Series: Stewardship
Message: “Worship, Work, and God” or “God at Work” or “Worth of Work”
Text: Acts 20:33-35; Ephesians 4:28
Date: Nov. 13, 2011
Pastor: David McBeath
(Significant portions of this sermon are reworked from Brian Bill of Pontiac Bible Church’s Sermon “Finding Worth in Your Work”)
PRAYER
INTRODUCTION—
Three boys were bragging about who had the best dad. The first boy said, “My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a poem, and they give him $100.” The second boy jumps in and says, “That’s nothing. My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a song, and they give him $1,000.” The third boy grins and says, “Oh, yeah? My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a sermon, and it takes six people just to collect all the money!”
This morning we begin a 4 part stewardship series. Some of you are thinking “Stewardship Series,” I know what that means, and you are now looking for the exits. I don’t want to pressure you to give anything. But I do want to encourage each of us to be good stewards of all the resources God has given.
I believe stewardship is important! That is why today—I am going to talk about God at Work. God is at work building his Kingdom as we worship God with our work, or with our jobs! Next week is the Sunday before Thanksgiving—so I want to talk about celebrating God’s Provision in our lives and the life of our church. Three weeks from today, I want to talk about Mastering our Money. Without a doubt Jesus and the Bible talks more about money than anything else. We are going to find out why. Finally, after we learn to master our money—we can begin giving with grace that will be week 4.
Speaking of work, have any of you ever found yourself to be extremely sleepy while you were at work. Well, I found some excuses you can use if your boss catches you asleep at your desk:
• They told me at the blood bank this might happen….
• Whew! I must have left the top off the Whiteout, strong stuff….
• This is in exchange for the six hours last night when I dreamed about work. Haven’t we all felt like saying this!
GOD IS A WORKER
OK, on a little more series note, we may get tired at our job, or even tired of our job, but the Bible says Work has inherent value for a couple of reasons. First, God is a worker. Genesis 1:1 states that God created the heavens and the earth and Genesis 2:2 calls his activity “work”: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work.” And He didn’t stop working after creation. This is why Psalm 111:2 declares: “Great are (not were) the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.” So, God is a worker.
WE ARE HIS COWORKERS
Not only is God a worker, but we are workers as well. Genesis 1:26 says that man is to “rule over” God’s creation. Genesis 2:15 states Adam was placed in the garden to “work it and take care of it.” God planted the garden and man cultivated it. This was a partnership that continues today. God gives to us and we manage what we’ve been given. This is called stewardship!! We are to steward, work, or manage God’s world.
Unfortunately, with the entrance of sin in Genesis 3, our partnership with God got messed up. We forgot about this stewardship principle. Adam and Eve became self-centered, with the desire to take from God’s world instead of give, a desire to dominate God’s world instead of serve it, and a disposition to hate instead of love others in God’s world.
The same is true of us. We’ve been designed to work in tandem with God, for his purposes in our world not for ourselves and our purposes. This is why God gives us a co-mission: to make disciples. Ultimately God gives us jobs in order to take care of his world and make disciples. This is one of our church’s core values. We value—making disciples of Jesus who love God, love others, and make more disciples.
What is a disciple—someone that follows Jesus. Who was Jesus and what did he do? He was the second Adam. He was a perfect steward of this world and the work God gave him. Everything Jesus did, even his work as a carpenter was for God, for making disciples. The same should be true of us. Take a look at this video:
WORK/LIFE AS WORSHIP—VIDEO
We were made to worship God with our work! Making our work about God is one way we show God his worth! Another one of our church’s core values is to be ONE WITH GOD: LOVE HIM. Making our jobs about God is a very practical everyday sort of way to let God know we love him! And do know what? If we do this, we will find tremendous worth in our work—no
matter what we do!
At this time I would like for us to look at two passages that will help us find worth in our work: Acts 20: 33-35 and Ephesians 4:28. Let’s begin with Acts 20. As I read these passages, notice how they have essentially the same message.
ACTS 20
Here is the context of Acts 20. Paul is on his way to Jerusalem and Rome where he will end up in prison. During his farewell message to the Ephesians he reviews his three years of ministry in their midst and encourages them to continue his ministry. He concludes his message by saying:
I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.
EPHESIANS 4:28
Now look at Ephesians 4:28. Several years later while Paul is in prison in Rome he writes a letter to these same Ephesians. Listen to how similar this is to what he said to them several years ago.
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Now here are three principles from these passages that will help us worship God with our work which will in turn cause us to find tremendous value in our work!
