Faith and Work

Introduction to Topic

Good evening, I am so blessed to be able to share with you my story. As I have prayed and invited the Spirit of God to direct this presentation, I believe some of you in here have helped to shape what I am going to talk to you about.

What I want to talk about is how God used my failed attempt to find balance in life to shape me and lead me into the balance of life.

The balanced life lie...

Growing up - First Major Event (Brother Russell)

Various Jobs I had where the primary motivation was money.

First Major Event refocused everything. I was a D student, not focus on future. I was mad at God, and realized that no one or thing was going to help…so I buckled down.

Married with kids - I was the provider, I was also willing to sacrifice myself for my family. I was someone who put everything into what I was working on, not necessarily for the money, but so that I could be counted on getting the job done and done right.

I left a job working with the BLM so we did not have to move and started in a new career field (Zond Wind, Enron Wind and GE Wind), I worked 60-70 hrs a week trying to learn and keep up the the growing responsibility. I did not know how to say NO…and my marriage suffered.

When my exwife’s divorced parents were both terminally I’ll, We moved to be closer to her parents and I worked in Tehachapi and lived in San Luis Obispo....

It was clear that I needed to Balance my life, so I took a consulting opportunity so I could work from home and be closer to family and try to maintain some connecting with my now exwife.

We moved back to Tehachapi where I continued to help to start a company, while working on a house I was building.

We moved back to Tehachapi where I continued to help to start a company, while working on a house I was building..tend a protestant bible church, I was introduced to Jesus in a new way and was baptized. As I learned about Christianity, I thought I found the answer to the balance…I through myself into serving at Church....So now I was balancing my marriage, my new company, finances, kids and now my growing service and knowledge of Jesus.

August 2010 I was asked to leave my house, for the third and final time. I was accused of an affair, which did not happen with a woman…

I had an affair with MAMMON (מָמוֹן, mamon).

Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money MAMMON (מָמוֹן, mamon).

Mammon wants you to think, If I just had more _____… , everything would be better.

For me, the mammon spirit said to me that, if I just worked harder at everything I put my hand to, I could bring everything into balance.

It didn’t work!!

During this time our new company, with 30 employees, was being sued in CA and FL by a con man. The company was broke, I was broke, by spirit was broke and I finally relented…I have it all to Jesus.

We survived the lawsuit and won and I met my now wife Robin and it appeared that all the hard work in business would pay off. Nov 2014, on the verge of getting engaged, I was rock climbing in Kernville. I lost a rappel from about 45 feet. The fall was quick, hitting the ground changed my life once again.

After 7 surgeries, my right ankle replace with new technology, I am in constant pain, our company has served 10,000 transitioning students in five time zones with over 160 employees, happily married with 9 grand-kids from our blended family of 5 and finished a MS degree in Christian Apologetics last year…life had finally come into some sort of balance....Nope!!!

Over the last 8 months, the balance between work and life have come crumbling down. The company I helped start was a grind…it had lost its purpose…it was just a job. My physical health has deteriorated as chronic pain has taken it toll…there was now joy in life. My spiritual life had slipped into a dark hole, I wondered where God was. Everything was out of balance again.

Discovery

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Trying to maintain a “work/life balance” is impossible.

Only in the strengthening of our Faith in Christ Jesus do we discover that balance come when we approach everything as worship to the Lord. Jesus is the only balance, therefore, Jesus must be in everything we do.

Goal today is to make work a place where people get more than just a paycheck.

ey Passage:

Colossians 3:23–24 NIV

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Point: We get work done for God and God gets us done through work.

Philippians 2:13 ESV

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.