Is God In Your Job?
9/5/04 GNLCC Exodus 31:1-11 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
This is Labor Day weekend in which we celebrate the fact that we have work to do. How well do you do the work that you do? If those around you had to give you a number from 1 to 10 on the kind of worker you are, what number would they give you at home or on the job with one being terrible and 10 being outstanding? How many 10’s, 7’s, 5’s, 3’s. Do you know any 1’s.
I read of a guy by the name of Tom Jackson who was terrible worker, and always looking to file a lawsuit against previous employers who fired him. Tom’s potential employer contacted his last employer for a reference. Now his former job knew they had to be careful with what they said to avoid a lawsuit. So they wrote their reference in a brief letter it said.
Dear Sir/Madam.
Tom Jackson worked for us for 13 months. We are certain that if Mr. Jackson works for you as long as he worked for us, you will think of Mr. Jackson then in the same way that we think about him now. Have a nice day.
Let me ask you the question, “is God in your job.” Now some of you are probably thinking, Pastor Rick “if you knew where I work you’d know that God is nowhere near my job. The people I work with are terrible.” If, you’re thinking that, you missed the question. I did not ask if God showed up at your job, but rather if God was in your job. You see, if you’re a believer, God ought to be showing up every time you show up.
When many of us hear the word job, we think of work, and when we think of work, we think of God, but not in the positive sense, instead many of us say either inside or outside, “oh my God I have to go to work, or I have to do the yard, or I have to do the dishes.”
We often want to avoid work like the plague. Some of us are planning our future so that we will not have to work again. We associate the word work with sin. We may think, if sin had not entered the world we would not have to work.
How many of you know that work was around long before sin came into being. There are hundreds of thousands of words in the Bible in thousands of verses in Scripture. I looked at 10 Bible translations, and in 9 of them, the word work was mentioned by the fifth word and it was the sixth word in the other translation. Most said something like, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Anybody ever created a cake, a song, a poem, a book, a beautiful lawn? How many of you know that all involves work. Work has to be holy and it has to be good because that’s the first thing we find God doing in the bible. Before we find out that God loves, we find out that God works.
By reading the first chapter in the first book of the Bible, we find that God is an astronomer, God is a scientist, God is a navigator, God is a farmer, God is a geneticist, God is a supervisor, God is a construction worker, God is an architect, God is a designer, God is a painter, God is an artist, God is a watchmaker, and God is a preacher.
God is a swimmer, God is a dictionary writer, God is an astronaut, God is a judge, God is a physicist, God is a teacher, God is a priest, God is an organizer, God is a map drawer, God is an electric worker and a whole lot more. All of this stuff has to be holy or else God would not be involved with it. All of this stuff involves work.
After we find God having created the world, we find God creating the human race. Let’s read Genesis verse 1:26 together. Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Now God is in the process of working when God makes this statement. When God says let us make man in our image, part of the context has to do with working. To be in the image of God has something to do with work, because the first thing God assigns in this verse for human kind is a supervisory job.
To rule over something is to be in charge of something. How many of you know when you are in charge of something, you are working whether you’re getting paid or not. God intended for all of us to have some kind of work to do in our lives, and not only that God gifted some of us for specific kinds of jobs.
Do you know a mechanic that’s really good, or a teacher that’s exceptional, or a lawyer that just gets the job done, or a person on the job that just shines out above everybody else? Even an athlete that simply amazes you. Do you know where this comes from? It comes from being made in the image of God. Everybody has a deposit of God’s working ability inside of them whether they are a believer or not.
When we think of God’s call upon a person’s life, often times the first thing we think of is a call to the ministry. We pretty much accept the fact that when God calls someone into the ministry, God puts special gifts and talents in the person to make it possible for the person to excel. But God’s call is not limited to working in ministry. Now ministry is a holy calling because it comes from God. But calls to other areas of work are also holy because they come from God.
