WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.400 I don't know if you've seen that show before. 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:03.919 It has become widely popular. 00:00:04.780 --> 00:00:08.140 And his message is not dissimilar to the message that I had last week. 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:09.439 There is dignity in all work. 00:00:10.099 --> 00:00:11.439 And he's become famous for that. 00:00:11.540 --> 00:00:13.540 Mike Rowe, he's the host of the show. 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:18.519 And famous for getting his hands dirty, doing the work that no one else wants to do. 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:20.839 A long list of jobs he's done. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:22.640 Rattlesnake catcher. 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:24.460 Roadkill collector. 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:27.660 Shark attack suit tester. 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:29.940 Maggot farmer. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:32.460 Spider venom collector. 00:00:32.619 --> 00:00:33.560 Septic tank cleaner. 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:35.560 And the list goes on and on and on. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.219 The major thrust of the show is that work is good. 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:41.320 In fact, all work is good. 00:00:41.380 --> 00:00:44.179 In fact, he'd say that dirty work is better than an office job. 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:45.539 I think that's kind of what he says. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:51.100 But he says that he has witnessed people doing all kinds of work. 00:00:51.740 --> 00:00:52.640 Tough work. 00:00:52.900 --> 00:00:53.480 Odd work. 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:54.299 Dirty work. 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:55.120 Hard work. 00:00:55.460 --> 00:00:56.920 And they enjoy it. 00:00:57.120 --> 00:00:59.920 It's not dissimilar to the message that I had last week. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.459 That is that according to the Bible, there is dignity in all work. 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:15.039 Mike has become a voice in the U.S. calling people basically to get stuck in and work for the good of the country. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:33.820 Mind you, if you've watched the show, it's not hard to notice that while there might be some positives in those dirty jobs, like he's getting paid a packet to give it a go at it, there is a whole lot of negatives in some of the work as well. 00:01:33.819 --> 00:01:37.819 So there might be some moments where people are whistled. 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:39.019 But not all the time. 00:01:40.139 --> 00:01:47.899 One of the jobs, for instance, that he listed as a potential career choice was roadkill collector. 00:01:48.699 --> 00:01:50.560 And he had a go himself. 00:01:50.699 --> 00:01:52.639 But the requirements were fairly basic. 00:01:53.339 --> 00:01:56.379 He said that you needed to be able to brave oncoming traffic. 00:01:56.839 --> 00:01:57.799 That was one thing. 00:01:58.420 --> 00:02:01.299 And the other one is that you needed a fairly strong stomach. 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:06.599 But the positive was that you get to work outdoors. 00:02:07.939 --> 00:02:08.840 I mean, that's it. 00:02:09.079 --> 00:02:11.219 That has seemed to be the positive for that job. 00:02:11.740 --> 00:02:17.019 And you kind of wonder how long that positive would last for every day. 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:25.080 Well, at least I'm working outdoors as the cars are zooming by and as you scrape off the road varying decays of flesh. 00:02:26.300 --> 00:02:28.340 It just wouldn't be that great, I don't think. 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:33.800 So last week I spoke about the dignity of all work. 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:35.800 It didn't matter what you did. 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:37.920 It's dignity associated with it. 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:42.900 And I said that hopefully by the end of this series you'll walk out of here and you'll go, 00:02:43.320 --> 00:02:47.860 thank God it's Monday, rather than, whew, thank God it's Friday. 00:02:48.820 --> 00:02:50.840 Actually look forward to the working week. 00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:55.240 And I'm pretty sure that most of you didn't probably do that last Monday. 00:02:55.660 --> 00:02:57.160 And there's probably a reason for that. 00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:58.920 And we're going to look at that today. 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:05.599 It doesn't matter if your workplace is in the home, it's in the classroom, it's on the factory floor, 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:08.319 it's in a national park, it's in an office cubicle. 00:03:08.739 --> 00:03:12.839 Work is often a great source of frustration in our lives. 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.319 Dealing with difficult customers, demanding bosses, inclement weather, 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:22.359 a family's mountain of dirty laundry, a lingering unemployment, 00:03:23.359 --> 00:03:28.060 underemployment, overemployment can all be a huge pain. 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:31.259 It can actually feel like a curse. 