So while boys and girls are heading out to their classes and to Koresh,
those of us who are remaining here,
we can turn in our Bibles to the New Testament
and to Paul's letter, first letter of the Thessalonians.
We're going to read two sections,
two things that Paul says to this church.
On the subject of their attitude towards work, at least in part.
So 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the first 12 verses,
and let's hear God's word together.
As for other matters, brothers and sisters,
we instructed you how to live in order to please God,
as in fact you are living.
Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
It is God's will that you should be sanctified,
that you should avoid sexual immorality,
that each of you should learn to control your own body
in a way that is holy and honorable,
not in passionate lust like the pagans who do not know God,
and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.
The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins,
as we told you and warned you before,
for God did not call us to be impure,
but to live a holy life.
Therefore anyone who rejects this instruction
does not reject a human being,
but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
Now about your love for one another,
we do not need to write to you,
for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.
And in fact, you do love all of God's family throughout Macedonia.
Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters,
to do so more and more,
and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.
You should mind your own business,
and work with your hands just as we told you,
so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders,
and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
And then 2 Thessalonians chapter 3,
Paul writes another letter to them.
And at verse 6, we hear some more of his teaching there.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
we command you, brothers and sisters,
to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive,
and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example.
We were not idle when we were with you,
nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it.
On the contrary, we worked night and day,
laboring and toiling,
so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
We did this not because we do not have the right to such help,
but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule,
the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.
We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive.
They are not busy.
They are busybodies.
Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus to settle down
and earn the food they eat.
And as for you, brothers and sisters,
never tire of doing what is good.
Take special note,
if anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter,
do not associate with them,
in order that they may feel ashamed.
Yet do not regard them as an enemy,
but warn them,
as you would,
a fellow believer.
Amen.
And we will return to some of those thoughts
as we're thinking about Ecclesiastes in a few moments.
But before we get there,
we're going to sing.
As we're singing through our Psalms,
we come to Psalm 13.
And when we think of this Psalm,
think of how it relates to Jesus,
the true King,
who knew,
like David the Psalmist,
the sorrow of separation,
who knew trouble and loneliness,
who knew the attacks of his enemies,
and yet is one who trusted and had joy.
And as we think of Jesus,
think too of his church.
I pray for ourselves,
but also make it a prayer for God's suffering church in the world.
So let's stand and let's sing Psalm 13 together.
How long will you forget me, Lord?
Will you forget always?
How long, Lord,
will you hide your face?
and turn from me your gaze?
How long must I be sat each day
in deeper perplexity?
How long will my,
Opponents stand in triumph over me?
O Lord, my God,
consider me
and give me your reply.
Light up my eyes,
Or I will sleep,
The sleep of those who die.
Then would my enemy declare,
At last I've laid him low,
And so my foes would sing for joy,
To see my overthrow.
But still I trust your constant love,
You save and set me free.
With joy I will extol the Lord,
Who has been good to me.
Now let's turn to pray together.
Lord, our God,
Our God, as we have sung of David's lament,
But also his trust,
We thank you that it reminds us of the reality of suffering,
So that we would take it to you in prayer.
Lord, once again,
We bring before you the nation of Ukraine,
With all the suffering that we see continuing to go on.
Lord, once again,
We bring before you our prayer for peace,
And our prayer for justice.
Lord, we remember the civilians who are caught up in the conflict,
The huge humanitarian crisis that is growing,
The uncertainty even of being able to find those safe corridors to pass through.
Lord, we pray for those who are in the midst of war,
And living with fear,
And where family are separated from one another.
Lord, we pray that you would hear our prayers,
And their prayers.
Lord, we ask that justice would be done,
That evil would be stopped.
And we pray wisdom for all the leaders of the world,
And indeed of businesses,
And of the financial world,
To know how to respond well,
In order to bring this to an end.
Lord, we ask that you would cause many people
To be praying,
In light of the difficulties,
In light of the suffering.
Lord, we pray for your church in the Ukraine,
Asking that you would strengthen them in their trust,
That you would give them the joy of the Lord Jesus,
In the midst of their sorrow.
