Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Westgate.
[00:00:07] Speaker C: How you doing?
[00:00:09] Speaker B: It is good to be in the
[00:00:10] Speaker C: house of the Lord today, isn't it?
[00:00:12] Speaker B: Well, let's stand and worship together.
I got the joy of the Lord
[00:00:25] Speaker C: Deep down inside of my soul. And I can't hide it no more. I gotta praise him. I got the joy of the Lord
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Deep down inside of my soul.
[00:00:34] Speaker C: And I can't hide it no more. I gotta praise the one who broke my chains and bought my freedom.
What else can I say but thank you, Jesus?
Cause you're just that good. Just that faithful. And you're just that kind. I'm so grateful that you saved my life. Like you said you would.
So with my hands up high. Heart abandoned and a faith on fire. Singing and dancing. Cause you saved my life. Like you said you would.
Cause you're just. Cause you're just that good.
You put a song in my heart. I sing with all that I've got. And tell the world who you are.
[00:01:31] Speaker B: I'm gonna praise you.
[00:01:33] Speaker C: You put a song in my heart with all that I've got.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: And tell the world who you are.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: I'm gonna praise the one who broke my chains and bought my freedom.
What else can I say but thank you, Jesus?
Cause you're just that good. Just that faithful. And you're just that kind. I'm so grateful that you saved my life like you said you.
With my hands up high. Heart abandoned and a faith on fire Singing and dancing. Cause you saved my life like you said you would.
Cause you're just. Cause you're just that good.
Is he that good?
We'll praise the one who broke my chains and bought my freedom.
What else can I say but thank you, Jesus? You're the one who broke my chains and bought my freedom. Sing it.
What else can I say but thank you, Jesus?
Cause you're just that good. Just that faithful. And you're just that kind. I'm so grateful that you saved my.
Like you said you would.
So with my hands up high. Heart abandoned and a faith on fire. Singing and dancing. Cause you saved my life like you said you would.
Cause you're just. Cause you're just that good. Hey, you're just that good.
Do you believe God is good?
Is a lamp unto my feet?
Your way is the only way for me.
It's a narrow road, but that leads to light. But I wanna be on it.
It's a narrow road, but the mercy is wide. Cause you're good. On your promise.
I'll take you at your word.
If you said it, I'll Believe it, I've seen how good it works?
If you start it, you'll complete it? I'll take you at your word?
You spoke and the chaos fell in?
I know cause I've seen it in my life?
It's a narrow road that leads to life?
But I want to be on it?
Hey.
It's a narrow road?
The tide is high but you part in the water?
I'll take you at your word?
If you said it, I'll believe it? I've seen how good it works?
If you start it, you'll complete it? I'll take you at your word?
If you said it, I'll believe it? I've seen how good it works?
If you start it, you'll complete it? I'll take you at your word?
Cause you're good on your promise?
You said your love will never give up?
You said your grace is always enough?
You said your heart would never forget or forsake me.
Hallelujah, you said I'm safe, you call me yours? You said my future's full of your hope? You never fail?
So I know that you'll never fail? Tell me I'll take you at your word?
If you said it, I'll believe it? I've seen how good it works?
If you started, you completed? I take you at your word?
If you said it, I'll believe it? I've seen how good it works?
If you started, you completed? I'll take you at your word.
Cause you're good on your promise.
You at your word.
[00:07:47] Speaker D: Good morning, Westgate Chapel. You guys can have a seat.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: Welcome.
[00:07:51] Speaker D: Thanks for joining us today on this gorgeous day getting in here. I am Kara. I am a member of the worship team. If you are new to Westgate, thanks so much for checking us out today. Couple things you should know at the end of the service. If you can go to the welcome center, there will be a host there that would love to greet you, answer any questions you have, and just welcome you here with us. There's also a little gift you can pick up.
And then if you see in front of you in the pew, there is a little welcome card. We'd love for you to just. Just fill that out. That way we know you were here. And for anybody that has prayer requests, big or small, we'd love to just join you in prayer. You can jot those down and put them in the little bins that come by. And then we also want to know. Want you to know that there's welcome cards on the Westgate Chapel app.
Hopefully you picked up A sermon notes today. There's always some on the table or our usher has them. They're also on the app.
If you pull those out, there's a little postcard that talks about our summer events going on.
Grab your calendars, write those down. There's partner Sunday. There's welcome parties, there's picnics happening. So we don't want you guys to miss any of that. So there's also a table out there in the welcome area that has all of our summer events, classes and Bible studies. You guys can check out.
One event that I want to point out specifically is our women's gathering. It's going to be on May 31st from after service noon to 4 called Gratitude and Grace. There's a tea and testimony event. There's going to be a woman who is going to share her testimony and just a nice time of fellowship, just authentic connection time to build relationships. Also, if you are a woman, high school age or up, it would be an amazing time for you to invite friends, families, neighbors, co workers who don't attend W Westgate or go to church anywhere just to come in, meet some people, get some food. So we'd love to have you. Please, if you are planning to come, grab your Westgate chapel app and RSVP or there's westcade chapel.org events. You can sign up there as well.
So we are going to invite Pastor Dan up and while he comes up, I just wanted to say that there's a person that turned 40 yesterday, so we have to sing to him. Let's give him a round of applause. We're going to sing Pastor Adam, he's 40 starting today. All right. Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to
[00:10:17] Speaker A: you Happy birthday dear Adam Happy birthday to you.
