Pastor Charlie continues the sixth week of our sermon series, "Spiritual Practices".
Park Springs Sermons
July 7, 2024 - Spiritual Practices - Work
(upbeat music) - You're listening to a message from Park Springs Bible Church located in Arlington, Texas, where we discover life in the power of God's grace and share his life-changing grace with others. (upbeat music) Join us as we hear from the word. - No, we're grateful that you're here this morning. It's interesting, the worship, the bluegrass is so much fun. You know that you've worshiped when your Apple Watch says, "Do you wanna record an elliptical workout?" It popped up on my thing. Like, we're on it today, baby, this is good stuff. So as we've been walking through the idea of spiritual practices, it just wanna remind us and anchor us that when we're talking about spiritual practices, what we mean is that our desire is to put ourselves in places where we're listening, seeing, hearing, and experiencing the work of God in our lives. Like we're putting areas and different, putting us in position to see and hear from the Lord in the midst of all of the noises and all of the circumstances that continue to flood into our hearts and minds. And so we've talked about confession, we've talked about Bible meditation, we've talked about Sabbath, and we've talked about evangelism, just these ideas of what it means to continue to position ourselves and make conscious choices, to have the Lord continue to be present and prioritize our walk with the Lord in significant and real ways. This morning, a lot like evangelism, very practical like we talked about last week, this morning is equally practical in the sense of understanding what it looks like to walk through the spiritual practice of work. So I wanna make sure that this is as all-encompassing as possible. So here's what I'm not talking about. I'm not talking about just your job. I'm talking about two things, vocation and location, vocation, what you do. So this means that for those that are retired, this message and the spiritual practice of work is as applicable to you as it is to anyone who's not retired. Let's say there's a stay-at-home mom who's caring for her kids, as applicable as it is for those who are working 40 or 50 hours a week. This is an all-encompassing reality of what God is moving us towards as we're thinking about the bulk of our time and our days as they're made up of so many different things that we do and so many different interactions. We're talking about vocation, what we do, and location where we do it. So that means that in all honesty, as we're talking about the spiritual practice of work, what we're talking about is where our hearts are as we're considering and thinking about the reality of the waking moments of our day. So your work, your vocation, what you do, whether it's caring for grandkids or whether it's going to the office or whether it's working on a fire truck or whether it's moving towards the hospital 'cause you're a nurse or whether you're a teacher, all of those things we're thinking about. What is the Lord calling us to consider and to think about where are our hearts in the normal daily rhythms of life? Because again, our spirituality, our relationship with the Lord isn't something that we just do on Sundays and it's not something that we just do when we open the word and read it, which is critical or even just when we pray, the reality of the rhythm of our life, God is consistently redeeming and using to transform our lives. And so work, what we do, vocation and location, are the areas in which we're seeing and experiencing both how God is changing us and using us in a world that is in desperate need of Him. And so what we wanna do when we first start off our understanding of the spiritual practice of work is to consider that work is not a product of sin. It happens in the garden where right at the beginning before sinning into the world, God had communicated that this was something that was gonna be a part of the rhythm and expression of what God has called us to. So I'm gonna look at the beginning of our time this morning at Genesis chapter two and I'm gonna read verses one through three and then verse 15. So this is what we get in the book of Genesis. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the hosts of them. And on the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done and rested on the seventh day from all of his work. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because God rested from all of his work that he had done in creation. So we're getting this sense that God was at work that he was doing specific things that work in and of itself is not a byproduct of sin. It's something that's a part of the nature and the characteristics of God himself that as image-bearers of God will carry through on those things. So this is what he says in verse 15. The Lord God took man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. So again, part of the reality of what God is communicating to us is that work is a reality that he's called us to. That there are expressions of God's work in our lives as we work in the world that he's created. There's a sense in which we are image-bearing. We are doing what God has called us to do as his servants in ways that both honor him and at the same time are used by God to help cultivate and nourish and allow the fruitfulness of the work of God in our lives to be an expression of God's work in the world. So he's allowed us the opportunity to be a part of who he's called us to be by working and doing the things that he's called us to do on his behalf. But as you know, in Genesis chapter three, starting in verse 17, things did not go so well. And so Genesis three gives us this picture that sin had entered into the world. And so in the process of