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:36.399 Work is often a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly for us. 00:03:37.519 --> 00:03:38.859 I like gardening. 00:03:39.459 --> 00:03:43.799 More specifically than liking gardening, I really like using noisy gardening tools. 00:03:44.259 --> 00:03:45.979 I love my lawnmower and my leak blower. 00:03:46.339 --> 00:03:47.879 I'm one of those really annoying people. 00:03:48.279 --> 00:03:48.799 Whipper snipper. 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:52.279 If you can get a power tool associated with it, I love doing it. 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:59.319 And so I love gardening, but I find it so frustrating. 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:10.219 I love actually cutting my grass, but I am so frustrated that the grass appears to be never as healthy as the weeds. 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:18.519 I've got a citrus tree in my backyard that used to have fruit on it until I started to look after it. 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:23.699 I started to fertilize it and prune it and keep the kids away from it. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:26.819 And it's never grown fruit since. 00:04:27.539 --> 00:04:31.159 And so there is a Bible passage that I've quoted to the tree in Luke chapter 11. 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:37.159 One more season, one more season, no fruit, and I'm going to cut you down and throw you into the furnace. 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:40.120 And so far it hasn't worked. 00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:42.060 I've used it as a threat, but it hasn't worked. 00:04:43.320 --> 00:04:48.360 You see, I love gardening, but it's an enormous source of frustration for me. 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:50.800 Even on my day off, I actually like doing it. 00:04:51.400 --> 00:04:53.840 Last Friday, two days ago, was a classic example. 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.160 On Thursday, we had some tree trimmer dudes came in. 00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:58.560 There's a technical name for them. 00:04:58.640 --> 00:04:59.480 Can't remember what they're called. 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:07.700 They come in, cut the leaves drown, the branches which are going to die and hang it over the neighbor's place and whatever else. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.500 And then they throw them through this huge grinding machine. 00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:13.040 We all love to have one of those, I reckon. 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:16.640 Just blast it out and out it comes in the back of the truck. 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.080 And then they said to me, do you want the mulch? 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:20.319 And I said, that's fantastic. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:21.200 I'll have the mulch. 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:23.259 And they dumped it in the car park in the corner. 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:28.300 And I figured I'll shovel it on Friday, day off. 00:05:28.300 --> 00:05:29.540 What a great thing to do. 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.980 I can get my wheelbarrow and my shovel and just move around the garden. 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:34.259 What a great afternoon. 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:35.199 That would be fantastic. 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:40.860 Except I woke up on Friday feeling unwell, not wanting to do much at all. 00:05:40.960 --> 00:05:42.879 And so I felt trapped all of a sudden. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:48.379 This job that I was looking forward to all of a sudden became a source of frustration for me. 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:52.500 Because I knew that yesterday I was going to spend my time writing this sermon. 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:54.379 And so I wasn't going to do it then. 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:58.379 And I knew that on Sunday we're going to need the car park. 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:05.019 And a big pile of mulch in the middle of the car park is not going to be, well, the car park people aren't going to be happy with me with that one. 00:06:05.579 --> 00:06:10.639 And so all of a sudden this thing that I was looking forward to became a chore for me. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:13.819 Became a source of frustration. 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:18.579 But then with a bit of energy I got stuck into it. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:25.000 I was making good progress until my three-year-old comes out with her gumboots on and her beach spade and says, 00:06:25.099 --> 00:06:26.800 Daddy, I've come to help you. 00:06:28.219 --> 00:06:29.879 Now that's cute for most of you. 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:32.319 For me it wasn't cute. 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.180 I mean it was cute but it was frustratingly cute. 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:39.379 Because help me is not really help. 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:43.139 You know, I've got a three-year-old now to look after. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:48.439 And her little shovels going into it slowed everything down to slow motion. 