WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.040 to do, but maybe that's not the scriptural thing. On the other side, there's a lot of us, especially 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:10.220 in D.C., who swing the other way and leave corporate America behind in favor of some 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:16.460 non-profit or fair trade organization because we want to feel more justified in the work that we do. 00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:22.859 Again, Paul would not say that that's wrong, but he would say, in Christ, that's not the point. 00:00:23.500 --> 00:00:28.100 So tonight, we're going to look at this passage, and the entirety of chapter 3 speaks to it as well. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.820 But it's not meant to be a social overhaul. Paul's not trying to change these systems and structures. 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:42.399 Rather, he's inviting us, God's people, to be the change we want to see in the world. 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:48.700 The revolutionary truth of the gospel is given to us, and as we learn to live in the hope and 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:55.420 fullness of Christ, we come to a point where it transforms not the work itself, but the way we 00:00:55.420 --> 00:01:02.359 view and carry out that work. That transformation happens in this passage in two primary ways. 00:01:04.299 --> 00:01:13.040 In Christ, we have a new attitude about our work, and secondly, we have a new motivation for our work. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:19.659 Let's pray for God to speak through this tonight. Heavenly Father, God, as we come to you, as we come 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:26.859 to the foot of the cross, and we say thank you, as we learn to live in gratitude of what you've done for us, 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:34.019 God, I ask that you might speak through these words, through this sermon, that we might begin to think 00:01:34.019 --> 00:01:41.560 about work differently. God, use this time to change our hearts and to speak to us. In your name we pray. 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:51.020 Amen. So the first way that we are changed in Christ is our attitude about work. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:58.740 Paul doesn't encourage a revolt in verse 22. He doesn't say, you know, rise up and march. Let's 00:01:58.740 --> 00:02:06.560 take it to the hill. He says, obey. The first thing he says to a group of people who say, what now? 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:11.800 What now in the freedom of Christ does that mean for us as slaves, and on the other part of the room, 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:18.020 us as masters? He says, obey. He doesn't challenge the systems of the day, but he speaks directly to 00:02:18.020 --> 00:02:28.420 the Christian heart. Christian employees and employers, through this, we hear our call to be obedient 00:02:28.420 --> 00:02:35.759 employees, to be the best employees. Not only when the boss is watching, not only when he's peering over 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:47.759 your shoulder, but primarily because of Christ. Maybe some of us have found ourselves in that kind 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:52.459 of place at work where your work is a little bit unfulfilling, maybe. You're not sure you actually 00:02:52.459 --> 00:02:57.680 want to be there. And the moment the boss walks around the corner, you find yourself having to look 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:04.980 a little bit busier than you actually were. I've been there. For some of us, work can very easily, 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:11.219 I think, become our primary identity. If for you, one of the first questions you ask someone when you 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:20.540 first meet them is, what do you do? That might be a sign that actually you yourself have become to be 00:03:20.539 --> 00:03:27.959 identified by your work. Maybe you've started to place a little too much value in your work. It's a 00:03:27.959 --> 00:03:33.319 common question in our culture and a hard one to avoid, but that right there is what Paul is addressing 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:38.979 in our hearts. That heart condition right there is what he wants to talk about. I think for many of us 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:44.579 in D.C., the pressure to be successful and career-driven is one of the heaviest weights we can possibly bear. 00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:52.460 It's not just climbing the corporate ladder. It's not just the good student who's working for that 00:03:52.460 --> 00:03:56.439 fourth or fifth degree. Never mind whether or not you're using this first, second, or third. 00:03:57.100 --> 00:04:03.880 You're still working to the fourth and fifth. It's not just the weight on those occupations and goals. 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:10.280 It also hits home for the stay-at-home parent who developed a career and then has now had to make a 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:20.060 tough choice. What does work mean? The pressure to be successful is hard. That's the beauty of what 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:26.180 Christ can be, not only in our lives, but to the people around us. There's something different. 