God calls people to be construction workers. He calls people to be seamstress. He calls people to work in the jewelry business. He calls people to be artists and designers. How do it know it? Because it’s in the bible. We all know that God called Moses to lead the people of God out of Egypt. But Moses was not the only one called.
God called one tribe to be the construction workers for building up and tearing down the Holy tabernacle of worship. Only the Levites had the calling to do it. It was a holy calling. They were to sweep it and keep it clean. They were to set it up. They were to tear it down. They were not called to go out and preach. They were called to do whatever was necessary to keep the tabernacle in excellent shape.
You will excel best in the field of work that God has called you to do. You will fill bad in a place outside of your gifted calling. In our Old Testament reading, God had a specific way of how he wanted the altar built and the tabernacle decorated. Not only that, out of the million or so people, God knew who he had placed the gifts and talents from Himself into.
There were two guys by the name of Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and Oholiab from the tribe of Dan who had a special anointing from God. The anointing was not used for preaching, healing, delivering, holding great crusades, speaking in tongues or any of the other things we associate with the word anointing. God filled Bezalel with what in verses Exodus 31:3-5 ? Let’s read it
and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-- [4] to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, [5] to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God to do a secular job, that could also be used for spiritual purposes in designing the tabernacle and altar. Bezalel was a jeweler, a carpenter, a sculptor and an artist.
The next thing I want us to see is that God’s appointment for our lives is not always to be in charge of something. Most of us remember the call of Jeremiah when God said, “I have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” We recognize that as a holy assignment because God gave it. Let’s read verse 6 together.
Exodus 31:6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. God’s appointment of Oholiab is just as holy as God’s appointment of Jeremiah. But Ohiliab was appointed to be a help to Bezalel. Sometimes God’s call on your life in your job is to be number 2, or number 3, or number 4. What’s most important to God is not which number you are, but what kind of job are you doing where you are. God expected Bezalel to give his best, but God also expected Oholiab to give his best even if he was number 2.
But God’s anointing and spirit did not stop with just those two look at the last part of verse 6 “Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you:” The craftsmen included people who could make tables, people who could design and sew clothes, people who could mix chemicals, people who could make perfume, people who could create incense and people who could make underwear.
God was in their job. Many of you are exceptional in what you do, because God has given you the skill to make you exceptional. Your challenge as a Christian is not to leave your calling, but to ask how do I use this calling and gift I have been given, to make a difference for the cause of Christ. When we start asking that question, then we begin to recognize that God is in our job. Not only is God to be in our jobs, we are also to bring God to the job.
Have you ever thought about introducing God to your job. I mean really bringing God to the job with you so that God can observe you and you can sense God’s pleasure with how you carry it out. When God blesses you with a skill, God get’s excited when you use it. In the movie Chariots of Fire, it involved an athlete who felt called to me a missionary, but God almost gave him speed to run. His name was Eric Lidell and before he went to China as a missionary, he felt led by God to try out for the Olympics.
His family thought the Olympics would turn him away from his commitment to serve the Lord. His sister told him, “God created you to preach the gospel.” His reply was “Yes God did. But God also created me fast. I feel God’s pleasure on me when I am running.” Eric pursued his dream of the Olympics, won a gold medal, and became world wide story over his decision to stand for God at the Olympics.
God can probably use you in your job to have a greater impact for the kingdom of God than he might anywhere else. Some of you God has given skills on your job and he’s given you beauty and a magnificent body to go with it. Are you using your beauty or good looks to glorify God on the job. We should ask questions about our job for ourselves such as, how would Jesus handle my job differently.
How is this job more biblical by me being in the place I’m in. How does my faith in God affect how I deal with the others on the job. Most of us will spend far more time at work than we will at church. Based on that, where do you think God wants to use us the most.
We sing the song, “I want to be more like you Jesus.” Are you aware that Jesus had a job before going into full time ministry. He did not walk around living by faith with money dropping out of the sky or food miraculously showing up. He did not stay at home to avoid paying bills. He had a regular job as a carpenter. People would go to Jesus to get their chairs repaired, their tables built, to have a plow made and the like. His job was just an ordinary humble job that did not make a lot of money but it did pay the bills.