Enable them to hold out the gospel of the Lord Jesus,
As a beacon of light in the midst of darkness.
Lord, we know that the church in Ukraine has a strong tradition,
It has a strong tradition of sending,
And supporting mission and missionaries around the world.
Lord, we pray that the strength of the church,
Would enable them to love and to serve,
And to bring help where it is needed,
And ultimately to continue bringing the hope,
The eternal hope of the Lord Jesus.
Lord, we remember that Ukraine is not on its own,
In being a place of war and suffering.
We remember friends and those we've heard of in Myanmar,
As they continue to suffer.
Lord, again, we ask that you would enable your people,
To endure in their faith,
To endure in their desire to love,
And to serve one another,
And to be a blessing to their communities,
Even when they have so little themselves.
Lord, we also remember your suffering church in South Sudan.
We remember some of us,
Patrick Jock, who came to visit a number of years ago.
We remember him and the churches that he is a part of,
As they look to serve those who are the victims of war,
And who have so little.
But Lord, we thank you for the gospel,
That gives the sure hope of eternal life.
That beyond suffering,
There is that eternal weight of glory.
And we pray that for people who are suffering,
And indeed for people in prosperity and security,
As we often find ourselves in,
That our hope would be fixed on what is eternal.
Lord, we don't just think of troubled places,
We think of troubled people we know.
Lord, we realize that the financial impact
Keeps on coming beyond pandemic,
And there are many who are fearful.
Lord, we pray for those whose health is struggling,
And who are worried for those who have ill health.
And we pray for those who are dealing with difficult news,
And difficult circumstances.
For those who are anticipating an uncertain future.
For those who are struggling to live as a Christian in the workplace,
Because of opposition and challenge.
For those who are finding the going hard spiritually,
And growing weaker in their faith.
Lord, we ask that you would draw near,
That you would comfort and renew and restore.
Lord, that you would keep our eyes looking up to Jesus,
The author and the perfecter of our faith.
And we pray that you would do that for us,
Even in this time that we gather together to worship.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Now let's turn in our Bibles once again.
And we're back in Ecclesiastes.
And we're going to read chapter 3,
Verse 16 down to chapter 4,
And to verse number 6.
And let's again hear God's word.
And I saw something else under the sun,
In the place of judgment, wickedness was there.
In the place of justice, wickedness was there.
I said to myself,
God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked,
For there will be a time for every activity,
A time to judge every deed.
I also said to myself,
As for humans,
God tests them,
So that they may see that they are like the animals.
Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals.
The same fate awaits them both.
As one dies, so dies the other.
All have the same breath.
Humans have no advantage over animals.
Everything is meaningless or vanity.
All go to the same place.
All come from dust,
And to dust all return.
Who knows if the human spirit rises upward,
And if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth.
So I saw that it is nothing better for a person
Than to enjoy their work,
Because that is their lot.
For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
Again, I looked and saw all the oppression
That was taking place under the sun.
I saw the tears of the oppressed,
And they have no comforter.
Power was on the side of their oppressors,
And they have no comforter.
And I declared that the dead who had already died
Are happier than the living who are still alive,
But better than both is the one who has never been born,
Who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
And I saw that all toil and all achievement
Spring from one person's envy of another.
This too is meaningless,
A chasing after the wind.
Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves.
Better one handful with tranquility
Than two handfuls with toil
And chasing after the wind.
Amen.
So our theme this morning
Is that of working wisely
In a wicked world.
Our attitude to work
Can be a complicated one.
Some people speak of work as
The rat race.
And we've probably heard that famous quip
The trouble with the rat race is
That even if you win,
You're still a rat.
We speak about work as
A dog-eat-dog environment.
Where people are doing whatever it takes
To get ahead,
Even if it means harming others.
We talk about the corporate jungle.
Where there's threat from all sides.
And how do we survive
In that context.
And so today's question is
How should we work wisely
Wisely,
As we acknowledge that we live
In a wicked world.
How do we enjoy the gift of work
In a broken world.
How as Christians do we live
And work well.
Now our teacher,
If you were here last week,
Chapter 3,
We were in his famous poem.
