Save America Ministries

Chuck Crismier: Here we are on Labor Day, working, laboring for the kingdom of God because God expects His people, those created in His image, to work or labor for His kingdom and for His glory. So, today on Viewpoint, we're going to take a look at this matter of laboring. We're going to take a look at this matter of working. It's interesting, one wonders, what's the difference, if there is really a difference, between work and labor?

Some have said that work is something that's a more generic thing. It's purposeful and it's more generic. Whereas labor is something that's more, shall we say, physical, where we're pressing forward with labor to do a particular work. Well, maybe the words really are almost congruent in and of themselves, the way most of us use them. So, we're going to take a look at those words here today on Viewpoint.

There was a song, a number of songs, we're going to take a look at here today. No, we're not going to listen to somebody else sing them. We're going to go to the lyrics of those songs that we almost never hear anymore. There's a reason for that. For instance, here's one: "We'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, and we'll be gathered home."

Now, if you are under 40 years of age, the chances are you have never, ever heard those words. Why? Because they don't sing songs like this anymore. They don't sing songs like "The Roll is Called Up Yonder" anymore. They don't sing any of these kinds of songs anymore. One wonders why. Maybe it has to do with the word "work" because today our theological folk out there are so bound up with the word "work" that they just can't see themselves beyond it.

The moment they hear the word "work" or anything like it, like "doing something," all of a sudden they cringe and say, "Well, this must not be biblical, this must not be Christian." Then why does God expect us to work? Why does God demand us to labor, to labor until His kingdom comes? In fact, the word "labor" or "laborer" or those related words in the Bible, not including the word "work," occurs 141 times, including in 30 books of the Bible.

And you think God isn't interested in labor? Oh, yes, He is. But we won't talk about it because it's too much related to the word "work" or "works." People shrink from it. Certain theological camps just cannot stand getting near the word "work" or "works" because they think somehow it means you're earning your salvation. It doesn't mean that at all. Only if you intend for it to mean that.

If that's how you think you're going to get saved is by doing certain boy scout deeds, that you're going to get some stars or you're going to be able to notch your belt like many evangelicals who believe, who hate the word "works," but will do everything they can to notch their belts in getting another conversion for the year. We've got a problem in our minds and our hearts with the word "work" and with the word "labor."

So, today on Viewpoint, we're going to try to dispel some of that and help us to understand what God really desires from us. He desires what sometimes is referred to as the works of the kingdom. He doesn't desire the works of the flesh. He desires the works of the spirit, the fruit of the spirit. He desires that we be overcomers. He expects that we will be overcomers, and if we're not, there are going to be serious consequences.

God expects those created in His image to work or labor. As the Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." Oh, now wait a minute. "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." In other words, God expects us made in His image to work. Why? Well, first of all, it's because it's needful in order to accomplish His purposes for humankind on the earth.

It's necessary for you to do the works of God, to have children. Did you know that that's part of the works of God? All you have to do is go back to Genesis 1 and 2. God told Adam, "Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." How is he going to do that? He had to do what God said. In other words, obey God, doing the works of God, the one who sent him. That's what he had to do.

So God gave him Eve. Why did God give him Eve? So that Adam could fulfill the purposes or the work for which God had created him. He also was told to name all the animals. He did all those things, took care of the garden. He was a gardener. God told him to take care of and oversee the creation, the works of the kingdom. But he didn't do the work of the kingdom when he went along with Eve's deception.

She was seduced by the evil one and didn't follow God's command. She seduced Adam along the way, and he decided not to follow. Adam was not deceived. He overtly disobeyed God. Therefore, he did not do the works of Him that sent him at that time. And therefore, the rest is history. He did the works of his father, the devil, at that point.

The religious leaders of Jesus' day, Jesus said, "You say that you're the sons and descendants of Abraham and do the works of Abraham." Jesus said, "No, you don't do the works of Abraham because if you did, you would be like Abraham. No," He said, "you're of your father, the devil." So, you see, He was talking about works. He was talking about what they did. He was talking about their lives.