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:30.639 There's something bigger. I know for myself, one of the biggest challenges that I face with work, 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:37.160 and maybe you guys can feel this as well, is the desire to approve, to get everyone else's approval, 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:46.120 to impress the people that you work with and work for. It's so easy and not bad either to desire to be 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:54.020 needed. The desire to be known is one of the fundamental and core roots of humanity. It's a desire that we all 00:04:54.020 --> 00:05:04.160 have, and it's not going away. And that is the beauty of life in Christ. We are freed from the need to be 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:12.360 known. We are free from the need to be needed. Because of what Christ did at the cross for us, 00:05:13.320 --> 00:05:22.520 free grace, he has secured our identity in him. Where before we had to take that identity search to work, 00:05:23.280 --> 00:05:32.160 work harder, work longer, do more, which often can lead to cynicism when that work doesn't provide any fruit, 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:39.380 the cross wipes that need out. It's established you with the king of the universe, 00:05:39.880 --> 00:05:43.660 which is something that no boss or co-worker could ever provide. 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:49.800 I think we're shown this type of attitude towards our work in the Old Testament reading we just had a 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:55.420 moment ago with Joseph, a man who, if you read his story time and time and time again, 00:05:55.420 --> 00:06:02.379 he did his very best. And yet time and time and time again, 00:06:03.140 --> 00:06:13.740 it wasn't enough. He was chastised or thrown out on his ear or imprisoned or undervalued or enslaved. 00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:20.520 But I think the key to Joseph's life and his work was at the very end of that passage we read tonight. 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:29.919 If you remember, it said, he had success in all he did because he did it for the Lord. 00:06:31.779 --> 00:06:38.919 So not only do we need to have a different attitude in that way, we're also called to give our all, 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:42.180 to give everything we have at work. 00:06:42.180 --> 00:06:48.199 Now there's a road worker, all right? I worked in road construction for a year or so of my life, 00:06:48.400 --> 00:06:55.060 and I can vouch for this man's sentiment and his desire. And you also can probably reckon with this, 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:59.680 having driven by a fair number of construction zones in D.C. yourself. But here's his story. 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:06.639 So he was hired. A couple weeks later, he comes back to the boss and says, listen, there's a problem. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:12.779 And the boss says, yeah, what's going on? He said, well, I've been here for two weeks and I still don't have a shovel. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:17.519 And the boss looked at him and he said, well, are you getting paid? 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:24.019 The road worker said, well, yeah, of course I'm getting paid. And the boss said, well, yeah, then I guess we do have a problem. 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:26.379 You have no way to do the work for which you're getting paid. 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:31.639 The road worker was quick to correct him. He said, no, no, no, the pay is great. That's fine. 00:07:31.639 --> 00:07:35.000 I don't have a shovel to lean on like everybody else. 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:41.319 And maybe you don't have a shovel in your office or at home that you look to lean on. 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:44.519 But I think in some ways this applies to our work life as well. 00:07:44.919 --> 00:07:55.099 Maybe you find yourself having a bad case of the Mondays or midday Wednesday scrolling Facebook on the clock just to burn a little time. 00:07:55.719 --> 00:08:00.879 Or maybe you find yourself filing through your iPhone news feed to get updates on what's going on. 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:03.339 While you're supposed to be working. 00:08:04.019 --> 00:08:10.240 Or maybe, and I'm not going to confess to you that this is my guilt, you're playing Pokemon Go on company time. 00:08:11.719 --> 00:08:17.599 Whatever it is, these are all different ways that we actually neglect to give our all. 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:22.300 We withhold something in us from our bosses for whatever reason. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:24.099 And Paul says that's not okay. 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:28.180 He says to both the bondservant and the master, that's not okay. 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:31.379 A slave in Paul's day may never receive what he was due. 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:31.959 You see. 00:08:33.659 --> 00:08:35.779 He's never going to climb the corporate ladder. 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:39.319 He's never going to attain upper management for his boss. 