WORK AT BEING CONTENT
Principle 1: Work at being content. Acts 20:33 says that Paul did not covet anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. It was not Paul’s aim in life to get more money or more things. To covet means to have a consuming desire for what others have …and for more of what we already have. It’s interesting that in Ephesians 4:28, Paul warns people to stop stealing. You see, when we covet, we break the last of the Ten Commandments, and in the process we can end up breaking the other nine. For example, if I covet something of yours, I may eventually try to steal it, so that I can have it for myself.
Stealing has a number of different faces. There is a Norman Rockwell painting which shows a woman buying a turkey. As the bird lies on the store scale, she is discreetly pushing up on the scale to make the turkey appear lighter, while the butcher is pushing down to make the scale read heavier. Both are attempting to steal from each other.
In their book, The Day America Told the Truth, James Patterson and Peter Kim reveal some shocking statistics about how far people are willing to go for ten million dollars. When people were asked what they would do if they were guaranteed this much money, this is what they said:
• 25% would abandon their family
• 25% would abandon their faith
• 23% would become prostitutes for a week or more
• 16% would give up their U.S. citizenship
• 16% would leave their spouses
• 7% would kill a stranger
We have to work hard at being content, don’t we? Remember this, contentment is not having everything you want, it’s wanting everything that you have. I love what G.K. Chesterton said, “There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more; the other is to desire less.”
If we work to collect money and things, we will never be content, and we will never really find value and worth from our work. However, if we approach work as worship, a way to show God his worth and our love for him, a way to advance God’s work or kingdom in creation (like Adam and Eve were supposed to), then we will find tremendous joy and satisfaction in our work, no matter what our job may be. We should work because we want to please God and advance his kingdom on earth.
WORK IN ORDER TO HAVE
To find worth in our work—we have to work at being content while we work for God’s mission in the world. Second we have to Work in order to have.
Having things is not bad. God wants to supply our needs thru our work. He even gives much more than we need. He is so good! In Acts 20:34, Paul describes how he worked hard with his hands in order to supply his own needs and the needs of his companions. He was a tentmaker, getting up early and staying up late in order to cut and sew. These tents were commonly made of leather, which was a difficult material to work with.
Our responsibility is to work hard so that we can take care of our needs and the needs of our family members. Ephesians 4:28 urges the one who was ripping others off to stop and begin working: “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work…” This word for work literally means to “feel fatigue.” We’re to throw ourselves into our jobs by doing something useful with our hands. One of the purposes of work is so that we can have what we need to live. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says that “if a man will not work, he shall not eat.” Work provides our food and shelter and also allows us to take care of our family.
WORK IN ORDER TO GIVE
We’re to work at being content. And we’re to work in order to have. But there’s a third purpose. We work in order to give!
Ephesians 4:28 states we work so that “…we have something to share with those in need.” The word “share” means to “give over or distribute.” Those in need are people who lack something. We work to have in order to share with others. Or, as someone has said, “We make a living by what we get and we make a life by what we give!”
Anybody ever been to Hershey Park? Early in the 20th Century, Milton S. Hershey became one of the wealthiest men of his day. But working to amass wealth was not how Hershey defined his life. He measured his financial success in terms of what he could give to others. He built a town that provided pleasant living conditions for his employees, a medical center, a family amusement park, and a school for underprivileged children, and on and on. Milton Hershey loved to make chocolate, but to him, work was primarily a means to worship God and make God’s name known thru what he gave his community.
Working in order to give is really the essence of another one of our churches core values. We desire to be ONE with others: Love Them. We value growing in our love and oneness with others. Living lives that are generous and working to have money and things to help others is one way we can grow in this value. It is a way we worship God with our lives.
Working only to have is an American ideal, but it’s not biblical. The most radical thing about these texts is that we’re commanded to do all our work with a view to meeting the needs of others. God is calling us to have a new attitude toward work.
In our society, we usually think in terms of having a job so that we can have money to meet our needs and fulfill our desires. But, because we’ve been made into new people through Christ, we need to view our jobs differently. When we get up and go to work, one of the main reasons we are going is so that we will be able to give part of our paycheck to someone else—so people can see the giving nature of our God thru us!
Actually, it’s not our money that He asks us to share anyway. Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” It’s God’s money that is entrusted to us for His purposes.
Don’t just work in order to have. Instead, work in order to give. Why? Because that’s what it means to walk by faith. John Piper writes::
“The very essence of faith is the delight of the soul in the experience and display of God’s grace. Faith is the power, by grace, to be content with what we have. And faith is also the power, by grace, to be DISCONTENT with what others DON’T have.”
