Your Work And Your Calling
Video – Labor Day Inspiration
Good morning MGCC!
THIS MORNING – Labor Day Sunday 2019… I want to unpack not only a powerful… BUT – a life and community impacting truth, about ‘Your Work and Your Calling.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.
– Psalm 90:17
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. – Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:23,24
NOW – Labor Day has been celebrated in our country beginning late in the 19th century…
Anyone know who that lady is? (picture on the screen)
NOW - Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of World War II, representing the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who joined the military.
OKAY – here are some facts about Labor…
• The first Labor Day celebration took place in New York City in 1882 when 10,000 rival union leaders joined forces to protest the unfair labor practices that plagued industry at the time.
• In 1894 Congress made the first Monday in September an official federal Holiday
• Labor Day is the 3rd favorite Holiday of Americans right behind #2 Memorial Day and #1 Christmas Day’
• 25% of Americans plan to get out of town on Labor Day Weekend… ~ 90% by car and ~ 10% by air.
#5 – Chicago
#4 – Orlando
#3 - LA
#2 – Las Vegas
#1 - NYC
• Labor Day marks the end of hot dog eating season (actually is one according to the National Hotdog and Sausage Council. The season runs from Memorial day to Labor Day where Americans eat 818 hotdogs ever second or ~ 7 billion hotdogs)
• 102 million Americans will have a cookout
• The first waffle house opened up on Labor day 1955
• Marks the closing of pools and the ending of ladies wearing white
• Kings Dominion Law is changed (44 of 133 school districts most east of I 95 could not begin until after Labor day… now the can but it must be a 4 day weekend).
• International Bacon takes place on the Saturday before Labor day… “Bacon Is A Vegetable”
YES – it is Labor day weekend and…
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.
– Psalm 90:17
UNDERSTAND MGCC - what you do 40+ hours every week… matters.
LET’S – hit the pause button for a second.
STUDENTS – as I talk about work today…
UNDERSTAND – that these principles apply to school.
Your teacher is your boss… Other students are your co-workers.
AND – it also applies to those… who work at home.
Therefore it applies to everyone in this room
QUESTION - do you feel, that what you do during the week matters?
LISTEN - it is important that you do, because when you feel that your work matters…
YOU WILL HAVE - a sense of dignity, destiny and purpose, no matter what that work may be…
AND YOU WILL HAVE - an inner motivation to be distinctive, to excel, to rise above mediocrity...
ON - the other hand; if you feel that your work does not matter you will not have any motivation, to be distinctive; you’ll have no sense of purpose…
AND – as a result you’ll find it much easier to make moral compromises during the week....
Hey it really doesn’t matter if I lie, come in late or work hard it’s only a job, and hey they should pay be more anyway..."
OKAY – here’s the deal…
HERE’S – the truth I want all of us to see this morning….
9/1/19… I want us to see the divine connection between our work and our calling…
AND LISTEN - my goal this morning is real simple to convince you of this truth, and then send you out of those doors…
to your work place with a renewed vigor, passion and purpose....
OKAY – let’s dive into this morning’s conversation…
NOW – the way I want to attack this study, is by unpacking two statement…
• Your Work, His Image
• Your Calling, His Mission
I. Your Work, His Image
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. – Genesis 1:26-28
A) God Is A Worker
UNDERSTAND - from the opening pages of God’s word, it is obvious THAT - our God is a worker... THAT HE - is a God who is busy, a God who is on the move.... The Psalmist writes;
He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep... - Ps 121:3
IN - the beginning, God created everything!
The heavens and the earth. The sky, water, land, trees, mountains, sun, moon, stars, fish, birds, animals, man…
NONE of what we see existed, THEN God spoke and it was....
Think about that for a moment…
No seriously think about that…
The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth. – Psalm 33:6
The biggest star size-wise is VY Canis Majoris, which is about 2,000 times wider than our sun.
LIKE - you can fit 9.3 billion of our suns into VY Canis Majoris.
The Sun is about 1 million times larger than the Earth, so VY could hold 7 million billion, or 7 quadrillion earths.
