Good morning, Watermark.
That was good. I'm impressed.
My name is Eric, for those of you who don't know me.
I'm one of the guys on staff here.
I'm the community director, which means that I oversee the kids' ministry,
youth ministry, some community group stuff, and some men's group stuff.
So I'm very excited to be sharing with you today from God's Word.
We're going to be wrapping up our study on faith and work today.
And if you've been with us all along, or if you haven't,
we've been defining work as anything you do that's not leisure,
which means even if you don't have a traditional job, you still have work.
If you're a stay-at-home mom, your work is running the house and taking care of the kids.
If you're a student, your work is going to school, because that is definitely not leisure, right?
And what we've seen throughout this study is that God created work,
and he created it good.
He gave it to us as a way of living in his image, because he is a God who works.
He gave it to us as a tool to be able to serve one another.
And yet we rebelled and sinned against him.
And as a result of our rebellion, work has become fruitless.
Work has become toil.
Work has become less than what it was supposed to be.
And yet we have a tendency to idolize our work and try to seek things from it
that we should only be getting from God and turn it into more than it was intended to be.
And so there's this picture of what work was supposed to be.
There's this problem with work.
And yet there's, in the story of the Bible, we find hope.
And we find this story of God coming and working to redeem all things, including work,
so that if we're Christians, we now have this opportunity to live in the midst of a broken world
and to work in a way that's distinctive, that seeks to serve others and love our city through our work,
even though we live in the midst of this broken world.
And today we're going to look at God's call for us to use our work
as a way of seeking the transformation of the city around us.
And what we're going to see is that God has called us to pursue the loving transformation of our city through our work,
but we can only do that through the transforming power of Jesus Christ in our lives.
And we're going to have sort of three steps to this process.
First, our command to love the city and seek its welfare.
Second, our problem, why we don't and can't do this.
And third, our solution, how Jesus empowers us to live this way through the gospel.
Everyone with me so far?
So we're starting off with our command to love the city and seek its welfare.
If you look at the passage today, the passage in Jeremiah 29 that Chris and Justin just read is a letter.
Now, I'm sure we all know with letters, the context of a letter is very important.
A letter that says, Dear John, usually means, uh-oh, something's gone wrong in a relationship, right?
And so understanding the background of what's going on is going to help us understand the message that's trying to be conveyed.
And what's going on in this passage is Israel is God's chosen people.
He's set them apart for a long time.
He's given them his special commandments and made them his special people.
He's promised to bless them, and yet they've disobeyed and rebelled over and over and over again.
And finally, God says, I need to get your attention.
I'm sending you into exile.
And the reigning world superpower of the day, a country called Babylon, comes in, lays siege to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel,
and then comes through, kills a bunch of the Israelites, destroys their homes, destroys their temple,
and then carries off the survivors to live in Babylon.
Not necessarily the people that you would choose as your neighbors if you had a choice,
and yet these people don't have a choice, so they are their neighbors now.
And the exiles in Babylon got a pretty lenient life as far as exiles go.
Basically, the rule was, come to our city, adopt our culture.
You can have any jobs that you want as long as you're qualified for them.
The two rules are, you have to adopt our culture, and you can't go back to your home.
But other than that, you can live freely, roam the city, interact with different people.
So, it's pretty lenient as far as exile goes.
And even a lot of the Israelite youth were given top-of-the-line education and great jobs within the government.
So, it could have been a lot worse, but still, you're away from home,
surrounded by the people who killed your family and tore down your house.
So, it could be better, too.
And God has this letter sent to the Israelites to tell them how they're supposed to live during this time of exile,
because a lot of them are just in denial.
They have these false prophets coming and saying,
Hey, guys, don't worry.
God's going to set you free in two years.
You're going to go back home.
Everything's going to be just like new.
And God sends this letter to say,
No, that's not true.
You're here for the long haul.
And here's what I want you to do in the meantime while you're here.
And what he says is,
I want you to live normal lives that seek the welfare of your city.
Pretty simple, right?
If you look at the letter, he says,
Build houses and live in them.
It's one of the most simple, basic things that we do in human life.
But, what are you doing when you build a house and live in it?
You're making a major financial investment that's tying you to the city.