that, everything became corrupted and distorted. And so there, an effect of that sin is that we are still those who are called to work but now because of the effects of sin, work is difficult. Let me read for you verses 17 through 19. As part of the response to sin and the consequences of sin, this is what God tells Adam. And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and you have eaten of the tree of which I have commanded you, you shall not eat, cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and officials, thorns and thistles, it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat of the plants of the field by the sweat of your face. You shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken, for you are dust and to dust you shall return." And so one of the things that we need to understand is that even though God has called us as an expression of being image-bearers of God to work in this world and cultivate an expression of God's love and grace and kindness and patience as we do our work, we have to realize that we're not just working in hopes to retire so that we can stop working. Work is gonna be a part of how we cultivate the reality of what God has called us to throughout our entire life until He calls us home. And even an expression of God's kindness and grace is that there will be work even after this and the new heavens and the new earth and the reality of the fact that at Eden will ultimately really be restored in that regard. And so because of that, there's still gonna be expression of God's characteristics and those things. But for now, it's hard. Work is difficult. That whether we're in some way of doing a job that is hard for us and challenging and the personnel issues are continuing to mount and people are difficult. We don't like our boss or whether it's taking care of the kids or whether it's whatever it might be, we're finding ourselves cultivating the work of God in a broken world. And so what I wanna suggest to you is that work is a gift from God, but it's made challenging due to the effects of sin. So we have to know right off the bat that work is something that God has called us to, but it's not easy. That there's a sense in which some of the challenges that you and I will face as we spiritually practice what it means to work, we're not working for God. God is working in and through us in a world that's broken. So what we're doing is we're planting seeds and cultivating the richness of God's grace in a world that is infinitely broken and challenged and cursed by sin. And so we as followers of Christ have an opportunity to express in very unique and reliable and valuable ways the truth of the goodness of God's grace through our work. So here are some of the challenges that we're gonna face. Really what this gets to is a heart attitude. It's not just what we do, vocation or where we do it, location, it's where our hearts are in the midst of it. 'Cause we can do a work that God has called us so we can go to our business and our job from nine to five and put our time in and hit our hours and do what we need to do, but at the end of the day, our hearts could be very much frustrated and bitter. I mean, when we think about life, how often do we complain about the place that we work? How often do we complain about the fact that we wish that it were different? Now, I work here at this church and it's awesome. So I don't feel like I complain to them about 'cause it's just a fabulous place to work. There's so much joy and excitement of interacting with one another and I love our staff and I love the team and I love what God's doing here at Pork Springs. But that doesn't mean that their days aren't hard. There's difficulties where we're butting up against challenges of sin and you see families and the struggles of life and the ups and downs and you start to wonder what God is doing in the midst of those things. And so even though I love what I do and I love where I do it, it doesn't mean that those days aren't hard and there's difficulties that we face. And so what it matters, why it matters, is part of our expression of doing the work that God has called us to is it really is part of the ecosystem of abiding in Christ. So as we're connected with the work of God and that he's doing a transforming work in us, we should not be surprised that every area and every moment and every second of every day, God is doing what he's always promised that he would do. He's working in us and working through us this way. John five is so critical, right? He says, he tells him that not only is he working but he continues to work and the spirit is working in us and he father is working until now and now I am working, you get this sense that every moment God is doing something to redeem a people for himself and bring glory to himself through the work of our hands and his work inside of us. So it's critical for us to understand then if work is part of what God's design is, how do we do it? Really, it becomes a very practical reality of how God has called us to think through the attitudes, actions and behaviors that we bring in to a very challenging broken environment. Whatever your vocation is, and remember, I'm not saying paycheck, I'm saying wherever the Lord has called you in this moment to serve him in those ways, that vocation and whatever location that is, God is doing something unique. And so what should, according to the Bible, our heart attitude B is we consider the very things that God has called us to do. That's where we're gonna go in the next few minutes together. I want us to turn to first Thessalonians chapter four. So Paul has done a great job in really commending the church at Thessalonica. He's told them that he's so grateful for their labor of love, their steadfastness of hope, their work of faith. Like this church