Colossians 3: 23-24: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
1. The city of Dipolog is to be congratulated on endeavoring to become a God-centered city. In 1968 Mao declared that China was a religion-free country, but today there are at least 130 million Christians! How did this happen? The Chinese Academy of Science determined that the power of Great Britian in the 19th Century was directly correlated with the evangelical revival in that country at that time. In the same way, the United States’ power directly related to the evangelical revival which caused America to be the super power in the 20th Century. So congratulations Dipolog for coming to the same conclusion!
2. My story and "shame" as a negative power in my life and Philippine people’s!
3. Why is the Philippines unable to provide employment for its people? The tragedy! I want in this talk only to deal with one aspect of the problem.
4. I want to suggest to you that you need to make some small unnatural adjustments in order to become a winner at work. They will come from changing the focus of your life from self on to others.
5. We see with our brains! The tsunami belted a small primitive island in the Indonesian archipelago. The Islanders shot arrows at the relief plane. They saw what our eyes see. But they saw with their brains! The brain interprets what the eye captures.
6. Most men define themselves by what they do. We ask each other: What do you do? What are you doing now? The chief topic of discussion between men is the subject of work. They talk more about work than family.
7. According to Psychology Today, your career is probably the most important influence on your perception of your quality of life.
8. Men are action driven. When men stop working, they start to die. A career is more important than anything else for most men. They spend more time in the workplace than anywhere else. In western countries around 60-65% of a man’s time is spent at work; 30-35% is spent on personal interests; nil-10% is spent on religion. In the Philippines of course these figures would be very different for many men, but true for an increasing number of Filipino men.
9. 80% of most men feel they are a misfit with their work. Most men feel that they are under-utilised. Perhaps you are like the majority of men who see work as a concession to life? Something you have to do. A necessary evil. You are in good company, as this is the dominant view of most men.
10. We know that for 50% of their time the average worker is not emotionally engaged in his job (Gallop studies). He has no passion. In fact 22% of workers are actively disengaged. These workers do not even try to be productive and just want to collect the paycheque. Indeed, the ultimate goal for many is not to work but to retire. Perhaps you or your friends have said: then I will be free to live!
11. The Hebrews understood work as a curse flowing from the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden. For the Greeks, real men did not work, they pursued “higher” activities! When Socrates drank hemlock – only his mates were present,women & family were of no consequence! What a value system! The Romans adopted Greek concepts. No citizen of the city of Rome worked – that was the job of slaves. These Greco-Roman ideas have heavily influenced our society. These ideas heavily influenced the traditional Catholic Church where the only work of value was the religious life.
12. Unfortunately,I believe, the Spanish left a major curse on the Philippines when they left the idea that the successful man does not work. He just lives in the big house – women do the work! This is a tragedy!
13. Christian men often have haunting unanswered questions when it comes to work. They ask:
14. God is at work and he puts men to work. God is a worker. In the Garden of Eden there is profit-sharing where God permits Adam to eat the fruits of his labour with the exception of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Work and work-related issues are chief topics of the Bible. The ground is cursed, but not work. The Bible addresses work issues even more than it does the family. Men are seen as co-workers with God in the New Testament. There is a priesthood of all believers who are Christians. [1 Peter 2:5,9]
15. Key levels of motivation behind a man’s work. Please consider where you stand.
16. The higher view of work came about from the Protestant Reformation but has increasingly been adopted by all progressive movements in the whole Christian Church. The Protestants replaced the authority of the church with that of the Bible, Sola Scriptura, etc. This is one of the greatest contributions to the appreciation of the value of your work. Work was noble, a partnership with God. The so-called Protestant work ethic was born. It emphasised that everyone should work and that all men’s work was equal. There was an explosion of economic activity that we are still reaping the benefits from in western countries.
17. You see this clearly in the passage Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of what He owns. He is the one you are really working for.”
18. Jesus said: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” [Luke 6:38] This is a key business principle and a crucial principle for any success I have enjoyed in business.
