A Higher Calling: Working Together

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A Higher Calling

Today’s message is about sharing our work. It is about working together which is a higher calling than working alone.

It is a principle grounded in Scripture. We start in Genesis. God made Adam.

Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man (Adam) and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

God created Adam to work. Work is not a dirty word. Through the “Work” God gives us, we find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. We were created to work.

As we read a little further in Genesis, we also recognize God did not create Adam to work alone, but to share the work God gave him.

Genesis 2:18: “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”

God knew there is great value in working together and sharing work. It is shown in the very nature of God, the Holy Trinity. The Father does the work of creation. The Son does the work of salvation. The Holy Spirit does the work of converting hearts. Together they share the work as one God in three persons.

The values of sharing work:
First, our work is multiplied

We can do so much more together than we could ever do individually. The work of two will double the work of one. The work of four will double the work of two.

You listen to an athlete being interviewed and they are asked about the effort that they will give for the game. They reply is usually along the lines of giving 110%.

The problem is that they cannot give 110%. It is impossible. We can only give 100% of ourselves and nothing more. We our not infinite beings, but finite beings. We have a limit, which is 100%.

You can only do so much. When you try to do too much you find yourself in a world of hurt. Overstretched, overburdened, burned out. This is a prime reason God calls us to share the work.

As 1 Corinthians 3:9 proclaims: “we are God's fellow workers . . .” We are more than just God’s workers, but fellow workers.

As believers one of our most important jobs is to reproduce ourselves. When we reproduce ourselves our 100% becomes 200%. Our 200% become 400% and so on. We end up being able to give much more than 110%.

I want to give you just one practical way that this works out. It is the loose change that you find in your pocket. It does not seem like very much. I put $.75 in the offering plate for the mission of the month. You can’t do much these days for $.75. You can’t even buy something off the dollar menu at McDonalds.

But when we combine our $.75 with another persons $.75 it begins to add up. Our $.75 is multiplied into $500/month. The $500 is multiplied into $6000/year that goes towards missions and the work of God’s people.

When we share our work, we multiply our work. Multiplication is the reason we partner with Love & Action, HELPS, and other ministries. To be able reach more people, than we could reach on our own. Working together expands the scope of our impact. There is just some things we cannot do alone as a local church – but when we join with other believers in other places – the possibilities are endless.

Second, we will have someone to pick up where we leave off.

You will only do what you do for so long. Whatever your calling, your work, your ministry – there will come the day when you will no longer do that work - whether it be retirement, death, or you just move on to a different type of work.

By raising others up, when you leave, there will be others to pick up where you left off. Others will be there to do the work that you are no longer able to do.

If you are involved in a ministry, whatever that ministry is, invite others to participate with you, to serve with you. Ask yourself this question. If you died today – would there be someone able to step up and fill the gap that you have left void?

Sure it was great that Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt. But what would have happened if he had not raised up Joshua to lead the people into the promise land.

Sure it was great that Jesus died on the cross the salvation of the world, but what would have happened if he had not raised up his disciples to take his message of hope to the ends of the earth after he ascended to heaven.

Sure it was great that the Apostle Paul started churches throughout Roman Empire, but what if he had not raised up pastors like Timothy and Titus to lead these churches after he left.

“Never do ministry on your own.” I want you right now just to think about the particular work that you do. The ministry here at Lord of Life that you contribute to. Now ask yourself this question. Do I do my ministry alone?

If the answer to that question is yes – then ask yourself who can I bring along? Who could help me in my ministry, that I could share the work with? Whether we are a pastor, a tech team member, an usher our goal should be to work ourselves out of a job. To reproduce ourselves.

To do this we invite and bring others alongside of us to serve with us? When was the last time you invited someone to serve with you?

Third, working together develops relationships.

Many of us are task oriented. We have our to-do lists, the things we need to get done. We work to efficiently and effectively accomplish our tasks to the best of our ability. Our focus is getting the job done and we do that fairly well.

But when we get so focused on the task, we miss the big picture. God has given us a higher calling. God is not as concerned about our tasks as much as he is about our relationship with him and with others.

On Friday, I spent part of the day, with my daughter Abby, working and serving together. I would like to share with you a little bit of this experience.



By making the cookies on my own, I would be able to do it faster, more efficiently, and there would certainly be less of a mess. I could have made it real easy and have gone to the store and bought a couple of dozen.

But this is the key. It really is not about baking the chocolate chip cookies is it? It is about spending time and building that relationship with my daughter. It is about instilling in her the value of service and ministry.