Thinking about all the times
That God sets for our lives.
Now we're considering this set time
That we have as people for work.
And that work that takes place
In the context of,
As he tells us,
Wickedness,
Oppression,
Envy,
And toil.
And I imagine few of us
Can doubt his conclusion.
We just need to turn on our televisions.
We see what's happening in Ukraine.
We see the power grab
And the drive for personal glory.
We are seeing civilian suffering
And a humanitarian crisis in Europe
That we haven't seen since World War II.
But we also see it in the world of business
In the workplace.
We talk about destroyer pricing.
Where large companies want to drive out of business,
Smaller companies.
We talk of hostile takeovers.
And we know that many folks
Who are doing incredibly valuable jobs
Have to do so with very difficult pay and conditions.
Think of the care sector struggles at the moment.
And then we go around the world
And we recognize the reality
That still exists of modern day slavery
And sweatshop labor.
And against this backdrop,
Our relationship to work
Can then begin to go wrong.
And we can struggle, on the one hand,
With our work-life balance.
Sometimes underworking,
Sometimes overworking.
We can struggle with our attitude towards work.
So we can take this negative view,
Well, work is a necessary evil
That I just need to do in order to pay the bills.
On the other hand,
Work can become an all-consuming God.
I am because I have this particular job.
So again, the question that the teacher in Ecclesiastes
Is bringing to us is,
What do we do when we recognize
And when we feel that the world is broken?
And here particularly,
How do we work
When the world is broken?
Just as a sidebar,
We're going to see that our author says,
In light of oppression and injustice,
We are to work quietly.
But we know when we read the Bible,
That's not all that the Bible has to say
About our response to oppression and injustice.
Read the Old Testament prophets,
Read Jesus,
And you discover,
Very clearly,
God believes that injustice and greed and oppression
Should be fought against.
It is right for us to support
Organizations that look to bring help
And to speak against injustice.
It's right for us to support organizations
That speak for the suffering church also.
Barnabas Fund,
Open Doors,
International Justice Mission,
It's right and proper.
Where possible,
The Christian church should work
To challenge and to end injustice.
We should be a voice for the voiceless.
But that's an important sermon for another day.
Today,
Our teacher makes a more narrow point
To say that because we live
In a wicked and broken world,
We should work quietly
Enjoying that work as a gift from God.
So let's begin
By joining him
In considering the reality
Of a wicked world.
So by now,
If you've been with us for a few weeks,
You'll know our teacher in Ecclesiastes,
He's not a cynic.
But he is a realist.
He is someone who is probing
The complexities of life deeply.
And he is doing it from that perspective
Of life under the sun.
Thinking about a world view
That by and large ignores God
And ignores the reality of eternity.
And we have three observations
That point to the reality
Of a wicked world in our text.
The first thing he observes
Is in chapter 3, verse 16,
I saw something else
Under the sun.
In the place of judgment,
Wickedness was there.
In the place of justice,
Wickedness was there.
You have perhaps seen
The iconic statue
Of Lady Justice
On the old Bailey High Court
Down in London.
Lady Justice
With her eyes blindfolded
With the scales of justice
In her hand
With the double-edged sword
Of justice in the other hand.
The imagery there
Intended to project the idea
That in this court
And in the world of justice
There should be no favoritism.
That there should be
True justice for all.
That's the ideal.
But sadly,
And our teacher is seeing it
All too often,
Justice turns a blind eye
To the needs of the weak
And the marginalized.
All too often,
Those responsible for justice
Have their eyes turned,
Perhaps because of bribery
And corruption,
To favor the powerful.
And so injustice continues.
And now as people,
Because we're made
In the image of God
And we are made
In the image of a God
Who is perfectly just,
We have that love of justice,
That longing for justice,
But we understand
That injustice continues.
And whether we're thinking
About the suffering in Ukraine
Or we're thinking about
The suffering in the global church,
We see wickedness and injustice.
That's not all our teacher sees.
Chapter 4,
Verse 1 to 3,
He also sees oppression
And isolation.
Again,
I looked and saw
All the oppression
That was taking place
Under the sun.
