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Amen, so I'm gonna continue on this morning with the series I started a couple weeks ago about the Wells of wellness, and if you haven't been here just very quickly just to bring everybody up to speed Basically, we're just going through a series talking about these different wells, which is a biblical analogy as I pointed out in the introduction That's something you'll see in the scripture that this analogy of a well that I'm using is actually one That's found in scripture I won't preach all of that, but I'm using it to kind of as an example of us You know digging wells in our own lives that there's certain areas in our life that we should focus on that we should try to live a Deeper life in these are things that we should try to deepen our in our lives or maybe another way to look at it would be to strengthen our roots in a sense in these different areas of our life and I'm breaking that up over several weeks. Of course those wells being wisdom well-being Welcome work and wonder we looked at wisdom last week as that being the most essential Well, the one that we need to make sure that we're daily digging in through prayer and through Bible reading memorization again I preached all that last week if you didn't catch that it's up online. You can always listen to it there But this week I want to focus on the well of work. And again, I'm not really doing this any particular order Wisdom obviously was first because I do believe that is the most important one without wisdom. Everything else is going to be done More difficultly than it needs to be done. We need to have wisdom. It's the primary thing. It's gonna give us You know the discretion and the knowledge that we need to more efficiently dig in these other wells but this morning we're talking about the well of work and You know this again while these are not in order of Priority necessarily beyond wisdom. I will say that work is a very important Well that we need to make sure that we're digging it. Okay, obviously, you know We all are going to be working in some shape or form As men as women even as children and work is a very significant part of our life work is something that We are involved in at least should be you know, pretty much our entire lives really So I'll point out this first of all when it comes to this well of work You know There's some of these other wells you might kind of get away with you might be able to function and get away with Neglecting a little bit even the well of wisdom as I pointed out last week Even the world has just that surface level of fear, right? it's the very wicked that we see in scripture scripture the wicked are Described as those that have no fear of God before their eyes meaning that there are some people though They might not be godly god-fearing people. They have some level of you know fear in their lives You know if it's just basically through just obeying, you know The the basic moral commandments of not killing and committing adultery and all those other things, okay You but you know You could you could get there and kind of neglect everything else and still function this world We see people do that all that time There's these other wells that we'll talk about in the coming weeks that you could probably neglect and not really harm anybody Beyond yourself and maybe those in your immediate sphere of influence and you would still suffer the consequences Obviously, it's not these aren't wells we want to ignore But the well of work is one that'll actually You know get you I believe if you ignore this well of as men going out and working a job This is something that could actually get you kicked out of church Okay, and this is something within the new IFB that has been coined the Jimenez doctrine, okay So how many have heard that is the Jimenez doctrine because this is something that Pastor Jimenez rolled out and you know, I was thinking about this This is actually something that I've heard from another pastor in the old life I mean my old pastor actually preached the same thing that I'm gonna preach This morning that if we don't work if we'd neglect this well of work in our lives Then you know That's something that I could actually lead us to being even kicked out of the local church through church discipline and again look there in 2nd Thessalonians chapter number 3 and It says there in verse 10 for even when we were with you this we commanded you that if any would not work Neither should he eat. All right So that right there is a really strong principle right there when it comes to this well of work We can see how important that is. This is that if people don't work they should not eat Okay, now when I think this is what he's really getting at is that we don't want to be a burden, right? We ought to bear one another one another's burdens But we're also committed to bear our own burden. Every man must bear his own burden. Let's bear his own cross You know, we have to make sure that we're not being an unnecessary burden on other people Okay, and of course today in the society that we're living in people who don't work are being pandered to okay They're being encouraged not to work. They're being taken care of by the state. They're collecting the welfare They're you know choosing not to work. They're opting out. There's this great There's a problem in the workforce today with people who just don't want to work If you follow any of the news if you listen to any of that You've probably heard that they that employers today are having a hard time. Just finding people that want to work Okay. Well, maybe if we stopped feeding them people would be a little bit more prone to work You know if you knew that the end of the day you were gonna you're gonna go to bed But on an empty belly because you didn't work that would probably prompt you to work as you should okay And this is something that's being commanded and and this is something that maybe people don't it sounds mean, right? but this is something that Paul is commanding that if people don't work, they should not eat and You know, this is something I often think this is a verse I've thought about putting on the back of the church fan, you know and my personal vehicle I feel that strongly about it, right because you know whenever I'm at these, you know Overpasses these on ramps where people are handing out money to these bums these derelicts who don't want to work You know, I think of this verse But that's probably not the verse that comes to mind when you think about how a church should their attitude towards people in that Situation in life should be a lot of people think that you know We should just have an open hand and just every guy that walks in every person that calls everyone that sends an email With their sob story should just get a free handout one. That would be tax fraud. We can't just give away money Okay, and two, you know a lot of times those people are in that position because of the decisions that they've made and what they really need is To hit rock bottom. Okay, and not to be being given money at the underpass now having people, you know I get frustrated with those people, you know that are holding the sign and and begging for money there But you know, there's at least some level of understanding there. I'm sorry that they're in that position I understand a lot of times they're in the throes of addiction and that's a very powerful thing and I hope that they can Find the help that they need and recover themselves But the people that really frustrate me are those that are enabling them by rolling down the window and handing out money Okay, and the Bible says that if they don't work they should not eat Okay, people who don't work shouldn't eat a lot of these people if they stopped eating if they start getting the handouts You know, they would probably be a little bit more serious about cleaning up their lives straighten themselves out and doing what's necessary Okay, and that's a whole nother issue when you get into that. I understand that's a very Severe thing being addicted to drugs and there's a lot of work that need would need to be done there It's beyond the scope of the sermon But what I am pointing out here is that if we neglect the well of work in our own lives Maybe not because we're unemployable because of addiction or something that maybe we're just plain lazy We just don't want to work, you know, the Bible says that we would be put out from the church Okay, he says he says therefore we hear verse 11. There are some which walk among you disorderly Okay, now this is all in context