Responsibility

[00:00:00] And that's really what I want to talk about today. And that is that of taking responsibility. We're coming to the end of our church year. I know we have a few months yet for our calendar year. But we're coming to the end of our church year, and our church year ends at the end of August, and the new one starts at the first of September. And the last few weeks we've been working on getting our different offices and responsibilities and so on in place. [00:00:37] And for the sake of visitors, what we do here is that for the last few years we have tried to go by our spiritual gifts and people have volunteered for the different responsibilities. We like to see people busy. We like to see people take part and have something to do here in the congregation. I think that if we're busy, I think usually we're happier than if we don't have anything to do. [00:01:13] And so we had job sheets were passed out, a number of sheets of lists of the different positions and so on. And you've done pretty well. Well, in volunteering for them, we as a leadership team had to go through and kind of adjust and make some decisions and so on, and Marjorie's been doing a lot of work with it, and we still, as you heard the announcement, we still have a few areas that still need to be covered, and so on. [00:01:45] Now, Wednesday night, it just did my heart a lot of good. As Dana was up here and just going through those areas that need to be filled in yet, and people started speaking up, said, I'll take that. I'll take that. And that was just a real joy for me to sit here and observe that. People wanting to take and willing to take responsibility. Now, here in a few weeks, the work starts. [00:02:21] And we can volunteer, and I'm glad, I'm glad we have. But you know, the work starts. And then we need to be responsible for what we've said we will do. I'm reminded of that story over in Matthew 21. You might just turn to that. Now, in Matthew 21, starting at verse 28, we have a little story here that Jesus told. And he said, What think ye? A certain man had two sons. [00:02:58] And he came to the first and said, Some go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not. But afterward he repented and went. And he came to the second son and said, likewise. And he answered, said, I'll go, sir. Sure, I'll go. And he went not. He didn't go. Now, whither of these two did the will of his father, Jesus asked. And they said unto him, the first, and Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. [00:03:38] So, Jesus, I just had to think of this little story as, you know, as we take responsibility. You know, we can say, yes, I will do that, like that first son did, and then didn't do it. Or no, I guess the first son said he wouldn't, and then he did. But anyhow, we can say then, I will do it, but if we don't do it, then we are not taking our responsibility. Irresponsibility, we're failing to do what we said we would do and what the Lord has called us to. [00:04:17] Irresponsibility is something that is an irritation to everyone, isn't it? When a person is irresponsible. There's a verse over in Proverbs chapter 10, verse 26. It says as vinegar is to the teeth, do you ever drink a little bit of vinegar? You know what it does? You know how it makes your mouth feel? And so on. Not a real pleasant feeling if you just start drinking some straight vinegar. [00:04:50] It says as vinegar is to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, you ever sit around a campfire and get smoke in your eyes? Is that a good feeling? No, it's an irritation. It goes on and says, So is the sluggard to them that send him. And you give someone a responsibility, and they just develop the attitude, Big deal. Oh well. If I don't do it, somebody else will do it. And that becomes an irritation. [00:05:25] Because someone does not do the responsibility that they were assigned to do or that they said that they would do. So, it's very important. Irresponsibility is a real irritation. Matthew 25 gives us another example of someone who was irresponsible. Over in Matthew 25, verse 14, and we're familiar with this story. [00:05:57] He says, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one. And to every man according to his several ability, and straightway took his journey. And then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made them other five talents. [00:06:30] And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that received one went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's money. After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoned with them. And so he that received five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents. Behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. This Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord, of thy Lord. [00:07:09] He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents. Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. And his Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Lord, and then he which had received one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed. [00:07:49] And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth, and lo, there thou hast, that is thine. And his Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. [00:08:24] For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into utter darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. We see there, and it seems like the main emphasis upon this story that Jesus gave was upon that last one, that last servant. If you notice, it said he handed out those talents to each one by their several ability. [00:09:00] I think that kind of gives me the idea that he handed it out according to past experience with them. I think he had an idea about these servants and the kind of people that they were, but he gave them a test. And he wanted to see what they would do. And I think this last one probably had not proven himself very trustworthy and had not proven himself that he was responsible. [00:09:31] And