Sermon: Eshesians 4:28
Sermon By: Bill Sytsma
Listen to Audio: April, 22, 2012 AM Sermon

Background: The Apostle Paul is sharing how the gospel changes every aspect of our lives.

Verse: “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Ephesians 4:28 KJV)”

Sermon Preview:

This week Sunday morning (April 22), we will continue our series of sermons on Healthy Attitudes. Some people are consumed with their jobs, while others hate their work. Some think of their job as a calling, and others view work as a necessary evil. Come Sunday morning to hear what Ephesians 4:28 tells us about the role of work in our lives.

Sermon Summary:

Do you behave differently in different settings? Do you find that your home life and work life differ? For many people when we think about work we think of a job that pays the bills. Work includes all tasks that we have obligation that take a significant amount of time and energy in which we are contributing to others.

It begins in the garden. If we look in Genesis chapter two Adam and Eve were directed to work in the garden. God made human brings to be productive and do good work. Before sin had entered the world God directed the couple to work. Work was never a result of sin. What happened when sin entered the world, was toil. Work was part of gods creation, but toil is the result of sin.

Have you ever done a lot and felt like you got nowhere? We you a contractor that had any daily issues with a big project that interrupters your progress. Ae you a teacher that is having difficulty engaging students that are purposely offensive. These are example of toil.

How do we approach this toil?
Here are some unhealthy attitudes toward work

Laziness: We live as if work is beneath us. It promotes a view of the self as all important; it’s a me centered world view. It presents us with practical, financial, and spiritual problems. No body wants to hire a lazy person, people won’t rely on you.

Workaholic: This means your work becomes your most significant pursuit. Are you looking for fame in your work. And you sacrificing family, faith, or friends to your work. Remember that any good thing can become an idol. This occurs when you attribute more to an object than it deserves. Where is your ultimate satisfaction found.

Dualism: Attitude of the segregated life. There are different roles we all play. This is not about different situations and difference responses. This dualism can best be articulated as living by two different sets of standards. Remembers that Gods word needs to dominate every realm of your life including work. Do you live by a different set of rules when you are angry? Do you live by a different set of rules when you are making a shady business deal? It’s about serving others and allowing God’s word into every area of your life is lived with consistency. Integrity is the ability for others to see the same person in all settings. Do you live with integrity?

Necessary Evil: You may love your kids? Do you really like changing their diapers? Do you like teaching, but find something grinding about grading papers? how do you about the necessary evils of work? This attitude requires a recognition that work is a participating in God’s kingdom in helping others. Do you live a life that you work, so you can eat, so you can get energy, so you can work? We must let God help us break out of this cycle we work to witness work to love, work to serve the kingdom of God.

Secondary Sources Reading:
Seismic Shifts: The Little Changes That Make a Big Difference in Your Life [Hardcover]