now pay attention that word disorderly they're not doing things orderly They're not doing things as they have been commanded right saying we commanded you if you don't work you don't eat We're commanding you this because we hear the fact that there's some people who are walking disorderly meaning what that they're not working Okay And I'll prove that here Well, that's what that that's the context there that if they're not working they're walking disorderly I mean verse 10 and verse 11 are tied together We we this we command you that if any would not work neither should we heat eat should he eat for we hear I'm writing That because we hear there are some that walk disorderly that walk among you disorderly. They're not working And yet they're eating it goes on it says working not at all, right? So it's very clear what the disorderliness is here. It's people who are refusing to work able-bodied Individuals who don't want to go to work working not at all But our busybodies now probably everybody in this room is kind of scratching their head saying why is this even in the Bible? Why does this even have to be addressed because of the fact that? There are people like this and there are people from time to time that will even come into a church and have this Behavior have this attitude of I'm just I'm refusing to work. Okay? And again, I understand that some people can opt out of work because of the fact that they're living on a pension They're on a retirement they've put in work, right? They've retired from the military whatever it might be, you know They can go with forbear, you know working a nine-to-five But they're also not being a burden to other people Okay What's real the real problem is here is when people stop working then everybody else has to pick up the slapping is slack and carry Them along right and we need to be able to bear our own burdens. Okay? Verse 12 now we command that them that are such and excuse me Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ So this isn't just Paul being mean he's saying this is the commandment of God that with quietness They work and eat their own bread So again Why is it that they should be? working because they need to be work eating their own bread and not the bread of somebody else who has to Give of their hard work their labor to support somebody who if they would just you know Man up could go out and get a job Hmm Now with that in mind look at verse 6 He says now we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ because you say how does this get you kicked? out of church That you withdraw yourself from every brother that walketh disorderly and we already read The you know, the the the verses after verses 10 through 12 from we already read ahead in the chapter to understand what the disorder Disorderliness is it's working not at all, right? So now understanding what it means to be disorderly that it means to not work We back up to verse 6 and what does it say that we withdraw ourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly? Now, how are you gonna withdraw somebody? Well, these means you're gonna not have fellowship with them You're gonna put them out from the church, you know And I've heard other people take different interpretations and that's fine people This isn't a doctrine that you have to have right in order to you know Be a Baptist or something or if people don't have different points of view on this we can still be friends But you know, I've heard people preach things like oh this just means, you know When they show up to church you kind of give them the cold shoulder You know, you're just not gonna hand them a hymnal or something or tell them what song you're just you're gonna withdraw from them To me that doesn't make a lot of sense That you know the withdrawing there is to put them out from the church to shame them and that's the point Right, just like in 1st Corinthians 5 where we have all the other sins that would get you kicked out of church What's the point of the church discipline that they would be ashamed that they would get right and they would be received back Into the body so I believe that's the proper application here that if we're going to withdraw from the brother that walk at this orderly not at the tradition which he received of us That means we would actually put that individual out from the church and say go get a job and come back when you can Stand on your own two feet. Okay now I understand people and again, this is talking specific about people who are Capable of working right now refuse not to I understand that you know We bear our own burdens and we also bear the burdens of others Sometimes people in a position in life where they have some physical ailment They have some situation that's preventing them. They would work, but they're not able to by all means You know, we're gonna step up and help those people You know when we went through kovat a lot of people got laid up through the that kovat shut down that were you know Bedridden on oxygen even young men that were you know, otherwise would have been able to work We would not be on be beyond, you know helping those people from you know Being kicked out of their apartment or not having groceries things like that Okay, so I understand there's exceptions But I really what the the problem that disordered in this that Paul is referring to here is the fact that there's capable Able-bodied people who don't want to work. They don't want to provide for themselves They don't they want to eat other people's bread and not their own. Okay Well, they need to be quiet and they need to work and eat their own bread Now if you would go over to 1st Timothy chapter number 5 verse 8 so right out of the gate We just see that you know this well of work. This isn't one of those optional wells Okay, I mean it is optional in the sense that you can if you want to just go be a bum and not work But you know using the analogy of a well if you don't dig that well, you're gonna go dry You know if you don't dig this well of work in life, you know You're not going to have the sustenance that you need Okay, and you can't just depend on everybody else to bail you out and unfortunately, that's the world We're living in where just checks are just being I mean good night over the kovat You know at the end of the all that shut down I mean, I just you know, I got my Biden bucks just like everybody else, you know, and I didn't even know it's coming It's like oh here comes a big fat check from the government, right? You know and I've always said it if you I'm gonna if you mail me a check I'm gonna cash it and if you don't believe me mail me one and I'll prove that I'm not lying. Okay But you know, that's the world We're living in where people are just being sent money people can just go down to the welfare office People can just go out to the mailbox collect a check they can get the cards and the bridge and all that I don't know what the program is here in Arizona And obviously there's certain situations where that stuff would probably be necessary and helpful and I'm glad it's there but too many people today Just want to rely on things like this and not work Well, if we're not gonna work if we're not gonna dig this well of work We should expect to go dry and not have what we need now We're talking about digging these wells in the sense that we need to go deeper We don't want to just have these surface level. Well, that's what that's kind of whole point of the series To help us go deeper in these different areas of our like going deeper in the well of wisdom being Becoming more wise getting more wisdom going deeper. Okay. Well when it comes to work, you know, maybe we should be you know Especially as men working a little bit harder to provide a better income a better living for our family, right? That's something we could be doing being a blessing to other people You know, we might maybe we're working we're digging this well, and we're kind of getting things we're getting by We're kind of paying the bills and we're you know, we're not out on the street But is that really how deep we want to go in in our lives? And I'm not saying we should all pursue being rich the Bible says they that will be rich Fall into temptation and snare too many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men and destruction and perdition You know that we are to warn them that that will be rich that that you know That the love of money is the root of all evil I get that But you know if we could maybe work a little harder dig a little deeper in this well of work You know, we might be able to provide more