Work

If I made a vision board with God standing right next to me, what would it look like?

• What does and should motivate me?
• What are the deepest desires of my heart?
• Is money, stuff, success and power the driving factors?

I’ve learned in life that things come and go.  Some days are light and easy and other days it feels like a raging inferno.  There have been seasons and moments of life where money has been plentiful and needs were easily met.  Other seasons and moments of life have been filled with suffering and lack.

What better book of the bible to consider about the pursuits of life than Ecclesiastes?  What better person to hear from on the matter than the wise King Solomon?

1 Kings 4:29-34 says the following about Solomon:

• God gave Solomon wisdom, great discernment and breadth of mind like sand on a seashore.
• He was wiser than ALL other people.
• He’s got 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs under his authorship.
• People came from all the nations to hear his wisdom.
• All the kings of the earth heard of his wisdom.

What did Solomon say throughout Ecclesiastes?

• There is nothing new under the sun, it has already existed for ages.
• In much wisdom there is much grief. Increasing knowledge brings increased pain.
• He withheld no pleasure from himself, built houses, gardens, parks, bought slaves and had herds of animals. He had massive amounts of precious metals, limitless entertainment, great power and influence.
• He partook of all that his eyes desired. The pleasure of his heart was his reward for all his labor.
• Accomplishing and having all of this and said it was futility and striving after the wind.
• He began to hate all the fruit of his labor because it is left to someone else when he dies.
• He said, “who can eat and have enjoyment without Him?”

1. Truly consider what it means to have Him

• Solomon asked, “What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?

1. There is an appropriate time for each activity
2. A time for birth – a time to die, A time to tear down – a time to build up, A time to keep – a time to throw away, etc….
3. This process “zeroes” out at the end in terms of storing and collecting.

If there is a time (seasons and moments) for each activity then therefore, how much more emphasis should be placed on God’s perspective and ways?

If a time to build up, then should our primary focus be upon what we’re building or upon what God wants to reveal in the special season God has allowed for the building process?  If there is a time to keep and a time to throw away, then how should this wisdom impact our thinking, our focus our desires?  How can we apply this in the practical decisions of our daily lives?

• God has set eternity in our hearts. Therefore, set your minds on things above, where Christ is,… not on things on the earth – Col 3:1
• Solomon said, “I have seen nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his lot.” Based upon what he knew in his time (Prior to new life in Christ) we should find satisfaction in the work we do.  We should live God fearing lives.
• He said, “one hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after the wind.” Competition and the rat race naturally produces what is contrary to rest.  The only way we can hope to not get swallowed up in the worlds system of wanting and taking is to abide in Him, rest in Him, find our joy and purpose in Him.
• Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.  We are more efficient and better together.  Consider the body of Christ.  We cannot all be hands, all be feet, all be heads.
• One who loves money will not be satisfied, nor one who loves abundance with its income. This too is futility.
• When good things increase, those who consume them increase.
• A man will not often call to mind the years of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
• What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and striving after wind.  We are to be content and satisfied and to be aware that we do not live lusting for more.
• Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

1. I walked a mile with Pleasure; She chattered all the way, but left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow, and not a word said she; when Sorrow walked with me! – Robert Browning Hamilton.
2. We must understand this in context of our live in Christ but it’s good to remember that sorrows and sufferings bring about our appreciation of grace in this life. It helps us to appreciate the sufferings of Christ and also enables us to relate with and comfort others who are going through trials.

• The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is fear God and keep His commandments. God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.   (last 2 scriptures – Chapter 12)

Work makes us co-laborers with God.  It is His way of partnering with us.  “the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

• 1 Cor 3:9,10

1. We are God’s fellow workers
2. We labor together in God’s harvest fields, on God’s projects.
3. God gives grace and we are to be wise master builders.
4. God calls us to produce fruit and the fullness or completion of that fruit is the harvest.

Our harvest field can be looked at as our area of influence.

2 Cor 10:13 says that they would not boast beyond measure (sphere of ministry influence assigned by God), but they would within the limits of the sphere in which God appointed them.

Are we looking at our work places, relationships and all that we do (FIRST) as a ministry sphere of influence in which God has placed us to co labor with Him?  OR Are we only looking at our work ONLY as a means of making money, furthering our own agendas and building our own kingdoms?

