The Big Picture
Series: FRONTLINE
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 6th February 2016
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 We put flags on our cars and drink copious amounts of alcohol
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 and get arrested as we celebrate who we are as a nation.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 And part of the Australian Day celebrations,
00:00:11 --> 00:00:15 the two Aussie larrikins, Roy and HG, were part of the televised...
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 I think they were at the Opera House or something like that.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 And at one point during the celebrations,
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 Roy suggested that Australia Day should be renamed as Bludger's Day.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 And it should, in fact, not be a day of celebration,
00:00:29 --> 00:00:34 but it should be a whole week of just doing nothing, just being a bludger.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 And at which point did the crowd, when he said that,
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 just erupted with cheers and applause.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:42 They were obviously thinking it's a great idea.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 And then he suggested at that point that, well, you know,
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 the fact is no one wants to work.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 Certainly no one wants to go back to work tomorrow after a day like today.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:54 And the crowd cheered even more at that point.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:58 They tapped, in that moment, they tapped into something of the Australian psyche.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:04 The most popular Australian song of all time is Friday On My Mind,
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 which was released in 1966.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:13 It's been popular since 1966 amongst Australians, released by the Easy Beats.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:17 It's a song that catches something of our Australian culture.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 On Friday...
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Sorry, on Monday, I've got Friday On My Mind.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:26 The day I start work, I'm looking forward to the day when I stop work.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 I think about the day when I'm stopping work.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:36 You know, we are known as the land of the long weekend and of strikes and of sickies and false compo claims.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:40 And you look at television and newspapers and billboards,
00:01:40 --> 00:01:45 they sell the stage of life that we call retirement as the ultimate freedom.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:50 That is, in our culture, we aspire to retire.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 That's what we aspire to.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 It's the ultimate freedom.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 You work in order to accumulate so that you don't have to work.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 A number of years ago, there was a survey in the United Kingdom
00:02:03 --> 00:02:11 which asks why the Australian show Home and Away was so popular in the UK.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:16 And not surprisingly, it wasn't the acting.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 Or the plot.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:25 Three things were mentioned as the top reasons why British people,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:30 millions of British people, tuned into Home and Away every day.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:32 Number one, the sun's always shining.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:34 Popular in England.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 Number two, the beach is always inviting.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 And number three, no one ever appears to be working.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 You could say that the dominant mentality in our culture
00:02:47 --> 00:02:51 is that we work in order to live.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 That is, work is a means to an end.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:01 We work in order to holiday.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 We work in order to have the money for leisure.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 We work in the...
00:03:07 --> 00:03:11 And the series that we're launching into now,
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 over the next number of weeks,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:17 is about putting some purpose back into what we do
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 when we're not gathered in this place.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 It's about lining what we do Monday to Saturday
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 with what we're doing here right now on Sunday.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 And I think this is so essential for us
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 because we are now working harder and harder,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:36 faster and faster for what is seemingly more and more meaningless.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:42 And if we could truly believe that what we do
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 for most of our waking hours
00:03:44 --> 00:03:49 is actually part of God's good and eternal purposes,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:54 I think it would be a tonic more invigorating than a couple of these.
00:03:55 --> 00:03:56 Or a...
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 No, I agree, Sam.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 Or a triple shot espresso.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 Or whatever it is that you use for your tonic.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 We may even result in this, I think,
00:04:06 --> 00:04:07 waking up on Monday morning
00:04:07 --> 00:04:08 and instead of thinking of Friday,
00:04:09 --> 00:04:10 might actually conclude,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 thank God it's Monday,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 ready for another week of serving him.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 And so my task tonight is to connect
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 what we do with the rest of our weeks,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 what I'm calling through this series,
00:04:23 --> 00:04:24 and you've seen up there on the screen,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 your front line with God's purposes.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 That is, I want to give us a different view of our working life
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 to the standard view which is in our culture.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 And the rest of this series will be unpacked,
00:04:39 --> 00:04:40 beyond this one,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:44 be unpacked in how we might see God honoured
00:04:44 --> 00:04:48 in the rest of our week outside of this building.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 Now, I should first of all explain what I mean by work.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 Otherwise, the retired, the unemployed,
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 the art students, the parents,
00:04:58 --> 00:04:59 the care...