therefore, the Lord had given him very little. But if he would have just taken the little that he had and used it wisely, used it profitably, Honestly, I believe the Master would have been very pleased with him. And sometimes we have that attitude, you know, I really don't, I really can't do much. But you know, if we do faithfully what little we can do, then I think the Lord will bless us and I think he will give us more blessings on top of that. [00:10:07] Now, you know, when we neglect to use, and we neglect the responsibilities that God has given to us, I believe we'll lose what responsibilities He has given. I believe the Lord will take them away, and I believe that if we are irresponsible with them, that we won't get any more, we'll lose. You take a person that is irresponsible on their job, does their employer give them more to do? Give them more responsibility? No. Usually they oftentimes end up losing what they did have. [00:10:46] If we don't take care of the crops that we grow, do we get more crops? No, we usually get less and lose on what we do have. And I think that's the point that Jesus was bringing. There in Matthew 25, we also have another story that Jesus gave. And that was that story, I'm not going to read it, but that story of those ten virgins that were waiting for the bridegroom to come. It says five of them were wise and five of them were foolish. [00:11:18] And five of them were irresponsible. They didn't plan ahead. They didn't think. And all they did was just live for the moment. And we know that that door was shut and they were unable to go in. I like to think of a man in the Bible that was very responsible. One that was a good example to us of a person that took his responsibility and took it seriously. Of course, that was David. [00:11:49] The first time we hear of David, the first thing we hear about David was when Samuel asked Jesse, over back in 1 Samuel 16, we're not going to turn to it, but when Samuel asked Jesse, are these all your sons? No, I've got another younger one, the youngest one, he's out taking care of the sheep. And so the first, I just thought it was interesting, the first glimpse we get of David is he is doing his responsibilities. [00:12:21] He's being faithful in them, he's taking care of the sheep, what he had been assigned to. I suppose if David would have been a normal, and I'm sure he was, he probably had some, maybe some feelings about the fact that, you know, here I am the youngest and all the rest are going down to McDonald's to eat and I'm getting left home. Well, it wasn't McDonald's, but it was, you know, it was to a feast. And they're all going out for supper and I have to stay home and take care of the sheep. [00:12:52] What a bummer this is of being the youngest one. And, but he was faithful in it. And he went and did it. And I have a feeling he went and did it cheerfully. Sometimes those that are younger can feel left out and maybe they don't get to do some of the things that others do and we all know how that can be in families and so on. But regardless, take responsibility. Just take responsibility. And when we do that, usually that will grow and we'll be able to have more. [00:13:30] Over in 1 Samuel 17, we know that story then, that where Jesse sent David on an errand. And he was to take food down to his brothers, they were in a battle. And here again, I think that because David was faithful in taking care of the sheep, faithful in doing the responsibilities he was given to do, his father could trust him with some more. And so he would send him with food and so on down there. And I wouldn't be surprised that he probably had maybe some servants went along and so on. [00:14:05] But he was in charge of it. He was responsible for getting those things down to his brothers. And again, when he was there, he felt responsible for taking care of the situation with Goliath. Now he really took on a responsibility, didn't he? And you might say he volunteered. He volunteered for that job. But I believe he volunteered because he believed that God would help him. I think that is so important as we take on the responsibilities that God has called us to [00:14:39] and we believe God is calling us to that I believe we also need to believe God will give us the grace and the strength and the help to be able to do them so he was very faithful in that we go on then, let's turn over to 1 Samuel chapter 18 Something that's interesting about David here then, we know how that Saul took him and promoted him because of his killing Goliath and other things that he did. [00:15:16] But over in 1 Samuel chapter 18 verse 5, we see that David went out whithersoever Saul sent him and behaved himself wisely. There's a lot in that phrase. He took his responsibility. He did what he was supposed to do. He was faithful in it. And you get the idea that he did not do it and kind of draw attention to himself. But he did it. And he was just simply what he needed to do. [00:15:52] And Saul sent him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. And so David became very popular, but it didn't go to his head, as we would say. He just maintained who he was, and he was just interested in being faithful to Saul, taking his responsibility, doing it to the best that he could, and serving the Lord in that way. Now, something happened. Saul became jealous of him. [00:16:26] And Saul was afraid of him. You go over into that same chapter, and verse 12. It says, And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul. And therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. You see what happened there? He had been sent over a lot of people. Now it almost sounded like he became the general. [00:16:57] I'm not sure if he did that, but at least he was really high up in. He was next and right in the presence of Saul. And he had a big responsibility. But because Saul was afraid of him, he demoted him. I'll just make you a head over a thousand. That was not near as important a position that he had. Now, what is David's response to that? How do you