I saw the tears of the oppressed
And they have no comforter.
Power was on the side
Of their oppressors
And they have no comforter.
And notice again,
He's observing this life
Under the sun.
And in this life under the sun,
Where we're just thinking
About me and the moment
And not about eternity,
There is that drive
For getting everything
That we can now.
And so power-hungry people
Will always have that tendency
Towards oppression.
And so we're presented
With this sad picture
Of the tears
Of the oppressed
With no one
To provide comfort.
The powerless
Are victimized
And they are isolated
From any source of help.
Hasn't this been so painful
To see and to witness
This week
Are those pleas
For help
Coming out of Ukraine
Seeing children's hospitals
Having to move underground
Seeing those brutal war tactics
Day after day
And there is no way
To help.
Think about the personal stories
That we know in the workplace.
Perhaps you have suffered from
Or you know someone
Who suffered from
Workplace bullying.
Perhaps you have experienced
Horrible bosses
Or difficult colleagues.
And you've seen others suffer
And so often
We recognize the oppression
But we are powerless
To bring change.
Our teacher has a sliding scale
Of happiness
In verses 2 and 3
Where he says
Because of all the evil
That's happening in the world
The dead are better off
Than the living
Because they're done
With having to witness
All the oppression
But best off
Are the unborn
Because they haven't come
To discover
Just how much oppression
Goes on in the world.
The third observation
Third reality of life
In a wicked world
Chapter 4 verse 4
Envy and toil
I saw that all the toil
And all achievement
Spring from one person's
Envy of another
This too is meaningless
A chasing after the wind.
Now not everybody sees this
As a negative.
There's an economist
By the name of
Gregory Rodriguez
Who would argue that
Envy drives
Economic aspiration.
Envy drives
Economic activity.
So he writes papers
Arguing that it's beneficial
In a competitive society
That people and businesses
Have envy.
We're driven by
Well I see the position
Of that company
And I want my company
To get there
So I'm going to work hard
To level up.
Or I see what my colleague
Has achieved
And I see
The car that he's bought
And the house that he's bought
And the success that he's had
So I'm going to work
All the harder
Driven by envy
To get to that position.
Our teacher
Doesn't see it as a positive.
The Bible doesn't see
Envy as a positive.
Because the natural tendency
Isn't for us to level up
It's for us to want to tear
The other down.
To step on others
To get ahead.
Envy will always tend
To be self-seeking.
It will tend to compare
And compete.
Therefore not be content.
Our author says
This is not a positive way
To live.
He says it's vanity.
It's a chasing after the wind.
We can spend all of our time
Toiling for the latest toy.
But our teacher says
That's never going to satisfy.
Working and working and working
To try and keep up
Or to get ahead
Will not bring
Lasting ultimate joy
And gain.
Rather
It's working
For the wind.
Keeps pushing us
To reflect on
Ultimate things.
Our work will not save
And satisfy
Beyond
Death.
So our teacher
Gives us once again
A healthy dose of realism.