for our family. Give them more of what they need Be a blessing to other people around us find others that are in need and support them, you know, we support the church You know the church would be able to do more Okay, and I'm not this isn't a money-grubbing sermon up here But the fact is you know, if if more money that comes into the church that doesn't you know That doesn't increase my standard of living You know that doesn't go to the right to the path that that means we do more as a church I mean think about all the things that we do as a church You know, this might be a little bit more obvious to those who attend in Tempe because You know, they're they're doing a lot more of those trips and we've done our fair share down here But I mean think about the all the things that get paid for right all the things that get taken care of I mean good night. Did you have a doughnut this morning? That was free doughnut, you know, where do you think that came from the ties and offerings? You know if you want more doughnuts, I think we're already down to one. Are they all gone? You know, I hid mine You know for after church, you know, because I saw how many were gone and yes, it was the double chocolate, you know But if you want more doughnuts, well, you know, maybe we need to dig a little deeper work and obviously that's kind of a humorous example, but you know The more that comes in the more we're able to do as a church the more missions trips we can do the more Materials we can produce and things like that That's just an example of why we want to go deeper in this well And not just you know, do the bare minimum to just get by okay Again, don't run to the extreme of wanting to be rich and wealthy thinking that's gonna you know Take care of all your problems or make you happy because ultimately it's not I should have to go to first Timothy 5 if you Didn't go there first Timothy chapter number five Again, this well of work not an optional well Unless we want to go dry You know and people think oh it'd be so great to not have a boss and I have anybody tell me what to do Yeah, it'd be great to go live under an overpass That's basically what you're saying and not shower not clean up and you know have to beg for money and hang around that crowd That's not that's not freedom friend First Timothy chapter number five verse eight again. It's commanded here that if any provide not for his own and Especially for those of his own house. He had denied the faith and it's worse than an infidel That's very strong language to talk about somebody who's refusing to provide for their own meaning what that they're not Willing to work and put the food on the table that they're supposed to and in first Timothy 5 It's it's well, it's within the context of taking care of widows You know if any man or woman have widows let them relieve them and let not the church be charged Let me relieve them that are widows indeed You'll find that in the latter half of the chapter But here in verse 8 he's telling them look There's this principle that if we don't take care of those that we are responsible for we've denied the faith We've denied the faith. You know, we haven't done that which is our duty to do. Okay, so We need to make sure we're not forgoing this and I'm not saying we all have to have the two-car garage And the giant SUVs and take three vacations a year and have the 401k and everything else I'm not against any of that But you know, we want to make sure that we're taking care of our family and giving them what they need providing for them Providing for those that are our own so this would probably you know Everything I've talked to you up to this point thus far Really applies to the men doesn't it because we're talking about secular work, right and I get it that there's ladies here And that go out and work secular jobs, you know, I'm not mad I'm not angry I'm not saying you shouldn't but you know, it's not the ideal situation. That's not what God would have I understand that certain people are in certain circumstances. That's just kind of way life is and that's fine You know work hard at that job. God will bless you. I believe that okay You know, but really everything I've said at this point, you know applies mainly to men, right? But you know this idea of digging this well of work applies to women as well and we'll see it even applies to children in some sense Now if you look there in first Timothy chapter 5 look at verse 9 Let not a widow be taken in the number if she had Another number out of three squares old having the wife of one man. So there's this criteria that she has to meet Okay, not every widow in life gets taken care of by the church. Okay, she has to be destitute right truly in need Okay, and Notice verse 10 well reported of for good works. So is there work that women need to do? Is there work? Is there a well of work that women need to be digging just as much as the men? Yes There is I mean there's she's saying that this widow Needs to have been known for well reported of good works Okay meaning she has to have done something with her life leading up to that point that she can look back and have a good Reputation of having done these things and it lists these things, right? Well, first of all for end of verse 9 having been the wife of one man, you know She can't and it's not talking it's not talking about polygamy. It's meaning she can't be a divorcee who's remarried Okay, that's an instant disqualification. Okay Well reported of for good works if she had brought up children, okay, that's the next work because obviously You know, it's love that marriage than the baby carriage Okay, you can't have one without the other you have though You have to be the wife of one man Then you have the children you're fruitful and you multiply if she have brought up children if she have raised Children and let me tell you something that is a job and every mother and it this is kind of I'm giving you I don't know what I'm preaching on Mother's Day But maybe I'll I'll get a little mean today so I could be a little bit nicer next week But you know that is work, isn't it? You know bringing up children is where you know, I work from home a lot and believe me I hear what goes on and I'm not trying to pick up my kids or embarrass anybody But it's just it's like that in every house You know, I see maybe more so than some other men what my wife has to do in order to you know run a household and I a lot of times I just run back into my office and lock the door and put my headphones on and say and Try to just be somewhere else because sometimes it's insanity out there right now I'm just kidding. But what my point is is that it's it's hard work. It's not easy raising children Right, and this is one of those criteria if she have brought up children and what is it? What is bringing up children what is it described here as as a good work? Okay, and a good and this is something that needs to be emphasized that this is a good work today Because a lot of people today in our society in our culture They want to downplay having children or they want to look down upon it or they want to discredit women who work You know at home, you know, I catch myself now people ask me something from time to time You know does your wife work and what they mean is does she have we know what does she do for living? How does she earn an income and I used to a lot of times my knee-jerk reaction was like, oh no She stays at home. She's a stay-at-home mom, but that's kind of but the question is she works. It's like yeah, she works She works very hard. Every mother does Every mother who's who's being the mother that she ought to be is working very hard to Bring up those children and then it gives these other things here if she have lodged strangers If she have washed the Saints feet now, this is something that's probably you know Made a little bit more made more sense back in Paul's day because of the fact that they didn't have you know A hotel in every corner that's talking about being hospitable, you know lodging strangers not letting people sleep out in the street Washing their feet, you know, which is a custom back then, you know, because people had you know They're walking and it would have dirty feet. They provide the water to clean themselves up refresh themselves So don't worry You know if you're if you get into widowhood here and you've checked all these other boxes and you say well I've never washed the Saints feet, you know We're not gonna hold back on you Okay There's obviously there's a practical application of being a hospitable person if she have relieved the