MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
A. Tomorrow is Labor Day, & depending upon what radio station you listen to, you may have heard some reminders of that fact. That includes warnings that the Highway Patrol will be out in force, watching for speeders & drunk drivers, trying to make the holiday as safe for us as they can.
ILL. Now, I really don't know any of the popular songs today, so I don't know if there are any work-related or Labor Day songs - at least not like those sung a generation or so ago.
Some of us can remember Tennessee Ernie Ford singing, "You load 16 tons & what do you get? Another day older & deeper in debt. St. Peter, don't you call me cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store."
Or Frankie Laine singing, "Up in the morning, out on the job, work like the devil for my pay. But that lucky old sun got nothin' to do but roll around heaven all day."
They just don't seem to write songs like those anymore.
B. Labor Day has been a special day for a lot of reasons. And maybe the #1 reason for many of us to celebrate is the fact that we have something to do.
ILL. The story was told some years ago about 3 brothers who started working at the same time for a fur company owned by an old friend of their father.
After working there for more than a year, one son was still receiving the same salary as when he started, & seemed to be unhappy with his job. The 2nd son had received a raise; while the 3rd son had received a very generous raise.
Curious about this, the father went to see his old friend, the president of the company & said, "Jim, my 3 boys all work for you & I appreciate your giving them positions in your company. But I have a question. You pay one of them $2,500 a month, another $3,000, & the third $5,000. Why the difference?"
The president leaned back in his chair & was silent for a few moments. Then he answered, "Well, maybe I can show you why. Do you have enough spare time to wait around here for a while?"
"I can stay all day," the father said. "Well, I hope it won't take that long, but let's see." He picked up the phone & called the $2,500-a-month son & told him, "I hear the Ontario has just docked at the wharf, loaded with furs. Please go down there & see what cargo she's carrying & let me know."
About 3 minutes later the president's phone rang & the young fellow said, "I didn't have to go down there to get the information. I just telephoned them. They're carrying 1,500 sealskins." The president said, "Thank you."
He buzzed the next son, the $3,000 one, & said, "The Ontario has just docked. Will you please go down & see what she has on board & let me know at your earliest convenience?"
About an hour later the phone rang & the son reported, "I just went down & checked on the Ontario. She has 1,500 sealskins & some miscellaneous skins on board."
Then the president called the third son, the $5,000 one. He said, "The Ontario has docked," & told him the same story & made the same request. Four hours later the young man was back & came right to the president's office.
He said, "Well, she had 1,500 sealskins on board & all are in good shape. I contracted to buy them for $25 apiece, & filled that order we had from one of our customers. He bought all of them from us at $40 apiece."
"The Ontario also had 500 red fox pelts. Of course, we don't handle red fox, but I know someone who does, so I called him long distance & made a sale. That deal will net us about $6,000."
"There were also 39 mink skins on board. I went in & examined them. They're beautiful. Since you always like to handle the mink trade yourself, I took an option on them for the rest of today so I could report to you."
The president said, "Thank you. You did very well, & I'll check them out immediately." Then the young man left. Turning to the father, he asked, "Is your question answered?"
"Yes," replied the father, "the first one didn't even follow your instructions, the second did exactly what you asked, but the last one gave you his very best effort."
APPL. With that story in mind, listen to these words in 1 Corinthians 3:8-9, "Each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers..."
PROP. Now if God means what He says, & He is going to reward us according to our labor, then we ought to ask ourselves this question, "What am I worth to God?"
And I think the answer to that would depend upon our answer to 3 more questions: #1, "How dedicated am I?" #2, "Do I work well with others?" & #3, "How does God judge my worth?"
I. HOW DEDICATED AM I?
A. Now, how dedicated am I? Is it enough to keep me faithful when those about me are ignoring God's will & principles & are following the line of least resistance?
Romans 14:16 says, “Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil." Now just stop there for a moment & let those words sink in.
In your wildest dreams did you ever think there would be a time when mentioning "family values" would be greeted with ridicule & criticism?
Or when an injured high school football player is being examined on the field & 2 of his teammates kneel in silent prayer on his behalf, did you ever imagine that anyone would threaten to sue the school because those players had prayed?
Did you ever think there would be a time when people who seek to save the life of an unborn baby would be laughed at & made fun of & described as bigots? Or that public prayer & Bible reading would be prohibited?
Yes, things that used to be considered good are now being called bad. And I'm convinced that Satan rejoices at that. He twists those things that are good in God's sight, & tries to get society to condemn them as evil.
B. Now in the light of that, listen to what God told the people in Malachi's day. Malachi 3:13-17 says, “‘You have said harsh things against me,' says the Lord. 'Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?'
“You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out His requirements . . . the evildoers prosper, & even those who challenge God escape.'
“Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, & the Lord listened & heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord & honored His name.
‘They will be mine,' says the Lord Almighty, 'in the day when I make up my treasured possession.'"
Those who feared the Lord & honored His name in Malachi's day remained faithful despite the sneers & ridicule heaped upon them. And as a result, God called them “…my treasured possession." They were worthy in God's sight!
So how worthy are we in God's sight today? Paul says, “A man ought to examine himself..." (1 Corinthians 11:28 ) And as we do, let's dedicate ourselves anew to our Lord & our God.
II. DO I WORK WELL WITH OTHERS?
A. The 2nd question is, "Do I work well with others?" Whenever I read Paul's words, “We are God's fellow workers," I think of the church as God's assembly line.