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 I will rebuke myself later for that comment.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:02 I want you to know that.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 The children amongst us,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 we'll just switch off for the next few weeks.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 The biblical idea of work has its meaning in the word vocation.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 One of the major differences
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 between what you might call a job or a vocation
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 is that someone calls you into a vocation.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 The word vocation simply means calling.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 And so I'm thinking of vocation
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 when I talk about work.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 And understood in the correct way,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:38 Christian vocation is centred on the sovereign God
00:05:38 --> 00:05:43 who calls us to embrace the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 and to follow him in the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:52 And so our first and primary calling is to Christ.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 That is, we are called to someone rather than something
00:05:55 --> 00:05:56 or somewhere.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 But under our calling to Christ,
00:06:00 --> 00:06:04 we all have secondary callings in life.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:11 And it's where we live out our primary calling to Christ,
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 where we live it out with faithfulness and fruitfulness
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 to the God who's called us.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 And even though it's a secondary calling,
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 it must not be minimized or devalued.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28 What makes the secondary calling significant
00:06:28 --> 00:06:34 is the God is the one who calls us to it
00:06:34 --> 00:06:39 in a life of service and contribution to him and to society.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 And so first and foremost, work, vocation,
00:06:44 --> 00:06:49 is not about economic exchange or financial remuneration
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 or personal significance or career paths
00:06:52 --> 00:06:57 or the thing that I must do in order to have holidays
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 and long service leave and everything else.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 Work is about God honoring creativity
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 and contribution to others.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:11 Our work or vocation, our calling, our position in life,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 whatever it is, whether we are paid for it
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 or whether we are not,
00:07:15 --> 00:07:19 is our specific human contribution
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 to God's ongoing creation
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 and to the common good of society.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 And that's what this series is all about
00:07:25 --> 00:07:30 and how we are to be faithful and fruitful
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 and God honoring in your vocation,
00:07:33 --> 00:07:34 whether you are retired,
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 whether you're a student,
00:07:35 --> 00:07:36 whether you're a child,
00:07:36 --> 00:07:37 whether you're unemployed,
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 whether you're a banker,
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 whether you're an electrician,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 whatever it is that you are,
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 whatever position you are in life.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 What that means is
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 that there's not a person in this room who doesn't work.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 That's what I mean.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 And I'll be referring to that work or that vocation
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 as your front line throughout this series.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 It's the place where you spend the majority of your time
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 outside of this building.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 It is where you're in contact with God's world,
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 society and the people who need Jesus.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:11 That's your front line.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 So let's jump into the Bible.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 Genesis chapter one.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 Just read out to us a moment ago.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:18 Grab a Bible.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 It would be fantastic if you had that in front of you.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 It's noteworthy,
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 as Sam has just read out for us,
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 that the Bible begins talking about work
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 as soon as it begins talking about anything.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 That is how important and basic it is.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:36 Genesis describes God's creation of the world as work.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:41 And then it shows us human beings working in paradise.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 It is remarkable that at the end of Genesis one,
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 God not only works,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 but that he finds delight in his work.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 Verse 31,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 God saw all that he made
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 and it was very good.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:01 God finds what he has worked for,
00:09:01 --> 00:09:02 what he has done,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 as beautiful.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 Like all and good, satisfying work,
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 the worker sees themselves in it.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 Genesis two goes on to show
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 that God works not only to create,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 but also to care for his creation.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 God creates human beings
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 and then he works for them as their provider.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 He forms the man in verse seven,
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 plants a garden for him
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 and he waters it in verses six and eight
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 and fashions a wife for him,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 a helper for him in verses 21 and 22.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 And the rest of the Bible tells us
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 that God continues to work as provider.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 He is caring for his world,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:49 watering it and cultivating the ground in Psalm 104.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 He gives food to all he has made,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 giving help to all who suffer
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 and caring for the needs of every living thing
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 in Psalm 145.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 Not only does God work, however,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:06 but that he commissions his people,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 his workers to carry on his work.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:15 So in Genesis chapter one, verse 28,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 he tells human beings to fill the earth
00:10:18 --> 00:10:22 and subdue it to rule over it.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 The word subdue there indicates
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 that though all God had made was good,
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 there was still a great degree of it
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 which was undeveloped.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 God left creation with a deep,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 untapped potential, if you like,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 for cultivation, development,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 for society that people were to unlock
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 through their work of exercising rule
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 over the created order
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 under God as his image bearers.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 And then you see in Genesis chapter two,
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 verse 15, that he puts Adam and Eve
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 in the garden to work it and keep it.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:08 And so while God works for us as our provider,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:12 we also work for him doing his work.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 He works through us.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 So the book of Genesis leaves us
