Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20230913 - Faith and Work: A Godly View of Our Work Life - Esther 4:13-17

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#20230913 - Faith and Work: A Godly View of Our Work Life - Esther 4:13-17 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the Study of God's Word, recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co To learn more about the many resources
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available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church.
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App. Now let's open our Bibles and
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study God's Word. Amen okay.
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We are going to ultimately be in the book of Esther Chapter 4 and
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by way of introduction. So I didn't grow up a reader and
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I I think I read a couple books in high school.
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I I don't really remember them, but it was in college that I got
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hooked on reading and the first book that I read.
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Was The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. And I couldn't stop.
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And soon as I was done with The Hobbit, I picked up The Lord of
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the Rings and, you know, did the trilogy there.
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And then when I got to the end of the last book, I remember I
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like took two weeks to finish because I just didn't want the
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story to end. And after finishing reading
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tokens, this, you know, this world of Middle Earth, I was
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blown away by this guy. I'm like, who is this JRR token?
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Like who was he? Where did this genius come from?
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This man who created Middle Earth with all of its heroes and
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villains. He even created like for each of
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the people groups and Lord of the Rings.
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Like for the elves he created a Latin like language, but he
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created language for the dwarves, he created like this
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Germanic type language. For the Valorin he created the
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Semitic language. So this guy was detailed and I'm
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like, how did he pull it off? And so I wanted to know more
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about him. How did he bring this masterful
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creation of his to completion? And then after some digging, I
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discovered that he was part of this literary group called the
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Inklings. And imagine, like, you know,
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kind of the ink pot with the old pen.
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So he's part of this group called the Inklings.
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And it was this group of men that would basically get
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together, and they would read some of the literary works that
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they were working on. Right?
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And they would discuss them together.
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Well, lo and behold, one of the members of the Inklings was CS
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Lewis. And so CS Lewis proves to be a
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great encouragement to Token. And Token was a perfectionist.
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He was very detailed and he's creating language languages for
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goodness sake, right? And so he would get stuck.
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He would get stuck in the details in minutiae of you know
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languages or the subplots of the story that he was trying to
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unfold. And so he needed encouragement.
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And CS Lewis provided that encouragement.
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Not to mention that while Token was writing World War Two was
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beginning. And so there really was for
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Token this idea of like, am I going to finish, is this going
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to get done? He that was a real wonder for
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him. And so he end up he ended up
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getting this request from the Dublin Post or the Dublin
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Review. And they were requesting short
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stories. So Jr.
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Tolkien submitted a little short story and I would encourage you
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to print it out. It's like 10 pages PDF.
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It's free leaf by niggle, NIGGLE.
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So he writes this little short story leaf by niggle.
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And the word niggle means to work in a fiddling or
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ineffective way to spend time unnecessarily on petty details.
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And niggle was token himself. This perfectionist who was prone
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to worry, who was prone to procrastination.
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And so I just want to read to you the first few paragraphs of
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his opening and leaf by niggle. And here's what it says.
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There was once a little man called Niggle who had a long
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journey to make. He did not want to go.
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Indeed, the whole idea was distasteful.
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To him. The journey by the day was, by
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the way, was death. But he could not get out of it.
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He knew he would have to start sometime, but he did not hurry
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with his preparations. Niggle was a painter, not a very
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successful one, partly because he had many other things to do.
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Most of these things, he thought, were a nuisance, but he
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did them fairly well when he could not get out of them, which
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in his opinion was far too often.
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The laws in his country were rather strict.
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There were other hindrances too. For one thing, he was sometimes
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just idle and did nothing at all.
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For another, he was kind hearted in a way.
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You know, the sort of kind heart.
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It made him uncomfortable more often than it made him do
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anything. And even when he did anything,
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it did not prevent him from grumbling, losing his temper and
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swearing mostly to himself all the time.
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It did land him in a good many odd jobs for his neighbor Mr.
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Parrish, a man with a lame leg. Occasionally he even helped
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other people from further off if they came and asked him to also
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now and again. He remembered his journey and
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began to pack a few things in an ineffectual way.
