WORK

Genesis as the Foundation for Work and Dominion

Please open your Bibles with me to the book of Genesis. We'll be taking a look at two sections of the book of Genesis the first one from Genesis 1 Verse 26 through 28 and then we will look at Genesis 2 verses 1 through 3.

Genesis 1 Chapter 1 20 verses 26 and 28 through 28. These are the words of God. Then God said Let us make man in our image according to our likeness let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and Over the cattle over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

So God created man in his own image in the image of God. He created him male and female. He created them. Then God blessed them and God said to them be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it.

Have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every living thing That moves on the earth now. Chapter 2 verses 1 through 3. Thus the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of them were finished and on the seventh day God ended his work which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. Let us pray Almighty and eternal and merciful God whose word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

Open and illuminate our minds that we may purely and perfectly understand your word. That our lives may be conformed to what we have rightly understood. And then in nothing we may be displeasing to your majesty and we ask all of this through the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. You may be seated. Well as we are endeavoring To rebuild a Christian culture and To conquer the world for Christ and to establish the Covenant Parish model here in Longwood. We must recognize that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual and powerful to the pulling down of strongholds and powers and principalities and These spiritual weapons take many forms.

For example getting married and staying married having children in the context of marriage and having many children and Raising them to the glory of God in Loving and serving one another and one of the other weapons of our warfare is work.

The Biblical Doctrine of Work as Dominion-Taking

Today we are going to consider the biblical doctrine of work. Work has fallen on hard times in our culture these days and many circles work has become a bad word. Many think that the idea of having to work at all is wicked.

This is especially true in the non-christian world. They see work as a burden the result of greedy capitalists the byproduct of some systemic cause like racism or white supremacy. These people are incredulous that we have to work for things such as food clothing shelter or medical care.

They consider these to be the necessity of life necessities of life and are therefore human rights and should be guaranteed and given to us by the government without work. Somehow, but it is not only in the non-christian circles that we see work has fallen in hard times.

We even see a negative view of work within the Christian culture within Christian circles within the church. Many say that work is a byproduct of the fall. That it is part of the curse to which God has placed on man due to his sin Rather than seeing for what it rightly is.

Something given by God to man before the fall although it is impacted by the fall. So as we come to discuss and consider this theme of work I Think the first question that might come to our mind What is work?

We can say work is good and necessary and created by God for his people and that is true. But biblically speaking work is the means by which man implements or executes the Dominion mandate when God calls man to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have Dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

This will take work. Work is the assignment by God to man to make the created order the garden. We are told in Genesis 2 that God Planted a garden in Eden and then proceeded to tell man to make the rest of creation like the garden.

Dominion taking is done by work all kinds of work various kinds of work intersecting in supporting other kinds of work to extend Dominion. But we ought not to think of Dominion taking as an exclusively Christian thing.

God set Dominion in the hearts of man when he created them and we see the enemies of God Taking Dominion all around us. We see the Muslims taking Dominion. We see the Chinese communists taking Dominion.

We see the secular humanists Taking Dominion. They are all working and toiling and laboring to take Dominion day by day year by year. We would all agree that that is an ungodly Dominion. Ungodly Dominion is where it is by man and for man.

Godly Dominion is a Dominion commanded by God and For God based on the promises of God and all for God's glory. And just as there is godly Dominion and ungodly Dominion there is godly work and ungodly work.

Godly work is always future oriented. It is Dominion oriented for the glory of God. We don't go about our work just for the present. We don't go to work just for to meet our basic needs. No, rather we work for the beneficial impact on future generations.

For our families for our Christian communities and for our neighbors. The Bible talks about planting seeds. When we plant something today it is with the expectation and a promise of a future benefit. We plant a seed in order that a tree or a plant will grow and produce fruit.

There is a hopeful expectation of the harvest and there is fruit in its season. This may call to mind what we read in Psalm 1 some time ago. In 1 3 we read this. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.

He being the righteous man that brings forth its fruit in its season. Whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper. The godly man thinks for the future. He is planting for the future.

He is working for the future and all that he plants and all that he plans he is looking forward to a harvest that will benefit many and. And this is true obviously with planting food. But it's also true in other endeavors.

It is true when building a business or establishing a school or working within a community and spreading the gospel. There is a hopeful expectation of reaping a harvest trusting in God. We can see this in 1st Corinthians 15 58.

Paul writes this therefore my beloved brethren. Be steadfast immovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. Knowing that your labor is not in vain. The key here is abounding in the work of the Lord.

Doing what he has given us to do. Remembering that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works God's works. And this Dominion oriented work is building a Christian civilization as We reflect on the verses which we have read from Genesis chapter 1 which we call the Dominion mandate.