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 with a striking truth.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 Work was part of paradise.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 God's good plan and creation
00:11:30 --> 00:11:34 always included human beings
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 living in a constant cycle of work,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 rest, work, rest, work, rest.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 It was part of God's perfect design
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 for human life.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 We were made in God's image
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 and part of his glory and happiness
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 is that he works.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 And the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 who is the perfect image of God,
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 says this of himself in John 5,
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 my father is always at his work
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 to this very day
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 and I too am working.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 So the Lord Jesus did the work
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 his father assigned him to do
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 and he calls us as his disciples
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 and ourselves as image bearers of God
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 into God's work in his world.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 It's startling to think
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 that God made work part of paradise.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 Work wasn't introduced
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 as part of the brokenness
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 and curse of sin.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 Work is part of the blessedness
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 of the Garden of Eden.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 And so work is much
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 a basic human need
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 as food and beauty
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 and rest and friendship
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 and prayer and sexuality.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 It is not simply medicine.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 It is in fact food for the soul.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 According to the Bible,
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 we don't merely need the money
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 from work to survive,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 we need the work itself
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 to survive and thrive.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 Rather than working to live,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 we live to work.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:19 That is,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:23 I have four weeks annual leave
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 in order to be refreshed
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 to work the rest of the year.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 That's the purpose of my leave.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 I don't work in order
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 to accumulate annual leave.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 I get annual leave
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 in order to work.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 That's a complete flip
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 of the culture in which we exist.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 But that's a biblical view.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 So rather than working to live,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 we live to work.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 And I think the Apostle Paul
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 makes that point
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 in 2 Thessalonians 3,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 verse 10,
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 where he says,
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 if anyone is not willing to work,
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 let him not eat.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 Now, Paul doesn't rebuke
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 those there that cannot work
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 for any reason,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 but he does say
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 an unwillingness to work
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 is no trivial matter.
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 For anyone to refuse to work
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 is a fundamental violation
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 of God's design for humanity.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 But the Bible also keeps us
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 from falling into the opposite mistake,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 and that is making work
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 the only important human activity
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 or the badge of honour.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 So when we say,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:34 you know,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 I work long hours
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 and I work all the time
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 and I haven't had a day off
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 for weeks or something like that,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 that's sin.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 That's making an idol of your work.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 That's not part of God's good design.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 You see, work is not all there is to life.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 You will not have a meaningful life
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 without work,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 but you cannot say
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 that your work
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 is the meaning of your life.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 If you make any work
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 the purpose of your life,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 including church work and ministry,
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 you create an idol
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 that rivals God.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 So first of all,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 it's a real tonic to know
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 that it's not just
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 your service in the church
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 that matters to God.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 That's the first thing.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 Your vocation,
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 your position in life
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 matters to God.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 And as I mentioned before,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 I get that from 1 Corinthians 7,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 where God assigns people
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 their position in life.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 Your front line
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 is where God has put you
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 to fulfil his purpose
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 for his world.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 It's a further tonic
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 to know that God
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 is in fact still at work
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 in his world himself.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 So in Colossians chapter 1,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 which Sam read out to us,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 Paul is allowing
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 the Colossian church
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 to in on his prayer life.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 And his prayers
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 are prayers of thanksgiving
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 as he reflects on the fact
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 that the gospel
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 is bearing fruit
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 all over the world.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 It is transforming situations
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 in verse 6.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 And so when Paul moves
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 to pray for the Colossians,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 what does he think
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 their greatest need is?