afflicted if she had diligently followed every good work Notice verse 11, but the younger widows refused when they had begun to wax wanton against Christ They will marry having damnation because they've cast off their first faith. It's not talking about losing their salvation It's talking about the fact that they're going to be judged right because they're they're not following Christ They're they're they're they're being they're waxing wanton They're they're living for the flesh to some degree and with all they learn to be idle Wandering about from house to house and not only idle but Tatler's also in busybodies and look that is very true That's one thing I've noticed that ladies who don't keep themselves occupied and other things a Lot of times they try to get in other people's business if they don't have their own house to keep them busy They start getting involved in other people's business. It's not right Okay, that's the danger there. They're Tatler's and busybodies speaking things which they ought not. Okay, I'll move along I will therefore that the younger woman marry bear children guide the house Give none occasion for the adversary to speak reproachfully for some are already turned aside after Satan So that is God's will for the younger women that they would marry and bear children and guide the house There's nothing in there about a PhD. There's nothing in there about running for office There's nothing about there about being a marine biologist or a lawyer. It's that's God's will okay Now obviously there's transitional periods in there, you know, not every young woman is gonna go immediately from house You know from her house to her husband's house. I get that. Okay, there's obviously we use some common sense here But you know, this is the ideal this is what the goal should be for young ladies This is what the dream should be This is what we be striving for our daughters is that they would marry and bear children because that's God's will okay That's not the will of the deacon or the pastor. That's what the Bible says, okay Go to Titus chapter number two Titus chapter number two, so I'm just talking about the well of work again this morning Okay, and I don't want the ladies to think oh I could check out of this sermon because you know working That's something only applies to men, you know men get yeah It does apply to men because they have to go out and earn a living but you know women have work to do Too and they need to make sure that they're digging deeper in this well, okay And we'll talk a little bit about you know, some specific shovels That's part of the you know The series they're trying to give that practical application to every well how to make these wells a little bit deeper for each of us Okay, look at Titus chapter 2 verse 1 again I'm just pointing out the fact that women have work to do as well verse 1 but speak thou the things which becomes sound Doctrine which is you know everything, you know, but not anything that he's about to say speak that which becomes sound doctrine Which is nothing about what I'm about to list here right Titus. No the thing then he lists the sound doctrine So everything we're reading after this is things that become sound doctrine things that we should be These are the things that should be speak should be spoken These are things that we're supposed to be speaking as pastors as preachers verse 2 that the aged men be sober grave temperate sound of faith the charity and patience the aged women likewise that the BB Inhaver has become with holiness not false accusers not giving too much wine teacher of good things What are the good things that they should be teaching verse 4 that they may teach the young women to be sober To take life seriously to love their husbands and to love their children to be discreet chaste keepers at home again That's just further evidence that God has work for both men and women. This is the ladies role This is what women are supposed to be doing to lovey loving their husbands loving their children and being keepers at home Good obedient to their own husbands that the Word of God be not blasphemed Now look, you know just that right there loving your husband's that can be a lot of work right ladies Even if we maybe you know children aren't in the picture, you know It's still a lot of work to keep home even with a big, you know Dumb animal such as a man hanging around right? We tend to be very messy creatures, right? My wife this morning We're walking out. I'm sorry if I'm always I shouldn't be doing this, but you know, I said what's what's that water running? You know, what's that? I hear running water and this is this is just illustrating what a man I am It took me a minute to realize that's the laundry machine. You know, that's that's the washing machine I was like waters leaking she's like it's the washing machine and then she said I'm trying to get caught up on laundry and I Reminded her I said that'll never happen. All right, that's that's your life is laundry, right? That's gonna be the rest of your life sweetheart. It's laundry even after the kids out of the picture, right? It's it's why? So anyway, I just I thought that was kind of funny that kind of helped illustrate my point that hey There's a lot of work, right? Be keeping house is a lot of work. It's laundry. It's dishes. It's housecleaning You know someone's got to do that You know and a lot of people have a lot of tension in their marriage because of the fact that they both want to go work secular jobs and work hard all day and earn a living and then they come home and they fight about who's gonna do the Dishes and who's gonna clean this cuz that stuff still has to get done You know and then they try to break up the chores and then you know And I don't want to go on and on about all that but you know a lot of times it's just a you know It's a lot easier. Just do what the Bible says Keep mom at home. Keep you know your wife at home and let her just do her job do it Well, you know most women if they're if they're honest That's just really what they want to be doing Anyway, even if they're lying, you know, they're lying to themselves, you know, they say otherwise this is really what they want and You know let the man go out and earn the earn the living and then come home to His wife and a well-capped home, you know, that's that's a recipe for a great marriage. Okay? You know keeping a house is a job, you know mothers are Essential employees. Okay, they're needed. We need mothers. We need housewives The family is the fabric of society and as we see that being Shredded and ripped apart and dismantled. We see what's happening to society. They're going nuts out there That's why I've got these freaks with you know Men with with painted nails and piercings and manicured eyebrows serving me barbecue Yesterday, all right, let me get that off my chest You know Anyway, I better move along But that's what we're seeing right mothers You know motherhood and being a wife and all that is just being underplayed and meanwhile society is just turning into a modern-day Sodom Gomorrah, but we're the crazy ones because we actually believe what the Bible says So we're talking this morning about this well of work about how this isn't an optional Well, these are things that we have to do. We need men to go out and earn a living We need mothers in the home doing what they're supposed to be doing keeping house Loving their children loving their their husbands teaching and instructing and all of that. We need these things This is a needful. Well, we want to dig a little deeper Okay, and you know this latter half at least this first one. This is probably gonna apply a little bit more to the men but you know, how do you deepen this? How do you make this this well of work a Deeper well for you. Well one, you know, you could talk about just getting the skills to earn a higher Income you want a specific shovel? Develop skills, right if the money that you're bringing in is tight, you know You can either take on a second job or you can start working on developing a skill. That's gonna help you earn more money Okay, and look I and I'll say this because I've done this is that I I will go out and work two or three Jobs before I ever put my wife in the workforce If I have to go out and get a second job That's what I'll do and I could say that because that's what I've done I would rather be working 80 hours a week and coming home Tired and exhausted and having my wife fulfilling her role than to me work 40 and then have her go work 40 That's just a recipe for disaster. You might be able to get by