The Reality of Our Daily Work
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Announcements
Intro.
Open your Bible to the book of Proverbs, chapter 14.
The Word of God to bless your life, especially your professional life.
Today I have a message that I pray to God for the Holy Spirit to engrave on your heart.
Because if you understand today's message, I can promise that it will literally transform your life.
I have never preached on this subject, but since my conversion to Christ I have kept a concept on the subject in my heart, but I have never preached directly on the subject.
The text for our topic today is:
All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
I want to talk to you today about
The Reality of Our Daily Work
Again, if you understand today's message, I can promise you that it will literally transform your life. It will transform your professional life.
Your day-to-day work will stop being a bore and become a blessing.
It will stop being monotonous; it will start to have meaning.
It will stop being boring; it will become worthy.
It will stop being the same old bore and become a glory every day.
If you listen to the Word that I bring to you from God! …
Listen, many people are tired of what they do.
I mean, they put up with their job; they don't like their job.
They think their work is meaningless.
They think some people have meaningful, exciting, thrilling jobs, but not them.
They do it just to get a paycheck.
They wake up in the morning, shower, shave, grab a quick coffee (7-Eleven), rush out the door because they’re late, and fight traffic to get to work.
It’s the same old thing, day after day.
At night, they come home, take two Tylenol, eat dinner, watch TV/computer, … talk to their spouse, and then go to sleep.
The next day, it’s the same old thing: nothing exciting, nothing meaningful, nothing exciting. It all seems so dull, so meaningless.
I'm talking about people who love God and serve God, but have the idea that the only time they can serve God is when they're not working.
They want to get out of work so they can serve God, and because they feel like they're giving their prime time to their employer and then giving the leftovers to God.
They give their weekends to God.
They're serving God "part-time."
They feel like they're giving the best hours of their time to their employer.
They've heard the preacher quote what Jesus said: "No one can serve two masters." (Matthew 6:24)
They see themselves as trying to serve two masters.
and of course I believe that some of you who are listening to me today, perhaps most of you, are guilty of living what I call a “divided life.”
Now, I want you to lay something on your heart today; and oh, I pray to God that He will help me lay it on your heart today – and it is this:
You may be an ordinary person. You may think there’s nothing interesting about you. But, you see, God loves ordinary people.
Have you ever noticed that most of the people in the world are ordinary people – God created most of them that way, didn’t He?
I mean, God must really like ordinary people if He created so many of them, right?
Now look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 26:
1 Cor.1:26
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
See? God uses ordinary people.
But here’s the secret:
God takes ordinary people and gives them extraordinary power.
God infuses us with His Holy Spirit so that we are no longer ordinary, because when we are saved, we become extraordinary.
But now, wait a minute.
God takes ordinary people; God gives ordinary people extraordinary power; and then God puts those ordinary people in ordinary places.
Are you listening to this? -
Now you better learn this:
When God takes an ordinary person and gives him extraordinary power, then puts that ordinary person in an ordinary place with extraordinary power,
it is for HIM to do extraordinary things through an ordinary person.
God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Now, if you learn this and take it to heart, it will transform your life.
You see, we divide life into secular and sacred.
I have a lot of people who say to me something like this: "You know, Pastor, if I could do what I really want to do, well, I would like to quit this job and serve God.
Pastor, I would like to serve God full-time."
Have you ever thought about that? Gosh, if I could just quit what I'm doing!
It would be wonderful to be like you, Pastor!
It would be wonderful to be like Brother So-So.
It would be so wonderful if I could quit what I'm doing and serve God full-time.
Now, may God help me to teach you today that if you are a Christian, born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, you are serving God full time!
I don't care where you work:
if it is an honorable occupation.
You are serving God full time.
Your workplace should be the temple of your devotion and the platform of your ministry.
You see, we divide life into secular and sacred, but the Bible doesn't, the New Testament doesn't do that.
In the Old Testament, yes, but not in the New Testament.
In the Old Testament, there were priests and then the rest of the people.
But in the New Testament, we are all priests.
In the Old Testament, there was a temple where people went to worship, but Jesus said, “Not in this place, nor in that, but in every place: we worship God in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21-24)
In the Old Testament, foods were divided into clean and unclean. But in the New Testament, “Thus spake he, making all flesh clean.” (Mark 7:19)
In the Old Testament, certain days were sacred.
But in the New Testament, every day is a holy day, every day is a sacred day, every work has dignity, if it is honorable work;
every Christian is a priest, every Christian is a minister, and every Christian is rendering full-time Christian service.
You may not believe it now, but I believe you will believe it when I finish this message, not because I think I'm so smart, but because of what God's Word has to say.
Proverbs 14:23 “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
Maybe you’re not in an exciting job.
I mean, your job may be in a factory, screwing caps on toothpaste tubes all day.
