Serving God In The Working Place Part Two

Eph 6: 5-8  Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free

Eph 6: 5-8 Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.

Most of us hold a job or some form of employment to earn a living. Some of us are businessmen, technicians, accountants, salesmen etc. Of course there are also those who are house wives, retiree and the rich who do not need to work. But, they are the minority group; the majority of us are employed in some form of work or business. Some of you are students and very soon you will be working.

I have good news for you. God wants us to serve Him both in our working place and in church. How many of you wish that you can be a better witness for Christ in your office? Christians are often guilty of placing less priority in the working place compared to the church or some other place. We don’t mind going to a faraway foreign country to do mission work but we seldom win people for Christ from our working place.

I think this is wrong because we are given more opportunities to win people for Christ in our working place than anywhere else. If you ask the church how many of them are working in the same place or those who came to church because someone from work invited them, not many will affirm to this.

Generally, our colleagues, clients are more open to us than any other person because they know us and they can see our lives. We spend eight hours or more every day in the office; there are many opportunities for us to do good to our colleagues, clients and show the love of God to them, pray for them than most people. Our working place could be our most fruitful harvest field.

Most Christians has this belief that engaging in a business or a job cannot be as spiritual as serving in the church. We have this idea that we should not put too much time or effort in the working world because we do not want to be contaminated with the world.

This is far from the truth. We are called to serve God, not only in the church but also outside of the church where most people are. The same anointing we have in our ministry in church is also available for us outside of the church. Jesus told the disciples in Matt 28 to go into all the world, preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations.

Jesus did not say to start a church and remain there until He comes. But He said to go into the whole world. It is an expanding and far reaching mission. The ministry must not be limited to a church building or a familiar gathering of believers. It must go beyond the four walls of the church into the working place, to the society at large and also the world. This includes the offices, shops, schools, police stations etc. where we work.

I believe the church is our training school for ministry and the actual ministry takes place outside of the church. Believers are trained in the church to do ministry in the world and not just limited to church only. The early Christians did not just remain in Jerusalem or the temple. They scattered everywhere, preaching the word. So if we only serve in church then we have not fully graduated from training school.

Let us consider some examples from the scripture and from our own lives that working in the offices, schools, factories etc. are equally important as serving in the church.

Firstly most Christians are called to have a job outside of the church. If we think that full time ministry in the church is more important or spiritual won't the LORD create more jobs in the church and put us all in the church work?

In most churches the numbers of full time workers are less than 5% of the church goer’s population. God places more people and resources in the working places because there is where the action is and where most people are.

A wise general would send his best soldiers and guns to the most strategic places where most of the spoils are. It would be foolish of the general if he sends all his army to a less important battle and loses the whole war. Similarly, God places His people in the working world because the spoils are there outside of the church building. He is the best general. He knows where the battles are and what is required to win the war.

So He assigns His soldiers to the most important battle fields and the people for the job. No one is more important than the other but everyone is given talents to function in that particular battlefield. Christians working outside of the church is equally important with the pastors in the church. So do not underestimate what you can do for the LORD where you are working.

In Ezekiel 47:1-9 there is a prophetic significant in this vision for us today. The river represents the move of the Holy Spirit, the life of God. The river produces life wherever it went. The Holy Spirit is the source of life, healing and wholeness. The sea and fish represent humanity. The Spirit wants to bring healing to humanity. We are His vessels that He uses to accomplish this.

Notice, the river continues flowing out from the temple. It did not remain in the temple; the river flowed out from the temple. The move of the Spirit will not be restricted in the church or the gathering of believers. The Spirit wants to reach out to the world and heal the people who are outside of the church. He does not want to be put into a box. He wants to work through you wherever you are.

Christians are always guilty of this. They restrict the Holy Spirit from working outside of the church. Most Christians think like this, “Holy Spirit you can do whatever you want in church but not in the office”. So the Christians are a different people in church and in the office. They seldom practice what they learned in church in the working place. That is why we do not see miracles happening in our working place.

How many of you agree that if a river provides water only for just one household that is a waste? There is more than enough supply for everyone in this river of God. And we need to bring this blessing to our working place and where people are.