you may be able to squeak by but it's it's gonna affect Your children it's gonna affect your marriage in the long run. It's not worth it. It's not worth the price you're paying. Okay So that's one specific shovel, you know men if you if the if the income is tight You want to dig that what well of work a little deeper, you know develop some skills, you know Maybe it's time to hit night school Maybe it's time to get online and take some training after hours and or you know There's something that can benefit you in the job that you have right now. Okay Or maybe it's just time to go out and get a second job. It might even be just Switching jobs all together. Obviously everyone's in a different situation Now I'll say this too is that you know, if we're gonna be working, you know, we should seek out work as men that is Significant or that it brings a sense of satisfaction Okay. Now I don't want this to get confused with follow your dream Okay Cuz that's the philosophy that's out there that I don't agree with If everyone followed their dream the trash wouldn't get picked up and and all the and all the toilets would get backed up Cuz I'm pretty sure that's not only you know, a lot of a lot of boys are growing up I mean, I know some boy they all go through that phase. They just go it's like they check the list They want to be a fighter pilot. They want to be a fireman. They want to be a garbage man They want to be you know, there's a police officer they check all these boxes but you know when when the rubber starts to hit the road when it gets time for Young men to actually go out and get involved the workforce a lot of them aren't probably going, you know I think I'll be a trash man It's my lifelong dream to operate a stinky garbage truck and look I'm not down on anybody that does that You know, I that's an occupation. I considered seriously for a while, you know, those guys make decent decent money They have good benefits. Look somebody's got to do that and I'm grateful for people who do jobs like that But what I'm saying is that's not them following their dream I mean, maybe it is and hey more power to them if that's your dream Pursue that dream go live the dream. Okay, we need you Right, but what I'm saying when I say, you know get work that is significant get work that provides you with a sense of satisfaction That's what I'm saying. And that doesn't necessarily have to be your dream job Okay, it just has to be a job that you can do and excel in you know You'll dig deeper if you walk away from that job saying and have a sense of satisfaction Maybe if it's not, you know something you're necessarily excited about, you know, some jobs even within manual labor you know provide a More a greater degree of satisfaction than others, you know, I just think about my own experience You know for a year a couple years I delivered furniture, you know I'd get up and I'd go work. I worked at UPS on the preload, you know It's about eight thirty nine o'clock and then I would go to a local furniture store and deliver furniture Until about five in the afternoon. So I was working, you know, 12 plus hour days At UPS and then delivering furniture Let me tell you something there what there wasn't a lot of satisfaction found in delivering people's furniture. I Learned a lot about customer service. I learned there's a lot of people out there that have nothing better to do than complain They're the I've run into a lot of these busybodies these widows out there that are just looking for something to complain about I remember I'll never forget the last job I did because when I Put in my two weeks and went to another job the last delivery I made we were driving way out the stick somewhere To bring back this chair this lady I complained about was this little rocking chair this little fabric chair You know Swivel sitter, I don't know what you call it, right? We get it in there and it's this little old lady and she says to the guy my Co-worker flip it over and she hasn't flipped this chair completely upside down and then she takes the fabric skirt on the back of it on the back of the chair upside down and Flips it over and she complains about the stitching Look how that's stitched and I was my last day and I just said I'll be in I'll be in the truck I just walked out But you know, there was a lot of people like that, right? Let me tell you I didn't I didn't go home a lot of days go man. It just felt so good To go to that person's house and have to bring a king-sized mattress up two flights of stairs and shove it through a door That that the salesman said it would fit through I mean I've drug King mattresses up balconies, but with ropes because the salesman said it would fit through the door Well, of course he said that you know, he's not delivering it. He's making Commission You know He's gonna tell you it'll fit through any door Yeah, the get the guys there will just fold it, you know, we'll we'll tear it half and stitch it back together Let's tell you whatever they need to do to make a sale Right. I didn't want I didn't go home a lot of times. I said man. What a satisfying job So what did you do? Did you pursue your dream? Did you become an author? You know, did you did you get involved in the arts? Did you get involved in humanities? It's like no I just went and got another job that I enjoyed more and I would think I went from that to like excavating Dug holes it was laying pipe. I was cutting down trees And look that's that might not be changing the world to some great degree But you know what? It was I got a sense of satisfaction out of that Working hard and you know, at least somebody had a home Somebody had plumbing some of that new septic system and no one was out there complaining about the threading in the back of a chair To me, okay So that's kind of what I mean by that you know if you want to dig this well a little bit deeper if as men you're kind of had you know you have This kind of just the job isn't really something you're excited about or isn't something that you feel like you can maintain Well, maybe it's just time to find another line of work. That's more satisfying to you. Okay, you know other jobs For example, I've had like, you know roofing Didn't get a lot of satisfaction on the roofing. I'll be honest or hanging drywall. It's just not you know So what did you do? You know, did you go out and and you know? Did you did you join the Navy and get on submarines or something and you know something exciting or you know, whatever no I just found another job doing something else. You know, I've worked on dairy farms milking cows I got a lot of satisfaction out of that. I Realized that's not for everybody, you know that I don't want to be married to a bunch of cows You know and that's basically what you have to do as a dairy farmer You're it's twice a day every day fit. I mean that those are long days But there was a lot of satisfaction out of taking care of animals and seeing them yield something that you can produce or give Consume and give to other people, you know, I helped bird a couple of calves You know, I've been laying on the on the we'll call it a muddy floor It was some other kind of substance that was there You know the dung of the milk parlor with a newborn calf writhing and sliming me, you know Yeah, I got satisfaction out of that right, but I mean it's still just manual labor It's still just some job that probably not everybody's dreaming of doing if you would go to proverbs 14 proverbs 14 You know, we don't want to my point is this is that we don't want to have this attitude towards work that it's just Some you know something we just have to endure. It's just something we have to get through that's gonna make life very hard You know and obviously I'm not saying that we should all be out there You know, well if I'm gonna I'm gonna be a professional sports player, you know chances are you're not right? That's a very very very narrow field of people that get to do that for a living To go play a child's game and get paid for it, right? But you know, so obviously we have to what are we talking about then We're talking about getting some kind of satisfaction from work and maybe sometimes it's not even a matter of changing jobs. It could just be Adjusting our attitude, you know digging a little deeper in this Well, we'll be a little bit more compelled to dig deeper if we get us, you know a sense of satisfaction out of work You might get that satisfaction out of changing jobs into a new field of work developing a different skill Or it might just be an attitude adjustment is all that's needed. Okay Look at