We'll Work Till Jesus Comes!

1 Samuel 16:11: "And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children?
And he said, 'There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep.'
And Samuel said unto Jesse, 'Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither."

God had rejected Saul as the king of the chosen people.
He had backslidden and had disobeyed the commands of God, and had become a defective ruler.
In this chapter, the Lord came to Samuel and commanded him to go to the house of Jesse
where he would find the future ruler of the people.

Samuel was afraid that Saul might find out his mission, and he expressed his fear of the king to the Lord.
Saul had fits of temper that would drive him to murder, and Samuel feared for his life.
The Lord told Samuel that he had nothing to fear.
God instructed Samuel to go to Bethlehem where David lived, and to carry a sacrificial animal
as though he were going to make an offering to the Lord in that city.

Samuel obeyed, and, when he arrived in the city, the elders questioned him as to why he was there.
Samuel assured them that he was there on a mission of peace and worship.
He invited the elders and the house of Jesse to attend this act of celebration to the Lord.
After the sacrifice, Samuel begin to look at the sons of Jesse to determine the will of the Lord
as to who would be the next king of Israel.

Samuel was impressed with Eliab.
He was tall and handsome, and Samuel was convinced that this was God's choice.
But it was not.

God reprimanded Samuel for judging spiritual worth on the basis of external features.
So, in verse seven, we have that great statement that man looks on the outward appearance
but God looks in the heart.
God looks at inner beauty.
Often, we judge by the tip of the iceberg -- that is, what we see on the outside.
God told Samuel that Eliab was not His choice.

So Samuel insisted that Jesse show him the rest of his sons.
So Abinadab and Shammah and all of the other sons passed before Samuel,
but the Lord told Samuel that it was none of these.

In despair, Samuel said to Jesse, "Have you shown me all of them?"
Jesse confessed that he did not bring in one of the boys.
He told Samuel that he was young, and that he was taking care of the sheep.

At that point, Samuel express the words of our text.
He said to Jesse, "I do not want to mess a single one.
I don't care if he is young, and you have given him the insignificant task of tending the sheep.
Run and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes."

When David walked in, clothed in the attire of a shepherd, but beautiful within and without,
God said to Samuel, "There is my man; and get the oil and anoint him king of Israel."
The Spirit of the Lord came upon David.
God had equipped him for the task of ruling the chosen people.

We know the rest of the story.
Let us see David as a type of Christ.
David was a shepherd, and so is Christ.
David became king, and Christ is King of kings, and He will come again as the ruling King of kings.

In the meantime, what shall we do?
And the words of our text provide us the answer.
We will not sit down till He comes.

Jesus as Shepherd
David was a shepherd, and so is Jesus Christ.
Even in the Old Testament, David said, "The Lord is my shepherd."
And Jesus is still the Shepherd, and we are members of His flock.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples, "And whom do men say that I am?"
They replied that some said that He was Jeremiah, others said that He was Elijah,
others said that He was John the Baptist, and other said that He was some other prophet, maybe Moses.
Though other men had various names and opinions about Him, Jesus called Himself a shepherd.

In John 10: 11 He said, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
In that verse, Jesus describes His life and death when He said that He was good, and this indicated
His perfect life and incarnation.
When He said that He gave His life for the sheep, He was giving us a glimpse of His atoning death.

Our Shepherd's love is real and reliable.
When you trust Jesus, you are trusting Someone who truly loves you.
If someone came to you, and said: "I love you so much I would die for you.
You would say that that is a real friend.
If ever I had trouble, I'm going to turn to him."

That is Jesus!
He is that kind of friend.
Jesus loves you that much.
He died for you, and proved His love by His atoning sacrifice.
You can trust Jesus with your trials and your troubles.
You can trust Jesus with your sins and sorrows.
You can trust Jesus with your yesterdays and your tomorrows.
A love like that demands your complete commitment, your time, your personalities, your abilities,
and your all that you are.

Jesus As King
The Bible teaches us that Jesus is at the right hand of God, the Father, making intercession for us,
and He has been doing that ever since He ascended to heaven.
Matthew 25:31 teaches that when Christ comes a again, He will sit upon the throne of His glory.
Jesus came the first time to redeem.
Jesus is coming the second time to reign.

The King is coming!
The Bible declares it.
He is coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
There are many in our day who are not looking for Him.
There are many in our day who has disregarded this truth.

But the Word of God reminds us repeatedly that Jesus, who came the first time, will return.
I have read that there are 7,957 verses in the New Testament, and 323 of them promise
that Jesus will come again.
So the average of one verse in every 25 reveals this tremendous truth.

The Holy Spirit inserted frequent reminders so the church would never forget her magnificent future.
2 Peter 3: 4 states that the scoffers will deny the return of our Lord, yet the recurring theme
of the New Testament is the glorious appearing and coming again of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
When Jesus comes again, time will be no more.

Death will be swallowed up in victory.
There will be no more death!
There are no goodbyes in heaven.

Our hearts are broken when our loved ones leave us in death.
We know that death knocks on every door sooner or later for "It is appointed unto man once to die..."
(Hebrews 9:27)
But when we get to heaven, death will be no more.
There will be no more funeral processions.
There will be no more weeping for loved ones that are gone.