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 And bear this in mind
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 as we enter into a week
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 of prayer here at St. Paul's
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 in terms of how to shape
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 your prayer life in this week.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 What are your prayer priorities?
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 What does he think
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 the Colossians need
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 more than anything else?
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 What shapes his prayer for them?
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 It is that they be filled
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 with the knowledge
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 of God's will.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 In verse 9,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 so that they will live lives
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 that are worthy of the Lord
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 and that they will bear fruit
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 in every good work.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 Growing in the knowledge of God
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 and strengthened to keep going
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 in their lives of faith.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 That's what he desires
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 for the Colossian church.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 He then moves in to talk about
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 the significance of what Christ
00:17:03 --> 00:17:03 has done
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 and then he just puts on display
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 from verse 14
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 at just a litany
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 of amazing truths
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 about Jesus Christ
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 that are probably the most
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 concentrated descriptions
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 of the glories of Jesus
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 in all of the New Testament.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 Have a look at it there.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 There's 15 of them
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 in a few verses.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 Verse 14,
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 in him we have redemption,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 the forgiveness of sins.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 Verse 15,
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 he is the image
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 of the invisible God.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 Verse 15 again,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 he is the firstborn
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 of all creation.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 That is,
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 he's the specially honoured
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 firstborn son,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 the inheritor
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 of the estate
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 of all.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:41 That is,
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 he's the inheritor
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 of all creation.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 Verse 16,
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 by him all things
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 were created
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 in heaven and earth,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 visible and invisible
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 where thrones
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 or dominions
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 or rulers
00:17:51 --> 00:17:51 or authorities.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 Verse 16,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 again,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:54 all things
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 were created
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 through him.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 Verse 16,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 again,
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 all things
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 were created
00:17:58 --> 00:17:58 for him.
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 Verse 17,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 he is before
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 all things.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 Verse 17,
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 again,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:03 in him all things
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 hold together.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 Verse 18,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:05 he's the head
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 of the body,
00:18:06 --> 00:18:06 the church.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 Verse 18,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 again,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 he's the beginning.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 Verse 18,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 again,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 he is the firstborn
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 from the dead.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 Verse 18,
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 again,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 he is the preeminence
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 in everything.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 Verse 19,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 in him all the fullness
00:18:18 --> 00:18:18 of God
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 is pleased to dwell.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:20 Verse 20,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 he reconciles
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 all things himself,
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 whether on earth
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 or in heaven.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 Verse 20,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 again,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 he makes peace
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 by the blood
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 of his cross.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 It's an astounding
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 list of the glories
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 of Christ.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 And frankly,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 you know,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 what I should have done
00:18:39 --> 00:18:39 is,
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 time permitting,
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 just read each one
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 and just sat there
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 and savored it
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 for a moment.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 You see,
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 in order to live lives
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 that are worthy
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 of your calling
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 and to labor
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 to be fruitful
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 in fulfilling
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 God's purposes
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 in this world,
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 you need to have
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 confidence
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 in the God,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 what he is,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 in God,
00:19:02 --> 00:19:02 what he's done,
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 in what he is doing
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 and what he will do
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 into the future.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 And that's what
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 those verses do for you.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 You need to have
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 a big vision
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 that the whole
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 of creation
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 matters to God.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:20 if we are to live
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 whole lives
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 for the glory
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 of God,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 we need to see
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 that God's mission
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 is about
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 all things
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 being reconciled,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 all things
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 being reconciled,
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 all things
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 being transformed
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 and not just
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 some things.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 Jesus created
00:19:37 --> 00:19:37 all things
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 in the beginning,
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 he holds all things
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 together as a rule
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 of the universe
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 and God will reconcile
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 all things
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 through Christ
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 at the end of time.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 And my friend,
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 let me just pause
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 for a moment.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 If your heart
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 wavers,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 you know,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 you leave this building
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 and you're out there
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 on a Monday morning
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 at your front line,
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 whatever it is
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 that you're doing,
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 you know,
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 raising children
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 or being a banker
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 or whatever it is
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 that you're doing,
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 if your heart
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 ever wavers
00:20:06 --> 00:20:09 or it grows cold
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 as a disciple
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 of the Lord Jesus
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 out there
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 in that world,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 then come back
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 to these verses.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 Memorize
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 this list
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 of the glories
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 of Christ
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 and ask God
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 to give you
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 affections
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 that correspond
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 to the measure
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 of the greatness
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 of Christ.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:40 Paul teaches us here
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 that Jesus Christ
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 created all that is.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 They were created
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 through him.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 He was with
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 and in God
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 and was God
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 and as God
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 created all things
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 through him
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 and all things
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 were created
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 for him.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 All that came
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 into existence
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 came for Christ.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 That is,