problems 14 verse 23. I think this this is a great verse I thought about this verse throughout the years this first half, especially it says there in all labor. There is profit in All labor now, do you get paid for all the labor that you do? Nobody does, you know, I only I only labor unless somebody's paying for paying me There's got a lot of things you're gonna go undone, right? Yards aren't gonna get mo raked Weeded I guess it passed around here right things that you know, the pool's not gonna clean whatever I don't know what it is Right. I'm not gonna fix that, you know faucet until somebody pays me to do it Well, it's in your house, right? You're gonna profit if you take care of it, but a lot of times even just you know The the the labor that we do Just doing labor is we profit from that true Just learning how to work hard From just learning what it means to put in and do a hard day's work or maybe even just doing something We don't want to do You know, why should I do that? Well at all labor there's profit you'll profit from it from one way or another if you Can see it You know some people they can't see the profit in the things that they do We don't want to be like that. We want to understand in all labor. There's profit obviously here in progress 14 Maybe the primary application is about earning an income because it goes on it says What the talk of the lips tendeth to only penury which is extreme poverty You know people who just sit around the job and just constantly talk and don't work. They're gonna get fired. Okay So we need to be working and you know again Just I'm talking about the the specific shovel of how to dig a little bit deeper in this well of work And I know it's it's maybe not the flashiest sermon But again work is a huge part of our lives as men as women and even as children if you would go to Proverbs 29 Proverbs 29, you know It might even be that you know, we don't need to earn an income Maybe we're taken care of You know if we go out and work anyway in spite of that, you know, we'll probably have a sense of satisfaction And I know this is true because of the fact that the most depressing Miserable times in my life have been when I've been unemployed and I've been between jobs When I moved out here, you know with my family ten years ago didn't have a job waiting for me had to find a job You know when it took a couple weeks the first job I had was I think I've already realized told the story recently You know was was pouring concrete fritters here in Arizona where you don't need forms You just dig a hole if you want to call it digging anytime you got a jackhammer To dig a hole and where I come from they call that breaking up. Okay, that's like something we would reserve for concrete Okay, but no here you use the jackhammer to dig a hole in the ground. All right, you know and then you end up with street hope street heat stroke like I did and You know, I was laid up, you know for like a week like severe like it was bad Well, it cuz here's the thing, you know, we're getting into the hotter part of the year Anyway word of warning don't mess around with the heat if you don't know this already Because it will get you when I got it man. I took it for granted. You know, I I was moving out Everyone's telling me in Michigan. It's hot out there. I'm like, yeah, I know dots, Arizona Why do you think it's so dry and then all we're moving out here and all the way I'm just drinking coke There's no I'm not drinking any water just stopping at restaurants eating fried food You know, I'm going from like 60 degrees to like 90 You know in a matter of days just from an air-conditioned car to like 90 plus three I'll never forget because we pulled into our into our apartment complex and my landlord was I got out and I met the landlord And it was like it was this time of year. I was thinking I think it was May right wasn't me Yeah, something like that I think we just had our anniversary of ten years being here in Arizona and I got out and it was like low 90s And I said to the landlord. I'm like man, it's hot and he just laughed at me I was like, oh man, I'm in for it Right, but I didn't take it seriously end up getting heatstroke and I was I was laid up But the guy that I was working for he's like hey, you can always come back I said, you know what? I think I should go find something else and I went found something else in a warehouse at least in the shade But you know, there's been times where what was the point about, you know There's been times where I've been between jobs out of work. That's miserable Why because we as men whether we want to admit it or not we get a lot of our sense of satisfaction our sense of self-worth out of the fact that we are able to work and Produce something provide for somebody whether it's ourselves or even our families, you know, we get a lot of satisfaction out of that so if you want to excel and do better at our work, you know, maybe Maybe it might even mean that we have to find more satisfaction Either through an attitude adjustment or maybe even finding another trade or work to get into and let me say something about the trades I know I'm kind of going all over the place this morning, but so be it, you know, the trades are you know, because we got young men in this room that are thinking about what they're Gonna do for work and You know, let me just put it a good word for the trades Because there's a huge gap in employment in the trades right now Huge it's been a thing for a while. I'm surprised you don't hear more about it Well, then you think about why don't you hear that much about it? Well, because there's this whole Educational complex where people are profiting off of getting you into debt at some university somewhere Well, then promising you some pie-in-the-sky job where you know, you're just gonna sit at a desk Look, I'm not against desk jobs. I have one. Okay, and if you're in, you know, I'm not saying there isn't you know Careers to be pursued in that Avenue But a lot of people kind of just right off the trades and they shouldn't because the trades there's a huge need for tradesmen plumbers electricians welders The list goes on construction all kinds of trades where you could learn a good skill provide have a job anywhere in Anywhere really because every everyone needs running water. Everyone needs electricity. Everyone wants these things, right? Mechanic, you know, it's just like look at the road Just customer customer customer customer, you know potential customer are driving by you in the thousands, right? So, you know, it's it's it's something you could you could provide a family for and you know A lot of times the trades if you develop that skill, you know You work for somebody for a while you get good at that job A lot of times you can branch out on your own and start your own company I mean, where do you think all these trades companies came from right? They just fall out of the sky somebody else learned the trade got good at it became it got some business sense And now they're employing other people. So there's a lot to be said about the trades and all and all labor There's profit and that includes manual labor don't ever feel like, you know You're second class or something because you have a blue-collar job. Okay It's a it's a very needed thing because again I don't want to get the sense of I'm saying find a satisfying job in the sense of you know Follow your dream, you know become a professional, you know, whatever All work, you know leads to a sense of satisfaction and that's why I was beginning to say earlier We should work for work's sake That's kind of point I was making about you know, when I was out of work My back would literally begin to hurt Like I would get physical pain if you know those weeks or you know a week or two or if I was between jobs And my wife didn't want you think oh, it'd be great. I'll be at home all the time She didn't want me around and you think she didn't want me around now It's like because you're miserable as a man You're not you're not fun to be around when you're when you're not doing what it is You're supposed to be doing and you know it, you know, you're miserable work for work's sake Okay, so that applies a lot to Men, you know The specific shovel this morning is seek significant work work that brings you a sense of satisfaction You know as a man, I'm just gonna you know, no offense to any male baristas in the room I don't think we have any but you're probably not gonna get a lot of satisfaction out of you know serving coffee at Starbucks or Asking do you want fries with that? You know, that's a great place