[00:10:28] Speaker D: It wasn't my idea.
[00:10:30] Speaker E: There we go. Beautiful.
Well, good morning, Westgate Chapel. My name is Dan. I'm the high school pastor here at Westgate.
And this morning we have the awesome privilege of praying over our senior class.
This is a small portion of them. This school year we've had about 25 consistent seniors coming to Westgate students and that's a big deal.
When there's a large senior class that is invested and connected and committed to the youth group and first of all, committed to Jesus. That changes the dynamic and the culture of the group. And so they've done a phenomenal job this year of leading from the front, being examples of Christ and just being awesome individuals who love Jesus. So it's been an honor to lead with them. And they're actually when I first started As a middle school pastor. My first year here they were in sixth grade. So I've known these people for about seven years and so I was able to start with them and now I get to walk with them as they head out into the next stage of their life. So it's super sweet.
[00:11:29] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:11:32] Speaker E: And so I'm just going to let them share their name and then what is next for them after high school?
[00:11:37] Speaker F: My name is Malachi Salazar and later this summer I'll be going to the
[00:11:41] Speaker E: Marine Corps and I'm going to be military police there.
My name is Colton Webster. Next year I plan on studying biology at bgsu.
[00:11:56] Speaker F: I'm Spencer Tomaszewski. I'm going to be studying psychology at Bowling Green.
[00:12:03] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Brielle Bentley and I'm studying
[00:12:05] Speaker D: primary education at Cedarville University.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Hi, my name is Haley Padoca and
[00:12:12] Speaker D: I'll be attending the University of Toledo
[00:12:14] Speaker F: under the fifth year program.
Hi, I'm Grace Zaborowski and I'm going to the Ohio State University for civil engineering.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: My name is Kyla Baker and I'm
[00:12:27] Speaker F: going on a nine month mission trip where I'll be serving in five different countries.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: My name's Haley Chapa and I've been
[00:12:37] Speaker F: working on growing my photography business the past couple years.
My name is Nicholas Grassi and I plan to attend Cedarville University for mechanical engineering.
[00:12:57] Speaker E: Sweet. I didn't want to walk over there, but thank you guys for sharing. We appreciate you.
And so I'm going to pray over them. But something I encourage, the first service is that as these seniors head out into the real world, to their careers, to their majors, to colleges, I just want to encourage you to pray for them. You've just heard their names, you've seen their faces, there's a lot more. And so just be praying for them as they go into this next stage of life. A lot of you have been there, right? You graduated high school, like, okay, what's next? I mean, what does it look like to follow Jesus in this next stage of my life?
And so I just encourage you to be praying for them. I'm going to pray over them now and just commission them into their next, next part of life. So pray with me. Dear Heavenly Father, I want to pray for these seniors. Lord Jesus, I'm so thankful for every single one of them. The ones on stage and the ones that couldn't be up here this morning. They've made this first year in high school ministry beautiful. And a blessing, Lord Jesus, I just want to pray over their futures.
Lord Jesus, I pray that you will remain number one in their lives.
High school, there's a lot of things thrown at you. College now even more so. And so, Lord Jesus, as they have just more freedom and more stress and more temptation, Lord God, may you remain on the throne. As we talked about last week, Lord, may you sit on the throne. May they kneel at your feet and say, lord, your will be done in my life, not my own.
And if they do that, Lord God, I know that they will serve you well and live a full life.
And so, Lord Jesus, I pray. And especially as they go out to college, into careers, and we're gonna have people in Toledo, people in the greater Ohio area, people around the world, Lord Jesus, may they make your name known.
May they shine brightly for you, Jesus, and may nothing pluck them from your hand.
I pray protection over them, Lord God, that the enemy will not get a stronghold, but your light will prevail. And you will be the most evident thing about who they are.
Followers of Jesus.
Lord, I love them and I love you. Praise you in your name. Amen. Amen. Give it up for our seniors one more time.
All right.
And now I just want to invite you guys all to stand up, greet each other, and maybe share one awesome memory from high school.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: I saw Satan fall like lightning
[00:15:50] Speaker D: I
[00:15:50] Speaker A: saw darkness run for cover but the miracle that I just can't get over My name is registered in heaven
[00:16:05] Speaker C: I
[00:16:05] Speaker A: believe in signs and wonders I have resurrection power still the miracle that I just can't get over My name is registered in heaven My praise belongs to you forever this is my testimony from death to life Cause Grace rewrote my story I'll testify by Jesus Christ the righteous I'm justified this is my testimony this is my testimony.
Come together, sons and daughters Bath with blood and washing water Sing the praises of the spirit Son and Father Our God will finish what he started Our God will finish what he started this is my testimony from death to life Grace rewrote my story I'll testify By Jesus Christ the righteous I'm justified this is my testimony this is my testimony.
If I'm not dead, then you're not done Greater things are still to come oh, I believe if I'm not dead then you're not done Greater things are still to come oh, I believe if I'm not dead, you're not done Greater things are still to come oh, I believe Believe if I'm not dead then
[00:18:30] Speaker F: you're not done
[00:18:33] Speaker A: Greater things are still to come oh, I believe.