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 everything exists
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 to display
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 the greatness
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 of Christ
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 to his created order.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 Nothing,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 let me just emphasize
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 that,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 nothing
00:21:06 --> 00:21:10 in the universe
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 exists
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 for its own sake.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 Everything
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 from the bottom
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 of the oceans
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 to the top
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 of the highest mountains,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 from the smallest
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 particle
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 to the largest star,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 from the most
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 boring school subject
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 to the most
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 fascinating science experiment,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 from the ugliest
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 cockroach
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 to the most
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 beautiful human being,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 from the most
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 glorious saint
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 to the most
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 wicked
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 genocidal dictator,
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 everything that exists
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 exists
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 to make
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 the greatness
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 of Christ
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 more fully known
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 to his world
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 and that includes
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 you
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 and the work
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 that you will do
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 tomorrow morning.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:57 Is that a tonic
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 to get you out of bed
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 a little bit better
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 than a coffee?
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 I'm not saying
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 abandon the coffee,
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 I mean I'm not going
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 to do that
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 tomorrow morning,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:06 but a shot
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 in the arm,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 there's a lot
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 of undoing here
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 because over the years
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 our primary
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 and second
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 callings in life
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 have been
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 unhelpfully separated
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 and a hierarchy
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 have been put
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 in place
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 and I was
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 disciplined,
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 sorry,
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 I was discipled
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 in this kind
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 of teaching.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 That is,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 I was discipled
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 in the teaching
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 the most important
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 thing that you can
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 do with your life
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 is to live
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 for Christ
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 and therefore
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 if that's true
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 the most important
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 thing that you can
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 do with your life
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 is to go
00:22:38 --> 00:22:41 into full-time
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 ministry
00:22:41 --> 00:22:46 and if you're
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 not in full-time
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 ministry
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 and not every
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 Christian is,
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 and you are
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 a Christian
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 then your vocation
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 should be to
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 support full-time
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 ministry.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 Get a job
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 and give money
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 to the church
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 and when you're
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 not working
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 at that
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 sign up to a
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 roster on church
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 time and give
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 your time to the
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 church.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 The most
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 influential thinker
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 in Western
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 Christianity
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 in the 300s,
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 that's a long
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 time ago,
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 was Augustine
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 of Hippo.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 He distinguished
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 between the two
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 main aspects
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 of life.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 He called it
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 the active
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 life and the
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 contemplative
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 life.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 The active
00:23:23 --> 00:23:25 life was all
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 the ways that
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 people serve
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 one another.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 So for him
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 it was farming
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 and crafting
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 and trading
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 and raising
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 families and
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 stuff like that.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 The contemplative
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 life was the
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 Godward life,
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 the Godward
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 focused life in
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 prayer and
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 worship and
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 spiritual disciplines
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 and stuff like
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 that.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 Now while for
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 him both aspects
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 were good,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 he suggested
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 that the
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 contemplative
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 life was
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 the most
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 spiritual and
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 God-pleasing
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 in life.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 Now the
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 separation of
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 the physical
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 and spiritual
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 aspects of
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 life were
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 further distorted
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 in the 11th
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 century when
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 clergy were
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 mandated to
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 celibacy and
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 therefore separated
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 from ordinary
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 active life of
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 family and
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 business.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 They were put
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 away in
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 monasteries,
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 put brown
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 robes on them
00:24:14 --> 00:24:17 and walked
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 around and
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 hummed and
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 stuff.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 Now the
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 key development
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 in understanding
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 work happened
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 ironically in
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 the 6th century
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 by a guy
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 named Gregory
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 the Great.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 Like I've
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 said this
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 morning, I
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 don't know
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 why he was
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 great but
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 we'll just
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 call him
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 Greg.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 Greg was
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 a monk who
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 valued the
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 contemplative
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 life above
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 the active
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 life but
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 whose world
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 was totally
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 rocked when
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 the Pope
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 called him
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 to Rome
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 to head up
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 administrative
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 duties and
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 he's like
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 all of a
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 sudden he's
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 got to
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 work.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 And his
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 whole world
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 was rocked
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 and his
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 personal
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 journey helped
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 him to see
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 that the
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 active life