Does Matthew 6:33 (seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you) have actual practical applications or is it just cute philosophy?  What if we learn to change our mindset about work and view all of our related interactions in light of co laboring in Gods harvest field that He has entrusted to us?  How would that shift our priorities?  Would that bring Matthew 6:33 to fruition in our lives?  What if the truth and life of Matthew 6:33 is like electricity waiting at the switch waiting to be flipped on to produce light?

Work brings about creativity and imagination.  As Paul wrote in Colossians 3, “it is the Lord Christ you are serving” and this allows us to honor Him through the work we do.  The workplace gives us the opportunity to love and serve others…to bear fruit for God’s Kingdom.

Paul also said, “if you don’t work, you don’t eat.”  It is through work that we care for ourselves and our families.

Finally, it is through work that we can discover the purpose of our daily lives and to gain new skills.  All this is to be done for the glory of God.  We must remember that making money and gaining possessions does play some role in the work of our modern culture but we must judge ourselves as we walk through this process.  Keep in mind the wisdom of Solomon and most importantly the heart and character of Christ Jesus so that we stay grounded and in balance and do not become swallowed up in the ways and desires of the world.  This happens so quickly and so we must stay sharp and awake!  Listen to what leaders and gurus say that work in our fields of business and then run it through the filter of the scripture and what has been shared here.  Be led by the Holy Spirit in all things.

Living Simply

Jeremiah 9:23,24 - This is what the LORD says: “Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast of his might, nor a rich man boast of his riches; but let the one who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

Proverbs 30:8 - Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me

1 Timothy 6:6-11:

• Godliness with contentment is great gain.
• We came into life with nothing and we will carry nothing out.
• We shall be content with food and clothing.
• Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation. (when desire is mis-placed we neglect what is most important)
• The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away. There is trouble in the getting of it. There is anxiety in the keeping of it. There are temptations in the use of it. There is guilt in the abuse of it. There is sorrow in the losing of it. There is perplexity in the disposing of it. Two-thirds of all the strifes, quarrels, and lawsuits in the world arise from one simple cause—money!  -- Bishop J.C. Ryle

1 Timothy 6:17-19 - Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.  Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

The main thing to consider:  When do the things of the world enter the “realm of distraction” to our spiritual life?

Manifestation

notes taken from Mel Robbins (guru) teaching

• Manifesting is preparing your mind, body and spirit to help you take the action to get what you want.
• Training to get what you want. Socializing, preparing, rehearsing your mind to take the steps to get what you want.
• Manifesting removes the obstacles of self doubt, resistance, caution, minutia and being overwhelmed.
• Retraining mind, nervous system and soul. Brings inspiration to accomplish your goals.
• Manifesting is going to help you see, feel and act your towards the things you want.

Financial Freedom

Wanting and Wishing does not equal Manifestation.  Wishing for something puts you into a state of lack (realizing and focusing on being broke) where Manifesting is declaring what you want.

After declaring, you manifest by empowering yourself and taking action to go get it.

We should declare……I deserve this or that

When you wish for something, you are handing the power to somebody else or to outside forces.

“Hoping and wishing says that someone else is going to come in and solve the problem and we all know that's not happening.”

Manifesting locates and amplifies the power inside of you to do the work to get those things, to change your life.  You’re the one responsible for your dreams.  (What about God’s dreams?)

Science of Manifestation

5 sports psychologists work with the US ski and snow boarding teams for example.  When you mentally prepare, you remove all the nerves, self doubt, fear and anxiety that are stopping you from taking action.  The psychologist takes the athlete through every single step of the action they are going to take.  Hear the snow falling, breathing, picking up snow board, riding and getting off the lift, etc….  Basically imagining how the whole process will play out.

Your brain can't distinguish between real experiences that you've lived and the detailed experiences you've imagined and felt through manifesting which is imprinting the step by step training on your brain.

So what questions should be asked?

• Is getting what I want the primary thing I should be concerned with?
• Does God want me to use self declaration and self empowerment? Why or why not?
• Being yoked and abiding with God, is it healthy and biblical to think in terms of “I deserve?” If so, how does this fit within the framework of God’s character and our lives with Him?
• What should our declarations and thinking be based upon as Christ followers?
• If manifesting locates and amplifies the power inside of us, is that also saying, as believers, that we can manipulate the Holy Spirit?
• Exactly what is the source of power inside of us? Is it the power of the flesh (self sourcing) or the power of God (Holy Spirit)?
• Are our dreams and desires coming from / being sourced and cultivated by our abiding life in Him? If so, how do you know this?  What is this supposed to look like?