Welcome to the Furly Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn, and today I want to give you a clear, concise, and biblical framework for viewing your work as worship. This will be the culmination to this last few weeks and our series on work. And I've already hit laziness with you. We've talked about how to build a great work ethic. And last time we talked about how to find fulfillment in your work. Today, I want to bring everything together with a simple Bible study. And you could use this teaching resource in your own life, of course, but you could use it with a men's or women's Bible study, a small group, even talking to your kids and students about their future. So first, I'm going to give you two truths to remember. Okay, two truths to remember. And then one that I believe will totally change the way that you view your work. And I want to break down these statements biblically and exegetically and help you apply them as well. The first, number one, is God designed work before the fall. I've alluded to this a couple of times. I've pushed on this point mainly to encourage people not to be lazy, not to load their work. But where do we get that idea exegetically? Exegesis is the practice of exegeting. You can almost hear the word excavating, two different words, but still the same picture, pulling out the truth from the text and properly interpreting the Bible. Well, Genesis 2.15 is where we find this. Then the Lord God took man and he gave him basically a role in the garden. The Bible says he put him in the garden of Eden to, and then two things, to cultivate it and to keep it. To cultivate it and to keep it. The Hebrew word for cultivate is abad, and it means to serve, and it's to labor. And the idea is to labor in worship. So the idea that work is worship and labor before the fall, that was man's job. And the word for keep, it's the Hebrew word samar, and it means to guard or to preserve or to maintain. So we have this idea before sin entered the world of Adam's role, including meaningful, purposeful, creative work that was cultivating and keeping and guarding under God's command, which means work at its core, just like all the other things that God has given us as a gift, certainly marriage and life and animals and many things before the fall is not associated with sin. Work is not a punishment then. It is a gift. And it actually is how we reflect the image of God. So that's how you need to view work. Not a punishment, but rather a gift and a means of reflecting the Imago Dei, the image of God. Work was never meant to drain you and make you loathe this thing. So when you work as worship, all of a sudden you're nine to five or whatever it is, it becomes an altar for the glory of God. That's biblically how we're supposed to view it. John Piper said this so well: work is one of the ways we make the beauty of God known in the world. That is true. Number two, the other truth that I want you to commit to memory and understand is that sin corrupted work, but it didn't cancel it. Sin corrupted work, but it didn't cancel it. In Genesis chapter 3, verses 17 to 19, I've got my Bible out. If you're watching on YouTube, it'll be on the screen. If you're listening, I'll just read it to you on the fly here. Then to Adam he said, This is God, giving the man his curse, because you've listened to the voice of your wife and you've eaten from the tree of which I've commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it. Cursed is the ground because of you, in toil you'll eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you, and you'll eat of the plants of the field by the sweat of your face, and you'll eat bread till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. After the fall, work became difficult. It became painful, it became frustrating. By the sweat of your face, you will eat bread. Think about that. You're gonna have to labor and work, it's gonna be a grind. So the curse wasn't work itself, it was the futility and challenge that comes with it. Now, God still uses work to sanctify us, to test us, and to shape us into faithful believers. But the idea that, you know, work is a grind and we just loathe it and can't stand it. You know, if it wasn't for sin, there'd be no work. I could just hang out. No, no, work is a gift from God. It's meant to be worship, but work is gonna be a grind and it's gonna be brutal sometimes, and not everything goes your way because of sin. Hard work then and setbacks and stress are not an indication that your work is meaningless and your life is meaningless and all of this is futile. It's a reminder that we need the grace of God and we're gonna have frustration. People are gonna deal wrongly with us and strongly with us in ways that are not helpful. We might even get persecuted. We need grace. And sometimes your best effort doesn't always produce what you expected it to. So instead of trying to run from that or escape it, we redeem it through faithfulness and we ask for God's grace to be at work through the toil of our labors. So those are the two truths that absolutely should be committed to your memory and ingrained in your mentality when it comes to