And it's helpful for us
Because
Here we are reminded
And maybe especially
For us in the church
We're not expected
To say
Everything is okay
Because clearly
Everything is not okay
With our teacher
We are invited
To grieve
What is lost
And what is broken
We're invited
To reflect
And to see
That sometimes
The reality of wickedness
And injustice
In our world
Can become almost
Unbearable for us
I wonder
If
With all the
Media coverage
Of the war
You felt the need
To switch off
Because it's just
Felt too much
To distract ourselves
Just for a little
Because it's almost
Overwhelming us
We feel that
As Christians
What we should do
I guess as Christians
Is to
If we're going to
Turn away
We turn away
To take it
To God
In prayer
That's our
Best response
When we feel
Overwhelmed
Is to take it
To the God
Who's on the throne
But to look
At our news
To look at
Our circumstances
And to look at
Ecclesiastes
Is to be reminded
As well
The reality
That the heart
Of the problem
Is the problem
Of the human heart
That's true
In our warfare
And that's true
In our workplaces
As well
So he presents us
With the reality
Of a wicked world
But he also
Speaks to us
About how we can
Learn to work
Wisely
In that reality
So let's move there
Let's think about
Learning to work
Wisely
And again
To recognise
The time
That we find
Ourselves in
Because these
Last two years
For the first time
In a long time
I suppose
Have disrupted
All of our
Normal work
Practices
Now most of us
Will find
That we have
A new relation
To our office
Spaces
To our colleagues
And to our homes
Because of
Hybrid working
Many of the
Places where we
Work will be
Dealing with
Ongoing human
Resource issues
Because of
Pandemic
And perhaps
These last two
Years
The effect of that
In part has been
To change our
View of working
To change our
Understanding of
Our role
And how to
Perform that role
Or even
Why to bother
And then
You put on top
Of that
What we've been
Watching in the
Last two weeks
As we've watched
This horror
Unfold
And it's been
Both distressing
And distracting
Perhaps we find
Ourselves just
Throwing our hands
At what is
Happening
Why bother
With my
Little piece of
Work
In light of
What's going
On in
The world
Well
Into that
Reality
Speaks our
Teacher
And in this
Text we can
Identify four
Pieces of
Wisdom
To help us
To walk and
Work wisely
In our
Present times
For us as
Christians to
Know how to
Work wisely
Under God
In light of
The times we
Find ourselves
In
The first
Piece of
Wisdom
We find in
Verse 17
Take heart
God is
Just
What does the
Teacher do
When he sees
Wickedness
When there
Should be
Justice
I said
To myself
God will
Bring into
Judgment
Both the
Righteous
And the
Wicked
For there
Will be a
Time for
Every activity
A time to
Judge
Every deed
When we
Think about
War
When we
Think about
Injustice
Whether that's
On a global
Scale or a
Personal scale
What we
Find ourselves
Longing for
Is a
Strongman
Someone who
Can come
And right
Those wrongs
Someone who
Is going to
Come and
Deal with
The evil
And you
Know the
Bible reminds
Us over
And over
Again this
Strongman
Is coming
And his
Name is
Jesus
Acts 17
Verse 31
For God
Has set a
Day when he
Will judge
The world
With justice
By the
Man he
Has appointed
He has
Given proof
Of this
To everyone
By raising
Him from