to start. I'm not against those things You know entry-level jobs. I'm not against them I think you should you know a lot, you know, that's where I started My first job was delivering newspapers after school and then I graduated to McDonald's Hey, and then it was you know that from there I climbed the ranks to dishwasher at a restaurant You know how many different dishwashing jobs I had over the years, right? Obviously we had those entry-level jobs as we grow and mature and we progress and we prove that we can show it up To work on time we can do a good job. We can be obedient. You know, we we get a resume But I'm saying as a manual That's not gonna provide a lot of satisfaction in the long run and it's not gonna provide a lot of income You know you get this crazy idea I'm just gonna find a job working 15 bucks an hour for the rest of my life, you know Well, you're not gonna be able to take care of your family like you should so the specific shovel this morning is You know find a job that gives you a sense of satisfaction pursue that okay, and it doesn't have to be some dream job But it has to be something That's gonna allow you to fulfill your role as a man Let's just very briefly touch on the significance when it comes to mothers the significance of motherhood and again I know Mother's Day is next week. So I'll have to preach something else, but you know Women need to make sure they're taking their job as being a mother if they are a mother or a wife Very seriously because it's a very significant job They don't want to leave their children to themselves Right because a child left to himself bring at this mother to shame the rod and reproof Give wisdom right the rod and reproof correcting your children instructing your children and by the rod there He's talking about corporal punishment, you know applying a paddle to the seat of learning right to that padded nerve infested portion of the Human anatomy called the posterior Chain, you know that that the backside You know, that is what it's talking about spanking obviously rod and reproof give wisdom These are very important things for mother make sure we're doing these things Okay, and I don't want to go on and on about this but you know motherhood is a significant job that women should take seriously and Should derive should be deriving satisfaction from it and it's an important point to make because you know A lot of mothers sometimes they'll kind of they might get this attitude of just like well What I'm doing isn't that important. It's incredibly important You know, there's that saying the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. That's very true I know it's cliche, but it's cliche for a reason. It's repeated for a reason because it's true You know mothers have a profound influence on the world and as I mentioned earlier The proof is the fact that as mothers are being attacked as motherhood is being undervalued and less women are interested in being mothers populations in our decline Populations that are around are getting weird. Okay So it's a very significant thing Let me let me talk to the children real quick. Okay kids. I know you're all Thinking about a I'll worry about the sermon when I'm entering, you know, the the workforce Well, let me break it to you kids home school kids kids that are in public education wherever you may be You're already in the workforce through your schoolwork and your chores Okay, and whether you get paid for those chores or not whether you get allowance or not all and all labor there's profit Where it's the labor and me taking out the trash without you know, what? I'm not doing that till I get a quarter you might get something else At least in my house you catch something else, right? But you'll learn being obedient doing you know, the monotonous job doing something that other people You don't want to do right, you know You learn to take the trash out because guess what you know what you do a lot of other jobs take the trash out Because there's trash be taken out everywhere You know, I'm the deacon here, but guess what else I do I take the trash out Right Where do you think I learned that at home mom? Okay, you kids are in the workforce your school your chores you say what's my work school and chores? That's your job You say well, I don't know if I like that. Well, you're certainly then you're really not gonna like being an adult Dude, you're really not gonna like being a mother And you're really not gonna be like being a father and a husband. You're really not gonna like being a wife And you can't clean up after yourself you're supposed to be cleaning up after other people as a wife and a mother That's just part of the job. We looked at it, you know, so learn these things in your youth. It's significant. Don't downplay it. I Want to make one last point and I'll wrap it up if you would go to Colossians chapter 3 Colossians chapter number 3 Because again, I'm talking about, you know digging this well deeper and this obviously I kind of struggle with this one if you haven't noticed About you know how to apply this right? How do we dig this well of work because it's such a significant part of our lives Remember the whole series is about you know These different wells in our lives that we need to deepen and make sure we're digging in right and you can't ignore work You can't say, you know Well, I just don't want to talk about work because it's kind of hard to really make an application with it Right or really know how to preach it. It's it's a huge part of our lives. It's very significant How are we gonna dig deeper in that? You know, we're gonna dig deeper by you know Have making sure our work is at least it Making our work significant or maybe understanding that how significant our work already is Sometimes people undersell what they do and they what they're doing is already Significant enough the other way the last thing I want to do talk about another specific shovel to help deepen this well is To not separate the secular from a spiritual sometimes people do this They think oh, there's my Christian life and then there's when I go to work Look, these things are interwoven Okay, and the Bible talks about this the Bible makes this abundantly clear, you know We should be serving Christ even on the job site. Okay, and this works the other way, too Okay, we don't want to we don't want to just make our life all about work in a secular sense and then Not work for the Lord. Okay, that's a very significant work that we need to be digging in as well That's a very significant. Well, isn't it? We're talking about the the well of work, you know, there's the well of our Earning an income guiding a house, but then there's also the work of the Lord. Okay, which has its own reward and Merits its own sermon in of itself Do not separate separate the secular from the spiritual All employment is spiritual say no, it's only spiritual when I go soul winning. It's only spiritual. I read my Bible It's only spiritual. I go to church all work is spiritual. It's a spiritual thing You're a spiritual being you're living in a spiritual world. You can't you know break these things up You can't partition them Colossians 3 verse 22. It says Servants obey in all things your master is according to the flesh. Okay servants being employees masters being employers Obey in all things your masters According to the flesh and right according to the flesh the the secularness of it not with eye service as men pleasers But in singleness of heart notice this last phrase fearing God. Why is it that we should not be? That we should be obedient and all these things when they say to go do this we don't back talk We don't tell them why we shouldn't do it. We just say yes, sir That's what they're paying us for and not with eye service. You know when the boss comes around then we get busy Right, but otherwise, you know, we're leaning. Okay, you got time to lean you got time to clean right now with eye service Why should we not be men pleasers, right? Is it because of the boss? No, it's because we should be fearing God so you see how We can't separate the spiritual from the secular. You can't all employment is spiritual. We should work as unto the Lord That's what it says here verse 23 and whatsoever you do. Do it heartily ask to the Lord and not unto men And looking if we find ourselves Struggling with this saying, you know, it's hard for me to do my job heartily, you know, maybe one It's either an attitude adjustment. Maybe we need to find something else that we can get more Satisfaction out of and do more heartily and not unto men knowing that of the