A good work

Pastor John Talcott
Christ's Community Church

(9/1/2019) Today, if you’ve got a job, work a 40-hour work week, get a lunch break and have weekends off, not to mention paid vacation, these are all benefits that can be attributed to years of battles by the labor unions in the late 1800s. The resulting legislation brought about liberation for a working class that was groaning under the weight of 18 plus hour workdays, poor working conditions and low pay. Now, for most of us today, Labor Day is just a day off, summer’s last fling, but it began in 1894 as a good work when Matthew Maguire of the Central Labor Union and Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor were burdened by the plight of the American worker. You see, it wasn’t until after the labor unions brought about many of the most basic benefits that we enjoy today that it was designated that the first Monday of September would be a day set aside to pay tribute to all the working men and women who have made America great.

And so, Labor Day, isn’t just a celebration of something in the past, it’s a celebration of the working class today and there is still a good work to do. In fact, we can learn from the past and we must, just as Matthew Maguire and Peter J. McGuire saw an American workforce that was struggling through an economic depression with little hope that things would ever get any better; it broke their hearts and both men knew that something needed to be done. They saw the hard work of the American people and recognizing the abuses and the liberties that were taken by many employers, they realized it was a cause worth fighting for and they did.

My question for you is, "What’s the injustice in the world that burdens you and is actually breaking your heart?" Maybe for you it’s those with no voice, the plight of the unborn, or maybe it’s those children with special needs, those who’ve been bullied, neglected, or abused. Today as you look around the community, for some of you it’s those who are bound by addiction, the homeless, the elderly, or those who’ve been trafficked and abused their whole life. What is it that creates a righteous anger deep inside of you, breaking your heart, and burdening your soul? I’d like to encourage you to let it move you until you can’t take it anymore and you’ve got to do something.

There’s an incredible story in the Old Testament about a man named Nehemiah who found himself in a similar predicament. He was just an ordinary guy, he wasn’t a priest or a prophet, but he was a man who had a divine burden, something that disturbed him, something that upset him on behalf of God and moved him in a significant way. This burden weighed upon him so heavily that he was compelled to quit his job and do something about it. And so, to give you a little bit of background, many years before the Babylonians had attacked the Jewish people and completely destroyed Jerusalem. Not only that, but they took Jewish people captive, taking them away from their homeland and holding them as exiles in a foreign land. Well, now it’s many decades later and thousands of the Jews had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, but Nehemiah remained in Susa because he had a really good job. In fact, he was working for the king and so life was really good for him; but one day his brother came by and told him about the conditions at home in Jerusalem. He told Nehemiah, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire" (Nehemiah 1:3).

Nehemiah had hoped that things were going well, that his people had been successful in rebuilding, but now to hear that they were defenseless and discouraged, he didn’t just feel sorry for them, he genuinely cared, because this was his heritage and these were his people. And so, he sincerely cared about the traditions of the past, his homeland, the ancestral city, and the glory of his God. In fact, he was so moved in his spirit that it became a burden in his soul that he couldn’t ignore and he testified, "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 1:4). And for some of you, this is exactly where you are, you’re bothered by something, you see a need, an injustice, and you’re wondering what you can do. You’re thinking about it, you know that you should do something, but you really have no idea what to do.

As Nehemiah’s burden increased, his first response is what our first response should be and he went to God in prayer. This is so important and I hope that you’ll remember that there’s nothing too small or too big to take to Him in prayer. God cares about it all and so you just give all of your worries and cares to Him in prayer. This is what Nehemiah did, he prayed, and God showed him great favor. He went to his boss, King Artaxerxes with this burden on his heart and obtained permission to return to Jerusalem with an escort and the authority to rebuild its walls. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah inspired the people as he told them about the gracious hand of God and what the king had said to him. Encouraged, they replied, "Let us start rebuilding." And so, they began this good work" (Nehemiah 2:18).

There are some of you today who have a burden, a passion about something that matters to the heart of God, and so I want to encourage you to seek God in prayer and begin the good work knowing that God will direct you and that he is always with you. Like Nehemiah, you can inspire the people around you to believe that God is for you, that he’s given you favor, and he’s empowering you to do a good work. In fact, just before Labor Day seven years ago, we opened Christ’s Community Church in the Up-County Family Center in Emmitsburg with nothing but a vision. We dreamed of a place where people from all walks of life, the broken, the hurting, and the discouraged could come together and find hope as they encountered the power of the Living God. Today Christ’s Community Church is a spiritual hospital where people are being encouraged, healed, and saved by the grace of our loving God. But I believe God still wants to do a greater work; not because we care about numbers, but because God cares about people who are lonely, disconnected, hurting and discouraged. Wherever you are, would you join us in this good work, believing that all things are possible with God?

To learn more about Christ’s Community Church them at www.cccaog.org or better yet, join them for Sunday service at 303 W. Lincoln Ave, Emmitsburg.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott