Title: Love your job!
Contents
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Judges 9:7-15
7. Somehow it was reported to Jotham, and Jotham went up to the top of Mount Gerizim, and stood there and cried aloud, and said to them, Hear me, men of Shechem, so that God will hear you
8. One day the trees went out to anoint him king, and said to the olive tree, “You shall be our king.”
9. And the olive tree said unto them, My oil glorifies God and man; how shall I forsake it and go away and tremble upon the trees?
10. And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou and be our king.
11. And the fig tree said unto them, Shall I leave my sweet, my sweet fruit, and go away and be shaken upon the trees?
12. And the trees said to the vine, Come thou and be our king.
13. And the vine said to them, “Shall I leave my new wine, which pleases God and man, and go away and tremble upon the trees?”
14. Then all the trees said to the thorns, Come, be our king.
15. The thorn bush said to the trees, "If you will anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shadow, otherwise fire will come out of the thorn and consume the cedars of Lebanon."
Matthew 4:17-22
17. From this time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
18. As they were walking along the seashore of Galilee, they saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting their nets into the sea, and they were fishermen.
19. He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20. Immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus.
21. As he went further from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, one with his father Zebedee, weaving nets in the boat and called him.
22. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
Content
Subject: Love your job!
Text: Judges 9:7-15, Matthew 4:17-22,
Epicurus said, “He who cannot be satisfied with the smallest things is never satisfied with anything.” Rockefeller was asked, 'How much money do you think it takes to satisfy a human being?' In that sense, the evangelist who said, “He who loves silver is not satisfied with silver, and he who loves abundance is not satisfied with income; this is also vain” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Greed has a stomach that makes you hungry even after eating endlessly. There was a man who asked Jesus to order his brother to share the inheritance. This is what he said to the congregation when he refused to be judged in such a case. “Beware, shun all covetousness. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of what he has” (Luke 12:15). This is what he said to all of them. That's what he said to all of us.
Today is the 52nd Sunday of 2006. How was our year recorded in the heavenly ledger? It makes you think (Revelation 20:12) How do you think you have lived a year that has nothing to do with God's providence? What kind of attitude do you have with your tasks? How do you feel about living with the relationships you have made? Gideon's son, Jotham's parable, comes to mind. After the slaughter of the 70 brothers of Abimelech the slayer, Jotham, barely surviving, comes out of hiding and rebukes the people of Shechem for sympathizing with Abimelech's impulse. The three trees are satisfied with their role and reject the crown. The olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine are the answers. The thorn bears the crown as well as pride and tyranny (Judges 9:7-15).
Today's New Testament text (Matthew 4:17-22) is the scene where Jesus, who began to preach the gospel of the kingdom, calls the first disciples. This is the scene where brothers Peter and Andrew and John and James are called. There were some things the Lord looked at carefully before calling. Peter and Andrew saw ‘throwing nets into the sea’ (Matthew 4:18). John and James saw ‘the weaving of nets with their father Zebedee’ (Matthew 4:21). What would their work look like in the eyes of Jesus? What attitude were they taking toward what they were doing? reluctantly? Were you forced to do things? Or was he working with passion and devotion with a sense of mission? What attitude should we have in our lives? What kind of lifestyle does God see with pleasure?
A quarter of the American workforce is dissatisfied with their work. A quarter of all office workers say that work is the most stressful factor of their lives. Seven out of ten aren't even motivated to do what they ought to do, and they don't enjoy it. Forty-three percent of workers often or very often live with anger whenever they see an employer. Most suicides happen on Sunday evenings. Heart attacks are most common on Monday mornings. Humans spend about 83,000 hours working in their lifetime. Christians are people who must live by the command, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). This is the attitude of the “royal priests” (1 Peter 2:9) to perform their duties. We must do it with a joyful will (1 Peter 5:2). Because the place of our daily life is the Holy of Holies. Heaven and happiness are experienced in this attitude of life.