This is my testimony from death to life Cuz Grace rewrote my story I'll testify By Jesus Christ the righteous I'm justified this is my testimony oh, I'm alive this is my testimony from death alive Cuz Grace rewrote my story I'll testify By Jesus Christ the righteous I'm justified this is my testimony this is my testimony.
I'm not dead no, he's not done,
[00:19:46] Speaker C: Man.
[00:19:47] Speaker B: Amen. God is so good.
We're gonna do a new song today, Is that okay?
Yes.
Before we do, I want you to think about a time in your life, life where maybe you didn't feel like you were worthy of God's love.
Maybe you felt really far from God.
We've all been there, right?
And I know, I know I have.
Maybe you're here today and you're like, yeah, I feel pretty far from God, but I just came to church because I felt like I was supposed to. Well, that's the correct answer.
[00:20:20] Speaker D: But
[00:20:23] Speaker B: so often in our lives we stray from the Lord, right?
We do. We stray from God, we stray from what he wants. We stray from his will for our lives.
The reality is he never stops chasing after us.
He never stops pursuing us.
[00:20:41] Speaker E: I'm going to read.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: So this is out of Luke 15. This is in the parable of the Prodigal Son. If you don't know the story, the son was being very greedy, very, very selfish, very immature. And he decided, he went to his dad and said, you know what, Dad, I want my inheritance. I want all the money you're gonna give me when you die. I want it right now, just give it to me now. And he gets the money, goes off and he just blows it all on. Junk, junk, that doesn't matter. And he just wastes it all very quickly.
And while, you know, he's literally eating with the pigs.
And he comes to this realization.
And in Luke 15, verse 17, he says, but when he came to himself, he said, said, how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread? But I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Treat me as one of your hired servants.
So he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
And the son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the Father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him. And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and is found.
And they began to celebrate.
See how much the Father pursues us.
While he was still a long way off, he was still far from God.
Father ran to him him, met him where he was at.
Can you imagine what your lives would look like? What our lives would look like, me, myself included in this? If I pursued God with as much fervor as he pursued me, what would that look like for you? What would that look like for us as a church?
Think about how God can use us when we're pursuing Him. That's what.
That's when we get to fully be embraced in God's will. Fully immersed in God's will is when we are pursuing him as much as he is pursuing us, right?
With that same desire, that same passion, that same earnestness. Now, we can never truly pursue God as much as he pursues us because we're not God. But we should still pursue him with a passion.
That's what this lost world needs to see more than anything. So as we sing this next song song. I want to encourage you just to think about how much God loves you. Think about how much God. Just go there and let. Let the words of the song to speak truth over you.
And just sing whenever and worship however you feel led this morning.
[00:24:01] Speaker C: I've carried a burden for too long on my own I wasn't created
[00:24:17] Speaker F: to
[00:24:17] Speaker C: bear it alone I hear your invitation to let it all go I see it now I'm laying it down and I know that I need you I run to the father I fall into grace I'm done with the hiding no reason to wait My heart needs a surgeon my soul needs a friend so I'm run to the Father again and again and again and again oh oh.
You saw my condition had a plan
[00:25:21] Speaker B: from the start
[00:25:25] Speaker C: your son for redemption
[00:25:30] Speaker B: is the price for my heart
[00:25:36] Speaker C: I don't have a context for that kind of love I don't understand I can't comprehend All I know is I need you I really run to the Father I fall into grace I'm done with the hiding no reason to wait My heart needs a surgeon my soul needs a friend so I run to the Father again and again and again and again.
Oh, I can educate.
My heart has been in your sights long before my first breath Running into your arms is running to life from death?
Yes, I feel this rush deep in my chest? Your mercy is calling out? Yes, just as I am?
You pull me in and I know I need you now I run to the father, I fall into grace?
I'm done with the hiding? No reason to wait?
My heart needs a surgeon? My soul needs a friend?
So I run to the father again and again?
I run to the father?
I fall into grace? I'm done with the hiding? No reason to wait?
My heart found a surgeon? My soul found a friend?
So I run to the father again and again and again and again?
[00:28:03] Speaker A: Oh,
[00:28:08] Speaker C: yes, again and again and again and again.
Yes, amen.
Yes, he loves us.
Oh, how he loves us.
Oh, how he loves us.
Yes, he loves us.
Yes, he loves us.
[00:29:15] Speaker B: God give him praise. Amen. Amen.
[00:29:25] Speaker F: Hello, everybody.
This is the part of the service where we get to give our offerings to the Lord Jesus, and we do so cheerfully. There is a structure that's been provided for all. If you have been here for any length of time is there's buckets this way, they'll go that way. There's buckets here and they'll go that away and then up in the balcony, you know what? I have no idea how you guys get her done, but every week you get her done.
There's so many gaps in those pews up there.
I'd like to pray for that, for our time right now. Lord Jesus, thank you for the offering. Thank you that you use all of of us, from a penny to the largest gift ever. You know, you use it all to bring glory to your son, Jesus Christ. And that's our desire here. That's why these songs were played the way that they've been played today. They're offering themselves to you using those gifts. So this time, Lord, may your hand be upon each soul as they give cheerfully. And for those online, they would do so appropriately through the website. And we just ask God your blessing upon here so that we can preach the gospel to the world, not only here, but all the way through from here, Toledo, all the way around to the ends of the earth. We do so in the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray in his name. Amen.
