hello everyone hope you all are doing<\/p>\n
well this afternoon<\/p>\n
over the past two weeks we've been<\/p>\n
looking at work we've been investigating<\/p>\n
what the bible teaches us about the role<\/p>\n
of work in our lives<\/p>\n
so far we've looked at the grand story<\/p>\n
of work<\/p>\n
and last week we looked at work as a<\/p>\n
means of glorifying god<\/p>\n
that we can glorify god in our work<\/p>\n
because work is a means of service<\/p>\n
so we ended last week by touching on the<\/p>\n
truth that god's prepared us all for<\/p>\n
specific<\/p>\n
particular kinds of work and today we're<\/p>\n
looking at work through the lens of joy<\/p>\n
map<\/p>\n
number<\/p>\n
so our passage for today while it<\/p>\n
doesn't tell us everything the bible has<\/p>\n
to say about joy and work it does give<\/p>\n
us some concrete principles about one<\/p>\n
why we work what work we should do and<\/p>\n
how to do this<\/p>\n
invite someone to read the passage for<\/p>\n
us<\/p>\n
online<\/p>\n
thank you<\/p>\n
so dorothy sayer is a british author she<\/p>\n
wrote an essay called why work<\/p>\n
only two modalities authorities<\/p>\n
and in this essay she talks about how<\/p>\n
there's a large disconnect between the<\/p>\n
modern doctrine of work and the biblical<\/p>\n
doctrine of work<\/p>\n
foreign<\/p>\n
[Music]<\/p>\n
and she says that this disconnect is<\/p>\n
causing great harm<\/p>\n
so the modern way and by modern i mean<\/p>\n
people who live in cities like bangkok<\/p>\n
uh the modern way of thinking about work<\/p>\n
is that we work so that we can have<\/p>\n
money or status or things and so that we<\/p>\n
can use the money to do the things that<\/p>\n
we want to do<\/p>\n
in other words many people no longer<\/p>\n
work for the sake of the thing they do<\/p>\n
the result of the work is a byproduct of<\/p>\n
the real aim the real aim is money<\/p>\n
status or identity to please one's<\/p>\n
parents to please oneself etc<\/p>\n
and so she says that's why it's possible<\/p>\n
for us to be miserable doing particular<\/p>\n
jobs because we're not working for the<\/p>\n
joy of what we do but in order to get<\/p>\n
something that's the modern doctrine of<\/p>\n
work<\/p>\n
and so dorothy sayers defines the<\/p>\n
biblical doctrine of work like this<\/p>\n
she says work is a gracious expression<\/p>\n
of creative energy in the service of<\/p>\n
others<\/p>\n
and so while this passage doesn't tell<\/p>\n
us everything the bible says about work<\/p>\n
we'll see paul's writing here informs<\/p>\n
the biblical doctrinal work<\/p>\n
here<\/p>\n
and this is extremely important because<\/p>\n
if we don't understand what the bible<\/p>\n
says about work we won't be able to rest<\/p>\n
a lot of us know what it's like to be<\/p>\n
overworked others of us might be prone<\/p>\n
to idleness and paul has something to<\/p>\n
say to us all right<\/p>\n
god<\/p>\n
so one of the things we see in this<\/p>\n
passage is that the reason we should<\/p>\n
work is because it helps other people<\/p>\n
our main motivation should not be for<\/p>\n
money or status but because we're<\/p>\n
helpful to other people<\/p>\n
so versus 10 paul seems to be talking<\/p>\n
about love and then 11 and 12 are about<\/p>\n
work and so you might think they're not<\/p>\n
related but it's actually one main idea<\/p>\n
soon<\/p>\n
so in verses 9 to 10 paul speaks about<\/p>\n
love he's saying that we know you know<\/p>\n
about loving each other and you do this<\/p>\n
already we don't need to write to you<\/p>\n
about this<\/p>\n
and then in verses 11 and 12 he says yet<\/p>\n
we urge you<\/p>\n
to keep loving more and more<\/p>\n
to do this<\/p>\n
making it your ambition to lead a quiet<\/p>\n
life working with your hands<\/p>\n
