Powerful People Worship, Serve And Please God With All Of Their Life Series

I am often surprised by the contents of some of the emails I receive. This week I had an email from one of the websites I follow that contained a report about oligochaetologists.

Does anyone know what an oligochaetologist is?

They are scientists who spend their lives studying, identifying, and tracking worms.

Apparently there is a man called Dr Sam James, who is an oligochaetologist and researcher at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum. In the last 20 years, he has discovered and named 80 new species of earthworm.

So, if he has found 80 new species, would anyone like to take a guess at how many species of earthworms have been discovered so far?

Surprisingly there 1,800 known species that have been discovered so far.

Maybe for some people studying worms is a satisfactory way to spend their lives. Digging around in the mud hoping to discover something new or amazing.

As I read the email, I remembered how my dad used to work for Rentokil Pest Control and he would often bring home little glass jars with different bugs and insects he had discovered.

Then I thought, “thank you God that I am a pastor, and instead of spending my life studying worms and insects I get to study and explain your Word to others.”

But, in my daily readings this week I looked at King Uzziah in and I realised my attitude was wrong.

Let me explain, many people, including me at times, embrace the idea that God is only pleased with what we might term “religious activities.”

We assume there is a great distance between the sacred and the secular.

The problem is when we assume that we separate a huge part of our lives from God’s plan for us.

During the life of an average person, they will spend about 88,000 hours, around 40 per cent of their total time on this earth, working at a particular job.

Then there is all the time spent doing non-work related things every week: driving a car, changing a nappy, making dinner, helping a child with homework, studying for an exam, cutting the grass or planting flowers, or standing in line at the Post Office.

If we assume that our sacred and secular lives are separated, then we are assuming 88,000+ hours of lives don’t matter to God.

But the truth is God cares about every part of our lives and He has a purpose for all of our lives.

As we continue in our series on Powerful People, what I want to do this morning is encourage you that POWERFUL PEOPLE worship, serve and please God with all of their life.

According to the Bible, God didn’t invent the sacred/secular split; we did. The Bible talks only of a sin/righteousness split or a pride/humility split.

According to the Bible, your whole life matters to God. Life is charged with glory, purpose, and goodness.

Our lives are meant to be lived as a joy-filled offering of love and service to our God and other people.

In 2 Chronicles 26 is the story of King Uzziah.

This ancient story denies the sacred/secular split and points us to our God who wants us to enjoy all of life with Him. The story also contains a warning about a split between sin and righteousness.

Uzziah was a man who lived on the right side of the sin and righteousness and pride and humility divide.

His story is grounded in real events and real history and begins around 800 years before the birth of Jesus.

Listen to 2 Chronicles 26:1-5, All the people of Judah had crowned Amaziah’s sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah, as king in place of his father. After his father’s death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.

Uzziah, the 16-year-old son of Amaziah and Jecoliah, was crowned king of Judah.

Uzziah was on the right side of the sin/righteousness divide: He did what was pleasing, what was right in the eyes of the Lord and he sought God. When Uzziah sought God’s will and purpose for his life and lived according to God’s commandments, God gave him success.

Uzziah sought guidance from the Lord and God’s guidance was the framework for everything he did.

Whether he was rebuilding a city, meeting with his mentor to study the scriptures, digging cisterns to supply the country with fresh water, organizing the army, or organising the defence of his realm, all of Uzziah’s actions flowed out of seeking the Lord.