Look at those cheerful givers.
Isn't it good to be together today? Adam already said that once. I'm going to pick up on that as well. It is good to be in the house of the Lord, a place that we set apart to worship in song and giving and hearing of the word of God. Amen we get to do so freely.
I know this past week has looked differently for all of us. Some of us came in feeling encouraged, some of us are just plain tired.
And some of you are carrying things that nobody even knows about, right?
Whether you are this morning, wherever you are, I am glad that you're here with us. We are in a series for those online. For us that are in this facility, we are called Calling it First Things First. And what we are working through is simple to say, but it's not always easy to live.
What does it really mean to make Jesus first in our lives?
Not just in what we say, but in our actions, in how we actually live.
Not just on Sundays, but in every area of our lives, in every day.
Because here's what I found to be true. When Jesus is first, everything else starts to settle into its right place.
But when he is not, things get out of order rather quickly.
And today we're talking about something every single one of us deals with in one form or fashion or another. And it's called work.
What does it look like for Jesus to actually be Lord of our work?
Now, for those of you who are here, my name is Randy Fall. I serve as the care pastor here at Westgate Chapel, and my wife Robin and I have been here since right around 2001, 2002, somewhere in that area. It's kind of foggy. It's been a while, but this is our church family. This is what we call home. And welcome. I'm glad you guys are here online as well.
Welcome.
I was thinking this week about how much of our lives we actually spend working.
And I'm not just talking about jobs. I'm talking about everything from attending school to raising kids to paying bills.
That's a job nowadays, isn't it? Fixing things around the house, running errands and helping people.
It feels like we're always doing something.
If you genuinely stop and think about it, a huge portion of our lives is spent working in some form or a another.
I've noticed something about work.
Some days you wake up motivated, you get things done, you check a lot of things off your list.
Then there are other days you're just trying to make it to lunch without saying something you would regret.
For some of us, work is joy.
For others, it's a real struggle. And for those who are retired, let's be honest, you're still working.
Some of you I've talked to are busier now in retirement than you are than you are when you were working.
So I got an illustration I Heard somebody say in the first service, this was creepy. This wasn't meant to be creepy, but I guess I could see it. Look at that thing.
This is Rando. How many of you guys remember Rando in the Galatians series?
He's just a perfect illustration of what we're going to be talking about in our work.
It's even got the work shirt on. Look at that. That's our facility staff is Colossians 3:17. That's our motivation of why we do what we do here at Westgate Chapel as our caretakers of this facility. I'm just gonna place him right here so you guys can keep an eye on him.
His hands on his hip, like I'm all that and a bag of chips.
This is Rando.
He looks ready, doesn't he? Looks like he's ready to work.
He has a shirt on. He's sitting here ready to go. But from a distance, it looks like he's ready to do something very meaningful. But there's one problem, and this is obvious.
Randall has no life in him.
He has no heart. He has no purpose.
There isn't one connection to anything real. With this illustration here.
He can sit here all day and look the part, but nothing he does actually means anything.
And if we're honest, sometimes that can be one of us. At any given time, we may show up, we might just go through the motions.
We check the boxes, we do what needs to be done, but inside, something is missing.
We are busy, but we're not connected.
We are active, but we're not engaged.
We are doing things, but not always sure why.
And here's the tension that I wish to create for us today.
It's possible to spend your whole life working and still feel empty.
It is possible to spend your whole life working and still feel empty. Let me show you about what God wants. What he says about this in our Big Idea should be on the screen. When Jesus is Lord of your work, your work becomes worship.
Jesus is not just Lord of your spiritual life.
If he is Lord at all, he is Lord over every part of your life, including your work.
And if he is Lord at all, he must be Lord of your work.
And when Jesus is Lord of your work, your work becomes worship.
Now listen to what the Word of God says, which I'll unpack with you this morning.
Colossians 3:17 on screen. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do, all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him, and for us who need to hear it more than Once the Apostle Paul says it again, just a few verses later in Colossians, chapter three, same chapter, verses 23 and 24.
And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. Men.
Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ.
Amen. Right.
Now let me give you a little context of what's going on and why I chose these Scriptures with this particular opportunity to talk about making Jesus Lord of my work. This matters if we're going to understand what Apostle Paul's saying. Context.
Paul has a pattern in his writing. If you're familiar with Apostle Paul and his writing and his books, he'll lay out the truth. And most often he gives you tools to apply that truth.
He doesn't just tell you this is how you should do it and then walk away and never give you any kind of a help. Helps to get it accomplished. He does give us helps. He has done this in our scriptures for today.
In Colossians, if you're familiar with that book, chapter one and chapter two, Paul established establishes who is Jesus.
Paul makes it very clear in chapters one and two that Christ is supreme over everything, over every idea, over every philosophy and every false claim. Jesus is not one option among many.
He is above all. Wouldn't you agree?
Yeah.
Then in chapter three, he shifts a little bit. He moves from who Christ is to how we live because of of him. He begins by reminding believers of their identity.
We have been raised with Christ. Our lives are now found in him. Because of that, we are to set our minds on the things above, not on things of the earth.
Paul uses strong language here. He says we are to put to death the old way of living.
