Speaker: Jeremy Utley
Title: Expect God's Help in My Secular Work
Date: 3/13/21
Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29)
We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3)
We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Summary
The central message is that Christian work, even secular employment, has eternal significance if done correctly. To earn reward from the Lord, one must serve with a good attitude—characterized by friendly, helpful, and cooperative feelings—and with the motive of pleasing God, not people. Furthermore, the speaker emphasizes that spiritual battles in the workplace are internal, against self-will and selfishness, requiring the strength of the full armor of God.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Finding encouragement in Ephesians 6 regarding workThe speaker shares how an encouragement was found while reading Ephesians chapter 6 regarding slaves and masters.Ephesians 6:5
There will be rewards in heaven for secular work done wellSecular work is often viewed as a distraction from God's true purpose, but the passage shows there are rewards for good work done even by slaves.
What makes my work good in the eyes of the Lord?To receive a reward, we must understand what makes our work good: first, having goodwill, and second, having the right motive.
Goodwill means friendly, helpful, cooperative feelingsGoodwill in our jobs means having friendly, helpful, and cooperative feelings rather than an attitude of entitlement.
Working as to the Lord and not to menOur motive should be to please the Lord and treat our ordinary responsibilities as if they were appointed directly by Him.
The armor of God follows the call to work with a pure motiveThe famous passage on the armor of God directly follows the Holy Spirit's exhortation to do good work with a pure motive in our secular jobs.
Our struggle is not against flesh and bloodOur boss or difficult work conditions are not our real enemy; our own selfishness and entitlement are the true struggles we face.
We need the armor of God for our workMaintaining a simple friendly feeling in difficult work conditions is impossible in our own strength; we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and rely on God's might.
Speaker: Jeremy Utley
Title: Expect God's Help in My Secular Work
Date: 3/13/21
Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29)
We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3)
We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Summary
The central message is that Christian work, even secular employment, has eternal significance if done correctly. To earn reward from the Lord, one must serve with a good attitude—characterized by friendly, helpful, and cooperative feelings—and with the motive of pleasing God, not people. Furthermore, the speaker emphasizes that spiritual battles in the workplace are internal, against self-will and selfishness, requiring the strength of the full armor of God.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Finding encouragement in Ephesians 6 regarding workThe speaker shares how an encouragement was found while reading Ephesians chapter 6 regarding slaves and masters.Ephesians 6:5
There will be rewards in heaven for secular work done wellSecular work is often viewed as a distraction from God's true purpose, but the passage shows there are rewards for good work done even by slaves.
What makes my work good in the eyes of the Lord?To receive a reward, we must understand what makes our work good: first, having goodwill, and second, having the right motive.
Goodwill means friendly, helpful, cooperative feelingsGoodwill in our jobs means having friendly, helpful, and cooperative feelings rather than an attitude of entitlement.
Working as to the Lord and not to menOur motive should be to please the Lord and treat our ordinary responsibilities as if they were appointed directly by Him.
The armor of God follows the call to work with a pure motiveThe famous passage on the armor of God directly follows the Holy Spirit's exhortation to do good work with a pure motive in our secular jobs.
Our struggle is not against flesh and bloodOur boss or difficult work conditions are not our real enemy; our own selfishness and entitlement are the true struggles we face.
We need the armor of God for our workMaintaining a simple friendly feeling in difficult work conditions is impossible in our own strength; we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and rely on God's might.