work. The third truth that's going to change your life really derives from what R.C. Sproul once said. He said there's no such thing as secular work for the believer. All of life is lived before the face of God. See, we make this mistake. We separate the sacred from the secular. And we act as though, well, these are the holy things, these are sacred, and then secular, you know, my job, the world, you know, out there. No. The third reality, which moves from the two truths I want you to remember to this one that'll change your life, is that work is worship. Let me say, Costi, serving at a restaurant? Seriously, worship? Yep. I'm a lawyer. I mean, I'm I'm in contract law. I'm in family law. I practice estate law. Worship, really? I just, you know, yes. I'm a teacher. Yeah. Absolutely. I'm a stay-at-home mom. I change more diapers than you could even imagine. Really? That's worship? Yes. Yes, it is. Homeschool mom, president of a corporation, taxi driver, Uber driver, whatever you do, it's worship. It is. Colossians chapter 3, verses 23 and 24 are something that should be in the forefront of your mind here. We've talked about it already. The first part, whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for man. Talked to you about that already. But then in verse 24, Paul adds on that you're doing it for a higher purpose. He lands the plane with that line. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. It's the Lord Christ whom you serve. The the word heartily, the Greek word that he uses, it means from the soul. Do your work heartily. So that means that your boss and your customers, your company, they're getting your best. They're getting it from your soul. Your inside is working strong with a heart. It's just coming out that you actually want to do this the right way. But also your boss and your customers and the company, as you do your work for them from your innermost being, your heart, they're not your ultimate and primary audience. Christ is. Because you're doing your work heartily. It's all coming from the soul, from your heart. And they're going to get the benefit of that, but really the object of your worship and your heart is Christ. This perspective transforms mediocrity into excellence. It's going to take you from mundane routine and just workplace ritual and move that into devotion. I love church history, missionary stories. My kids are big fans of Eric Little. It's spelled, it looks like maybe Liddell, but it's historically said little. Eric Little. He was the Olympian and the gold medal sprinter, turned missionary. And one time he said this, when I run, I feel his pleasure. When I run, I feel his pleasure. Some people might say, ah, it's meaningless, just big deal, the Olympics. No, he said, when I run, I feel his pleasure. God loves my work, my athletics, my passions coming from the heart, but unto his glory. Everybody else gets the benefit of it, but ultimately I'm doing it for him. I love that mentality. It helps us understand that whether in the field, in the office, in a garage, all of it, our labor brings joy to God and blessing to others when done with integrity and effort for his name. Martin Luther said this the maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays. Not because she sings a Christian hymn as she sweeps, but because God loves clean floors. That fits so well in our study because many times over we view sacred work as missionary work. Pastors, monks, priests. No. Eric Little was doing sacred work when he was running a race. The Christian maid is doing work that is worship when she's cleaning her floors. The idea is that God cares about the way we do things. And so what does this mean for the way we work? Let me give you three takeaways to the whole series that are going to change your life, change your perspective, and you can apply these. Number one, again, all work is sacred when it's done for God's glory. All work is sacred. And of course, I'm not talking about perverse, sinful work. We're talking about good, honest work, not sin. It's just like when we tell people, submit to your church or a wife, submit to your husband, never into sin, only according to scripture. But yeah, that's going to include a lot of things we do. I've mentioned some of them already, whether you work in service, restaurant, hotel, tech, it doesn't matter. Stop separating the sacred and the secular. All of your work as a Christian, it's worship. Luther made that statement about the maid sweeping floors when he was pushing back against the medieval Catholic idea that holy work was reserved for priests and monks and nuns. He was arguing that every legitimate form of labor, again, non-sinful labor, it could be farming, sweeping, teaching, governing, all that, was equally pleasing to God when done in faith. So there's no spiritual hierarchy of work. I want you to understand this. My role vocationally as a pastor, the fact that I get to oversee a church, the fact that I get to teach the Bible, the fact that I get to do this with you for the gospel, all of that, that's not a higher plane of work than you right now in a law office. You as a stay-at-home mom. You, maybe you're a