Sermon Recap: Emmanuel Labor Pt. 4
Speaker: Pastor Pierre du Plessis
Read: Exodus 31:2-5, 33:18; 2 Chronicles 7:1-3; Psalm 19:1; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:23-24
We have learned that there is dissonance of God’s intention for work and the cultural ideology of our society today. To work only for our self-centered reasons is out of sync with His purposes. God’s intent is that we use our gifts and talents to cultivate the raw materials He has given us in such a way that He is the One who gets the glory. God desires to fill His creation with His glory, but unfortunately, people are increasingly more blinded to it.
The Hebrew word for “glory” is “kavod,” which literally means weighty or heavy, and refers to God’s significance, His presence and His beauty. The reality is that God’s presence is everywhere, whether looking at the sunset, a flower or the Grand Canyon. In Scripture, the Apostle Paul suggests that God’s glory can also be seen in everything we do all the way down to the mundane tasks of eating and drinking. Likewise, God’s glory can be seen in our work. Regardless of our vocation, we can glorify God by completing the jobs assigned to us in such a way that we make the invisible God visible. Through our work we are to be the Jesus the world sees as we mirror or mimic what God is like. He predestined us to do good things and as His partners we can reshape the raw materials given to us and make something extraordinary or function in a magnificent way that benefits others. We are to simply be who we are and focus on the One for whom we are working. When our work pleases God, He is glorified.
GROUP QUESTIONS:
1. What resonated with you as you listened to this sermon and reviewed it?
2. What do you think are the things that blind people to God’s glory?
3. In what things or places do you experience awe and specifically see God’s glory?
4. Read Exodus 31:2-5. What does this tell us about how God regards our assignments?
5. What are the raw materials or resources God has given you? How can you use them in your work to bring glory to God?
6. Anglican writer John Stott was quoted as saying the kind of work we are called to is, “the expenditure of energy (manual, mental, or both) in the service of others, which bring fulfillment to the worker, benefit to the community, and glory to God.” What does this mean to you?
7. Considering what artists and musicians have accomplished, what do you think is the significance of Pastor stating that there are only seven colors in the rainbow and only seven musical notes?