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:50.319 She was delightful. 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:51.259 The job was done. 00:06:51.340 --> 00:06:57.699 But it became more and more frustrating for me when every time I went to dump a barrel load I had to pick a flower. 00:06:57.699 --> 00:07:03.180 One for Izzy. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:04.800 One for mummy. 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:06.599 One for daddy. 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:08.579 One for Dave. 00:07:09.980 --> 00:07:11.279 One for Monty. 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:18.339 It's like, oh my goodness, this job has now taken me two hours when it should have just taken me an hour. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:21.379 Every load was three-year-old steps. 00:07:21.599 --> 00:07:22.560 Backwards and forwards. 00:07:22.719 --> 00:07:23.560 Backwards and forwards. 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:29.959 And so something that I was looking forward to and in fact was even enjoying became a source of frustration for me. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:38.920 Last week we saw the delightful picture of work as God originally intended it in Genesis 1 and 2. 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:45.720 Adam and Eve are working in a pristine garden context with a joyful and intimate relationship with their creator. 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:49.420 And in that context, work is exhilarating. 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:50.740 It's an exhilarating pleasure. 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:59.040 But we'll see today that work now exists in a world still sustained by God and yet disordered by sin. 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:10.240 And it is only as we have some understanding of how sin distorts work that we can ever hope to counteract its effects 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:15.639 and salvage some of the satisfaction that God originally intended for the work that we do. 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:21.560 So when God put Adam in the garden, in the garden paradise to work it, he gave him a specific instruction. 00:08:21.719 --> 00:08:22.159 Chapter 2. 00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:23.479 So you need your Bibles open. 00:08:23.979 --> 00:08:24.959 Genesis 3. 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:27.199 But let's just flick into 2. 00:08:28.419 --> 00:08:29.379 Verse 15. 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:53.379 Now I suspect that there was nothing special about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil per se. 00:08:53.379 --> 00:09:01.259 That is, there was likely nothing magical or unusual about the tree or the fruit itself. 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:05.039 In the end, what we know is that the tree was a test. 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:14.879 God was saying, I want you to obey me simply because of who I am, simply because you love me and trust me more than anything else. 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:22.039 And that command in Genesis 2 contains the essence of all biblical commands. 00:09:23.439 --> 00:09:29.759 It was an opportunity for Adam to voluntarily make his relationship with God the primary value in his life. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:31.860 The most important thing. 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:37.100 And to obey God's words simply because he's God. 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:48.639 And when you arrive in Genesis chapter 3, we discover the tragic response to that call there in Genesis 2. 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:55.500 Lured by Satan's lies, Adam and Eve commit an unthinkable act of folly. 00:09:56.040 --> 00:09:59.560 They ate from the tree and they rebel against God's command. 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:02.500 They were lured by Satan's half-truth. 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:04.139 See it there in chapter 3 verse 5. 00:10:04.139 --> 00:10:11.699 For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:24.019 You see, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, they became like God, as the serpent said that they would. 00:10:25.199 --> 00:10:28.000 That is, they put themselves in God's place. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:36.679 They took upon themselves the right to decide how they would live their lives and what would be right and what would be wrong for them. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.299 And so the serpent held out the bait for them. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.700 You know, you eat of this fruit and you become like God. 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:47.639 And they're like, wow, God's impressive. 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:50.100 So that's a good offer. 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:53.960 But he forgot to mention the consequences. 00:10:55.420 --> 00:11:00.540 To become like God when you're not God is catastrophic. 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:07.200 Everything unravels when we choose to be our own source of authority. 00:11:08.460 --> 00:11:11.100 We were designed to know, to serve and to love God supremely. 00:11:11.920 --> 00:11:14.820 And when we are faithful to that design, we flourish. 