Sermon God at Work by Dr. Fletcher Tink -Taytay, Rizal, Philippines - March-12-2017

GOD AT WORK
D R F L E T C H E R L T I N K
T A Y T A Y C H U R C H O F T H E N A Z A R E N E
M A R C H 1 2 , 2 0 1 7

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS
FLETCHER TINK?

H E C O U L D B E I N
J O H N K N OX ’ S H O U S E
I N E D I N B U R G H

H E CO U L D B E I N
N E PA L W I T H D E A R
C H I L D R E N

H E C O U L D B E AT T H E
N A Z A R E N E S E M I N A R Y
I N K A N S A S C I T Y

O R H E CO U L D B E
I N V I E T N A M

B U T T H E R E I S A G O O D
C H A N C E T H AT H E I S
T E AC H I N G “ T H E O LO G Y
O F W O R K ” S O M E W H E R E
I N T H E W O R L D, L I K E I N
PA K I S TA N
Also called “Joy at Work” or
“God at Work”

W H AT D O YO U
M E A N W H E N YO U
TA L K A B O U T
“ T H E O LO G Y O F
W O R K ?
We mean, “What Does God
Think about Work?”
Two important verses:
“"My Father is always at his work
to this very day, and I too am
working.“ John 5:17
My food is to do the will of Him
who sent me and to finish His
work (John 4:34).

S O W H E N D I D G O D
W O R K ?
The very first verse in the Bible
shows us “God at Work”!
“In the beginning, God created. .
.
Massive creation, Unbelievable
creation, Beyond imagination
creation.
God is “Mega-Worker”!!!!!!!!!
And He still is working. . . For
you and for me.

S O H O W D I D H E
C R E AT E ?
God pulls a fast one! He makes things
out of nothing! (ex nihilo). We can’t
do that.
Someone has said that God can’t use
us, until we are willing to become
“nothing”. It is only when we become
nothing that God makes us
Something!
But also God mixes and rearranges
things in His creation, using elements
of what He has already created.
And Yes, we can do that!!!!!!

A READING OF “THE CREATION” BY
JAMES WELDON JOHNSON
And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:
I'm lonely--
I'll make me a world.
And far as the eye of God could see
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.
Then God smiled,
And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said: That's good!

• Then God reached out and took the light in his hands,
And God rolled the light around in his hands
Until he made the sun;
And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness,
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.
Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
Then God himself stepped down--
And the sun was on his right hand,
And the moon was on his left;
The stars were clustered about his head,
And the earth was under his feet.
And God walked, and where he trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.

• Then he stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren.
So God stepped over to the edge of the world
And he spat out the seven seas--
He batted his eyes, and the lightnings flashed--
He clapped his hands, and the thunders rolled--
And the waters above the earth came down,
The cooling waters came down.
• Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms,
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around his shoulder.

• Then God raised his arm and he waved his hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And he said: Bring forth! Bring forth!
And quicker than God could drop his hand,
Fishes and fowls
And beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that he had made.
He looked at his sun,
And he looked at his moon,
And he looked at his little stars;
He looked on his world
With all its living things,
And God said: I'm lonely still.

• Then God sat down--
On the side of a hill where he could think;
By a deep, wide river he sat down;
With his head in his hands,
God thought and thought,
Till he thought: I'll make me a man!
Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled him down;
And there the great God Almighty
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of his hand;
This great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till he shaped it in is his own image;
Then into it he blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.
Amen. Amen.

S O W H AT D O YO U
M E A N BY “ W O R K ” ?
By using the term “work”, we
mean two things:
“Work” is purposeful labor to
accomplish a desired end.
1. It can be mental work or
physical work.
2. It can be paid work or unpaid
work, as in volunteering.
Indeed for the Christian, there
should be no “unemployment”.
God always has a job for us!!!

B U T I S N ’ T T H E R E
B A D W O R K A N D
G O O D W O R K ?
Of course! There is “bad” work,
like stealing, drug dealing,
killing, gambling, sexual
exploitation, bribing, lying, and
many other things.
And then there is good work
which is productive and builds
up society and honors God.
Indeed, you are given work to
make a positive difference in this
world.

B U T W H AT M A K E S
T H E D I F F E R E N C E
B E T W E E N “ G O O D
W O R K ” A N D “ B A D
W O R K ” ?
Good work always gives “VALUE
ADDED”. It makes the product
more valuable, relationships more
valuable, the economy more
valuable.
Bad work always “DESTROYS
VALUE”. It diminishes or destroys
the product, It diminishes or
destroys lives, and corrupts the
economy.

