Steven Lawson: Working as for the Lord

well what a joy it is uh to be with you and to see you again many of you are in the exact same seat as i saw you last time i'm assuming you went home after the conference two years ago the front row here they're in exactly the same place so john mcarthur calls them the front row funnies so there you are well the theme of our conference is right now counts forever right and so your work right now counts forever it really matters how you do your work and so i want you to take your bible and turn with me to the book of ephesians the chap ephesians chapter 6 and i want to begin by reading verses 5 through 8 and in this message we're going to survey the whole bible and as time would permit we're going to look at a lot of different verses but this will be the the launching pad the beginning place the title of this is working as for the lord and so in ephesians chapter 6 i want to begin reading in verse 5 slaves be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in the sincerity of your of your heart as to christ and not by way of i service as men pleasers but as slaves of christ doing the will of god from the heart with good will render service as to the lord and not to men knowing that whatever good thing each one does this he will receive back from the lord whether slave or free and masters do the same things to them and give up threatening knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven and there is no partiality with him in these verses we clearly see that your work matters to god whenever the people of god have come back to the word of god they always come back to the fact that your vocational calling is a sacred calling unto god as martin luther once said there are no small occupations that everything that you do whatever that is whether you're a white collar or blue-collar worker whether you work in a field or in an office wherever god calls you to put your shoulder to the plow and perspire in the field and to work you are to do that as unto the lord and it was this realization that the reformation the protestant movement of the reformation came back to recover it was known as the the protestant work ethic it was known as the calvinistic work ethic and our country was founded even in new england with this calvinistic work ethic that your work is a part of the will of god for your life that you have not been saved to sit that you've been saved to work and that your work is a means by which you will glorify god and in the reformation with the the five solas that apex sola solid el gloria for the glory of god alone they understood that as the umbrella over not just salvation but the umbrella over everything that not only is your salvation unto the glory of god but how you carry out your work is to be done for the glory of god and so if right now counts forever and it does then your work counts forever and so what i want to do in the time that i have with you is to is to really have a a quick survey of the bible and i want to set before you six headings as we think about work as a christian and so the first heading that i want to set before you is work assigned work a sign and if you'll turn back to the book of genesis if you have trouble finding it go to the table of contents and turn to the right and it'll be the first book after the table of contents genesis chapter 1 and i want to begin reading in verse 26 and everything begins here as it relates to work and we read in verse 26 then god said let us make man in our image according to our likeness and so we as human beings beginning with adam and then eve have been uniquely made in the in the image of god in the likeness of god to be like god in a way that is distinct from the rest of his creation so i said we are set apart in the created order in a higher place than animals and and and trees and and rivers we uniquely are made in the likeness of god we are image bearers imago day of god so what is number one on that list what is the first thing that god assigns here in verse 26 and it will be repeated in verse 28 number one on the list in this text is that adam would work because god is a working god and if adam is to be like god then adam must work because god is a working god god is not a sitting god in the sense of being inactive though he is enthroned in the heavens he is working the affairs of providence every moment of every day that god is answering prayer god is opening blinded eyes to see the truth of the gospel god is opening hardened hearts to receive the message of of saving grace god is overturning the the resistance of the world to the gospel every second god is working god's not passive god is active and because of that we are made in the image of god and we are made for a task and that is to work god never intended life to be a vacation he intended it to be an occupation and we are to work and so we read continue to read in verse 26 you can see it for yourself in your own bible let us make man in our image according to our likeness now here's number one and let them notice the them it's in the plural so this goes beyond just adam and i think beyond adam and eve this extends to all whom adam would represent as the federal head of the human race this would apply to you and me as well let them rule over and now in this verse over is used five times so we see the emphasis that god is placing here that we are to preside over god's creation and we are to work let them rule which means to have dominion and to subjugate over the fish of the sea over the birds of the sky over the cattle and over the earth and over every creeping thing and so here god assigns work to adam you'll also note that this precedes the fall this precedes original sin that the curse is not a signing work god assigned work before there was original sin and before there was the curse this is the perfect will of god for man to work and so we learn much here about work assigned and this creation mandate has never been rescinded it has never been annulled it is so foundational that in a sense it's never been repeated in the bible because it is so