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:23.660 But when we instead choose to live for ourselves, everything, right from the beginning, starts to turn upside down. 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:28.860 The human race began to live against the grain of the universe. 00:11:29.540 --> 00:11:32.220 Against the grain of our own making and purpose. 00:11:32.420 --> 00:11:35.020 And as Paul says there in Romans 8, which was read out to us, 00:11:35.540 --> 00:11:39.700 the entire world is now in bondage to decay. 00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:40.760 We are enslaved. 00:11:41.020 --> 00:11:42.640 We are in chains to decay. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:46.519 Nothing now works as it should. 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:52.059 The entire world feels as if it is alienated from its creator. 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:56.799 And sin leads to the disintegration of every area of life. 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:01.419 Spiritual, physical, social, cultural, psychological, temporal, eternal. 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:02.360 The whole lot. 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.460 And so what we see here is that they rebel against God. 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:18.000 God comes to Adam and Eve and asks them what happened in chapter 3, verses 10 to 13. 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:22.920 And Adam completely avoids the real truth. 00:12:24.800 --> 00:12:29.600 All he wants to do here is complain about his inner unhappiness and his shame. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.300 He says in verse 10, 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:35.359 I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and so I hid. 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:37.659 What a man. 00:12:39.979 --> 00:12:49.479 And so he dodges the issue when God's second question is pointed directly at Adam so that he's got no opportunity to avoid it. 00:12:49.599 --> 00:12:50.879 And he has to fess up. 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:51.819 Verse 11, 00:12:51.820 --> 00:13:02.000 And so here's Adam, completely snookered. 00:13:03.400 --> 00:13:07.240 And so he has to confess that yes, I've eaten from the tree. 00:13:07.780 --> 00:13:14.020 But what he does is he deflects the responsibility away from himself to Eve. 00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:14.980 In verse 12, 00:13:15.079 --> 00:13:20.419 The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit of the tree and I ate it. 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:22.539 It's like, don't look at me, look at her. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.159 He's just like, what a man. 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:29.480 And in turn, Eve deflects to the serpent. 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:30.600 In verse 13, 00:13:31.019 --> 00:13:32.879 The serpent deceived me and I ate. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:40.079 But their hostility and their anger are not only towards each other and towards the creatures, 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:42.319 but towards God himself. 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:45.260 Adam blames God for his problems. 00:13:45.680 --> 00:13:51.420 In verse 12, he basically says, God, you know, have a look at yourself in this scenario. 00:13:52.920 --> 00:13:59.240 The woman you put here with me, she gave me and I ate. 00:13:59.900 --> 00:14:01.640 I mean, you gave it to me after all, God. 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:03.600 It's your fault, really, in the end. 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:08.920 One commentator on these verses writes, 00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:38.919 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:46.839 Now, I just want to linger at that point for a bit. 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:49.000 Because I think that is so profound. 00:14:49.959 --> 00:14:51.779 So, so important to get our mind around. 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:56.240 So important that I'm going to take us on a side track, a detour here for a little bit. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:02.700 It is so profoundly true, that last statement. 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:09.139 From the moment of the fall, humankind has suffered from moral schizophrenia, 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:16.279 neither able to deny sinfulness, nor to acknowledge it for what it is. 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:22.879 You see, it's so right. 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:25.939 We cannot deny our sinfulness. 00:15:26.939 --> 00:15:32.019 If I said to you, stand up where you are if you are perfect, 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:37.419 no one's going to stand, unless they're going to want to have a bit of a joke and make us all laugh. 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:38.980 No one's going to stand. 00:15:38.980 --> 00:15:42.980 Again, we all acknowledge the fact that I'm a failure. 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:45.940 We all acknowledge the fact that I'm not perfect. 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:47.879 Not just God's standards. 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:50.460 I don't even live up to my own standards. 