Transformed by hard work

There is more to Christian living than trying really hard to be good. More, but never less. Some Christians, I am afraid, don’t try hard enough.

When Paul spoke of Christian living he spoke of striving and straining and boxing and running. These are all very active metaphors.

One of my favorite jump-ball questions is this: is Christian living active or passive? Is it trying hard or resting in the finished work of Christ? Is it working like crazy, or letting go and letting God?

I love this question because it is a little bit of both. Christian living is both trying hard and trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to do His work in me.

Some Christians don’t try very hard at all. They read a verse like this one:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Galatians 6:9 (NIV2011)

They wonder what Paul is talking about, “weary in doing good.” I think you ought to be tempted to get weary in doing good every now and then. I think you ought to push yourself to exhaustion every now and then. I think you ought to lay your head on your pillow dog tired every now and then.

You shouldn’t stay there. Don’t be weary in doing good. The verbs in this verse are present tense verbs which suggest linear action. They suggest habit. Don’t make it a habit of getting weary. Don’t camp out at tired.

The Sabbath was given to man as gift to the tired. It was given to ensure that we never stay tired. But we ought to get tired occasionally. We ought to need the Sabbath.

One of the things the Lord commended the church in Ephesus for was their hard work. (Revelation 2.2) Jesus told the disciples they would be able to reap a harvest only because others had worked hard. (John 4.38) Paul didn’t take a salary and supported himself by his hard work. He taught us that if a man does not work, he should not eat. It is morally wrong to feed a man who could work but chooses not to. The Proverbs speaks often of the value of hard work and warns against the sin of laziness:

• Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4 (NIV2011)
• Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. Proverbs 12:24 (NIV2011)
• All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23 (NIV2011)
• The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. Proverbs 21:5 (NIV2011)

We live in a country that longs for shorter work weeks, more days off and early retirement. We serve a God who says, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” Exodus 20:9 (NIV2011) We think of the 4^th command as a command to rest, but really it is a command to work and rest. If you think of it this way, there are really eleven commands—the command to work and the command to rest being two of them. The ratio is 6:1. Lots of work; a little bit of rest.

We live in a culture that values entertainment. We value leisure. We thank God it is Friday because Friday is the weekend and on the weekend we don’t have to work. We see work as a punishment to be avoided. The nation’s bestselling chair is a Lazy Boy, not a worker boy.

Christian living is hard work. There is no abundant living without hard work. It means setting an alarm when you would rather sleep in. It means going to church when you would rather stay home and do nothing. It means memorizing Scripture when you would rather watch TV. It means exercising your body when you would rather not.  

There is no transformation without hard work. There is more to Christian living than trying really hard to be good. But, you will never lay hold of the abundant Christian life without trying hard to be good.

Take time to be holy

Living a transformed life is hard work and it takes time.

Take time to be holy,
speak oft with thy Lord;
abide in him always,
and feed on his word.
Make friends of God's children,
help those who are weak,
forgetting in nothing
his blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy,
the world rushes on;
spend much time in secret
with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus,
like him thou shalt be;
thy friends in thy conduct
his likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy,
let him be thy guide,
and run not before him,
whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow,
still follow the Lord,
and, looking to Jesus,
still trust in his word.

Take time to be holy,
be calm in thy soul,
each thought and each motive
beneath his control.
Thus led by his spirit
to fountains of love,
thou soon shalt be fitted
for service above.

Take time to be holy. Work hard at it. How much time does it take? The Navigators published a classic piece on Quite Time that suggest we start with Seven Minutes with God. Notice I said start. Seven minutes is a good starting place. But, it is not the goal.

Jesus said, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?”   Matthew 26:40 (NIV2011) I think that is a good rule of thumb. It might be too much for some. If you work twelve hour days, you might not be able to send and hour a day in Quiet Time. But, it is a good goal to shoot for.

If you spend an hour a day with the Lord, you can easily read through the Bible one or more times a year. I recommend you read through the whole Bible once a year and the New Testament an additional one or more times.

If you spend an hour a day with the Lord, you will have plenty of time to memorize and review Scripture Memory verses. Nothing will drive steel into your soul like Scripture Memory. I highly recommend the app and website, ScriptureTyper. But, it takes time.

If you spend an hour a day with the Lord, you will have plenty of time for worship. The best way to worship is through music. I often have Chris Tomlin lead me in worship on our TV. It is hard to stop with just one song. Each song is about five minutes. Worship takes time.

If you spend an hour a day with the Lord, there will be plenty of time for the confession of sins. You will have time to consider the state of your soul and pray the prayer, “Search me, Oh God…”

If you spend an hour with the Lord you will have plenty of time to formulate big, bold prayers. I am convinced our prayers are too small, not too big. We pray for help with headaches when God would have us claim continents. Our daily prayer is, “Your will be done on earth, as in Heaven.” (If you would like to listen to an inspiring message on this, check out Dawson Trotman’s message on Believing God. You can listen to it here: http://www.discipleshiplibrary.com/dawson_trotman.php )

If you spend an hour with the Lord, you will have time to be filled with the Spirit. There is no abundant living without being filled with the Spirit. And, being filled with the Spirit is like filling your car with gas: it takes time.

I close with another old hymn. Read it slowly. Sing it if you dare.

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”