1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,080 My name is Carlos. I get to preach today about 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,360 work, but specifically work is mission. 3 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,480 And so I want to show my cards from the from the jump. 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,440 All right, I don't have a lot of technical. 5 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:19,200 This is how you be on mission at work because my job is not to 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:21,080 show you how to live your life with Jesus. 7 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:22,680 That's your job with the Holy Spirit. 8 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,800 So what I am going to do is I want to paint broad categories 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,120 this morning and I'm going to show us an example of a church 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:31,600 that's just knocking it out the park. 11 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:34,680 But before I do that, I'm going to throw myself under the bus. 12 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,760 OK, y'all with me? Oh, OK, All right. 13 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,360 I was like, I'm talking to myself up here. 14 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,080 Come on, let me throw myself under the bus. 15 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:51,040 All right, The year was 2011. I was a new I like these. 16 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,640 I was a new Christian, new ish Christian at Georgia Southern 17 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:56,920 University. Go Eagles. 18 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:00,840 Thank you. This is actually part of my No, 19 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,000 it's not. I was a new Christian at Georgia 20 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,520 Southern University and I was an art major. 21 00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:11,360 Any art people in the house? There you go. 22 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:16,880 I was an art major and I was heavily involved in my campus 23 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:21,760 ministry at the time. And Jesus had just become like 24 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,040 so sweet to me. And I was like, man, like these 25 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:26,760 are going to be my people. These are going to be people 26 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,800 that I, I do ministry to, that I do life with. 27 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,480 It was in college that I grew up passion for the loss. 28 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,360 And then I began to see that like my passion for art and then 29 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,360 my passion for Jesus, I could actually like put those things 30 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,080 together. And so I began to get on mission 31 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:50,360 and things went good. In fact, one of the highlights 32 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,880 of my time and in college doing ministry and and as a vocational 33 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:58,760 student was in my 3D design class. 34 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,440 It was a highlight of my missional pursuits at Georgia 35 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,600 Southern. See, what had happened was this 36 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,080 small little group of us had formed kind of in the back of 37 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,400 the classroom, and we'd have all these inside jokes, we'd be 38 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,600 teasing each other, we'd be teasing the rest of the class, 39 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:18,680 and then we'd eventually get into real life conversations 40 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,600 about who we are and then the meaning of life. 41 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,600 And I even got to start a Bible study with that, that little 42 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,760 group. I'm still friends with one of 43 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,640 them, especially to this day. He's the guy who tattooed my 44 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:33,680 hand. He gave me a couple tattoos, and 45 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:35,680 he's still a really good friend of mine. 46 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,400 This class was remarkable in many ways because I learned so 47 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:45,360 much about myself and about how God wanted to use me for His 48 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,480 mission. But it was also memorable 49 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:50,680 because it was in this class that I learned one of the most 50 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,840 important lessons, one of the most important lessons about 51 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,720 mission. And because my vocation at the 52 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,920 time was a student, and because our sermon series is on work, 53 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:05,280 and because my sermon today is on being missional at the 54 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:09,680 workplace, I believe that this memorable lesson will help us as 55 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,680 we seek to marry mission and work together. 56 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:18,520 But before I do that, we have to ask the question, are we even 57 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:19,880 supposed to be on mission at work? 58 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:24,880 Does it make sense to be mission minded in the workplace? 59 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,880 Is it wise to let your faith bleed into your vocational work? 60 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,280 Right? Isn't work just a place where I 61 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,600 like go get my bread and and then go back home? 62 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,480 Is it work? Isn't my job just where I like I 63 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:40,440 find my ultimate fulfillment, right? 64 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,760 This is this is my purpose in life. 65 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:46,960 Those are really good questions. And before I share with you my 66 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,840 answer and my sermon, I want to share with you how one preacher 67 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,080 answered that question in the single most important sermon I 68 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,600 think it ever recorded when looking at a crowd and 69 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,720 attempting to give them direction on how they should 70 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,240 live in every aspect of their lives, right, including 71 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:06,440 vocations. This preacher says this. 72 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,480 He says this in Matthew. He says you are the light of the 73 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,120 world. A city situated on a hill cannot 74 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,920 be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it 75 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:22,240 under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light 76 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,400 for all who are in the house in the same way, right? 77 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,680 Just like that lamp. Let your light shine before 78 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,920 others, so that they may do what? 79 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,200 See. See your good works and give 80 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:45,480 glory to who? Give glory to God your Father in 81 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,480 heaven, Jesus. Spoiler alert, the best 82 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,160 preacher. I think this is my opinion. 83 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:55,440 Jesus. The best preacher there ever was 84 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:57,320 and ever will be. In one of his most famous 85 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,800 sermons, the Sermon on the Mount tells a large crowd of his 86 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:06,000 followers that they are light. They are placed in The Dark 87 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:06,960 World. To do what? 88 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:12,640 To shine bright, to shine forth, to illuminate everything around 89 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,680 them. And what is the way that they 90 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:19,200 accomplish this? What is the way in which The 91 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,160 Dark World that they live in is to be illuminated? 92 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,440 Jesus says through their good works. 93 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:30,480 Notice he says that you are light. 94 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:32,600 Everybody say I am light. I am light. 95 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,760 You are light. When Jesus mentions good works, 96 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:40,120 these works are not works that are used to save you. 97 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:44,120 No, these are good works because you are already saved, right? 98 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,160 This is the gospel. You have been saved apart from 99 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:49,080 any works that you could do for God. 100 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:53,240 Your works cannot save you. Praying can't save you. 101 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,160 Going to church can't save you. Tithing can't save you. 102 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,000 Reading your Bible, that can't save you. 103 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:05,400 Only God can. You are light, you have been 104 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,800 saved apart from your works. You have been made righteous by 105 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,000 the blood of Jesus. And when you remember Pastor 106 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:14,440 Cole's sermon from last week, right? 107 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,000 When, when, when, then then it all kind of makes sense, right? 108 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,000 Last week Pastor Cole told us that, that, that we are made in 109 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,000 God's images, that we are God's statues put throughout the whole 110 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,600 earth to, to remind people of who God is. 111 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,120 This is what Jesus is saying. He's saying you are the light of 112 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,280 the world because who, who is who is the ultimate light? 113 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:42,000 Jesus, Jesus, God, God is light, but our light is a borrowed 114 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,520 light, right? Kind of like the moon. 115 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,160 You know how the moon shines bright in the night, but like it 116 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,840 only shines because the sun is reflecting off of it in the same 117 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:56,040 way, In the same way, we are reflection of the SON at the 118 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,720 SUN, right? Everybody say I am light, I am 119 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:07,440 light, you are light and the way that you shine and display the 120 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,400 glory of God is through your good work. 121 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,360 So does it make sense to answer our question right from the 122 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:16,560 beginning? Does it make sense to be mission 123 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,440 minded in the workplace? Is it wise to let your faith 124 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:22,880 bleed into your vocational work? Well, my answer and I think what 125 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:25,800 the answer to the Lord Jesus says is absolutely yes, 126 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:32,800 Absolutely yes, yes. The workplace is not just there 127 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,800 to provide for you, right? The workplace, your vocation, 128 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,640 you're caught, whatever you want to call it is not there just for 129 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,080 you to simply find ultimate fulfillment. 130 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:43,760 We aren't just to go through the motions. 131 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:49,440 No, God says that you are to shine to shine, shine in such a 132 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:54,640 way that people see and say, Oh my gosh, glory to God, glory to 133 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,400 God and they see they see him through your works. 134 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:01,200 And this brings me back to my story. 135 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:02,840 This is the one I'm about to throw myself under the bus. 136 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:07,680 All right, you see, I had created really, I had created 137 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,840 some really dope friendships. We had a ton of fun in the class 138 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:14,920 and we even talked about spiritual things. 139 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,280 The lesson that I learned this, this memorable lesson about work 140 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:23,440 that I learned in this class, was that the reality that before 141 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,400 anyone cares about what I said about God, what I proclaimed 142 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,159 about God, what I declared about God, they will first notice the 143 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:40,159 quality of my work. I represent Jesus to them in my 144 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:43,559 workplace. Our work is the first 145 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,000 evangelistic witness that you have of who God is in your 146 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,640 vocation. And unfortunately for me, my 147 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,840 work sucked. I mean, it wasn't terrible. 148 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:00,080 It wasn't terrible, but I was definitely just coasting. 149 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,600 I had believed the lie that, yeah, work is important, but 150 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:06,520 really what happened? What was this really important 151 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,000 is I just got to, I just got to let him know about Jesus. 152 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,120 I got to let him know about Jesus. 153 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,000 I cared way, way more about being a good communicator about 154 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,600 my belief in God and more, more than demonstrating my belief in 155 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:26,680 God through my good works. And this came to the to his head 156 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,080 and one of my biggest projects. So we had to create this like, 157 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:32,240 man, this was such a hard project. 158 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:37,000 It was like this big house. We had to create the interior of 159 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:41,120 a house and it was all white. And I couldn't like I couldn't 160 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,880 keep this thing. I had smudges everywhere on it. 161 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,400 It was it was the worst. And I was like, hey, this is 162 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:47,560 fine, whatever, I'm going to turn in. 163 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:49,760 And my professor, she called me out on it, right? 164 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:53,520 She called me out while I was presenting my project and 165 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,680 getting feedback and whatnot. She pulled me to the side. 166 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,680 She didn't want to embarrass me. Praise her, praise her heart. 167 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:02,440 Professor Virginia, if you listen, I don't know what she 168 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:04,680 is, but I appreciate this. This has changed my life. 169 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,640 She says, you know, Carlos, shouldn't the effort of your 170 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,400 work reflect the God that you proclaim? 171 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:17,160 I was like, Oh my gosh, she was not a believer, by the way. 172 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,920 She says how you work speaks volumes of what you believe in. 173 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:27,960 And I, I was just like, let me go crawl in a hole right now. 174 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,680 It was as if someone sucked all the air out of the room. 175 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,400 What was the hardest part about this was that she was right. 176 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:40,800 I let myself give into the lie that my work didn't matter as 177 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,360 much, my words did. I believe that if my words were 178 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:46,240 full of Jesus, then my work, it just didn't. 179 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:50,040 It didn't matter that much when in reality she was not just 180 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:51,920 listening to my words, but she was watching. 181 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:59,760 She was watching my life. I believe the lie that my works 182 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:03,680 meant nothing at all. Dorothy Sayers says this. 183 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,120 Dorothy Sayers has this really dope quote that has just haunted 184 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:09,280 me. She says this quote. 185 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,040 The Church's approach to an intelligent Carpenter is usually 186 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,200 confined to exhorting him not to be drunk and disorderly in his 187 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,600 leisure hours, and to come to church on Sundays. 188 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:23,560 What the church should be telling him is this. 189 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:29,640 Y'all listening that the very first demand that his religion 190 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,320 makes upon him is that he should make good tables. 191 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,880 Church, by all means, yes. Decent forms of amusement, 192 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:42,720 certainly, but what use is all of that if in the very center of 193 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,800 his life and occupation, he is insulting God with bad 194 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:51,680 carpentry? No crooked table legs or I'll 195 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:54,480 fitting drawers ever came out of the carpenter's shop in 196 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:58,680 Nazareth. Nor if they did, could anyone 197 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:03,040 believe that they were made by the same hand that made heaven 198 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:09,400 and earth. Or Simply put, your work is a 199 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:14,560 missional tool that God uses for you to shine bright in the 200 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:18,000 world. Our work matters. 201 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:22,840 And as I look back on it, I wish that I could redo that class. 202 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:24,720 Not the projects, definitely not. 203 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:29,320 No, because I don't, I don't think that. 204 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,480 Like, it wasn't, it wasn't the fact of me having a perfect 205 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:34,880 project. It wasn't the fact of me 206 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,600 designing this thing. It was it was the way that I did 207 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,000 it right. I wish that I could do it over, 208 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:43,520 but I can't. And So what I'm going to do this 209 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:45,720 morning is I'm going to preach the 21 year old Carlos. 210 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,600 I want to be like, hey bro, get yourself together and I'm just 211 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,920 going to let y'all listen in. All right, That was a long 212 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:59,360 intro. We're going to go all right. 213 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:05,280 It is true that we have to open our mouths and and declare who 214 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,360 Jesus is, declare the hope that we have. 215 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,960 But mission begins as soon as you clock in. 216 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:12,360 It begins as soon as those kids wake up. 217 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,720 It it it happens as soon as your shift begins or as soon as you 218 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:18,520 walk through the doors of your classroom. 219 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,960 How you work speaks volumes about the God in whom you trust. 220 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,920 All right. And there's one church in the 221 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,120 New Testament that has been such a shining example of for me. 222 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:37,760 And so I just want to hold them up as an example of what does it 223 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,920 look like to work in such a way that people look at you and they 224 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,800 praise God. All right, this is the church in 225 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,040 Thessalonica. These dudes were killing it. 226 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,760 All right, so we're going to be in First Thessalonians 1/2 227 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,440 through three and then verse 8. So if you're able, let's go 228 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:58,280 ahead and stand for the reading of God's Word. 229 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:04,200 This isn't going to be technical. 230 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:05,360 I think I said that at the beginning. 231 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,800 This isn't going to be technical on how on that the tools of how 232 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:11,600 to be on mission. We have an e-book that we have 233 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:13,760 designed for you guys. I'm sure they're around here 234 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,520 somewhere where you get the opportunity to ask those 235 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,320 questions. But this is going to be more 236 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,480 high level, more high level vision. 237 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:25,600 All right, First Thessalonians 1233, this is the word of the 238 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:29,840 Lord. We always thank God for all of 239 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,080 you making mention of you constantly in our prayers. 240 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,920 We recall in the presence of of our God and Father, your work 241 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:43,520 produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your 242 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,440 endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. 243 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:53,760 Verse 8 says this. I can find it. 244 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,440 Oh, for the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in 245 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,320 Macedonia and Achaea, but in every place that your faith in 246 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:06,000 God has gone out. This is the word of the Lord. 247 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:16,970 You can be seated. Heavenly Father, I pray that 248 00:15:17,850 --> 00:15:24,050 your word will shine bright this morning in a lot of ways. 249 00:15:24,050 --> 00:15:26,530 Lord, everything that I'm about to say from here on out, Lord, I 250 00:15:26,530 --> 00:15:30,610 am. I'm a, I'm a hypocrite, Lord, I 251 00:15:30,610 --> 00:15:33,450 don't live work like this and work like this. 252 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,520 And that's OK because you are slowly and steady making me new. 253 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,160 And so I pray that people will look beyond my hypocrisy, Lord, 254 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:47,200 and look to you, Lord, you are worthy of our work, our labor 255 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:48,880 and our endurance. And so I pray that you would 256 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:52,960 help us to be people who work in our in our vocations like this, 257 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,800 that that display the glory of God. 258 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:56,720 Lord, empower me with your Holy Spirit. 259 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,080 Yeah, make this just a fragrant offering to you in Jesus name. 260 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:07,080 Amen. All right, y'all with me, We're 261 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:08,560 good. OK, All right. 262 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,360 Well, Paul is writing and reminiscing about this church. 263 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,160 The first thing that he recalls about them is their work 264 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:20,280 produced by faith, their labor that is motivated by love, and 265 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,800 their endurance, which is inspired by hope in the Lord 266 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,200 Jesus. Everybody say work, work, work, 267 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:32,440 labor, labor, endurance. These three things are the 268 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:37,480 ingredients that make up the recipe for your vocation being a 269 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,240 myth for for you being a a missional witness in your 270 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,880 vocation, right? Because Paul, because of these 271 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:48,160 Paul says that that the word of the Lord rang out from them or 272 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,800 as Jesus says in Matthew 5, they shone like the lights that they 273 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:53,840 are. So let's break this down. 274 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,560 The first thing that we see about this church is that they 275 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:01,840 are a people who work, right? This work, this word work means 276 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,480 that they have they have a duty, they have a task, they have an 277 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,640 assignment and they actually accomplish it like they do the 278 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,000 job that that was given to them. And on the surface, this seems 279 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,800 simple enough, but you would be amazed at how much of A witness 280 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,520 you would be if you just actually did the job that you 281 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,480 were given, right? If you if after you cleaned the 282 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:25,760 windows, there were like actually no smudges on the 283 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:29,880 windows like after you, like you actually submit the report on 284 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,480 time, like stay at home parents, you actually feed and nurture 285 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,200 your kids, right? Doing the task in front of you 286 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,520 speaks volumes. But let's keep going because the 287 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:43,960 church at Thessalonica, that is a tongue twister. 288 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,880 The church at Thessalonica didn't just have this work 289 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,560 appear out of thin air. No, their work was produced by 290 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:53,960 something, right? And what was that? 291 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:58,680 It was faith. Their faith is what produced 292 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,400 this work. Faith is what helped them get 293 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,000 the job done. And faith is going to help you 294 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,720 and your work. But this ain't just like some 295 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,040 whimsical faith. This is not just like pray, eat, 296 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:16,840 laugh, love faith, right? This faith that Paul is saying 297 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:20,800 is a particular faith, this word faith refers to the fact that 298 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,440 these people, they have a firm assurance, they have a 299 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,720 confidence not in their work, but in the person and work of 300 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,400 Jesus Christ and all that he has done for them and all that he 301 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,880 has made them to be. You see, this type of work isn't 302 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,960 just produced by putting your head down and grinding. 303 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:42,480 No, this type of work rings out. That rings out is produced by 304 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,720 what Jesus has done for us. It's produced when you recognize 305 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:52,200 and remember that you are the work of God that God sent Jesus 306 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,440 to complete the task of ransoming people from every 307 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,400 nation, tribe and tongue. This type of work is produced 308 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,320 when you see that the work of God is sending Jesus actually 309 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:06,760 paid the penalty for your sins. This type of work is produced 310 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,360 when you see that the work of God that that God had given to 311 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:14,280 Jesus and giving you his his righteousness, it actually 312 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,080 happened. You are the righteousness of 313 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,120 God. This type of work is produced 314 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:23,080 when you see that the work of Jesus that it has adopted you 315 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:27,440 into the family of God, right? This this, this type of work 316 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,360 looking at faith is produced when you realize that man, 317 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:34,360 because of Jesus, I am the beloved of God. 318 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,080 And when the work of Jesus is the faith that you cling to, 319 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,640 then what results is the type of work in your vocation that 320 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,960 points to the divine reality that God is real and he desires 321 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:53,160 a people for himself. This is work that is produced by 322 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,200 faith, right? This is this is what was 323 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,080 produced in these people. But let's keep going. 324 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,520 Oh, nice. The second thing that Paul 325 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:09,800 recalls is that this church had labor now. 326 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,280 When I first studied this, I was like, why is Paul saying the 327 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,920 same thing twice? Work, labor, Like maybe he's 328 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,120 just trying to emphasize that. But then when you, when you look 329 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:23,320 at the word labor, what Paul, it's a, it's a different word. 330 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,400 It's a completely different word by labor. 331 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,600 What Paul means is that work, this is work that takes effort, 332 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,120 considerable effort. This is not just work. 333 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:38,720 This is this is toil. It's hard work. 334 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,360 This is the kind of work that that if you, if you work a blue 335 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:44,720 collar job, this is kind of work that when you come home, your 336 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,040 muscles are sore. You're like, man, like I've been 337 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:54,200 whatever worse is chatting here, been hanging wires. 338 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:55,360 I don't know what electricians do. 339 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:57,080 I think they like hang wires and stuff. 340 00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:58,840 You've been on your feet all day. 341 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,800 It's that type of work. If if you work at a desk job, 342 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,160 I'm trying to who works in the desk? 343 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,040 There you go. If you work in a desk job, this 344 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:09,600 is the type of work that you've been looking at a screen all day 345 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,400 and you like rub your temples, You're like, Oh my gosh, man, 346 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,080 I'm so tired. This is this is this is what he 347 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,800 means by labor. If you're, if you work at home, 348 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,720 this is the type of work that makes you actually believe that 349 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,200 you have an infinite amount of dishes and laundry. 350 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:25,880 Like you're like, I'm never going to catch up. 351 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,600 I'm never going to catch up. Like this thing is, is, is going 352 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:31,680 on forever. This is the type of work that 353 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:36,080 when we get a large rush in our Cafe and I look up and I see a 354 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,920 line, I'm like, OK, we just put my head down to keep going and 355 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,360 30 minutes left. I'm like, it seems like the line 356 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:46,080 has not moved. It's just it's hard work. 357 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:48,760 This is what Paul means when he says labor. 358 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,480 And, and more specifically, this is the type of work by labor. 359 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,920 This is the type of work that that that reduces one strength. 360 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,960 But this labor isn't 1 where people drag their feet toward 361 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:05,880 it. No, what Paul is saying is that 362 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:10,400 they ran to this type of work. They ran toward this type of 363 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:12,000 work. Think about this for a second. 364 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,400 Think about the the vision of seeing a group of people 365 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:21,120 willingly running toward this hard and and laborers work on 366 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:24,360 purpose. If I weren't part of this group, 367 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:30,040 I'd be like, man, like, why do all y'all like embrace this? 368 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,760 To which they would probably probably reply, man, I'm glad 369 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:36,200 you asked. I'm glad you noticed. 370 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:41,200 We're motivated because of love. That's what our text says, 371 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,760 doesn't it says that their labor, this hard work that 372 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:46,240 reduces their strength is motivated by love. 373 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:51,680 Now this word love isn't just it's kind of off his losses 374 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,600 meeting because I think this this morning I saw a blueberry 375 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,040 donut and I was like, man, I love that. 376 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,280 That's that's not the love that that we're talking about. 377 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,360 Love is kind of lost. It's it's it's it's meaning. 378 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,080 This word love is not general generic liking of something. 379 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,120 This is this word love is agape agape. 380 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:13,000 And if you don't know what that some of you might know what that 381 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,000 is. But if you don't Agape is used 382 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,560 in two ways in the New Testament. 383 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,480 The first way of this type of love is to talk about like 384 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,360 goodwill or benevolence. It's like this, the charitable 385 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:28,040 love where you just you freely give of something or yourself 386 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:33,400 without anything in return. The second way is use or spoke 387 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,440 spoken of and in the New Testament is it's the love of 388 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:43,040 God, the way in which God is. And in other words, or, and 389 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:47,560 actually in first John 4, when John says that God is love, he's 390 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:52,680 literally saying God is agape. So when we read that the labor 391 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,440 of these people is motivated by the love of God, then it makes 392 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,960 sense why they would embrace this type of Labor. 393 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,240 And if we want to be missional in our vocations, then we too 394 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,680 have to embrace this hard work and labor motivated by God's 395 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:12,440 love. Y'all with me? 396 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:18,560 OK in Christ, right? God has been so benevolent to 397 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,800 us, hasn't he? In Christ, God has been so 398 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,400 charitable toward us, seeking nothing in return, hasn't He? 399 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,520 The love of God has been made known through the labor of 400 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,240 Christ. In the Gospel, Jesus actually 401 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:39,440 sweats for you. In the garden Jesus sweats blood 402 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:43,040 and and water for you, representing right the blood 403 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,960 that will pay for your sins and the the water that will wash you 404 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,520 by the snow when you work hard at work. 405 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:54,640 People will take notice and when they take notice what an 406 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:58,200 opportunity to point them to the fact that there is a God in 407 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:03,160 heaven who laborers for us who laborers for us. 408 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:11,640 And lastly, we see Paul recall this church's endurance. 409 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:19,320 Now I'm going to I'm I'm not going to draw. 410 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:26,040 Can you read my notes here? Now this is admirable just 411 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:31,240 because we all know what it's like working after the fall, 412 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,280 right? We all know what it's like to 413 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,320 work so long and so hard for years and get tired. 414 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:40,880 I'm almost sure that everyone in here has aspects of their job or 415 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,360 moments or seasons or days when you're like, I don't want to do 416 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:49,160 this no more like I'm done. Like let me just, I just leave 417 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:53,600 right now. But Paul says one of the things 418 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:57,360 that stands out about this church is that it is full of 419 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:03,200 people who endure. To endure means to stay, to be 420 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,760 steadfast, to stay the course. It's an inward resolve that 421 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,520 manifests itself outwardly to be inwardly resolved and then 422 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,520 manifests that stuff that outwardly. 423 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:18,200 And this is what these people had, but their endurance, they 424 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:19,640 didn't just pull it out of thin air. 425 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:24,880 This was an inspired endurance, meaning something they look 426 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:32,240 toward produce this within them. And what is that hope? 427 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,440 By hope, what is meant is not just a general wishing that man, 428 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:42,560 maybe things will go well. No, this hope is from this Greek 429 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,240 word that I can't pronounce, meaning to anticipate, to 430 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,760 anticipate something, but to anticipate it with pleasure and 431 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,400 confidence. The person inspired by by this 432 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:58,200 hope anticipates that there will be good that comes to them. 433 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,120 What a cheat code, right? Like, what a cheat code to 434 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:08,080 endure to, to be convinced that this is hard, but I got 435 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:14,000 something good coming for me. And this is, this is what gave 436 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,160 these people endurance. They knew that good was coming 437 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,120 their way because we learned that their hope was where? 438 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,720 In Jesus, in the Lord Jesus Christ. 439 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:28,120 Their hope was that Jesus, yeah, he came, but he's going to come 440 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:32,680 back again. Their hope when Jesus came is 441 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:34,280 that he would make all things right. 442 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,320 Their hope was that Jesus would restore all things. 443 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,760 We have to understand that this is a church that probably worked 444 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:48,560 in a time where not only was Christianity and following Jesus 445 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,440 not cool or popular. Like people were actually like 446 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:56,240 out to get you because of because of what you believed. 447 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:00,160 And yet they are described by Paul as a people who did not 448 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:05,560 give up, who endured, who probably endured, who probably 449 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:10,000 were the best workers, and they endure probably hostility. 450 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,000 And when this is your hope, when the hope of Jesus is your hope 451 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,080 at your vocation, what is produced in you is an endurance 452 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,160 to remain steady and steadfast in your work. 453 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,880 When the hope of Jesus return is your inspiration, you can't 454 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,880 endure hardship and being overlooked and not being taken 455 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,920 seriously and tons of work and rude customers and kids who are 456 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,240 constantly disobedient and disobeying. 457 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,040 When the hope of Jesus is your inspiration, you can remain 458 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,000 steadfast. And when you remain steadfast, 459 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:47,200 it witnesses to the world that there is a God who did not give 460 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:51,480 up on us. When you endure, especially when 461 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:55,600 things are hard, people will ask you why, and you will have the 462 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:59,400 opportunity to open up your mouth and tell them, because God 463 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,120 stayed obedient. God didn't get off the cross for 464 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,520 me, so I'm going to endure this. You'll show a God who endured 465 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,520 the garden instead of tapping out. 466 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:13,040 When you work this way, you will be a witness for Jesus. 467 00:29:19,350 --> 00:29:22,110 So how? How does work admission help us 468 00:29:22,110 --> 00:29:26,710 shine like lights in the world? How can our work help us make 469 00:29:26,710 --> 00:29:30,470 much of God in our workplace? Whether we work inside the home 470 00:29:30,470 --> 00:29:36,760 or outside the home, we can look to this church's example here. 471 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:41,120 We see that when our faith in Jesus increases, our work 472 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,560 increases, right? This is what you see here. 473 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:50,040 You see that man, when our love for God increases, our 474 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:54,440 willingness to to labor in in hard circumstances increases as 475 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,960 well. When we see that when our hope 476 00:29:57,960 --> 00:29:59,840 increases, my God, you're coming back. 477 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:02,560 There is there is good that is coming to me. 478 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:10,240 Then you can endure. Being on mission for Jesus in 479 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:16,000 your life is a requirement for discipleship of Jesus, and this 480 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,440 means your vocations too. But family, never forget that 481 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,880 our witness is simply a reaction to the greatest news ever told, 482 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:26,480 that there is a God who works on our behalf, who lived the life 483 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,400 that we can never live, who died the death that we deserve, who 484 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,000 lived to work on our behalf. The good news for those who want 485 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,800 to be on mission in their workplace is that there is a God 486 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:39,840 who so loved the world that he labored to teach people and heal 487 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,240 and cast out demons. He carries a cross up a hill 488 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:47,360 motivated by his love for you. He sweats water and blood for 489 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,880 you. He gives up his spirit for you. 490 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:53,240 He laborers even now at the right hand of the Father. 491 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,040 For you can be mission on your vocation. 492 00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:01,560 Because Christ has endured shame, the shame of the cross, 493 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:06,520 for the hope that was set before him, for the hope that all who's 494 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,440 who would say yes and Amen to His work would be will be 495 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:16,600 secured forever. Christ endured the joy that lay 496 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:23,600 beyond the cross. Christ endured because the joy 497 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,360 that lay beyond the cross was you. 498 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:31,600 It was you. You are the result of the work 499 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,280 of God. Being missionary at work is an 500 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:40,000 overflow of marinating in God's mission for you and letting that 501 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,760 truth overflow in the way that you work, you labor and you 502 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:50,390 endure. Then we we have an e-book. 503 00:31:51,190 --> 00:31:54,920 Like I said, I've said this a couple times that that basically 504 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,720 is going to walk you through Daniel, Daniel 6, Daniel 6, 505 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:03,080 right? Where you get to watch Daniel 506 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:08,320 literally do everything that this church did and, and you get 507 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:14,440 to see Daniel be a witness. And so my prayer is that I guess 508 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:19,040 my prayer is that we would see that being on mission starts 509 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,680 with being excellent workers, with enduring, with looking to 510 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:25,360 Jesus, with having Jesus at the center of our lives. 511 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,760 And so let me pray and I'll get out of your way. 512 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:35,240 Heavenly Father, I just pray that. 513 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:44,960 What do I pray, Lord? I pray that, Lord, when we work 514 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,720 like this, because I'm confident, I know these people. 515 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:51,240 These are some of the hardest working people I know. 516 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:57,080 I pray that you would give us the courage, Lord, that when we 517 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:01,640 work and we labor and we endure in our vocations, that you would 518 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:07,080 give us the hope, excuse me, the courage to speak of the hope 519 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:11,520 that we have. If there's anyone under the 520 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:18,000 sound of my voice who hears this is foreign who's like I, I don't 521 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:24,040 know what it's like to be motivated by the gospel of Jesus 522 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,360 and to let that bleed into every aspect of my life, even my 523 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:30,080 vocation. I pray that I pray that you 524 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,200 would maybe made this be the first first step toward that. 525 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:39,160 And Jesus, I just pray that you will be glorified in our work. 526 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:46,960 Lord, I thank you that the gospel says that the pressure is 527 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:52,360 off to perform and be perfect, that we are satisfied and 528 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,800 secured in you. And so for anyone who is 529 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:01,400 struggling to work, anyone who is struggling to labor, anyone 530 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,120 who is struggling to endure, I pray that you would help us all 531 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,639 because I'm included. Help us all to remember the 532 00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:13,320 gospel that before we work, we labor and we endure. 533 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,480 Lord, we have a God who did that on our behalf. 534 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:20,679 Yeah, pray that in Jesus name.