Sin is not something that we manage.
It is something that we deal with, every one of us.
He names things like sexual immorality, anger, slander.
I remember in high school, the word slander was one of our vocabulary words. And I remember that they said that if you do this, it's against the law.
Yeah.
And I'm like, every time I see slander going on, it's like, wow.
It's almost like we're what Paul said in Timothy. The world is becoming colder and colder.
Lawless. Right.
But slander. And he doesn't stop there. He keeps on saying, if you get the point, we are to put on the new self.
Paul is saying the body of Christ is to live differently. We are to walk in humility with Christ like patience.
We must live our lives with a supernatural kindness and love and he makes it very clear that love is what binds everything together. Right?
And Paul brings all this into everyday life. He speaks into real relationships. He speaks into marriages, family. And then he addresses the workplace of his day, including slaves, bond, servants, people working under authority, often in difficult, difficult, challenging times and unfair conditions.
What does he tell them?
He tells them to work as unto the Lord. That's where our passage comes from. Remember Paul? He wrote this from prison.
Life was not easy for him. He didn't have cable TV and three squares in a cot.
He was under pressure. Yet he still steered believers to something higher. Higher, to someone higher.
The apostle Paul is writing to people whose work was very difficult.
Some were just laborers. Some were servants. Many were treated unfairly. Yet Paul does not tell them to wait until life gets easier before you honor God.
He simply says, whatever you do on a screen, that means this truth is not dependent on your circumstances.
It is rooted in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
That means this truth is not dependent on your circumstances.
It is rooted in your relationship with Christ.
So even when your work feels meaningful or just ordinary, or whether you feel appreciated or even overlooked, this truth still applies.
If you're doing homework or sitting in a classroom, showing up for your job, or caring for your home, or living out your days in retirement, serving, you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
One thing I've learned, as you age, your role changes. But the Lord never does, does he?
When you begin to understand that, that truth changes everything.
So what does this look like in real life?
Truth number one on the screen. Work becomes worship.
When Jesus is Lord.
Whatever you do matters to God.
Whatever you do matters to God. There is no separation between spiritual things and separate everyday life.
We tend to think of worship as what we just experienced through music, which that was very worshipful, wasn't it? You know, the goal I always believed of the music is to soften the hardness of our heart, to get rid of the distractions so that we can receive the Word of God. And that's what these guys do fantastically every week to soften us up to hear the truths of Word of God. This message can be condemning, but it's not. That might be conviction as I get into this. This is conviction. Conviction is good. It helps you go, you know what? I'm going to put my hand on a gas stove. Whoa, that hurts. I'm not going to do that again, right? Usually there's a little bit of pain.
And us sheep, as the Lord says he calls the sheep, for reasons that are very well known, is we just follow the crowd, somebody else jumps off, the other one jumps, the other one jumps.
So we tend to think as worship, not just through music, but worship is much bigger than that.
We remember the context of what Paul is saying here. He just told us, you guys, that we have been raised with Christ, that we are to put off the old self and put on the new life.
This is what the new life in Christ looks like in real time.
There is no wasted season in your journey. There is no wasted season if you are walking with Jesus Christ.
Everything is on purpose.
Everything becomes worship when it's done in Jesus name.
The new life in Christ affects every part of who we are, not just part of our lives, not just on Sundays, all of it.
We begin to ask, can I do this in the name of the Lord Jesus?
Place your favorites rebellious sin in a blank here. It's like, I'm going to do this in the glory in the name of Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:44:36] Speaker C: Christ.
[00:44:37] Speaker F: That's awkward, isn't it? Why would you put a sin right there? Because you like to do that. Because if everything you do, whatever you do, is to glorify Jesus, then it should convict us and go, you know what I can't do? Honestly, do this in the name of the Lord. I need to really reconsider this.
Can I do this in the name of the Lord Jesus? And when it's difficult, even when it's unknown, notice we keep going. Because why? Because we know we're doing it for him.
Our Colossians 3:17 Scripture and whatever you do, in word or deed, do, all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
And when you do your work in the name of the Lord, you are making an offering to him.
You are saying, lord, my work belongs to you.
This is for you.
Randall can sit here and look the part.
Nothing he does is worship. Why?
He's not alive. There's no heart or purpose in him.
And here's the truth. If Jesus is not at the center of your work, if he is, there's no connection between you and the Lord. Your work will eventually feel empty.
You can stay busy and accomplish things, but there will always be something missing.
When Jesus is Lord, everything changes. Your work. Your work takes on new meaning for the kids in this room.
For those online, listen to this. Your schoolwork matters to God.
When you sit in that classroom, when you do your homework, when you are tempted to rush through it or not give yourself best.
God sees that.
The way you listen, the way you try, the way you treat your teachers, and classmates, those things matter to Jesus.
The adults in this room, your work matters to God. Whether you enjoy it or not, whether anyone notices or thanks you, the way you show up, the way you work, the way you treat people, the way you handle pressure and responsibility, all that matters to God.
You are not just collecting a paycheck.
Listen to this. You're not just collecting a paycheck. You are representing Christ in our actions.
Have you ever thought about that? That's the way that you work, is you're making your work an offering to Jesus.
Some of us have, some of us, we're not there yet.
It's a process, that's for sure.
