MY LIFES WORK

Proverbs 22:28–29 (ESV)

28 Do not move the ancient landmark

that your fathers have set.

29 Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will stand before kings;

he will not stand before obscure men.

Msg Title: “MY LIFES WORK”

last week. I wanted to talk about REST. but today, i want to talk about “:work”

Exodus 20:8 “8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Exodus 20:9 “9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,”

1996 i got my first Job. i walked into Chelso’s pizzeria in Hunters Hill Sydney during the day before the restaurant opened and happened to get the owner over the gelato counter and got my first job.

Cleaning the dishes

Wiping the pans off so the cook, who was the owner, could re-use them and i did that 1 night a week for 50 bucks cash.

LETS DO A STUDY OF WORK HERE

What is work?

“WORK An exchange of labor, skill, and time for monetary and intrinsic rewards. Often viewed in the Bible as an exercise of stewardship.”

Work is an exchange - something is transferred when i decide to work

When i work - I put something in.... and i get something back

I do, and i get something back.

The bible has alot to say about… WORK.

On the one hand - THERE IS A STEWARDSHIP ASPECT… on THE OTHER… THERE IS REWARD

Q: i wonder if youve ever thought about what you DO as something ETERNAL?

(as in there is meaning beyond what we see - that as believers we now see what we DO as much more significant than just working for a paycheck or the weekend)

Colossians 3:23-24 “23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

2 Thess 3:10-11 “10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.”

Ps 90:17 “17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”

So lets TALK ABOUT PURPOSE… AND WORK

1.WORK IS GOOD

genesis 2:15 “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

IM gonna say something here thats going to SHOCK YOU… so BE READY (&some of you may even want to write this down)

GOD NEVER INTENDED FOR YOU TO RETIRE FROM WORK. (i know, shock horror on a Sunday morning)

a quick little study on work… and For many Americans, building the financial assets to transition from daily work to retirement later in life stands apart as a top goal.

The concept of retirement is deeply ingrained in today’s culture, but it’s actually a relatively new idea.

In 1900, the average global life expectancy was just 31 years. By 2017, that number jumped to 72.2 years, largely due to developments in modern medicine, sanitation, and work conditions.

For most of human history, people had short lifespans and were expected to work until death. There was simply no driving societal need for retirement as we know it.

Modern-day retirement was necessitated and made possible through lengthening life spans, expanding prosperity, and population shifts tied to the Industrial Revolution. Interestingly, the concept of retirement started during the Roman Empire, eventually evolving into its current state.

In 1889, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck developed our modern concept of retirement. To stave off an uprising by young unemployed Marxists, he decided to pay citizens aged 70 and older to leave the workforce voluntarily. “Those who are disabled from work by age and invalidity have a well-grounded claim to care from the state,” he said. This initiative created the idea of a set retirement age and widespread government payments to elderly individuals who elected to exit the workforce.

NOW im not SAYING that Retirement is a BAD idea. Its the idea that we STOP working.... or stop usefully and purposefully creating is what i believe we can always do!

If God TOOK man and put him to work - its because there is something about work which is GOOD and God thinks its GOOD for man to work.

WORK IS GOOD Because....

Write this down: WORK HELPS ME UNLOCK MY GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE,

GOD HAS MEANINGFUL WORK FOR YOU. Not mundane, but meaningful

“everybodys working for the weekend” - no. thats a song thats catchy. the truth is were working because God created us to work.

WORK AND PURPOSE GO HAND IN HAND. AND ITS IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE A HEALTHY APPROACH TO WORK

AND TO UNLOCK MT PURPOSE WILL REQUIRE THAT I WORK AT IT

“Work is GOOD.”

Work brings GOOD things into my LIFE

Proverbs 12:11 “11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”

Work which is attached to your promise. Your destiny. You Land here - is what God has given you.

Work brings a good thing out of me

.... and when we ALL get a revelation of the power of WORK:

Work brings a good thing out of a society.

THERE IS A HUGE SHIFT HAPPENING RIGH NOW!!!A TIME the experts ARE CALLING “THE GREAT RESIGNATION”

We are living in a dangerous time when it comes to what work looks like in our world today. Americans are typically a very hard working nation...., always have been… but post andemic you can see things have changed somewhat.

Experts are writing on a post PANDEMIC “GREAT RESIGNATION” in america

There is A “flight from work” in modern America RIGHT NOW

Most evident among men in the “prime working age” of life, between 25 and 55 ----Today over 7 million of these men of “prime working age” are neither working nor looking for work. And now, in the wake of the COVID calamity, the “men without work” syndrome seems to be spreading, afflicting parts of the US workforce that did not suffer from it before the pandemic.

ill give you an examples:

Amazon tried this past few weeks to get workeers back to the office and there was almost an revolt

“Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy”

Amazon employees on Tuesday continued to sound off about CEO Andy Jassy’s recently announced return-to-office mandate, including spamming an internal website with messages conveying their opposition to the new policy. Amazon tech workers created a Slack channel and drafted an internal petition pushing back on the mandate, which requires them to be back in the office at least three days a week beginning May 1. The petition urges Jassy and Amazon’s leadership team, known as the S-team, to drop the mandate, just days after it was announced.

The group has since amassed 16,000 members, and about 5,000 employees have signed the petition as of Tuesday night.

There is a war going on to NOT WORK:

This from one publication i read:

Self-reported time-use surveys may offer some preliminary hints. Men without work showed the grim self-portrait they reveal for uncorking prime-age men: checked out from civil society; largely disengaged from family care and housework; sitting in front of screens as if they were a full-time job — habits increasing the risk of falling victim to “deaths of despair.