In Ezekiel's vision of the river, the further he moves away from the temple, the river gets deeper and deeper. First it is ankle deep, then knee deep and as he went further, it is waist deep and finally he could only swim in the river because it is too deep and it is at the place furthest from the temple. The deeper you go the greater is the move of the Spirit.

The greater move of the Holy Spirit is not just limited in the church but also away from the church. The Holy Spirit has more of His power, His gifts, His miracles, His wisdom, and anointing available for us outside of the church. In fact, most of the miracles of Jesus and the early church were performed outside of the church building, in the working place and where people were.

Why is the power of God most evident outside of the church building? Obviously, it is because there are the places where the power of God is most needed and the most sick people are. There is so much of Him and His power in you that you will never run dry.

So this erroneous thinking that God only works in the church has us restricted from accessing and seeing the power of the Spirit in our generation. There is so much of His wisdom, anointing and power reserved for us if we would take it and use it to change the working world for Jesus.

But, we only restrict ourselves to just a little bit of the power in the church and yet there is so much more of the power of the Spirit make available for us that we can use it to minister to the working world where He places us.

Secondly, Jesus often time preached about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the domain of the rule and reign of God. In His kingdom there is His righteousness, power, healing, love and much more.

Many Christians have this wrong understanding about the kingdom of God as referring to the future kingdom of God manifesting on the earth or the kingdom of God is to be confined in a building. But that is not true; Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God to the earth, the kingdom God is at hand implying it is within our reach and experience. And like a mustard seed it must grow to its full potential and power on the earth until it fills the earth. God's intent and purpose is global and not just in a small tiny building called the church.

Hab 2:14 for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Adam was God's representative of the kingdom of God on the earth. He was to suppose to rule in the Garden of Eden on behalf of God and extend the kingdom throughout the earth. God told him to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Adam was to fill the earth with God's reign but he failed.

The earth was then given to the kingdom of Satan. But Jesus came to defeat Satan and now He gives us the authority to fill the earth with the His kingdom. As Christians, we are to bring God's kingdom to our working place and wherever we are. The Kingdom of God must infiltrate and subdue all aspect of life on the earth, the business, education, governments, media etc.

The devil knows that if he can convince us that serving God is only in the church, he is already safe. If he can deceive us to think that the battle is in the church and the working place is to be avoided then he will put us on the defensive. The center of the devil's work is not in the church. He works in the businesses, the government, schools, financial institutions and where most people are. Jesus often times cast out demons in the streets and market places where most people were.

The devil has no power to rule because he has already been defeated. But he can only take charge when the believers allow him to do so. So if the people of God are kept in the church, the devil can do all he wants in the working place.

This is the consequence when we place too much emphasis in the church and not moving out to the world. The devil will take dominion in the world not because he has the power but the believers allow him to do so. And we blame the devil for the woes in the world instead of taking hold of our God given responsibilities to change the world. That is why you are so important and God wants to use you to change the world where you are.

Jesus never restricted his ministry in the synagogue. Jesus taught and ministered outside of the four walls of the temple. He went to villages, houses and the streets. He too has good business sense. He spoke about good business practice in his parables eg. investing for treasures in heaven, calculating the cost before committing. It takes a person to know some business topics and practices before he can say anything about the topic.

He was well informed about the business world. That tells us Jesus spent great expense to learn about the business world and used this to bring people to the Kingdom of God. Jesus never abandon the working world but He embraced it. He used it to change the people. Most of his followers are businessman, fisherman, workers and farmers.

The early church was not busy erecting church buildings or serving only in the Temple. Most of them have jobs and earned a living. While working they did good to those around them. People were drawn to the church because they saw the miracles and also the love of God through interaction with believers wherever they were. A believer named Dorcas was a designer of clothes who was well known to those around her because of her charitable deeds.. The early church was impacting people in the streets and working places and not restricted in the church building only.

So as Christians working in the offices, schools, shops, supermarkets etc. how should we respond to the call of God as His representative to the working world?

1)  Thank God for the job you are in and believe that He has put you there for a purpose. You may not like the way the business is done or the weakness in people but no one is perfect. Do not let the situation around you prevent you from bringing the grace of God in the place. Christians should not be easily perturbed or give up because of the presence of evil but seek to change the situation and circumstance for good.