And God's saying to Israel,
I want you to settle down in this city in such a way
that your financial future is tied to the financial future of this city of Babylon.
That also allows you to be hospitable to other strangers who come into this city.
He says,
Plant gardens and eat their produce.
Simple, everyday things of life.
You have to eat.
Do it so that you can stay alive.
Take wives and have sons and daughters.
Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage
that they may bear sons and daughters.
Multiply there and do not decrease.
It's interesting.
They're in the midst of this land that is opposed to God,
that is torn down the temple where God is worshipped,
that's doing everything they can to turn the Israelites away from God.
And God says,
I want you to have kids there.
I don't know if you've ever had one of these conversations
where you're talking to someone and they're like,
the world is such a messed up place,
I can't imagine ever bringing kids into this world.
Their world was probably worse.
And God says,
I want you to bring kids into this world.
Why?
Because I have a plan for you in the future.
And I have a promise for you that I'm going to restore things.
But for you guys to be able to enjoy and appreciate this restoration that I'm bringing,
there has to be people still alive.
And so actually,
every kid that the Israelites had while they were in exile
was a sign of their faith,
that one day God would restore things to the way they were supposed to be.
One day God's going to come back and he's going to set things right.
Maybe not in my lifetime,
maybe not in my kid's lifetime,
maybe it's going to be my grandkids.
But someday God is going to come back
and he's going to set things right.
And so I'm going to have kids
and I'm going to have them get married
so that they can have kids
because we believe that one day God's going to come,
God's going to put an end to this exile
and God's going to restore us
to the life that he's promised to us all along.
He says,
seek the welfare of the city
where I have sent you into exile.
Interesting, God says he has sent them into exile.
This isn't an accident.
This isn't just karma coming back at them.
No, this is God's plan
for them to be in exile,
which I don't know about you,
but if I'm reading this letter
and I'm in that situation,
I'd be a little bit angry at God, I think.
Anyone else?
But he says,
seek the welfare of the city
where I have sent you into exile.
If I'm in that situation,
the last thing I want to do
is seek the welfare of that city.
They've killed my family and friends.
They have torn down my house.
They have dragged me
hundreds or thousands of miles away
from the area that I have known as home
my entire life.
I want to see them suffer.
I want to see them destroyed.
And yet God says,
seek their welfare.
Actually, interesting,
the word welfare here,
if anyone's ever done any study of Hebrew,
which I'm guessing is not most of you,
but this is a very famous Hebrew word
that a lot of you have probably heard,
the word shalom.
Anyone heard that word before?
Typically, it's translated as like peace,
but it means so much more
than what we think of as peace.
We think of peace and we think,
oh, no violence.
But shalom means,
yes, no violence,
but also this actual prosperity
and a presence of the good.
And that's the word
that's translated as welfare here.
And God says,
I want you to seek
this comprehensive well-being
of the city
that has murdered your families.
I want you to seek
this comprehensive well-being
of the city
that destroyed your homes
and dragged you away into exile.
And he tells them
that they should live
counter-cultural lives
that seek to transform
the city where they are living.
And not only should they live these lives,
but he says,
pray to God on their behalf.
Because in the city's welfare,
you will find their welfare.
You try and do your best
to make the city
a great place to live
and then beg God
to make the city
a great place to live.
And why?
Because in this city's welfare,
you will find your welfare.
God says,
for the next,
he tells them later,
70 years,
your future is tied
to the future of this city.
If it prospers,
you will prosper with it.
If it suffers,
you will suffer with it.
And so even though
in your heart,
you want revenge
at these guys,
you want to get them back
for all the pain
that they've caused to you,
you doing that
is just going to make
things worse for you
because your future
is tied to their future.
If you want to prosper
and grow as an individual,
you need to seek
the prosperity and growth
of the city
where you're living
right now.
And if Israel
obeyed God perfectly
in these commandments,
they would be living
counter-cultural lives
that couldn't help
but point the world
around them towards God.
Because the reality
is that most exiles
in Babylon
did one of two things.
One,
there's a group
that avoided
any interaction
with the city.
They said,
we can't let it corrupt us.
We have to stay away.
And they never had a voice
for speaking into the city
because they never
knew anyone in the city
or were involved
in the life of the city.