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:52.240 You can't deny it. 00:15:52.539 --> 00:15:54.500 Anyone who stands up and says, I'm perfect, 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.460 we will either deliberately say, liar, 00:15:57.680 --> 00:16:00.000 or we will be behind their back saying, what an idiot. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:02.800 We all know it's there. 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:03.940 We all know the sin's there. 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:05.220 We all know the failure's there. 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:06.620 We acknowledge we're not perfect. 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:09.759 But that does not mean that we actually own our sin. 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:20.980 This is, I believe, one of the most significant roadblocks to our grasp of the gospel of grace. 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:28.399 I mean, to really, really grasp it and to relish it and to love it and to plead for mercy, 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:34.220 it's because we don't truly own our sin. 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:41.360 We have a vague, blasé, non-specific, general view of sin. 00:16:42.160 --> 00:16:44.779 Like, I'm flawed. 00:16:46.540 --> 00:16:47.940 We all know that. 00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:58.060 Unless we see the depths of our own sin against God as greater than the depths of someone else's sin against me, 00:16:58.760 --> 00:17:07.140 there will never be a true appreciation of God's grace or deep relational reconciliation with others. 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:19.540 The Genesis 3 blame game that happens here is how we operate across our relational landscape, including our work. 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:27.920 It is so much easier to blame colleagues, the company, the government, whatever it is, for my failure. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:38.380 It's easier in the home for me to blame Nat or the kids or the cats. 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:45.600 To work against the blame game, I need to take ownership. 00:17:46.820 --> 00:17:52.760 If I trip over something, instead of blaming one of my children for putting it there, 00:17:52.860 --> 00:17:59.340 I at least have to ask myself, first and foremost, is why was I not looking where I was walking? 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:08.199 But instead, the very first thing, the default, automatic, first response is to who's responsible for this. 00:18:12.139 --> 00:18:13.559 We just do it automatically. 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:16.220 We've had people trip over here at church. 00:18:16.879 --> 00:18:20.500 And as the crowd gathers to help the person, no one says, why weren't you looking? 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:23.039 Everyone says, who's responsible for this? 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:25.119 Who put that concrete there? 00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:26.220 Who put that thing there? 00:18:27.939 --> 00:18:28.959 It's just automatic. 00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:30.879 It just happens. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:34.779 We just automatically look for someone to blame. 00:18:37.679 --> 00:18:39.419 And what is possibly worse? 00:18:41.379 --> 00:18:46.559 When I realize that that's what I've done, I distort repentance by saying a qualified sorry. 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:54.139 I'm really sorry for upsetting you, but you really shouldn't have left that doll there. 00:18:56.579 --> 00:18:57.639 That's not sorry. 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:01.259 That's a more spiritual way of shifting the blame game. 00:19:03.080 --> 00:19:04.100 That's all that is. 00:19:04.840 --> 00:19:06.240 That's not genuine repentance. 00:19:06.340 --> 00:19:08.640 That's not me actually owning my sin. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:14.420 Why do we do it? 00:19:16.140 --> 00:19:17.660 It's because it's what happens here. 00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:25.820 In the Garden of Eden, it deflects the attention of my own failure, my own faults, my own sin. 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:26.819 We are so skilled at seeing someone else's failings. 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:33.259 We are so skilled at seeing someone else's failings than we are at seeing or acknowledging our own. 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:37.740 We are so skilled at seeing the failings of other people. 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:47.140 How often, my friends, do we truly grieve the depth of our sin rather than pointing out the depth of someone else's sin? 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:55.099 And if you're sitting there right now thinking about someone else who I know who does that all the time, that's my point. 00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:57.399 Forget about them. 00:19:57.399 --> 00:19:57.419 Think about them. 00:19:57.419 --> 00:19:57.439 Think about them. 00:19:57.439 --> 00:19:57.919 Think about them. 00:19:57.919 --> 00:19:58.959 Think about you. 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:28.940 Think about them. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:29.759 I do it too. 00:20:33.620 --> 00:20:35.440 And God sees right through it. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:43.680 God doesn't go to Adam, oh Adam, it's not your fault, okay, so I need to be talking to Eve. 00:20:44.860 --> 00:20:46.180 He doesn't give a rip. 00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:50.539 He doesn't give a rip who picked the fruit and ate it first. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:52.980 He held everyone accountable for what they had done. 00:20:55.539 --> 00:20:58.400 So you think of a scenario where you need deep reconciliation. 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:04.680 Stop looking at the other person and start looking at your own heart, looking at your own heart to God. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:06.299 To God. 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:09.900 Okay, that's the diversion. 00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:18.820 In God's address to Adam in response to his part in the rebellion, God says this about work. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:20.360 Chapter 3, verse 17. 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:21.579 To Adam, he said, 00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:22.579 The word curse. 00:21:22.579 --> 00:21:51.559 He said, 00:21:51.559 --> 00:22:21.559 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:51.559 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:52.559 Because of sin, 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:54.940 That because of sin, our work becomes fruitless. 00:22:55.619 --> 00:23:07.960 What I mean by that is that we will be able to envisage far more for our work than we will ever be able to accomplish. 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:18.019 Both because of lack of ability and because of resistance in the environment around us. 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:27.000 The experience of work will involve pain and conflict and envy and fatigue and not all our goals will be met. 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:34.000 And you become very aware of that when you have children. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:38.640 Before, I'm not picking on anyone specifically here. 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:41.440 I'll just move it over here a little bit. 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:45.660 You become painfully aware of it. 00:23:46.100 --> 00:23:52.020 You see, before kids, before kids, you kind of look at other people with kids and you go, 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:53.680 Oh, my kids will never do that. 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:58.079 Until you have kids and you realize that they do do that. 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:05.819 And you have this ideal about how you're going to raise your kids and you're never going to give them chocolate before. 00:24:06.379 --> 00:24:09.659 They'll never discover a Tim Tam before they're 16 sort of stuff. 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:13.619 You know, you're going to keep them a perfect diet and all that sort of stuff. 00:24:13.619 --> 00:24:17.239 And then someone feeds your kid when they're five months old a piece of chocolate and you go, 00:24:17.299 --> 00:24:17.759 It's all ruined. 00:24:17.819 --> 00:24:18.500 They're now violated. 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:27.139 And you just think, the things that you want to achieve, the things you want to envisage in terms of what you're going to do with your children, 00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:30.000 it just never comes about the way you want it to be. 00:24:30.579 --> 00:24:32.759 And it's like that with the work that you do. 00:24:34.579 --> 00:24:40.500 You may have aspirations to do a certain kind of work and perform at a certain level of skill and quality, 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:44.140 but you may never be able to get the opportunity to do the work that you want. 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:52.240 And if you do, to not be able to do it as well as it needs to be done, never fully achieve it. 00:24:52.700 --> 00:24:56.440 Your conflicts with others in the work environment will sap your confidence. 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:58.279 It will undermine your productivity. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:06.140 You may hope to make a real contribution to your organization or to work with the distinction as an expert in your field. 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:13.759 You may aspire to change the world in a multitude of ways, make a major improvement in human society, 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:16.300 or have a lasting impact on the culture. 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:23.380 And most people will achieve very few of those goals in their lifetime. 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:32.280 And even if they are able to, that is, those who seem to live a charmed work life, 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:40.280 they themselves will have a deep sense of dissatisfaction with their work. 00:25:41.780 --> 00:25:43.120 Mozart was a classic. 00:25:45.340 --> 00:25:49.800 Mozart, everyone looked at Mozart and go, the guy is brilliant. 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:57.220 You speak to Mozart though, rubbish, rubbish, rubbish, what he produced. 00:25:58.119 --> 00:25:59.079 That's his perception. 00:25:59.399 --> 00:26:00.419 He never achieved it. 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:02.839 Everyone else thought he did, but he didn't think he did. 