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:45.000 And yet Paul turns his congregation and us to verse 23. 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:51.620 Where he says, whatever you do, work at it as working for the Lord, not for man. 00:08:51.620 --> 00:09:04.379 So whatever the situation we're in, because we are known by Christ, because we are one with Christ, we don't need to fight for our boss's approval. 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:08.100 Or withhold our work because our job is unfulfilling. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:14.939 We have a freedom that the world does not have to look beyond that moment. 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:24.780 To look beyond the here and now and realize that we are working in a place and at a time specifically to bring Christ to those we work with and for. 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:34.379 In that freedom in Christ, we can be the most obedient and the best employees that our coworkers will ever meet. 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:38.720 Now just imagine for a minute how our work might change. 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:45.419 And how our relationships with our coworkers and employers might change if this is how we choose to work. 00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:54.639 And secondly, if we have that attitude change, it comes from what Paul says is a motivational change. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.599 A change in motivation about why we work. 00:09:58.539 --> 00:10:01.959 So we've talked about we are serving the Lord, not man. 00:10:02.719 --> 00:10:09.959 But right on the heels of that, Paul says that your primary compensation now comes from the Lord, not from man. 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.019 Now friends, I also know how hard it can be. 00:10:13.219 --> 00:10:15.099 I told you I work road construction. 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:21.279 To be undercompensated or undervalued or unfairly treated in the workplace. 00:10:22.439 --> 00:10:22.839 Right? 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:27.519 The ongoing race and gender inequality in the workplace is a great example of this. 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:32.000 And Paul would not discourage us from working towards equality in those ways. 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:35.819 But what he does say right here is why those things are important. 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:38.819 They're not the main thing anymore. 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:43.000 Working where you're at for Christ is. 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.220 So they are important, but they're not the main thing. 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:50.600 He's encouraging us to keep the main thing the main thing. 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:55.879 Now, I wish this mic could move so I could slide across the stage a little bit. 00:10:55.920 --> 00:11:01.519 But I want to invite you, regardless, preferably to rise up to 35,000 feet with me for a second. 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:07.920 And imagine this stage, side to side, representing all of eternity. 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:13.240 Everything that has come before us and has gone after us and will come after us. 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:27.600 The moment in time that your life, more specifically your work, occupies and the impact it makes is no more than the dot on this pen on the line that stretches across this stage. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:37.019 That's how small, that's how minuscule the time that we have in this life is. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:46.560 However, if you can do one thing, one thing alone with your life to make that impact last from that point and stretch through the rest of eternity, 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:55.199 it's the only thing that will provide a return on your investment to work forever. 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:05.279 And that is, when we start to view our primary compensation at work as the chance to share Christ with the people around us every day. 00:12:06.359 --> 00:12:09.039 I'm not just talking about the words that you say. 00:12:09.119 --> 00:12:12.539 I'm not trying to raise up a crew of evangelists in the workplace tonight. 00:12:12.699 --> 00:12:15.879 I'm not trying to tell you how to say the right things or when to say them. 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:19.720 No, Paul primarily is saying here, it's not your words. 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:21.919 It's how you work. 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:29.360 You show Christ in the workplace simply by doing good work. 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:31.399 That's what he's called you to. 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:38.179 And if we aren't doing our best, then haven't we sort of lost sight of who and what we're working for? 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:42.879 There's a story of a little boy in England years ago. 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:43.980 It's a true story. 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:50.659 As the boy was standing on the roadside, King Edward's coach came down the road towards him, 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:54.519 approaching the Buckingham Palace, excuse me. 