P L E A S E G I V E U S A N
E X A M P L E O F G O O D
W O R K
Ah, I have one right here.
I love to visit the community of
Taal in Batangas. There they
make balisong, knives. You can
make knives for good purposes
or bad purposes.
I prefer combs, that can only be
made for good purposes.

AH, HERE HE IS ESTEBAN, AND MY
GRANDDAUGHTER BROOKLYNN

B U T I F G O D D O E S
S U C H A G O O D J O B
W O R K I N G , W H Y D O
W E N E E D TO W O R K ?
Humans are created in the “image
of God”. In other words, if God is
a worker, and He had such fun
doing work, in His amazing wild,
wonderful universe, then we are
made like Him to have fun doing
work, in His amazing wild
wonderful universe.
Work was an expression of God’s
creativity. Christians should be
the most creative people in the
world.

S O W H AT K I N D O F
W O R K D I D H E G I V E
U S ?
God gave us the “Creation Mandate”,
sometimes called the “Cultural
Mandate”.
1. Four Job descriptions in the
Garden of Eden.
A. Be fruitful and multiply—take
a little and make a lot. Expand and
Grow
B. Till the ground---be good
stewards of all that God has given us.
Take good care of the resources that
God has given us.

W H AT OT H E R J O B S
D I D H E G I V E U S ?
Two other parts to our job description:
C. “Not good to be alone”. You see, God
himself is a community. “Let Us make man in
our own image.” Adam needed Eve to be a
community. And then they had at least seven
children. Create “Beloved Communities.”
D. Name the animals. Investigate, Organize,
Discover everything that is in God’s creation. In
other words, create science to efficiently and
sensitively see the grandeur of God Himself,
and use it for the betterment of society. You
see, science is the art of naming and classifying
things, then you can manipulate them.

B U T I T H O U G H T
T H AT T H E O N LY
R E A L M A N DAT E
WA S T H E
R E D E M P T I V E
M A N DAT E TO G O
P R E AC H T H E
G O S P E L TO A L L
P E O P L E
Sorry! Wrong!
The Bible has two major mandates: The
Creation Mandate AND the Redemptive
Mandate. Both are equally important.
We all have responsibility for both
mandates. Indeed, 95% of Christians are
already placed in responsibilities where
they can have influence in the Creation
Mandate. These are the people in the
pews: business people, hospital workers,
teachers, social workers, housewives,
politicians, bankers, car repairmen,
construction workers.

SO WHAT DOES A CONSTRUCTION
WORKERS HAVE TO DO WITH CREATION
MANDATE?

B U T A R E
P R E AC H E R S A N D
M I S S I O N A R I E S A N D
E VA N G E L I S T S
R E A L LY T H E O N E S
T H AT A R E D O I N G
G O D ’ S B U S I N E S S ?
Sorry! Wrong Again!
Every Christian is called to be a
missionary, a worker for God.
Some people have a calling to
minister within a church
organization, but most of us have
a calling to minister outside of the
Church organization.
“For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared
beforehand” Eph 2:10

B U T A R E N ’ T T H E R E
T W O C L A S S E S O F
C H R I S T I A N S - - -
P R O F E S S I O N A L
C H R I S T I A N S A N D
L AY C H R I S T I A N S !
Sorry! Wrong Again. That is
heresy. I’m throwing you out of
the Church!
In the Bible there are NOT two
classes of Christians. It’s not like
a plane where you have
economy class and first class.
For Christians, there is only one
class---everyone is “FIRST
CLASS!”

B U T T H E S E G U Y S
LO O K R E A L LY L A Z Y
I N T H E F I R S T C L A S S
O N T H E P L A N E
No! God has given us First
Class seats so that we may do
First Class work for His Glory:

B U T I S N ’ T
E VA N G E L I S M M U C H
M O R E I M P O R TA N T
T H A N , F O R
I N S TA N C E ,
S W E E P I N G
S T R E E T S ?
No way, Jose! All wrong!
Every Christian has a calling. No
one calling is more important than
another. The range of influence
may be greater, but God values
everybody’s work if it is done for
His glory.
“Evangelism” is presenting “good
news”. We do it in many different
ways.

L I K E W H AT ?
There are many ways:
Overt Christian ways:
1. Showing love and care for your fellow
workers
2. Giving Christian counsel
3. Praying before we work, or having prayer
with others
4. Organizing a Bible study
5. Inviting people to Church
6. Being an example of integrity and quality
of work
7. Sharing a personal testimony with fellow
workmates.

