i Declare #4 - Blessings in the Workplace

I Declare  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  38:36
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Opening

Today we’re talking about the workplace
There’s no one that should be more blessed in the workplace than God’s people
Word is full of blessings and promises of blessings for us - AND they extend to the workplace and our work relationships
For far too many of us, the workplace (and the relationships there) are more death than life
Why is that?
Perhaps we are looking at it all wrong.
Could it be that we don't prosper in our workplace because we don't have the right OUTLOOK?
Let’s look back at our foundation text:
Romans 8:5–6 NET
For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace,
Outlook shaped by the flesh
Outlook shaped by the Spirit
Death
Life
Outlook on workplace shaped by the flesh
We work to make money.
1 Timothy 6:10 NIV
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
We make money to get stuff.
“Stuff” includes food, housing, etc. of course
But it also includes just that: STUFF
Luke 12:16–21 NIV
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
We get stuff to satisfy our wants.
Somehow what are truly just “wants” morph into “needs”.
Luke 12:22–23 NIV
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
If life is more than food and clothes, it is CERTAINLY more than electronics and toys . . .
We think that satisfying our wants will bring satisfaction.
Ecclesiastes 5:10–11 NIV
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?
That’s the outlook on our work place that is shaped by the flesh. It brings death. Remember what we said death was? NOTHING GOOD FROM GOD!
But what if we did what we’ve been talking about? What if we changed our outlook? What if we began to look at our work as God does? What if we let our outlook on work be driven and guided by the Spirit? THEN we have life, peace AND stuff!
Some Background
A little foundation. God never intended for work to be punishment.
Let me show you a couple of scriptures:
Genesis 2:2 NIV
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
The heavens and earth and everything in them was created by the WORK of God by God WORKING.
Genesis 2:15 NIV
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
God created man FOR work.
Outlook on Work Shaped by the Spirit
So what if we started to look at our work like God does? As the Spirit does?
Let me show you an opening scripture for this part of the message:
Colossians 3:22–24 The Living Bible
You slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not only trying to please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of your love for the Lord and because you want to please him. Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of all he owns. He is the one you are really working for.
What if, instead of seeing my work as a time-consuming way to make money, I change my thinking to see that:
My work is given by God as a way to bring glory to Him.
“Working for the Lord and not merely for your masters”
1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Glorify - “to give an accurate representation.”
Therefore, work done by Christians should give the world an accurate picture of God in righteousness, faithfulness, and excellence.
What if, instead of making money to get stuff:
We make money to have something to share with those in need.
What IF that were our first thought instead of our last?
From God’s perspective, its HOW we see it.
Ephesians 4:28 NIV
Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
What if, instead of getting stuff to satisfy our wants, we:
Use what we get to Honor God .
“remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you”
Proverbs 3:9–10 NIV
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
What if, instead of looking at my work as a way to get money to get stuff to try to provide my own satisfaction,
I find my satisfaction in the work God has provided for me.
Ecclesiastes 2:24 NIV
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
I declare that my work - no matter what I do - has been given to me by God as a way to honor Him and bring glory to Him. I will embrace each work day as an opportunity given by God and will always remember that I am working for Him FIRST.
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