"But master," said the man, "I'm not doing anything..."

Transcription

1 I like how Lavi Zamstein opens his messages with short stories to break the ice and to get our attention. I will follow his example regarding Godʼs pattern for work: A wealthy nobleman was once touring his estate and came upon a peasant pitching hay. The nobleman was fascinated by the sight: flowing motions of the peasant's arms and shoulders and the graceful sweep of the pitchfork through the air. He so greatly enjoyed the spectacle that he struck a deal with the peasant: he would give him a gold coin every day if the peasant agreed to come to the mansion and display his hay-pitching technique in the nobleman's drawing room. The next day, the peasant arrived at the mansion, hardly concealing his glee at his new line of "work." After swinging his empty pitchfork for an hour, he collected his gold coin-- many times his usual reward for a week of backbreaking labor. But by the following day, his enthusiasm had somewhat waned. Before the week was out, he announced that he was quitting his commission. "I don't understand," puzzled the nobleman. "Why would you rather swing heavy loads outdoors in the winter cold and the summer heat, when you can perform an effortless task in the comfort of my home and earn many times your usual wages?" "But master," said the man, "I'm not doing anything..."

2 God laid down a pattern of creation and rest for us to follow in the very first chapter of the Torah: Genesis 1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night And there was evening and there was morning, one day God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.... Genesis 2 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. On the first day of God created light, day and night. He continued to create until the end of the sixth day: 1. Light, day and night 2. Expanse of the heavens 3. Earth, seas and vegetation 4. Stars, sun and moon 5. Sea creatures and birds of the sky 6. Beasts of the earth, man and woman Thus the heavens and the earth were created and all living things including man. God was busy each day and each dayʼs creation built on the last. But man was created differently, for a higher purpose and with a higher calling. Man was created in the image

3 of God. God told man to rule over all the other creatures. Man was to walk in the cool of the day with his Creator. God had laid down a pattern of creation and rest that He would have man repeat on a weekly basis. Just like His Moʼadim, His feast days, the days of creation and the day of rest are a pattern to be repeated. This pattern was confirmed by God in Exodus 20: 8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. God Himself labored for 6 days when He made the heavens and the earth. What was His purpose? Wasn't it to manifest a creation that would bring honor and glory to his name? Wasn't it to create an environment that would allow us to be set apart for Him? Wasn't it to create an environment for the coming of Messiah? Without His labor and creative genius, none of these things would be possible. In the same way God wants us to repeat His pattern of creation each week. God says, "Six days you shall labor ". If Godʼs creation set up an environment for His glory, His people and Messiah, then our weekly pattern should follow His example. Each week we are to create an environment that will: Glorify His Name Create Provide Inspire Teach Encourage Cause rejoicing To be clear, this is not to take away from an emphasis on Shabbat. Especially in our western culture, we must be careful to emphasize His Shabbat and His feast days and not let work spill over into God's time. What is to be understood however is that we have the privilege of following God's image and pattern of creation on the other 6 days. "For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD;" (Exodus 35:2) The word the Torah uses for "work," mel ä kä', actually means "creative work"

4 מ ל אכ ה Genesis 2:2 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Genesis 39:11 11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. Exodus 20: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Exodus 31 1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 "I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 5 and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. Exodus 35 1 Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, "These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 "For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. Leviticus 23 1 The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD'S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations--my appointed times are these:

5 3 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings. 4 'These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. 5 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover. 6 'Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 'On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 8 'But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'" I have compiled a list that is easy to remember. Itʼs called the 4 Iʼs: Inspiration, Initiative, Innovation and Industry Inspiration - Creativity starts with inspiration Believe with perfect faith Walk with him in the cool of the day Study His precepts Listen for direction Initiative - Seize the day and get going Acquire wisdom and with it understanding Appropriate His Grace in your life Ask for His favor Eliminate excuses in your life Demand excellence of yourself Be an early riser Innovation - Be creative, work on your craft Create something new Make something better Assemble several things in some new way Work on your craftsmanship Industry - Get ʻer done Hustle Be about the Fathers business, the very work He inspired you to do Be the faithful servant who is found by the Master to be doing His work when He returns

6 The New Testament outlines the purpose for work - to glorify God and to be found faithful: Matthew 5:16 16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Luke And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. Find God in His work and join Him Quotes Albert Einstein - theoretical physicist, philosopher and author ~ I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. ~ ~ It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. ~ ~ Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ~ Steve Jobs - co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple ~ Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it. ~ ~ Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. ~ Larry Ellison - co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation ~ When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts. ~

7 Timothy Ferris - American author, entrepreneur, and public speaker ~ Alternating periods of activity and rest is necessary to survive, let alone thrive. Capacity, interest, and mental endurance all wax and wane. Plan accordingly. ~ ~ A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have. ~ ~ "If only I had more money" is the easiest way to postpone the intense selfexamination and decision-making necessary to create a life of enjoyment - now and not later. ~ ~ People who avoid all criticism fail. It's destructive criticism we need to avoid, not criticism in all forms. ~ ~ I've trained myself to propose solutions instead of ask for them, to elicit responses instead of react, and to be assertive without burning bridges. To have an uncommon lifestyle, you need to develop the uncommon habit of making decisions, both for yourself and for others. ~ ~ Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions. ~ ~ Effectiveness is doing the things that get you closer to your goals. Efficiency is performing a given task (whether important or not) in the most economical manner possible. Being efficient without regard to effectiveness is the default mode of the universe. ~ ~ Being busy is a form of laziness - lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. ~ ~ Being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing, and is far more unpleasant. Being selective - doing less - is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest. ~ ~ There are two types of mistakes: mistakes of ambition and mistakes of sloth. The first is the result of a decision to act - to do something. This type of mistake is made with incomplete information, as it's impossible to have all the facts beforehand. This is to be encouraged. Fortune favors the bold. ~ ~ Lacking an external focus, the mind turns inward on itself and creates problems to solve, even if the problems are undefined or unimportant. If you find a focus, an ambitious goal that seems impossible and forces you to grow, these doubts disappear. ~

8 Life Process: 1. Nail down your relationship with Messiah 2. Follow God in observing His Torah 3. Seek a deeper relationship with Him 4. Learn His precepts and wisdom 5. Believe with perfect faith that God has a special thing for you to create each day of each exciting new week 6. Rest on the Shabbat, reflecting on the exciting things God did in your life during the week God will give you the desires of your heart. He even places those desires on your heart. If He placed the desires there to begin with, wonʼt He also give you what you need if you ask Him?