glaringly foundational that everything else will be built upon this creation mandate and it is still a part of god's will for our lives that we do the work that is assigned to us to do therefore idleness is a sin and industry is a virtue therefore laziness is ungodly and labor is godly receiving a handout if you can work is ungodly working to earn your livelihood brings honor and glory to god so that's where we begin in our survey work assigned now if you will come to genesis chapter 3 and i want you to see the second heading which is work hindered first work assigned in genesis 1. now second work hindered in genesis chapter 3 and i want to look specif specifically with you at verses 17 and 18 because sin has left a devastating effect upon man's assignment of work and so in verse 17 we read these startling words cursed severely judged is the ground because of you because of your original sin in toil you will not eat of it all the days of your life this word toil in the original hebrew speaks of pain hardship sorrow back breaking sweat producing labor and work and so the creation mandate the work assigned will continue but now you're going to be pushing the rope uphill now there will be difficulty in a fallen world because of god's curse upon the world nevertheless you are to continue your work and he ends or he says in verse 17 at the end he says all the days of your life this curse will never be will never be lifted and you will work all the days of your life as long as you are physically able to do so and by this you will continue to glorify god so we come to verse 18. both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you and that now there is the introduction of of difficulties literal thorns and thistles and many other speed bumps and roadblocks and difficulties and and and challenges are now thrown into the planet that makes the workplace a very challenging and difficult thing and this was done not by satan this was done by god himself and so he says and you will eat the plants of the field to be vegetarian of course is part of the curse sorry i'm just biblical romans 14 3 says he who is weak in faith eats vegetables only so sorry just quoting the bible so verse 19 by the sweat of your face and he's talking about your work that there will be perspiration streaming down your face and it'll be dripping off the tip of of your nose from your hard labor by the sweat of your face you will eat bread till you return to the earth so adam and for all of your descendants you will no longer be living in a garden you will be living in a thorn-infested field and you are to continue to glorify me by carrying out the work that have i i have assigned to you and it is to be a continual remembrance of original sin that this this this human race has risen up in as rc would say in cosmic rebellion against me and you are to work till you return to the ground and god created adam out of the dust of the ground and he was to continue to work until he is placed back into the ground and so i would say to you from this as long as you are alive on planet earth there is work for you to do work in the sense of a vocational calling and work in a sense even after you would retire from whatever your career has been nevertheless you are to work until you are placed back into the ground and so you may retire from your career but you will never retire from the work that god has assigned to you at the end of moses his life he spent the last 40 years of his life the greatest challenge of his life leading israel into the to the very precipice of the promised land and caleb when he was advanced in years he didn't retire he said i want the biggest mountain with the biggest giants you assign that to me and the apostle john at the end of his life he's still writing books in the bible and he is still serving the lord and so this is work hindered and so you and i just need to understand this there is not intended to be an easy job anywhere and if you're looking for an easy job you're not going to find it because of the curse that god has placed on creation it will be met with difficulty and challenges in roadblocks now third i want you to come to psalm 128. psalm 128 and i want you to note third work blessed psalm 128 and i want to look at the first two verses of of this psalm and he begins by saying how blessed despite the curse that is upon work the earth in our labor on the earth there nevertheless is a blessing that god pronounces upon the worker and the one who works to provide for his family and to provide for others and so beginning in verse 1 he begins how blessed in the hebrew it's in the plural which is oh the blessednesses the the multiplicity of of blessing the fullness of of blessing how blessed is is everyone and he now mentions three things number one who fears the lord synonymous with saving faith synonymous with the one who stands in reverential awe in the presence of god realizing who he or she is and who god is and knows the lord now blessed is everyone who fears the lord every unbeliever fails to take god seriously it is only the believer who genuinely takes god seriously from his word that's number one fear is the lord number two obeys the lord because all tr true fear of god always leads to obedience to god if you're disobedient then you have failed to fear god and so he says who walks in his ways waltz is a metaphor for daily living we would say today daily christian living it's where the rubber meets the road one foot in front of another on a narrow path headed to a destination in front of us it speaks of how we conduct ourselves in in in life who walks in no his ways not your own ways no the one who fears the lord walks in the ways of the lord as the result of reverencing and worshipping god but there's a third step here in verse 2 he says when you shall eat of the fruit of your hands and the fruit of your hands is really your work in fact the word for fruit in the original hebrew is translated labor or work i'm at preaching out of the new american standard and it's metaphorically translated as fruit but it's literally you shall eat of the