Maybe that’s what you do all day.
Or maybe you work in an office as a clerk. Or you may be washing cars.
Maybe you’re mowing lawns.…
Maybe you’re building houses.
You may be doing any number of things.
But I want to tell you, dear friend, that if you will learn what I have to tell you today from God’s Word, it will turn that drudgery into pleasure; it will turn that monotony into magnificence; and you will discover that you are where God has placed you, and that you are there for a specific purpose.
Three things I want you to see.
Number one: I want you to see the
1. The Reality of Our Daily Work.
Second, I want you to see the
2. The Sphere of Our Daily Work.
And third, I want you to see
3. the service of daily work.
I. The Reality of Our Daily Work
I. The Reality of Our Daily Work
What is the reality of our daily work?
It is Sacred!
Don't get the idea that to serve God you need to be an ordained minister, a missionary, or be part of a Christian organization's staff.
All work, if done by a born-again person, filled with the Holy Spirit and in the power of the Holy Spirit, is sacred work// ALL OF IT!
I'm going to show you a verse from Scripture - Ephesians 6:5 (on the screen) but write this passage down. Post it on your social media…
Ephesians 6:5… - The point I want to make is the reality of sacred daily work. Listen to what the Bible says:
Eph.6:5
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
So I should work for my boss as if he/she were for Jesus! ??
Is that right? Yes!!
That wicked boss of mine? Himself.
You should work for him/her as if he/she were Jesus Christ!
Because if the work is honorable, God is the owner of the company he thinks is his.
Psalm 24 - 1 The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and those who live in it.”
This world is the Lord's - and you should serve the Lord Jesus.
I want to use as an example for today's message a man named Daniel.
Daniel will be our main illustration of this passage of Scripture in the book of Proverbs, chapter 14 and verse 23:
Proverbs 14:23 “All hard work brings a profit”
You may remember that Daniel was taken captive from Israel to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
And there in Babylon he had a secular job. Daniel’s job was to be a servant of the king/government.
Don’t think that Daniel was a “pastor or a priest”. He wasn’t.
They trained him and put him in the service of the government. But he really served the Lord Jesus.
Daniel was what we would call today a civil servant: he had a secular job.
Notice what the king said when Daniel spent the night in the lions’ den.
Do you remember that Daniel refused to do certain things when he was in Babylon, and they threw him into the lions' den as a kind of punishment, and the lions kept their mouths shut…..
Daniel chapter 6 and verse 20:
Dan.6:20
When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
Friends, listen carefully.
Here is what the wicked king… said to Daniel.
Remember, Daniel was not a shepherd, nor was he a priest in the literal sense of the word:
“Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20)
Now, notice what the king said. He said, “Daniel, you are a servant of the living God. Was this God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?” And, of course, God was able to deliver him.
What is the point I am trying to make here? What am I trying to say?
Here is this: Here was a man who had a secular job, and yet even his enemies and the unsaved people of this world had to admit that his secular job was really holy work, that he was really serving God.
Maybe you are a housewife and you think, "Oh, I don't work outside the home, and what does that have to do with serving the Lord?"
“He who has ears, let him hear”…
all the work of the day, all the work that we call “secular work,”
If you do it with sincerity of heart, as unto Christ - Eph. 6:5
You will receive the same reward that I receive for doing the work that I do.
Maybe you have never thought of it that way. But it is the truth.
Maybe you think that your work is not important at all:
“No one cares about me; nobody knows about me."
Friend, God knows everything about you, even if you're not even the silent prayer leader in the children's department.
God knows about you, and God is watching you.
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,”
The Bible says that those of you who are in "secular work" are working for the Lord Christ.
Every Christian, therefore, is working full-time—for the Lord. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 5.
Never forget that.
Proverbs 14:23 “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
II. The Realm of Sacred Work
II. The Realm of Sacred Work
Now, the second thing I want you to learn is the realm of sacred work in your everyday life.
Where are you called to do God’s work?
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
You say, “Surely the calling to do God’s work must be in the church, or in a Christian organization, but not where I work.”
“Pastor, you don’t know the people I work with.” …
I just don’t believe God wants me there.
“It must be good for you, pastor, to be around all these people in the church.”
They’re always smiling, always preaching, and always praising God. The only time I hear God's name mentioned where I work is when people are cursing.
And, Pastor, you can't believe the dirty stories, things are heavy in my work environment.
You just can't believe the way people talk about each other in the greed, ambition, and materialism, the gossip and backstabbing that goes on there…
Oh my pastor, I'm praying for God to take me out of that place and take me to a place where I can truly serve Him!"
Friend, God put you in that place so that you could serve Him.//
You may not believe this, but I want to tell you that God put Daniel in Babylon.
God put him in that place so that you could serve Him.
“Pastor, I am where I am there because of circumstances.