is loving and caring and doing great things and being used by God in significant ways in a culture that desperately needs the truth of the scriptures and the truth of who Christ is. And so then he moves to chapter four and he starts off with just communicating to them, how do you live a life that's pleasing to God? As followers of Christ that really predominantly is our question, right? Like what is it that I need to be about vocation and location, wherever God has placed me? How am I supposed to live my life, decisions that I make? How am I gonna do what I need to do that actually pleases and honors you? And the targeted focus of those things does not do a formula X, Y, and Z, it's make sure your heart is centered on the reality of Christ's work in your life. So a center reality of Christ's work in our life begins us to move us to the conversation of what that really looks like. And so let me read for us verses nine through 12 this morning. Here's what he says. Now considering brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write you. You yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. For that indeed in what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia, but we urge you brothers to do this more and more and to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands as we instructed so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. Interesting as he finishes up a conversation about a life pleasing to God, he captures the understanding of that with our attitudes of the very things that God has called us to do. In relationship with one another, brotherly love there seem to be knocking out of the park, but there's some instructions for us as we think about the very work that God has called us to do, vocation, the areas of giftings that he's given us, the places that he's called us to serve one another, there's some explanation, some things in which he wants to make sure that they have fairly well locked in as they represent who Christ is to the world around them. And listen to what he says, he says, here's what I want you to do, love each other well, keep doing it, do it more and more, you're never gonna get to the point where you need to be like, yeah, I finally reached the area where I've loved people enough, it's always gonna be something that he calls us to. But then he says, and aspire to live quietly. Interesting, what does that mean? Right, it's a goal just to say, okay, just keep your mouth shut and do your job. I don't think so. I think the reality of what he's giving us this morning if I could put it in our own vernacular is don't be the source of drama in your workplace. Don't be the one that always desires that sort of attention or has the first thing to say that they want to be, the first one to complain about, the first challenge that they experience, they're the most vocal, that they're the source of all that. And he says, live quietly. So he's saying, stand for truth, but don't be the source of drama in your workplace. When we think about living the Christian life, the challenge before us is to say, as I'm representing Christ to the world around me, is there a sense in which I find myself being that which is always identifying what's not right, complaining about all the things that are wrong, being the one that gossips about my boss or my coworkers? Well, Paul's telling the church in Thessalonica is saying, you don't want to lose your witness by being the one that is always the one that is the source of instigating drama in your workplace. It's one of those areas that I think the Lord calls us to consider what that means to think through our hearts and the process of our own evaluation. 'Cause not only is God calling us to think about how he's using us in the workplace, but the second thing is also how he's using the workplace to change us. Like we see what's going on inside of our hearts, right? There are challenges that we face, those areas where things aren't working right. We do feel like there's some level of challenges that are being overlooked. And so I think one of the expressions that he gives us one of the encouragements is to consider doing the job that no one else wants to do, to be the first one, to sign up, to serve. In some ways, the mental model that I'd want us to have this morning as we consider it is to think about Jesus in preparation for the Last Supper and having this idea of washing people's feet, washing the disciples' feet like this, bowing down and serving and caring for those that he was leading. And so the suggestion of what that would look like is to lead with the towel before we lead with our mouths. Consider what it looks like to be kind and gracious and actually choose to do the very job that no one else wants to do. When I was in high school, I was a lifeguard. And we were at this local university, Western New Mexico University. And we had done all the water safety instructor things. And there was just one part of the schedule that no one ever wanted to sign up for. And it was water aerobics. It was by far the most boring hour that you could imagine. But I signed up and I took that position, one because I wanted the money. So I don't think that I'm somehow noble in doing everything right. But there was a desire to jump in and do it. And so there were these, I don't know how to say it or older ladies that would come to this water aerobics class. And they were consistent every week. And they would always play the same music. Like if I sit here and think about it, I could probably recite boots, coat, and boogie all day long. It was just, oh man. But sitting there on the desk, watching these ladies, all in the shallow end, you know, they're just all doing their stuff and so on. And so we just had the pool redone so it was, they had put a new liner on it. So it was