Tuesday 5/29/2012 Sin, Faith, Duty (Final)

“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.  Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Coe along now and sit down to eat?’  Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?’  Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Good Tuesday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, and Happy Birthday to our long-time ministry and singing partner, Pamela Sue Bower.  I did promise her that I would not tell anyone that she is 58, so I am not telling you.  She shares her birthday with the late Bob Hope.  Have a great day, Pam, you are indeed loved and appreciated!

Today we are going to pick up the prayers we do on Mondays, so please pray for our leaders in Washington, in our States Houses and also your local governments.  And when praying for our President, please pray “he has a come to Jesus time.”  Pray also for our veterans, our current military, our police, firefighters, and all those who keep us safe and out of harm’s way.  And starting today I am asking that you pray that ABORTION ENDS!  And please pray it every day.  Also needing prayer today, Ron, for healing from cancer, Vicki, many problems.

5/29/2012  Sin, Faith, Duty:  Luke 17:7 – “Suppose One of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.  Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat?’ 8 Would he rather not say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?’ 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (NIV)

This will be our final day on this subject.  I should have finished out last week, but I got running behind.  Sorry about that.  I need to start getting them done in the morning again.  Today we are talking about the duty part of the subject.  Last week we covered Sin and Faith.  Duty … Hmm.

Let’s jump right into the shoes of a servant, and let’s not think of plowing a field, let us think about the jobs we have right now.  Here is the way I worked for others, and I did it all my life … When I got a job working for a company, I would do what I was asked and/or told to do.  When I hired on back in the fifties at a service station, I was told I would be pumping gas, cleaning windows, checking tires, lubing cars, changing oil, etc., and washing cars … The first day on that job, my boss said, “get the mop and bucket and clean the restrooms and make sure you get the skidders off the under pat of the seat.”  So I did what I was told!  After all, the man was paying me 50 cents per hour.  When I went to go home, I was told, we scrub the floors first.  So I scrubbed the floors.  When I got a job at a car dealership, I was hired to take care of used cars.  The first week, I was also told I had to go and clean the offices, dust the desks, and mop the floors and clean the restrooms.  After I got a job driving school bus, I was told I had to keep the bus clean.  Now when I became the owner of the business, a service station, I still did all those things, and I expected the same from my employees.  I figured it like this, if it was legal, and not a safety risk, I would do it.

What about you, would you go beyond what your job description required of you?  If you say no, that you go by that Union Book, or the job description, then I next ask you this … What about when God asks you to do something?  Would you pull out the “book”, the Bible, and go by that?  Folks, if you are really going to pull out the work book when talking about your boss here on earth, then why would you not pull out the Bible and carry out what is in God’s word that we are to do?  If the boss were to task you to do something that is a safety hazard or against the law, don’t do it.  God will never ask you to break a commandment.

Think about it, it is our duty to work for God, and it is also our duty here on earth to get a job and work as the owner wants us to work.  Here on earth you have an option; you don’t like working for one company, you can go to another.  Hey, if you do not like working for and with Jesus, you also have a choice, you could choose to go to hell.  Bottom line, all of our lives here on earth we are facing choices, and we have a big one to face here on earth that will get us into heaven OR NOT.  Again, your choice.  Think about it.  Amen.

Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for all You do for all of us, and thanks that you did not put us on strings.  Help us to make good choices in life, and also make the choice to live for You.  Save me, Lord.  In Jesus’ name, I pray.  Amen.

Now go forth doing what is right, sharing your blessings, and if your boss would say to you, please bring me a cup of coffee, think about it before you say that is not part of your job.  For our Lord Jesus has asked us to feed the hungry, remember!  And by feeding them, we are feeding Him … Love ya, Pastor Dan.