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At such times he did not paint very much.
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So here's Niggle, a painter, and as a painter, when you read the
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story, he is has this vision of painting a tree.
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But the whole time he's painting this tree, he finds that he's
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just really, really good at painting a leaf.
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He's very awesome at just the detail of painting a leaf, but
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he has this vision of a background, of this tree and of
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this background in these mountains, right?
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He kind of gets these visions as he's going along.
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He wants very deeply to complete this project, but he has some
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things against him. One, he's coming close to his
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journey of death, and time is running out.
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Two, he's kind hearted and distracted by his neighbors who
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constantly ask for help 3. Even though he has a grand
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vision of a landscape, he is the kind of painter that paints a
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leaf better than he can paint a tree or a landscape.
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When journey does come, he is bummed and realizes that his
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work will never be done. Later, the town's folk after
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he's passed on. Begin to clean out niggles,
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belongings. And as they're cleaning out, as
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cleaning out as belongings, there's this large crumbling
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canvas and they find the picture of this perfect leaf on the
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quarter of the on the corner of the canvas.
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And as they find this, they didn't take it and they put it
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in the town museum and they label it leaf by niggle, which
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very few people ever saw. But this isn't all of the story.
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Because after death placed on this heavenly bound train and he
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hears 2 voices talking about him.
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One severe voice which appears to be judgment, says niggle
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wasted so much time and accomplished so little.
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Another gentler voice, which seems to be mercy, says that
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Niggle chose to sacrifice for others and knew what he was
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doing. Doing so as a reward.
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When Niggle approaches the outskirts of the heavenly
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country, something catches his eye.
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He runs to it, and there it is. Before him stood the tree.
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His tree finished its leaves, opening its branches, growing
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and bending in the wind, bending and looking exactly how niggle
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had so often felt or guessed, but never could quite capture
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it. He gazed at the tree and slowly
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he lifted his arms and he opens them wide and he says it is a
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gift. The world before death had
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forgotten nibble almost completely.
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And there his work was unfinished, only helpful to very
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few. But in his new country, this
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permanent, real world, he finds his tree in full detail,
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complete detail. It's finished.
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And it wasn't just some whim or fancy that died with him, but
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now seeing his tree. It was part of true reality,
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Capital T, Capital R, True reality that would live and be
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enjoyed forever. And so here's the things, guys.
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We're all niggle. Every one of us.
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We all imagine accomplishing things in our lives.
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And in that we also find that we're largely incapable of
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fulfilling on them. We get a little bit right.
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We get a taste. We want to be successful, we
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want to make a difference. But this is beyond any of any
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control of our own. And here's the thing, if this
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life is all there is, you know, and this is for a non believer,
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right? Like if you don't know Jesus,
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and if this life is all there is, then all you're left with is
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cynicism. What else is there?
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Everything's just going to burn up.
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Everything you do, everything we do is just going to be
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forgotten. No one's going to be around to
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ever even know what happened. We're all forgotten and nothing
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we do makes a difference. But what does your heart tell
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you? Right.
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But God. God and the Bible assures us
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that there is a true reality, all caps behind this reality
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that we live in. And the life that we're living
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is not the only life. There is a heaven, guys, and
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this is what our Christian faith promises us.
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So every good word. Everything, even the simplest 1,
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pursued in response to God's calling upon our lives, matters
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forever. It goes into eternity with us.
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And this is the promise of our Christian faith.
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You know, like we get, we get glorified bodies.
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The Lord's very interested in the physical creation that he
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made, and Paul would write to the Corinthians in the Lord.
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Your labor is not in vain now. When Paul wrote this, he was
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speaking specifically in terms of ministry.
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But work, it applies to all of us.
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It applies to work as well. And because of Tolkien's handle
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on the Christian truth, he was ready for his work to be just a
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modest accomplishment in the eyes of the world.
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But yet what we know now of Tolkien's work is it is, it's
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incredible. It's a phenomenal work of
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genius, and it's one of the greatest books, his series of
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books in the history of the world.