To our seniors, our senior saints in the room, your daily responsibilities, they still matter to God.
Even if life looks different now, even if the things that you used to do have slowed down, the way you spend your time and the way you encourage others, the way you remain faithful in the small things, all that matters to Jesus.
You may remember on a screen Psalm 92:14.
They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing.
If your work is really worship, then the next question is, well, who are we actually working for?
Truth number two.
Who your work you work for determines how you work.
Who you work for determines how you work.
Remember Colossians 3:23.
And whatever you do. That's a big word that, whatever.
Do it heartily. As to the Lord and not to men.
Paul is speaking in real working environments here. In his day, many believers were servants, slaves, laborers, often working under the authority and sometimes in very challenging situations. And he tells them, you are not just working for people, because most people work for people, right?
That means their effort increases when someone is watching and decreases when no one is watching.
They work hard when the boss is around the corner, perhaps, and cut corners.
They give their best when it benefits them and pull back when it does not. But when Jesus is Lord, here's the standard. Your standard does not change. If you are working for people, your standard will always move.
If you are working for Jesus, your standard never changes. I'm going to say that again.
If you are working for people, your standard will always move.
But if you're working for Jesus, your standard never changes.
So let me say this plainly.
This was very convicting for me.
If you struggle with who you are working for as a Christ follower, you don't have a work problem.
You may have a lordship problem.
Because when Jesus is Lord, you work the same whether someone is watching or not.
And I'll be honest with you, when I See paper on the floor or something's out of place, I almost always go out of my way to fix it. That's just how I'm wired. But here's what I had to watch, I've had to watch myself, is sometimes my standard of excellence quietly becomes a standard. I hold on to others.
And when that happens, I'm no longer working for Jesus. I'm working for my own sense of how things ought to be.
That'll prevent preach.
That's not lordship. That's just a different kind of pride.
Lord help us. Lord help us where we're weak.
Well, it should look like this.
What if the Lord says it needs to look like this and you don't agree? Are you going to win that battle?
Probably not.
It's pride. Just when you think you've confessed all those buckets, they're empty and you're walking pretty good and you got a good day, and then all of a sudden you find, oh, there's another door he wants you to open. You open it up, there's a whole shelf full of buckets of pride. It's like, man, I thought I was done with that.
It keeps coming back.
Pride is one of the main ones, you guys. That trips us up, doesn't it?
On screen. Ephesians 6.
Paul says, Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh. With fear and trust, trembling insincerity of heart as to Christ, not with eye service, as man pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of God. From where? The heart.
It takes a minute to get there.
But I'm telling you, there's such freedom in that. Once you start to realize those things, you know, a bond servant is somebody who willingly gives their will, gives up their will to the will of another.
If someone who says, my life is not my own, I belong to Christ, it means this.
You show up on time, not because someone is tracking you. Here's the heart posture. It's because you're honoring the Lord. You see the difference.
Whether you are doing homework or sitting in a classroom, showing up for your job, caring for your home, or living out your days in retirement, you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ as a Christ follower.
Your role may change, but your Lord never does. And when you really believe that I submit to you, it changes everything.
Once you begin to understand who you are really working for, it leads to this next question.
If I'm working for the Lord, then how should I actually do the work that's in front of me?
[00:52:32] Speaker A: Me.
[00:52:34] Speaker F: Truth number three.
Excellence is an act of worship.
Oh, I don't work excellent all the time. Hang on. Let's see what this means.
Excellence is an act of worship.
This is where we're going to unpack the word heartily.
The Bible says to do it heartily from the soul. This is not a surface level effort.
This is not just getting it done. This is from the inside out.
Somebody probably needs to hear this today.
Excellence on screen. Excellence is not perfection. It is giving your best. For what reasons? For the glory of God.
Excellence is not perfection. It is giving your best for the glory of God. That's the next slide.
Come on.
We do it as an act of worship. Come on.
Let me say it one more time. Excellence is not a perfection. It is giving your best for the glory of God. There it is.
Remember, heartily means from the soul, from our inner life, from who you really are.
It's not just what you do. It is how you do it and why you do it. It means you do the job right even when you could get away with less.
It means you speak honestly even when it would be easier to cut corners or to shift blame.
It means treating people with respect even when they do not treat you the same way.
For the students in a room, it means you do your work with integrity.
You do not cheat. You don't take shortcuts. You give your best even when no one is checking.
For those in the workplace, it means you are dependable. You follow through.
You do not just do the minimum.
I'm going to say this lovingly. As followers of Jesus, the way we handle responsibility, it matters.
The way we show up matters. Even something as simple as being consistently late or careless can send the wrong message about the One who we represent.
Have you ever thought about that? What kind of message is my tardiness showing others?
Now, life happens and there is grace for that. But if we are truly doing our work for the glory of God, then dependability and faithfulness should mark our lives.
There's always work that needs to be done right.
Do not stay idle. I D L E I was told many times in my life, you probably know this. If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.
That's how we were raised.
Worked at Bob Evans at 16 years old. You had time to lean, you had time to clean.
As Christ followers, we should work with a heart that says, I'm doing this for Jesus Christ. Do you believe? Believe that as a Christ follower, I'm doing this for Jesus. I'm gonna do whatever I Do I do it unto the Lord? Cause I'm working for Jesus.
