Sermon
Rick Warren - Standing Out At Work — Part Three
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Audio Broadcast Ministry of Pastor Rick Warren.
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Well, today we bring our series called Doing Business with God to a
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close. In this final lesson, Rick takes one last look at why you
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work, what you should be working for, and how God can use you
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in your workplace. Right now, here's Pastor Rick with the final part of
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a message called standing out at work. God will allow your loyalty to be
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tested. And he's not testing your boss at that moment. He's testing you
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and you seeing you're if he can trust you with greater responsibility In heaven,
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Joseph had a really tough test Genesis thirty nine, verse six and eight and
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nine. Now, Joseph was very handsome and it was a well built young
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man. So Potiphar's wife began to desire him and invited him to sleep with
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her. Wait a minute, the boss's wife is inviting the slave to sleep
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with her. Yeah, that's what's going on here. But notice Joseph refused.
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I want you to notice why he refused. Here's where the loyalty comes
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in. Look, he told her, my master trusts me. Let me
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stop right here. He didn't start with God in this situation. Now he
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gets to it in a minute. But his number one reason for being faithful
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and not committing adultery is my master trusts me. That's an amazing statement.
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He didn't say, no, it's a sin to ask sex with a married
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woman unless it's you. You're a married woman, your wife. No,
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no, he doesn't say. He didn't even talk about the sin. At
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start. He says, my master trusts me. Why would you do this?
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Why would you I'm loyal to your husband. Why would you did you
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do this? He says, there Joseph refused. Look, he told her,
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my master trusts me. My master trusts me with everything is an entire
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household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held
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back nothing. Notice the gratitude of Joseph here. He's held back nothing from
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me except you because you or his wife. How could I ever do such
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a wicked thing to him? And he says, by the way, it
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would be a great sin against God. Friends, that's loyalty, that's loyalty.
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He's got a beautiful woman throwing herself at him. Nobody's gonna know,
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nobody's gonna you think I'm gonna tell my husband are you kidding me. Nobody's
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gonna know. Come on, you can have your cake and eat it too.
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You can. You can be the master and we have a fling.
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This would be great, be nothing, no harm, no foul, nothing.
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And he turns you down because of loyalty to his boss. My master
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trust me. I'm sure Potiphar was an imperfect boss, because every boss is
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imperfect. I'm sure Joseph probably disagreed with his boss a lot of the time,
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because everybody does. Nobody gets it right all the time. They say,
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my master trusts me with everything. I couldn't do this to him.
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That would be a wicked thing. That is loyalty. And you know what,
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God looks at that, and God says, that's the kind of person
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I'm going to promote. Next one, number six, This one goes right
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along with it. The sixth key to getting promoted is integrity. Integrity,
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audacity, likability, capacity, reliability, loyalty and the six quality for getting
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promoted. And every business owner wants this and employees integrity. Integrity. Now
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we've talked about this before. Integrity is far more than simply honesty. The
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word integrity comes from the word integer or integer, which means a unit of
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one. Integrated means we're all one. Segregated means we're separated into segments.
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Integrated means whole. Integrity means wholeness. Integrity. When you have integrity,
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doesn't mean you're perfect, because if you had to be having to be perfect
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to have integrity, nobody will ever have integrity because nobody's perfect. Integrity means
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that you are whole. What you see is what you get. You're not
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a phony, you're not a fake. That you act the way with me,
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the same way you act at home with your husband or your wife or
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your kids, the way you act on the golf course, the way you
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act at the bridge party, the way you act at a club, the
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way you act out at dinner, the way you act with your friends.
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That you don't wear a mask here and a mask hear, and a mask
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here and a mask here, And you don't segment your life. The moment
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you segment your life, say this is my work life, this is my
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church life, this is my home life, this is my sports life,
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this is my porn old life, this is my sex life. Then you
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already lack integrity. The moment you segment your life, you lack integrity,
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because it means it's not integrated. It is segmented. Is a segregated life
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not an integrated life. Integrity means wholeness. It means I act the exact
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same way in secret as I do in public. I act the exact same
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way with my kids or grandkids as I do with presidents and kings and queens.
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It means I am the exact same way. I'm not perfect, but
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I don't fake it. That is integrity. Let me give you a definition
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of integrity. Practicing in secret the values and beliefs that I claim to hold
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in public. Practicing in secret the values and beliefs that I claim to hold
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in public. It means I don't compartmentalize my life. Now when I say
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practicing in secret, Integrity is not what people think you are. Integrity is
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what you really are. Integrity is what you are when nobody is looking.
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Integrity is what you are in your quiet time. Integrity is what you are
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in the dark, when nobody knows, when nobody will see, when nobody
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can guess or compare. That's the real you. That's integrity. It's when
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you are exactly who you pay to be and as a result of that you
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don't act one way in secret in another way over here. So you have
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the same values that you promote in public you hold to in private. We
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have seen over the last years, many many years, a lot of famous,
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high profile politicians, business leaders, even religious leaders who said one thing
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out here and lived another thing right here. Right. We all know about
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these, and then when they get caught, all of a sudden, there's
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a big fall Why because they lack integrity. They don't act in private the
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way they talk in public. Their public values and their private morals are two
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different things. Genesis thirty nine ten. The woman pressured Joseph every day.
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She's trying to have an affair with him. Roman pressure Joseph every day,
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but he refused to have a sexual have sexual relations with her, or even
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spend time with her. Notice this, even spend He's not been on this.
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What is he doing. He's creating boundaries in his life to safeguard his
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integrity. I don't have time to read all these to you. Thirty years
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ago I wrote a thing, and every staff member at Saddleback knows this,
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one called Saddleback's ten Moral Commandments. And I require every married staff member to
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sign this Covenant, which is Saddleback's ten moral commandments, and I'll just read
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them to you. I guess anyway. Number one thou shalt this for married
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couples, married people on antwer Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at
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home. Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone in the office. Thou
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shalt not counsel the opposite sex more than once without their person's mate. Number
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four Thou shalt not go to lunch with the opposite sex if you're married by
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themselves. Number six thou shalt not kiss any attendee of the opposite sex or
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sex, or show affection that could be questioned. Six Thou shalt not discuss
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detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling refer them. Number seven Thou
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shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attendee of the opposite sex. Number
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eight Thou shalt be careful in answering emails or social media from the opposite sex.
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Nine thou shalt make your secretary your protective ally in guarding your integrity.
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Number ten thou shalt pray for the integrity of the other staff members. Now
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people say oh Rick, that is going overboard. I would rather go overboard
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than be thrown overboard. I want to live my life in such a way
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that people have to make up stuff about me, and they do, they
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do, but I want to live in I would rather go overboard and protecting
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my life. You see, I can stand before you and say with clear
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conscience, I've only known one one in my life. That's my wife,
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and God willing that I intend that to be true my entire life. Why
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because I've put parameters in my life, it can't happen in thirty two years.
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As your pastor, I have never been in a room with the door
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closed with opposite sex in the office. Never in thirty two years. The
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only exception of that would be a nurse in a doctor's office. For many
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years, Harriet was my secretary nearly twenty years. And Harriet was a great
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protector for me, and she knew. We never even went in an elevator
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by ourselves down in an elevator. I wanted to live above reproach. Nobody
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could even make up stuff, make up stuff about me. Why that's called
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integrity, and that is so rare today that when you sci find somebody who's
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willing to go beyond the the beans to live a life of integrity. They
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get promoted and more than that, you get the blessing of God in your
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life in a big time, big time way. Now he creates safeguards for
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boundaries. Now here's the point. Let me wrap this up. God wants
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you to shine out. He wants you to let your light shine, not
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hide it under a bushel. God wants you to do good, and he
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wants you to let others know the good you're doing. That's okay. He
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commands it. Jesus commanded it. He wants you to stand out at work.