The dead
Jesus
The risen
From the
Dead
Savior
Is the
Judge
Who will
Bring
Justice
To the
Earth
There is
A promise
In the
Bible
That the
Judge
Of all
The
Earth
Will
Do
Right
Injustice
And evil
Will give
Way
And will
Be
Answered
For
But
That good
That justice
May not win
In our
Lifetime
And that's
A hard
Reality
But it
Will win
In the
End
At the
Return
Of the
Lord
Jesus
And that's
The hope
That we
Need
To hold
On to
Of course
That presents
A challenge
Why is there
Not justice
Now
Why is
Justice
The justice
Of God
Not
Immediate
And the
Bible has
Some responses
To that
While obviously
There's an
Element of
Mystery there
Also
We can think
About the
Patience
Of God
The Bible
Speaks
About God's
Patience
In holding
Back mercy
In order
To give
Us a
Chance
To repent
That God
Doesn't judge
Sin instantly
Is grace
For us
Because we
Too
Would
Deserve
Judgment
That we
Have an
Opportunity
To turn
And find
Salvation
Is a
Gift
Of God
That flows
From his
Mercy
And his
Patience
Another
Partial
Answer
To why
Justice
Isn't
Now
Is
God's
Providence
We can
Trust in
God's
Providence
We're
Thinking about
This
Tonight
We
Trust in
A God
Who is
Able
To bring
Good
From
Evil
And you
Know that's
Even been
The testimony
From the
Church in
Ukraine
That they're
Struggling
To keep up
With the
Demand
For
Bibles
The
People
That
Previously
Had no
Spiritual
Interest
Are now
Asking
Lots
Of
Questions
About
Jesus
And
Beginning
To
Pray
And
The
Church
Is
Finding
Strength
And
People
Are
Being
Saved
Even
In
A
War
Zone
What
Is
Evil
But
God
Is
Able
To
Bring
Saving
Good
Where
Do
We
See
That
Most
Clearly
We
See
It
Most
Clearly
At
The
Cross
Wicked
Men
Nailed
Jesus
To
The
Cross
But
That
Was
God's
Design
That
We
Would
Have
A
Savior
Why
Doesn't
God
Bring
Justice
Now
We
Need
To
Trust
In
God's
Perspective
Sometimes
We
Need
To
Just
Have
Humility
And
Understand
That
God
Sets
The
Time
Including
The
Time
For
Justice
And
We
Need
To
Wait
With
Hope
And
Trust
But
To
Work
We
Work
Wisely
We
Work
Quietly
Remembering
God
Is
On
His
Throne
So
We
Find
Trust
In
The
Middle
Of
Our
Fears
Next
Piece
Of
Wisdom
Take
Care
Don't
Just
Be
An
Animal
Verses
18
To
21
Begin
As
For
Humans
God
Tests
Them
So
That
They
May
See
That
They
Are
Like
The
Animals
And
The
Point
There
Is
About
That
Shared
Destiny
That
We
All
Have
We
Share
The
Fate
Of
The
Animals
Verse
19
Surely
The
Fate
Of
Human
Beings
Is
Like
The
Fate
Of
Animals
As
One
Dies
So
Dies
The
Other
All
Come
From
Dust
And
To
Dust
All
Return
How
Do
We
Live
In
The
Light
Of
Our
Death
Sadly
Some
People
Respond
By
Beastly
Activity
Think
About
What
We
Just
Been
Talking
About
Wickedness
Oppression
Living
Rooted
Out
Of
Envy
We're
Not
To
Become
Beastly
In
The
Way
That
We
Treat
One
Another
We're
Not
To
Forget
Even
Although
We
Share
The
Same
Destiny
We
Shouldn't
Forget
That
As
Image
Bearers
Of
God
We
Are
Made
To
Know
God
And
We
Are
Made
With
Eternal
Hope
The
Teacher
Asks
The
Question
In
Verse
21
Who
Knows
If
The
Human
Spirit
Rises
Upward
And
If
The
Spirit
Of
The
Animal
Goes
Down
Into
The
Earth
Who
Knows
Us
Living
On
This
Side
Of
The
Resurrection
Of
Jesus
We
Know
Believers
In
The
Lord
Jesus
We
Know
That
We
Are
Better
Off
Than
The
Animals
Because
We
Have
Eternal
Hope
Verse
22
Who
Can
Bring
Them
To
See
What
Will
Happen
After
Them
That
There's
That
Question