I can't. I don't want to get ahead of myself.
Oh, and for those in retirement, it means you stay faithful. How you use your time, you do not drift, you don't check out.
You live each day with purpose, knowing you are still serving the Lord. Because on the screen, Psalm 71:18 says this truth. Now also, when I am old and gray headed, oh God, do not forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation. Did you hear that? I declare your strength to this generation. Your power to everyone who is to come.
That is convicting, isn't it? For those of us that might be in retirement, in this room, your job's not over. It just looks different.
We are still to declare the glory of the Lord Jesus. Wouldn't you With Agree, agree.
Your effort says something about your Lord.
We have biblical examples to learn from. I picked out two. You remember the prophet Daniel?
Bible says he had an excellent spirit, even in a pagan culture. So there's no excuse. That was a pagan culture for sure.
Even in a pagan culture, even under pressure, his life reflected integrity and faithfulness.
Those Old Testament reading scriptures, they're not there just for us to see a story or hear a story. They're to show that all things can be done through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
And he wrote these down to show you how he worked in all these different individuals.
How many of you remember Joseph?
He was faithful in every season. We went over that back in February.
He was faithful in the pit, he was faithful in prison, he was even faithful in the palace.
And the Lord entrusted him with more because he was faithful and he was faithful with what was in front of him.
In our scripture text, Paul has already told us to set our minds on things above, not on things of the earth. So the question becomes, what is actually shaping our attention?
And this is where we run into a real issue today. And I bring it up. It's called distract.
We live in a distracted world. Wouldn't you agree?
Our attention is constantly being pulled in different directions. Many people are physically present, but mentally somewhere else. You can be in a room, but not really in the room.
You can be doing a task, but not really engaged in it. Paul is so consistent in his writings. In Colossians 4. 5, he says, walk in wisdom towards those who are outside, redeeming the time.
Redeeming the time.
Here's a picture. You sit down to do something important.
Maybe it's prayer, but it's responsibility that needs to be completed by you.
Maybe it's your prayer time with the Lord. Maybe it's something that you need to finish around the house or at your work desk or in your truck or whatever you're doing.
You pick up your phone just for a minute. One notification leads to another, and before you know it, 20 minutes are gone and the task is still sitting there in front of you.
You were busy, but you weren't very productive, right?
And what you're seeing today is not just a distraction, but there's two deeper issues going on. I call it idle living and Idle living. What does that mean? On the screen?
Idle living is wasting time and drink drifting.
Idle living is when the things we give our attention to begin to control us.
When you constantly return, what you constantly return to begins to rule you.
This is not just a time problem, it's a worship problem.
So let me ask you something. What has your attention to.
Because there are many topics we could talk about, right? That has all of our attentions, just in this room, just online, a whole host of more things that we could talk about.
What has our attention? What has our heart?
Because whatever has your heart is ultimately what you are serving. And here's the truth. You cannot do your work hardly for the Lord if your heart is constantly divided.
That's worth saying again, isn't it?
You cannot do your work heartily for the Lord if your heart is constantly divided.
So what does this look like in real life to me? The Lord convicted me. Put down your phone. Give your full attention to what God has placed in front of you. It means when you're working, you work. And when you are with people, you're present.
It means you stop giving your best attention to distractions while giving God whatever time is left over.
It means you begin to ask, is this helping me honor the Lord, or is this pulling my heart away from him?
Because excellence is not just about effort. I'm here to submit to you that. It's about focus.
Excellence is about focus. And focus reveals what you truly value.
And when you begin to live this way, when your work is done from the heart, when you.
When your focus is on Jesus, when your life is no longer divided, you start realizing something deeper.
Your work is not just something you have to do, it's something that actually matters.
Truth number four.
Your work has purpose. Why? Because you serve Jesus.
You serve Christ.
Your work has purpose because you serve Christ.
The Bible says you serve the Lord Christ. That you are not just doing a job, you are serving Jesus.
That means the mom at home you are serving Christ, the student that's in school. You are serving Christ, the worker on the job. You are serving Jesus.
And for the retiree who may be wondering, what is my next role? You are still serving Jesus.
But before we go any further, let me say something we all need to hear.
None of us live this out perfectly, right? There are moments when we are distracted, every one of us, at any given time.
Sometimes we cut corners.
Our heart's not fully in it. And when we are doing these things for ourselves instead of for the Lord, this is where we need to remember the word grace.
God is not calling you to perfection. He is calling you back to Himself.
He is not standing over there waiting to condemn you. He is inviting you to realign your heart with his.
That's what Colossians 3, 17, 23, and 24 is saying.
Align your heart back to Christ on the screen. And because of Jesus, you are not working for his approval, which is huge in our culture. Oh, I'm working for the Lord?
No, you're not working for his approval. You are working from his approval. He's giving you all authority in heaven and earth. To do what?
His will, his work, his purposes.
And offering.
That changes everything, doesn't it?
Randall has no purpose, even if he is a little creepy.
Your work has eternal value. And when Jesus is Lord, even the smallest task carries eternal weight.
When Jesus is your Lord, your work is no longer just something you do. It becomes an offering.
Your work can become an offering.
Instead of looking at the other people in your path that are causing some pain and issues, look at Jesus and remind yourself, what did he call you to? What is your identity in Christ Jesus?
