Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
Prosperity Special Part 12. God’s perspective on work and discipline.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
God’s perspective on work and discipline.
ECC 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do {it} with all your might;
COL 3:22-25 Labor, obey human management on the basis of all things, not with eyeservice, as people-pleasers, but with the integrity of the right lobe, making a role model out of the Lord. Whatever you do, keep on performing it from the soul, as to the Lord and not to people; since you know that from the Lord you will receive the reward of your inheritance, you serve the Lord Christ. For he who does wrong [on the job] will be paid back for that wrong which he has done, and there is no favoritism.
With most people, there is the attitude that “the world owes me a living.”
In today’s society, many people are content to put as little into their work as they think they can get away with.
Too many employees are receiving a full day’s pay for less than a full day’s work.
In our society, more and more emphasis is being placed on fun, enjoyment and leisure – on a “what’s in it for me first attitude.”
2TH 3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither let him eat.
This doctrinal truth has been contradicted by the unbalanced systems that have been developed in many of our welfare programs, governmental agencies and some labor unions.
MAT 26:11 “For the poor you have with you always;”
The slave mentality is never content with wealth.
The slave mentality = to emphasize security over freedom.
To the person with the slave mentality, security is much more important than freedom.
Spiritual freedom is the heritage of the new birth or regeneration –
2CO 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
PSA 119:45 “I will walk in freedom because I seek Your doctrines.”
JOH 8:32 You shall know the doctrine and the doctrine shall make you free.
None of us by instinct are “freedom” oriented.
By instinct we are “security” oriented.
You do not develop freedom from security, you develop security from freedom.
“Observe people who are good at their work – skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don’t take a back seat to anyone.”
Amplified Bible – 1TH 4:11-12 Work with your hands, as we charged you; so that you may bear yourselves becomingly, be correct and honorable and command the respect of the outside world, being self-supporting, dependent on nobody and having need of nothing
God tells us that the ant has no foreman or boss over them telling them what to do, but it instinctively works hard to provide its needs.
ECC 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do {it} with all your might
MAT 5:41 “And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two.”
Whatever type of work any of us might do, God’s Word tells us that we should put everything we have into it because we really are working for Jesus Christ, not whomever our worldly employer might happen to be, COL 3:23.
Our job is to do the very best we can with the human abilities that God has given us and then to trust in Him for the rest.
If a believer does not do his best at his work, he will soon start to feel empty and unfulfilled, ECC 9:9.
ECC 5:12 The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much.
God wants us to do our best, but the fact is that the great things of life really are done through us, not by us.
PSA 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it.
Hard work starts with discipline.
JOH 8:31-32 If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The one primary thing that stops Christians from realizing the freedom that is theirs in Christ is lack of consistency.
“Disciple” and “discipline” come from the Latin discipulus = pupil, student, from the Latin word discere = to learn or discern.
King James –
1TI 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
“Meditate” – meletao = to revolve in the mind, to meditate, to attend to carefully, used of the Greeks to STUDY.
PSA 81:10 “I, the Lord, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”
PSA 90:12 “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”
EPH 5:15-16 “Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise, sensible intelligent people; making the very most of the time – buying up each opportunity – because the days are evil.”
MAR 4:15 And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.
2CO 2:11 in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
2CO 11:14 for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
1TI 5:15 for some have already turned aside to follow Satan.