The other group
assimilated completely
into the life of the city.
They got involved.
They got the top jobs.
Everything's going good for them.
But in the process,
they lost anything
that was unique
or distinctive about them.
And so even though
they were very involved
in the life of the city,
they couldn't actually
speak into the life
of the city
because there was
nothing distinctive
about them
for them to share
that would change
or impact things.
And God says to Israel,
I want you
to be a third way.
I want you
to meaningfully
engage this city,
build relationships,
take important jobs,
do things that contribute
to the growth
of the city,
but do it in a way
so that you don't
lose your distinctiveness.
Do it in a way
that seeks
the welfare of the city
rather than just
the acceptance
of the city.
Do it in a way
that seeks
this comprehensive
well-being
of the place
where you are living?
And if we think about it,
this passage
has a lot to say
to us today
about the way
that we approach
our work.
Number one,
God wants our work
to be a blessing
to the world around us
even if that world
is violently opposed
to him.
Think about it.
The Israelites
are living in a world
that just murdered
their families
and tore down
the temple
where they worshipped
God.
And God says,
I want you to seek
their welfare.
If that's true
for Babylon,
how much more true
is it for Hong Kong?
I know some people
who are very opposed
to the gospel here.
I've never met
someone here,
as far as I know,
I could have met them
and they just didn't
share this with me,
who murdered someone
because of how opposed
they are to Christianity.
I've never,
again,
as far as I know,
met someone in Hong Kong
who like tore down
a church
because they were opposed
to what that church
was teaching.
The people in Babylon
had done those things
and God says,
I want you to seek
their welfare.
And if he wants them,
Israel,
to seek their welfare,
how much more
does he want us
to seek Hong Kong's welfare
through the work
that we do?
Number two,
we should pursue
excellence in our work,
not because the people
we work for
are worthy,
but because we work
for God
and he is worthy.
Again,
someone murders
your family,
you don't want
to work well
for them.
You want to
be slothful
and lazy
and maybe stab
them in the back
when they turn around.
And yet,
God tells Israel,
do your best
to work hard
and do a good job
so that your city
can prosper
because it's
God's worthiness,
not Babylon's worthiness
or Hong Kong's worthiness
that determines
how we should work.
Number three,
God has designed
the fabric
of the universe
in such a way
that his people
prosper
when they make
the world around
them prosper.
You know,
if I was in Babylon
and I received
this command from God
that he wants me
to make the city
around me prosper,
I would be angry
about that.
I would be plotting,
I'd have like a chart
in my mind
of like damage to me
versus damage to Babylon
and I would have
like a scatter plot
of how I can inflict
the most damage
on Babylon
with the least damage
to myself.
Most of the scenarios
probably end up
with me being killed
if I'm caught
but I would try
and find one
that can inflict
maximum damage
without resulting
in my death
so that I can do
more and more
of these things
because I would
hate them
because you hate
people who kill
your family typically.
And God says,
I want you
to seek
their welfare.
I want you
to make them
prosper.
Don't suffer
so that you
can get revenge.
Seek their prosperity
so that you can grow
and you can prosper
because as someone
who lives
inside this city,
your welfare
is tied
to the welfare
of the city
in every way.
Economically,
if the city prospers,
there's more jobs
so that you can
stay employed
and prosper.
Ecologically,
if the city
cleans up its pollution,
you have cleaner air
to breathe.
Culturally,
if the city
is thriving,
you are able
to be exposed
to more culture
and grow more
as an individual.
Spiritually,
imagine in Hong Kong
if 7 million people
became Christians,
how that would
impact your faith.
On every level,
emotionally,
if the city
is full of
depressed people,
that's going to
impact you one way.
If the city
is full of
joyful people,
that's going to
impact you another way.
And God says,
your future
is tied
to the future
of the city
that you live in.
And if you care
about your own future,
whether you're
a Christian or not,
you should seek
the prosperity
of the city
where you live.
You know,
I sometimes struggle
with this idea.
I have a news flash
for you
if you didn't know
this already.
Working in a church
is not the best way
to get rich
and make your millions.
Despite that,
I try and be good
with budgeting
and set aside
a little money
at the end
of every month,
but there's no way
I could ever dream
of buying a house
in Hong Kong.