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But let me say again. It was because of tokens handle
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on the Christian truth of work that he was ready to be just, he
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was ready for his work to be just a modest accomplishment in
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the eyes of the world, right. So we have, we have the gift of
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hindsight, we can look back. But as he's doing this and
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dealing with his perfectionism and dealing with creating
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languages, doing all the stuff that he's doing right, he didn't
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know what it was, you know, he didn't know what the end result
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was going to be. He was just working on the work.
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And that's what he was doing. So what is the Christian truth
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around work that Tolkien had? It's a truth that once grasped.
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Once we have the biblical truth of work, it provides us with the
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passion and confidence to cocreate with our Heavenly
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Father. It's a truth that's once is once
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grasped. It provides us the humility to
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also operate in the sovereignty of God.
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Because right from the very beginning in Genesis 22, God's
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working, he works. And in Genesis 22 it says and on
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the 7th day God ended his work, which he had done.
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And this view of work that the Bible throws out is very
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distinct to our Christian faith. Work is intrinsic in the Bible.
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It's intrinsic to the divine. It's intrinsic to creation.
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It's intrinsic to human purpose work.
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And how is it distinct? Other beliefs would say that
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it's warring cosmic forces. And the result of that, those
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warring cosmic forces, That's what creates the earth.
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But in the Bible, creation is not the result of conflict.
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Why? Because God has no rivals.
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He's God. There's no conflict.
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Creation's not an aftermath of a battle, but it's the plan of a
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Craftsman. So God makes the world as an
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artist makes a masterpiece. And the cool thing, if you look
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at that Hebrew word in Genesis about work, it just says it's
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ordinary human work. It's like, whoa, wait, that's
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associated with God. Yeah, God's at work, ordinary
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human work. So let's not miss that work.
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Isn't some necessary evil for us guys.
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It's not a necessary evil to just get done.
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It's not a necessary evil that comes in the picture with the
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curse or the fall. It's baked in from the very
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beginning work. And God works for the sheer joy
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of it. That's what we get to see in
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Genesis. As Genesis unfolds, we see God
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delights in his work, He takes care of his work, He stewards
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it, He provides for his work, and ultimately He commissions
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each of us to work. He places Adam and Eve in the
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garden to work and keep it. And he says, hey guys, subdue,
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subdue. And so subdue indicates that,
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hey, there's more for you to do. Yes, I've given you this level
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of development. I've given you creation, but
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there's more for you to do. And there's this deep untapped
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potential for all of us to unlock through our work and
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through our labor still to this day.
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But work was a part of paradise. Hear that work was a part of
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paradise. I remember when I was when I
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first audio booked this, Lisa and I were driving into the
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mountains and so we had a long drive and I just got to listen
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to a lot of it once. But I just found myself in
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tears. I just had such a odd
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perspective around work. I really was like, work is a
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necessary evil. Work is all about the curse.
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It's like, no, no, no work was part of paradise.
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It's a basic human need for this guy, just like food, just like
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water, rest, prayer, friendship. Work is food for the for our
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soul. And God designed us to be in
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this constant cycle of work and rest, work and rest, work and
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rest. Why?
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Because we're made in his image. And even his son Jesus works in
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John 517. I love this, he says.
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My father is always at his work to this very day.
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And I too, am working. Jesus is working, you know?
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And as I was thinking about this working, I had the image of a.
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Of a nursing home you know of a. Of a facility.
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Have have any have any of you ever volunteered or served in a
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nursing home? If you haven't, you get the
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opportunity to do it and have as many conversations as you can.
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And what you'll find in those conversations is they're bored.
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They want something to do, right?
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Like what? What?
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What is it that they can do? They just wish they had somehow
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could be useful to others. And so, according to the Bible,
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when we work, we're working for work's sake.
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It's not like we're working just to get money so we can survive.
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That's a lot of what we're into. And we need the work itself.
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We need the work to survive and live fully human lives.
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And the cool thing about work is, is one of the things that I
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find this in my own life as I'm. You know, I get to serve with
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some dear brothers of mine who know, who know me in every
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aspect of my life and all of my brokenness and all of my
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stupidity and all of my genius. I guess I have my moments, You
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know, We all do. You know, they know me at every
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level. And so being in a work
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environment like that and being with them and working so closely
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together is we get to discover who we are in work, right?
