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LESSON 4 • Fourth Week

YOUR LABOR IS NOT IN VAIN

Background Reading                          Devotional Reading
Psalm 128:2; Proverbs 14:23;                1 Corinthians 15:57-58;
Colossians 3:23-24; Matthew                Matthew 20:1-16
11:28;

Central Verse
"Two are better than one because                 "Two people are better off than one,
they have a good reward for their la-                for they can help each other suc-
bor."              Ecclesiastes 4:9, KJV                  ceed."           Ecclesiastes 4:9, NLT

Key Terms
Murmur—A half-suppressed or muttered complaint.
Labor—Expenditure of physical or mental effort especially when difficult or compulsory: to strive to effect or achieve.
Vain—Marked by futility or ineffectualness: having or being of no use.

Introduction

From the beginning of the first chapter of the Bible, we hear about God working. He created a world, animals, and man and He was pleased with what He had done. He placed man in the Garden of Eden and gave him instructions on how to work and keep His world. Working and laboring have always been required of mankind since his fall from grace.

But when men labor and work, they want to know what they will get from working. There is nothing wrong with that, for Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a householder who went early in the morning to hire labor­ers for a penny a day. And he made an agreement to pay the worker a penny a day, and he sent him to his vineyard to work. Most of the day he found workers standing idle and he made agreements with them and sent them to work in his vineyard. At the eleventh hour he also found men standing idle, he asked them, why were they not working? And they answered that no one had hired them. He then sent these workers to his vineyard to work also.

At the end of the day, he began to pay them, by giving them each a pen­ny. Some felt that they should have gotten more so they murmured and complained to the householder. He reminded them that he had made an agreement with each one of them and he paid what he had agreed to pay. Every believer can be assured that if he works, God is going to reward each according to what He has agreed to pay.

Discussion

Sometimes the believers give God their resources, their time, skills, their talents and their money and it seems like it is all in vain. But God's word as­sures the believer that he is not wasting his time nor is his labor in vain. The word of the Lord tells the believer, "And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9.

We don't always know when the due season will come but we know that it will come because God's word says so. God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). His word tells the believer that he must be patient after he has obeyed and done God's will, that there will be a reward (Hebrews 10:36.) God is con­cerned about every aspect of a believer's life, and He will not allow the be­liever to do more for His work than what He will do for the believer. God lets the believers know that when they sow sparingly, they shall reap sparingly but the person who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6). So, it is important that every believer love God, His Church, God's peo­ple and sow seeds of support with his time his talents, skills, and his money.

God loves the person who is cheerful in his giving. He blesses the ones who obey Him and willingly gives his tithe and his offerings. For the greater the sacrifice, the greater the blessings. The believer's lives are like gardens, but it takes time, effort, and resources. Most people who love to garden enjoy what they are doing, but know that after they sow the seed, they must wait for the sun and the rain to come and do their job.

He does not always know how things are going to work out, but he believes that his garden will yield fruit from the seeds that he has planted. So, each believer should enjoy sowing good seeds into good ground for he knows that his garden will yield good fruit or produce. When he knows that it is the season to sow, he is satisfied that God will give a great increase.

Remember "the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards
Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9). God has promised to supply all of your needs ac­cording to His riches in Glory. So, of course, your labor is not in vain. What­ever you desire from God ask and do not doubt, God will give you what you ask Him for (Mark 11:23-24).

Believers must work until the day is done, as long as a person is able, he should be found working. Paul said, if a man doesn't work, he should not eat, stressing how important a man's labor is. Because if a man does not eat after a certain length of time, he will die.

Conclusion

There are times when the believer has worked, without encouragement, without recognition, no pay or honorarium. He must allow the word of God to encourage him and resist every negative thought that comes into his mind. He will have to press on, knowing that he is working for his Master. Sometimes it can be painful just to think that it seems like you are forgotten or overlooked but push through the pain and continue to fulfil your purpose. Learn to resist those thoughts and those feelings, learn to speak to yourself, reminding yourself about what God has promised to you. When you trust and obey Him, and then praise God for the victory.

Questions

When negative thoughts come to you about your labor, what are you going to do?
How can God's word help when you are in doubt?
How can a person know that his labor is not in vain?
Why did some of the men who went to work in the vineyard murmur and complain?

Essential Thought- "When the believer feels that his work is in vain, he must learn to trust God's word and not his feelings."