But sometimes
I have this thought
that maybe
after a few years
of saving
and saving
and saving,
there will be
a housing crash
in Hong Kong.
And the property prices
will drop so low
that we could afford
a down payment
and this will be fantastic.
And I believe
this lie
in that moment
that my welfare
lies in the disaster
and destruction
of Hong Kong.
But again,
it's a lie
because what happens
if Hong Kong
has a housing crisis,
Hong Kong is going
to have a wider
financial crisis,
which means people
start losing their jobs,
which means donations
to the church
go way down,
which means
I might not have
a job anymore.
And so,
even if I can afford
a down payment
on a house,
I can't afford
any payments
after that down payment.
I'm just going
to lose the house
and the down payment.
And then on top of that,
people are going
to lose out
on opportunities
to hear the gospel
because the church
just won't be able
to do as much
to reach out
to the people around them.
And so,
even in those moments
when I believe this,
it's a lie.
The truth is
that my well-being
is tied to the well-being
of the city
that I live in.
And God has designed
the fabric of the universe
in that way
so that if we care
about our own futures,
we should be
seeking the well-being
of the city
that we are living in.
And fourth,
the way that this
should impact,
the way that we approach
our work right now
is especially,
this one is especially
for Christians,
we should engage
our city meaningfully
yet retain our distinctiveness
as Christians
so that we can
point the city
towards our unique God.
We shouldn't avoid
the city,
we should engage it,
but we shouldn't
assimilate to the city,
we should stay distinct
so that we have
something meaningful
and distinct
to contribute
to the city,
to contribute
to its well-being.
And so,
we see what the passage says,
we see what we should do
in response to that,
everything's good,
sermon's over,
we all understand it,
we can go home, right?
Not quite.
Because we have a problem.
Point number two,
our problem,
we don't do this,
or at least I don't do this,
and I think I'm normal.
On a daily basis,
I fail to do this.
And it's not just that,
like,
I don't put in enough effort,
it's that no matter
how much effort I put in,
I'm incapable
of loving my city
in this way.
And all of us
are true.
It's not just that
we don't do this,
it's that
we can't do this.
Because our hearts
are broken.
Last week,
Chris talked about
work as idolatry,
and said that work
has a tendency
to become an idol
in our lives.
Idol not in the sense
of like a statue
that we bow down to,
but an idol
in the sense of
we seek
our meaning
and purpose
in life
at an ultimate level
from our work.
And we elevate
our work
to a position
in our life
higher than God
because of what
we're seeking
from our work.
And so we'll seek
things like status,
power,
comfort,
security,
and believe
that we can find
those on an ultimate
level from our work
and what we do.
And because of that,
we're willing to exploit
others and take
advantage of others
in our work
to hold on
to our grasp
of those things.
And so,
what we do
is we seek
our own welfare
at the expense
of the welfare
of our city
around us.
on a practical basis.
What does this look like?
It means I give
an assignment
to someone
who's working
for me at the office
and I come in later
to check on them
and they haven't
done it yet.
And rather than
seeking to understand
why they haven't
done it yet,
I blow up at them
and get angry
because them
not doing
what I told them
to do
cuts into
my idol of power
and tears away
at my identity
and so I need
to lash out at them
rather than
seek to love them.
Maybe it looks
like a supervisor
in an office
making a mistake
and because they
care so much
about the prestige
of their position
and the comfort
they can get
from their paycheck
that they blame
a subordinate
for that mistake
and let the subordinate
get fired in their place
because they
hold on
to these idols
of status
and comfort.
They're willing
to exploit those
who work for them
in order to hold
on to those things.
Maybe it's
the new graduate.
We just celebrated
our new graduates
so we should
pick on them
a little.
The new graduate
who gets into
their first job
out of university
and realizes
no one appreciates
me here.
I'm going to
switch to a new job.
After a couple months
of the new job
realizes no one
appreciates them
there either
maybe because
they're 22
and have no work
experience in the
real world.