19. The Protestant Reformation and the revolutionary Protestant work ethic resulted in:
1. The city of Dipolog is to be congratulated on endeavoring to become a God-centered city. In 1968 Mao declared that China was a religion-free country, but today there are at least 130 million Christians! How did this happen? The Chinese Academy of Science determined that the power of Great Britian in the 19th Century was directly correlated with the evangelical revival in that country at that time. In the same way, the United States’ power directly related to the evangelical revival which caused America to be the super power in the 20th Century. So congratulations Dipolog for coming to the same conclusion!
2. My story and "shame" as a negative power in my life and Philippine people’s!
3. Why is the Philippines unable to provide employment for its people? The tragedy! I want in this talk only to deal with one aspect of the problem.
4. I want to suggest to you that you need to make some small unnatural adjustments in order to become a winner at work. They will come from changing the focus of your life from self on to others.
5. We see with our brains! The tsunami belted a small primitive island in the Indonesian archipelago. The Islanders shot arrows at the relief plane. They saw what our eyes see. But they saw with their brains! The brain interprets what the eye captures.
6. Most men define themselves by what they do. We ask each other: What do you do? What are you doing now? The chief topic of discussion between men is the subject of work. They talk more about work than family.
7. According to Psychology Today, your career is probably the most important influence on your perception of your quality of life.
8. Men are action driven. When men stop working, they start to die. A career is more important than anything else for most men. They spend more time in the workplace than anywhere else. In western countries around 60-65% of a man’s time is spent at work; 30-35% is spent on personal interests; nil-10% is spent on religion. In the Philippines of course these figures would be very different for many men, but true for an increasing number of Filipino men.
9. 80% of most men feel they are a misfit with their work. Most men feel that they are under-utilised. Perhaps you are like the majority of men who see work as a concession to life? Something you have to do. A necessary evil. You are in good company, as this is the dominant view of most men.
10. We know that for 50% of their time the average worker is not emotionally engaged in his job (Gallop studies). He has no passion. In fact 22% of workers are actively disengaged. These workers do not even try to be productive and just want to collect the paycheque. Indeed, the ultimate goal for many is not to work but to retire. Perhaps you or your friends have said: then I will be free to live!
11. The Hebrews understood work as a curse flowing from the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden. For the Greeks, real men did not work, they pursued “higher” activities! When Socrates drank hemlock – only his mates were present,women & family were of no consequence! What a value system! The Romans adopted Greek concepts. No citizen of the city of Rome worked – that was the job of slaves. These Greco-Roman ideas have heavily influenced our society. These ideas heavily influenced the traditional Catholic Church where the only work of value was the religious life.
12. Unfortunately,I believe, the Spanish left a major curse on the Philippines when they left the idea that the successful man does not work. He just lives in the big house – women do the work! This is a tragedy!
13. Christian men often have haunting unanswered questions when it comes to work. They ask:
(i) Is there one right job for me?God’s Word - the Bible - has answers to all these questions,but these are questions that I can try and deal with in question time if you are interested.
(ii) Does my job really matter to God?
(iii) How does God work at work?
(iv) How much work is too much?
14. God is at work and he puts men to work. God is a worker. In the Garden of Eden there is profit-sharing where God permits Adam to eat the fruits of his labour with the exception of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Work and work-related issues are chief topics of the Bible. The ground is cursed, but not work. The Bible addresses work issues even more than it does the family. Men are seen as co-workers with God in the New Testament. There is a priesthood of all believers who are Christians. [1 Peter 2:5,9]
15. Key levels of motivation behind a man’s work. Please consider where you stand.
(i) Paycheque driven - because I want to meet my needs and the needs of my family.
(ii) Passion driven - because I desire to have a certain standard of living; because I desire to accomplish something meaningful.
(iii) Philanthropy driven - because I can earn money I can give to help others.
(iv) Purpose driven - because I can earn money that I can give to advance God's kingdom on earth; because I can serve and glorify God in my work and spiritually impact people.