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He wants you to be able to man. Look at that person.
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They're a great Christian. And if you develop these six traits, you will
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get noticed because it will be unusual. That's not the way most people live.
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Not with audacity. That's a life of faith, Likability, that's a
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life of relationships and love. Capacity, that's a life of learning, reliability,
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that's a life of trustworthiness, loyalty. That's a life of not gossiping
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and not tearing down other people. And a life of integrity. That you
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are what you are in public, what you are in secret. Look at
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this next verse on your outline. Philippians two fifteen. You are to live
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clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked
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and perverse people. Let your lives shine, Let your lives shine brightly.
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Let your lives shine brightly before them. That's what God wants you. How
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do you shine? What does a person do? How does he shine?
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How do people shine before the world in a dark world? Let's get practical.
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God wants you to be a doer of the word. Let's take these
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six character qualities and give you six ways to develop them. Just write them
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down. I'm not gonna comment on them, and then I just put a
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little acrosstic ear shines, How does he shine? He shines in the world
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in the dark world. He shines in the world. She shines in the
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world. This way. S stands for step out in faith. That'll make
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you shine. Every time you step out in faith, you're gonna shine.
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That shows audacity. You take the big risk, you believe God for the
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big things. You step out in faith. That shows audacity. Age stands
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for help others succeed, Help others succeed. And you know what that does.
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That creates likability. When you help other people in your office succeed,
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guess what they're going to like you. When you help your boss succeed,
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she's gonna like you. Likability comes when you help other people reach their goals.
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Step out in faith, audacity. Help others succeed creates likability. I
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improve myself daily, improve myself data. And you know what that does.
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That increases your capacity. You're learning more so you're more valuable to the company,
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You're more valuable to your family, You're more valuable to yourself. Improve
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myself data. I'm always learning, always growing, learn something every day in
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Never make excuses, Never make excuse. You know how rare that is.
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That'll make you shine. The person who never makes excuses demonstrates reliability. And
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if you never make excuses at work, you're going to be considered a reliable
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person. E Eliminate gossip. Eliminate gossip. That shows loyalty, shows loyalty
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to God and his word. It shows loyalty to your business, shows loyalty
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to your boss. You eliminate gossip and s safeguard my life, safeguard my
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lifestyle. It's like, create a series of things that I'm not going to
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do this. These are the parameters I'm building around my life. Now,
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let me close with this. There's one trait that Joseph had that you already
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have. You already have. Let me show you some verses. Look up
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here on the screen about five verses. Genesis thirty nine two. The Lord
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was with Joseph and he prospered Genesis thirty nine, verse two. Look at
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the next one for thirty nine three. Joseph's master saw that the Lord was
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with Joseph, and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did.
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I want you to have that success and everything he did. Genesis thirty nine
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to five. The Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian be cause of Joseph
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Genesis thirty nine, twenty twenty one. But while Joseph was in prison,
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the Lord was with him and granted him favor. What's the common denominator,
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God was with him. That's the same God who's in you. If you
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know Jesus Christ. God. If you don't know Jesus Christ, you need
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to invite him into your life today. But that's the same thing that happens
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when you have the spirit of God in you. You have something that no
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one believer has when God is with you, you have something that no person
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who doesn't know God have. That's a leg up, that is an advantage.
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Let me show you the last verse. You might write this verse on
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your outline, you probably ought to write it down Psalm seventy five six and
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seven that says this, for promotion comes neither from the east, nor the
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west, nor from the south. God is the judge. He puts down
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one and sets up another. God is the judge. Promotion doesn't come from
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the east to the west of the south. It comes from God. You
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know what that verse says. You don't have to know the key man.
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If you know the man who holds the keys, that's power heads. If
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you've never invited Jesus Christ in your life, you don't have the power to
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build these qualities in your life. So today, say Jesus Christ, I
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want to open my life up to you. I want to follow you,
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I want to know you. I want to fulfill your purpose for my life.