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 of service
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 to others
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 was not
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 an unwelcomed
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 or a
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 spiritually
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 damaging
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 distraction
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 from the
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 contemplative
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 life.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 So he
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 connected
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 every aspect
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 of life
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 into a
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 unified
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 whole,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 the
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 contemplative
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 life
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 equipping
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 us for
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 active life
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 service
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 of others
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 and the
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 active
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 life
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 grounding
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 us in
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 acts of
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 love to
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 our
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 neighbours
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 which kept
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 us from
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 floating
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 off into
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 spiritual
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 pride and
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 you know
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 irrelevancy.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 He connected
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 work and
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 particularly
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 service of
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 others and
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 use of
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 gifts and
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 position in
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 life with
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 spiritual
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 maturity.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 Primary
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 and secondary
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 calling are
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 intimately
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 connected.
00:25:38 --> 00:25:42 And so
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 the impact
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 of Greg's
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 work was
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 that in
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 the Middle
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 Ages
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 Pope
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 Benedict
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 made
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 manual
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 labour
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 the duty
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 of every
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 monk in
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 a monastery.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 So they
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 blamed Greg
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 and they
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 made mead
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 whatever else
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 they did
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 scotch and
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 stuff.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 Now
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 let's be
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 frank here
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 old habits
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 die hard.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 we are
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 in danger
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 and I've
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 been there
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 let me tell
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 you of
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 propagating
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 this
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 historical
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 secular
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 sacred
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 divide.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 And part
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 of what
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 we're doing
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 in this
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 series is
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 trying to
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 break that
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 down a
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 little bit
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 for us.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 It is
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 easy to
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 class,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 let's be
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 frank about
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 this,
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 it is
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 easy to
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 class what
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 we are
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 doing now
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 in corporate
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 worship
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 as worship
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 but it's
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 much more
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 difficult for
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 us to
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 think about
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 what we're
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 going to
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 do tomorrow
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 as worship.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 And if
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 you agree
00:26:40 --> 00:26:40 with that
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 statement,
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 yes it
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 is more
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 difficult,
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 then it's
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 quite possible
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 that you
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 have the
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 secular
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 sacred
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 divide.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 You've
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 been
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 operating
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 from that
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 position.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 It's
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 easy to
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 see this
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 as spiritual
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 and what
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 you're going
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 to do
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 tomorrow
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 as
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 unspiritual
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 something
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 that you
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 must do
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 in order
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 to live.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 You see
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 without a
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 real sense
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 of calling
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 our motivation
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 to get
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 out of bed
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 tomorrow
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 morning and
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 go to
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 work will
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 be little
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 more than
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 I owe,
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 I owe,
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 so off to
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 work I
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 go.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 You see
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 faith in the
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 Lord Jesus
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 helps us to
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 see the
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 dignity of
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 work.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 Work has
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 dignity
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 because it
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 is something
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 that God
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 does and
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 it's something
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 that he
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 calls us
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 to in his
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 place as
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 his
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 representatives.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 The plants
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 and the
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 animals were
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 simply called
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 to reproduce.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:36 But people
00:27:36 --> 00:27:38 are explicitly
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 given a job
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 in Genesis
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 2.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 They are
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 called to
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 subdue and
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 have dominion
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 or to
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 rule over
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 the created
00:27:47 --> 00:27:49 order for
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 control,
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 order,
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 beauty,
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 creation of
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 beauty,
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 other things
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 like that.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 So not
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 only does
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 work have
00:27:57 --> 00:27:59 dignity but
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 all kinds
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 of work
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 have dignity.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 unity.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 This is
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 where the
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 great
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 reformer
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 Martin
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 Luther and
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 John Calvin
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 was the
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 same,
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 very helpful
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 at this
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 point.
