Jeremiah 48:10, “Cursed is the one who is HALFHEARTED in doing the Lord’s work…” (CEB)
If it is one thing that bothers me at times, it is having asked someone to do something, and they do it, but do it, half-heartedly. The term “half-hearted” is defined as “without enthusiasm or determination; feeling or showing of little interest; to give lukewarm support to.” And what does God think about “lukewarm people “? Revelation 3:15-17, ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold (invigorating, refreshing) nor hot (healing, therapeutic); I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm (SPIRITUALLY USELESS), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust]. Because you say, “I am rich, and have prospered and grown wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked [without hope and in great need],” (AMP) The Message Bible says it like this: “I know you inside and out and find little to my liking. You are not cold; you are not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You are stale. You are stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.” (MSG)
So, do you still want to serve God halfheartedly and lukewarm?
Question: How do you give “spiritless” servitude to a God who is Spirit?! John 4:24, says, “GOD IS SPIRIT. Those who worship Him must worship Him in SPIRIT and in truth.” (NLV) I reiterate, how do you give “spiritless” servitude to THE Spirit, when you are supposed to be led by His Spirit? Galatians 5:18, 25, “…But if ye be LED OF THE SPIRIT…IF WE LIVE IN THE SPIRIT, LET US ALSO WALK IN THE SPIRIT…” How do you give “spiritless” servitude to THE Spirit, when you are supposed to be LED OF THE SPIRIT, LIVE IN THE SPIRIT AND WALK IN THE SPIRIT? Perhaps, if we stopped being so WHOLEHEARTEDLY led by the Flesh, living in the Flesh, and walking in the Flesh, we could finally stop HALFHEARTEDLY serving in Spirit…Selah…
Let us look at John 4:24 in a few translations:
“God is Spirit, and those who worship God MUST be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.” (CEV) – The word “MUST” is defined as “to be obligated to; should; expressing insistence on something that should not be overlooked or missed.”
“God is spirit, and it is NECESSARY to worship God in spirit and truth.” (CEB) – That word “NECESSARY” is defined as, “required to be done, needed, must be, inevitable, basic requirement”.
In essence, in our service, no matter what the form, when it is to God, it is a necessity to have it done wholeheartedly in the Spirit, something that should not be overlooked or missed because it is our basic requirement. God has always given us His absolute best, in fact He gave us His Heart (His Son, His Sons Blood, His Sons Life) so, how do we dare serve Him halfheartedly?
“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That is the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” (John 4:23-24 MSG) Nothing about that sounds fleshly or halfhearted!
There is an interesting story that is told about Queen Victoria. She loved being able to go out and be by herself, without being recognized, so she could mingle with ordinary people. And to keep from being noticed, the Queen would “dress down.” On one of her walks, it began to rain, so she knocked on the door of this cottage and asked to borrow an umbrella. Well, not recognizing the Queen, the elderly woman who answered the door lent her a beat-up umbrella, instead of her best umbrella. She did that because she was not sure she would ever see the umbrella again of course. Well Queen Victoria left thanking the woman and promising to return the umbrella. The next day a royal messenger returned the lady’s umbrella. And he said to the woman, “The Queen asked me to return your umbrella.” The elderly woman was heard to say, “Oh, if I had only known who it was, I would have given her my best. “
Listen to these sobering words, from our text in Jeremiah 48:10, “A curse” – oh, a curse – “A curse on him who is lax in doing the Lord’s work.” WARNING! Do not be lax! Do not be lazy! Do not be careless in doing the work of God! Why? Because THERE’S A CURSE PLACED ON ANYONE WHO IS! This is how strongly God feels about those who serve Him and His work in a half-hearted manner!
In other words, God places a curse on anyone who serves Him and His work in a manner that is: SLACK, NEGLIGENT, HALF-HEARTED, SLOPPY, LAX or WITHOUT CARE! The work of the Kingdom means so much to God that He will place a curse on anyone who gives decreased effort, inclined to be lazy, lacks proper care and attention, foolish, weak, or careless in it! That ought to terrify many of us who have not been giving God our absolute best!
