Work! (Sept 4 2016)

Good Work

Genesis 2:15 NASB95

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

Originally, there was work. And it was good

Good? You can't be serious. Yes, indeed. After all, everything God created was good, was it not?

Humanity was created to work

One of the purposes of the creation of woman was to work alongside man--a helpmeet for him.

Work, then, is not a bad thing.

Frustrated Work

Genesis 3:19 NASB95

By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

Then sin enters and work becomes more of a frustration than a blessing

From this, we have many of our issues

Work that does not fulfill

Work that keeps us from being at peace with others

Work that becomes idolatry

Redeemed Work

Colossians 3:23 NASB95

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,

For Christians, our work now belongs to God

You do not go to work to please your boss

You also do not go just to aggravate your boss

You go to work to please your Master

IF You go to Work for any reason other than to honor God, then you are there for the wrong purpose and God will not be in it!

Your provision is from God, not man. Even if man is the instrument.

And keep in mind, the new heavens and the new earth are not the absence of work! It's not the end of God's purpose but the redemption and fulfillment of it. We have no way to truly fathom what God's work assignments to us will look like. But we need to know they are there.

We can see that worship and praise will be part of it. Whatever else may be, it will not be frustrating to do it.

Reconciling Work

2 Corinthians 5:18 NASB95

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

We have these works to do: bring others to Jesus and be right with others as best we can.

How? Proclaim the love of God to others

Proclaim that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

Quit letting the lesser works of the day override this one.

Why? Because of the one work we cannot do:

Redemptive Work

Hebrews 9:15 NASB95

For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The one work we cannot do: redeem mankind

This work is already done for us!

Jesus has redeemed us through His blood.

Sometimes the hardest thing to remember is not to work--while there is a sermon in that about taking a Sabbath, the important part at this point is about the work we can NEVER do:

save ourselves from our sins.

Jesus did that.