Do you realize God is trying to tell us that any honest work is acceptable in the eyes of God. God is also telling us that anybody that is able to work ought to work. Jesus has always been God even while in His human form. He could have fed His body supernaturally, or had money fall out the sky, but he did not.
He chose to work, because that’s what He told us to do when He created us. He did not make an exception for Himself while living as a human being until the time came for Him to demonstrate to the world who He truly was. He started out at the bottom of the employment rung.
We learn from Jesus that our calling may change over a period of time. There was a time in which Jesus was in the will of God as a carpenter for His life. But that was not the final calling upon His life. We all need to be open to the possibility that God may have something different for us to do than what we have known in the past.
All of us should have some work to do. Every now and then you will your kids say, “ the only reason you had kids, is to have somebody do some work around this house.” Your response should be a biblical one. You should say, the bible says, “If a person will not work, neither shall he or she eat.” Sometimes we as Christians try to be holier than what God has told us to be.
We may try to help people without requiring anything on their part. They need a place to stay, and we open our home while they are looking for a job. Some folks do very little looking, while eating up your food, messing up your house, and not cleaning up behind themselves.
We could have avoided this by saying “look, if you are going to stay here you have got to do some work around here.” That will be enough to offend some people and they will get upset and go somewhere else. Don’t shed any tears if you should so be blessed. The Bible knows that if we are not working, it will not be long before we are involved in behavior that’s not good. We forget that sin and selfishness resides in every heart. It will rebel against the word of God. God’s word tells us to work. Sin tells us to avoid work as long as we can and get by however we can.
Look at how ignoring this verse has contributed to the problems we face today. I know some of us have been helped in the past by welfare including myself. But far too many of us saw welfare as a way of life and certainly a way of avoiding work. We got used to living poor with a lot of free time on our hands waiting for the check to come next month.
Free time inevitably will lead to sin unless you consciously and intentionally fill it with the things of God. Welfare allowed sin to mushroom as somebody else had to foot the bill for us deciding to have babies with no money and no jobs and no places to raise them.
We made it even easier to continue on this downward spiral, when we would pay for your apartment and your medical care as long as you were by yourself. Today we find so many of us without diplomas, without degrees, and with several mouths to feed. Being broke and poor becomes a cycle that’s hard to get out of.
My heart sinks each time I see a pregnant young woman with no ring on her finger. I know it’s not going to be easy. God makes it possible to get out of the cycle but many do not have the determination and willingness to move to the next level. Why not let Jesus give you the wisdom and the strength to make it happen for you.
It’s interesting in Genesis 2 before God gave Adam a wife, God gave Adam a job with a means to take care of himself. If you find somebody that’s not interested in working, but are interested in sex, it’s a no-brainer that this is not what you’re looking for in life. Keep on moving. Now I’m not talking about somebody that’s unemployed for the moment, “I’m talking about the one who is not even looking for anything or they’re not applying for a job if the pay is not high enough.
I don’t care if they’re saved or not, the word of God says if they won’t work, you are not under any obligation to take care of them by feeding them. Let their stomachs motivate them to go out and do something for themselves. Some pay is always better than no pay.
Work was and still is God’s idea. I think those of us who think there will be no work in heaven are going to be sorely disappointed when we arrive. I am sure that we will not be laying on clouds with harps floating through the air. I believe that God is preparing us for something through the circumstances we go through here, for some task in the life to come.
Studies have shown that people who retire and start doing nothing die sooner than those who pick up something and keep working hard at it. As hard as it may seem to receive, work is a gift from God to help us further God’s plans and purposes not only for our lives, but also for the kingdom of God. We can misuse work as we can any other blessing from God, but that does not stop it from being a tool God wants to use to manifest himself through us.