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:58.320 The boy scaled a nearby lamppost, climbed all the way to the top. 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:00.019 He wanted to see what was going on. 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:06.680 And in particular, he was scoping out certain parts of the king's parade, the king's procession. 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:12.539 In his excitement and his joy, the little boy tried to get just a little bit higher to see the procession a little bit better, 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:14.719 and he fell off, fell onto his back. 00:13:15.959 --> 00:13:21.559 About the same time, an old curmudgeonly man walks by and, as one might imagine, says, 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:23.219 What are you doing here? 00:13:24.079 --> 00:13:25.579 Don't you realize you're just a nuisance? 00:13:25.580 --> 00:13:26.580 Don't you realize you're just a nuisance? 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:26.920 Don't you realize you're just a nuisance? 00:13:26.920 --> 00:13:30.580 The little boy, smiling from ear to ear, looks up at the old man and he says, 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:33.680 Did you see the king's coach? 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:37.879 And the old man, still annoyed and upset, said, 00:13:37.959 --> 00:13:38.719 Of course I did. 00:13:39.359 --> 00:13:42.759 The little boy, smiling even brighter, looks back at the old man and he says, 00:13:42.959 --> 00:13:45.039 Did you see the lampposts on the king's coach? 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:50.859 The old man, now visibly angry and visibly annoyed, trying to get on his way, says, 00:13:51.099 --> 00:13:53.319 Of course I did. How could you not? 00:13:54.359 --> 00:13:57.120 And the little boy, now hardly able to contain his joy, 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:00.599 looks back up at the old man and, without missing a beat, says, 00:14:00.599 --> 00:14:02.819 I polished those lamps. 00:14:04.439 --> 00:14:09.639 You see, it didn't matter to that little boy how menial or small the task was of polishing lamps. 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:13.439 What mattered was he was in the king's service. 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:20.159 As Christians, friends, whatever our work, whatever the place, whatever the time, 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:23.839 we can be assured that we are in the king's business. 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:28.339 So we are called to be the best lamp polishers, 00:14:28.939 --> 00:14:33.539 the best doctors, the best teachers, the best stay-at-home parents, 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:36.899 the best bankers, the best businessmen. 00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:39.120 Because, friends, it's true. 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:41.359 You are now in the king's service. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:48.659 One man who's committed his life to working in the king's service is a man named Hans Hess. 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:50.879 Maybe you've heard of him. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.039 If not, maybe you're familiar with his restaurant, Elevation Burger. 00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:00.159 If you're not familiar with it, I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with it, 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:01.659 because it's wonderful food. 00:15:02.699 --> 00:15:04.579 But I don't want to tell you just about Elevation Burger. 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:06.339 I want to tell you about Hans Hess real quick. 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:09.980 Hans came from California years and years ago 00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:13.059 to take a job on Capitol Hill working for a congressman. 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:16.859 Early on in his time working for this congressman, 00:15:17.599 --> 00:15:20.739 a sort of epidemic issue rose up. 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:23.459 And from sort of out of nowhere, 00:15:24.059 --> 00:15:30.000 children across the country were no longer receiving the vaccines the way their bodies should. 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:31.899 Their bodies were rejecting the vaccines. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.719 It was actually making them sicker than it was helping them. 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:40.459 And this congressman challenged Hess, Hans Hess, to figure out why. 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:45.200 So Hans went and he did his research, did his due diligence, and he came back. 00:15:46.300 --> 00:15:50.600 And he reported to the congressman that the reason that the children were no longer responding to vaccines 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:57.500 was because the food they were eating was grown and fed on chemically altered grain. 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:03.240 The cattle themselves were being injected with chemicals to help them grow stronger and faster and bigger 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:04.940 so that meat could get to the table. 