Another interesting comparison is the time it would take a commercial aircraft to go around all three objects (non-stop): Earth, Sun, VY. Using 550 mph for the jet...
Earth: ~ 44 hours
Sun: ~ 7 months
VY: ~ 1100 years!
The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth. – Psalm 33:6
What a mighty, powerful, indescribable God we serve!
Amen?
And in Gen 2:2 we read…
By the 7th day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the 7th day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the 7th and made it Holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating he had done...
OUR GOD – is a worker
AND - David writes;
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands... - Ps 19:1
How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures…. - Ps 104:24
Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them... - Ps 111:2
YES – our God is a worker...
AND WE - according to Genesis 1:26,27, are created in His very own image... THEREFORE - we are to be workers...
WHICH - is why God, after creating Adam (the first man) in His very own image, immediately put him to work in the garden;
The Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden, to work and take care of it... – Genesis 2:15
AND BY THE WAY – when God wore flesh and walked this earth He was also a worker… I MEAN…
UNTIL - He was 30 years old Jesus had calloused hands as He worked as a carpenter like His earthly father Joseph…
AND – in John 5 we read how He also worked like His heavenly Father…
Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too, am working..." - John 5:17
"My food," said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish His work..." - John 4:34
NOW - before we leave here and move on to, ‘ Your Calling, His Mission,’ - let’s note 2 important things about the work habits of our God (work habits that we as people made in His image should embrace).
Number one; they finished their work;
By the 7th day God had finished the work he had been doing...
- Genesis 2:2
“My food," said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish His work..." - John 4:34
YES – God the Father and God the Son…
BOTH - finished their work.
UNDERSTAND – there are no car on the block or jobs half done when it comes to our God.
INSTEAD - they completed their work, they followed through, they didn’t quit, they didn’t walk away… and leave undone what they had started.
AND B/S - that is most definitely a work ethic that we need live out,
In our work both in and out of the church….
Finish it, complete it, follow through...
Number 2 – They rested
God rested on what day? The 7th day....
AND – in so doing modeled for us the need for regular periods of rest.
THE FATHER – rested and so did the Son.
QUESTION - do you think Jesus was a busy guy?
Ab-so-stinking-lutely
He and His disciples had about 3 years to get a lot done...
I MEAN - Jesus day planner was constantly jammed packed… His emails, texts, tweets, inboxes were always overflowing…
YET LISTEN - to what HE said in Mark 6:31;
Then because so many people were coming and going they didn’t even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest...."
YOU KNOW
MAYBE – that is exactly what Jesus is saying to some people in this room today…
Come with me
by yourselves
to a quiet place
and get some rest...
QUESTION - Any work addicts out there?
It’s an easy trap to fall in to.
One more evening at the office.
One more hour before we go home.
One more shift of overtime.
One more load of laundry.
One more phone call.
One more email to send or respond to.
One more project.
I MEAN - it can get to the point where we begin to feel guilty if we relax… and sometimes we even forget HOW to relax.
BUT UNDERSTAND - when we burn the candle at both ends we are not as bright as we think we are… God says I want you to rest. David another pretty busy guy put it this way in Psalm 23:2
“He makes me lie down.”
David says God makes me lie down.
YOU SEE - Sheep aren’t smart enough to rest when they get tired so the shepherd has to make them lay down.
AND - if we’re not smart enough to get the rest that we need and take some time off every week for rest, our body will make sure we do it.
UNDERSTAND…
God has wired your body in such a way that if you don’t take time off your body will make time off.
Anybody want to give a testimony on that?
LISTEN - if we just keep working, working, and working we’re going to get sick because God wired us to obey his commandments. Getting enough rest is essential to overcoming stress. Some of you (in order to be obedient to your God) need to go home and take a nap….Take a ‘real’ day off
Write this down: My best requires rest.
LISTEN – you are NOT - wasting time when you are resting.
You are obeying a command of God, and you are many times multiplying your time.
NOW – for the next point in your notes….
II. Your Calling, His Mission
OKAY – just a few verses about your calling as a Jesus follower…
3 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:13-16
8 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10
Do everything without complaining and arguing,15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life… - Philippians 2:14-16
UNDERSTAND – as a Jesus-follower you have a calling on your life. A calling to…
• Be the light of the world
• Let your good deed shine before people
• Live lives that bring glory to God
• Make disciples
• Do the good things He planned for you to do before you were even born
• Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
YES – we all have this calling on our lives…
Turn to the person to your right and left “You have a calling”
HOWEVER – I think, that sometimes it can be hard for us to see the connection (this ‘divine’ connection) between our work… YOU KNOW - what we do during the week and our personal calling from God..
NOW - I would like to share a story about a guy – who found himself more than once ‘working’ in a place and being in a position, that was from a human standpoint, looked totally disconnected from God’s call on his life…
His name is Joseph and his story begins in Genesis chapter 37
Joseph Story…
This is the account of Jacob and His family.
At 17 years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father.
(‘wives’ plural = not good, telling on your older and bigger brothers = not very smart)
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a robe of many colors for him.
(loving Joseph more = not good… listen, when you read the Bible you see over and over again that God used messed up people.)
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:
There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
“Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and stars were bowing down to me.”
He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Are your mother and brothers and I going to come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. – Genesis 37:1-11
NOW – as Genesis chapter 37 concludes…
• Jacob sends Joseph to go out and check on his brothers (who hate him) and who were tending his flocks.
• When they see Him they are like “oh, here comes that dreamer, let’s kill him and throw him in a pit.
• But they decide not to kill him and instead they sell him off as a slave to Ishmaelites, who were heading to Egypt.
• They throw some animal blood on Joseph pretty coat and bring it back to Jacob… who assumes that His son is dead.
Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
Okay – working as slave, not exactly a great career move.
AND LISTEN - being a slave and having a calling… do not seem very connected at this point…
The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful, Joseph found favor in his master’s sight and became his personal attendant.
Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority. From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph.
The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome… – Genesis 39:1-6
AND BECAUSE – he was well-built and handsome, Potiphar’s wife began to took notice of Him of Him, in fact, she wanted Joseph to sleep with her, which she made clear to him.
No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” – Genesis 39:9
NOW – Joseph says ‘NO’ to her advances several times, because of the trust that Potiphar has in him, and because of His love and devotion to God.
HOWEVER – Potiphar’s wife would not give up… and one day she was coming on so strong that Joseph ran out of the house as fast he could, leaving his coat behind. (btw the best defense against sexual temptation)
NOW - she took the coat Joseph left behind, and told her husband that he had tried to assault her…
SO - Potiphar had Joseph thrown into prison.
OKAY – being a prisoner and having a calling.
They do not seem to be connected.
But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. He granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph’s authority, and he was responsible for everything that was done there.
The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made everything that he did successful. – Genesis 39:21-23
OKAY – that is just crazy…
Joseph once again rises to the top…
AND – while in prison he meets a couple of other prisoners
Who had served the Pharaoh… a baker and cup bearer.
WELL – both of these guys have dreams… and the dreams kind of bummed them out… and when Joseph saw them he asked them “what’s up why are you so down.”
“Well, we both had dreams, but there is no one interpret them.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” - Genesis 40:8
SO – Joseph interprets their dreams
• Cup bearer – bro, good news, in 3 days Pharaoh will restore you to your former position… and hey, when he does – do not forget about me…
• Baker (sweet tell me my dream) – Man, I am sorry bro, but you dream means that in 3 days the Pharaoh will cut of your head.
AND – 3 days later everything came to pass just as Joseph had said…
HOWEVER – for 2 years the cup bearer… forgot all about Joseph.
UNTIL – the Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret.
AND – he was like, ‘Hey, Pharaoh there is this guy, I met in prison and he can interpret dreams…
SO – Joseph is quickly brought before the Pharaoh…
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.”
“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” – Genesis 41:15, 16
SO - Joseph tells Pharaoh…
• Your dreams mean that Egypt is going to experience 7 years of great abundance
• Followed by 7 years of terrible famine
• SO – what you need to do is to store up grain during the times of great abundance… (1/5 of the harvest each year)
• That way you will have plenty of grain during the famine
• And you also need to appoint a ‘wise and discerning man’ to oversee the entire project.
