Live and Let Live: And Do Something! (for God) Kelly Durant 1-26-14
1 Corinthians 3:13-15 Whatever we build on that foundation will be tested by fire
on the day of judgment. Then everyone will find out if we have used gold,
silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw.14 We will be rewarded if our building is left standing. 15 But if
it is destroyed by the fire, we will lose everything. Yet we ourselves will be
saved, like someone escaping from flames.
2. There were two friends that were proud in nature and they
got together for a cup of tea. The one getting served said, “I should have the
pleasure of serving you!” The one serving said, “No, The pleasure is mine to
serve you!” Not to be outdone, the one served said, “Well, no the pleasure is
mine, to be here.” The one serving said, “But the pleasure is mine you are
here”. The one getting served said, “No, the pleasure is mine that you serve
me.” The one serving said, “Well, I am serving, so more the pleasure is mine. “
“The pleasure is mine” argument went on for the rest of the afternoon, ha!
As humans we are often too competitive to show off our
humility, right? I really wish people here would argue over who gets to serve! How
concerned are you about how others see your humble service to God? Some a lot,
some nothing! What should concern us all is how God sees us! Are we serving one
another in love only concerned that Jesus’s work gets done?
No one here can give God any excuse for not serving God, the
Word is clear that we are to serve God and one another in love. (Gal 5:13)
Hebrews
12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:”
3. When we consider what serving God is like and how we all
perceive it, I try to describe it as others would see it that come in from the
outside to church. Picture this analogy: Think of church as a huge
unconventional classroom where you have a great variety of mixed ages and
grades, all different intellectual levels, all different talents, and people
with all different commitments apart from the study that they are committed to.
The classes are from Pre-K all the way to college, some are still illiterate
and ignorant while others are honor students and giants who have done their
homework and accomplished great things.
Some of the people in the group have served God for decades and
are on the master’s degree level in college, and some have served off and on
and are comparable to being in elementary school. There is another group of
people or ones that have never listened or served and years and years have
passed. They have remained in class but not with the intention of learning or obeying,
so they remain in the pre-K level. They do not know anything about what it
means to be in the program denying yourself for Jesus, sacrificing their time,
talent, and treasure for the use of God serving others with their God given capacities.
This dedication to God gap dynamic is in all churches, and it
is very hard to manage! Usually a very small group of people will serve until
they drop, until they are way too exhausted and the pastors have to intervene
and say, “Stop!” In the meantime, others sit quietly by and do nothing and they
don’t feel any guilt about seeing others killing their selves working so hard!
This is not a very fair work distribution load, right? You have heard the
phrase, ‘share the wealth’? Well that has already been done by God, Jesus gives
everyone or “whoever” that accepts and obeys him the wealth of eternal life.
But what about ‘sharing the work?’
4. The reality is in all community groups, be they people
mixed together in churches, governments, civic groups, schools, or clubs, there
will always be a disparity within the group of who pulls the weight and who
does not, of whom is respected for leading and who is not. Don’t think doing
nothing goes un-noticed!
Jesus was aware of this work load disparity and He never let
anyone off the hook! He never allowed for an elite few to be a ‘do nothing’
class within his disciples. They all had to do the Father’s work as Jesus
himself did it, preaching, praying, and serving. When He sent them out each one
did as He had taught them.
Matt 10: 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them,
saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the
Samaritans enter ye not:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.8 Heal
the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have
received, freely give.
5. An important lesson Jesus taught about serving was that He
led by example, He did not just say, “You go and you do, He went and He did, to
show His followers (us) how to do it.” In the end His obedience cost Him
everything, and it cost the disciples as well but the results are that His works,
His glory, His worthiness of adoration to sit on the right hand of God, has
never been outdone by any other because He was the true Son of God! And try to
absorb what love God has for you and me to have come down to our level to be
one of us and then die for us!
So what happens in the workplace when someone does not carry
their load? They get fired, right? Definitely yes! But often people in power in
the nations of today who do nothing, make horrible mistakes, and waste the
country’s resources don’t fire their selves for a lousy job!? Today, disparity
and the wrong message abounds! It’s embarrassing and infuriating when we
experience people who are working but not doing their job just because they
think they can get away with it!
6. I recall one time in Atlanta a friend got a minor
infraction and was in jail and needed my help to get him out with only $180. (He
repaid me, ha!). I arrived at 10:00 pm and guess what time I got out? 3:00 am?!
I paid at one window and then had to go to 5 different windows and they would
take the paper and disappear for an hour or more, and sometimes I could see
them just talking doing nothing in the back office. And these are my tax
dollars at work, yeah right! And if I complained a little the attitude was, oh,
complain or not you are just going to have to wait because I am in charge! How
inefficient! How unjust and frustrating!
People with the lazy proud, don’t-tell-me-anything, I-am-in
charge of my life, I-am-an-untouchable attitude are destroying this society!
They are everywhere, in authority positions (undeservingly), in unions, in
companies, and even in churches. No wonder sloth (or laziness) is historically
listed as one of the 7 deadly sins that will take you to hell! It is a sin from
hell when someone remains uninvolved in the things of God. People forget all
will be lost when death comes!
