The dignity of work
Series: Thank God it's Monday
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 2nd June 2013
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Well, good evening, friends. Good to be here with you tonight.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 You should have a sermon outline.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 That'll give you some sort of an idea of the direction that we're heading
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 as we kick off this series on work.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:15 This one is laying the groundwork and a fairly broad foundation,
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 if you like, for the next few weeks.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 Let's pray.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 Gracious God, as we come to your word now,
00:00:23 --> 00:00:27 we pray that you would give us wisdom and insight,
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 and we pray, Father, that particularly that you would help us to connect
00:00:30 --> 00:00:36 what we do here now and in our Christian walk
00:00:36 --> 00:00:40 with what we do from Monday to Saturday in our life.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 I pray, Father, we would not have that separation in life,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 but see it all under your sovereign hand,
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 knowing that there is not a square inch in this universe
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 that is not subject to the Lord Jesus.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:58 And so help us to see what we do in our works subject to him.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 And we pray for your glory. Amen.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 Monday morning feels so bad.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 Everybody seems to nag me.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:09 Coming Tuesday, I feel better.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 Even my old man looks good.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:13 Wednesday just don't go.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:15 Thursday goes too slow.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 I've got Friday on my mind.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Going to have fun in the city and be with my girl.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:21 She's so pretty.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:22 She looks fine.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:23 She's out of sight to me.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:25 Tonight I spend my bread.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:26 Tonight I lose my head.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 Tonight I've got to get to bed.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 Monday I've got Friday on my mind.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 They are some of the lyrics from the song Friday on my mind,
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 which was released in 1966 by the Easy Beats.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:44 And what's more, it sits at position number one
00:01:44 --> 00:01:51 on the list of Australia's all-time favourite songs for 47 years.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 That's pretty astounding.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 And it probably sits there because it says something about our psyche.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 From the day I start working, I'm looking forward to knocking off.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:12 We are the land that is known as of compo claims, false compo claims, sickies, days off,
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 weekends, long weekends, annual leave.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 I was sitting with someone in Hong Kong a few weeks ago at a table,
00:02:20 --> 00:02:31 and part of this gala dinner thing that they were doing was they were auctioning off 15 nights accommodation
00:02:31 --> 00:02:32 in this resort in Thailand.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 And the American leans across to me and says,
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 who gets 15 days annual leave a year?
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 Oh, well, I do.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 And then a few extra.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:52 From the day I start working, I think about the day I stop working.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 Early retirement in our culture is the ultimate to aspire to.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:01 It's an idol even, because anything better is better than having to work.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:07 And so that means, if that's the kind of culture that we're marinating in,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:12 it means that we've got some work to do when we come to this series of work.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:17 The dominant mentality in our society is that you work to live.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 You work in order to live.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:24 That is, work is a means to something else.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:26 It's not a purpose in itself.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:32 And so the 90 hours the average person will spend in paid employment in their life
00:03:32 --> 00:03:36 is a means to something else, not a purpose in itself.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 90 hours of just purposelessness.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:46 So what does God think about the large portion of our time spent working?
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 That's what we're going to do, look at in the next five weeks.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 Let me tell you straight up, in the last year,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:58 I've had a very steep learning curve on this issue of work.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:06 I was discipled as a young Christian with the thinking that because the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 is the greatest thing in all the universe,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 then serving the gospel is the greatest thing.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:19 And particularly to be able to serve the gospel in full-time vocational ministry
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 is the greatest thing that you could do with your life.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:25 And so subconsciously, unintentionally,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:33 it meant that every other job wasn't as important to God as my vocation.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:40 I'd say that my overall view of work was simply unthought through.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:45 The sense that ordinary work is second class,
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 spiritually particularly second class,
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 wasn't so much believed and taught by me,
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 because I always sat a little uncomfortable with it,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 but it would certainly have been caught from me.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 That is, you've never heard anything from me
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 that suggested that God approved of secular work.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:12 We've had commissioning services for people going on short-term mission trips,
00:05:13 --> 00:05:14 for missionaries.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 We've had prayers for people in full-time ministry.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 We rejoice when someone goes to Bible college,
00:05:21 --> 00:05:25 but I've never conducted a commissioning service for teachers,
00:05:25 --> 00:05:29 for business people, for lawyers, for cleaners, for parents, and for chefs.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:30 Never done it.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 With the best of intentions and sincerity of heart,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:39 I have discouraged others with some faulty ideas about faith and work
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 and how they connect.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 I've wrongly viewed some kinds of work to be more important than others.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 I have had a hierarchy of work,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:50 and I've had a narrow view of how the gospel transforms our work.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:59 I have given minority attention to what is, in effect, our majority activity.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:07 I've either failed by devaluing and ignoring your work,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 or I've failed by not helping you to see a more biblically robust and rigorous
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 and God-honoring outlook on your work.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:18 And that has all sorts of complications and implications that flow from that.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 And so right as we kick off this series, I want to say I'm sorry.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 I failed in that.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:30 And I'm hoping that what we do in the next few weeks
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 will recapture something more of a God-honoring view
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 of what we spend most of our time doing.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:45 And particularly, I'm hoping that at the end of these five weeks
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 that you'll be able to connect what you do on Sunday
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 with or even what you do in your own personal spiritual devotional life
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 with what happens with you on Monday through to Saturday.