I S T H AT A L L?
S O U N D S P R E T T Y
T R A D I T I O N A L .
No, there are many other ways of
glorifying God:
1. Helping the workplace in creating
ethical standards.
2. Helping the workplace live up to
social responsibility to the community
3. Creating an atmosphere of mutual
respect
4. Helping people find their gifts (given
by God) and doing creative things
5. Helping the workplace to be people-
oriented rather than just profit-
oriented.

CO M E O N ! G I V E
M E A N E X A M P L E !
• Quotation by Martin Luther King!
•
• If a man is called to be a street
sweeper, he should sweep streets
even as Michelangelo painted, or
Beethoven composed music, or
Shakespeare wrote poetry. He
should sweep streets so well that all
the hosts of heaven and earth will
pause to say, here lived a great street
sweeper who did his job well.”
•

“BY FAITH”:
Shirley’s Unisex Hair and Beauty Salon,
4th Anniversary Service
at
The Church of the Nazarene,
Bank Hall,
St Michael
on
12th of November 2006
at
10:30 a.m.
The inside order of service included hymns: “Great is Thy Faithfulness”; “To God be the Glory”; and
choruses: “See what the Lord has done for us!” “He is a miracle working God,” “When I think about the
Lord” and “How can I say Thanks!”
A poem is offered, along with acknowledgements including from the District Superintendent and the
head of the Urban Development Commission, Scripture Reading, Congregational greeting song,
offertory and instrumental, a section on “health tips”, a song sung by Shirley herself, the Ministry of the
Word, and a time of “Altar Ministry”. It seems like a rather full service.
The quotation on the subsequent page says: “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything
requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all
things are possible for those who believe.” On the back page is the business’ address on Advent

B U T A R E N ’ T
P E O P L E W H O W O R K
I N C H U R C H D O I N G
T H E M O S T
I M P O R TA N T W O R K ?
Not necessarily!
So what do you think the
“Church” is?
Is it a building?
Is it an organization?
Is it a program?
Is it what we do on Sunday
mornings?

I ’ M CO N F U S E D, S O
T H E N W H AT I S T H E
C H U R C H ?
Let’s sing together!
I am the Church, you are the
Church, we are the Church
together. All who follow Jesus all
around the world, yes, we’re the
Church together.”
“The church is not a building, the
church is not a steeple; the
church is not a resting place, the
church is a people.

R E A L LY, YO U M U S T
B E K I D D I N G M E !
We're many kinds of people, with
many kinds of faces, all colors and
all ages, too, from all times and
places.
“And when the people gather,
there's singing and there's praying;
there's laughing and there's crying
sometimes, all of it saying:
“At Pentecost some people received
the Holy Spirit
and told the Good News through the
world to all who would hear it.”

S O YO U ’ R E S AY I N G
T H AT T H E C H U R C H I S
“ P E O P L E ” ?
Yes, the Church is “people”.
But there are two forms of Church.
There is the CHURCH GATHERED,
like we are today together here.
There is also the CHURCH
SCATTERED, throughout the
systems, and in places where
people can influence in the
“creative mandate”.

B U T T H I S I S S O R T
O F A N E W A N D
C R A Z Y I D E A !
Yes, it is, because we never
thought about the “Creation
Mandate” and the four job
descriptions that God gave
humans. In fact God’s work can
be described in three ways:
1. Creative (like God the Father)
2. Redemptive (fixing things that
are broken, like Jesus the Son)
3. Empowering (strengthening,
revitalizing, like the Holy Spirit)

B U T A R E N ’ T T H O S E
J U S T T H E S A M E WAY
T H AT W E D O W O R K ?
Yes, Exactly. You’re getting the point!
Some of us are very creative. We love making
new things. Just like God the Father.
Some of us love to fix things that are broken.
That was the mission of Jesus, the great “fixer-
upper”.
And some of us keep the machinery of life
going, energizing, invigorating, encouraging
just like the work of the Holy Spirit.
In other words our gifting, our passions and
our understanding of the needs of the world,
vary, uniquely for each one of us. Only each
one of us can fulfill the unique calling of God in
this world.

S O I T S E E M S L I K E W E
R E F L E C T T H E W O R K
O F G O D, D O E S N ’ T
I T ?
Exactly! Whatever we do, we do it
for the glory of God.
If that is the case, then what we do
on Thursday morning is just as
important as what we do on
Sunday morning! In other words,
ALL of life, is a worship to God---
my studies, the way I treat people,
the quality of my service, all of it is
a form of Worship!