What
Happens
After
This
We
Know
Our
Perspective
Is
So
Much
Clearer
Than
Our
Teacher
Here
Because
We
Are
Living
After
The
Death
And
Resurrection
Of
The
Lord
Jesus
Our
Eternity
Is
Different
Why
Because
Jesus
Said
To
His
Followers
I'm
Going
Back
To
My
Father
And
I'm
Preparing
A
Home
For
You
And
I'm
Going
To
Come
Back
And
Take
You
To
Be
With
Me
That
You
May
Be
With
Me
In
A
World
Of
Perfect
Love
Forever
How
Do
We
Know
That
Eternal
Future
Is
Different
We
Can
Think
About
What
Jesus
Said
To
The
Thief
Down
Beside
Him
On
The
Cross
Who
Turned
To
Put
His
Trust
In
Jesus
Today
You'll
Be
With
Me
Not
In
The
Dust
But
In
Paradise
We
Know
Because
Of
The
Words
Of
Jesus
And
We
Know
Because
Of
The
Resurrection
Of
Jesus
That
If
Our
Faith
Is
In
Him
Our
Hope
Is
Better
Our
Future
Is
Better
Than
Simply
Dust
To
Dust
Like
The
Animals
So
Wisdom
Takes
A
Long
Term
View
Of
God's
Justice
And
Our
Eternal
Destiny
And
That
Shapes
Then
Our
Approach
To
Life
And
To
Work
There
Is
Meaning
And
There
Is
Purpose
To
Our
Lives
But
If
Those
Are
The
Long
Term
Pieces
Of
Advice
There's
More
Immediate
Advice
In
Our
Text
As
Well
Chapter
3
Verse
22
Where
We're
Told
Take
Joy
In
The
Gift
Of
Work
Now
We've
Heard
This
Before
But
We
Need
To
Hear
It
Again
So
I
Saw
That
There
Is
Nothing
Better
For
A
Person
Than
To
Enjoy
Their
Work
Because
That
Is
Their
Lot
There
Is
A
Quote
You
May
Have
Heard
That's
Attributed
To
Martin
Luther
The
Reformer
That
Goes
Like
This
Even
If
I
Knew
That
Tomorrow
The
World
Would
Go
To
Pieces
I
Would
Still
Plant
My
Apple
Tree
Death
Is
Real
So
Are
Apple
Trees
So
Is
The
Joy
Of
Work
So
Is
The
Reality
Of
God's
Everyday
Grace
And
Kindness
To
Us
And
So
Once
Again
We
Hear
This
Call
From
Our
Teacher
To
Enjoy
Our
Work
As
A
Gift
From
God
To
Do
With
Our
Time
What
God
Values
With
Our
Time
To
Enjoy
Our
Lot
In
Life
As
God's
Gift
To
Us
Not
Trying
To
Take
From
Our
Work
More
Than
It
Was
Ever
Designed
To
Give
To
Us
Not
Looking
For
Ultimate
identity
And
Significance
And
Purpose
In
Our
Work
But
Enjoying
It
As
A
Today
How
Do
I
Have
A
Chance
In
My
Workplace
To
Represent
God
And
His
Values
Today
How
Has
God
In
His
Kindness
Allowed
Me
To
Use
His
Gifts
In
This
Place
Among
These
People
It's
A
Call
To
Be
And
To
Pursue
Thankfulness
But
To
Do
That
Within
That
Context
Of
Recognizing
The
Day
Of
Death
Is
Always
Approaching
So
That
We
Don't
Start
Chasing
After
Our
Ultimate
Purpose
In
Work
That
Comes
To
An
End
Rather
We
Find
Our
Hope
And
Purpose
And
Identity
In
The
Lord
Jesus
Last
Piece
Of
Advice
Related
To
Work
Verses
5
And
6
Of
Chapter
4
Take
One
Handful
Practice
Contentment
There
Are
Three
Approaches
To
Work
In A
Wicked
World
That
Are
Laid
Out
In
These
Verses
The
First
Is
That
Of
The
Fool
With
The
Folded
Hands
Fools
Fold
Their
Hands
And
Ruin
Themselves
It's
A
Picture
Of
Laziness
It's
A
Picture
Of
Opting
Out
Of
Work
In
Which
Case
Resources
Will
Drain
Away
That's
Why
Paul
Said
To
The
Church
In
Thessalonica
Settle
Down
And
Earn
Food
To
Eat
And
So
That's
One
Way
To
Approach
Work
In
A
Wicked
World
Simply
To
Opt
Out
And
To
Fold
Our
Hands
The
Other
Is
That
Of
The
Cupped
Hands
Better
One
Handful
With
Tranquility
Than
Two
Handfuls
With
Toil
And
Chasing
After
The
Wind
It's
A
Picture
Of
Someone
Grabbing
For
All
That
They
Can
Get
From
Work
It's
Toil
Nothing
But
Work
But
It's
Shepherding