Ministry is never about the task is ever about the task, it is always about the person. It is always about the relationship.

Parents – I want to emphasize the importance of teaching your children the value of work and service. Find ways that are appropriate for you to serve with them. Whether it is through Feed my Starving Children, a Lord of Life event at Marklund, baking cookies for IYC - look to share experiences of service together.
I once heard someone sarcastically say, “Ministry would be great if it wasn’t for all the people.” I recognized this as a sarcastic comment, but sometimes it is easy to feel this way in our heart.

There are many of us who are not good at working with other people. We get frustrated. They do not do the job the way we would do it or in the way we like it.

My wife can probably attest to this. This last summer we painted our basement. I probably was not the best person to work with. I wanted it done my way. And when it was not done my way I would grow irritated and get short with her.

The problem was that I made it about the task and not the relationship. 100% of the time, the relationship is the most important thing. When we loose site of that, we loose our ability to work alongside of other people.

We need to continually be reminded, it is not about the task, but the relationship.

Fourth, we find encouragement and help.

Working together offers a place of encouragement, refreshment, and hope. Working together replaces loneliness and despair.

Psalm 133: How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! . . . For there the Lord bestows his blessing even life forevermore.

When we have someone serve with us, we have someone to encourage us and to pick us up. To pray with and for us.

You don’t need to do it alone. To often we are left out all alone. We feel isolated in our work.

The result is we often feel overwhelmed in our work. We feel as if the weight of the world is upon our shoulders.

How many of you can relate to this: You sometimes feel as if you don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. You feel scattered and spread so thin. You have an endless to-do list that seems to get larger rather than smaller. You feel pressure from our employer. You feel pressure from our family. You feel pressure from our church. Pulled in so many directions, you are not really devoted to any one thing.

Stress! Burn out!

But know this: You don’t need to do alone. At the very least, God wants to be a part of your work.

Many of us, we don’t think much about God until Sunday, and then we wonder: “God, where have You been? I’ve had such a crummy week. Work has been so difficult”

Then Sunday is over, God is out of our life for another six days. We complain about our work to God, but we fail to make God a part of our work. How do we make God more a part of our work and share our work with him:

1 Thessalonians 5:16 says to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

What always grabs me about this verse is the idea of praying continually. I don’t think this means that we bow our heads, close our eyes, fold our hands, and formally pray. I perceive this to be more of an ongoing conversation with God.

Talk with God about how much you love him. At the start of the day just simply welcome his presence. Thank him for the day ahead. As you brush you teeth, thank him for those teeth. Thank him for the school you attend or the job you have to go to. When your boss yells at you, thank God that you have a pay check. Say grace over your meal. On a cold day, you breath the cold air into your lungs, thank him that you have air to breath. Sometimes just slow down and look around, remember it’s all there (everything you see) because of God.
Another part of sharing our work with God, is asking him about your work. Is he a part of the decisions you make in regards to your work. Do you listen to what he has to say about your work? Are you doing work that he can approve of and be involved in? Ask yourself, “is my work within the boundary of what God desires for me.

Maybe the employment requires you to work long hours that keeps you away from your family, beyond your family it keeps you from serving through your local church. You need to ask yourself if you have stepped outside of the bounds of the work God has appointed you for and the type of work God will bless. Are you are engaged in work, that God will not be a part of?

Another way – if we want God to be more a part of our Work – we need to treasure his Word. Colossians 3:16 “Let the Word dwell in you richly.”

This means that God’s Word is something that is deep in our heart and at the tip of our tongue. It is about memorizing his word and carrying it with us. In our heart, in our head, and in our mouth.

Consider posting God’s Word in places you regularly see. If you are on the computer often, post a Bible verse on your monitor to help you focus. Maybe your work has you driving in the car. Post a verse on your dash board. Put God’s Word where you can see it and be reminded of God’s presence in your work.

Finally, just know this. God is always present with us. Psalm 46 – God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble. When you are struggling in your work, it is not because God is not there, but that you have not recognized or welcomed his presence and his help.

So we come to the close of this message series. Worship, Word, and Work. WWW. We come to this point that we recognize the importance of how these three work together. It is like a three legged stool. A stool cannot stand with just one leg. Or even two legs. It needs three legs to be balanced.

As Christians we need to ask ourselves, are we standing on three legs. Is our walk of faith balanced? Are we consistent and weekly in our worship? Are we daily growing the in the Word? Do we have a way in which we are working to serve the kingdom of God, through our time treasure, and talent?