labor of your hands and so he says you're to have your shoulder to the plow he says you're to have your hands out in the field and in the harvest and you are blessed of god now the word blessing in the book of psalms is used in a two-fold way there is an eternal blessedness which is our state of standing in grace justification by faith but there's also a temporal dimension to this word as it relates to one's personal joy we might say happiness as we are graced and favored by god we are satisfied by god and so what he is saying here is that when you fear god you will walk in his ways and when you walk in his ways included on this path is the work that god has assigned you to do your vocational calling and you will be immensely satisfied as you carry out what god has called you to do out of the reformation there there was the realization not only is the minister called to preach the word and shepherd the flock but even the blacksmith is called by god to do the work that he's called to do that even the farmer the housewife are called by god to do what god has put before them to do but no one is not called who fears the lord and we glorify god and we honor god by our work and on the last day when we stand before the lord every christian will stand in the judgment second corinthians 5 verse 10 for we shall all appear before the judgment seat of christ and that we refers to believers and we will be appraised by our master as a servant slave to our master have we been faithful in his household to do the work that he has assigned us to do and we will give an account to the lord on that last day for the use of our time for the use of our talent and how we have employed it and invested it in serving others martin luther when he preached on psalm 128 had this to say let me quote martin luther as he is expounding on psalm 128 verses 1 and 2. he says your work is a very sacred matter god delights in it this praise of god luther writes meaning god's praise of work should be inscribed on every tool and on every forehead and on every face in other words it would be constantly before us he says the world does not consider labor a blessing but flees from it and hates it it cannot wait to stop working but luther writes the pious referring to the godly who fear the lord labor with a ready cheerful heart the world inverts the thought meaning the world has it the complete opposite of what the word of god says and i wonder how much have we been influenced by what the world says about work as though we can hardly wait to get out of it the world inverts the thought and says miserable shall you be for these things must forever be endured and born close quote no luther understood that there is a vocational calling on every believer and as long as we are on planet earth and breathing there is work to be done that is placed before us by the lord now i want you to come to the book of ecclesiastes and this leads to the fourth heading which is work enjoyed work enjoyed and i want you to come to ecclesiastes chapter one and what we're going to discover is that this work that god has given us to do has assigned to us that is hindered by the curse it is so empty if you do not fear god it is so meaningless to go to the office if you do not live with an eternal perspective if you only do this for your employer how empty and vain it is if you do not do this for the ultimate sovereign of the universe no matter how mundane or trivial it might appear to be to the world then it's just going to be vanity of vanities all is vanity so please note in chapter one beginning in verse 2. vanity of vanities says the preacher vanity of vanities it's repeated twice to bring emphasis all is vanity the word vanity literally means vapor or breath like a puff of smoke it the idea is there's no substance to it there's no meaning to it it's just hot air but it's empty um it's meaningless and pointless it's futile and unsatisfying that's what this word means vanity of vanities meaning this is the epitome of vanities and when he says all is vanity that includes work now look at verse three lest there be any misunderstanding that this includes work verse three says what advantage does man have in all his work that's what we call a rhetorical question the answer of which is so obvious it does not even need to be answered the value the profit is nothing nothing eternal nothing that glorifies god what advantage does man have in all his work the answer is a resounding nothing now the word work here means trouble labor toil and it is analogous to working by the sweat of your brow which is assigned to every one of us so what meaning could there be in going to work what meaning could there be to go into the marketplace to go into the office space what meaning could there be to be to stay at home and be a housewife and go through the endless routine well look at verse 8. he intensifies this and says all things are wearisome that includes work all things are wearisome in other words grueling it says man is not able to tell it not able to tell just how grueling it is the eye is not satisfied with seeing as you behold the fruit of your labor you can never be ultimately satisfied if it's just you and work and then he says nor is the ear filled with with hearing and no matter what feedback you receive from others and where solomon is headed with this if god is not the driving motivation of your heart and your soul and if you do not believe that you are there in the very epicenter of the will of god for your life and that god has created you to work then your your labor is going to make no sense to you so verse 9 that which has been is that which will be in other words you're going into the office will just be same old same old you're just going to be going through the empty vain repetition and circles of life you're not going anywhere it doesn't amount to anything at the end you die you leave it all behind what was this about what was this for so come now to chapter 2 and verse 18. and in chapter 2 and verse 18 solomon addresses the futility of work and labor if it is done without fearing god and so