The
Wind
In
The
End
The
Problem
Of
The
Folded
Hands
The
Problem
Of
The
Cupped
Hands
Looking
To
Grab
Everything
Is
That
Both
In
Different
Ways
Are
Self
Centred
God
And
Others
Are
Not
In
View
In
This
Picture
So
What's
The
Better
Way
Verse
Six
Better
One
Handful
With
Tranquility
Here
Is
Work
As
Quiet
Contentment
Here
Is
A
Picture
Of
A
Person
With
A
Good
Work
Life
Balance
Here
Is
A
Person
Who
Is
Accepting
Work
As
God's
Gift
As
Paul
Said
Again
To
The
Thessalonians
As
He
Was
Talking
To
Them
About
Loving
God
And
Loving
Each
Other
Make
It
Your
Ambition
To
Lead
A
Quiet
Life
To
Mind
Your
Business
And
Work
With
Your
Practice
Contentment
In
The
Work
That
We
Have
Been
Given
Now
We
Could
Finish
There
But
I
Want
Us
To
Do
One
More
Thing
In
Light
Of
The
Reality
Of
A
Wicked
World
To
Remind
Ourselves
Once
Again
To
Trust
In
The
Work
Of
Jesus
Here
We
Are
Again
The
Writer
To
The
Ecclesiastes
He's
Making
Us
Confront
The
Reality
Of
Ongoing
Oppression
Our
Destiny
Of
Dust
To
Dust
The
Tears
That
We
Experience
In
Our
Toils
Why does
God have
It in
The
Bible
And it's
Our
Flow
Of
Redemption
Surely
It's
So
We
Look
To
Jesus
For
Hope
Beyond
The
Son
Surely
It's
That
We
Would
Place
Our
Hope
In
The
Work
Of
Jesus
What
Was
The
Work
Of
Jesus
His
Work
Was
To
Do
His
Father's
Will
His
Work
Was
To
Bring
In
The
Kingdom
Of
God
The
Great
Achievement
Of
His
Work
Was
Bringing
Salvation
From
Judgment
Salvation
From
The
Wrath
Of
God
By
His
Death
For
Us
As
A
Substitute
We
Cannot
End
Wickedness
In
The
World
And
We
Cannot
Deal
With
The
Wickedness
In
Our
Own
Hearts
But
Jesus
Can
And
Jesus
Did
There
On
The
Cross
And
We
Are
Invited
To
Trust
In
His
Finished
Work
In
Order
To
Find
Forgiveness
From
Our
Sin
In
Order
To
Find
An
End
To
That
Guilt
And
Condemnation
That
We
Experience
And
To
Know
Freedom
And
Eternal
Life
We're
Invited
To
Think
About
Jesus
Resurrection
As
That
Guarantee
For
Us
That
For
The
Believer
Death
Is
Not
And
Will
Not
Be
Emptiness
Rather
It's
A
Gateway
To
Fullness
Of
Life
It's
Our
Entry
To
A
Life
Of
Love
And
Joy
For
All
Eternity
We're
Invited
To
Remember
That
Jesus
Work
Is
Still
Not
Completed
That
Jesus
Will
Return
One
Day
And
He
Will
Deal
With
Every
Injustice
He
Will
He
Will
Judge
The
Living
And
The
Dead
And
He
Will
Take
His
People
Home
When
The
Work
Of
Salvation
Is
Completed
As
Much
As
Some
Of
Us
Enjoy
And
Love
Our
Work
Ultimately
Is
It
His
Work
The
Work
Of
Jesus
That
Provides
Our
Deep
And
Abiding
Joy
Let's
Pray
Briefly
Lord
Our
God
This
Ancient
Book
Pictures
For
Us
Ongoing
Realities
Of
Wickedness
And
Oppression
And
Injustice
Of
Envy
Lord
We
See
That
Same
Brokenness
And
So
Often
We
Feel
Powerless
God
Of
Perfect
Justice
That
We
Be
Able
To
Enjoy
Our
Work
As
A
Gift
And
That
We
Learn
To
Be
Content
With
What
We
Have
But
That
We
Would
Also
Have
A
Great
Eternal
Hope
Because
We
Are
Trusting
In
The
Perfect
Completed
Work
Of
Jesus
In
His
Achieving
Salvation
For
Us
Through
His
Death
On
The
Cross
May
He
Be
Our
Hope
And
Our
Center
We
Pray
In
Jesus
Name
Amen
Now
We're
Going
To
Sing
A
Couple
Of
Songs
As
We
Finish
First
Of
We're
Going
To
Sing
A
Section
Of
Psalm
49
Which
We'll
See
Returns
Us
To
Some
Of
The
Theme
Of
Ecclesiastes
3
And
Then
We
Will
Sing
The
Hymn
I
Stand
Amazed
In
The
Presence
To
Remind
Us
Of
The
Gospel
Work
Of
Jesus
So
Let's
Stand
Together
And
Sing