GET A JOB
Scripture Reference: Acts 20:31-35
31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. 32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. 33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. 35 I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
One of the most important things that a saint of God can do is to make sure that he is setting forth an extra special effort to ensure that all of his material needs are being met
Of course I realize that the word of God says that we shouldn’t take thought on what we will eat or drink or wear (Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? )
However by the same token the word of God does tell us what we need to do. It says that we need to “seek ye first“. (Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.) By the mere fact of the bible using the word “first” it is remarkably clear that there is more that we need to do to have all of these things added unto us.
I am led to believe that one of the most important things that we can do is make an extra special effort to ensure that we are positioning ourselves for the word of God to work in our lives.
When I was younger the one phrase that I never wanted anyone to mention to me was “GET A JOB“. I mean I had too many things that I wanted to do. I would never have time to settle down and keep a job. Plus, I asked myself, who is going to pay me for working for them better than I am going to pay myself for working for myself.
Through much trial and tribulation I finally came to realize that if I really wanted to achieve my dreams then I would need some type of a job.
This brings us to our scripture reference for today
Here Paul is teaching his listeners that he always made sure to keep a job (Verse 34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. )
There were things that he needed to survive and though he was a self proclaimed servant (Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,) of God, he realized that he had to give an extraordinary effort to ensure that he had the things that he needed to survive
Paul knew that his ultimate provider (God) was good yet he also understood that he would have to make an effort to keep himself in a position to receive from God how he should
Paul also knew that there would be some times and some words from God that he would have to speak that would make him very unpopular and not liked even in some places
Paul realized that in order to be able to speak the word of God just how God had given it to him. He would have to be able to support his own financial needs
Depending on others would potentially force him to receive their ideals and ways of doing things
Many of us today are suffering from the same thing
We are depending on the people of God too much
If the people of God fulfill the need that God has placed in our hearts then there is always a possibility that they will expect us to receive their ideas and ways in exchange
I am not saying that we should never receive from the people of God but I am saying that we should never depend on their gifts and offering to provide our means to survive
Paul goes on to remind his listeners that Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Verse 35 I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. )
I like many of you have difficulty in receiving blessings by giving from time to time
There are moments when I love to give but there are other moments however that I struggle because of the outward appearance of my personal situation
Sometimes we need to take the focus off of money and think of some of the other things that God has given us the ability to give
For example:
Advice, to be specific, marital advice
I know for sure that it always better to give someone advice on how to keep their marriage together rather than to receive advice on how to keep your own marriage together
Financial advice - I would much rather be on the giving end of this conversation than the receiving
Some others are; Suicide Prevention advice, Motivational advice, Medical advice and Dietary advice
There are numerous other types of advice that we can give that if we keep it bible based we would notice the growth of the people that are around us
Paul taught that by our laboring we support those who are weak. In other words, Paul called those with jobs stronger than those without (Verse 35 I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. )
When a person doesn’t have a job they tend to be more miserable than a person who is gainfully employed. They simply have too much idle time on their hands (Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.)
When a person doesn’t have a job and tries to bring forth the word of God they really have to be careful about what they say because they don’t want to upset anyone possibly causing them to slack in their offering if they give anything at all
When a person doesn’t have a job they tend to alter the word of God to teach more about giving than what God has led them to teach
CONCLUSION
I agree that there are times when God has called a person into full-time ministry and those people are vital to the success of the gospel and I pray that God continue to bless you and use you in this capacity
However there are also times when we as people of God find it easier to go into full-time ministry as a means of self-support. We think that the ministry is some type of get quick scheme where we get people to give as much as they can.
As the people of God continue to pay tithe and offerings as faithful as they can (and they should), we have the audacity to think that we can sit back and relax while they take care of us. This is wrong
This is exactly why Paul teaches that we should (like he did) work to earn money for the things that we may need (Verse 34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ) so that we can be free to bring the word of God forth just as God designed it from the beginning of time.
Let’s Pray
Thank You. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Amen
Your Friend
Minister Juan D. Lane
