Mars Hill Fellowship

MESSAGE |

God @ Work, Part A

SERIES |

Stewardship

SCRIPTURE |

Luke 10:38-42; Colossians 3:17

SPEAKER |

Pastor Joseph Ardayfio

KEY THEME |

For those who labor according to God’s design, work has divine purpose, meaning, and significance.

1) Work originated from God and is not a curse.

a.  Before the fall, God instructed Adam to work the ground in the garden. [Genesis 2:15]

b. After the fall, Adam still had to work, but now by the sweat of his brow.  The work included weariness and frustration that came from the thorns and thistles added to creation. [Genesis 3:17-23]

2) To be a good steward of our work responsibilities, we must understand God’s purpose for our work.

a.  Our work provides opportunities to proclaim Christ to a broken, unredeemed world and participate in God’s redemptive work on earth.

b. Work becomes significant when we go beyond just working for society’s or our own needs to working for God’s eternal purposes.

c. To quote Andy Stanley, " the purpose of work is to show God at Work through our lives and actions."

3) We exercise poor stewardship when work is out of balance.

a. When work is out of balance we operate for continued periods at either extremes:  idleness or busyness/overworking.

b. Putting work in balance requires that we make decisions at work based upon God getting the glory out of our actions. [Luke 10:42]

c. Some wrong motivators that cause work to be out of balance include:  working to build our identity; making our workplace our provider instead of God; working without understanding the principle of rest + margin; working without trusting God or negating our physical limits while working.

Scripture Index

Genesis 2:4-7; 2:15

Genesis 3:17-23

Luke 10:38-42

Colossians 3:17

thoughts for further study

1)     Why is work a part of a godly lifestyle?  How can we avoid the two extremes of steady idleness or busyness in our workplaces?

2)     How can we allow God to get the glory through our work, whether our work is grand or small?  

3)     How can an out-of-balance work lifestyle cause us to miss out on God opportunities?  Why did Jesus commend Mary and rebuke Martha for their decisions regarding work?

DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, THE AUDIO FROM THIS SERMON IS TRUNCATED.