00:16:04.940 --> 00:16:09.160 And through this process, children were actually becoming immune 00:16:09.160 --> 00:16:14.160 to the very things that were supposed to become vaccines for them later on in life. 00:16:15.520 --> 00:16:16.520 Hans took this to heart. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:18.380 And it didn't take very long. 00:16:18.900 --> 00:16:20.900 Him and his wife immediately went to the drawing board. 00:16:22.640 --> 00:16:23.140 And they said, 00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:25.660 How can we make this a part of God's business? 00:16:25.820 --> 00:16:28.460 How can we work in the king's business in this way? 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:35.720 And so they committed to making good food at a good price, done well. 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:42.900 And they started Elevation Burger, where they now serve organic and locally grown meats and produce. 00:16:43.280 --> 00:16:47.519 They fry their french fries in olive oil, which, if I can make a quick pitch, are delicious. 00:16:48.920 --> 00:16:51.379 But the point being, for Hans, it's not about the fame. 00:16:51.460 --> 00:16:52.060 It never was. 00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:52.879 It's not about the money. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:53.660 It never was. 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:57.379 It's not about the opportunity to grow economically. 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:03.819 For Hans, it was about working in the king's service. 00:17:05.879 --> 00:17:07.399 Doing good work. 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:11.079 Bringing good food, done well. 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:17.339 We're not asked to start societal upheaval or escape the workplace in our culture, 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:22.599 but to change the way that we work and the purpose we have in that work. 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:31.819 The primary concern here for Paul and for us is not man's relationship to each other. 00:17:31.959 --> 00:17:33.399 It's not person to person. 00:17:33.679 --> 00:17:38.639 His primary concern here in talking about work is our relationship to God. 00:17:39.699 --> 00:17:42.219 He tackles the issue of work first on the vertical. 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:55.920 Because for Paul and for Christ, you can't begin to rightly be oriented to your neighbor or your co-worker unless you're rightly oriented to your Savior, to Jesus Christ. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:04.900 So Paul says, having been rightly oriented to God in how we work and how we think about work, 00:18:05.140 --> 00:18:07.960 we can then live in a broken world for Christ 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:15.220 and focus on getting our mind and heart and attitude right with God because our work is kingdom work. 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:19.259 Now Paul sent this letter to a church. 00:18:20.180 --> 00:18:23.259 If we're to be written today, even by one of us, 00:18:23.259 --> 00:18:28.740 I imagine the church wouldn't be the first location that we might send something about work issues 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:32.400 or labor inequality or whatever might have you. 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:35.100 So why did Paul send it to a church? 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:38.220 He sent it to a church because he believed that you and me, 00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:39.660 the church in Colossa, 00:18:40.220 --> 00:18:45.940 Christians at work in the world are called to make a difference today by how we live and how we work. 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:51.759 The question we asked earlier was coined by one of our own Steve Garber. 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:53.620 And I'll say it again. 00:18:54.819 --> 00:18:55.940 Knowing what you know, 00:18:57.380 --> 00:18:58.579 what will you do? 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:01.759 And brothers and sisters, 00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:03.640 since you are known by Christ 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:05.839 and loved by him, 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:08.879 that question now becomes for us, 00:19:09.659 --> 00:19:11.059 knowing who Christ is, 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:13.559 what will we do in the workplace? 00:19:15.179 --> 00:19:17.759 We have the freedom to go out into a broken world, 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:19.220 to be salt, 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:20.639 to be light, 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:22.819 to bring the kingdom to the workplace 00:19:22.819 --> 00:19:25.619 and the neighborhoods that Christ has put us in right now. 00:19:27.199 --> 00:19:28.779 My hope and prayer for us 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:32.819 through a new attitude and motivation for our work 00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:35.899 is that we might begin or continue to see our work 00:19:35.899 --> 00:19:39.299 as good or bad as it seems in the day-to-day at times, 00:19:39.299 --> 00:19:42.919 as an opportunity to polish just a single lamp 00:19:42.919 --> 00:19:44.740 in the king's service 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:47.139 