And guess what? When the Bible talks about our works and our labors, it's really, in a more generic way, talking about our lives. So, in the King James Version of the Bible, you'll find the Apostle Paul using the word "your conversation." He's not talking about how you're talking. He's talking about your life. That's what the word conversation means. Your conversation in this world. In other words, your life expression in this world. Your works, your labor, who you are, the very being and why you're here. That's your conversation in this world.

So, what is your conversation in this world? That's a simple question. What is your conversation, what is my conversation in this world? And I ask myself the question frequently. Do you? We should, because even the Apostle Paul did. He said, "I don't count myself as already arrived." You may think he did, but he said, "No, I don't. I don't even judge myself because there's only one judge at the end, and He's going to judge whether or not my conversation in this life is satisfactory and meet for His purposes and brings glory to Him."

So, he said until then, "I'm going to work till Jesus comes." And then he'll be gathered home. So the song says, "We'll work until Jesus comes, we'll work until Jesus comes, we'll work until Jesus comes, and then we'll be gathered home." So it's what we're doing. That's the question that hovers over our broadcast here today on Viewpoint. Viewpoint does determine destiny, as you know, and so today it's appropriate that we discuss this subject here on Labor Day.

Bible says, "Labor not for things that perish." Well, that means somebody could say, "Well, don't labor for growing vegetables because ultimately they will perish. Don't labor for growing animals because ultimately they will perish." Well, true, they will perish, but so will you if you don't have the food to eat. So it's not about the animals, friends, it's about you. It's about human beings made in God's image. That's where the direction of work and labor is going.

"Labor not for the food or the meat which perishes." Well, that's what Jesus said. So are we not to labor to have gardens, to farm, to raise animals and so on? That's not what He's talking about. He's talking about the purpose for which we spend our time. The ultimate purpose. Is it for the kingdom of God, or is it to aggrandize ourselves, build great wealth, and a name for ourselves? That's what Jesus is talking about.

He also expects us to labor, but He differentiates between the kind of labor that we just talked about and a kind of labor that has to do with our innermost being. You see, you can labor with your hands. I enjoy working with my hands. I'm very much like Adam was. I enjoy gardening. I enjoy overlooking the property and taking care of it and having a vision for taking care of it. Yes, it requires sweat. Hopefully not tears, hopefully not blood. Every once in a while, you cut yourself. But sweat, the sweat of your brow.

God understood that. He even said so right in scriptures. But our purpose is what He's looking at. What is the innermost being? Was Adam supposed to be the gardener over the Garden of Eden in order that he could somehow elevate himself and self-aggrandize himself to be equal with God? No. He was doing the will of the Father. He was doing the will of his Creator. From the heart. His will was to do the will of Him that created him.

So when he didn't do the will of Him that created him, he was cast out of the garden. Then 4,000 years later came along the "Last Adam," Yeshua, Jesus, the only obedient Israelite that ever lived. The only truly obedient human that ever lived because He wasn't tainted with the seed of Adam. He was born of a virgin. That's why He was born of a virgin, so He was not tainted with the seed of Adam. And so He got to start over. It was like a starting over.

Is there anybody that's going to obey God? Is there anybody that's going to do the will of God? Is there anybody that's going to labor, realizing that the kingdom of God is at hand? Is there anybody that's going to work for the night is coming, when no man can work? And that was Jesus. He said, "I came to do the will of Him that sent me. For the night is coming when no man can work."

Oh, you see, it wasn't about trying to earn Himself a place. It was about pleasing the Father. It was about doing the Father's will. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, "Not everyone who says unto me 'Lord, Lord,' or claims to be a Christian or my follower, is going to inherit the kingdom of God. Only those who do the will of my Father, like I did."

So just before His ascension back to the Father, He told His followers or His disciples, "As the Father sent me, even so I send you." To do what? To do the will of my Father. What was the will of His Father? To obey His voice in every aspect. Which would mean loving your wife as Christ loved the church. Which would mean wives submitting yourselves to your husbands as unto the Lord. It would mean so many different things go to the attitude of the heart.