Total victory over death and the grave will be ours when Jesus comes for us.
When He came the first time, that was Operation Grace.
When He comes the next time, that will be Operation Glory.
The coming of Jesus is the only hope for this world, and it is the hope of the church,
and it is the only solution to human history.
This does not mean that we are to fold our hands and do nothing, since Jesus is coming again.
This great hope and truth should motivate us to do everything we can in the time
we have to work and witness.

Jesus, our Shepherd, will come as our King.
Until He comes, what should we be doing?
The answer is in the text of our Scripture.
"We will not sit down till He comes."
We will work till Jesus comes.

Every believer, looking for the soon return of Christ, should get busy with the spiritual tasks
that are all around us.
We must get busy in leading the unsaved to Jesus, and try to heal this wounded society
that is sinking in its death and despair.
Jesus never approved laziness and indolence.
Jesus "went about doing good."
His life was one of action and involvement.
Jesus said, "Let him that is the greatest among you be the servant of all."

We are to work, and there is so much to do.
Jesus did not judge men by their income; He judged them by their outgo.
He never judged a man by how many servants he had, but by how many people he served.

When His disciples wanted to know the future, Jesus reminded them
in Acts 1: 5 that there was work to do.
He told them to be His witnesses in Jerusalem and Samaria and Judea
and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
The response that Christians should give to a returning King of kings is to carry the good news
of God's forgiving love to a lost world.
Instead of wringing our hands over the desperate situation in our world, we ought to ring the dinner bell,
inviting the human race to God's banquet of forgiveness and love and life.

It will be too late to work for Him when He returns if we're going to lead people to Christ.
It will be too late if we are going to lift burdens from mankind.
It will be too late if we're going to minister in the society where we live -- we must do it now!
The night is coming when no man can work.

I have heard so many church members say they have no time to work in the church.
And many believers think they cannot serve unless they engage in some public activity in the church,
such as singing in the choir, teaching a class, serving on a committee or ...
But Jesus glorified the common work that Christians can contribute everyday.
In Matthew 10: 42, Jesus told us that even a cup of cold water, given in His name,
would not be forgotten.
Jesus glorified even what we would consider insignificant when it is done in His name.

God did not call us to be flashy.
God called us to be faithful.
So, when you serve the Lord in your simple capacity if it is caring for the babies in the nursery,
or if it's driving a church van or using your car as a taxi bringing people to church
that couldn't come otherwise, you are serving God.
When you work in the kitchen in the church, you are serving God.
When you keep records for your small Bible class, you are serving God.
When you give your time to visit a sick person, a shut-in, you are serving God.
When you encourage someone who is down, you are serving God.
When you give someone a welcome smile, you are serving God.
When you invite someone to attend your church, you are serving God.

All of these different acts are noticed by Jesus who saw a lady put her last two mites
into the collection plate, and reminds us that the sacrificial gift of that lady was greater
than the larger amounts donated by the wealthy out of their abundance.

I have heard people talk about the "good old days," and I'm sure that there were some advantages
in the past.
But this is the greatest time to be alive, and to be able to serve our great God.
What a challenge!

The harvest is truly plentious, but the laborers -- the workers are few.
There are more souls to be saved.
There are more mouths to be fed.
There more hearts to be comforted.
There are more tears to be dried.
There are more burdens to be lifted than ever before.

Let us get busy!
The time is short!
The King is coming.
This is no time to be lazy, and this is no time to sit on the sidelines.

Sad to say, that so many of God's people are just playing church.
We cannot win the world to Christ without work.
God needs you!
God wants to bless the world through you.

God service is reasonable service.
God is not asking us to do things beyond our scope or strength.
Every Christian should be praying that they would at least lead one person a year to Jesus.
How many have you led to Jesus this year?

Just imagine that a car salesman sold only one car a year -- he couldn't survive.
Just imagine an insurance salesman would issue only one policy a year -- he couldn't take care
of himself or his family.
Just imagine a real estate agent who sold only one house a year -- he would go broke in no time.

And yet, what would bring failure to businesses is considered a victory for the church of God.
So, how many here have led one soul -- even one so to Jesus this year -- last year -- the year before?
How many have even witnessed to one unsaved soul this year -- last year -- the year before?
It would be so embarrassing if we had to publicly confess that we have not even witnessed
to one soul this year or last year or the year before.

Do you believe that God is pleased with us when we have not obeyed His Great Commission?
I don't think so!

Let's get busy!
Let's work till Jesus comes.

We'll Work Till Jesus Comes

"O land of rest, for thee I sigh!
When will the moment come
When I shall lay my armor by
And dwell in peace at home?

To Jesus Christ I fled for rest;
He bade me cease to roam,
And lean for comfort on His breast
Till He conduct me home.

I sought at once my Savior's side;
No more my steps shall roam.
With Him I'll brave death's chilling tide
And reach my heav'nly home."

Chorus:
"We'll work till Jesus comes,
We'll work till Jesus comes,
We'll work till Jesus comes,
And we'll be gathered home."
-- William Miller

Sermon adapted by Dr. Harold L. White