They say I need
to jump to
another new job
and another new job
and they never
settle down
and plant
themselves
and develop
the relationship
somewhere so that
they can make
a difference
because they're
so concerned
about having
a status
and being
recognized
and appreciated
that they just
jump around
from place
to place
because they
need to find
that place
that's going
to appreciate
them and give
them the status
they feel
they deserve.
Every single
one of us
in some way
idolizes
our work
and seeks
to get meaning
an identity
from it
and as long
as our hope
is built
on our own
advancement
on our own
promotion
on our own
status
power
security
comfort
fill in the blank
with whatever
it is for you
we will always
exploit others
to get these
things
rather than
love others
sacrificially
and seek to
work in a way
that transforms
the city
and seeks
its welfare.
As long
as our hearts
are set
on these
things
rather than
on God
we will
always
exploit others
through our
work
rather than
seeking to
transform the
city through
our work
and seeking
the welfare
of the city
through our
work.
All of our
hearts are
broken.
All of us
idolize our
work in
some way
shape or
form and
because of
that all
of us end
up exploiting
others rather
than seeking
the welfare
and transformation
of our city
through our
work.
And the
harder we
try to
fix it
the more
messed up
it gets.
But there's
a solution.
The solution
is that Jesus
empowers us
to live the
way that we're
commanded to
in this
passage
through the
gospel.
See the
Bible is
in one
sense
a story
of two
cities.
The Bible
says that in
the beginning
God created
Adam and
Eve and he
placed them
in a garden
and he told
them to
cultivate it
to develop
it, to
make it
grow into
something more
than a
garden, maybe
a city.
And for a
time Adam
and Eve
lived in
this garden
and it
was wonderful,
it was
peaceful and
they had
all these
things that
we crave,
that power,
status,
security,
comfort,
they had
it perfectly
because they
were in
this perfect
relationship
with God
where they
were designed
to get
all these
things.
But then
they rebelled,
they disobeyed,
they ate the
fruit that God
told them not
to, and
brokenness
into the
world.
They were
kicked out
of this
garden that
was going to
become a
city of God
and moved
into this
fallen,
broken world.
And in this
fallen,
broken world,
we still have
this desire to
get back to
that original
city that we
were created
for.
That's the
source of our
idolatry.
we crave that
security that
we were created
to have in
God.
But because
we're broken,
we seek it in
other places.
We crave that
comfort that's
supposed to come
from God's
presence alone,
but because our
hearts are broken,
we seek it
through the
things we can
buy with our
paycheck.
We crave all
these things,
we pursue them
through our
jobs and
through our
idols.
And every
time we turn
to these
idols, rather
than fulfilling
our desires,
they make
life worse
for us by
pulling us
further and
further from
who we were
created to be.
Think about it.
We pursue this
comfort through
the things that
we can have.
So we buy
more stuff and
we save more
money.
And the more
stuff we buy and
the more money
we have, the
more aware we
are of how
easily we can
lose it all.
So we become
stressed and
anxious about
what if I do
lose it?
We believe
that security
and status
come from
having a higher
position in the
company, so we
work our way up
the corporate
ladder, but the
higher we get, the
more concerned we
are of who will I
be if I don't
have this job
anymore?
So we feel this
need to defend
ourselves and it's
us against the
world and we
become more and
more isolated from
the people around
us.
Our idols promise
us life and they
give us nothing
but anxiety,
stress,
isolation, and
death.
And our best
desires leave us
further and
further from where
we're trying to
get.
But the good
news is that
when Adam and
Eve sinned and
were kicked out of
the garden, God
did not abandon
this city.
No, the story of
the Bible says in
the last two
chapters of the
last book, the
book of Revelation,
that God has been
working on this
city, that one
day God's going
to send this city
back to his
people.
It's called the
new Jerusalem, the
new heavens and
the new earth.
And the last two
chapters of the
Bible describe this
incredible beauty and
incredible joy that's
going to exist in this
city.
And it's promised to
his people and yet we
still have this problem
of sin that keeps us
from getting in there.
And so the amazing
news of the gospel is
that in Jesus, God
himself steps down to
earth.
He becomes an exile
for us.
That in Jesus, God
suffers and pays the
punishment that each
of us deserves for
our sin.
He bears our
punishment himself so
that we can be given
access to this new
city of God.
Jesus perfectly
embodies every
command in Jeremiah
chapter 29 on our
behalf.