like to get demoted? [00:17:28] David, you have a good position and all of a sudden they say, no, we're going to have you do something else. We're going to have you sweep floors now instead of being in charge of something. What's our reaction to that? David's reaction was, and David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. And wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he went out and came in before them. [00:18:01] You know, I guess that's just a real lesson. David was faithful and took his responsibility whether it was a high position or whether it was another position. And even though he had been brought down and demoted, he still had that same attitude that this is what God has given me to do and I'm going to do it as best that I can. So what a really good lesson for us. You know, I think that we as parents especially, it's so important to teach our children responsibility. [00:18:39] It's important that we give them responsibility. That we give them jobs to do. And not just give it to them, but show them how to do it. and help them to learn how to do these jobs and responsibilities. They'll make mistakes and they'll break things, they'll do things that's going to cost you something. But, you know, use that as a learning experience and realize that's just a part of the expense of going to school. [00:19:13] You know, we pay to go to school and pay for those things. That's just a part of going to school. Now, if it's carelessness or they don't care, then that's something else. Then discipline needs to happen with those things. But when they're trying and, you know, they just maybe don't know how to do it, not used to doing it, but have patience and teach and help them to develop responsibility. You know, I think praise and encouragement is really important in that. [00:19:49] You know, I sometimes talk to people that say, my parents never praised me for what I did. It was never good enough. They never said it's a good job and so on. And that's sad because I think we're going to do a lot more with encouraging and praising our children for what they do. Not to make them proud, but just good encouragement I think will go a lot further than the constant criticism that sometimes happens. [00:20:22] So teaching responsibility when children are young is very important. Now, another area of responsibility that I think we need to take, and that is the responsibility or taking responsibility when things go wrong. Now, what is our first reaction when we're doing something and something happens? Something breaks, something didn't go like we planned, and so on. Too often our first reaction is, well, if that person would have just done their job, you know, [00:20:58] If this were to happen, and we find all kinds of things to blame, we really don't want to take responsibility for it ourselves. That's just typical. You've got a group of children, and something happens to them, and who did that? I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't. You know, that reminds me of a kind of a family story that is in our family and my brothers and sisters. [00:21:30] And I can tell this because it's not me. But my oldest brother's story is told that when he was just a youngster in school, it was a little country school. And they were out for recess and they were playing out there. And someone took, as a car drove by, someone took something and threw it at the car and hit it. And this driver stopped, and he come back, and he said, Who did that? And I understand my brother spoke up and said, [00:22:01] I confess, he did it. And that so often is the way that we want to take responsibility for things. And that is, we want to make excuses, and we want to have reasons why things went the way they did, so it doesn't make us look bad. Now, David, again, is a good example. You remember the story of when David committed that sin with Bathsheba? [00:22:37] And Nathan the prophet went to him and confronted him. And here again, I'm always amazed at David's response to that. Here was the king, and here was the prophet. And that prophet confronted him. And what did he do? He said, I have sinned. He admitted it. And he was willing to take responsibility for what he did. And I just, you know, I just always appreciate that about David, that he could do that. [00:23:14] How different from Saul. Saul, when he was confronted by Samuel with sin, you know, he had excuses. He wanted to blame the people, he wanted to blame others, and he was like Adam and Eve, you know. Wouldn't have been for them, you know, that wouldn't have happened. And so it's easy to make excuses and to blame someone else and not take responsibility when things go wrong. Just a few excuses that people can make, and here again this kind of covers both areas that we talked about. [00:23:51] Over Proverbs chapter 20, how easy it is to make excuses and to be slothful in things. Proverbs chapter 20 verse 4 It says, The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold, and therefore shall he beg and harvest and have nothing. You get out and have work to do, you know, oh it's too cold out today. [00:24:23] Those of us that have to pick stones sometimes, we always have the kind of the running joke that, you know, today it's too windy to pick stones. And it's easy to, that's something that's easy to put off. But, you know, we can always find excuses. Over in Proverbs 26, in verse 16, it says, The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. [00:24:56] And the idea there is the sluggard can find better excuses and find more excuses than what seven men can find good reasons for doing something. And so, very good. A person like that is very good at finding excuses. Now, attitudes about responsibilities that we have is very important. The kind of attitudes that we have. Now, a job that we have can become a real drudgery if we have the wrong attitude about it, can't it? [00:25:32] It can just become a real pain to be able to do it. But if our attitude changes, then it's something different. I think that