But what if you don't do those things? What if all your labor is for yourself? What if you don't have a view that's constantly before you of the kingdom of God and serving the Lord for His glory? What if you don't have that? Then you have a great burden. A burden. And Jesus knew about that burden. He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest."

What was He talking about? That you would stop working, that you would stop laboring? No, He wasn't talking about that at all. He's talking about laboring and working for the wrong thing, with the wrong attitudes, with the wrong purpose, without a right purpose before God. You're not there to glorify God, you're there to glorify yourself or somebody else. You miss the whole point, He said. So, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Put my yoke upon you and learn of me."

So, did Jesus work? Absolutely, He did. In fact, He told the religious leaders of His day, who said, "Why are you healing on the Sabbath?" He said because the Father said, "I work because He works." Yes, even on the Sabbath. He does the works of the kingdom, yes, even on the Sabbath. Jesus was not doing the works of production on the Sabbath, He was doing the works of the kingdom on the Sabbath. You see the difference?

So He said, "The Father works and so I work on the Sabbath." But that brings up a whole another question. Why the Sabbath? Is the Sabbath for today? Of course the Sabbath is for today. Otherwise, God, we would have to look at God and say He didn't know what He was talking about. The Sabbath preceded the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath was not instituted by the law, it was just reinforced by the law. The Sabbath came before the law, came at creation.

The Creator works six days and the seventh day He rested, sanctified, and set it apart as a day of ceasing from labor. The word Sabbath means to cease from labor. What kind of labor? The labor of production. The labor of trying to earn a living. The labor of trying to till the ground and so on. But it's not talking about doing the works of the Father.

So if you went to a hospital and visited somebody in the name of Christ on the Sabbath, you'd be doing the works of the kingdom if it was not for self-aggrandizement and getting attention. If you helped somebody in great need on the Sabbath as a demonstration of your care and love for them in the name of the Christ, you were doing the works of the kingdom. Not the works of the flesh and not the works of production.

God wants us to trust Him. And that's why the Sabbath. And so, believe it or not, in the Ten Commandments, more emphasis is placed on keeping the Sabbath than on any other commandment, including murder. Isn't that interesting? And yet we have all kinds of theological wars about the Sabbath. It's ridiculous. It's so simple. It's so simple. It wasn't given just to the Jews, it was given to all humankind.

Just as the Creator rested on the Sabbath, so He expected you and I to rest on the Sabbath. And then He reinforced that through the Ten Commandments given from Mount Sinai to the Jewish people so that they would be sure to get it, even if nobody else did. So, as I understood this, as I began to look at this as a follower of Christ many years ago, I began to see, you know, our thinking with regard to the Sabbath has been upside down.

On the other hand, we decided to convert Sunday into the Sabbath. Well, we're not going to go into that today. That's an issue way beyond today's discussion. There's no place in the scripture that does that, not one place in the whole Bible. But the Roman Catholic Church said, "That's what we're going to do, worship on the day of the sun." And so that's what the Protestant churches do. They worship on the venerable day of the sun. Think about it.

All that having been said, God requires rest. He knew that we needed rest. We needed rest from physical labors, in other words, the cessation of labor, and we also needed the cessation of the whole idea that the only way we were going to have some sort of hope of eternal life was to work, work, work, work, work. No, He says that's not how it's going to happen. It's going to happen by grace through faith, not of yourself.

Not because of all the great things you can do. Not because whether you can devote 17 hours a day to feverishly doing the works of the kingdom so that you can gain some kudos. No, so that your heart is right before God when you do the works of the kingdom, not trusting them for your ticket to the pearly gates, but rather trusting the finished work of Christ who said on the cross, "It is finished."

What is finished? The requirement of the works of men. The whole idea of the works of men was finished. That's what Jesus finished. And now He says, "Now I want you to do the works of the kingdom. I want you to labor for the night is coming when no man can work." Now, some people will say, "Well, that sounds contradictory." No, it's a completely different attitude, a completely different orientation of work and labor. Completely different.