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:08.720 I'll be honest with you, I feel so blessed to be doing what I do. 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:13.379 I'm doing what I love to do. 00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:14.980 I really do. 00:26:14.980 --> 00:26:20.019 I've been blessed to see fruitfulness in ministry that I never expected to see. 00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:26.599 I'll be honest with you, I didn't expect us to be where we are as a church right now after three years of Vision 2020. 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:30.819 I expected it to take six years to be where we are now. 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:34.759 And so I love what I'm doing. 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:36.200 I feel blessed in what I do. 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:37.539 I see fruit for what I do. 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:42.359 And yet I also experience plenty of thorns and thistles. 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.740 No names specifically that I mentioned there. 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:51.460 There's plenty of thorns and thistles. 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:59.220 You know, things which encroach upon my life in such a way that it feels like my work is a burden. 00:26:59.899 --> 00:27:04.899 One season was when we found that we had issues with pregnancy with our second child. 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:09.780 And all but the most basic parts of my work were put on hold. 00:27:10.780 --> 00:27:13.380 Productivity just went straight through the floor for me. 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:16.380 There have been issues with staff. 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:17.920 There have been issues with parishioners. 00:27:18.360 --> 00:27:25.700 There have been all those things and a number of other things which threaten the momentum of our corporate vision together and our ministry together. 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:31.500 I am grateful to God for the glimpses that he has given me of what could be. 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:41.319 But I am daily aware of the encroachment of thorns and thistles in the patch of the world that has been trusted to me for this season. 00:27:42.360 --> 00:27:43.400 Very aware of it. 00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:51.500 It is important for us to understand and hold in tension what the Bible says about creation and about the fall. 00:27:52.080 --> 00:27:59.759 About God's dignity and plan for work and also about the problems of work in a broken, sinful world. 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:05.680 We need to be realistic and to be careful of a naive and utopian view of work. 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:12.380 Because of the nature of God's creation, we need work for our happiness. 00:28:13.580 --> 00:28:14.460 It's a good thing. 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:20.420 And because of God's intention for our work, we have glimpses of what could be accomplished. 00:28:21.779 --> 00:28:27.759 But because of sin, our work is also profoundly frustrating. 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:29.920 Never as fruitful as we want. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.460 We never seem to be able to achieve what we want. 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:37.400 And it's often a complete failure. 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:46.980 That's why so many people inhabit the extremes of idealism and cynicism. 00:28:48.860 --> 00:28:52.820 Or even, depending on what day of the week it is, ricochet between either. 00:28:52.819 --> 00:29:00.939 Idealism says that through my work I'm going to change things, make a difference, accomplish something new, bring justice to the world. 00:29:01.439 --> 00:29:04.279 It's the idealism that says you can be whatever you want to be. 00:29:04.379 --> 00:29:07.019 You've just got to put your heart and your mind to it and you can do whatever you like. 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:11.619 Frankly, I will never be an opera singer. 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:15.299 I don't care how much I put my heart and my mind to it. 00:29:15.559 --> 00:29:17.779 I will never be an opera singer. 00:29:17.899 --> 00:29:19.379 That is just not my gifting. 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:24.080 Cynicism, on the other hand, says nothing really changes. 00:29:24.440 --> 00:29:25.580 Don't get your hopes up. 00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:27.060 Do what it takes to make a living. 00:29:27.460 --> 00:29:29.040 Don't let yourself care too much. 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:30.380 Get out of it whatever you can. 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:35.460 Don't forget to take all of your annual leave and use up all your six days and everything else that you can in between. 00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:52.640 Christians have, through their hope in God's story of redemption for the world that he created, a deep contentment that enables them to work with all their being and never be ultimately discouraged by the frustrating reality of the work. 00:29:53.100 --> 00:29:53.940 That's the first thing. 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:55.759 Our work becomes fruitless. 