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 For instance,
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 Luther noticed
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 there's a bunch
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 of places in
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 the Bible
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 where God
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 says that he
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 will feed
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 all of his
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 living creatures
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 and Luther
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 sees that as
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 a promise
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 that God
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 himself will
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 fulfill.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 God does
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 that.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 But he
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 says how
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 does he do
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 that?
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 How does
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 God fulfill
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 his promises?
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 He says he
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 feeds you
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 and I'm
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 going to
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 paraphrase him
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 and modernize
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 him a little
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 bit.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 He feeds
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 you through
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 the farmers
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 who grow
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 the wheat,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 the truck
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 driver who
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 delivers it
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 to the
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 silo,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 the trader
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 who sells
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 it to the
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 baker,
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 the baker
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 who makes
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 the bread,
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 the supermarket
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 who sells
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 it to you
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 and he
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 says the
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 people who
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 do the
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 simplest of
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 work are
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 the fingers
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 of God
00:28:47 --> 00:28:50 to bless
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 you.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 When I
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 go to the
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 restaurant,
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 the waitress
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 who brings
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 me my
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 food,
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 the chef
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 who's
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 prepared in
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 the back,
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 the delivery
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 diver,
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 the wholesalers,
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 the workers
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 in the
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 food processing
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 factory,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 the family
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 and everyone
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 else in
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 the economic
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 food chain
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 are used
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 by God
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 to give
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 me this
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 day my
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 daily bread.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 It's God
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 at work
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 using people
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 in their
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 vocation
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 to serve
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 me and
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 others.
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 God is
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 loving me
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 through the
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 work of
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 other people.
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 All work
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 is God's
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 way of
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 caring for
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 his creation.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 This is
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 important for
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 us to come
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 to terms
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 with.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 There is
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 no,
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 no biblical
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 foundation
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 to elevate
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 the work
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 of doctors
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 over the
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 work of
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 plumbers.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 None
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 whatsoever.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 In fact,
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 the foundation
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 in that
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 is pagan
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 Greek
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 philosophy
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 where the
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 thinkers
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 were regarded
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 in higher
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 order
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 than the
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 doers.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 Greek
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 philosophy
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 is not
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 biblical.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 As I
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 mentioned,
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 1 Corinthians
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 7,
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 God calls
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 people to
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 different
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 positions and
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 roles in
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 life and
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 whatever the
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 position is,
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 it's
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 dignifying because
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 God is
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 the one
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 who does
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 the calling
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 and assigning.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 And so
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 be careful
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 of participating
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 in the sneering
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 attitude our
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 culture has
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 towards people
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 who do
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 simple jobs.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:13 Whenever
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 Luther talked
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 about vocation,
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 he deliberately
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 used the
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 simple and
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 the mundane
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 in order to
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 elevate the
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 significance of
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 it.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 He referred to
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 the father
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 washing
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 nappies,
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 the maid
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 sweeping the
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 floor,
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 the brewer
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 making good
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 beer.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 By doing
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 our appointed
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 work in
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 society,
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 we become
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 the means
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 or the
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 agents of
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 grace through
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 which God
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 serves others.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 So
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 traditionally,
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 we have
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 used the
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 language of
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 Christian work
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 to refer
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 exclusively to
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 what I'm
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 doing now,
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 what I do
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 in my work,
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 ministry and
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 missionary work
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 and parachurch
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 callings.
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 this distorted
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 understanding
00:30:57 --> 00:30:59 exposes an
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 inadequate grasp
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 of the
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 biblical
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 understanding
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 of vocation
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 and if
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 you're a
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 Christian,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 you are
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 about to
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 embark on
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 a week of
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 Christian work
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 in the same
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 way that I'm
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 about to
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 embark on a
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 week of
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 Christian work
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 when you
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 leave this
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 building.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 What will
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 that look
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 like for
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 you?
