Created for Work and Life

Intro

Last week we began a new series entitled Advance. We are taking a few weeks to look at the call of God. I shared with you last week that every believer is called by God. The initial call of God is first and foremost to Him. It is a call to restored relationship with God where we know Him, and the purposes of His heart.

The purpose of our lives is to know God and hear His voice so that we can live a life of servanthood and obedience. Remember this morning that God does not desire lukewarm apathetic fondness. He wants our total devotion.

One thing highlighted last week was the understanding that when we surrender our lives to Christ we are to become His ambassadors the world. This thought leads us into today’s message.

The Truth is this: You and I are created and commanded to work.

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Submit:

Open your bibles to the book of Genesis 1. I want you to see something. From the beginning we see that God is a worker. In Genesis 1 He creates the heavens and the earth, the light, the firmament (Sky), He divided the waters and caused dry land to appear, He caused the earth to bring forth grass, plants, and trees. He created the stars, the seas and all that is in them, He created the birds and animals that would be on the earth.

Finally, He created man.

Let’s look again at the scripture in Genesis 1:26-28.

Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

We are created in His image and likeness. God is a worker and His work had purpose. At the creation of man He gave the commands.

We are commanded to be fruitful and multiply.

We are commanded to fill up the earth.

We are commanded to subdue it.

We are commanded to have dominion.

In order to be fruitful and multiply we must til, sow, and gather the harvest.

The second command to fill up the earth is intriguing to me. The command of God was more than the obvious act of procreation. God’s purpose was to multiply the number of people on earth who carry His Glory, Image, and Likeness.

With this in mind I want you to see something that can be easily overlooked. God designed pleasure into the process of fruitfulness. Procreation: the act of sex we know can be a pleasurable experience, but later on the time of labor will come. The purpose was to multiply His image, but the process brought pleasure.

Living a life of obedience and servanthood is work mixed with pleasure. To subdue and exercise dominion will require effort and strength. Fruitfulness and multiplication will only come as a result of labor.

King Solomon a man filled with wisdom wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. Great book if you have never read it! One of my favorites!

In our work he says in Ecclesiastes 2:24 that “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.”

In our walk he says in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”

The life of a servant of God is work and pleasure. Being a servant of Christ does not rob us of enjoying life, it enhances life.

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Apply:

Believers in Christ are called to work.

Jesus in the book of Matthew calls disciples to come and follow him. Four of them are fisherman. He tells them in Matthew 4:19 “Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”” I want you to see something important here. Did Jesus say, Follow Me and I will make you attenders of Church? Certainly Not!

In fact He said the opposite. Matthew 28:18-20.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Believers are not simply called but commanded to go and advance the Gospel in the world. We are commanded to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that He has commanded us.

In the American Church we have had a shift in the last several decades where for one reason or another the advancement of the Gospel was relegated to a few who worked at churches. This thought or mindset originated in the pits of hell.

The removal of the body of Christ from the work of ministry has been effective to weaken and slow the advancement of the Gospel. It has caused spiritual atrophy in the body allowing wickedness, sin, and death to reign. To combat this we must realign ourselves to the word of God. We must grow in knowledge and understanding, and make the decision to live it out.

The Great Commission is given to everyone.

What was the purpose that God calls people to full time ministry? Ephesians 4:11-16.

Ephesians 4:11-16 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

God gave 5 gifts to the body of Christ.

Apostles: One who is sent by God with authority to advance in specific assignments.

Prophets: is one who functions as God’s spokesperson and is commissioned by him to deliver his word, either to individuals or groups. They receive the word of God through various means including dreams, visions, and theophanies. In the NT, a prophet is one whom God has equipped, alongside apostles, pastors, and teachers to lead the church through the edification and encouragement of believers.

Evangelist: is one who is called to announce the good news and, especially, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. They burn with a passion to win souls.

Pastors: the title literally means shepherd. They are given to feed and tend the flock of God. Moving the flock from place to another as “THE MASTER” desires.

Teachers: Have a responsibility to instruct others, especially in relation to matters of faith and life. God is the supreme teacher of His people, but He gives those to help bring understanding so that we might observe His commandments.

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Closing:

God uses these gifts to help you fulfill your purpose. Their work is to help train you to do the work.

Remember, Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

The writer of Hebrews said in, Hebrews 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Today, we can’t stop short. Every person is called. We must do our part to grow and mature. There are others who are counting on it. When we each do our part it causes growth to the body of Christ. God uses our personal growth and maturity to impact others. The result is Hope restored, changed lives, bodies healed, and salvation resulting in eternal life.

Remember, Christianity is not church attendance. It is relationship with God followed by servanthood to advance His kingdom.

Let’s Pray!

God would birth hunger in us to grow and mature.

Salvation