My Work As Worship

Monday Morning Faith

"My Work As Worship"

Colossians 3:23-24

Your work matters to God!  What you do and the way that you do it matter to God.

Worship God While You Work

1. Recognize that work Fulfills one of God’s purposes at creation

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)

• Before the Fall and The Curse

• Adam didn’t just guard the garden, he Developed It

• He was to take the raw materials and develop them for the Glory of God and the Good of others

“For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat.” (Psalm 147:13–14)

“When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to ‘give us this day our daily bread.’ And he does give us our daily bread.  He does it by the means of the farmer who planted and harvested the grain, the baker who made the flour into bread, the person who prepared our meal.”  Martin Luther

“He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.” (Exodus 35:35)

Vocation comes from the Latin word “voca,” which means To Call.  It is how God designed and called you to serve in this world.

2. Pursue the highest standards of Excellence

• You have a higher boss than your Employer

• You work for a greater reward than your Paycheck

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

3. Reflect the highest standards of Ethics

“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” (Proverbs 11:1)

Our ethical practices Reflect On God

Work that worships God should Demonstrate the justice and integrity of God

4. Make blessing others part of the Bottom Line

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

We begin to Leverage our positions of strength to bless and serve others

• A good profitable business can be a blessing to a Community

• “I know we can make a profit at this, but is it genuinely Helpful To People?”

• Is this not just good for a few, but Beneficial to the community?

• How can we Give and Invest in the community? 

5. Seek to advance Jesus’ Mission where you can

Work done by followers of Christ should be done with a view toward the Great Commission

"I believe that one of the next great moves of God is going to be through the believers in the workplace.” Billy Graham

“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15)

As You Honor Christ First In Your Work By Practicing the Four Things Above Others May Ask About:

• Your Motives

• Your Joy

• Your Response to hardship and challenges

Many think that the next great wave of missions will take place on the wings of business.

“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” (Proverbs 22:29)

Question: What if God made you good at that skill to open up a nation or a people group to the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Challenge: Do what you do well for the glory of God; do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God.

Warning: Worship God: not your Work

Don’t be Idle at work or make an Idol of your work!

When Jesus is your life, you can enjoy the rest of your life!

Making It Personal:

• Is my sense of identity and security founded firmly upon Jesus Christ or am I looking toward my work to provide these to me?

• Am I living out the guidelines outlined here about worshiping God through my work? What areas is God challenging me to grow in today?

• How am I keeping the Great Commission in view as I carry out my work?

• How will I remind myself this week that I work for King Jesus? How can I keep this truth before me?

• Who can I share these truths with?