God bless.
He is the ultimate
one who seeks the
welfare of his city
and his people through
great sacrificial loss
to himself.
And it's only when we
properly understand the
amazing gift that we've
been given through
Jesus and the way that
he loved us sacrificially
that we will ever start
to love our city in the
way that we are called
to in this passage.
You know, if anyone here
is a fan of Les
Miserables, you know that
John Valjean was a
terrible man until he
received grace when he
was given the
candlesticks.
And yet after that,
that receiving grace
totally transformed his
life and turned him
into someone who sought
to transform the cities
where he lived and make
them better places for
everyone.
That's a picture of what
happens to us when we
understand the amazing
gift that we've been
given through Jesus.
And so if you continue
down in this passage,
verse 11, God tells
Israel, I know the plans
I have for you, declares
the Lord, plans for
welfare and not for
evil, to give you a
future and a hope.
That promise was true
for Israel and it was
intended to inspire them
to love the city where
they were living, knowing
that in the future God
would restore them to
their home.
And this promise is also
true for us, that God
has plans to give us a
future and a hope.
And that promise from
him is intended to give
us the strength that we
need to love the city
around us today.
And it doesn't start by
us trying harder to do
better, pulling ourselves
up by our own bootstraps.
It starts with turning to
him.
He says in verse 13, you
will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all
your heart.
That's where this process
starts.
So I want to take a couple
minutes to dream with you
about what this can look
like sort of at an on-the-
ground level in our real-life
world in Hong Kong.
There's a pastor in New
York, Timothy Keller.
He has a book called
Every Good Endeavor about
faith and work.
I think we have some
copies for it, copies of
it for sale outside.
In the intro to that book,
he goes through a number
of ways that we can seek
to transform the world
around us through our
work.
I want to just share a
couple of these with you
and then we'll look more
like practically to
specific situations.
This is going to be a
quick list, so if you're
taking notes, jot down
quick.
He says we can use our
work to further social
justice in the world.
In our jobs, we can
support others in the
Christian community
through the trials they
face at work and by
doing this, stick out as
a countercultural community
for the world around us to
see.
We can use the
relationships we build
through our work as
opportunities to share the
gospel with non-Christians.
we can recognize the
dignity of all work and do
any job, even the ones that
society would label as
menial, with an attitude of
joy because we know that we
are being used by God to
provide for the needs of the
others in our world.
We can use our work to help
shape and create a culture
that honors God and enables
people to thrive.
We can work to make lots of
money so that we can be really
generous and give it away, not
just to build our own big
houses, but for generosity's
sake.
And on a tangible level, what
do these things look like?
Let's say you're a manager or
a boss in an office.
How can you use your
influence to shape a culture
of welfare and thriving
within your office?
Here's one idea, possibility,
that hopefully can help you
dream a little bit.
Hong Kong is not known for
having a good work-life
balance.
I think that might be an
understatement a bit.
But there's this society and
expectation of constant work,
and if the boss is sending
emails at 3 a.m., there's an
expectation that the employees
are checking emails at 3 a.m.
How is the culture that you as
a manager or a boss are setting
for your people, enabling
them to thrive when it comes to
adequate amounts of rest and a
good work-life balance?
And how can you use your position
of influence in the company to
help shape that into a healthier
work-life balance so that your
people can thrive?
Maybe you're new in the office, and you're
like, well, I don't have that power.
That's true.
At this point in your career, you don't.
But one of the things I've seen is that the
further up the corporate ladder you get, the
more and more isolated it can feel.
And the new people, the entry-level jobs
and companies oftentimes are the ones who
are more likely to just go out for drinks
together after work to socialize
for a number of reasons.
Less responsibility at work and
probably no kids, less responsibility in
other areas in life.
Having that group around you that's
willing to actually spend time together
gives you amazing opportunities to get
to know the people you work with,
to build relationships, and to impact
people's lives on an individual level.
You know, when we think of culture, we
typically think of this big thing, but
in reality, there's not necessarily one
big thing called culture.
There's a number of micro-cultures in
the world.
And we each have an opportunity to
impact the micro-cultures that God has
placed us in.