See, sometimes we give the Lord what is easy for us to give Him, but the King deserves our best. Think about it: No one in their right mind would serve an earthly king dinner on paper plates, plastic silverware, bowls, cups, and discount store napkins! Why not? Because that is not what you serve a king! And certainly, our KING is deserving of much better than any earthly king! Yet, we will not serve an earthly king on paper and plastic, but our KING we serve with watered down worship; procrastinated praise; and perfunctory prayers! We bypass bible study, and we are so busy checking messages on our phones that we pay little or no attention to the Message coming through the microphone in the sanctuary! We sing songs with no emotions, and dance for show. How does God get any honor out of any of that? But we are first to cry out “He’s Our King of Kings!” Well, if He truly is, then serve Him as a King should be served!
If truth be told, a lot of people are frequently lax doing the Lord’s work. That is why a strong word is probably needed here. Some of us may have been financially lax with the Lord’s work; we have been careless with the money He is provided for us. We have become careless in tithe and offering, careless in the benevolent offering, careless in the financial support of the work of the Lord. We have become undisciplined with our paychecks. When the truth is, you do not need more money, you need to learn how to budget and effectively manage the money He is already provided you. Stop wishing for More when you are wasteful with Less. Clearly there has not been full integrity in the way funds have been taken care of. But money funds the work of the Lord. We cannot afford to be careless with it publicly or privately. In the House of the Lord or in our own personal Homes!
Another truth, some people are lax with their time. A lot of time gets wasted in the service of the Lord. Let us be honest about it. We need to be doing every task as if it were a royal task, because it is.
Ephesians 6:5-8, “Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Do not just do what you must do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, YOU’RE REALLY SERVING GOD. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.” (MSG).
In other words, never be lax in giving your time to the work of the Kingdom. Whether you serve in the pulpit, at the door as an usher, on the choir, as a musician, as a janitor cleaning out the pews, serve in the manner you would if you were serving a King…because you are! There is no big and little work in the Kingdom, just work to be done. So, let today be the day you decide to work…wholeheartedly for the Lord!
Now, with the many social media networks (posting, snapping, liking, tweeting, scoping, streaming etc.…), and all the things that are out there to distract us during the day and night, at work, home, and church, it is so easy to waste God’s precious time. But what we must remember is that we are working for the King of kings, therefore, giving 100% however big or small it is, is an Obligation not an Option! Whether it is in or out of the spotlight, we have got to realize time is of the essence and too precious and costly to waste. It often amazes me that we are quick to say, “we’re living in the end times…and these are the last days…” and yet we carry on as though we have all the time left in the world. If indeed these are the end times and last days, shouldn’t we serve like it? Look like it? Act like? Behave and conduct ourselves like it? Preach, teach, and pray like it? And most importantly live like it? If there is not much time left, shouldn’t we get this right, like right now?! No more carelessness with our time, for one day, our last night will indeed be our LAST night.
Not to mention it is possible to be lax with the quality of our work for the Lord, settling for mediocrity. But the King should always be represented by excellence don’t you think?
Numbers 18:29 says that we “must offer as the Lord’s portion, the BEST and holiest part of everything we have.” As is my custom, let us view this in a few translations:
“Out of all your gifts, you shall present every offering due to the Lord, FROM ALL THE BEST of it, even the sacred part from them.’” (AMP).
“Make Sure That God’s Portion Is The Best and holiest of everything you get.” (MSG).
Are you getting this? Whatever you do for the Lord, whatever you give to the Lord, “Make Sure That God’s Portion Is The Best And Holiest Of Everything…”
Not Second-Best, Not Used, Not Less Than, Not Mediocre, Not Left-Overs, Everything You Do And Everything You Present Must Be The Best!