There are so many things that can be accomplished when we work together that can never be done alone. The great growth of the early church recorded in the 2nd chapter of Acts was not the result of one man's preaching. The entire group worked & prayed together, & God blessed their efforts.
Listen to the last few verses of that memorable chapter, & notice how often the word “together" is used.
“All the believers were together & had everything in common. Selling their possessions & goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.
"They broke bread in their homes & ate together with glad & sincere hearts, praising God & enjoying the favor of all the people." (Acts 2:44 47a)
ILL. The book of Judges gives us a splendid example of this truth in the story of Gideon & his faithful 300. You recall he divided them into 3 companies of 100 each, & in the night placed them on 3 sides of the Midian army.
Each man carried a light, darkened by a pitcher, & a trumpet. At a given moment they broke the pitchers & blew the trumpets, then together "they shouted, 'A sword for the Lord & for Gideon!" Then, "While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled." (Judges 7:20-21). The result was a tremendous victory.
B. And if the church is going to continue to grow, we have to work together, each of us willingly doing our part. God has given us different talents & abilities, but He expects all of us to be His witnesses.
ILL. Pres. Teddy Roosevelt once told of a very interesting incident in his own life. He said, "On the beautiful little island of Islamorada, there are several hundred homes that belong to people who come to stay for the summer. I fell in love with that island & spent 4 summers up there."
"I had often heard of a salty ‘downeaster' who lived up there & was called ‘Uncle John' by everyone. He was such a character that he was a welcome guest in the homes of all the prominent families.
"Once when I went to visit in one of those homes, I was asked if I had ever met Uncle John & I told them, ‘No, but I've been wanting to meet him.' ‘Well, he's in our kitchen right now. Come on out.'
"They introduced us & we liked each other right off, so we sat & chatted for nearly an hour. When I got up to leave, I held out my hand & said, ‘Uncle John, I surely am glad I got to meet you. If ever I can do you a favor, I want you to feel free to call on me. Will you?'
"He answered, ‘I certainly will, Mr. President. In fact, there is a favor I would ask of you right now, something that you can do & I so wish that you would do it.' Then Uncle John smiled. ‘Look,' he said, & he pointed to a little white church up on the hill.
‘Pres. Roosevelt, you're a Christian, but I haven't seen you up there at church. If you, the President of the U.S., would come up there to church, all of the people on this island would flock up there. Don't you want them to go to church? Don't you think they need to go to church?'”
Teddy Roosevelt said, "I hung my head in shame & told him, ‘I'll be there this Sunday.' Sure enough, next Sunday there was standing room only in that church. I never missed another Sunday in that little white church while I was there.
'I was ashamed of myself before my Heavenly Father that I had been such a poor witness for Him."
SUM. God's church will be made up of faithful witnesses, working together that His kingdom might grow.
III. HOW DOES GOD JUDGE MY WORTH?
A. The 3rd question is, "How does God judge my worth?" I'm sure that to most of us who earnestly try to be good Christians there comes times of discouragement times when we think we're failures & are worth nothing much to God.
ILL. There is a passage in the O.T. that we would do well to remember. God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint a king. Samuel asked Jesse to have all of his sons pass before him & let the Lord pick the one to be anointed.
1 Samuel 16:6 7 says, "When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab & thought, ‘Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord.'
"But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
We may be worth more than we realize. I'm glad that God looks at our hearts - that He really knows us, & loves us.
ILL. A preacher told about something that happened during a Sunday evening service. It was a rather informal service , & when he had finished speaking, he asked, "Does anyone else have anything to say?"
At that, a rather dignified visitor stood up & said, "Yes, sir, I'd like to say something. This is the first time I've been back in this church in 35 years. I attended Sunday School in my grade school days, & I see here tonight my old Sunday School teacher, Mr. Alton." And he turned to face him.
Mr. Alton's eyes opened wide as he looked at the stranger, who asked, "Mr. Alton, do you remember me? I'm Hurley." After a moment or two, a smile came over Mr. Alton's face & he said, "It's been a long time, Hurley. I'm getting kind of old & my eyesight is not so good anymore."
The visitor continued, "Mr. Alton, I want to tell you something that I think will make you happy. I traveled a long way to talk to you & ask for your forgiveness. We were the meanest boys that ever were in Sunday School, & we gave you all kinds of trouble. I guess I was the ringleader in most of the mischief that went on.
"On the Sunday before my family moved away, I was particularly obnoxious. After leaving class I remembered something I had left in the room & decided I'd better get it since it was my last day there.
"So I went back, & as I looked in the door I saw you seated up front with your head bowed, & it sounded like you were crying. I heard you pray, ‘O Lord, please help me.' Mr. Alton, I stayed very still for a long time, & then slipped away.
"For 5 years, I hurt inside whenever I thought of you praying there. One day it suddenly occurred to me that I was on the wrong side of the Lord, & I'd been there ever since I was a boy. I'd upset the class & I'd upset the Sunday School & I'd upset everything. It made me feel pretty miserable.
"Finally I gave my heart to God. I'm an elder in my church now, thanks to the prayer you prayed that day. I've been thanking God for you for many years now, & tonight I've come to thank you & to let you know."
CONCL. Now folks, how about you? Where do you stand with God? If you're not a Christian, then Jesus is ready & willing to receive you. Will you come as we stand & as we sing?