how we handle, the attitudes that we handle, or that we have about responsibilities and how we handle them, you know, says a lot about it, a lot about us. Go to Luke chapter 16. And Jesus talks about this again. In Luke chapter 16, verse 10. [00:26:11] Is there a relationship by the way that we take care of material things and the way that we take care of spiritual things? Is there a relationship with that? Jesus seems to think so. In Luke 16 verse 10, he says, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. [00:26:42] If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, on material things, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? Now, I don't believe that Jesus is saying that if a person is wealthy, that automatically means that they're faithful to the Lord. I don't think that's what he's saying. But he's saying, I believe, that how we handle our material things, I believe, can be a reflection on how we handle spiritual things. [00:27:23] And if we're careless on how we take care of material things, it says something about us. And if we waste, if we just are not responsible with what has been given to us, then it says something about, do we do that same thing spiritually? Are we saying that same thing? And God has given to us spiritual gifts. And we say, so what? Let somebody else do it. Even though I have these gifts, let somebody else do it. Because I really don't want to put forth the effort and the work and all that's involved in it. [00:28:08] So I think that we need to make sure that we are responsible in everything that we do. I believe that when, you know, you go down to that next verse, in verse 13, it says, No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. He cannot serve God and mammon. I believe that when Christ becomes our master, then we're going to have the right perspective [00:28:45] and the right responsibility when it comes to material things and when it comes to spiritual things. So what is our attitude? Is our attitude, oh, this is something I just have to do. I've done that. I've done that already. And you know, when we have that kind of attitude, that is a drudgery, isn't it? [00:29:18] It's something that we just, you know, just hate to do because of our attitude about it. But when we can say, you know, it's a privilege to be able to do this. And I want to serve the Lord in what I'm doing. By the way, can you think of a way that we can really serve our Lord without serving someone else? I suppose you could say, well, we could pray and so on. [00:29:51] But really, when it comes right down to serving the Lord, how do we do that without serving others? Isn't that always connected? Isn't that always involved? And so, whatever way that we are serving other people, we can look at that as we're serving the Lord. Jesus said, you've done it to one of the least of these, my brother, you've done it to me. And we need to keep that in focus as we serve one another in various ways and various places. [00:30:25] I'd like to, in closing, go to Ecclesiastes 9, Ecclesiastes 9, verse 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. [00:30:58] Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy mind. Do it with the right attitude. Do it with all that you can. Put yourself into it. And you know, when you do that, you're going to enjoy it. It's going to be a blessing to you. Now, I've talked here mainly about our responsibilities here in the congregation. Some of you are visitors, and I encourage you in your own congregations, Take this to heart and in whatever way the Lord has called you, be responsible and do it with joy. [00:31:37] I think that is so important. Do it with that right attitude. What a privilege to be able to serve the Lord with joy. By the way, one other thing I want to close in. Many of you were here at the wedding yesterday, and I appreciated what Luke had to share on just that whole area of being able to serve the Lord with joy and how that the Lord wants us, for those that weren't here, he used the illustration of how that the Lord has pursued us like a young man pursues his bride. [00:32:20] And he does it with joy, not something he has to do. He does it with joy, anticipation. And I was reading then, either last night or this morning, I read over in Jude, the book of Jude, next to the last verse. And I just, I seen something there that I don't know if I've seen it before. But I kind of use that for a benediction this morning, here in closing. He says, Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. [00:33:04] Did you ever stop and think about the fact that Jesus wants to present us to the Father, his church, he wants to present us to the Father with exceeding joy? Isn't that a wonderful thought? I just praise the Lord for that, of how that He cares for us. And then He says, To the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty and dominion and power both now and forever. [00:33:37] And let's serve one another with that kind of joy, can we? That with really wanting to serve each other, serving the Lord. Lord bless you. Let's stand together for closing prayer. Father, I thank you so much. I thank you so much, Lord, for your word again this morning and what it teaches us. And Lord, I thank you for the privilege that we have of serving you. [00:34:12] And Lord, I just pray that we can have the right attitude and that we can be able to do it with joy and anticipation. I just pray, Father, that you would help us in the days ahead. Help us, Lord, to just really want to be faithful to you and in the responsibilities you call us to. Oh God, I just pray that you would give us the grace and the strength and the help that we need [00:34:44] Lord, we can't do it without you We need you so much I just pray now that you would dismiss us with your blessing And Lord Father, I just pray for the food that has been prepared for us And Lord, we thank you for it And we thank you for the blessing of this food, those that have prepared it Dismiss us now, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.