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We get to, we get to explore and see what our distinct abilities
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and gifts are. And so it's time that we see
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work as part of our design and that's part of the truth, that
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token grass. So when we see our work is just
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part of who we are, we begin to understand freedom, right?
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We have this freedom. And when we talk about Christian
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freedom, there's this image of a fish, right?
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Because sometimes with freedom, well, freedom has restrictions.
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So a fish is free as long as he's swimming around in water.
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But if you take the fish out of water and put them on the land,
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it's not going to be too long that his movements limited and
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he's no longer breathing and ultimately he's not living.
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But it's the same for us because freedom without restrictions.
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So sorry, freedom is not the absence of restrictions, it's
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just having the right restrictions.
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And so in the Bible gives us the right restrictions to operate in
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freedom and especially around work.
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And that's through obedience to His commandments, right?
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So through obedience to His commandments, that's what sets
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us free. And God, in Isaiah chapter 48,
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he said this to Israel. He says, listen.
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Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of
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Israel. I am the Lord your God who
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teaches you to profit. Who lead you?
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By the way, you should go. Oh, that you had heeded my
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commandments. Then your piece would have been
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like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of
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the sea. And so it is with work we're
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made in His image. So when we're heeding His
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commandments, we have that piece like a river.
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We have that righteousness like the waves of the sea.
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And So what does He say in Exodus 2920, verse nine?
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Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
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He calls us and directs us to live out our design to work.
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And it's not a burdensome command.
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It is an invitation to freedom, to freedom.
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So let us work and we know that God's command continues.
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He rested on the 7th day, so he also tells us to rest.
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He tells us to Sabbath. And again, this is for our
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freedom. A lot of us think, OK, we're
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just going to rest because we get to recharge our batteries
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and get back to the work week like.
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Let's let's let's learn what rest is.
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And so I'm imagining there's two camps right now And so there's
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some that are like who aren't working and not fulfilling on
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the work command. And I do want to be sensitive to
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this, right? Because I know that there are
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some of us. Maybe you're disabled or there's
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something else going on where you can't work.
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But here's the thing if you can work and you're not working, I
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just want to exhort you work, work.
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There's no work that's below you.
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That's not the biblical understanding of work.
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Work is work. And we do work for work's sake.
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And so there it is. It's like that, you know?
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So if you're waiting, if you're if you're waiting on the perfect
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job and something and you think you know the jobs that are
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before you right now are beneath you, they're not.
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And so the other camp might be those who can't rest.
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So because we not only fall into this idea of work as a necessary
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evil, there's some of us who like to work a lot and we think
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rest is a necessary evil. So I want to linger with the
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rest camp for a moment and just what is it to to be at rest with
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with God? So listen to a couple things on
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leisure that it that came up. So it has been said that leisure
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is not the mere absence of work. But an attitude of mind or soul
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in which you are able to contemplate and enjoy things as
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they are in themselves, without regard to their value or their
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immediate utility. So what is it to enjoy things
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without regard to their value or utility?
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You know, I've got the same Western mindset you guys have.
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And in that Western mindset, we're about efficiency, value
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and speed. So how does that land for you?
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Right. It can.
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It can kind of be an Ouch. Let's look at some other angles
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on leisure. Leisure is the condition of
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considering things in a celebrating spirit.
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It is not an absence of activity.
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It is rather like the stillness in the conversation of lovers,
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which is fed by their oneness. God wrested from his work and
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saw that everything was very good.
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And then God has this celebratory, approving,
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lingering gaze. So let this be the rhythm of our
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lives. Work unto the Lord.
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Stop. Worship and joy work into the
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Lord. Stop worship and joy work is for
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us. It's part of God's design and it
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was part of paradise and so also with work, there's a deep
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dignity in work, right. A neat story that has always
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stuck with me is Pastor Wayne Gorenson.
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He's taught here a few times was a missionary down.
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He and his wife from missionary down in Honduras.