So as an entry-level person in your
office, maybe your micro-culture that
you can impact is with other entry-level
people.
Or maybe it's in the way that you
treat your boss.
What if we're students and we're not
even in the workplace yet?
You know, again, Hong Kong is a very
me-centered place, especially when it
comes to school, because I'm in school
so that I can get the best grades, so
I can go to the top university and or
grad school and then get the top job,
hopefully in investment banking, maybe
as a doctor or a lawyer, but I need to
make my millions and school is my way
to do it.
But what if we learn to see our
studies as not just a way of impacting
our own futures, but of impacting the
world around us?
What if algebra isn't just something to
learn for a test, but a tool that God
gives you that you could use to tutor an
inner-city student who needs to learn for
their future?
What if poetry isn't just something to
analyze and memorize for exams, but it's a
tool that God gives to you to create
beauty and bring hope to a broken world
around you?
What if studying history isn't just
something we do because we have to at
school, but what if we learn to see it as
an invitation from God to step into the
story of history and impact the future to
create a better city for the people around
us, especially those who are typically
overlooked by society?
No matter where you are, whether you're
in a management position, entry level, a
student, a homemaker, unemployed, anywhere
else, God has placed each of us in the
exact place that he has us now because he
has a contribution that he wants us to
make for the transformation and welfare of
our city that we are uniquely equipped to
make based on where we are right now.
And even the small things we do can make a
huge difference.
Something like learning the name of the
security guard in your building or talking
to the secretary at your office gives
dignity to people who are normally overlooked
by society and can go a huge long way
towards transforming and impacting the
culture.
And I know me as a church worker standing up
here and just brainstorming is one thing, but
seeing it at work in everyday life is
something different.
So I have my friend Edmund Lee.
He's somewhere back there.
He's going to come up and share with us
briefly about what this has looked like in
his life and how God has used him to seek
the welfare and transformation of the city
through his job.
So welcome Edmund.
No chair today.
Sorry.
You can sit on the stage if you want.
Okay.
So can you introduce yourself to us and just
tell us what your job is?
Can you guys hear me?
Yeah?
Okay.
Well, it won't be recorded if you don't talk
into the mic.
Okay.
Hello, testing.
So I work in...
My name's Edmund.
I work in education, which is really just a
more pretentious way of saying I'm a teacher.
Yeah.
And so what is your job involved or what will
you be doing tomorrow morning when you go into
the office?
Hopefully teaching.
Hopefully we'll do some teaching.
It does include a lot of lesson planning.
We have to mark homework.
We have to make the kids engage and have fun in
their education and wants to learn.
But really it's about creating a safe place to
steward God's children and hopefully turn
underdeveloped, well, underdeveloped people into
hopefully people sometime.
Yeah.
That's essentially what it is.
All right.
And you weren't always a teacher, right?
So what made you get into teaching?
So, yes, I wasn't always a teacher.
I guess what got me into teaching was talking to
students and talking to people in Hong Kong.
We tell people that they're important.
We tell people that they're loved, that what they
have to say is important.
We say that people have dignity.
We say that people have, well, they're valued.
But essentially we put them in a system where if they
don't get good academic grades, they're not important.
Where if they don't have certain skill sets, people
won't care about what they have to say.
If they're not successful academically, they're going
to fail in life.
We put kids in a system in Hong Kong especially where we say
education is so important to you and then we fail 82% of them
because only 18% will get to university.
And we read things like why is Hong Kong the most unhappy place
in Asia really.
And it's not surprising.
So for me, when I got into education, it was about what does
it look like to show people that they have dignity, that they're
dearly loved by God, that they're valued.
What does it look like to become a steward of people that helps them
go into community thinking that everyone is valuable?
And so how does your faith change the way that you view your job?
Sorry, I lost my place.
Well, oh, there we go.
Okay.
It's actually really difficult.
I think the hardest part about being a teacher is actually working
with kids when they don't want to be helped.
They look at you like you're the monster chasing after them for their
homework, for their tests.
You tell them to do the homework.
They don't do it.
And then you give them a C and then they ask why they don't have an A.
And these are conversations you have every single day.
But being Christian gives me perspective.
It helps remind me that, well, that they're sinners, really.