Now that is a powerful statement, “Faith is the power, by grace to be DISCONTENT with what others DON’T have.”
We don’t have to steal or hoard or consume to be happy. That is what the world around us is about—and it doesn’t make them happy. We need to give in order to be happy. Proverbs 22:9: “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” In other words we find worth in our work, …when we work to give.
Our church is a good giving church. Currently, we give around 20 % of our budget to missions. We give money away to missionaries, to the crisis pregnancy center, to the homeless shelter and on and on. Designating a portion of your income to missions is a wonderful way to pool our money and make a difference in the lives of those who have needs.
We are a good giving church, but I believe God is calling me personally and maybe even our church, …us to really work at becoming a giving people and a giving church right here in our community, in a more personal way—Personal being the key word.
Larry Lane encouraged us to have a love pouch or grace pouch or blessing pouch, where we keep 20, 40, 60 dollars tucked away in a wallet or pocket book to give to people who God lays on our heart as they cross our path. It is a way to personally bless someone you know, a neighbor, or even a total stranger, a way to demonstrate God loves them. Maybe give them a card like this: (READ)
Wouldn’t it be great if our small groups and Sunday school classes found a way to be more giving in a personal way? Maybe you and your small group could save some money; then, spend a Saturday morning in a laundry mat doing and paying for people’s laundry while giving them this little card. I bet this would open the door for a few conversations about Jesus and his love for the world!
What if we as a church decided to go door to door praying for our city and handing out 9 volt batteries for people’s smoke detectore with this card just before we spring the clocks forward? Or what if we camped out at Richele Gian and Paul Gambino’s parking lot during the canal concert series and hand out free Sahlen’s hotdogs and bottled water with the smiley card I showed you. I bet people would want to hear about God from people and churches like this. Just think we could help counterbalance the other group that camps out telling people God is sending them to hell. Wouldn’t be great to become known as a giving, loving church in our community? We can do things like this and even more—if we learn to be content with what we have, if we work to worship God, and to give and bless others. God want’s to use our work to help us become a giving people who demonstrate His worth to the world.
Paul knows that this is a radical way to view work, so he encourages the Ephesians to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” We could paraphrase verse 35 this way: It’s better to share with others than to keep what you have and collect more. In other words, blessing does not come in accumulating wealth, but in sharing it.
This is somewhat of a paradox, isn’t it? At first glance, it seems better to receive. Just ask any kid sitting around the Christmas tree. But giving is better than getting for at least 4 reasons.
First, givers experience deep satisfaction in knowing that they are participating in God’s priorities. God is a giving God and He wants to use us to distribute His gifts to others. When you give to someone in need, they receive a gift from God through your hands and you become more like God.
Second, generous givers find great joy in giving. Some of the happiest people I know are people who love to give and some of the grouchiest people I know are those who don’t give at all. If you find your joy waning, look for ways to become a giver.
Third, givers are thankful that they’re in a position to give. People who practice the joy of giving recognize that all that they have is a gift from God. As they give some of it away, they are reminded that it’s not really theirs in the first place.
Finally, givers will be rewarded. When we give, we experience rewards right now (JOY), and we know that according to Matthew 6:20 we’re also storing up treasures in heaven.
Here is what I believe can be the biggest reward of becoming a giver. It has to do with Milton Hershey and our last value’s statement. Hershey transformed and restored his community with the Good News of Jesus by viewing his job as a means to becoming a better giver, so the world could better see the character and nature of our God. Our church values having ONE VISION which is to transform and restore our community with the Good News of Jesus Christ, one life at a time. I firmly believe it is the Good News of Jesus that will change and transform lives that will change and transform our community. It was the Good News of Jesus that transformed Hershey’s life, who in turn shared his resources and the gospel of Christ, which had the results of changing and transforming his community one life at a time.
Let me summarize this message in one sentence. If you want to find worth in your work, view your job as a calling, a way to worship and serve God, not just a career. A career can become the altar on which we sacrifice our lives in the pursuit of money and possessions. A calling involves recognizing that we are co-workers with God in accomplishing His purposes by being content, by working in order to have so that our needs can be met, and by working in order to give so that God can meet the needs of others through us. All of this is done to Make his name known and Make his name Great!
As you think about applying this message to your life, take home this Hershey Kiss to remind you what God can do thru an individual that views his or her work as a calling, a way to worship God. Then ask God what he would have you do to make your job a venue for worshiping him by making his name known! Remember, your job provides you the opportunity to “KISS” others with God’s love as you give.