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And what they found is, is they were getting all of these close
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donations and they were on the weekends bringing them to the
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community. And they were noticing that only
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the women would show up to get these free clothes.
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And they're like, why is that? And here's what they did.
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So in the context of what the value of clothing would be in
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Honduras, they, you know, was like nickels, pennies, nickels,
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whatever it was. So they put a value on these
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clothes. You know what started happening?
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The men started showing up, right, Because there's a dignity
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in that. They wanted to buy the clothes,
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and that's always been a lesson for me.
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So there's a deep dignity in work.
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So I'm looking at the clock here and so in that dignity of work
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and I know each of us have I know each of us have someone in
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my maybe have someone in mind. So for me the person that that I
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experienced like this dignity of work his name was Bert.
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This was back when I was waiting on tables in high school and
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college and Bert would wait on tables in Georgia, Florida and
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New York and he would work a little time and each he had his
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restaurant study worked. The restaurant where I worked at
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in Georgia happened to be one is 1 one of the ones where he
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worked. But Bert loved his job.
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He loved it. He loved being a waiter.
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He absolutely loved it. Everything.
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The little notes that he would write, you know, on the receipts
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as he would hand to the to the clients.
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He would do origami, had all these little origami things he
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would make the make them origami.
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You know, whatever might be speaking to him with the client,
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he loved what he did. And so as I share that story
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with you, maybe you have your own person.
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And when you have your own person that like think about
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like why that resonates. And the reason it resonates is
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you're we're inspired because we get impacted by a fellow image
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bearer who is living out the dignity of work.
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And so there is that perfect design of work, but we also have
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the fall right? And in the fall as far as work
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goes, that's where the curse comes in, because here we are
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talking about this perfect design of work.
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But man, work is hard, right? Communication is hard.
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Creating A-Team, getting everybody united with a vision
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is hard. It is hard work and we have to
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have that framework of sin. We have to be armed with that
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framework of sin and where it comes from to have the proper
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perspective towards, like why is this?
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Why is it that it's hard for me to sometimes get satisfaction
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out of my work? It's because it's because of the
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sin nature, right? And so when Adam and Eve chose
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to partake of the tree, whatever, whatever the what, you
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know, whatever the properties of that tree was, whatever it might
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have been. The bottom line is, is our
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creator put it there definitely as a test.
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And it was from an eternal relational Father, Father
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essentially saying, hey, I want you to do something for me.
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Not because you understand why, not because you can see whether
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it would benefit you or disadvantage you.
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I want you to obey me simply because of who I am, period.
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Simply because you love me and trust me more than anything.
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And that one command would continue to play out all
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throughout the Old Testament. That one command would play out
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even as he would encourage the Israel Israelites to the
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generations that was come. There was always this
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opportunity for the human race to voluntarily choose God.
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And so in the fall, very simple. Adam and Eve said, hey, we're
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going to do it our way and we're part of that legacy guys, right?
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And so as we're interacting in work and we're on projects or
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doing whatever it is that the Lord would have you do, number
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one, I would say the biblical perspective is work for work
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sake, right? Work, do the work, serve the
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work. And then as you're serving the
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work and the Lord's providing for you in that work, like the
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Lord has divinely provided that for you, do the work.
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And then inside of the brokenness, there's going to be
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things that pop up. There's going to be maybe guilt
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and striving to prove yourself. There's going to be rebellion in
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the need to assert your independence.
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There's going to be compliance in the need to please others.
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In my work life right now, I'm the Lord's really showing me,
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like how much of A people pleaser I am, you know, Like, I
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just want to say yes. I just always want to say yes,
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you know, and Pastor Ed's been my pastor for a long time now.
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And I, he knows how my knucklehead.
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Because the one thing Pastor Ed always says to me is JJ, Just
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say no. Just say no, right?
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But the deal in that is because of that fallen from sin.
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And soon as Adam and Eve put their self in that place of God,
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they said, hey, we're going to do it ourselves.
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Well, as soon as they said, hey, we're going to do it ourselves,
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what do they realize? They realize they're naked.
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And then now they got to hide their selves behind a fig leaf
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because of shame. Shame.