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Jesus Christ, thank you for dying for me. I don't understand it
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all that I need to be saved. I want to be in your family
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and I want to know you. Say that to Jesus Christ, come into
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my life right now and change my heart and change my mind. And then
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all of us pray this prayer together. Just say it in your art.
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Dear Jesus Christ. I want to build these six qualities, the Joseph qualities
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in my life. Help me to be audacious, to think big, show
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initiative, take risks for a dream in faith. Help me to have audacity,
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Help me to have your dream. And God, I want to be
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likable. And the way I want to be likable is I want to learn
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to like others. I want to learn to love others. I want to
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develop the attractive attitudes and the relational skills that cause others to want to work
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with me. And I ask you in enlarge my capacity, my potential for
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growth. I recommit myself to a lifetime of learning, to keep on learning
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so I increase in competence, and so I can handle a greater responsibility.
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Lord, I want to develop a reputation for reliability. I want to earn
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the trust of others by always keeping my promises, fulfilling my responsibilities even if
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it requires sacrifice. And God, help me be a loyal person. To
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be faithful to my boss, to be faithful to my spouse, to be
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faithful to my church, to be faithful to you even when difficulty tests.
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I don't want to be a gossip anymore. I want to be loyal and
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God. I want to be a person, a woman, a man integrity.
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I want to practice in secret the values and beliefs that I claim to
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hold in public. I want to step out in faith. I want to
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help others succeed. I want to improve my life daily. I want to
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stop making excuses. I want to eliminate gossip. I want to safeguard my
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life Holy Spirit. I can't do this on my own power. I need
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the Joseph factor. God. I need you to be with me. I
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realize that promotion comes from you, and really what matters is me knowing you
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or anything else. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Hi everybody,
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this is Rick and I hope you enjoyed today's broadcast. You know,
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if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time, or you just
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recommitted it your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about
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it. There's something real about sharing your commitment. So write me Rick at
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Pastorrick dot com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment.
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I gave my life to Christ, and I'll send you some material that will
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help you on your journey with Jesus. And I'll also pray for you.
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God bless you. That was Pastor Rick Warren with his current series Doing Business
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with God. Right now, here's Pastor Rick with today's offer. Did you
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know that even your job matters to God, your work matters for eternity.
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Did you know that the Bible says in Colossians three twenty three, whatever you
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do that means whatever job you've got right now, work at it with all
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your heart as working for the Lord, not for men. You see,
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God gave you a special calling to your work, and he placed you around
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certain people so you can minister to them right there where you work. Now,
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whether your work is paid or volunteer, whether you work in an office
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or at a job site, or in your home with your kids, God
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has planned this work to be a ministry for you through the work you do.
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That's why I want to help you discover how God is at work in
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your work. So I've put together a study kit for you. It's called
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Christians in the Workplace. Now, I believe this study will energize you.
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It'll equip you for your ministry at your work, whether you work in the
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home, in the office, outdoors, or anywhere around the world. This
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Christians in the Workplace study Kit includes a six session study guide and a DVD
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that I actually developed with Professor Paul Schreier. He's a professor at a ZUSA
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Pacific University Christian University. And these sessions also include helpful interviews from real people
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who are living out their faith at work. I know it's going to help
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you and encourage you. Throughout this study Christians in the Workplace, You're going
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to learn how God calls and equips you to do your work, and why
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your work is a ministry. And I'll teach you to see your work as
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an opportunity for spiritual growth and how to develop moral and ethical character to guide
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you at your work. Plus, I'm going to show you how to find
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opportunities to share your faith, how to be a witness at work. Request
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your copy today by going to Pastorrick dot com, or you can text the
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word hope to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four that's pastor Rick dot
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com. Or text the word hope to eight hundred, six hundred, five
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thousand and four. Today is the last day to get this great resource,
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so don't wait. Be sure to join us next time as we look into
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God's word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily
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Hope and your generous financial support.