Finding God at Work
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Psalm 39:5
Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. - NET
Psalm 90:10, 12
The days of our life are seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength. Yet the best of them are only hard work and sorrow. For they are soon gone and we fly away. 12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. - NLT
1. Work with Eternity in Mind
2 Corinthians 4:18
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - NIV
With an eternal perspective, the work you were created for doesn’t have to die with you. It actually can continue to live on without you.
Colossians 3:1-2
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
Many subject their lives to the temporary and frustrate the work of eternity in their lives.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]...
2. Work to be Generous with Your Life
Don’t just work to live, live to work for the greater meaning and purpose of giving your life away for the Kingdom.
Matthew 16:24-25
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
What are you not finding in this life because of your lack of surrender?
Mark 10:17,21-22
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
You can do all the right things and still not be doing the one thing that is keeping from inheriting God’s purpose and perspective for your life.
WHAT’S THE ONE THING THAT COULD BE KEEPING YOU AWAY FROM BEING GENEROUS WITH YOUR LIFE?
3. Work to Leave Your Mark on this World
Ecclesiastes 3:9
Does a person really gain anything from his work? - ICB
As long as you’re breathing, you have a purpose!
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(00:02) we're gonna jump into a new series called God at work it's Labor Day weekend it's a three-day weekend and I didn't do this on purpose but today we're kicking off a series about one of your favorite topics work you guys remember when school started after Labor Day I mean you got your last vacation in you were getting your right now you were getting your last vacation in your last camping trip and then you came back and you hit all the school shopping sales and then what was cool is you didn't
(01:00) really start school till Thursday and then you just went to school Friday and you got the weekend again that was the way it was intended to be since the beginning of time I don't know about you but I love that a fun little fact about the history of Labor Day which if you didn't know it recognizes the many contributions workers have made to America's strength prosperity and well-being so if you consider yourself a part come on of that will you give yourself a hand come on seven people eight people all right
(01:33) but another little tidbit that I found was that it never really got traction but the Sunday preceding Labor Day which would be today it was adopted as labor Sunday and it was dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement well unbeknown to me today we're bringing it back we're bringing back labor Sunday I find it interesting that the spiritual component of our work is often ignored and overlooked yet going to a job you hate every single day can put you in a state of desperation and misery like
(02:15) nothing else can being unhappy at work can also lead to insomnia and Restless sleeping patterns anybody's work ever keep them up at night I think I talked to somebody this morning additionally long-term health problems that can help develop from unhappiness at work include illness and weight gain I knew there was something to that added extra weight that I put on when you hate your job the risk of heart disease depression and other mental health conditions is significantly higher could it be the many negative effects
(02:54) that work has on people is caused by the fact that we detach God from our work and it's something we do in our own strength instead of something we do to glorify God my last class to complete my Master's Degree this summer was a class called contemporary Theology and it basically answered this question what does it look like to live our lives effectively as Christians in the workplace and the Public Square I got to tell you I was moved by there's there's some classes you just go through but there's some
(03:34) classes that stir you up in this class stirred me up in this this series is coming out of that class and it asks the question and challenged us how do we engage and influence culture intentionally and intelligently as Christ followers what if we started looking at our jobs as an opportunity where God has strategically placed us rather than the place that stresses us out how about if we approach the marketplace as our mission where we can see God's kingdom Advance rather than just hoping we can make it through another week to
(04:12) another weekend the truth is 30 to 40 percent of your life is spent at work say Pasadena I came for some good news not bad news in your lifetime on average you're going to spend 90 000 hours of your life at work let me just put that in perspective for you people only spend 328 days socializing with friends on average over the course of their lifetime but when it comes to work the average person spends 13 years and two months how many know that sounds like jail time right there work defines Our Lives work describes Our Lives it can dominate
(05:07) our lives but as Believers our work can also be the place where we find our destiny and that's what I want to begin to share with you today as we allow lay a foundation for this series God at work how do I find God's will at my workplace how can I connect Jesus to my job a 2021 study reported 73 percent of employees are considering leaving their jobs the state of the global workplace report 2023 discovered only 15 percent of employees are engaged at their workplace this means that 85 percent of the workforce around the world are either
(05:54) viewing their workplace negatively or only doing the bare minimum to make it through the day with little to no emotional attachment and how many know listen those statistics right there present a great opportunity for God's people to rise up in the workplace to rise up in the marketplace so what we're going to do during this series is look at what God's word says about work did you know work is biblical the Bible actually has a lot of insight and wisdom about our work and today to kick us off in this series I want to
(06:32) look at this fundamental question what is the why behind my work it's not a new question thousands of years ago King Solomon asked the same question in Ecclesiastes 3 verse 9. he said what do people really get for all their hard work what's the benefit what's the payoff what's the purpose and meaning behind all my hard work see if I'm going to spend a third of my life working come on how many know I need to know the reason for that see some people think that work is actually punishment from God
(07:13) some of you might say Pastor Dean if you knew where I worked you would know that it was punishment the Bible says that sin entered the world and God cursed the ground he kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden now and and then he said now you're going to have to work by the sweat of your brow so that's true he cursed the ground but even before sin entered the world God had worked for Adam and Eve to do he gave them assignments just like he gives you an eye assignments Genesis 2 15 it says the Lord God took the man and put him in the
(07:49) Garden of Eden to work it and keep it tell your neighbor work it come on keep it even in the garden Paradise on earth work was a part of God's plan so the result of sin is not work the result of sin is work is harder anybody had a hard day on the job anybody had a long day you see word can be more difficult work can be more disappointing work can be more demeaning work can be drudgerous it has disappointments these are the things that are brought on by the curse so word can be painful instead of purposeful as
(08:33) God intended it and God wants you to discover the purpose in your workplace so today we're going to answer the question what is the why behind my work we're going to take a couple of weeks to lay the foundation and the first is this God's will for work in my life is so I can be productive with my life God's will for work in my life is so I can be productive with my life as image bearers we talked a lot about this our work reflects the image of God in the workplace we are ambassadors we are extensions of God's kingdom listen in
(09:13) the old Kingdoms in the in the ancient kingdoms of Biblical times they would set up statues of the king to symbolize listen this was the king's domain and God has set you up in the workplace God has set you up wherever you're at listen to be an image Bearer that this is the King's domain as image Bears our work reflects the image of God in the workplace the marketplace the school campus commercial industry the sphere of culture that God has called you to influence God created us to create build and Steward the
(09:50) resources come on that he gave that he created in the earth in other words our work matters to God will you say that our work matters to God it mattered to God at the beginning of time it will matter to God at the end of time does it matter to you Genesis 1 28-30 says God bless them and God said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth have you know that sounds like work
(10:26) verse 29 and God said behold I've given you every plant-yielding seed that is on the face of all the Earth and every tree with seed in its fruit you shall have them for food I mean you know that sounds like work and to every beast of the earth into every bird of the heavens and everything that creeps on the earth everything that has the breath of life I have given every green plant for food and it was so I mean you know that sounds like word you see I believe Christians have three callings the calling to Bear the image
(10:59) of God the calling to restore the image of God and what Andy Crouch refers to a contingent calling in other words you have gifts come on you have treasure you have talents but a lot of times it depends on the right people the right place at the right time come on to open up your destiny and that's what's so powerful about being a part of community a community of Believers that understand listen the power of work God desires for us as image bears are you guys following me God desires for us as image bearers in
(11:38) the workplace to see our work from his perspective so that we can live productive lives on the job and in our careers our work plays a significant and productive role in restoring the image of God in this broken world work is just as important as your worship to God during a Sunday morning service because it's being observed by others who don't know him Romans 12 1-2 the message paraphrase says so here's what I want you to do God helping you how many Ever Needed God's help before take your everyday
(12:16) ordinary life you're sleeping eating going to work and walking around life and place it before God as an offering what would happen listen if every person in this room whether you just started your career you've been in a career a long time or listen you are retired what would happen if we just took a moment and just said God here is my life I place it before you your will be done I want to worship you with my life with my work you see your work should be a reflection of who you worship when people encounter you on the job
(12:56) they should encounter Jesus in you I was I was always taught when I grew up that if you were on time you were late my whole life my family was 15 minutes early all the time we showed up everywhere early and one day in my early twenties I was working at a feed store in Santa Rosa I worked there for four years and I came in I always showed up 10 to 15 minutes early and I punched in and I noticed the owner of the store was there Lou bertolini was standing at the clock and I punched in and he said Dean you're a good egg
(13:39) I said well that's better than a rotten egg but uh I'll take it and I I went in the break room and I came out getting ready to work and I noticed guys were running to the time clock and it was 7 31 and I saw the first guy he punched in back in those days you guys remember you used to punch in he punched in and he put his time card in the slot and Lou took his time clock and he punched it again and he said have a great day when you can show up on time you got a job Sometimes the best way you can share your faith is by sharing your values of
(14:17) showing up on time and staying a little late if you have to doing the extra instead of doing the minimum spending a little extra time with a customer instead of passing them off to somebody else you see what I've learned is that sharing your faith in the workplace many times Begins by showing people that you live what you believe me to my second point that God's will for work in my life is so God can provide for my needs in life God's will for work in my life is so God can provide for my needs in life notice
(14:50) that in verse 29 and in verse 30 God said behold I've given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the Earth and every tree with seed in its fruit you shall have them for food he didn't give them food God gave them seed they had to extract the seed from the fruit come on how you know that's work then they had to put the seed in the ground and we know that's worth and then they had to cultivate and garden that ground and we know that's a lot of work and then at some point they reaped a
(15:30) harvest and then they ate it didn't happen without work we work to put food on the table we work to put clothes on our back we work to put a roof over our head we work so we can have a good night's sleep these are the five things that are the basic needs to sustain human life food water clothing sleep and shelter the Bible says we're not to worry about these things because when we make God a priority in our lives he said he's going to take care of it Matthew 6 31 so don't worry everybody say don't worry
(16:08) don't worry about these things saying what will we eat what will we drink what will we wear these things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers but your heavenly father already knows all your needs everybody say all your needs seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously come on how you know that includes work and he will give you everything you need God gives us a little Jesus gives us a little equation work plus wisdom equals a worry-free life Proverbs 12 11 says a hard worker has plenty of food
(16:50) but a person who chases fantasies has no sense you know somebody like that the Bible says if I'm able to work I'm able to provide for my family that's my responsibility as a Believer it's not somebody else's responsibility it's not the government's responsibility it's my responsibility if I'm able to work sometimes I'm not able when I am how many know I'm responsible First Timothy 5 8 if anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for his immediate family he has denied
(17:26) the faith in his worse than an unbeliever how many know those are strong words they're not my words they're God's words God says that providing for those in my family is my spiritual responsibility that we're to take care of our own families as best as possible second Thessalonians 3 10 says whoever doesn't want to work shouldn't be allowed to eat underline the phrase want to make sure you guys get this doesn't want to work he's not saying can't work sometimes you can't work sometimes
(18:06) you're disabled sometimes you're injured sometimes you're sick sometimes they're extenuating circumstances like taking care of Aging parents as I'm discovering myself there's all kinds of different reasons but God says everybody can who can work is supposed to work so through your work he can provide blessing for you individually and for your family and listen to this and for your community you see through your employer when you work come on God can move upon your employer to give you a bonus
(18:44) through your business he can give you consistent clientele this is what God can do by working hard God can give you a promotion by being diligent and persistent God can give you favor in unfavorable situations how many ever had a a situation what wasn't going right at work but all of a sudden God turned it around and all of a sudden you're second in command when you move here's my point when you make God a priority have you know he makes you a priority when we work everybody say work when we work listen to me when we work we
(19:27) worship and when we work just like when we worship here when we all raise our hands together how many know the Bible says he sits on the Praises of his people but listen because work is worship too when we offer our him ourselves how you know come on it invites God to intervene on a daily basis when we work it invites God to work in our lives improve our lives and touch people who desperately need them through our lives you see God did not put you here on Earth just to take up space breathe air live for yourself and die
(20:09) if you're alive God expects you to be making some kind of contribution with your life so encouraged about what I'm seeing with the small group leads isn't that beautiful diversity listen that just roll through that screen God is raising up leaders and every different type of group here so we are without excuse thank you Jesus it may not seem significant to you but your life has a contribution to make because God wants to use you as a conduit for his purposes and his plan you say Pastor Dean that's not available
(20:43) at my job can I just tell you this and encourage you to jump in and serve at RLC or it's not just about Roc a local non-profit we have a group of ladies you just seen Lisa Joyner there she's taking a group she just took a group last week to Joey's Food Locker and they filled boxes and distributed food serve a local non-profit be a contributor with your life not just a consumer in fact we're having a visioneer night and on October 10th I believe it is is it it's October it's the first Sunday in
(21:20) October and this is the question we're going to answer how do you make the rest of the year the best of your year so we're gonna have a Visionary rally that night we're going to share with you what we believe God has put in our heart as a church to see that happen the third and final there's going to be a part two to this as a worship teams come God's will for my work in my life is so I can experience his greater purpose and meaning for my life can I say that again God's will for work
(21:52) in my life is so I can experience his greater purpose and meaning for my life listen some of you think you're in a did-in job listen you do not serve a dead end God listen the job that you're in if you don't think it's for you it could just be a detour to get you where God wants you to be Proverbs 13 4 lazy people want much but get little but those who work hard will prosper and be satisfied what's this word tell me it means that God desires us to live with job satisfaction God did not call you come on to work 90
(22:34) 000 hours of your life to be miserable he wants it to be meaningful he really does and over the next several weeks I'm going to show you how to make to live your job and go to work with more meaning come on with more expectation with more promise and hope in your heart you see laziness is one of the most is one of the leading contributors of not only not having your physical needs met which is what a lot of times we focus on but also not having our need for certainty variety significance connection growth and contribution met
(23:13) in our lives we need these psychologically right bless the Lord oh my soul let all with that is within me bless your holy name according to psychologist Chloe Madonna's our behavior is motivated by the Fulfillment of these six human needs and they go beyond our desires and wants I'm going to give you six real quickly certainty we all have a need for certainty safety stability and predictability in our lives we feel we like to feel secure in our jobs in our homes and in our relationships we want to avoid pain and we want assurances
(23:53) that our basic needs are being met second is variety how many like change not too many people like change but I I like change We crave change excitement and new things you have one of these six things I promise variety makes us feel alive and engaged right now I feel alive and engaged I don't know about you God is up to something there's significance deep down we all need to feel important unique and special we want our life and our word to have meaning importance and significance connection everybody
(24:27) strives for a level of connection and affiliation with people around them and wants to feel part of a larger Community I love when I hear from people no your church really does feel like family it feels like family in fact we had a t-shirt made feels like family that's the greatest compliment I've ever heard about real life that it feels like home you see we want to be loved and cared for we want a feeling of closeness or Union with like-minded people be it friends family colleagues Church Folks online or an online community I just
(25:04) want to encourage you get in a community get in get in a small group this this week fifth thing is we all desire growth as human beings we all have a need to grow and expand in our personal professional lives and then that contribution piece that I talked about listen we all desire to make a difference and to contribute come on for the greater good of our communities you see God designed hard work to me more than just providing money for my family and the lifestyle I dream of having can I just say that again God designed
(25:42) hard work to be more than just providing money for my family and the lifestyle I dream of having God designed work to provide purpose and meaning for your life meaning in life is way more important than having money in life I went in 2002 2006 I went to Ireland went with a friend and and this guy he was always worried about his retirement wonderful guy love the Lord loved missions loved God with all his heart but worried that he'd never have enough to return I mean this dude was so good with Finance he had nothing to worry
(26:24) about but constantly worrying about his retirement he retired a couple of years ago just a few months ago I was scrolling Facebook and seen that he passed away suddenly and unexpectedly he worried all his life to get to retirement and then unexpectedly meaning in life is way more important than having money in life as Believers God says we can have both meaning and money God's not opposed to Prosperity he's opposed to Greed God is opposed to self-centeredness in fact many of the Great Saints in the Bible were very wealthy God is not
(27:09) opposed to Prosperity he's opposed to selfishness Jesus actually praised businessmen who used business skills to make a profit come on how we know God wants you to be profitable Jesus commended the two men who doubled their return on the investment of their money he said well done good and faithful servant the guy who played it safe however who didn't make an investment who didn't take any risks he didn't do anything with his life or his talent he said that's wicked all through scripture Jesus commends
(27:39) wise business people you see what I want us to learn is that the Bible is filled with principles for successful business careers jobs vocation and word but it's also filled with stories about pitfalls we can learn from and I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit during the summer as I was taking this class on contemporary theology that it is my job as your pastor to help you succeed in your work where you're going to spend 40 percent of your life that's why we're starting the RLC business Network we already have 29
(28:15) businesses signed I didn't even know we had 29 businesses at real life but we signed up 29 businesses already you can sign up in the lobby on your way out and what's the purpose we're going to exist to encourage and equip believers who desire to grow their businesses and experience their work with more meaning and purpose everybody say work it keep it you see God wants your work to express who he made you to be I believe God is saying by the power of His holy spirit this morning I want to give you meaning
(28:50) and purpose through your work I'm going to close with this scripture not gonna quite make it all the way to the end of my message because I want to leave room for prayer this morning it says in his grace have me thankful for God's grace come on how you need a little Grace for not Monday morning because we got it off Hallelujah but Tuesday morning you need a little Grace in his grace God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well so if God has given you the ability to prophesy speak out with as much Faith as
(29:26) God has given you if your gift is serving others serve them well if you are a teacher teach well if your gift is to encourage others be encouraging if it is a gift to encourage others be encouraging if it is a giving if it is giving give generously if God has given you leadership ability take the responsibility seriously and if you have a gift for showing kindness to others do it gladly can I read a couple more scriptures yeah says each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the
(30:03) service of others so use your gift well don't waste your gift Galatians 6 4 be sure to do what you should for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well and you won't need to compare yourself with any one else listen I'm not saying quit your job if you're not experiencing job satisfaction or I just want to make everybody clear pasadine did not say hey honey Pastor Dean said quit my job I didn't say that I'm saying consider quitting mediocrity turn your job into a mission for God and
(30:55) allow the Holy Spirit to add purpose and meaning to in fact I just want to challenge you on Tuesday morning when you wake up and you get ready for work I want you to just throw up your hands and I want you to ask God this simple question show me why my work matters show me why it matters and over the next few weeks I'm going to show you what I believe the holy spirit is going to reveal to all of us you see people are happiest when they're using their talents God gave them for something greater than themselves
(31:30) in church we were created to make our lives count thank you again for joining us we pray that message ministered to your heart and lifted your spirit today hey to find out more about joining the RLC online family you can find us on the church Center app you can also subscribe to the YouTube channel if you haven't and follow us on Instagram and Facebook God bless you foreign