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This shame enters in and with that shame at a this, this, this
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quote from this Old Testaments Collie says shame is that sense
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of unease with yourself at the heart of your being.
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You know something's wrong, right?
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And so then out of the brokenness, what is it in your
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work environment that has you, that has you operate from guilt,
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that has you operate from rebellion, that has you operate
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from compliance and ultimately it's the separation from God.
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So the one event we've gone from being God centered to
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self-centered and then in that our work, our relationships and
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our love like spouse, spouses, you know, husband, wife, deeply
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altered. And then Genesis unfolds from
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there. Kane kills Abel.
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Kane builds a city of violence and oppression, and all the
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kingdoms become that God sends a flood to to clean things up.
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And then not long after you got the Tower of Babel.
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Babylon's like, hey, we've got this new technology of bricks.
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We've got this new technology and we're going to build the
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tower to the heavens. To do what?
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To make a name for ourself. And that's what we have to be
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careful of in our work life. Are you doing it?
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Are we doing it to make? Are we doing it to make a name
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for ourself, or we doing it to honor the Lord?
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But The thing is, with the Tower of Babel, it was right at the
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very heart of the cultural mandate of God.
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God knows He's given us. He's given us the world to
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cultivate, cultivate culture right.
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And so with the culture in the cultivation, do we want to make
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a name for ourselves, or do we want to make a name for the
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Lord? Which way are we going to go?
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Okay. So looking at culture, looking
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at cultivation, now we're going to hop into Esther Chapter 4,
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and if you're not already there, Esther Chapter 4.
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We're going to be in verses 13 through 17 to close out here.
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And I want to take a look at how Esther responded to her place in
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time and culture and where we pick up here.
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The Old Testament book of Esther tells us about this incident
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where it's during a time where the Jews are dispersed
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throughout the Persian Empire and the Persian emperor King
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Xerxes had disposed of his queen Vashti, and he's looking for a
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new, new queen. Well, guess what?
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Esther's the new queen. She pleases him.
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But while she's rising to to being a queen in the royal
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palace, she is hiding her Jewish identity.
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And it's during this time that Heyman this high, this high
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official comes to King Xerxes and talks him into secures, a
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royal decree with King Xerxes of hey on a given day in the
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future, let's allow, you know, give the freedom for people with
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Jewish neighbors to basically kill their Jewish neighbors and
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plunder their wealth. And that was it.
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So they would be free to kill him.
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Well then Esther's relative, Mordecai, a Jewish leader,
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comes, contacts Esther and tells her, hey, you've got to use your
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place in the palace, you've got to use your place to to avert
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this danger. And it's a big request, because
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here's Esther, a believer in God, whose whose place of power?
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I mean, she's just entered the place of power in this public
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sphere. It's shaky at best, and she's
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being called to use her personal and cultural capital to bring
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about a more just social order. So, and during this time period,
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to go to the king unbidden to tell him of Heyman's plan could
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cost her her life. And she knew this and she's, you
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know, I can imagine her thinking, does Mordecai get
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this? Does he realize this?
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And he does get it. And we see that in verse 13, in
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verse 13, picking up in chapter 4, Mordecai sent back his this
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answer. Do not think that because you
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were in the King's house, you alone of all the Jews will
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escape. For if you remain silent at this
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time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another
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place, but you and your father's family will perish.
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And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for
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such a time as this? Then Esther sent this reply to
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Mordecai. Go gather together all the Jews
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who are in Sousa and fast for me.
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Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.
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I and my tenants will fast as you do.
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When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is
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against the law, and if I perish, I perish.
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So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's
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instructions. So we did understand.
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And when he said, who knows, but that you have come to your royal
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position for such a time as this, that applies to us too.
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The position that you're in is for such a time as this.
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So how do we apply Esther to our lives?
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So Esther's more than just an example, right?
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She's a signpost. She's pointing to something
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else. Everything that Esther had came
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from God. So here's how Esther did it.
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Esther did it. She saved her people through two
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things, identification and mediation.