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 I think that it's so essential
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 because we are now working harder and harder and faster and faster
00:07:02 --> 00:07:08 for that which is seemingly more and more meaningless.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 And if we could truly believe
00:07:12 --> 00:07:16 that what we do is part of God's good and eternal purposes,
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 I think this would be a tonic more invigorating than a Red Bull
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 and a triple shot espresso.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 It may even result in us waking up.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 And I'm not sure this is going to necessarily happen in the next five weeks,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 but it may result in us being able to get up on a Monday morning
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 and instead of thinking on Friday,
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 be able to say, thank God it's Monday.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 Let me just pause there and plug one resource.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 And that is this book,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:49 This is astonishingly good.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 I didn't start my thinking here,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 but it has formed a lot of my thinking.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 So I am unashamedly ripping off Tim Keller.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 If you're going to rip anyone off,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 Tim Keller is a good guy to do it with.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 And so I'm unashamedly ripping him off.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 I'm still in the learning process in this.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:13 And what I'm doing in my couple of talks today and next week
00:08:13 --> 00:08:17 is I'm taking some of the ideas from here.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 But if you want a fuller picture,
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 and particularly a fuller biblical picture,
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 because I frankly haven't got time to do what he does
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 in the times that we're going to be meeting together.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 You want a fuller and a more robust theology of vocation,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 work and jobs and stuff,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 read this book.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 Get it, read it, digest it.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 It is awesome.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 There's two or three at the back.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:39 Two at the back.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 And this is the third one that's there.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 So buy it tonight.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 Don't all rush over just yet,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 but be quick at the end of the service.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:48 Okay, let's kick off.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 The Bible begins, interestingly enough,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 about talking about work
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 as soon as it begins talking about anything.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 That is how important and basic it is.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 We just had it read out there in Genesis 1 into Genesis 2.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 The Bible begins talking about work
00:09:05 --> 00:09:06 as soon as it begins talking about anything.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 Genesis describes God's creation of the world as work.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 It's what God does.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:18 And then it shows us human beings working in paradise.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 So God creates the world.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 He works to create the world.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 And then it says,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 a little bit further down in chapter 2,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 that there was no one to do work in the garden.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 So he created man.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 It's remarkable,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 at the end of Genesis 1,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 God not only works,
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 but he actually finds delight in his work.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 Have a look at it there in verse 31.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 God saw all that he made,
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 and it was very good.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 So God finds what he has done as beautiful.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 He stands back,
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 takes in the whole creation that he has just made,
00:09:57 --> 00:09:57 and goes,
00:09:59 --> 00:09:59 yeah, not bad.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 Not bad.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 That's good.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 Like all good and satisfying work,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 the worker sees himself in the work.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:15 So a friend of mine came and stayed last night,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 and we were walking around outside,
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 and he walks on this deck
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 that we got out the back of the rectory,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:20 and he's going,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:20 oh,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 see,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 this is pretty solid.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 This is good work.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:24 And I'm like,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 I did that.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 I made that.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 And while we're at it,
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 see this chair?
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 I completely renovated this chair as well.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 It's something that you do.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 I mean,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 it's a bloke thing as well.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 You cut the grass,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 you pack the dishwasher.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 Did you notice what I did?
