15-5

Sweat Equity

God loves it when we tell Him we love Him. It is something that we should do all the time. But you know what I think He loves even more? When we show Him that we love Him. And He loves it when we get sweaty doing it. We are supposed to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and STRENGTH. "So what does it mean to love God with all your strength? It means expending tremendous amounts of energy for kingdom causes. It means servanthood and sacrifice. It means good old-fashioned work." Let's be honest, you can tell what we love by what we do. Gentlemen, that is why taking out the garbage is romantic, because love isn't measured by words. Love is measured by action.

"Talk is cheap, and we have cheapened the gospel long enough. At the end of they day, God isn't going to say, 'Well said, good and faithful servant.' There is only one commendation when everything is said and done: 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' God doesn't reward what we know. He doesn't reward what we say. He rewards the expenditure of energy."

One of the saddest things we can do is make plans and not follow through on them. So many of us spend so much time "preparing" that we never actually get whatever it is we are "preparing" for off the ground. That never happens because we never feel like we are quite ready to launch. "Listen, you'll never have enough education or enough experience. And you'll never have enough time or enough money." You will never be ready for what God has planned for you, get over it. That is why God promised to be with us! I'm not saying we shouldn't prepare, but most of us go way overboard on this and use it as an excuse not to act. Don't give up on your God ideas just because you don't feel ready.

Last week we talked about creativity. Creativity is hard work. Thomas Edison said that it is "10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration." Can you relate? Nolan Bushnell said, "Everyone who's ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it who makes a difference." What God idea of yours never made it out of the shower?

We have work to do. But here is something amazing that I know you will find to be true. "If you love someone or something enough, the expenditure of energy isn't seen as a chore. It's a privilege. It's not something you have to do, it's something you get to do. Love turns work into worship." At Mark Batterson's church, they have a saying that I think we should adopt: "Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you." We need to bathe everything in prayer, but at some point we have to put some work in ourselves!

The truth is "faith is not faith until it is acted upon. That is the litmus test. Faith without works is dead. So is love without energy." When it comes to our God ideas, too often we are guilty of sins of omission. That is when you don't do what you know you should do. Too many of us "falsely view righteousness as doing nothing wrong." The problem is that "you can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right. Goodness is not the absence of badness." "Love doesn't play it safe; it takes risks. Love doesn't make excuses; it takes responsibility. Love doesn't see problems; it seizes opportunities to step up and step in. The Greek word for 'strength' means 'the antithesis of apathy.' And Jesus is the ultimate example."

Jesus was anything but apathetic, He was the most passionate man who ever lived. We are called to be just like Him, so that means we should be the most passionate people on the planet! "I love the way Dorothy Sayers described the wild side of His personality. 'To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because He was a bore. Quite the contrary; He was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround Him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the Lion of Judah and made Him a house cat for pale priests and pious old ladies." Wow!

"So don't just point out the problems; be the solution. Don't just criticize what's wrong; do something right. Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention." Break a sweat."

Enjoy the Journey