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Identification and mediation. Her people were condemned, but
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she identified with them and came under the same
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condemnation. She risked her life and said if
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I perish, I perish. Because she identified she could
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mediate 2 Xeroxes before the throne of power as no one else
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could, and the favor she received was transferred to her
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people. Does that sound like anybody
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else? Jesus, right, Jesus.
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Esther's pointing to Jesus, who lived in the ultimate palace
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with ultimate beauty and glory and Philippians too, says Hey,
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he came down, he came down, he came down, he gave up equality
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with the Father, He emptied himself.
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He identified with us, He took on our condemnation, and he did
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not do it at the at the risk of his life, but he did it at the
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cost of his life. Esther would say, If I perish, I
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perish. Jesus was saying, when I perish,
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I'm perishing. He knew it was coming.
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He went to the cross, He died, and he made atonement for you.
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He made atonement for me. And now He stands before the
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throne of the universe, and the favor he has procured is ours.
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If we believe in him, his is the ultimate mediation.
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I'm going to draw this to a close and in summary, we are
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designed for work in your work life because of your brokenness,
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our brokenness because of sin. You are going to be tempted and
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and you are going to have certain points of decision
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throughout your day where you're there for such a time as this.
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How is it that you're going to bring the gospel?
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How is it that you're going to be free in that moment?
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How are you going to bring freedom in Christ?
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First of all you got to have Christ right?
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Because without or with the shame, we're tending towards
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guilt. With the shame, we're tending
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towards rebellion. With the shame, we're tending
32:51
towards compliance. What is it to bring truth in the
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moment, in your situation, in your context, and what you're up
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to in your work life? So the gospel frees us from the
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relentless pressure of having to prove ourselves and secure our
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identity through work, for we are already proven and secure.
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It also frees us from this condescending attitude that we
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spoke about earlier towards less sophisticated labor.
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If there's a job for you to do, if there's a job for me to do,
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let's do it. Let's just get it done.
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We don't have to be driven by shame.
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We don't have to be driven by the restlessness.
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And in Hebrews 12/12, it says we are looking into Jesus, the
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author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
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set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
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has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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And what did he say on the cross?
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The work is done, It's finished. You don't have to prove
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ourselves, guys. We just have to abide in him
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final verse. And this is to link back with
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our dear friend niggle at the beginning, because as I read
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about niggle and I think about what it's going to be like us
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when we get to heaven again, we're going to have glorified
34:04
bodies. So the Lord is very interested
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in material things. He's very interested in how he's
34:08
created us. And so just as Nigel got to see
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his work in its, in its, in its totality, like what is that
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going to look like for each of us?
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What is it going to be like to visit your mansion in heaven?
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What's it going to be like to see your work that you haven't
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finished, your nerves, that get to see it in fruition in heaven?
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What is it going to be like to work together in heaven?
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I want us to ponder those things and meditate on those things and
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listen to this. And 1st Corinthians.
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This is First Corinthians 311 through 15, and it speaks to
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this For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is
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laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this
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foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
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straw, each one's work will become clear for the day.
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We'll declare it because it will be revealed by fire, and the
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fire will test each one's work of what sort it is.
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If anyone's work, work which is built on it, endures, he will
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receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he
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will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved.
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Yet so as through fire. Amen.
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All right. So as the worship team is coming
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up, you know, in a crowd like this, I don't know all of you.
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And you know, as I've shared tonight, you know, I've shared
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the gospel within the context of work.
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And I just want you to know that in the Bible, like everything
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that you're dealing with in life, the Lord can speak to, you
35:23
know, the update went with the truth.
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Jesus is enough. And he's always bringing
35:29
himself, and it's just him, right?
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Our freedom is in Christ. And if you don't have freedom in
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Christ, there's going to be folks up here at the end who are
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willing to pray with you, talk more with you.
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And and I'm always willing to talk more with you too, today or
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anytime in the future. So I thank you guys and let's
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work for the Lord. Amen.
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All right. We pray that you've been
35:53
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
35:56
sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer, call us at 87730
36:01
Grace. That's 877-304-7223.
36:07
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36:11
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36:19
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.