16. The higher view of work came about from the Protestant Reformation but has increasingly been adopted by all progressive movements in the whole Christian Church. The Protestants replaced the authority of the church with that of the Bible, Sola Scriptura, etc. This is one of the greatest contributions to the appreciation of the value of your work. Work was noble, a partnership with God. The so-called Protestant work ethic was born. It emphasised that everyone should work and that all men’s work was equal. There was an explosion of economic activity that we are still reaping the benefits from in western countries.
17. You see this clearly in the passage Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of what He owns. He is the one you are really working for.”
18. Jesus said: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” [Luke 6:38] This is a key business principle and a crucial principle for any success I have enjoyed in business.
19. The Protestant Reformation and the revolutionary Protestant work ethic resulted in:
(i) emphasising work as the will of God for everyone;
(ii) endorsing all work with an equal dignity;
(iii) encouraging honesty and diligence in work while (where possible) investing, not consuming, the profits from work.
This higher view of work unleashed:
(a) Sudden economic expansion;
(b) Personal prosperity.
20. The Louvre Museum in Paris is built on an old castle. You can see the castle turrets if you do a basement tour. Some blocks of stone have crosses on them. These are the work of Christian stonemasons. They wanted to make each block for the glory of God. Yes, they were just chipping rock, but look at how they are understanding their work.
Are you excited about what you do? Do you have a sense of achieving excellence in your work?
21. What men want from their work:
(i) Success.
(ii) Recognition.
(iii) Fit.
(iv) Fair compensation.
(v) Community.
(vi) Balance.
These considerations are relevant to the motivation & encouragement of both ourselves as well as employees.
22. Avoid sexual immorality at all costs. [1 Cor 6:18] It leaves a stain on your name. [Prov 6:33] Watch out for the black widow spier. [Prov 7:10-12,15,26-27] Everybody will Know over time ! If you cheat your employees will feel they can cheat in other ways!
23. Benefits of a good name at work:
(i) People admire you as a man.
(ii) You influence others in a positive way – especially young men.
(iii) God is honoured and you feel His pleasure.
(iv) You feel deep satisfaction about your work.
24. Consider the attitude of three bricklayers building a wall:
(i) I am just laying bricks.
(ii) I am building a wall.
(iii) I am building a cathedral.
How do you see & understand your work?
25. Your work tomorrow will be driven by how you understand your work with your brain, not the work itself. That is the power of perspective!
26. I want to suggest to you that you will pursue with passion only what you dream about. Do you only see the immediate? Are you drifting in your work?
27. Your dreams may require great faith, but are doable! Something worth doing. The more our soul integrates with work, the more energy we will have. “Know thyself.” This dictum is only really possible by having a relationship with God.
28. We are most energised at work when our gifts are used. In major studies only 20% of workers believe their gifts are being used. We are energised when our gifts are used. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. (Buckingham & Clifton study.) (Wise counsellors.)
29. Warren Buffett said: “Do what you do best.”
QUESTIONS
PART 2
PART 2
30. I spoke about a focus on others, not self. Is your identity in what you do? Your identity should NOT be in what you do, but in Christ. What happens when you become unemployed or incapacitated if your identity is in what you do?
31. Story of Blaise Pascal: Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand in 1623 and died in 1662. He was a mathematician, physicist, theologian, and man of letters. He invented the calculating machine, the barometer, the hydraulic press and the syringe. Pascal is commonly regarded as the father of the computer. Albert Einstein said he was the smartest man to live in Europe during the last 1,000 years.
His non-Christian friends in Paris said to him: ”You have faith, but I am a person who needs proof. Maybe you can live by faith, but I don't! Pascal said, "That’s ridiculous” and made what is called Pascal's wager.
Here is Mr X and Mr Y. Mr X believes that there is a God and believes that there is a Judgement Day; therefore there is a differentiated life after death. In short, Mr X believes that his choices in this world will result in different outcomes of either being saved or lost.