um<\/p>\n
paul is saying that working is the way<\/p>\n
you love<\/p>\n
he says i want you to love more and more<\/p>\n
by working<\/p>\n
he then says so you will not be<\/p>\n
dependent on anybody so you will not<\/p>\n
drain your community but rather invest<\/p>\n
in your community<\/p>\n
working as a means of loving and being<\/p>\n
of service<\/p>\n
and therefore if if we have the option<\/p>\n
of choosing our jobs one principle we<\/p>\n
see here is to get a job that makes us<\/p>\n
helpful a job that loves people a job<\/p>\n
that's of service to others<\/p>\n
now does this mean we need to quit our<\/p>\n
jobs and work for an ngo<\/p>\n
i mean you know the answer to that of<\/p>\n
course not<\/p>\n
all work if it's good work it's helpful<\/p>\n
all work that is good is service<\/p>\n
for example the room we're sitting in<\/p>\n
right now it's a nice room<\/p>\n
the lights had to be manufactured and<\/p>\n
installed<\/p>\n
we're not sweating we have cold ac<\/p>\n
because someone manufactured and<\/p>\n
installed it<\/p>\n
it's also clean and the reason it's<\/p>\n
clean is because the mambang come in and<\/p>\n
clean it and make it a safe place to be<\/p>\n
in fact if it wasn't clean then we<\/p>\n
continue to come every week we would<\/p>\n
eventually die<\/p>\n
it's called hygiene<\/p>\n
we also have a great view<\/p>\n
and we don't need to walk up 29 stories<\/p>\n
in order to enjoy this view because<\/p>\n
someone installed an elevator<\/p>\n
someone was taught by a teacher or a<\/p>\n
professor how to install an elevator<\/p>\n
all of that<\/p>\n
resourcing manufacturing engineering<\/p>\n
transporting managing trading importing<\/p>\n
exporting cleaning all of that is<\/p>\n
serviced<\/p>\n
and all of that all work through which<\/p>\n
you are promoting the common good<\/p>\n
through which you are helping<\/p>\n
that's<\/p>\n
why<\/p>\n
service in thai<\/p>\n
things<\/p>\n
and so<\/p>\n
paul talks about work as an expression<\/p>\n
of love<\/p>\n
the question is who is he talking to<\/p>\n
him<\/p>\n
when paul says make it your ambition to<\/p>\n
lead a quiet life minding your own<\/p>\n
business<\/p>\n
that's a hard verse to translate some of<\/p>\n
the commentators say that what paul is<\/p>\n
actually saying is strive<\/p>\n
thessalonian christians to whom paul is<\/p>\n
writing if he needs to say strive for<\/p>\n
quiet<\/p>\n
must have been experiencing the opposite<\/p>\n
christian names<\/p>\n
they were experiencing a disquiet a lack<\/p>\n
of ease a restlessness a boredom<\/p>\n
touched on this when we looked at how<\/p>\n
we're because we're made in god's image<\/p>\n
we're also called to work<\/p>\n
just as god worked and how god put adam<\/p>\n
and eve in the garden<\/p>\n
and we see paul alluding to that here<\/p>\n
he connects striving for quiet with work<\/p>\n
in other words in order to experience<\/p>\n
rest one must work<\/p>\n
on and so paul alludes to hear something<\/p>\n
that is more explicitly mentioned in<\/p>\n
other places in the bible like ephesians<\/p>\n
two eight to ten for instance that we<\/p>\n
just read<\/p>\n
his name<\/p>\n
verse 10 says for we are god's handiwork<\/p>\n
created in christ jesus to do good works<\/p>\n
which god prepared us in advance for us<\/p>\n
to do<\/p>\n
so what paul is alluding to here in<\/p>\n
first thessalonians is that god equips<\/p>\n
us for work<\/p>\n
for example during the middle ages<\/p>\n
people viewed monks and priests as<\/p>\n
people who had been called by god and<\/p>\n
everyone else were the regular fault<\/p>\n
but during the reformation the<\/p>\n
protestant reformers like calvin and<\/p>\n
luther came to understand that all<\/p>\n
and the word calling is much bigger than<\/p>\n
how we narrowly define it today to mean<\/p>\n
employment or a job<\/p>\n
being a parent being a son or a daughter<\/p>\n
is as much a calling as being a ceo of a<\/p>\n
nonprofit all work is a calling from god<\/p>\n
even<\/p>\n
and so if all calling is if all work is<\/p>\n
a calling from god then it stands that<\/p>\n
god equips us for working<\/p>\n
so the reformers say and paul alludes to<\/p>\n
it here that the work we ought to do<\/p>\n
the work we ought to do fits with our<\/p>\n
insides so like our abilities our<\/p>\n
passions our talents our desires<\/p>\n
that means it is a good idea to look<\/p>\n
inside and see whether or not there's a<\/p>\n
sense of quiet there<\/p>\n
in your work<\/p>\n
god calls us and equips us to do certain<\/p>\n
kinds of work<\/p>\n
but this doesn't mean everyone is called<\/p>\n
to just one job<\/p>\n
so tim keller he gives a helpful<\/p>\n
framework about this he says to think<\/p>\n
about the spectrum of jobs all the<\/p>\n
different kinds of work that's possible<\/p>\n
so our gifts temperaments abilities<\/p>\n
passions experience all the things that<\/p>\n
make us unique mean that there is a<\/p>\n
range a section on that spectrum to<\/p>\n
which god has called us by who he's made<\/p>\n
us to be<\/p>\n
we need to look at our insides if we<\/p>\n
have the chance to<\/p>\n
and say i need to find work that i<\/p>\n
really enjoy that inspires me a work i<\/p>\n
have a desire for<\/p>\n
telomeres<\/p>\n
it's really important to hold these<\/p>\n
things together<\/p>\n
work that benefits others and work which<\/p>\n
fits us<\/p>\n
one reason for this is because<\/p>\n
oftentimes the gifts<\/p>\n
talents abilities affinities passions<\/p>\n
that god has given us become clear and<\/p>\n
even surprise us when we look around at<\/p>\n
our context and see the needs in our<\/p>\n
community<\/p>\n
another way of discerning work that fits<\/p>\n
is looking around and thinking what<\/p>\n
needs do you vibrate to what kinds of<\/p>\n
people problems or ministry needs move<\/p>\n
you<\/p>\n
know<\/p>\n
upside<\/p>\n
so for example in acts 17 16<\/p>\n
paul is greatly distressed by the people<\/p>\n
in athens worshiping idols<\/p>\n
and that leads him to begin a ministry<\/p>\n
of apologetics verse<\/p>\n
oftentimes we may not be aware of what<\/p>\n
work fits us until we look at the<\/p>\n
concrete needs of our context<\/p>\n
for example i never would have thought<\/p>\n
that i would enjoy being on staff at a<\/p>\n
church but over the past two years i've<\/p>\n
come to see that this is on that<\/p>\n
spectrum that fits<\/p>\n
into<\/p>\n
again this doesn't mean god calls us to<\/p>\n
only one job<\/p>\n
but it does mean that god's prepared us<\/p>\n
for our work and oftentimes he prepares<\/p>\n
us through our work<\/p>\n
so in mark when jesus calls james and<\/p>\n
john to come follow him<\/p>\n
they drop their nets and follow him but<\/p>\n
they were still fishermen in fact jesus<\/p>\n
says that he would make them fishers of<\/p>\n
men<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
so on the one hand we're to do work that<\/p>\n
and we're also to do work that benefits<\/p>\n
an ideal job then<\/p>\n
is one where these two things come<\/p>\n
together<\/p>\n
if we're doing work that fits us and it<\/p>\n
benefits others<\/p>\n
not necessarily the most high paying job<\/p>\n
but it's ideal if these two things come<\/p>\n
now there's a tension here<\/p>\n
some of us may be extremely blessed to<\/p>\n
find jobs where these two things overlap<\/p>\n
but for many of us we're not in ideal<\/p>\n
situations in fact some might even be<\/p>\n
thinking oh my goodness this is so<\/p>\n
unrealistic many of us don't find the<\/p>\n
ideal job<\/p>\n
and even for those of us who do enjoy<\/p>\n
what we do we don't enjoy everything all<\/p>\n
the time<\/p>\n
but even there we can take those<\/p>\n
principles and say to ourselves how can<\/p>\n
i as much as possible<\/p>\n
use my gifts the way god's equipped me<\/p>\n
to do my job in a way that fits<\/p>\n
and on the other hand saying to<\/p>\n
ourselves man cleaning this this room<\/p>\n
doesn't seem to be changing people's<\/p>\n
lives as much as i'd like to see but<\/p>\n
it's for the common good<\/p>\n
reminding ourselves that even in our<\/p>\n
unideal jobs we're still benefiting<\/p>\n
people we're loving people<\/p>\n
filling your heart with that<\/p>\n
even in an unideal job you're still<\/p>\n
serving people<\/p>\n
so we've talked about the reason for<\/p>\n
work talked about what work we should do<\/p>\n
but if we end there it's not enough<\/p>\n
we talked about this earlier the modern<\/p>\n
is to work not for the pleasure of<\/p>\n
working but for money status identity<\/p>\n
now of course that shouldn't be our<\/p>\n
primary purpose but these principles<\/p>\n
alone are not going to stop our hearts<\/p>\n
from being pulled into work for money or<\/p>\n
to be wrapped up in our work because<\/p>\n
work is our identity these principles<\/p>\n
are not going to cure that<\/p>\n
happiness<\/p>\n
when we pursue work as our identity or<\/p>\n
for our status work either becomes too<\/p>\n
important or unimportant<\/p>\n
in other words we become enslaved to our<\/p>\n
work we burn out we work too much we cut<\/p>\n
corners or we don't care about our work<\/p>\n
if work becomes our master and our<\/p>\n
identity it will drive us crazy<\/p>\n
we're so wrapped up in our work that we<\/p>\n
can't fail and if we do we won't forgive<\/p>\n
ourselves<\/p>\n
that's why when work goes well we feel<\/p>\n
on top of the world but when it doesn't<\/p>\n
or when we're out of a job we feel<\/p>\n
useless and worthless<\/p>\n
if we feel this way it's because we're<\/p>\n
trying to find our identity through our<\/p>\n
work and through our performance<\/p>\n
we need to work we need to perform we<\/p>\n
need to do something in order to feel as<\/p>\n
if we have any worth or value<\/p>\n
and because of this<\/p>\n
we can never rest even when we're<\/p>\n
resting we're not really resting<\/p>\n
we're always trying to justify our<\/p>\n
existence by being the most productive<\/p>\n
or the most successful we can't rest<\/p>\n
so this verse one here sets the context<\/p>\n
for everything we just read paul says we<\/p>\n
instructed<\/p>\n
so what paul says here he also says in<\/p>\n
colossians and ephesians that is we are<\/p>\n
to work to please god<\/p>\n
so what does it mean to please god<\/p>\n
lemon<\/p>\n
well there's a difference between<\/p>\n
pleasing god and appeasing god<\/p>\n
we can either do our work to appease god<\/p>\n
that is i'm doing all this work because<\/p>\n
i want god to hear me i want god to<\/p>\n
answer my prayers so i'll do all this<\/p>\n
work for him<\/p>\n
plenty of people are moral are good<\/p>\n
plenty of people serve the needy give to<\/p>\n
the poor in order so that god would hear<\/p>\n
them and answer their prayers that's<\/p>\n
working to appease god like<\/p>\n
and plenty of us are very disciplined<\/p>\n
very moral working like crazy in order<\/p>\n
to appease god or our parents or those<\/p>\n
around us<\/p>\n
that's not what pleasing god means and<\/p>\n
if we do that we'll never find any rest<\/p>\n
we can't walk away from our work in<\/p>\n
order to care for our families we can't<\/p>\n
put our work down in order to take time<\/p>\n
for our bodies<\/p>\n
rather living to please god means living<\/p>\n
for the pleasure of giving pleasure to<\/p>\n
living for the sheer joy of pleasing god<\/p>\n
who is in heaven working for the sheer<\/p>\n
joy of pleasing god<\/p>\n
and unless jonathan edwards he's a 18th<\/p>\n
century dude he says unless we've<\/p>\n
experienced the grace of god<\/p>\n
whatever we do no matter how good it<\/p>\n
seems to be we do it out of<\/p>\n
self-interest<\/p>\n
right but the point still stands if<\/p>\n
unless we've experienced god's grace<\/p>\n
everything we do we do out of<\/p>\n
we do good things<\/p>\n
to get we do good deeds to get things<\/p>\n
from other people or from god but when<\/p>\n
we experience god's grace if you know<\/p>\n
that god loves you because of what<\/p>\n
if you know god calls you his child and<\/p>\n
embraces you because of jesus's work<\/p>\n
that you are home that you are accepted<\/p>\n
it's only then that we're able to do<\/p>\n
work for the sheer joy of pleasing our<\/p>\n
master pleasing god<\/p>\n
when we realize how much god loves us<\/p>\n
when you realize what god went through<\/p>\n
in order for you to be a part of his<\/p>\n
family you won't do things to get<\/p>\n
something from god<\/p>\n
please<\/p>\n
knowing what he's done for us knowing<\/p>\n
that we're saved by his grace<\/p>\n
if we make our careers our masters it<\/p>\n
will kill us it will make us hate<\/p>\n
ourselves if we fail our careers we're<\/p>\n
not going to forgive ourselves because<\/p>\n
that's where our identities and sense of<\/p>\n
self comes from<\/p>\n
but jesus christ is the only master who<\/p>\n
will forgive you and die for you<\/p>\n
when we realize and grasp this it<\/p>\n
changes our relationship to work<\/p>\n
finally we'll be able to work from a<\/p>\n
place of rest<\/p>\n
only then we are no longer defined by<\/p>\n
our own work we are defined by jesus's<\/p>\n
and you know what's ironic it's only<\/p>\n
then that we can find true fulfillment<\/p>\n
in our work it's only then that we can<\/p>\n
work for the sheer joy of working<\/p>\n
hebrews 4 it says there remains a rest<\/p>\n
for the people of god<\/p>\n
and when we understand the gospel<\/p>\n
we experience this rest<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
free to finally rest from the need to<\/p>\n
prove ourselves to give ourselves<\/p>\n
significance or self-worth especially<\/p>\n
instead we're free to work in response<\/p>\n
to our rest we can work from a place of<\/p>\n
rest<\/p>\n
we still work<\/p>\n
but we work knowing that we aren't<\/p>\n
defined by our work and this gives us<\/p>\n
the power to live for the pleasure of<\/p>\n
pleasing our heavenly fathers<\/p>\n
jesus says come to me all who are weary<\/p>\n
and burdened and i will give you rest<\/p>\n
take my yoke upon you and learn from me<\/p>\n
and you'll find rest for your souls my<\/p>\n
yoke<\/p>\n
becoming a christian does not doesn't<\/p>\n
mean you don't work<\/p>\n
it means that through jesus and his<\/p>\n
finished work we can now have real<\/p>\n
lasting rest and that now we can work<\/p>\n
finding true rest in the lord jesus<\/p>\n
christ<\/p>\n
are you burdened from trying to prove<\/p>\n
yourself through your work jesus says<\/p>\n
come to him<\/p>\n
others of us may be stuck in our jobs or<\/p>\n
looking for work experiencing a disquiet<\/p>\n
but she would help us to live in our<\/p>\n
environments from a place of rest<\/p>\n
knowing that we are defined by your work<\/p>\n
jesus not our own<\/p>\n
hey man<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20211108","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8YU7WZlVXGI","video_id":"8YU7WZlVXGI","video_duration":"36:01","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":917,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916\/revisions\/917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}