T H E N S U N DAY I S N OT
S U C H A S P E C I A L D AY,
I S I T ?
Yes, it is a special day, because it is
a day dedicated to “corporate
worship”, that is worshipping
together.
But the rest of the week is lived
out as our “private worship” to
God.
Indeed, in the Garden of Eden,
“work” was the first expression of
“worship”, that is giving “worth-
ship” to God.
Work predated Church and
worship services, because it was

S O W H AT H A P P E N S
TO T H I S I D E A T H AT
T H E R E I S S AC R E D
W O R K A N D
S E C U L A R W O R K ?
Junk it! A bad idea! To the obedient
Christian, there is NO SUCH THING as
Secular Work. All work which is done
for the glory of God is sacred work!
The Westminster Creed Says: “Man’s
chief end is to glorify God, and to
enjoy Him forever.
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory
of God” (1Corinthians 10:31, KJV).
?

B U T W H Y I S W O R K
S O D I S TA S T E F U L?
S O
U N P R O D U C T I V E ?
S O T I R I N G ?
Good Question!
Simply put, because Adam and Eve sinned, and
were thrown out of the Garden of Eden and a
number of hardships resulted.
Work was never cursed! But the ground was
cursed. Everything we get, comes out of the
ground, and it all has both positive and negative
qualities. It is tough to live off of the ground.
Earthquakes, droughts, volcanic explosions,
flooding, disease, snakes, ants and rodents, all are
disruptive of our best plans.
By the way, the Philippines experiences more natural
calamities out of the ground than any other country
except China.

E V E N T H E E N G L I S H
W O R D S W E U S E
S H O W H O W
D I S TA S T E F U L W O R K
I S , D O T H E Y N OT ?
“Occupation”--- “occupy”, fill
space,
busy???
“Employment”--- “doing stuff”
“Job”--- “sort of like suffering Job”
“Business”--- “busy-ness”
“Profession”--- “what do you
profess?”
“Work”--- “sound tedious”
There’s nothing noble,
transcendent, no big picture of
meaning.

B U T T H E N , H O W
D O E S A C H R I S T I A N
S E E I T ?
A Christian sees it as “vocation”-
--(“vocare” as a “calling”). This
implies that there is a Caller---
God Himself who has designed
you to give “VALUE ADDED” in
what we do in His name.
And we seek to learn what we
are called to do. . . That is, “our
Vocation”, our CALLING.

B U T WA S N ’ T J E S U S
O N LY E F F E C T I V E A S
T H E M E S S I A H ?
Jesus was called to be a student---
his did extraordinary well, as a 12
year old in the temple.
Jesus was a “techton”, an engineer,
working in all sorts of media.
Jesus was a teacher, a Rabbi, the
best one who ever lived.
Jesus was a physician, who offered
great healing.
Jesus was a counselor, who sat
down with people and touched
their hearts.

H O W D I D H E D E A L
W I T H P E O P L E ?
So many times we misfire, by
treating people as less than
human.
1. Not as extension of
machinery.
2. Not as extension of
landscape
3. But as special people created
in God’s image.
“Every meeting is a divine
encounter; every meeting is an

B U T W H AT A B O U T
A L L O F T H E
R E L I G I O U S H E R O E S
I N T H E B I B L E ?
Wrong again. Most weren’t religious
heroes?
Noah---massive carpentry project
Abraham---a rancher
Moses---a farmer
David---a shepherd
Mary---a housewife
Disciples---entrepreneurial
businessmen; writers, terrorists.
Very few were priests, or prophets,
and almost all had other jobs.

B U T J E S U S H A N G S
A R O U N D I N T H E
T E M P L E , D O E S N ’ T
H E . A R E N ’ T
T E M P L E P E O P L E
I M P O R TA N T.
Yes, if that is their calling! It is
important.
But almost all of the stories of
Jesus take place outside of
“church”---in judges chambers, in
the marketplace, on the farm, in
the home.
Where does God “touch” people?
In church? Or on the streets---the
blind, the lepers, the dead, and in
the home with weary disciples.

B U T H O W A R E W E TO
T R E AT W O R K W H E N
I T I S S O D I F F I C U LT ?
It’s not easy. But it is crucial!
As Christians, we are called not
just to present salvation to people.
We are called to “redeem” work.
To create such a quality of work,
by our attitude, by our creativity,
by our integrity, our honesty, and
our effort, that God is truly
pleased, and great value is given
to what we do, to the benefit of
all.

S O U N D S G R E AT !
B U T C A N YO U G I V E
M E S O M E
E X A M P L E S .
I have hundreds I can share. But
here are four:
1. Fried Chicken in Zamboanga
2. Motorcycles in Manila
3. Cesspool in China
4. A Race Track in Paris: Eric
Liddell

S O W H O I S T H I S
E R I C L I D D E L L?