in chapter 2 and verse 18 thus i hated all the fruit of my labor in which i had labored under the sun i don't have time to do word studies on all these words but but what he is saying for all the toil for all the trouble for all the labor i found zero pleasure in it any lasting pleasure in it i saw no purpose in it and so in verse 20 therefore i am completely i completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor it was i'm just left hopeless so note verse 23 because all his days your entire working career your entire life because all his days his task referring to work is note these next two words it's painful hebrew word meaning sorrowful and grievous that's a hebrew word that means full of anger and vexation and intense negativity even at night his mind has no rest what's this for what's this about where is this going now note verse 24 this is an important this is a tipping point there is a sudden shift in his attitude about work i want you to see this there is nothing better and this word for better is the words used in genesis 1 god saw it and it was good god saw it and it was good same hebrew word tobe there is nothing better nothing more pleasant nothing of greater excellence for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good because what made the difference how did this go from grievous and painful and vanity of vanities to now his labor is good how did this shift how did we go from grievous to good how did we go from painful to pleasurable look at the end of verse 24. here's your answer this also i have seen that it is from the hand of god that it was god who put this assignment in front of me for solomon it was to be king of israel for you and me is to be a schoolteacher is to be a cpa is to be a housewife it is to be a salesman but if you don't see that it's from god you're going to be one frustrated employee you're going to be one frustrated mom with four kids you're going to be one frustrated person if you do not see that god has assigned you work no one gets a free pass and that this assignment has come from god himself and there is great enjoyment if you do it with a god-fearing heart attitude now look at verse 25 the next verse for who can eat and who can have enjoyment without him capital h without god and this again is a rhetorical question the answer is so obvious it does not need to be answered there is no enjoyment in work independent of the one who assigned it to you there is no enjoyment from work without the realization that this is the will of god for my life and there is no enjoyment from god without realizing that there are no easy jobs on the planet that it has all been affected by the curse if you're trying to find a job that is easy you'll have to go to another planet or it's really not a job and so he concludes the book of ecclesiastes in chapter 12 verse 13 the conclusion when all has been heard is fear god and keep his commandments and that's the golden key that unlocks the door to a life of fulfillment in the workplace no matter how menial it may seem to you do it for the glory of god and give a good testimony on the last day to the lord now come to the new testament come to ephesians chapter 6 the passage that i read earlier and this is the fifth heading work rewarded because god promises a reward whether it's in this lifetime or in the life to come nevertheless god is an impartial all-knowing judge and when he sees you doing your work as unto christ he notes it and he will reward it so in ephesians chapter 6 i'm just gonna have to quickly go through this slaves and let me just say this applies equally to all employees who are under an employer slaves be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh be obedient is in the present tense meaning you are to be always obedient to them it is in the active voice meaning you are to take action to be obedient and third it's in the imperative mood this is not an option it's not a suggestion it is an apostolic command from jesus christ be obedient to your masters i'll never forget the graduation service at the masters university when john macarthur addressed the graduating class and he said i have one last thing to say to the graduating class everyone just leaned forward people pulled out pins got out paper write this down it says two things show up early and do what you're told to do with a good attitude and you'll end up being the president of the company how simple is that that's what paul is saying here to the slaves just show up early and do what you're told to do and do with a great attitude be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh and notice how it is to be carried out with fear and trembling i don't have time to do word studies on this but fear phobos phobia and trembling literally you take this so serious that there is an inner trauma is how this word comes into the english language it's traumatic because of what follows in the sincerity of your heart as to christ so you don't work for that boss he's just even if he owns the company he's just middle management the lord jesus owns the cattle of a thousand hills and the fullness of the earth thereof is his he is the king of kings he is the boss of bosses and you're serving him you need this higher spiritual eternal perspective verse six not by way of i service as men pleasing in other words you're not doing this just to please the boss what what a what what a shallow world view that is what a shallow perspective on life that is he says but as slaves of christ do loss doing the will of god what is the will of god for you to obey your master for you to do the work that he has required you to do and for you to do with fear and trembling with sincerity in your heart not dragging your feet not procrastinating not trying to negotiate your way out of this nike just do it for the glory of god by the grace of god in the will of god as unto god himself then he adds from the heart i mean this is just plunging deeper and deeper there's no escape clause there's no escape hatch from the heart he says in verse 7 with good will means the idea is kindness render service as