a little bit more slippery. And there was one older lady that had consistently gone. She was there all the time, just that, you know, they were always very kind, always very loving, always very gracious in the context of those things. And they had this little community where there was one time, even in the shallow end, this lady just slipped and just fell face first in the water. And I was pretty certain that she was gonna be able to turn over but she couldn't. And so it was like this '80s montage music began to play and David Hasselhoff came up and, you know, I'm running my Baywatch moment and I know that I'm dating myself. But I jump in and I pull her up and, you know, the whole class stops, boots, coat, and boogie, they have to turn off the radio or whatever. And gets up and she's fine. And obviously she's grateful that I was there to be able to jump in and make sure that she was okay. From the process of those things, one of the things that allowed that moment to happen is that I had been with them so consistently that they knew that I was watching and I wanted to make sure that they were cared for and taken care of. You would never think that someone could drown in the shallow end of the pool. But it was a possibility for this older woman. And we jumped in and took care of it and they finished the class and everything was okay and she was okay. But part of it, the opportunity that the Lord gave me in that moment was to be able to step in doing a job that no one else wanted to do and yet in some way testified to His grace and kindness towards myself but also this other woman. And I thought to myself just the reality of what that means to kind of step in and sign up for those things. It happened again when I was, you know, after I finished, we got back from Scotland and we were getting ready to try and find a job and the candidate for churches, positions, and stuff. And we needed work and so I jumped in to be a waiter at Chili's and worked at Chili's for months and developed relationships with these people and just really had a good time talking to them. And there was one lady there that found herself, you know, her home and gotten broken into and her whole family was freaked out and scared about all those things. And so we were able to just talk about the realities of the gospel and what God is doing in His moments. And then there was a dating relationship that took place in this place in Chili's. And so there's this one guy and this one gal and the server and the bartender and they got together and started this romance and so on and so forth. And blah, blah, blah, but what happened? Well, they asked me to do their wedding. So in the process of that, working at Chili's, one of my first weddings that I ever did, I got to do on the beach in California, they flew me out and I married them and I communicated to them about the realities of God's grace and kindness in their life and got to be a part of this. And it's like, that's what I mean. It wasn't just about working at Chili's. It was about realizing that God was generating the opportunity for relationships to be that, which was gonna be a light into those places where there's opportunities for the gospel that's all around us. And so work is what God has called us to do because it gives us the very mission field that He's called us to. Like there's not a moment where you live and what you do that God isn't working to change you and to use you at the same time. And so we find ourselves in all of those different rhythms. There's total ups and downs. There's challenges that we face. And sometimes there are times where we do end up standing for truth and losing our jobs. It's kind of the Daniel story moment where Daniel and his friends continue to work really hard and do all the things that they could possibly do. But there was a moment where they said, well, you can't pray and they're like, I'm out. I mean, whatever the consequences are, I'm gonna walk that out. But I'm not gonna listen to those things. I serve a higher power. But in the process of those things, they had been faithful as servants consistently and worked all the way up to being leaders within the context of this culture that was completely contrary to the truth of God. And they did so and God gave them influence and significance in those things. So what I would suggest to you this morning is we think about the reality of what work is called us to do. According to First Thessalonians, I think work is an opportunity to glorify God and to love others. I mean, I think at the very basic level, the reality of even a stay-at-home mom or stay-at-home dad is discipling your children and loving them. Well, you're doing that same thing. You're thinking about how your heart and your actions can glorify God in the midst of defiant children who have their own brokenness and are wrestling with different things. And you're loving them and then you're sharing them and showing them the truth of the gospel. Or as a retired person who's outside of full-time vocational work, you're thinking about neighbors, friends, family, grandkids, every place, every location that God has called you, he's using the very things that he's gifted you with to share the joy and the power of Jesus Christ with all that you come into contact with. He's working in you and through you at the same time, vocation and location. And so I would like to suggest that part of what God is calling us to do is to choose to serve and see others as Christ does, to be willing to lead with the towel before we lead with the mouth. Be that which is willing to serve and to be kind, to live quietly, I think is what Paul is getting at to the church in Thessalonica. And to mind your own affairs, you know, I'm sure we'd all want to have that conversation with other coworkers and be like, mind