John 6:46-49
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Jesus tells us what kind of future we can expect. A life that can handle a storm is available to us. This seems like something everyone would want. All we need to do is obey Him. So, why don’t more of us do what the Boss says?
I did a little digging and found some articles on why employees in the workplace don’t do what the boss asks. After reading through them I compiled a short list for us to consider. The workplace isn’t exactly the same as our faith, but I thought there were similarities worth thinking about. I’m just going to go over the top3, with some examples for each of them.
- Lack of Skills/Knowledge.
Who hasn’t been asked by a boss to do something they have no earthly idea how to do. When you don’t know what to do or how to do it, it’s easy to shut down. I worked for a small construction company years ago and remember being on a job site with the owner’s son. He had been told by his father to remove a section of concrete block from a wall to create a doorway. But he had no idea where the doorway should be or how to remove the block. The crew wasted most of a morning waiting for the son to drive back to the shop and talk to his father, because he seemed too proud to admit he didn’t have the details and equipment on hand to get the job done.
In Luke 5:10, Jesus tells the disciples He will teach them to catch people. They knew how to catch fish, but in this new endeavor they were going to need to rely on Jesus to teach them how to evangelize and what tools they would need to use to get this job done. Our pride can keep us from asking the Boss for the training, tools, and direction we need. Jesus knows we need Him, and we shouldn’t let our pride get in the way of asking for more training.
2. Lack of clear Communication/Direction.
It’s very difficult to complete a task if you don’t receive adequate instruction. Not knowing where to put a door makes a job impossible when the wall is twenty feet long. Over the years of ministry I’ve sat with folks who seem overwhelmed by the task of being faithful to Christ. What does He want from me? Where do I start?
Prayer is a vital communication piece for every believer. This is when we set time aside to talk and listen to the Lord. Regular Bible study, small group study and listening to Bible based sermons also matter. A good boss knows the employees and knows they all have differing learning styles. Solid leaders work to communicate in ways everyone will understand. Jesus often taught using parables which can be defined as a “A fictional narrative of common life that shows a spiritual truth we could not see otherwise.” He also personally demonstrated, faithfulness to God, a focused prayer life, and a great knowledge of the Bible. Jesus was regularly in the local synagogue, talking about scripture and explaining how it should be applied to our lives. He directed His disciples to do hands on ministry, and oversaw and reviewed their performance to guide each of them personally.
Jesus taught, modeled and reviewed the work. He provided hands on opportunities and delivered the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Jesus directed them to continue the work. That work continues without interruption to this day. Jesus provides ongoing and clear communication and direction to each of us in ways we can understand. The Boss is very clear, which leads us to our final point.
3. Lack of team motivation.
What does a leader do when people really don’t care?
I was part of an organization once that had a great product. It had been updated and was very sharp. I had been brought in to be a part of an all new sales team. The goal, was to completely change the culture of the previous department. Our small sales team consisted of four people. During our first quarter together our numbers equaled the yearly numbers of the previous team of twelve. They had all been let go in a restructuring of the company. I remember hearing the stories of how the previous team had been there for a long time and simply depended on old contacts and repeat customers. They lacked motivation because they felt secure in their positions. Over the years warnings to them hadn’t been followed through on, which ultimately led to the entire department being replaced. My team had been brought in knowing the fate of the old team. We were given fresh contacts to follow up on and had great motivation. We were told it was up to us to keep the company going. The future depended on us. We worked hard and it showed. Motivation matters.
Bringing it all together…
As Jesus closes out this sermon in Luke 6:49 (that starts in Luke 6:20) he addresses these three issues.
- Skills/ Knowledge: We need to come to Him (47), to gain the skills and abilities to do what His word asks of us.
- Communication/Direction: We need to listen to Him (47), and do as He says.
- Motivation: We need to be motivated by the storm warnings to dig deep and build lives of Godly obedience (48-49).
It’s good to ask yourself if Jesus is teaching you any new skills, if He is talking to you regularly and if you are motivated to build your life on His word.
I hope you don’t have an excuse for ignoring the Boss because storms will come. Be ready.
We have choices to make.
If you were encouraged by this devotional, head over to our website and track along with our current series on discipleship. We are going through the Gospel of Luke for this series of six messages, each with a study guide available. Every week I will be posting a devotional here that relates to the topic we are covering.
This week, It’s important to Listen to Jesus’ Teaching and follow it. Do you feel that you lack the Skills, Direction or Motivation to follow the Lord’s Word?
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