Holy Work

Intro

What is it that you’re passionate about?

What are the specific things that you do that give you energy?

Think about skills, trades, crafts, hobbies that, when you spend time doing them, they give you life.

Now, think about things that other people have affirmed that you’re good at.

Now, I’ll give you your homework at the beginning. Maybe you have been affirmed in some of the things you do that give you energy. For the sake of today, we’ll call that a gift. Some of us are gifted athletes, some of us are gifted artists, some of us are gifted parents, or counselors, or are gifted in the work that we do. Putting that gift to work for the Gospel is the next step.

What does that mean? Well obviously, we think of the great commission, how can you use that gifts to spread the Gospel and make disciples? If there is an obvious way for you to use one of your gifts to minister to our church, great! Do it! If the Lord has set it on your heart to minister to a specific group of people, don’t wait for the right opportunity to come along, just start doing it now. Whatever ministry the Lord has put on your heart, teaching our children or youth classes, starting a Bible study, organizing a book club, opening your home for hospitality, whatever it is, use your gift and minister to the body and our community. The desire of Mazevo is not to manage all of the ministry that is taking place within the body, but to empower it. We really seek to empower the ministries of the body in two primary ways. We will protect doctrine, providing a safety net around the ministry, and we will pour fuel on the fire, giving you access to the resources you may need to minister. By resources we mean more than just financial, but there are decades of ministry experience within Mazevo’s leadership that can offer wisdom, guidance, and counsel.

We’ve all heard sermons and teachings, and probably read several times for ourselves the Great Commission, but we don’t see the Great Commission in Scripture until we’re 2/3 of the way through the Bible. Does that mean this was a new initiative God gave to His people? Not at all! This was all a part of God’s original design. Lets turn to Gen 1:27

Initial Intent

Before we read this, we are picking up on day 6 of creation. Before these verses, we get this beautiful image of God creating the Heavens and the Earth using only His voice. We read about this formless, shapeless chaos that God speaks order in to, creating this world. Once He has filled his creation with all sorts of birds and fish and livestock, he creates Adam and Eve.

Genesis 1:27–28 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

We are created in God’s image and in His likeness. God made us, over every other creature on the Earth, to be His image bearers, then, he welcomed us as partners in ruling over His world, or in other words, bringing order into chaos. God created a perfect world in the sense that there was no sin, but God did not make a complete world, in the sense that there was work to be done, and He wants us to do that work alongside Him.

The first way God wants mankind to bring Him glory is to be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth. This is the pre fall iteration of the Great Commission. God wants His image to cover the face of the Earth.

The second way God wants mankind to bring Him glory is to subdue the Earth and have dominion over every living thing. This is God’s original intention for us.

When I read subdue the earth, I get all giddy inside. There is something about removing 20,000 lbs of tree with a crane that really feels like subduing the earth in a tangible way. We are called to bring order and peace into this world with the work that we do. In addition to multiplying, filling the earth with God’s people, we are also called to continue to bring order into this world. That gift we talked about earlier might look like what we would all consider formal ministry, but recognize that you also bring glory to God when you do the work of bringing order into a chaotic world. I’m talking about your work, but also the way that you bring order and peace to your home, the way Mazevo brings order and peace to Ada Jenkins and the Davidson area, the way that all of the Churches collectively spread that order and peace to the ends of the earth.

The work that you do every day, whether you’re an accountant, a business owner, a banker, a tree man, your work brings glory to God. And while you may feel like your particular marketplace skill or gift could never be used for ministry, we’re about to read a story of several men who probably thought the same thing.

Exodus 31

v.1-11

Bezalel means In God’s shadow

Oholiab means the father is my tent

Bezalel and Oholiab were given the task of overseeing the construction of the Tabernacle and all of it’s furniture. We are specifically told that Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God, and that to the rest, they were given the ability, directly from God. God supplies the vision, then the people to work out that vision. We see that exact thing happen today, and this is what we mean when we say we want to partner with you in the ministry the Lord has laid on your heart. We have some here who will receive a vision for a ministry, then God will move in the hearts of others within the body, who He has given the ability to do the work. I think of the Ada Jenkins work day, where there was a need that Mazevo could step up and meet, but out flag being outside the door wasn’t going to get the work done, it took the body showing up and doing the work, and in so doing, we have brought some order, and prayerfully, some peace in a small way to this place. Let that be the fingerprint that we leave on all of the work we do. The fingerprint of order and peace.

v.12-17

This is not the first time the Sabbath command is given in this book, so why is it repeated here? Well, I think it speaks to the heart of those who are motivated to serve. Who could be more motivated than a people who were just rescued from slavery in Egypt? Well, we might be able to think of a few since in the next chapter, Moses will descend the mountain to find Israel worshiping a golden calf…

When God commissions this work to be done, which is holy work, He immediately reminds Moses and the people of Israel that the Sabbath is paramount over even the command to build the Tabernacle. Put another way, no matter how important the work that you are doing is, it is most important that you take time to physically and spiritually rest. God set forth this design in the 7 day creation story, and reiterates it all though Scripture that we were made to work, rest, delight in the work that we have done, then from that resting and delighting, return to our work, prepared to bring God glory.

This is a sore spot for me personally, because I constantly have things that are important and fulfilling for me to do, that draw me out of the house, away from my family, and away from time sitting silently in the presence of God. Maybe some of you feel the same way, so I’ll preach to myself for a minute and hopefully it resonates with some of you too. You can do nothing apart from the Lord. The work that I do Monday through Saturday, if done in my own strength, can only earn me earthly treasures where the thief steals and the moth destroys. It is only through time in prayer, time in God’s word, time in community and fellowship with fellow believers that we can be filled to do the work that we were called to. That work starts with your personal relationship with the Lord, then letting the overflow of that relationship you have with God bless your family, then from there, we can pray that the Lord would use us to bless our community and share the Gospel.

v.18

In Exodus 34, then again in Deuteronomy, we are told that what was written on the two tablets were the ten words or the Ten Commandments

Two identical tablets written with the finger of God marking the end of Moses’ 40 days on Mt. Sinai

2 Corinthians 3:3 “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Conclusion

We’ve been talking a lot about the theme of priesthood as it’s come up in the books that we have been preaching through, so I hope it’s clear at this point that we are all a royal priesthood. And remember that the Lord doesn’t let a single thing go to waste. Whatever those gifts are that you have, practice them and become and expert. You never know how the Lord is going to use you. Master your craft and wait on the Lord, and He will put it to use. There’s this constant balance between God’s sovereignty and our responsibility. We are absolutely responsible to be good stewards of our time, resources, and gifts, but that is out of obedience, not to earn a spot on the “team.” God is the one who will provide every single thing you need when He calls you.