Work was such an important part of Jesus’ life that He made sure He got it all done before it was too late. Jesus said in John 17:4 “ I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” How well are you completing the work that God gave you to do? How much glory are you bringing to God on the job, at school, on the athletic field, in the hobby you’ve chosen for yourself?
You have been called where you are because God knows that you are the right person for getting His job done. Don’t let God down. The rest of the body of Christ is not only counting on you, but we’re cheering for you as well.
Sermon Outline—Pastor Rick 9/5/04
Is God In Your Job?
Exodus 31:1-11 2 Thess 3:6-15
A. Labor Day Weekend—Celebrate Work
1. What Are You 9, 7, 5, 1
2. Tom Jackson “I Will Sue You”
3. A Recommendation
4. Is God In Your Job
5. Work-“Oh My God”
B. Which Came First-Work Or Sin
1. 9 Out Of 10 Translations
2. Just 5 Words Away, Six
3. Who Has Created Something
4. Work Is Holy Because Of God
5. God Has Many Professions
6. Some Of All Needed To Create
C. When God Created Us
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, "Let us make man in our
image, in our likeness, and let them rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of
the air, over the livestock, over all the
earth, and over all the creatures that
move along the ground." [27] So God
created man in his own image, in the
image of God he created him; male and
female he created them.
1. The Context Of “Image” Is Working
2. We Were All Made Supervisors
3. To Rule Is To Work
4. Mechanic, Teacher, Lawyer, Athlete
Shines On The Job
D. What Kind Of Calls Does God Give
1. The Call To Ministry—Holy Calling
2. Call To Construction, Jewelry???
3. Levites Called To Sweep Floors
4. You Excel With Your Gifts
E. The Call To Bezalel & Oholiab
1. Annointing Not In For Usual Purposes
Exodus 31:3-5
and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-- [4] to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, [5] to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.
2. Filled With The Spirit Of God To Do
The Job
3. God Appointed Jeremiah –Holy
4. God Appointed Oholiab
Exodus 31:6a
Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him.
5. Your Appointment May To Be #2
6. Giving Of Your Best 2, 3, 4, 6
7. God’s Anointing For Workers
Exodus 31:6b
Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you:
8. Artists, Clothes Designers,
Cosmetics, Incense & More
E. The Challenge For The Believer
1. How Do I Make A Difference For
Christ
2. How Do I Introduce God To My Job
3. God’s Excitement At Your Gift
4. Eric Lidell & The Olympics
5. God Made Me Fast, I Feel His
Pleasure
6. Using Everything You Got For God
7. How Would Jesus Do My Job
8. Does My Faith Make A Difference
9. Where Does God Have Us The Most
F. Wanting To Be More Life Jesus
1. Jesus Had A Full-time Job
2. Jesus The Carpenter-Fix This
3. The Job Paid The Bills
4. Honest Work Is Acceptable To God
5. Jesus Didn’t Excuse Himself
6. Jesus’ Calling Changed
7. Be Open To The Possibility Of
Change
H. We All Need To Have Some Work
1. When The Kids Complain Be Biblical
2 Thes. 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
2. Being Holier Than God
3. If You Stay, You Must work
4. Be Glad They Were Offended & Left
I. The Danger Of Idle Time
1. Free Time Will Lead To Sin
2. Welfare-The Blessing & The Curse
3. Must Be Intentional With Time
4. Sin Mushrooms When Others Pay
5. The Struggles Of The Spiral
6. Jesus Breaks The Cycle
J. Remember The Order
1. God Gave Adam A Job First
2. Then Came The Job
3. Do You Have A Job Or Are You
Looking
4. Let Him/Her Pass On By
5. Stomach Motivation Can Be Good
K. Work Was God’s Idea
1. Is There Work In Heaven
2. How Long Will We Float On Clouds
3. Retire & Die Or Retire & Live
4. Work Is A Gift
5. Jesus Made Sure He Finished His
Work
John 17:4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
6. How Much Glory
7. God Blessed You For A Reason
8. We’re All Counting On You
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