Do nothing people with zero initiative for Jesus & church
will be very embarrassed on judgment day. Luke 12:47 “And that servant, which
knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes”. In other words, those that have heard
that they need to obey Jesus week after week, year after year and do nothing
will suffer a hotter hell than those who never knew. How much do you really
fear God? Honestly, not everyone does!
7. What did Jesus say to the good servant with the talents
when he invested his time like money for God’s use? Matthew 25:20-21, 20 And so
he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying,
Lord, thou delivered unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them
five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
But the one that did nothing for God, what happened? Matt 25:
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou
knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my
coming I should have received mine own with usury.28 Take therefore the talent
from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one
that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath
not shall be taken away even that which he hath.30 And cast ye the unprofitable
servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Not applying your life to Jesus use when you know deep inside
you are called to do it will cost you a punishment that is horribly beyond
imagination!
8. Referring back to the verses of today in I Cor.3:13-15,
Paul warns Christians not to be building personal kingdoms that are like straw
that will be burnt up but rather be investing in God’s work. Doing God’s work serving and sharing the
gospel is like investing in gold and jewels, the souls saved are the jewels and
only the things done for God on earth will last in heaven.
On the History Channel or in Science Journals we discover the
speculation of how the earth would be destroyed in the future. They all point
to fire! It could be by a solar flare, a massive earthquake with lava, a
massive volcano, a comet strike, a nuclear meltdown, WW III, and a dozen other
ways (which we can read about in the book of Revelation). Prophecy is real and we can see it here…2
Peter 3:12
“You should look forward to the day when God judges everyone,
and you should try to make it come soon. On that day the heavens will be
destroyed by fire, and everything else will melt in the heat.”
There will come a day when everyone will lose everything and
everything ever built on earth will be burnt up on that day, but soul and life
energy are eternal. So saved people who worked so hard for the materialistic
things of vanity, and invested little in God’s work, they will be saved, but
like a person running out of their house on fire! They will have their life
saved, but no valuables. Those who work for God though, will have their souls
and works invested in the new heaven!
9. Another problem with the group dynamic of some people
doing good and God’s work is that others not doing much are provoked to
jealousy. When there is a person who shows up often to do the work, the others
who do not want to appear as not doing enough start criticizing the ones who
are doing good?!
Gossip happens at the workplace, on the news, and in the
churches from those who put down others so they appear more than them. People
will say, “Oh they work so hard here because they are interested in some
personal gain. Oh, I don’t trust them, and people murmur, why are they
recognized, I have been here longer and these new ones should not have so much
access and merit”.
10. It is not a Christian value to put others down in order to
lift yourself up. When someone does something good, something of value for God,
we should all praise them and share the glory with them. Philippians 2:3 Let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves. In other words, be thankful others help
and do God’s work, recognize them and honor them!
But in the end, no one answers to the Captains, or to anyone
by God for all of what they do! None of us are wise enough to judge motives and
who is the most dedicated. So, if someone is doing something that helps God’s
work, then my philosophy is ‘More power to them’, and ‘Live and let live!’
Like in the verses of the message theme from Mark 9:38, the
disciples were concerned that some people were doing what they thought only
they could be doing, and that was casting out devils, and what did Jesus say?
39
But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in
my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is
on our part.
11. William Booth coined the phrase, “Do something!” Everyone
that is doing something good, something for God, something in the way of
helping others as a testimony so they learn about God’s goodness, is doing
God’s work; and the only feelings we should have for them is gratitude that
they are serving God and humanity in need. Agreed?
The main attraction of our Corps, and of the dozens of ministries
in The Salvation Army, is that we are people who serve, we serve the needy with
food, shelter, with relief in disasters, and most of all spiritually with council,
prayer, Bible classes, camps, and rehab. People who love churches with the main
focus on the praise band, or on the pastor, or on how to get rich quick, who
never do anything for others except their selves for their own recognition are
not attracted to our serving ‘others’ focus and our uniform wearing ‘Heart to
God, Hand to Man’ calling.
12. To do work that goes unnoticed and ignored by the vast
majority in society, ignored by the anti-Christ press, ignored even by
Christian brothers who are friends is a humbling discouraging thing. Not
everyone can survive doing good works year after year doing what could appear
to be unappreciated and ignored. But, if you are doing it for Jesus, you do not
care for what the world thinks or says, you just do it because ‘you love Him
because He first loved you!’
We are in a tug-o-war against serious evil and the enemy is
gaining strength because many Christians who ‘know to do good and are not doing
it’, and they are not pulling their weight here in the Church (Corps), or in
the community. So by disappointing God, they (possibly you) are storing away for
their selves judgment and a punishment for their proud selfishness, lack of
commitment, lack of obedience, and unashamed ‘do nothing’ laziness.
Do you feel conviction today to do more for God? It is a
decision day today, you must choose Jesus as your Savior first and then trust
God that He will give you the strength to do things you normally wouldn’t do.
Don’t let your life pass by and be like the one who escaped a burning house
with only his life. Invest in heaven now!