It helps remind me that I myself am a sinner that was chosen by God,
that was used by God.
And at the same time, students are people who just don't know Christ yet.
They're people who are learning what their value is.
They're trying to figure out life, and we all know that it's difficult.
They're trying to figure out where their value is,
and then they're being told by teachers and parents that it's in academics.
So when I look at them, I see people who need to learn what their value is.
And it gives me perspective.
It gives me a little more patience, a little more grace in how I deal with them
and a little more compassion, hopefully, because it's pretty important.
Yeah.
All right.
And can you share a story of a way that God has used your work
to bring about the welfare or transformation of Hong Kong in a big or small way?
Yes.
That's good.
Be in trouble if he said no.
I hope so.
Well, like I said, the way I see teaching, it's about giving people value.
To be honest, it's really, really difficult as a teacher to see the impact of your work
because you never know how your students are going to turn out.
You never know if what you see is getting through to them,
and most of the time it feels like it does,
and then the next day it's just completely the opposite.
So when I look at teaching, I don't know how much I'm impacting them,
but I can tell you what my students have done for me, myself.
How, when I see them, how excited I am and how blessed I feel
to know that they love people.
How amazing it is to see students who are top students
who are willing to cut timeouts to help others.
How amazing it is to see people learn empathy
and help people who are in need.
They see a friend who is alone, sitting by themselves,
feeling undervalued, I guess, and talking to them.
So for me, when I look at that,
I get excited to see how some of these students
who are able to see a model of what it means to be loved and Christian,
what they would do.
So I don't know if I have impact right now,
but hopefully long term I can see my students
having a much greater impact than I could ever have.
All right.
I kind of want to try and experiment.
It could go terribly wrong, and we didn't plan this.
But I know that there are people here who are here today
because they or someone close to them had Edmund as a teacher.
And I think it would be cool if the church could see a little picture
of how God has worked through Edmund to transform even this church.
So if you're here today because you had Edmund as a teacher,
could you stand up or someone close to you?
Okay.
And then one more step.
If you're here today because of them
and the influence that they've had on your life,
can you also stand up?
Thank you.
So I think these guys are an awesome reminder to us
that even when we don't see necessarily the difference
that our work is making,
that God is definitely working through us
and using us for the transformation of our city.
And that, again, like we discussed today,
it doesn't start with us just trying harder and doing better,
but with us—yeah, sorry, you can sit down.
It doesn't start with us just trying harder to do better,
but with us learning to trust in God,
learning to rely on the gospel,
learning to understand how he's loved us through Jesus,
and then living out of that understanding
and seeking to love our city in that way.
So one last question for you.
How can we pray for you?
Well, one of the verses you mentioned earlier really hit me.
I've always thought about what does it mean to continue to be like David,
to be a man after God's own hearts.
And so I guess for me it's always keeping perspective
to be a man after God's own hearts.
What does it look like to be undignified so that God can be magnified?
And what does it mean to expect great things from God
and attempt great things for God?
So for me it's just to be faithful to all three of those things,
to be a man after God's own hearts in a system that may overlook it,
to continue to rely on him.
All right.
So if you're here and you're an educator,
we also want to pray for you so you can stand up.
Or if you're a student also in that education field
or someone who works with students,
can we get you to stand up so we can also pray for you?
So teachers, students, educators,
the youth should all be standing now.
Yes, Sunday school teachers, that too.
All right.
Let's pray.
God, we thank you for all the people that you've brought to us
who are somehow connected to this field of education
or impacting the next generation
or being impacted by those who have gone before us.
And we thank you for the opportunities
that you've given to all of us to impact our city
and to seek the welfare and transformation of the world around us.
I pray that we would be a people who seek you,
who, like Edmund says,
seek to be people of integrity,
to be people after your own heart,
who love you, who desire to love the city
because we've been loved by you first.
I pray that we would be a church
that is known as a people who love the people around us,
who seek the welfare of our city,
who seek for your name to be honored through our lives.
God, you're awesome.
You're great.
We thank you for the gospel.
We pray that you'd be with each of us as we go to work tomorrow,
that you'd empower us to love the people around us,
to seek their welfare,
and to work not just for our human bosses,
but mostly, first and foremost, for you.
And in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.