00:10:42 --> 00:10:47 You did a good job,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:47 Steve.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 Even my girls learned to do that.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:51 You know,
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 Izzy comes along,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:53 Daddy,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 you cut the grass really well.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 She's going to be a great wife one day.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 She's just fantastic.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 Genesis 2,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 there's more to being a great wife
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 than just,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:08 you know,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 propping up your husband's ego.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 I can say that.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 Genesis 2 goes on to show
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 that God works
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 not only to create,
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 but also to care for his creation.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 God creates human beings
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 and then he works for them
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 as their provider.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 So in verse 7 of chapter 2,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 he forms the man,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 he plants a garden for him
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 and waters it in verses 6 to 8
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 and fashions a wife for him
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 in verses 21 and 22.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 And the rest of the Bible
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 tells us that God continues
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 to do this work of providing,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 caring for the world,
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 by watering and cultivating the ground.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 For instance,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 in Psalm 104 verses 10 to 22,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 giving food to all that he's made,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 giving help to all who suffer
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 and caring for the needs
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 of every living thing,
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 according to Psalm 145 verses 14 to 16.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 But we also see in Genesis
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 that not only is God working,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 but he's commissioning workers
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 to carry out his work.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 That's the point there in,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 I forget which verse it is,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 where God says,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 there's no one to do the work.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 He wants someone to do the work
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 to carry out his work.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 And so in Genesis chapter 1 verse 28,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 he tells human beings
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 to fill the earth
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 and subdue it.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 And so that command there
00:12:26 --> 00:12:28 is a lot more than just have babies.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 A lot more than just have babies.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:34 And great reformers like Luther and Calvin
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 have specifically expanded upon that
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 and what it means to feel and subdue the earth.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 At the very least,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 the word subdue indicates
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 that though all that God has made is good,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 it was still in a great degree undeveloped.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 And so part of the work of people
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 is to develop God's ongoing creative work,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 to develop further,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 to grow it,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 to expand it,
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 to make it good.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 God left creation
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 with deep, untapped potential
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 for cultivation
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 that people were to unlock
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 through their labor.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 You'll see in Genesis chapter 2 verse 15
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 that he puts Adam and Eve
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 into the garden
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 to work it
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 and to keep it.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:24 And so while God works for us
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 as provider,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 we also work for him.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 He works through us.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 And so the book of Genesis
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 leaves us with a striking truth.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 Work was part of paradise.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 God's good plan
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 and creation
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 always included
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 human beings
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 living in a constant cycle
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 of work and rest.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:54 Work and rest.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 It was part of God's perfect design
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 for human life
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 because we are made
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 in the image of God
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 and part of his glory
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 and happiness
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 is that he works.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 As does the Lord Jesus
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 who says in John chapter 5 verse 17,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 My father is always
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 at his work
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 to this very day
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 and I too
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 am working.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 So it's startling
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 to think that God
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 made work part of paradise.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 Many people
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 make the mistake
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 of thinking that
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 work is a curse
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 and that something else,
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 leisure, family,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 spiritual pursuits
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 is the only way
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 to find the meaning of life.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:47 The Bible, I think,
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 exposes the lie
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 of that idea.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 Work wasn't introduced
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 as part of the brokenness
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 and the curse of sin.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 Work is part of the blessedness
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 of the garden of God.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 Work is much
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 a basic human need
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 as food
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 and beauty
00:15:07 --> 00:15:07 and rest
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 and friendship
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 and prayer
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 and sexuality.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 It is not simply
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 medicine,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 it is food
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 for the soul.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 According to the Bible,
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 we don't merely
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 need the money
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 from work
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 in order to survive.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 We need the work
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27 itself
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 to survive
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 and to live
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 fully human lives.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 So rather than
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 working to live,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 which is the dominant
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 marinade,
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39 if you like,
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 of the culture
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 in which we're soaking,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 we live to work.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 Instead of
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 working to live,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 we live to work
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 is closer
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 to the biblical idea.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:52 And I think
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 that's what the Apostle Paul
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 says in 2 Thessalonians
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 3.10
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 where he says,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 if anyone
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 is not willing
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 to work,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 let him not eat.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:01 He makes
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 the issue
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 of work
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 a life and death
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 matter.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 If you don't eat,
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 you die.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 Paul does not
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 rebuke those
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 who can't work
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 for whatever reason,
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 but he does say
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 an unwillingness
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 to work
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 is not
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 a trivial thing.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:20 For anyone
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 to refuse
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 to work
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 is a fundamental
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 violation
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 of God's
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 creation design
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 for humanity.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 But of course,
00:16:29 --> 00:16:29 what the Bible
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 does is it
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 stops us
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 from falling
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 into the opposite
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 mistake,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 namely that work
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 is the only
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 important human
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 activity.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 Work is not
00:16:39 --> 00:16:39 all that there
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 is to life.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 There is more
00:16:41 --> 00:16:41 to life
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 than work.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 You will not
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 have a meaningful
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 life without work,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 but you cannot
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 say that your work
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 is the meaning
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 of your life.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 If you make
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 any work
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 the purpose
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 of your life,
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 even if that
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 is church
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 ministry work,
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 you create
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 an idol
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 that rivals
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 God.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 Your relationship
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 with God
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 is the most
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 important foundation
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 for your life
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 and indeed
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 it keeps
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 every other
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 factor within
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 balance,
00:17:09 --> 00:17:09 your work,
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 your friendships,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 your family,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 your leisure,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 your pleasure,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 keeps all
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 those other
00:17:14 --> 00:17:14 factors from
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 becoming so
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 important to
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 you that
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 it becomes
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 addicting
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 and distorted.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:23 So work
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 is something
00:17:24 --> 00:17:24 that God
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 does and
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 it is designed
00:17:27 --> 00:17:27 and created
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 by God
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28 for us to
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 do as
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 his image
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 bearers.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 Now I think
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 I should just
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 pause there for a
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 moment and
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 explain what I
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 mean by work
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 otherwise
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 those who
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 are retired,
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 the unemployed,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 the students,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 the children,
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 the stay-at-home
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 mums or dads
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 are just going to
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 switch off for
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 the next five
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 weeks and go
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 this is not
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 for me.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 The biblical
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 and I want to
00:17:54 --> 00:17:54 say it is for
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 you so listen
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 it is for you.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:58 The biblical
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 idea of work
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 has its meaning
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 in the word
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 vocation.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 Unfortunately
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 the classical
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 understanding
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 of vocation
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 has been
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 mostly exchanged
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 today for
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 what is
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 essentially
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 amounts to
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 skills training
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 for specific
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 jobs.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 The idea of
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 vocation is
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 gone.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 One of the
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 major differences
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 between a
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 vocation and
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 a job is
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 that someone
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 calls you to
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 a vocation.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 That's what
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 in fact the
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 word means.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 The word
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 vocation means
00:18:27 --> 00:18:27 a calling.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 So when I
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 talk about
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 work I
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 mean calling.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 I mean
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 vocation.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 That's what I
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 mean.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 I don't mean
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 a job.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 I don't mean
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 nine to five
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 job sort of
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 thing.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 So understood
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 in a correct
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 way in a
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 biblical way
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 Christian
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 vocation is
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 centered in a
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 sovereign God
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 who calls us
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 to embrace the
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 gospel of the
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 Lord Jesus
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 Christ and to
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 follow him in
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 the power of
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 the Holy Spirit.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 And so our
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 first and
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 primary calling
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 is to Christ.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 We're being
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 called by God
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 into relationship
00:19:02 --> 00:19:02 with himself
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 through the
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 Lord Jesus
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 Christ.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 So if you're
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 Christian that
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 is your primary
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 calling and
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 that governs
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 every other
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 calling in
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 life.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 But under
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 that we all
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 have secondary
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 callings.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 A secondary
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 position in
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 life in which
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 we live out
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 our primary
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 calling to
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 Christ.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 Christ.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 And even
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 though it's a
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 secondary calling
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 we must not
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 minimize or
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 devalue it.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 What makes the
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 secondary calling
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 significant is
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 that God is the
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 one who has
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 called us to a
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 life of service
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 and contribution
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 to society.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 That's basically
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 the idea of
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 1 Corinthians 7.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 So first and
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 foremost work
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 vocation is
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 not about
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 economic exchange.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 It's not
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 about financial
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 remuneration or
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 a pathway to
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 the Australian
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 dream but
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 about God
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 honoring activity
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 and contribution
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 and the
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 building up of
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 society.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 That's vocation
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 under God.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 Our work, our
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 vocation, our
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 calling, our
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 position in
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 life, whatever
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 it is, whether
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 we are paid
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 for it or not,
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 is our
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 specific human
00:20:15 --> 00:20:19 contribution to
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 the ongoing
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 creation and
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 to the common
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 good of
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 society.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 Tim Keller, I'm
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 not sure if he
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 says it in the
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 book, I don't
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 recall him saying
00:20:28 --> 00:20:28 it there, but he
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 certainly said it
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 at the conference
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 we're at, that
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 his view is that
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 work is everything
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 in your life
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 except your
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 Sabbath rest and
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 your leisure.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 It's everything
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 else.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 Including me
00:20:44 --> 00:20:47 cutting the
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 grass.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:51 depending on
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 whether or not I
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 regard that as
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 leisure or not.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 And I think
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 this is the
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 point here in
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 1 Corinthians 7
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 17, the word
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 called is used
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 eight times.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 What is primary
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 there?
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 It is God who
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 calls.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 Being called into
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 relationship with
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 God.
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 And the second
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 thing that flows
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 out from that is
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 that God who
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 calls us into
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 relationship with
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 him and it is
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 God who assigns
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 us certain
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 positions in
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 life.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 And he says
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 they're be
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 content with
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 those positions
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 in life.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 So Martin
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24 Luther's idea
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 that there is
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 no hierarchy.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 There is no
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 hierarchy in
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 your calling in
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 life, in your
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 assigned positions,
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 because God is
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 the one who
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 gives it.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 And so over
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 the years,
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 however, the
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 primary and
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 secondary callings
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 have been,
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 if you like,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 unhelpfully
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 separated.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 And we
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 have put a
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 hierarchy in
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 place.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 In its
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 early historical
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 development in
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 Christian theology,
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 vocation was
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 understood to
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 mean that
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 everyone is
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 called by
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 God into
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 salvation and
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 a life of
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 service through
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 the Lord Jesus
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 Christ.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 Everyone.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 There's no
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 separation between
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 clergy and
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 laity.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 Eventually, the
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 theology of
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 vocation was
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 distorted by the
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 early 300s.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 vocation was
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 applied primarily
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 just to
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 clergy.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 Clergy were the
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 called ones.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 Everyone else
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 kind of wasn't
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 really.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 The most
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 influential thinker
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 in Western
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 Christianity in
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 the 300s was a
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 guy called
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 Augustine of
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 Hippo.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 I knew someone's
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 going to smile
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 about that,
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 Hippo.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 It's a really
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 unfortunate name.
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 It's where he
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 was from, not
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 the size of him
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 or anything like
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 that.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 It wasn't
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 Augustine the
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 Hippo, it was
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 Augustine of
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 Hippo.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 Now, he
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 distinguished between
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 two main aspects
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 of life.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 He called the
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 active life and
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 the contemplative
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 life.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 The active life
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 was all the
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 ways that people
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 serve one
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 another, farming,
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 crafting, trading,
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 raising kids.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 That was the
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 active life.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 The contemplative
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 life over here
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 was a life of
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 prayer and
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 worship and
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 spiritual
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 disciplines.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 And while he
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 said both aspects
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 of life were
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 good, he says
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 the contemplative
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 life was the
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 best and
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 the most
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 important and
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 the bit of
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 life which was
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 the most
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 pleasing to
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 God.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 The spiritual
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 life.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 And so if
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 you, so in
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 those days what
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 it meant was to
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 have a vocation,
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 a calling from
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 God meant that
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 you were a
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 minister or a
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 monk.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 That's basically
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 it.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 And the
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 separation of
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 the physical,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 spiritual, the
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 active,
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 contemplative life
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 was further
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 distorted and I
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 think to its
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 ultimate degree
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 in the 11th
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 century when
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 clergy were
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 mandated to
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 celibacy and
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 therefore separated
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 from ordinary
00:23:43 --> 00:23:45 life activity,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 the life of
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 family and
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 business and all
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 that sort of
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 stuff.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 Kind of got
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 locked away in
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 a room and
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 prayed.
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 That's kind of
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 it really.
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 That's the
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 ultimate distortion.
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 creation.
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 The key
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 development in
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 understanding work
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 happened in the
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 6th century through
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 Gregory the Great.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 As I said this
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 morning I've got no
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 idea why he was
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 great but that's
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 his name.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 Gregory was a
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 monk and as a
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 monk he really
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 valued the
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 contemplative life.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 And his whole
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 life went into a
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 bit of turmoil when
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 he was called out
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 of the monastery
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 in the contemplative
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 life and thrust
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 into the papacy with
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 all the administrative
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 duties that went
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 with that.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 He was Pope and
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 so all of a sudden
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 his life's in
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 turmoil.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 I've got all this
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 activity but I
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 value the
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 contemplative life.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 And so his
00:24:37 --> 00:24:39 thinking developed
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 through the
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 scriptures where he
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 actually saw that
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 there ought not
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 be a distinction.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 His own personal
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 journey helped him
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 to see that the
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 active life of
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 service to others
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 was not a
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 distraction to the
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 spiritual life.
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 he concluded
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 that in fact we
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 need times of
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 contemplation but
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 also times of
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 action.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 He says both of
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 those things are
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 needed if we are
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 going to love
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 our neighbor, if
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 we're going to
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 fulfill the mandate
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 of Matthew 28 to
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 use our God-given
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 gifts for the glory
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 of God.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 And even the
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 activity life, the
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 life of action,
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 drives us back into
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 contemplation where
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 we give thanks to
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 God for his
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 activity in the
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 world and we cry
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 out to him for the
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 frustrations that we
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 feel about the
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 active life.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 He says they both
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 need.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 It's a cycle.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 That is, he
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 connected every
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 aspect of our life
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 in a unified
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 whole.
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 The contemplative
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 life equipped us
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 for an active
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 life of service.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 The contemplative
00:25:48 --> 00:25:51 life grounded us,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 if you like, in a
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 life of love of
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 neighbors, and the
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 active life kept
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 us from floating
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 off into a
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 bizarre spiritual
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 world of spiritual
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 pride and irrelevance
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 where we saw
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 ourselves as better
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 than everyone else.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 Now that bit's
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 crucial.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 He saw that those
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 who live the active
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 life, and
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 especially things
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 like feeding the
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 hungry, caring for
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 the sick, teaching
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 the ignorant, humbling
00:26:22 --> 00:26:24 the proud, he saw
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 those who pursued
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 the active life in
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 faith as being
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 better equipped to
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 experience the riches
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 of the contemplative
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 life than those who
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 absorbed all of their
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 life in spiritual
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 pursuits.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 And so what he does
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 is he connects my
00:26:44 --> 00:26:46 life of service with
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 my spiritual life, my
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 life of faith.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 He connects my work
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 with my faith.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 And he goes as
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 far as to say
00:26:55 --> 00:26:58 that a life of
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 spiritual pursuits
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 without an activity
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03 life of loving
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 neighbors and serving
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 people is actually
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 spiritual immaturity.
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 I would go as far as
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 to say that your
00:27:13 --> 00:27:15 all-Christian education
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 ought to lead us to
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 humble hearts and
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 activities of love to
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 people.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 And if it doesn't,
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 it's distortion.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 The impact of
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 Gregory's work was
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 that in the Middle
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 Ages, Pope Benedict
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 came along, loved
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 what he said, and he
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 made manual labor the
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 duty of every monk.
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 Doll!
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 He said, you
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 blokes have got to
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 start working.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 And so, you know,
00:27:41 --> 00:27:44 the monasteries became
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 orphanages, some of
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 them became hospitals,
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 and they started
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 brewing beer.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 Not sure what the
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 connection is, but
00:27:51 --> 00:27:53 that's kind of what
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 they did.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 I suspect that we're
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 in the danger of
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 propagating this
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 historical, sacred,
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 secular divide.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 It is easier to
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 class what we do
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 right now as
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 worship, but much
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 harder to class what
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 you're going to be
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 doing this time
00:28:09 --> 00:28:11 tomorrow or earlier
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 tomorrow as
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 worship.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 It is easy to see
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 this is spiritual and
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 that is unspiritual.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 And we only do it in
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 the end because we
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 need to do it to
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 live.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 Without a real sense
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 of calling from God,
00:28:29 --> 00:28:31 our motivation to get
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 out of bed tomorrow
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 morning will be little
00:28:34 --> 00:28:36 more than I owe, I owe,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 it's off to work, I go.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:42 Faith in the Lord Jesus
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 helps me to see the
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 dignity of all work.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 That's the point,
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 Martin Luther's point
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 in 1 Corinthians
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 chapter 7.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 Work has dignity
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 because it is
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 something that God
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 does and because we
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 do it in God's
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 place as his
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 representatives.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 The plants and
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 animals are called to
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 simply reproduce, but
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 God gives a specific
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 job to us in
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 Genesis 2.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 We are called to
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 subdue and to have
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 dominion or to rule
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 over the earth.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 So not only does
00:29:14 --> 00:29:16 work have dignity,
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 but Martin Luther
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 particularly, and
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 John Calvin's
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 exegesis of 1
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 Corinthians 7 and
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 a couple of other
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 bits of the New
00:29:27 --> 00:29:30 Testament, says that
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 all work has
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 dignity.
00:29:32 --> 00:29:35 even unskilled
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 simple work, as
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 Tim Keller has
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 written in this
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 book, no task is
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 too small a vessel
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 to hold the
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 immense dignity
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 of work given
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 by God.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 Luther particularly,
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 I think, was
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 helpful in this
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 point.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 Luther looked at
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 lots of places in
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 the Bible that
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 says God is a
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 God who continues
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 to provide.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:56 He feeds every
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 living thing.
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 And Luther sees
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 this as a promise
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 that God fulfills.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 And how does he
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 fulfill it?
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 He feeds you
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 through the farmers
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 who grow the wheat
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 and the truck driver
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 who delivers it to
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 the silo and the
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 trader who sells it
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 to the baker and
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 the baker's assistant
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 who makes the bread.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 That's how he sees
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 God fulfills that
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 point, that he's
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 promised to feed all
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 his living things.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 He says that the
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 people who do the
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 simplest kind of work
00:30:25 --> 00:30:27 are the fingers of
00:30:27 --> 00:30:29 God fulfilling his
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 promises to you.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 So when I go to a
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 restaurant, the
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 waitress who brings
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 me my food, the
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 chef in the back who
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 prepares it, the
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 delivery driver, the
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 wholesaler, the
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 workers in the food
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40 processing factory, the
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 farmer and all the
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 accountants and lawyers
00:30:42 --> 00:30:45 and business people and
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 cleaners and stuff that
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 are connected in that
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 whole network that is
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 the economic food chain
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 are all being used by
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 God to answer my
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 prayer, give me this
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 day my daily bread.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:59 All work has
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 dignity.
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 So God is loving me
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 through the work of
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 other people.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 All work is God's way
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 of caring for his
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 creation.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 And I think this is
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12 really crucial for us
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 to come to terms with.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 There is no biblical
00:31:17 --> 00:31:20 foundation for elevating
00:31:20 --> 00:31:22 doctors over shelf
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 packers.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:25 No biblical foundation
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 for it whatsoever.
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 Luther gets that from
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 1 Corinthians 7.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:43 That ought to impact
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45 our attitude when
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 you're pushing the
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 shopping trolley on a
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 Sunday night trying to
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 dodge those people in
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 the aisle.
00:31:52 --> 00:31:57 Notice in 1 Corinthians
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 7 that God calls
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 people to different
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 positions in life and
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 roles in life.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 He assigns it to them.
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 It's dignifying because
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 God is the one who
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 does the calling and he
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 calls us to be content
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 with it.
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 So be careful of
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 participating in the
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 sneering attitude of our
00:32:12 --> 00:32:15 culture has towards
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 people who do simple
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 jobs.
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 If you lived in
00:32:19 --> 00:32:21 Seville in February
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 this year,
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23 you would appreciate
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 garbage collectors
00:32:24 --> 00:32:26 because when they
00:32:26 --> 00:32:28 went on strike for a
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 few days,
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 it almost brought the
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 whole city to a
00:32:31 --> 00:32:33 standstill when
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 6 tons of
00:32:34 --> 00:32:36 rotting waste was
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 left on the streets
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 and no one knew
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 what to do.
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 The whole city nearly
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 came to a standstill.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 It's in those moments
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 you appreciate the
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 dude who drives you,
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 wakes you up in the
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 early hours of the
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 morning with his
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 truck,
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 emptying your bins.
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 Whenever Luther talked
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 about vocation,
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 he deliberately used
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 the simple and the
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 mundane in order to
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 elevate the significance
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 of everything.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:06 The father washing
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 nappies,
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 the maid sweeping the
00:33:08 --> 00:33:08 floor,
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 the brewer making
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 good beer.
00:33:10 --> 00:33:13 By doing our
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 appointed work in
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 society,
00:33:15 --> 00:33:17 we become means or
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 agents of grace
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 through which God
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 serves others.
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 So friends,
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 traditionally we have
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 used the language of
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 Christian work to
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 refer to basically the
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 sort of stuff that I'm
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 doing right now,
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 to missionaries,
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 to parachurch
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 callings.
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 This distorted
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35 understanding exposes
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 an inadequate grasp of
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 the biblical understanding
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 of vocation.
00:33:38 --> 00:33:41 It will be Monday
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 again tomorrow,
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 and if you're a
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 Christian,
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 then you're about to
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 embark on a week of
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 Christian work.
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 Paid or not,
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 it's irrelevant.
00:33:54 --> 00:33:56 And what will that look
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 like for you in the work
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 that you do?
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 Depending on your
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 theological position,
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 you might say,
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 Christian work,
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 the way to serve God
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 at work is to work
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 with a grateful,
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 joyful,
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 gospel-centered heart
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 through all the ups
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 and downs.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 Or the way to serve
00:34:13 --> 00:34:15 God at work is to do
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 whatever gives you the
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 greatest joy and
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 passion.
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 Or the way to serve
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 God at work is to
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 make as much money as
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 you possibly can so
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 that you can be as
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 generous as you
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 possibly can.
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 Or the way to serve
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 God at work is to
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 further social justice
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 in the world.
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 Or the way to serve
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 God at work is to
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 personally be honest
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 and to take every
00:34:32 --> 00:34:34 opportunity to get
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 Jesus into every
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 single conversation
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 and lead my
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 colleagues into
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 prayer of sinners
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 repentance.
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 Or the way to serve
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 God at work is to
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 do skillful,
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 excellent work.
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 Or the way to serve
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 God at work is to
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 create beauty.
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 Or the way to serve
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 God at work is to
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 work from a
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 Christian motivation
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 to glorify God,
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 seeking to engage
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 and influence the
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 culture to a
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 positive end.
00:34:58 --> 00:35:00 I would probably
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 say now that
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 Christian work is a
00:35:02 --> 00:35:02 mixture of all
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 those things.
00:35:04 --> 00:35:07 at any time.
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 It could be a
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 mixture of all
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 those things.
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 I love the story
00:35:11 --> 00:35:14 of Charles Spurgeon.
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 Once upon a time,
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 you would have
00:35:17 --> 00:35:19 interviews to become
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 members of churches
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 and particularly in
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 the Baptist church.
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 And so Spurgeon,
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 the great old preacher,
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 would sit there with
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 his elders of the
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 church and he'd
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 interview each person
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 individually.
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 And one day there,
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 he's sitting there
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 interviewing a person
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 wanting to become
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 member of the church
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 and he says to
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 them, a young
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 lady says to
00:35:35 --> 00:35:38 them, give us
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 evidence of the
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 transformation of
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 the gospel in your
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 life.
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 Why should, and
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 without that evidence
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 we're not going to
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 give you membership
00:35:45 --> 00:35:45 of the church.
00:35:47 --> 00:35:49 And she was a
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 cleaner.
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 And she said,
00:35:51 --> 00:35:53 well, ever since I
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 have become a
00:35:53 --> 00:35:55 Christian, she said,
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 I no longer sweep
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 the dust under the
00:35:57 --> 00:35:57 mat.
00:35:57 --> 00:35:59 I actually clean it
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 up and get rid of
00:36:00 --> 00:36:00 it.
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 And Spurgeon said,
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 give her entry to the
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 church immediately.
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 You see, the gospel
00:36:08 --> 00:36:10 has impacted what she
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 does Monday to
00:36:11 --> 00:36:11 Saturday.
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 And so if you're a
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 Christian airline pilot,
00:36:17 --> 00:36:20 what does it mean for
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 you to be a Christian
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 airline pilot?
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 Does it mean you hop
00:36:23 --> 00:36:25 on the plane and you
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 use the intercom
00:36:26 --> 00:36:28 opportunity to captive
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 audience to share the
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 gospel with them?
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 Ladies and gentlemen,
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 we're just in route to
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 LA.
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 We've got 16 hours
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 together.
00:36:35 --> 00:36:37 Let me just share a
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 few thoughts with you
00:36:38 --> 00:36:42 or put two ways to live
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 on the screen.
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 I mean, is that?
00:36:45 --> 00:36:47 I think most basic and
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 fundamental to be a
00:36:48 --> 00:36:50 Christian airline pilot is
00:36:50 --> 00:36:53 to land the plane and do
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 it smoothly.
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 Think about the people
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58 in the plane.
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 The most basic thing,
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 do your job well.
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 And if it means that you
00:37:02 --> 00:37:04 get an opportunity to
00:37:04 --> 00:37:06 witness to people, most
00:37:06 --> 00:37:06 likely when the plane's
00:37:06 --> 00:37:08 going down, there's a
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 good opportunity to do
00:37:09 --> 00:37:09 it.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:16 Do your work well,
00:37:16 --> 00:37:16 honours God.
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 Billy Graham's wife, the
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 great evangelist, had a
00:37:19 --> 00:37:22 plaque above her kitchen
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 sink which read,
00:37:23 --> 00:37:25 divine services conducted
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 here three times daily.
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 She got it.
00:37:31 --> 00:37:33 Ironing your child's
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 school uniform and
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 changing a nappy that
00:37:35 --> 00:37:40 overfloweth or mowing
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 your lawn are not
00:37:41 --> 00:37:44 simply jobs when they are
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 done for God.
00:37:45 --> 00:37:49 God calls us to exercise
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 dominion over the
00:37:50 --> 00:37:53 created order for the
00:37:53 --> 00:37:55 good of society.
00:37:56 --> 00:37:58 If I do not cut my
00:37:58 --> 00:38:01 grass, do you think my
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 neighbours would be happy
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 with that?
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 Is it loving my
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 neighbours if I choose not
00:38:05 --> 00:38:07 to cut my grass and let
00:38:07 --> 00:38:09 all the rats and the
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 snakes and the junk to be
00:38:10 --> 00:38:11 dumped in there and it
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 looks like an absolute
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 schmuzzle?
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 Is that loving my
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 neighbour?
00:38:15 --> 00:38:18 When you do it for God,
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 you do it to love your
00:38:19 --> 00:38:20 neighbour and so you cut
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 your grass.
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 You deal with the
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 weeds.
00:38:23 --> 00:38:25 It's not just simply a
00:38:25 --> 00:38:25 job.
00:38:25 --> 00:38:27 It's my calling for the
00:38:27 --> 00:38:28 good order of society
00:38:28 --> 00:38:29 and for the dominion of
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 creation.
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 Is there one that the
00:38:33 --> 00:38:35 Bible teaches us in
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 Colossians 3.23?
00:38:37 --> 00:38:39 Whatever you do, work at
00:38:39 --> 00:38:41 it with all your heart as
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 working for the Lord, not
00:38:42 --> 00:38:44 for men, since you know
00:38:44 --> 00:38:45 that you receive an
00:38:45 --> 00:38:46 inheritance from the
00:38:46 --> 00:38:47 Lord as a reward.
00:38:48 --> 00:38:50 It is the Lord God that
00:38:50 --> 00:38:50 you are serving.
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 Let's pray.
00:38:54 --> 00:38:56 Gracious Father, may your
00:38:56 --> 00:38:58 favour be upon us and
00:38:58 --> 00:39:00 give us hope and purpose
00:39:00 --> 00:39:02 and meaning and joy in our
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 weekly work.
00:39:04 --> 00:39:06 Pour out your favour on us
00:39:06 --> 00:39:07 and establish the work of
00:39:07 --> 00:39:08 our hands.
00:39:08 --> 00:39:11 for the honour of your
00:39:11 --> 00:39:12 name we pray.
00:39:13 --> 00:39:13 Amen.