Father of all that is good and Holy, Lord today we thank you for this incredible thing we call life. You give and give, and we keep asking for more. Please teach us to be more like you Father, and grow us to give like you, forgive like you, love more like you. In your Heavenly name, Amen!
I have to admit that when I read today’s Message Reading from Paul’s letter to Thessalonica, I began to think about our life and work in Christ as a sort of journeyman’s task. But then I started to think about what does the word “journeyman” really mean.
To me we are not talking about only men. Journeyman is a neutral term for people in today’s labor market. But what does that word mean?
It would be a good idea before I start throwing around a word, that I had better know what the word or term really means instead of my own personal take, and so I googled Journeyman (so you know it’s true). Here is what I found;
The term “journeyman” was originally used in the medieval trade guilds. Journeymen were paid daily and the word “journey” is derived from journée, meaning “whole day” in French. Each individual guild generally recognized three ranks of workers: apprentices, journeymen, and masters.
Well since Christ is the only real master due to the fact that we do not recognize any living person to be our stand in for God or a go between even, that kinda takes the master worker out of the equation. Leaving apprentices and journeyman standing. My hope before I even get started today is that we are all of us striving to move from apprentices to journeymen as workers in our Lord’s family. Here is more Google definition stuff on journeyman;
journeyman • \JER-nee-mun\ • noun. 1 : a worker who has learned a trade and works for another person usually by the day 2 : an experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer especially as distinguished from one who is brilliant or colorful.
Brilliant and colorful is how I see you my beloved family in God, and together I see us striving to be journeymen of the believing day, the working day, for our Lord and master Jesus Christ.
You might be thinking right about now, hey I already have a job, or that you are busy enough already, or hey I’m retired from the working day, what the heck are you talking about? Well one by one let’s talk it;
- Already got a couple of jobs goin on;
Our job as Christians of the working day is exclusive to God. A way of life, and in addition to our careers and work that bring home our living wages.
No, I’m talking real living wages in our Lord, eternal life wages that transcend all the other stuff going on around you.
- Busy enough already;
I get it, I had my career with the government and contrary to popular opinion, there are some government employees who work hard and dedicatedly. There are times I know when you are just completely overwhelmed by life and it seems like you don’t have a chance to even breath let alone live and care for others.
That’s when we must make time for ourselves, and share that moment alone with your Lord. In time you will be striving for more time with Him as you begin to look for ways to serve others in your newly found time.
- Already retired;
First Baptist Church does not have a retirement plan. Trust me on this. Hopefully all of us will be serving God by serving others until He calls for us. And when you show up for things going on, your mere presence is service through your example! My hope and prayer for each of you, is that you are always learning, always growing, for as long as you are breathing. Because that is really living!
When we are in the daily grind of life, out there living with and in our Lord, all of a sudden everything changes. Our radar is on, and we are engaged with making our corner of the earth a better place by one good act, on kind gesture at a time. I am now more perceptive of our God’s word in my life. Today’s Call to Warship actually begins to take on new meaning. Reading again from Psalm 98;
1 Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
*Interrupting the Psalmist to say; We can have hearts that are singing out to the Lord without ever making a sound, and when we do, we become silent magnets of grace attracting other people to the joy we have found in Him! That is being a journeyman of the working day! To the ends of the earth and beyond. Continuing now at verse 4;
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
When the Lord comes to judge the earth, it should be a time of joy for you journeymen, because that is His promise to you that God has your back, and He is going to make right all that is ugly and wrong in the world. We will get to witness the rivers, mountains, and the sea, actually reverberate, and the creation will combine to; praise, glorify, and magnify the Holy name of our God!
As you progress from church apprentice living on the milk of the Gospel, we are progressing towards the meat of God’s word, and you are becoming journeymen of the working day. Now we become more prepared for deeper instruction from our Lord. Case in point, like the disciples in Jesus’ day pondering the day-to-day things in their world. Our Lord would build on their musings of life, to nurture their growth towards being journeymen of faith. Reading from Luke 21:5-19;
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
*Please let me interrupt the Lord’s instruction to; Marvell at how Jesus takes what the disciples know (what they see before their eyes), to open up the deeper realities of faith and the real working world. Now that the disciples have focused their attention to our Lord, He will now expound on the working day for the days ahead, and for the years no, for millennia to come.
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
**Interrupting again to say; But don’t let the stuff that we are actually witnessing all around us, deceive you! You are not responsible for knowing the time in place for our Lord’s coming. You are responsible for what you are charged with, what we talked about last week;
And by applying all the above you will become; Faith Journeymen: of The Working Day! This won’t make you immune to the bad things in life, in fact, listen to what your Lord has to say on that account;
12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.
Because if God is with us, who can be against us that really matters in the sense of eternity? This is when as “journeymen of the working day”, we need to leave all the worrying about things we have no control over into our Lord’s hands and begin working on the things we have control over. And there is plenty for you and me to be engaged in.
You see, it’s not enough to say, I am not going to worry about the things going on in the world because I trust in the Lord. That sounds great! Now what? Well, since I have decided to take the day off from judging, gossip, and envy. I’m not going to worry and focus on junk that I have no control over. I’m not going to try to control anyone else’s heart but my own. On a good day! I’m going to follow Paul’s advice from today’s Message Reading from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13;
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.
I don’t think Paul is saying, because ya can’t get a job you shouldn’t be able to eat. Don’t hear what Paul is not saying! He is saying there will always be those who are unhealthy to be around. Learn to discern right and wrong.
What he is saying is that we all have gifts that we bring to the table of life. And that is just what it is. We are giving each other life, because the Lord has given us life. Now instead of focusing on my petty nonsense, I’m now worried and concerned about the welfare of others. I’m no longer scared to place others before myself in healthy ways, using common sense, and not thru co-dependency.
As we live together in our healthy relationships, we will equip each other to actually be; Faith Journeymen: of The Working Day! The further down that road we travel, the more enjoyment God’s word will actually register in our hearts. We will actually have songs of praises for God in our very being that actually radiate outward without our ever having to say a word. But when we do, our praises begin to sound a little bit like Isaiah himself. For instance, here is Isaiah 12, with; Songs of Praise
12 In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
Isaiah sounds a lot like our Psalmist in Today’s Call to Worship, because Isaiah was a; Faith Journeyman of the Working Day. And when Isaiah begins to make sense to you, so are you.
My hope and prayer for you this week is that you have a chance to try; Working on your relationship with God by;
- Working on your prayer life
- Prayerfully studying scripture
- Serving Him, by serving others
- Educating yourselves through a variety of thought
- Thinking for yourself with the Lord’s help
We live from the wells of salvation, when we learn to serve God by serving other people in healthy wholesome ways. Walking with others and not for others, in order for everyone to have a chance to grow and mature into Faith Journeymen: of The Working Day!
Benediction; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17;
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.