Lord You shall receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ Right ultimately even at our jobs. We are serving Christ even if we're You know emptying porta-potties if we're you know writing emails if we're you know Coding or whatever we're on phone conversations. We're Tearing up tile. We're installing plumbing. We're whatever it is. We're doing We're serving God through our demeanor the way we do things If you would go to first Peter chapter 2 talks about this again This will help you be a better employee You know if you're going to work every day and you're working like you're working for the Lord You think that's gonna make you stand out a little bit Because what's what's the problem with other people? We probably all know people who are worked around people who work with I service that are men pleasers That only work hard when the boss shows up. They're cutting out early. They're coming in late They're getting people to punch in for him whatever we've all run into people like that I remember that verse I read earlier from Proverbs You know the in all labor there is profit But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury every time I read that I think about when I was pouring Concrete walls and we were setting up forms and we'd set up these comp these huge You know heavy forms you nail them all together They pour the concrete they got to peel them off Bang all the concrete off them and put it back in the cage and get them out of there Well, there's this one guy. I remember when I first got hired at that job he every just wanted to constantly talk all the time and Finally, I'm just like banging away, and I said I just said these words to him. I said less talk more work That's what I said, and I mean I was just like 19 year old pipsqueak talking to this grown man like this I told him right to say I said less talk more work, and I just went right back at it You know and it just kind of came out I'm not suggesting you go do that okay, obviously that might have been a little inappropriate, but it's it makes for good preaching okay, and it's there's a point you know my my Superior overheard me say that he was up on the bank or something and he said I like that And I got a 25 cent raise Said I heard it because I ran one time he said go get that I ran to go get it You know you probably shouldn't run on a job site. You could walk briskly right. It's kind of rebar tools You know you could get hurt, but I did that you know and he they took me in I think out of 25 or 50 cent raise you know which is significant especially back then before all this inflation But you know what I was doing and you say why do that well I'd gotten saved I remember when I got that job I remember I went applied and I drove away from that job, and I said Lord if you get me this job I'll work as hard as I can I remember praying that prayer in my pickup pulling away from that that Factory whatever is you know the office, and I got that job, and I you know that's why I worked I went there. I said I'm gonna not be like these guys that work with I service I'm not gonna be these men pleasers When there's a single as hard as if I'm worked for it got me a raise Look my point is this I'm telling that story because if you have that attitude of work you will stand out But what if you don't what if you're not rewarded on the surface of that well you still have an inheritance from God God will still see it. God will still bless you. God will still make it up somewhere else The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9 I'll read to you Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do with thy might for there's no work nor serviced or knowledge nor wisdom in the grave Whither thou goest? You know if we're gonna go to work anyway We might as well work as hard as we can But we're gonna have to raise kids we might as raise them the best we can If we're gonna have to keep house we might as well keep house the best we can Whatever we're gonna have to do we're already gonna be doing it anyway We might as well go ahead and work the best we can as unto the Lord So if even if we're not profit in this world we have an inheritance in In heaven because look I mean a lot of our reward is based on our obedience to the Word of God Isn't it our heavenly reward is based upon our obedience to the Word of God does the Bible command us to work hard on? The job or not it does okay, that's something you can be rewarded for how you work even in your secular job You're there in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 18 look at verse 18 It says in 1st Peter 2 servants be subject to masters with all fear not only to the good and gentle But also to the forward you're saying don't don't just be good work hard for that for the boss that you like Even the boss you don't like okay? For this is thank worthy of a man for conscious sake toward toward God endured grief suffering wrongfully You know if you're mistreated God sees that right? You know this kind of makes me think about this attitude that sometimes people get I'll work harder when they pay me more Prepared to never be paid more. That's not how it works, and it's you know It's it sounds crazy to say that from the pulpit, but I've learned I don't I've heard multiple people say that to me over the years. I've worked with guys like this I'll work harder when they pay me more. I'm just thinking do you not understand how the world works? You know we need to work with a fear both to the good and the gentle and also to the forward even to that boss That you know could squeeze blood out of a rock, and it's probably not going to give up another dime. We should still work hard Because ultimately who we're working for is God because you know really when it comes to this well of work It's insignificant and need to be pointed out because it's such a big part of our lives And because of the fact that when you think about it work is God's creation You know work is something that God created right? We won't take the time to go back there into Genesis chapter 2 and 3 but in Genesis 2 You know he took the man and put him in the garden to dress it and to keep it That's work, and I was in paradise. That's chapter 2. That's before the fall. Oh Heaven's gonna be so great. It's we're not gonna work and You know you all want to sing that song will work till Jesus comes and thinking and then it's done It's like no, and then we'll work some more Because work isn't a dirty word work isn't some evil thing that needs to be avoided Work is something that God created for us to do Why because what no matter regardless of what we get paid whatever our monetary reward is we can? You know potentially get a lot of Satisfaction out of working out of doing things working with our hands working with our minds Why because God's made us to do that, and we're living in a society that wants to just avoid work What they're avoiding is what God has designed them to do Why do so many people so many young men just feel so useless today? They just list lists. They don't feel like they are significant. They don't count. It's because they're not engaged in anything difficult We as men especially need a burden to bear in this life. That's what we're made to do We are beasts of burden to some degree You know we need to shoulder a load in our lives It's because God's made us to be this way he made man and put him in the garden to dress it and keep He said here Adam. Here's a paradise Before the fall get to work that tell me that tells me that that's what man is made to do We are made to work man and women okay, and obviously the day and age. You know we're living in We have very specific roles Right that specific work that we're supposed to be engaged in as men women and yay even children being obedient to our parents Right it was after the fall that God cursed the ground and said you know now you're gonna work That's not gonna yield forth its fruit like it used to and you're gonna go in the sweat of thy face thou shall eat Bread right that's part of the curse, but that doesn't mean work is a curse. It just means that the work was cursed Make sense the work is not a curse The work is a very significant portion of our lives. It's a very significant. Well that we must dig in You know even if we don't want to go deeper in our work Even if we don't want we can't not work. It's have severe consequences It'll affect us it'll affect those around us We need to make sure we're digging in these wells folks and especially this well of work. We want to dig deeper Okay, let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer