New Series: Sanctifying the Ordinary
On Sunday, Richard kicked off our “Sanctifying the Ordinary” series, looking at what the Bible teaches us about work and how we can take part in sanctifying what can often feel mundane and well, ordinary.
He ended his sermon with six foundational pillars on how the Gospel FREES us to work as God has called us to:
1. The Gospel frees us to worship God in your work – (Matthew 22:37) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind… Honouring Him through your work - your goal in work isn’t fame, riches, promotions, status but rather loving Him and now making much of Him and enjoying Him as you work. Practically this can look like - Thanking Him for the job that you have, praising God for the evidences of grace that you see in your workplace and honouring Him after a full day at work.
2. The Gospel frees us to serve others wholeheartedly. The second part of Matthew 22:37 calls us to love our neighbours. You can love and serve your co-workers and bosses - even the toughest ones. Why? Because we love Christ and we work for Him. Our work cannot earn us acceptance – God doesn’t need our good works BUT our neighbours do! And now we are free to love and serve them genuinely and wholeheartedly as we work - not to impress them but to do good to them. Practically, this can look like: remembering their birthdays or anniversaries, encouraging them when they do great work, helping them in their work, sharing the Gospel with them! And we can do all of this without expecting anything in return because we are promised our inheritance in Christ.
3. The Gospel frees us to trust God in our work. Proverbs 19:21 says, ‘Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand’. Our ultimate Boss is in control and sovereign over all things! He has already secured our future and our future inheritance in Him. So even though work is entangled with thorns and thistles - we can rest in the reality that we are secure in Christ. So as we work hard for God, and potentially face hardships like losing our jobs, or not getting the promotion, we can trust God and that His purpose will stand. Practically, this can look like…praying! We can pray to the our sovereign God and entrust it to Him.
4. The Gospel frees us to rest from our work. Jesus says, ‘come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’. Jesus wants us to rest. Work is going to be wearying and burdensome and we aren’t called to endless labour. We must see our rest as a gift and an opportunity to rest in Him - to be dependant on the Lord in our work WHILE we rest from our work and enjoy the fruits of our labor
5. The Gospel frees us to do our work well. Titus 2:9 says, ‘Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour’. We are called to work hard. The greatest motivator for this is wanting to impress and bring glory to our ultimate Boss: Jesus! We should do our best work because we work for the King. Practically, this can look like: being creative and competent in serving our earthly masters. If you’re in the medical industry, treat and diagnose your patients well. If you’re a tradie, build whatever you’re building, or wire whatever your wiring to the best of your ability. If you’re a teacher, teach your students diligently. If you’re a full time mum, serve and love your family with creativity and joy. Work hard, be competent and strive to do everything so that it is well-pleasing.
6. Lastly, the Gospel frees us to enjoy work. 1 Tim 6:17 says, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” Working for anyone or anything other than Christ will disappoint. BUT working for Christ is the greatest - and joy will follow. Here’s our promise: in this world, our work on this side of eternity is entangled with sin BUT there will come a time where we will receive the inheritance as our reward (Col 3:24). All our work in heaven will be fruitful, and above all, we will only be working for Him and Him alone!! What joy there is in that promise!! As we set our eyes on that future – we can be joyful in the midst of hardship in the present.
We look forward to you joining us as we continue the “Sanctifying the Ordinary” series. This week, we will be looking at the topic of Singleness.