00:31:19 --> 00:31:23 depending on
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 your theological
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 position and
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 your vocation,
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 you might
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 say the
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 way to
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 serve God
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 at work
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 is to
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 work with
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 a grateful,
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 joyful,
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 gospel-changed
00:31:33 --> 00:31:33 heart through
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 all the ups
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 and downs.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 Or the
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 way to
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 serve God
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 at work
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 is to
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 do whatever
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 gives you
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 the greatest
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 joy and
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 passion.
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 Or the
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 way to
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 serve God
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 at work
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 is to
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 make as
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 much money
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 as you
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 can so
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 you can
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 be as
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 generous
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 as you
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 can.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 Or the
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 way to
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 serve God
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 at work
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 is to
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 further
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 social
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 justice
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 in the
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 world.
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 Or the
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 way to
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 serve God
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 at work
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 is to
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 be
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 personally
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 honest,
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 to evangelize
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 my colleagues
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 and set up
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 Bible studies.
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 Or the
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 way to
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 serve God
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 at work
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 is to
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 do
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 skillful,
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 excellent
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 work.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:01 Or the
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 way to
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 serve God
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 at work
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 is to
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 create
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 beauty.
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 Or the
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 way to
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 serve God
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 at work
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 is to
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 work from
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 a Christian
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 motivation
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 to glorify
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 God,
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 seeking to
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 engage and
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 influence the
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 culture to
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 that end.
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 It will
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 depend on
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 your theological
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 position,
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 depend on
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 the work
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 you do.
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 But I
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 would say
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 that Christian
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 work is
00:32:22 --> 00:32:24 generally
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 speaking a
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 mixture of
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 all of
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 those things.
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 Not every
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 vocation is
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 going to do
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 all of those
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 things.
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 I do
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 struggle to
00:32:35 --> 00:32:35 see how
00:32:35 --> 00:32:35 accountants
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 create beauty,
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 frankly.
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 If you're a
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 Christian
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 airline pilot,
00:32:43 --> 00:32:45 it doesn't
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 mean that
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 you use
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 the
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 plane's
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 intercom
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 to share
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 the gospel
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 with your
00:32:48 --> 00:32:50 passengers from
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 point A to
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 point B.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 At the
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 very least,
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 it means
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 land the
00:32:54 --> 00:32:56 plane and
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 do it
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 well,
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 smoothly.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 Doing your
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 work well
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 honors God.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 For
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 mums,
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 you know,
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 Billy Graham's
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 wife had a
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 plaque above
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 her kitchen
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 sink which
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 read,
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 divine services
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 conducted here
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 three times a
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 day.
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 She understood
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 her vocation
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 and that it
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 honored God.
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 It was
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 worship.
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 Lining your
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 kid's school
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 uniform,
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 changing a
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 nappy that
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 overfloweth,
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 or, you
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 know,
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 mowing your
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 lawn are not
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 simply jobs
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 when done
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35 for God.
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 God is
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 working through
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 you to create
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 order and care
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 for his
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 creation and
00:33:40 --> 00:33:40 creatures,
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 to redeem,
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 to advance
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 his purposes.
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 Is this not
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 what the
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 Bible teaches
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 us in
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 Colossians
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 chapter 3?
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 Have this
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 verse ringing
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 in your mind
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 tomorrow morning,
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 maybe go home
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 and print it
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 out and stick
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 it in your
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 pocket, put
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 it in your
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 lunchbox or
00:33:59 --> 00:33:59 something like
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 that, whatever
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 it is that
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 you do.
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 Whatever you
00:34:04 --> 00:34:06 do, work
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 at it with
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 all of your
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 heart as
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 working for
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 the Lord,
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 not for
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 men.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 Since you
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 know that
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 you receive
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 an inheritance
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 from the
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 Lord as
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 a reward,
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 it is the
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 Lord Christ
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 that you
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 are serving.
00:34:22 --> 00:34:22 Let's pray.
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 Gracious
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 Father, may
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 your favour
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 be upon us
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 and give us
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 hope and
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 purpose and
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 meaning and
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 joy in our
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 weekly work.
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 Pour out
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 your favour
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 on us and
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 establish the
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 work of our
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 hands for
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 honour and
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 glory of
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 your name
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 and the
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 joy of
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 all people.
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 Amen.