But Mr Y does not believe in God. Or, if there is a God, he is not a judge and there is no differentiation between being lost and saved. In short, Mr Y is a type of agnostic whereas Mr X is a Christian. Mr Y is putting his faith in there being no God and both are wagering their lives. So both of them are gambling their lives on faith commitments that cannot be empirically investigated. Mr Y is by faith assuming the Christian God does not exist but he cannot prove his viewpoint.
Let us go a little further. Think of the area of marriage. Science can't help you much in the area of spouse selection. Fundamentally from the perspective of science no one has ever seen love. You cannot determine scientifically whether the person you are proposing to marry will be ideal. It will be a matter of faith. And you will act upon those beliefs. This does not mean a total leap into the dark. No! Not at all!
In fact, most of the things in life that give you meaning cannot be proven empirically. Relationships cannot be examined scientifically, but this does not mean that you cannot use your mind or reason for the choice you make. It doesn't mean that you can't analyse the situation, but you can’t prove it.
Jesus says that everybody has faith commitments. This means that you are on a road. Everyone is basing their life on whether there is a God and a Judgement Day. Everyone has developed life strategies on the basis of faith commitments. Everyone is moving on the road because of faith in their answers to these ultimate questions.
All that Pascal was trying to argue is that everyone is taking a gamble. Thus it is absolutely irrational to gamble your life without considering the claims of Jesus; without thoroughly investigating Christianity - for example, reading all the way through the New Testament. What proof is there for your position, of the non-existence of the claims of Christ if you don’t even know what evidence exists for the truth of the Christian Gospel? As Jesus said to Pilot: “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” [Jn 18:37b]
32. Kierkegaard said: “Only if your identity is built on God and His love, can you have a self that can venture anything, face anything.” Is this you?
33. St Augustine said: “Our loves are not rightly ordered.” We have all rebelled & committed spiritally adultory with other Gods. God desires to be like a husband to him but we want the things he can give us but we dont want him. Some people rebel by being very good believing that their righteousness means that they dont need Jesus as Saviour & Lord. At the very least all of us commit relationship sins that we don't know about . Consider how often say a husband may offend his wife and he is unaware of it!
34. Solzenitzen said: “There is a line that divides good and evil and it cuts through every man’s heart.” Only Jesus Christs sacrificial death at calvery can pay the just punishment for us!
35. Jonathan Edwards said: "You are invited to experience God when you become a Christian." When you turn to Christ after after facing up to your rebellion against Him.
36. The experience of Christ is like the difference between knowing that honey is sweet and having the actual experience of tasting the sweetness of honey.
37. Chariots of Fire: In the movie Chariots of Fire Abrahams and Liddell were both trying very hard to win gold medals for the United Kingdom. But Abrahams was doing it out of a need to prove himself. At one time, speaking of the sprint event in which he was competing, he said, ”I've got 10 seconds to justify my existence.” Liddell, on the other hand, simply wanted to please God who had already accepted him. That's why he said to his sister, ”God made me fast, and when I run I feel his pleasure.” Harold Abrahams was weary even when he rested, and Eric Liddell was rested even when he was exerting himself. Why? Because there is a work underneath our work that we really need rest from. It's the work of self-justification. It's the work that often leads us to take refuge in religion as against true Christianity. Jesus said: " Take my joke upon you & learn from me, for I am gentile and humble at heart." (Mt 11:29)
38. What is Christianity? You are not invited to sign a series of belief statements, but rather to a feast! You are not invited to obey a set of rules, but rather to a feast! You are invited not just to know the Glory and Wonder of God, but rather to experience the Glory and the Beauty of our Lord. How do you explain the difference to a blind man of red as against blue? The Bible says: "Taste and see the Lord is good." [Psalm 34:8]
39. A new marriage relationship between man and God. Jesus calls Himself the bridegroom [see Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19;20; Luke 5:34,35 ;John 3:29 and Revelation 18:23] [See also Isaiah 54:5: “For your maker is your husband ... The Lord Almighty is his name …”]
40. The price Jesus has paid to give His bride the cup of joy. To enable you & me to avoid the terror of hell.
41. Will you come to the feast? Listen & hear the Spirit of Jesus calling you now!