37 The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit in him?”
39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as intelligent and wise as you are. 40 You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”
41 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I am placing you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, clothed him with fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
43 He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, and servants called out before him, “Abrek!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will be able to raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt without your permission.” - Genesis 41:37-44
WOW - from slave to prisoner to second in all of Egypt…
Talk about a promotion, talk about the ways of God.
NOW - Joseph was 30 years old at the time.
51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, meaning, “God has made me forget all my hardship in my father’s house.” 52 And the second son he named Ephraim, meaning, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” – Genesis 41:51,52
OKAY – so there are the 7 years of great abundance and then the 7 years of famine hit hard…
Which leads to Jacob sending His sons to Egypt to get food.
So they arrive in Egypt…
Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.
When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.- Genesis 42:6-7
AND THEN – for the next couple of chapters we see Joseph testing his brothers to see if their hearts had changed…
AND – to his delight, he discovers that indeed they are not the same men who sold him as a slave.
AND – in Genesis 43 they stand before him once again and we read…
Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants, so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers.
But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt.
5 And now don’t be worried or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9 “Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. – Genesis 45:1-9
What a powerful story.
OKAY… here is what I want us to take home this week…
That there is already a connection between your work and your calling…
And the way for you to maximize that connection for His glory and the expansion of His kingdom is to like Joseph…
Be N.I.C.E.R.
Turn to the person to your right and left and tell them
“Be N.I.C.E.R.”
NOW – this may seem a little strange but there is a key idea behind each letter of the word N.I.C.E.R.”
N – No compromise
NOW UNDERSTAND - no compromises at our work— is not about being rigid in our beliefs or inflexible in our way of working,
INSTEAD – it’s about combining a secure stance in our faith with an acceptable and smart way that allows us to still do our job.
Just like Joseph did.
I MEAN – whether as slave, in prison or when facing the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife…
No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” – Genesis 39:9
Joseph did his job… but he refused to compromise, what He knew was right.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to stand firm in my faith, even when I am tempted to stay silent or asked to just blend in. Grant me wisdom and insight to live like Joseph, so that I may both please my employer and glorify you each and every day. Amen.
I - Integrity
Like Joseph, we too should strive for a track record of behavior at work, that nobody can find fault with.
The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Genesis 39:6
You’ve heard it said that integrity means doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking. But integrity also means doing the right thing, even when others may pressure us to do otherwise.
Integrity means not taking home batteries or even a pen from the office supply room. It means not taking an extra-long lunch or putting extra expenses in for reimbursement, even if everyone else does. It means living and working as if Jesus himself was with you, right there every step of the way.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I thank you for my work and pray that my life may be one of compete integrity so that even my coworkers may see your presence in my life. Forgive me for any shortcomings and help me to overcome even the smallest of weaknesses. Amen.
C - Compassionate in relationships
Joseph while in prison when he saw both the baker and the cup bearer looking so down, he cared and he said…
“Why do you look so sad today?” – Genesis 40:7
AND WHEN - Joseph finally saw his brothers (and they bowed before him),
Note - it had been 22 years since they had sold him as a slave. AND WHEN – he saw them he had compassion on them.
BECAUSE - they were hungry, they were afraid, they were carrying around this huge load of guilt for years.
YOU KNOW – Joseph saw people, the way that Jesus sees people, the way Jesus see us…
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
– Matthew 9:36
UNDERSTAND – everyone you work with, go to school with has a story…
AND – they could probably use a little compassion.
PRAYER…
Lord, I know that you love me, so much that you gave your only son to die for me. Lord, help me to see my coworkers or classmates with your eyes and to show the compassion, especially when I get too busy or don’t feel like caring.
Thank you for your unstoppable love and compassion for me Amen.
E - Excellent In Work
UNDERSTAND – there is a common thread in every place that Joseph found himself working…
Whether it was as a slave, as prisoner or the second in command of the entire Egyptian Empire…
Joseph always did his best and pursued excellence at work.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:23,24
YOU KNOW - I think that verse is pretty clear.
AND – I also think that far too many workers… (even believers) live in direct opposition to it.