to the lord referring to jesus christ who is our ultimate master and not to men what what a limited way that would be to live i mean you'd be playing handball against the curb if you're living in such a low perspective of life he says in verse 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does he referring to the slave or the employee will receive back from the lord now your master may pass you over for the promotion your master may pass you by for the raise that's okay in this sense the lord himself sees he knows he's recording it and he will reward you now it may not be in this lifetime or it may be in this lifetime that's left to his sovereign discretion but one way or another whether now or later he will pay you back because you work for him and he's a he is a benevolent master he is a loving master and he will take care of you and it will come back to you in the end whether slaves are free i just have one last heading and i'm looking at my friend the clock and the sixth and final heading is work reinforced as we come to first thessalonians chapter four and then in second thessalonians chapter three i just need to add this work reinforced because as we progress in the progressive revelation as the bible continues to unfold we do not see a diminishing of work if anything we see a heightening of work and in first thessalonians 4 beginning in verse 11 and let me set the backdrop very quickly there were people so looking for the return of christ they were quitting their jobs they were withdrawing out of society like sometimes we may feel like doing the way the culture is going and paul has to address this no you cannot stop working and so he says in verse 11 make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business stop sticking your nose into everyone else's business you just do what has been given to you to do and he says and work with your hands just as we commanded you so it is a command to work verse 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in need and paul's point is it would be a horrible testimony for you to loaf at work it would it would be counterproductive as you're as a christian for your witness to the world for you to try to pull back from your labor no you glorify god and you give evidence that you've been made in the image of god who is a working god as you do your work and so my last verse 2 thessalonians 3 verse 10 which was my father-in-law's favorite verse in the entire bible i i need to quote it here he's in heaven right now if i've heard this verse one time i've heard it a hundred times if a man will not work as he would say that to his son-in-law if you catch my drift if a man will not work then neither let him meet because his hunger pains will give him a new perspective on work it'll be a new motivation for him to get working if there's no free handout after i graduated from seminary they gave me the responsibility of being over the benevolence ministry to give money to people who had no means and so they gave me let's just say it's twenty thousand dollars in my budget so i thought okay i came up with a list of work assignments rake the leaves take out the trash suite the gym and if you come passing through town and the word was out we'll just dull out money great we've got some work for you to do which elevates your dignity at the end of the year i still had twenty thousand dollars in my budget because everybody wanted a free ride everyone wanted a handout everyone thought they were entitled to a free lunch but if a man does not work neither let him eat unless you're physically or mentally unable to do so well do you get the point so let me ask you this are you working are you perspiring are you laboring do you know what it is god has you to do because there's no one on planet earth who has nothing to do but hang out you need to find the work whether you're paid for it or not you could be a volunteer worker you glorify god with your work now the last thing i want to tell you in 30 seconds is this you'll never work your way to heaven there's only one way to go to heaven and that's by the work of another the lord jesus christ and his finished work and his sinless life and substitutionary sin bearing death upon the cross and it is only by the finished work of jesus christ is salvation offered to anyone and everyone as a free gift and you must come to him with an empty hand and humble yourself and say have mercy upon me the sinner jesus only died for one kind of person and that's a sinner he didn't die for good people he died for really bad people and you must come to the place where you recognize that you are what god says you are which is a sinner who has fallen short of the glory of god and that there is only one way of salvation and it's not through your works it is entirely through the work of the lord jesus christ who came on a mission to seek and to save that which is lost and if you've never committed your life to jesus christ right now this moment you are lost and you are perishing and you are under the wrath of god but if you will flee to christ by faith if you will repent of your sins you may enter into the finished work of jesus christ and find rest from your labor in him it says come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for i'm meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls for my burden is easy and my yoke is light believe upon the one who has done the work for you jesus christ our lord and savior [Applause] amen you

Channel: Ligonier Ministries

Views: 162,103

Keywords: christian, christian vocation, christianity, dr steven lawson, eternity, god, god redeems, ligcon, ligonier ministries, ligonier national conference 2021, lord, reformed theology, right now counts forever, serving neighbors, steven j lawson, steven lawson, steven lawson bible study, steven lawson sermons, the gospel, the lord, the transformative power of the gospel, the truth, theology, vocation, work, work diligently, working, working as for the lord, working for god

Id: Iq34bovPg8w

Length: 46min 54sec (2814 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 19 2021