To be quite honest with you, Pastor, I took that job just because it was the only one I could get.
I just had to take it, and I don't know what I would do now if I left that job. I don't know where I would go. So I have to stay there.
Pastor, I don’t have a sense of calling to be there. I don’t have a sense of meaning. It’s just something I have to do because I need the money to live.
I need to eat. Yes, I wish I had the feeling that God put me where I am, but I don’t!”
Well, friend,
God may have put you where you are and you don’t even know it or feel any sense of calling to be there.
Let me ask you a question.
Was Daniel a servant of God? Indeed, he was.
Did he serve God? Indeed, he did.
Was he where God wanted him? Indeed, he was.
How did he get there? By circumstances beyond his control; at least what he thought was beyond his control.
He was captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and taken as an exile to the land of Babylon, that place of wickedness.
But let me tell you how he actually got to Babylon.
Look at Jeremiah 29:4 Many people are familiar with Jeremiah 29:11 Jeremiah 29:11“11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
But look how the subject begins… Jeremiah 29:4
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
What? “ //
Ultimately, it was God who took Daniel to Babylon!
Dear brother/sister in Christ, we have been called and summoned to confront this world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Every day you must bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ in your work.
You must let your light shine in that dark place where God has placed you.
Listen to this scripture - Matthew, chapter 5, verse 14:
Matthew 5:14 ““You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5:15
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
For a light to have value/use, it needs to be visible. Placed in a strategic place…
Therefore, God does not want any of His children under a “bowl” called “local church.”
God wants to place that light where it can be seen.
I want to tell you that your workplace is the lampstand that God has prepared for you to let your light shine.
And if God has placed you there, that is where God wants you.
That is the sphere of your ministry—and it is a full-time ministry.
Many times we say, “Oh God, get me out of this Babylon. God, I want to get out of this Babylon. Lord, I just want to serve You. Get me away from the influence of this world.”
Well, friend, God’s plan for you is not to take you away from the world/Babylon.
God’s plan for you is to shine, to light up the world, to overcome the world, and to witness to the world. Listen to these scriptures.
John 17, verse 15. Jesus said:
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
God’s plan is not for you to be taken out of this worldly environment, but for you to live a good Christian life in it.
Listen, you are the light of the world and God has put you in a dark place, in the right place, for you to shine!
Romans, chapter 12, verse 21, says:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
We are not to run away from the world; we are to confront the world.
First John, chapter 5, verses 4 and 5:
1 John 5:4–5
for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
God put you in this Babylon/this Uber/This Job/This Cleaning Job/Workshop/Office/Company.
God put Daniel in Babylon; God put you in your Babylon!
God put you there, and the work you do there should be equal to or better than Daniel’s. He served the Lord God, and you should serve the Lord God.
Remember
Proverbs 14:23 “23 All hard work brings profit,
This does not mean that you can do everything in Babylon.
This does not mean that when you are in Babylon, you do as the Babylonians do.
Jesus said, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)
There were certain things in Babylon that Daniel refused to do.
He was thrown into the lions’ den and suffered persecution.
There are some things you cannot do.
That’s what will make you distinctly different, and that’s what will make you so effective when you’re in Babylon.
You were saved/taken out of the world and then sent back into the world to witness to the world.
And that’s the only job you have in the world until you’re taken out of the world. Shining the light of Christ
I want to give you another verse: Philippians 2, verse 15. Listen to it:
Philippians 2:15
so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
Where should the light shine? Where? In the midst of a crooked and perverse/depraved generation.
It is not God’s will to remove you from the wicked place where you labor.
You are to shine as a light in the world in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
If you were going to put a lighthouse, where would you put a lighthouse? In downtown DC? No. You would put a lighthouse on some rocky, rugged, barren shore so that that lighthouse could help some sinking ship. And that is why God put it where He put it. Listen again - Philippians 2 and verse 15:
Philippians 2:15 “15 that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like stars in the universe,”
Another example: When Daniel’s three friends ended up in the blazing fiery furnace, it was because they refused to do what everyone else was doing in Babylon, but it was in the midst of that crooked and perverse generation that Nebuchadnezzar realized that God was God.
Listen to what he said in Daniel chapter 3, verses 28 and 29:
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
The one speaking is a pagan and wicked king.
How would this king have known the power of God if it weren’t for the light of three young men shining in that darkness?
Three young men who worked in secular jobs but let their light shine in the midst of a corrupt and wicked generation?
Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus has called us to go into all the world.
(Mark 16:15) And there is the world of finance, the world of business, the world of sports, the world of the arts, the world of politics…
In all of these worlds, we must go and let our light shine for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Principles for shining the light
Principles for shining the light
Let me share with you four principles for shining the light of the gospel of grace in the workplace.
Let me give you four rules.