And oftentimes we just miss the spiritual implications, in fact, the very attitude and spirit of the scriptures. We're so interested in trying to, shall we say, fixate intellectually on certain words and parse words and so on, and we completely miss the spirit of what the scriptures are trying to tell us. So, all that having been said, we know that Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

He didn't say you're going to give yourself rest. "I will give you rest." But what rest was He talking about? Was He saying no, you don't have to go out and work for a living anymore? No, He wasn't talking about that at all. Because from the scripture standpoint, work is an honorable thing. God ordained for humankind to work. And as Paul said, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

In other words, the whole idea of socialism is put, squashed right there in the Bible. Depending on somebody else's work to bless you and provide your needs. That's the foundation of socialism. It's wicked and contrary to the scriptures. When the early Christians sold their houses or lands and gave to others that were in need, they didn't do that under compulsion. They didn't do it because it was a work demanded of them. They did it because of the love of their heart.

Socialism isn't dependent on the love of anybody's heart. It's dependent upon a government demanding that somebody else take their resources and give it and disperse it to the rest of the people. There's no place for the heart in socialism. It's completely anti-Christian at its heart. Our young people need to understand that. But because they've been developed with an entitlement spirit, they don't understand the importance of work.

So businessmen now across our country are frustrated beyond measure because they hire millennials in particular, Generation Z, many of them who will not show up for work. Or they'll show up for work the first day and then they say, well, and then they don't show up another day. And they think somehow it's all about them. That is completely antithetical to the kingdom of God. In fact, it's totally selfish.

You don't love your neighbor as yourself when you do that. All you do is love yourself and think you're entitled. It's wickedness, just wickedness. God expects us to labor. We're not supposed to labor for that which perishes. So does that mean that if, let's say, you had half a million dollars and you thought it might be good to put some of that money in, say, a few gold or silver coins, does that mean that you have now labored for that which perishes and you shouldn't do that? Not necessarily. It depends on where you put your trust.

If you're like the rich young ruler, who Jesus said, "Well, you know what, there's one thing that you're lacking. You don't quite get it. Yeah, you've been keeping the commandments, but you're lacking the heart of it. So I'll tell you what, go sell what you have, give to the poor, and then come follow me." Well, the guy was very rich and he couldn't understand what really God was after, Jesus was after.

So afterward, Jesus' disciples came to Him, said, "Master, how can anybody be saved then?" And He said, "How difficult it is for those who trust in their riches to enter the kingdom." That's the issue. Always go back to the heart and whether or not we're doing this to glorify God in His greater kingdom purpose. How about you?

Welcome back to Viewpoint, I'm Chuck Crismier. Today on Labor Day, we're focusing on labor, we're focusing on work from God's viewpoint. You see, it's God's viewpoint that matters. It's not our viewpoint, it's God's viewpoint. And if our viewpoint doesn't line up with His, we've got a problem and we need to make sure that our viewpoint lines up with His.

So, I'm thinking back of a song that when I was younger, we used to sing oftentimes on Sunday evenings, and it was one of my favorites. It's called "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder." It goes like this: "When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, and the morning breaks eternal bright and fair, when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there."

Well, that's very affirmative. That's a declaration of hopefully legitimate faith, but it's very conclusionary, "I'll be there." How do you know you're going to be there? Then the chorus goes on, "Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun, let us talk of all His wondrous love and care. Then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there."

As I was asked to speak at my father's funeral after 50 years of pastoring and another 20 years of alternative ministering in hospital as a hospital chaplain, I asked the Lord very specifically, I talked to Him in these very simple terms: Who was my father from Your point of view, Lord? Who was he? Not who was he from my point of view, who was he from Your point of view? Because my father was a man just like everybody else. He wore size ten-and-a-half shoes, double-A narrow. I had a much wider foot.

He liked to wear French cuffs. I like to wear French cuffs. Did he always wear French cuffs? No. Is that who he was? No. So who was he? The Lord responded with these words: He was a soldier of the cross. Well, maybe that's partly because he grew up in the Salvation Army. His parents were both Salvation Army officers. He married a woman, my mother, who was in the Salvation Army, and her parents were both Salvation Army officers. So that would certainly set the stage for a soldier of the cross.