Let us tell the truth, in a terribly busy world and our terribly busy lives the King often gets our leftovers, our leftover time, our leftover energy, our leftover talent, our leftover finances. And that is wrong! We forget this is not work for the church or for some Christian organization or for the people around us or the people we report to. This is for the King! This is the King who bought you back with the life of His Son! And someday we will stand before this very same King and we will offer Him the work we did for Him. I hope you will make it work that Jesus will be proud of and you do not have to be ashamed of, or in the words of 2 Timothy 2:15, “…CONCENTRATE ON DOING YOUR BEST FOR GOD, WORK YOU WON’T BE ASHAMED OF…” (MSG)
And why should we offer God our BEST work? 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, “We are God’s coworkers, and you are God’s field, God’s building. I laid a foundation like a wise master builder according to God’s grace that was given to me, but someone else is building on top of it. Each Person Needs To Pay Attention To The Way They Build On It. No one can lay any other foundation besides the one that is already laid, which is Jesus Christ. So, whether someone builds on top of the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, or hay, each one’s work will be clearly shown. The day will make it clear, because it will be revealed with fire—The Fire Will Test The Quality Of Each One’s Work. If anyone’s work survives, they will get a reward. But if anyone’s work goes up in flames, they will lose it. However, they themselves will be saved as if they had gone through a fire.” (CEB)
Therefore, we need to evaluate the work we are doing for the Lord. We need to pay attention that we are giving Him our all and our best because the day is coming when we will be tested and graded, and unlike school when you get a failing or passing grade, this grade affects you eternally. There is no make-up, it goes through the fire, and either it survives or burns, sounds a lot like our souls. Which is why this is so vital that we handle this appropriately, carefully, and cautiously.
We have all heard the term “what’s the worst that can happen?” Well, in this case, the WORST that can happen is not giving God your BEST!
Lastly, remember the story above, the woman would have given the Queen her best umbrella had she known it was the Queen making the request. However, for you and me, we have no excuses, no one to blame, we can do no finger pointing, because we know exactly WHO is making a request of us. And certainly, we will not be able to say in the end, “If I had only known it was for the King, I would have given Him my best.” I assure you, by then…it will be far too late! Just ask the foolish virgins who missed out on God’s best because they gave Him their worst! Do not let that be the final chapter in your life’s story.
From this day forward, determine to always give God your Best in All things!
1 Corinthians 10:31-33, “So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you are eating to God’s glory, after all, not to please them. As A Matter Of Fact, Do Everything That Way, Heartily And Freely To God’s Glory. At the same time, do not be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who are not as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone’s feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.” (MSG)
Proverbs 3:5-12, “…Honor God with everything you own; GIVE HIM THE FIRST AND THE BEST. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over…” (MSG)
Remember: Whether we give God our best or worst; whether we are hot, cold, or lukewarm; whether we keep the oil in our lamps on high or low, full, or empty, IT IS ALWAYS OUR DELIBERATE CHOICE. BE SURE TO CHOOSE WELL!
Matthew 25:1-13
THE STORY OF THE VIRGINS: “God’s kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five were smart. The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. The bridegroom did not show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep. “In the middle of the night someone yelled out, ‘He is here! The bridegroom’s here! Go out and greet him!’ “The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins said to the smart ones, ‘Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil.’ “They answered, ‘There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.’ “They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked. “Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Master, we are here. Let us in.’ “He answered, ‘Do I know you? I don’t think I know you.’ “So, stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.” (MSG)
Matthew 25:14-30
THE STORY ABOUT INVESTMENT: “It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money. “After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’ “The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’ “The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’ “The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It is criminal to live cautiously like that! If You Knew I Was After The Best, Why Did You Do Less Than The Least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. “‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who will not go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’” (MSG)
Matthew 25:31-46
THE STORY OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS: “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what is coming to you in this kingdom. It has been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here is why: I was hungry, and you fed me, I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink, I was homeless, and you gave me a room, I was shivering, and you gave me clothes, I was sick, and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You are good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’ “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’ “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’ “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.” (MSG)
Whether You Make It In The Door To Be With The Bridegroom, Or Have The Door Slammed In Your Face; Whether You Invest By Using What God Gave You Or You Waste It; Whether You Enter Eternal Doom, Or Eternal Reward, The Decision Is Always Yours To Make! Give God Your Worst And Receive Curses, Give God Your Best And Receive Blessings. The Choice Is Always Yours To Make! Choose Wisely!
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.org
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