your own business, get your nose out of it. And yet, in some ways, some of the temptation is when there is some level of gossip going on in the midst of our workplace or different things that we're dealing with. We feel like in order to fit in, we got to be a part of it. Right, and so again, the Lord is really helping us draw this desire of saying, I want to serve Christ before I'm approved by others. And so I need to be careful with the things that I say and the things that I do. And so lead with a towel. And so, and to work with your hands as we instructed so that you can walk properly before outsiders and dependent upon no one. I think what Paul is really getting at is what he's saying is that we wanna realize that how we work and the ways in which we work is very noticeable to those around us. Believers and unbelievers, but specifically unbelievers are watching the very way in which we conduct ourselves and do things. And so think through critically how you find yourself following Christ and representing him in those very spaces. What does it look like to think first about what it means to honor God before I desire to be approved by man? Whatever the temptation is, the goal is to really focus on what God is calling us to do. And so as you look at those things, Paul writes a second letter to the church at Thessalonica and begins to kind of get a little bit more severe about the conversation for the church at Thessalonica. And here's why. The situation surrounding the church is that they were pretty convinced that God was coming back soon, that the rapture was gonna happen and that God was gonna just end it all and it was gonna happen in their lifetime. And so here's what they did. They were so convinced that it was gonna happen, they just quit their jobs and decided to just hang out and wait 'cause they knew that it was gonna happen soon. So they had this sense that their decision was a decision of faith when in reality it was a decision of disobedience. And so Paul has to address that very clearly in a second letter to the church at Thessalonica. So let's look at second Thessalonica in chapter three verses 10 through 15. Here's what he says. For even when we were with you, we would give 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. As for you brothers, do not grow weary and doing good. If anyone does not obey what we have said in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Well, that's a pretty harsh language if you ask me, right? It's pretty intense as he's thinking about those things, but what he's communicating very clearly to this church is that their theology has been so distorted that they've missed the opportunity of what Christ is actually calling them to do. So many warnings in the Book of Proverbs. And if you type in sluggered or idleness, and you'll have hundreds of verses in the Book of Proverbs that warn us against those things. Why? Well, because at the end of the day, the very part of our sanctification that God is doing is to move us towards being changed and growing where we have to trust God in difficult spaces. As we think about doing the work that God has called us to do, it's part of the areas of identifying where we need the most change. And then also some of the deepest joys of realizing how God is using you specifically in the lives of other people. The opportunities for gospel conversations that you'll be able to have that I won't because you know people I don't, and they know you. And they're drawn to the work that Christ is doing in you. Work is a blessing that God has given us to see not only where we need change, but how he's using us for his glory. So work is designed to be part of God's provision. Part of God's provision for us, for sure. But I also think part of God's provision for others. As we're doing the things that God is doing in us and we're recognizing those things, the resources, physical, sure, but spiritual and emotional, we're starting to attach ourselves to the lives of those around us. And we're starting to see where people are hurt and where their challenges are, where they wrestle. And in the process of those things, we're given the eyes of Christ to see how the truth of the gospel meets the very pain points that they're wrestling with. Like God has sent us out into the world to be missionaries. And it doesn't mean that you have to necessarily go overseas. It means right now you've been given a mission and that mission is both vocational and locational. What he's called you to do and where he's called you to do it is part of how he's equipping you to share the most powerful message in the entire world that competes against the corruption and the brokenness that is seeping into every part of our life. God desires to draw us to himself and both change us and use us. And so there is some encouragement there as I think about how God has already used you in specific and real ways to meet the needs of other people. Maybe there's been a moment in your life or job where you've gone home and you've been like man, that person that I just met is really struggling or my co-worker is wrestling with really difficult. I'll just pray for them. That's fantastic, right? Maybe you're the only one that's interceding for them on their behalf that God would do a work in their life. And it's only because God has placed you in that location to do the work that he's called you to do and to do it with excellence as a way that honors and glorifies him to see the bigger picture that God cares about eternity and cares about the brokenness of the souls around you. And so the value of what God is giving us in our day-to-day rhythms of life is not just accomplishing a task. He's elevated to a place of that what you're actually doing is you're developing a work of the power of the gospel for all