But not really. Because there are many in the Salvation Army that aren't soldiers of the cross at all. Oh, they call them soldiers, but not everybody in the Salvation Army is pursuing the kingdom of God as you might think. Just as not everybody in Calvinistic circles is pursuing the kingdom of God, or Arminian circles, or Presbyterian circles, or whatever, Southern Baptist, any other circles. Not pursuing the kingdom of God. They may look like they are, they may pretend that they are, but not necessarily.

So I asked the Lord who was my father, and He said, "A soldier of the cross." And then I could see it. That is who he was. He blew the cornet, which is a small version of the trumpet. He would do that on Sunday evenings and it was very gripping when he did that. "When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more." Do we really believe that that's going to happen, that time shall be no more?

"And the morning breaks eternal bright and fair, and the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder, will you be there?" And so after I shared those thoughts with those present, including some of my own kin, I said, "I'm going to change the final words of this song and not declare 'I'll be there,' but I'm going to ask the eternal question, will you be there?"

"When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, will you be there? Are you laboring for the Master till the dawn of setting sun? When all of life is over and the roll is called up yonder, will you be there?" You could hear a pin drop. Why? Because you see, labor and work has a destination. There is an end result. Were my life and labors for the glory and kingdom of God, or was I just doing business as usual to survive in the culture and meet the culture's demands and so on, and help people to feel good? Is that why I lived? Was that the conversation of my life? The meaning and implication of my life, or was it deeper?

The word "labor" and the word "works" are very, very important from God's viewpoint. They were from Jesus' viewpoint. Think back with me, if you will, to a fellow by the name of Abraham. In fact, let's go back before that. Let's go to a fellow by the name of Noah. We already talked about Adam and he was called to work. He was called to name the animals. He was told to oversee the garden and be a steward over the garden. He was a gardener for God's purposes. He was God's gardener.

What a noble thing, God's gardener. Sometimes I feel like that myself. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm drawn to care for a yard and have some vision for what looks beautiful and how to choreograph that and preserve it. But there's a fellow by the name of Noah. Remember him? At 500 years of age, he began to build an ark.

Now, I want you to think about this. This boat was 450 feet long. 450 feet long. Larger than a football field. One man was called by God to build an ark. What do you think that required? Work. Labor. And more work. And more labor. So, did Noah build the ark with all of that work and all of that labor? He must have also hired out to others around to be able to fulfill that requirement, serving like a contractor to build.

Do you think he did that just for himself and his own glory? No. In fact, it made him a fool. It made him look like a fool. Mocking people, "This guy, we've not had any rain, what is rain anyway? We've not had any rain." But Noah persisted. Why did Noah persist? Because God told him to. So Noah, in his heart, embraced God's kingdom purpose.

And he said, "Now that's my purpose. God has given me a purpose and I'm going to fulfill it. No matter what, I'm going to fulfill it." And it took him 100 years to build the ark. 100 years, that's older than any of you are listening to this program, I'm sure. Can you imagine the labor, the vision, the persistence, the work? Was Noah saved by his works? No. Could Noah be saved without those works? No. Why is that? Because the works reflected obeying God out of the heart.

No way Noah in and of himself could save himself to eternal salvation before God. He was a sinner. He was found righteous in his generation, but he was a sinner. Just like you are, just like me. But he was willing to embrace God's specific call and to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer, deceiving his own self. So he labored for the Master.

Of course we have Abraham who later did the works of God. God told him to take his son, his only son, go up and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. That required three days' journey. That's work, friends. That's labor. They didn't get on their little go-machine and whisk their way up to Mount Moriah. They had to labor. They had to walk. They had to journey, sweat, effort, even carrying the wood and so on to sacrifice Isaac.

And because Abraham was willing to do what God asked him to do, labor, he labored for the Master, and God rewarded him accordingly. And because of his work and his satisfactory fulfilling of God's call in his life, God said, "Now I can extend and offer my only son in place of Isaac." That's how the kingdom of God works.