and to find the joy of that little boy, 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:50.079 to share the love of Christ through working hard 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:51.819 for an undeserving boss, 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:54.279 doing the good and the bad, 00:19:55.659 --> 00:19:57.059 whatever the task might be, 00:19:57.619 --> 00:19:59.059 for the good of those around you, 00:19:59.059 --> 00:20:02.659 and sharing the hope of Christ 00:20:02.659 --> 00:20:04.619 with the people around you 00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:07.159 because it's not that we work for a paycheck, 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:10.919 it's not that we work for a title or a promotion, 00:20:11.919 --> 00:20:15.339 but for a God and a king of the universe 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:17.940 that has given you his everything. 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.359 You see, when Christ comes into the heart of an individual, 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.599 that person becomes a new man, 00:20:26.159 --> 00:20:27.599 a new woman, 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:29.199 a new employer, 00:20:29.379 --> 00:20:30.339 a new employee, 00:20:30.639 --> 00:20:31.319 a new parent, 00:20:31.659 --> 00:20:32.579 a new child, 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:33.899 a new teacher, 00:20:34.019 --> 00:20:34.659 a new student, 00:20:34.659 --> 00:20:37.439 because that's the way God planned it. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:41.679 Friends, if you want to be part of the greatest revolution 00:20:41.679 --> 00:20:43.059 that this world has ever known, 00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:45.339 then let's get going. 00:20:46.719 --> 00:20:49.139 Let's take these things that Paul has taught us tonight 00:20:49.139 --> 00:20:51.119 and go back to work on Tuesday morning. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:52.979 Take Monday off. 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:54.119 It's Labor Day. 00:20:55.299 --> 00:20:57.000 Go back to work on Tuesday morning 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:58.879 and let's serve Christ 00:20:58.879 --> 00:21:02.179 because now he is our master 00:21:02.179 --> 00:21:05.079 and the one who has given us the hope and joy 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:09.059 that this world needs to see through you and through me. 00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:11.119 To close tonight, 00:21:11.219 --> 00:21:12.519 rather than praying on my own, 00:21:12.599 --> 00:21:13.839 I want to invite you guys 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:15.279 to pray the words 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.379 from the Collect for Vocation and Daily Work 00:21:18.379 --> 00:21:20.579 out of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:22.399 Will you pray with me? 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:25.039 Almighty God, 00:21:25.579 --> 00:21:26.679 our Heavenly Father, 00:21:27.459 --> 00:21:28.679 you declare your glory 00:21:28.679 --> 00:21:30.619 and show forth your handiwork 00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:32.619 in the heavens and in the earth. 00:21:33.579 --> 00:21:35.979 Deliver us in our various occupations 00:21:35.979 --> 00:21:38.319 in service of self alone 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:41.599 that we may do the work you give us to do 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:43.319 in truth and beauty 00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:44.879 and for the common good, 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:48.060 for the sake of him who came among us 00:21:48.060 --> 00:21:49.520 as one who serves, 00:21:50.100 --> 00:21:50.760 your Son, 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:51.700 Jesus Christ, 00:21:51.780 --> 00:21:52.340 our Lord, 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:54.780 who lives and reigns with you 00:21:54.780 --> 00:21:55.740 and the Holy Spirit, 00:21:56.580 --> 00:21:57.260 one God, 00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:58.380 forever and ever. 00:21:58.940 --> 00:21:59.240 Amen. 00:21:59.240 --> 00:21:59.440 Amen. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:21:59.500 Amen. 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:00.000 Amen. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:00.360 Amen. 00:22:00.360 --> 00:22:01.400 Amen. 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:01.500 Amen. 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:01.920 Amen. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:02.500 Amen. 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:03.500 Amen. 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:03.980 Amen. 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:04.540 Amen. 00:22:04.540 --> 00:22:05.540 Amen. 00:22:05.540 --> 00:22:06.560 Amen. 00:22:06.560 --> 00:22:07.580 Amen. 00:22:07.580 --> 00:22:07.960 Amen. 00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:08.580 Amen. 00:22:08.580 --> 00:22:09.480 Amen. 00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:10.580 Amen. 00:22:10.580 --> 00:22:10.620 Amen. 00:22:10.620 --> 00:22:11.560 Amen. 00:22:11.560 --> 00:22:11.580 Amen. 00:22:11.580 --> 00:22:11.620 Amen. 00:22:11.620 --> 00:22:12.020 Amen. 00:22:12.020 --> 00:22:12.540 Amen. 00:22:12.540 --> 00:22:13.640 Amen.