recruiter, you place workers, you're in some other corporate line of work. Maybe you're a student in college, maybe you're a teacher. There's no spiritual hierarchy. All of us are doing our work that God has given us to do as worship. Ordinary tasks, all of a sudden, they become sacred because they're done in service to God and neighbor. The second truth you should apply is that worship is found in faithful work, not religious activity. And that means that your work or mine is not holy because we're singing hymns. And now you put on worship while you grade papers. That's not what made it spiritual. The police officer patrolling the streets, blasting worship music, is not suddenly redeeming his workday. No, that could be a beautiful moment. You want to sing to the Lord while you're patrolling the streets. But the act of work itself being done faithfully and diligently, that's the part that's worship. That's pleasing to God. And so you don't need to put a religious veneer on it. Please listen to music, pray prayers, listen to podcasts. Some of you are listening to me right now while you're working and you're able to do both. But it's not the religious veneer that makes it worship. It's the motive and obedience behind the work. And so even cleaning your house today is holy. Changing a diaper is holy. Bringing order to your home is holy. And completing the merger or investing funds, buying that rental property, grading the papers, fixing pipes, and selling a car is all holy work because God values order, beauty, and service to others. Finally, every calling is an opportunity for service. Every calling is an opportunity for service. I know you might be a leader. I know you might be in a position where a lot of people serve you. But one of the ways you can see work is worship is to see the privilege of serving others. Work is a primary way that God will love people and reach people through you. The maid cleans, the farmer grows food, the mother nurtures children, the officer brings order, the ruler maintains justice, the tradesman provides a tool, the recruiter places workers, the programmer develops an app and advances technology, the hedge fund manager helps build wealth, the lawyer enacts law, the teacher is shaping minds, the athlete competes, the homemaker prepares, the artist creates. All of those are ways that God provides for the world and that you can serve people. It was Martin Luther, again, on this topic. He's so helpful on work and many other things, but I love this. He said, God himself is milking the cows through the vocation of the milkmaid. In that sense, your vocation is your ministry, whether it's in the marketplace or the home. It's service unto others for the glory of God. So you just squash the misconceptions right here, right now, now that you understand this, and we've been through all of this teaching together. First, you don't have to leave your job to serve God. Maybe God is calling you to the ministry vocationally. Okay. But the idea that, you know, you're going to work and then one day you'll do ministry. No, you're in the ministry where you are. You don't have to leave your job to serve God. Two, faithfulness in the mundane really is holiness. Yeah. Mundane everyday tasks, absolutely, that's worship. And work done with integrity and excellence is worship. That's where it comes from. All that you do is done heartily from the soul, from the inside, as an offering of worship unto God. And so as you consider these truths and the series we've just been through, reflect on your own approach to work. How do you currently view your work? Is it a burden? Is it an identity? Or is it an act of worship? Second, what does excellence look like in your specific role and responsibilities? Third, where have you allowed laziness or apathy to dishonor God in your work? And fourth, how can you practically serve your coworkers, your boss, or your clients as an act of worship this week? Work is not a curse, it's a calling. And when we work for God's glory, even the mundane becomes majestic. Hey, thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. And speaking of work, thank you, gospel patrons, for supporting ours. This ministry for the gospel is a blessing to millions of people every single month because of God's work through you. And it is my special privilege, along with our team, our staff, to be really just the farmers spreading the seed and laboring in the field that God has given us here. But we know that He's using you and His power and grace is at work behind your faithful support in all of these things. And so thank you so much for that. If you're new to our ministry or you want to tap into some of the free resources available to you, everything we do is available for free. It's all over social media. It's also on our website. We have a blog, the podcast, everything can be found there, as well as videos and teaching series to help you grow and be strengthened in your faith. So for free resources, go to forthegospel.org. Or if you'd like to partner with our work here, just click give at the website and all the information is there. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.