00:29:55.759 --> 00:30:00.819 The second thing, impact of sin on our work, is that it becomes pointless. 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:08.099 That is, that there's this haunting sense that our work really doesn't have much significance at all. 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:15.640 You see that expressed in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, where the writer says in verse 17, 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:43.700 So clearly the writer here is deeply disillusioned with his life and work because in the end it just gets handed over to someone else. 00:30:43.700 --> 00:30:46.539 What's the point of that, he says? 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:48.759 So you imagine you're the CEO of a company. 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:49.700 You retire. 00:30:49.819 --> 00:30:50.980 New CEO comes in. 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:55.740 And the new CEO comes in and says, actually, we're not going to go in that direction. 00:30:55.799 --> 00:30:56.860 We're going to go in this direction. 00:30:57.200 --> 00:31:00.120 We're going to sell off those companies that the previous CEO bought. 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:02.620 And we're going to head in this completely different direction in here. 00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:07.920 And the old guy who's just retired goes, you've just unraveled everything that I did in my work in life. 00:31:08.740 --> 00:31:09.500 What was the point? 00:31:11.360 --> 00:31:13.080 That's the point here of Ecclesiastes. 00:31:13.700 --> 00:31:18.059 Or you've amassed a real estate portfolio. 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:20.259 You've got some shares in the bank. 00:31:20.360 --> 00:31:23.700 You're sitting pretty comfy on the beach somewhere, sipping wine. 00:31:23.819 --> 00:31:24.299 You're dying. 00:31:24.420 --> 00:31:27.860 You leave all your money and your whole estate to your kids or a bunch of losers. 00:31:29.840 --> 00:31:30.740 What's the point? 00:31:30.740 --> 00:31:30.759 What's the point? 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:42.319 So how do we get satisfaction in light of all that we have against us? 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:44.939 How do we gain a sense of satisfaction and purpose? 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:48.240 When in the end, it could all come to nothing. 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:50.819 Chapter 3, verse 13. 00:31:50.819 --> 00:31:57.200 The writer says that it is possible to have that sense of satisfaction, but it is a gift from God. 00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:03.339 He says, to find satisfaction in all their toil, this is the gift of God. 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:12.359 The writer concedes that satisfaction in work in a sin ravaged world is always a miraculous gift of God. 00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:26.059 And yet, he says, we actually have a responsibility to pursue this gift of God through a particular balance in life. 00:32:26.059 --> 00:32:31.899 So in chapter 4, verses 5 and 6, the writer says this. 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:35.619 The fool folds his hands and ruins himself. 00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:42.879 Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:51.880 What he's saying there is, tranquility without the toil will not bring you satisfaction. 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:57.220 That is, let's jettison work and spend all our time in pleasure. 00:32:57.540 --> 00:32:59.500 He says, that's not going to bring the satisfaction. 00:33:00.920 --> 00:33:04.140 He says, but neither will toil without tranquility. 00:33:04.520 --> 00:33:05.860 Haven't got time for holidays. 00:33:06.120 --> 00:33:10.520 I'm going to work, work, work, and I'm going to finally achieve all those goals that I can envisage down there. 00:33:10.519 --> 00:33:13.980 I'm just going to spend all of my time and I'm just going to focus on it. 00:33:14.039 --> 00:33:18.519 11 days a week, going to pursue it, and then eventually I'll get there. 00:33:19.539 --> 00:33:20.619 And he says, you won't get it. 00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:24.940 He says, there needs to be both toil and tranquility. 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:31.639 And how we get that balanced life is one of the main things of the Bible. 00:33:31.859 --> 00:33:39.240 First, it means recognizing and renouncing our tendency to make idols out of our work. 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:44.759 That's the first thing, and Chris is going to spend more time on that next week. 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:49.440 Secondly, it means putting relationships in their proper place, 00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:56.440 even though it will probably mean making less money or less advancement in my work. 00:33:56.440 --> 00:34:05.500 But most of all, it will mean pursuing something that is beyond the scope of Ecclesiastes to make clear for us. 00:34:06.600 --> 00:34:13.599 The New Testament reveals that the ultimate source of the tranquility that we seek is the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:34:14.380 --> 00:34:17.860 who because he has toiled for us on the cross, 00:34:17.860 --> 00:34:24.400 can offer us the true rest for our souls that we seek and need. 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:29.920 Jesus says in Matthew 11, verse 28 to 30, 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:46.920 Amen.