It has another name. The cultural mandate. There is a call here to build a Christian civilization. We are not called to build something for ourselves. Something like we may have seen in the Tower of Babel project and all of the Tower of Babel Projects that have followed that glorify man that put man at the center.

No our cultural culture is Under God for God to the glory of God and our Dominion that we seek is not our Dominion. But his and its future oriented. There is a special note here to parents. We know that this Dominion call in Genesis 1 is a call to civilization work and he has given us a call to be fruitful and multiply and that is included in in taking Dominion and building a civilization but it is also a call to have children in Ephesians 6.

Paul is writing to the predominantly Gentile Church in Ephesus and he writes this in chapter verse 4 of chapter 6. And you fathers Do not provoke your children to wrath. But bring them up in the training and admonition admonition of the Lord.

The word translated Training is the word Padilla which means enculturation. Paul's command here is a Restatement of what we read in Genesis. Genesis to be fruitful and multiply. He is telling us that the tools of our civilization building are our children and our grandchildren.

From we where we stand now looking at the ruins of the old Christendom. And as we endeavor to build a new Christendom we will plant our seeds and we will water and labor in our work and we will do so in the expectation of reaping a great harvest.

Sadly we see another type of work that is often being engaged in the Christian community is An on it is an ungodly work. It is not a work that is future oriented. Ungodly work is not Dominion oriented.

Ungodly work is not civilization building, but ungodly work is that work which is focused on the here and now. It is the kind of work that is looking just to survive. People go to work they make money to pay the bills they have a job and they are just shuffling along.

Living for today and that doesn't mean that each and every one of us haven't hasn't experienced that in our daily lives. Where we have seasons in our lives where we have tough times we might say This is not talking about that.

This is talking about engaging in this kind of work for this and this only to get by. There's no engagement in civilization building. We have to be honest we have been sold a lie in the church. We have been told that working in this world is not what Christians are supposed to do.

This world belongs to the prince of this world the prince of the power of the air. We are told That investing in building and laboring in this world will only benefit the kingdom of man. That the kingdom of God is spiritual and has nothing to do with this world.

And after all don't you know it's all going to burn up anyway. We have been hoodwinked by false theology. Theologies that appeal to our laziness and our self gratification. We have been given theologies to present a bad view of the future.

Theologies that incur encourage living for today. A Practical eat and drink for tomorrow. We will be caught up in the rapture. This view has caused much mischief in the Christian world. Not only does it result in the failure to enter into godly work.

But it is encouraging people to live for the present with no thought of the consequence to the future. In this present oriented living breeds recklessness. Irresponsibility immorality indebtedness or in short poor stewardship.

Actions have consequences. This view in the Christian Church has been going on for over a century and We can see the fruits of it in our day. The disintegration of the family the disintegration of the church the disintegration of the culture.

Lewdness is commonplace. The sexually deviant are heralded as heroes. The family man is derided and driven from the marketplace. This is ungodly work. We need to recover the godly future-oriented dominion taking work.

The work to which we were created in Christ Jesus to perform. Naturally, this leads to another question. Why? Should we work? Well first. We work because we are created in the image of God. In Genesis 1 26 we read then God said let us make man in our image after our likeness.

Let him have dominion. We work because God works. God is a worker and we are made in his image. God is a creator and he created work and not only did he create all that there is. He sustains it and he upholds the entire universe through his work.

God works in the governing of the created order. God worked with Christ in Redemption. Saving us from our sins. God the Holy Spirit is even now working in our sanctification. In short as one man said We are never more like God than when we are working and we are never less like God when we are lazy.

When we work we emulate our Lord and Savior our elder brother the Lord Jesus Christ. And John 5 17 Jesus said my father works and I work and We are commanded to emulate our Lord and Savior to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and our Lord works.

The Christian loves the fact that he is created in the image of God and therefore he should love to work. He recognizes that that is what he was created for. He seeks to hear the well-done good and faithful servant at the end of his days and endeavors to have the promise of Proverbs 22 29 Applied to him.

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He shall stand before King. The Christian man rejoices in his work or at least he should. Because he remembers that we are never more like God than when we are working and never less like God and When we are lazy.

Laziness is the antithesis of godliness. Remember what we read in Proverbs 18 9. He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer. Rather than building and emulating our Lord.

The laziness of man destroys. Well, this is the first reason to which we work. Because we are created in the image of God. The second reason we work is so that we may understand rest. The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

This is the rest that the Christian has to look forward to at the consummation of the kingdom. On that glorious day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and we sit down in the marriage feast of the Lamb in this the writer tells us that we will enter into God's rest and That we may rest from our works as God has rested from his.

