This morning as I sat preparing for Sunday’s sermon a voice kept speaking to my heart saying, “Why are you doing this? Nobody’s listening.” Okay, so maybe I was having a pity party, but I did not give in the the voice. I choose to continue, while using encouragement from 1 Cor.. 15:58, which says,
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
I chose not to give in to it because of what I know. I know that labor in the Lord is not in vain. “Not in vain” means that it is not useless. It is the exact opposite of useless. It is useful. Somebody is both listening and they are watching our sermons. However, there is one stipulation for the messages to be useful.
They have to be in the Lord. Let me put this in more colloquial terms.
“In the Lord”, means, “in God’s groove.” If what we do is in God’s groove the benefits will be deep, expansive and nothing short of amazing. Despite his small stature, David moved in God’s groove and the results were like Pee Wee Herman beating Hulk Hogan. Jonah had to be moved in God’s groove because he was unwilling. However, when He got Nineveh and began to preach, the results were like a pot grits that boiled over on the stove. It was phenomenal! They did not have a church revival. They had a city-wide revival in Nineveh.
Speaking of revival, all one has to do is consider the implications of the impact of a real revival. Depression lifts. Relationships mend. The crooked begin to wlak straight. The results of the city-wide revival were evident by the time Jonah finished moving in the groove, in Nineveh. The disciples moved in God’s groove when they cast their nets on the other side of the ship. So many fish got caught up in the net that they couldn’t haul it in. And The Apostle Paul moved in God’s groove on 3 separate missionary journeys and established churches throughout Asia. Somebody’s listening.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58)
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