and still fall short but do it with all of his might and a heart full of loving obedience. This call is not one to perfection which none of us can obtain, but it is a call to gladly submissive hearts on fire to do whatever God puts before us to do today!
Has anyone ever worked out and been with a group that drug around and obviously did not want to be there? It is miserable. The workout is pathetic, the energy is low, and no one wants to do it again. Has anyone ever worked out with someone that has his or her hair on fire and is breathing energy and passion with every rep? Even though that workout will leave you more physically spent it will be more positively impactful for your health and it will almost even be fun! Same thing with therapy. I have walked into clinics where you could cut the boredom with a knife and most of the time that place will be full of no shows and bad outcomes. But I have walked into clinics with music playing, smiling faces with joyful hearts, and zealous therapists, and you see happy patients with good outcomes. Zeal and passion for what we do has impact. And this is in all areas of life. I love going to Chicfila. Sure some of it is because the food is good, but most of it is they are eager and zealous to get my order right and they take pleasure in service. They are not always perfect, but when they mess up they own it and they do whatever they can to make it right. That positive customer service comes from a zealousness to do good and to do it with fervor.
I want to call us to that today and every day. Whether we are getting the day started with our family (do not drag about but soak in every fleeting moment because our life is like a vapor), or we are working (laboring with hearts full of zeal screams gospel to a lost world we are surrounded by daily), or we are home in the evenings (exhausted joyful service and love of family at the end of the day will make positive life long and eternal impacts on our families), when we have lives marked by eyes on God’s eternal promises and hearts bent on doing whatever good tasks He puts before us today with zeal we will bring Him more glory than to do those same tasks sluggardly. And if you need some fire, plug your heart into our God who is a consuming fire (Heb 12:9, Deut 4:24) through His word that is a fiery hammer that breaks hard and sluggardly hearts of rocks into pieces and will be a fire in our bones that we cannot hold back even if we want to. Let’s serve others and glorify God with zealous, fervent good works today family, and let’s start by praying to Him now.