But that is in the future. It is not yet. But like so many things with the unfolding of the kingdom there is an already and not yet. That future rest in the presence of God is in the future but we have another kind of rest day and the better to understand that rest we must understand the relationship between work and rest.

We have the command of the Sabbath Articulated for us in Exodus 20 where we read. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it. Holy Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God in it.

You shall do no work. You nor your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your cattle. Nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day.

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it incidentally as we Endeavor to enable and build a new Christendom there will come a time When all commerce will cease on the Lord's Day. Even those who are unbelievers.

Why? Because we have this command neither you nor your son etc. Nor the stranger Who is within your great gates. The unbelievers should not work either. But they too need a day of rest. In these verses we have two commands one to work and the other to rest.

In A sense we can't even understand the concept of rest if we do not work. We are to work hard for six days out of seven and rest one day out of seven. Rest is defined in the context of work. But what does it mean to rest?

Well, we've already talked a little bit about what godly work is that work of Dominion building and culture building the work of our labors? Investing in and planting and planting the future. But what does rest look like on that one day of rest?

We lay aside all of our common Employments and recreations. First it is a spiritual rest. It is a day when we engage in the worship of God. When we come together for public worship and renew our covenant with God where we give thanks to him for the blessings to which he has given us and We rest in trust in his providential care.

It involves physical rest and that the whole day We lay aside our regular Employments and that includes thinking about work talking about work. And everything that has to do with our common employment.

The only work which we are required to maintain on this day We would sum up of works of necessity or works of charity. All other work is to be laid aside. We also lay aside our normal recreations. Which we may enjoy legitimately on other days but not on the Lord's Day and this is where some people engage in a discussion of the things that we can and cannot do when it comes to recreation and When we do that we get off into a rabbit trail of do's and don'ts.

I Do not plan to do that today. But we should remember this that it is meant to be a day of rest. Dominion taking is hard work we should rest our souls rest our minds and rest our bodies for that work and It includes resting from certain recreations.

We must remember what the our Lord said in mark 2 27 the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath and That Sabbath is for rest. I Think that rest in the modern Christian community also has fallen on hard times.

The busyness of our life Has caused us to work almost seven days out of seven. This may explain why much of our Dominion taking is lame halting Pathetic Unrealized and unfulfilled. Because we're simply worn out from all of our work and our recreation.

Without a day of rest we cannot work. If we do not have our rest, we will be unable to work and if we don't work we cannot rest. We cannot get caught up in the fallacy if one is good two is better when we seek To add more rest days than what God has mandated.

This is seen in our culture in the weekend. Mentality we live for the weekend. We must go with what God has commanded rent rest one day in seven. Work six out of seven and on those six days. We are to work Hard, I would like to mention something.

That's fairly controversial and That is you will notice that there is no mention of retirement here. Retirement may not be bad if one means stopping one form of work to take up another. But if one means with retirement stopping work to take up the pursuit of pleasures.

That is Antithetical to the work that God has given men to do. This is an attempt perhaps to enter into his rest ahead of schedule. We must remember that we never read and Abraham retired in Fact we do read about how Abraham marries Katara after Sarah dies and has six more sons.

Well, we don't know much more beyond that but it sounds an awful lot like Dominion taking. Stopping work is not good for man. If you retire from one job, that is good, but keep working. Keep investing in the future.

Grandfathers and grandmothers Aunts and uncles older men and older women have a lot to offer the shaping of future generations. Through their grandchildren nieces and nephews and the younger men and the younger women in the church.

That is a work well worth doing and it is much Needed. Well, that is the second reason why we work the third. We work because that is what we are called to do. The word Calling has come to mean something different than specific in the church today.

First let's throw out. Christians are the called-out ones. The Greek word that is often translated church is the word ecclesia which comes from a combination of the prefix ek which means out of or from and Kaleo, which means to call.

We have been called out of the kingdom of darkness. Into the kingdom of light. We have been called out of the kingdom of Satan and into the kingdom of our glorious God. And but we have been called to a purpose and that purpose Includes and means work.

You may remember those ten glorious Verses that open the second chapter of the book of Ephesians where we read about our life in Adam. What we were before the Lord converted us. But then that section ends on verse 10 that we were created in Christ Jesus.

For good works. We are called to those good works. Calling today is somehow treated as a some sort of a mystery. We say well, it's hard to define. There's some mystery to it we just can't lay our finger.

Exactly what it means. Really it's not quite as mysterious as many make it sound. A Calling is akin to something like a function. We are called to particular functions and we will have many callings in our lives.