eternity. You're cultivating the truth of Christ in a world that is so desperately in need. I love Tom Wright writes this book called Surprise by Hope and he talks about work. He talks about the reality of what it looks like in the future in the new heavens and the new earth and all of those things. And so here's a quote that I think was really helpful for me. He says, "You are not oiling the wheels of the machine "that's about to roll off a cliff. "You're not restoring a great painting "that is shortly to be thrown into a fire. "You're not painting roses in the garden "that's about to be dug up for a building site. "You are, strange as though it may seem, "almost hard to believe as the resurrection itself, "accomplishing something that would become in due course "part of God's new world. "You're investing in an eternal future "and so the very things that you do "are not just task accomplished. "They're transforming work that God is doing in us "and through us. "You're light to the world, right? "You are that which is representing the truth of God's mercy "to a world desperately in need. "You are someone who is being changed "and transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. "You and I will not always get it right. "There are things that will do at work "and decisions that we will make. "I remember when I was an EMT "and there was a guy that we notoriously went to "that always had a diabetic emergency "because he never takes care of himself." So the process of those things you could start an IV and you could give him what they call D50. So he would just wake up and then you'd make him a peanut butter sandwich and he'd be fine. There was one time I showed up and I started the IV and gave him D50 and nothing happened. So I decided to give him more what I didn't realize is that I had blown the vein. And so in the process of those things the possibility of that D50 would kill all the tissue around his arm. Thankfully it didn't happen and he was okay and there wasn't a few, but I felt so bad. It would just be like I should have just taken more time, been more attentive, just, but in the process of those things, what do you do? You recognize as you talk to the nurses and the doctors and other EMTs. And you said I messed up. I'm sorry. I should have been able to think through that situation. That's my fault. Again, another gospel moment where we lead with the towel. So let me give you three applications this morning and I'll finish with this. When we think about the spiritual practice of work, here's what I'd want you to take home. Lead with the towel. Look for ways to serve others. They're those who are struggling, things that they're wrestling with, jobs that people don't wanna do. But in the process of those things, consider what it looks like to represent Christ by kneeling down and caring for others. Number two, choose opportunity over passion but bring your passion to every opportunity. I know for many of us, myself included fell into this trap numerous times. And that trap was, well, this isn't the exact job that I want to do. And so I'm not gonna do it because it's not really meeting the needs of the passion within my heart. And so I'm gonna wait until I find that very place that fulfills all of the criteria that I have. And I think God calls us to something a little bit unique. I think He calls us to be present in every opportunity He gives us to bring our passion to that opportunity. That somehow in some way, God is gonna use us wherever we find ourselves located and doing the work that He's called us to do. And finally, stand for truth but don't be a needless source of drama. Like as we represent Christ and we wrestle with those things, certainly there's a place to wrestle and vent as part of the Christian body about the challenges that we face in life. I don't want you to just put a, paint a smile on your face and be like, everything's awesome, this is the greatest place ever. And you hate every minute of it. But I'm saying in the midst of that very place that the Lord has called you to think about what it means to represent Him and love Him well and then have the Christian body around you praying for you as you wrestle with the very difficult places that God has called you to be. I think the Lord really desires us to see how work can be redeemed. In such a way that we realize that work isn't a product of the fall. It's something that God has designed us for and something that He's doing, John 5, right? He's working. He's doing things now in and through us and He's committed us and called us to be a part of the very work that He's called us to so that we're contributing not only to the needs of the world around us, but we're able to share and show the love of Christ with everyone that we experience. That we're actually investing in eternity as we do the work that God has called us to do. Would you join me as we pray this morning? Father, thank you for just your kindness and your mercy or just the love that you have for your people. Lord, I would ask that you would just continue to draw us in our attention to you and you alone. Lord, as you think about the areas that you're challenging us, I ask that we would find both encouragement and your spirit to know that you are doing a work and that you're calling us to something that we have value and purpose and dignity for the very things that you've called us to. But Lord, at the same time, I pray that you would convict us if there are areas in our life that we find ourselves maybe falling into patterns of complaint or dissatisfaction. God, would you reorient our gaze that we would just desire to find our full satisfaction in you and realize that we have a bigger purpose and that we want to honor you with the very things that you've called us to? We ask all this in Christ's name. Amen.