We glorify God with our Work

We reflect God’s image in our work 11/11

But, the material world was not evil as the prevailing worldview said.

I. Genesis teaches that the world is good.
a. God made the world and called it good.
In contrast to the way the world was described as evil by other religions.
When we say we have a CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW, this is what we mean! This is the PARADIGM Genesis provides.
i. He demonstrates that by planting a garden and tending it.
Gen. 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
Gen. 2:9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
ii. God formed Adam out of the ground!

II. Genesis teaches that work is noble.
a. God is a worker.

b. God placed Adam in the garden to do what God himself had already been doing; this was not BENEATH God!

i. The story of Genesis teaches that God made humans to work.
Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Gen. 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Gen. 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Gen. 1:29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
Gen. 1:30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

ii. We are to work in Paradise!
Gen. 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

1. Notice that even menial work is good, it mimics God’s own work.

2. Though we might all be concerned about being high-borne, our earliest parents were arborists & gardeners! As Tim Keller says it: God dug a ditch to make a man!

3. This is a unique view of work in all of human history. Only European socialists in the nineteenth century, represented by Karl Marx, approached this high a view of work.

c. God defined the work Adam is to do.
i. Naming the animals: intellectual.
Gen. 2:19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
Gen. 2:20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
ii. Gardening the garden: physical.
Gen. 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
iii. Generally, “having dominion over the earth”: managerial.
Gen. 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”

iv. Naming his wife, Ishah, then Eve: relational.

d. We are made to work like Adam worked.
i. We are sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, we are workers.
ii. Regardless of the kind of work we do.

What we sort of what must we do?
We can know the work we must do when we answer these three questions:
Who am I
Whom can I help?
Whom do I serve?

III. We can experience deep happiness in our work as we discover who we are:
a. We must have insight into ourselves.
what are my gifts, talents, abilities, and skills?
i. What are my gifts.
ii. What are my abilities, skills, and talents.
iii. What do I enjoy?
b. We must understand how to help those around us.
Ask this question: is my work helping?
i. Create art—which we have discussed and exhibited.
ii. Design a business that will help reduce the damage we do to the world.
iii. Invent a new product—designed to serve others.
iv. Bring order out of a chaotic business, such that jobs are secured, even added.
v. Cultivate a vision for your students to transform their view of life, knowledge, etc.
vi. Design a garden, or Clean up a yard, your own, perhaps a neighbour’s who would welcome the help.
Your design will guide your choices of work.

c. We must understand that God has a mission in mind for our work.
i. take care of the world you were given.
ii. take care of the people around you; they were given to you to look after.
iii. if your gifts make you lots of money, then give!
iv. if you are wealthy now because of your gifts, don’t wait until you have earned a fortune to give away; give yourself away now!
v. You are on a mission.
vi. John Coltrane: nunc dimitis
“A Love Supreme”

Next week:
9th sermon: If work is so good, why does it feel so bad?