People will be called to be husbands and wives fathers and mothers. Pastors and deacons. And One of those callings is where we will apply ourselves to provide support for ourselves and our family. God uniquely equips each and every one of us for a particular calling or more likely callings and this may change in different seasons of your life in.

In all working together for dominion in Judges 13. We read this Minoa. The father of Samson says to our Lord now, let your words come to pass. What will be the boy's rule of life and what will be his work?

God uniquely gifted and prepared Samson for the work to which he had prepared. For Samson to do. And the very same thing is true with each and every one of us. God is equipping us for our particular calling several of them.

Well, how do we evaluate our calling? How do we know what God is uniquely equipping us for to do? Well. Evaluate what you like and what you don't like. Things that you are good at things that you are gifted in your talents your strengths your weaknesses your gifts and graces.

Talk to your parents your grandparents your Christian friends and people in the church. Consider the principle in God's words God's Word and They help you. Evaluate what God has called you to do in your life and do this periodically.

What you wanted to be when you were eight years old is probably not what you're doing today. Many of us who went to college earned a degree a BA or BS. And we're not working anywhere close to the field that our degree is in.

Things will change throughout life and we also must be willing to do whatever it is that God has called us to do and As you're considering these things there may come a point where you will have to act in faith.

We cannot enter into something which we say in my line of work as an analysis paralysis. You're going at to say something like this Lord. I'm going in this direction following this course and if you don't want me to get me out of it and Trust in the Lord.

Today we use the term calling in the church to refer to a call to full-time Christian service and Generally when we say that we mean one thing and one thing only. The ministry and that's it. But every calling that God equips each and every one of us for is a call to full-time Christian service.

That could be as a software developer a real estate agent a caterer a teacher or whatever God has gifted you for and Whatever you do you are engaged in full-time Christian service if you do it faithfully.

If you do it, well if you do it excellently. It is good for a man. To know when he goes to work that he is doing what he is created to do. Nothing will be more encouraging to him. Nothing will motivate him more and nothing will give him the strength to carry on when days get tough and they will get tough.

And to see it through. No matter what the field of endeavor. And also there is nothing more discouraging. I believe than to go through life with no sense of purpose at all. No sense of calling. Not knowing why we're doing the things that we do with no assurance that we are doing what God has assigned us to do.

Yes, I know that God is sovereign and There's nothing surprising him. And if we're in a job that we don't understand why we're doing it. It is not a surprise to God but he may be leading you to the very thing to which he's called you to do and He's equipped us to perform that calling.

There's another special note the parents and grandparents here. We must pay strict attention to our children. They don't mean just watching them as they run around the house to make sure they don't knock the plant over or something.

Should do that. But look at what they like. What they dislike. What they're good at. What they're not good at. Where they have a tendency and a talent for and all the other things that we noted. We were put here to guide them in these processes as they think about what the calling is on their lives.

And we have to pay this extra close attention. To avoid what we see far too often in the Christian culture today. Where we have young adults going about? Doing things that they don't know why they're doing it.

They go to college and seek degrees and things. They're not really sure why. They have no sense of calling. They know that they're supposed to do something. So they go and do it. Let that not be true among us.

Work for Provision, Generosity, and Tithing

Well, fourthly we work in order to secure a blessing and That includes money. Money should not be the primary consideration when determining our calling. If we do We will be well. We will we will find ourselves in many mistakes.

We will find ourselves Compromising in some areas and perhaps we will find ourselves entering into that ungodly work cycle. As Mentioned one of our callings in life will be the primary calling where we make money.

Making money having wealth is something that is much understood in the church today. At a high level there are two ditches. On the one side is the pietistic ditch. On the other Side is the prosperity gospel.

Not to oversimplify. But the pietist will tell you that wealth is bad. They may even say that money is the root of all evil. They may tell you that God does not bless with material blessings. And they may even say the true Christian is one that is spiritually minded only.

And they will say that having wealth or prosperity is love in the world brother. Well, the other side of the ditch is the prosperity gospel. The proponents or advocates of the prosperity gospel will say that the only measure of God's favor in your life is material blessings and that If you just have enough faith, you will be fabulously wealthy.

Well, we have to say that the Bible doesn't support either of these particular views. When it comes to money and or wealth. But what does the Bible say? About wealth and profits. PR OF ITS. Well, first of all God honors hard work.

In Proverbs 3 9 we read 3 9 and 10 honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of your increase. So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats may overflow with new wine. God promises to give hard-working Christians prosperity for their hard work and When he does grant you prosperity.

Honor the Lord from your first fruits. Actually when we read these verses, it sounds like it's almost the opposite, isn't it? Honor the Lord with your first fruits and Then you will have prosperity. Well, I it can work either way.