A. Don’t Boast
A. Don’t Boast
Number one: Don’t boast. The Bible says, “Let your light shine.” Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The light should shine, not dim.
They should see the light, not the candle. What I mean is, if you come to your workplace with a huge load of self-importance, boasting about yourself, boasting about your righteousness, and boasting about your doctrines, you will make them want to vomit.
They will get tired of it. There is nothing worse than self-importance. Don’t brag.
B. Don’t Test Their Patience
B. Don’t Test Their Patience
Second thing: don’t test their patience. If you are always pounding the Bible, handing out a tract, always addressing someone when they smoke, or someone when they drink, or someone when they swear, if you are always pestering them, you may think you are doing a good job. But I want to tell you, you are not going to win them to Jesus Christ by testing their patience. You are not going to win a person to Jesus that way.
He cannot solve that problem on his own.
You would be just like this man if you did not know the Lord Jesus Christ.
1) He cannot solve his sin on his own. He needs Jesus Christ.
2) And those are the only things he enjoys. He does not have the joy that you have.
You are not going to win them to Jesus Christ by testing their patience. You are not going to win a person to Jesus that way.
In fact, listen to Colossians 4, verses 5 and 6:
Colossians 4:5–6
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
"Oh, if you could just say, 'God, salt my speech! Lord, season my speech with grace!' I don’t want to test their patience.”
C. Don’t Be Lazy
C. Don’t Be Lazy
Don’t brag. It doesn’t test their patience. And third, don’t be lazy. Do your share of the work.
If you are a lazy Christian, if you don’t show up on time, if you don’t do the work you’re supposed to do, you are a disgrace to grace.
It is a sin for a Christian to do less than his or her best.
Listen again to Ephesians chapter 6, verses 5 and 6:
Ephesians 6:5–6
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
If the work is legit, you should work as if Jesus were your literal boss.
And don't fall behind just doing the minimum.
Don't be a laggard.
The Bible says in Colossians chapter 3, verse 23, (Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”
do it with all your heart, as to the Lord—it will give you dignity!
Whatever it is—you're operating a machine; you're fixing an automobile; you're typing a letter; you're delivering Amazon/DorDash; you're painting houses; you're digging ditches; you're mowing lawns—"Jesus, I'm doing this for You; and I'll do it with all my might."
Boy, I tell you, this will give you a boost! It will get you more excited!
And you will say, "I am serving God just as much as that pastor was when he was in that pulpit.
I am serving God just as much as Brother Franco was when he was leading that worship service.
I am serving God just as much as any missionary on the face of the earth.
(Ecclesiastes 9:10
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
//Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,
D. Don’t Give Up
D. Don’t Give Up
Don’t brag. Don’t complain. Don’t be lazy.
Don’t give up. Don’t go back to the old ways of this world. Don’t start complaining, whining. Don’t be unhappy. Stay happy.
Stay filled with joy. The only way to be filled with joy is to be filled with Jesus.
And that means you’re going to have to have some quiet time with God every day.
Maybe before you go to work, or in the early morning, you need to be filled with God’s grace and bathed in the presence of Jesus.
When everyone else is complaining, groaning, depressed and gloomy, you’re going to be there with the light of the Lord’s face shining upon you.
I want to tell you something about the people you work with.
Most of them aren’t really interested in hearing about heaven or hell; they want to know how to live well today!
And when they see you walk into the office without a hangover and with the joy of the Lord Jesus on your face, they’ll say after a while, “Hey, what makes you so happy, positive?”
Do you know what the Bible says in 1 Peter, chapter 3,
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
You won’t have to grab someone by the collar and say, “Accept Jesus or things will get hot for you.”
They’ll come to you and ask, “What’s the secret to the life you live?
Where do you get so much joy?”
Jesus is real and you have sanctified Him as the Lord God in your heart, you will be able to share the Lord Jesus with Him.
Friend, that’s the realm of daily work.
Right there in Babylon—God put Daniel in Babylon.
He didn’t have any special calling from God. It was circumstances that put him there.
But God was in control and at the center of Daniel’s life.
And Babylon became his platform of testimony. Daniel touched an entire nation for God just by being the man of God where God placed him.
Proverbs 14:23 (NIV)
23 All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Conclusion
Let’s bow in prayer. Father, I thank You for Your Word; Lord, for the truth of it. Lord, I just pray that You’ll help people who are discouraged and bored with their jobs, frustrated, who feel forgotten and insignificant, Lord God, that no matter what they do tomorrow, whether it’s surgery or digging a ditch, whether it’s preaching or fixing an automobile, God, that they will do it as if it were for You, in the power that You give. And, Lord, may that work be the temple of their devotion and the lampstand of their testimony. God, just make that a reality and give our people, Lord, that kind of lifestyle. In Jesus’ name. Amen.