Jesus did not run away from sinners. He ate with them, talked with them and also loved them. Daniel did not gripe over the fact he was taken away from his home and placed in a godless nation. He accepted the job he was in and did his best. Esther has to marry a heathen king and that was not her idea for a good job. Despite the difficult situation they were in, they chose to remain there and believed God can turn evil into something good. By keeping their conviction, they were able to excel at work and changed the whole nation.

Similarly, God has a reason why He put us to work in a particular place. Instead of whining and complaining about how bad our job is, why not thank Him for the job and pray that He will use us in our working place. We can be God's agent for change in the working place. The way for change is to remain where we are and be an agent of change.

2)  Embrace the job where you are working. It is not enough that you tolerate or remain static at your job. Many Christians are not happy with their jobs. They are critical towards their work and fellow colleagues hence they seldom enjoy their work. So they become unproductive, show no initiative or always looking for somewhere for greener pasture.

Embracing your job is accepting the job. Don’t be overly negative with your job. Make a list of all the wonderful things the job has to offer. Refuse to see flaws in your job or colleagues. See yourselves working hard, enjoying your work and every testing as a stepping stone for success in your job. Appreciate your job, those working with you and put diligence in it. It is God who puts you there. Just like when you embraced your call to serve in the church and you give your time and energy to serve in the church; do it also in your work.

Joseph did not have a good start in his career. Probably at first he hated his job as a slave because he never wanted to be a slave. But later on he embraced his job as a slave. He did not remain static; he put in effort in his job. Because he was willing to serve, he was able to go through the tests and trials from a slave to a supervisor and then a manager finally he was trained to be the prime minister of Egypt. God used him to impact the nation. He wants to promote you but according to His timing and when you are ready.

3)  Recognize you have a ministry in your working place. You have a ministry in church and you have a ministry in the working place. The idea that Christians working out there just to support the full time ministry in the church no longer holds water. Working Christians has equally important ministry in the working places as those serving full time in the church. A change of mindset will put us on track on serving God in our working places.

4)  What you do in church, do also in the working places. The same Holy Spirit who is with us in the church will also be with us in the work place. We are to carry His Presence to the places where He can work through you.

The same anointing of the Spirit that operates in the church will also operate outside of the church. The Holy Spirit wants to work through you in the office, factory and schools. So do not put Him in a box.  Allow Him to work both in the church and in your working place. It will be a waste if all we learn in church; we keep it in the church. Why not share what you do in church with your friends and colleagues? We can pastor our colleagues, encourage them or care for them. We can pray for them and minister healing to them or we can listen and counsel them, do good works, helping the needy. We can also conduct prayer walks around the office, bless the business and customers.

Of course we may do things a bit different in our working place compare to our church. Ask God for wisdom how we can best serve Him in the office, shops and schools etc. Remember the church is only our training school. The actual work is outside the four walls of the church.

5)  Put your best effort in your work. Aim for excellence. Ask God to give you wisdom and talents to work. By doing so, Christians will earn the right to speak to people. People listen to those who are excellent in what they do. The lazy and mediocre ones hardly gets any attention from anyone. 

6)  Apply bible truths in the working place eg integrity, honesty, righteousness. Seek to make your working place better especially those things that are not doing well. You are the light of the world, your attitude in work and your integrity will make a difference to those working with you.

7)  Bringing the kingdom of God into your working place through prayer and your testimony. One way you can impact your working place is by spending time in prayer for God to touch lives in the office. Ask God to open the eyes of your boss, clients or your colleagues to the reality of God.

     Sister Ruth shared this story to me. One day she was asked to handle a very difficult case in the court. By the way, Ruth is a corporate lawyer. Her colleagues all agree that this was an impossible case. The chances of winning were slim and she cannot do much but prayed in the courthouse. Though the chances of winning were slim, the judge did the impossible by awarding the case to her. She was so excited that she shared with everyone in the office how God has answered her prayers. This was her great testimony for God in her office. What the LORD did for Ruth He can also do it for you. He wants to use us in our working place and wherever He sends us. Let us shine for Jesus