Our Lord is extremely generous. Number two the Bible says greed envy. Envy covetousness and dissatisfaction are bad. And Titus I'm sorry in first Timothy 6 10 We read this for the love of money as a root of all kinds of evil.

For which some have strayed from the faith and their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. It is the love of money avarice or greed. That is the root of all kinds of evil. The love of money Manifests itself in many ways.

When we've noted greed is obvious one, but also envy. Covetousness and dissatisfaction. Living for money and making it that is money the God of your life is a sin. Remember the rich young ruler. When he came to the Lord and said Lord tell me What I must do to inherit eternal life.

Our Lord responds keep the commandments and then he mentions the commandments in the second table of the law. Do not steal do not commit adultery and so forth. At this point the rich young ruler says I have kept these all from my youth and Nearly every time you hear a sermon on that the pastor will say and we know he really didn't.

But that's not what our Lord says. Our Lord realized that he was guilty of breaking the first table of law. Not the second. Because the rich young ruler was making money his God. He was an idolater. He was not worshiping God at all.

For when Jesus said sell all you have and come and follow me. He went away sad. Number three the Bible says stealing of all kinds is Prohibited in Ephesians 4 28 we read this let him who steals. Let him who stole.

Steal no longer, but rather let him labor working with his hands. What is good that he may have something to give To those who are in need. What what does Paul mean by steal here? Well, he does mean. What we might think of stealing.

Pickpocketing holding somebody up or breaking and entering. Certainly, though that would be in mind here can view here. But Paul is also talking about that people living off the work of somebody else.

Living off somebody else's work in hard exertion. When you don't have to you may be perfectly healthy and able to work. But you don't. You're willing to let somebody else provide for you. You may do it because you're lazy.

I Think that's a problem that males have men. I think the number one sin that we're most tempted to is laziness not to do stuff. But you may do this because you were told it is more spiritual. Not to work.

I Think that's what we see here in second Thessalonians as an example. Paul was dealing with a situation there where some were not working because they believe that the second coming had already happened and They were entering into their rest.

That was a spiritual reason that they had. But strong but Paul strongly encouraged that those who would not work should not even eat. We read this in second Thessalonians 3 10. For even when we were with you, we give this you this command if anyone is not willing to work.

Let him not eat for we hear that some among you walk in idleness. Not busy at work, but busy bodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and earn their own living.

We may be engaged in that more traditional style of stealing. But far more are we engaged in the other kind? Living off the work of others and we may not even be aware that we're doing it. But if we are engaged in that type of stealing we must stop.

But rather as Paul says work with our own hands and to work quietly and earn our living. So, why do we make money? Well, I'll give you three reasons and this is not in the order of importance. First and foremost to support your family.

And this doesn't just mean your immediate family. There are times when you will have to support your extended family your parents your brothers and sisters. Cousins in 1st Timothy 5 8 we sit we read this.

But if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Many of us read this verse. We say he's obviously needs to provide for his wife and kids.

True enough. But the context of this verse Paul is talking about a man providing for his mom. Who has become a widow? Paul says That if you're not working hard enough to provide for your family your extended family.

Then you are worse than an unbeliever. The King James Translates this is an infidel. Unfaithful. Paul says a denier of the faith. We know there are seasons when this is hard. But this should be our orientation.

Secondly we are to work to give those who are in need the truly poverty stricken the disadvantaged. You may remember constantly the refrain in the Old Testament to support the widows orphans and strangers.

They were the weakest they were the most poverty stricken in the community. The poor Jesus said you will always have with you. They will need physical and material needs. They are there are truly poor in the community.

Many people may have Encountered a crisis in their lives and in find themselves what we might say in our day and age down on their luck. They're in true need. Remember our verse back in Ephesians 4 28 When it says let him who stole steel no longer, but rather labor.

It says this that he may have something to give those who are in need. We must be prepared to support our family. Yes, but also our friends our neighbors our church family and our community. This is why we should work to have as much money as we can so that we have money available.

To provide for those who are in genuine need. And then thirdly The tithe gifts and offerings. This really should be the first reason for we are commanded to give a tenth of our income the increase of our income to the work of the church.

To give you an idea what it the the increase means is this if I earned $10 ,000 this month and as I was paid out in cash and as I was walking to deposit it in the bank and a robber and came and stole $2 ,000 from me and I was left with eight my increase was eight.

Well, we have a thief that visits us twice a month, maybe once a month, maybe every week depending on your job and steals from us on a regular basis. Your command would be to give on the increase. The tithers of America used to be the most influential people in the country.