T H AT ’ S I T ? ? ? ? ?
• I have no formula for winning the
race. Everyone runs in her own
way, or his own way. And where
does the power come from, to
see the race to its end? From
within. Jesus said, 'Behold, the
Kingdom of God is within you. If
with all your hearts, you truly
seek me, you shall ever surely
find me.' If you commit yourself
to the love of Christ, then that is
how you run a straight race.

Y E A H , B U T YO U
H AV E N ’ T U S E D
E N O U G H
S C R I P T U R E . N A I L
I T F O R U S !
OK, Your Turn.
We’ll act it out as a composite between two parables.
Yet, in the parable of the minas (each mina 3 months
wages, in Luke 19:11-27, parable of the talents
(each talent represented 16 and a half years of
work) in Matthew 25:14-30.
Minas: Nobleman; Far Country to receive Kingdom,
10 servants, each 1 talents; engage in business;
hated their nobleman. 1 = 10; 1 = 5; 1 = 1 (hid it in
a handkerchief); why not put it in the bank?
Talent: Master, Journey, 3 Servant, 5 + 5; 2 +2; 1 + 0
(hid talent in the ground); why not put it in the
bank?

S O W H AT R E WA R D
D O I G E T ?
Faithfulness earns rewards:
Minas: 10 (5) minas earn supervision
of 10 (5) cities (not churches), plus an
extra pasalubong mina.
Evil servant: Killed
Talents:
1. “Well done, you good and faithful
servant”
2. “Enter into the Master’s joy”
3. Pasalubong Talent
Evil servant: “Lazy, Useless”; Thrown
out.

S O W E ’ R E I N T H I S
J U S T TO G E T
R E WA R D S ?
I don’t think so!
Another parable: Matthew 20:1-
16
Working in the Vineyard:
Some come at 9; others at 12;
others at 3; and finally others at
5.
All get equal pay

B U T T H AT ’ S S O
W R O N G ! ! ! I T ’ S
U N FA I R !
Yes, you’re right. This is very
un-American, very anti-
capitalistic! Those who work
longer should be paid more.

S O W H AT I S T H E
P O I N T O F T H E
PA R A B L E ?
Ah. I’m glad you asked!
We don’t work for the rewards,
the final pay-outs.
Let’s interview the workers!

Y E S , T H E 5 : 0 0
O ’ C LO C K G U Y B E AT
T H E S Y S T E M !
No, you’ve got it all wrong!
The 5:00 o’clock guy regrets that he
did not enjoy the fellowship with the
vine owner. Working alongside of
him, hearing his stories, learning his
ways, enjoying his companionship,
singing his songs, smelling the
delicious grape smells in the company
of One who loves and cares for him.
The joy of service versus the ache of
meaninglessness.

O H , I G E T T H E
P O I N T !
We work for God, not for the
PRESENTS at the end of the day,
But for the PRESENCE
throughout the day. To be in
Jesus’ company, working for
Him, completing the work of our
God, doing our Master’s
business. With Joy!!!!

W O U L D YO U P R AY
F O R U S ?
Our Father and our God: You have
modeled for us what work is as Creator,
as Redeemer and and Empowerer. Help
us to reflect that image in the work that
we do. May we find our calling whether
it be as part of the Church Gathered or
the Church Scattered.
And if our calling is as the Church
Scattered, help me to be a person of
integrity, of diligence, of care and respect
for those around me. May I do good
work which glorifies You. May I do
honest work that create value added to
everything that I touch

May I think proactively rather than
re-actively. May my life bless
others with whom I have contact.
May I think creatively about how
best to do my work. May I be
thankful for the work you have
given me.
May my witness at work, whether
spoken or not, glorify you. As St
Francis has said, “preach the
Gospel and, if necessary use
words”. May I live that way.

And may I look for opportunities to
plant the flag of God’s presence in my
work, and earn the right to share my
own testimony.
And when my life is done, may I look
back and feel good that I did my work
well, and look forward to the words of
Jesus who says, “Well Done, You great
servant, Enter into My Joy, because
your work gave me great joy.
This all is what my life is about, in the
home, in my studies and in the
workplace---all for your glory. Amen.

Sermon God at Work by Dr. Fletcher Tink -Taytay, Rizal, Philippines - March-12-2017

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Sermon God at Work by Dr. Fletcher Tink -Taytay, Rizal, Philippines - March-12-2017