But if Abraham had not done the works of God, none of this would have happened. It was in God's plan, it's how God works. And that's why the book of James, chapter 2, the scripture says, "Was not Abraham justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar?" Yes, because faith without works is dead, meaning meaningless.

Could Abraham save himself to eternal life through works? No. It's only by the grace or mercy of God, His enabling power. But he had to do the works. And that is how his faith was manifested. And by the way, that's one of the reasons why Martin Luther wanted to cut the book of James out of the Bible. Just like so many Calvinists do today. They hate the book of James, especially chapter 2, because they get all tied up wrongly with the word "works."

God expects us to do the works of righteousness, the works of the kingdom. That's why we're here. We should labor for the Master from the dawn to setting sun, not out of some feverish effort to try to gain kudos. No, because we're the servants of the Lord. Jesus said, "Follow me as I followed the Father." That's what we're supposed to do. Not everyone says unto me "Lord, Lord" is going to inherit the kingdom, only those who do the will of my Father. We'll be back.

"Work for the night is coming when no man can work." That song was taken from Jesus' own words when He said, "I must work the works of Him that sent me, because the night is coming when no man can work." That's what Jesus said. And then He turned around and said to His disciples, "Now as the Father has sent me, even so I send you." So what is the works of the kingdom? It's not just to go out and get people to make confessions of faith, my friends. That is false teaching.

That oftentimes is based upon trying to get glory for your own name or your own church or your own denomination so that you can report it as look at how many salvations we've had. No, you didn't save anybody. Only God saves. You didn't save anybody. If you think that was salvation in and of itself, you're kidding yourself. You're engaged in works to glorify yourself, not the works of the kingdom.

Because Jesus said in Matthew chapter 28 to His disciples, He said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel, teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded." He didn't say get them to make confessions of faith. He said teaching them to obey or do the will of my Father everything that I've commanded. We don't like that though. You know why? Because we can't get any earmarks in the culture for discipling. You can't measure it.

Oh, but we can get a lot of kudos for getting people to notch, you know, make a confession, however small, however weird, however off-base it might be. And then we mark it down and we notch our belts with pride. Look at all these confessions. Doesn't work that way, friends. Jesus said not everybody that makes those confessions is going to inherit the kingdom, only those who do the will of my Father. In other words, that their life conversation looks like a kingdom man, looks like Jesus.

So we sing a song: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." No, the things of earth are not growing strangely dim in so many ministries today. They're growing even more worldly. All you have to do is look at the statistics. Look at the stories coming out that I have to face every single day in preparing for this radio program. It's painful.

Jesus is coming soon, friends. Do we not really realize that? And when He comes, He's going to judge the world and all in it in righteousness. It's breathtaking how blind we've become to the simple things that God is asking us to do and to be. In the book of Hebrews, chapter 3. Chapter 3 and 4 very, very important chapters in the book of Hebrews because they reiterate what happened in the book of Numbers with the children of Israel coming out of Egypt and not being allowed into the promised land. Yet they were the called ones. They were the church in the wilderness. They were the ordained of God. They were the elect. But they didn't get in.

So here's what the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 3, verse 18: "And to whom did He swear that they should not enter into His rest, that is the promised land, but to them that believed not?" Now, if you want to find out what the word "believe not" meant, it doesn't mean what we in Western Greco-Roman thinking mean. It meant "obey not." Because obedience was the test of whether they believed. So we see that they could not enter in because of disobedience or unbelief.

What is it they couldn't enter into? God's rest. His eternal rest, His eternal Sabbath. They couldn't enter in because of their disbelief reflected in their disobedience. So in chapter 4, verses 1 to 3, it says, "Now let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." He's talking to Christians, friends, professing Christians. "For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with genuine faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest."

How do we know that we believed? Because we obeyed God. We didn't dis God's word in whole or in part, like the majority of Christians do today, even from our pulpits. And to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief or disobedience. So today, as the scripture says in the Psalms, "Today, if you will hear His voice, don't harden your heart. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day. There therefore remains a rest to the true people of God. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief or disobedience."