AND INSTEAD – they do the minimum, they do just enough to get by. QUESTION – do you do your best at work/school?
LISTEN - it doesn’t matter what our job is (No job is too low or too high to escape this instruction!) we must do our best…
AND WHEN - we do, our true boss the one whose glory fills the earth will be pleased with and proud of you)
For some of us, giving our best comes easy. We like our jobs, we’re good at what we do and it’s just all around enjoyable.
For others, work is drudgery. We don’t like what we do, we’re not good at it and the pay is lousy too. Doing our best seems almost impossible.
Regardless of our work situation, the instruction in the Bible remains the same – we must do our best, as if we were working for Jesus himself.
PRAYER
Lord, I long to do my best for you. I know that my true reward lies in heaven and that I am here as your representative, no matter where I find myself. Help me to do my best in every situation that I find myself, to your glory. Amen.
R - Responsible to others
LISTEN – regardless of the position or the place that Joseph found himself in…
HE KNEW – that He had a responsibility to the people who were there…
Potiphar his owner, the warden of the prison, the other prisoners, Pharaoh, the people of Egypt, his family…
A responsibility not only to care for them, but to represent God to them and to try to save them as we read in Genesis 50:20,21
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. – Genesis 50:20,21
UNDERSTAND - God has placed you at the workplace where you are for a specific reason.
Maybe it is to develop your character, your talent or to prepare you for your next assignment.
BUT LISTEN – one reason you can be sure is that God has where you are… SO THAT – He will have a light that will hopefully draw people to Him in order that they may be saved.
OKAY – here’s the deal..
There are countless people in our society who will never consider going to church on a Sunday morning…
I MEAN – Sunday is the day to go to the lake, work on the yard, wash the car, clean the house… sleep in.
AND - besides most people in our world think that church is - boring, uptight, judgmental, intolerant and irrelevant....
SO HOW THEN – is the message of God’s love & redemption - EVER going to reach them? WELL - God has a plan.
YOU SEE - 5 days a week - 8+ hours a day, God has His people (those who know Him, Love Him, Been saved by Him) - God has His people going out to them - working beside them, working for them, going to school with them - being taught by them...
YES - God has His personal representatives going out to nearly every place in this world.... rubbing shoulders with people who need the Gospel.
AND LISTEN – when those people are NICER… look out… BECAUSE - some amazing (some God things) are going to happen…
AGAIN – consider our man Joseph .
He lived NICER
AND - the results were incredible…
Amazing things happened.
LISTEN – if you are a Jesus-follower your number one purpose at work is NOT to get a pay check…
BUT RATHER – to be a light for Christ. To put His glory on display.
UNDERSTAND (in a very real way) you are a missionary 40+ hours every week.
(You do not even have to raise support)
NO – you may not like your job…
AND - I’m not saying that you can’t get a new one…
BUT – while you are there you are on a mission from God…
God knows where you are and he has SENT – you there…
• to reach people for Him.
• To re-present Him to a lost and broken world that needs Him do desperately.
YOU SEE – you do not have to go to China or Kenya to be a missionary (as awesome as that is)
ALL – you have to do is be N.IC.E.R. at your work…
YOU KNOW – when I think of the hundreds of encounters that you all make each week at work and at school
• With lost and hurting people, With people who so desperately need to experience the love of God
• With people who need to know that even in a world FULL of chaos there is a great, good and powerful KING who is still seated on His throne and His glory fills the earth
• With people who are facing a Christ-less eternity and who may only be a conversation away from His grace…
I get sooo pumped and fired up!!!!! BECAUSE – I know
THAT IF YOU will allow yourself to be seized by the truth that…
• You’re a missionary
• You are there for a huge and eternal purpose (to display His glory and draw people to Him…)
Some amazing things will happen!
“Lord, I know you have me where I am for a reason. I know that there are lost and hurting people that I will encounter every week. Help me to not only see them, but help me to seize the opportunity this week to both show your love and share your Gospel. AMEN
QUESTION – whose name will be written in the book of life because that just happen to work or go to school where you do?
Your work and Your Calling…
Let’s all be N.I.C.E.R.