HERE IS WHAT I BELIEVE IT ALL MEANS: There is a lot of people - a LARGE PART OF OUR SOCIETY....that has lost their purpose & purpose is felt and fulfulled in my work

I mean just listen to what social experts are calling this:

“checked out” from civil society” / You don’t check out from your purpose

“Largely disengaged” from family care & housework / You don’t disengage from hope - you cling to it

“sitting in front of screens as if they were a full time job..... habits increasing the risk of falling victim to the deaths of despair”.

THE PROBLEM ISN’T A LACK OF WORK EITHIC> THATS THE SURFACE LEVEL… THE SYMPTOM, THE VISIBLE THINGS

THE PROBLEM IS BELOW THE SURFACE. WHATS INVISIBLE.... THE HEART

PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR SENSE OF PURPOSE.... LEADING TO A LOST OF DIRECTION .... CAUSING DESPAIR

GOD CREATED WORK BECAUSE WORK DRAWS OUR PURPOSE OUT OF US!

Proverbs 22:29 “29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”

The bible warns us that WORK IS GOOD.. and NOT WORKING IS A MATTER OF TIME!

Proverbs 6:10–11 ESV

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 6:10–11 M:BCL

10 A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? 11 Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest!

Work is GOOD.

2.WORK IS GOOD FOR ME

something i need to do

God WORKED… Created… and Sait it was GOOD: it was GOOD. WORK!

But there was now a probleb all that God created was GOOD - but there was no one around to work ON what He had WORKED UP.

Genesis 2:5 “5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,”

then before the fall… He created an man & look at what he did with him?

Genesis 2:15 “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

So THINK ABOUT THIS: The best place on the earth. Eden. and there is things to do.

Probably an aamzing lawn… probablt some incredible tree growth happening requiring some trimming and hauling off !!

Probablt some amazing paver stone and hard surfaces that needed sweeping of the leaves so when God came down in the cool of the day.

Here is what i think happened: God the father came down… and said… Good work Looks great.

here is my point: work is GOOD.

Its GOOD

ITS GOOD FOR ME

and Its GOOD FOR ME.

We need t work because we need to do something with our hands and our minds.

Listen......You have ABILITY & POWER (energy)

God has created us to be ABLE to work and BE ABLE to THINK and be able… to DO: OUR WORK

which means we can get BETTER at our work.

I guarantee if i could sit down with you for say.. 5 minutes… i could really easily find out what you are GOOD at. When i was a recruitment consultant. i would have to, as part of my job, interview sometimes 4,5,6 new candidates a day - and i got really GOOD at finding out what was the sweet spot or the core of their skill set. which i would then be able to sell or communicate to the employer and say “HEY THIS IS WHAT BILL IS REALLY GOOD AT”

YOU NEED TO DO.. WHAT YOU ARE REALLY GOOD AT.. THATS HOW YOU USE YOUR PURPOSE!

If you are a good builder.. you need to BUILD BUILDINGS

If you are a good engineer.. you design & you need to engineer things

if you are a good song writer… you need to work at it.. and WRITE SONGS

if you are a good TEACHER..you need to TEACH

If your name is BILL DELUCA and you have a landscaping business because YOU ARE JUST REALLY GOOD AT LANDSCAPING!!!! You need to do that

YOU GET MY POINT

“there is something that you are really good at”.

YOU NEED TO DO WHAT YOU ARE REALLY GOOD AT.

Because WORK is something you need

You need to be able to finish up that day, turn around at all the work that got done today.... and see FOR YOURSELF: THAT IS GOOD.

YOU NEED THAT (and there are some people who are losing their pyrpose today because they dont have it)

A GREAT WORK ETHIC.. WILL BLESS YOU… WILL BLESS YOUR FAMILY - AND GOD WILL HONOR THAT BY BLESSING YOU WITH ABUNDANCE>

Work is Good… Work is GOOD FOR ME… And

3.WORK IS HOLY.

Work is A WAY I SHOW I LOVE GOD.

WORK IS THE WAY WE HONOR GOD

But this is what happens when we approach work in a HEALTHY way.

When we WORK. it no longer becomes my work… but it can become… HIS WORK

WHEN WE WORK.... WE WORK WITH & WE WORK FOR… HIM - THATS WHAT MAKES IT HOLY.. ETERNAL WORK

The biblical God who labored at creation also commissions human beings to work for and with Him

How does WORK BECOME HOLY?

If He gets the GLORY. if its in the name of JESUS - Its HOLY WORK

We read Colossians 3:23 now lte sread Vs 24

Col 3:23-24 “23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

When i work, i need a rest. when i rest, i prove to the world. that i have GOD.

Its the same with the WORK that i do.

I help, because im helped.

This is the POWER of WORKS!

but its also the way i help!

Eph 4:28 “28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

WORK SHOWS THE WORLD AROUND ME I LOVE GOD AND IM HERE TO HELP AND BE A BLESSING.

If you dont have something, you cant give something away.

Do you know that PART OF YOU WORKING IS YOU BLESSING

And anytime i BLESS someone… with a GIFT, with a MEAL… With some money with some resource… Here is how they are left thinking

“why did he DO THAT”?

“why would he do that for me”

“why does HE CARE”

Because GOD WILL GET THE GLORY. BECAUSE THE POINT OF MY PURPOSE IS TO GIVE GOD THE GLORY

The WORK of the CHRIST on the CROSS>