Interesting. So he says, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith." What does that mean? It means, friends, that we have to have the kingdom of God as our continual view, as the complete environment, the complete culture of our minds and hearts in which we live and work and have our being. If we're living in the spirit of the world and the culture has its demands upon us, then essentially we're working for the kingdoms of this world, which are governed by Satan himself, the deceiver.

So we have to make a decision. And the decision is not just made by making a blithe confession of faith at an instant moment at a Billy Graham rally or some other rally. It's not even by going out into the Pacific Ocean and getting baptized with 500 other people because everybody's doing it. It has to do with our hearts. The only way we will have rest in the Lord is if our hearts are truly hidden with Him in Christ and we're doers of the word and not just hearers only deceiving our own selves, playing a pretense of Churchianity.

So you see how much this work of labor and works has to say to us. It is a very, very big deal. A very, very big deal. Again, the word "labor" or "laboring" occurs 141 times in the scripture in 30 different books of the Bible. And when we start applying it, it's all about the work of the kingdom. What is the kingdom anyway? Well, it's ruled by a King. That means Jesus has absolute authority. God is the eternal King and Jesus is the Lord, and there are no elections, no debates, and no term limits.

And it requires voluntary submission. Not the kind of submission that Islam demands at the point of the sword. People choose to enter the kingdom of God by repenting of sin, accepting Jesus as Lord, and walking in that Lordship. Spiritual sovereignty. God rules in the hearts and daily choices of His followers, rather than controlling earthly political systems.

Does that mean that we shouldn't be involved at all in trying to bring righteousness into our communities and so on? No. But if our motivation and our heart is that somehow we can save people that way, we're in a fool's paradise. It ain't going to work that way. Now we've shifted our focus of our work. It's all about the heart.

Growth happens like a seed. Jesus taught about the kingdom growing quietly like a planted seed. We plant the seed, somebody else waters, and God gives the increase. God's power. Believers share the message but God provides the inner transformation and spiritual growth. We don't, but we are to disciple, to make disciples. That's the work of the kingdom. Not to get people to make a confession of faith, but to disciple them.

Believe me, it takes work. And it doesn't always bring kudos because not everybody wants to be discipled. They want, they have an entitlement mentality: "I just made a confession so I'm in. Don't bother me with that discipleship stuff. Don't bother me with that obedience stuff. No, I'm not going to go there. I want what I want. I like my life."

That's basically what Dolly Parton said. While claiming to be a Christian, if you understood the things that she has said over the years that were totally contrary to the word, will, and ways of God. She was a pursuer of the culture, not of Christ. I hate to say it. Very lovely person, very fine person. I'm not here to condemn her, that's God's business, but the things that she said reveals she wasn't really of a heart and mind in the true kingdom of God.

The kingdom exists today wherever people obey God right now. The kingdom will eventually become a physical and visible reality on earth when Christ returns to make all things new. We're not here to make things new. That's what the Jewish people believe they're here to do. They're going to save the world through making things new. No. There's only one who's going to make things new, and that's Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ.

So, again we wrap up with a song: "Work for the night is coming, work through the morning hours. Work in the glowing sun, work for the night is coming when man's work is done. Work for the night is coming when man's work works no more. Work for the night is coming, work till the last beam fades. Work while the night is darkening, when man's work is over."

Labor Day. Scripture says be not slothful, but followers of them who faith and patience inherit the promises. In other words, be doers of the word and not just hearers only. That's what faith means. That's what patience means. We do the works of Him that has called us while it is day, for the day is coming, the night is coming when no man can work.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to His saints and do minister. Those are the words of the Apostle Paul. So be diligent to the full assurance of hope unto the end. For we have an anchor that keeps the soul both sure and steadfast.

I hope that that anchor is understood now. Jesus Himself had to learn obedience by the things which He suffered. And because of that, He was made perfect, the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him. Right there, the book of Hebrews, chapter 5, verses 8 to 9. Let's be doers of the word and not just hearers only. Trust the Lord. Ask Him what is my purpose here? What do you want me to do and to be? Not something glorious necessarily. It might be mundane, it doesn't matter. It's God who works in and through us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. God bless and be a blessing.