We tend to blame a lot of people.
There's a lot of chaos going on in this culture, and there's a lot of lies going over these airwaves. Wouldn't you agree?
Don't fall for the trap.
You are alive in Christ. Your life has meaning. Your work has eternal value.
And when Jesus is Lord, even the smallest task carries eternal weight.
Picture that when Jesus is Lord, your work is no longer just something that you get get to do. Remember? I'm going to say it again. Your work is an offering to the Lord.
Excellence is not about perfection. It's about honoring him with your best.
These truths are not about trying harder. Please don't hear that. That's not what I'm saying. They are about living under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Do you know Him?
This is not about trying harder.
This is about knowing Jesus Christ.
Because apart from Jesus, we are all like Randall. Dead, lifeless, hopeless.
We can stay busy. We can even look productive.
But there's no eternal purpose behind this.
The Bible says that we've all sinned. We are all sinners separated from God.
But Jesus came. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and he rose on the third day, the exact way the scriptures prophetically told us it would.
He lived a perfect life.
Not only did he die on a cross for our sins, but he rose. Right.
Where is he? Seated at the right hand of God. He ascended. And he offers forgiveness for new life.
Has there ever been a moment in your life where you said yes to Jesus? You probably just went there real fast. Some of us, but not just with your words, with your heart.
From your heart. Say yes to Jesus. If not, if you haven't done that, today could be that day you can actually come to him just as you are, and say, lord, I know that I'm a sinner. I believe that you died for me. I believe you are who you say you are. You are the Messiah, the one who saves. I believe you rose from the dead and are seated again at the right hand of God. I will place my trust in you. I'm no longer going to look at you the way that I did before I knew you. You've opened up my eyes and my heart of understanding. And I see you for who you are. You are the Lord of my work.
Talk about purpose.
Now your work has meaning now. Whatever you do as a born again believer in Jesus Christ can be an offering back to him for what he did for us.
On the screen. Randall cannot change.
He can't change. He's lifeless, hopeless. But you can change.
This message is not ultimately about work. I hope you heard my heart.
It is about surrender.
I believe it's about lordship.
It's about being available to Jesus in every part of our lives.
Some of us have spent years giving Jesus pieces of our lives, but still holding back on others.
The Lord does not just want your Sunday morning.
He wants your heart, your home, your time, your work, your future. He wants your attention, your life.
And maybe the most honest response some of us can give today is simply this.
Lord on the screen. Lord, here I am. I'm available.
Let's pray together.
Father, thank you for your word today.
Thank you for caring about every part of our life, even our work.
Help us to see that our work is not just something that we do, but something that we offer to you, Lord.
Show us where we've been distracted, each one of us. In here, Lord, Just give us a moment just to think through. We've been distracted.
Holy Spirit, Fill us, remind us, refresh us. Holy Spirit, show us where we've been distracted, where maybe we've been idle and where we have allowed others to other things to take your place.
Draw us back to you.
And for anyone here today who has never truly said yes to you, it's our prayer today that they would have the courage to respond. Respond.
Open our heart to the truth of the gospel. We give you our lives and our work. And we pray in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, our blessed King. Amen.
Amen.
[01:08:50] Speaker A: Sa.
I'll follow where your spirit leads.
Broken as my life may be, I will give you every peace.
I hear how you call I am available.
I say yes, Lord, I am available.
Here I am and with open hand counting on your grace again, less of me and more of you.
[01:10:24] Speaker C: I just want to see you move
[01:10:30] Speaker A: out. Here you come, I am available.
I say yes, Lord, I am available.
And I hear you come, I am available.
I say yes, Lord, I am available.
Love, My heart is open wide.
My hands are open wide.
Come, do whatever you want to.
Here I am, here I am.
You can have, have it all, you can have it all. Here I am.
Here I am.
You can have it all, you can have it all. Here I am.
Here I am.
You can have it all, you can have it all. Here I am.
Here I am.
[01:12:24] Speaker C: You can have it, take it all.
[01:12:26] Speaker A: Oh, you can have it all. Here I am.
Here I am.
You can have it all, you can have it all, have it all. Here I am.
Here I am. Jesus. You can have it all, you can have it all, You can have.
For the one who gave me life, nothing is a sacrifice.
Oh, use me how you want to God have you thrown within my heart.
I hear you call.
I.
Am.
[01:14:24] Speaker F: Amen.
There is time to respond to this message through the worship songs that they Holy Spirit led brought these songs. Can we give them one more round of applause? They were massive. Thank you guys for what you do, but there will be people up here to pray with you. There's prayer in our prayer room down through these doors around the corner. Online, there's our Westgate email. There's information available to get you connected somehow. Don't leave here without doing business with our Lord.
Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord.
If you felt condemnation, that wasn't from me or the Holy Spirit, that was from your flesh. If you feel conviction, that's from the Holy Spirit because he wants you to be successful in your worship and your offerings for him.
And I hope you heard the word surrender and I hope you heard the word lordship.
That's what this message is about.
May God bless you richly as you go and be the church. Practice these things starting with today because I gave you a couple three questions on the back of the sermon page notes page a couple of questions to ask yourself to help you take the next step to be more faithful. Amen.
Amen. Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
[01:15:39] Speaker A: It.
